So I feel like sharing about people in my life. You may or may not read about yourself in my next few entries :) This is in no order of importance, but this one is the most important.
Some of you know but a lot of you don't... recently I have been pretty much off the map. I apologize for that. My grandmother was in the hospital. She had a minor heart attack and fluid filled her lungs. After about 2 weeks in the hospital, she came home.
She is doing alright and living day by day. But this isn't about her illness, this is about her.
My grandmother is the epitome of a strong woman. All the women in my family are independent, courageous, intelligent, stubborn, and determined. We owe all that to her. Some of our best traits...and our worst... come from my grandmother. She raised most of us. When I was young, my family lived in my grandmother's house with my other aunts and uncles and their familes. We were pretty cramped. But from what I remember, I loved it. There was always someone to watch me, someone to hang out with me, someone to take care of me. But at the root of all those someones was my grandmother. She was the one that really took care of me.
After my family moved into our own house, my grandmother was still there to watch me. My parents were the ones to wake me up in the morning, but my grandmother would be the one to tuck me in at night. For her, she is the happiest when the family is all around: her eyes brighten, her smile widens, and her face lights up when generations of us are in her house.
None of us really know how much longer she has on this earth. About 5 years ago she had a major heart attack and triple by-pass surgery. That was 5 years ago and she is still with us. Every year she has something that she says she is holding on for. Right now, its the birth of her 12th great grandchild (my niece Sohphie).
I have to say that my grandmother has lived a pretty great life, filled with lots of love and accomplishment. I know I am selfish when I say that I want my grandmother to live longer. That I want her to be around to hold my child (whenever that may be), but can you blame me? It's hard to let go of the ones we love.
Whenever that day comes, to let her go, I will cry and my heart will hurt tremendously, but I know that it will be her time. I know that she will be watching over us and continue to pass on her best... and worst traits.
<3 Jennifer
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Another school year coming to an end
I could sit here and type out how my life has played out in the course of a school year, but that's a lot of typing and story telling that I don't really want to do. To make a super long story short, I started at a new school, teaching a new subject, and teaching a new age group. As the school year is coming to an end (we have about 2 and a half weeks left), I can look back with a smile and excitement.
I learned so much and met so many great people that I am excited to move forward to more changes! I work with a wonderful team of people and friends; I could gush about them and type for days about who they are and how they inspire me, but I won't. I can simply say 'Thank you'. Working at YES with the students and teachers has renewed my energy and passion for teaching. It has reminded me of why I am in education and why I LOVE what I do. Next year I will be back to teaching World History, but I will also be teaching AP! It will be a new set of challenges to face and conquer :)
I am honestly going to try and keep up with this blog. I feel that so much of me is focused on work that I have pushed aside the people that matter most in my life. So hopefully, you all (the people that matter) will read this and feel more connected to what is happening in (JR)^2 life. I also hope that your comments and responses will help me stay in contact with you :)
<3 Jennifer
I learned so much and met so many great people that I am excited to move forward to more changes! I work with a wonderful team of people and friends; I could gush about them and type for days about who they are and how they inspire me, but I won't. I can simply say 'Thank you'. Working at YES with the students and teachers has renewed my energy and passion for teaching. It has reminded me of why I am in education and why I LOVE what I do. Next year I will be back to teaching World History, but I will also be teaching AP! It will be a new set of challenges to face and conquer :)
I am honestly going to try and keep up with this blog. I feel that so much of me is focused on work that I have pushed aside the people that matter most in my life. So hopefully, you all (the people that matter) will read this and feel more connected to what is happening in (JR)^2 life. I also hope that your comments and responses will help me stay in contact with you :)
<3 Jennifer
Thursday, June 24, 2010
South Africa Trip - Day 9
Day 9 was our final full day in South Africa. That meant that we had to finish up our shopping and last minute sight seeing. We also had to watch the final game of the first round for the US. So even though we were just about done, we still had a lot to do.
We started out the morning by heading into town to the craft market on the waterfront. They sell a ton of hand made goods. We purchased all of our last minute souvenirs here before we head off to our tour of Robben Island.
The tour started at 1230 when they loaded the boat. We were one of the first ones in line so we shot straight to the top of the boat. As we were walking up, Andy fell behind the group. Once we got up to the top, they closed off the top deck to any more passengers. We saw him down on the second level and he told us that he got stopped by one of the ship's crew because they wanted him to give them his USA jacket.
