Dvora's International Adventures

21 Day Yoga Challenge - Complete

2012-01-29T23:00:00.002-06:00

So Yoga Journal decided to bring back their 21 day challenge for a second year. I participated a bit last year, but this year, they decided to join forces with Social Workout to keep us honest. They also added in a 15 minute meditation per day as well as trying to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day.

Well I did it!!! 21 days of yoga practice at home on my mat as well as 21 days of meditation. The vegetarian eating part is not too much of a challenge for me, but it did make me plan my dinners better. I even did Isagenix cleanse days along side and I am feeling great. I completed 160% of the challenge since many days I ate 3 vege meals and some days did 20 minutes of meditation.

I hope to keep up yoga at least 4 - 5 days a week and check out a new-to-me local yoga studio next week when I am back in D.F. and keep up the meditation practice too. Thanks for the push and the great yoga videos @Yoga_Journal and @socialworkout. Let's see what new challenges they have to offer... anyone want to join me in the Dawn Patrol Challenge for February?

Chunky Circle Scarf

2012-01-28T23:02:00.000-06:00

So I bought some great Filati yarn a couple of weeks ago on sale for 15 pesos a skein. It is a beautiful grey color and I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I was searching with my roommate Claudia for a cowl pattern... and then I saw this... Chunky Circle Scarf at People Webs by Lindsi. She thoughtfully shared her wonderful creation and so it began Thursday eve at my Worldwide Craftsy Meetup as you can see below.

My I look alert. :P

Friday, we had a professional development seminar on classroom management. To keep my mind alert, I decided to continue to crochet. By the end of the day, here is what I had.

I am already working on another one for a friend in a lovely shade of red. :)

Broomstick Lace swatch

2012-01-21T17:07:00.001-06:00

So this is my 1st swatch of broomstick lace. I will be making the Broomstick Lace Neck Warmer from Crochet Today! September/October 2011 issue as a gift with beautiful buttons from Panama. My gauge is pretty on... just need to work a bit looser on the broomstick loops. Look soon for a finished product post.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Get Organized - My Desk

2012-01-08T17:48:00.001-06:00

Taking a challenge set by CrazySocks Crochet to Get Organized! #1 Desk who was inspired by A Bowl Full of Lemons I decided to move my lazy butt yesterday and organize my desk. It was really not too bad to start...

Before

but definitely room for improvement. I totally needed to reorganize my trays and get rid of old receipts and such.

After - even hung the decorations

I started with the printer area and put stuff away and hung decorations as I found them on the desk. I then moved onto the actual desk and started with the trays and emptied all the trays and went through all the papers. It took a bit of time, but I am happy with the results.

New Orleans food indulgence

2012-01-02T18:42:00.002-06:00

The rest of my time in Panama was really fabulous. A day spent at Isla Taboga on the beach followed by lots of holiday meals.

New Orleans was all about the food and walking around the city's French Quarter and Garden Districts. Each day began with beignets from Cafe Du Monde. We then walked around exploring galleries and shops of all kinds.

We ate dinners at NOLA (one of Emeril's restaurants) where we had an amazing duck entree, Red Fish Grill where we met a couple of really nice other women who we shared a fun meal and conversation with, Mr. B's Bistro where Corie had their signature Grilled Shrimp dish... lots of mess very tasty and on our last night, Acme Oyster House which was worth the wait outside on line... being a table of 2 got us seated much more quickly than expected.

The best lunch experience was our late morning/afternoon at the New Orleans School of Cooking where we learned about New Orleans' history through food and of course, got to eat it as well as get the recipes for it. :)

Overall the trip was filled with food and walking fun including a fun evening walking tour with a very cool guide.

We even found a great local yarn & needlepoint shop, The Quarter Stitch, which I will review in another post.

We of course also saw some fabulous architecture and decorated homes and nature.

We even took the Cable Car back from our brief visit to the Tulane campus (all closed up for the holidays) and the park above.

And of course since it was my first trip to NOLA, it would not be complete without at least one walk down Bourbon Street.

Intro to Panama

2011-12-20T21:10:00.002-06:00

I arrived in Panama on Monday early evening after a pretty uneventful flight. I want to once again thank my wonderful brother for my 1st class treatment on the way here. It was a great start to my trip. As I got off the plane, I was hit by the wave of humidity... yes there was rain too. I also decided in that moment that I would be embracing my curls for the next week.

Today was a great day of seeing the whole area of Panama City and surroundings. I saw downtown, Avenue Balboa, the Causeway, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the CANAL and more. Jutty and Bill were great guides and we had lunch at the Miraflores Locks... no ships coming through there, but we did see some going through Pedro Miguel locks as we went up to see their house out of the city. The whole area that used to be occupied by US troops still looks like barracks building, but they are being used for all sorts of interesting things.

Photos to come tomorrow which will be a day to do some shopping. :) It will be so hard to choose a couple of Molas. Tomorrow night I will be staying in Gamboa (rainforest) and then on Thursday taking a tour of the flora and fauna by boat and by aerial tram of the canopy. Friday the plan is for me to take a boat to nearby Isla Taboga (Island of Flowers) for a relaxing day exploring on on the beach.

Halloween

2011-10-28T17:53:00.000-05:00

As of yesterday afternoon, I was going to school for today's Halloween celebration dressed as a yoga instructor with my mat and all. But then everything changed. My roommate Claudia and I went to a local costume shop which turned out to be a bit different from what we expected. Everything was folded in plastic bags behind the counter and having no real idea what to ask for we stood around for a bit peering at names on the bags. After a bit, we asked the sales lady what else they might have for adult women besides superheroes which were not school appropriate costumes. After she went to look, we came home with a smurf (los pitufos) for Claudia and a bunny rabbit for me. My other roommate Adam went as a lumberjack with his "axe" and all.

There was a costume parade at school today as well. Some very interesting costumes were there. A group of girls dressed as the 7 dwarfs, but the winners were 3 students dressed as the Yip yips from Sesame Street.

Everyone have a Happy Halloween weekend. Get ready for Dia del Muerte photos next week.

Late addition from last nights party... my roommates (Adam and Claudia) Paul Bunyan and his blue Babe

Back in Mexcio

2011-08-11T12:47:00.002-05:00

Back in Mexico. I arrived yesterday and began the big job of unpacking my room. All my things were in my closet plus the bags I brought with me. My bathroom is in pretty good shape except for needing some drawers and such to help organize it. My bedroom needs a lot of work still including some more furniture to put out stuff on. :)

This morning, Adam (my roommate) and I came to the school and have been here in meetings. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Have lots of work to do so time to jump in.

ISTE11 Top 6

2011-06-28T17:01:00.000-05:00

So the last days have been filled with meeting lots of people... some new and some I already knew digitally (via Twitter and blogs), posters, presentations, discussions and the like.

These are my 6 highlights so far:

#6 - Walking around the exhibition hall and seeing presentations from many vendors including Google, Adobe, Livescribe and more.

#5 - Volunteering at an ASK ME station on Sunday afternoon. After I finished I knew my way around this huge Philadelphia Convention Center.

#4 - Attending sessions of all kinds, from ISTE Unplugged, Poster sessions, Google Educators talking about Google Apps for education, international initiatives of ISTE, Music and Tech (great presentation by people I follow on Twitter - lots of good ideas even for non music people), Learning Tools Family Feud (all the stuff was crowdsourced ahead of time - so cool).

#3 - Doing #edchat live from the Newbie Lounge. It was cool to meet the #edchat moderators and be sitting next to people while tweeting them... though also a bit odd. It was nice to throw in some verbal conversation in between tweets too.

#2 - Winning a FLIP by playing Reflex math game with Explorelearning once in the morning and then being in the top 5 at the end of the day to compete... and then win the FLIP. I also won a free 3 month trial of the software to use with my class in the fall.

#1 - Meeting people and having impromtu discussions is the best part of being at ISTE. Continuing the discussions over lunch and dinner.

Knit in Public Week

2011-06-18T11:13:00.000-05:00

So from June 11 to 19th is World Wide Knit in Public Week and it just so happened that our group here in Mexico City was meeting last Sunday June 12th. Most of us were crocheting, but we meet at a coffee shop or the like once a month to hang out and knit/crochet.

Here are a few photos from our outing.

Summer Reading Challenge 2011

2011-06-06T16:54:00.001-05:00

So from Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews I was turned on to this BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2011. (Thanks!) This is a really cool summer book club for adults... kinda like the Scholastic project for kids. There are even prizes and such along the way.

