A funny thing happened to me on Friday night. I discovered I have a whole group of people concerned about my safety. This isn't just any normal group though, it's basically the male portion of our youth group. Let me give more detail.
Friday night was the youth group lock-in. What basically happens is the girls go to one house, the boys go to another and they get locked in. No one leaves until 7 the next morning when their parents pick them up. I ended up with the boys because I had gone to visit my friend Nicole. (The boys were at her house, and yes there were male chaperons too.) I hung out for a little while and played a lot of card games. At about 11:30 pm I realized I needed to go home soon but we were deep into SPOONS and I couldn't just get up and leave because I was winning. The next time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 and I really needed to go home to go to bed. I stood up to leave and announced I was going home. All the boys sitting around the table with me stood up and were like "NO!!" At first I was a bit shocked and couldn't figure out what their deal was, but then they got going on about "how there were bad men out there, and I was white and blonde and looked Dutch and would be a target and these bad men just wait in bushes to jump people..." Finally after about 10 mins of this and me promising I would be fine and them arguing with me, I gave up and promised to stay. They were very thankful that I wasn't leaving. I was however allowed to leave at first light. So we sat around for the rest of the evening playing cards and laughing. Basically one of the most entertaining evenings I've had in a long time. I was telling this story to my roommates the next day because even though they knew where I was, they didn't think I would be out that late. I had to explain that 3 or 4 high school/middle school boys appointed themselves my knights in shining armour. We got quite a laugh out of this.
This proves that chivalry isn't dead. You just have to teach at IAS to find it. And apparently be a white, blonde Dutch-looking target!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
If it makes you happy...
I just realized I hardly ever blog about my job which is funny because my job is basically the largest part of my life here. I usually can be found at school, all of my friends are teachers and I never seem to turn off the teacher in me.
Today marks the start of my first set of parent teacher conferences. I admit, I'm pretty nervous. I have no idea why. I have good kids, I have good parents, they're learning, and we're all doing okay day to day. I know they're going to be just fine. It's like pre-game jitters. You know when all is said and done that you're going to out and play your best and possibly win but you can't help be nervous first.
My classroom has never been this clean and I have to admit it's pretty darn tidy anyway. I have enough art on display you'd think I was a gallery. But I had to hang up the kindergarten finger paint masterpiece! I love this classroom, with it's big open spaces and its huge white walls. Everything I've added has been full of colour and life.
I have to admit that lately I've been wondering if this is really what I'm meant to do my entire life. However as I watch my students learn to play a game together and I look around my bright classroom I realize that I don't have to know that now. This is what I'm meant to do now and it's more important to live now then worry about tomorrow.
Today marks the start of my first set of parent teacher conferences. I admit, I'm pretty nervous. I have no idea why. I have good kids, I have good parents, they're learning, and we're all doing okay day to day. I know they're going to be just fine. It's like pre-game jitters. You know when all is said and done that you're going to out and play your best and possibly win but you can't help be nervous first.
My classroom has never been this clean and I have to admit it's pretty darn tidy anyway. I have enough art on display you'd think I was a gallery. But I had to hang up the kindergarten finger paint masterpiece! I love this classroom, with it's big open spaces and its huge white walls. Everything I've added has been full of colour and life.
I have to admit that lately I've been wondering if this is really what I'm meant to do my entire life. However as I watch my students learn to play a game together and I look around my bright classroom I realize that I don't have to know that now. This is what I'm meant to do now and it's more important to live now then worry about tomorrow.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Indescribable...
Do something you've never done before. Do it today.
Do something each day that you've never done before. That is what I decided as I was standing under a waterfall in the Amazon Rainforest. Did I mention that I hiked to this waterfall? Leo Val and Irene Val are their names. It was amazing.
Today's? Smile all day long. At every one you meet.
Yesterday's? Get your picture taken in the jungle.
Tomorrow? Who knows. But the point is do something new. Big or small. Brave or not. Challenge yourself and just do it. And as for the jungle? It was insane. Amazing. Awe inspiring. God Breathed.
We started out Friday morning about 11:00, which was a little late but the bus company sent too small of a bus, so once we got that sorted we were on our way. The bus ride was a little intense. We were crammed like sardines into a bus with all of our stuff (we packed light and still it was jammed) and it took 3 hours to get there. Most of this was on unpaved roads. The last 28 kilometers of the trip took 2 hours!!! Basically a dirt road straight up a mountain. I thought I might die. I definitely wanted to get off the bus. We finally get there and it was spectacular. And there were these funny black birds running wild all over the place, I have pictures. There were also monkeys that we could see from the porch of our house. We could see them in the morning as we woke up, monkeys playing in the trees. We could hear them at night as we slept. Do you know how surreal that is?
So we're there and the first thing we did is move all the mattresses out from the bedrooms onto the porch. All the single ladies stayed in the same house and we slept on the porch. It was about 80 degrees all weekend so we could sleep outside. In fact it was cool compared to the city. I wore long sleeves and yoga pants half the time. After arriving it was about 3 so we had a nap on the porch and then we had supper. After supper we played cards for several hours then we went to bed. That ended our first day in the rain forest.
