Oh. my. word.

I do not care for long distance traveling in cars, and I wasn’t even driving! I think the only times I get at my husband’s throat are on long distance drives! It’s the perfect mixture for disaster.

So I won’t ever try to do the 22-hour drive in two days with a toddler and a five-month-old again, because instead of being a 22-hour drive, it was really a 27-hour drive.

I plan on switching it up on the way back to Spokane, whenever that will be. We will make more nightly stops, and make a true vacation out of it, if at all possible. No man should ever consume such copious amounts of overheated, long-distance driving. None of us were made for that.

That being said,

I really enjoyed certain aspects of the drive.

Arizona is truly a beautiful landscape, with its own allure. The red mountains we passed were intriguing, the gaping Marble Canyon bridge we passed over breathtaking.

I also loved the feel of Flagstaff. We passed through, stopping only for a few cheeseburgers, spicy chicken sandwiches, and nuggets at the local McDonald’s. The air was just so full of nature and the mountain felt… 涼しい. It was cool air, despite the lingering August heat. And I could just picture winter there–the peaks covered in snow, the skiing, and the traffic.

Yes, I think I truly could have enjoyed the whole drive more if I had been working off a full-night’s sleep.

My Take on Mesa, AZ

What a HOT place! But I arrived in the middle of the night, so that couldn’t have been my first thoughts.

No, in fact, the first thing I felt when we entered Mesa was pure exhilaration. I haven’t lived in a big metropolitan city since I said goodbye to my hometown–Kansas City, with a humble population of 2.9 million. Since then, I’ve lived in 25,000 population Rexburg, Idaho and 217,000 population Spokane, Washington.

I feel like I can breathe again. There is no limit to the restaurants and stores. I can’t get from one edge of the densely populated town to the other in less than an hour. And that is SO comforting to me! I didn’t even KNOW I was a big-city person.

I just knew that I couldn’t be a small town person.

(And I wonder why I want to go back to Japan…)

But the days are so incredibly hot. I learned from Rexburg, ID what subzero weather felt like–you could feel it pinching your nose and cheeks. Now I know what it feels like to be above 100 degrees. To me, it feels like a dull headache.

I am such a newbie here. I went shopping at midday, spent a lot of time in the car, but never long enough to get my AC kicking into full gear, so it was hot the whole time. I bought a sun visor, and I was just on my way to buy oven mitts specifically for the car (so I can drive even if my steering wheel is hot enough to cook an egg) when I realized that work gloves would do just as well! To find them, I went through the automotive department, and spotted steering wheel covers (Duh. Should’ve thought of that first)! So I bought the cheapest one, which is a stretchy cloth material.

I got some groceries and headed home. My poor kids were so ready to be back in air conditioning.

From now on, I’ll have to make sure I leave the windows cracked when we’re not in the car.

Next Step

I have to say, I’m excited. I’m trembling. Tomorrow, I start a new chapter. I’m actually going to be student teaching here in Mesa. I interviewed back in March to be here now, though I had hoped the temperature would be a little more forgiving.

Will I teach to the best of my ability? What makes a great teacher? How will I know that I’m doing the right thing for myself and my students?

I’ll keep in touch. There’s a lot I want to take and really learn from this semester.

Comment Below!

• What was one thing a teacher did to make a lasting impression on you?
• If you could give teachers any piece of constructive advice, what would you say?

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