Glimpse: a faint idea; an inkling

Deadly Animals

2012-02-15T01:42:00.002-07:00

My niece sent me this video. I thought it was funny--and a little frightening. I haven't seen anything yet that would/could kill me--except maybe Jeff's driving. Ha!

Check it out:

I'm so excited!

2012-02-13T03:48:00.003-07:00

Okay, two things that I'm super excited about:

1. Sue is going to create a blog when she gets to the U.S. She leaves 2/15 and is super excited to get out there. All of you who have asked if she or David have a blog, get ready to start reading! I can't wait to see her perspective on all the crazy American things. Yea!

UPDATE: Here is the blog address: http://www.manksinloveland.blogspot.com.au

Show them some love, y'all, and make them feel welcome in the U. S. of A!

2. Luke is participating in the Debutante Ball at his school. He will be escorting a young lady named Debbie. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. If it doesn't make for a really great story, what will? He had his first dance lesson/practice tonight. So much fun I can't stand it! Be prepared for pictures. I've never been "that" parent, but I've never had a deb ball to document! They are much more common here than in the States where they are mostly a high society-type thing. Many young ladies participate in year 11. The ball is in May, so there are plenty more practices to come. Think they'll let him wear his mirror ball suit?

New, new, new!

2012-02-12T02:33:00.005-07:00

I posted new photos to the Kookaburra post, My New School, and the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm if you're interested. I made a slide show for all the Ashcombe Maze and Strawberry pics. It's very exciting. Really. It is. Maybe I just didn't want to do my school work, but maybe not? You should check it out. There's music--not Kookaburras.

Luke, Daisy and Cooper in School

2012-02-11T01:45:00.011-07:00

I have had several requests for an update on Luke and Daisy and Cooper. Most of you know that they started school this week. I really feel that Luke and Daisy should write their own blog about school, but since they are too busy doing absolutely nothing this weekend I'll tell you myself. It's their own fault if I embellish, embarrass, or employ hyperbole.

LUKE:

Luke actually started school on Friday 2/3. He is attending Frankston High School, which is near my school. We chose this school because it had a larger international population and because it has a reputation as a more academic school. It came highly recommended by many people and Sue (who is married to my exchange partner) works there. Many people have asked why Luke is not going to college here and it's a pretty long answer, but I'll try. We looked into university programs but the cost was prohibitive (like, $20,000 for international tuition for the year) and we only have one car so it's hard to get him to classes at varying times. They do not have a junior college system like we do in the U.S. so he couldn't just take a few inexpensive general education courses. Plus, Luke went into Weber State as a sophomore. He doesn't need any general education courses. He's done with them all. Really. He doesn't have any left to take. The only classes he needs for his college major are art classes. His next course of study at Weber is in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program and to get into the BFA program he needs a portfolio. He is registered for four art classes here in Australia (and he was required to take an English class). He hopes to work on his portfolio so that he can apply for the next phase of his degree when he gets back to Weber. Because he went in ahead, he can afford this "gap" year. Also, we were afraid he wouldn't get to know people if just attended a few classes here and there. Secondary schools in Australia separate the 11th and 12 grades and have a senior program for these years. He is participating in their VCE program for art. (I don't know what VCE stands for, but it's super different than a senior year in the States.) He has already gone on a field trip (or "excursion," as they call it) to the Melbourne Museum to see some aboriginal art. He has also made some friends and seems to be enjoying himself. Australian schools are a bit more restrictive and students cannot leave campus for lunch or anything. Most kids can't drive because the driving age is 18, so this isn't a big deal for them. Luke doesn't have a car, so it's not a big deal for him either! Ha! He has managed to eat a fried apple pie from McDonald's (they fry them here--they're not baked!) at some point in his day, so I think it's possible to leave, but I didn't ask for details. In addition, he has to wear a uniform (see photo above) to school every day. This makes getting dressed in the morning very easy. He has not adjusted to the shoes, and he says the elastic waist shorts give him a wedgy. Otherwise, everybody looks exactly the same, so it's not that big a deal. He is a novelty and the kids have been very friendly. He likes his art classes and is looking forward to getting some time to work on his own art. In our conversations after school, he is surprised by how much the kids curse and how dirty they talk. He was asked to escort a young lady to the debutante ball. This requires classes (I assume on etiquette and decorum?) and practice. I cannot tell you how much this amuses me. I already have a blog post written in my head. I hope he gets to do it because I'll be so disappointed if I don't get to write about it. I just hollered at Luke and he says this about school, "Honestly, it's all kind of weird."

DAISY:

Daisy started school on Monday 2/6 and felt equally awkward in her uniform. The shoes are killing her. We do not wear shoes like this in Colorado. They are a bit manly and she's got big feet. All the kids wear them. Nobody notices at all, but it's hard to adjust when you've never even tried on a pair of shoes like these. We bought cuter t-bar Mary Janes, but those are not allowed because girls didn't buckle them and the school got tired of policing this. They have

uniform checks on a regular basis, but they announce them--which is a little like publishing DUI checkpoints before you set them up. Needless to say, they all look pretty darn snappy for the uniform checks. Daisy is taking a regular year 10 class load. They call all the grades "year X" instead of "X grade" like we do. We put her in 10th because we didn't want her to get behind at Mountain View. This way she'll just make up the end of any 9th grade classes that she missed, but she'll get a full year of 10th. She has English, Drawing, Biology, Maths (that's what they call it!), Health, and Cake Decorating. Guess which class she's most excited about?? Yes, Cake Decorating! One of the items on her school supply list was an apron. That's a first! Can't wait to see what she makes. She, too, has made some friends. She and Luke were both instantly popular due to being American. I hope it lasts at least a year! She has a lot more homework at this school--more than she's ever had--but she feels like she is ahead in most of her classes. So, that's good! She has made the same observations as Luke. Daisy has the misfortune of being at school an hour early. Luke's classes begin at 8:00, mine start at 8:45 and Daisy starts at 9:00. Not sure what she does for an hour, but she usually has a book. We live too far away to make bunches of trips to school at all different times and we only have one car. Daisy says, "I don't really understand recess. They all just wander around. And lunch, too. Nobody sits. They just hold their food and walk and talk." I can tell you that my observations support this. I don't understand it either! The schedule here is very different. Sometimes they have the same class twice in one day. Daisy and Luke compared it to Harry Potter having "double potions." It's not at all like we schedule in the U.S. It takes a while to get used to. I'm not sure any of us are used to it yet! (NOTE: I think I talked about recess in a different post, but it's essentially snack time in the morning. There's not a playground or anything.)

COOPER:

Cooper gets dropped off after Luke and Daisy and before I go to school. On Tuesday and Thursday he goes to pre-school in Balnarring where we live. Jeff takes him on those days. It's only for a couple hours, but it was much more affordable than sending him to daycare/preschool every day. We are paying about $200 more a month for daycare and he goes eight fewer days a month. Many people get a daycare refund (did I mention the socialism?), but we don't qualify on our visa--though we do qualify with our income. He doesn't ever want to go, but Jeff can't get any work done with him home all day. Plus, he just wants to watch TV and play his DS all day. That can't be healthy. Each time we pick him up from school he's playing or reading or doing something fun. He looks like he's having a perfectly lovely time, but he tells regularly tells us he doesn't want to go back. They even tell us he's eating! Go figure. They kept telling us he had a sandwich (one day he ate two!), but when we pressed him, we found out that he just ate the bread--which is totally okay! He loved the banana chocolate chip cake and had two pieces. He's been singing songs that I don't recognize and talking about things we don't have, so I feel like he's liking it okay and it appears his participating. He's had the hardest time adjusting to this move--besides, maybe, me! Ha! When I asked him to tell me something about school for this blog post, he said, "Umm, nothin'." That's a pretty standard response.

Okay, there you go! We have a day off in March and then two weeks in April. Hope we can all make it through Term 1. Only three more after that!

Our house: 33 Pacific Drive

2012-02-10T23:14:00.011-07:00

This exchanging is a curious thing. You trade houses, jobs, lives with this person, but you really don't know them because they're there and you are here. It's strange. Here's what I've discovered about my exchange partner David: He is a very social fella. He likes Skype. He has talked to virtually all of his friends here in Australia. This week at school I've discovered that pretty much all of them have seen my house, as they've commented on various parts of it. Now, I certainly don't care. I just think it's funny. I barely know them and they've "been" to my house. Crazy. I've really only Skyped with my parents, my sister, Jen B. and Kevin and my camera was only working part of the time; I didn't do a tour. So, I decided that all of you should come visit my house! I've put together a little video of where we are living. It's a bit long--because I guess I talk too much and walk too slowly, but if you're interested, check it out! If you're REALLY interested, you should come visit. :D

Hair

2012-02-10T18:17:00.004-07:00

As I've mentioned, hair here is something. It's mostly the boys. Girls have pretty standard hair cuts and styles. A lot of girls put their hair all up on the top of their heads in a bun like pony tail thing. Reminds me of the 80s. All they are missing is a scrunchie! But the boys! Oh, my goodness. They take their hair seriously. They bleach it, highlight it, wax it and work it! I asked what the heck they put in it and a boy brought his hair wax to show me. He said sometimes he just uses surf board wax. I don't know how early they must get up to properly coif their hair.

This is a photo of my year 10 class. They were fooling around on my Photo Booth program. I feel like they are the only ones old enough to properly consent to being on the internet--which they did, happily! The boy in the front has been the one who will talk at length with me about his hair. It's taken him over a year to get it long enough to really work with. He's a super sweet kid and has been really friendly since day one.

Crazy Slang

2012-02-09T02:05:00.005-07:00

This is a quick one, but we've heard so many crazy Australian slang words in the past week that I want to get it down before it seems normal. Much of the slang has been a bit off-color; you'll have to ask me the naughty stuff in person. Some words are so commonplace that they have difficulty knowing what I'm talking about when I use a typical American term. It's been a learning process for me and my students. For example, students here all receive a planner and they call it a diary. When I ask the students to take it out, I find myself saying, "Take out your planner, agenda, diary thing because the first few times I said 'agenda' they just stared at me." Diary does not roll off my tongue. They have their school schedules, but they call them timetables. I had a student today who asked me for a "gray lead," meaning a pencil. I asked him what they call colored pencils: a "purple lead" or a "green lead"? This made all of them laugh and he said, "No, Miss, we call them colored pencils." Of course, they spell "color" with a "u," colour. (Word didn't like that and just gave it a squiggly line!) In addition to a "gray lead," the same student asked me if I had a "rubber." I was a bit taken aback until a student next to him handed him an eraser. Rubber=eraser. Go figure.

Here are some other words we've heard. See if you can guess what they mean. We had the benefit of context, and that does help...sometimes. No googling! Answers are at the end. Luke and Daisy said they'll add more as they hear them. Luke says he can't repeat most of the ones he's heard. (See their blogging at: whitesinoz.blogspot.com.au)

1. fairdinkum

2. goodonya

3. thong

4. yobbo

5. feral

6. Macca's

7. whinge

8. barrack

9. wagging

10. jocks

11. nappies

12. bogan

13. bin

14. nick

15. tick

16. recess

17. fringe

18. boot

19. bonnet

20. biscuit/bekkie

21. chook

22. stubbie

23. footy

24. give way

25. lemon squash

25. doona

Answers: 1. truth/real deal; 2. "good on ya" means good job or well done; 3. flip flops; 4. redneck; 5. wild/bad crowd; 6. McDonald's; 7. whine; 8. cheer or root (as in cheer or root for a team; root is actually a really dirty word here and DOES NOT mean cheer!); 9. ditch or skip class; 10. underwear (the daycare lady told me I could bring "jocks" for Cooper and they'd help potty train him); 11. diapers; 12. like an Australian cowboy or country person who has a really strong Aussie accent; 13. trash can; 14. steal; 15. check mark; 16. snack time or morning tea; 17. bangs--a lot of the boys here have fringe!; 18. car trunk; 19. car hood; 20. a cookie; 21. a chicken; 22. a short neck bottle/beer; 23. Aussie rules football; 24. yield for oncoming cars or pedestrians; 25. lemonade; 26. duvet or bedspread/comforter.

There are tons more if you want to speak "Australian." This website has a bunch.

Friends

2012-02-07T04:17:00.003-07:00

I sounded crazy and overwhelmed last post, and, indeed, I am. However, I do have a couple new friends at school. I'll refrain from mentioning names, but if they ever read my blog, they'll probably know who they are.

My first friend is an assistant principal. She drove me to school the first two days. (My excuse was so that Jeff and the kids could keep the car, but really it was because I'm being a huge baby about driving.) Anyway, she was very gracious and lives by me and drove me to school. I can tell that she's "admin" so she's not cozy with all the teachers (or they're not cozy with her?), but I like her a bunch. She is great to talk to about education and the differences between Australia and the U.S. What's working here and what's not. It's been very fun to compare stories and knowledge. These are very interesting and thoughtful conversations--one of the reasons I wanted to undertake this journey was for conversations like these. Plus, she has a keen fashion sense and a really beautiful house.

My second friend is the poor sweet girl who has to sit next me. I think I'm supposed to have a mentor teacher, but I haven't heard anything about this so I don't really know. If someone is getting paid to do this, it should be this girl. She's almost 12. Almost. She is so young I feel like a grandma. Cute as a bug, too. She has been a godsend. She is capable and competent and has helped me with curriculum needs and printing and finding the bathroom. She's great, truly! In addition, she's always cheery and smiling. She is a pleasure to be around and probably a good influence on me. ;) I am very grateful to her and I appreciate how hard she works and her dedication to teaching. Plus, she knows where all the good shopping is and knows where to find a good deal. (P.S. She's actually 23! I asked today. I cannot believe I started teaching at that age--20 years ago!)

The third friend is more like me. In other words she's kind of snotty. Of course, I adore her. She's the one I want to sit by in meetings because she says mean things under her breath, which, of course, I love. Honestly, I think she's a hoot because she says whatever she wants and is refreshingly honest. She dresses sassy and fun. She's got a funky haircut and wears wild tights and boots and stuff. She's very modern and knows a great deal about America. She's helped me a bunch, too, and is very knowledgeable about education. In addition, she's just plain interesting. It's very fun to talk to her. I can tell we'll hit it off this year and be good friends.

Everyone else has been very kind to me--many going out of their way to do so, but these three have really made my week easier and I've enjoyed their company. There are good people all over the world, y'all.

My New School

2012-02-06T02:48:00.003-07:00

Oh, my goodness. Where do I start? Today was my third day of school and I am worn out. I forgot how exhausting the first week is. Particularly so when you don't know what you're doing.

After my orientation last week I had one day of teacher in-service/work time and then kids on Thursday and Friday last week. I only teach four different classes with 25 kids in each class, but it's like being a first year teacher all over again. I don't have any materials (though my colleagues at school have been very gracious and kind--and infinitely patient). I don't have any classroom systems in place (translation: I am in Classroom Management 101 again). I don't have an email address, yet. I don't really even know how to get to my school. I've had Jeff take me or I've hitched a ride with another teacher. I'm a mess. It's hard to be new. I haven't been new in a long time. I'd forgotten.

I am teaching at a high school in Frankston called Elisabeth Murdoch College. You may have heard of the school's namesake. Her son is quite famous. Elisabeth Murdoch is Rupert Murdoch's mum. (I'm trying to say "mum" because my students think it's hilarious when I say "mom" and spend at least 5 minutes mimicking me with very unflattering nasal American-Australian accents.) The school has grades 7-12, but the school system here is very different. I can't even get into it right now. I'll do a whole post on schools and how they are organized. It's similar, but not really the same. Anyway, I am teaching a 7th grade Humanities class (this is mostly English and history), 9th grade English, 9th grade SOSE (which is Study of Societies and Environment--our first subject for the quarter is Australian history! Yes, of course, I'm good at that!), and 10th grade English. I might have only 25 students in a classroom, but let me assure you, they are noisy enough for 125. Kids here seem to be a lot more chatty in class. Who knew that was possible?? I have one class that everyone says is particularly "rowdy." I'm not entirely sure "rowdy" is the word I'd use, but it will do for now. I was warned by David (my exchange partner) and the principal. Let's just say I didn't really believe them. I believe them now. The other three classes are chatty, but delightful. The novelty of my accent and all the ridiculous things I say is surely keeping them entertained and mostly engaged. I'm confident it will wear off soon, but in the meantime, they find it very comical when I mix things up and say things that seem a bit odd. And there are a lot of things that are odd.

Some observations:

1. Hair: The boys here have incredible hair. Some of them have this well-coiffed, blond highlighted Zac Efron hair, but the others have this insane bed head look that just has a life of it's own. It's crazy. It's some serious hair. I'll have to take a picture. Words alone do not do it justice.

2. *@%^&: Kids here curse. A lot. A whole lot. In class. To teachers. F-bombs and all.

3. Staff: There is beer in the staff room fridge. I don't even know.

4. Eating: They have a recess time in the morning that is actually "morning tea" or what we'd call snack time. I think this is a good idea. Especially at Mountain View on Wednesdays when I'm starving. Lunch here is at 1:00, but I'm not starving because I've had morning tea!

5. Supplies: Teachers here buy all their own supplies. Had I known this, I would have definitely made room for the 900 million paper clips I have sitting around my house. Not that it would have mattered because they really don't use paper clips here. They use "plastic pockets" or page protectors. They put everything in those things. Who knew? School supplies are totally different here. Luke and Daisy needed things like this: a display book, exercise books, a visual diary, a diary, plastic pockets and they need everything in paper size A4. Even the paper size is different here!? (ANSWER KEY: A display book is a plastic folder with pages in it, like a report folder--kind of. An exercise book is just a notebook, but theirs are stapled together pages, not like our perforated or spiral ones. A visual diary is a sketchbook. A diary is a planner or agenda.) Fortunately everything was clearly marked at the Kmart.

6. Exercise: I have 8 different classrooms over the course of a week. Teachers here move a lot! I'm never quite sure where I'm going, but I've managed to get to all my classes so far. I bought a pair of flats (yes, flats!! I'm so very short! Who knew?) because I'm doing so much walking--outside! I was afraid I'd break my ankle in the ridiculous shoes I own. That would be a good story, huh? Stupid American in her stupid shoes had to be taken to the hospital. Because we are in a more temperate climate, the halls are mostly outside, like California. Lots of walking on non-carpeted surfaces is no good with heels. I don't know how the celebrities in L.A. do it. It was always precarious on the stairs at Mountain View!

