Don't. Mess. With. Marbles.

A very serious marble match ensues during recess.

Politics in ESL

Banish.  to force someone to go elsewhere.  to send away for good.

As we were working on writing a sentence for banish today, the following conversation ensued:

Me: Who has the power to banish someone?  to send them away forever?
Paula: the president.
Mimi: Jesus.
Yeny: God.
Me: Good.  Yes, they all have power.  A king, too, has lots of power.  So, let's talk about the king.  Who would a king want to banish?  to send away for good?
Jefy: Obama.

No joke.  Jefy didn't skip a beat.  I couldn't stop laughing--the unexpected answer just went straight to my funny bone, and I couldn't start class again for a few minutes.  Each sentence came out, "Okay, let's try that again.  Who would a king want to b---tee hee hee," my shoulders shaking and everything.  As my friend Becca would say, I was tickled.  My students started laughing, not quite sure what the joke was, and one student continued to point out, "Miss, your face is red.  Your face, Miss, is red.  Your face is red, Miss."

I guess we know how his parents vote.

English Fair

If Jefy's reaction of exuberance is any indication of how the English Fair went, then I think it was a success.  I was working with the 4th graders while the 3rd graders--Jefy's class--attended the fair.  Ten minutes before it was time to switch, Jefy careened into my room at full speed, and his pure delight is etched into my mind forever: smile from ear to ear, with a few missing teeth; nose scrunched up, as he only does when he's extremely happy or up to no good; hair gelled and spiked from the Beauty Shop booth; and five bags of candy and popcorn clutched in his hands.  I don't think he knew what to do with himself in his ecstasy--he put his bags first on one desk and then another, and then raced back out without hardly saying a word.

The women from Bee Creek Unite Methodist Church in Texas surely outdid themselves.  They brought all of the materials they needed for their booths and went to town--and the kids enjoyed it.  Some kids wrote in their reflection that they learned how to pronounce words better; others wrote that they learned how much things cost. Nearly all said they are excited about learning more English.  One boy told me he's saving his deposit slip that he received from the bank.

Here's a quick glimpse into the day:
Students picked up their passports.  It had their picture and name in it, the Guatemalan flag on the front, and a page for each booth, where they collected a stamp if they visited.



The older students then received money from the bank so they could purchase their goods.


Students could visit the Beauty Shop, Face Painting, a Department Store, the Doctor's Office, the Movie Theater, the Post Office, Donna's Diner, and the Sporting Good's Store.

 Face Painting

 Beauty Salon--Gel in the hair was a big hit with the boys

 Department Store--picking out new jeans

 Writing letters to friends at the Post Office

 Donna's Diner--cookies, anyone?

 Enthralled by Pixar's Short Films

Buying sports equipment at the Sporting Goods store

 Yes, the Doctor's In.  And you can't ask for better meds--tootsie rolls and other sweet things

Samy and Gerson are rockin' the punk band look 

Bee Creek UM Church ladies.  They made it happen!

Grateful for Friends

Hosted a pj party at my house.  Fun times with the teachers of La Senda!

 Luisa, Johana, and Me.  La Senda friends.

 Had the opportunity to tour Finca Filadelfia in Antigua.  This is where your Starbucks coffee from Antigua comes from.  Pretty cool!  Did you know that coffee is a red fruit when ripe?  And that the fleshy part tastes sweet?

 Me with Hermana Zucy, Director of La Senda

Me and Pablo 

Johana and Me

Thankful for a Car

The handle may have broken off this week, I may only be able to unlock the driver's side door from the outside, I may have to fill the front right tire with air on a weekly basis, and there are a couple of cigarette holes in the seats, but boy am I thankful for a car.  On Monday it has a doctor's appointment to make sure everything in the engine, etc. is on the up and up.

Doctor's Visit

First time to the doctor on Monday.  Got to take Brenda with me.  We sat in the waiting room for three hours, and then had time to drive in circles around Chimaltenango looking for the lab.  Fascinating to watch the myriad of people pass by the narrow wood door.  Located on the main street of the city, the doctor's office spies the lives of many--ice cream men; innumerable cars, tuk tuks, and buses; women hurrying buy on foot, baskets on their heads; business men and women strutting by in their suits; children tagging along with their mothers.

