Twas' The Month Before Christmas

First, I want to make one thing clear: my Christmas shopping was done by Halloween. My Christmas cards were ready to mail by Thanksgiving. And my apartment was decorated in a classy manner (if a little sparse) by December 1st. I understood the Christmas assignment and I was on top of things.

However, it has still been an incredibly busy past 30 days for several reasons.

1. We had family in town for Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving was also my birthday. That takes prep and time.

2. My family and I are leaving for Egypt tomorrow (fingers crossed that everything goes well and we can actually get on the plane). Traveling takes preparation, and that preparation doubles when you factor in traveling during the time of COVID. We thankfully all tested negative, but there's also health surveys and waivers. Plus the usual cleaning, packing, and finding a temporary home for the Coco kitty. I really just want to see the mummies.

3. I'm switching schools, and school districts, in January. I will wait until I actually start my new job to go into details, but I am cautiously optimistic about the move. I have needed a change for a while now. That being said, any teacher can tell you that moving classrooms can be a nightmare. We just accumulate so much stuff for our classrooms. I mean, we all know teachers routinely spend their own money on classroom supplies, but you never realize just how much until you have to haul it to your car.

Look at the empty classroom! No decorations, not supplies, just desks and data charts. 

So, I did not quite meet my physical activity and healthy eating goals for the past 30 days. That will be a renewed goal in January after returning from traveling.

I did, however, read two books: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon and Persuasion by Jane Austen. I really enjoyed both, especially since I didn't have to buy either. I downloaded Persuasion from Project Gutenburg (https://www.gutenberg.org/) and found The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in the the free library box in my parents' neighborhood. Yay for free knowledge!

So good!

I also made it to my two activities. I saw The Lion King at the Orpheum with some teacher friends (so good!) and went to the Enchanted Forest with my dad. My mom's office sponsored one of the Christmas trees at the Enchanted Forest (it's a fundraiser for Le Bonheur Children's' Hospital), and I think they went a little overboard.

I just can't wait to be king!

The Enchanted Forest

In front of the overboard disco Christmas tree experience

Anyway, I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season! See you in 2022!

Spooks and Self-Help Books

 For the two people who read my blog, we have reached the end of another 30-day challenge. Actually, we reached it a few days ago, but I've been busy. And it has been a really busy 30 days. I still read my two books and did my two activities, but my physical activity and eating right goals were a little short. Two be fair, I spent several days this past month with the usual, awful weather changing cold.

Anyway, I did read The Splendid and the Vile: A Tale of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. I also read a self-help book my mom got me a few years ago called You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. And these two books taught me a lot. I obviously learned a lot about Churchill and the first year of the London Blitz during WWII. I also learned that my grandmother, who claims to love history, only really cares about American history. She kept asking what part I was at, and was disappointed when I said it didn't cover Pearl Harbor or the entrance of America into WWII. I also learned that self-help books, though well-intentioned, aren't really my jam. 

I also went to the haunted corn maze with my brother, and he was quite afraid of the spooks. Later, I  went to see National Parks Adventure at the local Pink Palace Museum (which has rebranded as the Museum of Science and History).  I now would very much like to go to Yellowstone.

And in other news, public education is still in a state of emergency. Let's add terrible heating systems to the list since the school has been super hot for the last week, meaning no one can concentrate. I've written about said emergency, and I working on getting it edited. You know, if anyone knows an interested publisher. 

Enjoy some photos.

Spooks!

One thing the school system did good on was hosting yoga for teachers at Shelby Farms before the weather changed. It was really fun!

I think the house panther i see on my walks wants to murder me.

After we made it through the spooks.

Coco being her usual adorable self.

Updated Country List

Here are the 30 countries I made it to before I turned 30!

1. The USA (duh, I will do my road trip one day)

2. Austria

3. Belgium

4. Czech Republic

5. England

6. France

7. Germany

8. Greece

9. Ireland

10. Italy

11. Scotland

12. Spain

13. The Netherlands

14. Vatican City

15. China

16. Japan

17. Belize

18. Costa Rica

19. Mexico

20. Argentina

21. Brazil

22. Peru

23. Ecuador

24. Australia 

25. New Zealand

26. Rwanda

27. South Africa

28. Zimbabwe

29. Tanzania

30. The Bahamas

31. Egypt

32. Jordan

Our Caribbean Cruise Adeventure

I have officially made it to my 30th country! Yay! And I still have more than a month before I turn 30!

Over Fall Break, I went on a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas with my grandmother, and we just had a wonderful time. I have been on one cruise before, but it was all the way the back in 2015. Both have been  Carnival Cruises, and I only have the nicest things to say about the staff of both cruises. Even with the pandemic, every person working on the ship was awesome.

In particular, there are couple things I really like about cruises, if you're curious.

