If you can read this inscription on this statue of Puck outside the Folger Shakespeare Library it reads "Lord what fools these mortals be", the funniest part is that he faces the Capital.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Puck
If you can read this inscription on this statue of Puck outside the Folger Shakespeare Library it reads "Lord what fools these mortals be", the funniest part is that he faces the Capital.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Getting better
Sitting here on the couch slowly recovering from the crud. I don’t get sick often, the occasional cold and soar throat but it doesn’t usually knock me out but I guess I was pretty run down. The combination of travel, stress and emotional uncertainty contributed to the full body shut down and much needed alone time. It didn’t help that the country was in a panic due to Swine Flu, and my Mummy made me go to the doctor.
I am a little tired and frustrated with my life, I am ready for a new exciting chapter. I want to travel, to live in another country, to speak another language, to fall crazy in love and basically shake things up. The problem is that I am so rational, so safe and I always have it together that I feel I have lost the “edge” the “risk” that makes these things possible. But that is all an excuse, it is easy as we get older to use out lives and circumstances as reasons why we can’t do things, the things we really want to do. I refuse to become stuck, and I will not make excuses for myself.
I am a little tired and frustrated with my life, I am ready for a new exciting chapter. I want to travel, to live in another country, to speak another language, to fall crazy in love and basically shake things up. The problem is that I am so rational, so safe and I always have it together that I feel I have lost the “edge” the “risk” that makes these things possible. But that is all an excuse, it is easy as we get older to use out lives and circumstances as reasons why we can’t do things, the things we really want to do. I refuse to become stuck, and I will not make excuses for myself.
Monday, April 27, 2009
DC Trip
Notes from DC
Friday April 17, 2009
Pulling out of the station in Chicago and heading to DC. Another adventure with the students from school. This might be the most fun and yet most stressful part of my job. We travel, we learn, we grow and we begin to understand our place in the world. The hardest part about teaching, for me, is creating the desire to learn, to understand and to grow. These trips that we take make that easier, because we are there in the moment, and because we function as a more organic group, the artificial structures of “school” and “learning” dissolve and we ease into what it means to be part of this crazy planet. I also think that travel in its self is important, to get students outside their comfort zone, to see some of what is out there.
Saturday April 18, 2009
Why do I torture myself with insolent children who do not appreciate my efforts? We have made it to DC and I think everyone is a little tired and cranky and I guess so am I. Unfortunately getting the students to write in detail is often like pulling teeth, and it is a battle I do like engaging in.
We did have to walk just over a mile from the Metro station to the church carting our luggage, that was pretty exhausting. We then had to find a restaurant to eat super in that would take all 12 of us without too long of a wait. It took a while to choose a place and we had yet to get into our groove. We finally found a fancy pizza place…but the kids were whiny by then. Luckily the church building was like an oasis and everyone was able to find a couch to sleep on.
Sunday April 19,2009
The Verger invited us to attend the Holy Eucharist at St Alban’s and we were greeted during the service by the priest. We also attended the processional (beginning bit) at the National Cathedral and then spent an hour so in the Bishop’s Garden beside the National Cathedral and that might have saved us all. It is a beautiful garden, with paths lined with herbs, bushes and trees…very meditational (new word?).
We had our first real adventure on the Metro that afternoon. We planned to attend the National’s baseball game and headed to what we thought was the ball park, half way there we realized we were going to the wrong stadium, all the fans in hats and blue shirts got off the train and we did not. Once we finally made it to the game we were able to relax in our skybox seating. It really was a great view of the field. I was surprised how many of the kids really got into the game, in fact we were going to leave at the bottom of the 8th but they were so into it that we stayed till the 9th inning when the National’s blew their lead and we headed to the train to beat the crowd.
Okay I feel much better about children in general and my students in particular. We were invited to attend a newcomer’s Potluck at St. Albans this evening. The students amazed me. After the meal they bussed tables, washed and put away dishes and were generally industrious.
