My Places: JazzDance Academy

This is the beautiful dance studio where I spend several hours each week taking Ballet and Modern  dance classes.    My instructors are excellent and the classes are full of motivated adults.  I feel so lucky to have found this lovely school which offers classes in tap, ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, flamenco, and hip-hop for ids and adults.  I felt right at home the first time I entered this school and cherish the time I get to spend there.

I can walk to this studio in about 25 mins. past a large university and a neighborhood full of great restaurants and lively bars and cafes.  

My Places: Altitud Climbing Center

I spend quite a bit of time at Altitud, a local climbing center.  I have made many friends at this gym who I climb with at the outdoor climbing destinations in the region.  The owners are great friends of mine now and have shown me incredible kindness since my arrival.  They have really made me feel like part of the Altitud family!

Juan Guillermo and Maria Isabel Directors of the climbing school, seen here at the the potluck I hosted in November.  They also put on the annual trail run half marathon that I participated in last fall.  Incredible athletes and remarkable people.

Carlos and Marco: my climbing buddies hanging out in the bouldering cave.

Outside of Altitud :)  I can walk there in about 25 mins. from my house through a lovely little neighborhood.

My Students

These are some of my 6th grade Math students.  I have 70 6th graders, 70 7th graders, and 70 8th graders.  They are in groups of 35 (so much for "Montessori," right?).  I spend 6 academic hours (45 mins each) with 6th graders, 2 hrs with 7th graders, and 1 hour per week with 8th grade.  I still don't know the 8th graders names!  I also spend an hour a week doing a creative movement/intro gymnastics class for the 6 yr. olds here...the highlight of my week!

Our school year follows the calendar year, Jan - Dec.  The students will be off for a week in April, the month of June, a week in October then ~7 weeks between December and January.  I have travel plans worked into these breaks.  My parents will be here for Spring Break, we will go to a southern Colonial town; in June I will be in Ecuador with my sister and friends; I hope to be on the Caribbean Coast in October and Peru in December.  Always planning the next trip!!