I would love to keep up by reading a book a week, but since they say you can read just 1 or as many as you like, I will do the best I can. My 2 limitations are: as I live in Mexico City and it will not be easy to get all the books unless I decide to break my Kindle budget and time due to end of year writing exams, grading final projects and grading exams.

Was able to buy week 3: The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop, week 4: Here, Home, Hope by Kaira Rouda and week 9: The D Word by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke books for my Kindle without spending too much. :) Most others are available on the Kindle but at $9.99 or $12.99 each will break my book budget soon. Hoping can get some from the library when I hit the US in a few weeks for summer vaca. Might have to bite the bullet for week 1. Hmmmmmmm.

Anyone want to join me?

Back in the 30 Day Shred saddle

2011-05-22T09:47:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have been absent for so long. Had some news to deal with and then a fab visit from my brother. All of which took me away from writing here.

Today I woke up too late to make it to my yoga class, but decided it was time again to let Jillian whip my butt for a while. So I got dressed and did Level 1 30 Day Shred workout this morning. It felt great as I did not feel like I was going to die like the first time I embarked on this workout. All the walking/running on the treadmill (I did make it to week 3 of couch to 5k) and yoga have definitely made me stronger. I am excited to make this 30 day pledge again.

For me I will pledge to either do a Jillian workout or take a 90 minute yoga class every day for the next 29 days. The end of the school year is always a stressful time with exams to write and grade and grades to finish and last teaching to complete and family day and a million other end of year obligations plus apartment hunting (new Mexico City digs) and moving. This is my pledge to take care of myself despite all this and to keep my stress level a bit more under control.

Here I go!!!!

In memory of my mom: Gloria Rochelle Geller

2011-05-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

Today was Mother's Day in the US and Mother's Day is May 10th in Mexico. We even get a half day at school so people can celebrate with their families. I find this day a tough combination of joy for friends and cousins who have kids and are moms and sadness for the fact that I do not have my mom. It is a bit easier being in another place since every other commercial on tv is not about Mother's Day, but those email ads still come.

I decided to follow a few people on Facebook that posted a photo of their mom from last week through May 10th. I decided that it was a great idea to honor the woman who I still love dearly though she is no longer here. I am a product of who she was and who her mom was as well. I lost them both too young, but am lucky to have a number of surrogate moms who are there for me when I need. So, I scanned one of the last photos that I have of her which is a picture from my friend's wedding.

This is a classic photo of my mom. She looked great here and it holds a place of pride on my photo shelf. It has gotten many comment from family and friends. My uncle (mom's brother) thought I was looking more like her till he realized it was her. Each one has made me smile and also made me teary.

Today, I decided to spend the day on me. I took a yoga class for the 1st time in a few weeks (due to spring break and all) and then met up with my knitting/crocheting (critting) group - also feeling like I was honoring my grandma and mom since they were my teachers, for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful day outside and I felt good about my memories. This evening, I read a beautiful post by Kami that she titled "My Women" that I just need to share with everyone. It inspired me to write this. Thanks Kami!

STS-134 NASA Tweetup

2011-03-31T23:29:00.000-06:00

I was chosen... I think it is finally starting to sink in, that if the launch goes on its predicted date, I will see the space shuttle Endeavor blast off for the very last time.

When I first found out that I was picked, I was not sure what to do. While you are chosen, all the expenses to get to Kennedy are on you. The honor is getting to be with the press at a super close location to see the launch. Now, if you don't know me you would not know that this is something I have dreamed of since STS-1, when Columbia launch on 12 April 1981. I have a scrapbook of news articles about it... ok well it is hiding in my box of stuff in my dad's attic, but that is the whole living out of the country thing. When I called my brother to ask him what I should do, he said to me... "Is this really a question? Duh... you need to go." So I went on to checking on my air miles for a plane ticket and asking a friend with a place in Orlando if I could stay and setting up a rental car. I filled out my forms to be allowed in and was approved.

Now I know the whole thing could be moved and I may not be able to go at a later date (since this one is during spring break before my visitor arrives), but I am hopefully that the stars will shine on me and all will work out as planned. I am hopeful that though I have been told it could take hours to drive from Orlando, that me being willing to pay for the toll road will help. The people I have "met" via Twitter and Facebook seem to be very cool. They are planning lots of shared houses and such so it should be a good time.

Think good thoughts that this will be a go.

How I started with the hook...

2011-03-23T20:03:00.001-06:00

Ok the quick version of how I started crocheting (and knitting for that matter because I am indeed a critter). My mom and grandma both knit and crocheted. I always remember watching them. Both my parents also did needlepoint and my dad was hooking a rug which sat in our living room for years. I really can’t remember which craft I began first… it might have even been looming pot holders, but I know that I wanted to learn to knit really badly. My grandma decided that I should learn crochet first and taught me by leading me through a granny square. :) I remember the 1st project was in a variegated purple yarn (my favorite color) and I was making a pillow. It took me forever to crochet all 18 squares - 9 for each side and years longer before I finally put them together. I wish I had a photo of it but with all the overseas moving I only have more recent digital ones… maybe there is one hiding in my dad’s attic. I liked when the whole family was crafty together. We had lots of types of projects going on at any given time and every time I pick up my hook (or needles) I have good memories of my grandma and mom.

Since then I have gone through stages with different crafts. I have crocheted many a kippah for my brothers, bags, hats, etc. I am really enjoying the sophistication in today’s crochet patterns. There are all kinds of new challenges to pick up.

Week 3 Challenge - The Wild Hunt for International Crochet Month with @Shibaguyz

2011-03-14T23:07:00.004-06:00

As part of the Shibaguyz FAB CAL for International Crochet Month, I have been participating in a challenge each week. You saw last week's post about making March International Crochet Month, well week 3 is a hunt. Each day they will post a clue for that day's task. As I complete each task, I will update this post each day so you can see what is going on. [Check out their link. They have amazing patterns.]

Enjoy!

For today's task, I needed to crochet a small bit. Of course my biggest challenge is the lack of stash (what we crafty people call all the yarn laying around waiting to be used). I have moved so often of late, that I do not have much. I was lucky enough to have this one skein of Charcoal Lion's Brand Cotton Ease around which should work. I guess I need to buy some yarn. :)

Task #1

Task #2 (The circle grows)

For Task #3 we were taken to the Shibaguyz website and got to "meet" Stephen “Suede” Baum, designer/contestant from Season 5 of Project Runway as well as get our clue. Here is the progress:

Task #3

Looking back at the comments, I realized that I misread the 1st step in Task #3 so I went back and fixed that and then added Task #4. The circle grows:

Since we all want spring to come... it is definitely here in Mexico City as different flowering trees and such start to bloom. I have now finished the WILD HUNT and came up with a very pretty flower.

Which I decided the hang by the window to enhance the view. I think I will make a bunch more to hang around the apartment.

I have really enjoyed this event not knowing till the end what we would have. Thanks Shibaguyz!!

I declare March International Crochet Month

2011-03-10T21:35:00.000-06:00

I have been busy this week (well yes at work) but also... crocheting in Mexico City. I am working hard on my Shibaguyz CAL and making some progress on the back.

A few rows done

I have done a few more rows since the photo, but no new pictures yet. Hope to finish it and start the front this weekend. Work has been busy, but I take a bit of time when I get home to relax and crochet. Of course, I also need to get back to my running as well. I am enjoying the project and the yarn.

In case you wondered what inspired my sudden writing of crochet, March is National Crochet Month in the US and from some of my crafty pals like Knit Purl Gurl I found out about the CAL. I of course did not let the boarder stop me from crocheting with my new friends. Then my hosts the wonderful Shibaguyz had an even better idea... let's make March International Crochet Month and of course since I have lived outside the US for over 5 years now, I am all for it.

So let's hear it: March will now be International Crochet Month!!

Do you know the way home from Santa Fe?

2011-03-04T21:10:00.000-06:00

Tonight I ventured out to the Centro Commercial Santa Fe (a big mall) with Adam and Sarah. I was on a mission to buy yarn so I could participate in Shibaguyz Designz FAB CAL (A crochet along) being hosted on Ravelry for National Crochet Month (ok I know I don't live in the US anymore, but that's ok). After deciding on making the Wrap Front Shrug and buying the pattern (I love the whole download the pdf instantly thing.), I was so excited that I ordered yarn online only to realize it would take too long to get here so... I decided to look for some local yarn shops here in Mexico City. I found one called Crochet and one of their shops is relatively nearby in Santa Fe which used to be the city dump and is now built up. So we ventured out this evening and had success all around. I got some really pretty yarn

and Adam got shoes to wear to his brother's wedding in April. Can't wait to get this project started... well now!

