jeanochka

Top 11 Memories of 2011

2011-12-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

2011 was such a good year, I could easily have written 2011 favorite moments, but… These moments are listed in no particular order.

Walking across the River Jordan, wading my feet in the Sea of Galilee, and visiting The Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem where I wrote a secret wish I will never, ever, ever, ever tell anyone if I want it to come true.
Looking out the restaurant window and saying, “Wait! Why is it light outside?” Then looking at my phone and realizing it was somehow nearly 7:00 AM. Talking through the night was just the beginning.
Being nearly run down by a horsedrawn carriage at the “Horse Taxi Depot” on Buyukada island in Istanbul, Turkey. The good part? We survived.
The ice cream diet. Initially, I decided to get into this whole dieting crazy of choosing one product to eat all of the time. People lose weight with the cucumber diet, the green vegetables only diet, etc. I decided if I was going to do something like this, I should choose a food I wouldn’t get tired of eating. Hence, the ice cream diet was born! This involved eating frozen custard at Luv It’s after school a few times a week because, somehow, it made the entire day seem better. (We may have become just a bit carried away…). I continued this diet throughout the summer by eating amazing ice cream in Turkey with my new friends, Yanka and Turk, AND eating gelato on the Spanish Steps in Rome with Anya, Elaina, Jenn, and Heather. Sure, we also ate gelato every other day we were in Italy, but the Spanish Steps created a surreal “Roman Holiday” moment we thoroughly enjoyed.
The 12 hour bus ride from Montenegro to Serbia with Heather. Oh wait! Wrong list!! However, Mattia saying ‎that Antonio’s "steak violates the Geneva Convention!" made us laugh so hard, it ALMOST made the miserable bus ride worth it.
Catching up with Jessica when she brought me and graduation announcement and hearing that Boo, who graduates next spring, received a MLK award for her work with SOAM. I’m very proud of these girls.
Dad: “What are you guys doing?” Luis: “Uh, um… just waiting to get in the car.” This will make me laugh for the rest of my life.
Virgin Pina Coladas for FHE somewhere in the middle of the ocean with Martin, Karen, Charlotte, and Sam.
"Setting. Outside the city walls of Old Town in Kotor, Montonegro. 9 PM, but very dark outside.
Heather: It doesn't look too scary back here. There's just some sports field.
Jeanne: And a man peeing next to that fence.
Heather (laughing so much, her words are barely understandable): Never mind. Let's turn around.
Jeanne: Good idea. My dad will be proud.
Staying in a military prison, turned hostel, in Slovenia complete with free WiFi, loud music, chocolates on our pillows, and real bars on our door to keep us safe. Add that to the cheese diet we embraced while in Ljubljana, and… other than the super shiny faces in EVERY SINGLE PIC, perfection!
Visiting Juliet’s balcony in Verona and leaving a letter in her mailbox. The letter she wrote in reply, which I just received this week, was exactly what I needed to hear.

2011 was a truly amazing year. The most amazing vacation in the history of mankind and meeting an “awesome” person toward the end of the year, really completely spoiled me. 2012 has a lot to live up to, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store. Bring it on!

Happy New Year!

Temple Square

2011-12-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

Luis hadn't ever been to see the lights at Temple Square during Christmas. Since this is one of my favorite things, I insisted that we go, even though it was FREEZING cold outside.
Luckily, my friend Sasha was there with his girlfriend and his awesome camera. He took these pics for us. MUCH better than the pics some stranger would have taken for us using my phone! ;)

I love the nativities from the different countries and the luminaria with words in different languages. Every time I visit Temple Square, I walk through the same places and look for the same things. It's beautiful and peaceful, even if it is freezing cold.

Sasha's girlfriend had to leave, but he came with Luis and I to a laser show at Clark Planetarium. I love laser shows and have been dozens of times, but neither Luis or Sasha had every been. They were floored. Super impressed. We saw the Pink Floyd show and, though we didn't know all of the songs, we really enjoyed it. We even had some astronaut ice cream. :) We stayed at Sasha's in Draper that night. He made us a fantastic dinner and it was a lot of fun to catch up with him. Sasha and I met when I was a missionary in Zaparozhye and we've done pretty well keeping in touch since then, especially now that he lives in Utah.

The next morning, Luis and I went back to the conference center for Music and the Spoken Word. Again, he'd never been and it's one of my favorite things to see. Jane Seymour narrated the program, which included music, dance, and verse. Members from all around the valley volunteer their time and talents to put together an amazing concert. President Monson was in attendance and everyone stood in silent respect when he walked into the room. It's a very powerful feeling and we enjoyed feeling the spirit that music brought into the room.

It doesn't matter how many times I've been, Temple Square is still a magical place for me. I'm glad we found the time to visit on our whirlwind trip to Utah.

Need some extra Christmas cheer? Try this. ;)

2011-12-21T22:47:00.000-08:00

Carol of the Chins
http://www.sundog.net/carolofthechins/flash/card.swf

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

I went to Utah for Thanksgiving weekend. I talked some friends into riding with me and stayed in SLC with Kristin for a night.
The Harris family is so large, we don't celebrate the holidays together like we used to. Thanksgiving dinner was pretty quiet with just my immediate family. Luckily, the kids are getting older so it's becoming more and more fun each year. I always love playing with the kids. They are hilarious.
What are we thankful for at Thanksgiving? Jacquie, age 6, came up with a pretty decent answer to that question.

And Davey, age 6, and Charlie, 2 1/2. They are thankful for their very cool dinosaur shirts.

First Day of School Stats

2011-08-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT STATISTICS:
(Thanks to ol' FB, it's easy to compare these important facts with those from with Aug 30, 2010.)

Aug 29, 2011 Aug 30, 2010
Day 1-- done
Days remaining-- 179
# of skirts/dresses ALMOST purchased today-- 0 last year = 8
# of skirts/dresses ACTUALLY purchased today-- 0 last year = 3
# of skirts/dresses purchased in the past month—11 last year = 14
* Again, we’re comparing this with last year! See the growth here? This is incredible progress in just twelve short months.

But... new school clothes = priceless, so... :)

An unexpected little trip to Serbia

2011-08-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

Heather and I couldn't find a way to get to Bulgaria from Montenegro, so... we went to Serbia instead! Not quite what we'd planned on, but we ended up having a great time with our new favorite friends, Mattia and Antonio.

The most luxurious cruise ever brought us fame!

2011-08-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

Our cruise was incredible. We made friends with a famous guy (DJ Doug who tried to teach us us that "nerd is the new sexy” even though we didn’t believe him), became famous ourselves (see video below), visited TONS of incredible places in Israel, Greece, and Turkey, enjoyed air conditioning, ate unlimited desserts and were brought extra whipped cream because "it looks like you girls are losing weight", slept in, slept in REAL BEDS, danced, watched incredible entertainment both on and off the ice rink, had FHE with a British family who quickly became our BFFs, made friends with a Romanian who may eventually kill us, and learned all about KFC from our new South African friend. Words are not enough. Simply incredible.

Provo Peeps

2011-06-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

P-town is not my favorite place by any means, but some of my favorite people live there. Stephanie and I have been friends since bonding cleaning bathrooms in the MTC. After our missions, we traveled through Europe together and stayed with friends we'd met while in the MTC. She's currently going to school in India. She's studying film, so it's cheaper to study in Bollywood than in Hollywood. She's home visiting her family in Provo for a month this summer, so I was happy to get the chance to catch up with her.

I was extremely excited to see Lena and Olya today. They are sisters from Dnepropetrovsk, my favorite area from my mission. Lena was 14 and Olya was only 10. They were already members when I served there and were really involved in activities. Their mom was baptized when they were, but hadn't been active for a long time by the time I got there. The other members of their family were heavily involved in drugs and alcohol and these young girls struggled. One of their older brothers sold a sweater I gave Olya to buy drugs and their mom sold the Christmas tree the ward donated to their family to buy alcohol. Olya shared a pair of boots with her best friend, Marina, who lived in an apartment in the same building. The rest of the time, she used worn out shoes that had cardboard in the soles and tried her best not to get her feet wet.

We were really close while I served in Topol and stayed in touch pretty well over the years. When Olya was 17 or 18, she married a former Elder shortly after he finished his mission and they moved to Provo. Within a year, Lena married a former Elder and they moved to Oregon, where he's from. About a year ago, Lena and her husband moved to Provo. Lena wanted to be closer to Olya and near more Russians.

Liliya, of course, is Liliya. She's smart, beautiful, talented, UKRAINIAN, and simply amazing. I love hanging out with her, though I don't get to do it nearly enough. I love Liliya enough that I was willing to post this pic even though my eyes are closed, simply because she looked cute in this pic.

Utah trip-- June 2011

2011-06-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

As usual, I took a quick trip to Utah shortly after school got out to spend some time with my family. Matt came home from Iraq in May and this was the first time I got to see him.

