Looking Back and Looking Forward

Last Sunday, I drove over the 84 at the Caldwell Exit on my way home from Boise. I first passed the Best Western, and then continued down past the new and improved (well, technically speaking) Ralph Smeed sign, down the small hill, past the Farm City sign and over the railroad tracks until the College of Idaho was standing right in front of me. What a wash of memories that brought back. I was immediately transported to 2003. We had just finished a very long road trip through California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to drop me off at college. We stayed at the Best Western, tried to float the river, had no idea where to go for dinner, trekked down the boulevard to pick some stuff up at Walmart, gathered up my boxes that were stored in Jill's office and settled me in. How things have changed since back then. I'm back in Idaho again but my role is totally different. I am still a student again but I'm more than that. I'm on the other side of the curtain now. I'm at the front of the class, looking at 17 nervous faces. I'm in my office until 8:00 pm, making photo copies, putting the finishing touches on my syllabi, handouts, popping into other colleagues offices to get some advice. I've moved up in this world and I see my past in a way staring me in the face during my present.

It's been a long few days since I got back from England. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday driving up to Idaho and then immediately got back to work. Thursday night was my first BSU class and I felt really good about it. It's a small class, only 9 people, one that seems like a total sour puss but I'll give him a few more weeks to soften up, and a really interesting book list. The professor seems nice and I'm hoping that I can give her what she wants in the papers, which we have one of each week. Whoa Nelly, diving right on back into this school thing. It was refreshing though to buy new supplies (at the $ store of course), sit back in a classroom, discuss, anticipate, analyze. It's been too long since I was the official student and it's nice to be back.

Friday was spent at Faculty Retreat. I didn't read the book that we were discussing but I felt that with a year of study skills under my belt, I was able to hold my own. I even disagreed with a few professors and made my points clear. I was at a great table and to be able to engage in hearty banter, earnest discussion and passionate appeals was so nice. It was a long day but the delicious pitas and hummus made up for it. I think I ate like 12. OK, maybe 3. I love the faculty at this college. I love how I can stand in line for lunch and make conversation. I love how I can go up to Joe and have him recite the ISF box office number to me so I don't have to look it up. I love how we can spend the morning debating and then have a wonderful lunch. I Love how I'm able to interact more with professors and be able to unite with them in our quest to keep kids in school and reach them at their individual levels. I'm so lucky.

Saturday and Sunday I spent out in Boise with Bailie. I introduced her to Empire Records, we went to the market on Saturday with Becky and Lindsey, I made dinner using just things we had bought at the market (yum, my mouth is still watering....), we relaxed in the pool and I got a lot of reading done. So much that I finished writing my first paper and went on to reading my second paper. It feels good to be ahead of the game the first week.

On Monday, after getting some work done, I donned a BRIGHT yellow t-shirt and headed up to McCall. Wow, this was a total trip, in all senses of the word. I chatted with a few students in the bus up to Camp Ida-Haven, all the while remembering bits and pieces of my own bus ride. I have very selective memories of camp. These include: the bus breaking down, chatting with some lovely girls by the teepee, Douglas (the guy who runs the camp) being a total jerk, night hide-and-go-seek, teaching a bunch of people how to play Mafia, people canoeing over to the over camp and getting in trouble, standing in the freezing cold ice rink to play.... you got it.... ice breakers. It was hard to answer questions that the students had about camp because I remembered so little. But a lot came rushing back when we arrived. It was nice to be on the other side of things again. All the staff was together in one building, I got to know a lot more much better, I shared meals with them, we talked about students together. I spent the afternoon in the water helping set the canoes out over the lake and spent part of the later afternoon, after dinner, canoeing around the island with Ben and then jumping on the trampoline and into the water with Kelsey. That night, the staff had our own little bonfire which was the most hysterical event of the night. Ron had us do a gift exchange but the gifts were just terrible- old Alberston College ski sweats, old school t-shirts, a few yearbooks from 10 years ago, ACI tape, a few ski-race suits, absolutely hysterical. Everyone was stealing from each other, Phil actually got INTO the ski suit that looked like a jester costume and had arms two feet longer than anyones normal arms, Phil A could NOT get rid of his Ski team business cards, the basketball jersey got stolen more than anything else and Jim put on the white tennis skirt. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life- the entire thing was hysterical and gut-bustingly funny. It was the best part of the trip. I got to meat the entire class the next day when they did a rotation of games. I led the Human Knot and seeing them in some of the positions they got into was incredible- I wish I had taken pictures! The staff drove back down together in the ski bus and it was nice and quiet- I even got to nap for a little bit- before we arrived at the Henberg's for a BBQ. All this free food has been nice.

I was in my office until pretty late that night but was enticed out to the Ha-Penny by Yosh and Bobcat. Ace pear cider does it every time so I headed out there for a few hours, only to be back in my office by 8:00 the next morning to get more done. The highlight of that day was going to dinner in the brand new Simplot with Dori and Steve and having a good chat with them. And today was the first day of class- I felt really good with my morning class and am excited to meet my afternoon class. Then it's out to Boise for my own class, maybe dinner with a friend, a night at the Godwin's and then a massage and a mani-pedi tomorrow. I deserve it. THen lunch with Ariel, another BBQ on campus for dinner (I STILL haven't gone grocery shopping- I'm never home!), a relaxing weekend and then it's off to meet my third class.

I wish that I could have a witty way to wrap all of this up but I don't. Basically, I'm just very lucky to be where I am right now.