Day 85 October 31
Today, life started getting back to normal. I woke up and cleaned, glorious morning cleaning. When Sierra woke up, she came downstairs and we decided to go on a market hunt to get food. We got back to the house and made an epic breakfast of scrambled eggs with carrots, garlic, and onions. We ate it with tortillas. Que rico!
I cleaned up my room some more and did my Spanish homework, just taking the morning easy until going to Casa Villamil. I did get to talk to my mom and found out that, sadly, my folks weren’t able to go up to Philly for my Grampy’s 80th birthday party, which means that I won’t get to skype with the whole family. Health comes first though, and my dad caught the swine flu. Feel better Daddy!
I got to Casa Villamil and chatted online for a while, updating my log as best I can remember, but having to give up on a few days a knowing that I left out details for a few days too, just because I could not remember them.
I got back home and attempted to nap, but was unsuccessful. Anne called me and said I could meet her daughter at their house, which is about 15 minutes up the hill to Mayatan, so I headed that way and tried on her white confirmation dress. I told her I was really nervous to wear it out as my costume, but she said she wasn’t even planning to take it back to the States. It was much better than my white skirt/shirt combo. I took our window curtain as my veil, holding it in place with Sierra’s white headband, and her white shoes made everything come together (everything I have is black, which would have been weird.)
Before I got dressed up, Luis and I went to dinner at the new restaurant on the street, which was good. We watched a lot of the Peace Corps folks and other tourists walk by. I also saw a Yaris.
After dinner I went home and changed into my costume and while I was waiting for Luis to come back, Tammi the Pirate, Nash the loose lady of the night, Theo the rotting corps with an alien popping out of his belly, and Sierra the man came home. We got pictures of us together. Some of my kids came by dressed up, which shocked me. We were not prepared with any candy at all, but Sierra sacrificed a few pieces of her gum. I wonder how Monday will go, considering I was dressed as a bride and on Thursday they were all going nuts at the idea of me having a boyfriend.
We started out at ViaVia and moved from there to the street, where it wasn’t so hot and crowded, to inside, to Tun Club, to ViaVia. The costumes were a lot of fun. There were a lot of creative ones that I really enjoyed. Michael was Pre and part of his costume was running in place for hours. He made it through a lot of the night, I was impressed. Eileen was a snowstorm/landscape.
Copanecos were gathered on the streets outside the bars to see all the costumes. Children would come up close to the crowd, and their parents would take pictures. One man just stood there videotaping everything he saw. It was entertaining at the least.
At about 12:30, the group migrated to Papa Changos, a place I had heard many a rumor about and so had not ventured to go there before. I figured if there was ever a good time to go, it was with a crowd of 100 other gringos. It was a fun looking place, but I wouldn’t want to go there with a small group, or probably in a different situation. I was glad I got the chance to see it though. I finally made my way home at 2.
Costumes of note: The four people who did pac-man and ghosts, the TMNTs, Link, the graduate with a paper with a giant F and a rope around his neck, the girl with her shirt open and a giant cardboard bar across her chest that said “Censored”, Link, several drag queens,
Day 86 November 1
I turned off my alarm with the hope that if I could sleep through the night, that I could catch up on sleep. I slept in until 9, but stayed in bed for a while, refusing to believe I was awake. I finally got up and did a bit of cleaning, a bit of laundry and went back upstairs to work on the computer some. While I was laying there, computer in my lap, Luis came upstairs. Apparently when Abby and Allan left, they left the door open and no one heard him knocking. I gave him my pictures from last night and he went back home.
I got showered and dressed and headed to Vicky’s house for Christian singing and music, sermon on the computer included which I always think is a nice touch. It was a small group this time, only 5 of us, because all the Urban Promise folks are in the States for visa renewal and a UP conference.
I went back home at 2:30 to grab my computer and go to Casa Villamil. I finally updated my facebook notes and posted pictures. I tried calling my brother 3 times, but his phone was off the whole time I was there. Happy Birthday James!
