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Tamera Jenkins

THE FULBRIGHT YEAR Disclaimer* This blog is not an official Fulbright Program blog. The views disclosed are my own and do not reflect those of the Fulbright Program,the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations

Friday, December 10, 2010

End of the semester

It has been a crazy ride since school started in September, but the first semester has come to an end. My tutorials were done last Wednesday, my classes last Friday, and I finished grading papers today. Looking back over the past 4 months,I enjoyed my tutorials for CRIM 315, Restorative Justice, the most. The students...for the most part were terrific and I knew that no matter how gritty and exhausting my own classes were at the moment, Wednesday was coming and I was going to have a fun day.

















Jana and Julliana




Dr. Glackman








Gordon and Alysha







Krynn and Viktoria


I'm amazed at the strong bonds that have formed between everyone in my classes(akin to trench warfare relationships I would imagine). Everyone rallies behind the one who at the moment is ready to pack it in and go home...and we all have been in that spot at one point or another this semester. " I absolutely hate my life. I can't do this!" "I haven't been to sleep for 2 days, I'm so exhausted and I'm still not done with my papers/projects/readings/quizzes, grading." "I miss my family/boyfriend/friends/dog and I want to go home." And this was just the first week! :)

The chorous of "Yes you can, just hang on, it will get better" "Don't give up...we're all miserable too!" rings out and everyone takes a deep breath and presses on. Shared smiles, grimaces, pats on the back, and hugs makes all the difference.



Jim and I will be going to Harrrison Hot Springs for Christmas. It will be very strange not being with all our family and friends for the holidays, but we will take the laptop with us and Skype everyone.


This is the part I'm looking forward to.........







http://http//www.harrisonresort.com/default.aspx

We will leave after the Christmas Eve service at church and stay until Monday.






Now that I have had five minutes to lift my head up from the books, papers, and grading I stand amazed at the beauty all around me and I wonder how I got here. Surely this must be someone elses life that I am living at the moment, it certainly doesn't resemble the one I have known.


The scene out my front door a few weeks ago








And now, the end of the first semester calls for a celebration! After 4 hours under the expert of hands of Lisa...wahla! A whole new me.







Well, really it's the same old me, just with cool new hair!

Jim said he feels like he's cheating on his wife, I take that as a compliment.

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About Me

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Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
In politically correct language I am called a non-traditional student or,as my mother would say, a late-bloomer. For twenty years I was a stay-at-home/home-schooling mom but surprise.. kids grow up. When my son asked me what I was going to do after he left home I told him I was sure it would involve crates of Kleenex, junk food, and a lot of self pity. He suggested college instead and I took him up on it. I graduated in Dec. 09 with a BA in Criminal Justice/Corrections from Park University in Parkville, Mo. Through internships that brought me into contact with both the victims and offenders of violent crime, I have acquired a passion to assist each in addressing issues of accountability and healing through the restorative process of victim-offender mediation. As a 2010-2011 Canada-U.S. Student Fulbright recipient I will travel this fall with my husband and granddaughter, to British Columbia where I will be attending Simon Fraser University's Graduate School of Criminology. With a superb symmetry, Mother, arbitrator of children’s squabbles has progressed to victim-offender mediator.