At long last - a blog from home

Everyone made it. Some happier than others, some more reluctantly, but at 5:00 pm we touched down in DC and bolted for home. A couple of quick notes after being able to catch a little shut-eye in my own castle:

1) The chance to speak one-on-one with students in which both parties are in a sense equals - experiencing something for the first time together, struggling together with a new language, or just in a place where neither needs something (homework, instructions) from the other - provides unbelievable opportunities for communication. At Deal, we try to create these opportunities through clubs, Viking Time, Hemlock field trip, et cetera. Hearing from your kids makes me realize how rich an experience we miss when we don't have take that chance - and we should find ways to make more.

2) One and a half hours is NOT enough time to get through Houston's airport. Well, of course it is because we did it, but I wouldn't make a practice of it. We had to run through each stage of the immigration process - four distinct lines for ICE, luggage, customs, and then rescreening - without dropping a single piece of paper or losing anyone. Since we had been on the road for hours already, I had to tell them that no, they couldn't go to the bathroom till we were sure we would make the gate, or that in 2011 all food on aircraft can only be purchased (credit or debit cards only, please) so we couldn't slow down for food till we were in our gate area. By the time we lined up to get on the plan, I was quite willing to let the flight be delayed a bit while we cleaned out Starbucks. But don't build plans around it all going so smoothly.

3) Waking up at 2:15 am is an inhuman activity. And yet, 56 kids were ready to go by 3:15 (well, 53 by 3:15, and 3 by 3:18) without very little complaint. I guess they really did want to see you!

Thanks for letting me spend the time with your students. I think Ms. Henderson did a tremendous job for what surely was Deal's largest trip EVER, that Ms. Wang, Mr. Miller, Ms. Wilson, Ms. Cruz, and Mr. Roose were great eggs in spending their hard-earned Spring Break with their charges and choosing to be recharged that way, and that Mr. Humes is always a great guy to have around. One last quote from a student: "You know, Mr. Humes seems scary, but he is really just firm, and he is also a cool guy."

Our last photo (courtesy Sean Carroll (who sent not one but TWO great kids on the trip)):