Couch-to-5K: Week 2 complete!

2011-03-01T20:22:00.001-06:00

So let's be real. I am not a runner! Never have been unless it was part of a soccer game or kickball game or _____ game... well you get the picture.

Yoga has been my game for the last years and I even completed my YogaWorks 200 hour level teacher training this summer in NYC with the best teacher, Jody Rufty and assistants and fellow students. I began my serious yoga training in Zurich with Olive and continued it Curacao with Kirti who encouraged me to look into the training. It furthered my yoga practice greatly, but I have not found a yoga school nearby in Cuajimalpa, Mexico City yet and we have a gym in the basement of the building.

So.... this led me to the crazy idea of trying to run... again. My asthma (& the bum knee) has always been a sticking point for this and the high altitude does not make it better, but I thought let's give it a try. I had heard about Couch-to-5K from Cool Running from my friend Kami and found out there were all kinds of podcasts to help. Over 9 weeks, it shapes you up from a couch potato to running a 5k.

I had tried for week months and months ago, but it did not stick. So I again went in search of a podcast to help me in this endeavor and I found Podcasts for Running by Robert Ullrey's which can be found at his website or in iTunes. These combine Robert explaining each week's set with good music and his cues of when to change from walking to running.

Well I have now finished Week 2. It has taken 3 weeks in total for this to happen, but I am doing it. You do each week's workout 3 times (it should only take a week). Week 1 happened with its 60 sec running and 90 sec walking with soreness, but all else well. Week 2 started and then grades were due and I did not get in workouts 2 or 3 so I started Week 2 again and have just finished it. :) Today's workout was tough and 90 secs of running still feels quite long, but I am ready to move on to Week 3 on Thursday!

Any advice from others? I would love to hear it.

Platinum movie treatment

2011-02-28T17:59:00.000-06:00

Since I just saw "The Kings Speech" Friday evening and it won Best Picture yesterday, I definitely need to share my cool experience.

So Adam, Barbara, Sarah and I decided to go to a theater called Cinemex (one of the 2 big local chains) and the movie was playing in the Platino part of the theater at the time we wanted. It was such a great experience. Besides the movie which I did love, the reclining leather seats and a theater with only 42 seats and a bar and lots of other amenities was really great. I have been told, that these exist in the US as well, but here we paid what I would for a normal NYC movie ticket and got the royal treatment. Beer and Cosmos were had along with our popcorn. It was nice to stretch out and have lots of room. WARNING: Danger to falling asleep during the film if you get too comfie.

Has anyone ever gone to a movie like this?

Feria de Chapultepec & Valle de Bravo

2011-02-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Last Friday till Sunday was packed with good times. Friday was Colegios Peterson's Day at Feria de Chapultepec (think Coney Island vs Six Flags). All students, except grades 10 - 12 had no regular classes and their day began at the feria many with their families as well. My day began with physics lab 11. All 10 - 12 as well as some 6-9 students who were at school rode buses around 11:30 over. We had the whole place to ourselves for the day.

The rides were fun though some knocked you around a bit and I, of course, came away with a couple of bruises. The best thing was the Haunted House... really scary fun! I hung out with a number of the teachers and we enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was very sunny so we relaxed in the shade as well. My day at the park ended around 4pm meeting Ken Peterson at the gate along with Adam (see above), Barbara, Sarah and Mary from my campus and Erika from Tlalpan campus for our weekend away to Valle de Bravo. We would be staying at the Peterson's house there.

View Larger Map

We hit traffic as we got closer to the valley so did not arrive till close to 20:00. We had a wonderful dinner and just relaxed and got some sleep.

Saturday, we got a chance to really see the house. After a wonderful breakfast, some went out kayaking (walking down to the lake from the house they have a dock) and some of us walked to a really nearby waterfall

and back up to the house. I then sat in the sunshine reading my latest book "The Hunger Games" which I really enjoyed. The others came back and after more time relaxing, we went out for a longer nature walk by a much larger waterfall; Velo de Novia

which was just stunning and the weather was beautiful. We walked/hiked along the path all the way down to the lake, but the drinks were out of reach in the middle of the lake there so back we went.

Too far without a bathing suit.

We had another wonderful meal with grilled veges and a specially marinated beef all in a tortilla along with salad and a bunch of other little bits. All the food was wonderfully prepared and there was plenty of it. A bit later, we took a trip into town to browse around a bit and saw some native dancers in the square in front of the church. Back to the house for a light meal and then some of us went out for a night on the town. This being Mexico, at 22:00 we were the first ones in the bar, but it soon filled up with others. We did some relaxing and people watching and hanging out. What a great night!!

Sunday after a wonderful slightly later breakfast (I just love pancakes!!) we headed out to the Art Market in town and I picked up a small basket woven with pine needles and a nice bedside lamp as well as few other little things. We all had fun and helped the local economy out. :) After another great meal of chicken with mole, rice, salad, etc We packed up to head back to the city. We were lucky with the traffic (or lack thereof) and made it back in about 2-1/2 hours.

The whole weekend was filled with wonderful weather, food and most important company.

Ken, Nancy, Mary, Me, Erika, Sarah and Adam

If you want to see more photos: click here!

Superbowl Sunday in Mexico

2011-02-07T18:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a fun afternoon spent with 4 others who stayed around for the long weekend. We were hosted at a house with a Canadian feed so we could see the game and the commercials. The afternoon/evening were filled with margaritas, Rachel Ray's Lucky 7 Layer Dip (made by me), pico made by my roommate, chips, empanadas, coleslaw, pulled pork sandwiches (I had peanut butter :) and chocolate chip cookies. Did I mention the margaritas. :) I also started my Couch to 5k running program in the morning... good work against the calories of the evening.

On the lucky side we had off today for Constitution Day. YAH!! Though closing in on the end of a grading period (Bimesters - here) and having to write exams (one at the end of each of the 5 Bimesters), I have spent the day working.

Some highlights from earlier in the week:
Work, work and more work, until... Thu and Fri out eve to celebrate birthdays. Thu we went out not too far from where I live and had tacos for dinner. Fri night went into town right after work. The menu at the place was lots of small plates. After lots of food and some drink the whole night only cost about 300 pesos each... less than $30. So cool!

Hola a la ciudad de México!

2011-01-31T23:08:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday (23rd Jan), I arrived in Mexico City after a pretty uneventful early morning flight. Happy to get through passport & customs without any problem as I did not know my complete new address and I had a bunch of luggage. I was picked up at the airport and driven across the city to Cualjimalpa... this place really is HUGE... to my apartment. [Sorry, no photos yet... coming soon.]

I am at the blue dot!

My roommate, Adam, was out watching football so I looked around. The apartment is really nice. Stats: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a quite large living room, dining area and entry hall, kitchen with gas stove and even laundry :) [This makes me happier than you can imagine.] There is also plenty of closet space as well. Outside there is a gate and guard and it is about a 2 minute walk from the school. It is a bit far from the more happening parts of the city, but you can get there with a very cheap bus (5 pesos) or a pretty cheap taxi (150-200 pesos) depending on where exactly you want to go. [In case you were wondering it is about 12 pesos to $1 right now.]

The school director Jutty came over a bit later and I went for some lunch with Jutty and another teacher and her older kids. They had gone to a concert in the afternoon. We had a nice lunch and we went to the Superama (Isn't that a cool name for a supermarket) for some food to start out. Afterwards, I came back and unpacked my bags. I met my roommate later and went to get some sleep since I needed to be at work the next morning... around 07:15. YIKES that is early.

The first day was filled with meeting new people and getting a lot of information about curriculum and my schedule and the like... all preparing me to teach on TUESDAY. And of course Tuesday is my heaviest teaching day of the week so it really was into the fire. The day went well and I met all of my students and classes. It was a long day and I expect it will be just as long tomorrow too. My classes are all good and the other teachers very friendly and nice. I am still not quite as on top of my planning as I like to be, but am trying to be patient with myself. This week is a bit better. I even managed a lab activity with one of my grade 8 classes on Thursday and am fully booked for labs this week.

