Hello again, dear family and friends! I am taking time from lesson planning and learning latin pop songs to update you a bit more on my lovely life. I had a lovely semana santa, though it wasn’t quite as relaxing as I had expected it to be! Anamaria, the teacher from the preschool that I have talked about in a few entries, adopted me for most of the weekend, which was so sweet! I had told her on Wednesday night at the preschool party to call me if she wanted to do something, and she took me at my word. She called me late Friday morning and asked me if I wanted to go hang out at another teacher’s house that afternoon, and that was relaxing. Anita also bought me an M&M McFlurry, so it was a very happy day! I haven’t had ice cream very much down here. When she dropped me off at my house, she asked if I wanted to go with her to watch a friend play tennis on Saturday morning, and I said yes without even asking how long we would be out, which might not have been a good idea! This gringa just never knows quite what's going on, partly because she doesn't ask!
The next morning Anita and her friend Ilana came to pick me up, and when we got to the tennis courts Gordo and Pablo had just started playing. I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this yet, but nearly everyone down here gets called “Gordo” or “Flaco” (Fat or Skinny) at some point. I never have—probably because I’m right in the middle! Or because calling me “Gringa” is easier. Anyway, Gordo’s real name is Luis. Everyone that we were with that day knew Anita from university. Before she dropped me off that night, she asked if I wanted to go with her and her parents to Playas, the beach close to Guayaquil that I had not visited. I couldn’t bring myself to say no, because, as you can probably tell, I really like the beach. Besides that, Anita told me that she would have to work on lessons just like I would.
(P.S. to this part: Gordo actually thinks that Correa is a good president! So I have accomplished my goal of meeting a Correa fan from Guayaquil, and Mariana just told me that the taxi driver that takes us to school likes him, too. After I had found that out about Gordo, they started asking me my take on American politics, and they all freaked out when I said I hadn’t voted for Obama. Since the media portrays him as a god, I suppose it’s not surprising that they don’t realize the relatively small margin that he won by…)
I went to the Easter service at Mariana and Kiko’s church that night. I have only been to mass a few times, but I have always wondered what Easter mass would be like, so I was excited. I was also just excited for Easter. When I was little, I always thought Easter was a lame holiday compared to Christmas, possibly because Easter does not involve presents or Christmas lights. However, lately I find that Easter gets more amazing to me every year. I am in awe of the ultimate sacrifice that the God of the universe made… for me. But as it turns out, I missed my church at home! First of all, Saturday night Easter services are lame. It just doesn’t feel the same to celebrate on the night that Jesus was still in the tomb. And then of course, I don’t always understand what is going on. Many scriptures were read, and the one that I remember the most was the one about Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command, as a picture of what the Lord would someday do. The music was beautiful, and the service was candlelit, which I loved. But still, there was just something missing. I sensed joy and devotion in the people there, but it just wasn’t quite as tangible as in the Easter services that I am used to at Minnesota Valley. There was no brass quartet, and the music was much more subdued than the triumphant hymns of my childhood:
“Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes! He arose a Victor from the dark domain, and He lives, forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!” “Ris’n again, our glorious King! Where, O Death, is now thy sting? Death in vain forbids Him rise, Christ hath opened paradise! Alleiua!”
Anyway, church and brass players, know that you were missed! But praise God that Jesus is risen and living, and that I got to praise Him at the beach on Easter. Anita and her parents came to pick me up very early on Easter morning, and then we took the long way to Playas, because Anita’s parents are both doctors and her dad had to check in at the hospital for a few minutes. It was really fun to chat with her mom a little bit, though she barely speaks any English anymore. I believe she and her husband both attended Colegio Americano, but now she doesn’t get many chances to practice. We talked a bit about her other two kids, whom I haven’t met, and about my siblings and parents, and then she started telling me how much she loves her job as a doctor in pediatric intensive care. She says that nearly all of the patients she has are very poor, so one of the biggest problems she deals with is malnutrition. I have not really seen many of the poorer parts of Guayaquil, but like most big cities, there are many more people who are poor than those who are wealthy. It was great to see how much Señora Fernandez cares about the children that she works with, though it must be a difficult and sad job sometimes.
In Playas, we visited Señor Fernandez’ best friend from high school and his family. His parents and his siblings have land right off the beach, and there is a mini neighborhood full of houses, one for each smaller part of the family. I had a fun talk with Valentina, one of the granddaughters. She just got back from Florida, so her English was freshly practiced. When I told her that I haven’t been able to travel very much yet, she told me that she would love to go on an adventure with me, so I’m hoping to convince her that she is dying to take a trip to Cuenca some weekend before I leave! My time here is really slipping away, but I still want to see that pretty city and see a few friends there, as well as transport Darwin and Kirsten’s suitcase the rest of the way home! Anyway, it was a lovely Easter with Anita’s family.
