Too Long

Wow, it's been so long since my last post -- two years -- so much has happened since then that I will try to summarize here:

1. I graduated from the MIT program from Evergreen one year ago after a long gruelling student teachings, master's paper, etc.
2. I just completed my first year of teaching -- yahhh! As first year goes, it was pretty smooth. I was exhausted at points, but near the end of the spring, I felt good about coming back.


I guess that's pretty much it. I am one month and one week into my summer vacation and only have one month left -- which is scary. However, I am now researching my vacation in New Orleans, somewhere I've always loved to go. I will be there one week, then fly to Atlanta to visit a friend, Jen and her husband Wyatt.

I also am accomplishing everything I had set out to do for my summer vacation. I am taking a watercolor class, which has got me started painting on my own time again. Also, I have been hiking a little and writing creatively a little. It has been good. Just got back from Sun Lakes Resort in Eastern Wash., where we went swimming a lot and cliff jumping. Attached is a photo of my brother, Chris, jumping off into deep lake.

What I've been doing to research New Orleans is looking up things to do for cheap. There are tours through certain places but I think that I can do that on my own. Also I am going to visit the Bayou and am trying to locate a local guide that can tell me a lot about things that other tours usually don't. I will see. Otherwise, I am going to do the $23 dollar one. I hope to get pictures of allegators, and other wildlife and capture the beauty of it. I hope to be able to update my blog daily from my youth hostel where I will be staying. Sometimes they have internet access.

I also hope to visit the famous cemetary, French district, plantation houses and of course Jazz clubs. I can't wait to eat the cajun food. I want to see if there are any places that are not known to most tourists.

I also just emailed a church group that is rebuilding many homes in the 9th Ward, which was devistated by Katrina three years ago. I am watching a documentary about this right now and am struck by the scope of devistation -- 100,000 homes destroyed and over 1 million displaced people who haven't been able to come back yet. Of course there was the almost criminal lack of response by both FEMA and Bush, who delayed while vacationing and dancing on stages.

I haven't researched Atlanta yet so I am going to do that.

I hope to volunteer for a day or two to give back to the community there.