Anti-Drug Basketball Tournament

On February 8-11 I was able to take my basketball team to Athens Greece for a basketball tournament. Both Jen and I were slightly nervous about the entire weekend
because the team isn't so hot. We have eleven girls, 2 of which are seniors, 1 junior and the rest are either eighth or ninth graders. With all of these girls, only two had played basketball before the first day of tryouts.

We had played four games prior to coming to this tournament. The first game was against the faculty. It wasn't pretty and Jen and I were not even playing. The other three games were against TASIS England. These games were fun to watch and slightly stressful at the same time. Our girls would come off the floor complaining that England had stolen the ball from them, demonstrating just how they had done it. Jen and I tried to explain that was normal and just part of the game but the were truly distraught about it.

The transportation the entire week left something to be desired. We left TASIS in the morning boarding a bus with 12 seats for 16 for our first ride to Milan. We had to put girls on the floor in between the seats and the door and one of our freshman had to stand the entire way. It was a tight squeeze. When we were passing the boarder into Italy we held our breath that we wouldn't be stopped because we probably would have been faced with some trouble.

Anyhow, we finally arrived at our first true tournament and it happened to take place during the worse weather possible in Athens. There were 30mph winds and rain throughout the weekend. We had no transportation so we had to figure out the Metro and then directions for walking through back streets to a school that everyone we asked had no clue what we were referring to. The first walk to the school took us about three hours. We finally found our destination when the athletic director came driving to find us lost wandering through the streets.

Now for the games. We got crushed. However, it is the best I have ever seen the girls play and the heart that they showed was greater then any of my other teams. They were getting beat by 30 points and they never stopped diving for the ball or hustling to their positions. They even participated in a free throw contest and three point contest at the end of the tournament knowing full well that it was highly unlikely that they would be able to compete. Especially against a girl who I only reached her shoulder and she was popping the three without a problem.



We were so amused by the giant of a girl that when we were in Starbucks, Jen, Betta and I reenacted the size difference with coffee mugs. This is a true representation of her hugeness.


The girls were exhausted after we had finished all of our games and had to walk to the metro. A couple of them could barely keep their eyes open. It was actually really peaceful.

After all the games we were able to venture into Athens for a traditional dinner and wander through the streets to see the Acropolis at night. On Sunday we played more games and again went into the old city to visit the market. The area was bustling with people and there were so many things to see. Betta, Jen and I went off into the stores looking for souvenirs for family members and friends. They were both very successful buying plates and tea cups and little trinkets. I am not as good about buying things spontaneously. There was a beautiful plate that I was thinking about buying but couldn't rationalize. Especially because I don't have a home right now to display it in. However the next day when we went out again and allowed the kids some free time to shop I did purchase a backgammon game because they are supposedly from Greece and it was a beautiful set.




In the Metro station there was a replica of some of the ruins from the Acropolis. Because it was raining so hard and slightly miserable outside we decided to take the girls to this sight to get their fill of Athens. They were not to keen on the idea and we did head into the night and the rain to see the Acropolis lit up and strolled the streets for dinner.




This is Ginger and Dila posing with their horrible yogurt drink that left a beautiful GOT MILK mustache. My team is definitely made up of some ladies who like to pose.




We had a wonderful lunch on Sunday and some quality shopping on Sunday afternoon / evening one of my girls, Ginger, received a phone call from her father. He was in Athens for the opening of his illusionist show and he wanted to host all of us that evening for the premier. We had to get all the girls from the Ancient City to our hotel in a matter of 40 minutes, have them change into dress code then catch cabs to the sight of the Olympics. There was a lot of running from place to place but we made it. The show was amazing. It was in Italian and Greek but the the tricks and illusions were impressive. At one point one of the women floated in the air above a spray of water. Basically a lot of smoke and mirrors but still very impressive.

On Monday morning we did venture out again to see the sights during the day. It was absolutely amazing to think that I was standing at Acropolis in front of the Parthenon. There was a decent amount of construction taking place trying to get ready before the big tourist season but it was still an amazing sight.
I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather could have been nicer but the girls were great, they tried their best and we were able to see an Ancient City on TASIS.

