Stolperstein...a way to remember.

Stolperstein is the German word meaning "stumbling block," "obstacle," or "something in the way." Stolperstein has now taken on the meaning of being a small plaque in the sidewalk. These plaques commemorate the former homes of victims of the Holocaust. They demarcate where Jews (and sometimes where other ethnic groups who were also persecuted) lived and were taken by the Nazis.

Here lived
KARL JUNG
born 1912
Interned 1939
Gurs (concentration camp in Southwestern France)
Killed 20.2.1943 in
Dachau

Today I went on a walking tour of Düsseldorf with the 8th grade Humanities classes. They have been studying the Holocaust and each group visited different parts of the city. It was a torrential downpour during most of the trip and we had to take a temporary and warm Starbucks break. But, the kids (and I) were really moved.

Many of the Stolperstein are in front of what are now businesses and some are still apartment buildings. They specifically marked where people lived and were taken. We spent a long time discussing how sickeningly scary it would be and what it would be like to be a neighbor of someone who was just taken from their life in such a sudden manner.

Here lived
Franz Anselm
Cohen-Altmann
Born 1905
Deported 1942, Died in Izbica, Poland

The kids placed flowers at each of the plaques. The language on the plaques is very plain. It states that they were murdered, as truly was the case.

We inferred that this was a married couple.
Alfred & Meta Meyerstein
Deported 1941
Murdered in Minsk

The next one was especially sad. This was likely a mother and daughter. And, the fact that it said they were "reported" (auswiesen) lead us to believe that they were hiding but then found out and later murdered in Treblinka in Poland. This was in front of an apartment building that is still an apartment building. It is right along the Rhein River and one can assume this was likely a very expensive area to live then, just as it is now- given that it is water-front property. Pescha was only around 15 when she died and given that her neighbors just down the street were taken in 1933, we inferred that they were possible in hiding for five years.

Reisel Laja & Pescha Birnbach
Reported 28.10.1938
Taken to a Ghetto
Murdered June 1942 in Treblinka

Small but significant.

At each Stolperstein, our directions were to look at the building and infer what it must have been before the war compared to now.

You can imagine people looking out that bay window as the people they'd been hiding were taken.

These plaques are small and only provide an outline of information. But, they help us remember. They put a name and a place to someone's life that would otherwise be forgotten. It makes me so sad and at the same time makes me glad that we are still speaking those names and still remembering- the victims deserve at least this.

Just earlier this week there was an NPR story about Stolperstein.

Click here to read/listen.

The mundane and the fun...an update from The Traveling Teacher

I've done no blogging since spring break but have had lots of fun. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you've probably seen some of these pictures but for my non-FB people, I was encouraged by my friend Kir (who IS a FB person now!) to not let my blog go! 

So, here's a little slice of life from The Traveling Teacher....

My cousins from Denmark, The Lauritzen Family, came to visit me at the end of April.
We spent a day at the Cologne cathedral...the Kölner Dom...

The short American-Dane mut (and Irish, German, & Welsh) with the purebred tall  Danes!

For three days, I attended a conference entitled "Making Thinking Visible" at the International School of Amsterdam through Harvard's Project Zero. It fed my love of teacher-geekiness and renewed me. I've really missed my professional development network through PEBC since I left Colorado so it was great to feel some of that here...and...there was a PEBC staff developer from Denver there so that was really really exciting! 

The whole conference! 

There has also been some nice spring weather (for a change...although right now it is 48F and rainy. BRRR!) and so my friends The Brydens rented a car for a few weekends! One sunny Sunday we went to an old grain mill that has been converted in a biergarten. Germany is NOT lacking in biergartens! We chilled in the sun and played Frisbee. It was wonderful!

Auermühle. Another reason to enjoy Deutschland!

My school hosts an international festival every spring. The parents organize the whole thing and it is a large community event. It is a fundraiser and a celebration of the fact that we have over 40 countries represented at our school. Each country (or region as is the case for Scandinavia) has their own booth with tradition food and drink. There is also a full day of traditional (and not so traditional) performances by the kids, parents, and even some teachers.

