December at Casa de Johnston

 We are coming up on six months living full time here, and we couldn't be happier.  We're now all comfortably settling into a routine. 

 The kids are back to school.  Gabriel is in 8th grade full time, however still online.  This is not due to COVID as I first thought, however the sewer system at his school is in need of serious, costly repairs.  As such, all of his classes are online.  He has classes each hour from 8 am to 1:00, with a 5- 10 minute break in between.  Both Zac and I are really impressed with the curriculum, the class materials, and they way in which his classes are being delivered online.  As for Mika, she's back on campus in 6th grade.  She attends daily from 8 am to 10 am.  Zac and I find such joy walking her to school and picking her up.  As we hug Mika goodbye, we start most days with a chat with the school's director.  Often times he makes sure we are informed of school events, tells us how well she's doing, or today asked if Mika would be interested in playing with his daughter.  Much like with Gabriel, the 6th grade curriculum is rigorous and she's thriving!  We love watching Mika walk through the school gates each morning, say good morning to the assistant, and strut out confidently at the end of her class session.  

Zac is learning constantly!  Whether it be new ideas for brewing beer, new recipes, new ways to make pizza in our forthcoming pizza oven, or practicing his spanish, Zac is pretty much a full time student.  Add that to the time and dedication he puts into the garden daily, cooking for us, and planning a running club and 30K event, he is always doing something!

As for me, I'm enjoying being back in my virtual classroom.  I work for two different companies - E Planet Kids, where I teach 3 writing lessons a week, and Dailies Pods, where I teach about 3-4 classes a week.  I'm expecting my classes to grow even more in January.  I enjoy the writing classes with E Planet Kids, particularly my Monday morning class where I teach 3 kids from Norway.  What a fun group to teach!  With Dalies Pods I teach hour long sessions of math, reading, and writing based on a daily theme.  I'm really enjoying the planning side of it!

As for the other members of the Johnston house, they are quite content as well!  Rami spends equal amounts of time napping in the house, or she can be found touring the garden or looking over her kingdom from her perch on the roof.  As for Zeus, he has a pretty decent compound here and works hard to ensure things are to his liking.  He spends his time back and forth between our house, Tarraya's house, as well as playing with his neighbor friends.  

We are really enjoying being a part of the community here in our little village. We participate each Friday for a town clean up.  Not only to we feel proud to be making a small difference in our community, but we also cherish the connections and friendships we are building.  We've gotten to know the PE teacher at the high school who often organizes running and surfing events.  We have run with him a few times and will be running a 5K race on Saturday.  Friday will also be a fun event.  There we be a holiday car decoration parade through town, concluding with the lighting of the town tree.  

We hope that this finds you well in your December routines as well!