Intro to Panama

I arrived in Panama on Monday early evening after a pretty uneventful flight. I want to once again thank my wonderful brother for my 1st class treatment on the way here.  It was a great start to my trip. As I got off the plane, I was hit by the wave of humidity... yes there was rain too. I also decided in that moment that I would be embracing my curls for the next week.

Today was a great day of seeing the whole area of Panama City and surroundings. I saw downtown, Avenue Balboa, the Causeway, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the CANAL and more. Jutty and Bill were great guides and we had lunch at the Miraflores Locks... no ships coming through there, but we did see some going through Pedro Miguel locks as we went up to see their house out of the city. The whole area that used to be occupied by US troops still looks like barracks building, but they are being used for all sorts of interesting things.

Photos to come tomorrow which will be a day to do some shopping. :) It will be so hard to choose a couple of Molas. Tomorrow night I will be staying in Gamboa (rainforest) and then on Thursday taking a tour of the flora and fauna by boat and by aerial tram of the canopy. Friday the plan is for me to take a boat to nearby Isla Taboga (Island of Flowers) for a relaxing day exploring on on the beach.

Halloween

As of yesterday afternoon, I was going to school for today's Halloween celebration dressed as a yoga instructor with my mat and all. But then everything changed. My roommate Claudia and I went to a local costume shop which turned out to be a bit different from what we expected. Everything was folded in plastic bags behind the counter and having no real idea what to ask for we stood around for a bit peering at names on the bags. After a bit, we asked the sales lady what else they might have for adult women besides superheroes which were not school appropriate costumes. After she went to look, we came home with a smurf (los pitufos) for Claudia and a bunny rabbit for me. My other roommate Adam went as a lumberjack with his "axe" and all.

There was a costume parade at school today as well. Some very interesting costumes were there. A group of girls dressed as the 7 dwarfs, but the winners were 3 students dressed as the Yip yips from Sesame Street.

Everyone have a Happy Halloween weekend. Get ready for Dia del Muerte photos next week.

Late addition from last nights party... my roommates (Adam and Claudia) Paul Bunyan and his blue Babe

Back in Mexcio

Back in Mexico.  I arrived yesterday and began the big job of unpacking my room. All my things were in my closet plus the bags I brought with me. My bathroom is in pretty good shape except for needing some drawers and such to help organize it. My bedroom needs a lot of work still including some more furniture to put out stuff on. :)

This morning, Adam (my roommate) and I came to the school and have been here in meetings. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Have lots of work to do so time to jump in.

ISTE11 Top 6

So the last days have been filled with meeting lots of people... some new and some I already knew digitally (via Twitter and blogs), posters, presentations, discussions and the like.

These are my 6 highlights so far:

#6 - Walking around the exhibition hall and seeing presentations from many vendors including Google, Adobe, Livescribe and more.

#5 - Volunteering at an ASK ME station on Sunday afternoon. After I finished I knew my way around this huge Philadelphia Convention Center.

#4 - Attending sessions of all kinds, from ISTE Unplugged, Poster sessions, Google Educators talking about Google Apps for education, international initiatives of ISTE, Music and Tech (great presentation by people I follow on Twitter - lots of good ideas even for non music people), Learning Tools Family Feud (all the stuff was crowdsourced ahead of time - so cool).

#3 - Doing #edchat live from the Newbie Lounge. It was cool to meet the #edchat moderators and be sitting next to people while tweeting them... though also a bit odd. It was nice to throw in some verbal conversation in between tweets too.

#2 - Winning a FLIP by playing Reflex math game with Explorelearning once in the morning and then being in the top 5 at the end of the day to compete... and then win the FLIP. I also won a free 3 month trial of the software to use with my class in the fall.

#1 - Meeting people and having impromtu discussions is the best part of being at ISTE. Continuing the discussions over lunch and dinner.

Knit in Public Week

So from June 11 to 19th is World Wide Knit in Public Week and it just so happened that our group here in Mexico City was meeting last Sunday June 12th. Most of us were crocheting, but we meet at a coffee shop or the like once a month to hang out and knit/crochet. 


Here are a few photos from our outing.

Summer Reading Challenge 2011

So from Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews I was turned on to this BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2011. (Thanks!)  This is a really cool summer book club for adults... kinda like the Scholastic project for kids. There are even prizes and such along the way.

I would love to keep up by reading a book a week, but since they say you can read just 1 or as many as you like, I will do the best I can. My 2 limitations are: as I live in Mexico City and it will not be easy to get all the books unless I decide to break my Kindle budget and time due to end of year writing exams, grading  final projects and grading exams.