Okay, that's all I've got for now. There's so much more, but did you notice the classes I'm teaching? I've really got to go brush up on my Australian history, for crying out loud. Also, I'm teaching geography in the Humanities class. I taught 7th grade social studies. Once. Over 20 years ago. I'm a mess. I'll be lucky if I'm more than a day ahead. I actually taught history today in Humanities because I didn't ever get the curriculum map. I discovered that on Sunday afternoon, but it was really too late. Whoops! The book they gave me started with history... I've got to back track and get some geography done now. The SOSE class is going to kick my butt, too. Oh, let's be honest, y'all, everything is pretty much gonna kick my butt!

This is a picture of my desk. Don't worry I'll pink and purple it up as soon as possible. Fortunately the teacher I sit by is a girly girl. She'll probably appreciate my pink and purple stuff and my Hello Kitty.

UPDATE: Elisabeth Murdoch just turned 103 yesterday! Click on the link to see her photo and her birthday party.

Melbourne Orientation

2012-01-31T03:23:00.002-07:00

I've spent the last two days in Melbourne going through orientation. It was led by the exchange organization and was information I should have probably had three months ago...but, oh, well! I just would have had more to worry about and who needs that?

Anyway, there were about 22 other exchange teachers from Scotland, Switzerland, the U.S. and Canada. These were teachers teaching in the state of Victoria. I know that there are others from Colorado, but I am the only one in Victoria. The other American is from Alaska. The Canadians far outnumbered the rest of us. I must tell you, never have I felt such kinship to Canada! We spend most of our time in the U.S. ignoring Canada. We spend far more energy on Mexico while the Canadians are doing who knows what? I don't know a thing about Canada, but the Canadians I met the past two days seemed very American. They have virtually no accent. A few sounded like Minnesotans, but I wouldn't have guessed Canada. They are equally befuddled by the many roundabouts here and they drive on the same side of the road as us. Who knew Canada was so American? I feel like I should go there now.

So, one day we went over all the state standards and stuff for Victoria. I won't bore you with the details, but the website is a lot easier to maneuver than the CDE site and seemed much more detailed. We'll see if it helps in the classroom! They also have a pretty detailed teacher assessment process that I'm curious to learn more about, as Colorado is in the process of working on this right now! We heard about other teacher's experiences and got plenty of advice. We also learned about several weekend trips and such in which we can participate. The first one is in Gippsland--don't know where that is, but we're planning to go! They are offering surfing lessons. Other than a whole lot of info, we had a morning tea break and lots of pastry things that looked unfamiliar but tasted delicious, a nice lunch and an afternoon picnic with pizza and drinks. We were told teachers can have alcohol at school? I find this difficult to believe? I assume after hours? I will have to look into it.

This is the very first time in my teaching career that I am calm, cool and collected before school starts. Usually I'm a total nightmare to live with the week (or two!) before school starts. I have absolutely nothing done, but so many people have told me not to worry about it that I've decided to just listen to them. I haven't got any idea what I'm going to do on Thursday and Friday, nor do I really know what I'm teaching, but it's nice not worrying about it. It's also a totally new feeling. I hope I get used to it.

While I was in meetings all day, Jeff and the kids were very busy. Luke and Daisy are now all enrolled and ready to go to Frankston High School. We purchased their uniforms today and they signed up for classes yesterday. Luke's only required class is English. Otherwise he's signed up for four art classes and he's pretty excited. Daisy has more specific requirements, but she's excited, too! Luke starts Friday and Daisy starts Monday. We're still not entirely sure what we're doing with Cooper.

Yesterday they toured around Melbourne while I was in my meeting. They walked around, went to Treasury Park and a candy store/factory and I don't really know what else they did. They met me for the picnic dinner and then we made a Costco trip to stock up on school lunch supplies. Today they went to the Melbourne Aquarium and I met them at noon. We visited a very nice mall with an IKEA and did a bit of shopping before heading home so Jeff could work. (His hours are pretty flexible, but he still needs to put in at least 8!) We decided we like Melbourne very much. It seems like a very nice city with much to offer. We are looking forward to more trips there. It's about an hour away from where we live--much like Loveland and Denver.

Tomorrow is my first day at school with all the teachers. I'm anxious to meet them all and start getting ready! Tomorrow I'm carpooling with a lady who lives by me so that Jeff and the kids can have the car. The rest of the days I'll drop Luke and Daisy off at their school and head to mine. We have an 8:30 start, so I need to be there by 8:00. Luke starts at 8:00; Daisy at 9:00. She'll have some extra time to do her homework in the morning!

Can't wait to fill you in on Elisabeth Murdoch College! I had a tour last week, but I've only met the principal and a couple teachers. Tomorrow is the big day! I'll try to take pictures. It's a huge sprawling campus. It reminded me of the schools in California because it's all outside, halls and stuff. They eat outside and don't have the weather like we have in Colorado! I believe I have "yard duty" so I'll get to check it all out.

I should go to bed so I don't look like a mess tomorrow. Good night!

Ashcombe Maze and Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm

2012-01-28T21:09:00.004-07:00

We had a very fun day today exploring things on the Mornington Peninsula. Last weekend we went to a little beach town called Sorrento. This weekend we went to two places that are a bit closer to our home: Ashcombe Maze and Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. It has been super hot today (about 95°--and humid!), so we were a sweaty mess when we got back home, but it was a great to spend the day seeing some sights and coming home with strawberries!

We began our day at Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. They have bunches of strawberry products. In addition to coming home with a full "punnet" each of strawberries, we purchased a sparkling strawberry wine, strawberry syrup and strawberry apple cider. I'll be making strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight. Even Cooper had fun and picked some berries. It reminded me of so many years ago when we used to pick berries in California. Luke was probably Cooper's age and he'd eat more than he picked. We went every summer.

From some brochures at the strawberry farm we discovered that there was a cherry, raspberry, blueberry and boysenberry farm not too far away. Now, we used to pick boysenberries every summer at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville and we love them. It was short season and you had to keep calling to see if they were ready. Blink and you'd miss them. Boysenberries are impossible to find fresh in Colorado--and actually pretty hard to find frozen even. I've looked for years, never seen them. We love them; they are our favorite berries. We followed a dirt road and crossed our fingers (the signage here is not always very effective or helpful!) and arrived at a small farm stand. They still had cherries and blueberries and some berries called sylvan berries (which were for all intents and purposes blackberries)...but we missed boysenberry season by a few weeks. It apparently begins in early December, so we'll be back before we leave Australia! We did pick up some good looking blueberries, but we didn't pick them ourselves.

Following our berry adventure, we headed to Ashcombe Maze. Apparently there are several mazes here; this one is closest to us. There were two main hedge mazes here and if you are claustrophobic, you would not like them. It was a tight squeeze. I'm accustomed to roomy corn mazes. These mazes were very skinny! We made it to all four corners (to find a mosaic flag) and came out into a lovely garden. Apparently mazes can be found throughout history (going back 4000 years) and are very popular in England--some dating back to the Dark Ages. Who knew? In addition to the hedge mazes, there was a lavender maze and a rose maze--both very fragrant. These were easy because you could see over them. The whole property is covered with trees and there are ponds and a small lake. In the trees are gnomes and fairies, which visitors are encouraged to find. If you can find all 9 of each, you get a candy at the end. Each one had a name and you had to write it down. This reminded us of an Amazing Race challenge--which we ultimately would have failed because there was one gnome we couldn't find (Saxophone Sam) and one fairy we couldn't find (Sequoia). Either way, we had a fun time looking (we're fairly competitive--ever seen us play Novel Quest on New Year's Eve?) and we all got a candy in the end. They call it a "lolly," but really it was a gummy thing--Cooper badly wanted a lollipop. He was a good sport and had a fun day. He ran all over the place and will sleep well tonight!

Prior to finding our way through the mazes, we had a nice lunch at The Maze Cafe. I had my first Australian meat pie (chicken and leeks). It was tasty. They eat a lot of meat pie here. Meat pies are essentially pot pies, but there are different varieties. They eat them with "sauce," which is tomato sauce usually. Mine came with some sort of chutney. Everyone else had sandwiches.

Gotta go now! I'm making shortcake and dinner. I'll put up pictures this evening.

Kookaburra

2012-01-28T14:49:00.004-07:00

Do you remember that old song about the Kookaburra sitting in the "old Gum tree"? Yeah, well, we have Kookaburras. I remember that song speaking pleasantly about the little Kookaburra singing and laughing. Here are the lyrics for those of you who do not know this traditional Australian rhyming song:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Merry, merry king of the bush is he

Laugh, Kookaburra? Laugh, Kookaburra!

What a life you lead.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Merry, merry, merry little bird is he.

Sing, Kookaburra! Sing, Kookaburra!

Sing your song for me.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Eating all the gum drops he can see.

Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!

Leave some there for me.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Counting all the monkeys he can see.

Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!

That's not a monkey, that is me!

Cute, huh? Obviously, it's a kid's song. But Kookaburras sound so sweet and little and fun, yes? Well, first of all, Kookaburras are big (about 18 inches). Second, Kookaburras do not sweetly laugh and sing. Unless you think cackling like Jack Nicholson in an insane asylum is music to your ears. They are predatory animals: "Kookaburras hunt in much the sameway as other kingfishers do: by perching on a convenient branch or wire and waiting patiently for prey to pass by. It will then swoop down and seize the prey, killing it by either crushing it in the beak or, for larger animals, by thrashing it against the branch until it is dead. Prey consists of small mammals and lizards, small birds and large insects. Most famously it takes snakes (often venomous species) of up to one metre in length." Sweet, sweet little birdie. I've attached a photo of a Kookaburra (found on the website I link to with the quote above). I don't have a picture myself because they tend to begin their crazy cackling at 5:00 a.m. After I am jolted awake and convince myself that there is not a psychopath laughing crazily outside my window, I haven't been able to snap a picture. I'll work on that. If you'd like to hear a Kookaburra, this audio clip is pretty true to life. Of course, it seems a lot louder right outside your window!

NOTE: I vaguely remember how to embed an mp3, but, did I mention there was a Kookaburra outside my window at 5:00 am this morning? I'm tired. I think it requires a tiny bit of coding. I'll figure it out later and embed it here. In the meantime, click the link. ;)

Here are Kookaburras in our tree. We finally caught them in the daylight! Enjoy!

Where the heck are we?

2012-01-26T00:18:00.008-07:00

Last weekend we went to a lovely little town called Sorrento. This is a picture of the view towards the water. It is right on the ocean and has the most beautiful turquoise water. We walked along the main street and looked at the stores, ate some ice cream. It reminded me of all those small beach towns along the California coast. It was obviously a little more "uptown," as the stores were quite pricey. Lovely, nonetheless. There are several other beach towns here on the Mornington Peninsula. Some of you have, no doubt, been ambitious and looked up Australia and our location. Some of you have, no doubt, thought, "She'll tell me eventually." And you're correct! I'm telling you now.

We are living in the southern part of Australia on a small peninsula southeast of Melbourne. Australia is nearly the size of the U.S. (not including Alaska), but people really only live in small areas clustered around the cities. It's not a very populous nation, with only about 22,400,000 people. For comparison, the U.S. has about 307,000,000 people. Los Angeles county has almost 10,ooo,000 people; the state of California has about 37,000,000 people--more than all of Australia, a land mass that is almost the size of the U.S. The population of the state of Colorado is about 5,025,000, which is still more than the city of Melbourne (4,077,000 approximately). The most populous city in Australia is Sydney, then Melbourne. Here is a map from Google maps of the country:

We are on the very bottom on the Mornington Peninsula. I'll zoom in and let you see in a second. If you have a globe, look at it because we are way in the heck on the bottom ofthe world--near Antarctica, for crying out loud! Much of the middle and northern parts of Australia are not populated, or very sparsely populated. Darwin, in the Northern Territory has about 127,000 people. Loveland, Colorado, has about half that many (66,000 approximately). So, the next picture is of the southern part of the state of Victoria, from Melbourne south:

Melbourne is located on Philip Bay. It's easy to see in the picture above. The peninsula that comes around on the east is the Mornington Peninsula. You can see a close up in the next picture. We are in a town called Balnarring. It is on the east side of the peninsula, kind of in the middle of it. Our windows overlook the ocean and we can see Philip Island. I'll be working in Langwarrin and the kids will be going to school in Frankston. Sorrento, where we were this weekend, is on the end of the peninsula on the west side. The drive there was really pretty, as there are many wineries and farmland and then a peek at the ocean/bay around another turn. Again, reminded me of parts of California.

Obviously, you can look all this up yourself if you want to get a better picture. Go here to see the maps I used and zoom in and out. You can even see our house on Google Earth: 33 Pacific Drive, Balnarring, Victoria. Maybe you'll see me outside picking up the mail!

Happy Australia Day!

2012-01-25T19:28:00.004-07:00

Well, it's Australia Day, mates! I don't have the slightest clue what all that entails, but I think it's an end of summer/school starts next week last hurrah. It's also a state holiday, so everything is closed here--on a Thursday? Weird. Anyway, I got my hair re-purpled yesterday. It was in that faded stage where it just looks gray and ashen--not really purple at all. I couldn't start school like that! Ugh. So, I have a little bit more along my face now. Representing Mountain View down under. It cost $45, which is more than I have ever paid for purple before, but what are you gonna do? The girl was super sweet and, remember, they don't tip, so $45 was it. She looked at me like I was cuckoo when I asked if people tipped in the hair salon. She said, "Sorry? Tip?" When I reminded her what tipping was, she then looked aghast. Nope. No tipping in the hair salon. I appreciate that. But I digress, I asked her what people did on Australia Day and she looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "Well, we drink. And eat. That's about it," and then she smiled. Good stuff. So, it sounds like Labor Day, but it's in honor of the founding of Australia. I did a little research on the Australia Day website:

"The tradition of noticing 26 January began early in the nineteenth century with Sydney almanacs referring to First Landing Day or Foundation Day. That was the day in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove. The raising of the Union Jack there symbolised British occupation of the eastern half of the continent claimed by Captain James Cook on 22 August in 1770.

Some immigrants who prospered in Sydney, especially those who had been convicts or the sons of convicts, began marking the colony's beginnings with an anniversary dinner - 'an emancipist festival' to celebrate their love of the land they lived in. Governor Lachlan Macquarie, the emancipists' friend, made the thirtieth anniversary of the day in 1818 a public holiday, thirty guns counting out the years of British civilization, a tradition Macquarie's successors continued."

So, there you have it. A celebration of Britain dropping off all of their convicts in a new land, far, far, far away from Britain. Who knew they'd do so well? Anyway, there is Australia Day paraphernalia in stores and sales in stores and stuff like that. I feel like I should go to my local Old Navy and pick up my $5 Australia Day t-shirt, but there's no local Old Navy, so I guess I'll just wear the yearbook t-shirt I've been wearing all week. I'm planning to BBQ hamburgers and all that. Maybe I'll buy some Diet Coke in a can and splurge. It's a holiday after all. The drinking age here is 18, so I'm sure we should just stay off the streets because, of course, the driving age is also 18... go figure?

So, what else... Jeff's allergies have been bugging him here. Probably because it's a lot more humid than Colorado and we have nine million plants and trees growing in our yard. He's been sneezing his head off. Daisy and Luke and I went to the dispensary and got him some medicine. This made us laugh hard because in Loveland we've never been to a dispensary. In fact, we typically avoid them. However, I did not see any marijuana at this one. They might have kept it behind the counter, but I didn't ask.

I finished reading all my books for school. Didn't love Juggling with Mandarins... We'll see how this year goes with these selections. I'm befuddled. I also read I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. It was good. It's not The Book Thief, but it was good. I am almost finished with The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky and I can honestly say that I'm done with youth literature for a while. I'm getting too old to appreciate it. I want to scold the characters and tell them to grow up. It's time to move on. Starting The Submission by Amy Waldman next.

Well, I have to go to the grocery store and get ready for our BBQ, so, I'm off! We've got a busy day tomorrow registering the kids for school and meeting with the principal at my school. Next week I have two days of orientation (required by the exchange organization) in Melbourne and then school begins on Thursday. Lots to do! I'll catch you up on the weekend. Happy Australia Day, y'all!

UPDATE: Well, we had a traditional American BBQ--but it was with all Australian food, so that makes it pretty Australian, yes? We had burgers on whole meal buns, potato chips, green grapes, baked beans and lamingtons for dessert. As far as we can tell, lamingtons are a traditional thing here. They are sponge cake pieces or fingers or bites that are dipped in chocolate and then coated in coconut. Jeff wouldn't even try them; he hates coconut. I thought they were quite yummy. Here's a picture.

Money, honey!

2012-01-24T01:00:00.005-07:00

Australian money, like pretty much all other countries besides the US, is very colorful. It’s kind of plastic feeling and has a clear window in it. It's much sturdier than a US bill. I don't think you'll find a ratty bill taped together here. Their smallest bill is a $5. They have coins for $2 and $1 and 50¢, 20¢, 10¢, and 5¢. No pennies! It’s strange to pay with a $20 and get back a handful of change and a $5. They do call the paper bills dollars, so that's easy. I have no idea what the names are for the coins?

The exchange rate here is not terrible, but it's not great either. It's currently $1.04 for each US dollar. Could be worse--it is worse in many other countries! So we lose approximately 4¢ on every dollar we earn because we're still getting paid in US dollars. Of course, it fluctuates. It would be nice if the US economy could improve a bit, yes?

I have no idea who is on the money. Most of the coins look like the queen? I should be thorough and look that up for you, but I’ll bet you don’t all know who is on American money. I mean, think about it! George Washington and Ben Franklin are the easy ones. Who else? The first picture above is the front of the paper bills. (At least I think it's the front!) Here are several other pictures. The first one on the left below is the back of paper bills. The middle one on the left shows dollar coins (next to a US penny, obviously, for size reference). The middle right one shows smaller coins. The last one on the right shows the transparent "window" in the paper bills. It's pretty cool looking. You can see the $20 behind it on the counter.

If you are more interested and I didn't provide enough information, the Australian government can help you out here.

Giggle and Hoot

2012-01-23T02:46:00.006-07:00

Cooper watches too much TV. He did at home, too. He doesn't eat well, he watches too much TV, he doesn't really mind. The kid's a brat. People told us this would happen because we're just too old and tired. They were right!

