Holocaust conference

I took some of my high school students, and Ms. Viera (one of our AVID tutors), to hear some Holocaust survivors speak.
The stories they told were heartbreaking. Amazing opportunities for all of us to hear from these survivors who, unfortunately, won't be around for long.

I'm famous!

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...

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

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. :)

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?

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.