Marine Educator's Week

Other wise known as: a week off from teaching, a free trip to San Diego, warm weather, and ridiculously cool activities.

We'll start off with a picture from the obstacle course on the first day. I look RIDICULOUS because 1.) it was way harder than it looked and 2.) my helmet was way too big and kept falling down.

I tried to make a deal with one of the photographers. I told him that he could take any picture he wanted as long as he didn't put a picture from me on the obstacle course in the magazine they're going to publish and send to us. He would NOT agree. Then on Friday we got a copy of the marine newspaper they put out every week and guess what picture was printed in the article about the educator's conference? This one...Oh and guess what else I realized? It's also on the marine website. Awesome. I look like such a spaz.


This is what happiness looks like...Far far away from snow.

Bernice and me. She teaches ASL at my school and has a daughter in one of my classes.
With our drill instructor, Staff Sergeant Buck. It took him until the very last day to finally crack a smile.
With Major Buffa. He volunteered to teach a class for us if we ever wanted him to come. He said he wouldn't bring up the military or wear his uniform if it made us uncomfortable. Psh whatever. I want him to come in his uniform and scare the crap out of them! Well, maybe not SCARE them. He's going to come teach a lesson on analyzing information and combining it and presenting it. I figure that fits with English, right?
General Bailey, a 2 star general
Tough recruits. How are there people out there who do not respect our military? It blows my mind.
After they get off the bus and are yelled at A LOT, they get to make a single phone call to comfort their families. Except this is all they're allowed to say...
Where the recruits sleep.
Super tough marine doing the obstacle course. Thank heavens they didn't make us try and do this one... :)



The marines have to qualify in a bunch of things at the pool, including swimming in full gear with a gun.
Marine Corps band...The second one from the right is who I picked for Mary. She asked me to find her a hot marine for her Valentine's Day. You're welcome, Mary.
At the base in Miramar.
I could totally fly this helicopter.



I got lucky and was one of like 10 teachers who got to shoot actual M16s at the range in Pendleton.

Learning how to shoot an M16.
Shooting in the simulation room, basically a giant video game.
Bernice looking tough. I told her to blow this picture up to scare her students.

Guns, guns, and more guns. Travis would have been in heaven.I'm trying my very hardest to look tough. This was my favorite gun because it looked straight out of the 1920s. Gatsby totally would have had this gun. Yeah, I can't help but be an English dork, even when surrounded by guns.
This is the gun that made me want to own a gun. At the risk of sounding WAY too much like a girl, look how cute and little it is!
This is me getting yelled at by our Staff Sergeant. I thought I was lucky that I kept getting picked for good stuff, like shooting the guns, until he asked me out at the end of the week. haha oh well...
By this time in the week, things got serious. I was practically a marine. I look like it, right?
This is me before another obstacle course. This time, we had missions to accomplish, one of which was carrying an unconscious soldier in our group across a rope to the other side. Of course I was the smallest and lightest and had to get thrown over someone's shoulder, upside down and carried across a rope.

Super cool vehicles that can be used on land and water.

Giant guns used on the tanks.
Why is it that I can't look scary even when holding a giant gun?


Belleau (pronounced Bella), the marine mascot, named after the nickname the Germans gave Marines.Recruit graduation. It was really cool to see 400+ marines graduate.


A few videos...The last one is easily the best. Feel free to make fun of me.

Some recruits training:


Meeting some drill instructors:


Some well trained recruits, ready to eat lunch:


Me getting yelled at by my drill instructor (the teacher I was with had our staff sergeant tell him that I'd done something wrong so that we could get a video of him screaming at me):