Here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, we're just looking at all the yardwork and gardening that we'd like to do, that is, if it will ever stop raining. I think we had close to five inches of rain over the weekend. We've had a few nice days, but only on weekdays. Hopefully, it will change soon because all of us are getting a little stir-crazy. The prize for anxiety this week goes to my neice, Caitlin, (Cindy's daughter) who has been spending her junior year of college abroad. Her first semester was in Austria, but this semester she is in Mexico. Everything was going quite well until the swine flu outbreak. At first, she said that it wasn't as bad as reported, but now she says that it's getting much worse than reported. Everyone is pretty much confined to their living quarters and today the university she attends in Mexico was shut down after two people there died. Caitlin's stateside school, the University of Delaware, has decided to fly the students home, but can't get them out until May 6th. It seems as though every flight is booked as people are trying to get to any place that is not Mexico City. The school year here is beginning to wind down, or will be, after Open House Night. By 3:00 tomorrow, every inch of every wall will be covered with the culmination of artwork, compositions, projects, and posters completed during the year. At 7:00 P.M., the doors will open and hundreds of kids and parents will begin the tour. At 8:00, we'll give everyone ice cream - a real treat now, as all snacks but raw vegetables are banned at our school. Then we, the teachers, treat ourselves to two Teacher Planning/ Institute days sans students. Actually, I shouldn't say that we treat ourselves because the volume of paperwork in teaching these days is incredible. So much testing, tabulating, monitoring, and thoroughly reviewing each student has become the norm in the past few years. No matter how much paperwork is involved however, I still consider my job as the ESL teacher to be the best in the school. It both rewarding and funny, especially those things that are 'lost in translation'. Well, that's all for now. Thanks again for the great job you have done with this blog.
Sandy Crothers Jacobson
Sandy Crothers Jacobson
