Photos and Videos from Poland Trip

Well, I've been captioning and organizing all day, so here are the links to my albums.  Enjoy!

I will be continuing regular posts on my blog regarding the trip.

For those of you who are not regular blog-readers, at the bottom of every individual blog, you can click "home" and it should take you to a screen where you will see the archive of all my blog posts.

Let's try some pictures! Each hyperlink should take you to an album for each day.  There are still photographs and a few videos.

Pre-travel Fun

Travel to Warsaw

Day 1 - Warsaw

Day 2 - Warsaw/travel to Krakow

Day 3 - Krakow/Auschwitz I

Day 4 - Oswiecim/Auschwitz 70 Commemoration

Travel Home

This has been the experience of a lifetime.  I am so thankful to have had this opportunity.  My pictures certainly do not do justice to all that I got to see and experience, so I have included links with additional info in many captions.  Please look around!  (You should be able to tap "slideshow" in the upper left corner of each album to see the photos in slideshow format without clicking - but that may be different when there are videos playing...I'm still learning!)

Also, if there are any specific questions or topics you would like for me to address, please follow this link.  I'll try to answer your questions via email or in an upcoming blog.   Click HERE to complete a form.

Thanks for reading!

Reflections and thank you

I'm on the ground in Washington, D.C.  Yes, I'm completely exhausted.... We packed a lot of learning into four days.  I think I slept one hour overnight on Tuesday, but I sleep almost the entire time on the flight from Frankfurt to here.  

However, I do want to take this opportunity to thank some people as I reflect on this monumental experience.

First, thank you to my coworkers, administrators, and school system for allowing me to have this chance.  It has definitely changed me, and I know it will impact my teaching.

Next, thank you to all the amazing staff from the USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Ed.  What professionals you all are!  You are definitely leading the way for educators to have easily accessible and relevant information that will engage students in this digital age.  It was a pleasure to work with all of you!   USC Shoah Foindation staff... Kori, Kay, Jenna, Claudia, Dave, Lesly, Francesca, Anna, Andrea, Brandon, Michelle, Liz and and Disvovery Ed folks...Lori, Jodi, Greg, Robin, Tahia (and I'm sure my exhaustion is causing me to forget some!!) Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your amazing program.  (And Disvovery staff on my DC flight.... I'm so sad that I didn't get to say goodbye!  Tell Lacey I want to keep in touch!)

Thank you to all my new friends.... The teachers, staff, leadership, and junior interns who were involved in Auschwitz: The Past is Present.   I am overwhelmed by your professionalism and passion for what you do.  Teachers, making connections with you all and creating this network has been invaluable.  I certainly hope we can keep in touch! 

Very importantly, thank you to my family.  Matt, you have supported me 100% throughout this adventure, and I am grateful.  You've persevered through your dad's surgery, a bout of the stomach bug for Blake, and probably a long list of other stuff you haven't shared with me yet.  I love you!  Kids, I sure have missed your faces, and your video this morning was the best yet!

Friends, thank you for all your words of encouragement.  Thank you especially to the Groghans and Sissy who have been unbelievably willing to help with the kiddos in my absence.  I have loved reading everyone's comments on my blog.  

Students, thank you for your encouragement and excitement.  I cannot wait to share this  experience with you in person!

Thank you to all of you who helped me complete the application and video process.  Thank you so much to the Breeds and Rigdons for your help with my gifts. Thank you to everyone who made that successful!  

Thank you to John Guice, my librarian, who first wanted to apply for this trip but could not due to not having a passport.  I am so grateful that you shared the information with me!

Thank you to all my friends and family who prayed for my safety.  Prayers work!

Thank you to all of my blog readers.  I hope to continue writing regularly.... But I don't want to bombard you.... So, after next week, I'll be making some decisions about how my blog will proceed.  

Again, this has been an amazing trip that I will never forget.  I have learned so much about the importance of authentic sites, the way we commemorate and memorialize places and people and events, and how to integrate those things  in my classroom though state-of-the-art technology. 

This has been a trip I will never forget, and I am so thankful to have been a part of such an important and amazing event!

