Oh yes, it has seemingiy felt like FOREVER that I have last posed anything, yet, no lack of adventures here.  No sirrrreeeee.  

Let’s roll with the what the awesomest, it is the first day of the weekend that is the official start of vacation for winter!  YESSSSS!  I can already feel it in my bones!  Being a half day yesterday, I was ready to run, literally, RUN out the door, and I get a call.  Answer.  What?  Well yes, I am available, but I had a check that needed to be taken to Intercam, and done.  Thanks to a driver hired by the person I was tutoring they were able to care of a major task as if it was nothing, that never ceases to amaze me!  So my first half day of vacation, I did indeed tutor until roughly 6:15 PM, and then the traffic, realizing how amazing it can be on a Friday night, spent roughly about 2 hours in a taxi, meeting my retired friend Tracy with HER friends Judy (former ASF teacher) and current teacher Dr. Lawrence.  We laughed over our experiences in the past months, rejoiced over the accomplishments of students, it was a great way to unwind after a 2 hour ride in a taxi in traffic in Mexico.

It is amazing to me, to see the application process to college start all over again this year, (the reason for my tutoring call) with the seniors this year, my third year at ASF and having  very close connection with them watching them these past years as ASF.  From schools in Chicago, to California, to Indiana, to all over, I can see the ASF’ers traveling to the likes of Boston U, Berkeley, Harvard, Notre Dame, just to name a few.  It never ceases to amaze me how we have this collection of amazing talent and before we realize it, or even want to, they disappear.  Yet, there is hope.  They come back.  They do remember.  From the visits I received from Ana who is in Canada, to Valeria who is in Philly, to Sofia who is just starting her adventure, I realized those were the best presents I kept receiving, seeing these students who had made such an impact on ME!  I was grateful that thye did come back and loved the comment Ana dropped on me in the library after just well, shocked to see her again…”Are you going to hug me or WHAT?!”  Love.  I realized how much I missed them every day, – it was funny how normal it seemed as they walked through the library door and my reaction was delayed about 2 minutes as I had become so used to seeing them as a part of my world, and then to have them not be, life is funny.

One of the most amazing arrivals this week has been the final outcome of the 2012-2013 Repentino. magazine that so many students from last year, and to be truthful, this year, put their time into.  Finally arriving, you want to talk about a Christmas present, wow.  It is funny when you see something in front of you that took up so much time, thought, and effort, you never quite can imagine what your reaction will be, yet, I just want to keep seeing the pages over and over to refresh my realization, that “Hey, this is actually here!”  It is exciting to realizing such a venture started with six students, and has now been realized by over 56.  While the staff has grown, so had the “Be everywhere and do so much” feeling that comes with it, so at times that can be amazingly tiring, yet at the end of the day, t is amazing to see how many real world connections can be tied to such a project, a center of involvement that so many students have a chance to do as much as they want, and often can do little, but the rewards for the time put in go way beyond the literal pages that you flip through.

Also another small amazing feat if wonderment is the behavior of Kinah, Wriggley, and Amaya, together as three Afghan Hounds in Mexico.  Amazing how they have come so far in the training of how they learn so much more to go the bathroom outside, cn be set loose from their leash and actually come back, and overall behaviors now in the house.  Before my very eyes I have seem them slowly transform into the model of kindness that they always have maintained, yet now the exhibit it so much more publicly.  I am amazed at how much the service of the Dog Walker has made on them through this transition.  This is an crazy story there with the three canines, a washing service, and a publication last weekend, so I will prepare for that story in a few hours for my next blog, as my reentry into catching up with some wild experiences begins on a vacation 2013 year, quickly winding down.  Get ready for some hilarity and reminiscing that will hopefully add to you holiday experience…:)