hey there folks....well i am still here in the states, and what a crazy place this is....from the politics, which i cannot even begin to talk about, to the racism issues, to the driving....whoa!! this place is crazy....but of course there are great things about being in the states....my family and friends here being the first thing, my work situation, my access to tons of things i haven't had access to while living 13 years outside of this country.....but it has been and continues to be an adjustment....but one of my favorite things about being back on the east coast of the states is to experience fall!!!! i love this season and am so happy to see it again with my own eyes.....
so things here are like having new experiences for me, which i appreciate.....i am not sure if living here will be a permanent thing, but it is fun to revisit things and go places i have been to again and experience them all over, as well as try out new things....i have seen a few exhibits and been to some shows of music (many things i never get to see outside of the states), so there have been some excellent adventures happening in the three and a half months i have been here so far....
people have been asking about my job....so here it is in a nutshell.....i work for a company that specializes in hands-on science education for elementary kids....we offer clubs and summer camps in PA, NJ, DE, and MD....i have started helping with a multitude of things and have started to work for their foundation sector as well...where a company sponsors us to bring hands-on science to classrooms of disadvantaged/low performing schools around the nation....we currently hold classes in tulsa, oklahoma; paterson, nj and places in lancaster, pa....i have been to tulsa once already and will go back three more times throughout the school year....what an eye-opening adventure....i also have been working on updating and tweaking curriculum for both the clubs and camps, doing some research and development, performing assemblies for anywhere from 50-300 kids (think ms. wizard type stuff!), have helped teach instructors and am making videos of the lessons being offered through clubs this year....it's a lot of different stuff, which keeps me happy and involved.....just a plug, if anyone has a company or knows a company that would like to help out the foundation and bring hands-on science to an elementary school you know, or we know needs support, get in touch....no more plugs, i promise :)
there have been many other questions about how my life is and how my family is, because as many of you know, i have taken time off to spend time with my folks and other members of my family...it has been a learning experience of living with people again, as i have been on my own for quite a bit of time, and it has been good to be involved in my dad's health adventures with lung cancer....he is doing quite well with it, although i do think the chemo is having both positive and negative effects, as he uses it as a maintenance method once every three weeks....i am glad i am able to be here to support him and my mom with this issue...and feel i have definitely made the best choice to come to the states for a year or two or more....even though i do miss the adventure of being overseas.....it just means i need to keep having adventures here on this turf....
so below are some of my shots from these past three months here in the states, feel free to ask questions or make comments and i hope you enjoy this north american adventure i am experiencing!!!
one of the coolest things that happens due to living in the states and by a large city (philadelphia), is getting to see old friends who come here for a visit or work or something....so i was very lucky and got to visit with my friend joni from seattle....we determined we hadn't seen each other for more than 7 years or so.....i love this aspect of being here....and if anyone is philly bound (or somewhere in the vicinity), please let me know...i have a car and can meet up....yay!!!!
one of my favorite things about being in the states is all of the music i can see live....and festivals i can revisit....like the philadelphia folk festival...this was the 55th year for the festival and what a terrific time was had.....such terrific music from all over the world....
and what a great setting and use of the setting....i loved this use of japanese umbrellas in the forest section of the festival grounds.....plus, right by it was a performance celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album graceland by paul simon....they even had his original south african bassist playing for this and eric bazilion from the hooters playing....what a blast from my past...i watched them speak and even spoke with them afterwards....a real highlight!
i think this flag sums up my whole visit to the folk fest....it was a beautiful, although rather hot day, filled with amazing musicians and artists....lots of dancing and singing along was had....it was great!
one of the other performances i made it to this summer was jimmy buffett....it was terrific....hot again, but terrific....but as any parrot head knows, the parking lot prior to the show is half of the fun.....i went with some crazy folks and had an amazing time, and even had incredible seats due to connections - the 20th row!!!! this was our pre-show tent...including the game stump and lots food and drink for all....we went down on a bus that also brought the band the mango men, who played some great music in the parking lot....
my friend monique had never been to a buffett tailgate before, so we went on a wander through the parking lot...one of the many crazy things that stood out to me, was this group of folks who actually brought a "hot" tub with them, which they filled with ice and water because it was soooooooo hot that day....can you imagine bringing this thing to a show????? ahhhhhhhhh, parrot heads!
here i am pre-show on my way into the VIP pre-show adventure we had along with our amazing seats....it was incredible, but unfortunately we did not meet and greet with the band....but it was a place that gave us free, tasty snacks and drinks....always a plus....