Brenda is still waiting word on her knee.  Fortunately, I'm fine.  Just need to avoid acidic food for a while.  Goodbye, coffee!  It's been fun.  And my back?  Praise the Lord, it's better.  I no longer want to cry when I get out of bed in the morning. 

Tweety Bird

Life in the Colony

Experienced our first neighborhood fiesta last night in honor of Independence Day.  True to Guatemalan form, the meal was ready at 8:30.  Johana and I had shown up just a little late at 6:45.  But boy was it rich--corn on the cob (helote), plaintains with mole, arroz con leche, tostadas, taquitos, and more. 

While running to and from the house getting things I forgot to bring, I quite simply locked myself out.  It was one of those moments where the door slammed shut and immediately I thought KEYS! Normally, I leave them in my pockets, but I just knew that my green alligator key chain was providing a nice contrast to my purple table cloth.  Inside the house.  On the other side of the metal door.

What am I going to do? It's not like they have Pop-A-Lock for houses down here.  And somehow I didn't think the old credit card trick would work so well.  Fortunately, Johana's brother helped me break in through the front window.  Good to retrieve the keys.  Enlightening to learn how easy it is to break in when the front window is open.  Noted.

Failure

As I leaned up against the wall of the classroom, I wondered how it could come to this.  I watched the kids squirrel around, play wrestling or going back to their seats to cut and paste or, in one case, running around the room like a hellion.  It was not working.  I was not working.  Let them paste all the pictures they want.  Who wants to learn about the color blue or the fur and paws of our favorite pet dogs anyways? 

The whole kids-don't-speak-English thing is challenging.  Little A. just looks at me, his big eyes staring at me intently.  "No entiendo," he says to everything I say.  Then, when his buddy starts rubbing his face with a toy as if he were washing it, A. closes his eyes and acts like he's in a spa.  E. continues running around the room and stealing other students' crayons.  C. dresses and undresses her Minnie Mouse doll.  J.P. pretends he can't hear me say his name.  Only tiny J.A. shows me his picture, trying to obey.  I've ceased being the novelty in the classroom and am now just one more person to ignore. 

The preschoolers won.  I admit it.  The score was twelve to zero, all in their favor.  Later, another teacher came in to take over--we were subbing for the preschool teacher this day--and she asked them what they had learned with me.  Nothing.  Bless those children, they burst out into song, curly-headed K. jumping up and down, most enthusiastic of all.  Of course, not one I had taught them.  But it is something they have learned nonetheless.

P.S.--You may be waiting for a happy ending.  I don't have one yet.  Hopefully I will soon--I get to sub regularly in the classroom in October.  Bless you, preschool teachers of the world.

Guatemalan Independence Day

Enjoyed celebrating my first Guatemalan Independence Day.  The school hosted a celebration yesterday.  All the students wore traditional clothing and performed a song or skit with their class about Guatemalan heritage.  Today, I had the opportunity to spend time with Zucy and her family, the director of La Senda.  We watched the parade pass by in front of her house.

3rd grade girls

my 4th grade math class

6th grade skit

1st grade skit--los caballeros

1st grade skit--the market women

the teachers

beginning of the parade in El Tejar

Call 502-5555-5555 Now for Your Membership!

The Guatemalan Singles Club is now in session.  Meetings will be Tuesday evenings, dinner hour.  Plan to provide food on occasion.  Bring good conversation.  Expect to drink rich coffee.

This evening I had the pleasure of having Johana, my good friend and neighbor, and Cristobal, the neighborhood builder, over to my house for dinner.  I made homemade pizza, which thankfully turned out just like it does back in the states.  Yummy!  We had a great time talking and laughing and telling stories--anything from the neighborhood robbers to people we had met to the war in Guatemala back in the '80s to childhood memories.  Before we knew it, we had chatted for nearly three hours!

Apparently this will be a regular thing.  At least I hope so.  Next stop: McDonald's in Antigua.  (Before you think woop-de-do, realize that fast food here is equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory.  The Mickey D's in Antigua has a courtyard with a fountain, and amazing view of the volcano, and free Internet.)

