The Blog to end all Blogs!

9-9:12

Everyday I tell myself that I am going to start back up again writing for a half an hour a day and each day I don’t.  So I decided today that before I even allowed myself to check e-mail I have to log in a half an hour to practice my writing skills. I will feel so accomplished with myself when I do!

I have been thinking again and again about wanting to write. . .mainly the travel memoirs.

But today I am going to write an observation that I have about riding on the metro each morning.  There are two key rules for metro riders who ride during the daily commute times.  Rule #1) Stay in your own space, which is mainly a 2′x2′ square of personal space around you, whether you are sitting or standing and #2) Don’t make noise – any kind of noise, electronic or verbal.  These rules don’t apply to tourists or weekends.

I walk one mile to the metro and then I ride the blue line for almost exactly a half an hour.  Usually I use this private time on the metro (truely my only private time of the day) to do my homework.  In the winter I have to bundle up quite a bit due to the long walk, but by the time I reach my platform I have warmed up to the point that when I get on the metro I feel I must “unbundle.”  While this is a very uncommon occurance on the metro (most people ride their whole half hour with coats on completely bundled) no one seems to pay any attention.  In fact, no one seems to pay any attention to anyone else on purpose.  Each person pretends that they are the only people in their awareness.  Each person stays in their respective 2′x2′ space and remains perfectly quiet.  Some people read while others close their eyes.  A few people dare to look around and observe, but they are almost always careful not to seem to be looking. 

One day when I entered the metro there was a lady sleeping on three seats that were together.  She was covered in coats and did not move. No one acted as if they even saw the sleeping homeless person.  They walked past her, unphased and unnoticing.  After 10 minutes on the metro I was concerned with the idea that the homeless lady could actually be dead and no one would have noticed.  It is actually possible.  I watched her intently until I saw her chest rise, assuring myself that she was, in fact, breathing.

I have ultimately come to the conclusion that any person could quite possibly do any sort of unusual thing, barring lude and indecent acts and remaining quiet in their respective space, and people in their daily commute would pretend as if that person did not exist.

 Wednesday, Feb 13, 20089:56 pm -10:10, 10:46-11:02Today was more of the same of yesterday. I awoke early – already tired upon rising. I forgot to give the baby a good solid food meal before I went to bed and so he wanted to nurse every two hours last night. Then, he woke for the day at 4:45 am. We played in the bathroom while my daughter and husband both slept. Finally, he was ready for a nap by 6:30a and so was I.

After a delicious full English breakfast (and then some) we headed out – all 8 of us. We walked to Harrods, a historic high end department store. My favorite part of Harrods is the food stalls. They are great. There is everything you can imagine, for sale, fresh and attractive, and also expensive! We did not purchase anything, but headed out on our way to Buckingham Palace. To our delightful surprise, the queen was hosting some sort of ceremony where she gave out distringushed awards. There were bands and men on horseback dressed in fancy attire. There were guards and guests and police and crowds and music and much, much more. Our guests were astounded that we just happened upon such an event by accident. I stayed in Greene Park with the baby feeding him and playing with him. I didn’t really feel I wanted to stand and watch all the splendour, but they had a great time and after a while we were on our way again, this time to the Tower of London.

If there is anything in London that I haven’t done and would like to it would be to tour the inside of the Tower of London, but that will have to wait for another day, for today it did not happen. Instead we walked around the outside and ate at a fabulous pub. The food was tasty, the ambiance was appealing and it felt great to rest the weary legs.

After that stop on the east side of London we headed on our way back to Stansted where our car was parked and our visitors would leave. Arriving early we had enough time to sort out a terrible train ticket problem and visit with our close friends for a few hours more before heading back home, tired, exhausted and happy.

And now, the kids are in bed and I am quickly headed in the same direction after I finish my daily writing, which I actually have come to look forward to. I wish the last few days I have had the energy and creativity to write more stories and poetry, but the high speed travel has only left me with the energy and desire to simply catalogue my day here like a little diary. It is therapeutic and relaxing. I have not had a chance to put any of my writing thus far up on the blog but I will do that in a big chunk when I have some spare time -maybe on Friday. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. My poor husband is utterly clueless. I will give him a reminder tonight – to his astonishment- and then I will remind him again tomorrow morning. We don’t really do much for the day, but I don’t want him to be caught off guard. It has been a very busy month for us all and I want to give him plenty of heads up.

