PAVEing a Blog

No elaborate titles needed! 🙂 I woke up and really, it was awesome being back in my bed from flying in from Chicago yesterday. Everything still has me spinning, and if you read my previous blog, I stopped on the Thursday I arrived, so my plans will be to go back to that and try to finish tomorrow. I learned so much there. I met so many people, and I brought soooo many books back for the library here, lol. But the real reason I am writing this is for the following realizations…

I am so thankful for the the support staff I have in Delaware, Melinda, Mom, Danielle, my cousins Lois and Roger in Maryland, Monse, Deborah, Beverly Blades to name a few. They keep and have kept the conflicts and systems running smoothly there, even when there are quite a few bumps in the road! I received an electronic card from Melinda today reminding me it was in fact Thanksgiving. It was neat seeing the airports offering coffee to everyone in the lobbies as part of the traveling on Thanksgiving experience. It was ODD not being near family physically today, yet, I knew that all my friends and family felt close by!

I also received a package in the mail today from Andrea Paun, who I worked with in observations at the Baltimore Aquarium! What better timing! It was Awesome! I received homemade mustard, Vegemite from Australia!, an oven mit from Australia, toys for the cat, a towel that grows when you add water, ironic there but cool, and way cool a dvd of pics from the Aquarium! Take a look at this pic of the trainers when we were observing dolphins!

I realized how much I needed to escape the triviality of the classroom and being subject to administrational whims, but also realized how much I appreciated the Baltimore Aquarium, and how I was JUST getting to know the Whole Foods and other cool things there, and loved the relaxation of the Aquarium. I still can hard;y wait to return there in December, I am so excited! 🙂

Presenting and meeting Karen at NCTE and the collaboration we had was priceless, and she made me so excited of what is to come with online courses we can create, present, and develop involving students as well. She is truly a motivator and easy to follow and create so many different packages of ideas that will impact so many people! Through her I was able to meet and connect with so many resources, she always seems to be a pillar of strength that will bring so much more to the table.

I also have been blessed to have had the experiences I did have in the classroom. For those reasons, I had so much better ideas of what I needed and wanted to do to improve things I did and had seen before in the classroom. I was so motivated at NCTE, I was seeing what the board of NCTE did, and attended every board session I could, and realized, this is what I want to do. I want to have and earn the freedom to go to schools to help their teachers, to help their systems and help improve the life of education as a a whole. I wrote the current president of NCTE via email. Her presidential speech was amazing, as she is from Hawaii, and her speech was on Storytelling and why stories are so important. It touched me and made me realize that I needed to be a more active part of NCTE and wanted to be part of the board in the future. I am thankful for the people I met that extended their hand to me at NCTE and realized all the things I have done so far have been just babysteps to larger things I can do to make a difference.

I was so grateful for the care Mark showed in looking after my place in Mexico while I was gone and how much he has helped me get along here. Additionally, I also am thankful for the transition my boss Elaine gave me coming here, it made all the difference in the world.

Additionally, the friends I have made in Mexico have been so supportive and life changing, it has changed my stressful run to this task to the next task down so many notches, I do not even recognize myself in the mirror.

Additionally, I still feel part of the loop when all my former students, their parents, and the influential people such as Doakes and the XC team as a whole still include me in their posts and emails.

I was lucky enough to meet up with my awesome SRU ally, Natalie Dorfeld. She had come through for me so many times, and to actually see her in the flesh and be able to spend quality catch up time, as well as share her brother’s Thanksgiving gathering so I could have one, was AWESOME.

I am so proud and thankful for a Literary Magazine Staff I have come into at ASF. The future of this magazine looks so exciting in connecting with schools in the U.S and other countries that will share the benefits of talents that we discover across so many continents, exciting!

I am so thankful for skyping with Vika the other day right before I left for NCTE, she had me all motivated and excited with possibilities, as when we get a group of people together anytime that are optimistic, the ideas we come up with are priceless and turn out to be reality so easily! It is exciting that Vika among others will continue to be a part of something so large in the upcoming months.

Life is good, and life has become even better with so many new possibilities on the horizon. There are countless more to thank and be thankful for, and the said thing is I know this is only the beginning, but in a way, this has been a great Thanksgiving for all the people involved in so many changes in a short time. I am beginning to realize this has been a cleansing experience for me, the change, and one that has been needed for quite awhile. 🙂

It will take me serval days to get caught up with the packages I acquired from Chicago, the organization of ideas to implement, as well as getting back to nearing towards my 50 000 word goal in NANO by November 30th, (I am at 31, 700!) but the magic of seeing Christmas in Chicago, as well as the treasures I brought back, are well worth the catch up time needed now.

The absence of shopping and the rush to the next holiday, being detached from that all and realizing that I have so many people to be thankful to, especially those following this blog, for so many reasons, it makes a Thanksgiving in Mexico well worth it’s weight anywhere else. 🙂

Wow. No kidding about life. Things have been a blur since I last posted, and trying to keep up has become harder and harder…:) Overall the last restaurant I frequented for the Friday dining was MOG, loved the sushi, soup, and the wait staff. We met our waitress who was from Texas, she was great, and so inviting, inquiring, it was an awesome location and an awesome hang out. I wanted to put this link into the blogs about Delirio’s and Mog, as it reminds me of this film : St.Elmo’s Fire. I love the fact that there is a deeper story than just a movie title to St.Elmo’s Fire. A definite metaphor for life….

Since that Friday – whew, I am not sure I can keep up. I was able to reconnect with Vika, the Russian AFS exchange student that had come to Seaford, and she is studying in Israel. We started a conversations about sharing photos, writing, etc from other parts of the world in our lit magazine – and wow….great idea to add the world influences section to our magazine, it will be a hit.

A moment about our literary magazine staff – for BabyCakes. Please go to our site and like it and keep tabs as we begin to gather submissions.

