March 25. The air conditioners were officially turned on at school.

desert BBQ

During spring break, we (all the volunteers) took a trip to the desert for a little BBQ. We drove through the arid land looking for the perfect place to fire up the barbie. With little change in scenery, each new location was the same as the last. We finally settled on a spot close to a little ridge where we could see out over the endless desert. We circled up the cars, spread out our blankets, and started grilling chicken kebabs. Yum! While the food was cooking, I did a little exploring. I found an interesting looking bug, and the bodies of seven dead camels. Although slightly disgusting, I was intrigued. All of them were in various stages of decay; some were nearly whole, while others were only a pile of sun bleached bones. We're not sure why the camels were there or how they died, although we did note that all of them were bound at the feet. Fortunately the wind was blowing in the other direction so the stench did not ruin our feast.

Below are some pictures.
My roommate and I at the famous Tree of Life.
Our picnic location.
A few snaps of the desert.
My interesting desert bug.
The dead camels

Birthday Surprise!

Somehow or another, my students found out that I had a birthday coming up. They were very excited about this. So excited in fact, that my student with a broken arm took it upon himself to write it on the chalkboard in his awkward left-handed print. The big day was coming, but this year my birthday landed on a Saturday, a weekend, meaning no day party day for my hopeful students. Well, you can imagine my shock when I came to school (late) on Thursday morning and found a crowd of seventh graders waiting in my darkened classroom. I opened the door to a chorus of "Suprise!" and a round of "Happy Birthday." They got me so good. I had no idea this was coming. One student had made cupcakes; another had baked a chocolate cake; others had brought in an assortment of decorations that were strung around the room; several students got me presents; and someone had purchased a giant card that most of my students had signed. It was so nice and extremely thoughtful, especially considering most 13 year-olds are rather self-focused. I had such a nice day with them. Here's a few snaps of the party.