After we talked to Andy, we noticed that there started to be a lot more commotion on the water. I saw a couple small police boats in the water and a lot of people standing on the walkway close to where our boat was. Then more and more police started showing up, and finally a bigger boat. Once the people on the boat started getting off, I realized that it was the Netherlands National soccer team that was getting off the boat. They were just coming back from their Robben Island tour! I got a whole bunch of pictures of the team and players. It was SO awesome!
Anyways, the trip to Robben island was about a 20 minute boat ride in freezing weather. Didn't get to see any whales either.
Once we got to the island, we hopped on a bus thinking that it was going to take us to the prison. It turned out, later, that the bus was a tour. We were lucky because we got on a bus with one of the best tour guides I have ever seen. He was a GREAT story teller that you just wanted to listen to all the time. I wanted him to tell me bed-time stories! He told us that most of the people working there, including him, were once prisoners on the island. That just made everything he said more interesting and meaningful.
This tour guide took us around the island showing us different areas of the island, like where the prison was, where the governor stayed, where the MP houses/churches were, light house and so much more. It was great because before the tour started, he asked where the people on the tour were because he wanted to incorporate everyone into the story. He was a VERY knowledgeable tour guide. It was just great!
After the bus tour, we were dropped off at the prison where we were given a walking tour through the prison. It was so moving to see where the prisoners were forced to live and in what conditions. We got a chance to see Nelson Mandela's cell just like they did in the movie Invictus. It's crazy to think that these people were forced to live in a cell that is about 5ft x 4ft with only a couple of blankets and a bucket in there.
After the tour, we headed back to the boat and back to Cape Town. We sat as close to the exit on the boat because we needed to make sure that we got off quick and get somewhere to watch the US/Algeria game. We were able to find this place that had some standing room and watch the game. The game itself was pretty terrible. We had a TON of chances to score and we weren't taking advantage of ANY of them. In the end though, as i'm sure you're aware, the US pulled it out in the 91st minute! It was SO awesome... people running everywhere, hugging strangers, slappin' hands!
After that, we went to do a little more shopping and then hung out at Mitchell's, a Scottish bar to watch the Germany game. Nothing special (except birthmark), just the game and a couple beers. Didn't want to be hung over on the plane ride home the next day.
Anyways, today's our flight out of here and we're all packed. This is my last entry as an American African blogger... unless I get bored in Dubai and i'll become an American Dubaiian blogger. We'll see.
Piece.
We started out the morning by heading into town to the craft market on the waterfront. They sell a ton of hand made goods. We purchased all of our last minute souvenirs here before we head off to our tour of Robben Island.
The tour started at 1230 when they loaded the boat. We were one of the first ones in line so we shot straight to the top of the boat. As we were walking up, Andy fell behind the group. Once we got up to the top, they closed off the top deck to any more passengers. We saw him down on the second level and he told us that he got stopped by one of the ship's crew because they wanted him to give them his USA jacket.
After we talked to Andy, we noticed that there started to be a lot more commotion on the water. I saw a couple small police boats in the water and a lot of people standing on the walkway close to where our boat was. Then more and more police started showing up, and finally a bigger boat. Once the people on the boat started getting off, I realized that it was the Netherlands National soccer team that was getting off the boat. They were just coming back from their Robben Island tour! I got a whole bunch of pictures of the team and players. It was SO awesome!
Anyways, the trip to Robben island was about a 20 minute boat ride in freezing weather. Didn't get to see any whales either.
Once we got to the island, we hopped on a bus thinking that it was going to take us to the prison. It turned out, later, that the bus was a tour. We were lucky because we got on a bus with one of the best tour guides I have ever seen. He was a GREAT story teller that you just wanted to listen to all the time. I wanted him to tell me bed-time stories! He told us that most of the people working there, including him, were once prisoners on the island. That just made everything he said more interesting and meaningful.
This tour guide took us around the island showing us different areas of the island, like where the prison was, where the governor stayed, where the MP houses/churches were, light house and so much more. It was great because before the tour started, he asked where the people on the tour were because he wanted to incorporate everyone into the story. He was a VERY knowledgeable tour guide. It was just great!