Jacquie, as usual, loves to ask me about clothes and make-up. She wants to carry my purse everywhere she goes and still tells me that she's sure her mom will let her wear make-up, as long as I help her. Her mom, of course, disagrees. One morning when I was putting on make-up, she asked, "Aunt Jeanne, why are you putting that black stuff on your eyes? Are you trying to look tired or something?" I explained that it was eye-liner and it was supposed to make me look pretty. She replied, "Or do you think maybe it's supposed to make you didn't get as much sleep as you wanted?"
Joie's fun, if you can catch her in a good mood, but she's extremely moody. Sometimes she just refuses to leave her mom's side and, apparently, screaming is one of her favorite hobbies. It's a bit rough.
We went to Davey's t-ball game. They hit the ball off the tee and run the bases, then take turns fielding the balls instead of playing positions. It's more interactive than soccer, so he loves it. Watching five year olds play baseball for an entire hour, as one can imagine, is not entirely exciting. Matt and I (okay, fine... it was mostly my idea) kept ourselves occupied by taking photos of ourselves. Joie, although only three, isn't a bad photographer. Even when the camera wasn't on and she wasn't taking any pictures, she had fun pretending.

Charlie is hilarious. He has a BIG personality for such a little kid. He understands that he's funny and purposely does things to make people laugh. The other night when we were sitting on the deck, he took a toy that Joie had been playing with and Joie, very quickly, started to complain that she had the toy first. Charlie ran inside, shut the screen door, then looked through and said, "Ha, ha!"

I drove my dad to the airport on Tuesday and we stopped to visit Grandma and Grandpa Milligan in Ogden. I definitely don't see them as much as I should, so it was fun to catch up. My grandpa is still mean and grumpy all of the time, but my grandma just deals with it and somehow stays entirely sweet and generous. It's pretty incredible. I took this photo of my grandma and my dad in front of her house.

My cousin, Briana, got married last night. The reception was in the Bowen's backyard. It was beautiful and the weather, surprisingly, was great. I took this adorable pic of Grandma and Grandpa Harris. They ALWAYS look adorable.

I saw some family members I hadn't seen for a VERY long time, including Misty and Ashley, who I spent tons of time with when we were younger. Babysitting Ashley was one of the best paying jobs I've ever had!

It's pretty much tradition for Grandpa Harris to drive the newlyweds from the wedding ceremony to the dinner and reception. The kids and I took the chance to post in front of one of his many Model T's. Our photo, obviously, is not nearly as cute as Bri's professional photo with the very same Model T, but... We still thought it turned out pretty cute. :)

Overall, it's been a pretty entertaining week!

Summer vacation!!

2011-06-16T18:56:00.001-07:00

It's finally summer vacation again! :) The school year always seems to go by so slowly, then suddenly, the next thing you know, it's time for final exams and cleaning out classrooms.
This summer, I may have got just a bit carried away with my summer vacation plans. Just maybe... We're going to all of the places marked on the map on the left. :)

I'd originally planned to spend some time visiting my friend Tanya in Italy this summer, then invited my friend Heather to come along. She has a friend who lives in Istanbul and... the next thing you know, we planned a trip all over the place. We invited another friend from work, Elaina, and her roommate, Jenn, to join us. They are meeting us in Rome, going on the cruise and through Italy with us, then going home through Switzerland when Heather and I head toward the Balkan countries. We've met quite a few times to figure out our travel plans and are getting more and more excited as things are getting closer. We've got our plans for Italy all figured out. Now Heather and I just need to figure out if we'd rather go the more adventurous route through the Balkans or stick with the scenic route and go mostly through the beaches in Croatia. Either way, this summer is going to be amazing! July 7th simply can't come soon enough. :)

I bought a house!

2011-06-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but... I bought a house!

You know how sometimes you're shopping and you find a shirt or a skirt you kind of like. You look at it and you think, "Ah, that's kind of cute." Then you look at the price tag. If it's cheap, you think, "Oh, yeah. That's totally worth $15!" or "I'd pay $20 for that skirt, but it's not worth $30." Well, the same thing basically happened with this house. I found it. I kind of liked it. The price was right. (Oh, and it has a pool. With a diving board. And a BBQ grill and a two car garage and granite countertops and big back yard and actual grass in the front yard.)

Ninjas never cease to amaze!

2011-06-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

Happy Valentine's, world!

2011-02-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

Kreshenya in Ukraine

2011-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. Simply amazing video.

it's holiday time!

2010-12-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

I'm glad this doesn't apply to me!

Report: Nation’s Wealthy Cruelly Deprived Of True Meaning Of Christmas
Notice the guy buying Apples to Apples? My favorite game.

I'm moving to Rancho!

2010-10-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Things at Vista weren't going well, so the day after school got out, I interviewed and accepted a new position at a different school. It's the second oldest school in Vegas, so they have a lot of history and traditions. Many of the teachers there were students there themselves. In some ways, I feel like the school is more of a "community" than some of the other schools where I've worked.

I'm teaching two entirely different groups of kids this year, so it's been interesting to figure out what works with each group. Both groups are pretty different from kids I've taught before.

English 1 Honors-- mostly magnet students, very motivated, turn in homework daily, some even ask if they can do additional work because the enjoy the work so much. Most of these kids already have plans for college and careers. Many are involved in one of our three magnet programs- biomedical, medical, and aviation. The students in the aviation program will graduate from high school with an actual pilot's license.
English 1 RP-- kids who've failed English 1 once, twice, or even three times. These kids STRUGGLE, hate English, have major attendance issues, and some really don't care about school or their education in general. It took a LONG TIME to get these kids to work with me, but once I won their trust, things went pretty well. For the most part, the kids were causing most of the problems were expelled for reasons that had nothing to do with my class or just stopped coming to school overall.

The first few weeks were completely blissful, but reality soon set in. Our school hasn't met test score requirements in YEARS, so there's a lot of work to do. We got a new supervisor, who required that we submit weekly lesson plans, which is just extra paperwork (typing up lesson plans in a way that someone other than me can understand them) none of us were really interested in doing.

Everytime Belisa and I start to feel that things at Rancho are too much, we call some old friends from Vista and meet up for dinner. That never fails to make us feel better. Things there continue to get worse, so I definitely feel like I made a good decision. It's a longer commute and longer hours, but it's much less stress. That's what I need in my life. Less stress!!

Kyiv Temple Dedication

2010-08-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

My friends have posted so many great pics from the dedication. I can't wait to talk to them about it and go through this temple for myself. I loved this article in LDS Church News.

Kyiv Temple

2010-08-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about this... and so sad I'm not able to be there! I've said this before, but unless you're Ukrainian (or emotionally Ukrainian, like me,) you may not understand how completely amazing it is that an LDS temple is being build in Ukraine, a formerly Communist country. Let me explain a little bit of the background.

This is the first temple anywhere in the former Soviet Union! Since the church was opened in Ukraine in 1991, the members in Ukraine traveled to Germany (three days by bus) to visit the temple. Beginning tomorrow, this temple will serve nine different countries in Europe. Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

On Sept. 12, 1991, Elder Boyd K. Packer offered a blessing on the land of Ukraine. The brief ceremony took place at the base of a statue honoring Prince Vladimir, who declared his realm would be Christian. I loved walking up to this statue and listening to this story when I lived in Kyiv. I'm sure we took the same walk and the story was told to me fifty times by fifty different people, but I loved to hear it every time.

The Kyiv Temple was announced while I was a missionary in Dnepropetrovsk (in a year I'd rather not disclose here!) For some reason, I thought the temple would be done by the time I finished my mission and I'd be able to do a session on my way home. So much time has passed. The members there have been so patient and hopeful during this entire process. This really just seems like a dream come true. It's a miracle.

I've heard about the open house all week and see my friends who are there in Kyiv post their photos on Facebook. I visited a couple of summers ago and saw the temple under construction. It's done and it's beautiful, as evidenced in this video and this video, which show the highlights of the temple. Yesterday, a cultural celebration telling the history of Ukraine was held in a huge concert hall. I wish I could have shared in the music, love, and laughter of the people I love so much. I would have loved to sing the hymns with the members in the meeting. I wish I could have seen the excitement on the faces of the members when President Monson spoke. I wish I was there to hear the Prophet's voice as he spoke about this beautiful building and the importance of the work there.

I always thought I'd be there for this and looked forward to this for years, but the timing just doesn't work for me. I can't miss the first week of school, especially since I'm moving to a new school this year. I'm heartbroken, but at the same time my heart is overflowing with excitement for those who can be there. It's an amazing place to be and an amazing time to be there.

Find more info here: Deseret News, Newsroom and Meridian Magazine

Daddy's Day

2010-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

My dad has always been a tough guy, as evidenced by this newspaper pic from his days as a firefighter. He went from firefighter, to paramedic, training officer, then worked for the state in public safety.

Three years ago he retired and began his own company, Milligan Educational Associates.
Somehow, during the past few years, he's also become a self- proclaimed artist and the grandfather of four. Not too shabby at all.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you.

sarcasm?

2010-03-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

So... sometimes I wonder if I'm too sarcastic.

Report: 70 Percent Of All Praise Sarcastic

taco hell... blah.

2010-02-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

I don't usually eat Taco Bell, but I had a cheesy burrito today. It made me feel like this "news" story may actually have some truth to it.

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

books

2009-12-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

Winter break is on the way and HOPEFULLY that will mean some FREE TIME! Since I'll be in Utah, where it's far TOO COLD to go outside, I need some new books to read. Suggestions?

What's on your Christmas list?

2009-12-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'm still not sure what I want, but I know I'm not lining up for this.

Aunts And Stepdads Line Up For This Year's Hottest Gift: The Electric Tea Kettle

Thanksgiving pardon

2009-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

I like the photographer's perspective in this photo. For once, it's nice to see the turkey isn't the one who has lost his head.

"Courage", the National Thanksgiving Turkey, on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, November 25, 2009, before being pardoned by U.S. President Barack (Jason Reed/Reuters).

