tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29166414628075470602024-02-20T15:24:34.701-08:00Coltan's Amazing AdventuresColtanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-28720416632461607392011-03-17T22:36:00.000-07:002011-05-20T15:50:42.233-07:00This explains so much...Not a diagnosis, but it would answer many questions, and help heal years of teasing.<br />
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I may or may not have many symptoms...<br />
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Dysgraphia<br />
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<br />
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Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write, primarily in terms of handwriting, but perhaps also in terms of coherence.It occurs regardless of the ability to read and<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <b>is not due to intellectual impairment</b></span>. Acquired dysgraphia is known as agraphia.<br />
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People with dysgraphia usually can write on some level, and often lack other fine motor skills and may be cross dominant, <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">finding tasks such as tying shoes difficult</span></b>. It often does not affect all fine motor skills. They can also <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">lack basic grammar and spelling skills</span></b> (for example, having difficulties with the letters p, q, b, and d), <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">and often will write the wrong word when trying to formulate thoughts</span></b> (on paper). <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">In childhood, the disorder generally emerges when the child is first introduced to writing. The child may make inappropriately sized and spaced letters, or write wrong or misspelled words despite thorough instruction</span></b>. Children with the disorder may have other learning disabilities, but they usually have no social or other academic problems. Cases of dysgraphia in adults generally occur after some neurological trauma. Dysgraphia may also be diagnosed in a person with Tourette syndrome, ADHD or an autism spectrum disorder such as Asperger syndrome. The DSM IV identifies dysgraphia as a<b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"Disorder of Written Expression" as "wr-iting skills (that) ...are substantially below those expected given the person's ...age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education."</span></b><br />
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Types of dysgraphia<br />
Three principal subtypes of dysgraphia are recognized. Some children may have a combination of two or all three of these, and individual symptoms may vary in presentation from what is described here.<br />
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Dyslexic dysgraphia<br />
With dyslexic dysgraphia, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>spontaneously written work is illegible</b>,<b> copied work is fairly good, and spelling is bad. Finger tapping speed (a method for identifying fine motor problems) is normal, indicating the deficit does not likely stem from cerebellar damage. A dyslexic dysgraphic does not necessarily have dyslexia.</b></span> (Dyslexia and dysgraphia appear to be unrelated but are often found together.)<br />
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Motor dysgraphia<br />
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Motor dysgraphia is due to deficient fine motor skills, poor dexterity, poor muscle tone, or unspecified motor clumsiness. Motor dysgraphia may be part of the larger problem of motor apraxia. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Generally, written work is poor to illegible,</span></b> even if copied by sight from another document.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <b>Letter formation may be acceptable in very short samples of writing, but this requires extreme effort and an unreasonable amount of time to accomplish</b>,</span> and cannot be sustained for a significant length of time. Writing long passages is extremely painful and cannot be sustained.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <b>Letter shape and size becomes increasingly inconsistent and illegible</b>.</span> Writing is often slanted due to holding a pen or pencil incorrectly. Spelling skills are not impaired. Finger tapping speed results are below normal.<br />
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Spatial dysgraphia<br />
A person with dysgraphia due to a <b>d<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">efect in the understanding of space has illegible spontaneously written work, illegible copied work, but normal spelling and normal tapping speed.</span></b><br />
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Symptoms of dysgraphia<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">A mixture of upper/lower case letters, irregular letter sizes and shapes, unfinished letters, struggle to use writing as a communications tool,</span></b> odd writing grip, <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">many spelling mistakes</span></b> (sometimes),<b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">pain when writing, decreased or increased speed of writing and copying, talks to self while writing, muscle spasms in the arm</span></b> and shoulder (sometimes in the rest of the body), inability to flex (sometimes move) the arm (creating an L-like shape), and <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">general illegibility.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Many people who are dysgraphic experience pain while writing. The pain usually starts in the center of the forearm</span></b> and then spreads along the nervous system to the entire body. This pain can get worse or even appear <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>when a dysgraphic is stressed.</b> </span>Few people who do not have dysgraphia know about this, because many with dysgraphia will not mention it to anyone. There are a few reasons why pain while writing is rarely mentioned:<br />
§ Sufferers do not know that it is unusual to experience this type of pain with writing.<br />
§ If they know that it is different from how others experience writing, they feel that few will believe them.<br />
§ Those who do not believe that the pain while writing is real will often not understand it. It will usually be attributed to muscle ache or cramping, and it will often be considered only a minor inconvenience.<br />
§ For some people with dysgraphia, they no longer write, and just type everything, so they no longer feel this pain.<br />
Dysgraphics who experience this pain may exhibit reluctance or refusal to complete writing tasks.<br />
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Common problems that are often associated with dysgraphia<br />
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Stress<br />
There are some common problems not related to dysgraphia but often associated with dysgraphia, the most common of which is stress. Often children (and adults) with dysgraphia will become extremely frustrated with the task of writing (and spelling); younger children may cry, pout, or refuse to complete written assignments. This frustration can cause the child (or adult) a great deal of stress and can lead to stress-related illnesses. This can be a result of any symptom of dysgraphia.<br />
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Treatment<br />
Treatment for dysgraphia varies and may include treatment for motor disorders to help control writing movements. Educational therapy, especially neuro-sensory educational therapy, can be effective as it helps to develop proprioception. Other treatments may address impaired memory or other neurological problems. Some physicians recommend that individuals with dysgraphia use computers to avoid the problems of handwriting.<br />
Occupational therapy could be considered to strengthen muscle tone, improve dexterity, and evaluate eye–hand coordination. Dysgraphic children should also be evaluated for ambidexterity, which can delay fine motor skills in early childhood. Diagnosing dysgraphia can be challenging but can be done at facilities specializing in learning disabilities.<br />
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</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-11798545875718468482011-03-13T19:24:00.000-07:002011-03-13T19:33:11.092-07:00Our first vacation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As volunteers we get to go on 2 weeks worth of vacations. Here in Mexico they split that into 3 vacations. Two 4 day weekends and 1 full week plus Saturday and Sunday on each end. This was our first one. We went to Porto Escondido, saw the largest tree trunk in the world "Tule," Saw crocodiles, went body boarding, went snorkeling Huatulco, saw the ruins Monte Alban and saw a beautiful little mountain town.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the way there, I, along with a few of my fellow motion-sick-susceptible counterparts got sick. It was literally the most windy road I have ever been on. When the bus arrived there were 12 seats and 12 of us. This little thing looked like a clown car when we all piled out. Small and cramped with all of our stuff we made the journey. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like I said, I got sick. I had taken a Dramamine but it was a "less-drowsy" formula and at my level of getting sick that is like saying "Oh don't worry, you will only throw up and want to kill yourself half the time..." Luckily I didn't actually blow chunks but once I started to get sick I let the driver know and we pulled over. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Knowing that there had to be others that were sick I decided to ask him to pull over sooner than later. When we pulled over a few others said "thanks Coltan, I am not feeling well either." I gave them a green nod as I stumbled out of the bus. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After a few hours we pulled over again because more of us were sick...including the driver! He got out and was spewing next to the van. From that moment on I decided that I would be the Dramamine patrol and make sure we have some on hand and that all that may think they could possibly get sick take it. We made it to our first destination and enjoyed our time there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the way back we all bought drugs and for the 12 hour trip, I took 2 FULL DOSE Dramamine every 4 hours. Let's just say that the trip went by very quickly, even though I didn't sleep. It was a very relaxing return trip...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is me before we left. I was changing and one of the girls caught me trying to make a new fashion statement. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1HchrGXR7R6BZjQoYJNEbx6G8AGhZp_7ee5EtYyXkCNvqF0ooHeYfGZQSTe7_OBF3gDfn43gnOzQvZhfu7ZJfinoI7vuReHA0F69osmLAOhSIhZaZkdDrd7oCk7BmG1tczt_YGy0IUnh/s1600/Stylin%2527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1HchrGXR7R6BZjQoYJNEbx6G8AGhZp_7ee5EtYyXkCNvqF0ooHeYfGZQSTe7_OBF3gDfn43gnOzQvZhfu7ZJfinoI7vuReHA0F69osmLAOhSIhZaZkdDrd7oCk7BmG1tczt_YGy0IUnh/s320/Stylin%2527.