Blogs from North America - page 9715

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Recently, I found this old picture in a family photo album. "Winter 1979" was scrawled on the back. It made me wish life moved a little more Despacito.... When I first saw it, I was instantly teleported back in time when Los Cabos was nothing but sand dunes & sea. Off in the distance, you can make out the rock formation that’s called Lands End. The sleepy fishing pueblo of Cabo San Lucas barely existed. Nowadays, this same spot is covered in multimillion dollar resorts, and all the chaos that comes with that. My attempt to get an “after” comparison photo foiled by looming concrete walls and vigilant security. I wrote a little information on the back of this picture before I tucked it away back in the album to be stored away and forgotten. Maybe ... read more

Moving back to the States this time we experienced the worst culture shock ever; nothing like going from the States to Thailand. For one, when I came home from work the first evening and asked Linda “Hi, honey, what’s for supper?” she answered “Nothing, YOU fired the cook.” Secondly, although I was soon promoted to GS-12 my paycheck was effectively reduced by 40% or more as I no longer received a housing allowance that paid for rent and utilities, a 25% cost of living allowance that reflected the extra cost of living at U.S. standards in Thailand, and hardship pay for working in a remote dangerous place. Meanwhile, the cost of living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area was much higher than Thailand. So we even had to budget for the laundromat. We rented a one ... read more

Day 1 9/13/74 - Friday Patricia Dorsey Murphy - age 39 Atlanta Airport Weather is overcast, mild humid Finally took off at 6:15, cruising speed at 37k ft. Dianne and I are in the mid section, on wing. Daddy and Ma right behind us. Richard, Pam, Terry, Dale and Ricky saw us off. We'll fly over Spartanburg, SC, VA, Atlantic City, NJ, etc. Had chicken breast for dinner. Dianne and I played poker, we're even so far. Arr NY city 8:10 PM Dark outside called Anancias. Di and I walked all over Pan AM building…went to roof top to see skyline. (Took Butch and things over to GA Tech yesterday and got him set up. His birthday is today 9/13/74. 18 years old.) Dianne Dorsey Parker Gilbreath - age 37 Place: Plane in Atlanta, GA - ... read more

Diary 19720803 This was the last day for our “groups” so we had to evaluate. Mostly we just sat around and talked about ridiculous things we had said or done. Evan tried to get a political discussion going, and as soon as he did, he retired to discuss music or something The afternoon was supposed to be spent in the resource centre but everyone is getting tired of the heavy schedule of study. I went for a while and saw several good films, but most I played volley ball. 19720804 We had “professional” groups today for the first time. These are designed to help those of us who are inexperienced to learn how to teach and also to help everyone adjust to teaching in West Africa. For instance, French teachers must be aware of all the ... read more