Post Storm

Well, we made it through the hurricane safe and sound!

Before the hurricane hit, I made a quick foray to the beach to check out the waves. The pictures don't begin to convey how windy it was and how choppy and chaotic the waves were.

Wilmington had minimal damage. There were some downed trees, lots of leaves everywhere, and a friend's neighbor lost 1 shingle of his roof, but overall I'd say we got off easy.

I stayed up until 3:30 Friday night (Saturday morning) waiting for the "hurricane" to hit. To me, it was just a bad storm that lasted a very long time. I kept thinking it would get a lot worse and I didn't want to be woken up by that in the middle of the night. Eventually, I convinced myself (quite wisely) that I just needed to go to bed.

We are so thankful that we weren't hit more directly or intensely, especially as we watch the coverage of the damage and devastation elsewhere.

I know it's said too often and it begins to lose meaning, but our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been devastated.

Hurricane Prep

Remember how I was awed at all the things we have in North Carolina?  Well, I'm not so excited about that anymore. 

As luck would have it, Julian is on the team that is locked into the hospital.  I guess there are 3 teams: one for before, one locked in, and one that cleans up the mess after the hurricane.  Since Jules was supposed to work nights this weekend, he's one of the lucky ones that gets locked in the hospital. 

Which means that the girl that was afraid to move to the coast because of the hurricanes is going to go through her first one by herself.  I could go to a friends house, but I'm too stubborn/ worried about the apartment.  I figure if I'm here and it starts to flood, I can carry things upstairs.  If a window breaks, well I'm not actually sure what I'll do if that happens, but I'll figure something out. 

I have half a day of work today, then it'll be time to lock myself in. 

Update

It's been 2 months since we moved to NC!

Time has flown, but so far I am enjoying my time here. There are definitely some things about living here that blow my mind.

There are these random 2 ft by 2 ft areas on the beach that are roped off. I found out recently that they are sea turtle nests!

There is a big lake/park about 3/4 of a mile from our house that is my favorite place to go running. Here's one of many signs posted around the park.

Yes, I have seen an alligator. I was on a walk with a friend and we were standing on a bridge over a finger of the lake when we saw a 4 ft alligator just chillin' in the water with the turtles. The other day on the news, I saw part of a story about one alligator who had to be captured after wandering away from the lake.

Julian is settling into the chaos that is intern year. Usually, there are so-so days and ugh days, but he's amazed at how fast the last two months have felt. We're taking that as good news.

I've been keeping busy working at a summer camp. I did a couple days of subbing at a preschool and on that second day they offered me a job that unexpectedly opened up in their summer camp room. So, I was a TA for four weeks with them.

On Wednesday, I will start my new job as a Kindergarten teacher at one of the public elementary schools in town. They have a dual-immersion program, which means that they teach the kids in both Spanish and English. Surprisingly, there are only 2-3 native Spanish speaking students in the program (from what I understand). I'll be teaching the kids reading and writing in Spanish, then trading kids with another teacher to teach them reading and writing in Spanish. I still don't know how I feel about the whole thing, but I'm thankful that I have a job.