PAVEing a Blog

Monday February 6th…
Hmm, what trouble can I get in today…stay tuned!

Info on Mexican Constitutional Day

Okay, so I led a pretty boring life this day, SERIOUSLY! 🙂 I DID! Sheesh, I DID! I got my tired, glad to sleep in behind out and ran the length from my house to Michocan and Amsterdam, then saw at the edge of Parque Mexico a series of weight machines. I first ran about 3 times around the park, then I went to the stepper machine, and the chest press. By this time I began to fill my muscles and I thought, wow, I am felling this already? lol….it was a good workout day. I came home, feeling excellent, but tired, and layed into my graduate work all day, and made some great strides! 🙂

It is awesome to be at home, and just enjoy the quiet sometimes! So….yes, a good day and I managed to stay out of trouble! 🙂
What did you expect? Me to go tight rope walking or something?! 🙂

As I go through the day, there are myriads of facts I feel I have left out in my blog brain, my blog here. So – ket me try to clear some of those cobwebs out, and answer questions alot of people have!

What is Mexico like?
I think I have covered about 1/3 of that so far in 6 months of being here (HOLY COW, ALREADY), yet some things to note:

The Metro is unbelievably clean – maintenance workers are ALWAYS mopping, peeling gum off the floors, mopping the metro cars, that is awesome and just, well, I didn’t expect that!

The mornings crack me up, EVERYONE is running to work, yet, we all pretty much get to thew same place at the same time due to the number of people around us.

The numbers of people are amazing, I remember walking down Broadway and seeing thousands of people in streams, there is more here, it is simply amazing to be in crowds like that.

Again, food is awesome, in places like anywhere, you have to pick and choose, violence is still a threat as much as say New York, drugs are in the north more than here, but you still need to be on guard as in any large city.

Opportunity, my yes, there are opportunities to take advantage of if someone is willing to be energetic and creative enough.

Updates
I added a new page on here for runners, check it out! As well as adding new books to the review page, I will be adding new Educational links to that page.

I am back into running, and have signed up for two races within the next month, as well as The Cherry Blossom 10miler on April 1st. The last time I ran a race for on/near my Dad’s birthday, I won trophy in my age group. I hope to take that pressure and do something good with it!

The list of restaurants is growing, I need to add a section for outside the U.S eventually, but my goal is 100 restaurants within a year, it has been 6 months and been about 30, so not sure that is possible, but we will get close.

Grad school is awesome, I am determined to get all A’s in three courses this semester, and get ready for the Fall. I want to be certified as a Flat Classroom Teacher, Apple Distinguished teacher, and be a member of ALA, NCTE, and a few other organizations that will involve my advocacy for education and technology used in a practical sense to a higher level.

Diet – I have noticed improvement in my running with better diet, yet, my one vice is I have been getting 1-2 tortas every day, and I run better. I am not sure on that connection, my hunger mystifies me. I ran that 3 miler yesterday, and chowed through a whole box of Special K in one sitting, yep, the whole box, not even realizing it. It was a healthy cereal, but the more I run, my appetite gets ravenous. If it helps my performance and allows me to remain thin, all for it, lol.

Looks like 2 saved cats, Dewey and Decimal are doing awesome, will send pics soon, lol.

When am I returning to the states?
Hmmm, I am working the Cherry Blossom Festival over Spring Break, might be traveling to see Fabricia on my way back home to Mexico, she is in Rio. I plan hopefully catching the National Writing Project Spring Meeting in D.C a few days before where I get to meet Congressmen and state representatives, then meet staff at the Cherry Blossom fest before I run in the 10 miler April 1st. After that, I was thinking of returning to DE to participate in the Vince Morris and Dr Bett’s 5k in May 12th to kick off the Seaford Run a Thon! That should let me see what my plans will be for having a place in DE=, maybe, each summer…but working at the boardwalk and doing the beach deal sounds, well, kind of nice! 🙂

Alright, Superbowl day, I am rooting for the Giants, looking forward to the commercials, and look to get 2 weeks ahead in my grad classes today! Thank goodness for Monday off! 🙂

By the way, thanks for being supporters to my blog, anytime you have comments or can add to books you’ve read, running advice, etc, I’d love comments too! Your faithful readingship has made this a success! Thanks so much!

