Whew. That was a crazy month. We're now at the end, and thank goodness. May has been awesome but absolutely crazy, both here and at home. We need to first extend some congratulations back stateside. Kendall's brother Kip graduated in the top of his class at the Air Force Academy and will be attending medical school at ETSU this fall. We got to watch the Pentagon live stream of him walking across the stage and shaking the President's hand. It was awesome. Additionally, Kendall's sister Whitney passed the CPA exam and my brother Tucker got home from a month or traveling Russia performing. We have such an awesome and talented family. Also, my best man from our wedding, Jeff, is marrying one of our good friends Julie this weekend. We're thrilled for them.
Admittedly these things come with a little heartbreak. It's weird. I am an out of sight, out of mind person. I'm not a jerk; it is self preservation. Kendall just happens to be a much sweeter and softer person than me, who happens to be unable to detach herself from her wants and needs.... which is a good thing, and one of the many reasons I married her. We miss our friends greatly. It kills us that we were not home with our family to watch Kip cross the stage. I can't believe that I am not going to be there for one of my best buddies weddings. It hurts all the more because we will be home so soon. It's the price we pay for being here. The world moves on whether or not we are there, and it is tough. Still, we have peace about it and send our love and happiness home. Soon we will be there to revel in the excitement and celebrations.
So, May. May was dances. May was Kendall's field trip to the zoo. May was international day. May was me teaching Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird to a bunch of kids who are speaking English for the first time this year. May was the month that our school performed the play "Into the Woods" which has seriously, almost killed me.
The zoo here is pretty hilarious. It's actually a pretty good zoo because you can get super close, and see the animals well since the cages are more confined than in America. It's sad for the animals, but the kids really get to see them. Kendall was stressed, because the cages aren't like America either. You can potentially get TOO close, which is bad when you are responsible for 17 five or six year olds. (anecdote - our principal told me a story where the lion and tiger cages were directly next to each other, and the tiger reached over, sliced the lion's neck, and the lion bled to death in its cage.) The other hilarious thing is the types of animals in the zoo. Cats, dogs, squirrels, and raccoons are all viewable.
We also had international day where our students were encouraged to dress up in the traditional dress of their home country, and then we had kids bring in food. It was amazing. Tasty treats.
The play has been dominating my life, and to be honest I was not even that big of a part of it. Our school was (overly) ambitious with the choice of Into the Woods Jr. , which involved students from ages 5-18. We had a huge cast, costumes, and even rented a gym to perform in. I was asking as sound and lights man along with an 8th grader, but it turned out to be a much bigger ordeal than I had planned. FYI....I know (knew) nothing about sound. It turns out that they didn't really need a "sound man" so much as an audio engineer. The place we rented was wired by an insane man. All the sound was mixed. You couldn't turn the monitors on and separate the microphones out, so it gave monstrous feedback. I even got into a bit of a tiff with our director! This was real show biz. However, myself and the music teacher from school had to essentially redo their soundboard. Also, we brought 4 independent sets of wireless microphones that had to be set up and taken down EVERY DAY. I'm sure I could do it in my sleep now. I know, because I still have nightmares about it. We practiced on Saturday nights from 5-9 for the last 2 months, and then everyday last week. Needless to say, the days of school from 8-3, and then practice from 3:30 til 9:30pm did me in. Still, the play was amazing. Sound was great, and the kids had an awesome time. Everyone said it was the best one that the school had ever put on.
There is more craziness to be had. We know we've been WAY out of the loop lately and apologize. We have a letter going out by email this weekend (for June). We have some super exciting things (not baby things, sorry grandparents...) to announce, but we will be doing it in that letter so keep your eyes peeled for it this weekend. Until then!
Love,
b+k
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