La Boheme

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful evening. Last Wednesday I went with my friend Trudy to the Dallas Opera production of La Boheme. I have enjoyed the other operas we've seen, and I loved Porgy and Bess last year (who can resist Gershwin?) but now I understand why La Boheme is so beloved--it was fabulous. Of course it didn't hurt that the guy playing Rudolfo was gorgeous and that he had an equally gorgeous voice. It also helped that the story is set in Paris, my favorite city on earth, but still, it was a magical evening. Even if you're not an opera fan, sometime in your life, you've got to see this one.

My baby is 28!

A few years back, I told my students that it was Julie's birthday. One delightfully oblivious fellow asked how old she was. When I said "25" he said "you must be really old."  It was priceless and he didn't even realize that he'd been semi-insulting until I noted that he might not make 17. Yesterday I realized that many of my co-workers are younger than my child. Ah.....I'm old......Oh well....as they say in "Spamalot" "I'm not dead yet." So I shall continue to have fun!

Our school spent the week doing Waiver Days--time to give more individualized help to those who have not yet passed the TAKS test and give a week off to those who passed all four sections of the test last year. I think it's a terrific idea, but our implementation of it needs refinement. Of course, you always learn from doing and we will definitely make improvements for next year. I particularly hope that we can help the seniors who are retaking the test spend all their time focused only on the subjects in which they need help. I hate to see them spending time with ELA or something else they've already passed, when they are struggling with another subject. Still, I felt very pleased with the effort we made and I know that many students benefited from it. That's what really counts. Plus, I learned a lot and am even more determined to push reading, reading, reading on our campus. I would really love to see us read a book as a campus. Everyone would read it and all content areas would create lessons including information or situations from the book. We could have small group discussions, after school activities, maybe even get the author to come and talk to the student body. I think it would be a wonderful thing and a great boost to our reading efforts. So many of our students speak English as a second language and I am confident that more reading will definitely help them in their language acquisition. Plus, if they read and comprehend English better, they will perform better in all of their classes. Sorry if I sound like I'm on a soapbox, but this is really, really important. I also want to propose some new ELA electives for next year--certainly creative writing, but also readings in various genres. I'd love to see us offer a Latino Literature course, an African-American Literature course, a women's lit course. I think we could get kids who "don't read" to do so by presenting them with works that really interest them. If anyone has an opinion about this theory, I'd love to hear your ideas....

So, back to Waiver Days. Yesterday the ELA lesson was planned to be on test-taking strategies. Rather than spend another day in class, the teachers tasked with planning the lesson came up with a "show" filled with skits and silliness and ELA teachers making fools of ourselves while making some important points and sharing some helpful tips for the upcoming ELA TAKS test. I was in two skits, in the first I was a sarcastic teenage daughter (the kids in the audience got a laugh out of a gray-haired lady as a teenager) who didn't want to try on the TAKS test, and in the second I was a burnt-out teacher who wanted to give up on test day. I was also one of a trio who sang a crazy TAKS version of "We Will Rock You." It was all zany and fun and silly and I think we actually did make some very important points. I think the kids had a good time and I know I'll never forget the tune to "TAKS Rater." In our final performance of the day, I even did a cartwheel onstage, amazing the kids who don't seem to think that "old" people can do such things.

Then last night, our whole family, along with Kara's boyfriend, went out to dinner to celebrate Julie's birthday. It was fun to be together and Mike and I got to have Kelly and Shannon ride with us. They are wonderful little boys. Shannon told me what he's been learning about Abraham Lincoln. I was impressed--both boys are reading well and doing very well in school. They're smart and curious and eager to learn and I love spending time with them.

So, next week we're back to "normal" classes. I'll be happy to see my usual crew of kids again, but it was nice to get to know a few new faces this week and I hope I helped them and that they will be successful on the upcoming tests.

President's Day-Who was the Best?

I really enjoyed this evaluation of our presidents on National Review Online. In case you don't have time to look at the whole thing, here's my favorite part (it's about Grover Cleveland): "Honesty was arguably Grover Cleveland's only policy. It was the prism through which he saw the world and conducted his public life. He saw attempts to secure special favors, privileges, or subsidies from government as fundamentally immoral. In his view, taking from some and giving to others was not something an honest man in or out of government would ever do. He rejected the notion that the Treasury should be up for grabs by the mob, so he vetoed more bills than all previous presidents combined.

"Not only would Cleveland never recognize the Washington of today, he would surely expect God to either raze it or extend His deepest apologies to Sodom and Gomorrah."

