Momma Carter at 12 weeks

Here she is...

Twelve weeks have past & we are into our second trimester.

Isla Gorgona Pics

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: Our crew taking the two hour boat ride to the island. It was calm and sunny on the way out & stormy and bumpy on the way back. 15 of us about to take the prison tour. Paula & I enjoying a coconut on the beach. Two students experiencing the infirmary.

Isla Gorgona

I wrote this blog already once & it disappeared on the internet highway. It was a good blog too. However, I am not the type of writer to pound it out again, especially when it is a long one at that. So here is the recap of the writing you never read.

I just returned from my Classroom Without Walls trip, which was to the Pacific Island of Gorgona. Gorgona is:

1) ...named after Gorgon, the sister of Medusa, from Greek Mythology who had snakes for hair.
2) ...loaded with 15 varieties of snakes (including an aggressive Boa Constrictor).
3) ...home to a natural shark birthing place.
4) ...a pit stop for whales migrating to wherever they go.
5) ...home to monkeys (cute) and rats (keep the snakes alive).
6) ...a 150,000 acres of untouched, natural wilderness that few people ever visit.
7) ...known as the Alcatraz in Colombia because is once housed a prison that only man ever escaped from only to brag about it to a former guard and was sent back.


I organized for forty students & two other sponsors to go there for a week for hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and diving. We had a blast & enjoyed ourselves. I would definitely go back. See the pictures above for a taste of Isla Gorgona.

School Again

Wow, school has started again, and it is tough to get up so early in the morning.

Liz is busy with heading up the Math Department & training two new teachers to the Connected Math program. She put off grading semester exams until after break. Now she is having to catch-up with grading, lesson-planning, & training. She is one busy woman. However, I must note that she is relatively calm and not letting the stress get to her.

I, myself, am having fun as I finish up with one group of Chemistry students & preparing for my next group of students, which will include a group of History students. I am also in the finishing touches for my Gorgona trip with forty students. We will leave in two Sundays for this Pacific Island where we will learn oceanography, environmental science, geography, history, & social science. Oh, and we will be going on a couple of dives too! Thanks to my brother back in Michigan, I have a wet-suit to break in. It should be fun. Hopefully, I will be able to email & blog while I am there on my trip. But, this is Colombia, & you never know where technology is and is not found.

FYI- Liz & I are facing a few decisions soon. If you remember, please pray for wisdom and guidance for us in this time.

We're Back!

We had a very unique Holiday season this year, sparked by the early birth of Noah, that changed Christmas party plans, going-away party plans, end of school/exam plans, etc. But all in all, it was a wonderful Christmas-time because of the wonderful birth of his new life. We ended up still having our party (picture at left), and going on a tour of Bogota to see Christmas lights, getting to spend time with our friends' families that were visitng Bogota, and then getting to go to visit Liz's family for a quick, but fun time.

Now, we have returned safely to the wonderful Andes Mountains. This semester will bring its new challenges, and we are sure be quite hectic...but we look forward to it:). School, for us, starts on the 9th. Alan will be going on a school trip on January 20th to Gorgona and Liz will be going on her class trip in Mid-February.

So, we will have more to say soon. We hope that each of you had a wonderful Holiday season celebrating with family and friends. We hope for you the happiest of New Year's filled with new and exciting adventures.