Monday April 20, 2009
Today was our first trip to the Capital complex. We managed our way through the metro again with only a few delays of demagnetized pass cards and sudden revelations of…oh you mean I needed to bring an ID too… . We will see what happens on White House day; so far no one has turned us away. The Capital building was packed and we were herded like sheep through various and sundry room, with what felt like little organization. They could learn something from Disney. A few times, I was totally disoriented as to where my “tour” guide had gone and it was easy to get sucked up into another group. It seemed that there were many different levels of access. I thought Senator Lincoln had given us some really special passes into the Senate Gallery…but so had so many other Senators. Each new level of pass had a fancier sticker although I am not sure what I was supposed to have been impressed by, or what I actually saw…besides the 13 minute introductory movie, which was pretty good. It is interesting to me that I am now proud to be an American, and moved by flags blowing symbolically and stories of the struggles to attain freedom when just a few months ago these thoughts and images left me a little nauseous.
In the Senate we were able to watch the senator from Oklahoma and he was arguing against Obama’s proposed military budget, it was quite interesting because we had watched a Daily Show where John Stewart had been making fun of the republican’s and their whining about the proposed cuts.
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Today we met some Iraqi General's at Arlington and it was amazingly moving, they were nervous it seemed that we might not think it appropriate for them to be there. We asked if they minded if we took there picture and they asked if we would be in it with them and then proceeded to take many photos (all of them had cameras) I think they had all lost brothers and family in the Iraq war and were here touring military bases with some American Generals. It is amazing how I actually feel proud of America since Obama has been elected. We have visited the Capital and seen the Senate in session and toured the National Archives, the Holocaust Museum, Arlington Cemetery, a National's baseball game... we still have many Smithsonian museums to go, the zoo, Chinatown, the White House... man we don't have enough time.
The Holocaust museum was depressing, and I must say after being to one before I don’t care to go again. It is just so frustrating to look in hindsight at all the things that should have been done, or the countries that could have helped but decided not to.
Friday April 24, 2009
Wow what a whirlwind! I have a blister on my left foot and a swollen knee, man do I feel old. We have done so much in the last 3 days it will be difficult to recount it all accurately but I will try.
Wednesday was Earth Day so we thought it a good day to visit the Zoo. The day was cloudy and a bit chilly but promised to warm up. Like the rest of DC the Zoo itself is free. We broke into smaller groups and planned to meet back up for a late lunch. As we began the “Asian Trail” it began to rain and then hail, luckily for us it only lasted a few minutes and the day cleared up some after that and we commenced our speed tour of the Zoo. I had Rachel and Amanda in my group, so there was little whining and pleasant intelligent conversation the entire time. The pandas were cool and I always enjoy the river otters, they appear to be having fun. The gorillas were depressing, their enclosure was lame, and they where all just laying around…but I guess that is what Gorillas do. They had some pretty cool fish in “Amazonia” and I could have stayed and watched the Orangutans for hours, but we only had 3 hours for the entire zoo.
We had planned to eat lunch and head off to a Smithsonian Museum but the troops were weary and worried about laundry. So we packed up our smelliest clothes and walked to the nearest Laundromat. Everyone was much happier with clean clothes and a mellow evening. We went to bed early to prepare for our White House adventure.
