Balloon Fiesta!

 Time sure does fly when you're having fun.   I am so happy here and loving every moment but I'll admit it, I do miss my friends and family.  I think with all the holidays approaching, it's got me thinking about everyone back home.  This will be my first Thanksgiving (and hopefully last) away from family.  I will be thinking of ya!  All the ladies I work with at the Child Development Center are having a potluck Thanksgiving Dinner which they graciously invited me to so I will have a nice dinner to enjoy with good people.  Work has been going well.  I feel pretty confident in how the CDC operates and have had a chance to experience each postition along with the duties and responsibilities each entails.  Having spent time in each area of the Child and Youth Programs, I still feel that the classroom is where I fit best.  Next step is earning my teaching certification.  I had a talk with my mentor about my future goals and she gave me some worthwhile advice about some ways to get certified.  So there are some alternative options I am considering that will get me in the classroom sooner, giving me more experience overall, and increasing my competitiveness and qualifications to teach for Dodds (Department of Defense Dependent Schools) or anywhere I'd find really.  I'm excited to see what the future holds.

After lots of planning and coordinating, we had our CYP Thanksgiving Dinner this weekend as a way to show thanks and appreciation for family involvement in the program.  With little time to plan and register families, we ended up having an attendance of about 180 people.  Keslie and I planned the menu, worked with marketing to advertise the event, coordinated the entertainment, scheduled, planned, and ran a practice for the entertainment, decorated the banquet room, and worked out all the little things in between.  I was anxious to see how it would all turn out and pleased to say it went really well!  Besides some technical difficulties, everything ran smoothly, we stayed right on schedule the whole time, and the kids were really cute with their performances.  I overheard some of the parents telling the CYP Director how much they enjoyed the dinner and how it was better than previous years!  Although Kelsie and I didn't get any recognition for running the event, (it can frustrating to be labeled "the intern" sometimes) I would say it was a success and a great learning experience overall.




Youth Center Directors and Ms. Nadera




It can be a little hectic trying to get preschoolers to behave on stage!




All the MB CDC Ladies

 The next day, Kelsie and I boarded the MWR bus to drive out to the 2011 Saga International Balloon Fiesta!  This was advertised as the "biggest aeriel event in all of Asia!" with hundreds of hot air balloons filling the sky and competing in hot air balloon races and obstacle courses.  Well, the fiesta didn't really live up to what it promised, with the weather looking kind of sketchy, we only saw a whopping 6 or 7 balloons all day.  But there was plenty to explore otherwise such as all the vendors.  There were hundreds of people there, slopping through the mud in high heels and designer pants.  And loads of interesting things to look at and wonder "what the...?"



The first balloon!








Fall is falling

Qoo! I love him!