Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s Friday night. We made it! Monday: New Student/Parent Orientation. I hung around the school getting ready for the week. Marit Swanson had arrived from Wheaton the day before, so I was showing her around. She is here to teach … Continue reading →

As I have been dog-sitting the happiest dog on the planet, I learned something about joy. Shadow wags her tail in anticipation of a belly rub, ear scratch, walk, or dinner. Sometimes I just look at her and she begins … Continue reading →

This Thursday was campus cleaning day. Teachers and staff vacuumed, washed windows, emptied trash cans, and weeded the grounds. Our goal was to get the school ready for opening day next Tuesday! I volunteered for the weeding. It was fun … Continue reading →

Last Monday, 4 new roommates arrived (only 1 was human). Emily Kelly is my new official roommate and BFA’s new school nurse. She is from Seattle and likes good coffee, good food (she’s a really good cook!), and triathalons. It’s … Continue reading →

This summer I was incredibly blessed to have my whole family visit me at various times. It was a big step for my parents – my dad’s first time leaving the country! My younger brother David drove down from Bremen … Continue reading →

I heard this phrase several times in England this past weekend. I went to the little town of Hitchin for a conducting workshop, and whenever we tried a new technique or gesture, we were encouraged to “have a go” at … Continue reading →

After 4 weeks of wriggling excitement in the morning, furry kisses, walks in all kinds of weather, discovering socks in places I did not leave them, picking up stinky squishy piles with a plastic bag, removing chew toys from my … Continue reading →

On this July 4, I sit here in Germany thinking about my home country. On this day 235 years ago, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. We as a nation declared that we wanted to be independent from Britain, separate … Continue reading →

BFA teachers are all required to do 2 weeks of work during the summer as a service to the school. For the last two weeks, I have been doing my work, which has involved a somewhat humorous compilation of borderline … Continue reading →