This is something I posted based on a student sharing this with me:

“You need to check these two websites out: (This was shown to me by a student yesterday, and she was fascinated in how it does NOT use 21st Century Technology but mimics it…but yet, it does use 21st Century and tries not to…lol…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iWxD0GZVVk&ob=av2e
(Original VIDEO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISECTM3xmAs
(Behind the Scenes – Wait until you see HOW they made it!)

Thanks Mary (awesome student) for showing this to me!”

I put this in my post as I am beginning to see some interesting developments in myself as well as in Mexico!

I love being a librarian, my boss encourages me to grab the best and all I can, and I think with a new staff supporting her, we have been able to move the library in Mexico City to unchartered territory! 🙂 it is exciting! let me tell you why:

Just on the surface, we have cadets that are AWESOME, they are reviewing books and we place their pictures all around the library, it looks so neat and it personalizes their talents! 🙂

Second, things are starting to really come together! The ASOMEX conference gave us so many ideas and options, our library IS becoming a hub for technology and media information, it is exciting!

I am enrolled in three different courses, one on 2.0 tools where I collaborate with teachers all over the world, one where I write a novel in the month of November and finish it!, and working through NCTE’s 21st Century Pathways Technology Professional Development Module to create a Professional Development program for teachers online! It is exciting! 🙂 So much! Amid that, I am finding the students of the ASF School to be so interesting and into their knowledge searches, they talk about philosophers and theories like other schools talk about what type of gum they like, lol…so neat!

The last few days, since the ASOMEX Conference, wow! That Sunday following the Conference I headed to the Museum of Anthropology and did not get through it all, but it was free to get in! They are celebrating Brazil right now, and the bands that were playing in the middle, as well as books stands from UNUM were awesome! WOW! The museum was breathtaking, and I will try to add some pics here, but you will definitely want to checkout my facebook to see the album!
I was reminded of ,my turtle when I saw red eared striped turtles in the middle of the pond in the museum! Maybe that would be a cool place to get the turtle to?!

It was astonishing to see the historical Mayas and Oaxaca artifacts including so much more! 🙂 On the way back, I was riding the bus home in the evening, and saw two little girls putting stickers the size of a penny in people’s hands and hoping to get some money. It was sad to see these two sisters so late at night with stickers so small, for a little bit of money. I saw a couple give them their half empty bottle of Coke, and after the girls walked away down the metro train, the boy of the couple pulled out many coins of his pocket but did not give them any. It broke my heart. Yes, I know they are probably working for their parents, and have a good gig going based on them being little, but no one gave them anything this night. I saw them getting off the stop at Patriotismo, and I got off early too, motioned to the oldest sister, and gave them 20 pesos and walked away. I hoped they would use it for something they needed and would not tell their parents so they could get a goo meal or something they wanted, as I am sure their parents would not expect a 20 bill peso to be given out, so I hoped.

I thought about it and realized I never really gave much money to anyone at home, mostly because it seemed they were scammers, yet in Mexico, I feel they are more deserving and genuine, whether they are older or younger…strange, eh?

I see myself growing closer to students here, and we hit it off well. I am going to a roughing it camping trip with the freshmen, wow, this will be an experience for 3 days, lol. I like the outdoors events we do though, as I enjoy that element. I am seeng many mini projects from Banned Books representation, making videos for the library as far as informational, beginning weeding out of books and inventory of the library, as well as various ways to get the cadets to be more active!

I want to see myself grow in the area of learning Spanish better (classes are a bit overwhelming but I want to study harder and memorize more), I want to grow in the media area to be a leader, PD instructor, and mentor for technology in the school, I want to develop the system of bills being paid in the U.S. smoother, and I want to become more knowledgable about Mexico and the people surrounding me. I have a long way to go, but I see these goals as making me a better persona as well.

I miss my friends, XC team miserably, PAVE badly, and alot of things of DE, but do not miss the experience of education and people I am meeting on a cultural level, this is making me more aware of needs of others and being less selfish in my own life. I am excited to be here, and overwhelmed with the generosity and humbleness of the people around me.

We are looking to travel with the Literacy Magazine Staff in March to Columbia University in New York like we did with the yearbook, and that excites me alot! Additionally, this weekend we have a college fair, so things are a mix of social and school, which is a nice change…:)

I am sure I have more, but being 4:27 AM, I wanted to rip this off before it all escaped my memory, and I am thinking of sleep, XC’s meet at Tidewater today (GREAT PLACE!), and things I have been lucky enough to do…

Which brings me back to Mary (mentioned in the beginning) – It amazes me how much I have gotten to know the cadets (library aides here) since starting ASF and how much we joke and have gotten to know each other. The title Double Vision is true, when you watch those videos you see things that appear as one thing, but in reality are different. That is so true n the surface with Mexico, and all the students and the situations here. There is always room for complaints because a system is flawed, no system is perfect, BUT, give it time and you will see surface so much to be grateful for, it is hard to recollect it all in words let alone thoughts! 🙂