Tuesday - Last Day in Poland

It's 10:15pm here, and I have to be up and ready to go at 4:00am.  I'm still having wifi issues, so my post will be short.

Today we visited the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim (oz-vee-chim).  That city was once divided almost equally between Jews and non-Jews (Poland is largely Catholic).  When the Nazis invaded and captured the city, the Jews were taken to the camp, and most never returned.  We visited the site of the Great Synagogue which was destroyed, along with 18 other of the twenty synagogues that once stood in the town.  From the time of the war until the fall of communism in 1989, the only remaining synagogue (now the museum) was used as a warehouse.

Among the challenging thoughts I experienced today, this one stood out.

In the south, where many of our communities center around churches, imagine that suddenly 95% of them were destroyed.  Really.  Think about it.  Count the churches.  Eliminate 95% of those buildings AND the congregants.

How would that feel?  How would that change your community?  How would that change the culture of your town?  What would the future look like for you if you had been part of one of those congregations that was obliterated?

Yes, there are large, difficult religious implications of such a situation, but today, I focused on the cultural impact.  I challenge  you to do the same.

*****

We did attend the commemoration at Auschwitz-Birkenau this evening.  It took place just outside the death gate.  There were about 3000 people inside an enormous tent (bigger than I have ever seen!), and it was notably more theatrical than I had imagined it would be.  I think I need time to process the contrast of the common images of that specific location with the view I had tonight before I share much more.

*****

I have an early start and will be traveling almost 24 hours tomorrow with a 3+ hour layover in Frankfurt and 2-ish hour layover in DC, so hopefully I can get a good wifi connection and post some pics and videos.  

So, for now, goodnight from Krakow!

Monday - Auschwitz I and Survivor Reception

I am not sure I can adequately express the flood of emotions that I have had today.   I really tried to prepare myself for this experience, but being in Auschwitz I was something I will never forget.  I was very thankful to be led on the tour by our group's own Adam Musial, a teacher and amazing historian from here in Krakow, and our group's own Steve Richardson, a teacher from Ripley, Derbyshire, England, who leads groups of students on trips to Auschwitz several times each year.  Their knowledge and insights were so meaningful, and I am grateful for their leadership and guidance.

It will likely take weeks for me to fully process my visit to Auschwitz I, (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum) and I feel like I will be even more confident of that after our trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau tomorrow for the commemoration.  There is just so much to process.  So, for now,  I will share the most gripping moments for me and then list other significant events.

The shoes.
Many of you have seen the pictures from the display of victims' shoes.  Many of you may have read about it - particularly about the red shoes.  I will say that the display of children's shoes - particularly the little red Mary Jane's  - was the most emotional moment for me.  I cannot think of a time in her life that my own daughter, almost six, has been without a pair of red shoes.  I will likely post more extensively on this later, but it reminds me of my earlier post when I mentioned "phone home."  Little girls in red shoes are supposed to be able to click their heels together and wake up at home.  For this victim, that dream was not to come true.  So, atop this mound of children's shoes sat a pair of red shoes that likely belonged to a feisty little girl with a big heart and big dreams.  I remember her because of her shoes.

The hair.
The room of hair was likewise overwhelming.  There was hair of all color and texture and length.  I think of my own personal vanity about hair.  I recall the frustration when my daughter cut her little blonde ringlets  - like many little children do.  And then I think about the hundreds of thousands of people who were dehumanized with a haircut.  It was astounding.  There was just so much hair.

The crematorium.
I am not sure I can ever fully reclaim the feeling of walking into a gas chamber and crematorium.   I cannot describe the feeling with words, but it was some sort of mix of oppression and fear and anxiety and grief. First, I saw the scratches on the wall. . . and next I took a step through a doorway into a smoke-stained crematorium.   And then, unlike millions of others. . . I was able walk out.