At the Scandinavian station, one could order meatballs, herring, schnapps, or schnapps with a song! My friend Nina and I chose "schnapps with a song" and they plunked down two Viking helmets on us! Then, they proceeded to pour all of the parents (Swedish mostly) in the vicinity a shot of Aquavit and then sang us a Swedish drinking song wherein we all took a shot together! This was an amazing day (and not just because of the food and drinks) but because it really is a unique experience to be part of an international community. I got veklempt at the parade of flags! 

SKOL!!!!
Sadly, the American "traditional costume" is lacking.
Most of the Americans were wearing July 4th t-shirts from Old Navy like me.
Next year, we decided we should just invent our own national costume so we can be cool like everyone else.
Notice: Nina is wearing a traditional Bavarian dirdl (Sp? A St. Pauli girl dress!).

We had a three day weekend (same weekend as Memorial Day in the US but for a Catholic holiday...don't know which one) a few weekends ago and so a few of us did a day long bike ride down the Rhein River. Our first stop was at Benrather Schloss which just means Benrath Castle. It was a lovely day weather-wise and company-wise with lots of laughs and some very sore butts the next day as we were on bikes for about 7 or so hours that day. We got lost a few times and following the river takes quite a bit longer than riding directly to somewhere!

Benrather Schloss. 

Taking the bike ferry to Zons, a cute medieval town.

Riding along the Rhein.

Another weekend The Brydens rented a car and we went to a castle called Schloss Burg. It is in the Wupper River Valley...or Wupperthal. It was another gorgeous day and there was a chairlift that went up and down the mountain from the town to the castle. 

Hugh in his typically orange apparel. Pretty sure he was Dutch in a past life.

Barbara and I are just chilling on the chairlift bench.
Düsseldorf is SO flat because it is on the Rhein floodplain and
so whenever you leave the immediate area, it is shocking to see all the hills again!

One of the hardest parts (besides living so far away from home) about teaching abroad is the high turnover rate of staff. You make friends and then they move on or you move on. The upside is that you get to make lots of new friends and have lots of coming/going parties! This year's leaving staff organized a Segway tour around Düsseldorf. This was one of the most fun things I have ever done and it is going to require a great deal of restraint to not take a Segway tour every time I go somewhere now. 

Segway tours are my new boat cruises.

Just chillin' on my Seg...

So, that's that. A quick update on my happenings for the last 7 or so weeks. I have a week and a half of school left and then I fly to Nice, France with Lauren to meet my friend Maura (from South Kakalaki) and her friend (soon to be my friend too, I hope!) Lisa. Then, Lisa, Maura, and I will fly to Münich and tour the Bavarian Alps. Most importantly, we're going to Salzburg, Austria to do the Sound of Music tour! WAHOO!!!

 I am ready for the school year to be over but the speed with which this year flew by is a very positive sign. I have had a great year (if I can just get through this last round of report cards!) and am looking forward to another great year at my new school. It will be nice to NOT be a new person for the first time in two years. AND, I am moving to a new apartment next week which is much closer to actual commerce and no longer in a retirement village! Hopefully, that will be my last house move for a bit. I've moved every year for the last three. At least I don't have to deal with furniture this time since I am taking only clothes and personal items and selling all my furniture to the new occupant of my current place.

So, off to bed to prepare for another day of report card writing. These narrative report cards are a killer.

Ciao, mes amis!

Spring Break!

It is just starting to hit me (don't ask me how, after 8 years of this) that teachers have an awesome schedule. We work our buns off when school is in session, and do a lot of work during summer break too, but now that I can actually afford to take vacations, I can compare the amount of time I have off to those with normal jobs and I feel badly for them. Two weeks of vacation per year sucks. I have 14. Delightful.

Not to rub it in or anything but it is pretty much awesome. 