Anyway, he is particularly smitten with Australian TV. It’s on all day here. Even the Disney channel changes to Phineas and Ferb after noon so we get a break. Here it’s kids programming until 6:30 p.m. He loves it. His favorites are Giggle and Hoot. They aren’t even a real program. They’re just the in between programs banter, but he loves them! We went in one of those ridiculously over-priced toy stores when we were in Sorrento and there was a Hoot puppet. He loves it! He makes the puppet talk just like Hoot and he pretends to be Giggle. Really, it’s precious. His other favorites are Peppa Pig and the Wot Wots. They play a lot of British kids’ stuff and The Wiggles, of course. One of the stranger ones is Dirt Girl World. Please say that with an Australian accent because that’s how they say it here. “Dirt Girl World.”

If you feel you can’t do it justice, hit the link and you’ll get tohearthe dirt girl say it. Good stuff. They have very big heads and mouths and they garden and stuff. She likes to “get grubby” and has friends who are bugs and witchetty grubs. I don’t dislike it, but it’s odd. You can find all the shows and games and stuff online here if you want, but I've included some pictures here too:

Driving on the Left

2012-01-22T22:55:00.004-07:00

The last time I drove a car was Friday, December 30, 2011. I don't really enjoy driving. I've driven a lot in my life. I don't really miss it. Before we left Colorado I was driving Dana's Audi. Now, that is a sweet car. I did enjoy driving it, but on the whole, I don't really like driving. So when we arrived in Australia I've been content to let Jeff drive. They drive on the left side of the road here, from the right side of the car. What the heck? Even Cooper is disturbed by this and the only driving he's done is on MarioKart Wii. It's disconcerting. Also, they have an inordinate number of roundabouts here--and people expect you to know how to use them too! Our roundabouts in Colorado--people expect you to be stupid about them. There is no expectation that you'll know what you're doing. In fact, I'm genuinely surprised when I see someone maneuver them correctly, using their blinker, for example. Here this is not the case and they'll honk at you if you're a moron. Plus, you have to watch for cars coming from a different direction than you're used to. This is the most difficult part. You are expecting cars to come from one direction, but they don't! You think you're clear, but you're not! This is troublesome in parking lots too. You check to see if you're safe to cross and you think you are...but, no! Fortunately, in parking lots people have been more forgiving.

So, Jeff is working again and that means I am stuck at home or I have to figure out how to drive. Maybe today?! I know I signed up for this crazy adventure. I know you think I've got courage, but really, I am not brave. Deep in my soul, I'm pretty cowardly. I'll just read another book and stay home. No, I have no other books and my last book for school is waiting for me at the library. I can do this! So Luke and Daisy and Cooper and I set out for the Hastings library. It's only about 15 minutes away. I can do this!

And, you know what? I did. And it wasn't that bad. I don't know a km from a mph, but they're marked and they match the speedometer. It's not that hard. Yes, I have to concentrate. Yes, it's different. But it was okay. The hardest thing is the indicator. It's on the right side of the steering column and that is super hard to remember. We've been laughing at Jeff all month for hitting the windshield wipers and now I see why this happens. Otherwise, the gas and the brakes are in the same spot, so that helps. Changing gears with my left hand is not easy--one of the main reasons we got an automatic was because I was sure I could not learn to use a stick shift with my left hand. I'm pretty sure that was a good call. Otherwise, it wasn't that bad! We made it to the library without incident and also to the post office. Maybe tomorrow we'll venture farther!

Haven’t eaten a calorie since I’ve been here!

2012-01-20T23:16:00.002-07:00

They don’t have calorie information on the food products here. They measure kilo jules and they call it “energy.” (See pic below.) Suffice it to say, I’ve got a lot of energy! HA! Seriously, though, how on earth do I count calories here? I’ve got to figure out how to convert kilo jules to something I understand. In the process of looking that up, I found this very helpful website. It is full of good info on Australia. My Australian knowledge before we left consisted of the following: Uggs, Vegemite, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, big sharks, kangaroos, koalas, and Crocodile Dundee. Seriously, that’s it. I don’t know what I was thinking coming here! It’s an embarrassment, really. I’ve studied up a bit, but this website it really handy. If your Australian knowledge is limited to the above, you may want to learn more too! Check it out: All Down Under.

P.S. Uggs are not cheaper here. “Uggs” is a generic Australian term for any sheepskin boot. Uggs the company is not really making boots here and the ones they sell here are the same price as we pay in the US. Also, I haven’t seen Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman. And, as for Vegemite...it smells yucky. People here say the key is using it sparingly. I'll try it on toast or something eventually, but not today! Sorry!

Still reading and reading and reading…

2012-01-20T23:13:00.001-07:00

Stopped at the library on the way home to return all the books I checked out. I’ve read all the ones for school except Juggling with Mangos. It’s being transferred from another library. They were all fun reads. Not at all like what I am used to reading and teaching—although I think the books I teach are fun reads too! I am meeting with a teacher next week to see the school and, hopefully, get more information on what I’m teaching and what I need to prepare. We’ll see!

I finished The Heaven Shop and Tomorrow When the War Began. I re-read The Outsiders and The Lightning Thief. I also finished State of Wonder and The Future of Us by Jay Asher who spoke at school. It was cute. Much more of a love story, especially compared to Thirteen Reasons Why! State of Wonder was fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. The Stephen King book is still my top recommendation!

Any must read suggestions? I’m picking up Juggling with Mandarins on Monday, but until then, I’m open to any other suggestions!

Snappy shoes, y’all!

2012-01-20T22:59:00.002-07:00

In less than two weeks school starts! So, today we went school shopping. We were really just looking for shoes, as Luke and Daisy both have to wear uniforms and we’ll purchase them at the school. It is very rare for a school here to not require uniforms. Shoe commercials are on all the time right now and every pair looks virtually identical: black with laces or black with a t-bar/Mary Jane style. We ended up getting a pair of Clark’s for Luke, which I think is kind of funny because they are an American brand. Daisy’s are not American and she is not particularly pleased with them. They are like no shoes shehas ever worn. I think they’re actually pretty cute. Everyone else will be wearing them, too. So it’s not like she’ll stand out. Cooper begged and begged for some pink uggs (“like Mommy”) and we finally gave in when the girl told us they were on sale—only$5. Like me, he is only going to wear them around the house! Jeff is not at peace with this purchase. I think it’s sweet that he wants to be like me. He’s normally a real daddy’s boy.

The shopping centre was not at all like what we have in the US. I was picturing a mall. It’s not really a mall. There were two grocery stores attached to the space and inside there was a butcher and a bakery and many food court choices—two selling donuts (Donut King and Donutello)! There does not appear to be a department store here like Macy’s or Dillard’s or Nordstrom. They have several Kmart/Target/WalMart type stores, but there are no department stores. Any of you who know me well, know that I love a good mall. I feel at home in the mall. In pretty much all of America, they look thesame. Maybe a different fountain here or there, different seating or plants? Same stores, same restaurants…same everything! Some people just see too much corporate America everywhere they look; I find comfort in this sameness. This mall was not comfortable to me. Perhaps I just needed to stroll along by myself, but it wasn’t much of a strolling kind of mall. I recognized an EB video game store, but nothing else. Perhaps we were in a crappy mall? They do exist, I know. Hard to say? Shopping is not the same here though. That’s probably a good thing. It’s just disconcerting when we have school shopping to do and at home I’d know exactly where to go for what. I didn’t even know where to start with shoes because I don’t know what sizing they use here? I had to have the girl at the shoe store measure the kids’ feet—and then we ended up getting American shoes with American sizing. Go figure.

We had a nice lunch at the shopping centre (that’s how they spell it, I’m not trying to be snobby). We went to a local restaurant called Nando’s. They had chicken—fixed in multiple different ways. We all had “chicken burgers,” except Cooper. He had McDonald’s. He devoured all six of his nuggets. Either he’s finally gotten really hungry, or this looked familiar enough to eat. Whatever! I’m just glad he’s eating something other than Ritz crackers and strawberries. He also picked out a donut from the Donut King. It was made to look like a cell phone. He wouldn't eat the "buttons."

On Thursday we had dinner at another local restaurant called Red Rooster. Obviously, they had chicken too, but they had fish and chips as well. It was tasty. The fast food here is of a much better quality than in the states—except for McD’s, which I’ve told you is exactly the same! We’ve been hitting mostly casual dining/fast food places because they are much more affordable (and because Cooper is picky, and so is Daisy actually!). For example, today our lunch at Nando’s was $60. Add an additional $7 for Cooper’s Happy Meal, and our lunch was nearly $70. Now, they do not expect a tip and the tax is included in the price, so you know what you’re paying and what you’re getting, but we don’t make a practice of having $70 lunches. Heck, I almost always have a buy one/get one free coupon when we eat out at home. We never pay that much for lunch—and rarely dinner either. It’s different, for sure!

P.S. Red Rooster had these battered and fried pineapple rings—thankfully, they were $1.95 for one. Delicious!

Is that a kangaroo, mate?

2012-01-17T02:50:00.004-07:00

I know, I know...two posts in one night! I'm overachieving. But we finally saw some kangaroos! I felt like this was something that should be posted and I should not wait. So, here they are, lots of them. I did a little kangaroo research in the meantime. It's taken us twoweeks, after all! Kangaroos are one of Australia's most iconic animals--along with sharks and a bunch of things that can kill you. They are, of course, marsupials, meaning they have a pouch. There are more than 60 types of kangaroos in Australia. I have no idea what type these are, but they just look like regular kangaroos to me. (According to the internet--which is always correct--the ones we saw look like red kangaroos, but I can't be sure.) The live export of kangaroos is prohibited, so I won't be sending any to you. Kangaroo meatis widely exported to Europe and Russia. It's very low in fat and high in zinc, protein and iron. It's a bit gamey tasting, but not bad. Kangaroos eat grass or other low growing plants. Apparently they are most active in the mornings and evenings. These we saw this evening. Very fun!

Beets

2012-01-16T22:34:00.007-07:00

So, beets. Beets are popular here. I don't know many people in the US who eat beets. I remember going with my friend Missy to Rosie'sBBQ in Northridge and getting the salad bar. Do you remember the Rosie's salad bar? Do they have salad bars like that anymore? We went there a lot. I loved, loved, loved the Israeli dill pasta salad and devoted 1/4 of my plate to it. Missy, however, devoted 1/4 of her plate to the beets. She is the only one I have ever known who eats beets. Apparently she is just on the wrong continent. Beets are beloved in Australia. Each of the BBQs we've been invited to have included beet dip. It looks really pretty and festive, bright and red. It comes in a tub or jar like American French Onion dip or something like that. See the photos below. They serve it with crackers or biscuits or chips/crisps. It looks like it should taste good, but it just tastes like beets. I've tried it each time and had hope for it, but it still tastes like beets. It's not bad, it's just really beety. I took a photo of some of the beet dips available at our local grocery store (to send to Missy) and on the way home we drove through McDonald's (we've passed it for two weeks and not been tempted, but it's hot today and I wanted a cone!). The McDonald's fries (and they actually call them fries, not "chips") were exactly the same as the ones I get from the McDonald's on Eisenhower Blvd. in Loveland. This is interesting because even the crackers and Oreos here are not exactly the same as American ones. Australians do not like preservatives like Americans do. It makes things taste just the teensiest bit off--not bad, but more like the generic or off label brand. Anyway, I got a hot fudge sundae and it tasted every bit like the ones I get at home. Same fudge, same mix for the soft serve. Not the same price, however! It was $2.79 Australian. Cooper got a Happy Meal with Alvin from the Chipmunks on a surfboard. The chicken nuggets looked the same and the meal even included two packets of real Heinz ketchup--not tomato sauce! But I digress...one of the

signs in the McDonald's was announcing the return of the McOz Burger! Do you know what makes it an Oz burger?? Beets, of course!! There are beets on the burger! Otherwise, it looks pretty much like a Quarter Pounder with cheese. Crazy. Beets?!

In case you are feeling inspired to try some, I've found a beetroot recipe here. It really is quite pretty. This one looks easy if you can make the metric conversions! Australia uses the metric system, y'all!

The Internet

2012-01-16T00:44:00.005-07:00

I am a day behind. I've been trying to update every other day--something I know I can't do when school starts in two weeks--however, we went over our downloads and the internet slowed to a crawl. Seriously slow: 250k/sec. Apparently they have limits on downloading here and if you go over they slow down your speed. I assume this is an effort to get you to purchase a more expensive package? If that's the case, it worked! We used up our alloted downloading in two weeks. Now, the Manks could have downloaded a bunch over Christmas. I don't know how much we actually had to begin with, but we were over the limit and we weren't even downloading movies, just apps and books and stuff. It's kept me from downloading any photos or documents over the past three days and made me more aware of what I download. Interesting how different systems work.

We had a nice weekend. Saturday was cool. Sunday it started to warm up a bit and today is downright hot! Excellent day to do laundry--everything dries very

quickly! Yay! I tried to do laundry yesterday, but had to take it all in when a flock of cockatoos perched in the tree right over the clothesline. Seriously. Here's one------------------------------> There were, like, ten. They managed to hit one towel with poop, but I salvaged the rest of the laundry and put it out to dry today. Who knew there were so many perils involved with laundry? It's all done now. Dry and folded. We are hoping the warm weather continues and we have some more days at the beach.

Speaking of beach, we had a great breakfast yesterday on the beach! We went to a little place called Pelican Pantry (see photo below). It's in Hastings, just a few miles from us. It's used for training students in a vocational program. They made some delicious pancakes and we finally got to try Australian bacon. Bacon here is a different cut than in the US. It looks a lot like what we'd call Canadian bacon with a strip of regular bacon on the side. It's meaty. Fried up, it was good, but not the same! Cooper loves bacon, but wouldn't touch it. :P

We went out early yesterday because we had to get home to watch a "grid iron" game from the US. You may have watched, too? A little team called the Broncos? Sad day here in Australia. Poor Tebow. If you watched in the US, it was on Saturday night. We watched it here on Sunday at noon--the day after it was played...kind of. It's disconcerting.

Jeff started back to work today. He's taken the past two weeks off to get us all situated. I'm not sure we're totally situated, but his emails were getting stacking up and he does have to work sometime. So, I spent the day keeping Cooper downstairs and away from Jeff. The internet was still unbelievably slow until late this afternoon, so I'm not sure how he got anything done, but tomorrow he should be good to go!

We have a few plans for this week, but most of them involve school preparations. Luke and Daisy both need uniforms. We're not sure about Cooper yet. Here he is old enough to go to kindergarten--they all call it kindy. It sounds like pre-school and he'd only go for about two hours, but we're looking into it. We didn't really understand it when we were looking from the States because it's just not the same. Schools are different here as far as grades and progress. We can't buy uniforms for Luke and Daisy until the schools open next week, but we can buy shoes! Black, polishable, ties or T-bar. Neither one of them had any shoes that met the requirements, but they are on sale everywhere here! I'd also like to get to the library and pick up the books I'll be teaching. One is The Outsiders, which I've read several times and it's available on my kindle; the other one I already have on my kindle: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The rest I can't get on my kindle: Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden and Juggling with Mandarins by V.M. Jones and The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis. They are all YA titles which is a huge switch from the older texts I typically teach. I'll be curious to see if kids like them any better. I'll also be curious to see the objectives and learning targets associated with them. They appear to address various current issues so I think students will find them relevant? We'll see! Either way, I have time to read now and I'd like to get a jump on the texts. Hopefully the Hastings library has what I'm looking for!

Speaking of reading, I finished Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It was unbelievably geeky and filled with 80s references. Therefore, I loved it. Really, it was very good. Along the same lines as Ready Player One, I read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I don't know why I've never read it before? I liked it. Didn't love it. I think I had a lot of build up associated with it in my head and it was good, but maybe didn't meet my expectations. Maybe it's just one I need to talk about to like better. This happens to me a lot with book club books. I like the book okay, but hearing everyone talk about it makes me like it more. I guess I could talk to Luke, Daisy and/or Jeff...they've all read it. Those of you who loved it, tell me why. I also read a very quick short story/novella from Markus Zusak that Sue had here: Fighting Ruben Wolfe. Turns out it's one of a trio of books written about the Wolfe family--and it's the middle one. I hate it when I do that! I'll definitely need to read the other two. You can find all three here under the title Underdogs. All three take place in Australia, as Zusak is Australian. I'll download the other two next, but I just started State of Wonder by Ann Pachett. Entertainment Weekly called it a modern dayHeart of Darkness. How could I resist?!

I'm going to go grab myself a popsicle (or a "water ice stick" as it says on the box here), find a comfy chair and get reading.

This is a photo of the Pelican Pantry in Hastings. We've been told Hastings is a little "dodgy" after dark, and the crowd does seem a little rougher, but it's still a nice little town. Right next to the restaurant is a rec center and a great playground. Then there's the beach, too!

Costco trip

2012-01-13T01:50:00.003-07:00

So, today we went to Costco. I know it sounds like we're just shopping and going places that we've heard of, but that's pretty much what we're doing. Keep in mind that we have a house here, but that's about it. We bought the car, got our insurance figured out. Opened a bank account. And now it's on to the housekeeping stuff. We had enough toilet paper for the first two weeks, but David and Sue didn't leave us a year's worth! Nor did we leave them a year's worth. Every year for Christmas my parents renew my Costco card. Last year I cancelled Sam's and just went to Costco once a month. It worked out well and we felt like we should try out my Christmas present and see how it worked in Australia. See if it was worth a drive in to Melbourne for Costco. Well, Costco is surprisingly American. It's not at all Australian--except for the building; it was pretty cool architecturally speaking, not a giant boxlike warehouse. Otherwise, it looked just like the Costco we go to in Colorado. Same signs (carts--not trolleys, as they call them here), same checkouts, same snack bar (although a hot dog and a drink was

$1 more) with the same cups, plates, menu, everything! Plus, they had the same soda machines (with ice!) and refills. The place was packed! It was 11:30 on a Friday and it was a zoo. I cannot imagine what a Saturday or Sunday look like. We found many of the same products that Costco carries in the States. Toilet paper and other paper goods are a great price. Meat and produce are fresh and well-priced. The crackers, cookies, cereal, etc. comes in smaller boxes, but were still a good deal. They even had Skippy peanut butter in a size giant jar. I saw an Australian fella looking from the local brand to

the Skippy, clearly torn as the local brand was the same price for a much smaller jar. I told him Skippy is great, he'd like it, but I'm not sure he believed me. Overall, it is definitely worth a trip a month. We didn't buy near as much as we might typically buy (which is perfectly fine!), but it was nice to get a bigger box of crackers and some reasonably priced pork chops, plus, I found some Purell. What more does a girl need?

