Arizona - hot, but not all! - Stephanie Kauffman

6/2/2024 0 Comments

Arizona - hot, but not all!

ARIZONA
I would think most people, when asked the first thought that comes to their mind about Arizona, would be “the Grand Canyon”. And truthfully, it is an absolutely amazing spot in this amazing world. Job 30:6 states: to dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. That verse describes the Canyon quite well, I think. If you have a fear of heights, then I don`t recommend you going close to the edge. I suppose it also depends where you are; at the time and place my family was there, we could go right up to the edge – and look down and down and down. When we were leaving the area, we met a man coming up with a pack mule out of the canyon. He`d been down there for a week (and in my mind, looked like he`d turned into Rip Van Winkle!) I guess a pack mule trip into the canyon is some people`s idea of an adventure – I have no desire whatsoever to do that. The heat, the strenuous stamina it takes – bluck. I’ll lazily enjoy my view of the beauty right from the top, thank you very much!
Of course, there’s much more to Arizona than just the Grand Canyon. You shift over to Flagstaff, for instance, and you’ll find yourself at 8,000 ft above sea level. I took a student there once to the university for an ACE International Student Convention. They had warned us flatlanders to allow the students involved in track to gradually jog and work into a run because the elevation would be hard on them. What no one mentioned was that my student would have nosebleeds for the first 3 days! Since I rarely get a nosebleed that really spooked me out; we had more than a few trips to the infirmary. Thankfully by the time we left, she had adjusted to the altitude.
The other big spot in people’s mind would probably be Phoenix. Lots of snowbirds from Canada head there. But I don`t like heat, so that wouldn’t be my choice. When I was teaching in northeastern Texas, I could barely handle the heat the first year or two. My sister would laugh at me when I was home for the summer and moaning about it. Well, my third year in Texas I get a call from my sister. She had started trucking and was on a long haul run, so was calling from a payphone in a Phoenix truck stop. “Steph, it’s so hot here, I’m standing on the pavement in the parking lot, and my flip flops are melting!!!” Ha! ‘Twas sweet to get a bit of my own back after her remarks to my moans about Texas heat.

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February 26, 2021

For a time in life when we supposedly have nothing to do because of Covid restrictions, it's amazing that I have trouble finding time to write here!
Life in the classroom is exceedingly busy as the students are pushing to make up the beginning days we couldn't be in school. So there are no extra moments there. I still work/volunteer at the local thrift shop regularly and deliver the newspapers. Then any spare time I have, I have been working on book #2. The Girl with Nine Lives has sold well; I still need to get some more sold, but do hope to see book #2 hit the printers sometime this year, if possible. To that extent I have a poll to take. Titles are hard for me. This book starts where the first one left off. Tales of my adventures in teaching in at least six places. So with that in the back of your mind, what would be your favorite title out of the following:
1. The Teacher with Nine Lives
2. Lessons Learned Along the Road
3. What is Going on Here?
4. Around the World in Many Schools
Send me your vote on the best title in your opinion!

February 12, 2021

Where does the time go? It feels like I should be frozen in time. After an extra mild winter, we were nailed with minus 47 wind-chill and -33+ temperatures for a week now! Makes it hard to do anything except get to work, and come home and wrap in a cozy blanket.
The blog definitely took 2nd place.
But I'm so thankful and humbled at the wonderful remarks and reviews I've been receiving from people. It makes the struggles I've gone through worthwhile when I hear how people have identified and laughed and cried over incidents. That was my prayer when I first started writing.
For all those who have asked, yes, I'm working on book #2. It will be slightly different as it is more the adventures of a teacher and the various cultures I experience along the way. When it will come out? Totally up in the air!

January 24, 2021

Well, I have managed to get my books! It is an exciting moment when you have a physical visual of fifteen boxes waiting to be loaded into your vehicle full of your books with your name on them! It is also a huge blessing to immediately need to divest yourself of half of them because they have sold to various people and two bookstores. Thanks, Lord! Another blessing is that I'm receiving comments from various buyers that they had trouble putting the book down until they had it finished! I pray the lessons I learned the hard way will be of help and comfort to others who read this.

January 16, 2021

For those of you who have read my book "The Girl with Nine Lives", or are reading it, or are waiting to read it and have wondered what that crazy little kid looked like, I have put two photos here for you. The little girl in the red dress on the horse is 'Stacy', shortly after she was adopted. That is the horse they gave her to help work her leg muscles. The black and white photo is almost two years later. It was taken for the immigration application to get Stacy into Canada. You notice she is smiling here. The doctors hadn't started sticking her with all those horrid needles yet!
I do not like to have my photo taken, but this will give you a visual to keep in your mind as you read about Stacy's adventures, or misadventures. As an adult, I have to admit, looking at the four-year old's picture - I can see her attempting to walk on air.

January 12, 2021

What a week! As a teacher on a Hutterite colony for grade 5-12, life is non-stop from 9:00-3:30. This coming Friday is the end of quarter, so report cards will be due. So that always makes one extra busy.
But I had 2 highlights in this week.
The first: I came home and stumbled over something on my step. When I picked it up and entered, I found out I was holding MY copy of my book! I felt like a mother receiving her first child. The awe and wonder of holding something I'd created and labored over for - yes, about nine months- well, that is quite the feeling.
The second: Last night the doorbell rang. I answered and a man stood there with a floral arrangement. I was sure he'd come to the wrong house, but he had the right name. Imagine my amazement when I saw that friends from the States had arranged these lovely roses to be delivered to celebrate this milestone in my life. In today's Covid restrictions, such a thoughtful, kind gesture means SO much! I never get flowers, so I'm still just smiling over it.

January 5, 2021

How many of you make New Year's Resolutions? How many of you don't because you know you won't keep them?
As I look at 2021 and wonder what this year will bring, I've decided to try a couple resolutions.

A poet once said, "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." I feel that can be applied to resolutions too. As I start this year as a new author, I'm scrambling to figure out what I'm doing! This has definitely pulled me out of my comfort zone. I've asked the Lord, "What have I done? Am I stepping off this cliff to float or fly?"

So my New Year's Resolution is to have a website and put a blog on it. Will this last? It will be interesting to look back in December 2021 to see what has happened here! Tech stuff is NOT my thing. But as a teacher, I always tell my students, "Just try. You never know what might happen." So how can I do less than I preach? I will try this. No guarantees, but I've made a start! Happy New Year to you all!

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