Spring Break

After returning back to school after a week off, all at once I feel: bombarded, at peace, happy, and fatalistic. I am excited/worried about the year ending and I am happy to see (most) of my students.


The end of my week was spent at Joshua Tree National Park with my sister. Something about Joshua tree keeps drawing me back. It is a magical, mystical, place, that doesn't seem to belong to our world. My sister and I camped, rock-climbed, hiked, met some interesting folks, and spent some important bonding time. It was rejuvenating.



We ending up camping next to and making friends with some interesting people who had decided to make a life-altering change after losing both of their jobs. They sold their house and everything they had to buy a camper and some gear. They are on a extended vacation because of the economy. I thought it was a really great idea. If they had stayed home to harp on their situation, they would have never been able to experience the beauty and wisdom that comes from traveling the American Southwest.



Their website is http://www.stepoutsideyourself.com/ we spent Easter morning with them eating a scrumptious shared breakfast under the dry desert sky. I think more and more people will be taking this path as the job situation worsens. I hope that, if anything it teaches us to look within ourselves and our communities for answers, not to the mega-corporations that employ us and then tear us apart. If people learn to back away from their money and technology and understand what sustenance requires, then we will all be able to grow through a new "depression." They were wonderful people and they inspired me to continue searching.

From Starred Photos

Today at school, I realized how wonderfully blessed I am to be able to travel during these short breaks. Many of my students haven't traveled farther then Salinas or San Jose. Their vacations are not about travel, they are about family and friends and helping out with family business. Maybe they have a lot to teach me too.



I will post more pictures after I edit them all.

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