March 18, 2014

Today we left Cusco.  What memories I have of that wonderful place!  We then flew to Lima, the capital city that we visited on our first two days.  Since we fly out late tonight, we just had the afternoon free.

Four of us walked six blocks to Lover's Park, which is along the Pacific Ocean.  All the photographs posted today are from our walk along the shore.  The bird is a dove but not like ours at home.  It has a bright blue band on its head and bright orange feet.  Maybe someone can find out what they call this bird?

The rest of my afternoon was spent repacking.  Ugh...I finally put everything away to make it home safely.  Remember how we went to Seminaro, the pottery place?  Well, I have a box to carry on the airplanes with pottery pieces.  

If all my flights are on time, I should be home sometime tomorrow night.  This is my last blog entry.  

There is not enough time for me to answer questions today, but I will have a question and answer time during class on Friday.  Remember to have your projects ready to share Friday!

Have a great day!

March 18, 2014 Photographs

Shaman burning an offering after a cleansing ceremony.

Peruvians sliding down a large rock.

Cave Entrance

Alpaca steak at Casona del Inka (House of the Inka)

The view of Cusco from our restaurant for lunch.

March 17, 2014

Today is my last day in Cusco.  As I write this, I am sitting in our hotel's courtyard, which is filled with geraniums and flowering trees.  My table has a woven cloth on it with bright colors in a regional pattern.  I purchased a few similar to this one.  I'll bring them in on Friday.

Today we went to two sites that the Peruvians consider to be holy places.  One place had passages that went through huge rocks. (See photo.)  People would hide in these places when Spaniards invaded their country. One of these passages was more like a cave.  It was used to prepare dead bodies for mummification.  There was a large, flat stone slab that was cold to touch.  This cold stone would help preserve the dead person as they were working on it.  Off to one side they would hang large sheets of silver or gold to reflect light from the outside to inside the cave.  This was so they had light to see.  We didn't have any light so my photos didn't turn out so well. 

Outside of these passages, some of the rocks were smooth like slides in the playground.  I saw Peruvians sliding down one of them.  Our tour guide called them sliders. (See photo.)

Our tour guide arranged for a shaman (like a medicine man) to conduct a cleansing ceremony.  He had gathered many natural things together like seeds, cotton, candy, corn, and coca leaves as an offering. 

The ceremony was to cleanse negative things from us.  Then the offering was burned. (See photo.) This is something many Peruvians still do today.  Some claim to have been healed from many different things after this ceremony.  The animal in my photograph came over to us of its own free will.  It is the endangered vicuna that I blogged about earlier.  

We had a late lunch at a fantastic restaurant!  I ate alpaca steak.  It was delicious, tasting similar to llama that I've had at home, nothing like chicken.  My plate has the restaurant's name across the top of it in catsup. (See photo.) This restaurant also had a beautiful view of Cusco.  You can tell that the city is nestled in an area between mountains. (See photo.)

Tomorrow we fly back to Lima for a short day there.  I need to repack my suitcases again.  All this shopping is just horrible!  No more room in my suitcase.  Tomorrow night we'll go to the International Airport in Lima.  Our flight leaves at 1 A.M. on Wednesday morning.  This is normal for international flights.  Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep.  

Have a great day!  Just one more blog entry to go...

Questions of the day:

Scott Betterton- "Are the portion sizes of the food they eat similar to ours or do they eat smaller meals more often?"

Answer- Peruvians eat three meals a day.  They eat more than we do.  Restaurants have about the same portion sizes as we do, but not all.  We have gone to two Chinese restaurants on our own.  We ordered a family order for four people.  We had six people eating but still had left overs!  I have never left a meal feeling hungry.

Blake Sondag- "Did you get to go in the church?  If so, how nice is it?"

Answer- Yes, we went in the church, but we couldn't take pictures.  It is a huge stone building with stone floors.  The altars are made of solid silver.  Silver and gold are used often for decoration since they are both mined here.  They had wooden pews like we have, but everything is old and somewhat worn.  There are many oil paintings around the outside walls.  The style reminded me of a church I saw in Paris but with a lot more decoration.  Google search churches in Peru or Paris if you would like to see or know more.

Paul Johnson- "Why do they have to pay to use the tiolet? Explain."