Thursday we had to leave the house by 6:30am in order to be at the White House by 8am. I was amazed that everyone dragged themselves up and out on time with little complaint. There was what looked like a huge line at the White House when we arrived at 7:40am. It turned out they had not let the 7:30 people in yet, and once the gate opened the line disappeared. We did however have to line up alphabetically and get checked against a security form with put pre-registered names. Luckily they only asked for ID from the chaperones and Loryn and Ryan made it through the checkpoint. I was worried because they had no ID’s. I had to slow down our group as they rushed through the tour, I don’t think they realized it had actually started till we were about 1/3 of the way through. It was neat, especially when I realized they open the house back up to the Pres after we are gone. It is only open to the public on certain days and then only in the morning. After the tour it was still early and we decided to walk to some of the monuments and memorials. I had on my nice sandals, not exactly walking shoes…but the security was so tight at the White House you could not bring a bag or purse of any kind so I was stuck with what I came in till we went back to the church. We saw the Vietnam Memorial and went up to visit Lincoln, there was quit the view from there. From there we walked the Tidal Basin and found the FDR Memorial, I really liked that one, it felt touchable and interactive. We continued around the Tidal Basin to Jefferson. It was cold and windy by this point, my feet hurt and the kids where whining the chaperones not knowing which way we were going. I kept getting left behind the group because the blisters on my feet were hurting and I was feeling a bit pathetic. We made it back to Independence Avenue and were heading to the nearest Metro stop when sirens and police cars approached the intersection. The police car came through the red light and behind it were 3 to 4 black Escalades with slightly tinted windows. We think it was Obama, and a few of the students actually saw him wave at us. Spirits lifted suddenly and the day trip to the White House seemed more exciting. We headed back to the house for lunch. The exhaustion almost took hold but we had a scheduled meeting with Senator Lincoln that afternoon and decided to rally on and visit the Air and Space Museum, our church home was in use that evening and we needed to stay out for super. The Senator was cordial and asked questions of the students and made sure we knew she was here for us. We got more information out of her aids and I think the kids really enjoyed the personal interaction. We also got some recommendations for dinner places. First we headed back to the Mall. Although I am sure the Air and Space Museum was interesting to some, I really just wanted a quiet place to sit and read. With the two girls in my group we did a quick sweep of the museum and headed to the café for the remainder of the time. “Good Times Eatery” was the name of the burger joint we ate at, and it was quite the experience. It was started by Spike from Top Chef, and he is a character. The burgers were good and the atmosphere hoppin, so the kids really enjoyed it. It was pretty late when we finally made it back home and everyone pretty much passed out from our day’s adventures.
Friday morning came too soon and the realization that we had only one real day to fit in all the remaining sights. We decided to split into different groups again and visit the museums that each group most wanted to see. The girls and I headed off to the Folgers Shakespeare Library; we had a great tour with just a few other people…I felt much more like a person again instead of cattle. They perform plays in the small theatre and only select people can actually see the Shakespeare collection. We ate lunch at Cosi and had lovely flatbread sandwiches and soup, one of the best meals I had had so far. We met the other groups at the Sculpture Park outside the Art Galleries and the people were wilting. Some wanted to go directly back to the church and a few were whining about shopping and Chinatown. I reminded them that this was it, and we should take advantage of the time we had. My group headed into the Art Galleries to seek out Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh and a few other “famous” artists. Grant took a group to Chinatown to shop and Relliot’s groups did a speed tour of the Gallery and headed home.
Grant and a few students made lasagna while others walked the church grounds and gardens. Man was I wiped out!
Saturday April 25, 2009
Now I am on the train heading home, it is late and we are all ready to be home. We made it to Union Station without much hassle. I think we scared the bus driver when all 12 of us got on luggage and all. Most of the other people using the buses had pass cards and so our little cash transactions always seemed to slow things down. Usually I would start putting money in the machine and the conductor would stop me at some point and say “that’s good” after a few dollars.
Friday April 17, 2009
Pulling out of the station in Chicago and heading to DC. Another adventure with the students from school. This might be the most fun and yet most stressful part of my job. We travel, we learn, we grow and we begin to understand our place in the world. The hardest part about teaching, for me, is creating the desire to learn, to understand and to grow. These trips that we take make that easier, because we are there in the moment, and because we function as a more organic group, the artificial structures of “school” and “learning” dissolve and we ease into what it means to be part of this crazy planet. I also think that travel in its self is important, to get students outside their comfort zone, to see some of what is out there.