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our oh-so-spacious van. after a short time I sat in the back right of this picture and was in the back row for most of the trip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhq1olQSsrK37xHsZHrqXHNoFSspamp-9wwX3j3MfbNFdiZfQhpZxmVz620remZj1ArtcOMKF6ygx8MZ7-KEMn878MazZBPvU9v_xgcXkzQWSxBWxRLUMbROnj5bwFImSdl5X0TsFkC50-/s1600/The+cramped+bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhq1olQSsrK37xHsZHrqXHNoFSspamp-9wwX3j3MfbNFdiZfQhpZxmVz620remZj1ArtcOMKF6ygx8MZ7-KEMn878MazZBPvU9v_xgcXkzQWSxBWxRLUMbROnj5bwFImSdl5X0TsFkC50-/s320/The+cramped+bus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That is the outside...doesn't seem to fit 12 passengers and two drivers does it...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRhhV1swZgYOTcjHbQ7ZglwbhCDs1-_nEKha5rSHfGcT1BjpYm-sXY-ZmMkh0EKCF1H4W5iiRn6n_Vauj45uIgcnk5Q0pTQ6gnqAV5tRM-zV3e_A6ObJq9HZSkAmMGOblP67WTthb-rQC/s1600/DSC03078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRhhV1swZgYOTcjHbQ7ZglwbhCDs1-_nEKha5rSHfGcT1BjpYm-sXY-ZmMkh0EKCF1H4W5iiRn6n_Vauj45uIgcnk5Q0pTQ6gnqAV5tRM-zV3e_A6ObJq9HZSkAmMGOblP67WTthb-rQC/s320/DSC03078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was our first stop. When we were finished there were a couple of pedlers trying to sell us stuff cause we are white. You see, because we are white, everyone assumes we are from the states, and if we are from the states, we have lots of money... apparently they haven't seen my bank account...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There was this girl trying to sell Carson (the ONLY OTHER boy in the group) a necklace. He was kinda a sucker the first few trips we went on and spent lots of his money on souvenirs so he was trying not to spend too much. He also really is into learning Spanish and takes any opportunity he can to speak. This sometimes gives the wrong impression to the peddlers. This girl was trying to sell it to him and he was trying to tell her no...but I was encouraging her telling her that she should ask him to give it to his girlfriend. She suggested it. Then I said, actually no, he can't. You see, he can't convince any girls to like him, they all run. This was all while he was trying to say no and talk to her. I was more or less standing to the side telling her all this and she was trying to pay attention to us both but more on him cause she may get a sale out of him. She was laughing so hard but diligently trying to convince him to buy the necklace...well, after lots of laughs, much confusion, and random words placed into this girls ear by me, he bought the necklace...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5w9GQ7mhJbggJalz0dYgTMhxLwj-IkHLcsX5LFOu_A6LVRruMDlBwuWNra15onKrbWGUKY0PC9DvrggMPDOIi97up6hi47I8Tptb_8k6XzATLa9z2TVwb0gkypP6IPVoaTbaPu8qycGx/s1600/DSC03010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5w9GQ7mhJbggJalz0dYgTMhxLwj-IkHLcsX5LFOu_A6LVRruMDlBwuWNra15onKrbWGUKY0PC9DvrggMPDOIi97up6hi47I8Tptb_8k6XzATLa9z2TVwb0gkypP6IPVoaTbaPu8qycGx/s320/DSC03010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is us at one of the ruins in Monte Albán. They told us to strike a pose...not sure what I chose...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQQGpQ-km4l1hvoEtLQSqwZXv-JC1OwKCvcIIxKGgR1mk5wkbnSf_URfiYTHQkMNdoJhcLR7UiaHQ_LhaqTbyDjm08eGXBKruXAI7l-hjpUqK5sHeF3kQ9xM8EIJn2NJvvg6y1LgIWTgP/s1600/Monte+Alban.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQQGpQ-km4l1hvoEtLQSqwZXv-JC1OwKCvcIIxKGgR1mk5wkbnSf_URfiYTHQkMNdoJhcLR7UiaHQ_LhaqTbyDjm08eGXBKruXAI7l-hjpUqK5sHeF3kQ9xM8EIJn2NJvvg6y1LgIWTgP/s320/Monte+Alban.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sara and me! She is awesome! If you are wondering, yes, in this picture I have started to lose weight...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdirnk52lkUr8K-43lRq3ACKgF4dAu6EZsvHv_mYBOGTvpWdmBGc2izrwdJ1-Y6qlG2pwqBBpfZHm8MSgwXx68G-CW7gcAZqMevQNggPbFGYIxqvig_T0XZ1W4pvLldPqduSHaSJn6Vm5/s1600/Sara+and+me+at+Monte+Alban.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdirnk52lkUr8K-43lRq3ACKgF4dAu6EZsvHv_mYBOGTvpWdmBGc2izrwdJ1-Y6qlG2pwqBBpfZHm8MSgwXx68G-CW7gcAZqMevQNggPbFGYIxqvig_T0XZ1W4pvLldPqduSHaSJn6Vm5/s320/Sara+and+me+at+Monte+Alban.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cut out the girls and zoom in on me...this could be on the cover of Mexican ruins magazine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vWoZcl8tNNjAzMQgJlLLyfgUlBuJuU3WXN-0rludn9up0zrlc8AGYTsQdcNUdwVV3RTjADIaX_2IX9dsVncD0XZ8mUB1NAFoIzcEJ05z1hNKk-SuauIHUb4XG32pFcoUh_MXpzVjFlL5/s1600/DSC03027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vWoZcl8tNNjAzMQgJlLLyfgUlBuJuU3WXN-0rludn9up0zrlc8AGYTsQdcNUdwVV3RTjADIaX_2IX9dsVncD0XZ8mUB1NAFoIzcEJ05z1hNKk-SuauIHUb4XG32pFcoUh_MXpzVjFlL5/s320/DSC03027.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In front of the majority of the ruins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwIafXLai3k3zFWHIzLFdFD2HCt1fmzl16yVD5pwmAufZ02wMrly-VONTcD09_Ua0CIxsMod6t-0Qks75JNUfzRrxDAIld0cGzzCEP6PyX0PnVS9gwiGJg1NpfFW_dSYBzRA0Go2seO2F/s1600/DSC03034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwIafXLai3k3zFWHIzLFdFD2HCt1fmzl16yVD5pwmAufZ02wMrly-VONTcD09_Ua0CIxsMod6t-0Qks75JNUfzRrxDAIld0cGzzCEP6PyX0PnVS9gwiGJg1NpfFW_dSYBzRA0Go2seO2F/s320/DSC03034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yet another encounter with people trying to suck a dry cow for milk...not sure if I said that right but...you get the idea.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLKntGOVARW0BgaeoxfrosIBoaxNeeXUGyah0DlCw1KMh5iaQzeAp0l_HcBRs-dAmOkII6WXYYVgJBuBg7U-xEBfW5W9XzKosqegGgZYxbOWNQ5GsASaDQmfQtfj3fDe63j12ayEEInn5/s1600/Where+the+crazy+women+tried+to+sell+us+stuff+cause+we+are+white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLKntGOVARW0BgaeoxfrosIBoaxNeeXUGyah0DlCw1KMh5iaQzeAp0l_HcBRs-dAmOkII6WXYYVgJBuBg7U-xEBfW5W9XzKosqegGgZYxbOWNQ5GsASaDQmfQtfj3fDe63j12ayEEInn5/s320/Where+the+crazy+women+tried+to+sell+us+stuff+cause+we+are+white.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">A whole bunch of people came passing by trying to sell us stuff. Some of the girls gave into the persistence, which only made things worse. One older lady came over and was trying to get us to buy her dumb little fruit picks. I got tired of it and finally told her that we all either college or high school students with no money, here as volunteers teaching. "We have no money!" I told her. This was her reply: "No, I know that you are lying. You are from the United States right?" I replied "Yes." "That means you have lots of money, come on now, don't be cheap. Share with us that are less fortunate than you. I know you have money." I laughed and said "oh really?" "Yes." she said. I told her that she would probably have more success with other mexicans because we weren't going to give her anything. she didn't like that, and she left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Well, the story goes on. A little girl was trying to swindle us for a good hour. By the end we were just having fun with her as she tried and tried to get us to buy more and more. At one point, there were 2 other white people that came and sat across from us. I told her "Hey, listen. We are pretty much out of money, but look over there! There are 2 more white people. I bet they have money!" She left and tried to get them to buy, but then they didn't and she came back and bothered us for another 20 or so min. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">During that time, she started asking us for our cookies that were brought to eat with our lunch. one of the girls offered her one, she said "No, the whole package!" I said "Come now, that is our lunch." She said something along the lines of I don't care. I then offered to take her to get some food. She asked for ice cream. Then I stared to think and I said "Hey! you just took a whole bunch of our money over the course of about 2 hours. Why can't you go buy your own food? And better yet, where is your mom?" she just laughed and then left with her little brother. She was about 8. </div><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">White people -300 pesos</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Little Mexican girl=mission accomplished.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is Tule. He has the biggest trunk in the world. It has a circumference of 119 feet. It's big, real big.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekGVwTmm743x4T4ejjuoNfPIECF8g3hpvnqtykdfdgwuXWmiypE8pehVbI8KPPVlrANup3ZZAYpfxHujkz2daeblrPuDUJNnMc-QLurNw3M1DYYp2W-dQoN_p2ta4xl3F1Iy2r6JslXlG/s1600/The+biggest+tree+in+the+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekGVwTmm743x4T4ejjuoNfPIECF8g3hpvnqtykdfdgwuXWmiypE8pehVbI8KPPVlrANup3ZZAYpfxHujkz2daeblrPuDUJNnMc-QLurNw3M1DYYp2W-dQoN_p2ta4xl3F1Iy2r6JslXlG/s320/The+biggest+tree+in+the+world.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was outside of the area where the tree is. I thought it was nice...?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Uf7uDuGmAsarhghhf1RHdgCB9fxoDkYMrIjmVIN8MlN6H8eFtDIMo0Vq11EnAvv2_sY0i5ydcjkKqZRFCZNWeEs54QhvmWVjsMrh-fKzvVRJftkM4EM5E3pk3hB3HrxKE3G6dlfJOpEP/s1600/DSC03038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Uf7uDuGmAsarhghhf1RHdgCB9fxoDkYMrIjmVIN8MlN6H8eFtDIMo0Vq11EnAvv2_sY0i5ydcjkKqZRFCZNWeEs54QhvmWVjsMrh-fKzvVRJftkM4EM5E3pk3hB3HrxKE3G6dlfJOpEP/s320/DSC03038.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our first night we stayed in the van and "slept." This was the site we saw when we arrived at Porto Escondido.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh40tmobGyjfjrEBaWJp2PvpNp3Foq6h8prgHeLprGLkPwl6xXuwx2fuYTye9IluvQlk5zrVDdVbuX7fbt5VE2LzurZQjrGPnxAALySKvdFp6_4zLlyz-Wd262kgqdvfAeYgeAeXDQJl4G/s1600/DSC03058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh40tmobGyjfjrEBaWJp2PvpNp3Foq6h8prgHeLprGLkPwl6xXuwx2fuYTye9IluvQlk5zrVDdVbuX7fbt5VE2LzurZQjrGPnxAALySKvdFp6_4zLlyz-Wd262kgqdvfAeYgeAeXDQJl4G/s320/DSC03058.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The few that were awake when we arrived. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Dt2MQ2PT5ggdVQJX4WEVHZOZQ4PLPCWmTfZs6Or4_TrV20kxXy909KJbWeSqcgtPSfCUSPK_VsrqDXZjVprH4nFvBQRMUEn3LoP94lIwZnXO1UtUVgQdfsUZRysdriPqLKvVSMh47LUQ/s1600/DSC03060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Dt2MQ2PT5ggdVQJX4WEVHZOZQ4PLPCWmTfZs6Or4_TrV20kxXy909KJbWeSqcgtPSfCUSPK_VsrqDXZjVprH4nFvBQRMUEn3LoP94lIwZnXO1UtUVgQdfsUZRysdriPqLKvVSMh47LUQ/s320/DSC03060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Were were Boogie boarding all day, it was so much fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgc1Sob196W0XXnViLTVlA1n0VMQ1yAHeV0Cv4m0GRhrL9wkB-gTN1TqWbk9BSBtP_MwZPk60s4qxXuj5DIR1ol-YVpTgVqcOWQpnu0j0tRgJHiDEuaMH-LYN4FGBCYnWl8SvQc27fzQ6b/s1600/Porto+escondido+body+surfers%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgc1Sob196W0XXnViLTVlA1n0VMQ1yAHeV0Cv4m0GRhrL9wkB-gTN1TqWbk9BSBtP_MwZPk60s4qxXuj5DIR1ol-YVpTgVqcOWQpnu0j0tRgJHiDEuaMH-LYN4FGBCYnWl8SvQc27fzQ6b/s320/Porto+escondido+body+surfers%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh don't worry. EVERYONE got burned here. Let's just say that for the next trip we will be sure to bring lots of sun block.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHuppXWm7RHdBi6PPFimw4Tj5nOijaw9H3oYHaVRDqEQJ_AJx_Qzpszfxjlksujxx86JgZxCvN7Ynev3rE0Z8QwtTrs6UKHeNAisAF_Fps4u4kiSLI-eXFVwvHtRDezr0_qS84l9xgE5s/s1600/DSC03064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHuppXWm7RHdBi6PPFimw4Tj5nOijaw9H3oYHaVRDqEQJ_AJx_Qzpszfxjlksujxx86JgZxCvN7Ynev3rE0Z8QwtTrs6UKHeNAisAF_Fps4u4kiSLI-eXFVwvHtRDezr0_qS84l9xgE5s/s320/DSC03064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oaxaca is known for its chocolate and Mole. It was divine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMk6mIYGm2936afWea9pQQe7IBfUGGIG0Jdcr1-YRuqp9aBM2Z63DXSedSCpMuroALBrNToCuJDt3fss4bh-KF3m15IFpAh_VDkiqxccr_xBO45S-PAsQ8eVpmdeOgLAAj8D88pueoMs3-/s1600/DSC03048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMk6mIYGm2936afWea9pQQe7IBfUGGIG0Jdcr1-YRuqp9aBM2Z63DXSedSCpMuroALBrNToCuJDt3fss4bh-KF3m15IFpAh_VDkiqxccr_xBO45S-PAsQ8eVpmdeOgLAAj8D88pueoMs3-/s320/DSC03048.