🙂

Dia “de la Candelaria”

Okay, so this is the deal, on January 6th, kids exchange gifts, the wisemen are celebrated for Christmas. However, on this date, it is tradition to eat the “Rosca de Reyes” – a fruit cake like roll and inside, oh yes, if you are eating this and come across the baby doll, then YOU are responsible for making the tamales to serve on today – Dia “de la Candelaria!” Cool eh! 🙂

I thought this was important to explain 🙂

ALSO – let me say how amazing seeing the Monarch Butterflies was in Almomoloa –

It was a HIKE, but the air was so much cleaner than I felt when running in the Roma area, it was amazing. Thousands, I mean THOUSANDS of butterflies, and you could hear them! 🙂 Amazing! 🙂

I always read about the migration, and it takes three full years of renewal of young butterflies starting the whole migration route back again. It was heartbreaking to see so many n the ground, dying, etc, but made me realize if these are somewhat able to be regenerated, what about all the ecosystems that are NOT? It brings a sense of peace and what needs to be done for the younger generations!

and what the heck, one more?

Afterwards we went to an awesome restaurant, buffet style,Loved the name!

(It is named after three volcanoes here)

AND the KILLER swingset! 🙂 Literally!

then we toured an awesome town! Valle de Bravo!

and

Let’s see, exciting things on the Horizon, there is a 5k here February 12th, 2012, called the Kardias run, at Kardias.org for a great cause, I am psyched!

Then March 11th – called the Tune Up Condesa Pepsico, 10 miler baby, so these will help me with the 10 miler for The Cherry Blossom Festival! YEAH!

I am talking with a teacher that Skypes with classes in South Africa, who DESPERATELY need computers, so I am hoping I can get more teachers and students involved in the P2PU grant writing project, and maybe we can help them?

Irony at its finest…

A week ago I should have posted, I know, I know…but 2 great things to report in two weeks, can you beat it?

This week turned out to be a great experience of food as well as last night. I am really liking the tutoring gig, as I mentioned before, AnaPaulo and Andrés are awesome students, they make the end of the week and the beginning of the week quite pleasurable – and we get a lot down and done in an hour and a half session, while having fun, what more could you ask?

Putting the final touches on the New York trip for the students to finish the literary magazine, all of us can begin to feel the excitement!

Before we start the news of the week, let me say, Alianza (last Friday’s restaurant) was a GREAT restaurant to hide away and catch up with friends, and enjoy a good, filling, dinner! (The coffee is gooooood too!) Check out the review on the restaurants page.

Speaking of irony, often I hear of these places and find them, but have no idea where they are, (there is a story on this, later on for this Friday!). The menu, which I put on the restaurant section of this blog, you will see, is VERY reasonable, and ohmygosh, the burger was DELICIOUS – it was VERY large and VERY good! Then though we chatted forever, the manager was very accommodating, friendly, and inviting in everything from helping us understand the menu to letting us chat the night away. It was cool that he had tennis on the television and that he loved tennis! From the coffee, to the main meal, to the dessert, this was a great overall experience! Nestled in a small, out of the way location, the atmosphere was VERY conducive to friends and a relaxing dinner and night.

This week there were a lot of substitutes out, and Elaine and I volunteered to teach classes and fill in. Turns out Moct (yes, his name is actually Moctezuma!), and even Gabriela too!, all of us substituted to help out the shortages. I found out Karen Herschleb’s class was covering Lord of the Flies, so I thought it might be interesting to create a Wiki where the students could put their answers, and then Ms. Herschleb could use it later with her classes! Would we be able to do this in two days?! Yes! We did the lab and laptop, and even though I was learning alot as we went. I did get tangled in not having the students create their own passwords at first, and this did cause some students to save over other students’ work on the table in the Wiki….:( However, come Wednesday, we had a full-fledged 2 pages per period Wiki, and all looked great! Amazing! Yes, the technology did not work put perfectly, but working through the assignment with the students helped me, and what was it like to be in the classroom again. WOW!; I had that same exhausted feelings after nonstop advising and consultation on the task at hand, but at the end of Wednesday, it was awesome to know I could still do it!

