July 25, 2007

I think that if you were to ask anyone here whether or not they could believe that we’ve been here three days, most would say NO WAY. The bonds and friendships we are creating with one another make it feel like it’s been so much longer. And, that’s a good thing. At least I think...

This morning, like the last two, started off with our morning jog. The 7:20 running club is now the 7:11 running club, since we were having a hard time coordinating showers and breakfast once we got back from the run. It worked out fine, but my legs are ready to fall off my lower body. I don’t think I’ve ever run in such a hilly area. The John Knox Center is at the top of a hill, so we usually go downhill for the first part and the end is always uphill battle. I’m glad to be getting out each morning, though. It’s always easier to run with a group.

Class was interesting today. We are learning to write web applications with “Ruby on Rails”. Although this was only day three, we’re moving along and actually created a very basic application today. Inspires me for more. However, my brain tends to be pretty fried by lunch.

The second half of the today, we met with Cyril Ritchie from the F.I.I.G. He is a fascinating man with a very interesting story. His office is on campus here, and he is also the president of the John Knox Center, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing him more. Tomorrow, the WFUNA comes in to speak with us. The reason we are having so many guest speakers is that we are in the process of trying to figure out what kind of project we want to work on. These guests have ties with all of the NGOs in Geneva.

Tonight was our formal reception. The Chancellor of Univeristy of Michigan-Flint—Jack Kaye—is here, along with other dignitaries from Geneva. We hooked up with Flint via IP video and had a press conference to discuss our new program. This program is brand new and very unique. I hope we were all good ambassadors.

Now, on to the important topic: The food was out of this world. There were so many great dishes, I don’t even know where to begin. It is safe to say that I, perhaps, may never eat this well again. The chef was flown in from Spain especially for the occasion.

After the reception ended, a group of us headed down to what is becoming our new hangout. It’s about an eight minute walk from the center. We enjoyed even more food and drink and most importantly, company.

It is now 1:30am. The running club is taking the morning off tomorrow to recover from our last 3 days, but we will run after class.

I now have an album I’m keeping photos in on Shutterfly. If you need in, let me know. They may wind up in other places as well at the start of next week. As we say in the broadcast business, stay tuned!

Run!

Today is easy to sum up. We spent most of the day in class...then it rained all day.

BUT!

When we were all downtown for the concert last night, we decided to run as a group this morning. At 7:20am, about 6 of us (Jennie, Karyn, Robert, Joachim, Tony and I) went for a 30 minute run. One word: HILLS!

Other than that, we all basically hung out most of the day. We got a video assignment and are working in groups. My partner is Diane. Since I am a video whiz (well, I should be after 15 years in the business!), I'm making her do most of the work. With a little guidance, of course!

Short and sweet blog, tomorrow should bring more! By the way, I'm working on a photo album to share with all of you. Stay tuned!

Day Two

After getting our first good night's sleep since we arrived, Jennie and I were ready to see more Swiss sites. The day before, we purchased an alarm clock for the low low cost of 2.5o (swiss francs.) This morning, we knew why it was so cheap. Our 8:30am wake up alarm never went off, so we didn't get up until about 10:30.

Since this was our last day before class, we didn't want to get too crazy, but we wanted to do something! At the time, we had no idea how long our classes would run each day, plus it looked like rain over the next couple of days and our travels may only be on weekends.

It was highly suggested that we first stay at the center for lunch, since the cooks were coming in to prepare meals, but many students were out and about during lunch. We had some chicken and mixed vegetables and then teamed up with Maxine to go to the Museum of Art and History in the Old Town part of Geneva.

We used our bus pass to hop aboard Bus #5 and headed into the city. The museum was nice, albeit a little warm inside.

We took a stroll throuh Old Town until we found a park (near Place Neuve) that had life-sized chess boards and ice cream! We sat for a little while and took in the scenery.


We were back in time for dinner and then headed back out around 8:30 to take in the music festival along the lake. Jennie, Karyn, Meghan, Robert, Tony, Joachim and I stayed out until about midnight, enjoying the balmy evening.

What a fun day!

Salut, Les Amis!

Arrival.
As I stepped off the airplane in Geneva, Switzerland early this morning, I once again became the world travler I once was--or that I once considered myself to be. Okay, I'm only 30, but my global travels have slowed down in the last 3 or 4 years. As I'm finding out, growing up also means working full time, which is a change from the fancy-free college student mentality. But here I am in Switzerland. For those of you who need to catch up, Jennie and I are in a Masters program at University of Michigan - Flint. We are working on a Masters in Education with a Technology in Education specialization. We're fortunate to have found this program with a global component. More on that here.

Walking through the terminal this morning, I was suddenly surrounded by both billboards and bystanders sending me messages in French. A language with which I am familiar with, at least as far as three years of high school French can take you.

"'Au-desses', I know that word...oh...what does it mean? Hmm...I know this!"

My mind flashes back to my French classes at St. Clair High.

"Salut, Les Amis!"

