I'm turning Japanese....and Mexican...I really think so!

Just when I was coming down from my Japan-induced high, a book came in the mail today: Dave Barry Does Japan. It is hilarious and is everything I wish I could write about such a fascinating and welcoming country. This summer has been fantastic to say the least. As a teacher, I try to cram as much into my free time that we call summer as possible. It began with a trip to Key West, followed by going on the trip of a lifetime to Japan, and completing my remaining time preparing my follow on plan. I am currently in the midst of preparing my Journey to Japan Discovery Box where I have included mass quantities of everything that is tangible in Japan into a neat little box that hopefully teachers will find useful for their classroom. When I got back from Japan, I also found out that I will be teaching Spanish again for the 1st 9 weeks of school which has sent me even further into "Culture Overdrive". I have pulled out all of my Spanish materials that have been stored for the past year and crammed them in the extra bedroom along with all of my Japanese materials as well...it looks like a small replica of the United Nations has exploded in there...just ask Adam. And speaking of my wonderful and completely patient and understanding husband, we just celebrated our 1 year anniversary (and they said it wouldn't last) and will be completing the summer with a belated anniversary celebration at the Dave Matthews & Willie Nelson concert this weekend in Memphis. Willie Nelson is my all time favorite singer to say the least and Dave Matthews is just icing on the cake. My Dad and I saw Willie (we're on 1st name basis) twice last year and I can't wait to see him this weekend. So as I try to make my last 5 days of summer as eventful as possible, I leave you with this picture. This is me in San Francisco the night before we left for Japan at the Counsel General's house. My enthusiasm was uncontrollable and I hope I begin this new school year with the same level of excitement and energy.