Hello from down south. After a crazy summer of finishing my masters of science in geography I’ve moved down to Gallup, New Mexico, to teach gifted and talented middle schoolers, Humanities.
Although the summer was busy, mostly with writing, writing, and re-writing my final paper for the program, my cohort and I had a bit of fun too:
But now I am done with my masters program and down where canyons are king. I drove down from Oregon on August 1st and 2nd – with two unhappy cats in my car with me – and arrived in the smallest town I have lived in for a long time; Gallup only has 20,000 residents. The first week I was mostly involved with the before school paper work, but did take time to go to the Inter-tribal Ceremony parade. My landlord and next door neighbor is the Deputy Chief of Police so he got me a seat in the Mayor’s bleachers. Photos aren’t great as I only brought my phone – but it was really fun to see all the native attire.
Today, I spent the morning exploring Pyramid Peak, just ten minutes from Gallup. So gorgeous. Took about an hour to get to the top. It is a great workout for someone who has sat on her rear all summer at sea level and is now at 6500 feet and out of shape. The climb took me up to 7500 feet. But despite the lack of oxygen it was a stunning hike, of which my pictures do not do it justice.
Tonight I went for a short walk to explore my neighborhood. As I was walking home at dusk an amazing sunset appeared. Great end to a lovely day.
I’ve taught one week of school so far. The administrators are fantastic and the kids are really fun. I think I am going to enjoy it here. I will write more once I’ve had more time teaching and exploring. For now, have a great week.
Gretchen
LOVE IT! Thanks for sending photos and stories – missing the New Mexico/Colorado area!