Perspectives

America can be defined in many different ways.  For me, America is the land of opportunity that helped lift my grandfather out of poverty, allowing him to raise five children and eventually provide for both myself and his eleven other grandchildren. America is the jet my father flies, helping to ensure safety and prosperity on the home front.  America is the opportunity to … [Read more...] about America: ruled by the leaders, for the leaders

Wow. I have too much to say and so little time to say it—living abroad is as absolutely delightfully busy as life gets. Since I last blogged, I have traveled out of Italy for the first time, hang glided over the Swiss alps, spent five days in Sicily with my entire program and hiked around the top of Mount Etna. HOW COOL IS THAT? Okay, I’ll slow down and start at the beginning. … [Read more...] about Living Abroad (Florence): The Best Kind of Busy

Every child should be able to receive an education that opens the door to success later in life; to achieve this, there needs to be reform and increased accountability in early, elementary and high school public education. In communities where the education gap is most apparent, teachers should be graded on how well their students are succeeding. If employees fail to produce … [Read more...] about Public education facilitates failure

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer - take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall… But not at Oktoberfest. Try more like 1000s of mugs of beer, not only lining the walls, but the streets, the tables, and everywhere in between. Needless to say, for a person who absolutely hates the taste of alcohol (especially beer), Oktoberfest is not really … [Read more...] about Living Abroad (Oktoberfest): And then it was noon…

I don’t know if you all have noticed this yet, but there seems to be a new club or new charity or new activity advertising itself via tables in the Caf every single day. From the Bus for Buyamba encouraging students to participate in an eight-mile walk on November 3rd (http://www.busforbuyamba.com) to the Dance Marathon advertising an all-night party on November 10th, there are … [Read more...] about Nam Knows Best: Drink More Water