In the textbook I am reading the author, Katie Ray, talks about how if ones is to write well one must study the craft of that type of writing. I have been fiddling around with writing poetry since the beginning of this blog. I am not so great at writing poetry. The things that I feel like I can write are very limited in scope. I can write about me. I can also try to write about things I feel strongly about, like being a mother. I have decided that I really need to do more reading of poetry if I intend on becoming better at writing poetry. Maybe one day I can make a tiny little poetry book and give it to my daughter. I will tell her since I write most about me, my feelings and people I am related to that the little book can be a window to her as to who I am (she would only understand that when she is much older).

I think that it is not until a person matures that they are able to see their parents beyond being their parents and truly see their parents as individuals trying to live their own lives, individuals who happen to be further along in the process of living than the children are. I think that many people actually don’t ever come to that realization and maturity because they forever see their parents as only their parents and nothing more.

When my children grow up I hope that one day they will be able to see me as a woman living out my life in the best way that I know how, rearing children the best I can, and making decisions that seem the best at the time. I guess that is why I always want to try to write stories about people in my ancestry (although I really haven’t actually written many. The last few weeks I have only catalogued my daily life). The reason I want to write true stories about people I know is because I feel like they are people who tried to live their lives in their times and generally they were trying to do the best they could. They generally made decisions that they thought were right at the time and I really just want to try to make them come alive in my mind and in my heart so that I can understand them better.

In two different poems that I have written I have said that I am the link between the past and the future and I truly believe that to be the case. When people pass they take with them all of the memories, not only of their own lives, but of all the people who they shared lives with and all the people they knew stories about. Unless those people wrote the stories down, they take with them a treasure trove of personal knowledge. I don’t want to do that. Just like some people want to leave their children wealth, instead I would like to leave my children knowledge – a knowledge of who they are and who they come from.

OK, that’s enough philosophical talk for today.

Good night.

Tuesday, Feb. 125:30a-5:37a, 7:31p-7:55

Yesterday we went to Stonehenge. I loved it. It was amazing. I know a lot of people say that it is just a bunch of rocks so it’s not really that big of a deal to see, but I could have stayed there a very long time listening to the free audio tour and looking around at the majestic beauty of the ancient holy ground. Who knows, it may not have been holy, but I think there is a reverence there – a spiritual connection. I wonder what those people would have been like. Outside of the large stone circle are grassy mound burial grounds, an indented walkway leading up to the stone circles and more markings on the ground. As we were driving there I knew we were getting close, but all of a sudden we came over a hilltop and starkly before my eyes were the carefully placed rocks.

After our time at Stonehenge we then drove to Bath. There we parked and walked along the Riverfront. We then toured the town, seeing the Abbey and the Roman bath. I have always looked forward to the Roman bath, but actually seeing it fell under my grand expectations. They were doing some excavating work which blocked some of the views in the bath below, plus only the structure from my kneecaps and below were actually Roman. The rest was Victoria area reproduction, which was overdone and ruined the simple feel of the Roman historical site. Also, the baby was very needy of attention the entire time we were there and so my attention was not fully on sightseeing. Even when other people in our group watched the baby, I was still mentally concerned with him, trying to get him to stop his newfound squeal when he wants anything to include attention.

Anyway, as we left Bath to return home for the day, I felt as if I had only tasted a small piece of what Bath had to offer. I feel like there is so much more to see there, and yet. I probably won’t see it because my list of things to see in England is constantly big and our time here is growing increasingly short. We saw two World Heritage sites today and yet, seeing what we did made me just add more things I want to see to my sight seeing list. But that just goes with the old adage that the more you know the more you realize you don’t know. . . .So it is the same with travel. The more you see, the more you realize there is more to see. To me, traveling is sometimes like a drug. I go and get my “fix” and yet on the way home I have such a rush that I wonder, where will I get my next fix? I am trying to talk my husband into going away this coming weekend for a four day trip to Edinburgh or some other place, but it looks like a long shot – Possibly only an overnight in York or somewhere else, who knows. Not only does he simply want to just go home and relax, but work calls. Terrorists and the like don’t seem to take vacations when I think that it would be most convenient to me. Oh well.