After the bus tour, we were dropped off at the prison where we were given a walking tour through the prison. It was so moving to see where the prisoners were forced to live and in what conditions. We got a chance to see Nelson Mandela's cell just like they did in the movie Invictus. It's crazy to think that these people were forced to live in a cell that is about 5ft x 4ft with only a couple of blankets and a bucket in there.
After the tour, we headed back to the boat and back to Cape Town. We sat as close to the exit on the boat because we needed to make sure that we got off quick and get somewhere to watch the US/Algeria game. We were able to find this place that had some standing room and watch the game. The game itself was pretty terrible. We had a TON of chances to score and we weren't taking advantage of ANY of them. In the end though, as i'm sure you're aware, the US pulled it out in the 91st minute! It was SO awesome... people running everywhere, hugging strangers, slappin' hands!
After that, we went to do a little more shopping and then hung out at Mitchell's, a Scottish bar to watch the Germany game. Nothing special (except birthmark), just the game and a couple beers. Didn't want to be hung over on the plane ride home the next day.
Anyways, today's our flight out of here and we're all packed. This is my last entry as an American African blogger... unless I get bored in Dubai and i'll become an American Dubaiian blogger. We'll see.
Piece.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
South Africa Trip - Day 6-8
Alright... so it's been a while i guess. I'm going to see what i can do to fill you in.
Day 5 was not that busy. We decided that we would take a day off and just finish off some sites that we didn't see. We went to The Castle in downtown Cape Town. It was a really interesting fort with some good history behind it. It used to be right on the waterfront during the wars between the dutch and english back in the day. Anyways... now it's about 3 miles from the current water line in the middle of the city. Crazy stuff :)
Anyways, we lost Andy in the castle for about an hour. When we were finally about to leave, we found him. After the castle, we head down to the water front for some shopping and soccer watching. Really, it was a pretty relaxed day that seemed pretty uneventful.
Day 6 was game day! Portugal vs. North Korea. We were starting the day off by meeting Tessa and her friends at Paulaner Brewhaus at 12:30 to head over to the 1:30 game. We decided that we would eat lunch before the game, so we got there at 11. We all ordered a pint of Paulaner to start us off :)
Once Tessa finally showed up, we head out to the game. Unfortunately, we had 2 sets of 4 seats that were in totally different sections. Me, spicer, brian, and andy took the bottom level seats with Jennifer, Tessa and her two friends taking the top level seats. It was so amazing at how it was POURING down rain, but we weren't getting wet at all. We were in the 14th row and nothing! So cool!
Anyways, we had a great time at the game. I mean, 7-0. Hard to beat that. Got to see Ronaldo score! We got to meet Betty from China who we had to befriend after we heard her say this: "That was the biggest penis I've ever smelled!" (Long story)
After the game, we all head back to Paulaner. We had dinner and we were about to leave when our English Hedge House neighbors showed up at the bar. Of course, they had to buy us another round. Then Andy went off and started getting Scotch. We all know what happens when he starts drinking scotch :) We left the bar pretty early, 10pm or so, all drunk and ready to go the next day.
Day 8, today, was rough. Because of our drinking the night before, we were ALL very sluggish. Great way to feel when you're about to jump onto a boat that's heading for rough waters :( We all survived though and got to see thousands of seals resting on seal island just off of Haut Bay. It was all very scary because our captain thought it would be safe to take the boat within 10 ft of the HUGE rocks that the seals were resting on... Anyways, we got out of there with some great pictures and headed on down the coast.
The next stop for us was the opposite end of Haut Bay. They had a great viewing area where we could see the entire bay. From there, we continued down the road to Cape Point. This is basically the southern most point in Cape Town. It was just another place to get great views of the oceans and the mountains. It's also where they do championship surfing, so you know brian was enjoying the sights.
While we were in Cape Point, we had lunch at a really good restaurant there. Me, Jenn, and Spicer tried oysters for the first time. I have to say that it was pretty good. Not at all what i thought it was going to be like. Me and Jenn also shared a seafood feast. It came with fish, prawns, crayfish, calamari, mussels, and curry. It was DELICIOUS!
