Summer is coming to a close, and it’s been a great one. I wanted to share my top 6 favorite experiences, in no particular order. 
1. Wandering into a swarm of butterflies on a hiking trail in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Ok, the trail was called the Path of a Thousand Flowers, so maybe the butterflies shouldn’t have been such a surprise.
2. Volunteering in Boston with MIRA, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. We waited outside of new citizenship ceremonies, and as new Americans came out of the doors, we offered to register them to vote.
3. Renting a camper van in Iceland, and driving around exploring the landscape. Because there are so many volcanoes in the area, there’s a ton of geothermal energy in the ground. That means there are craters, bubbling mud pits, hot springs, and geysers.
4. Seeing glaciers on mountains! I took ski chair lifts up Hohfluh at 7,300 feet to see the Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland, and also did some hiking at Mount Rainier National Park, getting up to 6,336 feet (via car and foot). Glaciers are beautiful, especially under the summer sun.
5. Chilling out on an island in Lake Maggiore, Italy — eating yummy food, watching weird birds, and reading a good book.
Ever seen a white peacock? Running in circles? Me neither. Until this summer.
6. Seeing beautiful trees in Washington State — there’s rainforest, record setting heights, and roots that grow in bizarre places. Not your typical evergreens here.
And now I’m ready to go back to school! I’m looking forward to hearing about all the interesting experiences my students had over the summer.
Innovation on Earth 
Wow!! You’ve certainly had many experiences this summer!
So cool how you helped new American citizens register to vote! And the butterflies are so pretty! I can’t believe how tiny they are, and how close you got to them without scaring them away! Do you know what types of butterflies they were?
The glaciers and the geyser look cool too! How often did the Strokkur Geyser erupt?
The peacocks walking in circles are funny 🙂 And the forests in Washington are beautiful, I didn’t know there was a rainforest there!
Best wishes for this school year,
Anna