Saturday was amazing as this was the Art Fair at ASF. organized by the parent association, this was BIG time. The students for thelit mag arose to the occasion, selling 44 pizzas and the whole time I was a bit holding back as this brought my concession days to a head and reminded me of the students back home. However, that being said, I love my staff. From Camila, to Ji, to Anne, to Carlos, to Maria, to Milo, to Esther, those there and not there are willing to make this year’s Lit Mag something like no other. We laughed, we stressed, we screamed, we went back to laughing. The pizzas were amazing as they sold out, and the staff, well, I could hug them. They made at least 5000 peso through a long day. What was amazing was the art and music that surrounded us all day. From kindergarten to the jazz band, the departments and teachers, no educators 🙂 we AWESOME. This again was big time, the whole campus was flooded with art that turned the school into a museum. This truly was Art in the Park I recalled from the Shakespeare Festivals, to the museum tours we had done in Spain, I promise some pics that will take your breath away will be posted later. I wanted to get the words out first. I am proud of the Lit Mag and the staffers have made a renewed effort, using others’ photos to advertise the artistic atmosphere they hope to capture with everyone surrounding them. These photos are art in themselves. Definitely go to the facebook site to see the chance to submit your art, I dare say they will make history this year. Loved Saturday and so proud of the staff amid a flurry of activity – surrounded by art would be my phrase I daresay for the day.

The weekend was enjoyable to catch up on NANO…
a few words (less than 50000). I never thought I could keep up with such as daring venture as writing a 50 000 novel in one month. Here I sit with ideas constantly going back and forth, and am past the 25000 word mark with November 30th looming like an owl on my shoulder. Yet, what a state of self exploration and chance to get things out I have had inside for YEARS. This is an amazing and committed experience with a staff that supports you all the way. There are a few things in one week I will never forget, this will be one. SO progress every day occurs with Nano and I can hardly
wait to let my friends see this, as they make up the weight of its contents.

The whole while I have been anxious about leaving and heading back to the U.S. in Chicago, anxious is not strong enough, but just almost on the edge of anxiety. I am going to present at NCTE AND head back to the states, very nervous but excited. As with anything of that nature, the time crawled as I worried and tried to prepare as best I could, but the days ticked off so incredibly fast, and Boom! Wednesday, time to head off.

As with anything, again, the day FLEW, and I did not have time to do all the things I wanted, – yet – I was sitting here, in the airport, ready to take off. As I arrived at the gate, the adventure really began…

“Sir, your plane is not due to take off until 5:00 PM- arrival 9:00 as there has been a change.” – My heart sunk, no way. Yet, there was light, there had been a change to switch to United if I wanted and I would be able to depart at 3:30 and arrive around 7:00 – YES! I would take it. A little confusion ensued where I had to find the correct ticket counter for United, customs, etc, all was ready and I was on the plane! YES! I watched a cool movie Monte Carlo, with Selena Gomez. I loved this film, I love Selena Gomez, sorry, but overall, I loved this film made for a chick flick I think, but the story behind it, perfect Hollywood feel good film, and overall, gives you the dream the right one is out there somewhere. I enjoyed the plane film! 🙂 I was so nervous I kept moving items around, losing things right under me feet just plain NERVOUS.

I got off the plane, worked through customs, and wow – no luggage, no joke. I am doing better at keeping my calm while screaming inside, AAAAGH! Someone, who did not have the right ticket or name on their ticket, picked up my blue suitcase, and I had no clothes except what I was wearing. I made the claim, found the blue line Metro which was like 16 stops to Hilton Palmer House, and made it inside, and sat and thought, I can’t believe this. I did GREAT on the anxiety factor considering what had happened. I was starving, and I went out found Subway, and it might have been the best hoagie I had in years, lol. I loved it.

I have to tell you, flying in and seeing the switch between Mexico and the U.S, i realized, even with the bills, and the stress of change, I realized how lucky I was to be surrounded by people I was well, basically be lucky to be around. No matter how little money I have, I am always so rich int he friends I have, and the rich family, rich is so many unmonetary ways I am LUCKY – and this has enabled me to experience things so far I never DREAMED of doing. Thank you to all of them for a moment. I thought this as I landed in the U.S and was just again, NERVOUS.

So despite the bad things going on, I couldn’t be unhappy, I WAS AT NCTE! 🙂

Overall, the night was long, as I realized no internet unless you paid for it each night, and I was hesitant. I wanted to save save save to make sure I had enough to cover all! Again – crazy fate – phone rings in the wee hours and Ta Da! Luggage RETRIEVED! – Can you believe it? And all was there – everything. Awesome, s keeping the right attitude was – yes, the right thing to so.

Thursday – already?! I jumped up and was heading to Starbucks, somewhere, tat had free Wi-fi – and then it hit my. NWP Conference sign in the lobby. I stopped, I was part of the first NWP in the Endless Mountain Writing Project in Mansfield, PA! Today, before NCTE! I had hours to burn so I thought, what the heck, check it out. AMAZING things developed. FREE HUGE breakfast (check, that taken care of!) – sign in for FREE, and then before I knew it, in a first meeting for NWP and meeting people beside me. Not just any people, the lady to my left – was from Chicora. This might not be significant to you, but this was the small town my Dad had last lived in, and it was close to my hometown, and still for some of my siblings. She worked at Edinboro. I went to Edinboro U. The similarities continued around the table, someone from Kent State – I just had done the JEA Kent State Journalism grant experience there, and that is not where it ended. I was in amazement, to a conference I had not even KNOWN about until today. Amazed. Then, heading to the plenary session, I volunteered to speak, and realized I would get up in front of the whole group to state what our initial group had come up with issues that needed addressed or we felt important. I did, I did it quickly, wanting to say the whole time, I can’t believe I am here from Mexico!!!!!!!!!

NWP – you need to check this out, I am going to try and start a INWP – International and begin a record making trip through Mexico I can bring back to next year’s convention. I met so unbelievable people from the Eastern Shore NWP, as well as Delaware. AMAZING. And it is 8:21, and I have the second say of workshops to be ready for, I have been typing here since 6:00 AM on this Friday, and I only have started the adventure that began to unroll on Thursday. I will be back today, but in the mean time, check out NWP – AMAZING. 🙂 I have so many new challenges I want to bring back and work through, and that seems to me the most opulent part of this adventure so far, the energy around others charging up more and more!

Traditions, wow! In Mexico a little different! Halloween is still a big deal, but the week of Spirit week for Homecoming was great! 🙂 I did the days, Twin Day,

Pajama Day, Sport Day, and ASF color day, but despite nailing all the days, the freshmen came in last in points, 😦 I was sponsoring and supporting the freshmen as they had been the ones I went camping with but they were great and provided a shirt for me to wear that said, “I’m with the freshmen!” it was great…:) It even had my name on it!