1. Cruises can be a good mixture of adventure and relaxation. On the cruise to the Bahamas, my cruise was a lot of relaxation since I was traveling with my grandmother.  We went to the spa, we took naps, and we had calm, guided tours of Freeport and Nassau. But I also got my dose of adventure snorkeling in Bimini at the Sapona Shipwreck. It was super cool, and I made friends with a turtle. Other people we spoke to did jeep tours, dolphin adventures, and other activities that were more high energy. And this diversity of activities leads me to the second thing I really like about cruises.

2. Cruises really are the have it your way vacation. You want to book an excursion? Book an excursion. You want to play in the pool all day? Play in the pool all day. And there are a million things to choose from. There's trivia, shows, games, the gym, the spa, the library, the casino, art auctions, and so much more. Or you can just nap! It's whatever you want it to be.

3. There's also a million food choices. That's amazing. I ATE ALL THE FOOD. Also, you want two entrees at dinner? Order two entrees at dinner. You do you.

4. Finally, what I think I like most about cruises is you have all these different people from different places who are just there to have a good time.  This means pretty much everyone gets along, you have some great conversations, and people embrace the fun. The dance, they sing, they laugh. That's my experience at least. The only drama we had was someone cheating at trivia. This lady was winning like every trivia game and finally another lady came up saying she had VIDEO EVIDENCE that there was cheating involved. DRAMA ON THE CRUISE SHIP. I found it quite trivial.

But anyway, we had an excellent time. 10/10 would recommend. And of course, here are some pictures.

Turtle friend in Bimini!

Duck friend in Freeport!

Nassau Tour!

Country #30!

We had a great time!

The Sapona Shipwreck

In Which I Use a Semicolon

It is the end of another one of my challenges. Except this time, instead of 30 days, I only did 15 days. Fall Break is next week and I don't want to eat healthy on Fall Break. I'm going on a cruise; it's just not done.

But during my 15-day challenge I still read a book and played Memphis tourist again. This time I read Sarah Dessen's The Rest of the Story and visited the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite writers, and I love every single one of her books, even if I already know the ending. Also, I think I liked the Dixon better than the Brooks Museum. There was less art, but it was more focused. For example, most of the gallery space was taken up by a temporary exhibition showing the works of Wayne Thiebaud. He did a lot of pictures of food, and had quite literal names for his pieces so I thoroughly enjoyed his work. The gardens were also very nice.

The garden part of the Dixon.

"Jolly Cones" by Wayne Thiebaud

As always, the national emergency of education continues. We are still looking for teachers, even though we just finished the first quarter. I actually took a sick day last week because my body was just folding under the stress. I wonder where our bailout is.

But anyway, now it's Fall Break and I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas. It will be my 30th country, so if all goes as planned I will reach my goal of #30before30. Fingers crossed!

P.S. I used a semicolon in this blog. I'm very proud of myself.

Domesticated House Panthers and the National Emergency of Education

I just completed another one of my 30-day challenges! Yay! Now, my next challenge will not be 30-days, because Fall Break is rapidly approaching, and I am not going to be healthy on Fall Break. I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas with my grandmother, and cruises are not the place to eat healthily OR workout. Besides, right now, I'm just hoping that we still get to go and that I can cross off country #30!

For my books this past month, I read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and The Necklace by Claire McMillan. I finally read The Joy Luck Club because one of the chapters was featured in our English curriculum for 7th grade. And the book as a whole really enforces the theme that you can't make someone be something they're not. Although the mothers tried, their daughters often went their own way. My students REALLY related to this theme.

The Necklace was good, too. It's this sort of romance, mystery book that goes back and forth between the 1920s and present day. The necklace in question is based on an Indian artifact, and the novel does touch on the fact that most things in western museums are, in fact, stolen. Also, I didn't like that the main female character accepted this guy's proposal at the end. I just felt like he didn't deserve it. 

The necklace in the book is based on the real life Patiala necklace.
https://www.facebook.com/207031419334813/posts/2000211853350085/

As far as my outings for the month, I did make it to the Cooper Young. And I was sad that the House of Mews, a cat rescue located in that area, was temporarily closed because of COVID. I could not cuddle those kitties, so I cuddled Coco. Also, I often see between 2-4 cats on walks around my parents neighborhood. At Shelby Farms, I see ducks, geese, bison, deer, and, most frighteningly, snakes. I hate snakes. 

This is the domesticated house panther I often see on walks.   

As far as podcasts though, I am now listening to the Ologies podcast. 10/10 would recommend.