Answer- Many public places around the world are the same.  Here in Peru there is a popular saying that necessity is the mother of invention.  The woman we saw decided to clean the public tiolets and they were very clean!  Otherwise, the tiolets weren't cleaned-yuck! This was a way that she could earn money for her family.  Many families here have dads and moms working because they need the money for basic things like food, clothing, and schooling for their children.  In our hotels and in restaurants, we are not charged to use the restrooms, just other public ones.  It is just common here to be charged to use the toilet.  It seems strange since we don't have this, but many countries around the world have this custom.

March 16, 2014

Scenic view of one part of Cusco.

March 16, 2014

These are two brothers that are with their mother at this

scenic area to stop and take photos. Their mother cleans 

the tiolets here and collects one sol (33 cents) from each 

person to use them. Toilet paper is provided.  We gave 

the boys fruit snacks. The youngest boy is chewing on it.  

He wants to eat them!

March 16, 2014

My friend, Becky, is friendly and adventuresome!  

She is helping a farmer plow potatoes in his field.

We just stopped by the side of the rode to watch

and they offered.  Becky jumped at the opportunity.

March 16, 2014

Woman in the village of Chinchero, Peru, making yarn

out of sheep wool by using a drop spindle.  This is

the costume for women in this village.  They keep 

money and flowers in their hat.

Dessert!

Church in Cusco

A Peruvian Woman Selling

Machu Picchu!

Several female llamas grazing

A llama of Machu Picchu

Llama Whisperer at Machu Picchu

Mama llama and cria in front of Pacha Mama with morning fog.

March 14, 2014

Pacha Mama!!!  Machu Picchu was even better the second day.  The famous and central mountain in the area of Machu Picchu is named Pacha Mama or Mother Earth.  People here also use it as a saying to express great joy in what natural things they see.  

My roommate and friend, Becky, and another llama friend, Danita, broke away from our group today.  Yeah, I guess we were rebels.  We hung out with the llamas at Machu Picchu for over an hour.  This was my highlight of our trip!  Many of our llamas at home are descended from llamas in Peru.  So this was like seeing some long lost family members.  These llamas were so used to people being around them that I took lots of photos.  (See photos.) 

After today, I believe Becky is a llama whisperer.  One of the llamas came up to her, and they kissed llama style.  When llamas greet each other they put their noses together and blow.  Some more affectionate llamas may nibble at a person's face or sniff it all over.  Everywhere I go, including here in Peru, llamas go to her first.  It's like they know her.  So today, Becky had quite a conversation with  a llama named Layla.  Layla must have told her some secrets about Machu Picchu! (See photo.)

Total, we spent three hours at Machu Picchu today.  It is such a large place with so many beautiful views that it's overwhelming.  I took 165 photos yesterday and strangely enough, 165 photos today.  The stairs can be difficult.  I helped my friends when there wasn't a wall or railing to steady themselves.  We took plenty of rests when any one of us had to catch our breath in this high altitude of 8000 feet. We were so proud to say that we conquered Machu Picchu!

After lunch, we left Machu Picchu.  Sigh... We took a one and a half hour train ride.  Then we switched to a bus for two hours to arrive at Cusco.  All of us are dog-tired.  

Tomorrow we will take a walking tour of the area around our hotel in Cusco.  Then we'll visit a popular jewelry maker and his shop-more shopping!  The afternoon is ours.  I'm going to a craft market across the street from our hotel or to the art section of Cusco or both...such decisions.

Have a great day!

Questions of the day:

Wesley Mott- "What is the top elevation that people can go up on the mountains?"

Answer- This is a great question for you to look up on Google!  There are villages in the highlands of Peru at 11,000 feet.  People can go higher, but if villages aren't higher than that then it probably is uncomfortable to breathe for people born there.

Kiley Shannon- "Was the hike long and hard to do?"

Answer- We hiked for three hours yesterday and for three hours today.  It didn't seem too long because everywhere I turned there was something wonderous to see.  We would stop often so that helped.  The big thing was breathing in the high altitude.  The air is thinner, which means there is less oxygen than what we are used to.  So during exercise, we start huffing and puffing for air.  My friend, Becky, has scar tissue on her lungs from a bad case of pnumonia.  We stopped with her more than everyone else did.  Also, this is when chewing the cocoa leaves help.  Becky said it felt like her lungs opened up when she chewed them.  My muscles did not hurt at all from hiking. Today my ankles started wobbling when I went down stairs. I'm glad I had hiking boots that came up to support my ankles.