Let me rewind as usual….:) Let’s work backwards this time! This weekend, minus proctoring the SAT test yesterday (7:00 AM should be nothing but I was BEAT the rest of the day and slept it, then also rested and laid low Sunday, wow! I got caught up on ALOT!) As you will find out, I entered into NANO, which is in November, all over the world, people enter to write a 50,000, (that is right) fifty THOUSAND, word novel, I am at 8000, right now, but I have until November 30st to get it all in, so around 17000 words a day MINIMUM and I am good. I chose to pick events that actually happened and turn them into a fictional story, so far, so good…I just hit mini roadblocks and that just comes with well being new to the process I think…? (fingers crossed!) –

Friday – I headed back to Delirios for dinner, wow. The thing about Delirios is you need to keep purchasing little portions, there really are not large portions of meals served, but what I had, a salmon sandwich, two rhurbarb tarts, americano coffee, it was all DELICIOUS. VERY busy around 4:00 until 5:00 then slowed off… but a very good meal in store for you, not to mention I think I fell in love with my waitress….:) She spoke English but that was incidental, she was beautiful! The last time I went there was for Sunday brunch, but again, the food is always fresh and always wanting you to order another!

The last week of October was fun as it was Spirit Week, Halloween, all wrapped up. Friday was awesome as I was invited to attend a friend’s Birthday party, and he had it all decorated for El Dia de Muertos too! During Day of the Dead, which was November 4th, I travelled to the Frido Kahlo Museum, as well as the Trotsky Museum as both lived close to each other. WOW! I learned so much! 🙂 Before arriving at the Trotsky and Frido Kahlo Museum, I arrived at a mall that was all Christmas! The mall, Palacio de Hierro in Coyoacan was AMAZING! I thought I was on New York again! 🙂 I hung out with Deborah and Michelle, fellow colleagues of ASF, and Deborah was going to kill me with all the text messages I sent!, but we ate at Meson De los Leones, a cool corner restaurant that was relaxing as the light shown in. The food was very good, I wolfed it in 8 minutes, but it was good. I can’t say anything stood out – but the bill was very reasonable and it helped cure a major hunger, and it was not anything I would not go to in Coyoacan again either! I loved the steady pace and oh! A MAJOR FIRST! At the end of the evening I went to UNUM (The Mexican University here) to see the many displays in honor of El Dia de Muertos. Very cool but crazy crowded, it reminded me of the Delaware State Fair!

I had my braces removed after over 9 years! It took awhile, but my gosh, not to have them or anything on my teeth, YESSSSSSSS! It is amazing and I think Dr. Castro is too! 🙂 It feels WONDERFUL!

I received by Saucony running shoes from Mom – from my house, WONDERFUL! My feet sooooo needed that! My shoes, I am keeping as a memoir, snce the soles are literally rubbed down to the sole almost! It feels so good to be wearing something with good support! Now I can run!

The Friday of Halloween week, I at at the awesome restaurant I mentioned in the restaurant part of this blog, Origenes Organicos, let me tell you, it as fantastic! All organic but the Campeche Sandwich I had there was awesome, and just, well it was the most relaxing Friday in awhile and it was food good for me! I lined up the staff that worked there and took pictures of them and they were great, I figured if I advertised for them they would not mind, and the food was so worth it! 🙂 The following night, Saturday, of Halloween weekend, I dressed up as Harry Potter, dyed my hair dark, and attended Amanda’s Halloween party, the costumes were a RIOT including the Michelin Man he was HUGE! lol…It was fun to see people outside of work and celebrating Halloween or really El Dia de Muertos!

Funny, here it is all about celebrating family that has passed away, ALONG with the rituals of Halloween a little bit, but more so the rituals of family that have passed away takes precedence. The offrenda (altars) that are made in honor of the are amazing! It was an awesome twist to the way the U.S. focuses on Halloween, yet Mexico focuses mainly on family. I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures I took to capture this!

As time draws nearer, I get excited to be able to travel to the U.S to present at NCTE in Chicago, and was even MORE excited to know my friend Natalie will be there at the same time visiting her brother, so we can reunite and catch up! WOW! I haven’t seen her since she was married several years ago! 🙂 I am also attending a luncheon after I present at NCTE (National Conference of Teachers of English) where author James Patterson and Anthony Horowitz will be speaking, so that will be a huge highlight as well!

It is unusual I will not be home for Thanksgiving, and I will miss this very much 😦 I have learned to value the time we had with our family and associated with Thanksgiving!
Natalie informed me I would be able to have Thanksgiving dinner with her and her brother, (I will be leaving Chicago, with my cat Blackie!, on November 23rd morning EARLY….:)

It seems there is so much more to say, yet with my writing for Nano, my arm and brain seem to be getting their share of writing in that they however had a chance to with the teaching I had done!

I am excited I am able to keep up with the winning the Steelers are doing, and am excited to follow their progress tonight against the Ravens, puts a whole new meaning on eating crow! 🙂 I am still amazed at the warm weather here and hard to believe we have cold weather in Delaware, it seems the weather is neutral here based on the altitude, and I can’t say I will ever complain! 🙂

Looking forward to bringing more news to you, from Mexico…:)

Ugh….:) Steeler’s loss last night was heart breaking to the Ravens’, 😦 but I love the rivalry, and the Ravens’ played worthy of that win!

I love acronyms! For the first time since coming back from the 9th Grade Camping Retreat, it looked as if I had a calm Friday night October 14th, what to do….:)

I walked Southern Insurgentes knowing there were alot of unexplored restaurants from finding the Steelers fan club there and I knew there had to be something. I passed alot of small Sushi restaurants, contemplating, but I really wanted a dining experience! About 45 minutes later, I came across the World Trade Center, and laughing, passed by IHOP. I thought, come on, a dining EXPERIENCE, and well kept walking circled around and found a MAC store behind the World Trade Center, then came back on IHOP’s steps. I figured, this is the first time I can eat in an American restaurant since arriving, why not.

I was greeted by an awesome hostess and waitress, and saw something phenomenal on the screen – not knowing what was going on. As I sat watching, I realized the Pan American Open Ceremonies were on!

