Last 10 Days in Lagos

So, we are preparing to enter our last week of teaching at AISL and spending time with our friends over here. This blog will highlight a few of the things we're going to miss from this place.

This is "Chalk Talk" from Bryan's classes, showing some of the concepts the kids learned throughout the year.


It is rare to hear someone exclaim excitement about having gas, but being a chemistry teacher in Lagos, my students and I all celebrated the fact that "WE HAVE GAS!!!"

Some of the AIS ladies. From left to right: Gina, Pagia, Yvonne, Kara, DeeDee, and Ebele.

Here is our driver, Eze (pronounced "easy"), with his wife.

This is a picture of Gina and Mary with David "phishing" in the background.

Bryan and Larry Fizer, a friend and chaperone from the Italy and Spain trips.

Kara posing with Queenlizzy.

Bryan with the guys, Joseph and David.

Kara with the ladies. Front row: Gina, Mary, Ebele. Back row: Kara, Yvonne, Julie Jackson.

Us with Mr. Alfred Ohimain, a friend, fellow teacher, and the guy that taught Kara to kick (aka 5th dan black belt karate instructor).

The man who changed our life, Mr. Tom Shearer, with his wife, Lori. I'm sure you can't miss Terry Burns, our Elementary Principal and fellow chaperone on the SeaCamp trip, catching an opportunity to "phish".

We have had so many amazing experiences over here, built relationships, and created many memories. It will be difficult to leave, but we are excited to be close to our family, friends, and dog again and begin the next chapter of our lives. See you all soon!!!

Nonstop Lightning

Check out the Lagos Nature Light Show premier from May 23, 2008. We woke up around 6am to constantly flashing lights and found this amazing thunder and lightning show going crazy in the distance.

Also, last year Bryan took some pictures of lightning striking and never posted them. The bolts struck, wrapping around an antenna just about a 300 meters away. Here are those pictures:




And then the opposite of lightning was this amazing sunset Bryan shot tonight from the front porch. The sky was absolutely glowing like we've never seen it before.

SeaCamp 2008

Since I've been back from SeaCamp for close to a month, I thought I'd share some pictures with everyone. My 57 kids, 10 chaperones and I had a great time and got to spent tons of time with nature. I was pretty much like a pig in mud.

Here I am with "Gatorman" touching a real alligator... notice the rubber band around it's mouth.


Here are Mr. Burns and Emily Rainbolt (Bryan's and my adopted niece) enjoying the Swamp Safari in Miami.


My view from our airboat. Yes, I am that close. Luckily alligators don't like the taste of people. :)


Our tour of Key West started at the end.


A house made completely out of corals. Obviously made before tampering with corals became illegal.


And this is the "Flattop Love" that my kids were so great at sending to passersby.


Looking for sharks in the SeaCamp "Shark Pond".


Oh, there they are!!! (Nurse shark on the right, bonnethead on the left.)


Checkin out the corals... this is where we saw baracudas and my favorites, two eagle rays. Hopefully I'll be able to show you underwater pictures I took once we get back home.


Got echinoderms?


The kids got to do a squid dissection and gave me a tattoo with the squid ink.


Oh, isn't the sharksicle cute?!


Here are the mangroves. If you look closely at the top of the tallest tree, you might see a bald eagle.


Bryan taught me that you're not supposed to take pictures straight at the sun... after I got this picture of the rainbow forming a ring around the sun. :)


Can you find all THREE iguanas?


Our last night at SeaCamp. The Florida Keys or Lagos? Hmmmmm, tough choice.


Our male chaperones... you decide.


And there we are, all 68 of us!

Spain Trip and HDRI

Hey everybody. Kara and I just got back from our international trips in which we both took 58 and 38 students to Florida and Spain respectively. For 10 days we were running around the world going non-stop from 8 AM to 11 PM with stops for lunch and dinner in between.

Anyway, Kara's 2nd Macintosh just crashed (imagine that...a Macbook crashing?) so for now, I'm going to post my pictures from Spain. Please keep in mind that the photos you will be seeing have been HDRI'd by me using Photomatix Pro. Check 'em out!

Vida Street in Seville, Spain.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain.

One of the many gardens around the Alcazar in Seville.

View of the bell tower in Seville.

View of Seville from the top of the bell-tower. You can see the Maestranza (Bull Ring) in the distance.

View of Toledo, famous for it's silver and steel.

Inside of the Mezquita (Mosque converted into Catholic Cathedral.)

Interior of the Mezquita

Interior of the Mezquita

Interior of the Mezquita

Plaza de Espana in Sevilla.

Still inside of the Mezquita.

Statue of Don Quixote

Grafitti in Granada.

View of Granada from the Alhambra.

Inside of the Cathedral of Seville.

View of the Alhambra from the Gypsie quarters.

Gardens/Fountain in the Alhambra.

Dome in the Mezquita.

Arabic Script-art in Mezquita.

Maestranza/Bull-ring in Seville.