Back with

Being silly at the museum

Mexican Food with friends

Flying with Thomas

View from up high

Last Supper

Tulips

Spargel was in season -- Mmmm good!

Zeppelin Museum

 

Mercedes Museum

We’re back at the grind,

Germany was awesome! More of the same, but even better.  We ate too much, drank just the right amount, laughed a lot, and simply relaxed.  We traveled to the Lake of Constance and the Island of Flowers where we saw over a million tulips blooming.  Stayed in a hotel that was built in 1723 and woke to fresh snow the next morning.  We then visited the Zeppelin Museum and the Mercedes Museum on the way home to Karlsruhe.  We spent quite a bit more time on motorcycles doing daily rides through the Black Forest and into France (so, Missie could get her éclairs.)  Clear air, chilly rainy weather, and the beauty of spring made it even better.

We got back and were met with rain – nice surprise.  Once again that left the next day and the dust storms came back – unbelievable!  We had one nice day this week and promptly ran to the beach after school.  The water is still a little chilly, so we should have a few more weeks before it is to hot to swim – hopefully we can get in some camping.  This has been much harsher weather (dust) this year and has kept us inside even more.  I did get to go fishing with one of my student’s parents last night and had a good time.  It was a little discouraging since they use seine nets, which are very indiscriminate.  No matter what was caught, it was allowed to die – even if they knew it was not edible.  I guess that is why nothing was much larger than 10 inches – including squid and crabs.

In trying to find humor while living here, we had a little chuckle the other evening while eating dinner at the mall.  The music selection in the mall was apparently a mix of songs from famous musicals.  A little “Maria” from the West Side Story, then “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun (I was kind of taking note of the songs because of the overall meanings of the actual musicals) and then the kicker – “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof.  Someone in the music selection department was either really inept or had a great sense of humor.  And to cap it off, the call to prayer was right after it.  For those of you that aren’t up on your musicals – Fiddler on the Roof was a story about Jewish Immigrants – would be definite “haram” here.  Since we have to cut out all reference to Jews or the history of the Hebrew culture from our textbooks, then this was truly funny.

Missie and I are taking more PRAXIS tests today trying to get our certifications in order for Hawaii.  What a blast!  She is taking Math and Social Studies, while I am taking Principles and Practices for High School and Technology Instruction  -- my brain hurts!  I just love that we get to keep paying to take tests (about $600 this time) so we can have the privilege of teaching in public schools.

We have been rethinking our next six months after leaving this place, more to follow.

Lesson of the Week: Life is choices.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie