Thursday I had a terrible day. I'm pretty sure it started on Tuesday. We didn't have school on Monday so 1) my kids were thrown off and 2) I was thrown off. I usually use Fridays to plan everything, which I did, but I also use Mondays to put everything in order- copies, homeworks*,review my plans, blah blah blah. Suffice to say, without Monday, I just could not get it together! By Thursday I was back on track, but my kids still weren't. The day started off with me passing back tests and a girl telling me it was my fault that she didn't get a good grade. This is the third time (with three different students) this has happened, and it made me so mad! She also made a dirty face, AND it was in front of the other students. So... I marched her out into the hallway and talked her about being disrespectful. Good start. Another thing about Thursdays is that I don't have any breaks. Usually because of the Spanish classes or PE, I have time to work, but on Thursdays I teach all day with my sixth grade and the music classes. My kids were really obnoxious and talkative, so I knew it was going to be a long day with them if I didn't gain control soon, so I was pretty mean after asking them 3 times to stop talking. There's a saying in education that you should be a witch until Holloween- but I just don't enjoy that very much! However, I was too nice last year, so I decided to do the whole witch thing. Thursday.... it was easy :)
I had a bunch of kids with allergies that were sneezing- which is fine, I can't be mad about that. However, all the other kids in class decided the sneezing and coughing was a good way to get attention so I had a whole class of sneezers and coughers. One student decided to take it to the next level and started gagging over his desk... complete with spit dribbling out of his mouth onto the floor. He went out to the hall! (after bringing in paper towel to clean up his drool)
In reading, I had 6 students that hadn't done their homework. Common occurence (my kids do NOT do their homework!) so they got recess taken away. I also tried to read a story and have a discussion, and I had to stop every two minutes to write names on the board of people talking during the story... I got to 8 students on the board in 20 minutes(an average day is 2-5 in an entire morning).
In language class, we are learning about quotation marks so I had copies of a story with a lot of dialogue and I called 5 people up to the front to act out the drama The other students had to highlight the talking parts and add quotation marks.... didn't happen. The people in front tried to read and no one paid attention. I think I had 15 out of my 24 students talking. I had the drama kids sit down and everyone put their heads down. I'm pretty sure they had their heads down for a good five minutes and then I lectured. I told them how disappointed I was with their behavior throughout the week, and that I was very frustrated that I couldn't do fun things for a class. I told them I was going to be a mean teacher for the rest of the day so to look out!!
We had recess next, and then it was back to a three-hour block of class. I had scheduled to play a game for spelling, but instead just had them study silently at their desk and turn in a sheet with the words copied. In science, we are learning about insects and the different orders of insects. I had a poster board and had asked students to bring insects to put in the chart. IT WAS CHAOS. The kids were throwing bugs at each other, not getting their notebooks out to copy descriptions, and not paying attention to me yelling at the front of the board. So.... I took the chart down, put the insects away, and told them they had to do the chart on their own.
ANYWAY, it was just a bad day. I think I was most frustrated by the fact that I really wanted to do some great activities- not so my kids would like me, but because I really think it is better to learn through activities instead of just reading out of the book. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fix that problem. I've done a lot of positive reinforcement, both individually and collectively; I've punished individually and as a group; I've had serious talks about respect.... nothing has really worked. It just looks like it's going to be a problem, and I don't think it's fair to the 6-7 students that are attentive and ready for class every day.