Chris Salinas- "What feelings did you feel when you got to the top of that stone entrance?"

Answer- Climbing to the top to view Pacha Mama was an overwhelming experience.  First, I couldn't believe I was there.  I've wanted to do this for so long.  Also, with all the spiritual significance at the site, I was in total awe.  

March 13, 2014

After a one and a half train ride, we made it to Machu Picchu!  I cannot find the right words to tell you how incredibly beautiful, amazing, and historical Machu Picchu is after our two and a half hour hike. (See photos.) Wow! I learned so much about the Incan culture from this old city that was abandoned over 600 years ago.  

The Incans studied the stars in pools of water.  From these studies they determined angle degrees of constellations.  This helped them to build so the sun would shine through certain windows at the winter solstice, for example.  Most of their important buildings are lined up in a specific way which shows they knew at what angles they should be built.

Before the train ride, we walked through a cemetary in Urubamba.  Most of the peoples' caskets are placed in family crypts. (See photo.)  My photo shows a crypt that holds eight people.  Family members bring in fresh flowers. On November 1 & 2, many families celebrate Soul's Day.  They bring a meal, usually a favorite meal of their family member that had passed away.  They eat it by the grave, leaving a plate of food there for that person.  Then they drink chicha, play music, and dance.

We also stopped at a home where the family makes chicha for people to buy.  Chicha is made from corn. (See photo.) The yellow class is natural color; the pink is with strawberries added. This beverage is important to the local people.  I purchased a yarn necklace here that Peruvians used in the past for keeping track of numbers.  For example, they kept track of how much they produced in crops for the year on this necklace.  I'll bring it to school.

We are going back to Machu Picchu tomorrow morning, even though it is supposed to rain.  After our train ride back out, we are riding in a bus to Cusco, my favorite city.

Thanks for all the great questions!  Have a great day!

Questions for the day:

Amelia Birker- "Why do they eat guinea pigs?"

Answer- Guinea pigs are something that many families can afford to raise on their own.  We have to remember that Peruvians don't have a lot of money.  Over the years, it has become important to eat it for special occasions.  It's hard for us to understand since many of us have guinea pigs for pets.  

Local beliefs are that if you go to a medicine man (shaman), he will take a black guinea pig and rub it all over a sick person's body.  Then they sacrifice (kill) the guinea pig as an offering to god.  This is supposed to cure the sick person.  Many people still do this today, especially if something is not cured by a medical doctor.

Trenton Sivola- "Why were the kids so happy about getting a toothbrush?"

Answer- First, the kids were in first grade.  So if you remember being six years old, most new things were exciting.  Second, kids here don't have many material things or toys.  So getting anything new is a big deal.  Also, wouldn't any six-year-old boy love an Iron Man toothbrush?  Many Peruvians don't have money to just go to a store and buy fun things.  So this was a treat.

Paul Johnson- "What animals besides llamas and guinea pigs do you see?"

Answer- Along the road we see oxen, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, a tarantula, condors, ducks, chickens, goats, and chinchillas which are wild.  Farmers will tie up cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats to graze then move them later to eat more grass.

I couldn't resist answering this next question!

Hailey Lovell- "Do they have a jail there and what does it look like?"

Answer- Yes, they have jails in Peru but I hope to never see one.  Our tour guide said that people are not fed in prison here.  Their family must bring them food.  So, if a visitor would be in jail, they wouldn't have anything to eat.

One member of our group almost sat down on a rock in Machu Picchu today.  As she went to sit, a security officer blew a whistle at her to not sit on the rock!  She was grateful to not get in trouble, although she wouldn't be put in jail for sitting on a special rock. Being in jail in a foreign country is never a good idea.  You may be kept there and not get home.

My friend, Becky, at Macho Picchu

Chicha

Family burial plot in cemetary

Manchu Picchu group

My llama friends

March 12, 2014

Another fun-packed day has come and gone in Peru!  There are so many wonderful things to see.  Here are the highlights from today.

First we took a river raft ride on the Urubamba River.  There were gentle rapids, but it was mostly just a fun float.  It was a beautiful ride.  I saw an Incan check point at the most narrow part of the river.  They could stop people on the river to make sure they weren't enemies.  The ride lasted an hour, but it went fast.  

