conferences.

November is tough month.

"I love 12 hour days!' 

On the homesickness cycle, it's usually a big dip. Somehow it goes from not-so-dark in October to barely-ever-light in November. And it gets cold here in the north north. Cold.

So, to help us through the tough month the school schedules..... conferences!! (because that makes things better) As much as I don't like them, conferences really aren't bad. Especially when you have good students! (They also aren't really planned then to torture us, it's just a logical and fine time for them.)

But, they do require some prep work. This year, all the ES teachers filled in a form with strengths and areas of improvement for each student. We were then able to use that at conferences, which was great.

Not so great, is how long the first day of conferences are. We teach all day, and then have several conferences immediately following school. On Wednesday, I was filling in the forms and realized I was exhausted and should go to bed soon... it was 7:15. On Thursday evening, my last conference was scheduled for 7:40. .... I was awake for it. Alert... that might be debatable.

Classy ladies...

The Marine Ball is coming up again. 

I went last year with a few friends, and while it was a good evening, I can have equal amounts of fun without paying so much for a ticket and dress. And then I don't have to wear heels. It's like a triple bonus. 

I knew I wasn't planning to attend, but my friends were a bit more on the fence about it. That is until the idea of an 'anti-ball' was proposed. Basically, a ladies night out. Naturally, it was proposed it at a ladies night in where we ate a bunch of foods, talked about clothes, and then played Just Dance on the Xbox for a few hours. ... no high heels involved. 

The next morning I joined Bekah and Rorey for some all-you-can-eat waffles at a place we are quickly becoming Saturday regulars. And then we went shopping. The plan was to find cheap dresses and then go to the ball, or the anti-ball. 

We bounced from second-hand shop to second-hand shop and eventually ended up at Kilo-max. It's a second-hand place where they weigh the clothes and you pay by the kilo. Pretty great idea. Unfortunately, there were no evening gowns to be found. But! We still had some amazing finds.... 

Ugly. Christmas. Sweaters. 

and other adorably cheesy festive wear. 

We may not be ready for the ball, or anti-ball, but Christmas time will be fabulous! 

We've got spirit...

It was Spirit Week at ISL in preparation for the MS girls' soccer tournament which ISL hosted, and for Halloween.

Monday was Pajama Day. (Monday is Always Pajama Day during spirit week, and no one complains! hehe)

Tuesday was Multiple Day (twins, triplets, ...). Rorey, Bekah, and I all have the same pants, so we went for it!

Wednesday was Formal Day. I work with small children and trip over air on occasion. I wasn't about to risk my life and wear heels! Also, I don't have any. haha. I did look for a tiara, but had no success. So a simple black dress it was.

Thursday was Sports Day (another favorite). I wore my comfy yoga pants and an MSU sweatshirt! I have a few Americans in my class this year, and two of them have ties to Michigan. It's still weird sometimes to see a student walk in with a Wings or Lions T-shirt on, or he wears his Michigan gear. Just to get me. :)

Friday was Book Character Day. I never knew there were so many stories about werewolves and vampires. ;) I was a black cat. This year, there was a parade in the elementary school and some festive stations where the kids played a game or did a dance. And then there was a real 'dance' where they could dance in the gym. Or run around and scream a lot, which is what I imagine it largely was. There was a 'book corner' in the cafeteria for the kids who didn't want to be in the noisy gym and I was assigned to the book corner... planed that well! It was an extra blessing since I've had a scratchy throat all week, and by Friday afternoon I really didn't have a voice at all! My students thought it was a Halloween trick... if only.

Saturday was Halloween, and in an effort to do something truly terrifying... I went to work on a Saturday!! (Insert screams -- oh wait, I still have no voice!) Rorey is one of the soccer coaches and had to be at the school bright and early on Saturday, so I caught a ride with her and put in almost another full day of work. It actually felt really nice!  I have so much to do!! Even after 6 hours of work, I still felt like I could have, and should have, stayed.

But ISL was playing for 1st place in the tournament! So I braved the bitter chill and went to cheer them on... you know, with my non-voice. hehe! They ended up getting 2nd place but the tournament was a success, and so was my work day. I had planned to go out with friends for a fun night of shenanigans, but decided it was probably best to invest some medicine and try to kick the cold before Monday.

International Dinner (yr2)

One of the biggest, most loved events at the school is the International Dinner. There were 500 chairs, and around 250 bleacher seats in the gym. Plus Many Many other people standing. We were told the prediction before the night was 600 people, but the predicted count after was closer to 800.

The evening begins with performances by all the grades and language classes. The songs come from all over the world! My 'talented' fourth-graders showed off their amazing ukulele skills. They played a Hawaiian tune and Hakuna Matata. Some sang, while the others took turns on the ukuleles.

As interesting and impressive as the performances are, the real treat comes after the show. Dinner! There are table with food made from our parents/school community. Real, homemade goodies from around the world all in the small cafeteria and lobby. Emphasis on the small! It didn't feel overly crowded in the gym, but the cafeteria was crazy! The teachers have to dismiss students before we can go for food. This of course means we stand there for a long time while at least one kid has been left behind by parents more interested in deliciousness. Can't really blame them though.

Eventually, I found my way to the cafeteria and created a worldly platter or wonderfulness! Soup from Canada, Plov from Uzbekistan, potato salad from Germany, fried cheese from the Netherlands, Indian curry and little bits of so much more! Last year, I borrowed a page from Grandma Ree's cookbook and took a peanut butter/chocolate dish. This year, I discovered buffalo sauce here in Riga, and so I took Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Spending several hours at the school on Saturday evening may not be ideal. But fun performances and food certainly make it better!