SO, it's been SO eventful. I've been SUPER busy, and hella worn out. SO. Let's begin.

We had 2 weeks of education training, where we learned how to teach, essentially. Making lesson plans, working with kids, special needs, etc. It was really informative, but tiring. I've taught several lessons so far to the other corps members as practice. We all have. After those 2 weeks, WFR training started...

WFR, or WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER, is 1 step down from Wilderness EMT training. 2 weeks of incredibly intense training, provided by AERIE BACKCOUNTRY MEDICINE! The trainers were fantastic. It was SO exhausting. So, 8 to 11 hours a day of learning very advanced first aid concepts - everything from CPR, reducing dislocations, sucking chest wounds (AKA Open Pneumothorax), stopping arterial bleeds, to pulling traction on isolated midshaft femur fractures. Every day spent in the cold waether, face down in the dirt watching friends pretend to suffer and/or die. Freakin intense. They say it better than I do:

"The 72-Hour Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is designed for outdoor professionals and outdoor enthusiasts, preparing them to care for injuries and illness in remote, challenging environments. The course is fast-paced, challenging, hands-on and fun.
Aerie's nationally recognized Wilderness First Responder (WFR) courses address injury and illness prevention, patient assessment, long-term patient management, improvised splint and litter construction, and environmental emergencies while stressing the thought processes unique to caring for patients in remote environments. Our instructors are professional care providers with many years of outdoor leadership experience. Students also receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR certification."

Yeah, so I'm certified now. It was hard. Very hard. Our trainers, Cody Harris and Josh Olsen (plus a trainer-in-training, Dan - see all the bios at www.aeriemed.com) were adorable and, more importantly, really freaking good at what they do. I learned so much every day I thought my head would explode, I was so stressed I had nightmares about frogs needing CPR and people falling off mountains and me having to save them, and the thought of quitting crossed my mind, and when it was over and I passed all the exams, I privately wept with joy and relief. :-) Now, I just have to do a 16-hour recertification every 2 years. :-/ WHEW. That about killed me. But it didn't, so I'm stronger for it. And I can really help folks in some pretty bad situations. There are some things I can't do, like intubate or reset bones, but I can do a helluva lot.

Right before Thanksgiving break, we had our first ceremony as a camp, all dressy-like. The program director wore a tux shirt and bowtie! :-) We got our WFR cards graduation style, shaking hands and walking down the line. Then, the education director called us up in twos, whereupon we entered our "stage" (tables arranged conveniently) and were united as teaching partners for the next 3 months. I got paired with this guy James. He rocks, and I think it'll be good working with him. We were knighted with a lightsaber and told where we will be teaching. We got HAWLEMONT REGIONAL SCHOOL (elementary), which is awesome because I'm already friends with a couple teachers vis-a-vis the bar across the street.

www.mohawkschools.org/hawlemont/

There are about 120 kids, Pre-K through 6. Tiny. I'll talk more on that in a moment.

I got a surprise ride home for Thanksgiving. I had a really nice time with family and friends, and ate plenty of good food. It made me more homesick, but oh well. Suckin it up. I get to come home in just a few more weeks for Christmas break, 12 days long! Yay! I'm totally looking forward to it. Education season is tough. We'll be teaching 3 days a week, all day. Yup. Lotsa lesson planning. It's new to me. Only a tad overwhelming.

Weeeellll....my school is neato. We had our first observation day yesterday. All of the teachers and kids are wonderful. It's a cool school, very focused on community and respect. All schools should be so peaceful(ish). I had a few highlights, like the kids in the first grade class with downs syndrome and the adorable mostly deaf boy who sat on my lap during story time (I looked like Snow freaking White in there), the 4th grade music class, and making those valuable connections over a game of Hot Potato at recess. I love it.

Well, we're back for 1 week of Ed training, then we start full time next week. That goes until April, when the other 8 come, and we start Trail season. I got a bunch of pictures, but we can only upload a tiny it per month, so I'll probably get them on here this weekend at the laundromat. I promise I'll be more frequent! The blog pic is of our beautiful pond, all frozen-like!

:-)

Love,
Me.