Am I just beating the teacher-horse dead? :)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
copan ruinas
Sorry I haven't written for awhile. I always get to the stage where I've opened up my computer, gotten myself situated to write a blog (in bed, itunes, something to drink), and opened my blog page and then... I just sit here. I feel like I have nothing to write- or too much to write :) I think the second year around thing is difficult because most of my experiences are basically the same (well at least the exciting ones), so they don't seem blog-worthy :) This last weekend for example- I visited Copan Ruinas for the fourth time (the town that has the Mayan Ruins). It was a really wonderful trip- we had Monday off from school, so Shelly, Catelin, Jennifer, Tyler, Maggie and I were able to take a trip. It was actually kind of fun because I was able to be the little tour guide as far as setting up a place to stay and giving options for what we could do while we were there. We ended up staying at my favorite hostel, Iguana Azul, going to the ruins (with a tour guide... I memorized everything he said so when all my friends and family come to visit me, we don't have to pay more :)), and going on a horse tour with a silent, walking guide. (little disappointing :)) It was a nice way to relax and hang out with all the teachers without talking about school all the time. :) I've held off on sharing my innermost secrets with this group of teachers for awhile (which, I know, is a huge surprise to anyone that knows me!) but this weekend was a nice time for all of us to open up a little bit more and just enjoy the company!
Copan Ruinas is a big tourist pull for Honduras, so there's actually a lot of people (shopkeepers, hotel and restaurant owners, moto taxi drivers) that speak English. That part of the touristyness (yes, I know that's not a real word) of the town was pleasant, but one thing I did not enjoy was the tourist side of things. There were big groups of English speakers (Americans or Europeans) everywhere and it made me so uncomfortable! I think the reason is that I want to fit into the culture and prove that I'm kind of a part of Honduran culture :) So, I tried to do things that would prove I had been in the country longer than a week :) The funniest part was that I didn't realize I was being so 'defensive' until the end of the trip. In Honduras, when you passed someone on the street you always say, "Adios" instead of "Hola" and anytime you see someone eat (doesn't matter if you know them, if you're walking to your table at a restaurant, or if they're eating on the side of the street) you always say "Buen Provecho" (Have a good meal). So, I tried to excessively greet people while walking around town. Also, they have all their prices in dollars, but I insisted on only being told the Lempira price (well that one was reasonable; I don't have any dollars here :)). I even asked if they had pataste at one of the restaurants, which is a kind of vegetable that I'd never heard of until coming here. :) SO, it was an experience. I wasn't expecting to feel such a loyalty toward the Honduran side of things :)
Speaking of, I bought some typical (I don't know what this translates into in English, the kind of things they had in the olden-days haha. So in the US, maybe hoop skirts or bonnets or something :)) sandals to wear for our Fiesta Tipica next weekend. We sell typical food, the kids do typical dances, and we wear typical costumes! Should be fun :)
Copan Ruinas is a big tourist pull for Honduras, so there's actually a lot of people (shopkeepers, hotel and restaurant owners, moto taxi drivers) that speak English. That part of the touristyness (yes, I know that's not a real word) of the town was pleasant, but one thing I did not enjoy was the tourist side of things. There were big groups of English speakers (Americans or Europeans) everywhere and it made me so uncomfortable! I think the reason is that I want to fit into the culture and prove that I'm kind of a part of Honduran culture :) So, I tried to do things that would prove I had been in the country longer than a week :) The funniest part was that I didn't realize I was being so 'defensive' until the end of the trip. In Honduras, when you passed someone on the street you always say, "Adios" instead of "Hola" and anytime you see someone eat (doesn't matter if you know them, if you're walking to your table at a restaurant, or if they're eating on the side of the street) you always say "Buen Provecho" (Have a good meal). So, I tried to excessively greet people while walking around town. Also, they have all their prices in dollars, but I insisted on only being told the Lempira price (well that one was reasonable; I don't have any dollars here :)). I even asked if they had pataste at one of the restaurants, which is a kind of vegetable that I'd never heard of until coming here. :) SO, it was an experience. I wasn't expecting to feel such a loyalty toward the Honduran side of things :)
Speaking of, I bought some typical (I don't know what this translates into in English, the kind of things they had in the olden-days haha. So in the US, maybe hoop skirts or bonnets or something :)) sandals to wear for our Fiesta Tipica next weekend. We sell typical food, the kids do typical dances, and we wear typical costumes! Should be fun :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
girls just wanna have fun
I learned two new words/phrases this week that will forever remind me of fall.
leche de burra (donkey's milk) or if you prefer...
leche de ornitorrinco (platypus milk!)