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

2009-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

I hope this won't be me this year!

Americans Enjoying Thanksgiving Tradition Of Sitting Around At Airport

What is Halloween really about?

2009-10-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

This "news" clip definitely gives us something to film about as we reflect upon this true meaning of this very special holiday.

In The Know: Has Halloween Become Overcommercialized?

A real American rodeo!

2009-09-21T22:26:00.001-07:00

Bogdan, Galya, and I had a fantastic time at the Fiesta Days rodeo in beautiful ol' Spanish FARK, Utah.
Sadly, it was almost over by the time we finally talked out way in (apparently the rodeo always sells out), but we stayed til after 1 A.M. watching some of the preliminaries for the next day's rodeo. Up close, turns out most of the cowboys were surprisingly hot. I have no idea why I'd never noticed that before. I mean, I watched "8 Seconds" and Luke Perry, obviously, was hot, but I had no idea that all cowboys were similarly attractive. Does this mean I should start listening to country music?

Angel Moroni!

2009-09-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's finally happened! Yesterday, Angel Moroni was placed on top of the temple in Kyiv.

This photos is one of my favorites. Notice the huge apartment buildings built during the Soviet Union era?

Members of the church in Ukraine have been waiting for this since the temple was first announced in July 1998. The members there have waited anxiously for nearly TEN YEARS. Ground on the temple was finally broken in June 2007, but construction has been slow. There is so much red tape to go through, it's taking much longer than anticipated. The dates for dedication have changed so many times already, it's been discouraging. The expected date is now fall of 2010. As you can see from the photos, the temple is not nearly completed, but putting the angel on top is a major step.

If you speak Russian, and maybe even if you don't, you'll love this video showing the statue and some of the members, sharing their testimonies and feelings on this important day.

I wish I could have been there to feel the spirit as the members met in the church building next to the temple and sang hymns. I wish I could see and feel the excitement my brothers and sisters must have felt as they watched the angel take it's permanent position atop the temple. This is truly the beginning of an entire new generation for the church in Ukraine. I am so happy for them.

Utah, a little bit of Arizona, and a quick trip to Cali.

2009-08-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Galya and Bogdan wanted to go EVERYWHERE and see everything. They got in around 7 PM on Thursday, but weren't tired at all. We had dinner, then saw a hypnotist on the strip.

Our first stop was Spanish Fork and the much anticipated Spanish Fork Fiest Days Super Amazing and Insanely Crowded Rodeo. The rodeo was sold out, but Galya was able to work some magic with her sexy Belarussian/Ukrainian accent and not only did we did in, but we got all three tickets for the price of one.

We went to the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake and saw a pow wow at Liberty Park.

Luckily, I was able to drop them off with a friend in SLC so I could take a break from "tour guide" and see my own friends. :) I spent most of the weekend with Kristin and Allison. We watched movies, hung out by the pool, went to dinner.

I planned an EXTREME VERSION of the scenic route back to Las Vegas. Our first stop was Bryce National Park. We just drove around and took pictures for a few hours. From Bryce, we went to Zion National Park. Bogdan and I actually hiked in the Narrows a little bit. I've been to Zion a few times before, but I'd never done that.

Our visit to Colorado city was fascinating. Just driving around was not enough. We decided we HAD to make a quick stop at the grocery store. I suggested we all speak Russian the entire time and pretend like we weren't SHOCKED by anything we saw. I'd heard the people there weren't entirely welcoming. I've really just never seen anything like this. Insane. Incredible. I just couldn't stop looking!

We took a SUPER QUICK trip to California. I spent a bit of time hanging out with Kelsey, one of my favorite friends, and her parents in beautiful Newhall, CA.

Everyone's favorite brother

2009-08-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Matt has officially graduated from boot camp on August 14th. My parents drove out with Eva and the girls to watch graduation. (The portable DVD player may have helped alleviate some of the suffering that is bound to happen in a long --VERY long-- car trip halfway across the U.S. with two kids under the age of 4, but... Ugh.)

Matt had one day before graduation off, Family Day. According to Jacquie, they swam at the hotel and "Uncle Matt just slept because he doesn't know how to swim." In reality, boot camp was pretty rough. I think Matt was just happy to get a few extra hours of sleep.

Now, he's off to another camp somewhere near Baltimore to learn something about repairing something. All of my information comes from Matt himself, so details are pretty sketchy.

Much love and congrats to everyone's favorite baby brother, Matt!

Summer!

2009-07-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

So, summer vacation is here! Galya and Bogdan (my favorite Belarusian and one of my very favorite Ukrainians) will be here on Tuesday, so we’re doing a mini-tour of the western U.S. They are staying with me for an entire month, so here’s what I’ve got so far:

Utah
This includes a variety of activities for the good ol' 24th of July, which you only get to REALLY celebrate in Utah. Rodeo, parade, Native American Powwow, and fireworks.
Temple Square and "Music and the Spoke Word" with the MoTab.
Horseback riding.
Laser show! (Really. These things are just as fun now as they were in high school.)
Visiting tons of people we know and love.
Grand Canyon
I’m not entirely sure if I really want to do this yet. I’m thinking about lying to them both and telling them the Grand Canyon isn’t accessible by car. It’s just so far!
L.A.
Of course every Ukrainian wants to see Disneyland and Hollywood, so… even though I have 0% interest in either place, I just can’t disappoint.
San Diego
Visiting friends, visiting the beach, and possibly visiting Shamu.
Las Vegas
Wandering all around the strip in 100+ degree weather, free shows on the strip, using my awesome connections, Mystere or Le Reve or “O”, shopping for EVERYTHING because the U.S. is so much cheaper than Ukraine, and if it cools down enough, a drive-in movie, complete with popcorn and American pizza.
Miami
No clue what we're doing here, but we have a free place to stay!
Costa Rica. We’ve changed our mind about this trip a million times already, but… Costa Rica, here we come!

It’s a lot, I know, and a LOT of driving (especially for someone who hates driving as much as I do) but I’m excited. I’ve been waiting for this all summer!

Anything I forgot?

summer movie watching

2009-07-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

So... summer.
I've definitely watched a lot of movies so far. I LOVE it. You'd think I'd be bored by now, just waiting for my friends to get here to begin our exotic summer vacation, but... Movies have kept me busy. :)

Historic ‘Blockbuster’ Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

Web Site Story

2009-07-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

This is far too true...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

So, who wants to follow me on Twitter now?

Utah... again.

2009-06-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

Quick trip to Utah. Some of my favorite people and some of my favorite places.

Utah State.

Bear Lake. I even volunteered to take senior pics for the kids. :)

Hogel Zoo and Trolley Square.

I hadn't been to the zoo for YEARS. I enjoyed it NEARLY as much as I enjoyed finding this t-shirt at Trolley Square when we met up with Devonte for dinner. I'd never thought about it before, but I really am glad Utah decided to go with SLC instead of this.

Vista's 09 Grads

2009-06-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

I really, really love these kids. AND, believe it or not, I think I'll actually miss them.

Congrats and good luck to the class of 2009!

Bye, bye AVID. :(

2009-06-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Another school year has come and gone. The end of this year was rough. Busy, as to be expected, but it was hard saying goodbye to my AVID kids. Especially since the program has been cut and this is the end of AVID at my school. This year, it's especially hard.
A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be sad to see any of them leave. They hated me because I wasn't their old teacher and I hated them because they hated me so much and simply didn't want to work. I knew, (well, I HOPED!) that they'd realize the things I was FORCING them to do were good for them. I knew/hoped we'd eventually come to like one another. I knew the hate couldn't last forever and we all just had to make the best of the situation. So last year was awful, but this year started out on a much better note. Maybe because so many of them were seniors, they finally realized they needed to get serious about college. Maybe they FINALLY realized I actually knew what I was talking about. Maybe because we knew what to expect from one another. Maybe because this year I finally decided they were nice enough that I'd make them caramel rice crispie treats, which historically have proven to help me win friends wherever I go. I was surprised at how much I actually came to like these kids. And, as evidenced by the chocolate covered strawberries and super sweet cards they gave me on their last day of school, they liked me.

Two of my students, Sadi and C’Lee, presented me with this fantastic commemorative cork board they made. They wrote a really sweet letter and pinned "inside jokes" all over the board. I'm really not an emotional person, but it almost made me cry. You'd have to really know the girls and our history to understand why this was such a big deal.

Early in the year, when it was time for the annual AVID t-shirt contest, this dynamic duo submitted a design for an "AVID Anorexia" t-shirt. I was shocked. Confused and a little stunned. I couldn't figure out why they could spend so much time on something we obviously wouldn't use. I didn't know them well and didn't appreciate their humor.

Later in the year, for some reason, the girls started eating lunch in my classroom. I really didn't think they liked me at all, so it was kind of strange, but I figured they were probably just happy to be somewhere other than the overcrowded, noisy school cafeteria. At some point, we started playing board games together during lunch. C'Lee was awesome at "You've Been Sentenced", and even though we all just made fun of it (and on a couple of occasions C'Lee wondered ALOUD in front of me whether or not they should ditch MY CLASS that day), I actually started to look forward to talking with them at lunch.

As the year continued, these girls became some of my favorite students. When C'Lee chose to really work, she blew me away with some really good essays. She's a very talented writer AND she's thinking about becoming a teacher. They came on our AVID trip to UNR and Sadi helped smuggle all the caramel rice crispie treats through security. Sadi won a $20,000 scholarship that we worked on WEEKS. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw they'd used puff paints to create an AVID Anorexia t-shirt just for me. I really am going to miss these kids.