Other moments of note from Auschwitz:

• Seeing survivors walking through the camp with their families and being thankful that they are here to share their stories, and being amazed that they are so poised in such a desperate place.
• Seeing the crews of media and cameras and preparations throughout the camp and thinking how glaringly different the coverage was 70 years ago.  (One newspaper article, I believe, was written immediately upon liberation.)
• Tour of the penal barrack 
• Tour of the Yad Vashem exhibit
• Exhibit of drawings of children of the Holocaust
• The Book of Names
• The Gallows (Where Commandant Rudolf Hoess was hanged following the Nuremberg Trials)
• Seeing Rainer Hoess (grandson of Rudolf Hoess who expresses deep remorse and regret for his grandfather's crimes) being interviewed inside the camp (This was a major moment for me as I had watched his story in the documentary Hitler's Children. Here is a recent article about him.)
• The slushy pathways between buildings as the snow melted and my thankfulness for warm, waterproof boots.
• The two rows of barbed wire with coils for electricity.  

******
Our evening began with a debriefing session.  We then made a very quick change of clothing and headed to the survivor reception.  It was certainly a gala event!   I had an opportunity to meet with a survivor named Gisselle.  She survived at Auschwitz, moved to New York in the years following the war, and moved to Israel about 20 years ago.  She now works for the organization Yad Vashem counseling Holocaust survivors.
Tonight's program included these people:
David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications; founder of Auschwitz: The Past is Present
Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress
Steven Spielberg, director, producer, founder of the USC Shoah Foundation, founder of Auschwitz: The Past is Present.

Music was provided by descendants and relatives of Holocaust victims and survivors.  The most notable to me was Alex-Biniaz-Harris, grandson of Holocaust survivor Celina Biniaz, one of the Schindler Jews.

*****
After a roller-coaster day of emotions, I ended the evening with dinner in the hotel and a walking tour of the city center in Krakow.  It is still decorated for Christmas, and the snow and lights are enchanting.  I was with two veteran teachers who have led student groups on travel tours throughout Europe, so I was in excellent hands! Laurie Schaefer, a teacher from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has traveled to Poland many times, so you will hear her voice in the videos that follow.

*****
Tomorrow:
Tour of Auschwitz Jewish Center & Cemetery
70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

(I believe the ceremony will be streaming live.  It will be late afternoon/evening here, so it will air in the morning in the USA.)

*****
For those of you who are watching the weather in the northeast, my flight is scheduled from Frankfort to Washington-Dulles early afternoon on Wednesday.  Hopefully the DC area will not be hard hit by the storm. Many from my group are traveling into Newark, so we are keeping an eye on the weather and hoping that it doesn't get as bad as predicted.

****
The wi-fi is painfully slow tonight, so I am unable to upload any photos.  (I've been trying for an hour.)  I have a three-hour layover in Frankfurt on Wednesday, so maybe the wi-fi will be faster there and I can post an entire album and videos.  Please do explore the galleries on the museum sites I've listed.

Amazing Sunday

Today has been an exciting day personally and professionally.

This morning, we left the hotel with our bags packed for our transfer to Krakow.  When we arrived back at Polin Museum, we had a debriefing session and began our work for the day.  Four of us had been asked to serve on a panel for a presentation to the other educators and the mission group from The Shoah Foundation (their donors).  As the main part of the group continued working on their pitches for “shark tank” and toured the beautiful exterior of the museum and discussed the significance of the landscape and sculptures around the building.

Matt from Kentucky, Karen from Arkansas, Christine from Australia, and I were the teachers who were asked to serve on the panel.  We spent our morning working with Beth Meyerowitz, VP of Faculty affairs at USC.  We discussed our potential responses and tried to arrive at a broad-spectrum approach.

We then rejoined the group for the “shark tank” presentations.  Many teachers had excellent ideas for ways to incorporate IWitness testimony and lessons into their curriculum.  The junior interns served as the “sharks” and raised excellent questions and offered insights into increasing student engagement with the activity.  During that time, we were joined by the founder of The Shoah Foundation, Mr. Steven Spielberg, and Mr. David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications.  What an honor it was to have them join our group!

After “shark tank” wrapped up, we heading to the museum’s beautiful auditorium for the panel.  There, the mission group from The Shoah Foundation, the educators’ group, and staff from The Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education were in the audience.  The four teachers I mentioned earlier served on the panel, as did four members of the youth interns group and a regional consultant for The Shoah Foundation, Michelle Clark.  