And, now that I am living in Europe, I don't have to travel far to get places that are worth seeing for a few days. I mean, don't get me wrong, Ogallala, Nebraska is great, but I don't know if I'd want to vacation there for more time than it takes to fill up the tank with gas, buy a diet coke, and use the bathroom. I use that example because it is about 4 hours from Fort Collins and with a less-than four hour drive from Düsseldorf, I was in Bruges, Belgium taking a boat cruise around a medieval city. I don't think I will ever get used to things being so close together here. And, the interesting thing for Americans (and likely Australians since things are so vast there too) is that when you cross the border, everything changes because, duh, you're in another country.

Driving from Belgium to Holland, there is a distinct change in the type of surfacing on the highway even. The different countries use different fonts on their road signs. Just small things, really, until you get out of the car and realize that people are speaking an entirely different language than they were the last time you stopped for gas.

For our first week of spring break, my friends Keith and Lauren and I road tripped across Northern France to see my French family from my days o' umemployment at La Crochardière (the name of their manor). It was the equivalent distance of driving from Denver to Omaha which cracked me up. They couldn't believe we would drive that far and I think back to all of the times Courtney and I have driven back and forth to see each other just for the weekend without even a thought. They'd really freak at the thought of some of my East Coaster friends driving back East from Colorado fairly regularly. We just think of distances differently in the US, especially in the Midwest and West.

The DJ/Copilot

The lounger in the back.

The Captain! 

Our drive took about 9 hours and three stops at McDonald's (MacDo) in France for coffee, delicious ICY diet coke, and a dependably clean bathroom. We sang, danced, and laughed like fake French people (haw haw haw) while we pretended to smoke and acted with ennui. Great drive. I forgot how much I love a good road trip.

We stayed in the rental cottage at the manor as they had guests in the Bed & Breakfast while we were there. They have done SO much work to the property and it was quite nice. If anyone wants to go stay there, just let me know, it is very reasonably priced for a week and was very relaxing.

We started our tourist days at the crack of noon after a nice lie-in (as the Brits say) and relaxed coffee drinking. We visited the French supermarket everyday and I did cook for the family a few times. Since last year, Steven, the older son in the family, has started cooking so he and I baked cookies together. There was minimal whining over the food I prepared because nobody tried to make anyone eat things they didn't want to. So, if you're wondering if they are still more or less living off of yogurt with lots of sugar on it, the answer is undoubtedly...YES. But, guess what, NOT MY PROBLEM and I don't have to be there for every meal. It was great to see them. A week (while my friends were there for me to play with) was the perfect amount of time to visit and I'll definitely go back.

As our big days for being tourists began at noon, we only did one thing per day. Delightful. Very relaxing.

Day 1 was Mont Saint Michel. I ran into one of my students while there! Small world!

A beautiful day for our visit to Mt. St. Michel
See my last year's blog post on it if you want any additional info.

Day 2 was Saint Malo & Dinard. We were lucky to have lovely sunshine even if it was chilly. 

The "pool" at Saint Malo.
The squared-off area fills up with water during high tide.
The water was a bit cold for swimming, it is the English Channel after all.

Day 3 was Mont Dol & Dol-de-Bretagne, the town next to La Crochardière. 

Lauren and Keith were great indulgers of my picture-taking antics.
SO MUCH FUN!

Peggy, the lonely donkey, still lonely as ever and braying all day long.
Lauren really liked Peggy's bangs.

Day 3 was Cap Fréhel. Beautiful.  

One of these lighthouses was built by Louis XIV.
Well, not actually by him...his minions. 

We also did a few errands that I can easily do in France because I can actually communicate with people unlike in Germany. It was really wonderful to be in France for this reason. I asked for everything possible in public places and made small talk chit chat with people because I could. Keith also speaks French so it was nice to have a good reference when I didn't know a word. Between the two of us, we were like a whole person speaking French. Compared to my German skills, I feel like I could write a doctoral dissertation in French. But, compare French skills with English skills, I'm still just  directly above a special needs chimpanzee. At any rate, France is a familiar place to me now and it was really nice to be there. I know what to expect and things are not a giant guessing game all of the time. There's a lot to be said for that! 