It was a worthwhile trip and a fun day! On the way home we took the highway that runs along the coast. It was very nice and gave us a better feel for Melbourne and a look at the places we want to spend more time. We'll plan a trip for next week and see some sights--but we may still stop in for a $2.49 hot dog and soda!

It's supposed to be cool and rainy for a few more days, but sunny and warm all next week. It is proving difficult to do laundry with all this rain. I've been sorely tempted to use the tiny clothes dryer...

Well, I'm going to go find a movie to watch and settle in for the night--maybe with some tea! In addition to reading (started book five this morning), I've been catching up on movies that I've missed. The list is long! Watched "Invictus" and "The Bucket List" so far. Which, "The Bucket List" is super sad. What the heck? I recognize that it's about two guys about to "kick the bucket," but I totally thought it was a comedy. For those of you who have not seen it, head's up, it's not a comedy. I think that ends my Morgan Freeman spree--liked him better as Nelson Mandela than the guy dying of cancer. I may watch "The Hurt Locker" tonight--I may not. That one I know is not a comedy. Maybe "Gone With the Wind"? I've never seen it. We'll see; it's long! I think it's funny to see other people's video collections. Who knows what mine says about me because I haven't even watched half of them! HA! I actually got pretty excited to watch "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion," but the DVD was missing. Bummer. I like Romy...or Michelle? Both of them. Plus, I really like post-it notes. 'Night!

Which century is this??

2012-01-12T03:15:00.006-07:00

Okay, this post has nothing to do with Australia. Except that I'm drinking tea while I type because it's chilly here. I'm trying to pretend I like it because Australians drink a lot of tea--very British and all that. I feel like I already don't drink beer or wine--the other favorite Australian drinks--I should at least try to drink tea.

I don't have any cute pictures today because all I did all day was fight with the internet gods. Here is the bit of advice I have for anyone going overseas for an extended length of time: Do all your internet stuff before you leave. I should have. I didn't. It's very time consuming and I was busy. So, today I've attempted to go paperless on virtually all our bills and set up online payments. I had set up a few over the last year or so. I've tried to do that anyway because it's the 21st century and all. Well, I should have done it all in Loveland because who knew you needed a special code (found only on the paper statement) to set up payment for Century Link? Really, who IS Century Link? Would Qwest do this to me? I think not. They'll send this special four digit number to me via text message or they'll mail it to me, via the post office--not helpful when I don't have texting and if I could get snail mail, I'd have it. I brought the account number, but that, my friends, is not enough. Century Link has multiple 800 numbers I can call, but it took me forever to find an email. Why is that? Would they really prefer I call? I feel like email takes less time for them? Oh, well. I finally found an email and I should have a response "within 24 hours."

The next troublesome issue was wire transfers. Now, I went to Chase before we left and I told them I was going to be out of the country for a year. I told them Jeff was going to be out of the country for a year. I watched as the bank teller fella noted this on my account. I looked over his shoulder. I saw this information being conveyed. I gave him specific dates and places we would be (Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne). Did that stop Chase from putting a hold on my credit card when we got here? Nope. Did the bank teller tell me any other useful overseas info? Nope. Should I have asked? Well, probably, but I don't know what I don't know! And here is what I did not know: You cannot make wire transfers without a special code. A special code that I do not have because I have never made an overseas wire transfer--despite the many emails from Africa begging me to. Do you know how you can get a special code? Well, you can have it texted to one of your contact numbers or you can have a phone call to one of your contact numbers. Now, here is where all of you should log-in to whatever accounts you have and update your contact numbers. This is important! If you happen to cancel your landline, you should not have it as the primary contact number because this is the number they will want to phone or text to give you any special codes you might need. You should not list your contact number as the main number for Group Publishing--or Chase might call and give the very special, secret code number to the Group receptionist. Also listed as the main contact number is my cel phone. My cel phone that is currently not accepting text messages or phone calls because it does not really work here in Australia. I can get iMessages and I can get the internet if there is wi-fi around. It's just a small computer with a sparkly case, not really a phone. I changed my online contact information to a local phone number and maybe it will show up in 24-48 hours. If so, I think I'll be okay. If not, I sent a ridiculous email to somebody at Chase asking them to please give me the super secret code via email or some other way that will actually work. I suppose I could

just start withdrawing money via an ATM, but they charge you each time you use it. I just want to pay one fee a month for the wire transfer. All our money is still in the States. We need a little here. I'll figure it out eventually, but I should have done it before I left. Do not count on the great and mighty interweb to be your friend all the time. Lesson learned.

Fortunately it was rainy and cold again today so I didn't feel like I was missing much. This is what the rest of my family did all day----------->

In defense of the internet, because I hate to speak ill of it, most of the other bills were set up pretty easily--requiring only the account number and some personal info that I happen to know. It's always the exception that makes for a long day!

UPDATE: Please note that a kind customer service rep from Century Link commented below and offered to help me. Also, I received an email from Century Link telling me how to pay online. This is sufficient, although I had hoped to set up Auto Pay and not think about it. So, thank you, Century Link, I appreciate your prompt response! Also, I'm pretty impressed that you're checking blogs for mentions of your name. Nothin' from Chase yet.

Rain and Hair

2012-01-11T00:46:00.001-07:00

We have had some serious rain in the past 48 hours. Not just a little drippy shower, a huge deluge--with crazy wind and lots and lots of water. We've mostly been indoors because the beach is not super appealing in a storm. It's nice to see all the rain because the fire danger here was high when we came (they have a big sign as you enter our town) and keeps going down. Australia as a country has experienced many ravaging fires over the years and they are very aware of potential fire issues. We hope, however, that it clears up by the weekend so that we can get outside! Much of what we hoped to see and do here is outdoors. This is a picture of our soggy patio. Yesterday the sun came out long enough for us to grill some hot dogs and have some baked beans. A regular summer BBQ!

So, you thought the rain had something to do with my hair, didn't you? Yeah, not at all. I'm vain, but, really? Two totally separate subjects. The only thing that got us (me?) out in the rain today was the need for a new hair dryer. I totally burned up the motor on mine--as I knew I would. Did I mention the voltage and electrical issues here? Well, I should have read up on this before I left. I knew that you needed a converter, but I didn't really get the voltage thing. It's totally different than in the States. Last time I was out of the country, I only had a Walkman and a camera--that used batteries and film. I don't remember bringing any electrical devices

and I know that I didn't have a converter. I remember using a hand dryer in a bathroom to dry my hair--on the few occasions I actually dried it! The outlets here look like this and all of them have an on/off switch so that you can make them "live" only when you need them. This is a pretty good idea, as I've read chargers and such still use electricity even when you aren't charging your device. We've been trying hard to turn them off when not in use, as electricity is more expensive here. I also included a picture of the light switches, just because. Cooper likes them and can reach most of them. We have to watch him because he keeps leaving them on when we're trying to be careful!

So, today we went to the local Kmart--yes, Kmart--and purchased a new hair dryer. The Kmarts here don't appear to be as scary as the one down the street from me in Loveland. It was okay. Looked a lot like the Target we went to last week (to get a bed railing for Cooper because he kept falling out of the bed!). The stores are not as immense as we have in the U.S., but they've had everything we've needed so far. Nothing here is as big as the U.S. Paper towels are tiny. Toilet paper does not come in jumbo sized rolls. Small portions are the norm. Small streets, houses, everything! We might overdo things in the U.S., a little.

We had a nice lunch at KFC, also much better than I remember

in Loveland. We had pretty good French fries, but they still called them chips. They did not come with ketchup. We had to purchase "sauce" on the side for 50¢. It's not ketchup, but

rather tomato sauce. You'd think that it's the same, but you'd be wrong! Overall, the food was tasty and not too expensive. No ice, no refills, but I guess that's okay. Next time we'll go somewhere with more local color, but we are on a mission to get Cooper to eat. Familiar is best right now. Although, the popcorn chicken did not at all resemble popcorn. Nor did it resemble American popcorn chicken. It looked more like a bunch of very small chicken nuggets. Tasty, though he wouldn't touch the "sauce." I took a picture of the sauce with "serviettes" a.k.a. napkins. I like to use maybe 10 napkins when I'm at a restaurant. Here, you might get one--if you ask. You can see my germaphobe ways are causing me trouble here, yes? Nary a bottle of hand sanitizer in sight. I bought an overpriced container of Pine Cleen wipes today (with a "lemon lime twist") and I hope that they'll get me through. I would have brought my own Clorox wipes and industrial-sized bottle of hand gel had I known it would be so hard to find. I knew I had a problem, but I didn't really understand the scope of it! Everybody doesn't worry about germs like I do? Interesting.

Last, but not least, the $19 hair dryer that got me up off my lazy butt. I only need it to run for a year, y'all!

Monday

2012-01-09T03:31:00.003-07:00

So, today we did pretty much nothing! Luke and Daisy walked into town and got fish and chips. Jeff, Cooper and I laid around. After dinner we went out searching for kangaroos. People keep telling us they can be seen "in a paddock at the end of Balnarring Road." Maybe we don't know what a paddock is? We didn't see anything but cows. And I've seen them before. So, we got ice cream instead. This is a photo of my favorite meal here. It's just a sandwich, but for a carb lover, this bread is divine. I think it's extra good because I've been a no-carb diet for too long. I'll try to do something exciting tomorrow, promise!

Oh, I forgot, we also watched a grid iron game on the TV--Broncos vs. Steelers, I believe? ;) I thought I'd gotten away from Tebow, but no such luck!

Wow! Long week...

2012-01-08T02:52:00.007-07:00

Well, I'm tired. It's been a busy week, but also a really slow week. We spent way too much time sitting around, watching TV, reading, just doing nothing; however, when we were doing things it was kind of crazy and a bit stressful.

We had a lovely BBQ at a neighbor's house. We ate "kanga bangas" and chicken. I can't be sure that they didn't serve us the kangaroo meat because we are new to the country, but they ate it too? It's one of the more affordable meats I've seen here. We had coleslaw and a green salad and a potato salad--all very typical BBQ food--except for the kangaroo meat. It was really a nice night. They are very nice people and I enjoyed their company. Their home felt warm and comfortable. Cooper even relaxed a l

ittle and played and played with their son. He is actually college age, but he was a particularly good sport and Cooper genuinely adored him by the time we left. Their home is on a large chunk of land and they have horses and a lot of

wide open spaces. We saw a koala in one of their trees and that was pretty cool.

On Saturday night we were invited to "drinks and nibblies" at another neighbor's house. People are friendly here, but it's also summer so there are a lot of get togethers, BBQs and such. We had a nice time and met a lot of people. We ate an authentic Australian pavlova, which is a meringue dessert with fruit. We also ate some pretty sub par brownies. Americans have the market cornered on brownie--no competition here! The other women frightened me about using electricity and water. Apparently it's very expensive. We have a clothes dryer here and I'd been eyeing it because it is

the tiniest little thing I've ever seen. It might fit one sweatshirt. Also, I need a step stool to reach it because it's mounted on the ceiling. After hearing the horror stories last night, I didn't even use it. We used one of the two clotheslines (I've also been eyeing). When in Rome...at least until it rains! NOTE: To those of you who know me well, I bake and cook and I like to do it, but you know that I am not Suzy homemaker. I hate cleaning. The only thing I'm any good at is laundry. That all changed today. I have never used a clothesline. They are high. I am short. You must rely on the sun and the wind. All my skivvies were out there for the neighbors to see. I'm not sure how I feel about this. When I told the women last night that clotheslines were not allowed in my HOA controlled neighborhood they literally clutched their chests in horror--as if a heart attack was imminent. I will not look forward to this every weekend.

So, tonight I made tacos. Regular old seasoning packet beef tacos and crunchy shells. They were good. They were familiar. I also made a squash casserole thing with yellow squash from the garden here. There are apparently several farmer's markets here (but they call them something else that I can't recall right now). I'll have to find one and get some more fresh produce. I do love all the flowers here. It reminds me a lot of Watsonville and our four years there. Much of the same foliage.

It rained a bunch last night and more rain is scheduled tomorrow. It's still a very comfortable temperature. I'd tell you the temperature, but I don't speak Celsius yet. We found a little playground at the end of our block and Cooper enjoyed that. He's extended his menu to Froot Loops and tortilla chips--with only an occasional Oreo. He's also discovered that strawberries are the same everywhere, so that's good. Luke and Daisy are fine. They seem to roll with it and do fine. Jeff is absolutely giddy. I'm working on it. It's hard to miss the beginning of school. It's hard to miss my kids. Gonna go read book number four: Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country. Maybe it will explain some of the crazy around me? Today I looked up the prime minister of Australia (Julia Gillard) because Aussies are very educated about our government--many have asked me about the upcoming primaries and knew more about Mitt and Newt than I do. I feel like I should at least try to find something out about them. (They also asked if Mitt was a common name in America because they had never heard of it!) I'll let you know what I find out. G'night!

UPDATE: My friend Missy did the legwork (aka: looked it up on the internet) and apparently Mitt is his middle name. Full name: Willard Mitt Romney. For the record, Newt is short for Newton--as in Newton Leroy Gingrich. Very presidential names?

Down Under-finishing up our first week

2012-01-05T22:30:00.003-07:00

Well, yesterday was uneventful. Did I mention I'm fighting a cold? Yes? Well, did I mention I gave it to Jeff, Luke and Daisy? Yeah. We've been sick. It's nice to rest a bit. We headed out in the afternoon--once again to the grocery store. I do not have this food thing down here. It's expensive and I am unsure about our choices. The grocery store we went to was more affordable than the previous ones and we got a good stock for the pantry and some dinners too. I'm feeling like I can maybe figure this out--but it's not going to be easy! You have to pay a $2 coin to get a cart. You get it back when you return the cart, but the first two times we went to the store we didn't have a $2 coin. Finally, this time we were prepared. I vaguely remember the Costco in So. California requiring a quarter for a cart, but I don't know if they still do that. I know that no place in Loveland does it. They charge for bags here, too. We have a small stash and will reuse them until they are worn out.

We met a neighbor yesterday. She brought by some roses from her garden. She seemed very nice, offered to get Cooper some books from the library. Speaking of Cooper, he actually ate some Froot Loops and tortilla chi

ps today, so maybe he won't starve. Rotten kid.

We had a lovely dinner at Taco Bill's last night. We went with a Sue and her children (ages 23 and 21) and a soon-to-be colleague, Ken, and his wife and their kids (college ages). It was good Mexican food and nice conversation. I discovered that Australian schools (in Victoria at least) are capped at 25 students. I think they were trying to shock me by saying I'd have 40 in my class. When I didn't flinch, they asked how many I had back in the States. When I said, "Up to 40," they were genuinely shocked. :) Seems they were pulling my leg! They had no idea that schools allowed that many students in one class. They said American students must be better behaved...we shall see!

Today we picked up our new car! It cost a small fortune, but we walked out with insurance ("compulsory") and a warranty.

They also promised to take it back at the end of our year year. If we only get half of what we paid, it was worth it. In addition, it appears that registration and licensing is all taken care of. Different. It's a Holden Commodore wagon. Apparently Holden is what used to be General Motors. It's not sexy, but neither was the giant "mom car" I had in Loveland. I'll probably live--that is, if I can get used to driving. Roundabouts are everywhere! I've not yet seen any naked people on one though--only in Loveland. They are not at all "decorative" as they are in Loveland. You can actually see all the way around them and watch the other cars. People here yield as well--go figure!

We went to IKEA after picking up the car. Bought a few plastic plates/cups/bowls because I am concerned that Cooper will break all the ceramic plates/cups/bowls in the cupboard. We enjoyed Swedish meatballs for almost the same price as we pay in the U.S. and free drink refills! Woo-hoo! But no ice...what the heck??

This evening we have been invited to a BBQ at a neighbor's house. I will let you know if any shrimp is thrown. (Actually, they call them prawns, not shrimp.) Looking forward to it, as our days are kind of quiet. Not a bad thing, but unusual for us! They've told us that they often have koalas on their property. I'll take pictures if this proves to be true. So far all we've seen are a lot of birds. Cooper keeps asking to see a kangaroo. They have signs up on the roads with a kangaroo on them, much like our deer signs in Colorado. Haven't seen any yet though!

Books

2012-01-04T20:56:00.004-07:00

Since I literally have nothing to do--a feeling with which I am unfamiliar--I've been reading. I've read two books since we arrived in Australia. Not grade A fiction or anything, but not bad either. I started with my guilty pleasure--the latest in the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series, Explosive Eighteen. This one was one of her best, in my opinion. Fun, funny, witty and clever. I didn't totally see the ending coming 100 pages in. Nice work, Ms. Evanovich. Quick read, too. I know that she pumps these books out and is making a bundle, but I like Stephanie Plum and I secretly wish I was a bounty hunter.

The second book I read was the second in the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie, Crossed. It's a typical second book and I knew that going it. I hate reading the second book in any trilogy because, let's be honest, it's just the filler book. It's not the hook that grabs you and it's not the last one that ties it all up. It's the middle. For a middle book, it was good. I had trouble remembering parts of the first book, but that's because I read too quickly and forget too quickly! It's very readable and tells the story of a group of kids trying to change their world. I'm a sucker for trying to change the world stuff--even if it does involve a kind of lame love triangle.

The third book I started last night is Stephen King's latest 11/22/63. I'm not a big King fan. Horror is not my favorite genre. I never see scary movies and I typically avoid the books they come from. However, this novel is about time travel and JFK. I read an excerpt in Entertainment Weekly and found it intriguing. So far, so good! I am enjoying it.

What are you all reading? At this rate I'll burn through my Amazon wishlist in mere weeks. Suggestions?

UPDATE: I finished the King book and a fourth book, Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. I loved, loved, loved King's book. It was everything I like in a book: readable, interesting, created questions and thoughts about the content, witty, great characters. It's one of the best books I've read in the past year. Bryson's book was interesting and informative, but it was a non-fictional account--more of a travel guide/diary. It was good, but only because I'm in Australia. I honestly wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. Bryson has a fun and funny voice. He's not difficult to read, but the King book was far more enjoyable. My Kindle is not working here (apparently I didn't do an update? I'm still working on this.), so I may pick up one of the many books Sue has sitting around here. I may use the Kindle app on my ipad and get Markus Zusak's newest book (Interestingly, he's Australian. I had no idea!). Can't decide yet! I'll keep you updated. ;)

Down Under-Day Two and Three

2012-01-04T04:17:00.006-07:00

Okay, so I may have mentioned that the Diet Coke is expensive, yes? I've been nursing a 2L bottle for two days and it cost $3.65. Painful. However, the most pressing hardship is the ice. I know that other countries don't do ice like America. I've been to Europe and Africa--no ice. I get it. I just don't really get it. This is a picture of my ice maker here. Yes, that is one tray. Just one. It makes exactly 16 ice cubes. Sixteen. I use sixteen in one drink. More if I can. I like ice. I understand that if this is truly the biggest hardship I face here, I will most certainly survive. However, a question I have is this: Why don't we bring ice to the masses?? Do people know what they are missing??

