NIMB

Most of you have probably heard NIMB (not in my backyard) stories.  Maybe residents were opposing the building of a prison near a school, a cell tower near their neighborhood, or a garbage dump near their house.  While all of these can be reasons to pause and evaluate the best place to build a new structure, here is a reverse NIMB story.

We live two miles from a small airport with a runway length of 4,422 feet.  To give that some scale, JFK Airport in NYC has four runways ranging in length from 8,400 to 14,500 feet.  Our nearby airport was built for small planes and some corporate jets, whereas JFK was built for jets of any size.  The larger and heavier the jet, the longer the runway needed for take-off.

In the late nineties, a new development of large homes began across the street from our neighborhood on land that was previously open space.  With more people living near the airport, it seemed more people were complaining about the noise from the planes.  A group of private citizens formed an association to try to stop the noise and ultimately some say, close the airport. Some went so far as to say "... the airport is shifting toward more and larger jets".  Looking at the length of the runways above, that could not possibly be true.  So why do people say things that are not true? To scare others?  To get others to see things from their point-of-view?

Letters to the editor of our local newspapers appeared from a few residents in the new development.  They complained about the noise and how living near the airport was decreasing their property values.  They went so far as to say they wanted the airport closed for everyone's good.  Well, that got us annoyed because we certainly did not want it closed and it would not be for our good to close it.

I know that if I were purchasing a new home for over one million dollars, I would do my homework first.  I would know that my new dream house was located less than two miles from an airport.  My realtor certainly should have pointed that out to me, and if he didn’t shame on him. But even if he didn’t, it is ultimately my responsibility to research my million-dollar-plus purchase.  I would even spend some time on a Saturday afternoon sitting in my car, judging for myself how much noise there actually was.  I certainly wouldn’t buy a house then demand that the city airport be closed down because it was disturbing me.

We did our research 22 years ago, and decided to buy our house because of its close proximity to the airport.  My husband is a pilot and wanted to have a short drive to the airport while enjoying his hobby on weekends, flying small single engine planes, flying with our sons, taking fun day and weekend trips.  So it certainly made us pause when others acted in the manner referenced above.  We actually enjoy looking overheard on weekends seeing the planes on their descent to the airstrip.  When we are outside on a summer afternoon, talking on the phone, and a plane goes overhead, we simply say, ‘Hold on, a plane is going by’ then continue.  Not a big deal.  We got what we paid for.

So I guess my two cents here is that while it is okay to try to stop new structures being built in your backyard, don’t try to close one down after you buy your house, so long as its size, mission, or purpose has not changed.  For this airport I say yes, YIMB.

Our local airport...photo taken during landing by me, the co-pilot.

In the air, explaining something to our son, many years ago.

"Sure mom, I can pose for a quick photo."

Cousins...

Taking our German exchange student for a ride to Nantucket for the day...

...and enjoying a picnic on the Nantucket beach.

Taking another German exchange student on a day trip (a different year)...

...to Ocean City, Maryland.

More cousins and a friend...

...and taking that friend to the Hamptons for the day.

Helping the Cub Scouts with a badge...

...which included a visit to the control tower.

A birthday party that included sitting in a plane (but not flying in it; it is a 4-seater)

Family trip to PA for the weekend to visit even more cousins.

Flying to Niagara Falls...

...for the weekend.

 My husband built this airplane in our backyard for the kids to play in;

that's how much we like airplanes and living near the airport.

For another flying story, visit Flying:  A story of courage and admiration.

Traveling with Kids

While trying to decide what to post this week, I perused some old photo albums looking for ideas.  If you read my post on Binders, you know that my photo albums are neatly organized by year and trip.  I soon got lost in reminiscing and found myself wanting to write about so many little things: a particular museum, monument, afternoon, or excursion.  Instead, I decided to write about the feelings evoked while traveling with students.

I led four trips abroad with high school students in four consecutive years from 2006 - 2009.  We covered 3 continents, 10 countries and 1 territory.  Next summer I will lead my fifth tour and add 4 more countries to this list.  There was an interruption in time from my fourth tour to the one planned for next summer due to our 25^th wedding anniversary.  We decided to go to Italy for two weeks without students, ours or anyone else’s.  While the kids were disappointed, the parents understood. 

Ironically, when in Sorrento, I spotted a group of EF backpacks heading to the docks.  EF is the company with whom I travel.  I found myself rushing to catch up with the group to see where they were from and what their itinerary was.  I noticed that although I loved sleeping late and doing things at my own pace, there was something I missed about traveling without the kids.

The next three summers found me hosting my family from Italy and recovering from knee surgery.  So it will be four years from the last student trip in 2009 to the next one planned in 2013.  Some friends and colleagues were surprised to hear that I am resuming my plans to travel with students.  But those who know me well know how much I enjoy traveling with students.

