Living The Good Life

I have always hated going to the dentist. In fact, I go to great extremes and have built up quite the pain tolerance in order to avoid a visit to the dentist office. I think it all began with that unfortunate biking accident I had at the age of 8. I knocked out my front tooth and damaged three other teeth. I had to have a root canal on that front tooth by the age of nine. Now, that is a pretty traumatic procedure for a little kid (especially the root canals of 20 years ago). Then there was the experience my first year of college. First time away from home, I didn't have a roommate, and hadn't really gotten to know anyone in my dorm or classes. What should happen in my complete state of loneliness? One of the teeth that had been damaged in the accident explained above decided it was time to die. The tooth abscessed, my face swelled to the size of a basketball and I was sure that I would never go out in public again. You know it is bad when your father races up to get you, due to...

D and I received a wonderful surprise via the librarian at the InterAmerican Academy in Ecuador this week. Pictures of our new home, school, and city! I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but the reality of the situation greatly eased my mind. No grass huts, no bars on the windows or doors, and no rats scampering across the floor in clear view. The apartment that we will be calling home actually looked pretty similar to apartments across the nation, we will even have a dishwasher! What a luxury... The school campus is beautiful, well kept and modern. The classrooms are what really surprised me. They are so spacious with tons of natural light. It is quite a difference from my current classroom that has low ceilings, limited space, and only one window. The campus also has a couple of athletic fields and a pool. The best part might just be the two main classroom buildings, one is pink and the other is blue. Fancy shmance :) Liz also sent pictures of Guayaquil, Puerto Azul (where...

I only have three more days until spring break freedom! I can hardly wait to have a week where there are no papers to grade, no parent conferences, and no lesson planning. Ahhhhh.....heaven. Not to say that my days will not be filled to the brim. There is so much to do in order to get ready for the big move to Ecuador. So many offices to visit, forms to fill out, and notarizations to get. It is going to be packed but I know that it will make the remaining weeks of school a bit less stressful if I can get some of the nitty gritty stuff off of my plate. I'm all for less stress. I am also hoping the wonderful weather that has hit Boise is here to stay throughout spring break. The last week has been in the 70's each day and due to the amazing weather, not to mention the early daylight savings fiasco, I was able to hit the trails four times. I loved being back on my mountain bike after the long winter season and definitely plan on interspersing mountain bike rides with the E...

"We can leave your friends behind. 'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance Well, they're no friends of mine." While driving home tonight from our weekly venture to the neighborhood coffee shop, Men Without Hats came out of the radio. Mid-conversation with D, I had to turn the song up and start the safety dance, car version of course. Sure, Dave looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care. That's the power of nostalgia. I love the moments when the first couple bars of a song can bring back memories of people, places, and times. I was instantly transported back to the moment when I first heard the song and to the people I was with. I haven't seen some of those people, who I would have sworn I never would have lost touch with, for about ten years. It makes me wonder where they all have gone and what they have done with their lives. What ever happened to Gordo , Gimpy, and Ashliegh ? Amazingly, I have recently reconnected wi...

As a middle school teacher here in Idaho, it is not uncommon for me to wish and hope for the annual snow day. The magical time when the phone rings in the dead of night (a.k.a. 6:00am) and an inspiring voice tells me not to come into work today because the world is covered in snow and ice. I love these days. Sometimes, the hope of a snow day is really what gets me through the long winter months of teaching squirrely eighth graders. Deciding to teach in Ecuador for the next two years, I have realized that I will be giving up the possibility of snow days. What I didn't fully realize is that they might be replaced by Volcano Days. Today, the ever-temperamental volcano Tungurahua, which means "throat of fire" in the Quechua language, began to erupt south of Quito, Ecuador. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the village below the volcano. It really is an amazing sight, you can view video of the eruption at http://news.bbc.co.uk/ . Just another adventure waiting for us!

D and I have been reading up like crazy, trying to prepare for our huge move to Ecuador. I have started to share little fun facts with my students each day about the customs and the food. I have found that the more disgusting the fact, the more the kids love it. Some of their favorite facts: * Guinea pig is considered a delicacy in Ecuador. It dates back to the time of the Inca's and is referred to as cuy. The Ecuadorians call it cuy because of the sound the guinea pig makes when it is roasted. * You never flush your toilet paper down the toilet in Ecuador, you place it in the trash cans next to the toilet. * Hot showers are a rarity, with many showers requiring you to connect the electrical heat wires inside of the shower stall yourself. This gives you about three minutes of hot water along with an electrical shock. * Animals that might be living with you include iguanas, bats, snakes, rats, various bizarre insects, and of course, guinea pigs. * The celebration beverage...