I have nothing exciting to say.
It's funny how even the mundane seems exciting when you're abroad, and how even the exciting seems mundane when you're back home. Let me illustrate what I mean by this:
Homework
Home: I was at school until 6 tonight correcting tests, and even when I think about it I get bored.
Abroad: I am still working on homework we started in July, and even when I tell other people about it they are excited to hear about it.
Winner - Abroad.
Eating Lunch
Home: A sandwich, some yogurt, and a beautiful view of my desk while correcting papers in the Math TPC.
Abroad: A sandwich, some yogurt, and a beautiful view of the Swiss scenery (you know.. mountains, hay fields, sunflower fields, trees etc..)
Winner: Abroad
Class
Home = In a room with no windows, air conditioning and 30 glorious TI-Nspire calculators.
Abroad = In a room with windows lining two walls, natural air conditioning and access to Facebook.
Winner: Abroad
Yogurt
Home = Comes in a plastic container and is still tasty despite having fewer calories.
Abroad = Comes in a delightful terracotta container and is the tastiest yogurt ever. (with many many calories)
Winner: Abroad
Hmmmm... I think abroad has it.
Although, despite the above evidence proving the superiority of travel, I was really excited when I got home - mundane and all.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Back in the U.S. of A.!
I'm back!
Whew! What a trip! The last 4 weeks have left a huge impression on me, and I hope I can work all of my new ideas into my classes for the fall. It will be an immense amount of work, but I'm really excited about it all!
Soooo... I didn't really write any haiku while I was away. So I figured since I started my trip with a haiku, I will end it with haiku as well. Here you go:
Switzerland haiku:
La Suisse impressions
Espresso, chocolate, yogurt
Eating is my sport
Post-Switzerland haiku:
La Suisse impressions
Espresso, chocolate, yogurt
Running's my new sport
Peace,
Kira
Whew! What a trip! The last 4 weeks have left a huge impression on me, and I hope I can work all of my new ideas into my classes for the fall. It will be an immense amount of work, but I'm really excited about it all!
Soooo... I didn't really write any haiku while I was away. So I figured since I started my trip with a haiku, I will end it with haiku as well. Here you go:
Switzerland haiku:
La Suisse impressions
Espresso, chocolate, yogurt
Eating is my sport
Post-Switzerland haiku:
La Suisse impressions
Espresso, chocolate, yogurt
Running's my new sport
Peace,
Kira
Monday, August 03, 2009
Riiiiiii-cco-laaaaa!!!
I think the subject line speaks for itself, but let me explain anyway.
I got to play an Alpine Horn!
There was no leiderhosen involved, but we were at a Swiss-German tourist trap of a restaurant called Edelweiss where the magic happened. And when I say tourist trap, collect all the ideas you have about tourist trap restaurants and that was Edelweiss Restaurant. Complete with ridiculous uniforms for staff, outrageous prices for a bucket of fondue cheese and giant hordes of tourists invading the restaurant (besides us). There were about 80 people that showed up right after us for dinner (3 bus loads of Japanese tourists), at the same time. It was like we were a poor sandbar on the river just waiting to be obliterated by the incoming flood - of tourists.
At the restaurant we ordered fondue, which was a first for me for two reasons: 1) I'd never had fondue before and 2) I'd never spent that much money on a bucket of cheese before! (It was still good though!)
The best parts about the restaurant? The wicked awesome musicians and their instruments. There were two gentlemen on the stage dressed in the appropriate Swiss-German garb playing the accordion plus some extras like the saw, the cow bells (about 24 cow bells hanging on a rod), the bowl (coins spinning in a bowl), the spoons, the flugel horn, and of course the ALPINE HORN! And yes, I got to play it.. not once but twice!
Who would have thought I'd actually get to check that item off my life-long To Do list?
Peace,
Kira
I got to play an Alpine Horn!