A note about the Opening Ceremonies….AMAZING. People were hanging from the high ceiling wrapped in a type of cloth, and mimicked flying as butterflies, were able to wrap themselves into the cloth, then unwrap, the whole time imitating gymnastic-style movements – AMAZING. Then the music accompanied by thousands of instruments and operatic to pop social styles, to works of art that was choreographed by dancers and singers, it was a definite site to be witnessing – and it was exciting to see so many people around me enthralleI worked my way through some of the best Quesadilla’s I EVER had, a knockout series of coffee, and the best ice cream with cinnamon and apple I could have expected. I watched for at least 2-3 hours the Pan American opening ceremonies, and realized, it does not have to be a 4 or 5 star restaurant to be the best dining experience, it just has to be relaxed, fun, interesting, and comfortable. I received all of these on a Friday night and walked away the more contented for it. Thank you IHOP!

Friday…dinner….promises of a new and exciting place, a long week deserving a shot at a relaxing dinner with friends, would the locations desired live up to the expectations needed on a weekend? — Wait until you see and hear these locations…

2:45 hits and we gather in the library, two groups, my reliable and dependable eatery boss Elaine, recommender of the week Michelle, and her Lower School colleagues as well as a handful of dining faithfuls in Tracy, Sue, we are off to a coffee shop. Or so I thought. Only this was better.

We show up at the front door of a side street residence, and I am looking. And looking. And looking. Where is the shop? I do not see signs, I do not see any evidence of a coffee shop yet we are here? …..I am confused… a door swing opens and a friendly garcon, ooops, sorry, caballero, opens, greets and ushers us into a patio.

We look around, we see some wooden chairs, some trees, a few apartments, residences. No coffee. Anywhere. I am not saying anything as I am sure this is a stop along the way, and THEN to the coffee shop. Them I know and hear, this is it, we have arrive? What?

Amazing what unfolded next – wooden tables appeared, a white drink (this is where my friends come in) with cinnamon was served out of nowhere while we waited and ….wow! This is good! “We are getting a a table around the corner for you, you are early, but we will begin…” I am still amazed at the thoughts of, “This is a coffee shop?!” – –

Then we saw here, I believe Camilla was her name. She came home from school, unafraid and ready to socialize, the cutest and sweetest daughter of the host you could imagine.

As we waited for our second group to arrive, she entertained and made us laugh. The best part of our Friday outings began to unfold, we talked about our anticipations, laughter, anger, and general thoughts of our experiences here and I knew we were in for something special. Our second part of the group arrives (Tracy, Sue, Michelle) and the folding table with chairs arrive, and we move to a table.chair set across the outdoor patio. Camilla joins us….coffee beings to be set in front of us….and with hearts no less. But this is just the beginning. Perhaps the best Cappuchino (and I have to say I am a novice) set in front of me is served. The design of the heart

is the bonus, the taste is the giveaway…WOW.

The lesson of the history of retrieving the beans from Oaxaca as well the as process of his services to fix coffee machines, preparing the beans for grinding, collecting and returning with these valuable resources to enable this experience, all during the demonstrations of how the designs are created, and servings of Expresso, Chocolate, the taste of the actual chocolate BEAN – and the offers of a dinner if we wanted it, the taste of the meat and potatoes we could have for dinner, a total of 150 pesos is a STEAL. Should we blow off our reservations? Well, we just did at 5:30, that was a distant dream – and who cares? The coffee testing, the good company, the great hosts, the patio has been turned into the best coffee parlor you could imagine and the surroundings have peeled away from view to reveal a courtyard of hospitality, magic, and great experiences.

We are given a Day of the Dead sugar skull,

fruit-like frozen popsicle desserts,

and Camilla continues to turn on the charm constantly.

Having to pull ourselves away from seeing the factory and the warehouse was an understatement as we resignedly leave to our dinner destination, all hoped up with the best coffee served…(I didn’t mention how we could purchase kilos of this magic coffee….amazing and I know what certain people are going to get for Christmas, begging for the source of THIS coffee)… AMAZING undercover experience we had, could it be topped…with TAPAS not that we missed our dinner reservation?….

Oh Yes…another hidden treasure, we arrive at Broka, on Zapecata, or so it appears as I stand in front of another garage door – what is this, Inspector Gadget or 007 night for finding good places? 🙂 A waiter sees me peeking into the window and asks if I want to enter….into what? We find a narrow passageway and cut through the kitchen and then the inside of a warehouse opens up into a dining area and central wood stepped dining area that at first just causes you to be amazed this can’t be really opening up? Then, we are seated, and we begin drinks It is 7:30…after a few hours of conversation, I look at the board and wonder if the promise of food will become a reality, and sure enough….TAPAS! (Marrow filled delicacies, mini pizzas, Springroll like delights, and more and more and more…) How many do you want? We go through one, two, three, four….hours later and after number ELEVEN – ONCE – we wonder how much this is going to rack us for….12 pesos per Tapas does not even begin to classify how wonderful, delicious, and what a great find Broka is. A night if surprises was certainly this dining out experience and having missed the dinner menu and received Tapas turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Tapas were perhaps the best I had, maybe next to SPain…an VERY distinct memory begins to produce in my mind of Tapas in Spain and I realize the blending of the delicious servings here remind me of Spain and Portugal in a heartbeat.

Perhaps another “one of the best” Friday experiences occurs thanks to my boss Elaine, Coffee guru expert finder Michelle, and a great collection of friends that have joined us in this experience, have made this perhaps a one of the best Friday dining experiences in Mexico….:) If you miss Broka, you are missing one of the best parts of Mexico, and I can’t suggest the coffee secrecy destination unless you have an in with Michelle, which I am eternally grateful for this chance to meet such a wonderful family and experience as this…I plan to return November 4th, and if you have any wanting for an AMAZING experience, you might want to track down Michelle…:) Gracias\ Mexico!

It hit me just like that the whole weekend, no warning, no anything, just Bam! – RECYCLING…

I had a list of all the things I needed to do, get, buy, from the store. I begun to search on the web and I eliminated the list completely.

Here we go:

I had 4, 2 litre bottles, I cut off the top – turned upside down, pout inside the bottom part of the bottle, instant self watering planters for the new plants I had acquired (Thanks Mark!) Need planters? Nope…

That water bottle for the water dispenser, no need to give back, new terrarium…way cool!