this is the view from our seats....amazing!!!! i had such a blast and got to sing and dance along to all of the old stand-bys jimmy is known for....i used to go and see him every summer, so this was a huge treat to return and see him again....and he still has it!!!! which is an extra bonus.....fins to the left!!!!!
above is the set up i use for my assemblies for elementary schools for work to get them excited about science....this is our marketing strategy to get kids to sign up for after school clubs....it's lots of fun and filled with booms, fizzes, volunteers and of course ends with the production of fire!!!! woot!!!!
one of the other fun festivals i volunteered for was a wetlands festival down in delaware...i worked the fish imprinting station....the fish were rubber, but very life-like....the kids and adults all had fun with this one....above you can see a set of twin boys and their mom painting their fish....they were hilarious!
this cool young couple made some amazing two-toned fish...i loved their work! it was another very hot day, but fun was had and i even learned a lot about the wetlands of delaware.....
one of the amazing things about the area i live in is the sky....especially the sunsets.....they are usually stunning and i love seeing the different cloud formations and colors in the evening sky....above is one of my favorite shots of a sunset in the area
of course another fun thing this past summer was fourth of july fireworks....which really can't compare to china, but i love the hometown ones that we have....they were actually postponed due to weather on the fourth, but finally i got to see some fireworks in action....i do find it amazing what firework makers can have happen in the sky....love that chemistry!
the shots of kids above and below are from tulsa.....we go to two different elementary schools and do hands-on science with K-3rd graders....they come to us in a lab or we go into their classroom and work with them and their classroom teacher....above is a group of kids doing our baking soda and vinegar experiment in a glove....you should see their faces when the glove expands and feels cold....
this second shot is from the same school and the kids are doing the experiment where they mix two liquid plastics and create a form of styrofoam, that gives off heat....from the liquids we produce gas that makes this expand and then it hardens into a solid - making a matter monster....tons of fun....
tulsa was another city that had some amazing sunsets, including this one...this is the view from the hotel we stay in downtown....tulsa is a cute town, very clean, had great food, but i am amazed at how empty the streets become after 7pm....we walked to and from dinner both nights in town and saw very few folks and cars on the streets....there is also really cool art deco buildings in this city....
in front of the courthouse for tulsa we saw this penguin....why a penguin??? why tulsa??? i still have no idea, but it was super cute!
this is a shot from the second school, here you can see the kids totally getting into the making of the matter monsters...this is where they grab the cup by the bottom and pick it up, realizing that the cup is warm (an exothermic reaction!) and that it has turned into a solid....i love their faces here....
and this is a second group doing the glove experiment at the second school.....this one feels cold (an endothermic reaction!) and they are waving hello to me with the "hands" they created!
one other thing that i love about the summer and beginning of autumn is heading to the jersey shore.....we did this over a weekend in september and the the beach was lovely and had very few folks on it.....it was a wonderful couple of days!!!
another one of my favorite things here in the states, especially on the east coast, is fall...you will see more pictures for this, but look at the size of that pumpkin....jen & i had to have a picture with this puppy....simply HUGE!!!! and simply fall!
i also made it to a really cool exhibit with my mom at the amazing longwood gardens....they have this incredible exhibit currently there called nightscapes...it is at night and combines the plants/biomes already in the gardens with lights and music....it is very cool in that the plants, trees and shrubbery act as the screen for the magic of the lights and sounds.....hard to explain, but amazing to see....
and so the next two shots are from the beginning of fall here in pennsylvania.....i love this time!!! the changing of the colors are pretty stunning....from the yellows above and the oranges and reds below....my favorite season.....
i also love the blue of the skies in this time of the year....brings out the colors of the trees even more....all of the maples are turning orange and red these days....makes me just smile....folks here do realize what they have in this season and i am so glad to be experiencing it this year! wow!
of course i needed to end this blog post/update with my newest flight from a place called "world of beer"...what a mind-blowing place.....52 beers on tap that they change out pretty regularly....beers from all around the world, including many craft beers from the states with some pretty bizarre names....a great way to watch sunday football and try new beers.....go eagles!!!!
so there you have it....some of my adventures from the time i have been in the states thus far....it is an adjustment period filled with both highs and lows, but overall i am in the right place at the right time.....i will be back again with some more adventures in a month or so....i hope you enjoyed the pictures and stories here for this particular update.....
hope everyone is well and happy....enjoy the beginning of fall or spring depending on where you are and have fun with family and friends.....
peace out....and have a fab day :)
dani
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