Why do these remind me of fall? Well, my parents sent me a birthday package (that got here right on my birthday!) that included, among other things of delight, caramel apple suckers. YUMMM. I was eating one at the neighbor's the other day and apparently a slang way to say caramel is donkey or platypus milk. I did not know the word ornitorrinco (the way they were saying it, I thought they were talking about ornito Ringo so I was trying to figure out how the conversation had gotten on the Beetles!) but eventually they were able to describe it to me ... the animal that lives in the sea that has a face of a duck but its a mammal... and then I finally made the connection that they were talking about my sucker. :)
I've really been enjoying my time with the neighbors. Now that I can actually understand most of the conversation and participate a little bit, I like to just go next door or down the road and sit in the kitchen at night with the other women and socialize. It's actually a new experience for me because I don't really talk that much... I just listen. I've noticed in my English conversations that I have a very 'I can top that story!' attitude and I ALWAYS have something to say. I don't think I would have noticed that flaw about myself if I hadn't been forced to sit and realize that I can enjoy the conversation even if I'm not joining in. I've actually done quite a few things in the last couple weeks. I made baleadas in Sonja's kitchen (not very well, they made fun of my slowness but hey... it's a start :)), and then we just sat around and talked after supper while eating oranges with a yummy sauce (pepper, salt, hot chile sauce, a little garlic). This weekend we had a birthday party for one of my friends/another teacher Ana and a girl in K5 named Ana Sugey (sue-hey). The women prepared plates of food for everyone at the party.... we had yucca (which is a root that tastes kind of like potato), cabbage, fried pork, a lemon slice and a tomato slice. I helped out at the house instead of really doing much at the party and it was so fun. The women just joked around and completely include me in their life. Last night, Sonja, her sister Sandra, and her cousin Ellie came over to 'play' beauty salon- they painted all our nails and straightened our hair- just for fun, and just to enjoy one another's company.
I'm happy I'm able to have better relationships with my neighbors this year. :)
leche de burra (donkey's milk) or if you prefer...
leche de ornitorrinco (platypus milk!)
Why do these remind me of fall? Well, my parents sent me a birthday package (that got here right on my birthday!) that included, among other things of delight, caramel apple suckers. YUMMM. I was eating one at the neighbor's the other day and apparently a slang way to say caramel is donkey or platypus milk. I did not know the word ornitorrinco (the way they were saying it, I thought they were talking about ornito Ringo so I was trying to figure out how the conversation had gotten on the Beetles!) but eventually they were able to describe it to me ... the animal that lives in the sea that has a face of a duck but its a mammal... and then I finally made the connection that they were talking about my sucker. :)
I've really been enjoying my time with the neighbors. Now that I can actually understand most of the conversation and participate a little bit, I like to just go next door or down the road and sit in the kitchen at night with the other women and socialize. It's actually a new experience for me because I don't really talk that much... I just listen. I've noticed in my English conversations that I have a very 'I can top that story!' attitude and I ALWAYS have something to say. I don't think I would have noticed that flaw about myself if I hadn't been forced to sit and realize that I can enjoy the conversation even if I'm not joining in. I've actually done quite a few things in the last couple weeks. I made baleadas in Sonja's kitchen (not very well, they made fun of my slowness but hey... it's a start :)), and then we just sat around and talked after supper while eating oranges with a yummy sauce (pepper, salt, hot chile sauce, a little garlic). This weekend we had a birthday party for one of my friends/another teacher Ana and a girl in K5 named Ana Sugey (sue-hey). The women prepared plates of food for everyone at the party.... we had yucca (which is a root that tastes kind of like potato), cabbage, fried pork, a lemon slice and a tomato slice. I helped out at the house instead of really doing much at the party and it was so fun. The women just joked around and completely include me in their life. Last night, Sonja, her sister Sandra, and her cousin Ellie came over to 'play' beauty salon- they painted all our nails and straightened our hair- just for fun, and just to enjoy one another's company.
I'm happy I'm able to have better relationships with my neighbors this year. :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
regrets.
This blog is about the things I regret doing/not doing with my life right now.
I regret that until this weekend, I'd only done my laundry once since being here. I know, I know. That's college behavior! But, I've been going to my students' games every weekend and the weeks are just too tiring and I really don't like doing laundry.... so I just kept putting it off. Well, enough was enough, I'd put it off so long that I was completely out of all the essentials. Sunday morning I got up nice and early (9!!) and dragged my over-flowing laundry bag outside (which I have since lost. awesome). I threw all the clothes into the pila (a big cement sink. It takes like 20 minutes to fill...) and let them soak in my detergent water for about a half an hour. Then.... I started in. I do my white shirts first (My school uniform is white button-up shirts and navy blue pants or skirts) because I have to scrub out the yellow armpits (this might get graphic kids ... sorry) and if I wait to do that hardcore scrubbing till later, I have zero arm strength. :) So I did my white shirts and then just started pulling stuff out. Most of my clothes are fine if they've soaked. The dirt and odors just come right off and I can just put them right out on the line. The exceptions are my tank tops. Since I haven't done laundry for some time, I've just been re-cycling through my tank tops to wear underneath my school shirt, as a weekend lounge shirt, or to sleep in. All that to say... my tanks were pretty stinky. For those, I employed the magic of Suavitel. This is basically like Downy I think, but it just makes the clothes smell so nice! I have a five-gallon bucket that I fill up with water, pour in a packet of Suavitel and soak the smelly items in for 15 minutes or so.
So Sunday, I did all this. Even with only scrubbing the white shirts and a few pairs of jeans, it still took me like 3 hours. I watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first half but that finished and I didn't really feel like getting out of rhythm to pop in another DVD. (I had pulled a chair out to our porch and set my computer on that :)) That's another thing I noticed this weekend. Our neighbors have been doing laundry their whole life and they're so good at it. They have this rhythm that they do everything by. I wish I could incorporate sounds into blogging because I can't really describe it. All I know is that I definitely don't have that rhythm so I end up being really jerky and awkward looking. It takes me like ten years to pull soaking wet towels out and wring them. Don Luis (our 'grandpa' neighbor) came over and helped me out which was a little embarrassing because when he saw how many clothes I had, he laughed a little and then went over to his house, got some more twine and hung up another clothesline for me. Awesome :)
I finally got most of my clothes washed and out on the line and was able to go inside in time to make lunch AND see the Broncos game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was on TV here so I was pretty pumped. And yes, I know they lost but I wasn't too upset about their general playing. (PLUS did you guys see John Elway??!) ok sorry. sorry. done with the ranting, be happy I'm not giving you the play-by-play.
Anyway, so I'm reformed. I'm never going to wait like a month and a half to do laundry again. Although my friend Geri reminded me of the time when I was in college and I didn't do dishes all semester. whoops. And there's the fact that all those clothes are still out on the line.....
AHH someday I will be completely put together and organized. haha. for now... I'll just work on being more reasonable on the laundry front ;)
I regret that until this weekend, I'd only done my laundry once since being here. I know, I know. That's college behavior! But, I've been going to my students' games every weekend and the weeks are just too tiring and I really don't like doing laundry.... so I just kept putting it off. Well, enough was enough, I'd put it off so long that I was completely out of all the essentials. Sunday morning I got up nice and early (9!!) and dragged my over-flowing laundry bag outside (which I have since lost. awesome). I threw all the clothes into the pila (a big cement sink. It takes like 20 minutes to fill...) and let them soak in my detergent water for about a half an hour. Then.... I started in. I do my white shirts first (My school uniform is white button-up shirts and navy blue pants or skirts) because I have to scrub out the yellow armpits (this might get graphic kids ... sorry) and if I wait to do that hardcore scrubbing till later, I have zero arm strength. :) So I did my white shirts and then just started pulling stuff out. Most of my clothes are fine if they've soaked. The dirt and odors just come right off and I can just put them right out on the line. The exceptions are my tank tops. Since I haven't done laundry for some time, I've just been re-cycling through my tank tops to wear underneath my school shirt, as a weekend lounge shirt, or to sleep in. All that to say... my tanks were pretty stinky. For those, I employed the magic of Suavitel. This is basically like Downy I think, but it just makes the clothes smell so nice! I have a five-gallon bucket that I fill up with water, pour in a packet of Suavitel and soak the smelly items in for 15 minutes or so.