Today we traveled to London. We drove to Stansted and took the train into town. Then we hopped on the Metro and took our friends all around. I have actually already seen all that we saw today, but I had fun none the less. We did not go inside anywhere, but from the outside we saw Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Royal Soldiers on horseback – up close enough to get a picture in front of them, Leister Square, Piccadilly Square, and Kensington Park. Our friends were utterly awe struck.

It was fun. Being with people who haven’t seen the sights that I know so well is always a revelation to me. We go to London so often and we get used to the traveling and the sights, but it is refreshing to see it with eyes anew as we did with our friends. They were not new to traveling throughout Europe – they have lived in Europe for about 9 years now, but they were new to England. They had never come here before. So everything that they saw here was exciting and interesting. It made me see London that same way today. Everyone else tonight is going to go out and enjoy themselves. They guys are going to do an Ale trail at some pubs and Emma and the kids are going shopping. I have graciously bowed out. I am completely exhausted and would sincerely prefer to go to sleep in a few minutes with the kids. The baby is already asleep in the crib at this luxurious hotel and my daughter is well on her way to visit the sandman, as she sleepily lies in the bed beside me and reads books -always books. We cannot leave home without them. She is a fan and I am glad. My next life goal is to introduce my baby to books so much so that he too can’t live without them. Then they will both be set for life. A thirst for knowledge and the desire to read is my ultimate wish for them. With that, they can achieve anything.

Monday, Feb 11, 200812:28-33, 12:38-45, 12:55-12:59pm, 10:29pm -10:43

I am me.

I come from starched dresses, freshly braided hair and a neat appearance.

I come from stories each night before bedtime, the same book different each time it was “read”.

I come from sisters playing Barbies in the back of the sedan on the long car trip across the southern states.

I come from moving every few years to new location, embracing the idea that home is where your family is.

I come from writing letters to keep in touch with loved ones.

I come from two completely contrasting grandmothers, one soft and cuddly with a tender, yet bossy side, the other young and glamorous who secretly let you into her heart and won’t let you go.

I come from a grandfather who cherished me so much he always gave me a hard time and never let me know he really wasn’t related.

I come from another grandfather who was strong, energetic and lively. A man of his own mind, wrapped as a soft bear.

I come from a strong family with close ties although vast miles separated us.

I come from lively holiday traditions and big festive celebrations all throughout the year.

We have some close friends that are coming to visit us today. We have been friends for about 9 years. They are a little older than us and it has been neat to watch their children grown up. Today we went to see some quaint little villages out in the countryside – thatched cottages, old stone walls covered in ivy, rolling green fields spotted with cows or sheep, old churches dotting the horizon. We drove through our old village Twywell, then through surrounding villages of Slipton, and Grafton Underwood. Graftwon Underwood is a special village that I like to take visitors to. It looks like a miniature version of a village in the Cotswalds. There is stream that snuggles along high street. Village ducks make a home in the stream and can be seen all around. In Geddington there are many old streets lined with small houses nestled among each other. The main attraction in that village is the ancient narrow bridge over the wide, shallow stream. Knowing that the bridge is very old and thin, the village has provided an alternative for those with large or heavy vehicles. They have provided a solid foundation to the bottom of the stream so that people can drive across it, which we did today. It is unusual and very fun actually, especially when taking unsuspecting visitors in the car with us. They always get a kick out of it. We then went to Sudborough, Aldwinkle, Wadenhoe and Oundle. We finally stopped in Oundle where we stopped to eat a delicious gastropub (a high end pub which serves gourmet food) to eat. I had a Mushroom bake filled with risotto and a rich cream sauce.