Was able to buy week 3: The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop, week 4: Here, Home, Hope by Kaira Rouda and week 9: The D Word by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke books for my Kindle without spending too much. :) Most others are available on the Kindle but at $9.99 or $12.99 each will break my book budget soon. Hoping can get some from the library when I hit the US in a few weeks for summer vaca. Might have to bite the bullet for week 1. Hmmmmmmm.

Anyone want to join me?

Back in the 30 Day Shred saddle

Sorry I have been absent for so long. Had some news to deal with and then a fab visit from my brother. All of which took me away from writing here.

Today I woke up too late to make it to my yoga class, but decided it was time again to let Jillian whip my butt for a while. So I got dressed and did Level 1 30 Day Shred workout this morning. It felt great as I did not feel like I was going to die like the first time I embarked on this workout. All the walking/running on the treadmill (I did make it to week 3 of couch to 5k) and yoga have definitely made me stronger. I am excited to make this 30 day pledge again.

For me I will pledge to either do a Jillian workout or take a 90 minute yoga class every day for the next 29 days. The end of the school year is always a stressful time with exams to write and grade and grades to finish and last teaching to complete and family day and a million other end of year obligations plus apartment hunting (new Mexico City digs) and moving. This is my pledge to take care of myself despite all this and to keep my stress level a bit more under control.

Here I go!!!!

In memory of my mom: Gloria Rochelle Geller

Today was Mother's Day in the US and Mother's Day is May 10th in Mexico. We even get a half day at school so people can celebrate with their families. I find this day a tough combination of joy for friends and cousins who have kids and are moms and sadness for the fact that I do not have my mom. It is a bit easier being in another place since every other commercial on tv is not about Mother's Day, but those email ads still come.

I decided to follow a few people on Facebook that posted a photo of their mom from last week through May 10th. I decided that it was a great idea to honor the woman who I still love dearly though she is no longer here. I am a product of who she was and who her mom was as well.  I lost them both too young, but am lucky to have a number of surrogate moms who are there for me when I need. So, I scanned one of the last photos that I have of her which is a picture from my friend's wedding.

This is a classic photo of my mom. She looked great here and it holds a place of pride on my photo shelf. It has gotten many comment from family and friends. My uncle (mom's brother) thought I was looking more like her till he realized it was her. Each one has made me smile and also made me teary. 

Today, I decided to spend the day on me. I took a yoga class for the 1st time in a few weeks (due to spring break and all) and then met up with my knitting/crocheting (critting) group - also feeling like I was honoring my grandma and mom since they were my teachers, for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful day outside and I felt good about my memories.  This evening, I read a beautiful post by Kami that she titled "My Women" that I just need to share with everyone. It inspired me to write this. Thanks Kami!

STS-134 NASA Tweetup

I was chosen... I think it is finally starting to sink in, that if the launch goes on its predicted date, I will see the space shuttle Endeavor blast off for the very last time.

When I first found out that I was picked, I was not sure what to do. While you are chosen, all the expenses to get to Kennedy are on you. The honor is getting to be with the press at a super close location to see the launch. Now, if you don't know me you would not know that this is something I have dreamed of since STS-1, when Columbia launch on 12 April 1981. I have a scrapbook of news articles about it... ok well it is hiding in my box of stuff in my dad's attic, but that is the whole living out of the country thing. When I called my brother to ask him what I should do, he said to me... "Is this really a question? Duh... you need to go." So I went on to checking on my air miles for a plane ticket and asking a friend with a place in Orlando  if I could stay and setting up a rental car. I filled out my forms to be allowed in and was approved.

Now I know the whole thing could be moved and I may not be able to go at a later date (since this one is during spring break before my visitor arrives), but I am hopefully that the stars will shine on me and all will work out as planned. I am hopeful that though I have been told it could take hours to drive from Orlando, that me being willing to pay for the toll road will help.  The people I have "met" via Twitter and Facebook seem to be very cool. They are planning lots of shared houses and such so it should be a good time.

Think good thoughts that this will be a go.

How I started with the hook...

Ok the quick version of how I started crocheting (and knitting for that matter because I am indeed a critter). My mom and grandma both knit and crocheted. I always remember watching them. Both my parents also did needlepoint and my dad was hooking a rug which sat in our living room for years. I really can’t remember which craft I began first… it might have even been looming pot holders, but I know that I wanted to learn to knit really badly. My grandma decided that I should learn crochet first and taught me by leading me through a granny square. :) I remember the 1st project was in a variegated purple yarn (my favorite color) and I was making a pillow. It took me forever to crochet all 18 squares - 9 for each side and years longer before I finally put them together. I wish I had a photo of it but with all the overseas moving I only have more recent digital ones… maybe there is one hiding in my dad’s attic. I liked when the whole family was crafty together. We had lots of types of projects going on at any given time and every time I pick up my hook (or needles) I have good memories of my grandma and mom.

