CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Ensenada Honda
18 18.318' N, 065 18.008' W

On Monday evening, we got an e-mail from a friend who runs a small private school here on the island, Abbie's School. Two of her students are preparing for their ninth grade exams and needed a little bit of help on their algebra. Would I be willing to do some tutoring on solving quadratic equations?

At that time, Invest 94L appeared to be gearing up toward something of a threat to us so we waited until Tuesday morning to respond. Fortunately, the development of the system did not occur as predicted, so I was free to help out.

It has been a loooong time since I saw a quadratic equation, so I spent a few hours on Tuesday morning Googling for a quick primer. The internet is truly a wonderful thing. Not only did I quickly find a few good sites to give me the basics, but I even found a few YouTube videos which showed the hand of a faceless teacher's voice working problems on a sheet of paper. Great stuff.

I arrived, and Abbie introduced me to Nelson and Audrey. With chalk in hand, I launched into the basics of solving quadratic equations. The kids were great and did a good job of paying attention and following along. Several hours slipped by before we finally had to call it quits. Since we had not covered the topic completely, I agreed to return the next day. I departed with an algebra textbook in hand.

My afternoon back on the boat was spent preparing for the next day's session. I shored up a few confusing points I had encountered while trying to show them how to solve problems, and created a warm-up quiz to help them review the concepts we had covered on day 1.

With adequate preparation, the second day went even better. Nelson was already there when I arrived, and did a great job demonstrating retention from the previous day. He quickly exhibited proficiency in the basic concepts. Audrey arrived a little later, but jumped in and caught up quickly. By the end of the session, they had figured out how I like to teach. With chalk in hand, I waited for them to verbally guide me through each problem. Their confidence and energy grew throughout the session, and we concluded with them feeling much better prepared for that portion of their exams.

As for me, I had awoken a sleeping beast. My absolute favorite activity has always been teaching. I tutored while in college, I taught night classes at the university when I worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and my most recent job with a software company was all about teaching customers to perform data analysis. There is a certain satisfaction, maybe even what I would call a 'rush,' that I receive when successfully communicating a complex idea to a group of interested students. It was a joy to have the opportunity to, once again, experience that rush.

So with a healthy dose of chalk-dust on my fingers, I stopped at a local bar (El Batey) to enjoy a cheeseburger and a beer as my own personal reward for a job well done. Back on the boat, Sheryl and I chatted about our day, our lives, and our future.

The most amazing thing about our lives right now is that we do whatever we want, whenever we want (even if that means doing nothing at all). Sheryl is very happy in her involvement with the leatherback turtles and time volunteering at the library. If I continue to work with Abbie's School, it is certain to fill any void I have for doing something worthwhile. And, of course, we have all the time we could ever want to explore the island, snorkel, and kayak. I've said it before, and I'll very likely say it again: Life is Good!