Our trip ended at the World War I site of Vimy Ridge, France. This is a large monument managed and operated by the Canadians to commemorate the sacrifice of over 20,000 Canadians during World War I. So, for the first time in my life, I went to Canada, eh! It was a very moving memorial and we were able to tour the tunnels and trenches from the war that have been preserved. I realized that I basically know nothing about WWI as my history classes always got stuck on the minutiae of battles in the American Civil War. Keith is Canadian so he was able to explain a lot of the history of the Canadian involvement in the war as I am an idiot American and know nothing. 

The monument dedicated to all of the lost/unknown Canadian soldiers.

Canada, right inside of France.
The American sites in Normandy are the same idea.

As you can see, there are still undetonated explosives.
Scary.
We were there almost 95 years later. We missed the anniversary by 3 days.

Part of the old trenches.
I learned that they formed a North-South line through Europe almost 500 miles long.

 This was a wonderful trip. I miss it now that I am back at work. I was a bit sad being back in Germany since my communication with anyone was ended again. The day after we got back I arrived at a restaurant before my friends, tried to speak French, panicked, and ran out. My brain does it automatically. It is my go-to foreign language. 

(Quick aside...when Natalie and I were in Paris last year, she kept speaking Spanish (her go-to language) but thinking it was French...really funny!)

Perhaps another entry later about the rest of spring break with my cousin and her husband, but I don't want to rub it in. Here are three picture highlights.

Tulip fields in Holland.

Kinderdijk. UNESCO World Heritage Site in Holland.

Gent, Belgium.
Adorable.

So that's that. No more trips until summer. My cousins from Denmarkia are coming to visit next weekend and then I am going to a work thing in Amsterdam. One day of it is at the van Gogh Museum. Not gonna lie, pretty excited about that! 

Just chugging through the remainder of the school year!  Year 2 promises to be exciting as well!

International School? Seriously.

Just a quick post...

I had such an international school experience today...this just doesn't happen in other situations (at least in my reality).

I was a participant in a meeting with a parent today where there was a chain of communication I've never before experienced. It went like this...

Turkish Father---Turkish/German Interpreter----German Speaking Teacher---Me

I've had many parent meetings where there was an interpreter involved, but never one with the intermediary step. 

It was kind of cool. Knowing we were all working for the good of the kid regardless of the language spoken. Neat.

EB...The European Boxout

Imagine that you have arrived somewhere really early in anticipation that you'll be first in line and first in. Could be a concert you're waiting to enter or just something simple like waiting for a bus or train. In your mind, you figure that if you're first in line, you'll be one of the first people into the event. Many people line up behind you and are also patiently waiting.

The American/British way of entering an event or train.
http://www.itp.net/images/content/582151/article/7398-queue_article.jpg

The doors open and you feel that you are moving toward the door. You don't feel anyone pushing you, it seems that the whole line is moving together. There is definitely forward motion and as you approach the door, you look around and though you were first, you are now the last person standing outside. You've just gotten the European Boxout.

I first learned about the European Boxout when I was 19 and studying at the University of Nice. Everyday, my American friends and I would wait to take the city bus to school (and by everyday, I mean the days we bothered to go to class instead of the beach). We would arrive in plenty of time and as the bus  pulled up, we'd barely even make it on. What it really indicates is a cultural difference (I am not judging, just pointing out a difference) that is easily misinterpreted.

Americans and British, in general, are liner-uppers or 'queue-ers' as the Brits would say. We have been culturally trained to wait our turn and file onto or into something one after the other. If you jump in front of someone in a line, there will be social consequences in the form of dirty looks, tongue clicks, or even a choice comment made in your direction. Not so in Germany and France (I cannot speak for other countries because I haven't lived in them, but from what my friends who've lived around Europe say, it is a continent-wide generalization).

Back when I was living in Nice, France in 1998, we named this the European Boxout. It feels like a secret sports move where you are doing some sort of blocking and unless you've been introduced to this move since birth, you just can't do it.  Now, after living in Europe for a chunk of time, you'd think I would be used to it and know that I have to be ready and be aware and not allow myself to suddenly be at the back of the line. But, it is a cultural thing that is so small and so subtle that I just can't figure it out. I am ALWAYS suddenly at the back of the line, no matter what. Even when I am standing in a line with other people where we laugh and joke about the European Boxout when it is about to happen, we are suddenly boxed out and at the end of a line.

