It's a typical Monday morning for me: It's between 10 and 11, I'm in my Dad's office, and I'm preparing myself for my usual 12:00 presentation in my Foreign Language Teaching Methods class. This Monday seems to be more laid-back that other Mondays, but that doesn't always mean great things. Last Monday I was horribly frantic, so much that I left my presentation powerpoint on my laptop at home rather than on my flashdrive. You'd be amazed how one can draw various famous paintings with dry-erase markers when forced to (stay tuned for my masterpieces of "Field of Poppies", "Lavender Mist" and "American Gothic" all in the stellar medium of dry-erase markers and board). Thankfully today I'm much more prepared and I'm doing a presentation about shopping in Spain and how to ask for prices. My authentic materials? My favorite skirt and blouse bought in Seville. All in all this class has been very trying and challenging, but I know I'll leave in April thinking it was one of the better classes for me throughout my whole EMU career. Until then, we're taking it presentation to presentation!

I finally have a Student teaching placement! I'm going to be at Huron High School in New Boston, MI. I met with the teacher last Tuesday, and I think it'll be a terrific match. He's very outgoing, he has a projecting voice, and his main goal is to have the students learn and love Spanish each and every day. He starts off each class with the students saying, "Hola, Sr. Cramb! Ensenanos mucho hoy!" which translates to, "Hi Mr. Cramb. Teach us a lot today!" The students think it's funny and it's an energetic way to have them start off in Spanish. From then on, he was showing me the materials, giving me hints on how he teaches things, and even saying "Hey, if you feel any of this needs to change, even the seating chart, you're welcome to it!" He's just as eager to learn from me as I am to learn from him. He even says that this could possibly turn full-time for me next fall! I'm so very excited for this.

I even had to start my speeches about how much I'll miss my time here at EMU. I was talking with students applying to be Fast Track group leaders in AVP, and I was telling them how much this job meant to me, and I truly had to fight back some tears. I even had a woman on a tour (she was one of our Associate VP of Finance candidates) ask me what made me love EMU so much, and after a short pause and a deep breath, I told her it was because Eastern gave me a home. After my freshman year at another college, I felt broken down and very lost as to where my place was, and everything about Eastern fit so well. It will be immensely hard to leave the place that has given me so much, but I know I will head on out to bigger and better things. Every method of learning, whether in the classroom or not, has taught me invaluable lessons, even if they require me to truly pick my feet up every Monday morning!