Mexico!!

Well, I just found an internet cafe in Guatemala that can read my memory card (I´ve already filled my 1 GB and started on my 2 GB) so they put them on disc for me. Here are a few pictures from my trip so far...

sara & I in chitchen itza - our first ruins and great ones at that!

Local girls in Merida performing traditional dances.

Heidi - a couple of local kids for you. They were asking for pesos and running around the hillside like it was nothing, while we were all out of breath and scared of...

this suspension bridge! It shook a lot, especially when the kids ran across it and around us!

And finally, a kid rowing a ¨boat¨

Farewell

It is a sad, sad day today. Jeff & Kathleen are leaving NYC for Oregon tonight (actually, right about now), and they won't be coming back. We went out for a farewell last night to El Rey del Sol & then the Coffee Shop in Union Square.

I was feeling so grown-up, and not really sure why. And then I realized that it's just because they decided to leave all on their own, no parents moving them across the country or anything. They just left. It sucks to be grown-up. I don't want to do it anymore.

Mexican food, margaritas and great friends are so great!

Goodbyes are sad.

Ohio Family

Ohio was great last week! I was there with my mom, and it was fun to see the family, lay out by the pool and just relax a little.

Mom & Aunt Peg looking for seeds

An old shed that belonged to family. The house stood behind this, where all those trees are now!

Aunt Linda & mom on top of the Indian Mound.

Me, mom, Uncle Phil & Aunt Linda on Shrum Mound.

Brennon, Sara & I at the 4th of July fireworks (on July 3)!

Mom & Aunt Cathy at mom's cocktail night before Reunion.

Brennon & I at Knotty Pine, while spying on mom & Aunt Cathy.

Grandpa!

Educate Me

There have been an avalanche of articles lately about the LAUSD and how it should be run in the future. After trying to get absolute control, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa came to a compromise with the teachers' union. He gets veto power over the superintendent, teachers and principles get more authority in how they teach the material they need to cover, and the LAUSD board would lose most of it's budget power. This LA Times article discusses the deal, and reactions to it, in depth.

I get why some people are pissed about the takeover. It's not being done Democratically (Villaraigosa went straight to the Legislature - no voting by the districts) and it takes all the power away from the board, which they can't be happy about. But when you look at the issues LAUSD is facing, you can't blame Villaraigosa for wanting to try something new. In this wonderful article the LA Times discusses how the exit exam all high-schoolers have to take can be failed, and the student will still graduate!! The entire point of the exit exam is to make sure they're prepared. Passing them anyway WILL NOT HELP THEM!!! If the schools are not preparing students for the test, it won't help to remove the test itself. Maybe we should look at improving the schools. Just a thought.

And finally, I have never heard about this program before today. Apparently there's a program called Educational Options, which is aimed at getting dropouts back into school and through graduation. This article focuses on how it's been mostly ignored by both Villaraigosa and Romer (the superintendent), but how it really is working. An interesting program that could really work if promoted and funded correctly.


I'll leave you with this. In the December Educational Options newsletter there was this fabulous little story:

The Teacher

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided the best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: "Those who can: do. Those who can't: teach." To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like they've just been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best."

"I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence."

"I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home."

"You want to know what I make?"

"I make kids wonder."

"I make them question."

"I make them criticize."

"I make them apologize and mean it."

"I make them write."

"I make them read, read, read."

"I make them spell 'definitely & beautiful' over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again."

"I make them show all their work in math and hide it in their final drafts in English."

"I elevate them to experience music and art and the joy in performance, so their lives are rich, full of kindness and culture, and they take pride in themselves and their accomplishments."

"I make them understand that if you have brains, then follow your heart...and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention."

"You want to know what I make?"

"I make a difference."

"What do you make?"

Contributed by Mark Leos, AP, Fairfax HS, to Educational Options Newsletter.