So Sunday, I did all this. Even with only scrubbing the white shirts and a few pairs of jeans, it still took me like 3 hours. I watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first half but that finished and I didn't really feel like getting out of rhythm to pop in another DVD. (I had pulled a chair out to our porch and set my computer on that :)) That's another thing I noticed this weekend. Our neighbors have been doing laundry their whole life and they're so good at it. They have this rhythm that they do everything by. I wish I could incorporate sounds into blogging because I can't really describe it. All I know is that I definitely don't have that rhythm so I end up being really jerky and awkward looking. It takes me like ten years to pull soaking wet towels out and wring them. Don Luis (our 'grandpa' neighbor) came over and helped me out which was a little embarrassing because when he saw how many clothes I had, he laughed a little and then went over to his house, got some more twine and hung up another clothesline for me. Awesome :)
I finally got most of my clothes washed and out on the line and was able to go inside in time to make lunch AND see the Broncos game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was on TV here so I was pretty pumped. And yes, I know they lost but I wasn't too upset about their general playing. (PLUS did you guys see John Elway??!) ok sorry. sorry. done with the ranting, be happy I'm not giving you the play-by-play.
Anyway, so I'm reformed. I'm never going to wait like a month and a half to do laundry again. Although my friend Geri reminded me of the time when I was in college and I didn't do dishes all semester. whoops. And there's the fact that all those clothes are still out on the line.....
AHH someday I will be completely put together and organized. haha. for now... I'll just work on being more reasonable on the laundry front ;)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
just ain't my cup of meat
20 points to anyone who knows where the title comes from :) I put it because I did something this last week that isn't usually on my top ten list of things to do... I went to the beach. (I know, I know, hear me out!) Here's why I don't particularly love the beach- it's really hot and I hate sweating all day, it's really sunny and my skin can handle maybe 15 minutes before it shrivels up and dies, I'm not really the best swimmer so being in water where I can't touch freaks me out a little bit, and the saltiness just isn't my favorite either.
However, we had a five day vacation and wanted to go somewhere that we might not be able to go on one of our three-day weekends later in the year so we chose TRUJILLO! Trujillo is a beach town right on the Pacific Ocean. You can see the Bay Islands from the shore if you're up high enough.
We left after school on Tuesday and spent the night in San Pedro in a hostel. Wednesday we got up super early and took the 6 am bus to Trujillo. We got there about noon and got comfortable in the Casa Kiwi. Casa Kiwi is a hotel that's actually just outside the town of Trujillo so we basically had the place to ourselves- including the beach :) The place had a hammock hut (which we frequented daily with our books) and a pretty lax atmosphere. I actually had a pretty nice time sitting on the beach (lathered in sunscreen), reading and sipping sodas, talking with the other teachers (Shelly, Catelin, Jennifer, Maggie, and Tyler all came along), and hanging out with the hotel staff.
We visited the town of Trujillo and ate at a few seafood restaurants (one day it took two hours to get our food so we didn't have time to do much else. super annoying.) We also visited a Garifuna village and bought some jewelry and pottery. The Garifuna community is the community here in Honduras that are descendants of the African slaves. They have their own separate communities, language and customs. It's pretty cool to experience.