After lunch, we went to Simonstown where you can see penguins on the beach! They were just walking in the streets of the town and they had a little area where you can go see the penguins up close. Got some good pictures and made a lot of friends :)
After penguin beach, we head home to catch the last parts of the South Africa game and the second game. Now I'm chillin here writing this post. Sorry if it was too short. You can ask questions if you want more details :-D Tomorrow is our last full day in South Africa, so there will probably only be one more update. Enjoy it when it gets here!
Day 5 was not that busy. We decided that we would take a day off and just finish off some sites that we didn't see. We went to The Castle in downtown Cape Town. It was a really interesting fort with some good history behind it. It used to be right on the waterfront during the wars between the dutch and english back in the day. Anyways... now it's about 3 miles from the current water line in the middle of the city. Crazy stuff :)
Anyways, we lost Andy in the castle for about an hour. When we were finally about to leave, we found him. After the castle, we head down to the water front for some shopping and soccer watching. Really, it was a pretty relaxed day that seemed pretty uneventful.
Day 6 was game day! Portugal vs. North Korea. We were starting the day off by meeting Tessa and her friends at Paulaner Brewhaus at 12:30 to head over to the 1:30 game. We decided that we would eat lunch before the game, so we got there at 11. We all ordered a pint of Paulaner to start us off :)
Once Tessa finally showed up, we head out to the game. Unfortunately, we had 2 sets of 4 seats that were in totally different sections. Me, spicer, brian, and andy took the bottom level seats with Jennifer, Tessa and her two friends taking the top level seats. It was so amazing at how it was POURING down rain, but we weren't getting wet at all. We were in the 14th row and nothing! So cool!
Anyways, we had a great time at the game. I mean, 7-0. Hard to beat that. Got to see Ronaldo score! We got to meet Betty from China who we had to befriend after we heard her say this: "That was the biggest penis I've ever smelled!" (Long story)
After the game, we all head back to Paulaner. We had dinner and we were about to leave when our English Hedge House neighbors showed up at the bar. Of course, they had to buy us another round. Then Andy went off and started getting Scotch. We all know what happens when he starts drinking scotch :) We left the bar pretty early, 10pm or so, all drunk and ready to go the next day.
Day 8, today, was rough. Because of our drinking the night before, we were ALL very sluggish. Great way to feel when you're about to jump onto a boat that's heading for rough waters :( We all survived though and got to see thousands of seals resting on seal island just off of Haut Bay. It was all very scary because our captain thought it would be safe to take the boat within 10 ft of the HUGE rocks that the seals were resting on... Anyways, we got out of there with some great pictures and headed on down the coast.
The next stop for us was the opposite end of Haut Bay. They had a great viewing area where we could see the entire bay. From there, we continued down the road to Cape Point. This is basically the southern most point in Cape Town. It was just another place to get great views of the oceans and the mountains. It's also where they do championship surfing, so you know brian was enjoying the sights.
While we were in Cape Point, we had lunch at a really good restaurant there. Me, Jenn, and Spicer tried oysters for the first time. I have to say that it was pretty good. Not at all what i thought it was going to be like. Me and Jenn also shared a seafood feast. It came with fish, prawns, crayfish, calamari, mussels, and curry. It was DELICIOUS!
After lunch, we went to Simonstown where you can see penguins on the beach! They were just walking in the streets of the town and they had a little area where you can go see the penguins up close. Got some good pictures and made a lot of friends :)
After penguin beach, we head home to catch the last parts of the South Africa game and the second game. Now I'm chillin here writing this post. Sorry if it was too short. You can ask questions if you want more details :-D Tomorrow is our last full day in South Africa, so there will probably only be one more update. Enjoy it when it gets here!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
South Africa Trip - Day 5
Hey Hey!! This is Jennifer :) So today was going to be a relaxed day. After the England game on Friday we didn't get home until after 1am. I didn't sleep until close to 3. We decided to sleep in a little and then head into the city. We met for breakfast as usual and all of us were dead tired and a little sick. We dug through JRs Russia medicine pack and took cold medicine.