I once asked a French woman about this and she said that she and her French friends thought it was HILARIOUS that the Americans and the British would just stand there and wait and then glare at her as they somehow ended up at the end of the line!

Living in another country, when you eliminate the language barrier, doesn't seem that different. People are just going about their lives, working, schooling, shopping, sporting, etc.  But, the little things are what really make the biggest difference!

Flashers? No! Flash Mob!

Last night I participated in a "Flash Mob" with staff members at a fundraiser for my school's sister school in Tanzania. First of all, I've never imagined that schools exist where you raise money for someone other than yourselves to use in your own school. This sure is different than selling magazines so we can have a Literacy Coach at my former school. ISD has had a partnership with a school in Tanzania for twenty years and each year a team of ISD students go there to work on projects. Last night's event raised almost €10,000. What? I know.

Also, it is interesting to work at a private school (especially one in Germany) where everyone can drink alcohol in the school building. A huge part of this event- called Tanzania Night- is the donation and purchased consumption of mass quantities of alcohol on behalf of the parent attendees...makes their purse-strings a bit looser apparently!

Anyway, a group of teachers, organized by the delightful, Tina Post, an English teacher (who I apparently stalk since I live in her old apartment and will be moving into her current apartment in June!)  organized us, choreographed and taught us a dance in painstaking detail since we're not exactly a group of dancers! 

So, here are a few photos from the night. I'll post the link to the video at the end. It won't let me embed it because it is a private video so you have to just click the link.

Making an ass of myself since 1978.
(Thanks Camp Chief Ouray...you really helped that along!)

What fun colleagues!
I work at a great place!

Click here to see the full dance video!

A trip to Big Parrot, Giant Cockatiel, no wait...GRAN CANARIA

I have just returned from a great, relaxing, and sunny week in Gran Canaria, Spain. The Canary Islands are off the west coast of Africa, but belong to Spain. Click here for a quick map.  If you are wondering, (and why wouldn't you be) they are called the Canary Islands because they found a lot of wild dogs here at some point...canine...get it? I think the bird was named after the island. Although, we saw only pigeons and seagulls while we were here. 

Oh, and one duck with small pox or something, (see picture). 

Small Pox Duck
But, where are the canaries?

According to Wikipedia, the Canaries were mentioned even by the Greeks and the Egyptians so there have been people here for quite awhile. They are all volcanically formed and hilariously, the guide on a tour we did, tried to tell us that there was a new island rising up out of the ocean and it would be here in 2-4 years. Not sure how that's going to work but keep paying attention to the news because apparently geologic time is greatly sped up here. 

First view of the island from the plane!

There are also a lot of plant species endemic to the island and we got to see a few really cool looking cacti and one species of pine trees that are found nowhere else on earth. The guide tried to tell us that they are the only species of trees on earth that have an adaptation to protect their trunks from fire but I am such a natural resource nerd and remember my forest ecology...so I nerdily laughed to myself that in fact the Ponderosa Pine (and probably others) have that same adaptation...an insulated cambium layer...yeah, see, I am REALLY nerdy (although I am hoping that Dawn, Katie, and Rachel read this and NRRT laugh along with me!).  (As an aside, I always make fun of my friend Sandy for being a bird nerd, but let's be honest, I love plants and that is pretty darn nerdy as well.) 

Be careful of those spines!

¡Ay! Eso me duele el dedo!

Our flight was a charter with a travel agency like you would do to Mexico or something in the US. And so, we were able to fly directly to Gran Canaria instead of having a layover somewhere. So, really, we left Germany at 7am, had a four and a half hour flight, and were standing in our hotel lobby with our complimentary champagne by noon- not too shabby. 

