I've been teaching at Hoke County High School for a few days now, and still have not met the principal. I have met the assistant principal of my academy "HAPS" (Health and Public Service), which means that my students are in the stream focused on careers in the health sciences and social services sector (lawyers, teachers, social workers, government bureaucrats, etc.) when they get out of school or head to college/university.

My computer has finally been set up in my classroom (completed while I was teaching), but the cables are all over the floor and pose a tripping hazard. Until today, I didn't even have a username and password (aided by a call by an administrator of the school board). Now all I need is a parking pass, a telephone code, a photocopier code, some textbooks for the biology classes...on top of that, meetings, meetings and more meetings.

I can't wait for the weekend.

I arrived in Raeford, NC on September 1. I was greeted by my 'local advisor', an ESL elementary teacher named Veronica, from Chile. She helped me and my roommate Gyorge find accomodations.

Gyorge, from Hungary, exempt from paying US taxes and bringing his wife and dog (a Hungarian Sheep Dog) here, decided on a beautiful $666/month, two bedroom apartment in Fayetteville with swimming pool. I didn't want to drive that far every day, so I decided to rent out the other bedroom where my advisor is staying. It's furnished, and contains all the basics that I would need.

I picked up my new leased car when I arrived in Raeford, as well. It's a little expensive to lease, but at least I have something to drive. Raeford is a little town with no public transportation, and some communities are far out, so it's essential. I was given a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer, graphite colo(u)red. It's really easy to drive, since most of my previous driving experience involved minivans and station wagons.

School resumes tomorrow, since today is the Labo(u)r day holiday. I had the opportunity to see my classes last week, and it's going to be a challenging year, I can see it already. My teaching assignment for this year includes one chemistry class and two biology classes. I'm working on my lesson plans at the moment.

Today I am in Durham, NC. I flew from Edmonton yesterday to Raleigh-Durham via Chicago. Let me tell you that I absolutely love the moving walkways in Chicago...I've never seen a busier airport.

Americans love their cell phones. Once the pilot or flight attendant tells the passengers that it's okay to send/receive calls, you can hear cell phones being turned on and people chatting away, all while the plane is still arriving at the airport.

The guy who met me at the airport is the designated VIF representative at the airport. His responsibility is to meet the VIF teachers and call the Millennium Hotel (where I am staying) shuttle. His name is Cecil and he recently graduated from UNC in Chapel Hill, in Electrical Engineering. I asked him about the school system, weather and sports. He knows that Edmonton has a hockey team but not much else. We talked about football, and I mentioned that the CFL plays with three downs (unlike the NFL).

There was a man on the shuttle from Alabama going to the hotel. I'm not sure whether he was escaping Katrina, but that's a mighty fine accent you got going on there...

The hospitality has been great so far. I have thrown out all previous opinions I had about the United States. But only time will tell.

My first VIF lesson took place last night. We reviewed the driving rules and watched an old video called "The National Driving Test". The test itself was pretty easy, maybe because I'm from Canada, after all and the rules are very similar.

My roommate arrived late last night, after I had settled into bed. His name is George and he will be teaching in Raeford as well at the elementary level. He arrived from Hungary, a good 19 hour trip from his home town, and his wife is coming later this week. He's got a British accent, perhaps because he lived in London for a couple of years.

This morning, I had my driving test with a gentleman by the name of Davey Knight, who is from Greensboro. We got to drive around Durham. I didn't have much trouble, only with the seat adjustment and the speedometer (which is in units of miles per hour). He told me the weather hasn't been this hot in years (can you imagine 76°F = 24°C in the early morning?). He was a history and biology teacher before becoming a driving instructor. He told me I shouldn't have any trouble driving around Raeford when I get there.

After a short break, I was in the hallway in front of the VIF office and I talked with a lady named Milly, who schedules the driving tests. She told me about how her son had a substitute for science for three (of four) terms and didn't do very well. But now he's in a charter school and wants to go to the NC School of Math and Science (a high school with its own highway sign) and has an interest in cryogenics.

I skipped the dinner part (which was uneventful, except for the fact that I now hate olives and green chili peppers more than ever), but that's a synopsis of my adventure in America thus far.

This is the first post for the blog titled "A Canadian in America". It's a little play on words for the CBC television show An American in Canada. I leave for Hoke County, NC next week to begin a stint as a high school teacher, a patriotic Canadian in an uncertain nation.