Welcome to the Sunshine state!

I made it to the sunshine state safely! It was a long drive, but Aubrey and I kept things very interesting! We stopped about 10 hours in which was a smart decision! We were both completely exhausted and our eye lids were very heavy. We got plenty of sleep to start the drive again on Saturday. We made it to our host families house around 3 p.m. on Saturday. Aubrey and I were very nervous as we pulled up to the house! We weren't sure what to expect but we were very relieved as soon as the door opened and we were greeted with hugs! Our host family, the McDowells, have already been so amazing! I felt right at home as soon as I stepped in the door! Aubrey and I have two "siblings" Cameron and Savannah, they are both in high school, so there are always people over. They have both been very helpful by getting us moved in and comfortable as well as shown us around Celebration.


As soon as we got settled on Saturday night we all went over to the Ganely's house for a nice dinner. The food was awesome and it was nice to see past interns as well as the new interns and their families. We then came back to the house and attempted to get things organized in the garage apartment where we are staying. Don't worry I will upload pictures as I go through this experience! On Sunday, Aubrey and I had our first experience at the farmers market downtown with our host mom, Sue. We got some fresh veggies to pack for our lunches, this will be a weekly visit. When we got back our host family took Aubrey and I to Chipotle for lunch, they know us so well already. Then Mitch, our host dad, and Savannah took Aubrey and I on an afternoon bike ride around Celebration. We got to ride on these super cool bike trails that are built throughout Celebration in their forest areas. It was a great time to look around, getting to know the family and get a feel for the community. We came back and had a great southern style family dinner of chicken bog with everyone.



Today was our first day of school at Celebration! Aubrey and I rode our bikes to school it's a nice 5 minute ride. It was a teacher in service day so there weren't any students but I did get to meet my mentor teacher. Mrs. Cassano the assistant principal gave us a great tour around the school and lead us to our mentor teacher's room. I will be teaching second grade in Ms. Zavieh's room. It was so nice to meet her and get to see where I will be teaching for the next 6 weeks. Celebration Elementary school is set up completely different then my last placement at Mapleton. It will be exciting to meet the students and work with a diverse group of students. This class will be a great experience for me because many of the students are very low, but I am ready to add this to my many teaching experiences! All of their textbooks are online and I'm excited to learn this new style of teaching. I can't wait to go to school tomorrow and meet my second grade class!