Korea

In September 2011, I applied for a travel grant through the University of Michigan to travel to Seoul, Korea to attend the International Congress of Mathematical Education July 8-15.  In January I was notified that I had gotten the grant, so on July 6 I boarded a plane headed to Seoul.  It was a 13 hour flight from Detroit.  I arrived in Korea on Friday and had all day Saturday to explore.

The street I walked down to get to the Palace.

This was our tour guide of the Royal Palace.

The secondary home of the King.

After the tour of the Palace we had a tour of the "Secret Gardens".

This tree was said to be more than 750 years old.  It was gnarled and bent, but still alive and green.

My first Korean meal.

4th of July DC style

This was my second 4th of July in DC.  It is definitely a special place to be on Independence Day.  I did not see the parade this year, but met with friends for a potluck/barbecue before walking to the Capitol lawn for the music and fireworks.

It was over 100 degrees.  On my walk home it was still over 90 degrees.  The 4th of July in our nation's capitol is one more of my favorite memories of living in Washington, DC.

Neglecting my blogging

It has been a long time since I have made a new post to this blog.  It is not because nothing has been happening for me to write about.  The exact opposite is true.  So much has happened and I got behind.  I didn't want to write about the new adventures until I documented the older events.  Well, I just got further and further behind.  So... I am just going to post when I get a chance and things may, or may not  be chronologically correct. Stay tuned for several posts on my trip to Korea and the International Congress of Mathematics Education, my last days in DC, apartment break-in, and trip to upstate NY and more.  I have lots of great pictures to share with you.

Also,  in the next month or so, I will be starting a new blog about my new adventures back in the classroom at Boise High School and life after the Einstein Fellowship.  Come back to check for new posts soon.

Idaho and Colorado

Last week I was in Idaho to meet with people from Boise High School to talk about next year and to get a text book for the classes I will be teaching.  Then I flew to Colorado where I am attending a EdMedia conference next week.  Until the conference starts, I get to hang out with Rich and Bryana.  Unfortunately, Eliana is in South Dakota visiting her other grandma and grandpa so I am not getting to see her this trip.

Today we went to the farmer's market and then picked raspberries and made freezer jam.  Whenever you come to Rich's, hiking and walking is a part of every day.  It has been a very refreshing trip for me, lots of sleep, wonderful healthy food, fresh air, long walks.

More time with Brian, Emily, and Aleah

Brian was here for more than five days.  We had some good times.  Wednesday we took the car out and drove to Annapolis to find the Chesapeake Boat Company to look at the boat kits they sell.  Brian's dream is to build his own boat.  While in Annapolis we took a short tour on a boat and ate crab cakes.

Emily and I liked the Wood Duck Double.

Aleah thought the Wood Duckling was just right for here.

On the tour boat.  Do you notice that Emily is about as tall as me?

Thank you so much for coming.  I enjoyed every minute and my house is a little empty without you.

Memorial day with Brian

Brian and his two oldest girls, Emily and Aleah, came to DC to spend the week with me.  They rode the train all the way from Iowa.  It took them more than 24 hours to get here.  We were going to take the bus from the train station to my house, but it didn't come and didn't come so we started to walk.  Of course, the bus came just as we left.  The plan was that we would wave down a taxi, but all of the taxis we saw already had people in them, so we ended up walking all the way home.  After resting a little, we walked to the Congressional Cemetery (we walk a lot in DC).

Aleah really liked the family crypts.

And the Native American totem pole.

Monday we decided to rent kayaks on the Potomac River.  Well, they were out of kayaks so we rented two canoes instead.

Everyone loved the canoeing.

We stopped and climbed to the top of a waterfall that was cascading into the river.

Does everyone look happy?

National Center for Women & Information Technology

Well, last week I was on the road again.  This time in Chicago for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Summit.  It was pretty interesting getting there.  I took a cab from the airport, but he had to drop us off before the river because of the security around the NATO Summit had all of the downtown river crossings blocked by about 40 police in full riot gear standing shoulder to shoulder.  We had to walk through them pulling our suitcases behind us.  I should have taken a picture, but I was afraid they would not like it.

As always, I find a little time to go sightseeing.  This trip, I had two mornings without meetings so I grabbed my camera and enjoyed the city.  The first day, Erik Russell (former Einstein Fellow) and I took an Architecture River Tour.  Here are some of my favorite buildings.

It was a beautiful day.  

Trump building

Love how the other buildings are reflected on this building.  It is meant to have a ripple-like effect to give feeling of the water of the river.  It is also curved to match the shoreline of the river.

This is a very large apartment building.  Cars on the bottom, residents on the top.

House of Blues.  It was across the street from my hotel.

I also attended the NCWIT Summit.  Most of the conversation, panels, and speakers was centered around how to get more women in STEM fields, especially Information Technology.  There was also receptions for the Illinois Aspiration Awardees and the Innovation Award.  Women and girls that are doing amazing things in computer science.

The next day I took a long walk around the city and ended up at Millennium Park which is right next to Lake Michigan.

This was just one of many beautiful gardens with the city in the horizon.

This was a strange sculpture that was a large curved mirror.  I had fun taking pictures of my reflection with the city in the background.

The trip was great.  The city is wonderful.  The summit was informative and I was able to make some good professional networking connections.  I enjoyed seeing my friend Erik.  I have only two more conference trips left before the end of my fellowship in DC.  Time is going all too quickly.