Are you okay?

That was the big question I was asked this week because I didn't post a new entry last weekend. I didn't think too many people followed my blog, so I was a little shocked when I got so many phone calls and emails. Well I'm back....I just needed to take a little time for ME last weekend and hang out in a real city for a bit. Friday I went to dinner and the movies (Just like old times Frankie!!) with some coworkers in Gallup, NM. A group of coworkers decided to go see the new movie "The Women" starring Meg Ryan, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Eva Mendes, Annette Benning and Debra Messing. It was a cute, feel good movie and I would recommend it to everyone. The rest of the weekend, I went to the beautiful city of Flagstaff. I rented a suite (complete with a jacuzzi...niiiice!), explored the city and spent my afternoons shopping! Flagstaff is a community rich with cultural diversity, beauty, as well as amazing educational and recreational activities. Flag is located at 7,000ft, it's home to Nothern Arizona Univeristy, and National Geographic cited the city in its list of "10 Great towns that make you feel young."

Flagstaff has a strong tourism sector, due to its proximity to the Grand Canyon and historic Route 66. I'm trying to talk my parents into coming out so we can take a train ride that takes you straight to the Grand Canyon. For a reasonable fee, you can sit in the glass dome car to experience all the breathtaking views.
School was very busy as usual. We just finished with Parent Teacher conferences where we held a raffle contest (Oh yes, guess who was in charge?)that went over very well with the parents. Think people just like to win stuff and since we were nice enough not to charge for the tickets, they were all over my table in the lobby! Anything to get the parents out, I guess. I was also asked to be the line judge for the girls' vollyball games! Yes...you all can start laughing now. I know you are! Never played a game in my life, but now I'm the one deciding whether the ball is in or out! hahaha! I was hesitant at first, because I'm on every committee known to man in that school and I'm getting a little tired. But I heard the words "You get paid $25 per game..." and suddenly my interest was peaked! I said sign me up!! :) We'e won our last two games and the girls seem to really be enjoying it. Next up I have to start planning for our haunted house and Red Ribbon Week. Plus I'm starting a 3rd grade self-esteem group on Thursday. Think I'm going to lay low this weekend and get some much needed rest.

Have a good weekend everyone!

It's Fair Time!!

So I didn't get to post anything Friday because as I thought, we were scrambling to put the finishing touches on our float for the parade Saturday. I thought everything turned out great even though the women painted on the float looked like Geishas to me. I asked if we were going to get darker paint for her face, but I got looks like "What are you talking about, we are this color." I mean, some of the Navajo are darker than me! But anyway...
She had blue eyes of all things, but no one seemed to think this was odd; so I quickly shut my mouth and kept on painting.... The morning of the fair, I was up at 2:45 because we were all supposed to meet at the transportation department to leave at 4am. I guess me being the military brat that I am, when I'm told to be somewhere at a certain time, I'm there and usually at least 15 minutes early. Well I forgot who I was dealing with and that everyone functions on Navajo time, which usually means everyone is 30 minutes late. We were supposed to leave at 4 and didn't depart until 5am!!! I thought I would KILL someone as they all strolled in with no care in the world. Everyone knows I HATE being late - for anything!!!! I digress.....
So the fair is held every year in beautiful Window Rock, Arizona; a town about 20 minutes from where I live. The fair lasts from August 31st to September 8th. There are pow wow and ceremonial contests, bull riding, a carnival, fry bread contests and various vendors selling jewlery and arts & crafts. The parade was a 4 mile route with 180 floats!! Our district was the 107th one. The theme this year was all about the women- "Navajo women, our strenth, our endurance." Everyone had to display that slogan on their float somehow. I swear I've never seen so many floats and Natives in one place. There was an estimate of 30,000 Native Americans there that day. The parade started promptly (surprise!!!) at 9am and somehow I got talked into riding on the float! I thought it was really disrespectful since I'm not Navajo, but all I kept hearing was "C'mon, everyone thinks you are anyway!!" hahaha! Lucky I did, cause that parade lasted for 3 hours and at some points, going uphill! Overall, I thought it was a great experience. You can check out the fair's website for more info at www.navajonationfair.com and I've posted more pictures on http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm154/quidama/

TGIF!!

I couldn't be happier that today is Friday and a long weekend at that! I'm heading down to Tucson tomorrow to see my aunt, uncle and some cousins. I'm counting down the hours till I'm in a mall or Target! Anyone who knows me, knows how much I detest the mall or just shopping in general. But these are desperate times. A woman can only hang out at Walmart or the trading post for so long!

School was very interesting this week. I just signed up to run our staff gym for the month of September (only cause I get to work out for free!) and our float is sloooowly progressing for the Navajo Fair. No one seems to be in a panic as much as I am. This has to be done at least by Wednesday and we just purchased all the material we needed....today! But I hear that this is just the Navajo way, no one is ever in a rush. I mean no one. Just wait till the day of the fair, it will look like we've planned this float a month in advance! hahaha! But for now, it looks like this:

As far as my students, the one thing I love about my job is that everyday it is SO different! I had a group of 5th grade boys who repeatedly tease a girl in their class that is much taller than they are...calling her "Sasquatch" or this is my favorite: "Ms. Q is your mama cause you're SOOOOOOOO tall!!!" It took everything I had not to laugh out loud when I heard this. Only adolescent boys would think of something so stupid! And of course they are all short and very pudgy, so I'm sure they're a) jealous of her height or b) like her because she is a very cute and popular girl. So I had to put out that small fire and make sure that she was okay. I just wanted to give her a hug and say "Welcome to my world!!" And then on the flipside, I had to make my first report to social services today and it just broke my heart.

