Thank you all !

My boss-Dr Logan, Ms Poole, and Ms. Stuver

Mr.French, Mr.Rogers and Ms. Nash

Dr. Rojas and Ms. Taylor

Mr. Lodge and Ms.Schuler

Mr & Ms. Johnson

With Mr & Mrs Rathmell, Ms.Schneider.

I am glad that our paths crossed. I really enjoyed your company. Each one of you is distinct by very nature but helping, caring and kind. It was wonderful experience sharing words, eating together in cafeteria, walking cross the hallways, sharing class rooms and office space, taking ride in your cars, attending meetings...

I will certainly look forward for the chance to meet you all again. Till then bye- my friends. Keep in touch.

When ever you feel like, I am there for you to welcome you to India.

( Pictures shot on Monday, 15th Dec)

The last professional meeting

The ILT meeting on wednesday gave me an oppurtunity to spend some time to relax.
With 19th fasr approaching I am feeling like I am running out of time. God knows how I am managing with all the work. Set your house right. Pack the stuff. Shop, treat and gife the well wishers and firends...
Don't ask about the school work. To finalise the grades before I leave .
At home there are bunch of people around and you just have to direct who to do what.
Whole of this week looked hectic and very busy with farewells, gatherings, parties and shopping.

My Heros

Thank you, Jajuan, Jamon, Greg, Travion and Kwaku (From right to left) for making my exchange program so memorable. I carry your memories for a long time. I am sure you also will not forget me that soon. Keep in touch guys. I miss you all.

Ms.Nash, My Guide

Pictured above is Ms.Nash. The enthusiasm personified. The favourite of all the students.
My guru and guide.
The strength and support that she offered to me right from the beginning of the exchange program is immensely effective. Her ability at multi tasking is commendable. She is popular among the students for her caring and friendly nature. Above all she has a cool head over her shoulders. Her classes formed reference for me. I just walked into her classes when ever I wanted, observed and learnt how to deal with the students.
The kind of control over the class and knowledge of the content the ability for the apt usage of project based learning are simply her characteristics. It is stunning to know that she is just a second year teacher. Yes, she is born teacher.
Ms. Nash, My sincere thanks to you for your time and support.

Madam, I woe you a lot.

What is cool about America?

The stationery at schools,
The pencil sharpening machine and Riso ( jet fast photo copying machines)

The unmanned petrol bunks,
The parking ticket machines.
The security gates.
The no conductor buses.
The Swipe in tickets.
The drive through banks and fast food centers.
The huge convex mirrors at the stair cases.

The iconic food and itsvast choices
The free museums and public places
The landscapes and natural beauty
The cleanliness and civic sense
The respect for disabled and Veterans.

Mr.Tharp. The supporter.

Here I introduce Mr. Tharp to you.

One of those who were considerate about the cultural difference.

A great human being, a good traveller, wrestler, hiker, besides a good teacher. A true supporter during my exchange program.

Worked as an exchange teacher to India and Europe and hence he is well aware of the facts of crossing cultures. He, with his wife Barbara took a great care of mine. Really a fatherly figure. He spent a lot of time in engaging my time constructively. He introduced me too adventure games like Orienteering, Hiking etc. We had a great time in the NC state fair. He took me to live sports, performances, and places of importance. The black box rehearsal, the library visit, Wrestling game, the Saturday brunch (Yummy Strawberry waffles) are some cool memories that makes me remember Mr. Tharp forever. Apart from all this the kind of support he offerred in carrying me to Indian grocery stores and other places is non repayable.

Thank you very much sir,

Thank you for all that you did to me,

Thank you for that very useful gift (a TI-84 calculator) too.

Regards to Barbara.

Mill Valley - San Fansisco - Aparna Mam

Though I lost track of the days, I am trying to bring all my experiences forth. Hence most of the times I ended up reporting the incidents of 2 or 3 days before. I am presenting the things in the order they happened. Today I am writing about what I did on Sunday and Monday. My San Fransisco trip.
I explored in places around the San Fransisco city in the day. There is scenic beauty all around. Tall Redwood trees, hills covered with lush green grass, calm blue Pacific, bridges and tunnels...

By the evening we received the family members of Aparna mam (a co-fulbrighter) in the SFO who arrived from India. Then went around to see the city. Financial district, Fisherman Wharf, world famous China town, Union Square were the explorations. One should drive through the 'Crooked Street' in in their life time.

The golden gate bridge

Pelican Harbour

Cathy- who guided the tour. A good friend of Mrs Aparna.

I learnt a life time lessons from you mam.

You stand inspiration to me and many.

Thank you very much for your time.

With Aparna Mam and her Family

The video of SFO airport entrance.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Who in the world will not be happy to see Penguins, Sharks, Sea otters, Giant Octopuses, Eels. Sea horses, thousands of fish and and other aquatic life, all at the same place and just at a hand stretch distance? I was exited like a kid to see all these and touch some of these.

Monterey Bay Aquarium has one of the tallest exhibits in the world the 'kelp forest'.

The aquarium has one clear mission: to inspire conservation of the oceans.

It brought the concept of "Sustainable fishing" and guides the fishermen and also the fish eaters about the conservation of fish.

Kelp forest. See the diver feeding the fish.

From the Coast of Pacific

For the last few days my blog became travel blog advert sing America.