We went into the city to the Waterfront and bought tickets for the "Hop-on, Hop-Off" sight seeing bus. This bus was a double decker that drove around the city to 17 different places and you got off and on whenever you wanted to. The bus would come around about every 15 minutes at every stop. We sat at the top and rode the bus pass the first 3 stops and got off at the 4th which was a city market. JR and I bought a couple of key pieces to put in our house, but Brian and Andy looked a little bored. It was pretty crazy and of course the boys kept comparing it to Ismalova (sp?) I could have walked around there for hours... but everyone was getting hungry. We stopped at a place called Safari Burger. The service was awful and we sat outside and it was cold. It took over an hour to get our food. Between the 5 of us, we had crocodile, prawn, lamb, and mushroom burgers. After lunch we walked to the next stop and then hopped on the bus. Here in Capetown their weekends are Friday and Saturday so a lot of the museums closed early. We didn't get to go in to them which really sucked. We did go to the District Six museum. This was a pretty moving experience for me. Here we learned about District Six and what happened when it was declared a white only area. Andy was particularly moved because the majority of the slaves and colored in this area were Indonesian and Indian. His parents use to come to Africa a lot in the 1980's and he isn't sure how after going t this museum.
We left the museum and Spicer attracted another crazy local. We hopped on the bus and took a drive along the Atlantic seaboard. It was BEAUTIFUL. The sun was setting at this time so it was also pretty cold. Brian wrapped his scarf around his face like an old woman. Pictures are on Picasa. We ended the Hop-on, Hop-Off at the Waterfront and checked out a local music shop then hailed a cab to a game restaurant. Game as in meat not playing. We read about this restaurant in a tourist magazine given to World Cup goers. It was printed this year. When we went to the restaurant it was closed down! I was pretty pissed. So we kept walking and stopped at this cute little Italian place called De Capo. JR and Brian had Impala and Spicer had Springbok and Andy and I had good old fashion cow. It was pretty good and we all voted that the Springbok was the best. We also had 2 bottles of red wine, one called "The Very Sexy Shiraz". Then headed home in a cab that tried to rip us off by taking us the long way home. We just stopped him and got out. We walked the rest of the way and drank another bottle of wine then went to sleep. Andy spilled on himself and was pretty upset. It was quite hilarious.
Alright tomorrow we are off for another laid back day with shopping and a castle! Talk to you all later.
We went into the city to the Waterfront and bought tickets for the "Hop-on, Hop-Off" sight seeing bus. This bus was a double decker that drove around the city to 17 different places and you got off and on whenever you wanted to. The bus would come around about every 15 minutes at every stop. We sat at the top and rode the bus pass the first 3 stops and got off at the 4th which was a city market. JR and I bought a couple of key pieces to put in our house, but Brian and Andy looked a little bored. It was pretty crazy and of course the boys kept comparing it to Ismalova (sp?) I could have walked around there for hours... but everyone was getting hungry. We stopped at a place called Safari Burger. The service was awful and we sat outside and it was cold. It took over an hour to get our food. Between the 5 of us, we had crocodile, prawn, lamb, and mushroom burgers. After lunch we walked to the next stop and then hopped on the bus. Here in Capetown their weekends are Friday and Saturday so a lot of the museums closed early. We didn't get to go in to them which really sucked. We did go to the District Six museum. This was a pretty moving experience for me. Here we learned about District Six and what happened when it was declared a white only area. Andy was particularly moved because the majority of the slaves and colored in this area were Indonesian and Indian. His parents use to come to Africa a lot in the 1980's and he isn't sure how after going t this museum.
We left the museum and Spicer attracted another crazy local. We hopped on the bus and took a drive along the Atlantic seaboard. It was BEAUTIFUL. The sun was setting at this time so it was also pretty cold. Brian wrapped his scarf around his face like an old woman. Pictures are on Picasa. We ended the Hop-on, Hop-Off at the Waterfront and checked out a local music shop then hailed a cab to a game restaurant. Game as in meat not playing. We read about this restaurant in a tourist magazine given to World Cup goers. It was printed this year. When we went to the restaurant it was closed down! I was pretty pissed. So we kept walking and stopped at this cute little Italian place called De Capo. JR and Brian had Impala and Spicer had Springbok and Andy and I had good old fashion cow. It was pretty good and we all voted that the Springbok was the best. We also had 2 bottles of red wine, one called "The Very Sexy Shiraz". Then headed home in a cab that tried to rip us off by taking us the long way home. We just stopped him and got out. We walked the rest of the way and drank another bottle of wine then went to sleep. Andy spilled on himself and was pretty upset. It was quite hilarious.
Alright tomorrow we are off for another laid back day with shopping and a castle! Talk to you all later.
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