Cat toys, desperate….okay – so take the two toilet paper cardboard rolls, cut into rings, voila – huge ball for the cat to roll around on the floor….:) — Also, you can use toilet rolls for seed starters!

64 oz bottles, I cut those into smaller planters, self watering with the top off thing, and dang, they really work!

Finally, the cereal boxes, oh yes, awesome idea I found. I cut the bottom and top off and used as trays for the paper clips, thumb tacks, small items that were hanging all over the closet shelf…:)

What was left? Well, the 2 litre bottles I found just outside the apartment, I was able to get twine, cut them, and hang them with no labels so they are clear (and dipped in paint they look cool!) making 2 hanging plant containers for the outside that yes, are self watering as well.

Finally, I added up the damage I could have caused….I saved over 200 pesos if I was to go out and buy those containers! 🙂 No kidding! 🙂

Hysterical, all those were functional and were going to go into my garbage! 🙂

The Literary Magazine is holding two contests in conjunction with 2 major supports of the arts! Please feel free to apply and submit your contributions to the Literary Magazine in the library, and we will submit these for you as well with a chance of prizes through the supporting organizations! And be published!

Contest One in conjunction with Snapfish:

Cute costumes, black cats, and pumpkin festivals. The season of traditions has begun, enter your favorite fun Fall photos at a chance to win. Sponsored through snapfish.com, students have the chance to enter their photos on fall to win not only a full calendar of their original photos, but credits towards other free photos through snapfih.com. The Literary magazine is your clearing house! Just turn in original digital photos to us BEFORE November 15th at your chance to win! There will be 25 Grand Prize winners announced in December! The top submissions locally, as judged by the photo faulty and literary magazine staff will be represented in our magazine! This will kick off the incentives of winning aside from also being picked for the literary magazine!

Contest Two in conjunction with the Student Conservation Association (Due date the 21st of October!)

Welcome to the 2011 SCA Photo Contest

Show us how you get out and connect with nature!

Hiking with family and friends
Getting muddy in the backcountry
Sweeping vistas and awesome panoramas
Get creative – surprise and wow us!
Learn more on the info page
Submit your photos by October 21
The grand prize? A round-trip from Southwest!

You can submit your photos to us at harrybrake@yahoo.comm too and we will help you register!

Remember this song? ! This is what we woke up to every morning! AXELLLLLL!

Macaco – Seguiremos

It was funny, on a cool and awesome camping trip we went on, one of the students has been trying to find someone to match me with, (this happens alot at school…being an English teacher, and having cats, plants, and well, educational things) lol…BUT, I like the IDEA of a relationship, BUT, the relationships I want are too picky on my end, I want IT, (the perfect IT or one, or whatever) and if I cannot have the right person, I prefer to stay around the coolest, hippest, and funnest (how is that English teachers?!) students around…and I happened to hit the jackpot this weekend.

Define your definition and single, line it up to mine, and wow, we are worlds apart. I a getting a bit ahead of myself…let look at right now…

It’s October 13th – and believe it or not I am on my own bed. Don’t get me wrong, I am not sorry AT ALL to be in my own bed, but I have to admit – I learned a whole new me in the last 4 days thanks to…well…okay, let me put you in my shoes 🙂 (literally check out these shoes! for hiking, lol)

Monday 7:30 AM, I am nervous, with my back pack of 4 days of clothes, ready to head out to with Outward Bound for 4 days of camping, no showers, no bed, and pure outdoors and tasks to challenge our physical limits…PERFECT for a 9th grade lesson on learning the ropes of life. After the last student trip for new students I contemplated whether I’d be taking my life in my on hands again this time, but opted to go for it, as I loved the idea of hiking across Mexico, camping and coming down from the fast-paced schedule of life and realize the solitude of a beautiful country is at our fingertips!

Several (well two) reasons for being nervous…the soles of my shoes…(lol)– see above–and dipping into the conversations of Spanish again and I still have this bad habit of freezing up when trying to interpret 🙂

I am assigned Mr. Kitchins 9th grade advisory – 14 students – I gave the prep talk and recognized a few from the former new student retreat but had no idea what I was in store for…:) but here is the big day!
We meet, we gather, we board our #10 brigade bus and we are off!

This scene strangely resembles the trip we were waiting for on the New Student Orientation!

As I look in our Guide Books, I see we are to make goals. I am wondering if the students even have that in mind, and I feel they will be thinking more about goals as we go through the experience, as they will not realize what is important to them until it occurs or after. Looking back at the things we experienced, I am curious if they would think of goals that will truly reflect what they felt on this trip?

As we began the journey, we briefly talked to one of the Outward Bound instructors/directors and something he said stuck with me. Community Service is not the stooping down to help someone beneath you, there is no, we are better and should feel bad for them, type of feeling if you are doing true community service. You are improving your own life through the learning of theirs. That rang so true, as many who hear the word Community Service think they are helping the poor or someone that will never meet our standards….bull pucky. That is not someone who is doing a service for the community, that is someone that wants to build their conscience or ego more clearly. I appreciate that insight and word of advice in how community service SHOULD be looked at in that light, and I realized that this was true community service, a willingness to hear and learn different styles of life from others, this is not meant to be condescending as the purpose is to realize what is so important is that you get out further further. I loved a line from one of the student’s guide books, we are here doing community service so we can learn from others….beautifully put!

What do the students at ASF think Community Service? In Delaware, the students and I had a 5 year journey where we one the Delaware State Governor’s Award for Community Service 5 times! Amazing! But each time we did community service , we were involved in the following things: CHeery Blossom Festival in D.C, the cleanups of beaches in the Maryland Easter Shore area, creating a Japanese Garden with the exchange students in the middle of town so that each year a new exchange student could contribute, these were different thing we thought up and then they became a reality, so community service took on, how can we get to know people from the community around us better?

The ride to the camp – quite a riot – a caravan of 12 white, tinted glass vans coming in the back areas of Mexico, roads that made your body roll with the dirt roads, I am sure it looked as if ambassadors from the City of Mexico were arriving! Then the country opened up and we were in awe. Mountains, mist, and scenery that looked like it came from Grizzly Adams (for those of you that remember that!).
First stop was the Hacienda, second was the Lake third was our stop, the Corral!