My 1st weekend here was filled with fun. Another woman who lived downstairs had her father visiting so lots of stuff was planned. Friday night we had some dinner and went out to a place called Garibaldi which is a big square where lots of mariachi music groups come to play.

We stayed out late enough to need some late night food. Quesadillas and tacos... YUM!! and sooooo cheap. Got home way way way too late, but still managed to get up and meet Vanessa for lunch in town the next day.

Saturday was my day to conquer public transport here... don't think Zurich or even NYC. Buses do have routes, but no real schedules and you can often just hop on or off at any corner or crossroads. They cost 5 pesos for longer distances and 3-4 for shorter. Then there is the Metro which is 3 pesos each ride. I did manage to get on the pink line instead of the brown since they have the same end stop, but I figured it out and only managed to be 30 min late (which is considered on time in Mexico ;) We went for some lunch in a nice neighborhood called Condesa. While sitting out on the sidewalk to eat in the sunshine (Yes it is sunny and in the low 70s during the day, it does get down to the 40s at night... and there is no heat so it is kinda cold.) we had the opportunity to buy handmade soaps and honey and a myriad of other goods. We only got the 1st 2 as after lunch we were headed to an artist market at San Angel. I picked up a cool nightlight for my bathroom and some small baskets as well. After heading back to Vanessa's for a cup of tea she came with me to show me which bus to take home... no it is not the same route as the one there. Got home without any problems and feel much better about my ability to take a bus as long as I have some clue where I am going to. The city is super huge and will take a while to find my way around.

Sunday, I got up early to join Adam, Barbara (the ES principal), Emily and her dad and Tatiana for a day to the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun and the Basilica de Guadelupe. It was another day filled with walking and they are so close to the city.

Pyramid of the Sun (about 65m high)

To see the rest of my photos: click here. At the end of the day, it was time to do some prep work for the week and some grading. Trying to keep on top of that monster from the start.

And that is my first week here in Mexico City. If anyone wants to come by... just let me know. :)

Crossroads

2011-01-07T20:10:00.000-06:00

There are times in life when you are at crossroads and need to decide what path to take. It can be difficult to decide so you use lots of different tools. I have used pro vs con lists, yoga and meditations, talking to friends and family. You hope to make the best decision you can, but can never be sure if it is 100% the correct one.

Well I made my decision and will share it with you all soon.

Ambassador Crochet: Etimo Crochet Hook Giveaway

2010-12-30T13:55:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite yarn craft blog is doing a giveaway. I love her patterns and she inspires me creatively so check it out.

Ambassador Crochet: Etimo Crochet Hook Giveaway: "Here's a great chance to win a couple of extra entries into my giveaway. For those that haven't heard, I'm giving away an Etimo croche..."

Back in the USA

2010-12-21T22:09:00.000-06:00

So I am back in the US for an extended stay. My family and friends are lobbying hard for where I will spend this time. My one brother wants me to stay west coast with him, while the remaineder are lobbying for east coast... preferrably somewhere in the northeast. I love feeling so loved. :) As for me, I am not 100% sure what I want to do with this time yet so while I am still recovering from being ill, I will contemplate the worlds of secondary education, teaching yoga and maybe even being creative for a while and doing some design work with yarn.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all my friends wherever in the world they may be. xoxo

Leaving the first city

2010-12-10T02:54:00.001-06:00

Being one of the last ones to leave means saying goodbye many times. Though for this group it is not really goodbye, but see you in a few weeks... just in another place. I woke up early this morning see off one group leaving and just helped the second big group pack all their bags in a taxi. Now there are just a few of us left wrapping up the life we led here in Stockholm. Goodbye to a wonderful city. See you later to all the wonderful people!

(I will go back and write about our wonderful trip to Åre in the more north of Sweden soon.)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T15:12:00.001-06:00

I have been giving thanks all week through my status updates in Facebook. Here they are:

Monday - is thankful for the wonderful experiences, staff and students I am working with this year.

Tuesday - I am thankful for my cousins. Cousins are the 1st friends of your life. When you grow up, they are still your friends. Cousins are there as childhood friends, and they are there when get older as forever friends... No one will ever understand your CRAZY FAMILY like your cousins. Repost this if you have cousins that are awesome!

Wednesday - is thankful for her brothers and father and surrogate moms and sisters. :) Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day tomorrow. Eat some turkey for me!

So as you can see from Wed, there was no plan to have any turkey dinner at all. At lunch yesterday (I wrote this originally on Friday), I was very sad that for the first time in 38 years I would not be celebrating Thanksgiving with a special meal... after lunch when Marta came back from her appt, she was also feeling sad about this lack of special dinner so we decided to search up a place to go here in Stockholm. After a bit of internet searching, I decided that an American restaurant here might be the best way to find a spot having a special menu for the night. I had success as we found a place called the Mississippi Inn which was serving a special Thanksgiving Day menu.

We invited along one of our YBC friends, Kari, to share our traditions with him. The meal began with Tuna Cerviche as an appetizer and then continued with typical fare of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce (not quite like home), sweet potatoes and green beans followed by a really yummy dessert. No pumpkin pie, but the meal overall made me very happy!

We then took a snowy walk home from the restaurant to walk off our meal. I came home a bit cold, but happy!

Berlin Weekend

2010-11-26T02:58:00.000-06:00

I had the most amazing weekend in Berlin with some friends I met in Curacao, Judith and Stuart. We had wonderful weather (for Berlin in Nov - it was 5°C and sunny on Sat) and a wonderful time catching up and seeing the city transform for the start of the holiday season. We sat down for some coffee and got a show of the raising of a Christmas tree. Good company and good food was of course a part of the fun. It is nice to catch up with friends in places around the world sometimes very far from where you met and began to know each other. Berlin in Nov is quite far away from Curacao, but added to the adventures of my life. Thanks!

Here are a few photos from the weekend - the ones with me in them are courtesy of my wonderful friend Judith!

One of the Christmas Markets being set-up

The tree in the square

Stuart and I courtesy of Judith

Waiting for my Starbucks fix - Chai Tea Latte

Being silly on Stuart's balcony

Judith and I on the foggier Sunday morning via iPhone 4 self photo :)

Love wooden toys :P

Reflecting

2010-11-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

So last Thursday the faculty was invited to a social dinner with the staff at YBC. After a wonderful evening talking to many different groups of teachers, it really hit home, that we would be leaving here in just about a month. It is exciting to know we will be headed to Sydney for the next trimester, but sad to leave all these people whom we have connected with during our stay. It made me realize that the exciting part of this job is also the hard part... moving on every 3 months.

The time in Stockholm has been pretty wonderful and this week was no different. This past weekend, we took the kids to see The Social Network. They all seemed to like the movie and enjoyed learning more about a tool they use every day. For them, Facebook has existed pretty much as long as they can remember. For the adults along with them, this was not always the case... for me it did not come about till college was long gone, but I can't imagine not having it to stay in touch with all my friends and family as I live away from home.

We have also had some visitors this week... Liz, Mike, Sally and Brad's wife Julie have all been around. It is nice to have some others around and see them at work as well. It is nice to be able to have face to face conversations. :)

Today, we had the most amazing guest lecturer, Tobias Rawet. He is 76 and a holocaust survivor. Even though I have heard a number of others speak in the past, each's story is so different. Tobias decided after he heard those talking about it never happening that after he retired at 60, he would dedicate time to sharing his story. He has been on the Swedish radio and tv as well.

Well it's off to bedtime now. Another week is on it's way.

My Does Time Fly

2010-11-09T17:10:00.000-06:00

So life around here moves at exponential speeds sometimes. When we have our community meetings at the end of each week, it is often hard to recall all the wonderful experiences from the week. Of course you would think that would give me a lot to blog about... yes it should... but time becomes a factor as well as internet access. We have not had good luck recently where we live with a consistent signal. So tonight I am staying up late to at least give you the last week... there were many cool things the week before including a visit to the Swedish TV Studios, but alas I don't want to bore you too much.

Last week we visited Gotland, Sweden. We took a large ferry across the Baltic and we stayed in a former prison which is now a hostel. The rooms were ok, but walking outside to get to a bathroom was not the most fun. :P

The countryside was beautiful and you can see why people flock here in the summertime. Of course since the clocks were turned back the day before we left - yes Europe changed Oct 31st - it started getting dark pretty early.

It is only 16:28

Now it is 17:12

We started with a great early evening tour of Visby the old walled medieval city. Over the days there we checked out the local history museum where we saw old picture rune stones that showed that Vikings did not wear horned helmets. We raced “gotlandsruss” the special Gotlandic horse around a court with sulkies. Andrew came in 1st with Brad in 2nd.