Kori Street, the Director of Education at The Shoah Foundation, moderated the panel.  Each teacher was given two minutes to speak, and each student had about thirty seconds to respond to a question.  Teachers started the day with a debrief about our work and meetings yesterday.   At the end, Michelle did an excellent presentation - including an original poem - to conclude that portion of the panel.  Then, Kori opened the floor for questions from the audience.    Here is a brief summary of what I presented (at least this is what I think I said!):

I am so honored to be a part of such an amazing group of educators working to make the past become present in our schools. I regularly use Discovery Education in my classroom.  The partnership between IWitness and Discovery Education brings together two experts to enhance classrooms in the digital age.  Both of these platforms are essential in a technology-oriented school system like mine where students are on devices much of the time.  My students have already been using IWitness - participating in the 70 Days of Testimony and completing projects like an Information Quest and “My Story Matters.”  Next year, I will incorporate IWitness into my larger Holocaust unit that spans seventh and eighth grade and students will be able to make a connection with real survivors as they study historical fiction and some nonfiction about the Holocaust.  I also mentioned how I like that students have choice in many of the activities that are already available, and I like the flexibility of creating my own activities for students to complete.  I can reach several literacy and technology goals through IWItness.

After we completed the panel discussion, we headed up to lunch.  Due, I suppose, to the arrival of additional special guests, our menu was a little more elaborate.  I made the mistake of selecting some type of pate, and I certainly would be okay with not ever tasting that again!!

Toward the end of lunch, Mr. Zaslav, from Discovery, invited me and the other panel teachers to come speak with Mr. Spielberg.  He called me by name and said how pleased he was with what I said and how Mr. Spielberg was so engaged with my statements and even tapped him on the leg while I was talking. (AAHHHH!)

Mr. Spielberg was so kind and genuine.  As many of you know I had been concerned about what I would say to him; I worried unnecessarily.  He asked us all why we became teachers, and we talked quite a bit (thanks to Karen!) about the changing model of the classroom from a teacher-centered to a student-centered focus.  It was such a pleasant and easy conversation, and it is certainly one I will never forget.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs with him, but there was one group photo that I hope to post later.

I am so excited about the union of IWitness and Discovery Education and the broad-based viewership they bring to the table. I am absolutely overwhelmed at the opportunity to sit and work among the nation's best teachers with the sponsorship of these two great educational powerhouses. It is truly amazing that a little girl from a tiny little town in rural Alabama has gotten to travel around the world to work with some talented people to help impact education and commemorate one of history's greatest tragedies. I am truly thankful for this opportunity.

*****

After lunch, we quickly gathered our things and headed to the bus for an ever-so-quick drive around part of Warsaw.  We saw the monument that commemorates the deportation of the Jews from Warsaw.

We also had a short stop at the Jewish cemetery  in Warsaw that dates back several hundred years.  I wish we had been able to stay there longer.  The cemetery had beautiful monuments; they were quite close together and had a variety of shapes and sizes.  Most were in fairly good condition for their age.  

We then had a longer-than-anticipated drive to Krakow.  It had started snowing today, so we had to take a less-direct route in order to stay on major thoroughfares.  We just had a very late dinner (It’s 11:00 p.m.) here.  We will have a very early start tomorrow.  We meet at 7:10 in the morning to depart for our tour at Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.  I know it will be an emotional experience.

I apologize for no pictures tonight.  I will try to upload many tomorrow to share.

Saturday - Workshops and Museum

Well, the trip is fantastic so far.  I'm exhausted and have many things to do, so I'm going to hit the highlights of the agenda and incorporate a few links for you.

Friday night:

Orientation & Introductions - This session was held here at the Mercure Grand Hotel in Warsaw.  It was so very nice to finally meet the people behind the photos and biographies I have been reading.  I am so honored to be a part of this great group of teachers from all over the world!  Everyone brings a wealth of knowledge and a desire to learn more and improve teaching, and that common purpose certainly unites us.  I hope some of them will comment here or maybe even "guest blog" for me sometime!