On Monday Kiko left to spend a few days in Quito, so Mariana and I were on our own, though we had relatives over most nights. Kiko got home last night, and he said that there was such a bad rainstorm in Quito that he was not sure if he would make it home. I think it rained most of the time that he was there. He is planning to go to Cuenca next week, but during the week, unfortunately. Kiko really likes to travel, as does Mariana.
But the real news of this week, and what I really need to tell you all about, is the teaching. I took over almost everything from Mr. Dixon this week, and I’ve had some interesting experiences already. I am so exhausted right now, and I still have one day left, but I don’t usually feel tired when I am with the students. Those of you who remember my last semester will believe me when I say that no matter how crazy my life is, if I enjoy what I am doing I will be able to keep going. Of course, there are also problems with time management and procrastination that I am still wrestling with, which means I should be able to sleep more than I actually do, but hopefully one day I will grow up that way. The college life is ingrained quite deeply in me by now. Learning to get up early has not been too difficult for me, but learning how to go to bed early has. The heat is definitely getting to me, though, and I do not have nearly as much energy as I wish I had. I am starting to grab opportunities to stay at school late and work in the air-conditioned library, which is working well so far.
So, about this teaching. My first real day teaching a lesson was Tuesday, which is our fullest day, with no free hours. We have each section for seven periods a week, and the schedule is entirely different every day, which is difficult for me to keep up with. I was concerned about making sure that they realized that I am going to be their teacher for this time, so I dressed up and threw myself into the teaching. The first few lessons have been a pre-assessment for what they know about literary terms, a story about my time I spent in Moorhead before coming to Guayaquil, a PowerPoint of literary terms, and our first short story, “Duffy’s Jacket” by Bruce Coville. The students loved hearing about snow. They were supposed to write sentences about the differences between Guayaquil and Moorhead for their homework, and they were all enthralled by the pictures I showed them, especially since we got so much snow this year. The pictures of the Red River flood would not have been as enchanting, I don’t suppose, and nor would pictures of people shoveling. They definitely do not know that side of snow. A few of the kids actually did some research to find some differences, and it was really fun to see what interested them. I really love reading journals and homework. That’s the way to get to know students, just like I found out at Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley last semester. I know almost all of their names now, which is very exciting to me! On my first day I thought I would never learn them all before I left. God’s definitely given me help, and I’ve been working hard at it.
I’ve had a few frustrating times already, especially with the two sections with lower English proficiency. Those groups are both very chatty, and we are starting to implement our discipline plan, but we have yet to see what will be the most effective for curbing some of their impulses. Yesterday I felt like I had to yell a lot, but today was much better. I was even able to almost whisper for a little while, and Mr. Dixon is brainstorming ways to encourage better listening. One good motivator is the knowledge of an upcoming test, though, and I think that might be one reason why things were better today. I kept reminding them how cyclical listening in class is—they don’t understand English all the time, so they check out and start talking with each other, and then they miss important instructions and understand even less later. We are also working on ways to encourage them to speak only English in English class (crazy, I know). Today we made a seating chart for New Mexico, and we told them that after they have met their goal of using Spanish less than three times a day for nine days, they can chose their own spots again. They did not use Spanish once the whole class period, though Renzo came very close once. We also did small group discussions in the two higher classes today, and that went very well, so I am hoping it will tomorrow for the other two classes, though I know it will be more difficult.
Then, there are the little fun things that make life so much more enjoyable. On Tuesday Philip finally set up his coffee bar in our room, with an electric carafe, tea bags, and cappuccino mix, and I used it and enjoyed it very much. Sadly, during last hour yesterday, while I was reading the short story with New York, the extension cord overheated and set the table cloth on fire! The kids in the back of the room started yelling right before I saw the smoke, so I walked to the table with my big honking literature book to investigate, unplugged the cord, and carried the electric base to Philip, who was sitting at his desk by the door. Then we kept reading the story, and while the humor of it did hit me then, as I write this I am laughing so hard that I snorted, and Kiko must be wondering what in the world I am doing down here by myself!
Hmmm, so pray for my students once again, all 130 of them, and pray that I would continue to love them and would teach them well. I want to become part of the community at Colegio Americano, though I also don’t want to get too attached. Pray that I would have guidance in my plans for the fall. I really need to work more on sending applications.
Pray also that I will find more opportunities to share my faith. Most of my friends down here know that I am a Christian and that my faith is important to me, but they don’t know how important. Sometimes words are necessary in witnessing, though not all the time, and I feel like I haven’t given many words. I especially want to know what kind of relationships Anita, Philip, and others that I know better really have with God, but I haven’t had many opportunities yet, especially because Philip and I are always talking about class.
How can I pray for all of you? E-mail me or send me a facebook message! I would really love to hear from you! I just got a letter from my Grandma yesterday, and it totally made my day to get mail, as it always does! God bless you all! Chao, Christina
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