Tim's Birthday

On Thursday, January 31 was Tim's Golden Birthday. We couldn't celebrate that evening due to excessive amounts of basketball obligations and just no time what so ever. So we took him out to dinner in Como, Italy for a little Brazilian meal.

I rounded up 17 people, a nine person passenger van, Anna's car and a couple locals to meet us at the restaurant. When we arrived, we were late, which is fine in Italy but totally stressed me out. There was a wedding reception taking place on the other side of the restaurant. So between the two parties we filled the place.

Like typical Brazilian we didn't eat all day in order to gorge ourselves on the variety of meats and the delicious cinnamon pineapple at the end. What we didn't know was that there was also a dance show that would be starting at 10. Through pictures I will show you a recap of the evening.


Anna was one of the designated drivers. Check out all the drinks in front of her. This is only about an hour into the evening before any dinner had arrived.




John and Ditta Hay joined us for dinner. They fought over the tasty juice and juicy beef that Ditta had gotten but John had been left out of the deliciousness.


The birthday boy was having trouble giving a good smile when we got our picture taken. Later in the evening however he had a difficult time not blushing.


Courtney and Betta


Shannon


This was the Brazilian dancer who entertained us for the evening. She had many costume changes. This one was the most intense and the first. The initial glimpses that we had of her was in the hallway to the bathroom when John Hay was shocked as he opened the door.


Third costume of the evening and the most memorable. This is the outfit that she wore while she gave Tim a lap dance for his birthday. I have the dance on video but I think it is something that will just have to stay hidden for some time. Maybe to be debuted at the end of year faculty party.


She had fun with lipstick and Tim's face. He had no idea what was happening to him. The rest of us just enjoyed the show.


The evening ended with a Brazilian version of line dancing. It was a lot of fun and everyone got into it.

The car ride home was a quiet one. Everyone had plenty to drink and eat and I think Tim had a good time celebrating his birthday.

The Super Bowl

The super bowl made it's way all the way to Switzerland. We successfully hooked up sling box to a lap top, hijacked the elementary projection system, got a lot of good food and drinks and rearranged our entire apartment.

At 8 pm Shannan and I crawled into bed to get a couple of hours of sleep before the kick off. At midnight the guests started to arrive. We thought it was going to be a small gathering due to the time the game was starting and finishing but a around twelve people braved the rain and cold in the middle of the night to show their support. Granted everyone was in their pajamas and many even were thinking of crashing on our floor till morning. However only Shannon did that because to many people were depressed at the end.

So you all watched the game. It was suppose to make history. The Pats going undefeated all season and then winning the Super bowl. The fans at my apartment mixed with their support. There was cheering and jumping around about every play. I guess we got a little loud and excited. I did however manage to fall asleep somewhere at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth. I woke up to our doorbell getting rung repeatedly. By the time that I recognized what it was and turned around to register the sound there was a man in his mid thirties and an older women in her bathrobe screaming at us in Italian about the polizia coming in five minutes. Granted it was 3:45 in the morning, the Pats had just scored a touch down and the Giants were in their last possession. The man and women had no desire to talk to anyone but just to yell. James tried to calm them down, Tim tried to speak to them in Italian and I just sat in my chair with a blank look on my face wondering what was going to happen next.

It became very quiet after that once they left. We turned down the speakers and everyone began whispering. When the Giants scored their last touchdown it was like watching a silent movie. James, Daniel, and Allie were jumping up and down, pumping their arms and whisper yelling "YES!" Allyson and Carla had their faces in their hands whisper yelling "NO!!!" It was quite comical.

The police never came and everyone except Shannon went home around 4:20 very sad and depressed. The elementary staff got two and a half hours of sleep before having to report to the elementary school and stand in front of many wide awake children.

That same day Allie and I received an e-mail from the business manager telling us we needed to come in and have a meeting about foreign land rules and good citizenship. We had the meeting today. It was very insightful. We were told that our neighbors were angry with us because of the party, which was a very valid emotion considering we kept them up till 4:30 am.

The other issue that needed to be discussed was that we consistently shut our door too loudly. So in the business office Allie and I received a demo on shutting the door correctly in Switzerland. It consists of holding the handle down and closing the door gently and then releasing the handle. Very difficult procedure and we haven't grasped the skill just yet. Give us a couple of days and we should be alright.

