I was listening to a program in NPR this morning about these High-School students who were rejected for any opportunity of obtaining scholarships because of their citizen status. They touched "cruel reality" in this so-called land of opportunities. Althought their academic achievement was the same of higher than their peers, they were not eligible to compete for college scholarships because they were born in another country -you know which one. Well, I get to see this reality every day at work. Every single day. Students receive fellowships not because their achievements but because they were born in the right place. My fellow colleagues forget history. They forget one day, their ancestors were also "illegal aliens," as they call my compatriots who come to this country to work very hard in order to make a decent living.

Piano Practice

I took Assen to his piano lesson last night. I saw how his piano teacher directs him in class. I learned a tip or two. This morning, I applied what I learned yesterday and Assen did great! I put a book on top of his hands to hide his fingers while he played, so he cannot see his fingers and is forced to read the music. He did wonderful! We made a video of him playing Allegro.

Inauguration Day

Barack Obama became the 44th US president today. It is very exciting to see that we all have the opportunity to be what we want to be in this country. The US is still the land of opportunities, no matter what some people think. Hopefully, Martin Luther King's dream is coming true. We all need to work hard to make our dream come true.

"Life is like a book, those who don't travel read only one page." Assen did very well in his Tae-Kwan-Do class. His balance control is better and his kicks are improving.

Happy New Year! Outback Bowl

Assen got up singing with his microphone. He asked me to take him a picture and put it in his blogspot, so his grandma can see it. So, here it is. We watched the Outback Bowl. Iowa Hawkeyes beat South Carolina 31 to 10.