School & some history

It's now been two weeks since the start of classes, and school has been going well. The difference in student behavior and attitudes is really rather remarkable compared to what I was accustomed to stateside. I haven't had any serious behavior problems at all yet.. not even a tardy student. Perhaps it's just the honeymoon period with a new teacher that they don't know yet, but I can certainly get used to this.

Unfortunately however, for a school that sits on one of the most technologically advanced military facilities in the world, the technology in the school is rather... lacking. The computers in my lab are roughly eight years old, with some that are probably older.

They're labeled with Windows Vista stickers still, but thankfully have at least been upgraded to Windows 7. That said, the new contractor who recently took over the school was just as surprised as I was, and has indicated new machines will be in the pipeline.

Oh yes, that's a Parallel port and a Serial port on there. When did those ports die? Late 90's, Early 2000's?  

But all in all, that's a pretty minor complaint. The computers do work... and my classes are great. I do feel a bit like a new teacher again because I'm constantly making PowerPoints and assignments, but I don't really mind because the new content is fun for me to delve into.

When I'm not working though, I've been trying to explore the island a little. For a history nerd like myself, I came across quite the treasure trove of discoveries. Kwajalein was a WWII battle site where the US fought the Japanese, and the remains of that battle are littered across the island. I went for a bike ride this weekend and came across this...

ON THIS SPOT THE 7TH INFANTRY DIVISION
MAJOR-GENERAL C.H. CORLETT, U.S. ARMY
COMMANDING
 MADE THE FIRST LANDING INCIDENT TO
THE CAPTURE OF KWAJALEIN ISLAND
BY THE AMERICAN ARMED FORCES.
FEBRUARY 1ST, 1944.
THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED TO THE BRAVE
MEN WHO FOUGHT AND DIED HERE.  

Yep, that's a blown out Japanese bunker.

So now I'm on a mission to check out the rest of the WWII sites on the island, and eventually catch a free flight to another island north of here (Roi-Namur) where there are a few more WWII sites to see. But that's a blog post for another day...