Tour de Kota

This June I plan to participate in the Tour de Kota, a bike tour through South Dakota. My sister and brother have done this for two years. Each time they have mentioned how fun it is. Well, I fianlly decided to give it a try. Having not been much of a bike rider in the past 10 years, I think it is going to be quite difficult. But I am going for it.

It begins in Vermillion and ends in Watertown. From the terrain and mileage maps available on the website, the ride appears to be on relatively rolling terrain. I have a feeling that I will feel like I am climbing Machu Picchu during the ride. At the end of the ride, I will return and report. Wish me luck.

Learning Spanish

In 1985 I went to Spain to study Spanish. I enjoyed my time touring a few countries in Europe before settling down to study in Salamanca, Spain. I loved walking to classes each morning, passing by Lladró shops, through the Plaza Mayor, past the cathedral, and ending up at the University of Salamanca. Nobody can forget the Plaza. The Plaza Mayor is a great place to sit and enjoy the sights, have a drink, chat with friends, read or whatever. The waiters never ask you to leave. What a great place to watch the world go by.

My Spanish was not very good at first, but over time I learned not to ask for jamón de polvo (powdered ham), but rather jabón de polvo (powdered soap). I wish I would have just learned how to say detergente (detergent). That would have saved me some embarrassment.

Lunch w/Team

After a dizzying morning at UEN learning more about Google, I had a nice lunch break with my team on campus. Between chatting and checking out the news on this awesome flat screen TV, I thought about how much fun it would be for principals and teachers to learn what I have learned today. Click here for the handouts on Google tools. If you love to learn like I do, you will find the handouts very helpful!

In addition to customizing my Google home page, I added some bookmarks to sites that I love such as Discovery News, NPR, CNN, and one almost everybody enjoys, National Geographic.