A Day in the Life of...

I haven't written much if anything about my work here--and I promise to post more work and project-related posts here in the future. However, I have just posted A Day in the Life of... an AIF Service Corps Fellow and information about my work at AID India and specific projects on the AIF Service Corps Fellowship Blog. Instead of re-posting it here just follow the links above if you're interested!

Save Tibet

The emails from my Tibetan friends continue. The latest round has included some video and photos. I'll post the link to the video below, as I think it tells a powerful story. I'm still deciding what to do about the photos...they are very disturbing images of bodies beaten, shot and tortured. Part of me wants to post them to show people the extent of the violence that is occurring. And part of me doesn't want to even look at them a moment longer because they are so horrific.

Please visit Beijing Wide Open to read about a Tibetan activist speaking out about the Olympics. This woman took the video that I've embedded below. The monk in the video was a student of my dad's and became a good friend. He has a powerful story to tell. Please watch.





If you are wondering what you can do to help please visit the International Campaign for Tibet website. There are links provided to send messages to the White House and your member of congress. Please support Tibet!

Ann...on the loose!

Until I have the time to write and post some pictures, there is a great update on my mom's blog, Ann...on the loose! about her whirlwind visit to Birmingham, my 30th b-day and all the adventurous in-between! It was a fabulous visit!!!

Mom Arrives in 24 hours

Another chapter of the trip is over and another is starting tomorrow. I just dropped Amy & Evie at the airport an hour ago. It was a bittersweet good-bye. Team ABC-DBT (Annapurna Base Camp-dal bhat thakali) was so deliciously fun and it came with great views too. And Team Annapurna Circuit "Waa Happen?" could never be replicated if we tried. So much fun and so many good laughs that it is sad to say good-bye to it. But I'm pretty sure it won't be our last adventure. They have strict orders to start planning our next adventure on their flight to Bangkok.

Meanwhile, my mom has just boarded a flight to Delhi and will arrive in about 24 hours in Kathmandu. The rafting/relaxation portion of the adventure is about to begin!! Exciting! And to my surprise, I just found out my mom has decided to start a little travel journal....here is the link. Should be interesting to compare mother-daughter notes!

Ann On the Loose in Asia

More on the adventures to be posted soon!

Another New Blog

"Life has been busy" is an understatement. Since I got off the bus two weeks ago, I've been running from school to school, class to class and teaching almost everynight after school. And on top of that I've been trying to get back into a study routine. My only relief has been snowboarding and sleeping (more on that in another post).

But my classes are doing some exciting projects and it's always fun to work with them. My adult conversation class has been meeting for 20 years with several that can remember the first class in 1986. In addition to their weekly classes, the write, edit and publish a zine every few months on a topic that the teacher (me) usually assigns. They have reached their 25th volume and in celebration I suggested they go html and start a blog!

To celebrate their 20th year as a class, and their 25th zine, I'd like to welcome you to the
Nyuzen Eikaiwa Class Blog. They have been writing, editing, and re-writing for about two months. Their posts are their own, I have done nothing to them! While we work on editing and perfecting their essays, you will find mistakes. But this isn't a writing or grammar class, and I always stress in my class that English is about communication, not perfection!

Please, please visit their blog, post comments about their ideas--not their mistakes! And add it as a link to your favorites and come back to visit again. Their are only two posts as I write this, but their should be 6-7 more being sent in throughout the week!

(this picture was taken last May when my parents were visiting the class)