A Teacher's Summer

After surviving TFA Phoenix Institute, you'd think I could sit back and relax. However, in reality I thrived on the constant buzz of lesson plan due dates, OSAT tracker edits, and thinking of my kids constantly. Now I spend this lazy Saturday in bed, as I watch  a year spread out before me. A year full of new students, hundreds of lesson plans, a challenging role as advisor, and the sobering realization that these students cannot succeed without teachers willing to sacrifice everything for them. The year is unfolding before my eyes with hundreds of items on my "to do" list, but where to begin?

In 30 days, I will be teaching 11th and 12th graders English at an Early College/Big Picture High School just north of Denver. The school is a hybrid that supports students in community college classes, while simultaneously preparing them for the real world through the authentic Big Picture model. My staff is incredibly enthusiastic and my principal is one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. Yet, how am I going to stand up in front of a class in a month and teach them about Frankenstein or how to analyze a poem? Passing the English Praxis does not qualify me as a literary expert, yet I need to earn my students' trust and help them to enjoy reading.

It is going to be a challenging year, but I know it is worth it. On a side note, here is a picture of our bedroom in Denver...9 windows!

winter winds

 2011 has arrived with frigid January weather.  Here are a few photos from the end of 2010 and the beginning of this year.  Mumford & Sons and a cup of tea are the perfect accouterments to a cold January day. 

and if your strife strikes at your sleep
remember spring swaps snow for leaves
you'll be happy and wholesome again
when the city clears and sun ascends

pensando en ti

The upcoming Study Abroad photo contest has prompted me to look through my favorite photos I took while in Argentina.  From the expansive city scape of Buenos Aires, to the air of the Calafate glaciers, Argentina is a beautiful country and with an ever changing landscape depending on proximity to the Andes.  Here's a few of my favorites that I want to share, any advice for the photo contest is welcome as well!

Iguazu Falls

Purple flowers in Parque San Martín

Feeling the power of the Falls!

A red-crested cardinal in Buenos Aires.

Cultural Diffusion: Skippy and Obama meets my Chilean Host Family in Argentina.

Glacier walking shoes.

Our rooftop garden room at a hostel in Buenos Aires.

Cacti Greenhouse in the Botanical Garden in Buenos Aires.

Patagonia's namesake mountain.

Reflection of Chalten.

Our hostel in Bariloche: Alaska Youth Hostel.

A great day for a Kayak in Bariloche.

Watching a storm come in across the Seven Lakes District of Bariloche.

The Calafate Glacier.

What awaited us after our glacier hike: whiskey and alfajores.

En route to Chalten.

The Kings of Mendoza.

The Mendoza Andes, Chile is just beyond this mountain.

Santiago sunset.

Viña del Mar.

Political Graffiti in Buenos Aires.

Perspective.

Devendra Banhart Santa Maria da Feira