Just The Lorax and Me

Last night, Emilia and I had the chance to read as part of Sigma Tau Delta's (the ONU English Honor Society) Dr. Seuss celebration. We read The Lorax. Emilia, who is in Kindergarten, read the Lorax's words and the Once-ler's instructions at the end of the story while I read everything else. I've got to brag a little bit and say how awesome she did particularly on those Seussisms like scholppity schlop and gluppity glupp. Many of our students were there as well as some faculty colleagues and their children. We had a great evening, and I hope Sigma earned some of the money they were hoping to raise to pay for attending their national convention this spring. They've done some great work over the past couple of years. For example, they won a national award for their service project, which was putting together packets of articles for Dr. Belcher-Rankin's students from her time spent as a Fulbright Scholar in Burkina Faso.

Recent Conversations

I love great conversations, and conversations are one of the best parts about being in a community. Here are a few favorites from the last week...

Saturday, we had dinner with the Claborns. While the conversation about whether the Red Sox winning consistently and paying players at a rate only exceeded by the Yankees starts to cause them to lose their appeal and a debate about the performance (read the multiple meanings of performance here) of running mates in the debate were fun to engage in, I was drawn to watching the four little bodies flopping, gyrating, sprinting, hugging and just enjoying each other's company as the big folks sat around the dining room table.

Sunday, Heather and I had the chance to share some reflections on our trip to Portugal this summer. Feel free to check out our blog of the experience. Unfortunately, Heather and I seem to get so busy being professors and students and parents and and and and that we haven't had much of a chance to sit together and reflect on the experience. We both shared with our class and with each other the challenge of pouring out all of what you have without knowing the end result of what you've done or even seeing the progress that is being made. We both are confident, however, that our students whether currently attending EUNC in Switzerland or back at home in Paris, Barcelona, or Madrid will have the chance to influence the lives of many that we will never meet because of the very small role we played in living and learning together over the summer. I wrote about our experiences at http://50daysinportugal.blogspot.com. Feel free to check it out.