Back to school

"It's so good to see you again!" said Ms Mead, my anthropology instructor last semester who inspired me to go back to school full-time. She was in the testing office, where she works during the summer months. I had gone into that building to check on CLEP test dates for Spanish.

We chatted for a while. I told her about my road trip, how I visited several Indian reservations, talked to Lakota, and how kind they were to let me spend the night on their land to watch the sun rise over Wounded Knee.

"The Lakota were so much more willing to talk to me than the Apache! [Ndeh]" I explained, referring to my visit last spring to the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation to interview the locals and describe the towns. She sat back and listened with awe.

And as I talked, the old road trip replayed in my mind. Although I'll never remember on what date I was where because all the days ran into one another, the one date I remember is 25 June because that was when I was at Little Big Horn battle site, on the battle's anniversary. (That was also the day Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died). I had just crossed the Yellowstone River east of Bozeman when Jackson's death came over the radio.

I am taking a full load this semester, first one since my undergrad days. And I went ahead and declared a history major, using the education courses last semester as electives. If all works out, I will also take as many English classes as well.

I dropped off my official transcripts as well. Hopefully the college will give me credit for all those required courses I took years ago, like ENG101. I really don't want to take ENG102 if I can get credit for the other English courses.

Another class that looks interesting is "Cultural Heritage of the Southwest" with an emphasis on Hispanic and Native American events and literature. This course may inspire me to take other road trips next year.

One thing that I was not able to take were Spanish courses. I may have to do all that catching up next summer, taking intensive Spanish 101 and 102. Although I should get college credit for the French and German courses of years gone by, it's Spanish that is essential here in Arizona. State workers pretty much are hired on their competence in both English and Spanish.

There's a swim-hike this weekend that Brenda is leading, nearby in the Dragoons. Kevin may come along. That will be a first in a long time. It's going to be fun seeing everyone again in three months. I've been rather sedentary since arriving back home; it's hard to get motivated when temperatures hover around 100F.