Our room wasn't quite ready when we got there and so we were just chilling in the "snack bar" and found out that there were all sorts of frou frou drinks available to us as part of our all-inclusive package. I have never been on a trip like this before (I am not counting India because though that trip was completely paid for, catered, and we stayed in really nice hotels, it was work-related and we were not just sitting by the pool all day!) where you just hang out and do nothing if you choose (which we chose!).  I'm not complaining in any way, I have had the opportunity to do lots of cool things, but this is my first "all inclusive" vacation at a resort as I've never been to Mexico or anything. Usually, my beach vacays are to Charleston, SC, which is always SUPER fun but sadly, Maura doesn't wait on me hand and foot (I may have to now reconsider our friendship!). 

View from our room. It was worth the extra €45 to have a view!

So, we've spent the last 7 days just chilling by the pool and swilling drinks while we made sure to reapply our sunscreen as much as necessary. I am a freak about getting sunburned after all those times in my life where my first day on a vacation, I get fried and then the rest of the trip is miserable. So, with my American-purchased SPF 50, I worked hard to not get a sunburn...first world problems. I relistened to a David Sedaris book and was the freaky girl laughing hysterically to herself without anything in front of me...so I looked extra weird as Lauren slept in the chair next to me. 

I WILL be outside, even it is a bit chilly.
Not to worry, this only happened one day!

The food was really good, we especially loved breakfast and I was able to have my favorite morning tradition...a drinks smorgasbord of diet coke, coffee, and a water. They even had ICE CUBES so Lauren and I made ourselves glass after glass of ice water. AND...there was a diet coke fountain so that made my vacation just that much better. We played a game at breakfast called "guess the British" by seeing who was eating baked beans for breakfast. Though I do enjoy this some days, I've noticed people eating plate after plate of beans and black pudding (reminder: black pudding is BLOOD SAUSAGE and I won some last year in England at the meat raffle! Yep, the meat raffle! I just couldn't stomach it and watching people load up on it- is just gross to me. I can't be culturally sensitive to this one!) 

This was a lunch drinks smorgasbord...beer, water, diet coke.
I did this at every meal. Lauren joined in too!

They also had stacks and stacks of Manchego cheese...the best cheese ever. So, needless to say (I basically have already said it) we did not miss a meal!  As I did no research before coming on this trip, I wasn't  sure what else there was to do here.  I almost got my fill of just laying around...almost. The landscape is very interesting.  It is very desert-like and reminds me of New Mexico or Arizona but next to an ocean. There is little vegetation and on the manicured areas, there are palm trees and ornate cacti. 

Some interesting desert plants with some, very obviously, volcanic rock.
The science teacher in me comes out on trips like this.
This island would have been a PERFECT place for a good geology field trip.

The first night there was a Flamenco show and the other nights there were  acrobats, crappy lounge singers, or something. We were basically on like a cruise for 70 year olds, but I was totally fine with that as I was just ready to relax. The last night there was a Lionel Ritchie cover singer. HA HA HA HA! Seriously? We laughed so hard about that one and made sure to check it out since I do have (an entirely fake) obsession with Lionel. I had some books on my coffee table that had been retired from the CBMS library about Lionel. They were always a really amusing conversation starter when people came over to my house in Fort Collins.

Well, as the week progressed, the cruise-ship-like entertainment worsened and once every single night called for audience participation, we skipped out. We have made some delightful British friends from the Isle of Man (where they speak Manx and have those Manx cats- the ones without tails) and so we chatted and got drinks with them after our dinners were over. I have to say that besides the baked beans for breakfast, the Brits are also given away by their crazy-intense sunburns. Now, maybe if I had lived in a cloudy, grey place my whole life too, I would go a bit nuts in the sun when I actually got to see it...but...it cannot be fun to spend your entire vacation charbroiled and red. The Germans seem to put on sunscreen while the Brits just get more lobster-like by the day. You can tell how long people have been here by how red they really are. Hilarious and I am glad for them that they have a good national healthcare system to deal with all of their impending skin cancer removals! 

Trip to the sand dunes at Maspalomas. 

We had two "away from the hotel" adventures as we were purposely as lazy as humanly possible this week. We REALLY committed the deadly sin of sloth and did a DAMN good job of it. There were naps a-plenty, inside and outside. But, our first excursion was to the nearby town of Maspalomas where there are large sand dunes right at the edge of the ocean. This was just a quick trip and worth it because the views of the mountains while you're standing on a beach are pretty darn cool.