Robbers and Thieves and Ladrones, Oh No!

Please continue to pray for safety and security for La Senda and at home.  A couple of weeks ago, five people came into La Senda during the school day and stole some checks from the office.  Fortunately, nobody was injured or even directly threatened, but sorting out the money situation appeared to be a little challenging.  The incident particularly unnerved Pam and Steve, understandably so.

They hired a new guard (the old one let the people in without receiving permission to do so).  Good news: the new guard is doing his job.  His first weekend of work I arrived at La Senda for Sunday church service.  I found Hermana Dora, one of the nannies, and her daughters waiting outside the gate, slightly exasperated.  The guard wouldn't let them in.  After waiting ten more minutes and still not being permitted to enter, I called Steve to let him know that his guard was doing an excellent job and asked him to please radio the guard to give permission for us to enter.

This past weekend, the house across the street from me was robbed.  There are a lot of theories rolling around about who did it and why, but the end result is that we had a neighborhood meeting.  This was advantageous to me because I got to meet many of my neighbors for the first time.  They talked for over two hours about various solutions.  I think they settled on changing the lock to the front gate, reminding everyone to lock the gates when we enter and leave, and installing cameras around the perimeter.  Right when I was feeling secure, God reminds me that it's not fences and barbed wire and locks or even neighbors who keep me safe.

Middle School Chicas

Pam and the middle school girls invited me to go to dessert with them recently.  I loved Lupita's hand-made invitation: "Miss Elizabeth.  You are invited to go to coffee with us tomorrow.  It will be at 3:00 something."  When they dropped me off, they got to see the digs, too.  The curtain ties inspired a little bit of fun...

Pam and the girls

Ninja Brenda

Lovely Lupita

Great Gaby

Rosy Rosita

Civics Day

First grade was in charge of the last Civics Day.  They are adorable in their native Guatemalan attire!

Self-Diagnosis

It's 1:30 here, Guatemalan time, and here is the Elizabeth update:

-Her soul feels refreshed.  Her mind feels rested.  Her need to socialize has been fulfilled.  Her spirit still seeks God.
-She is still awake.  This could be due to several factors, most notably two cups of coffee with dinner along with a little bit of Pepsi.  It could also be due to her body's pains.
-Given the pain in her body, Elizabeth has been self-diagnosed with the following (in collaboration with WebMD):

• Sciatica.  Nothing says good morning like the knowledge that as soon as you try to sit up you'll feel a sharp pain in your back side, followed by a nice, steady pressure and pain once the spine compresses as you stand.  Hello, world!
• Kidney Stones.  This diagnosis is still flexible.  It has been upgraded from a diagnosis of appendicitis.  However, confirmation with sources has proven to be inconclusive, rendering this diagnosis potentially inaccurate.

***Can you tell I'm a bit of a hypochondriac when I don't know what's wrong?  I may soon be visiting a doctor...that should give me more to write about! :)

Teaching Snapshots

I've enjoyed some good teaching moments this week.  Here are a few:

• In my English for teachers class, we covered the phrase "Ladies First."  This came up when the only guy in the class decided he could eat the popcorn first since he was the first one there.  We teased him about this and thus taught him the phrase.  However, he ended up liking it--not everyone arrives on time, so with each new arrival he practiced his phrase.  She got popcorn, then he got popcorn.  He decided this concept wasn't so bad after all.
• Movie theater terms this week lent themselves to being taught with a video.  With my 3rd/4th grade group, then, we took a field trip to the great room to watch excerpts from Up.  We discussed scenes, concessions, previews, etc.
• My sixth grade group is often one of two extremes after lunch: completely lethargic or bouncing off the walls.  They are almost never up for reciting and practicing their verse for the week.  Thus, under a moment of inspiration, I decided Psalm 139:21 needed to be recited preacher-style, in the vain of MLK, Jr.  Alejandro, who sits in the back of the room, cracks up every time I say it; I haven't quite convinced them to join me in this manner of recitation, but they have at least done the motions (talking with the hands) with me.
• Thank you, Leslie Robinson (?), for flashbacks.  Started doing these with my 6th graders, and I feel like now we are actually learning something from the getgo with class.