Life Continues...

From Jan. 14
Well, I guess I have dropped the whole mile thing…oops…It all started with forgetting my pedometer in Oklahoma. Oh well…I will add it all up eventually…So I am in my second week and it is going well. I do feel like the kids get a little frustrated with me when they try to tell me something and I have no idea what they are saying. Socially, things are going really well. I really like the teachers that are down here. In a way, it is a lot like camp because we work together and play together. Our time isn’t quite as structured but it resembles camp life. I have really enjoyed being around the old school CBSers. There is something about being with old friends that is so special. It makes me feel like my parents and there old friends, just getting back together to experience another aspect of life. I am so grateful for this.

Playlist:
Honesty by Billy Joel
Somewhere Down in Texas by George Straight
The Crane’s Wife by The Decemberists

From Jan. 15
Today is a very special day. It is the first birthday of my precious ACL. It is hard to believe that one year ago today, I was in Temple Texas ‘under the knife.’ So, not only is it good for me to be here to experience all the newness but it also really good for my knee because all the walking and exercise it gets! We (my knee and I ) will both come back changed!

Anyway, the kids were good today…well, all of them except one. I have a girl who is very smart but she is also very emotional and has cried 3 out of the 5 days that I have been her teacher. I mean, I have dealt with homesickness on my occasions at camp but this is a totally different scenario. At camp, there is a period where you just let them cry it out but when I am only with them 4 hours a day, what am I suppose to do? Well, McNabb to the rescue…I guess that is what principals are for (or is it because he’s one of my best friends and he feels bad for me)? Who knows, either way, he was able to translate for us and she finally stopped crying after an hour and a half. Mind you, this is the same cute girl who was singing ‘Jingle Bells’ last week like this: “Tinker Bell, Tinker bell, tinkle all the way!” So cute! Anyway, enough about my students.

I went to the Democracia yesterday and got the most beautiful vegetables that I have ever seen. I’m talking Avocados the size of softballs! Huge and Delicious! And fresh limes! So good! I also got a fresh bell pepper, potatoes and an onion. I sautéed all of this together with garlic and called it dinner last night! I will def. be spoiled with all the fresh veggies when I get home. I promise to take pictures soon of all of these things! There is a part of me that doesn’t want to take pictures yet because I feel like a tourist and I’m not a tourist, I’m a resident and I want to be known as a member of the community instead of someone who is just passing through…but maybe that is all I am…I’m just here a little longer than what I consider tourisy. But this city is full of people who come for a couple of months to study Spanish.

I do have a different view on living aboard now. I used to think that it would be really hard and foreign. But now I realize that life goes on. No matter where you are, there will be things that are challenging and there will be things that you don’t understand but there is still a sense of normalcy. I can’t believe I have waited this long to live somewhere other than Oklahoma or Texas. Honestly, Texas feels a lot more foreign than Guatemala. Okay, maybe I’m kidding a little bit…that’s was just to give all my Texans a laugh…but then again, I have to remember that I am a legal resident of texas…oh well…

I know there are stories to tell but I can’t think of any right now. Everyday, something comes up that is humorous. But that comes with the territory of living in a third world country. Well, until next time…live the adventure, no matter where you are!

Playlist:
A Case of You by Joni Mitchell
Everything by Michael Buble
You’re My Home by Billy Joel
Let it Be by The Beatles
Little House by The Fray
When you Come Back to Me Again by Garth Brooks
Always on His Mind by Misty Edwards