A Week on the Road

This week of seminar travels took me to Calgary, Seattle, Portland and San José--all cool places with nice people and very receptive groups of participants...with one BIG exception! I got my first "1"! Someone obviously came to the conference expecting something entirely different than I had to offer. My guess is she didn't read the brochure, but a "1" out of "7" is way less than an "F" and is certainly a blow to the ego even with a couple hundred of 6's and 7's. I'm told it happens to everyone sometime....but I'd rather not repeat that humbling experience!

Airplane travel continues to be glamorous....not! Plane to Calgary delayed 45 minutes because they didn't have the right paperwork to enter Canada. Calgary to Seattle delayed over 2 hours due to mechanical problems and bringing in a replacement plane from Houston. Portland to San José actually OK, but San José to Chicago delayed because they again didn't have the right paperwork. If you're looking for a job, perhaps paper-organizer at United might be an available position.

We got to drive from Seattle to Portland and that was a treat. After three trips to Seattle I finally got to see terrific views of Mt.Ranier on a sunny afternoon. I was beginning to doubt that the mountain really existed! Also had a Starbucks in its hometown, saw green grass, budding trees, and lots of blooming bulbs. Must say I actually welcomed the watery eyes that for me accompany the blooming of Spring. We usually stay in a suburban area away from city centers, but we were right downtown Portland and enjoyed a balmy evening eating in a nice restaurant on the river edge. That evening made up for the peanut butter cracker dinner I had the next night!

The "foreign language teacher should know better" award goes to my presentation in Calgary. In an effort to have the participants do activities that will simulate how their students feel, I try to have challenging tasks for teachers to do. One involves flashcards with outline drawings of U.S. states on one side, state names on the other. This is very hard for U.S. participants as so many states look alike when all are pictured on the same size cards. Too bad I didn't think ahead that my Canadian participants would find this virtually impossible! I had to fall all over myself apologizing for that cultural gaffe...and they, fortunately, were forgiving!

Two new additions to my travel annoyances list: #1: too dark hotels. The hotel in San José was recently remodeled in "California style". Did you know that "California style" evidently means that the brightest light in the room is about 60% of what I need? It also means that you have to actually READ A MANUAL in order to learn how to turn the inadequate lights on and to work the alarm clock. That's fine, I guess, when you arrive in the day light hours. When you arrive late at night, you can't even find the manual in the dark, let alone read it! Good thing I was really too tired to read and that my cell phone is a reliable alarm clock.

Annoyance #2: The soggy airport sandwiches are wrapped in plastic, then hermetically sealed with an un-removable label. I guess it does provide entertainment to spend twenty minutes trying to get to the semi-disgusting sandwich within. I'm not so sure the middle seat occupant enjoyed the crinkles and bad words emanating from the window seat, however.

So, now I'm home for a whole month and will not be able to blame others for lousy food,
unpleasant surroundings, or unreliable transportation. Puts it all back in perspective when I again become the cook, cleaner, driver and organizer.........and I care a great deal more about Ken's ratings. Hope I can go back to getting the occasional "7" from him.