just another Sunday

Last week felt like a very long week.  School seemed to just drag on and on.  I'm very happy for November and our all of the days off we get for Flag Day, Independence from Spain, Separation from Colombia, etc. etc.  I need a different pace to get excited about work again.  I also have a book or two that I'm working on that I really just want to get into and enjoy for a longer un-interrupted period of time--oh!  and I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo and try to write a novel on a month... crazy, but it should be fun.

The past few days it has been raining like crazy but, that means that it's nice and not too hot outside.  Yesterday, we went to our literary workshop and it was great.  It's fun because one of my friends from my childhood is also going to the workshop.  I like that.  Yesterday it was funny because Ariel and I had a conversation in the morning that turned out to be part of what the speaker was going to talk about...we feel like we have our own pre-workshop before the official workshop.

I'm busy with teaching but, Ariel and I are also enjoying looking for opportunities to continue writing more, so that it will be more of a habit and potentially something that one of us could do more formally sometime.  

Enjoying it in the midst of it

This was a hard week for me at school.  One of my co-workers was gone because her father passed away so, I had to try to help the substitute (who was amazing, by the way) and then, there was a situation with a family that I had to help with and it took so much emotional energy that I couldn't sleep.  I was so worried about the situation that I was awake almost all night long.  The next day, I was exhausted.  By Saturday, I was very tired.

Even so, Ariel and I got up early and headed to our Literary Workshops.  We had both done our homework.  We wrote a character sketch and came up with a "challenge" for our character.  We enjoyed the workshop, even though there was this one participant who couldn't stop talking.  That was a really fun time.  When it was done we headed back across town.  On days like that we both wish that we lived closer to the center of the city.  

Today is our 3 month-aversery so, yesterday we went and ate at a favorite restaurant to celebrate.  After eating we headed home.  I was exhausted and fell asleep.  It felt like such a waste of a beautiful day but, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.  We went to the grocery store to pick up a couple things we needed for dinner.  Then we ate pancakes and I tried to get some work done for school this next week.  Planning is like a second full time job.  This is our last full week before we start to have days off left and right in November.  

I was thinking a few days ago about how this is one of those seasons that even though I'm tired a lot, I feel like I'm enjoying it while I'm in the midst of it.  Sometimes, it seems that I only realize how fun or special a season of my life was when it was all over.  

this is the way things go

So, I set a goal of writing something every day in the month of October.  That's a tough goal.  Tonight, I don't have anything that I feel like writing about.  It's rainy season.  The middle of the rainy season.  It rains every day but, I like it.  The weather is nice and cool.  Humid but not hot.  It makes cuddling at night super nice and getting up in the morning super hard.

I started reading a novel to my 9th graders and the amazing thing is that I think I've got them hooked.  I have a problem with not having enough books for my students to read on their own but, this is great.  They get excited when I'm about to read.  They clear their desks and lean in.  It's fantastic.  I hope that somehow this gets them a bit more excited about reading in the future.

I have a problem at school with having too much planned and not being able to get through all of the stuff I'd planned.  It's good to have enough planned... I hope that the things we are doing are helpful and that the students are actually learning something.  

Anyway, I think I've met the minimum requirement of words written.  I'm doing great, I'm just not inspired to write at the moment.

Talleres Literarios

If you spend very much time with Ariel or with me you'll find out that we love to read and write.  Ever since I graduated from college I've had a lot of "I wish I had studied English" thoughts because there were so many literature and writing classes that I would have loved to take.  No, I don't regret what I studied, it was perfect for me at the time but, ever since then I've been a sponge for literature and writing.  Ariel and I both hope for formal opportunities to study in order to improve our skills and open up opportunities to teach and share our love for words and ideas.

So, when we got the news about the Talleres Literarios en Panama, we were ecstatic.  We had heard about these Literary Workshops over a year ago and were waiting anxiously for more information, when a couple weeks ago we finally got news that they were accepting applications for the Talleres Literarios en Panamá.  These are going to be a year of weekend classes taught by Panamanian, Latin American, and Spanish professors and writers.They will do a survey of Spanish-American literature and provide writing workshop in poetry and prose. It's fantastic.

It's being sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development.  This sponsorship makes the program very formal.  Three Panamanian universities and the National Institute for Culture are also involved, all these institutions make it a potentially fantastic place to grow and learn about other opportunities.  One of the goals of the Spanish partners in the program is to present the participants with opportunities to study in Spain and hopefully remain involved in promoting literature and writing after the program is over (that is something that interests Ariel and me very, very much).

