Africa Mask Project

This has been a good week for me. The students have begun to study Southwest Asia and have the Africa Masks due. So far they have begun to present them and they are all very creative. Each student had to create a mask based on a tribe and country that they selected. The masks were had to have traditional African qualities and represent something the tribe would have actually found important. They had to use geometric shapes and have the overall spirit and purpose reflected in the mask. We are going to finish up the masks tomorrow and begun Southwest Asia next week. We are hopefuly going to cover water and oil resources in the region and how it influences the region.

This is the time of year that Texas starts to experience spring and the grass and trees begin to turn green. It is also the time of year that the famous blue bonnets and indian paintbrush begin to appear. You will see people stop on the side of the road and lay in the blue bonnets to take pictures. These are beautil blue flowers that grow wild throughout the state.

The Week Before Spring Break

This has been a really good week at school....despite the fact that I got sick. We had our socratic seminar over Rwanda and Darfur. The students really impressed me and the assistant principal with their knowledge and discussion skills. I am hoping that they will want to continue doing socratic seminars in the future.

Things have been hectic in my life. I am preparing to leave for Missouri tomorrow. I checked the weather and it is still in the 30s there. I am hoping that it will warm up at some point this week otherwise I will freeze. I am not taking my dog this time. She loves road trips but I think she will have more fun playing outside at my sister's house in the country. I have learned a lot since moving to Texas. My sister has a place in the country so I have been introduced to Texas snakes, scorpions, cows, and other various wild animals. It is a fun experience but some of the things like huge spiders, scorpions, and snakes I could live without. I have included a picture of one of those scary insects I found on my floor one night. It was terrifying. I do not wish to relive that experience.

East of Austin where she lives is very flat and you can see forever. West of Austin is the hill country. Texas has its own form of beauty. I think the most beautiful part about it is the huge open sky. It seems to stretch on forever with big beautiful clouds.

I had better log off of here and finish packing. I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break!

The end of February

It seems like just yesterday it was the beginning of the new year. Now it is already March. This week in class we have been discussing the genocide that happened in Rwanda. This has always been an important topic for me and I am glad that the students seem to be taking an interest in it. I wrote several research papers on it in graduate school and was amazed to find out how many people didn't know about the genocide. I think it was a shame that the international community turned their backs on Rwanda when several easy steps could have been taken to prevent of to stop the genocide.

This week in my life:
It has been a hectic week for me. It hit 90 degrees in Austin. I am still trying to adjust to the climate change in Texas. I am originally from Missouri and I am still not completely used to it being so warm in February. I was in Missouri last week and the temperatures were in the 20s and there was lots of snow and ice. By the time I got back to Texas it was in the 80s. It is definatley an adjustment.

Things that I have learned since living in Austin:
1. You can wear flip flops all year long. It never seems to get really really cold. Even if it is cold it usually only lasts a day or two and then it is back to being nice outside.

2. Austin Bats:

How Many Bats Live Under the Congress Avenue Bridge?: The Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin is the spring and summer home to some 750,000 bats with up to 1.5 million bats at the peak of the bat-watching season. It's the largest urban bat colony in North America.

Why Did the Bats Choose the Congress Avenue Bridge?: While bats have called Austin home for many years, it was after renovations to the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake in 1980 that they found their favorite hang out. Narrow but deep openings created in the bridge turned out to be perfect accommodations.

Congress Avenue Bat Flights: Each evening around sunset the Congress Avenue bats emerge like a black cloud from the crevices of the bridge. Covering the countryside in search of food, it is estimated that the bats consume from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects.

Giving birth in June or July, the bats and pups hang around til October when they head back south. Watching the nightly forays for food is a favorite evening activity, especially in late summer.