Thank You

Now that it is almost the end of the semester, I want to thank each of you for making the second half of this semester so wonderful for me.

You are an exceptional class. You take learning seriously, but you definitely know how to have fun. I think you are nicer to each other than any other class I have ever had. I have not heard one bad word out of any of your mouths about anyone else in the class. I think that's the first time that has ever happened in one of my classes. That tolerance creates a warm environment conducive to learning.

I have enjoyed getting to know each of you both in class and from your blogs. You are all very special. I hope you all pass the test and go on to be brilliant in college and in your careers. Please keep in touch. I love to hear from former students!

My Weekend

I had a good weekend. We went to two different Chanukah parties, so I got to eat a lot of potato latkes (the fried potato pancakes we eat on this holiday). One of my friends made curry pancakes. They were unusual but absolutely delicious! I got to see a lot of friends I don't get to see very often. The other big excitement is that we bought a new car. We should be picking it up on Wednesday. I'm not that into cars, but ours is nine years old. It has a very squeaky steering wheel, and the radio doesn't work very well. I'm looking forward to having a car that is quiet and has all its parts in good shape.

Thanksgiving

From reading your blogs, it sounds like most of you had a good day yesterday. If you didn't, remember that Thanksgiving is just one day in the year, and you can have a wonderful time on other days, too!

I survived all the cooking and cleaning up. We had a nice meal, and we're enjoying our leftovers. The holiday was a little sad this year, though, since it was the first year my mother wasn't with us. She is in a rehabilitation facility since she was in the hospital for over 2 weeks. I felt sad for my father. In addition, my husband's aunt and uncle did not show up because they weren't feeling well. We only had 9 people for dinner, which is the smallest group ever. We managed to have fun, and I'm glad that my father, in-laws, my husband, and my daughters were with me.

Today, my younger daughter and I made it to the Gap in time for the 50 per cent off sale. We picked up some good bargains and celebrated the day after Thanksgiving with shopping like all good Americans!

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

A Professional Blogger

My husband and I went to our friends' house for dinner. The wife is a journalist now. She was a doctor for many years. Then she went back to school to learn to be a journalist. Not surprisingly, she writes about medical issues. She has a blog that hundreds of people read each week. Sometimes magazines see her blogs and ask her to write articles for them, so her blog ends up being profitable. She says she really enjoys the blogging and does it more for her own mental health than for other people. She likes getting her ideas out. Maybe some of you will end up becoming professional bloggers like my friend. If you do, don't forget to remember who gave you your start!

Quality of Medical Care

My mother is still in the hospital. As of tomorrow, it will be a week. Her hospital stay has given me a chance to closely observe hospital care. I can't say that I've been very satisfied with what I've seen. There is a lot of inconsistency from shift to shift. Some of the nurses and assistants seem like very caring people, but some don't seem to care at all. I feel, in general, that no one would be paying any attention at all to my mother unless we asked people to do so. I know that a lot of you plan to go into the health services field. I hope you succeed in changing the system to make sure all patients get good care.

BUSY FEW DAYS

How are all of you? I've heard from some of you that class was good on Friday, and Fernanda reported things went well. I missed all of you, but I had a good and productive time at my convention. It's nice to have a change of scenery and a chance to discuss teaching issues with people from all over the state. It was exciting to talk about the LINCC program, too.

I arrived home late yesterday, though, to find out that my mother had fallen and was in the emergency room. We took her home last night, but she still isn't quite herself today. She has Alzheimer's Disease, so it isn't easy to know what's going on with her.

This afternoon, I went to the movies with my daughter. We saw Hereafter. It's about a psychic played by Matt Damon. We both really enjoyed it. I recommend it highly.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.

ESL Convention

Guess where I'm going tomorrow? I am representing the LINCC program at a state ESL convention in the state capital, Albany. I'm giving a presentation there about the LINCC program. I'm also hoping to learn a lot from all the experts who will be giving presentations there.

I will miss class on Friday, but don't worry. There will be a qualified substitute, and I'm leaving plenty of work for you to do. (You didn't think I would forget to give you work, did you?!)

I'm so sorry to be missing another day of class, but this trip was planned over 2 months ago. At the time, I had no idea I would be sick and miss two classes in one week. I hope you will understand and forgive me. I'll tell you all about the conference when I return.