That last bit cracked me up....Love it! (I know, I've become a terrible cynic...)

And now for my report on Paris.....

Assyrian Art in the Louvre

The Winged Victory--a beautiful spot for her on the stairs in the Louvre.

Yes, I did go to Paris in January. And it's just as lovely in January as it is in April or June. And, yes, I am finally going to write about it. I have no clue yet how to send the pictures I took with my phone to my email to post here, but I will try to find some appropriate ones to include.

I left DFW on Thursday, Jan. 15 and the flight over was terrific--mostly because the lady sitting next to me was a French woman who taught in the United States for many years. She was just delightful and we had a wonderful time talking about France and the U.S. and education and our children and our grandchildren and all kinds of fun things. Finally we did try to sleep a bit (not very successfully--at least for me) and soon we arrived in Paris, and bid each other Bon Voyage. I never even got her name, but she was a great companion for the trip over.

I was impressed with EF (the tour company I'm traveling with this year) because even though our flight was an hour early, there they were, waiting for us to arrive. After waiting in the airport for other flights to come in, we boarded our bus and headed to the hotel.

We stayed in a Mercur hotel--quite nice--about 15 kilometers south of Paris but right on the train line. We had time for a short nap (most appreciated) and then my roomate arrived--Jan, from Oregon. She was tiny and fun and we had a great time together over the three days in France. We dashed out to find some lunch at the local boulangerie and it was yummy--quiche with champingnons (mushrooms). I was pleased to see that my rather basic French skills still work fine--we had no problem ordering and the food was easily transportable and delicious.

Then we all walked to the train station and headed into the city.

Our afternoon activity was a visit to the Louvre. I've been several times before, but it is the most enormous place and even though I always see The Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, the museum is filled with new things that I haven't seen yet. So, every trip, I get a new experience along with visiting old friends.

This year the new section I visited was the Etruscan, Roman and Greek Antiquities. Jan and I went to see them along with Martha (also from Oregon who Jan met on the flight over) because she was really interested in that era, and I really didn't have a strong preference on what to see this time. The Louvre has rooms and rooms of antiquities and wandering through was fascinating. We eventually also found the Assyrian exhibit as well--quite impressive. 

After the Louvre, we met our group, and our tour guide, Tom, outside I.M. Pei's famous pyramid and took a quick walk through the Tuilleries gardens. Then off to dinner. It was delicious--my first time to eat duck. Afterwards I'm afraid the jet lag caught up with most of us and we went back to the hotel. Some of the younger members of the group stayed to visit a few clubs in the city of light, but I was exhausted and grateful for some rest.

Saturday we spent most of the morning in classes, learning how to conduct our tours and getting tips on the best ways to handle all sorts of situations.  Two experienced EF group leaders, Don and Wanetta, were there to share their wisdom with us, as well as several members of the EF staff. All were terrific and the information was very useful.

After lunch, it was back to the city. We did a walking tour on the left bank, wandered past the Musee de Moyen Age (museum of the middle ages), saw the Sorbonne, and trekked through some tiny, winding streets. We also created our own human flying buttresses, saw a demonstration at the Place St. Michel, and dropped by Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore famous as the publisher of James Joyce's Ulysses.  I had heard of the store, but never located it on my previous trips to Paris. It is actually just across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral, so it should be easy to find again.

Most of the group then visited the cathedral, but I waited outside with a few others who had been in before. Everyone I met on the tour was interesting and enjoyable to be with. When Jan and Martha came out of the church, we were joined by Popy (short for Penelope) a delightful Greek woman from Washington state, and a really fun woman, orginally from Barcelona, who now teaches in L.A. but I can't remember her name.....Our little group decided to have dinner on the Isle St. Louis, the tiny island just behind Notre Dame, filled with shops and restaurants and the most expensive residential real estate in the city. It's really nice.....

We window shopped and did some actual purchasing. One store was filled with bright, colorful, ingeniously clever kitchen gadgets and I just had to buy the Eiffel Tower grater. (It's a rappe in French and it's now hanging in my kitchen). Jan got a very colorful squid whisk and we all had a great time.

We found a tiny (and I do mean tiny) restaurant for dinner and ate delicious crepes. When it was time to use the facilities, the others came back to the table laughing. I got the joke when I went back to what has to be the smallest toilette I've ever seen. Several of them got pictures, but I didn't. I will admit that anyone very overweight would not fit in that room.

