Posts In Category Summer
Crocheting Goals
on June 25, 2011 by Laura in Summer, Comments (0)
A couple of weeks ago, I substituted for a summer school teacher. Exploration Academy teaches elementary students about various subjects not traditionally taught at school. In this case, I substituted for the crocheting teacher.
The class was filled with students, the majority of whom were in 4th grade with a smattering of 2nd, 3rd, and 5th graders. There were two boys and fifteen girls. This was the third year of crochet class for one girl; she was working on a set of accessories, specifically a hat. The other students were working according to their skills.
I sat next to this sweet little girl, Kim. She was in second grade and she’d brought her own yarn: Simply Soft in red. She was diligently crocheting chains of various lengths. She was proud of her chains. She showed me the chain length which would be a necklace, the chain length which would be a bracelet, the chain length which would be a ring, and the chain length that she was working on would be a belt. She was crocheting the set for her sister; she wondered if she could crochet earrings. As she showed off her work, she’d stop occasionally to pet her yarn skein. “It’s so soft,” she’d exclaim.
She described her goals: Kim wanted to make necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces of yarn chain jewelry to match all of her outfits. She spoke of how jealous her friends would be when she went to 3rd grade, fully-accessorized in crocheted jewelry. Some of her friends, she informed me, would receive their own jewelry.
Last night, I talked to the teacher about the child. The teacher had received a phone call from Kim’s mother. Kim’s mother wanted Kim to create projects, lengths of chain were insufficiently goal-oriented. Her mother was dissatisfied with Kim’s imaginative jewelry; she wanted more….
More from a third-grader… Kim loved the work she’d done but her mother wanted more. Kim was proud of her success (which was quite appropriate for her age–she created beautiful chains) but her mother wanted more. Her mother wanted a goal-oriented child. She wanted her daughter to achieve.
I wonder if Kim knows that her mother was dissatisfied with her work. I hope not. I hate to think of that sunny personality being smothered by goals at age 8.
Walking San Francisco: The Civic Center Tour
on August 9, 2010 by Laura in Summer, Volksmarching and Walking, Comments (0)
Beaux Arts Beauties and Cathedrals of Culture
Rating: Easy
Length: 1 mile
BART Stop: Civic Center
I followed the crowd crossing the street. I ended up on the library side of the street. The
library is a huge, oddly-laid out building. The library stairs were littered by locals eating
lunch, visitors, and the homeless taking a nap. It was a relief to enter air-conditioned air
after all the smells of urine on the library steps. Not every floor is easily accessible. I had
to study the library maps. I ended up outside twice to get to a different floor but the geometric skylight is amazing.
The Friends of the Library hold a sidewalk sale on Wednesdays. I didn’t have the luggage space to haul books back with me to Texas. Otherwise I’d have saved a bundle on my favorite authors.
Limited by luggage, time, and money, I circled the Main Library to take a gander at the Pioneer Monument in lieu of building my home library.
Although the tourbook recommended a visit to the Asian Art Museum, odd sounds lured me to cross the street the other direction. Cheers. Groans. Ululating. What was going on?
Passing a huge statue pitching an exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, I drew nearer to the sounds but still couldn’t figure out what was going on. There was a huge crowd. There were vans for catering and for sound systems. I could see the top edges of two large screens but a tall man blocked my view of the screens. (It’s not easy being short!) Maneuvering to a place under the trees, I was finally able to figure out what was going on: the World Soccer Games were being broadcast on the Civic Center Plaza temporary screens.
Uninterested in soccer, I crossed the street to City Hall where I was greeted by temporary construction barriers. I rounded the building. According to the guidebook, I was across the street from the War Memorial Veterans Building.
For some strange reason, the War Memorial Veterans Building houses the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery which houses free exhibitions of contemporary artists. Entry is free! In I went to find the “Now and Then” Exhibit featuring works reflecting the history of San Francisco. It was an interesting and thought-provoking exhibit.
The curator recommended that I check out the interior of City Hall. She showed me where I could enter, bypassing all the construction barriers. I decided to follow her advice after I had looked at the Symphony Hall. The guidebook said that the Symphony Hall was grand at night. During the day, it’s still impressive.
Crossing back to City Hall, I was able to enter after going through security. I passed by
several couples in white, preparing to be married at city hall. Children’s art decorated the
foyer. Children ran up and down the stairs and couples posed for wedding photos. It was a lively city hall!
I couldn’t exactly follow the directions of the guidebook because of the construction. It took me a while to find my way to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. I wasn’t very impressed although I did see my first city public toilet across the street.
I was lost. I kind of knew the direction I needed to head to find the Civic Center Bart Station
but I would have to retrace my steps to find my way again. As I retraced, I happened upon a small “green” art gallery not mentioned in my guidebook. All the art in the gallery consisted of recycled and re-used “findings”. It was nice. It was free. And I’ll probably never be able to find that art gallery again.
I headed home to my hotel, sure that my explorations had resulted in my walking more than the mile stated in my guidebook.
San Francisco: United Nations Plaza
on by Laura in Summer, Volksmarching and Walking, Comments (0)
I had selected the Civic Center Walking tour because the Farmers Market at the United Nations Plaza occurs on Wednesdays and Sundays. I’d be visiting friends on Sunday so my only chance to experience the Farmers Market would be on Wednesday.
The smell of urine was startling. I passed my first two street performers as I headed towards the stairs leading up to the sunlit plaza from the dark cave of the BART: Civic Center Station. One street performer tortured the red violin each time he scritched the bow across the untuned strings; the other recited prayers. Both had begging bowls prominently displayed.
As I left the station, my ears were greeted by classic rock. To the right, sitting in a circle monument was another street performer but this guy had talent! I listened to him as I surveyed the Farmers Market.
Delicate white orchids in pots, freshly cut flowers in bundles, plums, peaches, apricots, home-grown honey in jars and straws, deep red cherries, artisan bread, fresh herbs, almonds, bright-eyed fish on ice and more were displayed prominantly in white and blue tarp-covered stalls where vendors offered free tastings of their wares. Well, except for the fish.
I’d skipped breakfast. It was 11AM, California-time; it was 1PM, Texas-time. I was hungry. I bought three ripe red plums. Freshly prepared food stands sat at the of the food market. I bought one spinach-and-cheese tamal and pork tamal. Lunch-time!
Behind the food stalls was a chained off-space filled with other munchers, watched by eager pigeons. Two officers patrolled the Farmers Market; smiling street cleaners patrolled the streets; homeless men muttered to themselves; office workers stood in line at the food booths; a four-year old girl in a pink dress tried to feed the pigeons her popcorn. We all enjoyed the sunshine, the food, and the company.
Fortified, I was ready to begin my walking tour. I got out my tourbooks and studied the maps. I oriented myself and headed towards the Main Library and the Asian Art Museum.
San Francisco: Getting to United Nations Plaza
on by Laura in Summer, Volksmarching and Walking, Comments (1)
Goal: The Civic Center Station
Wednesday was my first full day in San Francisco and I was on my own. My friends were all at work (as I knew they’d be) but I was empowered by two guidebooks and the BART train schedule. My hotel was a few blocks from the BART: Colma Station. It was a bright sunny day (little did I know at the time how rare that would be!) and I was determined to conquer the BART.
The walkway to Colma Station had been pointed out to me when I was picked up at SFO Airport the night before. It was down the hill and across the street. At night, it could easily be seen as a wide passage between two lit buildings. During the day, it was not so well lit although easily visible. The path to the station was lined with trees. The stairs were bordered by tall trees and overhung with bright orange flowers.
One of the first things to surprise me was that the pedestrian crossing buttons at the street corners actually work. They don’t always work here but San Francisco is a pedestrian’s city. The lights provide enough time for a normally-abled person to make it across the street. They flash when the time is running out (the downtown street crossing lights even countdown time before it becomes dangerous to cross the street).
As I entered the Colma Station, I noticed the smell immediately. A lot of the San Francisco I visited smelled of urine because of the large homeless population attracted to the temperate climate. Signs to the left and right pointed to machines to buy tickets for the BART and MUNI. Ahead of me were stairs that I later learned led to short-term parking. An attendant sat in a glass cage with sign prominently displayed: Attendant has no cash.
I had no idea how much to spend for the train. How much would it cost to travel San Francisco for 6 days? The signs indicated that cards were reloadable so I put in $20. Surely that would keep me busy for at least a day!
Colma Station is pretty close to the end of the line. There were train platforms on either side. One side led into the city; the other led towards SFO. My goal was downtown.
The trains of San Francisco are loud! Why didn’t anyone warn me? Doesn’t anyone measure those things with decibabl meters? Aren’t there noise laws?
How would I know which station to get off? The station signs aren’t easy to see unless you already know what you’re looking for. (Another thing I learned as I explored San Francisco was that San Francisco is not easy to navigate unless you already know what you’re looking for.) Some of the trains have conductors who announce the stops. Some of the trains have conductors who speak loudly enough for passengers to hear the stop announcements. If you ask someone who looks like a native (look for a long scarf), the natives are kind to visitors and will answer questions and provide guidance. questions.
By following the stops outlined on the train schedule, I was able to disembark at the Civic Center station. Time to start exploring!
On the Way to San Francisco
on July 15, 2010 by Laura in Summer, Comments (3)
Airline: Southwest @ Love Field in Dallas
Departure Time: 7:30PM
Arrival Time: 11:30PM
Total Flight Time: 5 hours
Stops: 2
- Departure - It’s been almost 10 years since the last time I flew. I was nervous. As the plane taxied down the runway, plane crash statistics ran through my head: 20% of plane crashes occur during take-off and the initial climb; 30% of fatalities occur during the take-off and the initial climb. I was grateful for the rosary in my bag.
- Dallas to Albuquerque – I had been in Boarding Group B which means I ended up in the middle seat. For us it was a smooth flight although I could see we were flying over a sheet of ominous clouds. I listened to my iPod over my Bose QuietComfort2 noise canceling headphones. We landed late due to “weather in Denver.” Flights from Denver had been diverted to Albuquerque (I just know those passengers were happy!) which meant the airport was receiving more planes than they knew what to do with. As we headed towards a gate, we were stopped by a stream of emergency vehicles. The sun set.
- Albuquerque to Las Vegas – With her cell phone battery running on low, my seatmate got talkative; she was unable to text as much as she had on the previous leg of the trip. She showed me (nude) pictures of her two boyfriends, one of whom she was going to Vegas to visit for a month. Apparently, all of her travels had been funded by various boyfriends. She had been to Niagara, Brazil, and all over the US, with a different boyfriend for each trip. As we neared Las Vegas, we became aware of the lights of the city. We tried to pick out the Strip amongst all those lights. The entire time, though, I was aware of the looming mountains and the darkness of the night. I thought of the book Alive.
- Las Vegas to San Francisco – We made up about 5 minutes on this leg of the trip. It was a smooth flight. We flew over lots of plots of lights but it was flying over the San Matteo bridge which marked our destination. We were in San Francisco air space and we were flying over water for the first time in our journey. All of the sudden, I found myself wondering about flotation devices: Are our seats still flotation devices in case of a water landing?
- Arrival - We arrived on time which meant it was 1:30AM my time. I should have been tired but I wasn’t. I was too excited. I was also relieved to see my friend waiting for me at the gate. My nightmares had included being left alone to figure my way to the hotel. I would be staying on the border of Daly City and Colma. As we drove to the hotel, I had to wonder, ‘Why are we passing so many mortuaries?’
Note: As I type this, PBS is running an Independent Lens episode: “Stranded: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors”.