With a chronic sore throat, slight irritation with ears, I finally headed to a ear/throat/eye specialist, Dr. Delint. Seems as if I just had to …GET MY TONSILS OUT?! WHAT?! I am going to try and have it looked at again, but if this solves the problem of those above mentioned issues (reddish eyes, ear aches, headaches, dizziness, etc, darn, I guess it needs to be done? 🙂

We finally managed to donate the previously weeded library books to
Under the Volcano Books
(6 boxes!) and we hope they can use them! Only to find out, Grant, has come down with Swine Flu, so wishes are for him to get better.

Thursday was a complete conference day, so I was able to do some housekeeping, and Friday YEAH!…FRIDAY! I look back and am quite proud of the tasks we have been able to pull off and are moving into. The initiative to involve classes in Mexico with classes elsewhere virtually, students and adults is quite exciting! Check out out P2PU initiative with students and adults working together, we hope this will lead somewhere else, and would love to have as many interested parties a part of this! Grant writing opportunities – interactive, and across the world? AWESOME idea!

As New York looms closer and closer to the students in my lit Mag, I get more and more excited as well. Additionally, the initiative to involve my students in articles for the school magazine, The Focus, is also quite exciting. After racking my break for ideas possible topics, I thought having our students answer or respond to what makes them feel they are prepared for the world based on their international experience at ASF, and things they do not feel prepared for, all seem to be in the realm of revealing some exciting things. Students range from France, Korea, New York, Mexico, and more, and I think we will get an exciting mix of responses in return. I have to say I am blessed again with some outstanding students, and I have a surprise for them I am brewing when we take them to New York, the chance to….oops, sorry have to wait on that one, since they MIGHT be reading this!, but it does have something to do with SOMEONE and SOME THING in NY and it will BLOW THEIR MINDS! It is so fun thought to be able to joke around with them and laugh, and yes, I am very lucky and blessed to have been given the opportunity to take on these adventures with such a studious and dedicated staff!

Friday! Tutoring, and as usually the two students were hysterical and fun, and we started to look at Great Expectations and The Samurai’s Tale. Also, preparing the format for writing an essay, as well as sentence structure, (I know it is not that exciting, but I want them to pass the ASF entrance tests and be prepared more than the average 7th and 9th grader!)

Finind the menu actually lying on the street, I decided to try it. Coming into Friday night’s restaurant, Deli Ziatto, DELICIOUS! Funny thing is I could not recall where Biajio and Monterrey was and I walked the wrong way on Monterrey, almost three times realizing, wow, the restaurant was 2 blocks shy of my house! I was on the other side of Monterrey almost all evening until I realized – oh, try the other way! AGH! I got my walking in, but as I was on my way, I was thinking, hmmm, I feel better?! Much! I have been running a lot lately, and it is finally starting to click in , and my lungs and breathing FINALLY seem to have gotten used to the running and elements, and of getting ready for the 10 miler in the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C., April 01 2011. I want to make a good showing!

Looking back, I love the fact that we have 4-5 exciting initiatives of grant writing, technology, and great students doing great things. In the process, Mexico tips her hat to us, and I salute Mexico back with the many exciting things on the horizon. Amid all this, I think how exciting it will be to see all my friends again over the summer and see the changing person I am becoming, relaxed (yeah, get THAT!), able to laugh, look back and cherish the times I had with each of them. I am lucky in many ways, and am grateful for the way my students and friends have gone out on a limb for me so many times, I hope I can do the same for them and be there when they need someone. I carry them around with me everywhere go, and yes, that makes all the difference.