After dinner we wandered and shopped and eventually made our way back to the hotel. The food was great, the company was convivial and it was a lovely evening in Paris.

Sunday morning we boarded the bus for a driving tour of Paris. Our guide was excellent, and after seeing Paris, we headed to the chateau at Versailles. It is a bit nicer in the summer, simply because the wind that day was brisk and I couldn't enjoy the gardens because of the bitter cold. Still, the chateau is nice, and the gift shop provided some lovely earrings for me to bring home to Kara. Plus, in January, it's a bit less crowded inside and I could look around more.  I was also really impressed with the excellent job they did of guilding the front gates to the palace. They were covered last summer while the work went on, but now they're brilliantly gold and quite impressive.

After Versailles, we had a little free time, so Jan and I ran up to the Musee D'Orsay to see the Impressionists--my favorites. Just looking at Renoir's masterpieces takes my breath away. I also love Monet's work, and Van Gogh's and many others. It's overwhelming to be in rooms filled with such beauty.

Our farewell dinner followed the museum visit, then I went with several new friends up to the Sacre Coeur on Montmartre. Tom (our tour guide) had suggested that we take the metro to the Abbesses stop--that way we would be halfway up the hill before we even began. What he neglected to mention was that you have to climb about 200 steps just to get out of the metro station. I was exhausted......I really have to get in shape before the trip this summer. I was with Popy, and two ladies whose names I can't remember, plus Tom and David from North Carolina, and Ezra, from California. They were great sports and seemed quite appreciative that I could speak French and buy our metro tickets with ease, and I really appreciated their patience with my need to stop and catch my breath. Montmartre is the only hill in Paris, but it's pretty steep and the church is at the top of the hill. Thankfully, Dave was kind enough to wait for me, and he even carried my coat when I got too warm.

I wasn't sure which way to go to get to the church, but we just kept climbing, knowing that it would be there at the top, and sure enough, it was. I had been up there before, but the view at night is spectacular. The church is beautiful too. Built in the 1870s, it doesn't have the gothic stained glass, but it does have a very impressive mosaic of Christ that was quite moving. Quiet and peaceful inside, it was an inspiring place to visit and commune with God.

We shopped a bit near the Place du Tertre (completely deserted in January, but filled to overflowing with artists and restaurants in the spring and summer) then wended our way back down the hill to the Moulin Rouge (you can't go to Paris and miss that photo op). 

We had planned out our route back to the hotel, but luckily Popy noticed that there was some problem at the Gare du Nord and we quickly revamped our plans to avoid it. She speaks French, too, and I'm so glad she noticed or we might have been in a mess. I had my handy dandy Paris metro map, so we were quickly able to find an alternate route, ended up at Chatelet/Les Halles, the biggest metro station in the city, and looked for our train. The trains to the suburbs sometimes don't stop at every station, so you have to look at the board to make sure that your station is lit up. If not, you wait. We lucked out, our train came fairly quickly and we went "home."

I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet so many very lovely people on the trip. They were all friendly and helpful (even the ones who stayed out drinking too late Saturday night, couldn't speak French and couldn't get a cab and didn't get back until 4:30 a.m.--one lesson to learn--never stay out after the trains quit running).  I am lucky to be a teacher and to meet so many other people who are excited about the world and learning and doing new things. I so enjoyed talking with Jan and Popy and so many others. It was an experience I will treasure.

Lovely, Lovely Day

Yesterday was one of the best Valentine's Days ever.....I spent a couple of hours in the morning visiting with my best, dearest, most wonderful, fun, talented, funny, non-judgmental, supportive, and all sorts of other good things, friend in Fort Worth. I love her cozy cottage duplex, love the part of town she lives in and love, love, love to visit with her. So, it was delightful. I had dropped Mike off at the gun show on my way to her house (another story in and of itself--gun purchases have apparently skyrocketed since the Democrats took over and the line for the gun show was blocks long. Plus, I've never seen so many pickup trucks in one parking lot in my life. And they don't park only in designated spaces--grassy medians--actually any open space--work just as well. And who's going to say nay to a man in a big F350 toting an oversize shotgun?) But back to our story.... After our delightful visit, in which she also measured my feet to hand-knit me a pair of socks, we picked Mike up from testosterone central, and all went out to lunch at a yummy soul-food place called Drew's. I had a smothered pork chop that was so tender it fell apart when touched by a fork, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, crispy, tasty fried okra and a most delicious Italian Cream Cake for dessert. (best friend and I shared). All in all, it was truly one of the best Valentine's Days ever.