The First Day of School, 8th Grade Edition

     Hello, Candies. This Wednesday, the school bells at my local academy for adolescents started tolling again, and I had to be up at 6:45 am once more. At the beginning of each year at an American middle or high school, one must always meet their new instructors, whether with unrestrained excitement (me) or with cold, dark dread (also me). This emotionally stressful day absolutely had to become a chronicle in the never-ending epic of Nandy, so here is my first day in school, 200% overdramatized.

     So we start off at about 6:35 am when the first of two alarms I set for myself goes off. At this point, I'd already been awake for a while due to jitters and the fear that I'd somehow sleep through my two obnoxiously loud wake-up calls, but even so, the thought of removing myself from the warm cocoon of my blankets and heading off to the cold, hard seats of my new desks was a thought I didn't want to entertain. However, I had no choice. Off to school I went that day, after the obligatory photo-ops and "you're such a big girl now" coos. What happened from now until 1:12 pm. would set the tone for the next 10 months.

     Ok, time for my first class. The first teacher I visited that day was my Spanish 1 teacher, whom I will not name. She started class with one word I recognized (Bienvenidos) followed by a bunch of other words in Spanish that I couldn't dream of following. This was not going to be une caminata en el parque, I soon realized. The teacher herself was an old grandma, so maybe she will understand our plight with her years of experience teaching, but I knew then that this class was going to require some work.

     Second period was P.E., so nothing special happened there. We sat and listened to the teacher map out our year for us, and it was a welcome break (as about 99% of breaks are). He seemed nice, if demanding, but totally manageable. Afterward followed the highlight of my day; English. No, the subject wasn't my favorite, and no, what we were doing that day wasn't exactly a thrill ride, but this teacher seemed right up Nandy Alley. She was young and relatable because of it, and her intelligence and sense of fun showed through her every action. But alas, the period had to end, and off to science I went.

     Science was, again, nothing too special. Our teacher seemed funny but down-to-Earth, and we soon immersed ourselves in a brain-intensive first-day activity. Lunch after that was also just like last year, with nothing much else happening to take my mind off the dread I still carried with me from the beginning of the day, the dread of my notoriously disagreeable fifth-period teacher. All too soon, the bell rang for the end of lunch, and I trekked to my history lesson with a pounding heart.

     Mr. HistoryTeacher was a master of instilling fear into the hearts of innocent teenagers, as I was soon to find out. He spoke with a gruff voice such bitingly sarcastic words I was simultaneously marking his as one of my worst teachers of all time him and afraid of what would happen if I hated him and he found out. "Maybe he'll get better or I'll develop a thicker skin soon," I thought. When the bell rang, I felt more relieved than I had for a while, and I dashed off to math.

     My math teacher, pleasantly enough, was actually my math teacher from 7th grade who happened to move up to teaching 8th this year. Since I liked her style of teaching and her approachability, she was both a bit of familiarity and a break from my history teacher's inaccessible manner. Her grading, she said, wasn't going to be as easy this year as it was last, but those were trial matters in the wake of my history nightmare. After that class, the day was over.

     To see updates on how the rest of the year plays out, make sure to follow this blog and come back every Friday for posts!

     

The Reopening of School; a Discourse

     It's that time of year again, at least in the United States. Supplies are being shopped for, clothes and shoes are being bought, and alarm clocks are returning to use from a summer of blessed hibernation. The vibe of the season is palpable; a time of both hope and dread, of new beginnings and bitter endings. One of the trademarks of the August-September Back-to-School season is the vast amount of cheesy internet content created in honor of this pivotal time for youngsters. From frivolous life hack videos to horrifying storytimes (okay, maybe not those), you can find it all. And now, it's time for me to add to the mix. Here are my thoughts on going into 8th grade.

     First, let's talk about MAZE day. For the uninitiated, this is the day when kids find out their schedules for the year. It's also the day on which you are inevitably disappointed as you find out that, yet again, you'll get to look forward to another year of running across campus. And why do they even call it MAZE anyway? Makes no sense...

     Secondly, this is the time of year when you realize that American schools start way too early in the morning. I'm usually not fully awake until 2nd period, and that's at around 9. Maybe I'm just lazy or something, but I'm not the only one by far. For this reason, we should really reconsider when school starts every day.

      Lastly, and most optimistically, at this time of year is when we rediscover our internal curious children as we start on another leg of our journies through the world of knowledge. School is sheltered like no other place is, with friends placed in your lap and the freedom to make mistakes with no other consequence other than a letter on a sheet of paper. Although school can really suck and is nowhere close to perfect, I am happy to be going back.


Make sure to follow this blog!

     Hello, dog biscuits! It's Casper here, back at it again with another guest appearance on Nandy's blog. If you want to see more of me (likely) or more of her posts (slightly less likely, but don't tell her I said that), make sure to follow this blog and come back every Friday for new additions. Ok, now that the promo is out of the way, I have something deep to talk about. And when I say "deep," I really mean deep. A few days ago, we went to this weird place a few naps away in the car. After I was so rudely woken up and the family got out of the car, we set off on a walk down some steep wooden stairs. Now, that's strange enough to be considered a blog-worthy adventure, but it gets weirder, so just you wait.