Later this week we will go to Stonehinge one day and then maybe see Sailbury or Bath. Then we will go in to London and spend a night at a hotel, their family and ours. I am excited because many of the things that are on the list to do are things that I have yet to do in my time here and since our time is growing to a close, it is time for me to do those things. Having people visit is always a great catalist to get out and see what you haven’t before.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 1:48-1:59p and 2:08-2:28

On Sunday morning we drove from our Bed and Breakfast in Wingham to Dover where we walked along the White cliffs overlooking Dover. It was quite impressive, although I had seen them before. Then we headed to Dover Castle. At the castle we first began sightseeing with an hour-long guided tour of the War Tunnels. They were first built in Napoleonic times. Then during the first and second World Wars, they were used again as hospitals, hiding places, and more. They are quite extensive and very interesting. The English Heritage Foundation has poured an enormous amount of money into preserving them and making them look authentic to the time period in which they were used. From the tunnels we walked beside the castle walls and through the grounds to a Roman lighthouse and a Saxon church. I have seen a lot of churches in Europe and England specifically, but this Saxon church was one of a kind. The walls were covered in a simple tiled mosaic almost reminiscent of mosaic tiles in southern Spain, yet the designs of the tiles were not as geometric of those found in Andalucía. The church was simple, but with the soft tone of Gregorian chants in the background, it was a spectacular sight to behold. From the church we headed to the medieval castle and toured it. It is not overly decorated. It has a few minor decorations and many historical facts and information boards to help one picture in their mind what it might have looked like at the time of use. Henry VIII had influence in the building enlargement of both of the castles we toured this weekend. At Dover Castle, there were some rooms that were very hands on and the girls appreciated that. We walked around the keep compound and then headed off to the medieval tunnels. These are not nearly as impressive as the other tunnels, but they were hundreds of years older and rather eerie. I enjoyed the day. When one goes to Dover castle and visits all there is to see there, it is well worth the $20.00 entry fee per adult.

On Monday we went to Leeds Castle. This might be my favorite castle in England, maybe alongside Windsor and Warwick castles. This castle is build on Norman foundations and is situated in a man made lake. The castle was added onto over many hundreds of years to create what it is today. My favorite part was the bottom floor of the oldest part. The white-washed stone walls, the tapestry wall hangings, the intricately carved wood-paneled staircase, and the simple yet classic furniture captured my mind and allowed me to romantically daydream of what life would have been like hundreds of years ago. This castle was lived in up until the 1960’s and thus, the newest editions of the castle (18^th century) had rooms decorated in 1950’s/1960’s décor, but still tasteful and interesting. The grounds of Leeds Castle were utterly amazing. Trails surround the lake and there are many different kids of birds roaming free in addition to a large aviary on the grounds as well. There is also a nice kids play area with a wooden castle replica. It has many things for the kids to do such as a zip line, balancing beams, pedestals at various heights, slides, a climbing wall, rope ladders, punching bags, swings and so much more. The girls had a fabulous time playing. In fact, the adults also had a wonderful time playing, too. There is a nice restaurant on the castle property where we dined on gourmet snack food at a reasonable British price (which, of course is a ridiculous American price, but most British prices are ridiculous when converted to the dollar).

Overall, the entire trip was great. I walked a lot, especially pushing both kids in the stroller up and down hills. My friends, the Faulks, were very patient with me the entire time, waiting for me to nurse or feed the baby sometimes, always being patient with me juggling two kids and being much slower than them. They also helped me out a lot. I had planned on going on the trip by myself with the kids and only asked them along on the spare of the moment, but I am so glad that I did because I saw so much more with them than I would have ever seen on my own. Plus, we all seemed to have such a great time.

Monday, January 21, 2008, 7:28-8:06pm

Memoirs of a trip to Kent.

I went to Kent, England for the Martian Luther King, Jr. weekend. For my half an hour of writing today I want to “stream of consciousness” my thoughts on the trip, perhaps later putting it in an edited, orderly fashion.

