February 18, 2011

20 Minutes in Their Shoes


As someone who grew up in a Midwestern and middle class family of six I often wonder what life is like for my abundantly affluent students on a daily basis. When they claim they forgot their math homework because "their maid didn't put it in their backpacks" or "they left their homework in their chauffeur's car", I really have no idea what to say...or where to begin with a "you are 13-years-old!!!" lecture.

Guaranteed they are not all like this and they do exhibit a lot of humility and humanity on a daily basis, but their lives outside of school remain somewhat a mystery to me. I really cannot imagine a life with full-time maids, body guards (for some), chauffeurs and the like.

This week I experienced just a snippet of this when I went to the eye doctor on Wednesday morning before school. After scheduling this appointment at the last minute, so that my doctor could examine the my hot red eye before he left on a business trip, he asked how I would get to school that morning. As the parent of a student at my school, he is completely aware of how far (about 20 minutes if you drive straight there) his office is from the school.

I said, "Oh, I will just hop on the MIO (public transportation buses)."

He was shocked by this response, commented on how long it would take me (at least 45 minutes), and insisted on having his driver bring me to school. Sure enough, on Wednesday morning following my appointment I left his office at 8:02 AM and his driver drove me to directly school. We arrived a short 20 minutes later, before my first period prep time had even finished.

The verdict: Chauffeurs? Not a bad way to get around a city of two million people on a rainy Wednesday morning in February.

...but I am still glad that my mom and dad taught me to pack my own backpack, lunch, take the bus, make my bed, and wash my dishes :)

February 13, 2011

Over the Weekend(s): Football & Pool Parties

Those of you who knew me in college probably remember when I got hot red eye from irritated contact lenses during senior year. Wellllll....it's back. With a vengeance, and thus I have been wearing glasses for pretty much the last two weeks straight while I take medicine to recover. Yesterday I tried contacts again to no success, so I guess more eye drops it is! In the mean time, here is what I have been up to:

Representing the Black & Gold for the Super Bowl!

My friend Tara is a huge Steelers fan so we made our best (unsuccessful) attempt to support her team for the big day. What did I learn from watching the Super Bowl in a foreign country? That all the hype, commercials, half time show, singing of the national anthem, overpaid athletes, etc. make the great US of A look pretty stupid to anyone watching with a critical eye.

Post-super-bowl weekend we spent some time poolside to celebrate Catie & Scott's birthdays. The rain that has been plaguing Cali recently held off for the whole day and we were able to spent some time enjoying an afternoon of sun and swimming. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the middle of February :)

Me and Sam.

The whole crew!

Me and Kelsi :)

What have you been up to lately??

February 6, 2011

Projects for Friends

Happy Super Bowl Sunday friends!

I will be getting together with friends later to cheer on the Steelers, and will probably have pictures to share, but in the meantime...

In my time outside the four walls of my classroom I have been getting creative lately with my friends' blog headers. I love pictures and design and all things associated with procrastination of school work, so here are my recent projects for both my roommate Kelsi's blog and best friend Ilse's blog. Check it out :)



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