La Copa de la Vida

That's right, I'm quoting a Ricki Martin song. And that is because it's World Cup time!! I have been completely obsessed and engrossed since June 9 with who is playing, winning and going to the next round. I'm happy to report that Sweden secured a spot in the second round yesterday with a tie against England (go family homeland). And I am currently jumping out of my seat hoping that Mexico gets through. They're down right now, but could still pull it off.

So far I haven't actually taken any days off of work for matches - just gone to bars for lunchtime to see the games! Tomorrow is the US, so my lunchtime will be 11-12 to see the second half. Go US!!

Other than World Cup madness, not much to report. I have a new roommate, Joanna (I'm still trying to get in touch with the one who skipped out on May 31) and she is fabulous. Totally cool and laid-back. Plans for tonight: trivia at Pete's Candy Shop with Joanna. We came in 13th overall last week, but we've got plans for pumping up our trivia knowledge and placing better this week. Basically, the plan is to read the NY Post - which they referred to an unhealthy amount of times last week. That's not real news people. But if it gets us a better spot in trivia night, I'll sacrifice and read it once a week.

MOMA

Last night was the AICP annual party at MOMA. A fun night for everyone to get together and celebrate the commercials that were great throughout the year. The show ran a little long (we didn't get out of there until 10) but it was a fun night. Gay & Sara went with me and we had a blast.

Here we are starting out the night...



and the huge crowd of people from above.




Checking out the art in MOMA...they opened up a couple of floors to explore.



And really, should they have been letting us go look at great art when they had open bars? I think not...

Find Out

There's a search engine (powered by Yahoo!) that is called Good Search. You can choose a charity you like, and each time you do a search through them they give $0.01 to that charity. I know, it sounds like so little. But honestly, I do tons of searches every day for the stupidest things, so even that will add up. So check out their website and see if they can find what you're looking for.

The Modern

Well I had the best graduation celebration last night. Gay took me to The Modern - that nice restaurant at MOMA. 4 hours and 7 courses later (plus petits fours and a special graduation dessert) we were stuffed!

It was great. They brought out a special pistacio chocolate concoction on a plate that had "Congratulations" written on it in chocolate and it was just all wonderful. And can I just say "chocolate tart." I highly recommend it.

We had a table looking out on the sculpture garden and the restaurant itself is fabulous. The best part was that when we sat down Gay knew the man who would be serving us (she apparently goes there enough to know people). Then, another guy came out and she knew him too! He had helped her get the table last minute. She is so connected!

Down Dog

My sister Heidi is giving away the fabulous Mommy & Baby Yoga DVD she produced. That's right. If you see "An Inconvienient Truth" and send the ticket stub to her all you pay is shipping. Sound too good to be true? Well check it out at the Down Dog Productions website. This offer only lasts through May 2006 - so hurry!

And don't you just love the logo!

Tassles

And finally (a week later) here are some pictures from graduation. They let me walk even though my thesis isn't due until August 1 (the fools). And Kathleen went to Washington Square Park with me yesterday to take some nice pictures of me with my hood and the whole outfit. Very fun.

me and the arch in Washington Square Park

Felicia snapping her fingers at me in line

Me in the park (again)

The Three Graduates - Alicia, Alex & I at Grad Alley

Sheetal & I at Lincoln Center for graduation

Art City

In Florida I also spent some time exploring the Art Deco in South Beach. Lots of places to see and great design.

Gators and Sunshine

Well, thanks to work I got to go down to Key Biscayne & Miami, FL last week/weekend. They sent me on a 3-day conference to learn more about my job and how to do it well. That was all nice, but the best part was staying at a beach resort for 3 nights! Of course, that led to me having a little too much fun on the beach after the conference let out Friday. I'm more red than tan, but I still hold out hopes that it will fade to a lovely shade of brown. After the conference I moved into a $20/night dorm bed in South Beach (work stopped paying at that point). It was on a little pedestrian street called Espanola Way with great little shops and restaurants all around.



And only 2 blocks from the beach - which I visited, but only after the sun went down.