Saturday morning we drove to Canterbury. I talked some friend of mine into coming along on my journey, so the trip was me with my two kids and their family of three to include a daughter the same age as my own. Since I have moved here I have always had Canterbury Cathedral on my list of places I must see before I move away. I have felt that way because of the historical significance of the Cathedral as the seat of power in the rebellious Anglican church, the interesting Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14^th Century, and lastly, the scandals and intrigue of the things that have happened at the Cathedral such as murder and betrayal.

We arrived in Canterbury midday. As one enters the small city, the cathedral dominates the skyline. As we headed closer to city center we happened upon the awesome and intimidating medieval city walls. At one point while circling the city we were able to see the castle ruins. The entrance to the city is grand with two circular columns divided by a wall of intricate stone carvings. There is a double door entrance in at the bottom of the wall. Entering the current cathedral compound the cathedral is half hidden, but beautiful still. The inside of the cathedral was the most impressive part. I have been to more cathedrals than I can count. I probably cannot remember them all. While still a novice, I have taken great interest in learning about cathedral architecture and symbolism. The most stunning part of in interior of the cathedral would have to be the amazing stained glass throughout. My favorite window was the one at the back of the uppermost level. It had a simple alter laid in front of a window with a delicate scene of the Savior on the cross. Through each stained glass window there are vibrant colors shining into the vast, holy building. The lines in the interior of the building are clean and crisp.

There were so many parts of the cathedral that caught my attention and sincerely stand out. While we were there a choir was practicing for a concert of Mozart music. The aucustics in the building were utterly amazing, the way that the music reverberated in the building to amplify the unique sound of the chior. There are three and a half floors. The basement and foundation of the church date back to Saxon times with pilllars and wall markings from that era. Also the basement had a miniature nave and alter. In fact, there was an alter on all three levels. The part that stood out to me the most were the parts of the church that had modern art and/or modern additions. I think that this is stark and refreshing to me because it shows that this is not just an historical landmark, but this is a place where worship is still alive. It shows me that the religion that this building represents still lives in the hearts of its parishners.

So, I did not finish the whole trip in this timeframe. I will continue on the following days. . . .

Thursday, January 17, 2008

2:13 pm – 2:19 and 9:32pm -9:34, 10:29-10:37, 11:04-11:16

I had planned on working on my traveling stories during my daily writing time, but I have noticed that although I set aside time to write I have not been setting aside time to get the story prompts, initial memories off of my e-mail as starters as I did on Tuesday. I will need to do that before I work on more memoirs, so for today I will write my teaching philosophy. Last class I took one of my fellow students said that it is very beneficial to write out one’s teaching philosophy because the actual writing of the philosophy helps a person to crystallize their thinking. I hope it does that for me today. I know what I believe about teaching but I am not sure I know how to put it into words.

This is where I am starting (I copied the following paragraph out of my resume):

To educate children in a mentally challenging program that respects each child’s capabilities by furnishing developmentally and age appropriate material that not only provides the necessary learning skills but also fosters life long learning.

This is my final product:

My teaching philosophy by ME

I believe in educating children in a way that respects each child’s capabilities.

I believe in furnishing developmentally and age appropriate material to help children learn.

I believe in not only providing the necessary learning skills but also fostering life long learning.

I believe in using authentic literature as a basis of all instruction throughout each subject and content area.

I believe in treating each student with respect and recognizing their individuality.

OK I have a new train of thought. I don’t think that I am mentally making much headway with my philosophy of teaching. Maybe I need to look at other people’s examples of their philosophy of teaching. Does anyone have any that they would like to share?

For now, instead, I will share my thoughts on the day. Today it is absolutely pouring down rain. I mean I am drenched. As a friend of mine pointed out, it reminds me that I really do live on an island. The weather here is constantly changing, but there are times when I actually mark the weather by how many days it has been since it rained (i.e., it hasn’t rained in x # of days.) Today my daughter got utterly soaked on the way to school. I looked at the people around me. Some people were wearing Wellies (tall rubber boots) on the walk to school and then changing their shoes once they arrived. Others had all the appropriate wet weather gear: umbrellas, Macintoshes (heavy raincoats), waterproof covers for strollers and bike seats and much more. They are so used to the pouring wet weather that they are completely prepared and inherited by it. I admire that. For example, when I picked her up from school yesterday the wind was gusting boldly, the rain was falling sideways and still people were walking to pick up their children and waiting in the powerful weather for their children to be released from school. In the U.S., people would have driven to pick their children up and for those who would be in the weather; they would probably not have the appropriate paraphernalia. For those who would wait outside for their children, there would probably be much more complaining and commenting on it. Here, you don

