Beautiful Lake Placid, NY

Rob and Jenny- the beautiful bride and handsome groom! Congratulations!

The Chando family in Lake Placid

Camp BearBerry on Lake Placid

Jenny and Rob had a picture perfect day and a very romantic wedding. Camp Bearberry was such a neat historic arts and crafts style home to spend a weekend in visiting and celebrating with family. This family wedding was special too because it marked the first time our expanded family all traveled together- even little Preston went! We toured the little town of Lake Placid and visited the Olympic venue sites. We shopped some in the outlets in the downtown area too. Carl took us out on the boat which came with Camp Bearberry for a little tour of the Whiteface Resort from the waterside. We built fires in the evenings and wore short sleeves in the middle of the day. The weather was PERFECT- just like the wedding. The Adirondack surroundings inspired the theme of the wedding. The wedding cake was made to look like Birch bark and the reception area looked out over Lake Placid and had the neatest style chairs to match the location. Jenny and Rob had brewed their own beers and bottled them as favors for the guests and they functioned as table markers giving the beer bottles original names and a unique handcrafted look. Of course, Jenny was truly beautiful in her dress. Absolutely serenely radiant! The wedding was outside and lakeside and the cocktail hour was in the adjacent resort boathouse restaurant- very nice with mountain and lake views. The music was provided by an excellent three-piece Irish band. It was great to spend time with MaryAnne and Joe and meet some of the Taylor side of the family.

Taking Washington, D.C. by Storm

My dear friends and co-workers at SFA- DYNAMIC PEOPLE!

The 8th graders have a moment of unity on their class trip to Washington, D.C.

The trip to D.C. started early Monday morning May 16th and ended fairly late Thursday night May 19th, but what a whirlwind of activities and experiences we all now share as a collective memory. Highlights of this trip include a visit to the White House and the Capitol building, the Smithsonian Museums of American History, Natural History, the Air and Space collection and the Holocaust Museum. On the base of the Lincoln Memorial the students presented Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech which was moving to everyone present at the memorial. The wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery brought tears to the eyes and reminded all of us of the price of freedom.

The just for fun part of the tour included a moonlight dinner dance and cruise down the Potomac River with other school groups and a trip to Baltimore to see the Orioles take on the New York Yankees at beautiful Camden Yards. The weather cooperated when we needed it to be dry. We really could not have asked for a more enjoyable trip.

I work with the most amazing group of teachers. The trip for the students would not have been possible without their help and support. I look forward to next year and more adventures in student travel.

Old Man River- the Mighty Mississippi 2011

Mark Twain would not be amazed at the river front in Memphis.

"The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise... -" Mark Twain

This is a city on the bluff and you cannot see ANY bluff in this picture. It is always interesting to live in a river town. The Mississippi River is usually 1/2 mile wide here and this week it was 3 MILES wide. This view is about 20 miles from our home in the suburbs. The street covered in water is Riverside Drive. The small clumps of land between the road and the M bridge are Mud Island and the river theme park on the south side of the island. There is a model of the Mississippi River on the island which ends where the flagpoles are located with a replica/swimming pool of the Gulf of Mexico.

"Knowing others is knowledge, Knowing oneself is wisdom"

The University of Memphis Program in Religious Studies hosted a talk Carl and I attended by Tulku Orgyen P’huntsok on “Buddhism in the Modern World” April 21, 2011.

Tulku Orgyen P’huntsok has been recognized as the reincarnation
of Togden Kunzang Longdrol Rinpoche, a highly realized yogi from Powo who had been influential in spreading the Dharma both in Tibet and in Padmasambhava’s sacred Hidden Land of Pemaköd. Tulku spent his early years in retreat in his birthplace of Pemaköd in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India, studying all aspects of Buddhism.

At the age of 15, Tulku began advanced studies in southern India at Namdroling Monastery,
the largest monastery of the Nyingma lineage. Tulku completed the nine-year
Khenpo degree, and taught Buddhist philosophy during his final three years at Namdroling Monastery.