It is true that there are certainly challenges entailed with having someone else’s teenagers with you while in another country.  Getting them to sleep at night and subsequently waking up for breakfast the next morning is the biggest daily challenge.  But to me, that just says that they are having a great time socializing with each other, making or deepening friendships, and being teens.  Making sure they stay healthy and safe is of course the most important challenge of all.  I find myself being a mother to 12-15 kids, asking questions ranging from “Are you drinking enough water?” to “Where is your passport?”  Some people count sheep at night; I count kids all day long at each corner to make sure one of the ‘sheep’ did not stray from our flock.

Careful planning and organization diminishes problems that can happen with any trip and student trips are no exception. I am extremely organized and thorough and err on the side of caution.  I also carefully pick good parent chaperones to travel with us who will be competent and helpful additions to the flock.

The advantages of student travel however must overtake its challenges or I would not be a repeat leader.  As a teacher, my instincts are to teach, to show, to inspire, to open a child’s eyes to new experiences and possibilities.  As a parent, I have instincts to help my children past their fears and to help them grow to be responsible, considerate members of society.  I teach them that in addition to being a citizen of a country, they are citizens of the world.   People in London don’t drive on the wrong side of the road, just a different side. 

We have visited some of the most amazing landscapes, museums, monuments, and cathedrals in the world.  Sometimes I point out or give additional information to the kids to look closer at a certain detail; other times they cause me to stop and look at an item I may have missed.  The curiosity and wonder they have when they are young does not go away when they are teenagers.  Being with their peers seeing the Rosetta Stone, Mona Lisa, or Sistene Chapel is so amazing that they revel in the experience together, making connections to what they have learned or what they already know.  Remembering the experience of seeing the Acropolis, climbing Mt. Vesuvius, or shopping at a market in Morocco with friends is something they will never forget.

Going shopping with students can be quite amusing.  Whether it is shopping for clothes or souvenirs, they are literally like kids in a candy store.  One time my own son came out of a candy store with 75 euro worth of candy.  Needless to say he was the most popular one in the group for several days, not only amongst his peers, but amongst the chaperones as well.  Everyone knew whom to go to for his or her ‘fix’.

Sometimes students have choices; go back to the hotel to swim or relax with Chaperone A or come see this particular site or museum with Chaperone B.  It is more of a social decision for some kids; making their choice based on who is doing what.  But others always choose the latter choice to take advantage of everything there is to see.  It is with these smaller groups that the details of a museum really get taken in. 

I am looking forward to traveling to Prague, Budapest, Vienna, and Munich next summer, not just because all four of these cities will be new to me, but also because I will be amongst another flock of sheep.  If you know of any sheep looking to join our flock, just let me know.

Waiting at the ferry terminal from the cliffs of Dover to France, 

... waiting for the rain to pass to go up the Eiffel Tower,

...the bus that looked like a giant bug, taking us to Tetuon, Morocco,

...but the seats were comfortable and the bus was air conditioned,

...having fun telling a story about a squirrel...

...playing in the sand,

...learning about rugs in Morocco,

...shopping at Covant Garden,

...writing songs together in the Paris train station, 

...waiting for the play Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End,

...getting a caricature outside the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence,

...snorkeling in the Mediterranean,

...posing in a sword shop in Spain,

...playing on the trampolines in Nice, France,

...waiting/planning/conspiring at the train station in Paris,

...and moving on to the next stop!

Click here to read an older post about student travel with photos.

The Morning After

I woke to the sound of church bells ringing.  It was a strange alarm.  As I got my bearings to see where I was, I glanced at the hotel’s digital alarm to see 7:00 glaring back at me.  I was hearing the tolling of the bells from Giotto’s Campanile, the bell tower next to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo, as it is commonly referred to.

After the traveling delays from yesterday, I should have been exhausted, but the excitement of being back in Italy after 27 years lunged me into full consciousness.  I sat up and saw the cool morning’s air show its fingerprints on the window.  It was February in Florence and there was a light coating of snow on the ground.  This was unexpected, even for the Florentines, so I joined the excitement and quietly got dressed.  I grabbed my camera and the room key and left a note that I would be back soon.

As I walked out the hotel’s front door, a sliver of the Duomo was staring back at me, only two blocks away.  I followed the narrow street and out emerged the full effect of seeing the awesome structure again.  Words cannot fully express the feeling that stirs inside you when you visually try to take in the enormity and beauty of the Duomo.  It took 140 years to complete, thanks to the engineering genius of Filippo Brunelleschi in the end.  

The view of the Duomo from our hotel's front entrance

This shot, taken from Piazza di Michelangelo nearby, gives you some idea of the enormity of the Duomo

I watched as a scattering of people scurried towards a side entrance, and I decided to follow them.  In we went to a side chapel where a mass had already started.  I sat towards the back and reveled in hearing the language spoken so easily.  For almost a full hour I had the honor of slowly and completely taking in the beauty of the structure and the language.  It was as though I was in a trance, mesmerized by my surroundings with happiness filling my soul.

