Hello out there!!
I hope this blog finds you all well and full! Life in Costa is crazy. But who doesn't need/love/want a little crazy?! Speaking of crazy....
Some days I look at my students and I can't believe how far we've come. All of us, together. We are constantly growing and learning and doing.. I often have to take a step back to really appreciate how lucky I am to have a class full of students who want to learn. A typical day with us includes lots of English, lot's of reading and writing (creativity!!) math, math and math - The boys LOVE math. And science or science experiments. Their theory is that everything should either explode or burn or smell or produce something to eat! And we keep learning. They help me with my spanish, I help them with "girl problems" (This is humerous as half my class still thinks girls have cooties [with the exception of mom and teacher!] and the other half of my class thinks that girls are angels that have fallen from heaven.) We talk about futbol, football, and baseball. They learn sarcasm. We learn hard lessons. We learn life lessons. Most importantly, we are constantly laughing. And it is good. Our school recently participated in the Independence Day parade - all of my students were a part of the band or the whistle blower to keep the rest of the school on step. It was a hot, fun day for us. We were a motley crew, but we appreciated our differences. We appreciated culture. Right now, we are working on our culture day project. Each grade gets to choose a country to represent. Your class researches the culture and customs, the language and government, the food, the people, etc... And then on culture day - you get to dress up/decorate/feed and teach the rest of the school about your country. Fourth grade will be representing Greece!! I am excited. The boys are more excited. We have been researching. We added a "Greek Mythology" unit. I now have a classroom full of "Greek Gods." When I look at my classroom I see something new: I see active imaginations at work. This is such an "American idea" but I am proud of them. They have taken it on fully. (My classroom also now looks like a tornado has blown through - but I greet it with open arms!)
Life is simple. I get to wake up and do what I love every day. I get to teach. And even better, I get to teach eager students. And when I'm not teaching, I get to explore. There is always a new beach to enjoy, a new mountain to climb. I get to read all the time. And boy, do I love a good book.
In September we had a week off from school. I decided to make a trip back to the states. I had several reasons for wanting to do so (more than just being homesick, but mostly because I was homesick.) And so, I made my way to New York City. My parents decided to surprise me for the weekend. Or it would have been a surprise if my mom didn't cave in and tell me. (I was so happy that she did tell me - it made what were a long few weeks a whole lot better.) And then my brother decided to come. And that would have been a surprise - if he was better at not putting stuff all over facebook. And then my best friend, Lesli decided to come. And that would have been a surprise - but she wanted to make a bad day better. And then, my sister and Payden decided to come. And THAT was a surprise. She tricked me! And it was good. :) We had a great weekend with my cousin, Kevin and Vinnie. It was so nice for my family to all be together. Since we've gotten older, the family trips have been fewer with longer time in between. But the weekend together, and getting to "love on" all of them, made my heart full and happy. After they left, I spent the week relaxinggggggggg. I got to help Vinnie celebrate his birthday which was fun. Every time I go to the city I see more and more and fall in love with it more and more. It was exactly the kind of week I needed. It was so hard to leave, but knowing that I would see everyone again soon for the holidays made it a little easier. (Barely. I am terrible at goodbyes. I need more hellos.)
And so I am back. I welcome the routine. I'm doing my best to make the most of my time here. I look around me and I feel blessed. There are so many good things. And some days are hard. But they are still good. And some things are bad, but it is so good. He is so good to me.
Always remember....greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. Xo.