Uh...

2009-06-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

The countdown til the last day of school is on! I've received some very sweet, heartfelt cards and thank you notes from students the past couple of days. And, of course, the kids have been writing really nice things in my yearbook. Turns out that even the kids I didn't think cared for me much at all LOVE me. Everyone has nice things to write in my yearboook. :)

Actual excerpts from letters written by kids GRADUATING from HIGH SCHOOL in less than a week:
I kno I was alwayz trying to sleep in class and stuff, but thanks for teaching me about colledge and stuff.
I don't know what I'd do without you. I might even like you more than Pokemon, and that says a lot! Your the best!
Your so cool and sweet. You help me out alot. Your a great teacher to have, even tho I do talk about everything and try to sleep alot in class. Your one of the my favrite teachers.

I appreciate the thoughts. Really, I do! So, is it really bad if I feel this way?

Lost Generation

2009-05-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

I love this.

Memorial Day

2009-05-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Maybe I'm a little more aware of Memorial Day this year since Matt, everyone's favorite brother, has just joined the Utah National Guard. He leaves for boot camp on June 3rd and I won't even get to see him again before he leaves! I've never been really close with anyone in the Armed Services, so I am curious to hear about the experiences he'll have there. Landen/Sled, everyone's favorite cousin who works at a cheese factory, reports for boot camp just a couple of weeks before Matt. I'm sure the discipline will do both of these kids some good. Plus, they both love to shoot up stuff. ;)

Thank you to all those good men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

I'm famous!

2009-04-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed on 97.5 today.
Yep.
Hung out in the studio with Cecilia for a while.

Van, one of my seniors, and I talked about Relay for Life. Van is the Entertainment Chair for Relay this year. She's amazing. Absolutely incredible. We've been working on this for MONTHS already. Van has scheduled performers down to the minute! Singers, a theatre skit, Chinese Lion dancers, breakdancers, a Mr. Relay competition, and games and competitions throughout the night.

Relay this year really is going to be great. April 25th at Spring Valley High School. Check out www.relayforlife.org for more info.

budget cuts are killing our future...

2009-04-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

Seriously. This is ridiculous. Our school has decided to discontinue the AVID program. My heart is broken. I've worked with the AVID program for 7 years already and I've seen the power it has to help students.

CCSD has AVID programs at 32 middle and high schools. I personally promised 150 students at Vista that this program would be there to support them throughout high school and help them prepare for college. This sucks. It really, really, really sucks.

This is ridiculous. Not only is my school cutting AVID, a program which has consumed me for the past 5 years, but we're cutting choir. Choir!

I wouldn't be too surprised if, in the next little while, the federal government was forced to do this:

Treasury Department Issues Emergency Recall Of All US Dollars

or this:

US To Trade Gold Reserves For Cash Through Cash4Gold.com

Puerto Rico

2009-04-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Gran Melia

As evidenced by these beautiful photos, our very, very posh hotel included anything and everything our heart's desired.

World class restaurants, great snorkeling right behind our villa, a "boutique" casino, a nightclub with live entertainment, and the best virgin pina coladas in the world. The best thing about our luxurious hotel, sadly, was also the worst thing. We were in Rio Grande, about 40 minutes out of San Juan. Our hotel was right on the beach, which also meant it was about 10 minutes (by car) from any major road. We were NOT interested in walking for 3 hours to find a taxi, so once we got there, we were stuck. No busses, no taxis, and the hotel was even out of rental cars. The good thing, however, is that it was one of the nicest, most relaxing places a person could ever possibly be "stuck". I was FORCED to relax, which is usually pretty difficult for me because I think vacations should be non-stop excitement and adventure.

El Yunque National Rainforest

According to the sometimes reliable Wikipedia, El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System, encompasses 28,002 acres of land. This area boasts 160 different tree species, not counting ferns and vines, including the candle tree and the laurel sabino which grows nowhere else in the world. El Yunque has also eight different lizard species.

Our guide said we were on the second easiest trail, but it was much more difficult than any of us expected. Our guide gave us walking sticks, which people made fun of (probably because they were jealous!) The trail ended at La Mina falls, where we were all excited to jump into the freezing cold water.

As soon as I find the cord to my camera, I'll upload more pics.

Erikah's debut. :)

2009-04-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

I was extremely flattered to be the only teacher "cool enough" to be invited to Erikah's 18th birthday bash/ debut (pronounced deh-boo, with a slight Filipino accent). This debutante ball was FAR more elaborate than any wedding reception I've ever seen. She looked gorgeous in both outfit #1 and #2.
After a fantastic dinner, Erikah's friends took the stage for the candle and rose ceremony. Eighteen of her closest male friends and relatives handed her a single rose and danced with her for a few seconds, before the next person cut in. After the men, the 18 most important women in Erikah's life gave a quick tribute to her.

And, of course, I was extremely impressed with the entertainment. Maverick surprised me with his hip hop dance.

And of course, these boys, some of my favorites at Vista, amaze me. Not only can they do THIS, but they also do this.

Incredible.

Will Puerto Rico be my heart's devotion?

2009-04-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

So far I've only seen the airport in Puerto Rico (quick layover on my way back from Barbados), but I'll let you know if it's anything like this video.

Spring Break plans have changed at the last minute. The cruise to Hawaii is out and a fancy resort in Puerto Rico is in. If you want to be jealous, you can check out the hotel website. If it's even 10% as nice as the photos, I'll be happy. Very, very happy.

free entertainment... !

2009-03-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

This has been a good month for entertainment. The lull in tourism here in beautiful Vegas has provided me with opportunities to see four different shows for free this month! :)

KA by Cirque de Soleil

I saw this last month with some friends (half price tickets), but went again when my friend Allison and her family were in town. It's amazing, as to be expected from a Cirque show, but I have to say Mystere is still my favorite. The rotating stage is cool the first time or two, but after the twentieth time it gets a little repetitive. I was also incredibly freaked out by the young, young girl getting together with the creepy old guy in the red speedo who was covered in glitter paint. It was just a lil' much.

Donny & Marie
My roommate's friend got free tickets from one of the dancers in the show, so I couldn't pass this up. I'd heard this was one of the best shows in Vegas, but I wasn't completely sold on the idea until, well... about 30 seconds into the show. I'm almost embarrased to admit it, but from start to finish, the production was simply amazing. Donny and Marie were both funny, personable, and really sing well. I knew more songs than I'd expected, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I were ten or twenty years older.

My friend Amanda is a concierge, so she was able to get us free tickets to both Danny Gans and Love. I'd seen Danny Gans before and his show hadn't changed much since he moved to Encore from the Mirage. He's updated a few jokes, but the impersonations were the same. He is, however, hilarious. His show is entertaining and kept us laughing almost the entire time.

Love by Cirque de Soleil
There was so much going on, it was a little over the top, but like all Cirque shows, this was completely amazing. The roller skating guys were amazing. I love The Beatles like everyone else, so it was fun to get into the music. The people behind me were singing along throughout half the show, which made it just a little more exciting than usual.

Charlie

2009-03-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Charlie Michael Milligan was born on March 18th. For complete details, go here.

Ukraine... it's just a little bit different.

2009-01-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I rediscovered a little Russian market that has since become my favorite place to shop. Verenokee, napoleon, smetana, tons of cheeses, and pear juice! Basically, the best things in life can all be found in this tiny little shop. I've been reminded of just a few of the many reasons I love all things Ukrainian, completely and insanely weird or not.

Fashion is always a little... interesting.

You don't need any type of plan or agenda for a night out. People just walk around until they run out of things to talk about, then walk back home.

Pigs beg for milk money.
(see right for example)

EVERYONE eats ice cream. Even adults eat ice cream as they wander through parks.

People sell things on the street from backpacks, suitcoats, and suitcases.

There are chandeliers in the metro.

People working don't really have to work much.

And transportation? There's a little bit of everything.

Hummer...

2009-01-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

I have no idea when or why Matt decided he was cool enough to buy a Hummer, but... Here it is. The H2.

Of course, he delivers pizza in said Hummer.

Customer: Wow! Domino's delivery guys must make a lot these days!
Matt: Well, you know I rely on tips, sir.

All I can say is, that Matt is pretty smart.

Zach

2009-01-02T00:18:00.000-08:00

Every teacher dreams of sending his or her favorite student to the best college in the nation. I am pleased to announce that Zac Moe from MOB will be attending Utah State University this spring.

It's kind of a long story, but basically, Zach started out at Hampton last fall, but ran out of money and had to come home. (He actually received a letter while he was home for Christmas break informing him that his ENTIRE BALANCE needed to be paid in full before he could return for spring semester. Zach did not return. His stuff may STILL be in a room there somewhere.) So, he took a few classes at CSN, worked for a while, kinda tried to save some money but mostly bought shoes, and now he is headed to the great land of the Aggies.

I think he'll like it. I mean, I wouldn't encourage him to go there if I didn't think he'd do well. It's definitely different from Vegas, but Zach's an outgoing person and I think he'll adjust pretty easily. Once he gets over the initial shock of so many while people in one place, I think he'll see it really is Aggies all the way!

9 for '09

2009-01-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

And, here comes Part II...
9 Goals for 2009

1. Work somewhere I LOVE and am really, truly happy.

2. "Schmooz" it up with the ol' co-workers. (This is ROUGH for me, but I think it's important.)

