Corralitos

Great day celebrating Marie's birthday at Holy Eucharist Parish. The dinner was excellent, the music great, the friends fantastic, and the weather, balmy 75. In San Jose it was 90!

The drive over Hecker Pass was surprisingly calm for a hot Sunday in the Santa Clara Valley. Picked up some wine at Kirgin Cellars and then headed over the hill.

One of the great things about connecting with St. Francis lads is the warm sense of closeness one gets. I thin that today in our busy lives, some of us tend to forget what friendship is and that it comes with no strings attached.

Steph is back from Burlingame Wednesday, so for now it's me, Bobo and Juno. Lucky me.

It's another Friday.

This was a week of hard, on-my-feet teaching. I can tell that I am doing more than the students are in my classes, but I need to reach them and stimulate them to learn and to think.

I try to mix things up in the classes: discussion, lecture, group work, working with partners, student presentations, etc.

I feel good because I graded tests and the scores are up! That makes me feel good. I have to think about what I did and then repeat it the rest of the year.

Preparing for Sao Miguel

I have about three weeks to go before departure for Sao Miguel, but unfortunately I am running out of time to do what I want.
I am looking forward to being with the family and getting to know them better. We grew up in different worlds, but yet I am trying to maintain a relationship with them as best I can. The internet and phones makes it a lot easier with instant communication, but still not seeing each other face-to-face is not the same.
I also want to visit parts of Sao Miguel that I have not seen yet, especially some of the small towns on the eastern side of the island, which, I think, is the most beautiful. I have seen pictures of them, but I want to walk them too.

In America

This will be another Christmas away from my family in the Azores. My last one there was when I was six years old and I have no memory of it all.
I can imagine being in my grandfathers' and grandmothers' house enjoying a nice bowl of canja de galinha looking at the presepio and wondering what Velho Natal was bringing me.
Today I have another family another family, which I love dearly, but I still wonder what it would be like back in the Azores. Midnight Mass with the family, walking home to a midnight supper and then opening gifts. Maybe one day I will spend Christmas there again. Quem sabe.
Feliz Natal