I, on the other hand, come from the U.S. and Texas at that. Where I come from we are not used to such weather. We are not prepared. If it began to rain sideways we would head for cover, stand under the awnings, and not just put our hoods up. People here know how to handle continuous rain. But I don’t think that’s because they necessarily are better at such, they just have more experience at it. And they have childhood memories of how to deal with such weather. I don’t. So, unfortunately my daughter’s trousers, socks and shoes were completely drenched when she arrived at school. They were so drenched that I went home, got clean socks, shoes and trousers and took them up to the school so that she could change.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

11:50 am -11:53 and 9:11pm -9:18 and 9:40-10:04

My husband left for the States today. Mike Green died in Afghanistan last week and Bruce is going back for the funeral. He flies in to New Orleans, meets up with Eric Walton and then goes to Biloxi, Mississippi for the funeral. Bob Grimmer, Mark Smythe, Troy Prehar, Greg Softy, and John Pearson are all going to be there, probably more people. He will come back Monday.

For today’s free writing I am going to write about my day volunteering at daughter’s school.

I had a fantastic time volunteering at my daughter’s school today. We live in a rural village in England. Paige attends the village primary school. She is four and a half years old and attends what the British call Reception, which is their first official year of school, full day. Paige has a wonderful teacher, Miss Machin. If I could personify a person as an angel, Miss Machin would be it. She is calm, cool and collected. She is ever so polite to the students and seems to never loose her cool. Even when three boys were acting up she made a sound, as to get their attention, and then peered sternly at the boys for a very long moment. Finally she said sternly, but softly, “I suggest you find something more constructive to do with your time.” Wow. I feel that just by volunteering in my daughter’s classroom I could learn so much from her teacher. Miss Machin pays attention to the students as they talk to her. She works hard to make them feel loved, accepted and valued. She points out the positives that students do. When she sees good behavior she rewards it publicly by praising the student, giving them a sticker, allowing them to do something special, giving them a cheer or a clap, sending them home with a note that tells the parent of their accomplishment or something else along those lines. When a student misbehaves she tells the class why the behavior is wrong, if the misbehavior is brought to the teacher’s attention during a class meeting, otherwise she usually speaks to the student privately.

My duties in helping out were to tend to the painting area where the students were assigned to paint the number 6. I made an example to show them. I helped 2-3 students at a time. The teacher stationed herself at a center as well, working with the students and taking anecdotal records of what the students can do. She also watched the students while they played at the nearby centers, also making notes about them as well. I was impressed how well the students stayed on task during the day. There are no desks in the classroom, only tables. Each table has a different activity at it. The students do not have a particular place to sit. This is in stark contrast to the way that I set up my Kindergarten classroom when I was teaching. I gave each of the students their own place at a table. When the students entered the classroom they were to sit at their spot and start work on their daily journal writing, which consisted of a blank sheet of paper and they were to draw and write on. After watching Paige’s classroom, I would change the way that I would teach Kindergarten. I would do more like the British system and have various activities at each table and have the students come into the classroom, put their stuff away and begin immediately to allow them to actively work at the activities at the table. I would have this time separate from the learning centers around the room which we would do at a later time.

The students sit on the floor during group activity time. Also during group activity time the students work with a learning buddy. They are instructed by the teacher how to interact with the learning buddy for each particular activity, whether they are to answer a question to the learning buddy, show them their answer, or help each other. The subject that I watched the teacher do with the whole group was numeracy (math). She was introducing to them addition and subtraction using a number line.