We also saw many, many, many churches from the road and went into one and Janne our guide treated us to some beautiful songs. The acoustics were wonderful.

We even got to see the beautiful site where Ingmar Bergman is buried in Faro.

Then, the rain stopped to allow us to spend some time at the beautiful sea stacks.

Loving Pano on my iPhone

We had late lunch at a beautiful little hotel in Furillen and then made our way back to town seeing a few more sights along the way.

The last day was spent on a bike tour followed by lunch at the local university and Gotlandic games before taking the ferry back to Stockholm. A good time was had by all and it was nice to see another part of the country.

The Week in Museums

2010-10-17T15:54:00.002-05:00

This past week we had a couple of great museum visits. The first was to the Modern Art Museum. On the way, some of the kids were pretty negative about modern art, but after being asked to have an open mind to our speaker they listened. They still may not Iike art of the Modernism period (think Picasso till the 70's) but have a better understanding of why the works were done that way... showing feeling instead of realism and painting in a way that anyone could do and could make for themselves at home. Our guide was able to put the time period into perspective and of course the art as well.

Our second visit was to see the special exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors from China. One of the highlights of this visit was watching the students look at one of the signs and begin to recognize Mandarin characters on it. The sculptures were awe inspiring to me and the kids (and me) took many photos. The sheer size of the first set and then the miniature qualities of the second. The details we could still see and the ones we can no longer like the paint that wore away once exposed to the air and the clothes on the miniatures since the cloth had disintegrated.

Miniature Warriors

I had hoped to add a personal visit to see a chocolate exhibit this weekend at the Nordiska but that did not happen. Instead I relaxed and had a leisurely day today between brunch, yoga and the gym, I walked around the city and just kind of wandered.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Stockholm

A Successful Saturday

2010-10-09T22:00:00.023-05:00

Today was a really nice day. After a good late afternoon and evening and night filled with lots and lots of sleep and a bit of tv watching, I woke up feeling well rested this morning. Who knew I was so tired... not me!

I had some breakfast and such with some of the kids and then went upstairs to look into some restaurants for dinner. I found a cool website called Book a Table which lets you book restaurant reservations for many cities in Europe including Stockholm. After a bit of research, I picked a place called Bauer in the trendy island of Södermalm.

Then it was time to go out and explore the city a bit... after I went and joined the gym. I decided to look into some cafes, all on the same street, I had read about in this cool little book Stockholm - inside out: A snapshot guide beyond the obvious which I found in a bookstore here. First on my list was the Classic Tea Room but when I arrived, I found that you need a reservation for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. It is a cute place so I was quite sad. Then I decided to go back to a place called Xoko where they had beautiful chocolate desserts though I was good and just had lunch this time. A wonderful pumpkin soup with fresh bread on the side and a beautiful latte macchiato which was served with a small jar of sugar... see how cute!

After a filling lunch, I decided to head on a nice walk (about 2 km) to find a knitting shop I am interested in, Garnverket. Along the way, I meandered into different shops and such. I found the place quite easily, but... it was already closed. There was a workshop going on inside just to tease me. I will go back as it looked like a great place and on some Thursday nights they have a knitting cafe. Then it was time to head back to my room so I could relax for a bit and get ready for dinner.

Dinner was really wonderful... I had a beautiful dish of tuna with mango chutney and potato wedges and Marta had a beautiful dish of sushi. Marta and I had interesting conversation about the topic that keeps coming up. Making connections with people when you are in a place for a short time. The same topic came up when I chatted with another friend on Skype later in the evening. Everyone has slightly different views, but we decided that it does require us to be more forward and maybe to live a bit outside of our typical comfort zone. After dinner, we decided to walk up and down a bit of the main street of Södermalm and then walk back "home". It was a crisp night and we did stop for some dessert and hot chocolate along the way. Next time I will take a photo of the funky looking marshmallows they put on top. :) The walk was lovely and was a nice way to end the evening out.

Back in my room, I decided to keep working on this great hat I am crocheting. I am testing out a pattern and will share it soon. Only a few more lines till it is done.

Hans Rosling and Statistics

2010-10-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night Think Global School hosted an evening with Hans Rosling at Cirkus in Stockholm. It was an amazing event which you can see here if you missed it.

I enjoyed being present for the live event and also tweeting some great comments and a few photos along the way. It was interesting to read others Twitter posts during the event... some of the people were present, including some of our students, and others far away watching the live stream.

Hans Rosling has a way of making statistics relevant and fun. My favorite mathematical quote of the night was about those in poverty around the world. He said, "The percent of people in poverty were reduced, but the number of people in poverty is still the same." This idea has stayed with me even days later. His Gapminder software is a way to make statistics relevant and I want to use it in my math classroom. It is free software that makes use of the World Bank data bank. He is working to get the OECD to also give free access to their stats as well. He also reminded us to all look at the data and think for ourselves. It is very inspirational to hear him and for me put a new perspective on world questions and problems.

Musings on September

2010-10-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

So it has been a couple of weeks... ok almost 3 since I have written. Life has been busy, but finally feels like it is settling in to some kind of rhythm... post scavenger hunts and special classes about photography and creativity. We go regularly to our partner school YBC and they welcomed our students with a beautiful ceremony.

Their students have been buddied up and together they completed a video mashup this week exploring the similarities and differences between Sweden and where our students come from. It was a very cool thing to watch.

I have found that we have many adventures over food. Everything from me cooking for 25... a well received wok dish courtesy of Kami Lewis Levin from one of her Girl Talk posts. One of mine was with chicken and one shrimp and tofu.

To advisory dinners, to kids helping to prep to use getting use of a fabulous kitchen once a week to cook beautiful healthy meals. I mean look at the ingredients we picked from the fields for last weeks dinner.

We have also done some great other activities over the last few weeks... swimming, fencing, some early morning yoga taught by yours truly and so much more. We had some guest speakers as well as classes in museums and even one outside in a beautiful churchyard. TGS means the "classroom" is everywhere and can be at any time. The days can be long, but they are rewarding. Stockholm is a beautiful place even with the cold and variable weather though we have had a beautiful stretch of sunny days in the past week.

I will try and be better to share my journey and adventures more often. I know by waiting so long, I miss many details and fun bits so I will try to post more often.

The First Days

2010-09-13T16:38:00.001-05:00

The first day has come and gone and what an amazing day it was. All the staff spent the morning getting everything in place and ready for the students to arrive.

Everything was ready as the students and their parents/families began to arrive... even early :) The students are a really wonderful and diverse bunch. They got settled in and unpacked... and then played some innebandy (well an outdoor version of it anyway).

For the first dinner the parents joined the staff and students for a meal out. After our founders spoke and our head of school. One of the students brought a special treat to celebrate the start of something new. As we left the parents to walk back to the hostel, the students were talking and chatting.

Today, we had a wonderful Swedish style breakfast and then the iPhones were rolled out. Other schools give out textbooks, we give out iPhones which must be on the students at all times. :) I love it!!

Listening to Mike help them set-up their iPhones

Lunch was out at an all you can eat Asian buffet. I sat with some of the boys and it was great to see them talk to each other and joke around. Some have been in touch via Skype before they arrived, but everyone is open to each other. They were exchanging info and texting and sharing their favorite apps all through the meal. We also each received a wonderful little gift from Joann of a handmade bracelet made from these wonderful globe-like beads.

This afternoon the girls had meetings to determine their personal learning preferences to help them help themselves as we begin this wonderful journey together. Dinner was a fun and yummy meal prepared by Brad with help from the students... minestrone soup over bread with rosemary margarine. YUM!!! I decided to head out with some other TGS staffers while they had dinner to hang out. I came back and jumped into a webinar introducing Wolfram Alpha which is an awesome tool that we will use here at TGS along with other very cool tools.

Every moment I am with this group, I feel blessed to be a part of this magical journey. :)

Wilderness First Aid Training

2010-09-07T18:01:00.001-05:00

What do you think of when you hear these words? I thought of us off way away from the city out in the woods learning first aid. So I was happy to find out that the "wilds" of Stockholm were only a short walk, a short bus ride and another short walk from downtown. So our [all 5 teachers and 2 interns from Think Global School] early morning journey began. As we left the bus, we came across another classmate Paula who together with Brad negotiated our way through the paths to bring us here:

to this lovely unheated cabin where we met Lena and Howie who would be our instructors for the 2 days. We also met our 2 other classmates Pär and Helene. I won't talk about how cold I was for the two days... just know I wore at least 3 layers and also a hat, scarf and gloves or mittens the whole time unless I was expertly (or not) caring for a "patient". As we began the course, it became clear to us that our instructors were not only well versed in this material, but also had first-hand knowledge of its use as they led long trips and expeditions.

