Koby VanBeest

NES Teacher
Mascoma Valley Regional High School
Canaan, New Hampshire

My daughter just wrote one of those odes to her "papa" that reads so much better than what you imagine it might. That said, she captured three main threads that run strong through my life-I thrive best in the outdoors, any season though I dearly love winter; I love culture of all types, food, music, local habits; and I love to teach, young, old, myself included. Lately I have been teaching both English and science and enjoying it. I think that is connected to the second thread above and being energized by new and different experiences.

While life is serious, I have taken an oath never to take myself too seriously.

As far as the trip goes, I am totally psyched about being out in the Atacama; extremes have always interested me. The research Dr. McKay has going seems a perfect follow up of the work we started at the Winter's Story workshop last month out in Yellowstone. While all the logistics of travel don't really thrill me, if I could just blink my eyes and be there it would work so much better, and now I wish I would have taken Spanish in school rather than German, I can imagine there will be so much going on, so many new experiences, that I will be in seventh heaven.

I seem naturally open but have an inner shy person governing my writing too much more about my self; but, in an effort towards full disclosure, my mother used to tell me I was only nice when I wanted something in return. My wife tells me I am an honest to goodness lovely human. I think there is a bit of bias creeping into each analysis.