This was the title of the circa 1980 textbook we used during my entire high school Francais education. We used to love to make fun of the funny caricatures used by the author to illustrate vocabulary words and concepts. If only I had that book now!

I know enough to get by, but I was never really a fluent French speaker. Vocab - yes. Long two way conversations - no. But, it is amazing how much you can remember by suddenly being immersed in a language. There are actually fewer fluent English speakers here in Geneva than you'd think. At least seems to be the case thus far. Probably a good thing, since I've been inspired to re-connect with the Language. I think being here for a month will help. Then, as I told Jennie, I want private lessons 3 times a week. Sure, like I have time for that. But seriously, I'm into brushing up.

Okay, back to our first day here. As soon as we got situated at the John Knox center, Jennie and I took a 4 hour nap in our room. Our flight left Detroit at 1:45pm Friday, stopping in Newark before our 5:55 departure from there to Geneva. Add up the 7 hours in the plane and the 6 hour time change, and we got in at 8am.

When we woke up from our little nap, the few University of Michigan people we had seen earlier that morning were gone to lunch. So, Jennie and I ventured out on our own. In search of two things: #1 - Adventure. #2 - A SIM card for my cell phone.

After a few indecisive minutes trying to decide which way to head out, we took a right and walked down to a nearby (2 km) bus stop. We hopped off at the Jardin Botanique (Botannical Garden) and walked the rest of the way into town. It's Saturday, and most of the shops on the outskirts of town were closed. However, as we continued to make our way towards the city-centre and once we got nearer to the lake, the stores were open a bit longer. Jennie got her 'chocolat' and I found the SIM card I needed for my cell phone. By the way, if you miss me (or jennie) and you want to call, email me and I will give you the number!

So, after a delicious pizza dinner on the lake, we made our way back...in the rain.

Right now (9:41pm GMT+1,) my goal is to stay awake another two hours to help cure my jet-lag. That way, we'll be able to sleep through the night soundly.

To wrap up, I'm thrilled to be here. Especially with Jennie! In the hustle and bustle of my everyday existence, it is all-to-difficult to make time to slow down and enjoy...well...life. Picking up and leaving not only Michigan, but North America should help me take a break. If only there was not all this class work to do!

Oh, photos are coming soon. We took a few on our walk today, but neither Jennie nor I remembered to make sure we had the cable to connect the camera to our computers! So, sorry for all the text on the first day!

Safety First...

...that's Daisy's motto!

The Great White North

The one thing I have found so far is that it is hard to blog in the car! So, I'll catch you up later...

A Hybrid, of Sorts

I was outside a gas station yesterday and came across this interesting vehicle. Maybe it's not a hybrid, it's more of a crossover vehicle. This new model came equipped with a rear-view mirror (attached to the handle of the mower deck), daytime driving lights and tail lights. To save on fuel costs (I'm guessing) the mower deck has been removed.

The future of travel? We'll see.

Visit from 'The Ladies'

Okay, they didn't come to see me specifically...they came to see Jennie! But, it was nice to see some of my WDIV posse tonight. We tried a new place in Lapeer called Abruzzo's Piano Grille. We went in hopes of pizza, but didn't find any. The food was pretty good, none the less. Thanks for inviting me, ladies!

Updated

The Blue Water post has been updated.

A Blue Water Phenomenon

For most people, coming across a new-looking bag with a new-looking box of shoes inside, may seem like the find of the year. Especially, if they are your size! But for me, someone who grew up just south of Port Huron, these "great finds" are actually more like Canadian calling cards. Let me explain.

Located just north of Port Huron is an area called Fort Gratiot (it's not technically a city, probably a township.) Fort Gratiot is home to the Birchwood Mall and dozens of other big-box retailers. The Blue Water Bridge--one of the major crossings from Michigan to Canada--is also in this area. Since the mall was built in 1991, millions of Canadians have crossed the bridge looking for great buys. Even though the Canadian Dollar is much stronger now, Fort Gratiot is still the closest shopping Mecca for many Canadians. And, it seems that many are in need of new shoes.

In order to avoid paying Duty on their purchases when they cross back over the border, Canadians often come to Fort Gratiot in some of their worst looking apparel. Then, after purchasing the new goods, they simply discard their old clothes in the parking lots of the malls and stores in the area. Tacky, but very common. That's why I've become immune to seeing such 'goody bags' being left behind in the lots.

Now, I'm sure that this problem also shows up in other 'border' towns, and on principal, I guess I expect our often eco-friendly, tree hugging neighbors to the North to have a little more class. Come on all you Canadians, use the trash can!!

So, if you are ever shopping in Fort Gratiot and see a new box of shoes on the ground, leave them be---trust me!

Back in Business

This lovely icon courtesy of m macbook pro.

It's all because of our ISP

I noticed that my last post was May 3, 2007. That is because our Wireless Internet Service Provider--who shall remain nameless for now--SUCKS!

We've called a dozen times and still no respone. It's currently 2:50am, which is why I can finally get on!

True Champions!