The thing about working on a reservation is that the laws and rules are entirely different. It's as if I'm working in a foreign country. And of all days, the principal was gone for most of the day(so guess who was in charge of the school??) and so was our parent liaison. So I was on my own, but I thought I handled it well and was able to get a tribal case manager to our school to interview the child. I talked to my principal later and he said I did everything I was supposed to and he was shocked that I was able to get someone from the Navajo CPS out to the school so fast. They are seriously backed up and often times it takes days before a case manager is sent out. Appaling yes, but it's considered normal here. So as I'm enjoying my long weekend, my 2nd grader has to stay in a children's home 30 minutes away for the next three days. And as he was packing his bookbag to go, he looked so innocent and happy, as if he was leaving for a vacation. I gave him a hug and then went in my office to have a silent cry.

I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of cries during the school year and often wonder if I'm tough enough to handle such a job. But when I see the kids' faces light up when I enter a classroom or see them in the hall, or hear "HI MS. Q," screamed across the cafeteria, I know why I got into this profession and know that I'm here to stay.

I'm a counselor....and now I'm official: I just got my badge!! :)


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Love, Melissa

"WHY ARE YOU SO BIG?"

That's what one curious little third grader asked me this week during lunch. I couldn't do anything but just crack up laughing! How do you answer a question like that? After I regained my composure, I told him that I was once just as small as he was and then as I got older, I began to get taller and someday he will start to get taller as well. I don't think that answer satisfied him at all because he repeated his question again, with a little more emphasis on the word BIG as if I didn't understand him the first time. I don't know if that's the best one I've heard so far. It's a toss up between that one and: "You're WAY BIGGER than my dad!!" God, I love these kids!

I guess I should have started this post by saying Ya'et'eeh. It is a greeting in Navajo. It has various meanings, but is used for the most part to say hello. It's great that a lot of kids still speak their language and we say the pledge in English and then in Navajo. It's very intersting to hear and I'm in the process of trying to get the pledge down. I have a 4th grader that I've started to meet with once a week and I found out that he loves to speak Navajo and that's how I got him to open up by being my new teacher. Let's just hope that he's teaching me the right words! hahaha!

Family is very important to the Navajo and they are a culture that is very matriarchal. When meeting with parents, it is the women who do all the talking and have a final say so as to what happens within their family. I think this is so cool and totally not what I expected. Not only do the Navajo continue to pass on their language to their children, but some continue to live in traditional houses called Hogans.

Some of the hogans are very traditional like the ones above, but I've also seen some that are very modern and have siding like most houses. A lot of the children live with their grandparents during the week in hogans because their parents have left to work in other towns.

Everyone has asked what MY housing looks like. All the staff live in trailers located at the top of a hill overlooking the town. I have a two bedroom/two bathroom (#20) that is much more space than I'm used to. You can see more pictures at http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm154/quidama/?action=view&current=KIDS2.jpg.

OH! Almost forgot the best part (Lisa and Maddie will be proud, I hope), the superintendent made me head of the counseling department for all three schools and he wants me to create a guidance curriculum for the district to use!! I was suprised and excited and downright in shock! What a great challenge for a first time counselor. Talk about PRESSURE!!!

Looks like I'll be updating my blog every Friday. Hope you guys are enjoying a taste of my life on the rez! Hugs and kisses to everyone.

Love Melissa

One Week Down!!

I know everyone has been wondering if I could survive in the desert, but I’m still here and things have been great. I never thought I would like living in such a small town as this, but I kind of enjoy that everyone knows your name and people look out for one another.

The town of Sanders consists of a post office, gas station (with a laundromat inside), library, sheriff's office, a small college, general store, two grade schools (the high school is actually located on the reservation), our staff housing and district office, liquor store (that's a WALK UP only, ha!) and a trading post: that rents out movies, sells ice cream and has a museum in the back! Who knew you could have so much in one small building?? haha!

Work has kept me very busy and my school is awesome! It's only six years old and looks better than most small colleges. The kids have been very open to me and of course they all call me Ms. Q! We have 400 students from K-5 where a large majority are dealing with very serious issues at such a young age. I've only worked one week and I can't imagine a five or even an eight year old going through some of the things I've heard so far. But they're children and very resilient and seem excited that someone new is in town who's willing to just listen.

The staff have been great, although I suspect a few have bets as to how long I will last. They have lost several counselors in the past who never seem to complete a full school year. Between the lack of activites located in town, dealing with the issues at school and the apathy that some parents and social services have, I'm sure it can take a toll on someone. I'm looking forward to the challenge this school year.

I have signed up for several committees so I can keep my self busy. The 62nd Annual Navajo Fair is in two weeks and our district is building a float for the parade and a booth for the fair grounds. Guess who will be stuffing chicken wire with colorful tissue paper? They asked for volunteers and I said sign me up! I'm also in charge of the haunted house for our Halloween Carnival and somehow I got suckered into doing our school's monthly newsletter. That's what I get for trying to be proactive and opening my big mouth! haha!

I'll try to keep up this blog and often as I can and you can go to http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/dd352/mquidachay_2008/ to see some more pictures!




Love you guys!!

Melissa