Something that makes it even better is that the coursework follows the literature content that I'm supposed to be teaching to my 9th graders.  This makes it a perfect way for me to be better prepared as I teach my students.  I'm really excited about starting this tomorrow afternoon!

teacher joy

I just had a moment that made me feel happy.  I started reading a book to my students this week and I just heard two of my students talking about the story in the hall....

familiar faces

Yesterday, I was sitting in our Wednesday afternoon meeting when the person facilitating the meeting put on a short video to try to illustrate a point about "worldview". I was watching the video when suddenly a familiar face showed up on the screen. It was Os Guinness. 

I don’t know if you’ve ever had that feeling of being somewhere new where you don’t know anyone and suddenly, you see someone you know. It is such a delightful feeling. You might to believe this but, my eyes filled up with tears as if I had just been joined by a dear friend in a strange place. 

I looked around the room and wondered why I felt that way and I thought about the fact that I’ve shared more meals with Os than I have with any of my co-workers. I’ve had more challenging conversations with Os than with any of my co-workers. It seems so odd and yet so natural, to feel a missing pang for someone like Os Guinness. 

It made me feel a bit nostalgic but, mostly thankful. The truth is that last night I was thinking about the fact that even though I eventually I might miss the intellectual part of Washington a bit, I really feel much more useful here in Panama. It’s nice to be surrounded by people like that but, it feels much more useful to be in a place where teaching people to think is needed.

study club

Today, I started something new.  I am an official “Study Club” teacher on Tuesday’s after school.  The fact is that it is a great way to earn a little extra money.  I was thinking about the fact that I like teaching, I love students but, I don’t just stick around for an extra hour or two for fun.  

You really do have to pay people to do that kind of thing; it’s not something that is really born out of the kindness of your heart –as much as you may love it.  Arriving home two hours later than usual once a week will be worth it in the long run.  Plus, it’s only once a week when Ariel has to teach a class anyway, that means that he isn’t done with that until I’ll be getting home anyway, so it actually works out really well.  

I hope that it turns out to be a good choice and helpful in the long run for my students and for Ariel and me.

day of rest

Today was the first Sunday in weeks that I’ve been able to rest. The fact is that we’ve had so much going on between moving in, fixing the car, and preparing for school (among other things), that I haven’t had much time to really rest and just relax. It was a good day for that very reason.

After church we went to Ariel’s parents’ house for lunch, came home and took a nice long nap, in the afternoon I got to do some reading and just “being” without trying to complete any necessary task. The only thing we need to do before we go to bed is write up our weekly “menu” and grocery shopping list. Not bad since it’s still early in the evening.

I am looking forward to, hopefully, a good beginning to the second quarter. My expectation is that I will do a better job of teaching my students and organizing my time so that when I’m home I can enjoy being home with Ariel.

teacher in-service

Today, we had teacher in-service at school and I think that it killed my inspiration.  I wanted to write on our other blog Contrapunto but, I just don't have any inspiration right now.

The fact is that aside from getting grades out, I really got quite a bit of planning done for the next quarter.  That makes me feel great.  I LOVE planning and I'm a big fan of being organized.  I hope that this quarter I can keep things much more organized and do a better job of teaching my students.

The first quarter report cards will be sent out tonight and I'm kind of dreading hearing from parents who feel like their student should have gotten a much higher grade.  The good thing is that for most of my students their Spanish grade is NOT their lowest grade.  That means that the parents who get worked up about stuff will probably worry about those lower grades first.  I feel like a bad person wishing mean parents on other teachers, but it's true... I kind of do hope that they don't get mad at me first.  

I'm excited about this next term but, to be honest I really wish that we had more books in Spanish.  That would be one of my wishes, I guess any teacher that teaches reading would wish that but, considering the socio-economic status of our school, we have a very pitiful Spanish book selection.  

Well, this became just a random rant so I'm going to stop for now.

happy!

something every day

So, last week Ariel and I were talking and I said something like, "We should try to write something everyday in October."  We both thought it sounded like a great challenge and so, here I am writing.  Ariel and I write a blog together called Contrapunto so, if I haven't written on here every day it's because I've written over there.

