I'm BaaaaCK!

Hey everyone!  I'm back after a few-week-long hiatus that included adventures in Japan, lots of crafting and way too much work on my masters project (BORING!) - Good news is, I am literally, (fingers crossed!) a week away from defending my project and being DONE with my masters degree.  Wahoo!  Go me! :) (Well... that is assuming that my project committee signs off on it.... gulp.  eek.)

It seems like so much time has gone by since the last time I blogged so here's a *brief* little photo stroll through Japan.

The first day I arrived my husband's graduate class and I toured through the tsunami devastation ruins.  It was truly unbelievable.  Nearly a year and a half ago and still much of the area looks like this:

 This school really hit home for me as I imagined being responsible for my own students during such a disaster.  I know some stateside teachers got a taste of what it's like to be teaching during a natural disaster this year with all of the tornadoes, but I personally have never experienced anything more than a drill.  (knock, knock on wood.)

 This photo shows the outside of the school - the spiral staircase shows the previous evacuation site - the school roof.  Fortunately, just a year before the tsunami, the evacuation plan was revised, providing an alternate exit that directed students to higher ground.  If the old evacuation plan had been in effect at  the time of the tsunami all students and teachers would have been lost since the wave entirely covered the roof of the building.  Luckily all of the students and teachers were safe.

 These women survived the tsunami and shared their stories with us.  The woman next to me was actually in the attic of her home clinging to her dog and the rafters when the tsunami split the levels of the home and carried it down the street.  She was buried under the roof and debris and later unburied by neighbors.  She and the dog both survived.

 Here's me hiking under Tori gates in the pouring rain.

Now these have nothing to do with our trip to Japan, but I made them for the culmination of my Patriotic Music summer school class.  We serenaded parents with patriotic music in our craftily decorated red, white, and blue classroom.  Afterwards we celebrated with these delectable strawberries and a layered red, white, and blue drink that I forgot to take pictures of.  Google it - it's worth seeing!  (You can also find instructions on Family Fun).

Well I can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to and show you all of the crafts I've been working on - I decided to undertake a Dr. Seuss theme for my classroom this year.  I promise to be back soon!