I hope my Mom, family, and friends will see the difference in my when I return, and each day I feel I progress thanks to patience and energy to try new and different things. I keep thinking how strange it will be to come back to Delaware over Spring Break while also coming back over summer, in doing this, it feels all so different and new, yet, I think deep down I will become a better person all around and as a teacher. I am excited about what these young people I have been with will create and accomplish in the next few months. Whatever it is, it will be pretty terrific, you can bet many, many pesos on that!

Whew, okay, I am beating Friday a bit but I am getting a head start! 🙂

Last night, I was asked to go to a literature reading, by fellow colleague Daniel Hamilton poetry writer extraordinaire. I didn’t know what to expect, and I never read anything I ever wrote in front of people. EVER. I have seen it on movies, (Dead Poet’s Society, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Back to School), but um, never wrote for such a night, let alone read for it.
I raced through the day, wondering how it was going to play out, WHEN would I get inspiration, WHAT would I write, I raced home, 5:15, and I had to meet Daniel at 7:15 for the 7:30 start. Hmmm, I sat down and ripped off my impressions in a poem, the way I heard it in my head being read (see? I am a poet and didn’t KNOW it!) By the way, the chain I wear around my neck, my Dad’s? – the necklace broke today, but having been in that moment before, I grabbed it and held onto it, this is important as I will come back to this….

I meet Daniel at the corner coffeeshop off of Parque Mexico, meet his friend, we walk over to the American Legion? No kidding, huge American flag, we go in, and are greeted by the most warm and friendly people EVER – Luis (CHECK his photos out) who served in the military, the organized of this recitation night (Jack Little) – from UK, someone from Canada, all of a sudden people poured in from all corners, a professor here in Mexico from the UK, I mean ALL over, including two people from My school! – lol, and one that went to Slippery Rock…does life never cease to amaze you?

The readings started, and me in my seat sinking lower and lower, thinking, oh myyyyy, what do I have that will work in front of this talented group of people? 🙂 Yet, the support you get from everyone sheering you on, was amazing….you WANTED to read SOMETHING after hearing all of these readings! 🙂 Daniel went up, and read some brilliant pieces about Mexico, Ezra Pound, the experiences he has seen during a walk in park, all amazing. Intermission come, I am asked, do you want to read next? 🙂 (GULP) Yes. I committed!

I turn on my computer as I brought it, and as an impulse, as a reaction to my necklace picking TODAY to fall off, I chose the story I wrote, way back in Mansfield University, during a workshop I attended for being a part of the first National Writing Project – the Endless Mountain Writing Project, since, well, that ring symbolized oh so much, take a read when you get a chance, it’s very personal to me! I worked my way through it, and wow, it took that importance all over again, and choked me up a bit being in Mexico, and all behind in the U.S, but the welcome everyone gave me for that was, AMAZING and warmed me up completely as that is what I intended when I wrote part of myself into that story.The Rings Around Us

I read my second – and I had my confidence from the reassuring group of friends I had just made, and wow, literature, art, word, poetry, PERSONABLE. This amazing event was just that, beyond words.

I loved the fact too, that while many of us did not realize it, the meatloaf, fries, burger, that you could order was maybe the best kept secret of this whole event, EASILY. 🙂 This night was our own moment to take a breath, and share the way we viewed the world. I am so looking forward to February 17th – the next one! For my first time reading publicly, wow, I loved every minute I sweated, stammered, and fretted – only to find everyone open arms to my contributions.

Tonight I participated in my first, (many first’s!) online chat with headphones and microphone, on a program called WIMBA, and it was awesome! I sent several days trying it, could not get it working, and then, I decided to try it on my notebook ACER computer, and Voila! I was late to the discussion, but it worked and I got my first taste of my upcoming Master’s in Ed class with technology and Library Science, and all the classmates were there (well half of the total class members!), it was exciting to hear voices from PA, and all over the U.S. so clearly…
And this weekend! I am actually going to see the butterflies in Valle de Bravo – How exciting to see the migration of the monarchs, after seeing them on television, and never really imagining I would see it live! Way cool…

And to top it all off, in March, we are beginning an free online course on P2PU that allows students and teachers to work together in teams on common projects. I think that is so waaay cool, wow. Able to create grants, learning how to create, find, and implement grants, and we can involve educators and students from all over the world! If you think you know of a group, student, educator, etc interested in this, please check the link out. This will be very exciting!