We emptied out of vans, 4 groups, and headed to the gear tents. We met Axel from Mexico and Katarina from Czechoslovakia, our Outward Bound Instructors. We began breaking down our gear to put away and store what was NOT needed, what was. 3 pairs pants max, 3 pairs socks, 3 pairs underwear a bowl, a utensil to eat with, 3 shirts, rain gear – in the middle of this, the sky opened up and we began to get poured on. Guides help put up makeshift tents, we began to gt wet, and all the way through working our way through this, Brigade #10 – my brigade, never complained, stalled or looked ay way except forward. We helped each other, we packed, we got it done, and we moved onto where we would be sleeping.

Imagine a small building the size of a 2 stall garage, and take a about half off, 🙂 that was out area for 17 people, 14 students, 11 boys, 4 girls, 2 Outerbound Counselors and one teacher (me!).

We laid out packs down, we ate lunch prepared by a local family, we trekked through mud trails to and from the house area, learned we needed to go the bathroom and recycled the paper, no flushing toilets here with the ecological crops and area of country here.

However, the things we learned, – taken aside and shown how to roll, and cook tortillas on a barrel drum stove, clearning a plot of land staring with a scythe and ending with a pickaxe and spade – Did we mention no electricity and heat?

Lunch and dinner were amazing, we ate outside after washing our hands with water poured for us from a pail, and we sat at the long wooden benches while the ladies of the home poured authentic Mexican made lunch and dinner into our plates they had washed for us from lunch. Things were so different so quickly here!

We were thrown into a 360 degree split from Mexico City, and wow, it was either shock or just forcing ourselves to be used to a dramatic difference but as 8:00 PM (EIGHT O’clock?!) we were in bed working on our first day reflections and guidebooks, and only really had 20 minutes to do so as we had a nearly morning in the A M Tuesday!

If I could describe the land around us, you could not believe it. Mist settling on the hills, rugged land of mud from the run, mules, horses, roaming and grazing, and we were in the middle of it all. The building we were in for the night housed cement and smelled of agriculture, – students this first night – there was alot of frustration all the way around and I am sure now looking back this was resistance to being in a comfortable zone. Cement was our foundation for beds, and with the mats and sleeping bags the students still remained in shock from the quick adjustments that needed to be made.

We split the sides of the building into half, boys on one, girls on the other and looking back, a comment made on the last night by Raul comes back to me “We got to know each other because we had to sleep on to of each other, hear and live with each other every minute of the day and all night.” When you hear others snoring, breathing, exhaling, life becomes more intimate and you are forced to become closer, and wow, 17 people in sleeping bags without heat and electricity spread out on a plain concrete floor makes you realize, what do I really need that I have fooled myself into thinking I have needed?

Each day and evening we would circle up as a group to just get out some ideas to reflect upon and the first night – was very frustrating – side conversations, talking over others, the feeing that first night was one of frustration in trying to find a common ground – the question did arise, would we ever find that common ground? This night it seemed we were worlds away and all on our own agenda…

Getting up at 7:00 AM in the cold, from a sleeping bag was a change from the norm, we were called to go outside and did stretches, (not all of us) and the individuals on a different schedule than as a group kept coming back up to haunt our good day… the local residents made a fabulous breakfast for as as we made our way up the slippy mud trail to the resident’s house. Following our breakfast, we packed our packs back up, and headed for our first real 3 hour hike to the next location, where we would be spending the day and night, the hacienda.

You learn alot of people when they are carrying 70-120 pounds of camping gear you will need to survive for the whole week. Walking on the very rock roads the vans took IN caused us to pay renewed attention to our footing while trying to do the best of gathering trash, while our main point of interest was making progress with weight heavily on our backs – much to work through as a group or it would not work at all.

Breaks came in various times, but the goal was making the hike in 2-2 1/2 hours. The roles changed when we broke for rest, from rear line leader, front line leader, a navigator with compass and as well as trash bag collector for the trash we found and removed thanks to Leave No Trace Behind initiatives.

The day looked clear and we had 2 main missions today, survive the hike, as well as prepare lessons for the school. The hike involved was exciting, but I have to say, everyone was sore when we arrived. The whole way along the hike we learned about each other, and were willing to take a load, switch bags, etc, and learned alot more about each other than we thought. As we arrived, we put our bags into another building which would become our sleeping area. We had a snack, then headed along the trail to the repelling.

The school! I was most proud of my Brigade, they are versatile, flexible, and adaptable….What more could you ask for?! This was exciting, we were able to head to the local school and our pack taught classes to the children there in different groups. It was amazing to see such a small school, but the ages varied so much as well among the students. I thought this was one of the best things so far, being able to see the school right in the small town and interact. I did see this as a chance to be able to gather what their curriculum was for next time, as this would help the ASF students much better in presenting information that that might not be basic knowledge or that they might have covered already. This was impossible to know without knowing what they were studying ahead of time, but overall, this experience was VERY rewarding. Amazing to see sheep and wild turkeys on the grounds like you would see dog and cats!

We headed back to get ready to RAPEL! The waterfall, the sky, it all was AWESOME, and two ropes led down the face of the waterfall. This was truly where you confronted face to face you fears, or any fears, you might have of heights. Just looking around and taking pictures was amazing as you really took in the sound of the water, the height of the cliffs, and the steady progression down the cliff with ropes and rapelling. Overall, there were only three students that had a fear high enough not to participate, but they were able to contribute to the group as will, via taking pictures and/or assisting others with the rapel. They at least tried to attempt this by putting gear on, looking at the route down, etc, but I completely understand their fear of heights! I didn’t go as it was a little confusing with students getting ready to rapel, student not rapelling, and student coming back from rapelling, but it was still a great experience and we managed to get pictures of all the that did rapel.

I think it is fitting that from here on out I have no pictures, as at this point I felt us begin to grow together with the realization that we could always improve, but this never would take away from what we have accomplished, which was more than we could cover in pictures, it will remain in our heads and hearts if we allow it to stay there! And Brigade #10 allowed tat to happen!

