Happy Days are Here Again

I had the chance to go see "LION KING" at Mandalay Bay yesterday with some friends and it was brilliant! We had great seats - about 12th row center stage - could see the details of the costumes and facial expressions. It is definitely something to go see - very inspiring. It made me excited about my upcoming trip to New York - we're planning on seeing "In the Heights" and hopefully I can get in one or two more.

I'm getting waaayyy excited about my upcoming camping trip in Sequoia and Yosemite next week - we're planning on hiking, rafting down the river, biking, maybe some horseback riding (and then again...maybe not), some reading, and definitely some much-anticipated relaxing! Much of the Camp family is going, but there are about 8 of us tag-alongs spread out over 5 campsites. Time to dust off the mosquito repellant!

I've really enjoyed working with the YCLs (youth camp leaders) over the past few months. We're down to a month until girls' camp when I am excited to see what they do. They're an incredible group of girls with so much to offer. It's almost easy working with them (knock on wood, salt over left shoulder...) I can't wait. AND I have the most amazing 2 assistants ever - I couldn't do the half of it without them!!

Well, that's it for now. "Off to the cupboard now, Chip...it's past your bedtime." (Angela Landsbury in Beauty and the Beast...have to do it with the British accent!)

Lousy News...AGAIN

To recap this roller coaster year, in September I lost a colleague to illness. In October, our asst. principal had a terrible stroke and has not recovered enough to work, so I've been doing a portion of his responsibilities and am exhausted from it. In March, a former colleague from my school who'd moved to Colorado committed suicide. Now, this past Sunday, our beloved kindergarten teacher, Mr. G, took his own life as well - 3 weeks before 5th grade graduation of his 1st class of kinders where he was to speak. I was called at 11pm Sunday night by my boss and had to tell a group of teachers I was meeting the next morning at a region all-day meeting. That was difficult. We were called back to the school when it was discovered that many parents and students already knew and the rumors were flying. All 8 of us returned to help at recess and lunch with the devastated students, parents, and staff and to crush the rumors. I also had to translate a meeting for the parents of kids in his classes. What's hard is to see how far-reaching his influence was and how devastated this community is. To say that I'm looking forward to the end of this school year is a huge understatement. The day we're set free, I'm off to Yosemite for a week and BOY DO I NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, hiking again....

Today's adventure took us up Lee Canyon to hike the Bristlecone trail - about 6 miles. Carolyn, Kim, Linda and I headed out for this, our longest, hike so far in preparation for Yosemite.It was a steep hike and the 2 sections of it were very distinct. Three miles took us through rock and bare hills with great views and the last three miles took us into the 'woods' where we encountered a few snow patches still hanging on. For being 100 degrees in town today, we enjoyed cooler weather in the shade, but that sun was certainly strong. But I love the smell of fresh air scented with pine!!

Last night my fam went on an excursion of dinner and a movie together. We saw "Angels and Demons" and thought it was pretty good. I remember having liked the book better than "Davinci Code" and I think I enjoyed this movie better as well. I think it was more tastefully depicting the church than did the first movie. Anyway, it's a thriller that I think all would enjoy.

Home Means Nevada....

Every year, we take our 4th grade classes on a 2-day trip through Nevada, since NV history is in their curriculum. Some things you just have to see to believe out here in the desert! I went with a busload containing 1 class of 25 kids and 3 other teachers. Here's some of what we do:
1. Mojave Springs Refuge - just down the road from Warm Springs outside of Glendale. Here, kids got a tour of the warm springs and endangered fish that exist only in So. NV. They also got to see what a fire can damage (the palm trees were charcoaled!)

2. Cathedral Gorge - just north of Caliente - it's like a planet visited by Star Trek. There's a large area of this type of rock, with caves to explore and enjoy the much cooler temperatures.

3. Ward Charcoal Ovens - 15 minutes before Ely - 6 beehive looking structures from the late 1800s used to make charcoal (stuffing the thing with wood and then smoking it to death inside for days. Tah-dah!
4. We visit a park to run and play and get all of our wiggles out at dusk and wait for the principal to bring McDonalds for dinner. As the sun went down, it suddenly got very cold - I loved it! Then it was off to Motel 6 where we lock the kids in their rooms and threaten their lives if they come out. They were so tuckered that they were counting sheep by 9pm!
5. In the morning we headed to Great Basin Nat'l Park to the Lehman Caves. If you haven't been there, you really should! There are hundreds of acres (many miles) of undergraound caves that have been excavated and it's surely a sight to see. They were discovered in the mid-1800s and are filled with stalagmites, stalactites, draperies, shields, and all sorts of interesting formations. All and all it's a good trip - the 5 hour ride home is long, but doable. It was a great trip again this year.

Chicago - ChInEsE sTyLe

I went to Chicago last Thursday morning to attend a Chinese Education Conference with my co-horts in crime from the middle and high school - we studied Chinese in China 2 summers ago and have been teaching it in our schools ever since. There were 800+ attendees and more than half of them were Chinese. So on the elevators, in the lines, in the halls - I heard more authentic Chinese than I have in almost 2 years and it was COOL! It made me feel good that I understood SOMEWHAT of the conversations or that I could pick out words I thought I knew. I was interviewed for a Chinese newspaper in Virginia about our K-12 program - the only one in Nevada, mind you. I thought we were pretty cool until I learned of hundreds of programs (stronger than ours) throughout America. I was fascinated with the research on China and Chinese and am even more sure that we have got to educate thousands more of our youth to speak the language. One in four people in the world speak Chinese! We Americans have got to get over our narsisistic notion that everyone should speak English. We are one of the only countries who don't value multilingualism and it's a shame. Anyway, I met Governor John Huntsman (Utah) and Mayor Daley (of Chicago)...Ok, OK, I didn't actually shake their hands, but I got to see them speak in person! We did, however, meet the director of a movie, My Beijing Birthday and got to preview the movie. It was very moving and made me miss living in China.

The last night we were there, Denise treated me to a carriage ride around downtown Chicago - it was a chilly but beautiful night. Me, with my bad hearing, couldn't hardly understand the driver as he conversed with us about this building or that statue, but I pretended well and kept cracking Denise up. The streets were fairly empty for being as early as it was.

On Saturday, we had lots of time to kill since the conference ended at noon and we didn't have to be at the airport until 5. The other two hung out at the hotel and I took off down Michigan Avenue, enjoyed my time in Crate and Barrel (my favorite 4 story store there!). I walked all around the downtown area (wishing I had brought my tennis shoes) enjoying the crowds, the fresh air, and the awesome feel of a city like Chicago. We decided it wouldn't be right to go to a Chinese conference without eating any Chinese food, so we enjoyed a late lunch at PF Changs (my type of chinese food!) before joining the throngs of people at the airport. After a bumpy ride home, I enjoyed a nice, quiet, restful Sunday. I love Chicago!!!!!!!!