What else did we do today? We rented a car, or "hired" a car, as they say here. We went to a shopping center and exchanged our US money for Australian dollars. Exchange rate is okay right now--97¢ on the US dollar. Could be worse. It is worse in Europe... The money is pretty. I'll take a picture of it another day. It's kind of plastic-y, with a clear window thing. We also found some voltage converters for some of our electronics. It's not enough to have an outlet converter because the voltage is different. Who knew? I probably should have. Pretty sure my hair dryer is going to explode by the end of the month. We bought more groceries and a few other forgotten essentials and headed home. Jeff makes roundabouts look really tricky, but I haven't driven yet so I'm hesitant to criticize.

Made my first real dinner in our new home: spaghetti. Yes, I know, it's exciting. Pasta was familiar and inexpensive. We had baked potatoes tonight, also, inexpensive and something I could pronounce. I'll have to branch out eventually, but I'm not even sure what some things are. Serving sizes are smaller here, but prices are not smaller. If I don't come home skinny it will be a great travesty.

Today we purchased a car! At least I think we did. He was talking really fast and this accent is hard to understand sometimes. They use a bunch of different words too! Dodgy? Bloke? Who hears bloke in America except in the movies? I get distracted by a word and then I miss the whole thing. But, I do think we have a car. We are supposed to pick it up tomorrow. Curiously, the financing fella was from Utah. I understood him just fine.

We also opened a bank account at the local Bendigo Bank! Hopefully, money will magically appear in it tomorrow.

No worries, y'all!

Down Under-Day One

2012-01-04T03:19:00.006-07:00

Well, hello, y'all! I have been in the land of Oz for three days now and, really, it's been a blur. I'll fill you in on the goings on thus far, but don't expect much. I've been tired and I'm nursing a terrible cold--plane germs I'm blaming. There is not enough hand sanitizer in the universe to keep all those coughing people in one enclosed place and not get sick. Bleh! :p

Pre-Australia: We left for the airport in gale force winds--nearly blowing across the prairie. What kept us grounded? The 10 giant suitcases we had with us. It took my sister and her husband (two cars) to get us to DIA. In addition to the 10 checked pieces of luggage, we each had a carry on and a purse/backpack. Seems like a lot until I remembered that I was packing for a YEAR! Then it didn't seem like nearly enough.

We missed New Year's Day somewhere over the Pacific, but I assume it came anyway, yes? Hopefully, you all were safe and enjoyed some bowl games and food and stuff. We had a strange array of meals on the plane. Somewhere around 11:30 p.m. we got dinner (pasta with meatballs or chicken something). At about 5:00 a.m. we were woken up with a turkey san

dwich and a lemon cookie. Yeah, I think lunch? It was dark. I didn't eat the turkey. At 8:00 a.m. we got breakfast. Pancakes with some sort of fruit. They were actually quite yummy. With the price we paid, I feel like we deserved three meals, but they were strange meals at strange intervals. I made friends with the flight attendant on the Denver to LA flight and he snuck me some water and apple juice, so we were pretty set. ;) Pays to be nice--sometimes! Should have asked him for Diet Coke.

Okay, so we landed in Sydney first and that was non-eventful. We only saw the airport. I'm told there are lovely sights in Sydney. I cannot give a first hand account of this. All I saw were duty free shops and restrooms.

We landed in Melbourne at 11:15 a.m. on January 3--or as the rest of the world puts it: 3 January. We were greeted by our lovely host--Sue. Her husband David is the teacher trading places with me. She will be arriving in Loveland in February. Sue and a friend picked us up at the airport and drove us to 33 Pacific Drive, Balnarring, Victoria. It was about an hour drive to Balnarring--where we are now living! It is disconcerting to drive on the left side of the road. Even Cooper noticed, as he shouted at Sue, "You're on the left side!" I'd be impressed, but I think he just got lucky with "left."

We arrived at our new home and found it very nice. While much smaller than our Loveland home, it has everything we need and nobody has to share a room. Once we got the wi-fi working, it felt like home! A really hot and sunshiny home--since it was 90° F the day we arrived. Nothing like coming from a foot of snow to balmy beach weather! This is a picture from the upstairs bedroom. The beach is about a mile away. The house has a very pretty garden with many plants and flowers. I have only seen "garden variety" insects so far, and, for that, I am grateful. Sue insists she has never been bitten by a spider--poisonous or otherwise--and does not know how Australia has gotten such a reputation for killer bugs. We shall see!

Before we headed to the beach, we went to the grocery store where I was dismayed to find a 24-pack of Diet Coke on sale for $19.99! I may have to kick this habit. We bought food for Cooper mainly, since he is refusing to eat anything that isn't what he's used to. Which means he really hasn't eaten. He's a terribly picky eater on a good day, so this has been a hardship for him. Unfortunately, we didn't bring enough food to last him several days, so he's going to have to try something. He spotted Oreos in a store yesterday and begged us for them. He's also eaten a donut. Healthy, I know. Good thing we brought his gummy vitamins. He's bound to come around, yes?

After our little jaunt to the grocery store, it was off to the beach! It was very full--as I mentioned, it was an extremely hot day. Luke took a dip in the cold water and Cooper loved it! He desperately wants to go back, which, of course, we will. After our "swim" Sue took us to a local pizza place and we all ate dinner. She was a great host, as we did not yet have a car! Somehow, we managed to stay awake until an appropriate bedtime--not an easy feat--and slept well. We were awakened to some very noisy and unfamiliar birds. I want to believe one was a Kookabura, but I could be making that up.

G'day, y'all!

Pie Poetry

2011-11-29T18:02:00.004-07:00

This is one of my favorite days. It's personal and it's fun. Plus, I love pie and all things sweet. Here is my poetic contribution to the celebration:

Thanksgiving All Year...

What if Thanksgiving lasted all year?

Pie and turkey in July,

Cranberries and sweet potatoes in April,

Mashed potatoes and green bean casserole in August.

Well...

Maybe not the feasting, but rather the thanking.

Remembering people, events, and occasions—all year being grateful.

All year being thankful.

Remembering a blessing—

maybe not eating dressing—is what we should do.

Take time,

Spend time,

With people we love—all year long!

I say, "Thanksgiving should be more than just one day!"

But then I sigh,

And say, "Oh, pass me some more pie..."

Thank you!

Literary Devices

2011-11-04T08:29:00.001-06:00

This is a great website for reviewing and studying your literary terms! Check it out. :)

Modernism and Cubism

2011-10-30T17:29:00.002-06:00

I thought this was pretty cool in light of our discussion on literary periods. You can see these different divisions in art, music, and literature.

Check it out here.

New Word Range on the Common App

2011-10-29T14:40:00.001-06:00

This article discusses the new word limit on the Common Application. What does it mean for you?

Can Starbucks Do What the Fed Can't Do?

2011-10-18T21:40:00.002-06:00

This is the New York Times article I talked about in class. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz still believes in the American Dream. :)

Check it out and donate some money next time you buy a coffee: "We Can All Become Job Creators"

Gatsby websites

2011-10-10T17:18:00.002-06:00

I thought the videos we watched in class today were awesome! I'm in love with that fast-talking man. If you'd like to check them out again, you can find the chapter one video here and the novel overview here.

Also, if you'd like to try the Surviving the 20s game I mentioned, you can find it here.

Fun day, y'all! :D

Top 10 Happiest Jobs

2011-09-25T09:11:00.002-06:00

Trying to figure out what to do with your life? Here are the happiest jobs! Maybe you should consider one of them? (NOTE: It also has the lower ten.)

Top Ten

Talker's Block with Seth Godin

2011-09-25T09:01:00.002-06:00

I read Seth Godin's blog this weekend and found this post about why we don't get "talker's block" but we do get writer's block. It kind of sums up why I love to have my students blog. :)

It begins like this:

"No one ever gets talker's block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down.

Why then, is writer's block endemic?

The reason we don't get talker's block is that we're in the habit of talking..."

You should check out the whole post here.

10 Skills Students Should Know?

2011-08-08T09:18:00.002-06:00

What do you think? Are these the most important skills to you? Students, do you already know them? I think it's an interesting discussion. Check out her website for more details, to see her whole presentation, or to leave a comment. http://thumannresources.com/2011/08/04/10-skills-students-should-graduate-with/

"Yesterday, at the NJEA Technology Integration Institute, I presented the morning Keynote. I shared ten skills I feel that students should graduate with. These skills don’t have anything to do with standardized testing, or memorizing facts, they are just what skills students need to be prepared for college and beyond.

How to determine who is the authority on the Internet
A knowledge of reference sources
Good digital citizenship and the ethical use of information
Where they can go to stay current
Established personal learning networks
Knowing who their teachers and mentors are
To always contemplate responding and interacting with content
That they are content producers
Knowing how to be safe on the internet
Being cognizant of what’s in the pipeline"

Last Year's Blogs

2011-06-18T16:23:00.003-06:00

If you are interested in checking out blogs from last year's AP Literature students you may go to this page: http://www.netvibes.com/amytwhite#2010-2011_AP_Lit_Blogs

I have them all listed there by the blog names. They did a nice job! It was really fun to read them and I look forward to reading yours too!

Welcome to AP Literature, Class of 2012!!

2011-06-08T23:19:00.001-06:00

Dear AP Literature Student,

Welcome to my class! I am so excited to be teaching AP Literature again this year. I know you have all been anxiously awaiting your summer reading assignment, so I’ll get right to that, but, first, a reminder: This is a college level course that is taught at the high school level. It is very demanding in both time and effort. Your success is dependent upon the level of time and effort you put in. I expect you to do the work I assign. I expect you to read the books you are asked to read and to come to class prepared to discuss them. If you choose not to read or participate, you will have difficulty with the exam.

AP Literature is described at the College Board website http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_englit.html and briefly below:

The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work's structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.

In order to do the work described above, you really must read! Your summer reading consists of three books: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. You are expected to purchase these books; inexpensive copies can be found at Amazon.com or you may get them from a used bookstore or a friend. You will need to have all three of these books read by the first class in August, so do not wait until the last minute!! While you are reading, I would like you to practice annotating. For some of you, this will come easily. For others, less so! Please see this website for information on “How to Mark a Book” http://slowreads.com/ResourcesHowToMarkABook.htm. The author suggests that there are three reasons to mark a book: to create trails, to establish territory and to learn to write. Read through the introduction and then click on the “Click here for an outline that describes ways of marking books for each of these three purposes.” Or go here http://slowreads.com/ResourcesHowToMarkABook-Outline.htm. Please experiment with all three ways, using one book for each. I would like you to write about this experimenting on your blog… see below. Please note: I am less concerned with perfect annotation, than trying a new way to annotate. If you can find a way that works for you now, you will be way ahead in college! If you are desperately opposed to writing in books, I would first advise you to get over it J, but if that doesn’t work, use post-its.

So, I would like you to set up a blog. If you already have a blog, you are welcome to use it; if you do not, you may use blogger (via Google), wordpress or another service to set it up. I would like you to think of a creative/thoughtful/clever name for your blog—keeping in mind that this is a college class and you will be using the blog to write your thoughts on literature. You may see my blog for an example http://amytwhite.blogspot.com/. I used this blog throughout my graduate studies for a variety of classes. I intend to use it for AP Literature this year and I have posted this letter there as well. Please send me your blog address so that I can add it to my RSS feed (and so that I can give you a grade for setting it up!). A blog is designed for others to read. I’d like everyone to check out a few blogs and maybe follow some of your classmates who you find interesting. I’ll post everybody’s blog addresses in August. I also have links to last year’s AP students if you’d like to look at their writing.

I will be re-reading each of the books this summer and I will be using the three ways of annotating and writing about them on my blog. I would like you to do the same. Please see my blog as an example, but feel free to write whatever you want. Ultimately, your blog will serve as a study guide for the year as you write about the novels, poems and other selections we read. I hope it is a place where you can reflect and write without the constraints of time or conventional “school” writing. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you have to say! Plan to blog weekly when school starts. We’ll start with poetry!

To recap, here are your assignments for the summer:

1. Read the following novels: The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, and Heart of Darkness

2. While reading, use one of the three ways to annotate for each novel. I’d like you to try all three, so choose one for each book.

3. Set up a blog. Send me the blog address via one of the contact methods below.

4. Write about each book on your blog as you finish it. You may write about the annotating process, the plot, the characters, a review, whatever else strikes you. Unfortunately, these are not breezy summer reads. We will be looking extensively at the humanity of man/woman, which is not always nice! I have no issue with disliking a book, but it is not enough to say, “It was stupid.” I would like you to give specifics that appealed to you or did not appeal to you. I do not have word count in mind, but you should be thorough with 150 words minimum. I’ll let you know if you’re writing is not complete. Please label each entry with a heading. The easier it is for me to find, the better, as you will be getting a grade for each selection.

The grade breakdown is as follows:

•Setting up blog, creating clever name and sending address: 25 pts

•Blog entry for Heart of Darkness: 25 pts

•Blog entry for The Great Gatsby: 25 pts

•Blog entry for The Kite Runner: 25 pts

5. This all needs to be completed before you arrive in my classroom on August 23, so get busy!! I would strongly encourage you to get moving on this. Do not wait until August 1. Heart of Darkness is the shortest book, but it will probably take you the longest to read!

If at any time you need any help, please do not hesitate to contact me! I am not scary; I’m almost always reasonable and helpful and I stay up really late. There are several ways to contact me. See below for the specifics.

For those of you who like to know what’s coming up, we will read at least three more novels (The Road by Cormac McCarthy, an individual choice, and one I haven’t decided yet!). We will also read Hamlet and/or Othello by Shakespeare. The AP exam is poetry heavy and we will read a lot of poetry from a variety of time periods and authors. We will use an anthology to read short stories and other selections. In addition, we will write 2-4 formal essays a semester. We will start with college essays in September, so be researching what your chosen college requires, or check out the Common Application. You’ll write two college-type essays in the first quarter. In addition to formal essays, we will write timed essays throughout the year. Prompts will be from previous AP exams. AP Literature is not the same as AP Language. Be prepared to look at fictional works rather than non-fiction; literary analysis instead of rhetorical analysis. If you’re a reader, I think you’ll like it! If you’re not…I hope you’ll tolerate it!

I’m looking forward to a great year! See you in August!

Amy White

Mountain View High School

Cel: 970-391-8687 (I do text, so you don’t have to call, but tell me who you are!)

Email: whitea@thompson.k12.co.us

Blog: http://amytwhite.blogspot.com/

Facebook: Amy Lucadam White (You are welcome to “friend” me, but I won’t have hurt feelings if you don’t!)

The Metamorphosis

2011-04-11T14:08:00.002-06:00

Hi,

Here is the link to the online edition of the novella. Please have it read by Friday 4/15 and we'll discuss it in class.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm

If you feel you have a good idea about the characteristics of a Kafkaesque tale, try to make your cartoon/comic at www.toondo.com. If you need more help or want to ask me specific questions, come prepared to do so on Friday and I'll do my best to answer! Also, you can email or Facebook me.

See you Friday!! *fingers crossed*

Practice AP websites

2011-03-25T09:25:00.002-06:00

This one is a great tutorial for poetry, fiction and drama: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/default.asp?uid=0&rau=0

This one is an actual practice multiple choice test--timed and everything! You have to sign up for a Sparknotes account, but it doesn't cost anything. This link takes you to the main page. Click on AP Subject Tests; English Literature. This will take you to another page where you will have to click on AP English Literature. Then you will have to sign up or sign in to take the test. Read the directions carefully and take the test. Enjoy! At the end it will evaluate how well you did and give you suggestions for problem issues.

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/

Hamlet with no words would give us a lot less to talk about!

2011-01-22T15:01:00.003-07:00

Check it out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/theater/22synetic.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28

Charles Dickens

2010-12-08T20:05:00.002-07:00

Here is the website for Oprah's latest book pick: http://www.oprah.com/packages/a-date-with-charles-dickens-oprahs-book-club-2.html

She is doing two Dickens' books, Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. She's got some good resources. Definitely worth taking a look if you're interested in reading one or both of these books.

Thanksgiving Poetry and Pie

2010-11-22T14:44:00.003-07:00

Gratitude

Grateful

for the little things,

the stuff of everyday.

Remembering the things I'm thankful for—

a conscious decision for me.

A bump in the hall makes me forget or

something doesn't go my way.

FML, no, fml, instead of thanks be...Be, be, be.

Grateful.

Gratitude has much to do

with attitude

and less to do

with me.

NEW website for class downloads

2010-11-21T20:33:00.002-07:00

Hey, I just created a new site so that you can download any major assignments and handouts in a Word document or PDF. Check it out:

http://web.me.com/amytwhite/Site/Welcome.html

Poems to Mark the End of Daylight Savings-from the NYT

2010-11-07T08:41:00.002-07:00

These are fun. Check 'em out!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/opinion/poems-for-fall.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

More Scholarship Info

2010-10-09T20:57:00.002-06:00

Hey! This is from the Loveland High website, but they are not exclusive to LHS students. Check it out: http://lovelandhs.org/careercenter/scholarships.htm

This is the letter I would write you...

2010-10-09T12:54:00.002-06:00

This is the letter I would write you, but somebody beat me to it and she did an excellent job. Please read it and remember that nothing lasts forever and it's going to be okay!!

http://vicky-bell.blogspot.com/2010/10/letter-to-my-daughter-in-wake-of.html?spref=fb

Great Gatsby 7-hr performance

2010-10-09T12:52:00.001-06:00

There is a public theater group that is reading The Great Gatsby in its entirety as a performance piece. Hmmm. Wish I lived in NYC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/theater/03gatz.html?th&emc=th

Happy National Punctuation Day!

2010-09-24T08:38:00.001-06:00

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/

writing scholarships part 2

2010-09-23T19:15:00.004-06:00

Okay, these look legit and they are not expired! Crazy! (Disclaimer: I have only given these a cursory reading. It is up to you to read the fine print!!)