Since 1999, Tulku Orgyen has been with Vairotsana Foundation, assisting Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche with teaching, practice, and other Dharma activity. Tulku has taught and led retreats
throughout the United States, and travels and teaches frequently in Asia as well.
Tulku served as a visiting professor at University of California – Santa Barbara, and has taught
Tibetan language and other subjects periodically at the Vairotsana Foundation Center
in Santa Barbara, where he currently serves as the Resident Lama and Director.

Face wreathed in smiles with a sweet countenance, Tulku Orgyen spoke for a little over an hour on Tibetan Buddhism tonight. Central to his talk was the belief that happiness and suffering depend on the mind of the individual. The practice of Buddhism revolves around compassion and love. The Buddhist practitioner believes all humans are equal in desiring happiness in daily life and in the next lifetime too. Even dogs and cats- all animals- desire happiness. Tulku reminded the audience of the suffering taking place in Japan in the Buddhist communities. Buddhists expand compassion to ALL human beings. Happiness is a form of love. When we become aware of others and reach out with positive karma this brings benefits and goodness into the world. Conversely, negative karma brings suffering.

One great message of Buddha was that all beings are inherently good. Tulku urged all of us not to take things too seriously in life. To sit back, relax and observe the mind. Work to change negative aspects to achieve calm and peace. Everything around us is changing so do not cling too closely to things- take it easy! Flexibility of Buddhism is a great benefit to the spread of the Buddhist way of life from India eastward over time. There are over 4,000 different teachings in Buddhism. A Buddhist would not tell one from another faith to change religions. They believe you should excel where you are comfortable.

Buddhist believe all other religions and philosophies share the desire for peace and happiness. Disagreement comes about over different approaches to reaching peace and happiness.

Rebirth is central to the belief and practice of Buddhism. Is death the end? What would be the reason for doing anything? Life goes on until one is fully awakened- good karma is reborn and bad karma goes elsewhere. There are different levels of positive and negative karma.

What is sown is reaped

What goes around comes around

The Buddhist should examine their conscience daily and observe constantly. One should never surrender to thoughts, but let them come and go freely while attuned to the nature of the mind. Work to free your mind fully.

O Fickle Fickle is Fortune!

OUCH! Both arms HURT! I went to see the doctor today for a physical and took care of some of the shots needed to travel- -Hep A and a Tetanus shot. Picked up a script for Malarone antimalarial and Cipro for the Gastro kit. I am making progress! The trip to India feels more real as I check off my to-do-list.

Carl and I went out last night to eat Chinese food and here is my fortune from the fortune cookie. This is a little frightening and feels like the Twilight Zone.........cue the ominous music now!

Travel Preparations to Consider

Travel related illness is not something I want to ignore. I have begun investigating immunizations I will need and checking into suggested precautions to take before travel to Asia.

The CDC has a great website which has information on travel to India. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/india.aspx#notices

If I am reading this website correctly I will need the following coverage:

Hepatitis A Shot

Typhoid Shot

Polio Booster

DPT Booster

Antimalarial Doxycycline prescription

Dengue Fever is a hazard too (insect repellent with high Deet %)

There is some concern about E-coli and water contamination. (Cipro prescription to take with me for the first signs of stomach issues)

Here is a YouTube clip on packing a Gastro Emergency Kit for Travel- good tips!

http://journals.worldnomads.com/safetyhub/story/26575/Vietnam/Travel-Safety-Tip-Get-a-Gastro-Kit-!

Back to Blogging

2011 is projected to be a big year of travel for me so I decided to resurrect the old blog I started a couple of years ago. I never stopped traveling, I just did not take the time to blog about my travels. In 2010 I traveled to Spain and Italy with students to view architecture and art, took my 8th graders to Washington, D.C. for their annual trip and traveled to Mexico with Carl to visit Mayan ruins and relax by the beach.

Today I am working on lesson plans and preparing for my U.S. State Department sponsored trip to India in May. I will work with my host teacher Mrinali Choudhary during my two week stay and observe in her school in Guwahati, India. The email notification that my VISA to visit India had been approved and expedited back to me yesterday really kicked me into gear. As you can see in the picture I have some help with my lesson planning work. Preston, my grandson, is one week old and Pitty the Pomeranian is 7 years old.



Disclaimer: This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program, the International Leaders in Education Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.