Since then I have gone through stages with different crafts. I have crocheted many a kippah for my brothers, bags, hats, etc. I am really enjoying the sophistication in today’s crochet patterns. There are all kinds of new challenges to pick up.

Week 3 Challenge - The Wild Hunt for International Crochet Month with @Shibaguyz

As part of the Shibaguyz FAB CAL for International Crochet Month, I have been participating in a challenge each week. You saw last week's post about making March International Crochet Month, well week 3 is a hunt. Each day they will post a clue for that day's task.  As I complete each task, I will update this post each day so you can see what is going on. [Check out their link. They have amazing patterns.]


Enjoy!


For today's task, I needed to crochet a small bit. Of course my biggest challenge is the lack of stash (what we crafty people call all the yarn laying around waiting to be used). I have moved so often of late, that I do not have much. I was lucky enough to have this one skein of Charcoal Lion's Brand Cotton Ease around which should work. I guess I need to buy some yarn. :)

Task #1

Task #2 (The circle grows)

For Task #3 we were taken to the Shibaguyz website and got to "meet" Stephen “Suede” Baum, designer/contestant from Season 5 of Project Runway as well as get our clue. Here is the progress:

Task #3

Looking back at the comments, I realized that I misread the 1st step in Task #3 so I went back and fixed that and then added Task #4. The circle grows:

Since we all want spring to come... it is definitely here in Mexico City as different flowering trees and such start to bloom. I have now finished the WILD HUNT and came up with a very pretty flower. 

Which I decided the hang by the window to enhance the view. I think I will make a bunch more to hang around the apartment.

I have really enjoyed this event not knowing till the end what we would have. Thanks Shibaguyz!!

I declare March International Crochet Month

I have been busy this week (well yes at work) but also... crocheting in Mexico City. I am working hard on my Shibaguyz CAL and making some progress on the back.

A few rows done

I have done a few more rows since the photo, but no new pictures yet. Hope to finish it and start the front this weekend. Work has been busy, but I take a bit of time when I get home to relax and crochet. Of course, I also need to get back to my running as well. I am enjoying the project and the yarn.

In case you wondered what inspired my sudden writing of crochet, March is National Crochet Month in the US and from some of my crafty pals like Knit Purl Gurl I found out about the CAL. I of course did not let the boarder stop me from crocheting with my new friends. Then my hosts the wonderful Shibaguyz had an even better idea... let's make March International Crochet Month and of course since I have lived outside the US for over 5 years now, I am all for it.

So let's hear it: March will now be International Crochet Month!!

Do you know the way home from Santa Fe?

Tonight I ventured out to the Centro Commercial Santa Fe (a big mall) with Adam and Sarah. I was on a mission to buy yarn so I could participate in Shibaguyz Designz FAB CAL (A crochet along) being hosted on Ravelry for National Crochet Month (ok I know I don't live in the US anymore, but that's ok). After deciding on making the Wrap Front Shrug and buying the pattern (I love the whole download the pdf instantly thing.), I was so excited that I ordered yarn online only to realize it would take too long to get here so... I decided to look for some local yarn shops here in Mexico City. I found one called Crochet and one of their shops is relatively nearby in Santa Fe which used to be the city dump and is now built up. So we ventured out this evening and had success all around. I got some really pretty yarn

and Adam got shoes to wear to his brother's wedding in April. Can't wait to get this project started... well now!

Couch-to-5K: Week 2 complete!

So let's be real. I am not a runner! Never have been unless it was part of a soccer game or kickball game or _____ game... well you get the picture.

Yoga has been my game for the last years and I even completed my YogaWorks 200 hour level teacher training this summer in NYC with the best teacher, Jody Rufty and assistants and fellow students. I began my serious yoga training in Zurich with Olive and continued it Curacao with Kirti  who encouraged me to look into the training. It furthered my yoga practice greatly, but I have not found a yoga school nearby in Cuajimalpa, Mexico City yet and we have a gym in the basement of the building.

So.... this led me to the crazy idea of trying to run... again. My asthma (& the bum knee) has always been a sticking point for this and the high altitude does not make it better, but I thought let's give it a try. I had heard about Couch-to-5K from Cool Running from my friend Kami and found out there were all kinds of podcasts to help. Over 9 weeks, it shapes you up from a couch potato to running a 5k.