Next we went to Ollytombio (spelled incorrectly for now), another Incan community in ruins. (See photo). I climbed to the very top with our group leader and llama friend, John. (See photo.)  It was breathtaking in more ways than one!  Since we climbed stone steps in high altitudes, we needed to stop periodically to catch our breath.  We also climbed farther than the others to see what is left of a house. (See photo.) At the bottom of the mountain was a ceremonial area and a bathing area with clear water from the mountain.

We had lunch at a family's home today.  The main course was guinea pig with a pepper in its mouth. (See photo.)  Guinea pig is a delicacy in Peru. No, I did not eat any.  I ate some on my first trip to Peru and that was enough for me.  We also had baked spaghetti with boiled eggs in it.  Chilli renio was hollowed out yellow or green peppers with mixed vegetables in it.  The vegetables were wonderful but the pepper was too hot for me.  A delicious yellow potato was baked with onion and cilentro.  There was a cooked corn, much larger than what we have and very light yellow.  Dessert was an apricot that was marinated or soaked in a sweet, ginger sauce.  I loved it!

At last we went to one of my favorite places, Seminaro!  We watched a video about Pablo Seminaro's career with clay then took a tour of his studio where all the pottery is created.  He is famous around the world.  The Chicago Museum of Art has a whole collection permanently displayed of his pieces.  Pablo talked to us then we shopped!  Of course, I purchased some pieces.  My favorite is in the shape of an Andean cross.  It is painted in browns with a countryside scene.  Then it has several silver pieces on it; one, of course, is of a llama.  

Tomorrow we are taking a train ride to Machu Picchu!  Yea!!! We will be there for two days, hiking and shopping in Machu Picchu town.  I can't wait!  

Well, my pillow is calling my name.  Have a great day!

Questions of the Day:

Hailey Lovell- "What kind of clothes do the women, men and children wear and do they have to wear certain clothes at school?"

Answer- Great question!  I posted photos today that should answer your questions.  (See photo.) As we travel around Cusco, we will see women in various clothes.  I'll make sure to take some more photographs.

Breanna Uthoff- "How many vicunas are left in the world?"

Answer- I'm not sure if there is a count for vicunas.  Our tour guide wasn't sure.  Would you research that on Google and let me know? There is a specific number in order to be classified as endangered.  

Cole Travis- "What made the backyard roof break because I see bricks in a pile?"

Answer- People here keep whatever materials they can to reuse.  When they keep them they are simply put in a pile.  Everyone does it and thinks nothing of what it looks like.  Many homes need repairs, but they don't always have money to get what they need to fix a roof like tools.  They make due.  It the roof would leak into the house, I'm sure they would fix it right away.  

Mrs. Meyer- "What other kinds of animals did you see at the zoo?  Were you concerned about the "fresh fruit" at the market? Do you have clean water to wash it in?"

Answer- We only saw camelids at the zoo.  I was afraid someone would ask this because here they use the correct species names.  In America we have named them differently.  There were alpacas, vicunas, gunacos, huycaya alpacas, suri alpacs, "classic llamas" and "wooly llamas."

Most of the fresh fruit we have eaten is at our hotels for breakfast.  Any other fruit we eat is cut open then we do not eat the skins.  So we avoid any water that was used to wash the fruit. It is important to not consume any of the local water, not even to brush our teeth or rinse our toothbrushes.  We could get sick from the natural bacteria in the water here.  We have grown up drinking our own water so our bodies are used to our bacteria.  We don't want to be sick so we only drink bottled water.  All the restaurants know this and only serve us bottled water.

Llama Mural made from Clay

Delicacy: Guinea Pig for lunch!

Woman in traditional clothing

Incan dwelling on side of the mountain

Incan ruin site on the side of a mountain overlooking Awanakancha

Some kids happy to get toothbrushes from us!

Primary School grades 1-6 in Urubamba

A sidewalk and doorway along a street in Cusco

Vicuna, an endangered species

An example of someone's backyard

Unusual-colored classic llama

March 11, 2014

It was an early morning today to catch the plane ride to Cusco.  What a beautiful flight with us flying over the clouds and Andes Mountains. They would break up so i could take lots of beautiful photos of the Andes Mountains. (See photo.)