Many of you cite The Sunflower as a work you found memorable/moving/powerful. These two may be for you:

http://holocaust.hklaw.com/2011/index.asp

or http://www.nationalww2museum.org/education/for-students/essay-contest/studentessays.html (but this one is not available yet...)

This one is about imprisoned children and how you "are invited to explore the issues facing children in prison and to offer innovative ideas to help these children." This one is a straight up prize, not a scholarship.

http://www.oakseedessaycontest.com/guidelines/2010guidelines/

These are poetry scholarships/contests:

http://www.poetryoutloud.org (this is a recitation contest!)

http://www.artandwriting.org (this one is for artists too)

Profiles in Courage-JFK

"Students are asked to write an original and creative essay of less than 1,000 words that demonstrates an understanding of political courage as described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage. Students should use a variety of sources such as newspaper articles, books, and/or personal interviews to address this year's essay topic."

The essay topic, submission guidelines, and contest details can be found at:
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Essay+Contest+for+High+School+Students/

This site has looks interesting: http://scholarship.lifetips.com/cat/65624/writing-scholarships/index.html

Here's one more--freedom of speech/religion: http://www.firstfreedom.org/education/students.html

That should get you started. Please post if you find another interesting one!

Writing Contests

2010-09-22T20:45:00.003-06:00

Okay, I took these down because they were both expired!? I also wrote an email to the College Board telling them they should remove them from their page. I'll try to find some others for you. I'm so sorry! If you can't trust the College Board, who can you trust??

Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle

2010-09-07T21:51:00.004-06:00

Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle

The celebrated windows flamed with light

directly pouring north across the Seine;

we rustled into place. Then violins

vaunting Vivaldi’s strident strength, then Brahms,

seemed to suck with their passionate sweetness,

bit by bit, the vigor from the red,

the blazing blue, so that the listening eye

saw suddenly the thick black lines, in shapes

of shield and cross and strut and brace, that held

the holy glowing fantasy together.

The music surged; the glow became a milk,

a whisper to the eye, a glimmer ebbed

until our beating hearts, our violins

were cased in thin but solid sheets of lead.

—John Updike

What fun we had in class today as we studied this poem (in 3rd hour)! When we first read it in 2nd hour, Ana did an excellent job of making it come alive for the reader as she played both Vivaldi and Brahms. She also provided a photo of the actual Saint-Chapelle in Paris. Today, Elise played Vivaldi on a violin! How cool it that??! It has been so awesome to have students teaching and presenting poetry! When I first thought about doing this, I could not have known how really cool it would be. I am blown away every day by the new ways I see poems. Great job, you all!!

Saint-Chapelle (photo taken from http://archiyogitect.blogspot.com/)

I'm working on getting video of Elise uploaded! Can't get it off my phone?? Okay, I still can't get this video to upload properly, but I could get it on Facebook. Check it out there.

A Chinese Bowl

2010-09-07T21:38:00.005-06:00

A Chinese Bowl

Plucked from a junk shop

chipped celadon

shadow of a swallow’s wing

or cast by venetian blinds

on tinted legal pads

one summer Saturday

in 1957.

Absorbed at his big desk

my father works on briefs.

The little Royal makes

its satisfying clocks

stamping an inky nimbus

around each thick black letter

with cutout moons for “O”s.

Curled up on the floor,

I’m writing, too: “Bean Soup

and Rice,” a play about

a poor girl in Kyoto

and the treasure-finding rabbit

who saves her home. Fluorescent

light spills cleanly down

on the Danish-modern couch

and metal cabinet

which hides no folder labelled

“blacklist” or “Party business”

or “drink” or “mother’s death.”

I think, This is happiness,

right here, right now, these

walls striped green and gray,

shadow and sun, dust motes

stirring the still air,

and a feeling gathers, heavy

as rain about to fall,

part love, part concentration,

part inner solitude.

where is that room, those gray-

green thin-lined

scribbled papers

littering the floor?

How did

I move so far away,

just living day by day,

that now all rooms seem strange,

the years all error?

Bowl,

what could

I drink from you,

clear green tea

or iron-bitter water

that would renew

my fallen life?

—Katha Pollitt

I feel like I've read this poem 50 times, which I know I haven't, but it seems like it. I think it's lovely and yet so very sad. I'm in a philosophical mood as recent events in my life have caused me to reevaluate priorities and made me a bit nostalgic--which is not really like me. I'm more of a live in the moment kind of gal--or better yet, live in the future. I feel like I spend a lot of time moving forward and less time standing still or looking back. This poem has made me look back. This week has made me look back. I don't need to "renew my fallen life?" per se, but I'd like to empty that metal cabinet of a few things and find some inner solitude.

P.S. For those of you who were wondering what a "little Royal" might be, see the picture below (from http://www.typewritermuseum.org/collection/index.php3?machine=royal10&cat=kf):

Teaching

2010-09-06T08:58:00.002-06:00

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

― William Arthur Ward

I'm not sure how to get there, but this is where I want to be.

Class Blogs

2010-09-02T11:10:00.003-06:00

http://www.dustinsliteraturearsenal.blogspot.com/ Dustin T

http://trevorvaldez.blogspot.com/ Trevor V

http://funsize-jacey.blogspot.com/ Jacey G

http://reedbaum.blogspot.com/ Jessica R-B

http://sisforserpindipty.blogspot.com/ Shelby E

http://anagarciaontheregular.blogspot.com/ Ana G

http://conradshock.blogspot.com/ Conrad S

http://stephyjeankerbel.blogspot.com/ Stephanie K

http://doublethoughts.tumblr.com/ Luke W

http://doublethoughts.tumblr.com/ Justin C

http://tonicr.blogspot.com/ Toni R

http://jricke.blogspot.com/ Jordyn R

http://aplitmandeesorensen.blogspot.com/ Mandee S

http://argghmematey.blogspot.com/ Christian W

http://rikelle-apenglish.blogspot.com Rikelle B

http://myhandprintsksr.blogspot.com Kaylee R

http://britburkley.blogspot.com/ Brittany B

http://imbloggincl.blogspot.com/ Chris L

http://elenaburgueno.blogspot.com/ Elena B

http://kellieeastman.blogspot.com/ Kellie E

http://joeylopez.blogspot.com/ Joey L

http://blakelchristensen.blogspot.com/ Blake C

http://julia-triumphoverbibliophobia.blogspot.com/ Julia H

http://kjbomgaars.blogspot.com/ Katie B

http://erinsepistle.blogspot.com/ Erin S

http://kmbomgaars.blogspot.com/ Kayla B

http://sadiehiggins.blogspot.com/ Sadie H

http://t-madden.blogspot.com/ Terra M

http://taylorrainemadden.blogspot.com/ Taylor M

http://ahlaenxna.wordpress.com/ Alex H

http://mattsaplitblog.blogspot.com/ Matt P

http://ohthejoysofapliterature.blogspot.com Kileen W

http://devynrenae.blogspot.com Devyn M

http://aplit-rtorrey.blogspot.com/ Becky T

http://ramosmonique.blogspot.com/ Monique R

http://toribellington-aplit.blogspot.com Tori B

http://writels.tumblr.com Elise S

http://jshadowen.blogspot.com/ Jessica S

http://puzzlepiecesatl.blogspot.com Ali L

http://coreycoffman.blogspot.com/ Corey C

http://maybechandler.blogspot.com/ Chandler M

http://lyndseywiseman.blogspot.com Lyndsey W

http://alexkliegl.blogspot.com/ Alex K

http://sam2293.blogspot.com Sam S

http://pearbeartrap.blogspot.com David P

http://chowdasblog.blogspot.com/ Garrett H

http://natrogers-nevermeansforever.blogspot.com Nat R

http://oehlerj.blogspot.com/ Josh O

http://saras-view.tumblr.com/ Sara D

http://emilyckirk.blogspot.com/ Emily K

http://addiesm.blogspot.com/ Addie M

http://www.hannahabelein.blogspot.com/ Hannah A

http://ashliedmansell.blogspot.com Ashlie M

http://markchvz.blogspot.com/ Mark C

http://kayamunoz.blogspot.com/ Kaya M

http://mjjohnson11.blogspot.com/ Jeff J

AP Lit Blogs

2010-08-16T21:48:00.002-06:00

I have been so impressed with the blogs I've read this summer. It has been so fun to get to know my students through their writing. I've heard their voices, learned their likes (Kite Runner) and dislikes (Heart of Darkness!). I didn't really know what to expect when we started, but they have exceeded any of the expectations I might have had! Awesome work! Interested in checking some of them out? They are listed on my netvibes page: http://www.netvibes.com/amytwhite#AP_Lit_Blogs

I am looking forward to a great year!!

Does getting your college application in early help?

2010-08-11T18:46:00.003-06:00

I subscribe to the New York Times online edition. I like that it has a global perspective and offers a lot more information than our local paper. This particular article addresses the college application process. It encourages students to pay attention to the deadlines, but there is no evidence that applying quickly or early helps with admission. Deans of admission say, "that there is no reason to apply five months in advance, let alone two, and that they are far more inclined to put a premium on thoughtfulness and contemplation than speed." So, don't procrastinate, but no need to be so early either.

Digital Storytelling: Around the World in 1989, South Africa

2010-07-15T15:46:00.004-06:00

This is one of my favorite videos that I made for my master's degree. It tells a little about me and I get to talk about one of my favorite memories.

The Kite Runner

2010-07-15T10:28:00.002-06:00

I finished this book two weeks ago. I need to post something. I just can't find the right words. I actually liked this book better the second time. I didn't expect that because, obviously, I knew what happened. It was still such a gripping story. I chose to annotate in such a way to look at the author's style. I should have hated Amir; he's not that sympathetic, yet I was drawn to him and his redemption. I felt bad for him, but I never felt sorry for him. That shows skill as a author.

Sooooo, I'll come back to this over the next couple days!

Judging a book by its title

2010-07-09T16:21:00.001-06:00

8 Surprising Ways West Egg Is Exemplary Of The Hollowness Of The American Dream or The Great Gatsby?

From McSweeney's blog.

Slow reading sucks? Read more or read slowly?

2010-07-05T19:39:00.002-06:00

I think this is a super interesting article on reading. I have long been a proponent of reading more. In my English classes, we routinely read more than the others. This causes a great deal of complaining, but it allows me to expose students to so many more authors, styles, genres, etc. This summer I've asked my AP lit students to slow down and try some different kinds of annotating. My primary purpose behind requiring this was so that they can begin to find a notation method that works for them before they go to college and are overwhelmed with reading. There's not a lot of time to practice in college, as you have to dive right in and keep swimming. I have tried out the various methods too and found them to be helpful. I read really fast; so fast that I sometimes have trouble remembering what I've read. The method that I found most helpful was somewhere between "talking to the text" and just noting passages I found significant--so that I could come back to them later.

Check out the article; it's not long. Read faster so that we can read more? Or slow down? Thoughts?

Thoughts on Time--and how you spend it!

2010-06-26T09:35:00.002-06:00

This is from Jim Burke, an English teacher I follow on Twitter. I thought it was a short, simple take on time. You can find his blog here.

June 26, 2010

It takes time

It takes time to do the things you want to do well.

It takes time to grow the ideas you have into something beautiful.

It takes time to make the things you want to make if you want them to be worth the time it took to make them.

It takes time to make the connections that come from the time it takes to think.

And in the end, the time you take is equal to the quality of the things you make.

Posted by Jim Burke on June 26, 2010 at 06:46 AM | Permalink

Heart of Darkness: My Thoughts

2010-06-17T23:42:00.004-06:00

Well, I finished Heart of Darkness somewhere in Wyoming as we were driving to Utah for yearbook camp. I had plenty of time to ponder it as there is little to see or do on I-80. Bottom line, I like this book. I know some of you will have a hard time with all the wordiness, but I like it. I mean, he has so many words for dark and darkness and gloom. Who doesn't love a little gloom??

I love Conrad's/Marlow's disdain for the very people he has spent time with. He shows his hatred for imperialism on almost every page. Through Marlow's dry wit, he belittles the white men (pilgrims) who think they are doing so much for the natives and the country when in actuality they are just greedy jerks! Love it! This book goes nicely with my theme for the summer/year. As we continue to look at the humanity of man--or lack thereof, this book holds a lot of discussion pieces.

My annotating this time was to find out what Conrad wanted to tell me. I circled a lot of gloomy words: hollow, darkness, terrible, contaminated, unearthly, cruel, reckless, sinister, lamentable, and on and on. I think Conrad is trying to tell me about the heart of man and it is dark. He shows the hypocrisy of the men in the Company and the moral conflict that they routinely give in to. Even Kurtz, who Marlow ultimately sides with, is so very evil--his use of fear and force to essentially steal ivory is abominable. He sets himself up as a god and even takes a native mistress. I kept thinking of the phrase, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Kurtz is a modern man, really. There are many politicians and athletes who flout moral law (and sometimes break state and federal law!) and do whatever they want. Why? Who knows? Because they are above it all? Because they are working for the common good? Is this okay? Does moral fortitude matter? These are all questions I asked myself as I read.

There is sometimes a moral ambiguity to all that we do. Is the Company helping the natives? Do they really believe this? Do I do this, try to help people when I'm only helping me? Hard to say. Do we live in a black and white world, or are there shades of gray that force us to make choices? Marlow says that Kurtz has no restraint. Conrad frames his tale in images of black and white. It takes place in the "Dark Continent," which is what Africa was called, but the primary characters are from the "whited sepulchre" (most likely Brussels). Did you see the conflict of light and dark? Marlow visits the "heart of darkness" and barely makes it out. He gets terribly sick and almost dies after his encounter in the Congo. As Marlow begins his story, he says, "It was the farthest point of navigation and the culminating point of my experience." (page 70) Literally, he got a job as a river boat steamer and went far away to Africa; symbolically, it was the time he began as a person. "It seemed somehow to throw a kind of light on everything about me--and into my thoughts." (70)

One of my favorite lines is on page 69 when Marlow says, "The fascination of the abomination--you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate." Why are we fascinated by abomination? What is the darkness in our hearts? What are your thoughts?

Heart of Darkness: Some Background

2010-06-16T18:54:00.003-06:00

Well, it was a beautiful sunshiny day today and I started reading Heart of Darkness. "The horror, the horror!" You'll get that later.

The last time I read Heart of Darkness was my senior year of high school. We were required to write a senior thesis on a work of literature and I chose to compare themes in Heart of Darkness and T. S. Eliot's poem "Hollow Men." It was a bright and cheery year. Not. Conrad wrote this book in 1898-1899. It is a pretty deep study of human nature and the human experience. It is a portrait of moral deterioration. It ain't pretty. Conrad wrote a fictionalized account of his own experiences in the Belgium Congo. This was a time when Europe was continuing to colonize Africa under the guise of ending the slave trade. In reality, horrible atrocities were occurring and the goal was financial gain (from ivory, rubber, etc.) for the country or for corrupt individuals in the various areas. For more info see http://www.answers.com/topic/heart-of-darkness-novel-5 See also http://www.notablebiographies.com/Co-Da/Conrad-Joseph.html for more info on Joseph Conrad.

My copy of the novel is already pretty marked up. (Yes, I've kept it for 24 years!) This reading I am looking specifically for what Conrad is trying to tell us. I'm going to use a different color pen and start marking! I also want to try the index suggestion from the "How to Mark a Book" site.

The novel itself is a narrative within a narrative--that is, a story within a story. The primary narrator is Marlow, but there is another unnamed narrator who tells Marlow's story. Pay attention to this narrative style. Also, look for images or ideas of light and darkness. The story begins in London and the setting is described as "brooding" and "gloom" multiple times in just the first couple pages. If it gets too dark, check out this site because I find it unreasonably funny. :D Happy reading!

The Great Gatsby: My Thoughts

2010-06-15T19:41:00.005-06:00

Well, I finished The Great Gatsby for, probably, the 10th time! No surprises in the novel, but in the process of annotating, I actually learned a great deal.

First of all, I learned very quickly that I skip stuff--a lot! The more conscious of this I became, the more I tried not to do it and I think/hope I had a richer reading experience because of it. That said, my "conversation" with the book is what slowed me down and made me ask questions and notice things I might have skipped over. For example, time or images of time are mentioned throughout the book--over 100 times. I believe this is significant because time or the passing of time can be seen as a theme. Gatsby tries to go back in time. Other themes might be loss or change. What do you think the theme is?

I tried to picture the characters in my head as I read and thought about what I'd ask them or what I'd think of them. Frankly, I don't think I'd like any of them. I found Jordan to be a brat. Daisy was shallow and spoiled--or "careless" as described by Nick (page 187-188). Tom is a boor. I am sure that I would hate him in real life. Nick is a hypocrite who thinks quite highly of himself, but hangs out with people of questionable character. And Gatsby. What to say about Gatsby? I want to feel sorry for him. I want to love him, because Daisy didn't. But I think he's a scoundrel. I am not, as Nick says, "inclined to reserve all judgements," (page 5). I found myself judging them throughout. I found myself wondering if Fitzgerald liked these people? Were they friends of his? What is he saying about his era? This story and the "Roaring '20s" have become so familiar to us, but Fitzgerald was really the first to gain notoriety in this type of writing. I don't want to write a bunch of spoilers because it's so early in the summer, so I'll leave my comments here. I will say, I liked annotating more than I thought I would. I found a groove and I can look back at my thoughts. It was a good experience.

I don't want to give much away, but the automobile plays a significant role in the book. I looked on YouTube and found a video of driving in 1928. It's a hoot! You should watch it. I've also included a link to a picture/map of the area Fitzgerald is writing about. West Egg and East Egg are not real places, but Long Island is. This gives you a picture of the area. This site also has more info about the book.

The Great Gatsby and the "Roaring '20s"

2010-06-13T12:55:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I just finished chapter 5 in The Great Gatsby. I've been taking notes and writing in my margins. It's slowed me down--which is a good thing. I read really fast. I mean, really fast! My comprehension is okay. I remember the basics, the big ideas; but I wouldn't call it deep reading. So, that's good. I'm finding that I have a lot of question marks (I'm just writing ? when I have questions). Much of these questions are surrounding the setting and era of The Great Gatsby. Despite the fact that I used to teach integrated with Langford, my history knowledge (memory?) is not so good. I decided to stop for a little bit and do some internet research on the time period. I will share my findings with you!