3. Travel more. (Hey, I figured I need at least ONE goal that will be both fun and easy to keep.)

4. Keep in touch with old friends. (This goal may, and hopefully will, tie in with goal #3-- TRAVEL MORE.)

5. Come up with more exciting, free things to do when people come to visit me. (This can tie in with goal #4. If I had more exciting things to do in Vegas, maybe more old friends would decide to come visit.)

6. Cut back on the sarcasm. Every year I debate whether or not this is a goal I want to set. I think I'm funny, but I'm sure I need to do better keeping this in check. One of the kids really believed me when I said "Benjamin Button" was based on a true story. Poor kid.

7. Help every single senior in my AVID class receive at least one scholarship. (Too optimistic, you say? But what about the lazy seniors who won't even apply for these scholarships you continually tell them about? Well, these lazy seniors will no longer be allowed to be lazy.)

8. Read more literature in Russian and (this WILL NOT be fun, but will definitely be useful...) study Russian grammar.

9. Stop watching TV online from crazy Asian websites that may slowly continue killing my computer. (It's hard to come up with 9 things and really, this will be better for my computer.)

8 for '08

2008-12-31T14:34:00.000-08:00

Top 8 Memories of 2008
(in no particular order)
1. Sitting along the Dnepr River with Alosha and, after HOURS and HOURS of conversation, getting pretty close to figuring out the meaning of life just before the sun came up.
2. The birth of Joie, my niece, who we like to call Roo.
3. Surviving life threatening rides with Bogdan, who took us all over Western Ukraine at TOP speeds on VERY bumpy roads.
4. Spring Break trip/ tour of USU with Zac Moe and Kehaulani.
5. Dressing up for dinner, eating fresh fruit by the pool, then heading to a foam party at a dance club in Turkey with Galya and the girls from Belarus, who never, ever quit dancing.
6. "Skype reunion" celebrating the 11th anniversary of entering the MTC with Elders from my MTC district, some of the coolest people in the entire world. We've all reconnected once again.
7. Krista's wedding in beautiful San Diego. Krista and I have been friends forever and I was thrilled to see her marry Ardi.
8. Seeing "Wicked" and cruising all around Chicago in the freezing cold with some great, very photogenic friends.

Snow!?!

2008-12-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Whudda thunk? Snow in Vegas. School was even canceled. Hooray! :) But we have to make it up later in the year, so... :( And even worse, the snow all melted before the "Snow Day" even started.

I love the Aggies. (We all love the Aggies!)

2008-12-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

Did you see this article?

I went to a USU basketball game over Thanksgiving break. Ags won by 40 points. I'd almost forgot how exciting it is to be part of that crowd. The crowd was cheering, "Up by 40!" at the top of their lungs. Domino's delivered pizza to a few lucky spectators and others played "bungee basketball" during half time. Football? Not so much, (although USU won last Saturday's game by 45 POINTS!), but basketball games were always the best.
Oh, to be in college again!

The moral of the story? One vote really DOES count.

2008-11-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe how quickly this got out.

A whole extra hour of birthday-ness...

2008-11-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

I realize I should feel lucky to have an entire extra hour on my birthday, but even this extra time has not helped me. I tried to come up with a creative list.
32 things to do in the year of 32.
I really could only come up with about 6 things to put on the list, so...
Guess everyone's right. Old people really do lose their creativity. :(
Here's the list anyway.

1. Travel more.

2. Reconnect with important people I've lost contact with.

3. Take photos. I have access to 3 digital cameras and a decent camera in my phone, but for some reason I never take photos. I know I'll regret this.

4. Be nice. (I AM nice, but sometimes the sarcastic comments I THINK are funny may not be quite as funny to everyone else.)

5. Spend more time with my family.

6. Start working on my list of 33 for 33 a bit earlier next year so I can come up with a few more ideas.

Happy, or not so happy, Halloween everyone!

2008-10-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Vote!

2008-10-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

* Warning. This song WILL get stuck in your head.

Kids Gone Wild (a.k.a. The Primary Program)

2008-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest. I usually hate my family ward. (Crying babies, noisy kids throwing cereal, the lack of hot single guys to distract me from boring talks...) Today, however, was an exception. The ward primary program.

If you've seen a primary program in the past, you may have a fairly good idea of what I'm talking about here. Kids waving to parents. Yelling "Hi, Mommy!" from the stand. The occasional youngster who stares at the audience in fear rather than repeating the lines his teacher whispers into his ear.

Today's program did not disappoint. I wish I had audio of the performance, but you'll just have to take my word for it. With all the mumbling and microphone feedback (caused by kids nearly eating the microphone), I was only able to understand about 30% of the kids' parts. (There were definitely a few moments when I wished for closed captioning.) Though I am still not entirely sure what was said, a couple of things surprised me:

1. There wasn't a lot of screaming.
Usually, it seems like there is a bit more kicking and screaming by shy or tired kids. These kids, overall, were quite well behaved. This may be because one very prepared teacher even gave her Sunbeams candy and mini Etch-a-sketches to keep them busy.

2. Parents were not embarrassed.
There were a few children I simply would not have claimed as my own. Namely, the nose picking girl in the front right and the singing at the top of his lungs without knowing any of the words Sunbeam on the front row on the left. The mom who's child yelled, "Hi, Mommy!" from the pulpit just smiled and waved back. The father of the boy who SCREAMED the few words he knew, then LOUDLY hummed through the rest of every song, just laughed.

Overall, pretty much an amazing program.

With the help of this video, my decision is made.

2008-10-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will help the undecided voter.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Ugh...

2008-10-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Where have I been lately? Buried under a stack of papers that, sadly, looks something like this.

I'm turning into an English teacher who does this.

Why? Well, my school has pretty much turned into this.

I should, instead, just give up and do this.

Have you seen this?

2008-09-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

This blog is seriously just too much! It would be even more funny, if it wasn't so sad that so much of it is true!

Alosha's Tree: Part 2

2008-09-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Regular readers of my fabulous blog may remember a post (see July 4th) about my dear friend Alosha's gigantic fake tree project. A Ukrainian television station was filming the project while I was visiting Kiev this summer. Well, it's done!
Here's the before photo, just as a reminder:

And here's the after, complete with a beautiful flat screen TV:

And the entire apartment, just so you can get a feel for the whole place. There's even the added affect of tiny little lights in the branches and trunk of the tree. (The guy worked at Disneyland, so I guess that should pretty much be expected.)

Alosha, moi giraffchik.
He's pretty much pretty talented.

.

Vista's AVID class of 2009

2008-08-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

'09! This is their year. These kids look so nice and innocent, don't they?

The end of summer...

2008-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Summer is really, sadly over. The last month has been busy! Here are the highlights:

I got back from Ukraine just in time for Nicole's bridal shower.

The next day, I went to a week long AVID conference in San Diego.

I visited my family in Logan for a few days before school started. Joie's growing quickly, Jacquie's running all over at all times, and Matt's pretty good about letter her crawl all over him.

My friend Tanya and I hung out with some of our favorite AVID kids, just before they left for college. Curtis went to Grambling, Reggie to UNR, and Boo returned to Lincoln University in Missouri.

Matt and I took a quick weekend trip to the best concert ever in San Francisco. Pretty much all of my favorite bands in one place at one time.

There are always a few weird people at concerts, but this was a bit extreme, even for San Fran. Check out this guy in the Santa suit.

Overall, good summer. As my friend from the Tepee would say, "Good times. Good times."

Odessa

2008-07-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Bogdan and I continued our Ukrainian world tour and made a quick trip to Odessa. Some of the highlights:

Mickey D's

2008-07-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

For some reason, McDonald's tastes better outside the U.S. I've never quite been able to figure out why, but EVERYONE agrees. When McDonald's first opened in Russia, thousands of people stood in line just to get a hamburger. And if you're looking for a clean (free) restroom in Ukraine, McDonald's is still your best shot.

Not only is the food itself better, but there is often live entertainment. Please see examples:
There's a regular old Playland, but people can also rent motorized toys or ponies for their kids to ride.

Kamenets-Podilsk and Chernivtsi

2008-07-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Bogdan, Galya, and I enjoyed a quick, action packed trip to Western Ukraine.

Besides the obvious, one of the highlights was dinner at this amazing, delicious, surprisingly cheap restaurant called "UTAH". We're sure a little uncertain about how the restaurant got its name, but apparently they have some type of relationship with the medical school at the University of Utah. You can imagine how excited the servers were to meet someone actually from Utah. (Okay, so they pretty much didn't care at all, but you can maybe imagine how excited I was at the time.)

Lviv

2008-07-06T23:50:00.001-07:00

Kristin and I went to Lviv for the weekend with Bogdan and his girlfriend, Taniya. It's a five hour drive and the bad roads made it seem more like 15 hours, but we thought it was worth it once we finally got there.

On our way we stopped at Olesko Castle.

I've been to Lviv a couple of times, but this time was different. We rented a gorgeous apartment in the center of the city. Spacious. Clean. Jacuzzi. The apartment was so nice, we considered staying in Lviv permanently.

The view from our balcony:

We didn't take a tour and weren't in a rush, so we just wandered through the streets looking at things and taking pictures. We sat in cafes, listened to live music, and found unique souvenirs.

I love the different colored buildings in Western Ukraine. It reminds me of Poland.

People in Western Ukraine are usually more friendly, too. They to be more religious than the rest of the country. Some stores are actually closed on Sundays. There are different kinds of churches all over the city.