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We also ate Tlayudas. It is like a giant tostada...for those of you that know what a tostada is...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECN9fkUcXgg161FvTa4-jTr8wQP073D0umrxXZ_UBNFGx4fDY1fpGGSeL_JA23bmCLeyP0_-D97UYTJ-2UESKlgVcQ8wy4rqDQQu1d9IDbJbiIZeE2GEqV653Mexr_1bkWVrDxQZHLfiv/s1600/Oaxaca+eating+tlayudas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECN9fkUcXgg161FvTa4-jTr8wQP073D0umrxXZ_UBNFGx4fDY1fpGGSeL_JA23bmCLeyP0_-D97UYTJ-2UESKlgVcQ8wy4rqDQQu1d9IDbJbiIZeE2GEqV653Mexr_1bkWVrDxQZHLfiv/s320/Oaxaca+eating+tlayudas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These were our waitresses. The one in green was my favorite...and her name is Sophie!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2VVmkv2omV6sqp0Etqi7Iu-hfyGMm27AD59krpuTj1oAGbOCrWLMw0vAhlAR5sF_QKQcFb5-7o8mfMUiyHsJYuvrMKd4oxqcGkNwX2QbLF83dXCND3R6cCux3VlY_DcerQXphLPyaZBU/s1600/DSC03050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2VVmkv2omV6sqp0Etqi7Iu-hfyGMm27AD59krpuTj1oAGbOCrWLMw0vAhlAR5sF_QKQcFb5-7o8mfMUiyHsJYuvrMKd4oxqcGkNwX2QbLF83dXCND3R6cCux3VlY_DcerQXphLPyaZBU/s320/DSC03050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can't remember where this cathedral was but I remember it was really pretty. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhdefyZpwX8ctXzPgdAJllaC-bYHO3zUgp71CcH7atslTtU6lyJ2yuPa2EOvyUKNOIH7XLA9M6ILg56xiOWL8999v9ehy1lwMbw_PRsBfVO55aJwINDCmmkHZUIiwB7L4z-dYu5G0XUY2/s1600/DSC03039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhdefyZpwX8ctXzPgdAJllaC-bYHO3zUgp71CcH7atslTtU6lyJ2yuPa2EOvyUKNOIH7XLA9M6ILg56xiOWL8999v9ehy1lwMbw_PRsBfVO55aJwINDCmmkHZUIiwB7L4z-dYu5G0XUY2/s320/DSC03039.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some of the stained glass we saw inside. Can you find Peter??</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q2FF_5wlBXoaJh2iiyDaw0-iiAwUCQJNqWSsaaX1cAV9sXjFpLubqBV4yPpHO7FVw21VwVtXMjpsDjiYda9Jh05lV8FTFk6LEm6p0mMFbjWkC2HFRdE1i9hETX1NxjHYjGTiHXKL6Dcp/s1600/DSC03044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q2FF_5wlBXoaJh2iiyDaw0-iiAwUCQJNqWSsaaX1cAV9sXjFpLubqBV4yPpHO7FVw21VwVtXMjpsDjiYda9Jh05lV8FTFk6LEm6p0mMFbjWkC2HFRdE1i9hETX1NxjHYjGTiHXKL6Dcp/s320/DSC03044.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdKLe6-pUngynBcZRft8p6hwMrFQuNPxIo_3AUjS0MqYtv1MSYMtsLhyh1TeGl-SnugsN0qWqOBqWsCNlYqVxGO4q8EH66TcEkrq2nzHdwTykRq5QEVbVlXXN2ASMWKV-yv1i3JMwdl9i/s1600/DSC03041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdKLe6-pUngynBcZRft8p6hwMrFQuNPxIo_3AUjS0MqYtv1MSYMtsLhyh1TeGl-SnugsN0qWqOBqWsCNlYqVxGO4q8EH66TcEkrq2nzHdwTykRq5QEVbVlXXN2ASMWKV-yv1i3JMwdl9i/s320/DSC03041.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On our way back to the van in Oaxaca we saw these guys! I always wanted to see a real luchador!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EIECKI5gQqLP2Svr_hVLFEmFxkfL8mlzRfGI9pEyaXERMwJc1-iTpFZ7yuptLDFH7KV8nE1_h-YPxLHA65HMGZc0RFWQOfAKt4otjVS7UODPZFelahhAhGOoddEu_QwBWmq6jHLQ7lGS/s1600/DSC03056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EIECKI5gQqLP2Svr_hVLFEmFxkfL8mlzRfGI9pEyaXERMwJc1-iTpFZ7yuptLDFH7KV8nE1_h-YPxLHA65HMGZc0RFWQOfAKt4otjVS7UODPZFelahhAhGOoddEu_QwBWmq6jHLQ7lGS/s320/DSC03056.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We got to this little place on our way to Huatulco. It was one of the main highlights of this trip for me. They took us out on little boats and we got to see birds and crocodiles!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9w1FEIvyu16sMNaZYhOjFqUrhfXwF4VxQkfEx7_8KpydWGmD-DfHVLfAtydF1zKB392tN8epeTE7RDFMSvvGNW6JCvparh-fJXfqttBzrLDucPjJtI45u3z1E_0DxDqnQgOlLQY5ssq9/s1600/Poro+escondido+croc+place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9w1FEIvyu16sMNaZYhOjFqUrhfXwF4VxQkfEx7_8KpydWGmD-DfHVLfAtydF1zKB392tN8epeTE7RDFMSvvGNW6JCvparh-fJXfqttBzrLDucPjJtI45u3z1E_0DxDqnQgOlLQY5ssq9/s320/Poro+escondido+croc+place.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Adri and I getting ready for our visit to the crocs. I bought this hat because my face was burned...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4U6yanWklG8szf7O42wzJt003EJOQDLE8FIERZc99O3dKCYmVpMnxOVekWH22deqEsqe1-3iHzlEsywdKc4KGCyiis07dtEmF3v8KTPXFoz0t5H93aSIS51-4mPUUXmPHMXBqwCQqclED/s1600/after+the+crocs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4U6yanWklG8szf7O42wzJt003EJOQDLE8FIERZc99O3dKCYmVpMnxOVekWH22deqEsqe1-3iHzlEsywdKc4KGCyiis07dtEmF3v8KTPXFoz0t5H93aSIS51-4mPUUXmPHMXBqwCQqclED/s320/after+the+crocs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chasin' crocodiles</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3rxWbUkUtkLeDOk6daEPccJ2t4YVOh8XCtiKr6MmR_bk_vmtUg0y_jAH2ioZ7t2UHcWnZVal4DyT0zlf3kIt8NLz_F_8rX6DFrzL3nl-dMYA0dE5Pj6ajRU-fao9HROfDS0IjY-CAzTm/s1600/chasin%2527+crocs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3rxWbUkUtkLeDOk6daEPccJ2t4YVOh8XCtiKr6MmR_bk_vmtUg0y_jAH2ioZ7t2UHcWnZVal4DyT0zlf3kIt8NLz_F_8rX6DFrzL3nl-dMYA0dE5Pj6ajRU-fao9HROfDS0IjY-CAzTm/s320/chasin%2527+crocs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you look hard you can see the Croc!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyDzAHy7xp3ND37RA2x8y93YjnGWQelPDy0S4m1G97dB2Sz1YGpKl7vm2VTag7l0JWGDB4kTAEMOdw4K9iYSTZ5rbm-GrkTBW3aDa-RkAsl8FcuSKVlAVMouKTdovRewVV7yZJVpSZFbN/s1600/DSC03093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyDzAHy7xp3ND37RA2x8y93YjnGWQelPDy0S4m1G97dB2Sz1YGpKl7vm2VTag7l0JWGDB4kTAEMOdw4K9iYSTZ5rbm-GrkTBW3aDa-RkAsl8FcuSKVlAVMouKTdovRewVV7yZJVpSZFbN/s320/DSC03093.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
"Okay, this ends the tour. If you would like to get back on the boat, you need to pay me again..." Our tour guide was the best we have had so far. He was crackin' jokes all over the place. The best part about it was how a few of us would laugh, translate the joke, then the rest would laugh..."don't be left behind, ATT, the nations fastest global network is getting faster with 4G..."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBAj6WnvzAqXzxZ3G2VmXxZcVe5h8-n9vpnHqmCla9oGu4d18DTPFZKBu2OkbHP6Iqj0_IL3DexYXxhlGlkXQHpfdCxAU9jUMK8xy6kFzSlWSuFPPGt9qPRWbrHxRLE16RZFjR5ogFZI7/s1600/DSC03103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBAj6WnvzAqXzxZ3G2VmXxZcVe5h8-n9vpnHqmCla9oGu4d18DTPFZKBu2OkbHP6Iqj0_IL3DexYXxhlGlkXQHpfdCxAU9jUMK8xy6kFzSlWSuFPPGt9qPRWbrHxRLE16RZFjR5ogFZI7/s320/DSC03103.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the boat ride with our tour guide in the middle. We gave him a pretty good tip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRtRgQemWzAiYi4mcudxDuzaE9lpZXLXurVQtitg2krhjvQwcU5IVeoFxTzSTX5OU-YruzjCH3dx3VCISBoMIjr0-6ucfLs_2bnTayGuJKBuQuOMIPcLs2LNSR4jsgaeSSU-Om6nw4Bx7/s1600/DSC03106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRtRgQemWzAiYi4mcudxDuzaE9lpZXLXurVQtitg2krhjvQwcU5IVeoFxTzSTX5OU-YruzjCH3dx3VCISBoMIjr0-6ucfLs_2bnTayGuJKBuQuOMIPcLs2LNSR4jsgaeSSU-Om6nw4Bx7/s320/DSC03106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Katie and I on the way back to the van.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tR4UP0KgrxW2ByoUNyNdkNjKr9D2nEVyMNDrwCQ1u6a3CG8zPD15pu3_DowdDH6wjkSAkqza_DZd6r5i8YPDrVSAqU2yRP-0rg7sc5RMEkNYtzMygNGj84zkOJ8Eogv8dIFDBlvjKyqH/s1600/DSC03116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tR4UP0KgrxW2ByoUNyNdkNjKr9D2nEVyMNDrwCQ1u6a3CG8zPD15pu3_DowdDH6wjkSAkqza_DZd6r5i8YPDrVSAqU2yRP-0rg7sc5RMEkNYtzMygNGj84zkOJ8Eogv8dIFDBlvjKyqH/s320/DSC03116.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>All in all, this trip was a blast! We had some good laughs and had some funny experiences. I can't wait for the next vacation we have as a group!!Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-89183665450490601222011-03-13T17:10:00.000-07:002011-03-13T17:10:49.465-07:00Teotihuacán and Ruins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were able to take a weekend trip to a place in puebla called Teotihuacán. The ruins here are of the Sun and Moon and one where Quetzalquoatl came and visited his people, fulfilling the legend.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is what we saw when we first arrived. I never found where from where they took off or where they went...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv1ZdS-czZDMv-PGG5XSra3Hsh2fkT-JwYmrzjGp9ozECfxA4UROMhY5yeyphhfEg8KOi6tnMRy8SMyDAHw7NZDShoRcX7jyzaxy4wKF2VGJP1pVSzTJrY0A0og-VD1dSdUptNUdWWhyphenhyphenh/s1600/DSC02749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv1ZdS-czZDMv-PGG5XSra3Hsh2fkT-JwYmrzjGp9ozECfxA4UROMhY5yeyphhfEg8KOi6tnMRy8SMyDAHw7NZDShoRcX7jyzaxy4wKF2VGJP1pVSzTJrY0A0og-VD1dSdUptNUdWWhyphenhyphenh/s320/DSC02749.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the temple dedicated to Quetzalquoatl</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq67oJ-BZkW2pV2eVBVCiJWL2Gh7qBDiorBln8mDFnhedDNZFMeEg84ZPOoCy-GeosYXjfk9WuGUrzjyQ-AJ4lv9yflpYGQpJ13QoggNY1gjTbdLKISHq_CvJ5zrxaoqtTDnmZYvNnixf6/s1600/DSC02752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq67oJ-BZkW2pV2eVBVCiJWL2Gh7qBDiorBln8mDFnhedDNZFMeEg84ZPOoCy-GeosYXjfk9WuGUrzjyQ-AJ4lv9yflpYGQpJ13QoggNY1gjTbdLKISHq_CvJ5zrxaoqtTDnmZYvNnixf6/s320/DSC02752.JPG" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_fW0ZSJ2kOiztZ9iqr7B-RHsnXT3E0cormxUxxAqVIbaHz8eVP3y1edI86dktm9B8mWTJR3GQwVCirrfonAqheqi6SoEGklYJPIhnbiiodniwQvSjmGlVBi-kez02jznNNBAK7axjKUY/s320/DSC02759.JPG" width="320" /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq67oJ-BZkW2pV2eVBVCiJWL2Gh7qBDiorBln8mDFnhedDNZFMeEg84ZPOoCy-GeosYXjfk9WuGUrzjyQ-AJ4lv9yflpYGQpJ13QoggNY1gjTbdLKISHq_CvJ5zrxaoqtTDnmZYvNnixf6/s1600/DSC02752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">These are some of the girls I work with. They are great! You can see the Temple of the Sun in the background. <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtQx0APVmeWDdmSp_K5B7oMrg8dCTc_-T08aRuYa7sAw5CQT1m98TK9aYAvR0ic_jMhyphenhyphenmXXFoBCardS_ujRBqIv3EZVwPbILKPZD-5_2KMcAUe586vZ4Q2JWIG3zuw3lJSMEL_Tv-Ics1/s320/DSC02764.JPG" width="320" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These are some of the Puebla peeps. They asked us to go with them to see the ruins. We have two schools here in Mexico. One in Puebla city and one in Tehuacán.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwgY33y60KZoODVaZ_KKMLfyXwqRmFIShPeF0B0cVh-K8x3wBCQSgKJVKRkoJvZKYgctD5HkbNbmrDm5sRJv15XQ2Zv7uvUOhO8BYxzfX2JwJ_3oakYAoBEXK02UyiS3DoCN4Z5UcWix6/s1600/DSC02755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwgY33y60KZoODVaZ_KKMLfyXwqRmFIShPeF0B0cVh-K8x3wBCQSgKJVKRkoJvZKYgctD5HkbNbmrDm5sRJv15XQ2Zv7uvUOhO8BYxzfX2JwJ_3oakYAoBEXK02UyiS3DoCN4Z5UcWix6/s320/DSC02755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh Aldo and Ruben! Ruben is our private driver when ever we go on trips. This is the majority of our group. I don't thin we have a picture with the entire group...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPdWOm_FUv6tp27c7SvdOGU_1H35BoIt7b9MDe4U35MTTTSNJa857tNhQvJN5esuOKpngr7VTm7nhjDkkshikmqEs7bVjkEXKPw7fJW8JxB86GcKbrQFbVztr99633JHmMWCEyxVLbQxo/s1600/DSC02770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPdWOm_FUv6tp27c7SvdOGU_1H35BoIt7b9MDe4U35MTTTSNJa857tNhQvJN5esuOKpngr7VTm7nhjDkkshikmqEs7bVjkEXKPw7fJW8JxB86GcKbrQFbVztr99633JHmMWCEyxVLbQxo/s320/DSC02770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is Kailyn, another one of my co-teachers. She is awesome. We really were having fun...the sun makes us squint a little bit...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="goog_133748550"></span><span id="goog_133748551"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNGVSnq7sJuKiGbmdli2w_vfuYlQrVxApQ8my7ZIHDP2vh98Sz8k4qgSjruqO62RGDYzVEvdZuxiT4t-br7GwjxRBYR12DwzDE9x9uKM1SCaBPVAHCQA4XPdweVVCVb17xvB1_uUlfmRR/s1600/DSC02772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNGVSnq7sJuKiGbmdli2w_vfuYlQrVxApQ8my7ZIHDP2vh98Sz8k4qgSjruqO62RGDYzVEvdZuxiT4t-br7GwjxRBYR12DwzDE9x9uKM1SCaBPVAHCQA4XPdweVVCVb17xvB1_uUlfmRR/s320/DSC02772.