First on our agenda was the famous Factoria "La Vicunita" sweater factory.  The owners taught us how to tell the difference between real baby alpaca and fake alpaca.  Real alpaca is much softer and smoother; it feels cool to the touch and has a slightly shiny look.  Then they let us go in their sale room.  Each of us had a girl to help us find things our size, then she helped put them on us and gave us prices.  They weren't pushy; they were there to help.  It was like having a maid follow me around. This is different than at home, right?

After popular demand from our group, our tour guide took us to a small countryside zoo.  There were almost all of the South American camelid groups represented.  One of them is the vicuna,  an endangered species.  They have the finest fiber (hair) of all the camelids.  I was lucky to photograph them since they are timid animals. (See photo.)

As we rode the bus, we saw the area surrounding Cusco.  Many of the original Incan walls survive today since they were built so well.  Communities have built on top of them. (See photo.)  The countryside has many rural dwellings which are made of clay.  Some of the homes have important symbols on the outside of them. (See photo.)  Their backyards are where they dry their clothes, either on a clothesline or on shrubs.  The animals they own live in the backyards. (See photo.)  Some animals we have seen are small pigs, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, cattle, and chickens.  Dogs are all over the place, with and without collars.

We rode a lot in the bus today to get to Urabamba. Around every mountain there was a new, beautiful view.  Finally we made it to Pisaq which is a national park of Incan ruins.  There were a few young men in traditional Peruvian costume that played handmade pipes.  (See photo.) The music echoed through the countryside as we hiked around the mountain.  On the mountains are terraces that the Incan people constructed.  

We are staying in a beautiful, lodge style hotel with many little courtyards and gardens.  It was too dark for photos today, but I will photograph them tomorrow.  The internet connection is not always good at this hotel, so I don't know how many photos I'll be able to post.  Don't worry though!  In two days we will be staying in Cusco which should be better.

Questions for the Day:

There aren't many questions emailed today.  Don't forget to email them to me at hartingbl@gmail.com otherwise you won't receive points!  Do not share a document. 

Many of the questions I did receive can be answered by rereading my blog posts.  So be careful to ask questions that require me to write more about my experience, not repeat it.

Cole Travis- "Did you get some fresh fruit and how much did it cost?"

Answer- Yes, we have enjoyed a lot of fresh fruit at our hotel for breakfast.  They are fresh, sweeter, and juicier.  In the market, one piece of fruit is between 2 and 5 sol or about seventy-five cents to two dollars.  My favorite is the watermelon and the small bananas.  Mangos are pretty awesome too.

Nash Stewart- "What is the money system like?"

Answer- Peruvian money is called the Nuevo Sol or sol for short.  $1 = 2.8 sol.  I will bring some of their coins and paper money back with me to school.  Some of their coins are silver and gold, very pretty.  So, I can buy more here since the American dollar is worth more.  Don't worry, our group is supporting the economy here by shopping.

Tomorrow we have a full day!  We will take a raft ride down the Urabamba River, visit a school, go to another park with ruins, eat in a Peruvian home with a family, and shop at Seminaro, the pottery place.  I'm having the time of my life and am glad to share it with you!

Have a great day!

March 11, 2014

One example of a symbol on the outside of a home.

This symbol is of an Incan priest with the weapon they

would use for sacrifices.

Fresh fruit at the market

Using bamboo in building

Walking through the plaza in downtown Lima

In the museum's garden with green grass!

Second Day in Lima

After getting a full night's sleep, I awoke ready to go sightseeing!  Freshly squeezed orange juice and one cup of stong Peruvian coffee gave me even more energy.

First we went to the Museo Rafael Larco Herrera.  It is a museum that was founded by Lima's most wealthy family in the 1940s.  This museum has over 4500 pieces of pottery that tell the history of Peru.  Since the civilizations of Peru had no written language, every artifact that is discovered gives more clues to their history.  From the pottery I learned the types of crops that were grown, the diseases they had, what their leaders looked like, which animals they had, details about their religious ceremonies, about their symbols, and what was important to them.

We also toured the museum's beautiful gardens which has an outdoor restaurant attached.  I could have spent the entire day lying in the green grass, smelling the colorful flowers, and photographing every nook and cranny. (Jealous yet? See photo.) Unfortunately, we only had twenty minutes to view the gardens and visit the gift shop.  Even so, I made due quite well in both.  