Armenian Church
Bernadine Cathedral

Dominican Cathedral
Of course, we went to this nice, pink LDS church.

The Opera House, where we watched part of "The Merry Widow". (It was in Ukrainian and a little LONG, so we left after the first act.)

Even the fire station is beautiful.

Ukraine. It's just a beautiful place. :)

Kiev Temple

2008-07-04T02:39:00.001-07:00

Last night, Bogdan took us to see the construction of the temple here in Kiev. They broke ground in June 2007 and are currently working 24 hours a day, but the temple
isn't scheuled to be completed until April 2010.

It was almost midnight, so we couldn't walk around, but we still had a decent view. The chapel was finished a while ago, so now the construction workers are focusing on the hotel and the temple. They've already started the 2nd floor of the temple. Unless you're Ukrainian (or emotionally Ukrainian, like me), you may not understand how completely amazing this is. I'll try to get some good pics during the day, but until then...

Alosha

2008-07-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

My friend, Alosha, invited me to watch him work. INTER, a television station here in Kiev, is filming a half-hour program about one of his projects. It's basically the Ukrainian version of Extreme Home Makeover or This Old House.

He's building a fake tree in the middle of a living room and putting a flat screen TV in the middle of it. Unusual, yes, but pretty much a regular day's work for Alosha. :) He's a painter, sculpter, designer... талентливый молодой чеповек. When we worked at Disneyland in Paris, he buuilt trees like that all the time! (Sadly, when he lived with me in Barstow there were no orders for fake trees, but lots of orders for portraits.) You can check out his work here. You'll also find my portrait on the site. (Aww...)

Here's some pics of the beginning... (Don't anyone worry. I'll update the with pics of the construction process so you can see the finished product.)

The Binyuks

2008-07-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

I've known Jenya for 10 years. I met her husband two years ago when they visited me in Las Vegas. Their baby, Olgert, is 11 months old.

We visited Chernegov, a small town filled with beautiful churches and monks buried in caves.

We went to Pirogovo, the outdoor museum just outside of Kiev.

Funny things said in Turkey.

2008-06-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Please, come drink some tea with me. It will only take a few minutes for us to drink some tea and get to know one another. Let's just drink some hot tea or some cold tea. Maybe you want apple tea. Just some simple tea for us to drink together.

You (insert nationality here) are different from the girls of our country. I am always attracted to (nationality). You are so alive. Our girls are not attractive. They have no feeling. They have no passion.

I think you and I really could be happy together. If you came tonight after I get off work, we can go together and get to know each other better and be happy. I think we will be so happy.
(* Kind of cute and flattering, if sincere, and cute the first five or six times you hear it, but EVERYONE uses the same line!)

And you also are Russian? Because I do not think you are Russian, but you are Russian? These Russian girls want sex only. Our men also want only sex, but we are not like these Russian girls.

Tonight we will meet. I will finish working and you will meet me. You must meet me. There is not choice. We must be to meet together. We will have some drink and we will talk. We will talk about everything.

I may have mentioned this before, but... I love Ukraine.

2008-06-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the reasons why.

GOOD FRIENDS
Bogdan and Galya are among the best.

LAVRA MONASTERY.
Established in 1051. We visited the caves where monks once lived and were buried.

GREAT PARKS
and Soviet Statues, which someone are always entertaining.

THE BOAT RIDE ON THE DNEPR
plus the great company of Bogdan and Jenya, who always manage to make things interesting.

Turkey pics

2008-06-28T04:41:00.000-07:00

We just got back to Kiev yesterday. My friend Kristin flew in today, so she's taking a quick nap before we hit the town. So... not much time for writing, but I wanted to post some pics here.
You can see part of the wing, but this is from the plane.

We saw a guy leading camels across the street.
Then saw this guy make camels out of sand.

We visited the Church of St. Nicholas, Mira, and Kekova.

We saw the Cleopatra baths a Pamukkele.

Galya's friend took us to a nice dinner near a beautiful waterfall.

We cruised around on a yacht and saw an underground city.

Made friends with some very cool girls from Belarus.

Watched some soccer with some locals. (Turks are pretty serious about soccer. They put big TVs in the street to watch, so they wouldn't miss anything while they were working.)

Kennan (and his friends) taught us some magic tricks.

Went to a foam party at a discoteka.

Basically a pretty great trip.

Turkey

2008-06-25T01:52:00.000-07:00

Somehow, Galya and I ended up here and we're staying here. Basically, it's pretty amazing. Handsome men. HOT, HOT sun. Beautiful clear water and nice beaches. Good food. Nice 4* hotel with a strong air conditioner. Crazy discotekas. Basically, it's pretty much perfect. We even saw a guy leading 3 camels (a small family, maybe. mom, dad, and baby camel) across the street on our way back from an "excursion" to Mura-Kekova.

Kemer is pretty small and peaceful. The people are friendly and it's safe, even at 4:30 when we're walking back to our hotel from the club. It's a tourist town and most of the tourists are from Russia, so the people have adapted and most of them speak Russian fairly well. I haven't met any Americans the entire time we've been here, but I saw a family from Canada. Everyone assumes I'm Russian and, since it's not their native language, they don't notice my accent. :) We spent too long at the beach yesterday, helping some cute young men from Istanbul practice their English, so I am suffering from a beautiful, red sunburn. I'm hiding out in the air conditioned internet cafe this afternoon, while it's still really hot. Somehow, I'm sure I'll work up the strength to go out tonight. Turkey is playing in the World Cup finals and the people go a little crazy watching the games. It's one of the most entertaining things I've seen so far. The won the one of the semi-final games the other night, so they shut of the main street and everyone hopped into their cars and drove up and down the road. Honking horns, waving Turkish flags and soccer jerseys out the window... Very entertaining. I'll post some pics when I get back to Kiev. :)

AVID reunion #3: Drive-in Night!

2008-06-14T13:59:00.001-07:00

Went to Garduno's and the drive-in last night with the old AVID kids. Like they say, Canyon really gets it crackin'. Watched "The Hulk" and "Iron Man". They were pretty much the same movie, but the costumes were different.

Canyon's AVID Class of 08

2008-06-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

I love these kids. A lot. I really love these kids and am very proud of them. Not only did they all manage to graduate (some barely!) but most of them are headed to college and have real plans for the future.
And a few more pics, just to show how cute these 08 grads really can be...

Well... the pic of Reg and Kehau may not quite show CUTE, but it definitely shows some personality. :) I always looked forward to the picture messages they sent to me during their AVID class. It feels good to be remembered.

Reggie and Donna, who are both headed to UNR in the fall. (Still a little disappointed that Reggie decided not to become an Aggie, but I couldn't be more proud of him if I was his mother.)

Britt with former AVID President and 07 graduate, Mr. Evan Fincher.

Kehaulani, who always looks beautiful.

Mario and Curtis, who always look... cool.

I am very happy for all of these kids and even more excited to see what life has in store for them. I can't wait for AVID Reunion #3: A graduation celebration. We're going to the drive-in theater! Aww... the drive-in. It's an AVID dream come true. :)

Summer!

2008-05-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

The school year has FINALLY ended and my plans for summer vacation are in full swing. What's on the itinerary?

Ukraine--

Kiev

Odessa

Greece Turkey

Maybe Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria.

Then back to Ukraine for a few days before I fly back to Vegas. I'll keep you posted. :)

Matt is America's Next Top Model

2008-05-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

Seriously. You can tell he's been practicing in the mirror. Matt's not only good looking, he's also got all of the poses down pat.

Here's innocent.

Here's mysterious.

Here's happy.

And with a cute baby as a prop, the pics get even better.

Writing...

2008-05-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection."
Anais Nin, Cuban-French author

I should write more.

Joie's blessing & Jacquie's bday

2008-05-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Joie was blessed on Sunday...

...and her big sister Jacquie turned 3.

She was thrilled to celebrate her birthday with a Dora the Explorer cake and a very cool bubble BBQ.

I have a Masters degree

2008-05-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Wow. Just checked my email and...
Congratulations on having successfully completed your
culminating experience! If you are receiving this message,
I have turned in a passing grade for you forCIG715.
That's it? Just a form letter email my advisor sent to another 10 people. No personal message? No bells and whistles and people cheering for me? I know I didn't want to walk at graduation and make a big deal of everything, but... That's it? Maybe I'll wait and have my OWN CEREMONY when it comes in the mail. I definitely need the cheering.

Hmm... Maybe I should move?

2008-05-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've never completely felt like Vegas is my "home" anyway, so...

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcitydoyoubelonginquiz/

Relay '08

2008-05-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Once again, Relay for Life with the AVID kids. We were at Spring Valley High School this year. Their AVID program organizes most of the event and they did a fantastic job.

It was the first Relay experience for the Vista kids, so we only invited a small group. Thankfully Reggie came, all the way from North-Town, to help with the dismantling of the tents. (No, he didn't bring the smallest tent in the world. Disappointing, I know.) This time I was smart enough to only take kids I really like and trust, rather than just the kids who'd be fun and entertaining all night. Yep. I've finally learned my lesson. We made a billion brownies and a gazillion rice crispie treats. Our team raised almost $500. Not a lot, but we put it all together in less than 2 weeks.

I've recently discovered that people STILL breakdance. Interesting... Who knew? Unfortunately (for the boys), there are no videos of the hula dancers, but here's part of the dance contest. (The rest of the videos would turn my nice little "G" rated blog to a very serious "PG-13").

