Finally Here!

I have finally made it to Arizona for my student teaching! We left on Thursday and arrived at the school on Sunday afternoon. It was an amazing trip, we went through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico which were beautiful. We took lots of pictures that I hope to post soon. It was amazing to see the transition from the mid-west to the west. There were tumbleweeds, wind turbines, cactus, and so much more that we all got excited about. Tyler was the best driver and helped so much. We left him in Albuquerque on Sunday morning (very hard!) and continued up to Gallup. The drive had been perfect weather until then! We hit a snow storm that stopped traffic on the highway, which was very scary for me. We finally were able to get off the highway and headed north where it was better weather. That was the most beautiful part of the drive because it was more isolated and the rock formations were huge. We were able to see Navajo Mountain which is one of their 4 sacred mountains and we could see some of Monument Valley.
So today was Monday and our first day at the school. I am in a first grade classroom with a Navajo teacher and student aides who all speak half English, half Navajo to the children. If the student do not speak Navajo they have a pull out program where they learn how. Today I mostly just observed how the school day goes and my teacher's style. After school we helped serve dinner to the students who stay in the dorms all week and that was a lot of fun. The kitchen staff was very inviting and welcomed our help. Then we went back to the dorm and helped students with their homework. It was a long day, but very rewarding. It is hard being away from everything that I know, my family, and friends, but it will get easier as time goes on.