Not so crazy after all
As I think I have mentioned, these 12th graders were my not-so-holy little terrors in the 8th grade. This is also the first time I have taken students to the turtle camp and not had a close friend along for the ride with whom I felt I could vent/pray/laugh/weep easily. We were taking a family with small children along. My chaperones were older teachers and much more coworkers than anything else. Needless to say, I wasn't 100% excited.
But I have never had a less whiny and more timely group of students. I related more easily with them than with any other set of 12th grade classes and enjoyed relaxed conversations and laughter with more than a few of them (usually I am pretty restrained/uncomfortable with this age). They were enthusiastic about the activities and when they had ample free time, they did not invest it in heart-attack-inducing teenage activities. I think the worst incident was that a few of the boys threw sand into one of the chaperone's and one of the girls' tents at about 11:30pm at night. It was hard to get too furious about that...
And the overall experience for everyone was just tremendous. Most of the students got to see a mother sea turtle go into her panting trance and lay about 100 slimy, leathery, ping-pong sized eggs under a night sky salted with stars. We all got the opportunity to jump in and swim with both male and female Golfina turtles about 3 feet long. 2 species of bats and a strange spider that looked like it had walked off of the screen of Harry Potter captured our imaginations in a small cave nestled into the edge of a breathtaking rocky cove. Israel, the head biologist and now friend after 4 visits, invited his mother to cook for our group this year and we ate like royalty. Our times for sharing about Jesus in the evenings were short, but a blessing, and the students were respectful listeners. Honestly, it was the closest I have felt on a field trip to the sensation of floating on one of those endless rivers at a water park...I wasn't often very excited nor was I crushed and anxious and angry. I found myself sitting out of more of the activities than usual and delighting in my students getting to try things out for the first time. We had a boy on the trip who had never been away from home on his own (and was barely permitted to come under the threat of failing the ecology class) and his enthusiasm was precious.
This year, we participated in a new activity that involved some trash clean-up and reforestation in the pueblo 10 minutes away from the beach. Unlike many tree planting projects by governments and large corporations looking to boost approval ratings which are done in massive batches and then left to fend for themselves (and many often fail), we could see trees that had been sown 5 years previously and carefully tended so that the school yard really is a little less dusty and bare. Israel has been careful to research that these trees are native to the area and to foster good camp-town relationships with such thoughtful and well-received service projects. I am so impressed by the truly holistic and grassroots environmental work that they are doing!
On our 40 minute ride back from some waterfalls, one of the little children that came with the Lincoln family that joined us this year, was starting to drift off as he struggled to hold himself upright. So I invited him to sit with me as we jerked and sped over dirt roads, speed bumps, and uneven pavement. He slept like a little stone. Later, I asked him how on EARTH he managed to rest on such a crazy ride and he looked up and replied in his 6/7-year old lisp, "Well, it wasn't so cwazy on youh lap."
So today, as I am a million times thankful for such a smooth weekend and a day off today with which to recover, as I sip my Mexican grown coffee and sing along with youtube hymns (ha!), I think of my sweet and powerful Father in heaven who, instead of leaving me to ride the waves this weekend, invited me to sit on His lap and enjoy the journey.
And if you want some visuals, I know fellow teachers took some and I will link them to the journal when I can. For now, I leave you with the little gift I brought home from the beach.
But I have never had a less whiny and more timely group of students. I related more easily with them than with any other set of 12th grade classes and enjoyed relaxed conversations and laughter with more than a few of them (usually I am pretty restrained/uncomfortable with this age). They were enthusiastic about the activities and when they had ample free time, they did not invest it in heart-attack-inducing teenage activities. I think the worst incident was that a few of the boys threw sand into one of the chaperone's and one of the girls' tents at about 11:30pm at night. It was hard to get too furious about that...
And the overall experience for everyone was just tremendous. Most of the students got to see a mother sea turtle go into her panting trance and lay about 100 slimy, leathery, ping-pong sized eggs under a night sky salted with stars. We all got the opportunity to jump in and swim with both male and female Golfina turtles about 3 feet long. 2 species of bats and a strange spider that looked like it had walked off of the screen of Harry Potter captured our imaginations in a small cave nestled into the edge of a breathtaking rocky cove. Israel, the head biologist and now friend after 4 visits, invited his mother to cook for our group this year and we ate like royalty. Our times for sharing about Jesus in the evenings were short, but a blessing, and the students were respectful listeners. Honestly, it was the closest I have felt on a field trip to the sensation of floating on one of those endless rivers at a water park...I wasn't often very excited nor was I crushed and anxious and angry. I found myself sitting out of more of the activities than usual and delighting in my students getting to try things out for the first time. We had a boy on the trip who had never been away from home on his own (and was barely permitted to come under the threat of failing the ecology class) and his enthusiasm was precious.
This year, we participated in a new activity that involved some trash clean-up and reforestation in the pueblo 10 minutes away from the beach. Unlike many tree planting projects by governments and large corporations looking to boost approval ratings which are done in massive batches and then left to fend for themselves (and many often fail), we could see trees that had been sown 5 years previously and carefully tended so that the school yard really is a little less dusty and bare. Israel has been careful to research that these trees are native to the area and to foster good camp-town relationships with such thoughtful and well-received service projects. I am so impressed by the truly holistic and grassroots environmental work that they are doing!
On our 40 minute ride back from some waterfalls, one of the little children that came with the Lincoln family that joined us this year, was starting to drift off as he struggled to hold himself upright. So I invited him to sit with me as we jerked and sped over dirt roads, speed bumps, and uneven pavement. He slept like a little stone. Later, I asked him how on EARTH he managed to rest on such a crazy ride and he looked up and replied in his 6/7-year old lisp, "Well, it wasn't so cwazy on youh lap."
So today, as I am a million times thankful for such a smooth weekend and a day off today with which to recover, as I sip my Mexican grown coffee and sing along with youtube hymns (ha!), I think of my sweet and powerful Father in heaven who, instead of leaving me to ride the waves this weekend, invited me to sit on His lap and enjoy the journey.
And if you want some visuals, I know fellow teachers took some and I will link them to the journal when I can. For now, I leave you with the little gift I brought home from the beach.