March 5, 2013

Spent a very quiet day at home working on the presentation on using humor in the classroom that I plan on offering to the teachers at the conference in Shymkent, KZ. Holly has asked me to be the keynote speaker as she had been asked to do the honors, but felt she lacked sufficient experience in the field to do so. I’m going to be on pins and needles until I do deliver that speech.

When I submitted a tentative request for airfare to fly into Almaty this time, instead of taking the minibus and having to wait for hours on either side of the border, Jennifer replied encouraging me to go by land once again. She also wanted to know how much money I had left of my PAA most likely to consider asking me to cover my expenses to the CATEC conference come June.

I got an email from my friend Stephanie indicating she’d be undergoing a surgical procedure on the 12^th, but refusing to say what it was for. I’m hoping her niece can send me a note that day letting me know it was successful.

I sent Elvira a note asking her if the American Studies Association would consider a presentation on the contribution of Hispanics to the U.S. culture for their conference in May. I don’t believe they know much about us and I’d love to enlighten them a bit if possible. It’d also save me from having to create yet another presentation.

I spent the evening watching a two-and-half hour long documentary on the Rockefeller family originally aired through the History Channel. It was most informative even when I felt it didn’t really provide all the details on the ruthless ways the family employed to accumulate their billions. The suffering of the people who worked for them, and the raping of the land to make their industry flourish were simply airbrushed.