The second day was amazing. We went on this killer hike to see two waterfalls, not tonnes of water coming from them but I have great pictures. I stood under a waterfall in the Amazon rainforest. And as Becky says I survived the hike. And this was not your average stroll through the woods, this was up, over, down, around... it was intense. I have some pictures. When we got back it was lunch time and then shower time. Which was really exciting because up till that point we actually hadn't had running water. We were really roughing it. And the electricity only turns on at night. So basically I was camping in the jungle. And I loved every minute.
As I was headed up to our other house where the families were staying and we were eating, I met a nice man from Holland who assumed I was British. Must of been the way I said hello. So we talked for a while about what we were each doing there. Turns out his daughter lives in Paramaribo and he comes every 6 months and stays for a fornight each time to visit. I guess I have the family "talk to strangers" gift! The girls got a laugh out of him thinking I was British, but then they made me say hello exactly like I said it to him and they agreed with him. Of course then that started the accent game, of how do you say this, what's this called, pronounce this... It's their favourite game and it just makes me laugh.
We had spaghetti for supper with mashed potatoes. It made me think of Gram. Then there was wicked lightening storm and the power we did have went out. So we were completely in the dark except three kerosene lanterns. Watching the lightening up there it makes you feel like you are in the middle of the storm. It started to rain as well, but we stayed dry. We played cards by kerosene lantern for most of the night. It was so much fun. Then we slept on our porch, and stayed dry but we went to sleep hearing the rain and knowing you could stick your hand out and get wet. It was so cool.
The next morning we woke up and had a small church service. We sang a few hymns and prayed. Then we walked up to the overlook and got more photos. I actually got some really good ones. Then we packed up, got on the bus and took almost 3 1/2 hours to get home. Getting down that mountain takes longer then going up.
That's it. The rainforest in a nutshell. Which is way to small of a description. You can't even begin to imagine the size and scope of this. It was surreal and stunning all at once.
Do something each day that you've never done before. That is what I decided as I was standing under a waterfall in the Amazon Rainforest. Did I mention that I hiked to this waterfall? Leo Val and Irene Val are their names. It was amazing.
Today's? Smile all day long. At every one you meet.
Yesterday's? Get your picture taken in the jungle.
Tomorrow? Who knows. But the point is do something new. Big or small. Brave or not. Challenge yourself and just do it. And as for the jungle? It was insane. Amazing. Awe inspiring. God Breathed.
We started out Friday morning about 11:00, which was a little late but the bus company sent too small of a bus, so once we got that sorted we were on our way. The bus ride was a little intense. We were crammed like sardines into a bus with all of our stuff (we packed light and still it was jammed) and it took 3 hours to get there. Most of this was on unpaved roads. The last 28 kilometers of the trip took 2 hours!!! Basically a dirt road straight up a mountain. I thought I might die. I definitely wanted to get off the bus. We finally get there and it was spectacular. And there were these funny black birds running wild all over the place, I have pictures. There were also monkeys that we could see from the porch of our house. We could see them in the morning as we woke up, monkeys playing in the trees. We could hear them at night as we slept. Do you know how surreal that is?
So we're there and the first thing we did is move all the mattresses out from the bedrooms onto the porch. All the single ladies stayed in the same house and we slept on the porch. It was about 80 degrees all weekend so we could sleep outside. In fact it was cool compared to the city. I wore long sleeves and yoga pants half the time. After arriving it was about 3 so we had a nap on the porch and then we had supper. After supper we played cards for several hours then we went to bed. That ended our first day in the rain forest.
The second day was amazing. We went on this killer hike to see two waterfalls, not tonnes of water coming from them but I have great pictures. I stood under a waterfall in the Amazon rainforest. And as Becky says I survived the hike. And this was not your average stroll through the woods, this was up, over, down, around... it was intense. I have some pictures. When we got back it was lunch time and then shower time. Which was really exciting because up till that point we actually hadn't had running water. We were really roughing it. And the electricity only turns on at night. So basically I was camping in the jungle. And I loved every minute.
As I was headed up to our other house where the families were staying and we were eating, I met a nice man from Holland who assumed I was British. Must of been the way I said hello. So we talked for a while about what we were each doing there. Turns out his daughter lives in Paramaribo and he comes every 6 months and stays for a fornight each time to visit. I guess I have the family "talk to strangers" gift! The girls got a laugh out of him thinking I was British, but then they made me say hello exactly like I said it to him and they agreed with him. Of course then that started the accent game, of how do you say this, what's this called, pronounce this... It's their favourite game and it just makes me laugh.
We had spaghetti for supper with mashed potatoes. It made me think of Gram. Then there was wicked lightening storm and the power we did have went out. So we were completely in the dark except three kerosene lanterns. Watching the lightening up there it makes you feel like you are in the middle of the storm. It started to rain as well, but we stayed dry. We played cards by kerosene lantern for most of the night. It was so much fun. Then we slept on our porch, and stayed dry but we went to sleep hearing the rain and knowing you could stick your hand out and get wet. It was so cool.
The next morning we woke up and had a small church service. We sang a few hymns and prayed. Then we walked up to the overlook and got more photos. I actually got some really good ones. Then we packed up, got on the bus and took almost 3 1/2 hours to get home. Getting down that mountain takes longer then going up.
That's it. The rainforest in a nutshell. Which is way to small of a description. You can't even begin to imagine the size and scope of this. It was surreal and stunning all at once.
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