Outward Bound Adventures

As a start to the new school year my 8th grade group headed to Baad, Austria for a week of the program Outward Bound. We split into five groups, me being in the second group, and set off to hike and do team building activities with our new class mates. Mygroup, the challenge group, hiked hut to hut for three nights and two huts. I got to be leader on the first day, meaning I got a map and a compass and was told "Ok, we're following you." We hiked up into a valley of rocky, sharp mountains for seven hours before we reached the hut. Unlike most huts in Colorado, this one had running water, electricity and a restaurant.

On the second day, we headed to the next hut along a

VERY steep path. The day presented many surprises. One, the day was as foggy as pea soup which presented a challenge for finding the trail. The second surprise was much better. We saw a Steinbock, which is a kind of rare European mountain goat. We were very lucky because our instructor said that she had never seen a Steinbock in the wild so close. We also got lucky because we saw three marmots up close too. Talk about a cool day!

The third day we summited a peak near the hut and did a two hour solo. It was a beautiful day so many of us got sunburns because of sitting in the sun so long. On the fourth and final day, we mastered an amazing feat. We got up at 3:55 am to hike back down into Baad and be there by 9:00am. We hiked in the dark with flashlights and saw the sun rise. It was a tiring but amazing end to our week in the Alps.

Home is the place

Here is a little story I created on Storybird about my summer experience at home in Crawford, Colorado after living and working in Germany for the year.

Enjoy. Beth

hOMe is the place on Storybird

Rethinking Leadership

At the beginning of December, I had the opportunity to take my 10th and 12th grade English Language Learners to London for four days.  When my colleague told me he couldn't come on the trip after we had already booked, I felt a moment of panic.  How could I possibly lead a group of teenagers around a city I barely knew myself?  I had only been in London one other time and then I had stayed with a girlfriend and let her lead me.  After several sleepless nights trying to figure out the details of the daunting task ahead of me, I awoke one morning with some clarity.  Like the first rays of sun shining through after days of fog, I knew how I could lead the trip.  Simply don't lead.

That very morning, I brought my idea to the students and framed it this way: "Since this trip is about learning English, developing the skills necessary for travel in an English speaking country, and the chance to experience British culture, you will plan and lead our London travels.  If I do all the planning and leading, I'll learn a lot, but this is about your learning."  They were thrilled.  They thought I was the coolest teacher, because I let them plan the trip.  I told them we could visit any of the tourist attractions as long as they could justify why it would help them learn English and something about British culture or history.  They spent a few class periods researching and then presenting their ideas. They developed the itinerary.  They figured out how to get from one site to the next.  They seemed prepared and I impressed upon them that their research was not merely academic--I truly did not know how to get around and I was counting on them completely.

When we finally arrived at the airport a day and a half late due to snow at Heathrow, they switched in to full leadership mode.  Everyone had a role and took it very seriously.  The student responsible for getting us from the airport to the hotel had done his research well.  Although we missed the last Tube trip out of the airport at midnight, he knew there was also a train and led us through the airport to get to it.  The student responsible for getting us to Madame Tussaud's wax museum the next morning figured out the Tube lines and got us to the VIP entrance of the museum in record time.  The young man responsible for our first group dinner used his free time to visit the restaurant, organize a private room, and a set menu for our group.  The students granted the 'leader' for each event the right to ask the questions, figure out the transportation, and walk in front of the group.  Very impressive!  It was a privilege to travel with this amazing group of students from Bavarian International School.

The 3 minute video created by one of the talented students in the group captures the feel of the trip.  Enjoy!

My Music Trip to Holland

There is so much to write and so little time so I will let the images explain.

One week ago, I went to Amsterdam, Holland and The Hague, Holland with a group of musicians. We did some site seeing, went to a symphony concert, saw the Anne Frank Museum and played at a music festival at the American School of the Hague. I performed a cello solo, flute solo and I played with the flute ensemble. Over all, the trip was fantastic and very memorable!

I was inspired by the Dutch language and was constantly trying to imitate announcements in Dutch. Also, I was inspired by the number of musicians that came to the music festival. There was even a school from Libya there! It was good to see that all the musicians were excited and motivated to play too.

The trip had a rocky start when on the flight over a girl's bag went missing and our hotel ended up farther away from the train station then we thought. But as a team of 12, the group did very well and managed to get the best ribbons from the festival. From our school alone, there was a pianist, guitarist, cellist (ME), 3 flutists, a drummer, singer and 2 clarinets. The trip ended well and I am very happy I went!

(top left) The group in Amsterdam in front of the Concert Gebow. (Concert hall)

(top right) A picture of the symphony concert.

(below) Video of my flute solo. I play Humoreske by Dvorak.