When I wasn’t interneting, I was planning for next week and updating my grade book for the new quarter. Weee! I stayed there for a long time, but accomplished a lot.
I went to Jim’s Pizza for dinner with Beth, Theo, Nash, and Tammi after a nice talk with Sierra. By the end of dinner, I was exhausted and just went home to crash into bed.
Day 87 November 2
I slept solidly, which was great for school. Sierra and I walked together, reviewing the weekend’s stories. My shirt was still wet from doing laundry, but it worked out because it rained in the morning anyway (first time that’s happened.)
At school, only a few of my kids commented on my bride’s costume. They did, however, tell me about the tradition on All Saint’s Day to go out and ask for left over foods and visit graves (I had heard tell of a pack of boys coming up and harassing pedestrians and touching all of their things, but I’m sure it depends on the child on how they go about practicing this tradition.)
The day went pretty smoothly, but I was really tired by the end of it. I didn’t plan well for the week, so I’m taking it a half day at a time. By the time we got to tutorias, I was exhausted.
After tutorias, I rushed home for tutoring at Isaac’s house. Since we’re starting all new stuff, we didn’t have a whole lot of homework to do, but we worked for about an hour and then I left cause he was too tired to be productive anymore. Shortly after, I had an intercambio with Karla and Fabibola. Sierra came with so we can start alternating days. The girls want to learn English so much and I just don’t have time, so we talked to them about the idea of switching off. They took to it.
I spent about 5 minutes online before passing my computer off to Sierra for some Skype time and then I went to let Chando in our house. The refri had been broken for about 4 days, water from the freezer spilling onto the floor, food getting warmer and warmer, and generally being a problem. Chando had been waiting outside for a while when I got there, and when he came in, he open the fridge, and pressed a button. I heard it come on immediately. Awesome. I apologized to him as he helped pull out the water catching tray under the freezer, which was a task, and despite my bucket, most of it ended up on the floor.
I mopped up and cleaned everything in the fridge, wiping it all down, changing the bags that vegetables were in, and making it all dry again. Cleanest it’s been since we got here.
Luis said he’d come over after an intercambio with Beth, so I set out to do some work and finish watching Hitch, which I’d started watching the night before when the power went out and my computer died. I fell asleep doing work, and woke up at 9:30 when my roommates came home. Luis came by shortly after, but not for long because I’m fighting a cold and it was getting on toward a real bed time.
Day 88 November 3
I need to get back in the practice of eating breakfast. Also, on a very different note, I’ve decided that I can control the weather through the clothes that I wear. This was the second day in a row that I wore a wet shirt, and the second of two days in which it rained in the morning. No other time has it rained in the morning, powers of pattern recognition observe: I control the weather. Now you know.
Also, something I forgot to mention about last week, was that one of the manholes in the road was oozing water for 4 or 5 days straight. Sewage, without a doubt, down one of the hills by my street, the one I walk up to get to school. Avoiding the spillage was not too much of a hassle, but fear of a car going by too quickly was great. This flooding was certainly more severe than the one I had at my house a month or so ago. Finally, it has stopped, though it still smells a little.
My kids were really good all day. I was surprised. We made it through some tough material, and some easy material, and computers without incident. Carlos tried to get out of his detention, but I’m keen on his sneaky ways, and don’t let much get past me anymore.
In the afternoon, things all went down the drain. My kids were awful. They were disrespectful, loud, violent, and not listening. During my lecture, I asked them if they knew the meaning of the word “disappointed.” 5 kids gasped. In hindsight, I feel it may have come across rather strong. I heard the Spanish word whispered, but maybe that’s what they needed.
I was really strict on my tutorias kids, but they got their work done, and much better than they usually do at home.
We had a staff meeting, which I had expected to drag on forever, but it was pretty quick. We talked over how the parent-teacher conferences are going to go and what the plans are for Christmas. Two big topics that went relatively quickly. Yay!