Heading back you could sense the tiredness, but the layout and environment of the hacienda was again gorgeous. We passed trout farms, hill rolling hills, clouds gliding in front, amazing. This evening we had a chance – despite more rain – to enter and complete more of our guide books. I remember sitting out at 11:00 PM with another OB guide, Sergio, working on the student comments and guidebooks, and finally, heading in to bed. I felt this was the most challenging night of sleep as we crammed in 10 guys in one room with sleeping bags and 4 girls plus add tho OB guides to that total in an area the size of half a classroom. Being tired from the hike, and being the last one in for the night, I grabbed a corner and laid down in a fetal position just glad to be out of the rain.

Mornings were chilly and cold again, but between the stretches, early breakfast, and then repacking, we were off on our third and final hike. This was overall a little shorter, but again, your view became breathtaking when you set off unsure if this was a slide or the real thing! Along the way on this hike, we took an hour to just spread out and reflect on our experiences. The students wrote a letter to themselves which would be mailed back to them at a later date. This was one of the most difficult things for some of the students to do as they could not see the sense of just sitting there, and for AN HOUR! After awhile, I enjoyed just hearing the wildlife around us and taking it all in, I liked this idea. This normally takes about 24 hours but we did this for 1 hour, I can only imagine if they did this for 24 hours!

We reached after a beautiful and much shorter, but I think more demanding hike to our final spot (much to the joy of our group as we were really feeling the muscle ache of three days of hiking!) – LAKE side. Talk about gorgeous….add the scenery we had seen before with this and you have one of the most beautiful spots of the three, again, think Grizzly Adams show!

We had small buildings with their own bathroom! 🙂 – and separate rooms with doors inside, and a wood burner in each so this was a luxury compared to our previous spots. We placed down our gear, the dining hall was GORGEOUS and the food great. We straightway went to the local trout farm. AMAZING! We could see the actual trout eggs, then different tanks for them as they got progressively bigger. One small tank inside was the process of them hatching out of the eggs into the actual trout the size of a pin. We were given nets and the managers shown the seining of the fish and the nets enabled the students to fish the trout out of the tanks. We did fish two, and were taught how to kill them with snapping their mouth back. I have to say, this was amazing but I felt bad, – I know the trout were raised for this purpose, but in seeing their purple stripe and speckled skin, how amazing beautiful they were, it was just a work of art! The group stopped after awhile, but realized how slippery they were out of water! The dogs nearby grabbed the two we “caught” and ate quickly, they seemed worthy of it as they looked VERY skinny and hungry! I was elated and glad at the fact that the group did go through several emotions while here, and he realization and dilemma of to kill or not to kill came up and they at least took this to heart. I loved the fact that the tanks were fueled and supplied by the water that came downhill from the mountains, no pumps required. BEAUTIFUL!

We headed back, and became ready for water sports! We did a team building exercise with filling a water bottle full that had holes, (interesting but possible), and continued to enter the kayaks and rafts and if you know the dilemma of some people rowing against another, the direction thing is a go or just a no go depending on the skills we had (or didn’t have). You truly see the true colors of people when trying to row and work together, HYSTERICAL. We laughed until we cried and I think the group did too trying to steer, row, and direct in somewhat of a relay!

Finally, (This was a jam packed day, yet today the group did not seem to feel that it was one thing after the other like previously) – we were given a canvas and had to paint using Pointilism. I have to say I was so impressed with the painting, we did bring it home but it is GORGEOUS! I love the way it appears and am so proud of their decisions in coloring them, EXCELLENT!

We hunkered up for dinner, (delicious) and a moment here. At dinner, I sat with Ms Kang to get across some ideas of what I thought of the trip etc, and the OB group and our brigade presented me with a card and a shirt, I did not know what to say. I was speechless and thankful! I mean, I am rarely shocked, and this just, well, SHOCKED me! Left me speechless!

Related to the other aspects, it was one of the best parts of the trip and I was so thankful to have shared this experience with the students, and given this was just the largest thank you I could ever recall! 🙂 (I am still smiling!) ….through the remainder of the night, our last night together, we finished the guide/reflective books and had some breathing room. We did do our final circle of thoughts and reflections, and overall, I felt we did sacrifice alot, but grew together stronger thanks to the varied experiences, forced closeness, and separation form other peers together. The beauty of the environment certainly weighed on everyone’s minds as well, amazing!

The night drew out as Axel slept on the porch (beautiful night but COLD!) and I slept in the hall under the sink, lol but the arrangements worked, we were thankful for the gifts our OB guides had given us! There was a lot of chatter since this was knowingly our last night, but it was all good and awesome to hear the group enjoy this experience.

Next day again, of course cold! We were a mix of racing to complete the journal guides, eat breakfast, return gear, clean the house, pack, I had the brigade sign my shirt, we anxiously waited for the returning vans, and hey! Don’t forget that painting! We circled up all four brigades for our one final circle, and knew we were going to be sleeping in our own bed tonight! It was a bittersweet goodbye, as we had so much we knew about each other we never did before, yet it was a peaceful realization of all we had learned in this beautiful environment. Many people wonder why I waited so long to publish this, but without the pictures, and the right words, I did not want to cheapen this experience one bit. I still, as most know with coming back from camps, cannot put into words the excitement this gave us, however, the lessons learned will last a lifetime.

On the way home, exhaustion set in, and when we actually arrived back to ASF, HUGE tents of welcome were sent up, tons of FOOOOOD, music, brigade pictures, shirts given out, an amazing welcome home. The students knew they were appreciated and had participated in something AMAZING. I am still amazed at the undertaking involved in this for the freshmen, and having arranged field trips myself before, just could not put into words how large an event (185 students) and an undertaking this was yet how successful it was in operations and to everyone’s spirit. Words are not enough. Axel and Katarina were AMAZING, and I am still blown away that she shared she was THREE months pregnant….if you did not think you could hike the way we did, imagine being pregnant! Axel and Katarina are my heroes, alongside Brigade #10!

Looking back, would I have had the same experience if I was not focused on this single event, this single narrow focus on my brigade? It is funny, which will come up in a later post, the idea that this whole experience that moved me to Mexico as fate is so true and I realize it each day. I am grateful for being single to take in and appreciate all that I have learned about myself and the students, faculty, and friends I have met here that continue to have me appreciate many things I would never have DREAMED of. My brigade #10 was my single focus, and I would have it no other way. 🙂 The sacrifices we made might disappear from memory after a few days or even maybe if we are lucky, weeks, but that does not take away that we had one amazing bonding experience for 4 days that would never have been experiences without that single focus of each other! 🙂

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5202 0825, 5540 4778 www.libroslibrosmexico.com
Free gift wrap, cookies (YES!) and awesome magazines, with thousands of books!

