Friends,
Moving to Maine has definitely been an experience. Even though everything hasn't been rosy everything is going well. I am all moved into my dorm/class room and getting all settled in for a very busy year. I am teaching 2 guitar classes, a piano class, modern band (what I was doing at Waynesville for those of you know what that means), concert band and concert choir. I am offering an extracurricular pep band and a pop a cappella group called Pandamonium (our mascot is the cute, cuddly panda bear that I would imagine would rip your face off if provoked). Our musical is this fall and I will be serving as music director. So far we are considering Shrek and Seussical. It's a good thing we don't have marching band here or I am not sure how I would fit all of that in!
I have already made connections with some local band directors and music teachers and am very appreciative of the assistance they have given me, a God send! The staff members at Lee Academy have all been very welcoming and willing to help. It is nice to know that I will not be completely alone up here in the Maine Highlands. However, with the 12-14 hour days I have been working it wouldn't really matter! Although the hours have been long, I have learned a lot already and met some wonderful students from all over the globe. Mixed in amongst the locals I have students from China, Serbia and Germany just to name a few.
Today, after giving me a wonderful demonstration of its sonic possibilities, a student gave me an ocarina he had bought back home in Taiwan. It is amazing how, even despite our cultural differences, kids are pretty much kids. The language barrier hasn't been too much of a problem so far and let's be honest, the students know more of my language than I know of theirs and that puts them way ahead of me. I am as excited to learn from them as they are from me (well I keep telling myself they are excited to learn from me).
There is so much to write about and I don't want to put it all in one entry so I will go ahead and sign off for now. Please subscribe to my blog and I will do my best to keep it updated with tales both true and tall from my experience in the Maine Highlands (just a name the department of tourism came up with for this area of the state). For more information on Maine's 8 tourist regions please click here. I look forwarded to communicating with you all through this blog. Thank you for all of your support and love.
D