There was no leiderhosen involved, but we were at a Swiss-German tourist trap of a restaurant called Edelweiss where the magic happened. And when I say tourist trap, collect all the ideas you have about tourist trap restaurants and that was Edelweiss Restaurant. Complete with ridiculous uniforms for staff, outrageous prices for a bucket of fondue cheese and giant hordes of tourists invading the restaurant (besides us). There were about 80 people that showed up right after us for dinner (3 bus loads of Japanese tourists), at the same time. It was like we were a poor sandbar on the river just waiting to be obliterated by the incoming flood - of tourists.
At the restaurant we ordered fondue, which was a first for me for two reasons: 1) I'd never had fondue before and 2) I'd never spent that much money on a bucket of cheese before! (It was still good though!)
The best parts about the restaurant? The wicked awesome musicians and their instruments. There were two gentlemen on the stage dressed in the appropriate Swiss-German garb playing the accordion plus some extras like the saw, the cow bells (about 24 cow bells hanging on a rod), the bowl (coins spinning in a bowl), the spoons, the flugel horn, and of course the ALPINE HORN! And yes, I got to play it.. not once but twice!Who would have thought I'd actually get to check that item off my life-long To Do list?
Peace,
Kira
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Take Action
Simple concept.
Organize, inspire and motivate youth to do something good and in turn be a part of something bigger than themselves... together.
We're calling it "Take Action" (for now), and it will run on a website with a new "action" to take each day. When you've completed the action you click "I've Acted" and you get added to the total number of people who have taken action. On the website, people will be able to share their thoughts and experiences via a forum, upload photos and upload videos. There will also be links to resources about why their actions are important (they are related to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals).
Check out the video for a little bit of what we envision this to be.
Organize, inspire and motivate youth to do something good and in turn be a part of something bigger than themselves... together.
We're calling it "Take Action" (for now), and it will run on a website with a new "action" to take each day. When you've completed the action you click "I've Acted" and you get added to the total number of people who have taken action. On the website, people will be able to share their thoughts and experiences via a forum, upload photos and upload videos. There will also be links to resources about why their actions are important (they are related to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals).
Check out the video for a little bit of what we envision this to be.
The Project...
Eureka!
On the list of "To Dos" for my classes here in Geneva, figuring out a project idea was basically THE most gratifying item to check off the list. My parter Ben and I were able to check it off on Wednesday!
Since then we've been busy working on video to present the idea, concept mapping for the web page, goals, a "one-pager" which we can give to potential partners (NGOs that would work with us on the project) and... lots of other things we haven't even thought of yet. However, we couldn't get started on any of this other stuff until we figured out our idea. So I'm thrilled that we have it worked out on paper and people seem excited about it when we tell them what we'll be doing! I'll post our video when it's finished so you can get a sense of what I'll be working on for the next year. It's going to be very cool.
And no... I'm not going to tell you the idea until we finish the video. I'm interested in everyone's opinions, and I think the video is a good way to get the basic idea of what the project is about!
Peace,
Kira
On the list of "To Dos" for my classes here in Geneva, figuring out a project idea was basically THE most gratifying item to check off the list. My parter Ben and I were able to check it off on Wednesday!
Since then we've been busy working on video to present the idea, concept mapping for the web page, goals, a "one-pager" which we can give to potential partners (NGOs that would work with us on the project) and... lots of other things we haven't even thought of yet. However, we couldn't get started on any of this other stuff until we figured out our idea. So I'm thrilled that we have it worked out on paper and people seem excited about it when we tell them what we'll be doing! I'll post our video when it's finished so you can get a sense of what I'll be working on for the next year. It's going to be very cool.
And no... I'm not going to tell you the idea until we finish the video. I'm interested in everyone's opinions, and I think the video is a good way to get the basic idea of what the project is about!
Peace,
Kira
The return of Dwight!
Dwight is back!
Dwight was returned safely on a beautiful Friday night during a big group meal/BBQ! The culprits were my roommate and project partner. I guess it shows you can't trust anyone... when it comes to kidnapping bobbleheads!
(Despite the kidnapping, Dwight is in good spirits. He was enjoying some Nutella shortly after his return!)
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