A picture is worth a thousand words...

So here are 149,000 words worth of description of my Scotland trek:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100981516@N06/sets/72157635310844426/

Actually, I made some of the pictures private (those with my friends' kids in them) so you should be able to see fewer than 149 pictures. Let me know if that is not the case.

Catching up and writing poetry

Well the start of the school year has finally calmed down enough to give me time to blog. The days lately have represented this blog's name very well. It has been warm and rainy almost every day (for at least a few hours) for the last week or so. Needless to say, when I've had time to enjoy the weather, I've been quite happy about it.

Teaching Spanish is fun, and I'm reminded of that at the beginning of every school year (usually by the time summer break has begun I've forgotten again, so it's good to have the reminder), but this year I'm enjoying a wonderful addition to my Spanish teaching repertoire. Not only do I get to teach literature (as I do every year) but I am adding a unit on poetry and not only are my students reading poetry, but they are writing it as well. And, since my students are writing it, I'm writing it to. Which is particularly fun because poetry is probably my weakest link by far in the realm of the written word, and if you know me at all (which you probably do if you're reading this) you know that I like nothing more than a challenge. So not only am I challenging myself (and my students) to write poetry, but I am challenging us to do it in Spanish.

The weird thing is I find it easier to write poetry in Spanish than in English. I have no idea why that is, except that perhaps I am less self conscious of my Spanish because it is my second language and I have lower expectations for myself. I will have to look into that more, but in the meantime I give you a poem I wrote today. The theme for the poems due today was "animals." If you don't speak (or more importantly read) Spanish, I apologize. I suppose you could always use google translate and see where that gets you.

Danza Mortal

Ojos ardientes de un fuego amarillo

Mirame a mi, que nunca canso de su brillo

Colmillos afilados, dagas de matanza

círculos con su presa, mortal es la danza

Baila lobo, baila

Mortal es la danza

baila por tu vida

por el círculo

y la matanza

baila por maravilla

baila lobo, baila

Nariz grabadora, mapa de la tierra

¿cómo huele el dolor, la tristeza o una sierra?

Cuerpo delgado, largo y alto

músculos diseñados por el correr y el asalto

Corre lobo, corre

corre y asalta

corre por tu vida

por tu cena

y sin falta

corre por maravilla

corre lobo, corre

Corazón de lobo, ¿quién lo tiene?

Fuera de los lobos, a nadie le viene

Espíritu de lobo, ¿alguien lo alcanza?

¿Alguien más se llama maestro de la caza?

Caza lobo, caza

eres maestro de la caza

caza por familia

por la cena

y por amenaza

caza por un venado

caza lobo, caza

Baila, corre, caza, no dejes que te persiguen

no pares de correr, hasta que terminen

Que terminen de temerte, y que dejen de matar

que bailes, corras y cazes en paz y sin fallar