As we walked, we saw a building in the process of being built.  It had a wood frame that was covered in bamboo.  On the smooth bamboo, they will apply a layer of stucco which will be painted.  The reason they use bamboo is for the building to be flexible during earthquakes. (See photo.)

Daily Questions:

Makenna Armell- "How is their lifestyle different from yours back home?"

Answer- Lima is a large city of 9 million people.  If you have been to one of our large cities, it is similar.  There are lots of people everywhere.  There are police officers on every block.  Our tour guide says this part of the city is very safe.  Today we saw people that live in the rural areas sitting on the street to sell their vegetables and eggs. When we get to the Cuzco area, their lifestyle will be very different from ours.

Tailynn Tharp- "How many llamas have you seen since you got there?"

Answer- No llamas yet since they live high in the mountains.  We are in the big city so the only animals have seen are dogs and cats.  My roommate wanted to pet all the animals with no collars but I stopped her. Kennedy Park has many ferral cats.  In many rural areas, they eat cats. The government formed an organization to help save these cats.  Here they are putting some of the cats up for adoption.  They want people to appreciate them as pets.

Mrs. Struve- "What season are you in there in Peru?  Is the standard of living similar to us in Iowa?"

Answer- March is late summer.  There have been a couple of quick and light rain showers.  It is an old belief that when it rains this time of year the world is coming to an end.  Well, so far, I'm still here.  The minimum wage here is $275 per month.  Police officers and teachers make $600-800 per month.  There is no welfare since they believe that need is the mother of invention.  People find honest ways to make money.  The economy is booming now.  Mining is the largest industry; construction is the second largest. Tourism is important but no longer the largest money maker in Peru.

Tuesday we will be flying inland to Cuzco!  It is the second largest city in Peru, nestled in the Andes Mountains.  The temperatures will be cooler, like what you probably had today in Iowa!  There is no humidity compared to 100% humidity here in Lima. We will be shopping and spending time riding to Urabamba where we will stay for three days.

Have a great day!

 

First Day!

After traveling for 25 hours, I finally arrive at our hotel in Lima, Peru,  at 8 A.M. this morning!  My group of 15 met our guide, Alvaro Del Aguila Silva.  His family name, Del Aguila, means eagle.  Al, as we shorten our guide's name, tells us some important information to make our traveling in high altitudes problem free.  He highly recommends the coca plant.  This plant is a highly spiritual plant for Peruvians.  Coca leaves are added to hot water to make a tea or one chews the the leaves.  It has medicinal properties in the leaves which helps to increase blood flow to the brain and aids in breathing easier.  

My meals today were eaten outside at restuarants.  I ate chicken and rice for lunch.  The appetizer was fresh vegetables which they named "mixed salad." Dessert was a piece of apple pie.  It was wonderful.  For dinner tonight, six of us went to a restaurant named "Cafe Cafe" in the Lima mall.  I ordered ravioli with goat cheese and spinach.  Yum!  Then we went to a few stores in the mall.  The photographs are from shops. We finished our long day with some gelato.  Guess what flavor I chose?  Chocolate, of course!  Incredibly delicious...

Monday we will be going to a Peruvian museum and then to their Chinatown.  

Answers to your questions:

Mrs. Dinderman: What are Peru's sunrise and sunset times?  

A: Sunrise is at 6:10; sunset is at 6:25. 

Today's sunset was unnoticeable.  Lima is the capital city along the Pacific coastline so it tends to be a hazy city.  The temperature today was around 82 degrees which was quite a shock to me.  As I write this, the temperature is still at 72 degrees.  The lovely, warm breeze will make it difficult to come back to Iowa's cold. 

Have a great day!  

First Tiring Day

First Day in Lima

Preparation

Nine days until I leave record cold temperatures 

in Iowa to begin my Peru Adventure!  

Peruvian girl weaving
handspun yarn

Highlights of my trip include Peru's capital city, Lima, on the western coastline of the Pacific Ocean, Cuzco in the mountainous interior, and Machu Picchu, one of the eight wonders of the world!

My 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in Vinton, Iowa, will be monitoring my adventure.  They will be emailing me questions that I will answer on a daily basis through March 19.

All the photographs on this blog are ones I have taken. Students will be able to copy them into their projects at school.  If you decide to keep a copy for yourself, I would appreciate my name being attached. I hope you enjoy my journal!