Dinner:  After the orientation, we had a buffet dinner.  The food has been delicious so far. . .I haven't had anything wild and crazy - it's all just good!

Overnight:  I came to my room totally exhausted last night, but by the time I actually got settled in and ready for bed, it was hard to fall asleep.  I tossed and turned for several hours, of course until the hour and a half prior to waking up!  So, getting up was hard!

Saturday:

Morning:  Morning was tough.  I had not pre-tested my flat iron with the adapter/converter I have, and I learned this morning that it does not work.  Yikes.  That wasn't the best start to the day.  I guess I'll be trying a new approach to my hair in the morning.

Workshops:   We spent the day at the Polin Museum of the History of the Polish Jews today.  This morning, we had several workshops dealing with overall approach to using testimony, specifically using the IWitness tool, and integrating technology and promoting literacy via IWitness and Discovery Education.  I have sat through MANY, MANY professional development workshops over the years, and these are definitely some of the best sessions I have ever been a part of, and I cannot wait to share what I've learned with my colleagues and students back home.

Here is a video my small group created.  The lesson is called "Paper Story" and our prompt was to tell how we got to Warsaw.  Our group chose to each tell our own story as part of a greater story.  It was fun to see the ways other groups created their projects, too.  Unfortunately, I only have a digital copy of mine.

Lunch:  We had a working lunch, and i spent some of that time working on a lesson using the activity builder in IWitness.  Tomorrow, we are going to do a "shark tank" style pitch of our ideas to the group.  I am really glad that I've already been using I witness in my classroom, so I have a pretty good idea of what I'd like to do.  I need to work on that a little more tonight.  I am excited to introduce my students to the IWitness Video Challenge.  I know we have some great students who will want to take advantage of this opportunity.

Afternoon:  After our workshops, we spent the last part of our afternoon touring the museum.  Please take a look at it.  It was one of the most amazing museums I have ever visited.  There were so many hands-on exhibits, and there was an amazing level of technological integration.  It was a top notch museum!  Our guide was excellent, and I really learned a lot about the origins of Jews living in Poland, centuries of life in the region, modern Jewish living prior to World War I, during the interwar period, and after World War II. We didn't spend any time in the Holocaust/World War II area.  I am going to include some photos below, but I do hope you'll look around particularly at the exhibits portion of their website.  Our tour was somewhat hurried, so I don't feel like I could do total justice.

Evening:  This evening, we returned to the hotel and had a nice dinner in the restaurant here.  I was able to distribute the gifts from Orbix, and I hope everyone liked them.  It certainly was a great project to be a part of!

Tonight:  I'm going to wrap up here, get my bags packed and items ready for tomorrow and head off to bed.
On the agenda for tomorrow:

Workshops back at the museum, lunch, and a late afternoon driving tour of Warsaw.  We will have to have our bags packed and on the bus first thing in the morning, though, because we will leave from the museum for the driving tour and then directly on to Krakow for tomorrow night.

Again, I cannot fully express how overwhelming it is to be part of such an amazing and talented group of professionals as we work to commemorate this important moment in history and ensure that the past is ever present for our students - and our world - today.

A few pictures from today:

Buffet lunch today - pasta, grilled chicken,
and broccoli soup.

The entrance to the exhibits at Polin Museum.
There is an interesting story to go along with it, but
I will not risk retelling it inaccurately.  

Artwork in the gallery

This is an interacttve table where you cold create your name in Hebrew on a "coin."  The keyboard was different, and I was hurrying, so it's not exactly correct, but it's an interesting exhibit.

I cannot remember all the detail here, but this was a
rendition of a Jewish printing process/company?? 

A book with illustrations of children learning scripture.

One of the most beautiful exhibits was
the recreated synagogue.

Thursday Travel/Friday in Warsaw

Well, I found the “relaxation music” channel, and frogs croaked me to sleep for a few hours.  It was definitely nice to have a little extra space!  Now that I’m awake, here is the current flight data information.

