Fall has struck Park City! For our three days at home and with warm days and pretty cool evenings it has produced candy for your eyes like this.
And this…
Margaret Archibald just happened to be in town and after a catch-up lunch downtown we drove home with her to their beautiful place in Park City and it was simply spectacular!
Another delightful thing was to have the Loosli’s come for a meal and some magnificent moments with trolls and and wizard in “Beaverland” as well as the new location for George’s Store, which they are excited to share with all the cousins the next time they come. That along with the new swing in the barn made for a pretty fun afternoon.
The whole Wasatch Front shut down that day for regular church and enjoyed the dedication of the beautiful Brigham City Temple via Technology. What a world!
Rick/Dad wants me to be sure to say that the wind was blowing in the picture below because he is horrified at how fat he looks. If you wouldn’t have noticed it before you will now. It is pretty funny. He really isn’t that chunky! But how cute is that family (and Grandfather too).
We went from the splendor of autumn to 90 degrees and 90% humidity, which actually feels great to me after our trip to Alaska. I’m always cold!
We are in Cartagena, Colombia, South America with about 750 people who are having a giant conference for American and International Schools. Wow, have we met some interesting people!
There is a woman who drove across the Congo in a Land Rover and lived all over the world working in schools with her husband until he passed away 6 years ago. The woman I sat by in a class today about The Amazing Teen Brain was born in Peru and had taught (with her husband) in Madagascar, Ethiopia, the Middle East and is now teaching in Guatemala. Fascinating stories galore!
We did a class on Teaching Values and one on Entitlement. In the one on Entitlement one of the School Principals said that they were having trouble with a boy who wouldn’t even pick up a pencil that he had dropped. When he had a conference with the parents and asked them what they thought they could do to help, the dad said, “Well maybe we could teach him to wash himself.” When asked what he meant he said that usually he (the eight years old child) just stands in the shower and holds his arms out and the maid washes him. Also the dad thought maybe he could ask him to feed himself. When asked about that he said that his son didn’t like to stop playing games on the computer so the maid just feeds him. Wow! Entitlement at it’s worst! Amazing! Other teachers were nodding their heads as though they had had similar experiences. Although most of the kids come from good, responsible families, there are always those examples of cluelessness. These teachers are such a terrific force for good in the lives of these kids. They are bright and dedicated and extraordinary people!
We visited the old city which was a delight.
We went to the torture museum which was a delight JK! We learned about 200 years of the Spanish Inquisition wherein they had ultimate cruel ways to get people to confess they were witches or at least possessed. I think I would have admitted that right away given their methods of torture. And then they would have killed me anyway. Here’s the rack and the stocks where they left people without food and water until they died. All in the name of religion with huge crosses hanging everywhere.
I am pointing to the done of the Cathedral…
Here it is from the inside:
We also went through an emerald museum/store. Sixty five percent of the emeralds in the world come from Colombia.
We were treated to lovely dinners every night at different restaurants and we were delighted to see this incredible woman who was the headmistress at the best private school in the region where we spoke several years ago who will be running the conference next year. It was great to re-connect with she and her husband who is also an educator.
There’s nothing more fun that learning new things and we feel pretty much saturated with new thoughts and ideas.
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