Saturday April 18, 2009
Why do I torture myself with insolent children who do not appreciate my efforts? We have made it to DC and I think everyone is a little tired and cranky and I guess so am I. Unfortunately getting the students to write in detail is often like pulling teeth, and it is a battle I do like engaging in.
We did have to walk just over a mile from the Metro station to the church carting our luggage, that was pretty exhausting. We then had to find a restaurant to eat super in that would take all 12 of us without too long of a wait. It took a while to choose a place and we had yet to get into our groove. We finally found a fancy pizza place…but the kids were whiny by then. Luckily the church building was like an oasis and everyone was able to find a couch to sleep on.
Sunday April 19,2009
The Verger invited us to attend the Holy Eucharist at St Alban’s and we were greeted during the service by the priest. We also attended the processional (beginning bit) at the National Cathedral and then spent an hour so in the Bishop’s Garden beside the National Cathedral and that might have saved us all. It is a beautiful garden, with paths lined with herbs, bushes and trees…very meditational (new word?).
We had our first real adventure on the Metro that afternoon. We planned to attend the National’s baseball game and headed to what we thought was the ball park, half way there we realized we were going to the wrong stadium, all the fans in hats and blue shirts got off the train and we did not. Once we finally made it to the game we were able to relax in our skybox seating. It really was a great view of the field. I was surprised how many of the kids really got into the game, in fact we were going to leave at the bottom of the 8th but they were so into it that we stayed till the 9th inning when the National’s blew their lead and we headed to the train to beat the crowd.
Okay I feel much better about children in general and my students in particular. We were invited to attend a newcomer’s Potluck at St. Albans this evening. The students amazed me. After the meal they bussed tables, washed and put away dishes and were generally industrious.
Monday April 20, 2009
Today was our first trip to the Capital complex. We managed our way through the metro again with only a few delays of demagnetized pass cards and sudden revelations of…oh you mean I needed to bring an ID too… . We will see what happens on White House day; so far no one has turned us away. The Capital building was packed and we were herded like sheep through various and sundry room, with what felt like little organization. They could learn something from Disney. A few times, I was totally disoriented as to where my “tour” guide had gone and it was easy to get sucked up into another group. It seemed that there were many different levels of access. I thought Senator Lincoln had given us some really special passes into the Senate Gallery…but so had so many other Senators. Each new level of pass had a fancier sticker although I am not sure what I was supposed to have been impressed by, or what I actually saw…besides the 13 minute introductory movie, which was pretty good. It is interesting to me that I am now proud to be an American, and moved by flags blowing symbolically and stories of the struggles to attain freedom when just a few months ago these thoughts and images left me a little nauseous.
In the Senate we were able to watch the senator from Oklahoma and he was arguing against Obama’s proposed military budget, it was quite interesting because we had watched a Daily Show where John Stewart had been making fun of the republican’s and their whining about the proposed cuts.
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Today we met some Iraqi General's at Arlington and it was amazingly moving, they were nervous it seemed that we might not think it appropriate for them to be there. We asked if they minded if we took there picture and they asked if we would be in it with them and then proceeded to take many photos (all of them had cameras) I think they had all lost brothers and family in the Iraq war and were here touring military bases with some American Generals. It is amazing how I actually feel proud of America since Obama has been elected. We have visited the Capital and seen the Senate in session and toured the National Archives, the Holocaust Museum, Arlington Cemetery, a National's baseball game... we still have many Smithsonian museums to go, the zoo, Chinatown, the White House... man we don't have enough time.
The Holocaust museum was depressing, and I must say after being to one before I don’t care to go again. It is just so frustrating to look in hindsight at all the things that should have been done, or the countries that could have helped but decided not to.
Friday April 24, 2009
Wow what a whirlwind! I have a blister on my left foot and a swollen knee, man do I feel old. We have done so much in the last 3 days it will be difficult to recount it all accurately but I will try.
