16 August, 2001

Where am I? Where was I?

I stand in my bedroom amongst the piles of wool socks, fleece jackets, down sleeping bag and parka. I am unpacking my ski bag and duffel bag. The thermometer outside reads 106 degrees. I am disoriented. Where am I? Where was I? Three days of travel, many thousands of miles and some 40 degrees of latitude later, I am home.

I can't believe I am here again. What once seemed like an interminable length of time away from home is over. Tomorrow I return to work. It is so odd to transition like this. I can't believe how fast the summer went or how much fun I had. I have so many to thank for this opportunity and experience. First, the TEA program managers for selecting me giving me the opportunity to parcticipate. Their preparation and support gave me the knowledge to know what I was getting into and the resources to draw upon to make it all work. Second, I'd like to thank Roger Bales and the team at the University of Arizona for taking on a teacher. Without the open mindedness of a group like this, teachers like myself wouldn't have these experiences to share with students and colleagues. Of this group, I have to thank Dee for three days of preparing me for the field and for packing and shipping all of our gear. Markus and Manuel deserve special thanks for their patience and for enduring my endless questions. Without their willingness to constantly explain what we were doing and why, it would have been "just a summer job". I'd also like to thank the National Science Foundation for funding this research and my piece of this trip through the TEA program. Thanks to all of you who read these journal entries and sent me email, it made it real to have an audience that I was writing for. And most especially, I want to thank my husband for once again, letting me travel and explore the world.

And one more thing...I plan to post a few more fun pictures and edit a few of the pages, so if you are interested, check again soon.

In the great white space where land and sky meet.