Linking Maine and Japan

Owen and I made a quiet getaway to a favorite spot, Contention Cove. We captured this shot of the sunset, after a quick paddle on the cove. Next day we biked around Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park.  A quiet chance to breathe in Maine before the flurry of packing travel guides and gifts,  leaving lessons, and traveling half way around the world.

We just returned from our annual field trip to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful. Calm seas, blue skies, and magnificent sculpture gardens greeted us. The children had a chance to sketch by the Atlantic Ocean, and to sketch their favorite painting or scultpture in the museum. Then, a wonderful picnic on the lawn next to the rocky coast of Maine. Lots of parents were able to join us, as we looked at the photographs of Ansel Adams, paintings of Lincoln Perry and works in the permanent collection. Autumn leaves are beginning to reach their height here. I understand that, like us, the Japanese keep track of the foliage as it takes on the colors of autumn. There, too, “leaf peepers” travel to the countryside to witness the annual color feast. Perhaps I’ll get to see two autumns this year.

10/3/07. In 11 days I will leave Maine for Japan. Selected as a participant in the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher program, I will be a guest of the government of Japan for 3 weeks in October, 2007. This blog is one way I plan to keep in touch with my students and colleagues during my travels. The 260 children in our Arundel School have been creating their own Artist Trading Cards, which we plan to share with school children in Japan. Children have begun greeting me in the hallways with “Konnichiwa,” and lovely bows. We will all be learning so much together in the next month!