Summer Lovin’: A Teacher’s Guide to a Wonderful Summer
Cinnamon is a passionate French-Canadian who turned 28 years old this summer. She enjoys the arts, music, watching television, traveling, blogging and baking. Other than being a dedicated daughter, sister, friend and girlfriend, she teaches the 8th grade in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Her entrance to the www was in 1997, with a 7th Heaven website. She presently has a blog (http://creationselise.blogspot.com) and a Gilmore Girls website (http://www.gilmorememories.com).
I always start off my summer with a list of things to accomplish and this year was no exception. You see, I am a teacher. «Oh right, you’re a teacher. You have the whole summer off!» This is my fourth summer as a teacher and I’ve heard that comment more times than I can count. I can’t help but feel guilty every time. I didn’t choose this career for the holidays. They are just a well needed bonus after a long school year. So to feel less guilty, I always have a well defined plan of what my summer will be. That way, I can proudly say to people that, even though school won’t be in session, I will be very busy.
In a decade where movies like Bad Teacher make it to the top of the box office, I owe it to good teachers out there to show how we actually spend our time. I can’t speak for all teachers, however, here’s a look at what this teacher did this summer.
A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO A WONDERFUL SUMMER
1. Take a course (why not?)
Yes, even teachers go to school. We are encouraged to get new qualifications, so I am currently taking a three-part program to become a Reading Specialist. I opted to do the second part online this summer. Although I had promised myself that I would not overthink every assignment and stress too much about my grades, I found myself working on it hours at a time. Being the perfectionist that I am, I had to set aside my plan to work on my course in the morning and enjoy my afternoons outside, to spend entire days in front of my laptop reading and writing essays. I had definitely forgotten how much work these courses are.
2. Exercise (and try to enjoy it)
People who know me will laugh at this statement because I have tried (and failed), for many years, to keep a good exercise plan. I even went as far as getting a gym membership… two years in a row! Did that help? Not really. I realized that driving to a gym, having to dress decent because there are people around, blah blah blah, was too much work. If only I could do it at home, while doing something else I love. I get to do just that this summer. My boyfriend’s parents lent us (indefinitely it seems) their exercise bike. Now I can exercise and watch my favourite television shows at the same time! I have to admit that it worked. I am very proud of myself. Also, I just borrowed my sister’s Friends DVDs. I am set for a few good exercise sessions for sure.
3. Read (in case the course reading isn’t enough)
I read for fun during holidays but can’t manage to finish a book while I teach (I blame the ton of marking I have to do). This summer, I was anticipating reading my new purchase, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, but figured I should complete my unfinished novels first. So, I finally read the conclusion to Gabrielle, by Marie Laberge, a French-Canadian author, and made it past «Pray» in Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Excellent books, when you actually sit down to read for more than 15 minutes at a time without being distracted.
4. Plan a trip (or two) that you won’t take
A part of my summer was also dedicated to traveling. My boyfriend and I took a three-week European tour last summer which was amazing. This year, we were thinking smaller: seeing more of our country. Actually, Canada is such a vast country that planning our road trip quickly became overwhelming. I spent days planning our itinerary on Google Maps, colour coding (of course) things to see in guide books and extensively browsing travel websites. In the end, I did not find myself excited about this trip. Things were too similar to home and we wanted to experience new things.
We then set our sights on New York City! So I spent an entire day looking at hotel deals, attractions to see, Broadway shows, subway maps… I was excited about this trip. I had even planned a short stop at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, home of the Cake Boss. That same night, my boyfriend came home telling me he had been looking at last minute flights to Europe. While neither of us had mentioned it earlier, we both longed to go back again this year. So here we were, ten days before departure, booking a flight and a guided tour of Greece.
5. Learn some Greek (Opa!)
If you have not figured it out yet, I am very organized. I like to make lists and plan in advance. Here I was, for the first time in my life, last minute! We joined an eleven-day organized tour of Athens and two of the Greek islands, Mykonos and Santorini. It was wonderful! We braved the hot Greek sun, much warmer than our Canadian one, and had an amazing experience.
Our adventure started in Athens where it took us a day to fight the jet lag and get back on track. The following day was dedicated to Athens where we saw the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and got to experience Greek culture first hand in Plaka. We then boarded one of the many boats we would be taking to spend the next few days in Mykonos. I won’t go into much detail about the history of the place. However, I want to mention that the island is so well organized from a design stand point. The little cubic white houses with blue shutters look like they are right out of a movie. Also, we had the most amazing gyros (pronounced yee-ros) during our stay. Did you know they even put fries in them? Delicious!
Our time in Santorini was romantic but also very demanding. The town on Oia on the island is known for its beautiful sunsets. Boy is that true. I found it interesting watching people applaud, as if the sun had a chance of not making it… It truly was an event. We also got a chance to climb Nea Kameni, an active volcano on the island. What a challenging day! The sun was beating down on us as we climbed to the top. It was definitely the most demanding thing I have ever done. On our last night we had a traditional meal accompanied by musicians and dancers. That’s when I learned that the famous expression «Opa» is one of celebration, much like «Hooray». 
Even though it was a last minute decision, I don’t regret it one bit. Finally, my knowledge of Greece is no longer based solely on My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mamma Mia! Plus, I have two trips I can recycle next summer.
6. Celebrate my birthday (I am really getting older)
Every year, for as long as I can remember, my birthday meant two things : chocolate cake + the end of the summer. As the sun sets on a wonderful summer, I still need to finish that online course, learn how Elizabeth fell in «Love» in Indonesia and get ready for the upcoming school year. Oh, of course, I’ll have chocolate cake in between. Needless to say that the list I set out to accomplish in June is not complete… After all, replacing the broken towel rack would not have been half as exciting as riding a boat on the Caldera. There just was not enough time for everything.
And now everyone, sharpen those pencils, it’s almost «Back To School»!
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A Teacher’s Guide to a Wonderful Summer is part of our Summer Series.
