Bad News: Lost my wallet on the metro. Good news: There are good people in the world. Better news: I can totally teach these kids!!!

Yes somehow I managed to lose my wallet on the metro Friday night. I was coming home from the temple and when I went to exit the metro I couldn’t find my wallet. However, a woman found it and returned it, untouched, to the metro lost and found. I feel so lucky! The DC temple is gorgeous. I wish I would have taken a picture, but it was a really neat experience. I realized that the only other time I have been to a temple outside of Utah was when I was like 12. So, it was a different experience out here in DC. We had to get a time slot and then we were treated like princesses, because we were the only ones there.

So, today was amazing!!! It was my first day teaching the entire day by myself. I planned every second of the whole day. I was very nervous and I was sure that I had forgotten something important. But from the moment the students walked into the classroom I was determined to make it a good day. I decided I was going to really try and not yell at them and I was going to keep them engaged and learning. I wanted to be sure to give out a lot of compliments and positive reinforcement and it worked like at charm! The kids were the best they have ever been; even my teacher couldn’t believe it. They followed instructions, sat quietly on the carpet (mostly…kids will be kids), participated, and were genuinely trying their best. The entire atmosphere of the classroom changed; it was an unbelievable feeling. It really just solidified my belief that keeping students engaged, showing them you care, and giving them positive reinforcement really works. I can’t even describe to you how good it felt to see my students working hard and trying their best. There are just no words… I am exhausted and most of the time I am sure I won’t have enough time for everything I need to do, yet at the end of the day I feel like I a million bucks. Because I know that at least I helped one student become a little better or learn a little bit more, even if it was that they just realized that someone cared about them. Whoa there is no better profession for me!!! And don’t worry…I am not getting my hopes up too much. I don’t expect everyday to be so wonderful, but you must savor these days as a teacher.

I have a few funny stories:

1. The other day we were waiting for the metro later at night. On the other platform a train came to a stop, but it was not for passengers and the lights were completely turned off. Then on the last car of the train the doors opened and a metro officer came out with a SHOTGUN, or at least that is what it looked like. She just stood there until the train left. We all were sure she was just going to open fire on us. It was quite hysterical.

2.This is one of the stories to show how annoying it can be not to have a car…So, one of my roommates organized a ride to church with some guys in our apartment complex. Jodi and I were running a few minutes behind, as usual, so we told the rest of the apartment to go and we would catch up. They told us to go to the boys apartment. When we got there no one answered the door, so we went to the lobby hoping they would be there. We waited at the lobby trying to get a hold of people, but we couldn’t get a hold of anyone. Finally at 12:50 we gave up and went back to our apartment. Turns out we just didn’t knock hard enough, because the boys were just waiting for us at their apartment. Missing church, because we didn’t have a way to get there was a new experience. J

In other news:

This weekend we went to the Holocaust museum. It was very moving. It was emotionally draining and I don’t plan on going again anytime soon, but it is a very neat experience.

Love you all!