Wednesday was Earth Day so we thought it a good day to visit the Zoo. The day was cloudy and a bit chilly but promised to warm up. Like the rest of DC the Zoo itself is free. We broke into smaller groups and planned to meet back up for a late lunch. As we began the “Asian Trail” it began to rain and then hail, luckily for us it only lasted a few minutes and the day cleared up some after that and we commenced our speed tour of the Zoo. I had Rachel and Amanda in my group, so there was little whining and pleasant intelligent conversation the entire time. The pandas were cool and I always enjoy the river otters, they appear to be having fun. The gorillas were depressing, their enclosure was lame, and they where all just laying around…but I guess that is what Gorillas do. They had some pretty cool fish in “Amazonia” and I could have stayed and watched the Orangutans for hours, but we only had 3 hours for the entire zoo.
We had planned to eat lunch and head off to a Smithsonian Museum but the troops were weary and worried about laundry. So we packed up our smelliest clothes and walked to the nearest Laundromat. Everyone was much happier with clean clothes and a mellow evening. We went to bed early to prepare for our White House adventure.
Thursday we had to leave the house by 6:30am in order to be at the White House by 8am. I was amazed that everyone dragged themselves up and out on time with little complaint. There was what looked like a huge line at the White House when we arrived at 7:40am. It turned out they had not let the 7:30 people in yet, and once the gate opened the line disappeared. We did however have to line up alphabetically and get checked against a security form with put pre-registered names. Luckily they only asked for ID from the chaperones and Loryn and Ryan made it through the checkpoint. I was worried because they had no ID’s. I had to slow down our group as they rushed through the tour, I don’t think they realized it had actually started till we were about 1/3 of the way through. It was neat, especially when I realized they open the house back up to the Pres after we are gone. It is only open to the public on certain days and then only in the morning. After the tour it was still early and we decided to walk to some of the monuments and memorials. I had on my nice sandals, not exactly walking shoes…but the security was so tight at the White House you could not bring a bag or purse of any kind so I was stuck with what I came in till we went back to the church. We saw the Vietnam Memorial and went up to visit Lincoln, there was quit the view from there. From there we walked the Tidal Basin and found the FDR Memorial, I really liked that one, it felt touchable and interactive. We continued around the Tidal Basin to Jefferson. It was cold and windy by this point, my feet hurt and the kids where whining the chaperones not knowing which way we were going. I kept getting left behind the group because the blisters on my feet were hurting and I was feeling a bit pathetic. We made it back to Independence Avenue and were heading to the nearest Metro stop when sirens and police cars approached the intersection. The police car came through the red light and behind it were 3 to 4 black Escalades with slightly tinted windows. We think it was Obama, and a few of the students actually saw him wave at us. Spirits lifted suddenly and the day trip to the White House seemed more exciting. We headed back to the house for lunch. The exhaustion almost took hold but we had a scheduled meeting with Senator Lincoln that afternoon and decided to rally on and visit the Air and Space Museum, our church home was in use that evening and we needed to stay out for super. The Senator was cordial and asked questions of the students and made sure we knew she was here for us. We got more information out of her aids and I think the kids really enjoyed the personal interaction. We also got some recommendations for dinner places. First we headed back to the Mall. Although I am sure the Air and Space Museum was interesting to some, I really just wanted a quiet place to sit and read. With the two girls in my group we did a quick sweep of the museum and headed to the café for the remainder of the time. “Good Times Eatery” was the name of the burger joint we ate at, and it was quite the experience. It was started by Spike from Top Chef, and he is a character. The burgers were good and the atmosphere hoppin, so the kids really enjoyed it. It was pretty late when we finally made it back home and everyone pretty much passed out from our day’s adventures.
