Part of Colegio La Senda; hill is right of center. Looks better in person. :) The traffic continues to whiz by. Occasionally there's that ear-piercing squeal of tires that seems to last for minutes rather than mere seconds as I wait for the impending sound of a crash. Thankfully, there has been none yet while I'm here. However, the curve in the road and the sometimes reckless speeds make for a dangerous combination outside of La Senda. On the other side, there is a hilltop, a few dips away, that stands sentinel against the sky. Rather than being forested over like the Appalachian Mountains or the wooded areas of Southeast Ohio, there are a few trees that rim the outline, each one clearly discernable. It reminds me of a painting. And, in contrast to the noise of the road behind me, the view to that hill and the shadowy mountains beyond are peaceful.
Thankfully, the last two days of teaching have felt more like that peaceful hillside than the PanAmerican Highway. The second graders still make me glad that I have lunch break right after I teach them, but they're listening pretty well. The sixth graders have started responding a little more, and I feel that they have actually learned each day's lesson this week. The third graders finally understand, I hope, that they need to do their homework when I ask them to. The junior highers are working on a paper, and while there are many kinks to work out, I think they will end up writing a pretty good piece by the end of July. And every day they ask if we're going to read Holes, a good sign to me even if some of the boys pretend not to want to read. Their attention by the time I'm halfway through the chapter proves otherwise.
I'm grateful for this book of daily readings called, quite simply, A Year with C.S. Lewis. Though I've had it for several years now, I continue to find his insights into life and faith fascinating. The most recent thing I underlined was from June 30: "After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God." A comforting thought in many ways--it releases us from the pressure of trying to mold ourselves into Christlikeness, an impossible task. However, I think it's also a call to patience--patience for his timing and trust that God knows what He's doing.
Off to debone a chicken and finish frying tortillas. Making enchiladas tonight, my own improvised Guatemalan version of Americanized Mexican food. It's actually somewhat tasty. And I guess cooking here is teaching me something--who ever thought I would actually boil a chicken? Not me!
2 comments:
Happy 4th of July! I'm glad things are going well with your classes. Do you always have to cook your own food, or is there a cafeteria that you could eat at?
Boil a chicken? Do you buy food like you do here where meat is already packaged, or do you pretty much just get a whole chicken and have to do a lot of it yourself?
Thanks for the updates! Miss you!
JB
Happy 4th, JB! We pretty much always cook unless there is a special event going on, like a bonfire or July 4th event. There is no cafeteria, so all of the kids bring their lunches. Since lunch is the biggest meal of the day, all of the classrooms have a microwave for students to heat up their meals. Actually, the teachers do it for them.
The chicken is packaged, but it's the whole chicken. I can probably buy pieces, but it's more expensive, I imagine.
There are some fun experimentations in our kitchen. :) Hope you're doing well!
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