Serendipity: n. a chance happening

On Thursday night I was reading facebook updates when serendipitously, a girl I went to high school with posted a new photo album of her life in Ecuador.  I happened to click the link.  She showed pictures of where she's living, her Ecuadorian friends, her school (she is a missionary and moved there last year to be a teacher).  I really enjoyed the pictures, and I laughed out loud at some of them.  There was a link to her blog, which I began reading immediately. 

I saw pictures of smiling faces of her students, her view of the Andes mountains from breezeway inside her school, and pictures of her traveling the country.

She writes in her blog,

[The people here] are extremely generous. Smiles, hugs, stickers, pictures, food. They'll give them all away. If one of my students bought food during lunch they will inevitably share it with me and their classmates. I mean, today four of my fifth graders gave me candy, a seventh grader gave me shrimp, and a third grader gave me a pear. Like many Haitians I've seen, they will take whatever they have and share it with the five people around them -- without thinking otherwise! I've not yet heard a kid ask another for something (like food) and received, "No!" for an answer. Really? Does this happen in the States too?

My Ecuadorian friend, Mika, expressed that one difficult aspect of adapting to life in the States was their independence. It's something we value, right? If we can have our own car, job, house, and dog we've reached the height of success. We're proud that we did it on our own and only used people if we needed something from them. And so we sit back in our houses, turn on the tv, and enjoy being independent of those around us... 

I am learning here that community is essential. There's no way I'd survive here in Shell without others. Hearing their stories of struggles, hurts, breakthroughs, and healing strengthens me and reminds me that I'm not alone in this battle. Maria, my house mom, cries at least once a week. Actually, many of the women I've met here in Shell cry. . .often. Their hearts break for others and themselves and they're not afraid to show their emotions. They're not afraid to call out to God for help. They're not afraid to share their short-comings and their walk towards redemption.

Okay...I'm crying now! :)  This is growing in another culture and learning to grow in your walk with God.  This is what I wish I could share with my students, this is what you can't see in a textbook.

I tell you this because this little class in Shell, Ecuador will be pen pels with my students in Weddington, North Carolina.  These students will share who they are, their language, and there culture with us...and we will return the favor. Yay for an exciting end to the week.  I look very forward to this!

Investments

We invest in everything in life, and investments nearly always yield a return.

When I think back to a few years ago, and the students that I have now that decided to stay in Spanish, the ones who came back--because they don't HAVE to--were the ones I invested in.   Not the ones I taught the best or the smartest (although that would be nice, wouldn't it?).  In fact, I have had kids fail Spanish and sign up for it again the next year.  This always blows my mind!  I'm beginning to realize that the majority of students come back because I click with them, I get to get to know them, I laugh with them, and I talk to them.  It has very little to do with acutally learning Spanish.  They come back because I know their cat's name and that they only eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch.  (Spanish discussions can always go in fun places). 

This year I'm having a hard time making that investment in one class in particular.  I KNOW I'm not investing, so everything feels forced.  I'm stressed to cram everything in because of the new standardized test.  To top it off, they are a low group of kids.  I feel rushed, and I'm not allowing the time for a natural discussion because somewhere in the back of my mind a little voice is reminding me of "how far behind" we are.  I hate that voice.

But I really need that investment and I need to take the time to make it.  I need to move slower, I need to look them in the eyes more, and I need to mean it.  It's not going to happen over night, but I'm working on it.  :)

Wedding!!!

Katy got married in Chicago this past weekend!  I skipped school on Friday (yay, skipping, lol).  Charlie and I made our way by plane to Chi-town in the a.m.  I was honored to be Katy's Matron of Honor and stand next to her on such an important day.  Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The day was effortless... because the couple was so happy, how could it be anything but?. :)  Strong wind gusts, ominous clouds, and sprinkles of rain couldn't wipe the smile off the bride's--or the groom's--face.  The bridal party even took pictures outside and turned to popsicles.  All for the sake of love!  I'm so happy for Katy.

Katy lived in the same dorm room for 4 years and only 20 minutes apart in N.C....but now 700 miles separate us.  That's hard.  It's difficult to be away from the people that you love.  Katy and I always said, though... "BFF, maid of honor, and godmother of the firstborn."...and that's not even something  700 miles can separate!

 Life is so seasonal and changes so fast.  When I think about how much has changed since we moved to Charlotte, it makes my jaw drop.  Not every day has been perfect, but we are still so honored and humbled by what the Lord has provided us with.  We have more blessings than we can count and friends--like Katy--we treasure are among those.  I hope all of you have a friend that you'd freeze like a pospicle for.  Those are the best kind. :) 

Off to Chicago this weekend!