Friday morning came too soon and the realization that we had only one real day to fit in all the remaining sights. We decided to split into different groups again and visit the museums that each group most wanted to see. The girls and I headed off to the Folgers Shakespeare Library; we had a great tour with just a few other people…I felt much more like a person again instead of cattle. They perform plays in the small theatre and only select people can actually see the Shakespeare collection. We ate lunch at Cosi and had lovely flatbread sandwiches and soup, one of the best meals I had had so far. We met the other groups at the Sculpture Park outside the Art Galleries and the people were wilting. Some wanted to go directly back to the church and a few were whining about shopping and Chinatown. I reminded them that this was it, and we should take advantage of the time we had. My group headed into the Art Galleries to seek out Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh and a few other “famous” artists. Grant took a group to Chinatown to shop and Relliot’s groups did a speed tour of the Gallery and headed home.
Grant and a few students made lasagna while others walked the church grounds and gardens. Man was I wiped out!
Saturday April 25, 2009
Now I am on the train heading home, it is late and we are all ready to be home. We made it to Union Station without much hassle. I think we scared the bus driver when all 12 of us got on luggage and all. Most of the other people using the buses had pass cards and so our little cash transactions always seemed to slow things down. Usually I would start putting money in the machine and the conductor would stop me at some point and say “that’s good” after a few dollars.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Spring Fever
It has been a while and I may have to be brief. I am in a lull, between moments of action and moments of change. I have brought about certain things in my life and now, well I am wondering how to want what I have. I know I am lucky and my life has always been fun and full of excitement. There is a certain moment after the fruition of a goal, when you wonder what comes next.
I think it is also this time of year. I get antsy, and I want change...I need to do more, more productive stuff but I am so tired by the time I get home that I just want to curl up on the couch and take a nap.
Just feeling like I need to be a little more meaningful with my life...
I think it is also this time of year. I get antsy, and I want change...I need to do more, more productive stuff but I am so tired by the time I get home that I just want to curl up on the couch and take a nap.
Just feeling like I need to be a little more meaningful with my life...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Ice..Ice...eveywhere
I am so not tough. I have been lucky though my house is heated with ventless gas heaters, so at least I have stayed warm. I was 80+ hours without electricity and it sure made me appreciate my refrigerator. My milk and eggs froze outside and cucumbers are not so good once they thaw. It may still be a day of two before I can move my car but at least I can now distract myself with the internet. I read for three days straight, by candlelight no less. I have been kinda sick through this whole ice storm so mostly snuffling on the sofa. My house is loud now that the power is back, the reassuring hum of the fridge. We are so dependent on the infrastructure of our cities, it is quite an awakening to have it stripped away, especially in winter.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Lazy!
I am sitting on my coach reading and watching True Blood. Yes, I have the book and I keep downloading different episode from the internet. Still stuck on the vampire thing. I cannot seem to get motivated today. I am thinking about cleansing the system again. That means I have to stop drinking coffee in the morning. Last time I did the raw food thing, I felt so good…but slowly I have drifted back to coffee, cheese, chocolate and all the heavy addictive foods, especially the sugars ahhhhhh!
The last two days have been full of inauguration fever. I am so hopeful for the direction of our country. I hope that this is not all just hype, and that Obama can inspire people into action. My wildest dream is that we are entering a time of intellect, that rationality and wisdom will lead the decisions and trend of the nation. I want to feel positive about this country and people in general, I want to believe that change is possible. It is funny because the kids at school understand the importance of this election, but they are not shocked by it. They are more shocked by the idea that the color of a persons skin would prevent them from being elected, or even running. So I guess that is hopeful.
The last two days have been full of inauguration fever. I am so hopeful for the direction of our country. I hope that this is not all just hype, and that Obama can inspire people into action. My wildest dream is that we are entering a time of intellect, that rationality and wisdom will lead the decisions and trend of the nation. I want to feel positive about this country and people in general, I want to believe that change is possible. It is funny because the kids at school understand the importance of this election, but they are not shocked by it. They are more shocked by the idea that the color of a persons skin would prevent them from being elected, or even running. So I guess that is hopeful.
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