I had tried for  week months and months ago, but it did not stick. So I again went in search of a podcast to help me in this endeavor and I found Podcasts for Running by Robert Ullrey's which can be found at his website or in iTunes. These combine Robert explaining each week's set with good music and his cues of when to change from walking to running.

Well I have now finished Week 2. It has taken 3 weeks in total for this to happen, but I am doing it. You do each week's workout 3 times (it should only take a week). Week 1 happened with its 60 sec running and 90 sec walking with soreness, but all else well. Week 2 started and then grades were due and I did not get in workouts 2 or 3 so I started Week 2 again and have just finished it. :)  Today's workout was tough and 90 secs of running still feels quite long, but I am ready to move on to Week 3 on Thursday!

Any advice from others? I would love to hear it.

Platinum movie treatment

Since I just saw "The Kings Speech" Friday evening and it won Best Picture yesterday, I definitely need to share my cool experience.

So Adam, Barbara, Sarah and I decided to go to a theater called Cinemex (one of the 2 big local chains) and the movie was playing in the Platino part of the theater at the time we wanted. It was such a great experience. Besides the movie which I did love, the reclining leather seats and a theater with only 42 seats and a bar and lots of other amenities was really great. I have been told, that these exist in the US as well, but here we paid what I would for a normal NYC movie ticket and got the royal treatment. Beer and Cosmos were had along with our popcorn. It was nice to stretch out and have lots of room. WARNING: Danger to falling asleep during the film if you get too comfie.

Has anyone ever gone to a movie like this?

Feria de Chapultepec & Valle de Bravo

Last Friday till Sunday was packed with good times. Friday was Colegios Peterson's Day at Feria de Chapultepec (think Coney Island vs Six Flags). All students, except grades 10 - 12 had no regular classes and their day began at the feria many with their families as well. My day began with physics lab 11. All 10 - 12 as well as some 6-9 students who were at school rode buses around 11:30 over. We had the whole place to ourselves for the day.

The rides were fun though some knocked you around a bit and I, of course, came away with a couple of bruises. The best thing was the Haunted House... really scary fun! I hung out with a number of the teachers and we enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was very sunny so we relaxed in the shade as well. My day at the park ended around 4pm meeting Ken Peterson at the gate along with Adam (see above), Barbara, Sarah and Mary from my campus and Erika from Tlalpan campus for our weekend away to Valle de Bravo. We would be staying at the Peterson's house there.

View Larger Map

We hit traffic as we got closer to the valley so did not arrive till close to 20:00. We had a wonderful dinner and just relaxed and got some sleep.

Saturday, we got a chance to really see the house. After a wonderful breakfast, some went out kayaking (walking down to the lake from the house they have a dock) and some of us walked to a really nearby waterfall

and back up to the house. I then sat in the sunshine reading my latest book "The Hunger Games" which I really enjoyed. The others came back and after more time relaxing, we went out for a longer nature walk by a much larger waterfall; Velo de Novia

which was just stunning and the weather was beautiful. We walked/hiked along the path all the way down to the lake, but the drinks were out of reach in the middle of the lake there so back we went.

Too far without a bathing suit.

We had another wonderful meal with grilled veges and a specially marinated beef all in a tortilla along with salad and a bunch of other little bits. All the food was wonderfully prepared and there was plenty of it.  A bit later, we took a trip into town to browse around a bit and saw some native dancers in the square in front of the church. Back to the house for a light meal and then some of us went out for a night on the town. This being Mexico, at 22:00 we were the first ones in the bar, but it soon filled up with others. We did some relaxing and people watching and hanging out. What a great night!!

Sunday after a wonderful slightly later breakfast (I just love pancakes!!) we headed out to the Art Market in town and I picked up a small basket woven with pine needles and a nice bedside lamp as well as few other little things. We all had fun and helped the local economy out. :) After another great meal of chicken with mole, rice, salad, etc We packed up to head back to the city. We were lucky with the traffic (or lack thereof) and made it back in about 2-1/2 hours.

The whole weekend was filled with wonderful weather, food and most important company.

Ken, Nancy, Mary, Me, Erika, Sarah and Adam

If you want to see more photos: click here!

Superbowl Sunday in Mexico

Yesterday was a fun afternoon spent with 4 others who stayed around for the long weekend. We were hosted at a house with a Canadian feed so we could see the game and the commercials. The afternoon/evening were filled with margaritas, Rachel Ray's Lucky 7 Layer Dip (made by me), pico made by my roommate, chips, empanadas, coleslaw, pulled pork sandwiches (I had peanut butter :) and chocolate chip cookies. Did I mention the margaritas. :)  I also started my Couch to 5k running program in the morning... good work against the calories of the evening.