The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. The story takes place in 1922. F. Scott Fitzgerald was writing about the time period he lived in, as it happened. The Great Depression had not yet begun (it started in about 1929) and World War I had just ended (1918). The "Roaring '20s" was a period of time marked by a break from tradition. New technologies, like the automobile, movies and radio, were revolutionizing the period by making these things affordable to the middle class. It was a time of unprecedented industrial growth through mass production of goods. Overall, it was a giddy era with the rise in Jazz and dancing and the new freedom for women (the right to vote). I found a fun YouTube video if you want to check it out.

I think it gives you a feel for the music and the "crazy" of the decade. Looks like they were having fun!

As far Gatsby is concerned, I can see Daisy, Jordan, Tom and Jay in this video. Their lives seem a bit shallow, but not all together unhappy. Who would you compare them to today? Paris? The Hills? Jersey Shore? What is Fitzgerald trying to tell us about this era? Or is he trying to tell us anything at all? I'm only through chapter 5, and I've read it before, so I can tell you that there's more to come. As I've slowed down and read more carefully, I am struck by how many questions I have about Gatsby. Who is this guy? Did he kill a man? What is his occupation? Fitzgerald lets him unfold for the reader through the narrator's eyes. We learn about Gatsby as the narrator learns about him. We are also limited to only what the narrator knows--and some reading between the lines.

The Great Gatsby begins with an epigraph and unless you have a superb literary background (or you're using SparkNotes), you probably won't know that the author of the poem (Thomas Parke D'Invilliers) is entirely made up. Thomas Parke D'Invilliers is a character in another Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise. So what's the point of this epigraph? What is Fitzgerald trying to give us a hint to? Did you read the epigraph or skip right over it? Go back and read it if you skipped it the first time.

What I'm trying to show you on in this post is how to be a close, careful reader. I'm assuming that most, if not all, of you are good readers. You're in an AP Lit class, for crying out loud! I'm a good reader--always have been--but a close, careful reader? Not always, no. As I've annotated The Great Gatsby I've discovered I skip over words I don't know, sometimes I skip over whole paragraphs if they don't look important. This gets me through books quickly, but I think I'm missing things. Please take the time to look things up when you are confused. Write down your questions. Try to understand the big picture. Do you remember the 1920s? If not, do a little research. If you find anything really cool or interesting, post it, blog about it, share it! We're all in this together!

Annotating a Text: Part 1

2010-06-12T16:00:00.003-06:00

I've reread the "How to Mark a Book" article and read the outline for the three different ways of annotating and I think I've figured out which novel I want to annotate first and how. So, I am going to start with The Great Gatsby (which I've read several times before!) using the "create a trail" annotating strategy--or the text-to-self connection. I've chosen this strategy because I've read this novel so many times I tend to just read along and not pay attention. I'm hoping that by "interacting with the book" and having a conversation, I'll be forced to slow down and actually read carefully. I'd love to find something new!

Just an FYI, you DO NOT have to do what I am doing!! You decide what works for you. For Heart of Darkness I'm leaning toward using the second strategy ("establish a territory") and for The Kite Runner I want to use the last strategy ("to learn to write" or looking at the author's style). The last time I read The Kite Runner, I got so engrossed in the story I can't really remember the author's style or if he even had a notable style!

Also, I've had several texts and emails. You are not bugging me. I promise! If you have a question, please ask me. I have one student who has already emailed me his blog and I'm looking forward to more. Let me know if you need any help with this. You may, of course, blog as many times as you'd like, but I am looking for three blogs that specifically address your reading and the annotation process you used.

It's a perfect cold, gray day for reading today!

Welcome to AP Literature!

2010-06-08T23:59:00.005-06:00

Dear AP Literature Student,

Welcome to my class! I am so excited to be teaching AP Literature this year. I know you have all been anxiously awaiting your summer reading assignment, so I’ll get right to that, but, first, a reminder: This is a college level course that is taught at the high school level. It is very demanding in both time and effort. Your success is dependent upon the level of time and effort you put in. I expect you to do the work I assign. I expect you to read the books you are asked to read and to come to class prepared to discuss them. AP Literature is described at the College Board website http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_englit.html and briefly below:

In order to do the work described above, you must read! Your summer reading consists of three books: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. You are expected to purchase these books; inexpensive copies can be found at Amazon.com. You will need to have all three of these books read by the first class in August, so do not wait until the last minute!! While you are reading, I would like you to practice annotating. For some of you, this will come easily. For others, less so! Please see this website for information on “How to Mark a Book” http://slowreads.com/ResourcesHowToMarkABook.htm. The author suggests that there are three reasons to mark a book: to create trails, to establish territory and to learn to write. Read through the introduction and then click on the “Click here for an outline that describes ways of marking books for each of these three purposes.” Or go here http://slowreads.com/ResourcesHowToMarkABook-Outline.htm. Please experiment with all three ways, using one book for each. I would like you to write about this experimenting on your blog… see below. Please note: I am less concerned with perfect annotation, than trying a new way to annotate. If you can find a way that works for you now, you will be way ahead in college! If you are desperately opposed to writing in books, I would first advise you to get over it, but if that doesn’t work, use post-its.

To recap, here are your assignments for the summer:

1. Read the following novels: The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, and Heart of Darkness

2. While reading, use one of the three ways to annotate for each novel. I’d like you to try all three, so choose one for each book.

3. Set up a blog. Send me the blog address via one of the contact methods below.

4. Write about each book on your blog as you finish it. You may write about the annotating process, the plot, the characters, a review, whatever else strikes you. Unfortunately, these are not breezy summer reads. We will be looking extensively at the humanity of man/woman, which is not always nice! I have no issue with disliking a book, but it is not enough to say, “It was stupid.” I would like you to give specifics that appealed to you or did not appeal to you. I do not have word count in mind, but you should be thorough. I’ll let you know if you’re not. Please label each entry with a heading. The easier it is for me to find, the better, as you will be getting a grade for each selection.

The grade breakdown is as follows:

•Setting up blog and sending address: 25 pts

•Blog entry for Heart of Darkness: 25 pts

•Blog entry for The Great Gatsby: 25 pts

•Blog entry for The Kite Runner: 25 pts

5. This all needs to be completed before you arrive in my classroom on August 17/18, so get busy!!

I’m looking forward to a great year!

Amy White

Mountain View High School

Cel: 970-xxx-xxxx (I do text, so you don’t have to call, but tell me who you are!)

Email: whitea@thompson.k12.co.us

Blog: http://amytwhite.blogspot.com/

Facebook: Amy Lucadam White (you are welcome to “friend” me, but I won’t have hurt feelings if you don’t!)

Full Sail University EDM641 Learning Management Systems and Organizations: Amy White November 2009 Final Report Chapter 1: How to Write Great Captions

2009-11-21T23:37:00.007-07:00

This is chapter 1 of my final project. It discusses my Udutu course on caption writing. It is available on YouTube as well: AmyWhite: 200911 How to Write Great Captions.

Full Sail University EDM641 Learning Management Systems and Organizations: Amy White November 2009 Final Report: Chapter 2

2009-11-21T23:09:00.009-07:00

The following video is chapter two of my final report for EDM641 Learning Management Systems and Organization. I chose to host it on my blog so I would have a record of my learning to reflect on and go back to. After the video is the text of my video and references.

I was in a quandary over what to write my chapter 2 about when I decided to check out the recommended site: Edupunks Unite.

One quote by Leslie Madsen Brooks caught my eye and really resonated with me, “Edupunk, it seems, takes old-school Progressive educational tactics—hands-on learning that starts with the learner’s interests—and makes them relevant to today’s digital age, sometimes by forgoing digital technologies entirely.” By this definition, I would definitely call myself an edupunk. I am by no means anti-technology, but I think so-called old-school educational tactics still maintain a great deal of value. I followed the link to Leslie’s blog and found a host of opinions and ideas that I very much agree with!

Jim Groom recently coined the term "edupunk" to refer to a scrappy, DIY spirit in some sectors of educational technology.

Mike Caulfied goes on to say, “There’s a couple reasons why I find the term useful, but the most important is that it captures the cultural revulsion many of us feel with the appropriation of the Learning 2.0 movement by corporations such as Blackboard. Learning 2.0, like punk, is a DIY movement. Like punk it favors technical accessibility over grand design. And to people like us, Learning 2.0, if it is to remain relevant, must not be relegated to the dustbin of “features” or “products”. It’s neither a product or a process, but a way of approaching things, of which products are only one of the results.”

On Madsen’s blog, there is quote from “Jen” who in discussing the ideal classroom says, “Yes, kids need to learn science, math, reading, the arts, etc., but why break them down? They aren’t broken down in real life. Why can’t they all be incorporated? If you had a room full of junk, every single discipline would apply at the same time. Maybe some kids would make musical instruments. Others would make robots. Some would make a business plan and marketing strategy.”

As a teacher in an arts magnet school, this is a philosophy I can relate to: Use the best means possible to teach your content. I have, over the course of the EMDT program avoided using technology just because I could. Instead choosing to find the best way my students will learn, with or without technology. This appears to be in line with the edupunk movement. According to Madsen “In short, edupunk is student-centered, resourceful, teacher- or community-created rather than corporate-sourced, and underwritten by a progressive political stance.”

I love this! I needed to know about these edupunks at the beginning of this program! I thought I was just a curmudgeon, but I resent trying to make my teaching fit a particular platform. My school district uses Moodle and I’ve tried to embrace it, but I frequently find myself compromising what I want to do to fit Moodle. While this doesn’t necessarily comprise my students’ education, it’s not always what it best for them either. For education to be relevant it needs to be authentic. To me, Moodle sometimes feels contrived. Like forcing a round peg into a square hole. You can do it if you pound hard enough, but why should you?

To that end, I don’t believe Personal Learning Networks are the be all, end all either. I like the idea of students creating their own learning, thus providing more relevancy to them, however, in high school, most students need somebody pushing them or they’ll do the same things over and over again. For example, they will read the same types of books, gravitate towards the same websites, rely on the same kinds of research sites, etc. Teachers are typically one of the key the reason students stretch and grow outside of their comfort zone. A good student might be responsible enough to do this on his or her own, but many more students will not. When we discuss students we are talking about individuals, not a product. Schools do not produce products. When we apply business models to schools for efficiency and effectiveness, we will fail. The many variables associated with my job are what make it so enjoyable. I believe the key is to go back to looking at kids as individuals and not widgets. Unfortunately this means that there may never be a “perfect” system for course management and learning.

Plus, there is so much that needs to change in education for much of this technology to be effective. In my district multiple sites are blocked. For students to create their own PLNs, they must have access to the Internet. I understand that safety is always an issue, but the filters used are so stringent that students are shut out of many genuinely educational sites. I don’t know if colleges and universities have this same problem, but it is a real issue in high school.

I found all these readings fascinating and very validating. It made the often exhausting work I do for my students worth it. The bottom line: I don’t have the answer to the PLN/LMS debate. If I did, I’d love to create my own Learning Management System or Personal Learning Environment that would work for high school English students. Maybe someday I will. I do, however, believe that as educators, we cannot rely on the tools of technology to teach for us.

D’Arcy Norman says, “The key to edupunk is that it is not about technology…It’s about a culture, a way of thinking, a philosophy. It’s about DIY. Lego is edupunk. Chalk is edupunk. A bunch of kids exploring a junkyard is edupunk. A kid dismantling a CD player to see what makes it tick is edupunk.”

We have to go back to helping kids learn, in whatever way they learn best.

References:

Artichoke. “…what I meant was you have a truly magnificent bottom.” Message posted to http://artichoke.typepad.com/artichoke/2008/05/what-i-meant-wa.html (2008, May 8).

Caulfield, M. Edupunk. Message posted to http://mikecaulfield.com/2008/05/26/edupunk/ (2008, May 26).

Hopkins, D. Edupunks unite? Message posted to http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/blogging/edupunks-unite/ (2008, August 31).

Madsen Brooks, L. Introducing edupunk. Message posted to http://www.blogher.com/introducing-edupunk (2008, May 28).

Norman, D. On edupunk. Message posted on http://www.darcynorman.net/2008/05/28/on-edupunk/ (2008, May 28).

Reverend. Edupunk poster boy. Image posted to http://jimgroom.umwblogs.org/2008/05/28/edupunk-poster-boy/ (2008, May 28).

Caption Writing on Udutu

2009-11-11T06:44:00.003-07:00

Hey, check out my caption writing lesson on myUdutu. It works better on Firefox. Feedback is appreciated.

http://publish.myudutu.com/published/launcheval/14418/Course25321/Launch.html

Week 4: Reading chapter 12

2009-10-24T09:46:00.008-06:00

I especially liked the "Telling the WE Story" chapter. I went to South Africa in 1989, as Apartheid was finally being soundly condemned and sanctions were solidly in place. We travelled to different areas and met different people and I too was struck by the "we" attitude, despite the racial inequity. People spoke of South Africa with such pride and love. While I haven't been back since 1989, I have followed South Africa's transition to a more equal society with great interest. I have been fascinated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and their work to unite a divided society. I cannot believe more nations (even our own) have not looked at the amazing work this commission has done. When Apartheid fell and the African National Congress took more control the nation could have spiraled. They are not totally on their feet and I wouldn't pretend to think that everybody is now treated equally, but I think this is such an amazing step towards the future. Someday, I'll get back there. In the mean time, I need to remember the WE.

Here are pictures of my trip. This is me and Desmond Tutu. He was an extraordinarily gracious and kind man, but so no nonsense.

This is Winnie Mandela. We met her at a children's rally in Soweto. She was an imposing figure. You could look in her eyes and know that she meant business.

Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: Penguin.

Week 4: Show Me What You've Learned Project

2009-10-17T23:36:00.006-06:00

I have not learned as much as I had hoped. The only thing I really wanted to learn was how to make a website like Joe's. I think it took me too long and I'm frustrated that I've had to do it entirely by myself (with a little help from Google). I had hoped to learn how to do this in the Full Sail program, but to be really honest, I've learned very little in this program. I've had the Mac iLife and iWork programs for two years. I know InDesign and Photoshop. I learned a little Flash, but I could never go back and do it again because it was too fast. I've *tried* a lot stuff, but real learning takes place when I've had the time to use things deeply. I've just used things to turn in a project and get a grade. I've never had time to integrate things into my curriculum because before we have time to process anything, we're on to a new class! Boom! I'm not pointing fingers; I understand that this is an accelerated program, but I'm a little disappointed.

So, for this project: My thesis project and my primary goal for my school is to change the way we teach journalism. Enrollment in my journalism classes has consistently dropped over the past five years. Some of the drop is due to more stringent graduation requirements, but some of it is due to the fact that kids don't see the relevance of a journalism education when newspapers are going out of business and there seems to be little future in print only journalism. My thesis asserts that if I provide more opportunity for convergent media and integrate the whole thing into an interactive and dynamic website, kids will be more interested in taking journalism classes. So, moving forward on that, I've spent the last few weeks researching multiple content management systems and I discovered that my internet hosting service through frii does not provide much in the way of tech support unless you pay them hourly. So, in that sense, I've learned a lot. I've looked into Joomla, Textpattern, Wordpress, WebSite Tonight, and doteasy.com for website building. I decided on Wordpress, but nobody at my host service could tell me how to upload it and I followed all the Internet directions I googled, but it still wouldn't work. Everybody acted like it's really easy, but I didn't find that to be the case. So, I purchased a GoDaddy account and domain name and I'm hosting it there. This is really all I wanted to learn for this class, as it pertains to my thesis as well as my professional life. It's the only thing that I've done so far that actually benefits me in my job. I feel like it took a lot of time and I found the whole thing very frustrating. Plus, it's not up and ready to go yet. I am still waiting on some content from my students. I hope I can get my arms around the process and have my students uploading and posting news stories on our new website by the beginning of November. Check back to my blog and I'll post the site information when it's up and running. You can find it here: mvhsnewspaper.com In the mean time--here's a little video of me blabbering. Thanks!! :)

Week 4: Reading chapters 10-11

2009-10-17T23:35:00.007-06:00

Okay, on the one hand I totally believe all that the Zanders are saying. On the other hand, I feel like so much of the stuff that gets me down is beyond my control (even if I make myself the board). I have a particular situation at work with a particular individual that, try as I might, I cannot turn into a possibility. She is miserable. She makes everybody around her miserable. I have worked all the magic I can to engage her, make her feel like she's got an A, but she's infecting the whole department. If it were as easy as shaving my head, I'd be bald in a heartbeat. I recognize I can only control myself and my reactions to her, but it's really ugly and I'm at a loss. I'll keep trying to be a "leader of possibility." That said, my favorite part ever was these words by Marianne Williamson (p. 178-179):

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous—

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people

Won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some of us: it is in everyone,

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

Give other people permission to do the same.

Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: Penguin.

Week 4: Reading chapters 7-9

2009-10-17T23:33:00.016-06:00

I did not find these chapters as engaging as the previous ones. I agree with the "The Way Things Are," but I'm more apt to say, "It is what it is." I'm not really a glass half-full kinda gal, but I do believe that "how we define things sets a framework for life to unfold" (p. 110). So, that's probably why these chapters didn't really inspire me, I'm not really one way or another. I don't think I'm a negative person necessarily, but it is what it is. I'll fight the battles I have potential to win--no matter the odds. I won't engage in futility. I used to! I just don't have the time anymore. :) I don't think I'm a cow or a duck, but I'm more duck-like than cow-like! I like to think of myself as jaded, but hopeful. I think the day you lose hope is a sad one indeed. I just don't want to spend a lot of time trying to move immovable objects (my administration). I'd rather find a way around them. I think this kind of fits in to what the Zanders are saying, at least I'm choosing to believe it does.

I expected to like the chapter on "Giving Way to Passion" as I have been accused of being too passionate on several different occasions; but I didn't really draw anything from it. Maybe it's their verbiage that creates a different picture in my mind than what they intend (for example "enrollment" in chapter 9) . I'm not sure, but I am pretty sure I'm a one-buttock player! As for chapter 9, "Lighting a Spark," I discovered that Tchaikovsky wrote a piece called Romeo and Juliet and that it is lovely. I found it on iTunes and I will have my students listen to it and do some free writing when we read/act Romeo and Juliet next semester. So, that was worth it! I've embedded it here.