We started by learning how to keep ourselves safe by checking out a scene for danger and how the person(s) may have been hurt, putting on gloves, and making sure we were safe first. Next up introducing ourselves to our patient and asking if they wanted help as well as finding the responsiveness of victims Then we could start using our ABCDE to make a quick assessment. [A = airway - checking if anything in the mouth, B = breathing, C = circulation or do they have a pulse & are they bleeding?, D = disability - especially if spine may be involved, and E = environment]

Throughout the process of learning the rest of the pyramid from above, we did lots of scenarios such as this one where Sherry had fallen and hurt her back. We learned how to hold her head in case of spinal cord injury.

As we learned each new skill we practiced it and discussed the outcomes and how it went. After our ABCDEs, we talked about the full head to toe exam - looking, asking and feeling... thankfully in our class we could just ask about the groin area and no actual exam was needed for this area. :) Also important were taking vital signs and getting medical history by asking lots of questions to be clear about the patients situation and background. This is all important when calling the professionals for help. Howie was great at making the victims realistic and it was a bit stressful to take care of someone when you did not know what happened.

Over the rest of day 1, we learned what to do for possible head injuries,

Marta puts my neck in a "collar" made from my extra sweatshirt.

how to move someone with a possible spinal cord injury, how to treat cuts, abrasions and even loss of something like a finger. Howie was very "accident prone" and was "treated"many times.

Howie "lost" a finger so Lena helped treat him and the little patient.

The evening consisted of CPR with the latest regulations of 1:5 for breaths and 30:2 for chest compressions with breath. Did you know that "Stayin Alive" was the perfect tempo for chest compressions? Neither did I till then. Check us out:

This fun brought us pretty much to the end of day 1. Day 2 brought more "fun" scenarios including burns and shock as well as splinting fracture and taping. Didn't I do a good job taping Sherry's ankle?

Then poor Andrew "fell" in the water and got a nail through his hand while trying to save Howie. We had to save them both from hypothermia by getting them dry and wrapping them like a human burrito to get them warm.

The last few scenarios included anaphylaxis and the need to use an Epi pen as well as seizures and a need for glucose with unresponsive patients and snakes around as distractions.

All in all, it was a lot of really useful information and tools that make us all feel safer about being out and about with kids. We laughed a lot and even had fun while learning.

First days in Stockholm

2010-09-01T16:44:00.001-05:00

Now that the jet leg is mostly behind me and the real work has begun, I wanted to reflect. Overall it has been an amazing first few days. Thankfully after living camp style with 6 in the room, we are down to doubles which in another 10 days or so will be singles.

This place is easy to get to know and to get around. Food is good with lots of yummy choices. We all went out as a staff one night together for some yummy Italian food. I had a great pizza. Tonight some of the girls went for more Italian which turned out to be a bit pricier than we expected though very tasty!

We have been meeting to discuss more details and oh yeah; Monday morning we received our iPhones. It has been fun to use it to get around town. Google maps with gps is awesome for finding your way. It helped us with the scavenger hunt and to find the department store for buying a much needed hairdryer. Did I mention that it is COLD here?!? Ok well maybe not so much yet, but to this girl who was living in the Caribbean and then in NYC during the summer of heat, it is already UGGs weather to me.

Tomorrow we being the adventure of Wilderness First Aid training. Look back this weekend for all the fun and exciting details of first aid outdoors in the rain.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Luntmakargatan,Stockholm,Sweden

THINK Global School adventure begins

2010-08-28T06:12:00.001-05:00

So yesterday afternoon I met Marta at Newark airport for our flight to Stockholm. All went well checking in and the like though we were sitting at opposite ends of the plane. The plane was filled with cardiologists and others in the field coming to town for a huge European Cardiology conference. I was sitting next to 2 women cardiologist from New Orleans.

So we land on time and get through passport control and then go to get our bags. So we come out to the carousel and... there are no more bags going around. We along with about a dozen others have to get on line to the missing baggage woman... yes there was only 1 at 08.00! she starts logging in the information and after us waiting almost an hour another woman comes. As we stand in line and lament what will do till tomorrow, a guy from the back of the line says he thinks he saw his bag outside. The new woman turns the conveyer belt back on and in come all the missing bags. Why he did not say something an hour earlier who knows, but thankfully all of our bags were there.

Aron met us outside and got us in a taxi to the hostel since he needed to stay and wait for Laura to arrive. So as I mentioned the town is packed with conference people and stuff has been booked for months so for the weekend at least all the girls are bunking together in one cozy hostel room. It should definitely be a bonding experience.

Took a bit of a walk around the posh area of town with Brad and then around the more regular area with Sherry. I am desperately trying to stay awake since I know this is the best way for me to combat jet lag. Monday I will get my last fun tool iPhone 4. Can't wait to start taking photos to share.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Stockholm, Sweden

Life in transition

2010-06-26T22:07:00.000-05:00

My last week in Curacao was a wonderful time. Yes I had to work, but also found time to hang with friends, have final meals together, listen to music, watch the World Cup and the like.. and suddenly it was time to leave. I was sent off by 3 friends who came for a coffee at the airport and was met by 2 friends at the airport in the US. What a great way to transition.

Since I have been back, there have been many events:

Father's day with my dad for the first time in many years (In my defense, I do live overseas and have not been in the country.)
Yoga in Central Park which was unfortunately thunderstormed out
Yoga class in the City with the woman who will be my instructor for my 200 hour intensive training in July
Lunch with one of my new colleagues in the City
Some subway and express bus rides which always lets me know I am back in NYC

It has all been wonderful and I am looking forward to an exciting month ahead with my trip to Canada, yoga training and a sublet in Manhattan. :)

A week of Lasts...

2010-06-13T19:48:00.000-05:00

Well my time here in Curacao is rapidly approaching its end. Today was my last Sunday on the island. My last Sunday morning yoga class with Kirti (there will be a few more yoga classes during the week). It has been a crazy couple of weeks giving exams, grading exams, finishing semester grades, collecting book and the myriad things that are part of the end of the school year.

Yesterday was a beautiful morning where a bunch of us leaving or moving had a group yard sale. A bit was sold, but fun was had hanging out and relaxing in the shade. It is time to use up the foods in the kitchen and do a last purge so all my life will fit into a few suitcases which will come on the plane with me next Saturday afternoon. This week definitely will be a time to hang out with the friends I have made and will not see often anymore.

It is a mixture of feelings wrapping things up. To help keep sane, I did Shred today before yoga. This was the first time in a week or so and it felt great!

30 Day Shred - Day 9 through 21

2010-05-20T20:27:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't written, but life has been busy. I have been fitting in Shred and yoga some days both and some days one or the other. I even began doing Level 2 of the Shred. Jillian is a bit nuts and it is serious hard work, but it was cool to go up and the one day I went back and did Level 1 instead it felt simple in comparison. I still do not like jumping jacks... AT ALL, but they are easier to do. Things were going along pretty well... one day of real sickness in the middle of this stretch, but good around.

But yesterday I hit a big fat wall! I am trying to reach some big personal goals in yoga in order to take a teacher training course this summer and have hit the level of over load on my muscles. It was great on Wednesday when I was able to do a yoga handstand for the first time. Imagine the huge smile on my face... my yoga teacher assures me it was there. Yesterday was not the same story... I somehow made it through my Vinyasa class, but am not sure quite how.

Today, I woke up and decided to listen to my body. I took a slow alignment yoga class today to stretch out my sore body and am taking the next 2 days totally off! I will give myself time to repair and try NOT to beat myself up over it. I will not let it derail me and will get back up on Sunday to Shred again. I do miss Jillian telling me not to stop for 20 minutes each day. :) See you on the mat on Sunday!

Math & Art together: Impossible motion: magnet-like slopes

2010-05-14T16:48:00.000-05:00

I do not remember who sent this link, but I love the combination of math & art in this video. It is very cool and worth a blog post. I would love to have my students work on this kind of project next year!