I just crossed the United Kingdom; it appears that we flew north of London and are now flying southeast somehow generally between Brussels, Belgium, and Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Munich, my destination for this flight, which is located in southern Germany,  is 1:07 away...

Current local time:  8:18

Current time at home: 1:18

Land speed:  648547

Altitude:  34889

Distance to destination 532mph

Outside air temperature: -68F

Local time at arrival:  9:23

Time of arrival at home: 2:23

It is really neat to see that the map has changed to show that North America and South America are currently dark, while Europe, Asia, and Africa are waking up!  

There appears to be a thin layer or cottony clouds just below me, and the pink sky on the horizon is breathtakingly beautiful.  

So, inflatable pillow was sort of a hassle as the plug kept popping open.  (Maybe that was the problem for the Patriots??  Oh, wait, there aren’t plugs like that on footballs.)  ANYWAY, I got that resolved and the sounds of nature lulled me to sleep.  It is nice to wake up to see such a beautiful sky! I’m now storing my slippers and pillow and I believe they will begin breakfast service soon.  There is a steady stream of people headed to the bathroom, and I’ll head that way to brush my teeth shortly.  

An interesting flight attendant just passed me.  I think she is fluent in multiple languages.  Based on what I’veheard, I think she likely speaks English (USA) as her first language, but she also seems to speak Italian, German, and Spanish.  What a gift!  

So, let’s see what’s for breakfast. . .I really hope that they are rolling the Diet Cokes on the morning cart!  Breakfast is a warm croissant with butter and jam, and a fruit tray.  The croissant smells delicious.  The Flat Cats were excited about breakfast, too!

Up next:  Arrival in Munich where I should have only a passport check.  I will change planes (airlines, too) and be on my way to Warsaw in a short while.

My first European passport stamp!
I've waited a long time for this one!
Below is my video reaction.

Flight from Munich to Warsaw was quick and easy.  About 12 members of our group were in Munich, so it was nice to begin meeting everyone.  We had a light lunch on our Lufthansa flight.   When we arrived at the airport in Warsaw, we disembarked, made a quick stop for luggage, and headed on our way.  We did not have our bags screened at all.  I’m not sure why, but I was thankful for that. Airport Scenes - Weather is wet and dreary, but it isn't terribly cold.

Scenes on the drive in to Warsaw and on our afternoon walk around the city center.

Statue of Charles de Gaulle

Candy making

 

Yes, Ferrari!

....and Rolex!

               

We headed by bus to the MercureGrand Hotel here in Warsaw.  We each got our room assignments, and most of us are located on the third floor.  I have a nice room all to myself.  I have just returned from about an hour of exploring with a few members of the group.  I’m beginning to get tired, but I’m trying very hard to stay awake.  We have a meeting in about an hour, then we will have supper.

2 hours later. . .

We just finished an awesome introductory session where we got to meet some of the staff from the USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education.  I was so excited to meet some of the people I’ve been seeing in photos and through IWitness.  I was also glad to have time to talk with the representatives from Discovery Education about their content that I use in my classroom already.  The teachers I’m meeting are just outstanding.  (Many have led student groups around the world through groups like EF and Discovery, and that’s certainly something I’m interested in doing - so, moms and dads who are interested, please let me know!! )  A survivor was also present with us in the group, as was one of the high-ranking leaders at the new Polin Museum of the History of the Polish Jews.

It is now 7:35 here - 12:35 at home. I am ready to settle in for the night.  I’m totally exhausted.  Thank you for praying and supporting and encouraging me in this endeavor.  I know that in the last 24 hours, I’ve met some pretty amazing people who do very amazing work.  I look forward to a busy day of learning tomorrow.

More from me tomorrow!

Thursday Travels - Part 1

Thursday, January 22, 2015 - Part 1

I got everything squared away at home, and Matt and I left our house about 8:50 a.m.  First, we dropped m car off at the GMC dealership so it could be repaired while I am away.   Then, we ran by the pharmacy to pick up some medicine and headed to the bank to activate my new international debit card.  Once we took care of those few things, we headed to Huntsville.

