Maui Dive

This morning Gabbie and I woke up at 5 am and headed towards the south shore to go SCUBA diving off of the island Lanai. The Maui Divers shop was organized and we were well on our way to two dives. The first was at Cathedral Rock where we dove through cave holes. The visibility was great and the current small for our fifty minute dive. The light that shown through the covering rocks was like seeing light from a church stained glass window on a cloudy day. The second dive was not like the first. It was choppy, had a very strong current and at 500 left on the tank I got a leg cramp. In all it was a great trip. The outfitters took care of everything and that help make it more relaxing.

During the hour boat ride back to the dock I talked with a 45 year old firecracker of a man from Louisiana. He had two pieces of advice. First, some will, some won't, so what. Meaning that for example in teaching, some will think I am a great teacher, some won't, so what. Second, don't sweat the small stuff... and it is all small stuff. He clarified that one with, if you have money, you pay your bills on time, and are in general doing well, don't worry about the rest. That was something for me to chew on.

Fourth of July Deschutes Float

Gabbie and I decided to take a good friend of hers from college on the Deschutes for the fourth of July weekend. The canyon lands are even more beautiful than I remembered. I keep finding myself in isolated areas this summer which makes for solitude. I love Oregon!

Fishing in Alaska

My brother Hans, my father Terry, and I recently traveled to Bristol Bay Alaksa to fish the Nushagak River. We had to charter a small plane to get to a small reservation called Ekwok and from there we traveled my boat to the lodge. Being off of the grid, catching salmon (kings and reds), and using a hot stove/sauna/steam room for a shower for seven days really made me realize how nice it is to be off line and checked out. We had a wonderful time and caught some nice fish. I am enjoying my summer in the USA more than I imagained.

Coming Home June 15th

Well, we did it. Gabbie and I have almost finished our first school year abroad. We have had some ups and a lot of downs, but feel that this has been a huge learning experience for the both of us. Not much has happened in the last few weeks except for the school year winding down. Last weekend we went to Popenguine again and that was nice. So I am posting my last African post until August. I do plan on posting my summer adventures that include Alaska, Maui, fishing, and camping in our new van. So stay tuned, more will come.

The pictures attached are hopefully not repeats. It is a collection of pictures taken from the year.

Tour of the USS Nashville

Today my 8th graders and I were fortunate enough to tour a US Navy ship. They came into port a few days ago and are here for humanitarian reasons (wink wink). We had a wonderful tour, our guide was very friendly, and he even gave me his hat at the end. It was pretty cool!

St. Louis 8th Grade Field Trip

Today I arrived home from our 8th grade field trip to St. Louis (northern Senegal). It was a nice excursion. The hotel had cute little bungalows with warm water, a pool, and excellent beach access. However, I don't think the owners liked kids very much. Anyhow, Thursday we first went to an area called Guembeul Reserve where locals are trying to restore the area's natural habitat. My students and I were able to hold baby tortoises, see monkeys, some oryx, addax and gazelles. Then we headed for the Langue de Barbarie National Park for a pirogue ride on the delta. We saw many pelicans and other birds gathering to mate. We also stopped and played on the Grand Cote. Then we headed back to the hotel for some free time. After dinner, the students put on wonderfully funny skits based on African folk tales. Today we had breakfast and toured St. Louis on horse carriage and ate beef kabobs at small local restaurant. I enjoyed the trip and feel that the students got a lot out of it.