On Saturday I stepped into and felt third Ocean. The Pacific.

During the conference I made time to look around.

Asilomar Conference Grounds, known as Monterey Peninsula's "Refuge by the Sea" is located on 107 acres of protected beachfront land, within the quaint and scenic town of Pacific Grove. This year marks the landmark 50-year anniversary of Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds as a proud unit of the California State Park system.

I reached the venue late in the night around 11.30 pm and went to sleep soon after being assigned a room. When I woke up in the morning and came out, it was a surprise for me to see tranquil and blue Pacific ocean just 50 feet away.

In the evening I visited world famous Monterey Bay aquarium.

Fire place at the front desk.

View, just by a 10 feet walk from my room.

California Math Council

Sorry, I could not make it to write blog for the long few days. I was busy attending California Math Council's 51st annual conference. Asilomer Conference is a place where hundreds of Math teachers gather together to share ideas, to learn what's new in Mathematics education. There were tens of conference rooms and more than 200 sessions to chose from as per your needs.

On Friday I attended Sessions on 'Using T Nspire Calculator' and 'Using contextual situations to teach Linear functions. It was During the session " Renew yourself teaching Math in a Foreign County" I met the presenters Brian Lim and Stuart who shared their teaching experiences in the countries like Zimbabwe. I represented Fulbright and shared my experiences of teaching in USA.

On Saturday and Sunday I chose to attend Sessions like "Trigonometry comes alive with Sketchpad" and " Differentiate Math Instruction with Self-Contained Class room. I met Vishakha Parvate who is the presenter of the session on Sketchpad. The keynote speeches were of great use and provided an opportunity to listen to some great people in the field of Math Instruction.

The south of the boarder

South Of The Border (or SOB, as it's known to insiders) is a unique amalgam of Dixie and Old Mexico. At first you wonder what all this Mexican stuff is doing in South Carolina, thousands of miles from its natural habitat. But in a remarkably short time you'll accept SOB as a neon yellow and pink Tijuana, with the added benefit that its inhabitants speak English and its water is safe to drink.
The mascot of the place is Pedro, a grinning mustachioed caricature topped with an out sized 'sombrero' (a straw/felt hat). It is Pedro who speaks from the billboards. It is Pedro who straddles the SOB entrance, 97 feet tall, "the largest freestanding sign east of the Mississippi." You can drive between his legs.
The South Carolina state line is the summertime starting point for fireworks, and SOB offers a huge selection. Load up with roman candles and rat chasers at Pedro's Rocket City. Outside, a 30 minute audio tape of MTV hits plays over and over without interruption.

Courtesy: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Spanish moss, Blue Crab, and Seagull

Spanish mosses: If whole Savannah city is lush green with Oak trees each Oak tree is busy accommodating the Spanish Mosses, When I browsed Internet about the facts I found an interesting story about these mosses.
Spanish moss is not biologically related to either mosses or lichens. Instead, it is a flowering plant) that grows hanging from tree branches in full sun or partial shade.
As the story goes; there was once a traveler who came with his Spanish fiancee in the 1700s to start a plantation near the city of Charleston SC. She was a beautiful bride-to-be with long flowing raven hair. As the couple was walking over the plantation sight near the forest, and making plans for their future, they were suddenly attacked by a band of Cherokee who were not happy to share the land of their forefathers with strangers. As a final warning to stay away from the Cherokee nation, they cut off the long dark hair of the bride-to-be and threw it up in an old live oak tree. As the people came back day after day and week after week, they began to notice the hair had shriveled and turned grey and had begun spreading from tree to tree. Over the years the moss spread from South Carolina to Georgia and Florida. To this day, if one stands under a live oak tree, one will see the moss jump from tree to tree and defend itself with a large army of beetles.


Blue Crab:

The blue crab is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, which is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive fishery. They can deliver an extremely painful pinch and are noted for being particularly aggressive and difficult to handle safely. Even when out of the water, they will lunge towards movement they consider a threat.

Seagulls:

Seagulls are medium to large sized birds with hundreds of different kinds. They are with usually grey or white, and with harsh, wailing or squawking calls. These are typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years. Browse the link for the gallery of Seagulls.

Courtesy: Wikepedia

Paula Dean - Southern Food

Paula Deen, A lady who did not know how to boil an egg by her marriage at 18, is the popular Food Network star with a renowned restaurant, a lifestyle magazine, two cooking shows and a host of cookbooks to her name. Southern food and Savannah city woe a lot to Paula who brought fame to the food and people to the city. The lady and her two sons opened a famous restaurant The Lady and Sons. People have to stay in long queues for hours in the morning to reserve their table for lunch.

The buffet Stuff.

My lunch order: Asparagus Sandwich .
A 'New York Times' favorite!

Topped with jack cheese, purple onion

and thousand island dressing on grilled pumpernickel.

From the Atlantic coast

Tybee Island: Tybee means "salt" to Native Americans, but the Tybee Island now brings to mind words such as sun, surf and fun. This small barrier island boasts a wide, 3-mile long beach that's backed by sea oat-covered sand dunes. This is a splendid venue for strolling above the ocean, watching and frolicking in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Tybee won’t disappoint those with a love of history. Tybee offers: Fort Screven, The Tybee Island Lighthouse (dated 1773), an intriguing museum, and Fort Pulaski National Monument.