Travel Costs

I tried to get my malaria medication filled today.  The wonderful pharmacist (who I happened to grow up next to) was kind enough to call my mom and tell her that 101 days worth of "Malarone" would cost approximately $800.00!  

The health care system is giving me a headache, and I am not even sick.

Love you all.

Maureen

Book list...

If you have any suggestions of books that I can take to Ghana with me, I would truly appreciate it.  I am looking for reading that will enhance my journey and keep me grounded.  

Let me know!

Maureen

Less than a month...

The time is just flying by.  Student teaching is almost over, college is coming to a close, and my sojourn to Africa is quickly approaching.  It is less than a month away, in fact.  I am trying to balance becoming an excellent teacher and preparing for the trip of my life all at once.  Also on the agenda is seeing everyone I love before I leave.  This is the one that is actually causing me the most anxiety right now.  I am so afraid that I am going to run out of time, and not get to see some important people before I leave.  

I am so grateful for my family, who is not only funding this incredible trip, but are completely supporting me through this last stint of college.  It would be such a huge burden to have to work a job all while teaching 5 days a week.  How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing support system?  

As my trip creeps closer and closer, this is a thought that seems to be invading my brain.  How did I get so lucky?  Between the friends, the family, the support, my health, my education.  When you begin to think about the family that you are born into, the country and state and city that you are born, the home and the school system that you are plopped into, the well being of the body that you are inhabiting...it is all luck.  I have really been embracing this idea, and trying to be very thankful for my complete and utter luck in life.  I want to use my luck to better those who may have not always had this luck on their side.  I want to share the love, and the luck.

On another note, I am really excited for my three day school week next week!  I have a friend who is a very talented magician, and he is coming in to one of my classes to put on a show for them.  I am so excited to introduce my students to magic.  It is something that many of them have never had the opportunity to witness, and believe me, some of these middle school kids need a little bit of fun and imagination in their lives.  It is incredible to see how quickly kids are being forced to grow up.  Students who are already working jobs to help support their families, or missing school so that they can babysit their infant siblings while their single parent works a double shift.  I hope that they enjoy this opportunity to be a kid again.

Please bookmark this blog so that you can follow me on my adventures!

I love you/life!

Maureen

On Substitute Teachers

Today, I gained a whole new respect for substitute teachers.  The agony that students put them through is unbelievable!  Middle school is difficult enough, but to be the new teacher in town, whew.  The combination of a sub who does nothing but sit in the back of a room and a student teacher who is new and just beginning to form relationships with and gain the trust of middle school students seemed to be detrimental.  It did not work.  However, it was very interesting to watch what happens to students when the teacher is not in school.  As a student, you don't get that perspective, because you are the perpetrator.  As a teacher, you don't get the perspective because you are not there, hence the sub.  As the student teacher, I got to witness the very swift transformation of model students transforming into out of control, disruptive, and disrespectful children.  Everyday cannot be good in the world of education.  Lets hope that with the return of the teacher tomorrow, I will have my model students back.

The most amazing thing about all of his is, that no matter how bad today was, at the end of it, I still love my job and my life.  I guess that's how you know that you have found your passion.

Love,

Maureen

Trip to Ghana

While I may not be the most literate blogger, my purpose here is to keep anyone in the world interested in reading updated on my adventure in Ghana.  I will be spending 14 weeks in the Volta Region volunteering with Cross Cultural Solutions and traveling with my mom.  What a wonderful adventure (and a way to prolong getting a real job).  

I will be graduating with my Bachelors degree in Special Education from the University of Akron in December, and then heading away.  

I am a lover, not a hater.

I am a Vegan, which means I don’t eat, wear, or use any animal products or anything tested on animals. Yes, that means no meat, no poultry, no fish, no eggs, no cheese, no milk, no butter, no fur, no leather…you get the point. I cannot give you just one reason for me being vegan. I do it for the animals, I do it for the earth, I do it for the economy and the people who are starving in the world, and I do it for peace of mind. If you want to know more, I love to talk.

I am a special education major at the University of Akron. I have a passion for kids and adults with special needs, and a real soft spot in my heart for those with Down Syndrome.

I love my family and my friends more than anything. They have given me the world.

I am also an anti-war activist. I volunteer for an organization called the American Friends Service Committee. I helped to create and run an Ohio wide exhibit which demonstrates the human cost of war. It displays combat boots for every Ohio soldier who has been killed in the Iraq war, and has civilian shoes which represent the Iraqi civilians who have been killed due to the war and occupation. I also started a counter-recruitment program, in which I tryed to reveal some of the lies and deception that the military recruiters feed our young and vulnerable people to convince them that the military is the best choice for them. I do not tell them not to join, but I encourage them to explore ALL of their options, and I reveal to them the truths about the military. I just recently created a book that is now in print that provides hundreds of resources for scholarships, internships, apprenticeships, skills training, financial aid, and more that youth can use to fulfill their goals using peaceful alternatives.

I am a humanist, rather than a feminist.

I LOVE life! 

I love photography, but I try to remember to put the camera down and observe through my own lenses.

I do not like war, killing, people who use the word “hate”, sexism, racism, homophobia, and the like. I get angry when people use the word “gay” as a bad thing or in a derogatory way. I feel discouraged when people give up hope and feel helpless. 

We are the people who will change the world. No matter how powerful or how weak you are, you can make the difference.

I believe in the hudredth monkey theory, which states that once enough people know something, it becomes common knowledge. Educate, educate, educate. Anything you stand for, teach people. Don’t try to change people, just teach them. There is no excuse for ignorance in this very empowered world.

Find your passion. Live for your passions. Thrive on your passions. These are the things that will pick you up when you are down, will push you forward when you have hit a wall, and show you goodness when all you see is hate and corruption.