After I got home, I had about an hour to relax before folks came over for dancing (I find that I am frequently informed that my house is being used for something or other, but I like having people over and never have the foresight to plan, so it works out.) Hilda came over and showed us some beginners moved to a variety of dances. It was a fun workout and we had a solid group of seven.
I cleaned up the house some and made a dinner of veggies and eggs and cheese. It was delicious and it felt good to be cooking again, with cold food no less!
Luis came over in the evening, and I tried to speak more in Spanish, but it gets really tough for me at night.
Day 89 November 4
My wet shirt = morning rain was shot down today when I wore a dry shirt to school and it still rained. Ah well. Weather controlling ability is lost, I think I can move on.
I have become old school in my detentions, having my kids write lines of “I will not…” or “I will…” whatever they need to do better. I think they find it more annoying than just sitting in the room, or doing class work, or listening to me lecturing, so I hope it’ll help. Of course, we also have to reviewing the meanings of all the words we write so that I can be sure they understand.
During the day, and after school, I got really organized. I put all my worksheets from last quarter in class folders, labeled by class. I planned for the next few weeks, except a few details that I still need to figure out. I’m really slowing down my pace in Science and Math and coming up with activities to help drive home concepts and vocabulary. For math, the fact that we’re not doing so much conceptual stuff is already helping a ton.
I organized my room after school and got the board ready for tomorrow morning so when I come in I can just get to organizing other things.
I walked home with Tammi and Nash and went home for half an hour before going to Isaac’s house for tutoring. This was the second session in a row that he was completely over it after 45 minutes. I asked him if he’s been sleeping, and he said yes, but he hasn’t had the capacity to focus recently. My understanding is that his dad is coming back soon, but I don’t know from where, when, or for how long.
After tutoring, I came back to the house and quickly got some money for saldo and groceries before everything closed up. I got enough to get me through another day and got home for some reading, which I haven’t given myself time to do in a few days.
And though my intentions for reading were all well and good, there was a scratching in the back of my mind of all the work I had to do, so I ended up spreading work out all over my bed for a few hours, which was good and productive.
I managed to get to bed by 9:30, but I think that’s still too late.
Day 90 November 5
Sierra and I headed out together, but she had to head back for something at the house. I saw the most brilliantly orange and black birds on my walk though, and it didn’t rain in the morning.
Having set up my board the day before, I kept going through papers and reorganizing my room until my kids started filtering in.
The day went pretty well until we started approaching lunch time, and then everything got pretty hectic. The kids just lost their ability to listen and pay attention for more than 30 seconds. We’ll see how a full week next week goes (in my entire teaching career, I’ve only had 3 full weeks of school.)
I did a lot of grading today during my break, and am doing a much better job of staying on top of kids who don’t get their work done. And I’m planning ahead with Christmas, Thanksgiving, and rationing my copies (and how to use any left over copies I have at the end of the month.)
During my last period, I had the kids clean their desks and cubbies and the floors for their parents tomorrow, which was a hassle, as all they wanted to do was chase each other and push. But, we got it done and after they left, I cleaned up some more, reorganized, and got everything ready for parents to arrive tomorrow.
The heavy rain started around lunch time, though it had been drizzling most of the day. The kids were in a frenzy, and I was in no way wanting to walk home for half an hour in the mud, with my books and papers. I rode on the bus, which went all over before getting close enough to the park that I got out to walk.
I took half an hour to reorient before class and then went to class for the first time in a week. It was productive and some of my more common errors were brought to light. I still think in Spanish all the time, but I get so nervous when it’s time to speak because I hate making mistakes. As mom points out, I never was good at new things because I want to be good at everything immediately and that just doesn’t happen. Especially with languages, for me.
