A Conference with Class

Today I had the rare opportunity, in fact the first of its kind, to attend a professional development conference and take the day off from school. I left plans and hand-outs with my support teacher yesterday afternoon and this morning headed downtown to NYU for the Second Annual Dual Language Spring Symposium. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the speakers and presentations. I learned much about the field of dual language and multi-language instruction. I also got to pick up a bunch of free stuff, books, catalogues, CDs, pens, bookmarks, from publishing vendors. Best of all, I struck up a conversation with a young woman in one of the workshops and ended up exchanging phone numbers and email addresses. I feel this connection has the potential for professional as well as personal growth. Meghan is a Spanish teacher in Brooklyn and recently married a Chilean architect whom she had met while teaching English in Santiago. She is also thinking about changing schools and I, fortunately, know of a place where she would fit in very well - MS 328, my school! Needless to say, I am very grateful for the time off and the resources and knowledge I gained from this day.
Tomorrow I'll be hosting a dinner party for all the Teach For America teachers at my school so I'll spend the evening preparing for that. I've decided on an Arizona themed meal with my mother's classic Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Cowboy Caviar for appetizer, and possibly flan for dessert.
Musheer actually cleaned my apartment extensively while he was here last (scrubbing the kitchen and bathroom floor, installing a new overhead bathroom light, and scouring the entire bathroom) so my home will be much more welcoming for my guests. By the way, he did all of this as a surprise while I was at school; he is absolutely wonderful.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I got a new digital camera. I'll try to take some pictures at the dinner and put them up. The ones of Musheer and me were taken last Thursday evening at 9:30 after choir rehearsal. We both look a bit tired, but I still think they're worth sharing. My friend Karen had her boyfriend David take about fifty shots of us. It so nice to have good friends and to make new ones.