The adventure continues..."Jeep" Safari

Our next excursion was a full-day "jeep safari" which was really a Toyota Land Cruiser without a roof. We sat in the way back on side-facing seats across from a young Belgian couple who we inevitably made friends with after bouncing around in a dusty "jeep" for 8 hours together. This tour drove us up into the mountains which actually made me extremely homesick because it looked so much like the American West...especially the clear blue sky. Clear blue sky is definitely missing from Northern Europe most of the time. I know that I have said this before but I can completely relate to Van Gogh and how he FLIPPED OUT upon seeing sunshine since it is so super grey in northern Europe. I think I'd flip out too if I'd never seen that kind of blue sky and then was thrust into it. I kind of freak now but only because I know what I'm missing. 

If this picture was closer up, you could see that we are completely covered in dust.

The roads were really windy and so we were pretty much nauseous the entire trip but it was still really fun. We saw many beautiful villages full of white stucco houses and red Spanish tile roofs (wait, do you think that is why they are called SPANISH tile? HA!). We got to visit some natural areas and then we stopped for lunch at a CAMEL PARK! Again, according to Wikipedia, camels are native to the area of Africa near the Canary Islands so they have been found there for a long time. Lauren had already ridden a camel to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and thought that this camel ride would be a let-down after that (I'm sure it would have been!)...but I love camels and think they are seriously cute and funny so I will take any opportunity I can, even though they are quite smelly. There was also a baby camel named Nestor in the pen and it was so incredibly cute. I couldn't shake the feeling though that I was riding a Ton-Ton in Star Wars!

YEEHAW!!!!

After the short ride, the camels all got super dolled up!
 It was Friday, after all!
(Or wait, maybe this was just the sign for the Women's Restroom!)

Oh Nestor, you are so cute.
Nestor loved people and loved having her ears scratched! .

Then, after lunch, the "off-roading" portion began. I've driven on roads similar to these roads in the mountains of Colorado- rocky, dusty, and narrow- but never at the speed at which we were doing it! It was a really good thing that I wasn't driving, otherwise the off-roading experience would have been done at about 10 miles per hour and it wouldn't have been nearly as exciting. It was like being on a really dirty, bumpy roller coaster and also reminded me a lot of sitting in the back of the school bus as a child and cheering and laughing when we went over bumps. You couldn't help but wildly giggle the entire time. We got progressively dirtier as the time passed and our driver (who would get out a sociology textbook and highlight it at every stop!)  had the right idea by pulling a neck gator over his whole face to protect himself from the dust...although he did totally look like a bank robber and so that made us laugh even that much harder because we felt like a getaway car! 

Driver of the "getaway car" or just of the tour.
He had to spare his lungs and eyes because he was doing homework at every single stop!

They allowed us to get out a few times and talked to us about the plant life of the area. The variety of cactus species was amazing and also very beautiful. It was so nice to be in a different landscape than what I am used to. Also, being an island with mountains, the climate is extremely varied and depending on the direction that a slope might face, the vegetation and the look are completely different. 

The Candelabra Cactus. I thought it looked more like Churros.
Mmmmm, churros.

This vacation was well worth the money, in fact, I spent less than I normally would on a week's trip when you factor in airfare, food, and hotel, and it was great to see the sun and relax. I recommend the Canary Islands to anyone who wants a dry air (important to me now that I lived in Damp-ville), blue sky vacation where you can be slothy and drink lots of umbrella drinks. Delightful.

Roof-top bar at our hotel. 

Now I have to get back to the "real life" of teaching. I have a new colleague starting on Monday who will be teaching the same thing as me, so that will be fun and interesting. And, I can countdown to my next trip...a road trip to France with my friends Lauren and Keith to visit the family with whom I lived last year in only 5 weeks! I really enjoy the school schedule with the shorter summer and more frequent breaks throughout the year...there is always something on the horizon to look forward to! And, I love me a good road trip.