I look forward to what February brings, January has already been pretty exciting! 🙂

Friday night is the restaurant recommendation –

Alianza Restaurant

Oh, wondering what that second poem was about? Okaaaayyy, here it is..:)

🙂 (Originally was On the edges of Contentment, but the more I looked at it, my writing (groan!) made it look like On, so I changed it to –
One – the edge of contentment

I forgot to mention! This particular excursion with Azteca Tours was a walking tour of the town Iztacalco. Addiitionally, the walking tour was accompanied by singing of songs that celebrated the history as well as the culture of events signified with various buildings.

Here is a great link to the Utube video, you will snag some pics of my taking photos, stuffing my face, and learning about the interesting practices and religions!

Additionally, some great pictures can be had at here as well of the trip!

Future tours also can be seen here, as Peter Winckers and his wife do a really nice job or organizing excursions through Azteca Tours!

I have to say, it was a great evening to hear the music, see sights unknown, and just relish in the history!

WOW – I looked in our mailbox for the literary magazine, over 30 new submissions! EXCITING! Also, remember, if you are not in Mexico, you would be an international submission for us!

A colleague of our literary magazine, Aerie International is looking for international submissions! If interested please check out the info here:

Aerie Int’l 2012 Brochure WEB

We’d love to see you printed in multiple places! If you know someone international, please have them submit to ASF Lit Magazine as well as Aerie!

🙂

Of course transition is the word of the day! 🙂 I placed the word test in there just to experiment with the layout of the wordpress and working through some changes to make thing more accessible to everyone reading.

Questions – when I post a new restaurant review, would you like to see the newest blog at the top rather than the bottom? I put them on condescending order from top to bottom, but that does mean some scrolling! 🙂

Check out the new reviews of restaurants visited over the Christmas holiday as well as last night! 🙂 Yummmm 🙂 I will begin a category called Museums soon and I think make it a separate category it does not get lost in the mix of other attractions!

This is exciting, on P2PU.org, thanks to Karen Fasimpaur we are starting a new class that will also be fueled by former, current, and present PAVE students. This will involve grant writing, and help teachers. THe description is as follows:

Student Grant Writing
A student collaborative project with high school teachers and students to write grants for selected school projects, driven by students. We would like some teachers and students to be involved! 🙂

Also, NCTE is coming for the Fall, and I hope to involve organizations like the Clarice Smith Initiative from the Smithsonian American Museum, as well as implement my Library / Technology courses into projects this year.

I am excited for the Literary Magazine that the students are putting together adding an international component to the magazine. If you know of adults,students, retired, that write poetry and a chance at having their writing represented in our literary magazine, we would love it! asflitmag@gmail.com or to me! We will cut off submissions March 01, 2012.

I think there will exciting developments in education in 2012! Regards to regarding, The Game of Thrones series I am on, third book, is by far deep and plot exciting. I just have to say, when the author gets graphic, he does not need to, the plot carries itself without the need for useless details with relationships, etc, that is disappointing. 🙂

Also, James Patterson has a new Middle School test out that continues his first book, “Middle School Years, the Worst Years of My Life” – it looks good! New Release Info

This weekend is all writing catch up weekend, so hopefully I will get to that point, caught up! Hope to hear from alot of you soon!

🙂

Every once in awhile you come across a song that stirs you. I couldn’t sleep, and honestly, I think it was just going to bed too early, but the luxury or weekends is you can do that, get up early and sleep in later…Love it.

I came across Jewel’s “Hands” and found an acoustic version of “Hands” by Jewel with Chris Isaak and found how this song came back and impacted her and this just was earth shattering hearing her plan and the reaction she had to her own song in light of 9 -1 -1, you need to see that link:

I like to put everything in retrospect and try to apply that to my own life, it helps me understand myself and my destiny if you will much better.