After, I headed to Casa Villamil half an hour early for an intercambio at 5, but the place was closed. I texted the girls, asking if they wanted to meet somewhere else, but I never heard from anyone, and I went to Yat Balam for some quality internet (it’s across the park from my house.) Tammi was there, so we chatted for a while. I was able to update and catch up with some folks, but I really need to get on before 4 sometime to take care of business and catch some folks online. I’m tired of leaving the internet with unfinished business and not sure when I’ll be on again.
Because the rain is so heavy and we have to cross the river to get to Hacienda San Lucas, the plans to have lunch there for 100 lempiras were cancelled and pushed back a week (when I hope to go to Chiquimula.) Hurricane Ida just charged Nicaragua, but all we’re getting right now is rain. We’re looking at a lot more rain this weekend, but little more.
When I got home from Yat Balam, Abby, Alan, and Beth were cooking, which smelled delicious. I went up for more paper-organizing and some reading, this time sure it would actually happen.
Since it was only 7:30, I had high hopes of an early night, and it happened.
Day 91 November 6
When my alarm went off at 5, I turned it off and went back to sleep until 6. I slept, with a couple of rough spots because of itchy bug bites, from 8:30-6. Excellent. I had to be at school by 7, and had full intentions of catching a cab, but I just never did. I arrived at school at 6:59, at the same time as Miss Megan.
I organized my report cards with the spelling test and ‘math minute’ from this week, to give the parents some sample work of the new quarter, and organized the papers in the order that parents were supposed to arrive. I set up one of my tables for conferences with my grade book, computer, and lesson plans ready if needed. I was not really looking forward to 19 parent-teacher conferences.
Miss Norma, Nilvio’s mom, and one of the other teachers at MBS was with me to help translate. I did a little bit on my own, but mostly just spoke in English. She didn’t have to do a whole lot of translating from them to me, which made me happy. In the end, I had two parents that hadn’t shown during their time slots, so Norma left. They came before I left, so I gave them the papers and spoke to them myself. Neither of them had kids that were bad in class, just a little talkative, and one of them has trouble getting his work in, so I told them that. I know my tenses were all off, but the message was gotten, and I understood their questions well enough to answer them. Not going to lie, I’m pretty proud of that. As nervous as I get about speaking Spanish, when the need is there, I can do it.
The day went a lot smoother than I thought it would. Several people came early, several people came early, but everything worked out. Only one parent stayed for longer than the allotted time, and it didn’t run into anyone else’s time slot, just our breakfast. The parent’s were very understanding of any problem I had, most of them said it was the same as the year before.
I also got my copies back and organized for next week before going to lunch with Tammi, Nash, and Beth. We went to the restaurant by the river, which was very filling and beautiful. I’d like to take my folks there when they come visit.
I got home and read for a while. This book, A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt, literally makes me laugh out loud sometimes. After I took down a few more chapters, I headed to Casa Villamil for interneting, which was in and out. I was able to fix my problem of no anti-virus for the last two weeks. I repaired everything and ran a scan to get rid of 29 viruses, then I put in my flash drive to delete 38 more. Yay for being gone!
The internet went out one final time and Ever wasn’t able to fix it, so my conversations just had to sit dead. I stuck around for another hour and a half writing letters and doing my Spanish homework.
On my way home I saw Caroline and Chando getting a drink at the new restaurant on the corner, so I stopped by for a minute and then headed back home.
I cleaned up the kitchen some and was bummed to find that the wet weather is making my clothes take too long dry (they all smell off.) I might have to start taking them to someone to wash them because if I have to wash them two and three times, it just defeats the purpose. I finished cleaning my room, and finished writing some letters and post cards before heading out to Twisted Tanya’s to celebrate Tammi’s interview with TFA. Bueno suerte, Tammi!
I headed out to meet up with folks, but when I got there they informed me they were moving locations because it was too pricey. So, off we went to ViaVia. We ordered food, and Megan met up with us. After, Nash and Tammi wanted to go to Tony’s bar to meet up with Theo, Abby, and Alan. Megan and I went for ice cream and talked in the park for a while. We always agree that we need to spend more time together, but we never seem able to find the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment