Getting the education you want

Sunday we took a late afternoon ride in the boat. There is just no way a photo (one that I take) can capture the beauty of Loreto Bay at sunset. Robert and I try to walk every evening at sunset along the golf course, just like at home, but here the scenery is much better. There's a hole that is perched in a hillside with picture perfect views to the ocean on one side; the mountains on the other. We always stop there for a moment to take it all in. Robert stands on the bluff surveying the ocean: I sit on the turf mesmerized by the variations of shadow and light the setting sun throws on the mountains. Again, another example of how differently two people look at the world. Once I sputtered, "Stop looking at that ocean and look at this!"

It's really perfect here now; the days are warm and getting warmer. Many folks are readying to leave for the summer. We too, want to get out before it gets too hot, but then if you do, you miss a lot of what the Sea of Cortez has to offer. The sea gets warmer and more inviting. Snorkeling and scuba diving become enticing again. All attention goes to the water for relief and recreation.

We decided after the long spring break followed by two more weeks off for fear of swine flu (there was none), to home-school Allison. The Ford family has joined us in creating our own "school" with Natalia acting as schoolmistress. For three hours she teaches math and Spanish (totally in Spanish) then Lynda and I follow with other subjects. I've donned myself head of the history department. My lessons will follow the early history of Mexico, or Mesoamerica, starting with a fascinating ancient civilization, the Olmecs, a culture that carved those colossal stone heads, and ending with the Spanish conquest. I am currently obsessed with researching material to offer the kids, a challenging task as there are no Borders Books and swanky libraries here in Loreto. We manage to get by with a lot of help from internet downloads and Youtube videos. Natalia is going to La Paz this weekend: maybe she'll have luck finding some appropriate reading material.

Again, my hope is to eventually start a school in Loreto Bay, or at least create a space for a learning center. We could pool our resources, adding materials as we go until we have our own "library" and workshop. Until then, we are doing fine with what we have. In many ways it is the ideal situation: we create the education we want.