Another MAJOR highlight was snorkeling. We took about a 30 minute boat ride out to the middle of the ocean and we got out and swam all around the coral. I've never done anything like that before so it was pretty cool. I'll try to find some pictures of the fish I saw since I don't have an underwater camera :)
Anyway, it was a great way to relax and enjoy time with my friends. We saw some amazing sunsets and had some amazing conversations. I think I can handle the beach :)
However, we had a five day vacation and wanted to go somewhere that we might not be able to go on one of our three-day weekends later in the year so we chose TRUJILLO! Trujillo is a beach town right on the Pacific Ocean. You can see the Bay Islands from the shore if you're up high enough.
We left after school on Tuesday and spent the night in San Pedro in a hostel. Wednesday we got up super early and took the 6 am bus to Trujillo. We got there about noon and got comfortable in the Casa Kiwi. Casa Kiwi is a hotel that's actually just outside the town of Trujillo so we basically had the place to ourselves- including the beach :) The place had a hammock hut (which we frequented daily with our books) and a pretty lax atmosphere. I actually had a pretty nice time sitting on the beach (lathered in sunscreen), reading and sipping sodas, talking with the other teachers (Shelly, Catelin, Jennifer, Maggie, and Tyler all came along), and hanging out with the hotel staff.
We visited the town of Trujillo and ate at a few seafood restaurants (one day it took two hours to get our food so we didn't have time to do much else. super annoying.) We also visited a Garifuna village and bought some jewelry and pottery. The Garifuna community is the community here in Honduras that are descendants of the African slaves. They have their own separate communities, language and customs. It's pretty cool to experience.
Another MAJOR highlight was snorkeling. We took about a 30 minute boat ride out to the middle of the ocean and we got out and swam all around the coral. I've never done anything like that before so it was pretty cool. I'll try to find some pictures of the fish I saw since I don't have an underwater camera :)
Anyway, it was a great way to relax and enjoy time with my friends. We saw some amazing sunsets and had some amazing conversations. I think I can handle the beach :)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
la iglesia
went to church tonight. I sometimes have a hard time getting excited to go to church here. It's at 7 o'clock on Sunday nights so it's my last chance to have a weekend. It's also all in Spanish and it takes lots of energy for me to concentrate enough on the words, let alone what the meaning is behind them. All the songs are in Spanish with no words printed anywhere so I can't even really enjoy the singing, and the sermons, when I do understand them, seem so simple that I wonder why I even need to be there.
All this to say, I went into church feeling slightly obligated to go (never a good start in my opinion), but feeling like maybe I could write a blog (yes, I actually thought about my blog as a reason to go to church!) to describe the simplicity of the church service and how maybe I could see it as a good thing that we're reminded that our faith is supposed to be a childlike one. I even thought of starting my blog off with something like- "God is love. No matter how many times we hear this statement, it still needs to be said."
So, I'm sitting there thinking about all these things to make into a fantastic blog when our pastor tells us to turn to 1 John 4:7-8 ... which also happened to be the verses chapel was on this Wednesday so I taught my kids the song that I know with that verse all this week. 1 John 4:7-8......
Queridos hermanos, amémonos los unos a los otros, porque el amor viene de Dios, y todo el que ama ha nacido de Él y lo conoce. Él que no ama no conoce a Dios, porque Dios es amor.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone that loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I kind of felt like I had a little smack on the wrist from God... I think I try really hard not to feel superior and above the people that I live with in a social or intellectual level, because I think people from the United States tend to have that attitude when going to other countries. I've noticed it in myself on occasions and really try to squelch it because I know there is so much I can learn from the people I live and work with. But what about church? I have this snobby snobby attitude about how I worship- and how worship should be done. I scoff at the simplicity of the messages and act like I am more spiritual and know everything the pastor is going to share already. I think it's cute that the men and women dance alongside the kids, but I even have a kind of attitude problem on that- like, we would never do that in our church because it's not appropriate, and really... the parents should get their children under control so no one is disrupted while 'worshiping' sighhhh... I remember one day at Westchester a little girl was dancing in the aisle and I wanted so badly to join her- sometimes I think dancing and throwing your arms around and kicking your heels up in the air is the only way to express how joyful I feel about God but since I know it wouldn't be allowed, I instead got it into my head that other people that act that way are in the wrong. What a terrible way to think! I really think God tried to teach me something today in my churchy attitude. Shelly and I decided we're going to start a dance club at Westchester so... prepare yourselves :) Maybe not... but I think in all areas of life I definitely make lines and boundaries of what's acceptable behavior and what's not... obviously those lines and boundaries can be very very good things but... sometimes I think living outside of your comfort zone allows you to see when you need to break those boundaries and realize why you put them up in the first place.