I hate UNLV.

2008-05-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this before, right? I still hate it.
Countdown til graduation??? 13 days. Lucky #13. I'm too cool to WALK at graduation and really, nobody would come to see me walk, but I'm definitely hoping to get some nice cards (hopefully nice cards that have cash/ checks/ giftcards inside).
Thanks. :)

p.s. How's this for a good intro?

When Reverend Jesse Jackson spoke at the high school I worked in last year, he asked everyone to stand and repeat the phrase, “Strong minds break strong chains.” He told the students that, although their living circumstances may seem bleak, an education has the power to help people overcome obstacles that may seem insurmountable. He was right. Understanding the politics of education, continuing research related to poverty, and fostering real literacy development through examining and refining existing literacy programs can help students to break these chains.

One paragraph down... thousands to go. Thousands.

Add this to the list of things to do...

2008-04-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

It may take some work, but I'm thinking about talking some of the kids in my 1st period class into doing this during their lunch hour.

And this would be fun, too. Definitely not my original idea, but it would be very entertaining.

I do not live in Thailand or the Maldives :(

2008-04-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

Just the other weekend I was chatting it up with friends far away on Skype (amazing... amazing... I love Skype), when an old friend (Abe*)from the MTC sent me an instant message. Next thing I knew, we were talking via webcam and catching up the many years that have passed since we've last spoken. Amazingly and miraculously, another old friend (Shaun*) was on Skype and we had a mini-MTC coolest district ever reunion. Here's my summary** of the dialogue, which may or may not be entirely fabricated:
(imagine the newsreporter voices, please).

Me: Wow. It's great to talk to you guys. What are you both doing in life now?
Shaun: I'm in exotic Thailand working with an ultra exclusive, very cool HIV program. In my spare time, I'm working on the valedictorian speech I'll deliver when I graduate from my very prestigious medical school. My wife, daughter, and I travel the world and my daughter is famous throughout the land. We actually just got back from Vietnam. Check it out in my blog. I'm cool enough to post all the time.
Abe: I'm in the Maldives right now, but just recently I was CEO of a company in Uzbekistan that sold for gazillions and bajillions of dollars. I take a boat to work, go windsurfing on the weekends, and pretty much just cruise around visiting new places. I'm still planning to run for President of the United States and hope I can count on your support.
Me: Oh. Wow.
Shaun: Where do you live?
Me: Uh... Las Vegas.
Shaun and Abe (together): Wow. That sounds really lame and OCHEN SKYCHNO.
Abe: Well, I'm not making any plans to visit Las Vegas anytime soon because it's so boring and hot in the summer, but Shaun, I'd love to visit you in Thailand. Maybe I'll drop by next weekend?
Shaun: Please come by. It'd be great to see you, Abe. Jeanne, maybe we could meet up in Logan sometime, since your exciting summer vacation often consists of visiting your parents in Nibley, which is just a little town outside of a a really little city.

Abe and Shaun continued to make plans about traveling around the world while I sat and wondered how I've ended up in one place for so, so, so very long. I felt like a big loser. Of course, this may have been partially because another long lost friend recently told me that visiting 33 countries wasn't anything to be excited about, since he's been to about 80. He suggested I count QUALITY, rather than QUANTITY, since some of his visits, like his trip to Moldova, were only quick one-day trips. Umm... Really? I was in Moldova for about 2 hours and I put it on my list. Maybe this means I need to edit...?

End of conversation:

Abe: I really need to go to work now. The very cool boat should pick me up in just a couple of minutes. I live on an island, you know.
Shaun: No problem, Abe. Go to work. My loving family needs my undivided attention, anyway. We need to scrapbook our photos from our trip to Vietnam and prepare for this cool Thai festival.
Me: Uh, yeah... I'm busy, too. I need to, um... Well, I'm sure I have something important to do, too. I could grade hundreds and hundreds of poorly written essays, a task that causes me to envy sweatshop employees in the remote places of the world that you two visit on weekend vacations.
Abe: Sounds so boring.
Shaun: Yeah, Jeanne. You used to be so adventurous!
Me: Uh, yeah. I'm just grown up now. Well, it was great chatting with you guys.
Abe: You, too. So, Shaun, I'll head over to Thailand next week?

* Names have definitely not been changed a bit.
** Dialogue relayed here does not reflect actual events.

The conversation may not have quite gone the way I've recalled here (and these guys are both awesome, so I know they weren't even trying to brag about the cool things they are doing in life), but at least you get a sense of how I felt. Abe and Shaun are both humble men who happen to lead extraordinary lives, but they've worked hard to get where they are today. The most amazing part of the whole experience is just realizing that, although ten years have passed, those guys are still some of my favorite people in the entire world. I loved and learned a lot from each of the missionaries I served with, but these two were among the best. TEN YEARS AGO. I feel so old... :(

Somewhere, deep down inside, I realize that I don't need to live in an exotic location to have an interesting life. I just think that would make things a little easier. The point of the story is that I'm completely and entirely JEALOUS. Very jealous. That's bad though, right? I don't usually feel that jealous of other people. I just need to do something exciting to make life interesting again. This last year has been so BORING. (Maybe it's because nobody's getting shot? No crazy fights to watch during lunch at school? I had to stop two girls in the hall from fighting once, but neither was even taking out her jewlery so it wasn't even that serious. My school is so boring...) I guess I'm just ready for summer. SUMMER!

Hotter than Some Ham

2008-04-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Some kids from Canyon created this music video in their broadcasting class last year. It's a catchy tune. Listen for the SAT vocab words... ;)

Test Blog.

2008-04-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

I realize that I may not write in this blog enough to say I actually HAVE a blog, but this is a test...
Andriana? Amanda?

USU visit: take 2!

2008-03-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Of course Zach wanted to check out Utah State, after he heard so much about our last trip. And Kehau just couldn't resist visiting Logan once again. ;)
Davey liked Kehau so much, he wants her to be his first ever girlfriend. He asks, "Where's Kehau?" every time he calls. They even made this handsome Lego man together.

Snapshots in time.

2008-03-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, so I should be able to limit these pics to one or two words.

Home.

Family.
Bro.

Cancun.

Fo' Life.

School spirit.

AVID homies.

Chicago!

2008-03-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Nicole (yay!) invited Stephanie and I along on her work trip to Chicago.

This was the first time Stephanie and I had visited the ol' Windy City, so we did all the regular touristy stuff. It was truly WINDY and freezing, but we had a great time.

Ashley drove out from Louisville to meet us and turned out to be a great tour guide. So, here are the highlights:
Millennium Park and the giant BEAN.

The Field Museum and the largest tyrannasaurus in the world. Ol' Sue.

Uno's Pizza. As delicious as Nicole promised.

A mob tour, complete with gun shots and prizes.

We were even able to do a session at the temple.

I see you, Boo!

2008-02-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

Ah, the good old Kappas at the MLK parade.

Two things:
1. This makes me miss Canyon, once again.
2. I think of Boo's show at Green Valley Ranch EVERY TIME I see anyone step. Not only were we underdressed, but my two friends and I were the only white people in the entire ballroom. Sure, we felt out of place, but I loved every minute of it. Still, every once in a while, I'm tempted to yell out: "I see you, (insert name here)" across a crowded room.

Obituary: Sinclair Thomas

2008-02-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

February 8, 2008:
Las Vegas, NV

Sinclair Thomas, a bright, possibly young painted turtle, passed away sometime late this evening. At the present, the exact cause of death is unknown. Suicide and murder have been ruled out.

Jeanne Milligan, his caretaker, found him dead when she took him out of his 10-gallon tank for routine cleaning. Sinclair did not move. At first, Jeanne believed he was suffering from shock or fear. After a few minutes, it became apparent that Sinclair was not moving and further, would not move again.

The turtle's owner, Reggie Thomas, was shocked and saddened by the news. "Awwwwwwww...... he died. :( " Reggie commented in a text message. Kristin Torbenson shared a condo with Sinclair for nearly three months, but was out of town at the time of death. Via text message, she commented, "That is soooooo sad! His eyes were looking cruddy the other day..."

Sinclair will truly be missed by both friends, family, and AVID students at The Canyon. Unfortunately, caretakers have been unable to notify Sinclair's immediate family, as Sinclair had not associated with them for an undetermined length of time.

Services are tenatively scheduled for sometime Sunday afternoon. Memories of Sinclair will be shared and pazookie/skookies will be served. Those wishing to pay their respects may post comments on this site.

Yes. We. Can.

2008-02-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

No matter who you're voting for, the message here is powerful.

25 random things about me...

2008-02-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Fine. It’s done. I’m on the bandwagon! I too have posted my list of random, or not so random, things about me.