30 Day Shred - Day 1 through 8

2010-05-08T12:54:00.001-05:00

Well despite being sick this week I have pushed through and today will be Day 9 of my 30 Day Shred Challenge. For those that think I am speaking some foreign tongue, I mean Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD.

A couple of days after I decided to add this to my yoga training to build strength I found through my wonderful PLN on Twitter that Shredheads way having a Challenge during the month of May and I joined in. Even though I am a few days ahead, it is great to have people cheering you on. I also have friends here in Curacao supporting my efforts and Judith even joins in some evenings.

Days 1 & 2 were the toughest and I still find the first circuit (3 min strength, 2 min cardio, 1 min abs) to be the hardest since my body is not warmed up yet. By days 4 & 5 I did find that I had more stamina and last night I was able to do the full version of butt kicks!

I have already noticed a difference in my level of strength and was able to do a headstand for the first time in yoga on Thursday evening. I am on my way to hoping to be accepted in Om Yoga's Summer Intensive Yoga Teacher Training. This is a great motivator to keep me going even while feeling a bit under the weather. Last night Jillian got my sore back from being in bed all day off the couch/bed and moving a bit and also sweating out the nastiness inside.

Climbing Mt. Christoffel

2010-05-02T15:27:00.001-05:00

This is the highest point on all of Curacao at 1239 feet (377 meters) at the very top. In order to do this and not die of heat or sweat to death (at least for me), it means getting up before the sun - 5:00 am and meeting your friends at 5:30 am to drive to the mountain. The Christoffel Park open at 6:00 am on Sundays.

We (Judith, Liz and I) arrived around and drove up into the park to the start of the trail. We started off around 7:00 am. I thought it was more hiking, but it turned out to be a bunch of climbing as well. Well Judith was right, the view was worth it at the top. :)

Climbing down took a lot of concentration and work to place your feet without sliding down. In the end, I am glad I did it, but once is enough for me. :) Still I can't let it keep me from Jillian's 30 Day Shred: Day 3 which I will get to after the heat of the afternoon dies down.

Click here to check out all my photos.

Ants In My Pants! YIKES!

2010-05-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ok well everywhere but them. This week found me with an ant invasion in my closet... and my drawers. They got into everything except my pants... maybe they don't like denim. On the first day, I only noticed them in the closet... my tops and dresses, but they had spread to my drawers on the shelf next to the closet. My not noticing allowed one of them got me in a very unpleasant place and I was not expecting it. Not only did I have to spray my closet to kill them all, they ate holes in some of my clothes.

It took 2 days to deal with that part and then another morning to take all my clothes (Thankfully I have a much smaller wardrobe down here.) to the laundromat and wash, dry and fold them. The folding took an hour in itself.

On an upside, I took it as a chance to do a first thinning of the clothes I will take with me from the island. So one of the island community centers will begin its good fortune. More will definitely be going there way over the next 7 weeks. :)

I have had enough of biting spiders and ants this week. Yes spiders got me too. It has been a bad week for allergies and bites.

THINK

2010-04-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

So I got back last Monday evening and have been running ever since. We have the NHS / NJHS inductions this Friday and all the background work for that. The IB Art Exhibit was this past Saturday as well as MUN at school. I also hosted a wonderful couple who will be teachers at ISC next year this weekend. Now that I have a moment to breath, I wanted to go back and write and reflect on my time in New York City.... I love going to visit there!

I had an awesome time in NYC both with family and friends and meeting my new colleagues for next year! I even got to check out Om Yoga which I loved and have now decided to apply for the intensive teacher training class this summer. I also ate at Daisy Mae's BBQ for some really awesome food.

During my time with THINK Global School, I got to meet everyone from the teaching team and the administration as well as the founder. We got to know each other a bit and hear some amazing guest speakers. There is a lot of work to do before next school year begins, but it is an energizing and exciting kind of work. I am so excited to be working with this dynamic group of people who I am sure are also amazing educators. From some of the initial ideas, I could see where we can go with each other and the students.

I am so happy that we were able to meet now and get a sense of who we each are and put names to faces. It will make it much easier to collaborate from afar while in the planning stages. From photos to dinner to meetings and discussion it was all great! I am so looking forward to this adventure.

Lots of Travels - Miami & Bogota with lots of Art Deco

2010-04-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

So a little over a week ago, I went to Miami to get away and help celebrate my friend John's big birthday! We had a great time eating at places like Joe's Crab House and checking out the people watching in South Beach during both spring break and during a big music DJ festival. I also managed a yoga class and a few Starbucks to feed my cravings. It was even cool (down to 68 F at night) and I needed to use a comforter. :) Check out some photos from Miami.

It was then back to work for a 3 days stretch which was a bit hectic due to a very late delayed plane returning on Sunday as well as the start of Passover (having a nice seder Monday night at my house with Judith and Barbara) and NHS invitations to students to apply all squished into 3 days.

Then Wednesday, a mere 1.5 hours after the school day ended, it was off to the airport to catch a flight to Bogota, Colombia. I traveled with my friend Judith and we had a great 5 days. Our first hostel Platypus did not meet our expectations at all. Our room had smoke coming in from the courtyard as well as noise all the time and not really a double room. During our walk to dinner we noticed this cute Art Deco house.

Which turned out to be a really wonderful hotel Casa Deco where we stayed for the remaining 3 nights.

We spent Thursday wandering around the downtown area to Plaza Bolivar and into Museo Botero as well as having some traditional food for a late breakfast showed by Liliana, the aunt of a nurse my father works with in NJ. She and her husband also picked us up from the airport the night before. Friday, after seeing a procession for the holiday downtown, I became an honorary Catholic as we waited in line to take the Funicular up Monserrate with all the pilgrims. Besides the tiring wait in line to go up and back down, it was a really neat experience. There were even services at the church up top and a great view of even an overcast Bogota.

Saturday we decided to try and get to the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) but were instead lured by the shopping: found a great place for custom made shoes (Yes of course I bought a pair for my really big feet), a really nice bookstore and looking at the artisan work as well. We met up with Liliana and her daughter who took us to one of the big malls north of downtown on our way to Chia to Andres Carnes de Res an amazing restaurant and experience that is not to be missed. (All our friends and colleagues were right.)

Sunday was a bit quieter with us finally making it to Museo del Oro and being blown away by the gold. We also checked out another great bookstore as well as some street art. We came back to the hotel for a lesson on Emeralds (& a small bit of buying). One of the owners, Gianpaolo, of the great hotel who is there all the time as well was for 20 years and still is an emerald broker and can be found in "Emeralds, A Passionate Guide". He gave us a great introduction to the stones and I found a cute small pair to make some earrings from. If only I had some more money, I would have bought a few stones. I have a new love and appreciation for emeralds. We then went to dinner at Club Colombia one of the Harry Sasson restaurants. This place was rccommended and I agree. The food was really good and the staff as well. They even called us a taxi to the door to take us home.

Sadly we had to check out and come home today. The city was alive and very different from its sleepy self over Semana Santa. We brought back a few enveultos and enjoyed one for dinner back here in Curacao. I would highly recommend traveling to Colombia and can't wait to go back and see more of this beautiful country.

My week in Curacao (no gas, rolling blackout & the Talent Show)

2010-03-07T18:25:00.000-06:00

So this week has been an interesting one for living here. The refinery went on strike so the island had no gas for a few days... thankfully I had just filled my tank last Sunday.

Then the power plant started having trouble and we had rolling blackouts. Wed night I came home and at 7pm had no power. After freaking out I remembered that I had a few candles around. I had not gotten to eat dinner yet. I am still finishing catching up on my online class grading and will finish this evening.

This week (yesterday in fact) was the ISC Talent Show. The NHS (I am advisor) & NJHS students did such a great job and I am so thankful for my wonderful co-worker and NJHS advisor Kim. We had walk throughs Tue and Wed afterschool and dress rehearsal Fri from 12:30 - 5:30pm. The show went very well last night. I will add some pictures later when I get them. Yoga thankfully helped to keep me relatively sane.

Meat and the Harbor

2010-02-21T16:27:00.000-06:00

It sounds like the title of a bad novel, but really just 2 parts of my last weekend of Karnaval vacation.

Friday night I went with a group of people from work as well as their respective visitors (since I had none of my own) to a place called Equis. It is only open on Friday nights and serves beef, chicken and booze (with a side of bread). There is no silverware, but lots of napkins. You run in to grab a table and order your skewers of meat: all beef, all chicken or half & half. For the nine of us we got 3 beef, 2 half and half and 1 chicken.