I heard this song and had talked to some close friends today that were going through a very hard or difficult time. I realized how lucky I was to have those friends and former students, as well as family, to have to keep close despite, whether I am in Mexico or whether I am right in the same town, we all have this one similarity, we at one time did something we each remember, that we did, that made us smile or helped us see the strength in another, then turned that belief back on ourselves and helped us go on.

I also think of the countless trips we made to New York with students that had, maybe some slight nervousness about going to New York, but jumped in and did interviews and interviewed individuals off the street and came back with same pretty amazing results. I never have quite forgotten that and believe it or not, I have saved all those records and cd’s and plan to repackage those interviews and pictures and help each of you remember how cool a thing that was that you did.

I also think of the all things we go through, and how we are still so connected whether it is just a kind word, or a smile, or a chance to cheer someone up or ask them how they are doing with the drop of a button and a computer, amazing the power, and yes, the negativity that technology has.

Yet, with so many positive possibilities, I think this is the best option and challenge, for 2012 – think of just ONE nice thing you can say, mail, email, skype, tweet, text, or call – and do once a week. I think despite all the negative things that occur in one week, if the minimum of one kind act is done a week, then it is enough to have 52 weeks be pretty spectacular. I love the fact that the United States has given me the opportunity to experience an education that has some pretty amazing students come across my path, and be able to maintain some solid friendships with them over a lifetime. They are amazing, as I continue to say and I am excited as they go into the future, yes, there are those that scare me and make me never want to go to certain stores if I knew they worked there, LOL, but for that many, there are a handful that are amazing and can and will change the world.

I always said that if I gathered a handful of my favorite and most qualified, friends, family, and students together, can you imagine the school we could come up with and run? A school that would reach out to individuals every day, and the goals of the school would be to create a spark, that would result in a chain reaction that would benefit the community by the end of every 9 weeks, in every discipline. The school would be assesses bu the number of impacting projects it created and finished that helped the local communities out every 9 weeks, in every discipline! Could you imagine the progress and impact that school of thought would have? 🙂 I know the talents of the students, friends, family, I have in mind, so it is not hard to imagine…:)

If you get a chance, one more small challenge, take one person, one person that you know of that is going through a difficult time, and write down a memory you have of them, here, as a comment, that would encourage them to push on and smile, and remember they have enough strength to keep on making it through anything will come. I am assured your confidence in them will make a difference, even if for 15 minutes, let alone a whole day. Or do this on your own, but just try that. I would love to see this come full circle after a long trip of traveling and have my blog me a source of not just what goes on in Mexico, but what can occur in and among yourselves each day! 🙂 Imagine, all that from a song? If teachers would take that approach with every lesson they taught, and interacted that way every day, wow, we might have school yet we dreamed of!

So here is my first memory – Deanni Sigai – one of the three triplets,
came back across path with an awesome gift, a Christmas card they sent seen in the previous blog. I recall the moments when I was growing into becoming an assistant coach and learning from Coach Morris, Coach Perciful, Coach Doakes. Here came these three TRIPLETS, started out at two, then ended as three, onto the running scene.

Sure, were complaints, yet, they were the very things I wanted to say and that I did not as coach, and when the Sigai’s mentioned them, they well, became a diary yet a challenge for all to keep moving on. Rain, cold, even hot days often faced the runners, and yet, there were the constants. Despite all the crazy whirlwind events occurring in life, they would always show to the start and finish line. Making a statement about how you finish rather than how you started, this three became a spirit that enveloped the team and set the tone for doing your best, setting a face amid grim and sometimes even hurting times, and finishing with pride, and not settling for less. When one of them would be hurting, or one of us, we would always lend an ear, hand, or smile. I am sure each of you know someone just like that.

Who can you recall, that demonstrated a memory that they could use to keep pushing on? Use the comments in this blog to write that, and let the person know they are actually mentioned in a blog, and then when they go here to see what was said, they will see a message that will give them the power to stop, take in what they have done well in the past, and keep moving forward. I think it would be great to see this get the highest number of views and comments in regards to lifting others up! 🙂 🙂

Angel Standing By
– Isn’t it amazing that this song was dedicated at one point to a little girl in Children’s Hospital?