From 6/26/2011 - Sitting at the airport in Phoenix after presenting on cultural understanding and exhibiting at a conference for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS). Probably most of you don't know what that is, right? It's what used to be called home economics, where we learned to cook and make clothes. FCS still does a little bit of that stuff, but it also focuses more these days on finances and other life skills, which is great. There's always important stuff about health, finances, housing, and jobs that slips through the cracks. That's why I modified the immigrant guide and created a version for high school students, and lots of the teachers were very interested in that guide. A few were interested in the immigrant guide too. They love more than anything the range of topics that the guides cover, which many existing curricula don't touch.
A bunch of teachers said they'd start using the guide for their "living independently" classes, and one woman wanted to use it for ex-offender programs, which I was really excited about given my past experience with the creative writing classes I facilitated at the prison in Michigan. It was a great conference and I was pleased with the folks I connected with. We'll see what happens next.
Some folks I spoke with told me that were fighting to not get FCS cut from schools. When are we going to learn that teaching kids practical life skills if good for the health, safety, and economy for all of us?
Phoenix is hot as huevos. 109 degrees. You know when you stand behind a car and you can feel the heat from the exhaust...well it's like that everywhere here. It physically drains me. I did see a roadrunner though, meep meep.
At Intercambio, things are moving fast! Our new Assistant Director starts on Monday, and I'm super excited to have someone to help support the staff in ways that I don't, and to free up my time to focus on selling our products and expanding the mission. Last week I led a webinar for groups in MO, MI, NM, and RI that will begin using our volunteer training and curriculum soon. The new, simplified and abridged version of the immigrant guide will finally be complete this week and printed next week. I can't wait to see what kind of interest there is in that.
Next weekend there are two weddings, one for Nino and Norma, my good friend and Longmont Program Director. The other wedding is Ben, another good friend and Boulder County Commissioner. He met his fiance Kyla, who was an Intercambio teacher for years, at the Intercambio Fiesta in 2008.
Last month my grandma passed away, and I never had a chance to write about that. For the last few years she had alzheimer's, and by the end she could hardly communicate. She was still sweet, but it was difficult to be with her, having no idea what was going through her mind. When she passed, it was a mix of relief, happiness, and sadness. The funeral was nice, and family and friends spoke beautiful things about her, and it allowed me to remember Nana as the amazing person she was before Alzheimers. I also learned a lot about the type of person she was beyond what I knew. I gave a short speech at the funeral about what a great, loving grandma she was, and a wonderful leader of the family.
I'm still struggling with the passing of Maria Elena, who worked with Intercambio from 2007-2009. She was in her mid-fifties and a heart surgery in Colombia went wrong. I still think about her smile and laugh a lot, and how she said I always reminded her of her son. It's still shocking when I think about it. She moved back to Colombia in 2009 to be closer to her kids, so at least she got to spend the end of her life with them, her biggest love in life. I think about her a lot, and I hope she still has that great laugh and smile and sweet nature wherever she is now.
From sadness to joy...two weeks ago I danced in Pridefest with the Bateria Alegria (Brazilian drummers) and some other friends/dancers. It was a lot of fun, and there were a ton of people there.
That's enough for now. Soon I may share some stuff I wrote recently about the future of humanity :) Thanks for reading!
Comments