It cannot possibly be Thursday already.

Today was a stellar, A+ day. Great. Day.

Alyssa and I decided to pair up like she and Robin did yesterday to try to see some classes we'd missed earlier in the week. After chatting with the principal first hour about the possibility of observing a kindergarten class in the elementary building (which I'm doing tomorrow, and I won't be able to speak English (or speak at all, really) for an hour - eek!), we headed off to check out a 7th grade Navajo class. The class was very small (5 students, 3 of which will probably be switched out of the class because they actually took it last semester), but it was really interesting to sit in on a class that we couldn't really understand. (Side note - and sorry for all the parenthetical asides - it reminded me a little bit of when Prof. Clift had Vahid teach us a lesson in Serbian. I didn't really know what was going on, but I did pick up on physical cues and tone of voice. It was interesting.) The lesson for the day was about how to address different people based on their relationship to you. Relationships are traced through four clans: your mother's, your father's, your maternal grandfather's, and your paternal grandfather's - in that order. The teacher had the students compare their clans to their classmates' to figure out how they would address each other, and it was really cool. They joked that one student was another's grandfather, or that two were brothers. I don't know a lot about the clans, but I think I'll work on finding out more.

Next we observed a girls' health class taught by the very dynamic boys' basketball coach. Her enthusiasm transferred to the classroom, and it was neat to see her interact with the girls, a very different audience than her varsity boys. They were learning about heredity and the impact of environment on well-being, so the recognition of Navajo culture played a large role in the lesson. She talked to the girls about how living in an open space (as opposed to a city) and a non-gendered society (as opposed to patriarchal Anglo society) affects their identity. They also talked about traditional types of food, several of which we got to sample later today! But more on that later...

We saw a couple more social studies classes taught by the same Anglo teacher I talked about yesterday. The students were working on European geography, and they were very demanding of our attention (which was just fine with me). They'd watched a movie about Europe and filled out a worksheet, and their task was to take the information from the worksheet and combine it with a map from their textbook to create a map of their own. They were having a really hard time putting everything together, but luckily, we were there to help!! I love the students in eighth grade, and I really enjoyed some one-on-one time with them. (I'm leaning more and MORE toward middle school. I LOVE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.)

Finally, we had the opportunity to observe an airbrushing class, part of the art program. The art teacher was voted Teacher of the Month for January, so we were eager to see what he did, and we weren't disappointed. First of all, the school offers airbrushing as an elective - how cool is that??? The students were really into it. Also, we found out that the art program is very successful, and for the past four years, a large Native American student art convention in Phoenix has chosen artists from Rock Point to advertise its programs. Super cool.

At lunchtime we had a special treat - Navajo tacos!!! One of the security guards we befriended invited us to eat lunch that his wife, a teacher we've worked with at the school, had made in the home ec. room. Navajo tacos might be my new favorite food. They consist of fry bread topped with chili/refried beans, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. DELICIOUS. We were so focused on our gratitude for this meal that we were taken aback when our new friends offered to take us to Rock Point (THE rock point, like the pointed rock formation) and make mutton stew for us for dinner! We have friends!!! Yay! So all in all, it was a delightful lunch.

After school, we went to Rock Point. Kind of. We started climbing the rock, and Robin, Alyssa, Mark, and I decided that it seemed like a bad idea for us to continue. The path was slippery and completely vertical. EEEEK. But some of our group forged ahead and reached the summit while we walked around the beautiful scenery below. We returned to Kiva Hall (the dorm where we're staying) for some mutton stew (which was quite good!!) and fry bread (which I could definitely eat with every meal every day for the rest of my life). The generosity we experienced today was really astounding. We have met some incredible people, and I'm so grateful for that.

Also, Robin is seriously considering the possiblity of teaching here, and when she talked to the principal and executive director about it, they were VERY eager to have her. To be honest, I'm definitely not ruling out a job here. I'm still 80% for urban education, and I think that's where I'll end up, but that social studies teachers' words keep resounding in my brain - the reservation DOES have all of the academic challenges of the inner-city without the severe behavioral problems. However, it's also extremely secluded from the people most important to me. And there's no drama or theatre arts...so. I think I might still pick up some paperwork, just to be on the safe side. I do really like it here.

...and I'm already dreading many goodbyes tomorrow...