I am always so very impressed how high the expectations of the students are in England. And, amazingly enough, the student achieve to those expectations. At 4 ½ years old my daughter has already learned all of her letters and their corresponding sounds, she has memorized almost 30 sight words, she can easily sound out normal 3 letter words and sometimes she attacks a 4 letter word. She can count at least to 40 and do simple addition and subtraction. The teacher even gives the students instructions at the learning centers for the students to do. She writes the instructions on small pieces of paper using simple words in one sentence. They have already introduced to the students a full stop (period) to go at the end of the sentence. This too has affected how I feel I will be as a teacher in the future. I think that when I go back to teaching I have much higher expectations of my students and their parents. I will require more of them and give more ideas to the parents of ways in which they can support the learning of their students at home.

To learn the sight words, the teacher gives each student a small tin box which measures about 2”x4”x1”. In it she puts tiny laminated words. The student first receives 5 words. At the end of each week they are tested on those 5 words. IF the student knows the words they are given 5 more, if the student does not know those 5 words, then they are not give any more words. Those words are incorporated extensively when the class composes writing jointly. The teacher also asks the parents to read to the students nightly. The parents/students are given a reading log blank book to fill out each night. The parent writes what book(s) were read and the parents are also given a place to make anecdotal notes about the student (such as “my daughter is able to point to the words as I read them.”). The teacher reads over these notes about once every three weeks and gives comments in the book. At the beginning of the book are listed the school’s objective and standards in an “I can” format such as “I can hold a book correctly and turn the pages.” Or “I can point to the words on a page as they are being read aloud.” The teacher checks the objectives/standards as the students complete them to keep track of what the students can and cannot do. I think that this is a wonderful way for parents to see what standards and expectations there are of the students and also for parents, teachers and students to see the students’ learning progress. What better way to help a student learn than to make them aware of what is expected of them and doing so in a non-threatening, non-pressuring environment. There are no grades given to students in the early learning stages of the UK schooling system. Instead, they report if the students are meeting standards.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

10:06 am 10:28am and 1:53-2:05 pm

Today I found 2 e-mails that I wrote to my parents that described a Fourth of July party that I attended, hosted by the American Embassy to Spain in Madrid. As my daily writing today, I would like to do some major revisions and add descriptive writing to it. Here is what I start with:

Friday, July 1, 2005

We go to the embassy Fourth of July party tonight. My husband said last year that is was like the beginning of some James Bond movie. Hope it is like that tonight.  He is in his uniform and I am wearing the classic black dress. All the ambassadors and attaches will be there. How exciting! Later,

We are back in the DAO office. We will go home in a few minutes. The party was really cool. There were spies there from other countries scoping us out and lots of people just being here. I guess it is the party to be at. It was the perfect setting, out on the lawn and lots of tents with free food and of course, free drinks. People wearing all sorts of fashionable and slinky gowns/dresses. Lots of fun.

Here is what I finish with:

July 1, 2005

I was surrounded by beautiful women in slinky gowns with high heels and men in full dress, military uniforms or sharp, crisp tuxedos. My husband and I, although not assigned to the US Embassy in Madrid, were attached to the embassy and therefore invited to the bash. The Fourth of July is always a big event for Americans and for American diplomats living abroad this is THE event of the year. My husband was wearing a mess dress uniform, the fanciest of all the military uniforms as it is embroidered in gold and has distinguished medals hanging from his chest. I donned a classic black dress with simple pearls. We were moving out of the country the next day. All my household goods had been packed and I saved out clothes sparingly.

The scene of the party was as if out of a James Bond movie. The evening air was warm, yet a slight wind brushed against our skin, cooling the evening and making it enjoyable. The setting was the grassy hill at the back of the embassy. A live band was staged at the top of the knoll providing upbeat background music, usually a tune by Gypsy Kings or another similar sound. At the bottom of the hill were booths covered with tents. The booths gave out free, generous portions of drinks and foods, each sponsored by a different corporation such as Tony Roma’s or the Hard Rock Café. Tuxedoed waiters walked around the outdoor gala picking up people’s glasses and handing out new drinks. My favorite drink quickly became the mojito. Looking similar to a mint julep, I don’t exactly know what it is, but the taste was refreshing and light.