My best friend from college, Katy, is getting married!  Charlie and I leave on Friday for the wedding.  I can't believe this day has come.  I miss Katy with over 700 miles between us, but I'm so honored to fly to Chicago and stand next to her as her Matron of Honor.  :)  Let the good times roll!

THE crock pot.

We are obsessed.  Officially.  We received a crock pot for our wedding, and after moving it into the new place, it sat on a back shelf in its box for almost a year.  One of those things we knew we would use, "just not right now."

When we broke it open a year into matrimony, we were bored with the same 'ole stir fries.  I hate baking because it makes the house hot, and I really just don't have time for it, frankly.

Crock potting is great... you chop and throw in.  Why had I not discovered this simple pleasure before!?!?!  And you do it early enough in the day that when dinner rolls around, it feels like you didn't have to even cook and you somehow cheated out of actually working.  This this always a bonus.

We have the exact crocker pictured above from BB&B.  We've only made one bad recipe so far, and that was because Charlie and I discovered that we just don't have a taste for tomato paste.  Yuck!

Other than that we've been enjoying all sorts of chicken recipes, and tomorrow is Pork Tenderloin.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce freshly ground black pepper to taste


Directions

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.  
 
Let you know how it turns out. :)

mi casa es su casa

Part of me wishes we could be homeowners.  There are many pros to this scenario...

1. a downturned market...we could find a deal
2. teacher breaks/discounts
3. tax breaks... there is even talking of the $8,000 tax credit coming back
4. our own space and yard
5. not having to take Luna down 3 flights of stairs just to go outside; not having to lug groceries 3 flights up stairs
6. HAVING A GARAGE!
7. decorating on a dime (only one of my favorite things to do!)
8. having a craft table / a creative room.... which may also dub as the so-called "man cave"...with a girly corner ;)
9. escaping from our Saturday night party neighbors and the crying baby downstairs... and all the other crappy parts of apartment life
10. being part of a community
11. making an investment

There are also cons...

1. breaking our lease
2. upkeep is all on us!-- and we might suck at that.
3. having to mow a yard
4. the extra $$ you pour into a house when you first buy
5. time-- to do it all.

We are not in the business of looking for a house at this immediate juncture, but our short-term plan is beginning to look in January, closer to when our lease is up (knocking a con off the list!).

So, just for fun, here are some ideas I've seen over the past year or so that I thought were really inspirational...



http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/

 I love this girl's blog and living room... I think it's so cute.  She's witty and funny and has a really great, frugal sense of style.  We would *die* with a white couch + Luna (that would drive me bonkers), but the whole aesthetic is great.  The best part: most of the items she got at thrift stores, Goodwill, or consignment shops.  (With some IKEA thrown in for the modern feel).  She sewed all of the pillows herself.  I really love the colors, too.


I'm obsessed with floating shelves.  I think they are really cool.  Functional, too.

http://www.younghouselove.com/

The bonus room/man cave might rock (they really don't have basements in the south)...

Okay...totally kidding!!!  Haha.  I don't think I could stand having a giant football player on our wall, but I would be open to the idea of having a D.Lions accent wall and a framed jersey.  Or even some fun throw pillows.  For fun for my husband, who will probably gladly have little to say in how we decorate our home, but who does so much for me and deserves something he loves.

Okay, that was an enjoyable waste of 20 minutes.  LOL.   In the mean time we will continue to live life in our little place and enjoy spending time at other people's houses. ;)

Off to the races...

...literally. I've been so busy these past few weeks. It's been insane. It's such a different busy than this summer, too. Nothing can prepare you for teaching. And I mean nothing. It's a give-it-all-you've-got-all-day kind of thing. Rewarding but hard. I'm barely keeping my head above water with the workload, and this other prep is killing me (6 classes, 4 preps), but leading kids to learning is something that never gets old.  Not even for a second.


One of my books...
the one I'm most excited
about. :)


Starting my thesis has also been on my mind, and I finally sat down to buy the books I'm going to use as my resources. I scoured amazon.com for about 3 hours, and tons of research later, I settled on $77 worth of books about reading in foreign language. I told my students about my "memoria final" and a 500 page book that I bought to learn more about teaching Spanish and how their brains work! Some were amazed, others baffled, and still others confused, but regardless, they are all sooooo excited when I take pictures of them in action to use as an appendix/documentation of my research. They so desperately want to be "famous in Spain."

"Take one of me, Mrs. S! I'll make it such a good picture!"

"The point is to act natural..."

"Okay, I'll act natural with my pose."

I empathize with this, though. I, too was that kind of child.