I also got to go out to the Everglades - about 45 minutes from South Beach - and see alligators and turtles and other wildlife. We rode in a fan boat and got to watch some Gator Wrestling too!







All in all, a great trip!

Waves of People

I ran into another protest Monday after class. I came down into this massive sea of people coming down Broadway (again) - this time to protest the harsh immigration laws currently being kicked around in Congress. For an article and pictures of what went on in LA check out this article in the LA Times. The photo galleries are amazing, there were so many people. They also have a great article on what political ramifications the protests might have.

Protest City

So there was an anti-war protest on Saturday that I ran into after going to Cuban for breakfast and then shopping all morning with Ann & Isabel. It was cool to see Broadway completely shut down for this mob of people going by.

Dad's in Town!

Well, he's actually flying out today. But we had a great time and some great food (always). We found this little Italian place called Bianca at 5 Bleecker Street. It is amazing! Not expensive at all, a tiny little hole in the wall with fantastic food - everything from mussels to artichoke to lasagna to ricotta cheesecake. Oh, it was great!

That was last night, though. Their first night in town Ditte and I met them at their hotel and we went for dinner at Sasha Bakery, then headed back to the bar on top of the Gansevoort. It was a fun place to hang out.

Dad & I at the hotel bar

Janne & Ditte

In the bay window seat the rooms have - it's right out over the street!

Hanging out upstairs

Funeral Protests

How can people feel like it's right to protest at someone's funeral? Have you heard about this? There is a group - from Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas - that is going to the funerals of soldiers to protest. They say that the soldiers are being killed because America is a nation of sinners and we no longer believe in God and so he is killing our soldiers. What if the soldiers believe in God? Doesn't that earn them the right to live?

The good part of all of this is a group called the Patriot Guard Riders. They go to the funerals of soldiers so that if the protest groups show up they can peacefully and respectfully shield the grieving families from their horrible signs and chants. At least someone in this country understands how horrid these protesters are.

The full story is in the NY Times on April 17 - I don't know how long it will stay up for free. Read it while you can.

Making Eye Babies

That's right - eye babies. Apparently, at Pensacola Christian College if you stare too intently into the eyes of someone of the opposite sex you are "making eye babies." You can even be expelled at Pensacola for doing that. It's also referred to as "optical intercourse."

Ah, the things these unaccredited, lying to new applicants, freakish schools come up with.

If you want to read about more of the bad, bad things that will get you expelled, check out this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Congrats!

My cousin Isabel just got into the college she wanted to go to here in NYC!! Which means she's moving here in August and will be close by always! It's so exciting getting into the college you wanted to go to. It seems like forever ago that I was applying (to 10 schools no less) and visiting all of the schools I wanted to go to.

And now she's looking at the dorms to see which one she'd like the most. Dorms people!! Ah, the days of coming home to your roommate having sex, people pulling fire alarms every single night and drunken frat parties. Can't wait to see how she does!

UN

I've been spending a lot of time up at or near the UN. A few weeks ago I went up to the Turkish Embassy for a discussion on Careers in NGOs. Basically, I need to learn a second language. And since I've tried before (Spanish) and it didn't take (after 4 years) I'm not sure that will happen. But once I'm done with school and my thesis I may take an intensive class - just to give it one more shot.

Then, I went up to the UN for UNA-USA Members Day. It was a long, long day. But it was an interesting panel including Jan Eliasson, President of the General Assembly. When I find my camera cord, I will have pictures from around the UN to put up!

The Graduate

I get to walk across the stage in May & get my diploma! These crazy administrators are letting me participate in graduation even though my thesis isn't due until August. I'm so excited! Cap & gown, fake diploma, tassles, the whole works. And this year we get to do it all in Shea Stadium. That's right, we're going out on the field. Apparently some people are planning to take balls & gloves out and toss a few around after the ceremony, too. I guess the one time you're on the field of Shea Stadium it's kind of mandatory!