In Huntsville, we were greeted by our good friends Jeff and Dana McCutcheon.  It was so nice to be surrounded by people I love!  We had a few minutes to hang out, and then I said some teary goodbyes and headed over to the security checkpoint.

I had an easy trip from Huntsville to Houston.  I was on a small plane with only one seat on one side and two seats on the other.  The couple across from me just happened to be from a tiny little town in Mississippi called Iuka.  Well, Iuka just happens to be the tiny little town where Matt’s parents grew up.  It just so happens that Matt’s grandfather, Hays Woods, who worked for Farmer’s Home, helped this couple buy their home when they were “just kids.”  I love it when a big-ole-world gets a little smaller!  These sweet folks even agreed to have their picture made with the Flat Cats. The flight attendant did, too!

On that flight, the Flat Cats really enjoyed looking out the window because it was a pretty nice day in Alabama and Mississippi. But, by the time we got to Texas, it was cloudy and rainy.  :(  I was very proud of the Flat Cats on that first flight, though, because they listened to directions very carefully and red along with the flight attendants as they reviewed all the safety precautions.

                  

I had a fairly easy transition in Houston.  I stopped briefly and charged up my phone at a charging station the airport has set up in various waiting areas.  I made a call or two and checked messages.  Very quickly, it was time to board the flight for Munich!  I found my traveling companion, Karen Wells from Arkansas.  She and I were seated together, but the flight was not full.  I checked the seating chart prior to take off, and there seemed to be over 100 seats available!  So, after we boarded, Karen found another seat, so we each have our own row.  Hopefully we can sleep a little more easily.

We had dinner on board.  I chose ravioli, a roll, a salad, and a cookie bar.  I’m REALLY enjoying the in-flight tracker.  It has a great map that shows you what you are flying over.  (We just passed Boston... I surely do hope I can keep my pillow inflated for the rest of this flight!! ) We are now nearly over Nova Scotia, Canada. This map shows when it is daylight and dark.  It also shows some topography and snow cover.

Here are our current flight stats:

Ground speed:  543mph

Altitude 33000 ft

Distance traveled: 2101 miles

Distance to destination:  3551 miles

Ouside air temperature:  -65 F

Time to destination: 6:05

Time at home: 8:17

Time at destination:3:17

Estimated time of arrival (their local time): 9:22

Estimated time of arrival (home): 2:22 a.m.  -

I promised Matt I would text him, and I will update Facebook when I land in Munich.  We will have a short stop there before changing to Lufthansa Airlines and heading in to Warsaw.

Going to try to catch just a few hours of sleep.  I watched Maleficent on the inflight move, but I think I’ll pick something more boring than that now.

So, for now, goodnight.

It's finally here!

Well, today is the day! What an exciting journey is about to begin. Here are a few scenes from my SURPRISE going away party at school.  I have some of the best coworkers and friends in the whole world.  I am very thankful to have their support and encouragement.

  My daughter, Katie Beth, told her kindergarten class a little about my trip.  Thanks to her amazing teacher, Jana Groghan, for these little gems!

Of course, Blake, my fourth grader, needed to make a video, too!

 I got some sweet hugs and kisses from those two crazy kids this morning, but I know they'll have a great time with their dad while I'm gone!

And, the bags are packed and we are on our way!!  I'm checking an extra bag because of an amazing project a local artist help me and a few great friends and students create.  I hope all if my companions will be pleased....  I'll be leaving the big blue suitcase behind and traveling lighter after the gifts are given!  (Thanks in advance, Emily Bengels, for helping me get these two bags through customs!)

I hope everyone enjoys their surprises!

Excited to have the Flat Cats with me.  They make me think of my school family, and I am so glad that three super sweet girls worked very hard so that I didn't have to travel alone!

So, I'm off to Huntsville for a 12:45 flight to Houston.

I leave Houston about 4:20 flight to Munich, Germany.

I leave Munich at 11:05 local time and arrive in Warsaw at 12:35p.m. local time, 

Or about 5:35a.m. Central time on Friday.

I appreciate your prayers and good thoughts as I start out on this trip of a lifetime!