Last weekend, eight of my Interactive Media students, Mrs. Lieske and I went to Lansing to compete in the annual Skills USA State Contest. Skills USA is a student and professional organization that was developed to help all students be successful both in their chosen fields of study and in the world of work. Their website has more information if you're interested.

Anyway, on with the story...
The event was held Friday through Sunday. So, on Friday, we left school around 8:30 and headed for Lansing. After a stop for breakfast in Davison, we continued to downtown East Lansing. I think my students were both excited and pleased to find that our trip would only be about an hour long. Many had never been there before. Once there, the first thing we did was go shopping! After perusing the books at Barnes and Noble and checking out the sweet digs at Urban Outfitters, we decided to take a walking tour of Michigan State Univeristy. We walked through the Union, past the Library and Beaumont Tower, over the Red Cedar River and past the International Center until we reached my Alma Mater: The College of Communicaiton Arts and Sciences. I had not made any reservations for a tour, so we looked at what we could through the glass windows. Our next stop was the MSU Dairy Store for some delicious ice cream.

After our circle tour or MSU, we headed to the Holiday Inn South to check in. From there, it was Laser Tag and dinner and then the Opening Ceremonies. Students had about 2 hours for fun before they had to be back in their rooms.



Saturday morning, the vibe changed from fun to frenzy as we rushed to take care of last-minute issues in preparation for our contests. Jamie and Brittney competed in Web Design and I had three teams for TV Video Production: Matt R. & Molly, Jeff and Matt B. and Jaimie and Andrew. Keeping track of the details of two contests, while trying to run the TV Video contest proved to be a bit hectic. Luckily, they were at the same building and even in the same hallway. Also, Jill was a big help in the orchestration of people and equipment. We got to the M-TEC center at 7:30 and finally all left around 3:30pm. At least the students. Jennie and I had to organize the judges and make sure they had everything they needed to judge the videos. We were done around 6:30. At that time, I headed back to the Holiday Inn to round up my students for dinner

Because Jennie and I were in charge, we knew that evening how our teams had done. I knew it would be easy for me to play dumb, but I was worried my lovely wife would spill the beans. Surprisingly, we both held our tounges!



Sunday morning was the Awards Ceremony.

The first of my contests to be called was Web Design. I'm very proud of the hard work my ladies put in, and we both knew that they had Silvered because only two teams were competing. I was still very happy for them when they took the Silver. Most importantly, we now know how the contest is run for next year!

The second contest to be announced was TV Video Production. Once again, I had known since 6pm Saturday that one of my teams had placed...in fact...all of the teams did quite well. I had to pretend that I didn't know anything, though! I was down front taking pictures when their names were called, but I could tell they were totally thrilled to be in the top 3. Then, the words I was waiting for "The Bronze Medal Goes to Lapeer County Ed-Tech!" Followed by the words I knew were coming..."The Gold Medal goest to St. Clair TEC!" My wife and one of her teams took the gold! Out of about 22 high school teams, my teams took 3rd, 4th and 5th places. Not too bad, considering we did practically no video production in class this year.

It's funny how many people came up to me and jokingly said "I bet the converstation around the dinner table is gonna be tense tonight!" Actually, that's so very far from the truth. Jennie and I are blessed to have the best jobs ever. What's more, we teach the same thing and are both very passionate about it. I think of jennie's students as an extension of my class and I think she feels the same way about mine. In fact, we both offered input to our students on a few occasions.

What a weekend, indeed. The reason for my tardy post is that I have just now FINALLY caught up on sleep from the weekend!

Congratuations to all who participated!

California Adventure

The open road calls...and I listen!

Being the adventurous sort, I decided that when I arrived in Vegas, I would immediately hop in my rented Dodge Caliber and head south and west to California's West Coast. After a few hours of shut eye, I continued my trek. It was a fun, yet brief trip. An even briefer summary starts below...

7:30am - Laguna Beach

After a few hours of shut eye overnight, I drove from Vegas to LA. More specifically, I headed for Laguna Beach, somwhere south of Los Angeles. I was temped by signs for Disneyland--and I actually drove up to the main gate. But, it was early in the morning and the park didn't open for a few more hours. So, I resisted temptation and moved on. I spent some time on the beach and enjoying the downtown area during my stay in Laguna Beach. L.B. is a place I could totally move to, it has the small town charmed combined with fabulous beaches and friendly people. If only I was independently wealthy!

10:00 am - Heading North

Time to get going. After all, I was on a strick (hardly) schedule. I went through several great little beach communities while heading up Highway 1 - aka the Pacific Coast Highway.

12:00 pm - Hollywood

Highway 1 was nice, but the closer I got to Los Angeles, the thicker the traffic was. It didn't take long for me to find myself back on the freeway dealing with the never-ending rush hour traffic. Eventually, I got to "Hollywood."

3:00 pm - The Drive Back

All good things must come to an end. This was true of my whirlwind tour of the CA pacific coast as well. Around 3pm, I started my trip back through the mountains and Mohave desert towards Las Vegas.

7:00 pm - Welcome to Caesar's Palace

Upgraded to a sweet, just for being so charming and good looking. Nice!