     Anyway, after almost getting trampled and/or flipped over on those stairs, this strange grain-coated ground was what awaited me. The rough grains (I heard the humans call it sand) got in between my toes and was on the whole not something I would recommend my fellow canines step in. However, every step overturned some of the sand, which released the most delectable aromas into the air. Smoke, other dogs' pee, and something salty and fishy, all for my smelling pleasure. I was content to sit in the sand and sniff for a while, and maybe get some sunbathing out of the way while I was at it, but this was when it all went downhill (again, literally. I am not a dog of symbols and allusions; those are human impracticalities).

     The tall guy and Nandy, as well as some other tall guys and laughing human-pups, started walking downhill to what looked like a rolling blue carpet. I thought it was water, but to this day I'm not totally sure. It was a deep blue from afar, but as I got closer, it became the clear I was used to expecting from my water dish at home. As we went closer to this water thing, the sand underneath me got cold at first, and then fine and wet. Then, out of the blue (the water is blue; get it?), a white carpet of foam came from the rest of the water-thing and attacked my paws! Of course, I ran away, but the rest of the humans dipped their toes in it. What? 

     Later, I accidentally got a little foam on my paws. It dissolved immediately into a watery feeling, so I'm almost sure this was just a large water dish for the Supreme Dog or something. It would be fitting, I suppose. Although the water wasn't really my thing, I could see why the humans enjoyed it. The feeling of it running over you, cold and refreshing, is something I could see as being potentially pleasant for creatures nor burdened with luxurious manes like mine. It also had a certain serenity and it made the humans happy (and got them soaking wet, might I add), so for that, I give this excursion 4/5 pawprints.

Thank you for reading this post and thank you to Nandy for transcribing this into human-speak. See you whenever Nandy next runs out of ideas!

Double Feature; 5 eco-friendly swaps for daily life // 3 green summer activities

     Hello, Candies! Sorry for not posting for two weeks. The first, we were leaving India so writing was a bit hectic. This week, I honestly forgot to write. But, as an apology, I'm writing a double post this week; 5 eco-friendly things you can do and 4 things I've done or will do this summer with my seemingly endless free time.

1. Bar soap and shampoo
    Bar soap is kind of an obvious swap since it eliminates the need for plastic body wash bottles. But what about those plastic shampoo bottles? It turns out that the folks at Lush and many other companies have started producing bar shampoo and conditioner. It's used just like regular shampoo and conditioner except for that it has to be rubbed, not squeezed, onto your hand. I've also heard that it can smell great, depending on what kind you get.

2. Forego the loofah
     Since we're not using body wash anymore, you can stop using those plastic bath sponges. Not only do they create waste that's hard to recycle, they can also provide the perfect home for loads of bacteria. Instead, try lathering soap with some good old-fashioned elbow grease.

3. Ecosia!
   Ecosia is a great Chrome extension that uses add revenue from all of your searches to plant trees! The German company donates 80 cents for every dollar they make to organizations that plant trees where they are needed most around the world. To add, look up Ecosia in chrome and click "Add Extension."

4. Ziploc bag replacements: reusable jars and wax wraps
    Using Ziploc bags is, for obvious reasons, bad for the environment. There are, however, many replacements for them that are much more eco-friendly. For storing things in the fridge, try reusable wax wraps, which are basically pieces of cloth coated in beeswax that can be used to wrap food and keep it fresh. Otherwise, you can use old jars and containers to store and carry food.

5. THIN PLASTIC RECYCLING
     Places such as Whole Foods will take old thin plastics that are normally difficult to recycle and recycle them for you if you bring them to the store. This way, you won't have to throw away as many plastic bags and the like.


And now for part two of this post...

1. Going to the beach
   Especially if you participate in a beach clean up, this activity is eco-friendly and perfect for summer. Honestly though, as long as you don't add any garbage of your own to our waters, you're already helping the planet a ton.

2. baking
    This isn't exactly summer-exclusive, but baking or cooking can be a great way to treat family and friends and pass time that needs passing, if you're like me. If you do bake frequently, consider a silicone baking mat instead of parchment paper so we can saaaaave the treeeees!

3. reading
    I love curling up with a good book and a glass of tea or juice, so this activity is definitely one of my go-tos when I'm bored. I read on a Kindle mainly, which saves books from having to be printed and is also super convenient since I only need to look for one device to find my entire library. However, if you do read on paper, consider donating the books to your local library when you're done with them

4. cleaning
    Now I know what you're thinking; what the what? Who cleans for fun? And I would be the first to admit that cleaning can be mind-numbingly boring, but it can also be therapeutic. Sometimes, it's actually enjoyable to clean and prepare for the new school year while listening to an audiobook and chilling.

     That's all for this post. Make sure to comment and share, and I'll see you next Friday!