This is stuff you just can't make up!

Crans Montana

It was amazing. I spent 5 days on the mountains skiing in fresh powder most of the time completely on the school. In return I had to do a few duties, such as taking kids tubing down an ice chute, go carting on a frozen pond, and sledding down the side of a mountain. The last one got canceled because the clouds had surrounded the mountain, so we tubing again instead. There is really not much to say, it was just a great week of skiing.



This is David Fontes making a snow angel in the powder when walking up the side of the tubing path. The whole week was like going back to being kids and just playing.




A bunch of teachers connected tubes and flew down the ice luge. We got up to 10 people connected on one of our trips and almost launched over the edge of the path when we reached the bottom.




If you look closely to the farthest right corner of this picture you will see two little dots standing next to the rocks. That is Daniel Krass and Rob Gushikan getting ready to drop into a chute. They tried to convince me to go but I thought otherwise. I did a few runs while they acted crazy.




This was our favorite hangout on the side of the mountain. There were reclining chairs overlooking the mountain and raclette whenever wanted. We would sit back, relax and have a couple of glasses of wine enjoying the sun.



If you look closely in the middle left of the picture there are four turns and then a traverse and four more turns. Those are mine. Daniel Krass' are next to mine and they are perfect. He thought it was a good idea to take me off piest into powder up to my knees and let me loose. I did alright but I managed to do a complete somersault from the standing position with my skis coming over my head and back to the ground ready to ski down. It was quite impressive if I do say so myself.




This is the whole crew who skied together regularly after they finished their lessons and met us for a drink or two.




James and Nura at the faculty dinner. It got a little out of hand at our table. We began to make napkin hats and did napkin tricks that were appropriate and inappropriate at times. It was a lot of fun.






The other table making napkin bras. Eric Walser, Kim Wyson, Joanna and Brody Frederickson.



The elementary crew that went to Cran while everyone was back teaching. We tried to lie and tell them that the snow was bad and it was a miserable week so we could go again next year. They didn't buy it.




Tim serenading the faculty after the dinner. He is quite the piano player and singer.



In the chairs outside the raclette stand on Thursday. It was beautiful but a little chilly.



Me in front of the Mattahorn on the top of the glacier run.



This was the view from my seat on the bus. We were going 80 km through the snow storm baring down on the cars in front of us until they finally pulled into the snow banks on the side of the road. We made it back in record time. We were the third bus to leave and the first to arrive.

It was adventure.

Thanksgiving in Paris

Saturday in Paris was our Thanksgiving celebration. Lisa and I woke up bright and early and went straight to the grocery store to purchase all of our goods. I had had my dad fly in Pumpkin pie mix and semi-sweet chocolate chips for this feast but we still had a lot to get.

Throwing an American dinner party in a foreign country provides challenges one would never imagine. Translating evaporated milk into French was our first challenge. Then finding gravy mix, bread crumbs, and baking powder was interesting. After our first stop at one store, Lisa and I walked everything back to her place. She left me there and went to two more grocery stores to try to find the more exotic items. Meanwhile I cleaned, made the green beans, the salad, and let her friend Susan into the apartment to make her corn bread because her oven didn't work.

We spent the entire day cooking pumpkin pies and various other goodies. Luckily Lisa had a book of conversions for all baking needs, from cups to grams and butter requirements to the labels found here. It was interesting but we did not burn one thing with our programing of the oven from Fahrenheit to Celsius like we had during Lisa's last party where I made cookies.

At five, Lisa had to make one last run to the store called "Thanksgiving" where she had ordered the turkey. I was left behind once again to entertain any guests who arrived early. Lisa's friend, Sarah, was also with me so there was not to much pressure.

Fortunately, Lisa got back before any guests arrived and we began the celebration. We also had a touch of France with our aperitifs of cheese, olives and baguettes to begin the meal. Dinner was fantastic, starting with champagne, good wines, and all the traditional dishes. The apple crisp and the pumpkin pie turned out wonderfully and everyone appeared to enjoy every dish. It was nice to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by other people who were away from home. It was also exciting to give a few people from France and England their first Thanksgiving meal.

