Dedications

One of my favorite things is book dedications and inscriptions. I love a good dedication--from simple ones like the fact that Vladimir Nabokov dedicated every book he wrote to his wife Vera, to more elegant ones like this CS Lewis one. I have a very small collection of used books that have inscriptions in them from other people. There are a couple that make my heart do a little flip from their sweetness & simplicity. One of my favorites is a book I ordered for a travel literature course I took a few years ago. It simply said, "From one world traveler to another." I love imagining the scenario behind the inscription. Was it a romantic gift? A gift from one friend to another? Or something written impulsively by the person giving up the book & meant for the next person that found it?

Double Duty

I'm pulling double duty for the next two weeks, and teaching for two program. I've been teaching for my gifted and talented high school students for the past four weeks, but now I'm also teaching for a program for Chinese high school students. I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the past few days, but I'm loving the experience of teaching courses that are new to me. It also means that I'm putting in 12+ hours days between teaching, transportation, logistics and lesson planning.

In the meantime, my stepfather was bitten by an alligator this weekend, so there's that.

Russia: What to Know Before You Go

The first in my three part series on traveling to Russia is up on The Lost Girls. I'm so excited to have this article out there. It makes me miss Russia something fierce.