The fact is that writing every day can be hard.  Just like teaching every day.  This past week and a half I haven't wanted to go to school.  I'm kind of in that mid-semester slump when you hit that "I don't like being a teacher anymore" stage.  It's ok, I'm sure I'll recover once we get past exams and all that jazz. But, it's been kind of a bummer at school because I haven't wanted to be there.  I'm more bummed about classes and assignments than the students are.  I really don't want to assign any more writing because they write the most BORING stuff I've ever read.  I'm just kidding about not assigning any more writing... but, sometimes being a teacher can be tiring and I'm tired right now.

The good thing about all of this is that is that it makes me that much more excited about coming home at the end of the day (even if I have to continue grading and doing a bit of work at home).  I'm glad that I'm home right now forcing myself to write, just like I will force myself to go to school in the morning.

the license saga

So, I'm trying to get my oficial Panamanian driver's license and you would think that I'd be able to do it quickly since it's just a matter of transfering my US license to Panama.  But, you're wrong and so was I.  The funny thing is that I haven't even been able to get my papers in.  

First, I had to take my license to the US Embassy to get it authenticated by the Consul.  That was one day.  Then, I had to take it (and when I say I, Ariel did this) to the Ministry of Foreign Relations to get the Consul's signature authenticated.  That took a couple days because the office of authentications is not at the main building of Foreign Relations (something that we didn't know at first).  Anyway, after we got all of that figured out... we had to make sure I got a lab test to prove my blood type since it isn't marked on my driver's license.

I went to this random lab and had that done.  Perfect.  Now I should have everything I need, right?  Right.  Well, this week I went three times to hand in my paperwork at the  DTT, the Panamanian DMV.  The first time I found it (I hadn't been there before) and then when I was standing in line I realized that I had left my blood type paper.  So, I walked out before even going up to the counter.  The second time, I realized that I had left the blood type paper before leaving home, so I was going to go and turned around before I even got to the DTT.  

On the way home, I was stopped for the first time since I started driving in Panama at a checkpoint by a police officer who was looking for foreigners (they like doing that in that part of town, but that's another story).  Thankfully, I have a Panamanian ID and he didn't ask me why I hadn't gotten my local license yet... it was another reminder, however, that I should try to get that paper work done.

Yesterday, I finally made it with all of my paperwork.  I stood in line and as I was waiting I picked up one of the informational brochures.  I was reading it when I saw the asterisk next to the point about getting your blood type tested.  It said, "You must do this at qualified laboratories approved by the DTT."  My heart started beating when I realized that maybe this wasn't going to be the time I'd get to hand in my papers.  I waited until got to the counter and the laidy looked at my documents and checked the clinic that I did my lab work in her database and said, "That's not an approved clinic."  So, my heart was beating quickly out of frustration and I walked out wondering why it has to be so complicated to be grown up and do paperwork.

Anyway, the saga continues but hopefully I can get that done so that I can spend my time on other things...

Are you ok?

So, today I was driving back from work and my car overheated again.  It's the second time that this happens while I've been alone.  It's the second time that I've had some people come over to help.  The truth is that there are scary people all over the world but, there are also a lot of people who are just willing to help if you need it.  I'm not saying that being a young woman doesn't help my odds on both sides (the good and the bad) but, my car overheating has done something good to redeem my view of the human race.  Both times, I've had some helpful man or two stop to help me out.  Both times they were men who were either on their way to work or were at work.

Today, I had to pull over to let my car cool down on what is equivalent to a freeway in the States.  People drive by at high speeds and it's kind of precarious.  It just so happened that I had just driven by some workers who were fixing something on the road and I hadn't been out of the car for a minute when one of them came over to ask me what had happened to my car.  I told him that the car had overheated and he immediately asked one of his co-workers to go get a bucket of water (which I wouldn't have been able to do on that free-wayish road) because my little bottle of water wasn't going to be enough to cool down my car.

The fact is that the amount of steam that came out of my car was impresive, I just hope that it didn't cause any permanent damage.  I'm wondering if I have some sort of leak because it seems like the coolant is just dripping out too quickly.  Anyway, that's not the point.  The point is that the three workers stayed with me untill we'd gotten the temperature down, they gave me their advice, and I was back on the road.  It didn't overheat again on the rest of the commute home.

I think that even though my car situation is a bit of a concern, the positive thing is that there are a lot of kind strangers out there willing to help you out if you're in a tight spot without asking you for anything.  That's the bright side of this whole thing, I was in need of some positive interactions with strangers.