Getting Back to Work

 I am sitting in the combination gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria area of the high school I teach at, and we are on an extended lunch today during our faculty orientation week.  It is a bit to get back into the routine again after a two-month break, and actual class starts next week.  However, I am optimistic about the coming year.

I spent the first part of my extended lunch procuring my textbooks as well as making a visit across the street to the little Polish market - very interesting little store, and they have some of the best chocolates and cookies there, as well as a delicious barbecue seasoning that I have come to use on almost everything. It is a small indulgence to visit that market on lunch hours during a busy class day.  We are spending the week this week in some talks, a bit of relational activities, and some general onboarding for the coming year, and for the most part it is low-stress and actually quite pleasant.  It is also a way for those of us who are faculty to bond and come together informally, and that is nice too.  I wanted to talk a little about one of the relational activities though that was of tremendous interest, and it was sort of enlightening as well. 

The activity was led by the 9th-grade science teacher, and it had to do with contemporary kids' slang terms that to be honest I was not really all that familiar with.  For instance, how did I know that the word "tea" meant gossip, with "hot tea" being good gossip and "cold tea" being bad (what does "iced tea" mean, I wonder - that is worth exploring).  There are some terms I have some familiarity with, such as "ghosting," which is essentially a complete block or cancellation of someone, usually within the context of social media.  However, many of these terms are like speaking a new language - I can understand my Filipino friends speaking Tagalog or Visayan better than that actually.  I thought it worth mentioning because every generation has its slang terms they use - for Gen-X the words "chill" and "crusty" were some of our most-utilized phraseology.  However, to previous generations the current lingo may be a bit of an adjustment to understand.  

With the maintenance guy moving some things around and doing things here, there is not much else I can say for today as it is a bit distracting with everything going on.  However, I will try to return soon with something more insightful.  See you next visit.