All this to say, I went into church feeling slightly obligated to go (never a good start in my opinion), but feeling like maybe I could write a blog (yes, I actually thought about my blog as a reason to go to church!) to describe the simplicity of the church service and how maybe I could see it as a good thing that we're reminded that our faith is supposed to be a childlike one. I even thought of starting my blog off with something like- "God is love. No matter how many times we hear this statement, it still needs to be said."
So, I'm sitting there thinking about all these things to make into a fantastic blog when our pastor tells us to turn to 1 John 4:7-8 ... which also happened to be the verses chapel was on this Wednesday so I taught my kids the song that I know with that verse all this week. 1 John 4:7-8......
Queridos hermanos, amémonos los unos a los otros, porque el amor viene de Dios, y todo el que ama ha nacido de Él y lo conoce. Él que no ama no conoce a Dios, porque Dios es amor.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone that loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I kind of felt like I had a little smack on the wrist from God... I think I try really hard not to feel superior and above the people that I live with in a social or intellectual level, because I think people from the United States tend to have that attitude when going to other countries. I've noticed it in myself on occasions and really try to squelch it because I know there is so much I can learn from the people I live and work with. But what about church? I have this snobby snobby attitude about how I worship- and how worship should be done. I scoff at the simplicity of the messages and act like I am more spiritual and know everything the pastor is going to share already. I think it's cute that the men and women dance alongside the kids, but I even have a kind of attitude problem on that- like, we would never do that in our church because it's not appropriate, and really... the parents should get their children under control so no one is disrupted while 'worshiping' sighhhh... I remember one day at Westchester a little girl was dancing in the aisle and I wanted so badly to join her- sometimes I think dancing and throwing your arms around and kicking your heels up in the air is the only way to express how joyful I feel about God but since I know it wouldn't be allowed, I instead got it into my head that other people that act that way are in the wrong. What a terrible way to think! I really think God tried to teach me something today in my churchy attitude. Shelly and I decided we're going to start a dance club at Westchester so... prepare yourselves :) Maybe not... but I think in all areas of life I definitely make lines and boundaries of what's acceptable behavior and what's not... obviously those lines and boundaries can be very very good things but... sometimes I think living outside of your comfort zone allows you to see when you need to break those boundaries and realize why you put them up in the first place.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
BUGZZZZZ
The bug season has begun in Villa Verde (I don't think it ever really stops, but it's begun for us. :)) We had our first major encounter with a bug the other night when it flew into the house. I'm pretty sure I posted a picture last year of what I fondly refer to as the 'pincer bug' - it's about five inches long with wings and nasty fang/pincers that move all over on its face. Well, one flew in and scarred everyone for life- seriously, it can be pretty traumatizing! Luckily, I dealt with having these kind of bugs in our house all the time so I was able to quite calmly capture the bug and release it back into the wild.... it was a pretty special moment for me; I feel I've grown so much :)
Back in the house, everyone had calmed down pretty well and I went to the bathroom... and found a spider just chillin on the inside of the bowl- not in the water, just crawling around on the porcelain... Luckily I had my handy-dandy bucket of water next to the toilet to flush him down. Still, I've been very careful in that area of life for the last couple days :)
I've also continued to have quite the problem with some kind of bug in my bed. I'm pretty sure it's not mosquito bites that I'm getting by the hundreds - although I'm getting quite a few of those too. I've decided there are either spiders, fleas, or bedbugs in my sheets that like to visit in the middle of the night. I've decided there's not much I can do about getting rid of the bugs (I've sprayed Raid, cleaned the sheets, aired things out... not much helps for long) so I've resigned myself to another year of unsightly legs but ... I just wish I could make them slightly more sightly :) The bites are SO ITCHY I just can't think about anything else and that is annoying. I have several kinds of lotion and itch sticks to help me out, as well as Benedryl and NOTHING helps. SO, I decided to look online for homemade remedies. Some suggestions?:
~toothpaste (tried this, it doesn't really help the itching, but it does make me not want to scratch cuz then I get blue minty paste all over my hands)
~deodorant (haven't tried yet, deodorant is on my 'ration' list so I'm not sold on wasting it just yet...)
