On ravens and writing desks

How is learning vocabulary similar to learning fractions? What might a predominantly Muslim public school have in common with a private Catholic school? What struggles do Norwegian and Californian teachers share? And what - okay, fine, fine, and how is a raven like a writing desk and so on or something.

I moved back to Norway this summer, as we'd planned to do all along once my guy finished his studies in California. I now teach at a junior high school (that's grades 8-10 here), mostly Math and Science, and then two sections of English as a foreign language. It's all interesting and challenging and very busy, as might be expected. We're on Fall Break here though, which no Californian reader would have expected (sorry... I do feel for everyone bracing for the October stretch without such a chance to regroup) which leaves time for thinking about writing. And maybe even for actually writing.