The food was great and the company too. I would definitely like a return visit before I leave here.

The harbor tour was a bonus for me since Judith invited me to join her and her parents. The Curacao Maritime Museum does these tours when there are enough people. They take the group out on one of the ferries around the harbor from the water side. Even the refinery (Isla) looks neat from this view. We saw the shipping and docks up close as well as ships and where they pump the oil. A fun tour (even though it was mostly in Dutch) and a definite must see in Curacao.

Karnaval Korsou 2010

2010-02-15T18:33:00.001-06:00

So despite being a bit under the weather, I woke at 8 am on a Sunday to pick up my friend Judith and meet my friend Jonathan and his parents (who are visiting) to head down to see the Grand Marche of Karnaval. It happened to coincide with Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year this year. This meant lots of people wearing red and a really cool Chinese dragon to end the parade.

We met up at 9:30 am to head down the Insel Air tent we arranged (paid for) to be at for the day. We strategically decided to park along the shoulder of the ring road (major highway here) for easy get-away later in a spot that turned out to be a short walk downhill to our stand. This included seats, shade, food (breakfast, snack, lunch, another snack) and real toilets. It also included the lovely tshirt you see Jonathan and his parents (and all the others in the stands) sporting.

Being that this is Curacao we should have known we could arrive hours later than it opened and even hours later than we were told it would take to get the parade to us. The parade did not arrive in front of us till around 4 pm, but the people watching was really good and the company too! The parade had a lot of live music with the groups which was very cool (though still very loud). The hats and costumes were all interesting and wonderful, but I am glad I was not the one having to wear them all day long.

There turned out to be 34 different groups in the parade. Some were smaller than others and by the end we needed some lights to see them. The finale was a group celebrating Chinese New Year and started with a great dragon.

I did not get pictures of the rest due to the fading light. We made a quick get-away at the end with a short walk back uphill and great parking and I dropped Judith off in short order. It was nice to come home to silence, but it was a great day and an experience I am glad I had! If you want to see more photos: http://gallery.me.com/digeller#100110

Free Tuesday Movies on the Beach

2009-12-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

So this week once again I ventured out to see the free movie at Mambo beach. Normally, it ends too late for me on a school night, but since last week Tuesday was a holiday and today we are on vacation, I went.

Last week, it was a film called Prime and this week...... Wedding Crashers. It is good that I have not seen it before because I don't think it will be high on my list of movies to see again. I went with friends and we had a special extra intermission this week for a short performance by a (local I am guessing) acrobatic group of kids. There were 2 girls on stilts and then tumblers with trampolines. The finally involved fire sticks and I thought it was a nice little presentation. Too bad I did not bring my camera to the movies.

On another note, you could totally see Orion in full above us in the sky. Last week in addition to Orion we saw a flock of birds fly close overhead in formation. Very cool.

Sport Playing Me - Who Knew?

2009-12-17T17:46:00.000-06:00

So last week I played both softball and soccer. Softball was a fun evening event and soccer was against the girls team. I have not played either in many years, but I had a blast playing both. I hit the ball each time up in softball and ran around the field a lot playing soccer although did not score, but did get my feet on the ball a few times. I forgot how much fun these sports are and how much I used to enjoy playing. I hope we get to do things like this more often. :)

Some softball photos:
Swing batter

A swing

I made it to first.

Warming up!

Aruba

2009-12-13T18:00:00.000-06:00

My weekend in Aruba was really nice. I enjoyed the time relaxing and seeing my dad. I even had a fun birthday dinner with a special dessert plate and sparkler.

I also got to see some of the island. There are some pretty things there like the lighthouse, but unfortunately I will not get to see the natural bridge in person since it collapsed a couple of years ago.
I also thought the downtown area had some interesting holiday decoration and loved the fact that the nativity was balanced with a menorah.

Music as Inspiration (for art)

2009-12-05T20:15:00.000-06:00

So this last week of class (I missed one due to the reunion) we painted based on music. Kandinsky did this when he moved to more abstract art. I listened to each one once first before starting.

Check them out and let me know what you think.
Right: Concerto No 4 in F minor, RV 297 "Winter" - Vivaldi The Four Seasons / 2 Wind Concertos
Left: Air on a G string (from Suite III), BMV 1063 - Bach, Yo-Yo Ma & The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Right: Miles Davis
Left: Round About Midnight - Chet Baker, Gotan Project featuring Montecarlo Nights Nouveau Beat Vol. 2

High School Reunion

2009-12-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I flew to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving weekend for my 20th high school reunion. I have been planning to attend since this summer and even bought my ticket in August to make sure I could get on the flight right after school on Wednesday. My flights were all pretty much on time and ok. Even the time in the airport was cool since Google was giving free wi-fi for the holidays. :)

It was strange to be in the US for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but I did find a great reunion outfit at the first store I tried. Thanksgiving dinnner with my cousins was great and an enjoyable day. Friday I also got to see Dru and Mom Pat and of course MacKenzie for some late lunch before heading off to the reunion. I also decided to splurge and get my make-up done at MAC in the mall.

The first bit was a bit nerve wracking, but once everyone relaxed a bit (me included) it was a lot of fun. Our senior yearbook photos were on our name tags so we got to reminisce over our big 80s hair. Many people were instantly recognizable and other took a few moments and a quick look at the name tag. Overall, everyone who attended looked great. I hope now that I will stay in closer touch with some of the people. Facebook makes this all so much easier.

Here is what I wore:

Still-life is not so much my thing

2009-11-21T13:50:00.003-06:00

While working this week, I had a number of moments of ugh and sweating in the heat of course. As the papers blew around the room from the breeze, I finally decided to just get started.

I used the "frame" we were given to zoom in on just a piece of one of the still-life set-ups. The choices were a vase with local flowers and leaves along with a lantern, a bowl of some local fruit from the tree and a table with books on one side and a breakfast scene on the other. As you can see, I went for the books with the flowers.

I did not like it so much as I was working on it, but at the end of class when we set our easels for all to see and I stepped back from my work, I actually found I liked it. What do you think?

What is the composition?

2009-11-14T13:19:00.004-06:00

Today, we worked on composition. We made some sketches to work from. I chose a gate downstairs at the Landhuis as well as a beautiful large leaf from a plant and the eye from a metak sculpture in the courtyard. See my results. It could use some more light and shadow, but overall I felt a nice composition.

Art in Curacao

2009-11-08T18:28:00.002-06:00

There is great place here called Landhuis Bloemhof which has an art gallery on the bottom floor and in the gardens. It also has a studio space upstairs which is used for all kinds of art classes. I signed up for Intermediate Acrylic Painting which started this past Saturday. I have not picked up a paintbrush in quite a while which was one of the big motivators for me taking this class.

It was a lot of fun to paint again. The group is 9 people, 1 guy and many older women. The teacher is interesting and makes good helpful comments. He taught in a combination of Dutch and English (for me), but once I get some of the basic Dutch words for art terms I think I will be fine. With the congnates and the bit of German I know I can get the gist.

This week we did an exercise to paint 9 small paintings in 5 minutes each. I chose to make a series of a mug which for me is an usual object, but was kind of fun. Then we painted a big painting from the small ones. You can see my progress in the photos and I will update each week.

9 Small Ones

Big Painting

End of October

2009-11-06T17:21:00.000-06:00

Well I made it through till now. One month and I will be on my way to Philly for Thanksgiving weekend and my reunion. There have been a lot of interesting events. I enjoyed the week off in October, but feel like it never happened now. The semester is flying by. Soon it will be done. Been hanging out and stayed away from the beach for the 2 weeks post LASIK. I am enjoying not needing contacts or glasses to see.

Rosh Hashana in Curacao

2009-09-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

L'shana tova! So my first holiday in Curacao was an interesting experience. I had some friends from work for dinner on Friday night. I cooked a holiday meal and it was a nice evening.

At services today, we finished the Torah reading and then instead of moving directly into the Rabbi's sermon, we had kiddush. The whole cake, coffee, soda and social thing in the middle. It was really nice. Of course that meant we didn't finish till close to 2. I was invited by a family from school for lunch. We had a nice meal a bit more Sephardic in nature. It is a beautiful chapel... a round room with a glass dome for the ceiling so you can see the sky.

Tomorrow, I will again go to the same place, but for Kol Nidre next week, I will visit the old synagogue with the sand floor. It is reform, but they do the service by candlelight and it is supposed to be something really special. I will report more on it next week.