And as I head into my next challenges, I often think about the one challenge I currently don't have the power to address: the teacher shortage. It's rough. We are lacking teachers in every grade level, and have a dire need for special education teachers in particular. We don't even have subs, which means kids often get split into other classes when a teacher is absent. Splitting them disrupts not only their learning, but the learning of the classes they are sent into as well. I was talking to my colleague about this issue, and she mentioned that in some places they've even called in the National Guard to drive busses because of the shortage of drivers. And she said we should call in the National Guard to at least sub and cover classes, and I agree. Education is incredibly important, and it's not being delivered in the ways it should. Doesn't that count as a national emergency?

But anyway, I'll keep going to work and doing the best I can for my kids. Maybe a nice soldier can come back me up. Or maybe all those politicians and pundits who moan about how the system needs to be fixed or about how we need more standardized tests can come cover my classes for a day. I'm sure they'd do great (eye roll).

Playing Tourist in My Own Town and Other Adventures

The week before in-service for school (so the last week of July) I decided to set myself a series of 30 day challenges. I'm working on that whole 30 countries before 30 thing, so I figured I'd stick with the trend.

Two of the challenges related to health: 25/30 days of eating well and 25/30 days of doing some kind of physical activity. I hit 23 days for both, which is really good for me! And this is taking into account that those 30 days included in-service and the first week of school, which are always chaotic and throw my schedule and eating routines off. Most of the physical activity came in the form of walks. Walks around my parents' neighborhood, walks around the school, and walks around Shelby Farms. I have never been an athletic person, but I found walks to be just my speed. Plus, I have discovered podcasts! And I listen to them on my walks! History! Scandal! Drama! I binged one called "Not Past That" and I am currently binging "Dark History." I have learned so much! 10/10 would recommend podcasts and walks. 10/10 would also recommend Shelby Farms for the animal friends (pictures included below).

Another one of the challenges was to read two books. I already told you about the first in my post about my trip to Costa Rica (Night Boat to Tangier), which I finished when I got back home. The second book I read, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, was significantly less annoying. And it was recommended by Reese Witherspoon! In Tangier,  the two main characters seem not to realize that they are annoying and probably caused lasting trauma to the girl they're looking for (the daughter one of the characters). However, the main character in Palace realizes she has trauma, acknowledges that her trauma makes her do things that are not 100% moral, and is working through her trauma. The only thing that bugs me is that the author uses Memphis as a minor setting and basically describes it as a hell hole. And as a Memphian, I take offense. Yeah, we have problems, but we're not that bad!

And speaking of being a Memphian, my last challenge was to take two outings. And for one of those outings, I chose to visit the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Now, I have lived in Memphis most of my life, and have just never gotten around to visiting this particular museum. So, I decided to play tourist in my own town a little bit and visit. Was it the best art museum I've ever visited? No, but it was a nice way to spend an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon. They have a variety of exhibitions, including an emphasis in exploring diversity in the collections they display. There's a whole section on why women are absent from the list of great artists of the Renaissance period, and another exhibit of art from the African continent. And one of my favorites was the Persevere and Resist exhibit by Elizabeth Catlett (https://www.brooksmuseum.org/catlett). They also have a contemporary and modern art section, which I was completely confused by. 

In addition, the Brooks Museum has chosen to remove their famous portrait of Andrew Jackson in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and our country's increasing awareness of the dark chapters in our history. And Jackson, Tennessee's most famous and "popular" president, does represent some of those dark chapters like slavery and the Trail of Tears. However, he is not the only president that has those shadows. I mean, like, Thomas Jefferson is a prime example. And as someone who has perused school history textbooks, we do tend to skim over those dark parts when we really shouldn't. Call it critical race theory or not, but we must address all parts of history, even the ones that make us look bad. And I think the Brooks Museum did that well. Even though they did remove the painting, they put up informational text in its place with a smaller replica of the portrait and information about Jackson and his place in history, both the good parts and the bad parts. They even have a comment book where your can give your personal feedback about the decision. And you should have an opinion, and you should, if possible, dig deep about what you know about our history. As the saying goes, those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Anyway, now I am onto my next 30 day challenge, so who knows where I'll go next. There's always something new to learn!

Oh, they're buff.

Oh deer!

The lovely Brooks Museum 

Country List

 Here are the 29 countries I have been to so far:

1. The USA (duh, I will do my road trip one day)

2. Austria

3. Belgium

4. Czech Republic

5. England

6. France

7. Germany

8. Greece

9. Ireland

10. Italy

11. Scotland

12. Spain

13. The Netherlands

14. Vatican City

15. China

16. Japan

17. Belize

18. Costa Rica

19. Mexico

20. Argentina

21. Brazil

22. Peru

23. Ecuador

24. Australia 

25. New Zealand

26. Rwanda

27. South Africa

28. Zimbabwe

29. Tanzania

Kickin' in Costa Rica

I have returned from country #29! It was really fun, and my mom ended up traveling with me, so I had a buddy! We went ziplining, we went snorkeling, and we saw lots of wildlife. Lots and lots of wildlife. Monkeys, sloths, birds, and even a snake (my least favorite)!

And in terms of Belize vs. Costa Rica, I do think I liked Belize better just because I got to spend more time there. School is starting soon, so I didn't have as many days in Costa Rica as I did in Belize. Plus, the immigration process coming into Costa Rica took three hours. I know that's probably abnormal, but it's the longest I've ever had to wait in an immigration line and first impressions matter.

In addition, I finally got around to reading the book that's been sitting on my nightstand for months. It's called Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry. It was a book recommended by a virtual book club I was think of joining (before life got in the way), and honestly, I expected better. It's about these two middle-aged Irish guys who used to smuggle drugs. They're looking for one of they guy's daughter, even though he was a horrible dad, and honestly they're just both so annoying. And the author doesn't use any kind of quotation marks when people are talking, I guess in an effort to be "unique" and "high-brow." But again, it's just annoying. It's just a kind of boring book written by a middle age white guy who describes himself, according to Wikipedia, as a "raving egomaniac." I think maybe the people who like it are also middle aged white guys who are "raving egomaniac[s]," so maybe it's a good thing I didn't end up joining that book club.

Also, if anyone is interested in sponsoring my classroom for the upcoming school year, please let me know! I know I will have a need for supplies!

And finally, here are some pictures from the beautiful Costa Rica! Pura vida!

Zipline fun!

This bridge, thankfully, didn't have any cracks. Unlike the I-40 bridge.

A plane used in the Iran-Contra Scandal. It's now a restaurant!

Me attempting to dive!

That's a volcano!

Iguana friend!

Brooke's Belize Adventure

Well, it has certainly been a long time since I was able to post anything about my international adventures! COVID-19 has changed how we live and how we travel, and derailed several trips I had planned for 2020. But fortunately, with the availability of vaccines, we are starting to get back to normal. So before I share any of my thoughts about Belize, I just to encourage everyone to get their COVID vaccine if they have not done so already!

So first and foremost, this was my first international trip since I went to South America in late 2019. Furthermore, it was my first ever trip in which I was truly a "solo traveller." Previously, I've always been with family, friends, or a tour group. But I enjoyed traveling solo. I could really focus on the activities I was doing and what I was learning, which is always a plus for me. And I could set my own schedule. If I wanted to get a massage, I could get a massage. If I wanted to go to the pool, I could go to the pool. I just had to make sure I was on time for my pick-ups and drop-offs.

I did reach out to tour company to help plan my trip, since I just don't have time for all that. And they did a great job! All of my hotels and guides were fantastic. Here is the link to the company I used: https://www.anywhere.com/.

Now, a few thoughts about Belize.

1. I'm calling Belize a beginner country for international travelers from the US. Since it's part of the commonwealth (which I did not know), English is the official language and most everyone speaks English. Most places take US dollars, and the exchange rate to Belizean dollars is pretty easy to use/remember (2 BZ:1 US). They also present information in Fahrenheit, miles, feet, etc., which most places don't. And they bring you ice for drinks. And have chicken tenders on their menus. For many Americans, these are everyday facts of life, but they're also things that make us pretty unique. But Belize has been strongly influenced by the US and US tourism, and that can make travel a little less jarring for beginning international American travelers. And it was nice for my first international post-COVID trip.

2. Belize has a lot more to offer than just the beach. Many people I spoke to only stayed in one part of the country, either in the islands or on the coasts. But Belize has much more to offer, including Mayan ruins, rainforests, beautiful nature reserves, and more. It's not a big country, and different places are connected by buses and regional flights. So, if possible, don't just stay in one spot. Explore. 

3. That being said, the tourist areas are a lot different from the local areas. Whenever I'm looking for somewhere to travel now, and I always check to see if that place is a Peace Corps country, just out of curiosity. Not that I particularly like Peace Corps, as I think I have made my thoughts on that organization quite clear, but it does provide some indication of a country's level of development. And Belize is a Peace Corps country. Tourism is its biggest industry, and that was obviously hit hard this past year. They are anxious and excited for travelers to return. 

4. The Actun Tunichil Muknal, or ATM, Cave was one of the coolest things I've ever done. It's intense and it's a workout (the guides call it the another tourist missing cave), but it was fascinating. Cameras aren't allowed inside the cave, but I learned so much and was amazed by the whole experience. 

And so that's it! Country #28. Next up is Costa Rica in July, and my mom has decided to come with me! Also, here are some pictures from my adventure!

Xunantunich Mayan Ruins outside of San Ignacio

Outside of the ATM Cave reserve

The only jaguar I saw at the beautiful Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. The others were sleeping.

I really enjoyed just wandering around San Pedro.