Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving today and I am thinking of all the goodness that has happened this year. Even though so many talk about the problems in America, when you watch the Macy's Day Parade and others, you realize that we still have so much in America. If we didn't we would not have such ability to celebrate with such opulence.

Now -- not to ruin your Thanksgiving--Please read the book "The Unhealthy Truth," by Robyn O'Brien. Its about genetically altered foods, especially soy. It talks about our processed foods and some of the hidden sources of problems to our health. READ THIS BOOK!  BE INFORMED!

Enjoying the Experience Again of Cross-cultural Communication

 My husband and I are so enjoying the experience of communicating with someone that speaks English as a second language. It makes you realize how much you take for granted! It makes remember how difficult it was when I was trying to learn another language and live in the host country. My hubby says I need to slow my speech down but that is a bit difficult. Cherry's range and knowledge of English vocabulary is really excellent but sometimes I find myself having  to rethink a sentence because the think I am saying is quite colloquial and is not easily explained!

Here is our first picture together when she arrived! She looked great considering she'd just traveled half way around  the world and her body clock was completely upside down! What a trooper.

Becoming a Parent to a Foreign Exchange Student

Since my vacation, my husband and I finally decided that we would actually host a foreign exchange student. We had been talking with PAX a foreign exchange organization about this. They sent us bio's on high school students from around  the world. We narrowed it down to about 15 and then narrowed it further until we have 3 candidates. Once we had more information  on them we asked for our first, 2nd and third choice. Then the student had the ability to learn about us and choose whether the student wanted to live in the  area and be a part of our family. The student said yes. We were sort of on pins and needles because throughout the process the student could say no. Also, all background checks and things  had to be clear, verbal interviews with those that knew us had to be positive. There is never any guarentee!

We have chosen and been chosen by a student from China.Getting ready was really fun. We e-mailed back and forth about her likes and dislikes about many things but especiall for colors for her room. In the end we had her pickout her bedding for her room. We have discussed food likes and dislikes. She is easy going and is not picky. She experiments and then tells us what she thinks. What is really fun is that she will tell us what she likes whether it is food, programs or other topics. My personal experience with some Asian cultures is that their culture is such that they may not tell you what they think out of politeness. Of course there may always be levels of sharing of what one thinks in all cultures, including my own. It usually depends on the feeling  of saftey, or care for another's feelings. 

Our student is a delight and a real joy to have in our home. She studies hard but has lots of fun with friends. The students in our public school have been so open and inviting to her. I cannot say enough about the students in Colby, KS. I  worried about her coming to a small town environment where we have limited exposure to ethnic differences. We have some, but not like a big city. The youth are really terrific! She was invited to go shopping the first weekend after school started with some girls, she has been invited to go eat out with some students several times, she has been nicely recruited off the bleachers (where we were sitting during the first scrimmage of the football season) to join a group to watch the match and also be involved in activities. Three other ladies and Cherry got ready for the Homecoming dance. She has studdy-buddies and friends galore! Kudos to the Colby youth!

She has been here a full month now and we already see how she has livened up our lives and home! We are glad that Cherry has come to be with us for the school year! Thanks to her parents for trusting us!

Granduer of Grand Canyon - Vacation 2010

We so enjoyed our vacation at the Grand Canyon - South and North Rim. We drove to Williams, took the train to the south rim, walked the rim, stayed at the hotel overnight, hiked Kaibab trail, then went back to Williams by train. The next day we traveled to the North Rim via Page, AZ.
Enjoy some a brief video clip of our photos made through Animoto.com.



Beautiful huh???

The Grandness of our nation's beauty!

I have just spent a full week just enjoying and being amazed at the grandeur of our nation's land. I have traversed from Denver Colorado, Santa Fe New Mexico, Phoenix, Williams, Flagstaff, and Page of Arizona, plus Kanab and Sandpete Utah and much more. I have enjoyed the south and north rim of the Grand Canyon. What an amazing area of land that spans the canyon lands of the Southwest! Once I get my pictures downloaded I will add them to this post so that you can enjoy them. I hope they are as wonderful as I feel this vacation has been!

See the video in the above post!

Reflections on 23 Things Kansas

What a great experience! Thanks to all who worked so hard to train us and hold our hand in gaining skill in new technologies! I thoroughly enjoyed the course and hope you keep it available for others to take later.

I really enjoyed the technologies for screencasting, video producing, blogging and things like that. I have continued to use Meebo, and IM's. Tweeting was fun, but I just have not found I have things I think worthy to share with the world, or do not have the time! But tweeting and IM's can be a great tool in libraries. We just need more staff to respond to patrons.

I also found it fun to be able to take simple photos and create really dramatic presentations. If anything this will help us look more professional in our presentations! We are no longer just stuck to using Powerpoint.

My head will remain in the Cloud and I hope to look over some of the 45 things in 45 minutes from the KLA conference. Must keep pushing the envelope!

Again, Thanks to our mentors!

Week 15 - Wiki's

Wiki's are very useful to coordinate work and information for groups of people. I edited the Wikepedia site for the Colby, KS page. There I added some information about the Pioneer Memorial Library. I added the historical perspective and the fact that the library is a vibrant place that is supported by members of the community from its very inception until now.

I have also taken a class in Information Literacy and working with class room teachers. There we had to add reading materials, bibliographies, and reviews of the materials we read as individuals to specific subject pages. It was very helpful to learn about materials others read and what they learned so that I could glean from them.

I also added a brief page to the 23 Things Participant page. It was great to learn how to navigate Wetpaint's software. I had used PBworks previously. I do not remember having advertisements on that site, but then it may have been a paid for expansion of the free software.

I signed up for a wiki for myself I may decide to use this for book reviews and such and then add the information to this blog. Depends on how much time I have!