~small vacuum pump to remove the venom (not available in Gracias haha)
~wet tobacco kept in place with a bandaid (not a huge tobacco hoarder, plus i would completely exhaust our bandaid supply in about two days)
~baking soda/water paste (this is the one I've been using for the last couple nights and seems to work pretty well, although Tyler and Maggie told me I looked like I had leprosy tonight :))
So, we'll see. If anyone has other ideas... send them my way :)
Tonight, we also found what we think is a chinche... an icky bug that makes a very annoying, loud noise when you capture it in a jar.... which I did :) We're going to bring it to the neighbors tomorrow to find out for sure if it's the bug they talk about. Catelin read up on it, so we're slowly becoming bug experts here in the mountains. :)
Although the bug situation is MUCH better than last year, it's still quite the boredom killer :) As soon as a bug comes in the house, everyone's adrenaline is up for the rest of the night :) Take that coffee! :)
PS. I just ran to the kitchen to cook up another baking soda concoction and when I poured the baking soda into the water, a dead spider fell out of the box. OH the irony!
Back in the house, everyone had calmed down pretty well and I went to the bathroom... and found a spider just chillin on the inside of the bowl- not in the water, just crawling around on the porcelain... Luckily I had my handy-dandy bucket of water next to the toilet to flush him down. Still, I've been very careful in that area of life for the last couple days :)
I've also continued to have quite the problem with some kind of bug in my bed. I'm pretty sure it's not mosquito bites that I'm getting by the hundreds - although I'm getting quite a few of those too. I've decided there are either spiders, fleas, or bedbugs in my sheets that like to visit in the middle of the night. I've decided there's not much I can do about getting rid of the bugs (I've sprayed Raid, cleaned the sheets, aired things out... not much helps for long) so I've resigned myself to another year of unsightly legs but ... I just wish I could make them slightly more sightly :) The bites are SO ITCHY I just can't think about anything else and that is annoying. I have several kinds of lotion and itch sticks to help me out, as well as Benedryl and NOTHING helps. SO, I decided to look online for homemade remedies. Some suggestions?:
~toothpaste (tried this, it doesn't really help the itching, but it does make me not want to scratch cuz then I get blue minty paste all over my hands)
~deodorant (haven't tried yet, deodorant is on my 'ration' list so I'm not sold on wasting it just yet...)
~small vacuum pump to remove the venom (not available in Gracias haha)
~wet tobacco kept in place with a bandaid (not a huge tobacco hoarder, plus i would completely exhaust our bandaid supply in about two days)
~baking soda/water paste (this is the one I've been using for the last couple nights and seems to work pretty well, although Tyler and Maggie told me I looked like I had leprosy tonight :))
So, we'll see. If anyone has other ideas... send them my way :)
Tonight, we also found what we think is a chinche... an icky bug that makes a very annoying, loud noise when you capture it in a jar.... which I did :) We're going to bring it to the neighbors tomorrow to find out for sure if it's the bug they talk about. Catelin read up on it, so we're slowly becoming bug experts here in the mountains. :)
Although the bug situation is MUCH better than last year, it's still quite the boredom killer :) As soon as a bug comes in the house, everyone's adrenaline is up for the rest of the night :) Take that coffee! :)
PS. I just ran to the kitchen to cook up another baking soda concoction and when I poured the baking soda into the water, a dead spider fell out of the box. OH the irony!
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