Leaf Dishes.

Today we went to Redlands High to do and art project with the mentally disabled kids there. I didn't get what Gary was alluding to, apparently, because I had no clue what we were going to be doing until right before we left. I was a little apprehensive at first, as I'm sure all the other girls were too, but we had fun. I helped a girl named Casey, who was 15. We made leaf-print candy dish style things with clay. Fun, and they turned out pretty cool! The girl I was helping was so funny, she kept talking about boys, and she didn't want to get her hands dirty.

I noticed the rest of the school walking past the place we were working, and realized that that's where I would be if I were still in high school, with the rest of the "normal" kids- who just glance over, and glance away.

The character that teaching special education requires is so admirable. All the teachers were very upbeat and talkative, probably realizing that we were a little unsure about what was required of us, and how much guidance vs. help we were supposed to be giving... But we all took it on with a good amount of enthusiasm, which I was happy to see.

Many of us got hugs as we were leaving.

The program there is widely recognized, Gary told us, and they have a beautiful garden that the kids work on. How cool. We'll be going back next week to glaze the leaves we made today.

My Menu

Sizzling Fajitas
(Your choice of pork, chicken or beef)
Juicy meat and cooked onions and peppers served with a dish of rice and beans, cheese, salsa, and guacamole. Comes with 3 flour tortillas.
$10.99

Cheesy Nachos
A big plate of tortilla chips smothered in 3 melted cheeses, sprinkled with green onions, ground beef, sour cream and guacamole.
$7.99

Fruit Bowl
Fresh slices of your favorite fruit, including honeydew, watermelon, cantelope, pineapple, papaya, and strawberries.
$5.99

Two Hard Tacos
(Add your choice of pork, chicken or beef for $1.35)
Two hard taco shells overflowing with beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole.
$8.99

Jumbo Burrito
Extra-large flour tortilla stuffed with beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole.
$8.99

-or-

Burrito Del Mar
Add fish for $1.49

BBQ Back Ribs
Tasty ribs marinated in our specialty spicy BBQ sauce, served with a side of rice and beans and cornbread.
$10.99


Drinks
Beer: $2.99
Miller Light
Corona Extra
Heineken


Soda: $1.99
Coke
Sprite
Dr. Pepper
Jarritos Soda
Pineapple
Mandarin
Tutifruti


Desserts
Flan $3.99
Ice Cream $2.99
Chocolate Brownie with fudge topping $3.99





Prices from the Ranch Market:

BBQ back ribs- 2.99 lb
marinated pork steak- 1.99 lb
marinated chicken leg- 2.29 lb
sour cream- 1.99 lb
longhorn cheddar cheese- 2.99 lb
monteray jack cheese- 3.29 lb
flour tortillas- 3.59 for 30
Santitas white corn chips- 3.98
salsa, hot and mild- 3.50 lb
refried beans- 1.19 for 30 oz
rice- 9.13 for 20 lb bag
onions- 39¢/lb
green onions- 79¢/lb
pineapple- 69¢/lb
papaya- 79¢/lb
watermelon- 29¢/lb
honey dew- 59¢/lb
cantelope- 59¢/lb
lettuce- 99¢/2 lb

The Ranch Market

I felt like some kind of insensitive and ignorant biologist taking data- sitting in a lab coat, peering down at the specimen, taking detailed notes, fascinated with the life before my eyes. But I was in a grocery store, with people shopping for their dinner. I felt rude. It eased slightly when I bought some cookies and felt like I was actually contributing, instead of just documenting. It was cool though, for there to be a grocery store focused toward Spanish speaking people. The pinatas, the carnes and the quesos. Good practice for me too, seeing as how I'm taking first year Spanish.

Those cookies were absolutely amazing too.

Inside the mind of a Zuni Maiden.

The day is warming up as we come to the river. Each girl takes her turn dipping her pot into the cool water as we exchange stories- funny things the children said to us the night before, mainly.
Dust rises, stirred by our woven moccasins, and we continue toward the garden, with our pots upon our heads. It is my turn to water the young crops while the other girls harvest the corn and plant new seeds.
The hard, dry earth swallows the water as soon as my ladle empties the first drop.
My wool shawl is becoming too heavy a burden, and I shrug it off. As I turn to lay it down, I notice a black widow wavering on her delicate interlocked highways. I move a little more, and she scurries to safety in a hole the ground squirrels left behind.
Our crops are prospering, and I am content.

Audio Post!

It's just me singing a song that's been stuck in my head FOREVER. Bad recording too, the cell phone doesn't have great sound.

Found it.

I've been looking for this.


"What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches." ~ Karl Menninger


I agree.

Culture...

is a collection and a collage of the customs, language, music, ideas, and arts that people identify with.

There are many separate cultures, but all mooshed into one, they can make one super-culture. Like American culture. We are a combination of many different people, thus a combination of many different cultures.

Just because you are white, doesn't mean you have no culture. Culture is everything around you, everything engrained inside you.

The article we're reading for class.

Interesting article.

http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html

Have yet to expose everyone to the genius that is: Blue Scholars.

I checked out the pool today, and felt like I was on vacation. I love my life. I love it. I don't know what made me outgoing and extroverted, but I want to give a little thanks- because that's what is making this experience so fantastic. I randomly meet about 20 new people a day. And I love it. Some are only for a second, some are for a few minutes, but some people I get to talk to for a good hour or so. Like today, at the pool I approached a group of people and joined in their conversation. Ended up talking to 2 guys for quite some time, and then 3 girls for even longer- just about every random thing that came up while we laughed at the INSANE dives some guys were taking at the other end of the pool. Really nice people.

This campus is infested with really nice people! Ah. Happiness.



Roomate thing is just fine. It's just a little odd. But I like the dorm, the RA's are REALLY nice, and last night we had a Pajammy Jammy Jam... Uh yeah... There was a bounce house, and super-size twister with competitive teams, and then human knot.. and some people were doing sack races in drunk goggles- Oh, hilarious.

Meeting with Gary today was very helpful, talking about all kinds of stuff that I've been worrying about a little bit, like studying abroad and work study and what to major in... Registering for classes happens in a half an hour.





I miss home, yes. I miss my fat baby, and my best girl, and Keals.. and my house.

Mom and Dad, I'm supposed to tell you thanks for doing a great job. So, thanks for doing a great job.