On the lucky side we had off today for Constitution Day. YAH!!  Though closing in on the end of a grading period (Bimesters - here) and having to write exams (one at the end of each of the 5 Bimesters), I have spent the day working.

Some highlights from earlier in the week:
Work, work and more work, until... Thu and Fri out eve to celebrate birthdays. Thu we went out not too far from where I live and had tacos for dinner. Fri night went into town right after work. The menu at the place was lots of small plates. After lots of food and some drink the whole night only cost about 300 pesos each... less than $30.  So cool!

Hola a la ciudad de México!

Last Sunday (23rd Jan), I arrived in Mexico City after a pretty uneventful early morning flight. Happy to get through passport & customs without any problem as I did not know my complete new address and I had a bunch of luggage. I was picked up at the airport and driven across the city to Cualjimalpa... this place really is HUGE... to my apartment. [Sorry, no photos yet... coming soon.]

I am at the blue dot!

My roommate, Adam, was out watching football so I looked around. The apartment is really nice. Stats: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a quite large living room, dining area and entry hall, kitchen with gas stove and even laundry :) [This makes me happier than you can imagine.] There is also plenty of closet space as well. Outside there is a gate and guard and it is about a 2 minute walk from the school. It is a bit far from the more happening parts of the city, but you can get there with a very cheap bus (5 pesos) or a pretty cheap taxi (150-200 pesos) depending on where exactly you want to go. [In case you were wondering it is about 12 pesos to $1 right now.]

The school director Jutty came over a bit later and I went for some lunch with Jutty and another teacher and her older kids. They had gone to a concert in the afternoon. We had a nice lunch and we went to the Superama (Isn't that a cool name for a supermarket) for some food to start out. Afterwards, I came back and unpacked my bags. I met my roommate later and went to get some sleep since I needed to be at work the next morning... around 07:15. YIKES that is early.

The first day was filled with meeting new people and getting a lot of information about curriculum and my schedule and the like... all preparing me to teach on TUESDAY. And of course Tuesday is my heaviest teaching day of the week so it really was into the fire. The day went well and I met all of my students and classes. It was a long day and I expect it will be just as long tomorrow too. My classes are all good and the other teachers very friendly and nice. I am still not quite as on top of my planning as I like to be, but am trying to be patient with myself. This week is a bit better. I even managed a lab activity with one of my grade 8 classes on Thursday and am fully booked for labs this week.

My 1st weekend here was filled with fun. Another woman who lived downstairs had her father visiting so lots of stuff was planned. Friday night we had some dinner and went out to a place called Garibaldi which is a big square where lots of mariachi music groups come to play. 

We stayed out late enough to need some late night food. Quesadillas and tacos... YUM!! and sooooo cheap. Got home way way way too late, but still managed to get up and meet Vanessa for lunch in town the next day.

Saturday was my day to conquer public transport here... don't think Zurich or even NYC. Buses do have routes, but no real schedules and you can often just hop on or off at any corner or crossroads. They cost 5 pesos for longer distances and 3-4 for shorter. Then there is the Metro which is 3 pesos each ride. I did manage to get on the pink line instead of the brown since they have the same end stop, but I figured it out and only managed to be 30 min late (which is considered on time in Mexico ;) We went for some lunch in a nice neighborhood called Condesa. While sitting out on the sidewalk to eat in the sunshine (Yes it is sunny and in the low 70s during the day, it does get down to the 40s at night... and there is no heat so it is kinda cold.) we had the opportunity to buy handmade soaps and honey and a myriad of other goods. We only got the 1st 2 as after lunch we were headed to an artist market at San Angel. I picked up a cool nightlight for my bathroom and some small baskets as well. After heading back to Vanessa's for a cup of tea she came with me to show me which bus to take home... no it is not the same route as the one there. Got home without any problems and feel much better about my ability to take a bus as long as I have some clue where I am going to. The city is super huge and will take a while to find my way around.

Sunday, I got up early to join Adam, Barbara (the ES principal), Emily and her dad and Tatiana for a day to the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun and the Basilica de Guadelupe. It was another day filled with walking and they are so close to the city.

Pyramid of the Sun (about 65m high)

To see the rest of my photos: click here. At the end of the day, it was time to do some prep work for the week and some grading. Trying to keep on top of that monster from the start.

And that is my first week here in Mexico City. If anyone wants to come by... just let me know. :)

Crossroads

There are times in life when you are at crossroads and need to decide what path to take. It can be difficult to decide so you use lots of different tools. I have used pro vs con lists, yoga and meditations, talking to friends and family. You hope to make the best decision you can, but can never be sure if it is 100% the correct one.

Well I made my decision and will share it with you all soon.