Week 3: Playing games

2009-10-17T23:33:00.008-06:00

I have no time to blog or write my thesis, for that matter, since I've found a new and amusing way to waste time. Tired of taking quizzes on Facebook? Try www.sporcle.com instead. It took me six minutes to name all the United States! Shameful. Plus, I forgot Arkansas. I have to do it again. Can you name all the people who were in Apple's "Think Different" ad campaign in five minutes. Yeah, I couldn't either! (see below) What educational value does this have? Probably none, but it was a very fun diversion and the spelling is a whole lot better than the lame Facebook quizzes. Plus, they don't claim to predict your future or tell which celebrity boyfriend/girlfriend you'd have. They are just trivia or facts. If you are a trivia buff, you could make your own game to share. Or, you could create your own quiz for studying and review purposes. So, I guess it does have educational value. Kinda.

Week 3: Reading chapter 4-6

2009-10-16T21:25:00.004-06:00

To be completely honest, I read the starfish story and almost stopped reading. I know, I'm jaded. But, I'm glad I didn't stop reading because I actually really related to both "Being a Contribution" and "Leading From Any Chair." (The "Rule Number 6" not so much, but that's okay!) Some of the stories (that are not the Zander's) are so very clichéd--the starfish one, really clichéd! Anyway...I liked the idea of looking at what you contribute--every day. I try to do this, though I've never really thought about it as a contribution per se, so that was unique. I've actually spent a great deal of time thinking about this concept this year because I have a student teacher. I've told him probably a dozen times that when he's in the classroom, it isn't about him, it's about the kids and their learning. It's made me hyper-aware of it myself and of my contribution to the class. I like the twist, the thought of "...redefining my work as a place of contribution rather than an arena for my success..." (page 61). We'll see how that looks this week.

Chapter 5 was probably my favorite chapter so far. I'm at an age where I'm old enough to understand that I can't necessarily change the world in a grand and magnificent way, nor do I really want to, frankly! However, I can lead from any chair. I can grant greatness to people. In fact, I make a practice of surrounding myself with bright, articulate people who are good at their jobs. I'm the president of the board at a local charter school and I am blessed with a great group of people on my board. Letting them be great is what makes it so good! I can't imagine trying to lead and letting everybody just follow. I really do believe that they can all lead from any chair. When given the opportunity to do so, I think most people will rise to the occasion.

In honor of the starfish...and making a difference:

Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: Penguin.

Week 3: Reading chapter 1-3

2009-10-14T22:10:00.005-06:00

Interestingly, chapter 3 of The Art of Possibility has my favorite ideas and a quote that made me roll my eyes and gag a little. The quote that I didn't like was, "This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into" (pg. 26). I hate quotes like this. I know that they are meant to be inspirational and all that, but, really--gag. That said, I love the idea of giving an A. I don't know if I'd get away with that, but I would love to at least set up the hypothetical and talk to my students about what it would look like. I love the letter writing idea, where they have to look at what they did to receive the A. I think grades have been so inflated in this day and age. I have students (and their parents!) tell me all the time that they "need" to get an A. Some of them are genuinely not capable. They can grow and they can advance, but an A is not really in their league--if we are saying an A is the highest achievement or the highest standard. I am fascinated to see what my students would say is necessary to achieve an A and how they went about earning it. I've been talking to them all year so far about goals and how they define success. I asked them to write their own definition of success and encouraged them to share it with their parents and discuss it. This year we used a graphic by Jim Burke (see below) and talked about the various aspects and foundations of success. I am definitely going to find a way to give them all an A, even if it is only for a day, and see what I hear them say.

Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: Penguin.

Week 3: Ron Smith Interview Interactive Q&As

2009-10-11T18:24:00.003-06:00

As you watch the video interview with Ron Smith, please use the following viewing guide to organize your thoughts, direct your viewing, and make what you watch more meaningful to you. Answer the questions as the interview proceeds. We'll discuss the questions and your responses at the end of the video.

Questions:

1. What is the focus of the New Media Academy at Hollywood High School?

2. What options for helping students find their career paths does the New Media Academy offer?

3. What is the media that students are gravitating towards to express themselves creatively?

4. What old school media are the teachers using?

5. Name the first of the three "new" technologies Smith uses in his classroom and how he uses it.

6. How could you use it for your education?

7. Name the second of the three "new" technologies Smith uses in his classroom and how he uses it.

8. How could you use it for your education?

9. Name the last of the three "new" technologies Smith uses in his classroom.

10. How could you use it for your education?

11. What is Ron Smith seeing as a trend in education?

Answers:

1. It is career-focused to get kids into the movie business/media related.

2. Internships and mentorships

3. Animation (video and flash)

4. Powerpoint! Ugh. Also, overheads and word documents projected on a screen

5. Scratch (from MIT) for game building.

6. I would use it for quizzes for kids or maybe I'd make my game from the gaming class!

7. Sketch Up (from Google) for 3-D modeling to make different scenes and ultimately an interactive movie.

8. I could use this to recreate scenes from a novel or a play.

9. Blender (3-D animation software) to make anything!

10. I would love to use this to make movies of especially crucial scenes in books or plays. Having students put their own twist on the moment.

11. Curriculum design and instructional materials going online.

Week 2: Reading chapter 5

2009-10-10T20:29:00.005-06:00

I feel I must confess here, I have not read any of the Harry Potter books (nor have I watched the movies!). I know, it's shameful. I'm sorry. That said, I am so opposed to book banning/burning I can't even blog about it without my blood pressure rising. I think everybody has a right to their opinion about these books as well as any others, and I, in fact, know several people who will not let their children read them. However, banning them for the general population is unconscionable. The "Potter wars" make me lose my mind. We own all the books (we even own the Bloomsbury UK edition) and all the movies. My own children and my husband have read them several times despite the fact that I have not. As an English teacher, I can see the impact the books have had on reading for pleasure and that's a door that wasn't open for a lot of children. While I respect a parent's right to monitor and choose their own child's reading material, I commend J.K. Rowling for creating a series that is engaging and speaks to kids. Diatribe, done!

Now, as far as some other parts of the reading: One of my favorite lines from Jenkins was, "None of us really knows how to live in this era of media convergence, collective intelligence, and participatory culture. These changes are producing anxieties and uncertainties, even panic, as people imagine a world without gatekeepers and live with the reality of expanding corporate media power" (p. 176). We, as a society, are grappling with this issue on an ongoing basis. On the whole, corporate culture has not gone quietly into cyberspace. They have not embraced fans except in an economic sense. They need to see the economy in letting go a little as we all try to make sense of our convergent culture. It's easier for George Lucas because he owns Star Wars. It's harder when corporations are involved. Warner Brothers is muddling through and feeling their way. I wonder if it would be different if J.K. Rowling had total control of her empire?

The second aspect of the reading I appreciated was actually on the same page, "Just as we would not traditionally assume that someone is literate if they can read but not write, we should not assume that someone possesses media literacy if they can consume but not express themselves" (p. 176). This idea of media literacy is so radical (at least in my school district!) I almost don't know where to start commenting. When we fail to teach our students this type of literacy we are absolutely determining who will be able to participate in our culture (p. 177). In my school we have just begun conversations about media and internet literacy. We aren't even close to talking about being anything other than consumers and we aren't doing a great job their either. Blogs aren't blocked in our district, but very few teachers use them for their classes. I know Jenkins isn't necessarily addressing this, but it's a pretty big issue for today's students and teachers. Will Richardson writes in Educational Leadership, "Teaching students to contribute and collaborate online in ways that are both safe and appropriate requires instruction and modeling, not simply crossing our fingers and hoping for the best when they go home and do it on their own" (Richardson, 2009). We must be actively teaching our students how to interact with the culture around them. We must give them tools that help them to become active members of the "affinity groups" Jenkins talks about. Each year I have my students go to the website http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ and have them analyze it. How do they rate its accuracy? What are clues that help them know that it is true? Etc. Every single time I have kids who are genuinely not sure if it's real. They look around at the other kids and at me and I can tell they are trying to decide, but they aren't willing to say it's made up. I teach high school. These are 15-year-olds. I think that's scary!! We need to do a better job. The following is a video made by a student (not one of mine) based on the website. It gives you a glimpse of what the website is like. It's very quiet, so turn your volume up.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press.

Richardson, W. (March 2009). Becoming network-wise. Educational leadership, pages 26-31.

Video retrieved on October 10, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYefCNMpUEI

Week 2: Reading chapter 4--Star Trek, I mean, Star Wars!

2009-10-09T21:22:00.019-06:00

It's been a Star Wars week for me. Every year around this time I collaborate with the music teacher to do a lesson on leitmotif. I teach the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and we focus on characterization. (Everybody in this program has probably already heard me talk about this. Forgive me, it's pretty much my favorite unit ever! We write a score for Watership Down, but it's not the same.) So, at the end of the novel we write a song, using GarageBand, to characterize one of the people in To Kill a Mockingbird. But, before we write the song the music teacher takes a couple class periods to teach us about music and how you can create characters with music. Anyhow, he uses bunches of John Williams music from Star Wars to teach the students about the idea of leitmotif. We watch a clip of an interview with Williams discussing how he created the music for each character and it's so relevant and interesting to the students. The music teacher begins his lesson with a 1914 seven-movement orchestral suite by British composer Gustav Holst called "The Planets" and he points out similarities to John Williams' score for Star Wars. It is clear that Williams took some inspiration from other composers, Holst included. So not only has Star Wars become iconic, much parodied, and imitated but it borrowed from others as well. Obviously, the good vs. evil story line has been used throughout history, but did you know the music has been around for some time too? I think this is very interesting in regard to George Lucas' desire to keep Star Wars' reputation intact. Which is what I found to be the point: how do you let people enjoy and participate in your creation (especially in this media-rich day) and yet keep it special and intact? In my opinion, George Lucas has been pretty nice about it. He seems to get it and actually participates in the conversation instead of letting his lawyers speak for him.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press.

This is a picture of my husband's Star Wars bobble head collection and his Star Wars (and Lord of the Rings) book collection. He wanted the life-sized Storm Trooper, but I said no. Don't even get me started on the Pez collection...

Week 2: English Companion Ning

2009-10-05T20:32:00.006-06:00

I'm just in a blogging state of mind. Also, Monday Night Football is on and I'm being ignored--which isn't necessarily a bad thing! So, I wanted to share one of the best resources, no, communities I've found online. It is a Ning site for English teachers created by Jim Burke, author of books about reading and literacy, called English Companion Ning. Burke has created a community of teachers who share and comment, have virtual book clubs, commiserate, blog, and talk to each other. It is an awesome resource for both new and experienced teachers. This is such a progressive concept for high school teachers. I am old enough to remember when nobody shared ideas--or anything! We all went to our individual rooms and kept all our materials to ourselves. This Ning is invaluable in sharing media, tools and information for teachers of all experience levels. What Burke has created is a huge faculty lounge without all the whining and complaining. His Ning is beginning to get noticed by the rest of the educational community as articles point to it as an example of what great things can be found on the internet. It's a pretty cool site. If you are an English teacher I would definitely recommend checking it out. I've included a photo of the many groups teachers have formed within the English Companion community.

Week 2: Survivor Sucks, Really?

2009-10-05T19:23:00.003-06:00

I've spent time this evening reading and re-reading several of my classmates blogs in an attempt to find something to comment on. I am genuinely surprised by all of the Survivor and reality TV haters and, with all due respect, I wonder why you don't get it. Jenkins is just using Survivor as an example of the convergence culture. He could have just as easily used the most recent presidential campaign or a fictional TV show like Lost. The point is, there are multiple media opportunities available both for our consumption and our participation. Is Arianna Huffington a spoiler? Matt Drudge? These are "journalists" who are doing essentially the same thing in the political arena. I'm not promoting or endorsing either one of them, but their approach is similar: they use whatever media means are available to dig up information. I'm also not endorsing Survivor or the spoilers who spend an extraordinary amount of time on their spoiling, but I know a lot of people who spend an inordinate amount of time on their hobbies. Some run, hike, or bike--a solitary practice for the most part. At least the spoilers are spending time interacting with other people and making a difference in their own crazy corner of the world. Again, bottom line, I just don't think Jenkins' point was Survivor. Maybe you all get it, but you were distracted by the Survivor references? I don't know. I just know that I was excited by the options and media available to us now that wasn't available just a few years ago.

This video is from February and aired on CBS. It features Jeff Greenfield discussing media convergences and "how in this day and age, news and video can be streamed anyplace, anywhere, anytime."

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press.

video from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJlyh76dEc

Week 1: Reading/Convergence Culture chapters 1-3

2009-10-04T22:25:00.001-06:00

I regret to say that did some skimming for the reading in Convergence Culture. I wish that I had more time this past week to do a more careful reading. My thesis is actually on the idea that teaching high schoolers a more convergent approach to journalism will create more relevancy. So, this book is an excellent resource for my thesis and covers a lot of information I've become familiar with in recent years! I first heard the term "convergence" used in regard to media about three years ago at a journalism convention. I was captivated by the idea because we were paying so much to print our tiny little school newspaper and ad revenue was drying up. Plus, many of the students at my school never read the "real" paper and were only mildly interested in the school newspaper. More often it went like this: We spent a month putting together a paper, we paid $450 to print it, we stuffed fliers in it, and we set it out around the school. Over the course of a week students would pick it up, drop the fliers on the floor and then the janitors would throw the whole thing away. I can think of a lot of other ways to waste $450. So, I looked into convergence media and options we could create online. My principal was adamantly opposed to any kind of participatory journalism (where other students could blog or write their own point of view on a story) because "we can't control it." I told him that was exactly the point! We had a pdf of the newspaper on the school website that was available to view, but only parents read it, which is fine, but students were our focus. All while this was going on, my numbers were dropping in my journalism classes. Students didn't want to grow up and work for a newspaper. I kept losing them to AP classes or other classes that were more relevant to their lives or their future. Everything Jenkins writes about with regard to convergence, participatory culture and collective intelligence seems to speak to the idea that there is a way to create more relevance for kids. While Jenkins might be directly addressing media (gaming, TV, film, etc.) there is a lot of crossover for journalism. I've finally worn down my principal and received permission to start creating a participatory/convergent website. I am so excited and so are my students. It's breathed some new life into our class as kids scour websites for things we could replicate and use for our own. We are trying to create a site that embodies the concept Jenkins calls "transmedia storytelling." We want podcasts, video, surveys, and photos in addition to our traditional news story. It's exciting! I'll keep you updated. We have a bunch of information and research, but we're having trouble putting it all together. We just met with the tech people to see if we can host our site on the school website. Apparently there are some legal issues involved too, so we're looking into that. Any insight, advice, or comments you have would be appreciated! I've added two pictures of our current (boring/static) site mvhs.thompson.k12.co.us and a picture of a site we admire from Francis Howell North High School in Missouri.

NOTE: As a connoisseur of culture (ie: I read Entertainment Weekly) I appreciated all of Jenkins' cultural references. I've spent more time than I'd like to admit on websites looking for clues to TV plots and checking for spoilers (Lost is my latest addiction--talk about playing across multiple media!). I remember Twin Peaks, Blair Witch Project, and am a Survivor fan. I hardly watch any TV anymore though--can't wait until I graduate! :)

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press.

Week 1: Show Me What You Know Project

2009-10-04T11:40:00.018-06:00

To be perfectly honest, I know an awful lot. I have worked with the iLife and iWork apps for two years now, both in the classroom and at home. I have used Adobe CS since forever. I started using PageMaker and now use InDesign and PhotoShop pretty regularly in my yearbook and newspaper classes. I can't imagine not knowing how to organize my media when teaching yearbook and newspaper. It would be a nightmare! We set up the whole yearbook and the print newspaper in InDesign. We use iPhoto to download and organize our photos (again, both at school and at home). All of my classes *love* ComicLife and beg to use it. We use GarageBand to do characterization and to create songs about ourselves. When we write personal narratives we use our songs to present them. I feel like I've been able to do all this because I am fortunate to teach in our integrated arts school. Hands-on projects and creativity are encouraged and, in fact, required! I've highlighted three projects that I hope will show you what I know.

1. The first is an family activity we just did yesterday. My husband is a creative director/brand manager (we often joke that he and I do the same things, but he gets paid more) so our three kids (ages 16, 12 and 1) have been exposed to artistic opportunities their whole lives. We like to do artsy things as a family. Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in Colorado so we headed to a local park and did a photography scavenger hunt. We looked for letters of the alphabet in and around the park. We took pictures and came home and photoshopped them into our names. We hope this will be a Christmas present this year for our family and friends. My name is below.

2. This next project is one I've done for three years now in my English 9 class. We read To Kill a Mockingbird and look at the characterization techniques Harper Lee employs to make her characters come alive. Instead of writing a lengthy essay on characterization my students use GarageBand to create a song and write a paragraph about why they chose the notes they used and the tempo, instruments, etc. The kids love this! I've included an audio clip from one of my students. It's called "Atticus Finch."

3. The last project I am posting is a video I made for our film class. It is the trailer project. I haven't had as much opportunity to use iMovie in my classes as we only have one Flip video camera for the whole English department. So, I learned a lot about working with iMovie in the film class. I feel like this short clip shows what I learned and kind of puts it all together. Plus, it makes me smile. Enjoy!

Finally, one thing I want to know is how to make a convergent website for my newspaper class, much like Joe Bustillos' site! This is the primary reason I enrolled in the Full Sail EMDT program. My son (the sixteen-year-old) and I are trying to learn Flash together so we can make some interactive features on the website. These are two things I hope to know soon as my thesis is around the idea of convergent media and its relevancy for high school students.

Week 1: Environment Survey

2009-10-03T19:55:00.004-06:00

Well, this was an interesting assessment for me. I would have said my room is a great room for learning, nice ambiance, good seating, pretty stuff on the walls, great lighting, etc, but in investigating it more fully, I discovered it's pretty boring. My biggest revelation was that I never look at what the students are looking at. I don't take the time to sit in their seats and see what they see. My view from the front is okay, but their view is pretty dull. I think as far as presenting material my room is fine, but it's not an interactive, exciting learning environment and that's a shame. I need to actively work on this. I would like my classroom to feel inviting, a place where students will be challenged, a place where they can ask good questions and grow and learn. I will continue to evaluate this in the coming weeks and I hope to make some changes very soon! Here's a little video tour of my classroom. Enjoy!

Week1: Digging Back into Blogging

2009-10-01T19:42:00.005-06:00

I am excited to start blogging again; particularly when there aren't so many rules attached to it. I enjoyed expressing my thoughts, but the format was too structured in our last graduate class so I didn't really enjoy it. It felt really stressful. I have been reading over the info in FSO and I'm looking forward to all what this class has to offer. I feel like we'll finally get some time to explore all the things we've only had time to glance at as we hurried by. So, I hope to get my hands dirty and dig into all the great stuff out in the www. Here's to a great month!!