My plane leaves in just over two hours from now.  I’m sitting in my classroom staring at my bags and smiling at the way Colombian children say goodbye.  There are hugs and kisses and wide grins that let me know they might miss me just a little. “Give saludes to your family from us, Mees!” […]

Posted in teaching, travel 4 Comments »

I like to imagine that if you saw me in a crowd you’d think rockstar or artist or writer or America’s Next Top Model. Okay, that last one’s a stretch, but a girl needs dreams. Sadly, I am none of those things, and today when I saw my reflection in a window all I could […]

Posted in teaching 9 Comments »

I teach.  It’s my job and I’m crazy about it.  It’s hard and I’m exhausted at the end of every day, but it’s fun.  It’s an adventure and it gives me all sorts of things to write about and think about and read about. Truthfully, sometimes I feel like the dark horse.  My classroom is […]

Posted in teaching 6 Comments »

My brother works entirely too hard.  He’s successful and good with finances and long term planning.  He can fit in at a dinner with more forks than he needs and he’s right at home with a bunch of small town rednecks talking about hunting season or cleaning fish. He’s versatile like that. Brother reads this […]

Posted in family, friendcitos, teaching 4 Comments »

“Did you have a good sleep?” he’d ask me every morning and my answer was always the same.  “Yes, sir.” My last day working at Port Hacking, Atto told me he’d miss being called Sir and to this day if I answer my mom with a “yes” there’s a “yes, what?” that comes quickly on its heels.  […]

Posted in colombia, home, teaching 12 Comments »

I teach at a private school where the tuition rivals what I paid for my college education. Our campus is tucked neatly into the back corner of a hidden away street outside the city.  In the past 20 years it has changed from an old farmhouse into a picture of growing perfection.  Red trim on […]

Posted in colombia, teaching 3 Comments »

Lindsay thinks I’m some sort of super star teacher.  She said so in this post.  (this one, too come to think of it.  Thus, I must offer a rebuttal. Note to Lindsay: I ain’t nuthin’ special. Seriously, I think Linds has this fluffed up idea of me.  That’s probably just because I tell funny stories […]

Posted in teaching 9 Comments »

I’m guest blogging for Dr. Mims today as part of his 1 Thing series. You can read my post here. (I’m really proud of this one.  Y’all check it out and let me know what you think!)

Posted in teaching 5 Comments »

It’s no secret that I love cafeteria ladies.  I love the heart that they have for serving and I appreciate how hard they work, not to mention that I heard all sorts of tales from the lunch room as a child.  My grandmother, after all, worked in the cafeteria for umpteen dozen years.  So, each year […]

Posted in colombia, teaching 9 Comments »

I like beginning of the year activities. They’re a chance to get to know one another and to be silly and to build community. One of my favorites is Me Bags. I ask kids to put three objects that best represent themselves in a bag and to share the contents with the class. Today there […]

Posted in colombia, home, teaching 9 Comments »