After having taught for over twenty years, I have felt the need to get away from the classroom for a while, improve my Spanish that I use in the classroom and see what other teachers are doing in different countries to teach kindergarten children. Last year I asked for a 6 month leave-of-absence so that I could do that and hopefully, return to the classroom refreshed and full of new ideas to try out. The school district granted my request and I will start my six month adventure on March 1, 2000. By March 6 I will be in Jerusalem and will be there for 3 months, absorbing the many cultures in the city and visiting classrooms, including a Hebrew-Arabic bilingual classroom, whenever possible.

The next part of the adventure starts on June 11, when I go to Costa Rica. I will be studying Spanish at the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas. The afternoon is full of language classes and the rest of the time is spent with a local family, only speaking Spanish. The school has three campuses - on the Pacific coast at Playa de Flamingo, in the cloud forest in Monteverde, and in the central valley in San Joaquin de Flores. I will be spending several weeks at each location. As the adventure progresses, I hope to provide updates on the web page to give you some idea of what I am experiencing and learning. I'll try to keep you informed!