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not sure why but I don't look happy in some of these pictures...but that temple is pretty sweet eh?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwDyVZ64i9nAzgtgQSYwKQafzp0sw_C29NnAQW8ePXY50Nnkr2DRJeDpddXfROFmhCXY7rGYQW6BRSKGCXJypSc5kMFtPz8H8a3b6hqL3_44yvdzlK4JzzTsv_EjFJw9bm1xvqBuZ25QZ/s1600/DSC02777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwDyVZ64i9nAzgtgQSYwKQafzp0sw_C29NnAQW8ePXY50Nnkr2DRJeDpddXfROFmhCXY7rGYQW6BRSKGCXJypSc5kMFtPz8H8a3b6hqL3_44yvdzlK4JzzTsv_EjFJw9bm1xvqBuZ25QZ/s320/DSC02777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Me on top of a ruin...they believed their gods would visit them in rays of light...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrVnzBiAg2dttgb8lSBpED2emByn7u_s6_FZkS5BbPKGoU3R-oQ-peyrokdVaRAApq8x8ZkzFXJjYfKKan6cj-nIY9eg7dyOygjme-D838eu3g3BhRhzX0hCS4aGPMe9qL_1k5shJNcHb/s1600/DSC02786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrVnzBiAg2dttgb8lSBpED2emByn7u_s6_FZkS5BbPKGoU3R-oQ-peyrokdVaRAApq8x8ZkzFXJjYfKKan6cj-nIY9eg7dyOygjme-D838eu3g3BhRhzX0hCS4aGPMe9qL_1k5shJNcHb/s320/DSC02786.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">res, res. I am a ninja...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONB7v-zfvIYYrTN7eyXAoY_WZ3-85QW4lgrxRQGX4LGFqdasXdJ3IAwyhyphenhyphendHTkPH9Qr-ESlF8YQHaVEMteXDybBRjln5vRzQLYKZhUnISap-PYC2CSs8geGlHA9SNTWWiShGkN0wA3FoP/s320/DSC02787.jpg" width="240" /></div>She didn't think I could carry her. I guess she never heard about me carrying Calvin, Skyler, and Keith across a river in the middle of winter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3uafUaJD5Cz2q6a4B9HrTscSjt4y7iUM6DxV5mc7EcQ5ulZvONj8mZaNVcMYSt63lCgNGM_Qvize9TsQOc8DlXkVgeRFf6h9HClJhm5ejt1svbR7dhw-Guag9531-FASBv7Z0ZOcMtQ5/s1600/DSC02795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3uafUaJD5Cz2q6a4B9HrTscSjt4y7iUM6DxV5mc7EcQ5ulZvONj8mZaNVcMYSt63lCgNGM_Qvize9TsQOc8DlXkVgeRFf6h9HClJhm5ejt1svbR7dhw-Guag9531-FASBv7Z0ZOcMtQ5/s320/DSC02795.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I think I was asking her to be my girlfriend and she said no...<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Could have been cooler but still good...My friend Carson got a sweet picture like this!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurI_mHMPTJsFgwliBodJir4tiaCJcQYRYiVJ6F1l8qbz2ungrxbdXIRv_qY3GjdwmcbCeViBiGeS7Ge1lLe4EA3bL9lQX-pR2WVca33zs9AbJeO3hQGsyAXyWXrzEMZf77PEUSCiXCjX2/s1600/DSC02802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurI_mHMPTJsFgwliBodJir4tiaCJcQYRYiVJ6F1l8qbz2ungrxbdXIRv_qY3GjdwmcbCeViBiGeS7Ge1lLe4EA3bL9lQX-pR2WVca33zs9AbJeO3hQGsyAXyWXrzEMZf77PEUSCiXCjX2/s320/DSC02802.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Is this a postcard...? Nope! just me! haha</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_oU84E-gr2NG0METa5JgMXrWyhIN5IQef010WpkZ9SgPav6cI1Wrz_cJ0Zv7TJXFJEq0fSggRbtKNubtZgjTRqFLg-DSEQaAlOIFLsf97m3mm2ZWdoZp7QH9ypLzsXzu1iTUj-NtTMwi/s1600/DSC02808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_oU84E-gr2NG0METa5JgMXrWyhIN5IQef010WpkZ9SgPav6cI1Wrz_cJ0Zv7TJXFJEq0fSggRbtKNubtZgjTRqFLg-DSEQaAlOIFLsf97m3mm2ZWdoZp7QH9ypLzsXzu1iTUj-NtTMwi/s320/DSC02808.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Beautiful cathedral in the downtown of Puebla.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD83G3rSCsukqf7QDrtdhIK5qdlcPprJBugLUFfqK8kq0lOv2BAbrNH8EnLFVy7c2gb0w0RpOVu0SIYHwO_oFgm2oL5eY6TWIz2K7n4AYPax0Na3nn_AJrSZ3Cp3M5W73FivqF9gkAvtp/s1600/DSC02819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD83G3rSCsukqf7QDrtdhIK5qdlcPprJBugLUFfqK8kq0lOv2BAbrNH8EnLFVy7c2gb0w0RpOVu0SIYHwO_oFgm2oL5eY6TWIz2K7n4AYPax0Na3nn_AJrSZ3Cp3M5W73FivqF9gkAvtp/s320/DSC02819.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Facade of the same cathedral</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIxta97oGdOZJ7iAfFeu7-Bd3gKuqNJA4kff1WAGJgFnaeGkAclAy6UtgEgfDItwHw5XIEFlOB1R3p1jKwFxtoWk_GoyDXzKmehwK6hx_JDB_uKEF8gfK9uezQ7H78KdHP8oGL3YSaP97/s1600/DSC02827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIxta97oGdOZJ7iAfFeu7-Bd3gKuqNJA4kff1WAGJgFnaeGkAclAy6UtgEgfDItwHw5XIEFlOB1R3p1jKwFxtoWk_GoyDXzKmehwK6hx_JDB_uKEF8gfK9uezQ7H78KdHP8oGL3YSaP97/s320/DSC02827.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A little church close to downtown. I liked the colors. Inside was amazing! (also in Puebla)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKfLKpiPzxM6qjsujkk4Sdvsi-ZQniId6g65ODnl-9Gt2NyBs84ZvNLuFJ4-BwMEnxGT_4CiEpwNzIYDid2EGqM_sK4n3PC5AuWFW0mgX2N24FoKr-aheB2k5QVy5cDfLJhIcR6rBQKZj/s1600/DSC02829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKfLKpiPzxM6qjsujkk4Sdvsi-ZQniId6g65ODnl-9Gt2NyBs84ZvNLuFJ4-BwMEnxGT_4CiEpwNzIYDid2EGqM_sK4n3PC5AuWFW0mgX2N24FoKr-aheB2k5QVy5cDfLJhIcR6rBQKZj/s320/DSC02829.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-61816757787028178142011-03-11T06:36:00.001-08:002011-03-15T11:23:15.412-07:00Poopy Paper and Flip-flops: The Cultural Differences I Learn to EmbraceToilette paper:<br />
Everyone uses different ways to go to the bathroom. In Morocco I have heard, they shake with their right hand. If you use your left you are offending the other person. This is because they wipe with the left. In china, you have to learn how to squat over a whole and not miss. I have many female friends that have shared experiences where they have missed and… well, let’s just say they kept a change of clothes close by for a reason. The names don’t need to be mentioned, you know who you are…<br />
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Here in Mexico, you do your biness, and if you need to use paper, one must clean, and then put it in a trash bag/can next to the toilette. I personally like to do my business then double wrap the used paper before I put it in the trash. The people here are accustomed to having poor sewage systems and the paper has clogged up the toilettes in the past.<br />
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If there is one thing I have learned is this: Always be open when in a different culture. You may do things that are considered rude or weird without even knowing it. Is what you do right or wrong? Probably not, just different. Many misunderstandings can be avoided with open communication.<br />
Here is how my conversation went my 2nd day here “So, I know this may sound weird but, that little trashcan next to the toilette is for the toilette paper after I am done doing my business in the toilette right?” The kids had an awkward look on their faces and my mom laughed a little and said “Yes it is, and I am glad you are open enough to be able to talk about it.” I have had no problems with cultural habits because I let them know in the beginning that I want to learn and am open to be told how to change.<br />
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Brushing teeth:<br />
Here in Mexico the people brush their teeth after every meal. Or at least my family does (that could be because she used to be a dentist…). One day, I was eating lunch and was running late (I have an hour and a half break in which I eat and then go to the ILP school to prepare for my evening classes that start at 5:30). I grabbed my bag and was heading out the door. My little brother was in the kitchen with me and as I was leaving said “Coltan, aren’t you going to brush your teeth?” I said “No, why?” He gave me this gross look as if I were telling him that I like to lick toilettes and said “you are supposed to brush your teeth every time you eat.” I was not aware of this, and thinking that he may be trying to pull a fast one on me, I asked the grandma who was also in the kitchen with us. As I turned my head toward her I saw an awestricken and confused face. I hesitantly asked her if that was true. No words were said, only a solemn and slow nod of the head accompanied with a slight giggle. I walked back to my room and brushed my teeth. <br />
For a good 3 weeks after my little brother would yell out to me every time I left the house asking me if I had brushed my teeth. Isn’t it wonderful when we have people who care for us so much as to remind us of the little things that sometimes pass us by? I now do a preemptive strike and as I leave I say “don’t worry! I brushed ‘em!”<br />
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Flip-flops and shoes:<br />
I have had many different experiences with shoes and homes through my years. In Alaska, one always takes his shoes off when entering in a house, no matter the time of year. If the family is used to something else, they have to let you know when you first come in saying something like “you can leave them on, don’t worry.” When I went to the lower 48 (that is the contiguous U.S. for those of you illiterate in the Alaskan Lingo) I found out that most houses in Utah and Idaho are designed for shoes to be worn in the house. The owners of the house have to tell you other wise or put some kind of welcome sign that says “this is a Japanese home, please take your shoes off.”<br />
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Here in Mexico there is no carpet. As a matter of fact, some of my fellow teachers have decided that the carpet in our school—that has no padding under it—is the only carpet in Mexico. Tile, wood, and marble are what the floors here floss. On the first morning with my family I walked out in my socks. The mom said “I am fine if you don’t wear shoes but just know that your socks are going to get really dirty.” This opened the door to a perfect opportunity for cultural learning. I asked her about flip flops and shoes. She informed me that flipflops are used mostly for the bathroom and beach. If you are seen wearing flipflops outside you are looked at like you are wearing shoes that you are naked in outside. Who knows what kind of dirty thoughts people think about all of the gueros (white folk) that wear their shoes with their normal, everyday clothing.<br />
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Kissing on the cheek:<br />
This is something that is very strange and hard for me to get used to. Growing up with 5 boys has formed me into showing no physical or verbal affection. I can remember the first time I told my parents that I loved them over the phone. It was strange.<br />
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The rules as I know them are as follows:<br />
Kiss good friends, especially the girls. Boys, only if you are really good friends with the woman.<br />
Kiss family, women and small children only<br />
Men don’t kiss other men.<br />
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All of us in the group have had a few experiences “molesting” our families or people we have just met…<br />
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The shower:<br />
My family here has a solar powered hot water heater. I have had many days of cold showers because it was malfunctioning or it was “cloudy.” If you know me well you know how much I love cold water.<br />
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Don’t worry; the master bathroom water is warmed by gas…<br />
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Being clean:<br />
The people here are very clean. Apparently the girls that come with ILP have a tendency to not take care of themselves in the realm of hygiene. The girl that stayed with my family before me did not take showers and frequently wore flipflops. She had nasty feet is what I am told. I have spoken to many families here and they always have a story about how the Americans are dirty people. If you ever come to Mexico, make sure you bath daily. They do. And men, find a good cologne and wear it on a normal basis. <br />
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A maid:<br />
“I raise my kids to leave the house.” I am pampered here. My dad always likes to tell people how his boys are capable of living out of the house because my parents have taught us to do so. We don’t go through the normal growing pains that others do when we go to college, or leave the house. When I was 19, fresh out of high school and ready to conquer the world, I drove a 3000 mile trip through a foreign country with 3 girls and two vehicles. When I got to school, I didn’t call home except to say that I had arrived. I didn’t have a cell phone, facebook and myspace did not exist and the only way for me to communicate was via e-mail and phone card. It was 3 months before I really called home and spoke to my parents after I had arrived.<br />
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Here, we have a maid that cleans, cooks, and does laundry. I do my own laundry, but everything else she does for us. This is normal. Any house that has an average income has a maid that does everything for them. It has been nice but I am afraid I have forgotten to clean and cook…<br />
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Dirty shoes:<br />
Like I mentioned before, Mexicans are very clean. In Tehuacán, the city is covered in dust and dirt. You can’t walk through the city without getting dust on your shoes. My family cleans their shoes on a regular basis. It is not uncommon to see people sweeping the sidewalk or road in front of their house or business.<br />
This is one cultural aspect that I have not done so well in keeping up with. I let my shoes get very dirty. My little brother one day said “Coltan, do you ever wash your shoes?” mom got made at him and said “why don’t you offer him the shoe cleaning kit instead!?” haha, she thinks I need to keep them clean too.<br />
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Hello goodbye (greeting everyone):<br />
Every time you enter a room, you have to say hello to everyone that is there (see Kissing the on the cheek). When you leave, you have to say goodbye to everyone.<br />
One of the teachers here was having issues with the host family. I asked if every time they entered the room if he was greeting them to which he said: “well, most of the time.” Nope, it needs to be every time. Every time they enter or leave a room you acknowledge their existence.<br />
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Poop on the sidewalk:<br />
There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE! Well, there are dogs everywhere. I think they don’t like gringos because I have arrived at the school multiple times to wonderful presents of what was eaten by a dog in the form of movement of the bowl, sitting in front of the door. being one of the only men around, I take care of the mess. It is really gross. Also, you have to watch everywhere you walk on the sidewalk because the dogs like to poo on the sidewalk. I think it is a more tranquil place for them, because on the road cars may come and interrupt them in their time of vulnerability…or they just like to watch us try and dodge their gifts, hoping to see the disgusted look when we actually do trod on their well planted mine of squishy poo.<br />
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Spandex bike ride:<br />
Mexican people have a very strong self-image. They call each other fatty or skinny as a name of affection. They worry about their outward appearance but mostly about what they wear for what it is rather than how it makes you look. They wear nice clothes all the time. <br />
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One day, my dad asked me to go on a bike ride with him and my little bro. I said that I would love to. Now, I was thinking a little Sunday stroll around a park or something. <br />
At 7 AM my little brother knocked on the door and he had in his hands, a helmet, gloves, a biker’s shirt, biker’s coat, and spandex. I felt a little uncomfortable but I wanted to “embrace” the experience so I took the clothes and squeezed into them. I was happy to see that both my dad and brother were wearing similar clothing; I didn’t feel so awkward. <br />
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I am the kind of person that doesn’t like to look out of the norm, except to look good. I love to dress nice and be clean. The people here will where with pride what ever they are doing and don’t seem to worry too much what others think of them. I recently was sick from all the dust. My mom asked if I would wear a mask to keep the dust form coming in my lungs and throat. I bashfully said no. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. I see others wearing masks all the time here. It is a frequently occurring event.<br />
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My nicknames:<br />
So, every time I go to a Spanish country I get a new nickname. When I went to Spain, one of the girls called me melocotón. Which is a peach. When I told my host mom this she said that here in mexico you are called that if you are a very attractive man because you are juicy like the fruit. Here, on the other hand, I am refered to as “torta” or “hamburguesa.” This came about because I went to meet one of my uncles at his bar. When we were introduced, he wasn’t able to pronounce my name (I am not sure why, it is really very simple. I think they try to think too American and mess it up). He said “torta?” to which I replied “no, C-oltan” him: “Torta?” me: “no, C- sure, torta…” then, when I told the local boys from the church that my name was coltan but they could call me torta if they wanted because they couldn’t pronounce my name either, they said, “na, hamburger is better!” They were calling me a fatty cause I was from the states…kinda says something about what they think about Americans…oh, just so you know, a torta is a really delicious sandwhich…all my nicknames revolve around food…<br />
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</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-12960978376511437832011-03-11T06:34:00.000-08:002011-03-11T06:38:48.850-08:00“It’s February and we are raking leaves from an orange tree…”Every day, one of my co-teachers and I arrive at Discovery (the school we teach at in the afternoon). Approaching the door to enter, we have to ring the bell so they will let us in. Sometimes we have to wait a few minutes for the lady that has the key to come open the door, we walk in and say hello to fellow teachers waiting for their kids, then walk through the school, passing other classrooms full of teachers and students. We usually leave our teaching materials in the classroom (or in Kim’s case, the kitchen) in which we will be teaching. They have us in the very back to begin the day. It is a small grassy area with an orange tree that is right against the outer wall and next to two of the classrooms. It works well for what we do for our starting activities.<br />
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We usually start each day with snack time, in which the students (most of them) bring food to munch on before we actually start class. Next, we sing some songs and then end up playing freeze tag (they are obsessed with this game, I am not sure why) or cops and robbers. Sometimes we need to clean the area a little bit because it collects garbage and random cleaning materials (I assume because it is at the back of the school).<br />
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Every day either Kimberlie or myself wind up the hose and then we get the trashcan and prepare the area for the students to arrive. A few days ago Kimberlie and I were chatting while cleaning. She was picking up leaves and raking them aside because our students are in love with twigs, leaves, and grass when she all of a sudden stopped and said: “I can’t believe it’s February and we are raking leaves from an orange tree!” We both stopped and thought about it for a while. <br />
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A week prior to this epiphany my mother informed me that it was -20 in Alaska.<br />
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This post is dedicated to all of you suffering in the cold. You want me to bring you an orange?Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-47289849639483530792011-02-10T08:14:00.000-08:002011-02-12T16:50:45.229-08:00I trust people, I just don't trust the devil inside them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Our students are unbelievable. Sometimes in a good way, most times in a “what the heck is going on” kind a way.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Some of my students are obsessed with this one boy. Every time he comes in they scream his name and they all run to him. I can’t figure it out.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">They fight, a lot. I have to separate them every 2 seconds. I feel like we are more of a “lucha libre” ref than teachers sometimes…</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He is really smart and he knows a lot of English. He usually knows all the answers and has a good sense of humor. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0FfKK8KP97K5xmB_sZ-es4pfiZahobUMaGGAV8Unpx31nfwEJPxIHhufWYiD34O5iamkp1x8NRedUF-VFTz9G3q0Aaaq3hy1NznKUaZCNmdDcCdy0egRKc-dClfYvnlexzetbagYUGOr/s1600/DSC02977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0FfKK8KP97K5xmB_sZ-es4pfiZahobUMaGGAV8Unpx31nfwEJPxIHhufWYiD34O5iamkp1x8NRedUF-VFTz9G3q0Aaaq3hy1NznKUaZCNmdDcCdy0egRKc-dClfYvnlexzetbagYUGOr/s320/DSC02977.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> He does make the creepiest faces, and sometimes I think he is possessed. He sometimes runs around hitting his head with his hands, or banging his head on the wall…<br />
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These are two girls that came in about a week and a half ago (beginning SPE). When they came they could barley say hello. Now they can speak small sentences and answer questions with short answers. It is incredible how fast they have progressed. They are also the two that laughed at me with the crying baby…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxe2IFE9AFZiDQ-ggDPoO8GersFwhVbEo8yNKiHd0RXyZg9oL4-qh5xkx6haQlQVuVixlKAeoJB-Y4kc1aWA6XVJqLZRl8VDdmjPhwaXOmMvYEvOCrWAZFwWbS5py3OH-UqnDQyNNnbdw/s1600/DSC02992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxe2IFE9AFZiDQ-ggDPoO8GersFwhVbEo8yNKiHd0RXyZg9oL4-qh5xkx6haQlQVuVixlKAeoJB-Y4kc1aWA6XVJqLZRl8VDdmjPhwaXOmMvYEvOCrWAZFwWbS5py3OH-UqnDQyNNnbdw/s320/DSC02992.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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My biggest class. We are up to 11 in this class now. 9 boys and 2 girls. As you can tell we have our hands full. They are the Basic Readers. This night only ¾ of them were here.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My advanced SPE class. They are pretty crazy most of the time too.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiM1OAl4AW9mmGQUTOfSDgjgICJltc4hADgcK9VJxH1NLkG0Pgq8qJE-bdXNfYaKgyc9FUKctvWCtw0EuEnN6_nhefLAOtJr9zHCAXnnw9vgqwWQHRK5AcXAUia-CeLGaeQxF1BdiR30e/s1600/DSC03001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiM1OAl4AW9mmGQUTOfSDgjgICJltc4hADgcK9VJxH1NLkG0Pgq8qJE-bdXNfYaKgyc9FUKctvWCtw0EuEnN6_nhefLAOtJr9zHCAXnnw9vgqwWQHRK5AcXAUia-CeLGaeQxF1BdiR30e/s320/DSC03001.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxtF-5OOxTHC9WqqZRVOZaNe5cvKJsLsLO5W6RDZP5w3iztCaXh42-qlWeg1Ds5tOyJRy60S-55SJIjlW4Fxs90TbBo3oAzV4-j8dvQGgmNQA7QE-UxSg5_Z-ydgzh8sijFj0f9e4xx-c/s1600/DSC02975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxtF-5OOxTHC9WqqZRVOZaNe5cvKJsLsLO5W6RDZP5w3iztCaXh42-qlWeg1Ds5tOyJRy60S-55SJIjlW4Fxs90TbBo3oAzV4-j8dvQGgmNQA7QE-UxSg5_Z-ydgzh8sijFj0f9e4xx-c/s320/DSC02975.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>All the teachers are in love with this kid. Personally, he drives me nuts because he doesn't listen. Cuteness can only get you so far space cadet!Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-92057885954077363602011-02-09T20:17:00.000-08:002011-02-09T20:17:54.961-08:00Why is she crying!?So, I am doing pretty well. I really have a hard time with kids though. Today was a perfect example. We had this new girl come in. She is 3. Usually at that age when they come they just cry. That bugs me. A lot. Why bring your dang kid when all they will do is cry and then leave anyway? In my opinion, unless you plan on putting them through classes until they are out of puberty, they shouldn't be in classes at that age! But I digress. Today this girl that has been here for a few days, and hasn't had any issues is in my class, had some issues. We are playing with balloons and having a good time, when all of a sudden she starts to cry. You know what I did? I stared at her. She kept crying. I kept staring. In my mind thinking "what the crap am I supposed to do now!?" More crying, more staring. I decided to let the balloon go to try and get her to stop crying and watch it go zooming around the room. More crying, more staring...<br />
The girl teaching next to me kept asking if she should take her to the little girl's brother. In my head I was saying "the dang girl needs to learn how not to cry! leave her alone!" after about a min (which seemed to be a million...) the teacher came and picked her up. The little girl stopped crying. I stared. The two other girls in the beginning class (the same class as the 3 year old) just laughed at me. I didn't say a single word throughout the whole ordeal. I was super embarrassed.<br />
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My poor kids will be traumatized when they are born. I just cannot comprehend crying. I hold a baby and one minuet things are going well, she is cooing, I am contemplating the meaning of life and BAM! Tears and broken eardrums. I must have some evil twin that comes out when I am not watching because I could swear that I am the same person as I was 2 seconds ago when the baby was fine! Then again, I have the same mentality as my father. I remember many times growing up hearing “stop your crying or I will give ya something to cry about.” He always said it with love though. Look at me and my brothers! We turned out fine!<br />
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Sometimes you can trick the babies though. Example: if a toddler falls, the first thing he/she will do is look to see if someone saw. Then, seeing the reaction on the observer’s face, will act according to the reaction. I have seen some pretty intense falls down stairs, on concrete, in water, in poo etc. and just said “alright! That was awesome!” normal circumstances would dictate a crying baby, when they are with me, they laugh and do it again. Mission accomplished, no crying babies.<br />
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I hope my future wife is very patient with me. And loves to nurture cause I will do my best, but usually when crying begins, I freeze. Come to think of it, that is what I do with girls…<br />
When the crying starts this is usually what happens in my head “okay, I know I am supposed to do something but what? I know!” (a random hand comes out of no where, stretched out at full length and pats her on the back as only a man can do and says “um, are you okay?)<br />
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I’m out, peace and love from Mexico, I need to go see my councelor…Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-35670427542672567762011-02-09T19:36:00.000-08:002011-03-11T07:58:26.704-08:00Katie's science experiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Here at ILP we do many different things to entertain these kids. It is not easy sometimes. I myself have done things that, in a normal circumstances, would be considered crazy and off the wall (if you can imagine that). <br />
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Our teachers here are incredible. I feel very humble everyday as I go to school and see them all struggle to help these students in their goals of learning English. One that is particularly impressive is our 17 year old. She finished all her high school early so she could participate in this program. She is determined, eager to learn, and very down to earth. Here is one of her experiments that...well just watch.<br />
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I love our teachers!<br />
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</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-24697505411968481542011-02-09T18:54:00.000-08:002011-02-09T18:54:26.797-08:00Africam Safari…yes, it really is spelled with an “m”So near the city of Puebla (which is about 2 hours away from where I live) there is a Zoo called Africam Safari. I am not sure why it is spelled with an “M.” I have included a part of the website so you know that it really is spelled with an “m.”<br />
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My family found out that we had planned to go see this place and didn't because of a miscommunication, so they decided to take the whole lot of us! Mom, Dad, Pepe, Dani, La abuelita and me! It was awesome! Aside from feeding me good food, they take me places and help me experience the wonderfulness that is México.<br />
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To see the zoo you drive up to the entrance and pay per person. Then, you drive through this huge reserve that has tons of animals from Africa and other “safari” type areas. <br />
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This was the first thing we saw as we drove into the Zoo. <br />
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We forgot to take the trash out before we left the house...it almost became dangerous. These little guys were climbing all over our truck!<br />
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This was one of the areas that it was not permitted to put the windows down to take pictures. Apparently they have had issues with people getting eaten or something…<br />
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Careful, they spit...<br />
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I felt like I was in the movie Jurassic Park!<br />
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I never knew Zebras were so beautiful!<br />
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They are an endangered species...or close to it.<br />
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My cousins! <br />
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I know...I am bad, I just couldn't help it!<br />
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A mama and her baby hippo! The mom came right up to where we were all standing and poo'd in the water...her attempt to make us run didn't work. I took pictures of it. They didn't turn out, but This guy apparently loved it!<br />
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Ahh, that would be the life.<br />
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They let us play with, and feed Kangaroos from Australia. These are my siblings; Pepe and Dani as we were feeding a little baby.<br />
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I think this guy looked really cool so I put him in too.Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-21512324493864881172011-01-24T20:36:00.000-08:002011-01-24T20:48:30.946-08:00Hats off to the Elementary Teachers!: A day in my life in MexicoThis is a rock. (kids repeat) is a rock heavy? Light? Soft? What? “Teacher!” Yes? (insert 30 seconds of student trying to explain using noises, not words) Oh! The rock is a space ship? “No teacher!” (more noises) Oh I see! The rock is a boat! Class, can a rock be a boat? (class) “No teacher!” that’s right, a rock sinks in the water. “Teacher, no!” okay, then what? (more noises) Oh, I see now. The rock is a banana! “Yes teacher, yes!” <br />
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I have always admired Elementary teachers. I have no idea how they do it. 20+kids in a classroom isn’t so bad…when they are over the age of 15. One has to be interested in ever little thing that could be remotely (sometimes REALLY remotely) connected to whatever he or she is talking about. Kudos to you, my Elementary friends, you are brave and valiant souls.<br />
I typically have 2-6 students in the class. There is such a variation because students don’t always come regularly (it is an after-school program). They drive me crazy much of the time. There are days when I wish I could grab some of the kids by the hair, spin them in circles, and throw them out the window. Other times I think they are hilarious. Don't worry, I had a student trying to dry off his pants after he peed them the other day. I am growing to love their curiosity and innocence despite the constant reminder that kids at this age "have no brains" (thank you Bill Cosby). I have a hard enough time with the small number of students that I have, I can’t even imagine what you full-time Elementary teachers deal with! I do not envy your job, only your abilities.<br />
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There are many levels in the program. Kinder is the beginning level. This level usually has students from 4-7ish. Then there is the primary level (age 6ish-8ish;) we call them basic readers, then elementary (7-11ish). One advances through the program mainly based on their ability, not age. Age is a factor, however. You see, a 9 year old, no matter how basic, will not enjoy activities that are for the 4 year olds. An older beginner may spend some time in the basic level but hopefully, because of their superior cognitive ability; they will advance quickly, sometimes within a couple of weeks. <br />
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In the kinder level the students are taught through, what I am going to call, task based learning (That may have been an approach that I learned through school/training so I can’t take credit for it…). The teachers prepare lessons based on tasks they wish to perform. They are given 6 areas that are to be the focus for a given lesson. For example: this week I am teaching gym. I prepare a lesson using some kind of “gym” activity (soccer, basketball, baseball etc.) and write out specific tasks that will be completed (bring out ball, kick ball, spin ball, try to eat ball, throw ball, teach game, assign teams etc.) This is just the plan though. When we are actually in the moment, we are focusing on talking (This is a soccer ball, it is round, it has stitching, the stitching is done by a machine, the stitching is white, there are different colors on the ball, black is the color of darkness, or night. White is like a cloud, the ball is bouncy, it is kind of hard, the ball is not huge but it isn’t small either…you get the point). We have the students repeat almost everything we say. Speech and input are the most important for the student. They generally will be speaking small sentences and answering yes or no questions within a week or so.<br />
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Now on to the basic readers, there are a few levels within this one as well but I will tell you what I teach. I am in the third phase. The students have already learned a song that helps them learn letters and sounds, they have also already began to learn how to write the letters and associate them with concrete items (“B” for “b”at). We are now helping them put the sounds together. My head teacher, my amazing co-teacher, and I have taken the original method that ILP has purchased and adapted it to our situation. We generally get through two letters a week (1 letter per teacher). We start off the first day with an object that is related to the sound and letter. A bat, for instance, when we start the “B” book. The books that we use are 10-20 pages long with lots of illustration and few, large print, words. The books have a theme that is related to the sound and that is usually where we get our ideas for the concrete object. Today, we started the “D” book. The book is about dragons eating donuts. I brought in donuts to begin. We talk about the object in great, great, great detail. Then we look at the pictures in the book without reading it, describing everything we see. By the time we get done with all of this, our first class is already over.<br />
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Day two is a review singing the song that they learned in the other phases of the program, talking about what we did the previous day, then jumping into the rainbow reader sheets. I don’t quite understand the psychology behind this aside from the repetition, but I have heard that colors help children remember. There is a packet that we give the students that has the main words from the book. They are taught about rainbows and then each day color in a new color under each word. They have to sound out each word, and then say it quickly as they draw a line. (“B” “A” “T” “bat!”). They color 1-2 colors a day. The teacher then reads the book to them aloud as they listen. After all of this is completed, the class is usually over. The next day is a repeat of the 2nd but they are faster. The teacher then hands out copies of the book and then reads again aloud as they follow along. If there is time they play games that are assessments (a die that has who? What? Where?... or flash cards etc.) If there is still more time, the students get to color their packet (it comes in black and white as a coloring book). The 4th and 5th days are similar to the 3rd, adding more assessments and having the students read out loud as a group, then as a group individually as the teacher helps, encourages, and models.<br />
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I don’t know much about the Elementary grades except that they too have levels and are more focused on writing and spelling as well as tasks. They have books that correspond to each level and are reviewing what they already know in core subjects only now using English.<br />
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As I mentioned before, I have a co-teacher. This isn’t to say that we co-teach but more we have a rotation. We begin the two-hour block at 1:40 PM, with an opening. We sing songs, and play games that encourage the use of English. We then split into classrooms and teach either an SPE (the task based learning) or BR (Basic Reading). Because there are two teacher and we have three rotations we teach two BRs and one SPE. We end up with the same students we started with after the opening. These students are almost on their way to Elementary. That is why they only have one SPE (the SPEs are generally more fun for the students). <br />
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I am picked up with my little brother and sister and we go home to eat. I then bath and brush my teeth (see culture post), then head out to the ILP building to teach another two-hour block at 5:30. This time there are three teachers. We still do two BRs and one SPE but this time we have three sets of students. Two sets at the BR level and one at the SPE level. The BR students get the same rotation as our first two-hour block only now they don’t have an SPE with me or the other BR teacher. We have one teacher that only does the SPEs. As we rotate, the other BR teacher and I teach BR to the BR kids and SPEs to the SPE students.<br />
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At 7:30 we are done, and as soon as I can clean up and get out, I walk home to eat a light dinner, chat with the family, and then go to bed, only to wake up and do it all again.Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-50789000385758353342011-01-09T08:31:00.000-08:002011-01-24T18:21:42.311-08:00The trip beginsI woke up at 3:30 AM after going to bed at 1. I got to the airport and found my ILP friends. We got in line, many looked worried and anxious but were trying to cover it up with an obvious sense of "I'm okay, I do this all the time." None of us really knew what to expect or how this adventure would end. I have traveled before out of country so I had an idea but still, I was slightly apprehensive and worried. I don't know any of these people and I am the only male! Granted, this is usually how my life is. I seem to be involved in activities that are generally overrun by the female persuasion of life. Not to worry, I later found out that one of the girls had to drop out because of health reasons, and a boy would be coming to take her place. I only have to survive 1 week alone amongst a sea of estrogen. <br />
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As I get in the security line, finding out that my bags weigh exactly 50 lbs and 40 lbs (that's right, I used to throw luggage for a living, I know how to pack), I find out that one of the girls that I am traveling with has never been on a plane. Never been on a plane and the first plane ride she takes is out of the country, and to a destination thousands of miles away. I had a similar experience when I went to Spain. One of the girls (again a trip where the amount of testosterone was a drop in a bucket compared to the female hormones) was also on her first airplane ride. It was cool because the security let her dad come and say goodbye at the gate inside security. I met both of them in Salt Lake and assured them that I would take care of her on the ride to Europe. Turns out I didn't need to. She was upgraded to first class the whole way. On this trip, however, my friend was not upgraded and unaccompanied by anyone. She went through all the security very well, I shared my tricks on how to get through quickly and we arrived at the gate, no crazy random inspections, and having gone through the new, full-body scan (which isn't a big deal everyone, I think it is cool).<br />
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After a short stop in L.A (because of many minuets of delay in SLC) we were on a 4 hour ride to The City of México. We arrived and met our program director after everyone picked up their luggage from the carousel (strangely enough, EVERYONE got all their luggage! I was for sure that I would have a repeat of a 6 day delay on my bags like what happened to me in Spain). We all got some money out of the bank and then jumped on a bus, which thankfully gave us a bottle of water and cookies, which would take us to Puebla. It was 2:00 in the after noon. I am currently listening to The Cassandra compact by Robert Ludlum so this is how I occupied my time. Others watched a movie dubbed in Spanish and still others used the internet, which strangely enough was available via WiFi on the motor coach. We arrived in Puebla at 5:40 and waited until 7 to take our last bus to Tehuacán. Again, I listened to my book.<br />
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The drivers in México are very good. They can pass at any point on the road and dodge anything that comes their way. This was demonstrated as, all of a sudden I hear nervous giggles and half screams from the girls around me. I look up and we are passing another coach on a very sharp curve. I look to the on-coming traffic and see that there was another vehicle doing the same thing just yards in front of us. I smiled and closed my eyes as I went back to my book. I figured it wasn't my time to meet Peter quite yet, and I have had experience with bus drivers in the past.<br />
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We arrived at the bus station and were taken to our school. My family was waiting for me, a boy and a girl (twins), and my mom for my stay. I was warned by my director that I can't speak Spanish to them because these families are also volunteers. They let us stay with them for free and usually do it so they can get more English in the home. I was a little disappointed by this but at the offer of delicious Mexican food, I couldn't resist.<br />
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I got to the house and found out that the boy has given up his room for 4 months. He will be sleeping on the couch. The family is awesome and very welcoming. They let me make salsa, clean my room and do my laundry. I still feel independent but not completely overwhelmed.Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-73703948227864981802008-08-30T02:54:00.000-07:002008-08-30T03:09:34.489-07:00Education at AlcalinguaWe started school and I found out that the three classes that I am taking at the university here are all taught by the same teacher. On the first day of school he said "my name is Jesus" (a very common name for hispanics) "not big Jesus up there but little Jesus down here." I am taking two literature classes and a Spanish Cultural class from him. He is very engergetic and has straight black long-ish hair (covering his ears). He, like most Spaniards has pretty good taste in clothes but he tucks his shirts into his underwear...the girls in the class really got a kick out of that.<div><br /></div><div>I have to buy and read 6 literature books by Nov. 15. Not to bad I guess except for the fact that EVERY weekend we are traveling and sometimes for a week at a time! Thank goodness my roommate is an english major and loves literature! He will help a brotha out a lot!</div><div><br /></div><div>We have 2 classes on Monday and Wednesday and 1 on Tuesday and Thursday. We don't have class Fridays. We have our institute classes on Mondays and I am going to start voice lessons with a lady here in two weeks and I don't know what day of the week I will be doing that.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope to do well in all my classes because my goal is to have a 3.8 GPA by my Senior year. This semester may help me get closer to that goal!</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-65818395036792896312008-08-28T06:25:00.000-07:002008-08-28T06:27:43.471-07:00El llegado de mis maletasAll here this! My bags FINALLY arrived after wearing the same clothes for 5 days! I was almost in tears when I walked in the apartment to find my bags sitting in my room. All arrived safe and sound and for my troubles Delta will pay me 25 Euros for everyday that the bags were missing. that is 125 Euros! saweet! Totally worth being stinky for 5 days! The girls in the group were especially happy when I came to class the day after my bags arrived wearing different clothes...Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-36483195064633988132008-08-26T05:13:00.000-07:002008-08-30T02:54:13.860-07:00Segovia y La Granja<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoBc_B93xTFjHvTSwiGg9NBJ4OVh7w6isDxT3bkavn198w1uCCiqaKYEo1Yv12Fx4I13JgYgPbDEIc-Rcv7_XH9qC5vUm5qJahg2dNFE8NTSknKfXQuYD_XEh7UPjR33ry2KpQF3V4Ka2/s1600-h/IMG_3993.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoBc_B93xTFjHvTSwiGg9NBJ4OVh7w6isDxT3bkavn198w1uCCiqaKYEo1Yv12Fx4I13JgYgPbDEIc-Rcv7_XH9qC5vUm5qJahg2dNFE8NTSknKfXQuYD_XEh7UPjR33ry2KpQF3V4Ka2/s320/IMG_3993.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239557440870975074" /></a><br /><br />Okay so my camera died but don't you worry I will get some pictures up soon!<div><br /></div><div>You may ask yourself "Why doesn't he just charge is battery and post the pictures?" Well, I will tell why I have not. I don't have my bags!! And therefore I cannot charge my camera because my charger is in my bags! </div><div><br /></div><div>I arrived safely to the Barajas Airport in Madrid after a 23 hour trip only to find that my bags somehow got lost between Alaska and Spain. I mean come on how could that happen?? I only traveled half way around the world! It is now Tuesday. I arrived on Friday. You do the Math. Thankfully I have awesome roommates who are concerned for my well being and let me barrow their clothes...Somethings were harder to accept than others...</div><div><br /></div><div>When I arrived in Spain I finally had the chance to meet many of the students that I had only read about via email. I was very pleased to find that they are all fun and ready to enjoy what Europe has to offer us. I met the professors and they were happy to find me in good spirits even though I did not have any bags. Working for the tour industry has made me a patient person when it comes to those kinds of things. After the majority of the group arrived we took a bus to Alcala de Hernandez. This is where we are and will be living for the majority of our stay. This is also where the school Alcalingua is and where we will be attending classes everyday but Fridays and the weekends. These are reserved for traveling and we have tons of trips planned. We met up with our host families and our Señora Luisa took us to her house. The apartments here are very small. Just enough room for the necessities. There are three of us living in the apartment from the program and the lady of the house with her husband. They are both very nice and accommodating to us. I room with one of the guys and the third has his own room. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have learned how to ride the train to and from Madrid and use the bus system. Everyone travels on the public transportation systems and the roads here are just big enough for one car to go one way. I have only seen one truck and it was Ford Ranger. </div><div><br /></div><div>We went to Church on Sunday and the Pianist for the ward is a concert pianist...and boy did he let it show! He was giving it all he had when we came in and during sacrament meeting. It was very different...The ward is awesome and the YSA teacher for sunday school is an incredible teacher!! This week he related missionaries and the church as two different churches because we have made it so and he helped us to understand that they are one in the same. We all wanted to go and find someone to bring to church after that class! We are trying to help the girls in the group understand that the American Elders should not be sought out to talk to because those of us who have been on missions know how distracting attractive american girls can be!</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Msg1yJ-Gh0S0-y0voNExve6-_zbH5yp-rMUaxvsPi6IRN4qWG6ljdCWCRTKEH5bWcIZBzJgxIEZfL6DeUqu2sGdO_u9m2x3AkwmSBmqJR_M0xkYEob2xRg_Rb_LiYte54KtA62LnduHk/s320/DSC02098.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239557448032901186" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; " /></div><div><br /></div><div>Monday we went to Segovia and La Granja. In Segovia we went to the castle of Fernando the 7th and an ancient Cathedral. The Castle is said to be the one that Disney modeled the California Disneyland Castle after. As we entered the castle grounds there was a sign and it made me think of the song we sang in Spanish class about Fernando séptimo and how he used pants...you need to hear the song but it is funny! It was amazing how much gold was used to decorate and we also saw little knights everywhere. All the girls were taking pictures next to their</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Here are all the boys in the group except for <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>one...and less than half the girls...tough life I know.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> "knight in shining armor." They just need to open their eyes and see the knights that are traveling with them! We just don't have the armor...and we are real, not dead statues...</div><div>Before we left the Castle we had the opportunity to climb one of the towers. The sign in front of the tower read something about 152 stairs and that it was really steep. The stairs were very small and for 28 BYU students it was just all part of the adventure. We climbed the stairs one way as other tourists climbed them the other way. I am pretty sure many of the other tourists there were getting mad at us because we stopped to take pictures every 10 stairs it seemed like! We got to the top and saw over the whole area. It was an incredible view! </div><div><br /></div><div>We then went to the Cathedral. It had very calming feeling that everyone that enters there can feel. As I passed through I could not help but hear the sound of monks chanting in my head. Oh how I would love to sing in a cathedral such as that!</div><div><br /></div><div>There were many paintings and statues of Christ on the Cross and it made me appreciate even more the Atonement. I am so grateful for the suffering He went through to help me become what I am and what I will be and the opportunity I have to live again because of his selfless sacrifice. </div><div><br /></div><div>We then went to see the Aqueduct built by the Romans. We were told that this aqueduct is the most complete left. An amazing engineering product of the Roman intellect. </div><div><br /></div><div>So we then left and went around the city to take pictures and eat lunch. I found a small stream and, as is expected of me, embraced my child side and took my shoes off to play in the water while the rest of the group ate. The water smelled like poo but I didn't care, I mean come on I was still wearing the same clothes that I had for 5 days...</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDu09Z5-Ku-UWM3WUEm0rq8ctWl_fZES8xANvlYtvjokRkikBk-HahQTpvZ1Pm8BHvptcatTdy83So-jSvSTLmmAWvf0CR51Xk1W-0DEe055iWF65XyoGzIMImy_GMCzoEsEnuCRBnfB-/s320/DSC00217.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239558677002335010" /><div><br /></div><div>Does this picture look like Disneyland?????</div><div><br /></div><div>The best part of the day is when we went to La Granja!!</div><div><br /></div><div>10 fountains that are never turned on in the same day except 3 days out of the year. It is not permitted to swim in the fountains either...but we did!</div><div><br /></div><div>Our arrival time was a bit early and we had some time to look around. Because it has been so incredibly hot here all of us were near heat exhaustion and had already drunk the water that was given to us in our small sack lunches. The guys went to the restrooms and drank out of the faucet while the girls made fun of us and said we would get a weird European disease. Which would actually be kinda cool because we could say we got a weird European disease...IN EUROPE! Anyway we walked around I spoke to a girl in the group named Liz for a while about Arrested Development, one of the most ingenious sitcoms made. </div><div><br /></div><div>I decided that I was done talking about america and did not want to go with her and some other girls to get food so I joined some other members of the group, yes more girls, as we went and saw the Labyrinth! A maze made out of tress and bushes. We asked one of the security guards how to get there and he told us with very specific instruction on how to get out. I am sure he told us at least 5 times that he did not want us to call 911 to have them come get us out! We didn't get lost but the son and a friend of the son of the professor did! (they are only 10) We spent the majority of our time searching for them.</div><div>As we found our way out of the Labyrinth we had to rush to the fountains to see the water be turned on. A loud eruption of applause sounded as we got close and we thought we had missed it! But actually we found out that no, we didn't miss it. There was a crowd of people dressed very strangely. One man was dressed in a cow costume! We got close and saw that he had jumped in the fountain and that many others were doing the same! This is when I became even more thankful for the members of our group because I saw that two of us had jumped in too! I turned to Allory, one of the girls that I was with, and Anna another and said lets go! So we went and gave our cameras and shoes to one of the members that had already jumped in and in we went, jeans and all! Let me tell you those Spaniards are crazy with their holidays and they were pushing people in left and right! Every time one of our girls tried to get out another guy would push them in! We decided we wanted to jump in another fountain and when the one were were at turned on we put on the burners and with the help of Anna we cruised through all the crowds. Let me tell you she has got a talent and skill that I have never seen! She can work her way through any crowd! We got to Los Baños de Diana and on the way we saw many European mullets and naked babies running around everywhere! we stayed to watch the fountain be turned on and then again began to bullet our way through the crowd but not before we took pictures with some 15th century impersonators with their wigs and all!</div><div>We arrived at "La Fama" which is the last one and waited. It turned on and as it did we jumped in! the fountain spewed water from its top 15 meters in the air and it came down on us like a crazy tornado rain storm! it was cold as sin and it hurt your eyes. I am pretty sure that water did have some kind of disease in it though because it was a yellow brown color with lots of green in...stuff. We played around for about 20 minuets and the guards began to get mad at us and we left. I got a thorn in my toe and had to walk the mile back to the bus with it in there. As the gentlemen that we are we let the girls change first and then we got on the bus and changed into some dry clothes. Of course no one really thought about bringing dry clothes so the girls were running around covering themselves as the boys just said "oh well we don't care if people know we have underwear on!"</div><div>On the way back to Alcala we had a good FHE lesson. It was based on the talk given at BYU entitled "The Intimate Restoration." We spoke a bit about being homesick and how to handle it but we also discussed the items in our lives that are covering our testimonies and what we can do to protect our selves and to discover what had once been covered before.</div><div>I asked a question that challenged the person giving the lesson and it seemed as though she didn't know how to answer it. I am just one of those people that like to challenge others to help get rid of narrow minded thinking. She did fine in answering what I asked and it was a good lesson for all.</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2916641462807547060.post-56794700374970096572008-07-12T02:19:00.000-07:002008-07-12T02:28:58.862-07:00The start of a wonderful thingUpon request of my sister I have decided to make one of these blog things. For those of you who do not know I do have a sister. My brother got married about 3 years ago and now we have a sister. It is pretty awesome I know! <div>Anyway she said that I should do this blog thing for my many adventures so here I am doing it! I am going to put updates about my life as I travel around and see the sights of Europe, College, Alaska and any other parts of the world I decide to go! I will have to start with my tree fort because it is pretty awesome. Enjoy my life I know I will!</div>Coltanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535113177762695810noreply@blogger.com1