To fulfill a request, this post features my daily life here at Woodstock. Life here is a strange mix of the very familiar and the completely unusual. The two have blurred together for me over the past few years - strange has become normal and normal has become strange. Perhaps because of these routine oddities, I find that the weeks pass quickly. Lately, the daily grind has indeed felt grinding - activities are plentiful, responsibilities are looming, and, consequently, I never have as much free time as I'd like. Thankfully, there is a 6-week break on the horizon.
An average school day:
I typically wake up at 5:40 am, get to the gym (which includes a 20-min walk up the mountain) by 6:45, and get to my classroom by 8:15. Each school day starts with either an assembly, homeroom, or advisor meeting. We follow a 7-day class cycle, which means each day I have a different order and number of classes. It is confusing at first, but I really enjoy it. I also love how the school day is broken into pairs of classes: Two in the morning, then a 20-min tea (and snack!) break, followed by two classes and then lunch, and ending with two classes after lunch. These breaks are great for maintaining order, cleanliness, and general sanity in the art room. We also have a tea snack break after school, but I rarely make the trip down (I work in the farthest classroom from the tea area, so often it isn't worth the time.)
After school:
I have activities most evenings, including:
Mondays: Almost every Monday I have a painfully boring meeting, either the Heads of Dept meeting or the Senior School staff meeting. I used to stay up at school after the meetings to go to Staff Gym Night, which (on lucky days) might include a rousing game of volleyball, but lately haven't had the time or energy.
Tuesdays: Emily and I host a weekly gathering for artists/writers at our house. Currently, we've been exclusive and limit it to just four of us. Emily and Rose venture into literary endeavors, while Rebecca and I stick to visual arts. We always have a delicious meal with wine and dessert before diving into productivity and idea sharing. We're hoping for individual accomplishments (Rebecca and I are aiming to have an exhibition in the spring), as well as some collaborations.
Wednesdays: Hindi lessons - I took lessons most of last year, but our teacher proved to be unreliable so progress was slow. This year we have a new teacher who meets with us for an hour. He actually gives us homework! I'm learning to read and write - pretty exciting!
Thursdays: Thankfully, the weekly yoga sessions that Paul began last year have been revived. No one compares to his leadership, but four of us have stepped up to do the best we can. I lead the session once a month. There are usually about 15-20 attendees and it is such a rejuvenating part of my week.
Weekends are impossible to summarize. They tend to fall into two categories: extremely busy, or wonderfully low-key, unfortunately usually the former. I won't even attempt to describe them...
Other endeavors:
I could list all the other activities I'm involved in, but I think I might have a panic attack if I see them all. Right now, the two activities that consume the majority of my free time are 1) being HOD and 2) training for a half-marathon (eek!).
A few snapshots of my house:
