July 2024 Dump featuring St. Louis and Animal Friends

Summer 2024 has officially come to end. It was a lovely summer, with adventures and animal friends, but now it is time to get back to work.

And fortunately, I feel (mostly) ready for the school year. My classroom is set up and our lessons are coming on nicely! I am excited to meet my new students and get back into a routine. My goals for the school year are to be intentional with my teaching and to choose joy. And what I mean by that is that I'm going to focus on the good things, and encourage my students to do the same. 

But first, I must reflect on this lovely summer. Working at the zoo as a camp counselor was super fun, and I highly recommend the Memphis Zoo in any capacity. If you have kids and are able, send them to zoo camp. If you're a teacher looking for a fantastic summer job, become a counselor. And if neither of those things apply to you, you can still visit our incredible zoo. Their focus is so much on research, education, and conservation that I learned something new every day, and I'm sure I will continue to learn as I visit and work there in the future.

My favorite camp to work was the Zoo Insider Program (ZIP). This camp got to see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes with the animals, and I got to take pictures. Please enjoy.

Julia is not my friend.

Maggie is a sweetie.

I wish I could pet.

Hagrid is a big boy.

Jeff is our older, arthritic komodo dragon. 

Lua!

Me as a prairie dog

Snack time!

Grogu!

Daisy likes to eat shorts.

Liza!

Peter is the softest boy.

Donny- my main man.

Me as a capybara

I also got to go to St. Louis with my grandmother. She wanted to visit a friend and I wanted to visit the Arch. And the Arch certainly was impressive. There is an excellent museum to explore, and the views are spectacular. The time slots to go up fill up fast though, so I recommend booking ahead. We also went to the Cardinals-Cubs game and the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM). SLAM was free, and one of the best art museums I have ever been to. The collection has both a breadth and depth of art that is really impressive and fun to wander through. SLAM is part of the bigger Forest park in St. Louis, which is also home to a science museum, the zoo, and much more. And it's all free! Way to go St. Louis. 

I caught a roll.

So cool!

The views are nice!

A view of the courthouse

A marvel of engineering!

We left early, but the cardinals won!

Such art, many sculptures

Monet

I also read some books and saw Mamma Mia!

And finally, two links:

My Classroom Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/30HO0E8Z0B5G3?ref_=wl_share

Sign Up for Germantown Education Fund 5K and Color Run: https://gefrun2024.raceroster.com/ 

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer!

June 2024 Dump featuring London and Portugal

June was my travel month this year! I didn't do as long as usual just to save money and spend some more time working. I still had a fabulous time though! 

London was London. A little chilly and a little rainy, but there's always something to do. My mom and I did a tour of Windsor (to look for Kate Middleton) and Bath (which was super cute). We also saw The Book of Mormon (hilarious) and met up with a Contiki friend of mine (yay!). 10/10 would recommend.

Now, let's talk Portugal. It was fabulous. A little chillier than expected, but not too bad. Great food and I learned a lot. There are two things in particular I want to discuss.

1. Portugal has everything you want from your European vacation. Cute little streets in cute little towns. Fun restaurants. Cat cafes. Fancy old buildings. A bunch of really pretty churches. Wine (and cork!). It's just much cheaper than Italy, France, etc. Also hillier, but that just means you get your steps in everyday. Another 10/10 would recommend.

2. I traveled with a new company for this trip called G Adventures, specifically one of their National Geographic Trips. It is not a company strictly for those ages 18-35, which changes the vibes. It's a little slower pace and more chill. Everyone on our tour was still wonderful and it was still a great trip, there's just no white-water rafting or late-night karaoke. Which is cool, you do you. And there was still plenty of free-time to have your own adventure. I might stick with G Adventures once I age out of the other groups. Here's the website: https://www.gadventures.com/. 

And now it's back to zoo camp in the Memphis heat. I hope everyone stays cool and hydrated and has a wonderful summer!

Windsor- no sign of Kate Middleton

Tram 28 in Lisbon

Cat!

Coimbra

Victoria and Albert Museum

London

A cork tree

Porto