For a number of years, it has been a tradition to spend New Year's Day at the home of my friends Katie and Olivier and their children. Katie is a French teacher, and she was one of my colleagues in the foreign language department. Her husband is from France. He is multi-lingual and travels frequently to Europe on business. It's hard to believe that their daughter Nina is now a junior in college. (I remember attending her baptism!) And their son, Christian, is now a sophomore in high school.
Every year on January 1st, we would have a wonderful dinner, exchange presents (on my trips to Mexico I always look for some gifts to buy for them) and then watch a DVD of photos from my travels. Last year the pandemic prevented us from having our usual celebration, although we did get together briefly to exchange gifts at a safe distance. This year, in spite of the Omicron wave, we decided to go back to our New Year's Day tradition. We are all vaccinated, Katie and her family are super cautious, and I took one of my at-home tests the day before.
Gingerbread houses that Katie and Nina made
Hello Mr. Felinski! I am a former student of yours from West Junior High School and I am delighted to have found your travel blog (with the help of Facebook and Mr. Belden). Please know I have fond memories of your classroom. Your passion for the Spanish language, as well as, the cultural aspects of the Spanish speaking world was very impactful. So happy to see you are doing well and enjoying your retirement. Take good care! Mary Ferris
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary!
DeleteThank you so much for your kind comment. Your words make a retired teacher's heart glad. Hope you are doing well.
Saludos,
señor Felinski
Sr. Felinski:
ReplyDeleteI am one of your former students, from Maple Hts. HS and was excited to come across your blog. It makes me happy to see that you are still travelling and making great memories.
I have a random question. We made a silly video (VHS) one year (between 92-94) for Alejandro and I was wondering if you still had it. It was a lip sync skit that featured 3 girls and 1 boy. I am the boy in the video, who "sings" the female part...while the girls sang the male part.
I still laugh when I think about it.
I am currently an Elementary School teacher.
Thank you for sharing your life with the world.
Jim L.
Hi Jim!
DeleteGreat to hear from you!
Yes, I remember that video that the students made, and, in particular, that hilarious song that a group of you lip-synched. Unfortunately, I now longer have a copy of the video. (By the way, my friend Alejandro, about whom I write in this blog, is not the same person I used to talk about in class. Sadly, more than twenty years ago, I lost contact with my godson and his family.)
Good luck with your teaching. The pandemic must make teaching an incredibly difficult challenge. I had a lot of fun years at Maple, but I am definitely glad that I am retired right now!
Best wishes,
Sr. Felinski