On the walk back to the hotel, I figured everyone would surely be up by now.  To my surprise, I heard only snoring or silence.  Since our deal was to sleep in after yesterday’s ordeal, I went downstairs to the breakfast room.  Not wanting to eat without the others, I decided to just have a coffee and cornetto.  I chatted with another couple about the snow and how beautiful they thought it was.  I guess living in the Northeast, beautiful is not the word that first comes to mind, however in Florence I did see its beauty.

The hotel breakfast, cornettos in the corner

Walking back up the stairs to our room, I listened at the doors of my parents and our sons, but still heard silence.  Back in our room, my husband was also still in dreamland.  Ok, enough was enough.  I had now been up for hours, been to mass, and had breakfast.  They were missing so much.  I woke the whole lot of them and enjoyed my second breakfast in a breakfast room now bustling with activity. 

I wondered how I was the only one who heard the bells resonating hours ago. Yes, I broke our deal to let everyone sleep in, but in the end, we had more time to enjoy our first day of Florence’s beauty.  

This is only a partial view of the Duomo, part of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Giotto's Bell Tower, aka my personal morning alarm

The top of the Giotto's Bell Tower, as seem from the top of the Duomo

The front of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (church which houses the Duomo)

Close up of the main door to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore with my parents.

Another view of Florence and the Bell Tower from atop the Duomo

One of my favorite shots from atop the Duomo, looking down at nearby Basilica di San Lorenzo, one of the oldest churches in Florence and the burial place of many members of the Medici family

From Piazza Michelangelo, Duomo on the right.

One of the highlights of our trip was traveling here with my parents.  <3

The Morning After

I woke to the sound of church bells ringing.  It was a strange alarm.  As I got my bearings to see where I was, I glanced at the hotel’s digital alarm to see 7:00 glaring back at me.  I was hearing the tolling of the bells from Giotto’s Campanile, the bell tower next to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo, as it is commonly referred to.

After the traveling delays from yesterday, I should have been exhausted, but the excitement of being back in Italy after 27 years lunged me into full consciousness.  I sat up and saw the cool morning’s air show its fingerprints on the window.  It was February in Florence and there was a light coating of snow on the ground.  This was unexpected, even for the Florentines, so I joined the excitement and quietly got dressed.  I grabbed my camera and the room key and left a note that I would be back soon.

As I walked out the hotel’s front door, a sliver of the Duomo was staring back at me, only two blocks away.  I followed the narrow street and out emerged the full effect of seeing the awesome structure again.  Words cannot fully express the feeling that stirs inside you when you visually try to take in the enormity and beauty of the Duomo.  It took 140 years to complete, thanks to the engineering genius of Filippo Brunelleschi in the end.  

The view of the Duomo from our hotel's front entrance

This shot, taken from Piazza di Michelangelo nearby, gives you some idea of the enormity of the Duomo

I watched as a scattering of people scurried towards a side entrance, and I decided to follow them.  In we went to a side chapel where a mass had already started.  I sat towards the back and reveled in hearing the language spoken so easily.  For almost a full hour I had the honor of slowly and completely taking in the beauty of the structure and the language.  It was as though I was in a trance, mesmerized by my surroundings with happiness filling my soul.

On the walk back to the hotel, I figured everyone would surely be up by now.  To my surprise, I heard only snoring or silence.  Since our deal was to sleep in after yesterday’s ordeal, I went downstairs to the breakfast room.  Not wanting to eat without the others, I decided to just have a coffee and cornetto.  I chatted with another couple about the snow and how beautiful they thought it was.  I guess living in the Northeast, beautiful is not the word that first comes to mind, however in Florence I did see its beauty.

The hotel breakfast, cornettos in the corner

Walking back up the stairs to our room, I listened at the doors of my parents and our sons, but still heard silence.  Back in our room, my husband was also still in dreamland.  Ok, enough was enough.  I had now been up for hours, been to mass, and had breakfast.  They were missing so much.  I woke the whole lot of them and enjoyed my second breakfast in a breakfast room now bustling with activity. 

I wondered how I was the only one who heard the bells resonating hours ago. Yes, I broke our deal to let everyone sleep in, but in the end, we had more time to enjoy our first day of Florence’s beauty.  

This is only a partial view of the Duomo, part of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Giotto's Bell Tower, aka my personal morning alarm

The top of the Giotto's Bell Tower, as seem from the top of the Duomo

The front of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (church which houses the Duomo)

Close up of the main door to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore with my parents.

Another view of Florence and the Bell Tower from atop the Duomo

One of my favorite shots from atop the Duomo, looking down at nearby Basilica di San Lorenzo, one of the oldest churches in Florence and the burial place of many members of the Medici family

From Piazza Michelangelo, Duomo on the right.

One of the highlights of our trip was traveling here with my parents.  <3