I used to tell people my favorite color was silver because it sounds unique and exciting, but deep down inside, I think it’s always been brown.
I agree with my students. White people really can’t dance. (inside joke for the Kaiizen kids-- “Hey. How ya doin’? What’s your major?”)
I like to make up random lies to fool people.
I’ve been to 33 or 34 countries. (Depends on who’s counting!)
I’ve always regretted not staying in Ukraine and working for the embassy.
I Love Hip Hop! (I don’t entirely love Triple E or Weezy, but I can listen to a few songs if it helps me build my street cred with the AVID homies.)
I’ll try almost anything if it’s free.
I’ve never read The Scarlet Letter, but I’ve magically and mysteriously taught it to my students two years in a row. Oops!
I worry about my high school students (current and former) almost constantly.
One of my lifelong goals is to play “Know Your Cuts of Meat” with David Letterman. I don’t think I’d be good at it, but I’d just like the chance to hang out a bit with Dave.
When I was in fourth grade I won $100 by saving Captain Crunch from the Soggies. (You can thank me for helping you all retain such delicious, crunchy cereal.)
I wanted to eat bananas backwards (with the stem as a handle) the entire time I was in Ukraine so that it would a habit. I thought it would be cute and quirky when I returned to the States. Sadly, it didn’t work out.
I blame Christina for this, but I’m completely addicted to “Gossip Girl”.
There are books on my bookshelf that I have never read.
Some of my best and some of my very worst memories are of things that happened in China.
If you want me to keep something “secret”, I need to be specifically told that it’s a secret.
I’m in love with Wentworth Miller.
I used to be in love with Jude Law, but that whole nanny thing kind of ruined the potential for our relationship.
One of my main goals in life is to talk as many young kids as possible into attending Utah State University in beautiful Logan, Utah. More Aggies in the world = more peace, happiness, and love.
If I don’t answer your call, I probably really am ignoring you. Sorry about that.
Sometimes I really am sad that I don’t live in Thailand or Maldives.
Next to my grandma, I make the best caramel rice crispie treats in the world.
I got my Masters degree from UNLV, but I still only tell people I went to Utah State. Go Aggies!
My parent’s named me after my great-grandmother, so when my school teachers and everyone else incorrectly pronounced my name… Gee-Ann, Jean-nean, Jenny… I didn’t really let it worry me. A few years ago, I was looking through genealogy at my mom’s house and found that my great-grandmother had actually spelled her name Jeanie. Notice the “i”? I was heartbroken. My entire life would have been SO MUCH EASIER if my parents had simply spelled my name with an “i”. I’m still kind of upset about the whole thing.
My three favorite foods: waffles, carne asada quesadilla, and Diet Coke. Life would be basically complete, even with nothing else.

The Mail is Missing

2008-02-01T17:57:00.001-08:00

This really takes me back... Don't tell anyone, but a few times I wrote letters from "the postman", apologizing for their poor service and long delays in letters from cute girls back home, then secretly sent them to some of the Elders I served with who were discouraged and distracted. I remember the importance of a letter. (Back in the day, letters were just as important as Myspace comments. That's real serious stuff.)

President Hinckley

2008-01-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away on Sunday night. When my mom called to tell me President Hinckley had passed away, I was a little surprised. He was 97 years old, so it shouldn't have been surprising at all, but somehow I just thought he'd live forever.
When I was on my mission, President Didier visited Ukraine. In a meeting with members and missionaries, he told us that he brought us greetings and love from the First Presidency. He'd spent some time with the prophet at General Conference a few weeks previously and related an experience. I don't remember the entire story, but President Hinckley had been working tirelessly all week and was completely exhausted when he arrived home very late one evening. So exhausted, that particular day, he did not even have enough energy to undress and sleep in his bed. Instead, he laid down on the couch and asked his son to help him take off his shoes. He had no strength left. The next morning, the prophet was dressed and ready to go at 4 A.M. His son suggested he go back to sleep, since no meetings were scheduled until 8 or 9 that morning. President Hinckley said something like, "How can I sleep when there is so much work to do? We have no time to waste. We must get to work and use every minute."
As missionaries, you can imagine the gigantic feeling of guilt that suddenly overwhelmed each of us. We liked to complain about waking up at 6 A.M. and working hard all day. We were happy for long bus rides when we didn't have to contact, but could relax and just rest for a few minutes. Of course all of our efforts were nothing compared to our the efforts of our prophet. A man four times our age, but with more energy than any of us.
One of my favorite quotes is by Sister Hinckley.
"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenck's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

When I think about President Hinckley's passing, I am sincerely happy for him. He will be missed greatly, but I just can't stop thinking about how happy he must be to see his sweet wife again. I remember seeing this photo after Sister Hinckley's funeral and just feeling a little bit of the loneliness he much have felt.

Eternal families are such an amazing, wonderful thing. I am truly grateful for the knowledge I have that our families do not end here on earth. Through the construction of temples, President Hinckley helped bring that knowledge closer to millions of people. I'll never forget sitting in the Topol chapel in Dneprpetrovsk, Ukraine and listening to our Branch President tell everyone that President Hinckley had just announced the construction of a temple in Kiev. Suddenly blessings that were once so far away came within reach to some of the people I love most in this world. Such an amazing thing!

I love this photo of President and Sister Hinckley. I think President Hinckley waved his cane around more than he ever used it to help him walk. I always loved to see him wave his cane in their air when he walked out of General Conference. President Gordon B. Hinckley was a great man who led by a great example. He will truly be missed.

In Honor of Chinese New Year...

2008-01-26T22:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves China, in one way or another. Chinese food. Fortune cookies? What's there not to like? Here are just a few of the reasons I like China.

1. Clean dry shirts.
Someone did our laundry for us so there were clean clothes for everyone ALL the time.

2. Good company.
How could anyone not have a great time traveling with this group? Sure, we spent most of our time eating or sleeping, but we had a great time.

3. Instant celebrity status.
As the first foreigners to visit Yicheng, we gained popularity very quickly. Yicheng is so small, I couldn't find any information about it online. However, I found some information about Xiangfan, a larger city about 45 minutes from Yicheng.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangfan

4. The Great Wall.
Obviously, it's called "great" for a very good reason.

5. C.J.
Melanie and I met C.J. at KFC in Beijing. We spent a couple of days with him and had a great time, until he started reading Chairman Mao quotes from the great red book and some cops tried to stop us. We got scared and ran.

6. Good students.
I really liked the kids I taught. A big change from Vegas, definitely, but it was fun to get to know them and see their personalities. It's always difficult to express yourself in a different language, especially if you are still learning that language, but for the most part, the high school students I worked with were motivated, energetic, helpful, and respectful. They stood when I entered and left the classroom. They did their homework, even though they were not getting any type of grade for the class we taught. The girls loved to show us their town and help us translate when shopping.

7. The DOLLAR actually means something.
Yep. Things are cheap. Tons of great souvenirs. Baby clothes for Jacquie. Cool shoes and purses. I even managed to buy magic Kung Fu headbands from Wudan, the birth place of Kung Fu, for just 10 cents each.

AVID Alumni! -- A dream to guest speak has come true.

2008-01-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

Luckily, it didn't take much to persuade my old students to speak in my class when they were back home in Vegas for Christmas break. The offer of Sonic, or carmel rice crispie treats, is usually enough to persuade high school students to do almost anything. (I've trained them well, I know.)
Jose, always responsible, was the only person who made it on time. (Way to go, Jose!) Zach was driving Boo and Crystal, so they showed up around 45 minutes late. Thankfully, Jose has such an awesome life story, he was able to completely captivate my entire sophomore class for over an hour. Jose's family moved to the U.S. from Mexico almost 5 years ago. As a 9th grader, Jose was bussed to a predominantly white high school, where he was forced to learn English quickly. Jose spent all summer at a public library, teaching himself the language. He joined AVID as a junior because some of his friends on the soccer team told him it would help him get to college. Jose is the student he wrote such an amazing college admissions essay, it was passed around the entire office. He graduated as salutatorian, with a 4.6 weighted GPA, and received the Gates Millennium Scholarship that will pay not only for his undergrad, but also his Masters and Ph.D. He received a $40,000 scholarship to the University of San Diego, where he is now studying Biology, Spanish, and Italian.
I've told my class about Boo a.k.a. Vegas before. She's had all kinds of crazy experiences since she's been in school. From missing her train back to Jeff City and nearly having to sleep in the train station overnight to finding a girl passed out on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night, Boo has seen and suffered through a lot. She's barely scraping by each semester, but she's doing it. She really is. She may not love MissourAH and the university isn't very well organized, but she likes her classes. We've had some great conversations about some of the things she's been learning. Thankfully, she didn't show pics from the TOGA PARTY.
Crystal, Miss AVID 2007, told about her experiences at UNR. I visited Reno for a day (that turned into a LONG NIGHT stranded at an airport) at the end of October and saw her cruise all around the campus like she knew exactly what she was doing. All grown up. :) Her school is completely free. Millenium and GEAR UP scholarships, plus financial aid. Now, young Miss Chris G. Lo Kill-AH gets a little bonus check $$ each semester.
So, Zac Moe talked about Hampton and gave us the perspective of HBCUs. Zach's hysterical and makes friends easily, so he's definitely had fun at Hampton. He's also gone to school, when he hasn't been too busy hanging out in the student center making new friends... The best piece of advice he gave was this:

"College isn't about being smart. It's about being responsible."

Genius! Zac Moe giving some serious, real advice and not once did he mention "dead AVID homes". He talked about a lot of pool parties, of course, and girls and girls and girls. He also passed a hat around and collected $9.00 in gas money from my junior class. And he told quite a few stories about all of the fine girls in college. (Apparently girls outnumber guys at Hampton 17:1). And he also happened to mention a late night study session in the library that turned into a dance party, but other than that, I think things went okay and no young minds were terribly corrupted.
All four of these kids will be the first person in their family to graduate from college. It's still a ways off, yes. First semester of freshmen year has just ended, but it's all so exciting. Each one seemed a little more confident and mature. I can't wait to see them at their college graduations. :) I was pretty proud. (So proud, in fact, that the tutors said I was "glowing like a mom". I'm sure that's supposed to be a good thing... Right?)