Making our way around the manicured grounds, our friends from the embassy introduced us to their international counterparts. Then as those counterparts turned away we heard the background stories. Like the Chinese military attaché’s wife who could barely speak English, but sent out e-mails surprisingly perfect in grammar, punctuation. We were all sure she did not actually write any of her e-mails. Then there were the people who would remember your name perfectly as if they had mentally written it in some notebook to recall at a later date. When I casually asked my husband if there were spies at the party trying to collect information he immediately hushed me and told me not to talk about that, of course there were. When asking if our friends were spies he reassured me that they were overtly gathering their information.

Later in the evening the ambassador spoke his mild Texan Spanish and the Spaniards rolled their eyes at his staunch support of George W. Bush. Then the evening continued well into the night. We decided midnight late enough for us. We had a babysitter with our daughter and need to get back home before our move the next day. Before leaving we go up to the office to change clothes so that we won’t stand out on our way home, even riding in a taxi. As we walk out of the embassy compound we pass the armored vehicle and armed guards. Reality begins to set back in even with the sweet tunes still playing in the air.

I am sure my small experience dwarfs in comparison to the experiences of many, but considering this was the closest I would ever get to James Bond, I savor the moment and hop in the taxi.

Personal note: I need to fix the inconsistencies with tense. Past vs. present

Monday, January 14, 2008

8:22pm

I started my 7th or 8^th graduate class today. I am a little apprehensive about the class because it is an advanced writing pedagogy class and I don’t think that I am a good writer, plus literature is my specialty, not writing. But part of the class is to write for 30 minutes a day and so, here goes. . .

Some of my goals in writing 30 minutes per day are to write/edit trip reports/stories about when my husband and I lived in Spain. During that time we visited about 12 countries and I usually wrote my thoughts about our trips. During this semester I would like to use my personal writing time to work on those memoirs. My dream would be to create a book called My Year as a Professional Tourist or The Tourist Housewife or Memoirs of a Tourist or something along those lines, but that is a far off dream. To be honest, I really am not that great of a writer, but this is the chance to get better.

My second goal during would be to write some short stories geared toward children. These short stories would be based on the real lives of my family members and ancestors. The reason that I would like to do that is because I read so many stories to my children that are fictional stories or stories about other people. I would love to read them entertaining stories about people they are related to. I feel that it would give them a better understanding of who they come from. It is only when we come from that we can know where we are going.

When we lived in Spain we traveled to (2004-2005)

September France (Loire Valley, Paris, Normandy)

October Poland (Warsaw)

Czech Republic (Prague)

November Hungry (Budapest)

December Germany (Stuttgart, Wiesbaden)

January Portugal (Lisbon, Citron)

February Monaco (Monte Carlo) and France (southern) on the way to . . .

March Italy (Livorno, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Pompeii)

Vatican City

Andorra

May Spain (North, South, East and West – I would have to look at a map to remember all the places we went)

Living in England we traveled to

May 06 Germany (Stuttgart, Spangalem)

June 06 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo and more)

Croatia (Dubrovnik and nearby peninsula)

Sept 06 Ireland (Dingle Peninsula)

Oct 06 France (Normandy, Paris)

March 07 Spain (East, Alicante)

August 07 Scotland (Inverness, Loch Ness, Hadrian’s Wall)

I plan to get on my e-mail tomorrow and download all of the memories that I have already written, then as I write each day I will rewrite them and edit.

File location: LEXAR MEDIA, D’s book, Micro countries
Micro Countries

I have quickly discovered as we have traveled through Europe is my utter fascination with micro countries. Andorra, Vatican City, and Monaco are a few examples. What is a micro country? Considering I invented the term, I would define it was a tiny country, usually consisting of a city or small mass of land. I wonder, how do they sustain their economy? Do they have their own currency and political leaders? I understand that the answers to these questions are different for each country.

Since I have such a fascination, I have had a strong desire to visit these countries, much to the chagrin of my husband who has had to drive many hours out of his way to visit such obscure places as Andorra.

8:56 pm