Julie and I (well, mostly Julie) have been busy these week getting things ready to go and that includes packing. How do you know what to pack when you're going to a place you've never been? How do you know what to pack for little boys you've never met? How do you pack when you're not sure how much laundry you can do while you're there? AND the most crucial question is, how can you pack when the airlines limit your bags to 50 pounds a piece?
Well, that's where today's blog title comes from. We each are allowed 2 bags to check and they must be 50 lbs., oops, I mean 50.5 pounds each. The .5 comes from the conversion from kilograms to pounds by the way. We put some things in a suitcase and then I would pick up the suitcase and get on the scale. Then we'd either add things to take them out to make weight. I swear, I feel like a wrestler or a boxer doing their weigh in. It doesn't help that our scale isn't very accurate. It always tells me that I weigh more than I do! We also had to consider what we put in each bag because what if one were to be lost in transit...and I'm hoping to not jinx myself here by saying there's a chance a bag will be lost. It won't happen! It won't happen!
There is such an art to packing and Julie's got it down. She can find ways to utilize the most space in the suitcase and still make weight. Also, I'm really depending on her world travel experience on this trip. She's been to Central America twice and to Africa just this past year. I'm just totally in experienced when it comes to international travel. The only time I've done it is when we went to Cancun and that was so quick and easy. Plus, Julie was there and she knew what to do. It was a piece of cake. I can only hope and pray that this trip will be just as hassle free when it comes to travel.
Yesterday was my last day of school for a while. It was a lot more difficult to say goodbye to the students than I thought it would be. So many of them were very kind and sweet about the trip and how much they'd miss me and how much they wanted to meet the boys when we got back. Our assistant director Mr. Dixon is taking over the bands with some help from a long term sub that we hired. I'm thankful to have an assistant director who knows the students and the routines and can just step in and run rehearsals. I have talked to the students quite a bit how Mr. Dixon and I have the same end goals when it comes to band and rehearsals but we are two different teachers and therefore have two different rehearsal styles. I worry that they will resist his teaching and efforts because they're different than mine at times. They both will have to give a little I suppose and press on. The band students are like my kids and I miss them already. They bring a unique joy to my life everyday and being without them for 4 weeks is going to be tough. However, they'll be there when I get back and I'm pretty sure I'll be busy in the meantime. Nod if you agree.
The teachers I work with were also so very thoughtful and supportive these last few weeks. I got so many well wishes on email and face to face. It's comforting and a blessing to work with such a great group of people.
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