Friday in Paris

Arriving in Paris Thursday evening at midnight was the best way that I could have spent my first holiday away from my family. I had to work all day Thursday and I traveled with two other TASIS teachers to Paris that evening. I drank a good amount of wine in the airport, slept on the plane through take off and landing and made my way to 17 Rue Monge, Lisa's apartment. In all reality, it could have been any other three day weekend and that is what needed to happen in order for me to be able to get through it.

Friday morning, I woke up leisurely and putzed around Lisa's apartment until I finally ventured out into the rain to explore Paris. I very little idea as to where I was and where I was going. I knew that I had to find Notre Dame and then I would be heading in the right direction for the majority of the sights I was suppose to see according to one of my students who had made an itinerary for me before I left.

I stopped at the local bakery where the croissant nazi works and successfully ordered / pointed at the raisin aux panne that I wanted. Paid quickly and moved on my way, juggling my umbrella, purse and now breakfast. As I was walking down Rue Monge I saw the Pantheon to my left and I figured I should see it while I was here. It was beautiful. There was also quite an impressive church behind it that I explored for some time. While I was looking around I was able to help an elderly women whose umbrella had turned inside out and take a picture of a couple of English college kids who were trying to do the outstretched arm thing. At this point I was telling myself that it was going to be a good day, wondering, not having direction and just exploring what Paris had to offer. I figured I would find my way eventually.

Well, eventually was about 2 hours later. I walked through the Latin Quarter, unknowing at the time. There were many cute stores and restaurants along the street that I peaked into. As I continued walking the atmosphere of the street changed a little and I began to question if I was truly heading where I wanted to go. I could no longer see the eiffel tower which was my beacon of sorts, so I turned down another cute street where I came upon a bakery. I stopped and had another raisin aux panne and asked for directions. In French I was told how to get to Notre Dame. Not so much help. However, three people later and walking by the coolest looking firefighters I found my destination. I was excited, so I took a picture.

The rest of the day was just not that exciting. I wonder through Notre Dame where I met a very chatty teacher from Naples, Italy. Within five minutes she was offering up her couch to me if I ever wanted to visit and gave me her name, phone numbers and e-mail address. I am going to save it because I never know when it will come in handy. From Notre Dame I walked Rue di Rivoli, a major shopping street, with the destination of Galleries Lafayette. No luck on the shopping end so I turned around and went back to the Louvre to meet up with Brody and Joanna to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statue. They were both quite amazing.

Sharon Creech

The kids I teach are so extremely lucky. This past week we were fortunate enough to have Sharon Creech come in and read a few chapters from her new book Castle Carona and also tell us about her writing process.



Back home, the majority of fifth graders have been introduced to her by their teachers and have read many of her books independently. Actually, when I told my class last year that I was moving to Switzerland I told them that I was going to where Bloomability is set. Sharon wrote that book during her first stay in Lugano as the librarian for the high school. Where she met her husband Lyle Rigg, who eventually became headmaster of TASIS Switzerland and TASIS England for 25 years.

Fortunate for us, Lyle has been asked to come back and be interim headmaster for TASIS. Sharon has joined him and is in the process of promoting her new book. So over the course of the past three weeks I have been prepping my kids for how lucky they are and what wonderful books she has written. They began to be very excited and I even had a few of my boys read all the books I could get my hands onto.

During her presentation we viewed multiple videos of the process of writing, illustrations that were made for her new book, and pictures of her family. It was exciting for the kids because many of the pictures about where she lives and her writing was set in Lugano and some of the elementary children were actually shown. On top of all of this, she told us about her upcoming book that she is writing which is set in Casa Fleming. The home of the original owner who is currently 97. There was a lot of buzz about that when we went back to our classes.



The culmination of the presentation were two reader's theaters performed by 3rd through 6th graders who were able to go to Sharon's home, meet her, have dinner with her and prepare for the presentation. What I tried to get across to all of my students is how lucky they are to have an author in residence that they are able to have such experiences. I enjoy every time I get to sit down and have dinner with Sharon and look forward to the times that she wonders through Hadsall when she needs a break from writing. I just hope I have been able to really share with the kids what they have available to them right now.