Itzhak Perlman

Last night I wrote about the incredible, 4-D concert Nate, John, and I attended at the outdoor Mann Center. Well, John informed me that the violinist we heard play was none other than the world-renown Itzhak Perlman, whom you can read about here, and here, and here! It makes you wonder who else you might encounter in a day and never realize it!

Concert in the rain

What a night! My friend John Jackson from Liberti had a few extra tickets tonight to an outdoor concert at Philadelphia's acclaimed Mann Center out in Fairmount Park. Nate and I met up with him and enjoyed a good two hours of beautiful music. There was a Russion violinist who played like he was born with a violin on his shoulder. Notes just SANG from his instrument. I wish I could remember his name....it started with an I.

The heat was pretty rough at first (it's been mid to upper 90s all week), but it cooled down as the night progressed. Soon we found out why: after intermission, we started seeing lightning. When the last piece was being played, it got more intense. As the music crecendoed, so did the weather! The wind picked up as the tempo did. By the end of the piece, we finally had rain. Some people had already left for their cars, yet most remained to applaud the performers. We took off after the last note, for the rain started POURING down on us. We tossed the two blankets on our backs and charged ahead, laughing at our highly enjoyable situation. It was a memorable night--one I'd enjoy living again.

One thing I wondered about before and during the performance was the tuning of the instruments. I know how sensitive they can be, and with all the humidity in the air, I figured it would affect them over the course of a while piece! As predicted, the whole orchestra tuned after each song to ensure they were all on the same pitch. Amazing how much of a difference the atmosphere can make!

I performed my duties as an America today: I shopped. And I shopped. I had to run some errands, and I ended up spending some good money! Here are a few things I bought: a case for my new 4GB silver iPod Nano (I bought it two weeks ago refurbished online for a great deal), some magazine holders from IKEA (hey, when they're $.25 for two of 'em, you can't pass that up!), a sleeping bag (since my parents took the one I lent them back to Michigan), and a U-lock (Sarah's had disappeared, so I lent her mine and my keys. unfortunately, I didnt' get them back before she left, and I wanted to have a lock to use on my bike!). I also got a bike helmet online, which I expect to get reimbursed for from my health insurance company; they promise to pay you up to $25 for a helmet every 365 calendar days!

Here's a picture of my new iPod in its silicon case:


Seth came back from Indiana today, a day early. Murphy and I are both glad to see him. It can get rough when your girlfriend and roommate both leave at the same time! Fortunately, I've been busy enough as it is. This weekend doesn't look to be slowing down either...summer is officially here!

You can get this for free??

One of my favorite websites has a great posting of things you can get for free...including CPR certification, MIT classes, language lessons, and computer classes. Check it out.

Back at camp

This weekend I went to a leadership summit/running camp with my kids from Students Run Philly Style. About 100 students and leaders from all over Philadelphia drove an hour north of the city to Briarwood Day Camp. Most of the kids had never been to a camp before, much less an overnight one! Several of them were saying they had never left Philly before...so to spend a weekend in the woods was quite the change for them! Despite that, the kids responded so well to everything. The directors said that we were their best group they'd ever had! There weren't any fights and very little bickering. Everyone encouraged each other and stepped up to the expectations of leadership the counselors gave them.


Can you pick me out? (hint: front middle...the white dude with the red bandanna)


Personally, it was a little more difficult than usual. I'm used to Geneva, where there's a rock star feeling with elementary kids. At the summit this weekend, there were all middle and high schoolers. I was nervous about connecting with them, but it all ended up working out. You show kids respect, and they'll show it right back to you.


There sure is a difference between kids from Western Michigan and West Philly. For one, as soon as I had my bandanna on, I had several kids ask me if I was a blood. "A what??" I responded several times. Soon I learned that there's a gang that wears blood red bandanna just like that. Oh well...at least I'm adapting to the culture!

These are the fearless counselors. I'm excited about running in races and knowing several other leaders and more kids. Now I can cheer for specific students instead of simply "go students!".

Seth left this morning for Indiana for a photography gig. That leaves Murphy and me here alone! So far, so good. I was able to get a bunch of random things done today and try to catch up on the e-mails and other business I missed while away. You know, it's good to be missed, but sometimes........

I managed to snag 35 cents on the sidewalk last night while walking around town with John, Seth, Kallie, Jeremy, Casey, Melanie, and Christian. They made dinner and let me join them after I finished my final Walden paper for my third class (only 14 months left now!). I made cwaffles a la mode with ice cream, and we had to take a walk to get the calories burning again. John and Seth were in prime picture taking mode, as shown here by this creative picture:


With Sarah on vacation with her sisters, I find myself missing her more than usual when she's simply across town. It looks like we'll have to survive two weeks without seeing each other; good thing we had practice all last year! God has ways of reminding us how good we have it.

I'm a 5th grade teacher!

What a week! My family and I toured Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore's Ft. McHenry for the last few days. They left yesterday back for Michigan, and I'm leaving in an hour for running camp with my middle schoolers for the weekend. Busy busy busy!

Spruce Hill offered me a job as 5th grade teacher, and while we were at Ft. McHenry, I accepted it! It was hard to tell my principal I was leaving, but she understood (although she did say "Geeze...Dang," which is pretty strong for a nun). I have to attend several weeks of training for their curriculum over the summer, which knocks me out of summer school availability too.

Sarah is moving to her new apartment on Fairmount this week. We've been emptying dressers and drawers, stuffing LARGE books into suitcases and such today. The real move will happen tonight and tomorrow when I'm at camp (it's a coincidence I swear! I'd WAY rather help her move than run around at camp with middle schoolers...).

There are a ton of pictures I want to post, but it'll have to wait until after this weekend. What a start to summer!

De Boers visit the White House

My family safely arrived in Philly Saturday afternoon. They were a little behind schedule due to some unforeseen delays, but they made it! Sarah and I gave them the grand tour of our respective apartments. We toured Eastern State Penitentiary, which was a great time.

Yesterday we visited my friend Matt Adkins in DC. Matt works in the Human Resources department at the White House, and he gave us a personal tour of the West Wing. We saw the Oval Office, meeting rooms, and other neat locations. Plenty of stories about the President, too. Here's a picture of us in the Rose Garden



Today is International Panic Day, which is ironic since she's taking her board exams tomorrow. =)

Graduation, good-byes, and a job offer

This week was our last week of the 2006-2007 school year. It was a busy one for me, filled with random events, graduation ceremonies (unlike most teachers, I need to attend both schools'!), awards, organizing, and computer formatting. I had thought I'd have some extra time to finish things up, but I didn't get that luxury. My computer had given me a few strange messages, so I decided it was time for the yearly format--wiping the hard drive clean and starting from scratch, with a complete system backup of documents/e-mails/music/pictures beforehand, of course! It's running smoothly now, and I couldn't be happier with it.


Graduation for 8th graders and the award ceremonies for both schools were beautiful. The kids were well behaved, parents were (finally) present, and the whole experience had a nice presentation. This week has really made me start questioning if I want to leave my current job...funny how a week without teaching can help you forget the hard times. Here's me with a graduating 8th grader who mentioned me in his speech:



Thursday afternoon I received a voice mail from Spruce Hill offering me the position as 5th grade teacher! Surprisingly, I felt a little down for the next while. As I reflect on it now, I think it's because I finally knew I would be leaving OMS/SI and all the kids and faculty there. There were other people interviewing for the position at Spruce Hill, and I never let myself think the job was mine until it was offered to me. The headmaster is going to call me on Monday to discuss salary and benefits with me. I expect to ask some questions and let him know by Tuesday or Wednesday. A few days later, I'm a lot more excited about the position. I'm still scared about the work load and a new situation, but God has only shown me wide-open doors in this situation, and I don't expect Him to start slamming them shut now.

Due to a late start and less-than-perfect health, my family didn't make it all the way to Philadelphia yesterday. They took a pit stop in mid-Pennsylvania and hope to make it here by noon. I can't wait to introduce them to people here! Although my natural reaction is to try and impress them (which, quite honestly, will be hard to do), I've decided my goal is to show them the beauty here--in the people, the places, and the culture. Let it be.