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Distrito Federal, MEXICO 06700

Any books you might want to donate, see the Under the Volcano books! Awesome and cool place!

Two impressive forms of media impressed me this week…
This reflection on the 21st Century teacher

and Steve Jobs’ Stanford speech below, you definitely need to read this…WOW…

In a short amount of time, so many things can occur, – crazy, isn’t it?

I will pick up from where I left off last post, how is that?

We did prevail 2 Saturdays ago, (not yesterday, but the Saturday before) – with a great College Fair! We had success with the pizza selling, ordering 4 at a time, Three times, for a total for 12 pizzas blowing out of the fair, and we could have done with probably 6 at a time, but overall, we were lucy we sold it all and had the chance to raise an extra 1000 pesos added to the account. Not bad at all! 🙂 I was proud of

Camila, Ann, and Ji as they helped collect, distribute, and hold of the crowds between pizza deliveries and such.

I was able to actually get my clothes from a new laundromat

after the College Fair, and began the process of putting away clothes and Sunday allowed me to be lazy and settle in with the new kitten, Dewey.

Speaking of Dewey, it has been amazing to see her settle in among stranger, and those “strangers” – in the form of faculty and students, have done a WONDERFUL job in taking care of her. She is completely spoiled but overall, well taken care of. She can be VERY frustrating when she cries, (as Deborah and Tracy and testify to) but when you look back to see how healthy and excited she becomes when she is around people that care for her, you see how similar to a baby she is with the milk, formula,

burping, and the whole training, wow. It you do not have patience you either will or you will break after the kitten baby stage! 🙂

It still tugs at my heart if we could make her a part of the library, as the way the students transformed when she was around was amazing, they pitched in and took care of her, and completely melted when she was near! 🙂 The name Dewey (for Dewey Decimal) as well as originally named Francine (from Sarah!) It is interesting to see how the DF is snuck in there thoroughly representing Dewey in Mexico!

So let’s discuss the eats! 🙂
2 Fridays ago we descended upon Ka Wong Seng

by the Viaducto. I will not spoil the review I wrote on the area with the review of restaurants on this blog (see the page that says Important bits of info about Mexico!)

Agapi Mu Restaurant

Wow! This might be the true test, soaking wet, stormy night, cold, and still a great place! This restaurant in Condessa has some of the best Greek food, and I was taken with the Calamri, oh yes…DELICIOUS! Great hideaway and great restaurant! A definite hit! To make it even better, we relaxed at a colleague’s apartment afterwards and just a great Friday night all around 🙂

This past week was a blur with trying to sneak Dewy into the school every day, (minus Thursday and Friday!) In my sweatshirt most days (in a sock), in her carrier bag, people on the metro noticing, wow, challenges, and then finally the decision to leave her home 😦 In a week she learned to use the litter box, still WAS on milk only (this past Saturday she ate her first taste of soft food and hard food MIXED, progress!) – and so she is coming along so quickly!

Let’s see, Ms Fong, my boss, travelled to New York and asked me what I needed, of all things, I could only think of a Swiffer for the house that would carry well, lol. I could have asked for ANYTHING else, but alas, I fell on the Swiffer, lol. I hope she is getting lots of pics!

I am excited, tomorrow, I am headed camping for four days with Outward Bound with the 9th graders. We go without showers for 4 days, in the wilderness, and do service projects with locals as well as help students in the classroom that are of elementary age. Exciting! 🙂

I have a friend, Glen Richards, who is in India right now working with an orphanage and amazing to see his VLOG and images of India, you truly need to check it out. You need to check out his facebook with the videos he is making, wow. GREAT and the kids are benefitting as well!

I think CYCLICAL because I realize how much an impact one person can make, and seeing Glen makes me realize, if each one if us were to just live like there is no tomorrow, imagine how many people could be affected and how much the world could change.

With the passing of Steve Jobs, I know alot of people focus on just his accomplishments with APPLE, but that was a vehicle for him to realize alot about himself. His Stanford speech
is FAMOUS, and for good reason. It would do you good to check it out and apply it every day, I hope to.

In seeing Mexico, I realized how lucky I have been to have this experience, and to have friends at home to help keep things going. Melinda Duryea helped me make the first ability to get money sent home and pay bills, and I hope to get back on track. Danielle Levredge continues to watch the house and turtle, and reduce the amount of bad things that could be happening!

I need to bust some hours and tasks out today and finish some on the burner tasks such as writing an article for the upcoming issue of Focus (magazine put out buy the school) as well as catch up with my online classes – November is write a 50 000 word novel and I signed up! – and Web 2.0 Tools class), all which will help me become more of a resource using and adapting technology for teachers.

Additionally, I am sooooo excited that my immigration/FM3 paper came in! YEAH!

I could not travel to NCTE in November without them, and I truly want to make an impact and bring resources back for the educator here in Mexico.

In March, we are preplanning a trip to New York City for the Columbia Univerisity journalism Conference, that will span over the time of my birthday! If I can get the staff to come to this, wow! I am so excited that this could happen – and it will benefit the Literary Magazine as well as the students in publishing! That same week is a Celebration of teaching which would be AWESOME!

In March there also is a United Nations UNUM
trip to Dublin, Ireland which I was accepted to chaperone for the United Nations event for the students, wow….I am so excited! I wanted to try and obtain information for my uncle related to our family tree if I can get that!

I have realized it is okay to do alot of events, but if I do not pull information back from them, then it does me no good and others no good.

I forsee me catching up with bills (BORING) over the next few weeks, and also my classes I have enrolled in, and then jumping back and hitting my list of to see’s around Mexico! 🙂 In the process, I have begun to do the flashcard and recall exercises on SpanishDictionary.com,

ohmygosh! It really works better than anything I thought it would! Excellent! So I am getting there….:)

Alot for you to look over, but I hope by taking the last week off from posts, it has given everyone a chance to catch up! 🙂

I see life as cyclical, and if you believe this, then it is even more important to make sure you provide some good that will come back around and benefit others as it has you!