Anita Nugent Gerlach:  

I moved a lot during school, living in Belen, New Mexico, Spokane, Washington and Port Acres and Port Arthur, Texas. I currently live just outside Santa Fe, NM and have since1983. Can't imagine living anywhere else. I started music and dance when I was 8 years old in Belen, NM. I still love both and they have been a huge part of my life. I play percussion - mostly symphonic. I don't hear music, I feel it. I graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, TX in 1962 and went to Lamar Tech where I received degrees in Chemistry and English. While at Lamar Tech I played in the Beaumont Symphony and Beaumont Civic Opera. In 1967 I married. I played in the Houston Civic Symphony and taught science in both Spring Woods and Cypress-Fairbanks high school. I have always loved travel and in 1973 took my first trip to Europe. It was no disappointment and I fell in love with world travel. In 1974 I had April, my beautiful daughter. In 1976 we moved near Brenhan, TX where Scott, my wonderful son was born. Once April was four I opened two dance studios so I could be with the kids instead of teaching in public schools. The studios had 19 assistant teachers in all forms of dance, voice, piano, organ, woodwind, brass, percussion, baton, and karate. It was the best job I ever had. We raised all our own food - both vegetables and meat. I milked cows, churned butter, the whole bit. I loved it then and still do. In 1983 we moved to Santa Fe where I owned a small dance studio for a couple of years. We hand-built our own adobe house and continued to grow our own food. I played percussion in the Santa Fe Civic Symphony and played Gilbert and Sullivan. Then in 1986 I returned to public school teaching - primarily chemistry and physics. I finally got my Master's degree from New Mexico Tech in 1993. Both kids were out of the nest and in college by 1995. Then I began traveling in earnest. So far I have been to every continent except Australia and the Antarctic. Almost every year I take students to study a foreign culture. In the last few years we have been to the Caribbean, Venezuel...Expand for more