"If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance."
I have no idea who said that, but I love it. I just read one of the best books called Half the Sky and mostly it was about how to improve the lives of women all over the world. The part that really stuck with me was all about educating girls. It costs next to nothing but it will improve society if women are education. As a teacher I'm for education for everyone, but particularly women. It kills me that some societies deny girls something basic as the opportunity to read. Reading and writing are just things that I take for granted. I knew that I would go to school and have the opportunities to learn, yet not everyone gets that privilege. There is so much that we don't even think about living in the first world. So many opportunities we don't even realize we have and so many things we whine about doing (like working) that so many people would love to have the opportunity to do all over the world.
So I guess this is a post about appreciating what you've got. I know I learnt a lesson this week when the hot water went away and I had to shower in cold. I mean I still had a shower but you don't know how much you appreciate hot water until you don't have it anymore.
PS - Hot water fixed now. Hallelujah!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
It's raining, it's pouring...
The average human being spends 3 to 5 years of their life waiting for things. Crazy eh? Think of all the things we could be doing with that time. Just so you know, I Googled this while I was hanging out in the Trinidad airport(for about 7 hours). I was curious to know how long most people wait for things; apparently quite a while.
I'm back now in Suriname, safe and sound. Kind of feels like I never left. I got to test out my full wet suit today went I went to church and it works! I was completely dry.
Basically we've just been hanging out, falling back into routine and living our normal lives for the past week and it's been good. The Pizza Hut people still need to be given very specific directions to our house, even though they're there regularly; movie night popcorn is still one of my favourite things, Sarinah's makes the best curry in town and it's still raining! Nothing has changed! Thank goodness.
I'm back now in Suriname, safe and sound. Kind of feels like I never left. I got to test out my full wet suit today went I went to church and it works! I was completely dry.
Basically we've just been hanging out, falling back into routine and living our normal lives for the past week and it's been good. The Pizza Hut people still need to be given very specific directions to our house, even though they're there regularly; movie night popcorn is still one of my favourite things, Sarinah's makes the best curry in town and it's still raining! Nothing has changed! Thank goodness.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Come Back Home...
I was asked to speak in church tomorrow, just a brief 4 min presentation about what my life in Suriname is like. I have slides and pictures and something to say but really how can fit four months into four minutes? It's like cliff notes at its minimum. I've hit the highlights: students, house, school, city, rainforest... But sometimes it's what I'm not saying about those things that are the best parts.
I'm showing pictures of my street, but I can't even begin to describe the pot holes (massive), the neighbours (sweet, she cooks for us) and the lake at the base of our driveway when it rains (deep). I do mention that my students are rewarding and I love them and that they are what God has sent me there for; but what I'm not saying is that as much as I'm affecting their lives, they are changing mine even more. They are one of the single best and most frustrating part of my day and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The pictures of the rain forest can't describe the majesty, the scope of it and just how small you feel standing in it. What God can create is awe inspiring and amazing. The air is cooler there, less oppressive then the city which can feel like it is pressing down on you. The picture doesn't show how grateful you are for the two minute shower when there finally is water, even if it is the most freezing shower ever.
I am so grateful to be back for Christmas and to have this opportunity to speak tomorrow to tell people about my life but it occurred to me as I was preparing this that I miss it. I miss the rain and the crowds and the corner store with that adorable kid who sits on the counter. I miss the slowness of the pace, the idea that time isn't something to worry about. This little piece of South America has really started to become home for me.
It's strange when the places switch, when the place you live becomes home and when home becomes the place you visit. But it's a good strange; you start to feel less like a visitor and more like someone who lives their life there. It's a little conflicting as well but those are the feelings that makes you human because you will always miss something, somewhere.
I'm showing pictures of my street, but I can't even begin to describe the pot holes (massive), the neighbours (sweet, she cooks for us) and the lake at the base of our driveway when it rains (deep). I do mention that my students are rewarding and I love them and that they are what God has sent me there for; but what I'm not saying is that as much as I'm affecting their lives, they are changing mine even more. They are one of the single best and most frustrating part of my day and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The pictures of the rain forest can't describe the majesty, the scope of it and just how small you feel standing in it. What God can create is awe inspiring and amazing. The air is cooler there, less oppressive then the city which can feel like it is pressing down on you. The picture doesn't show how grateful you are for the two minute shower when there finally is water, even if it is the most freezing shower ever.
I am so grateful to be back for Christmas and to have this opportunity to speak tomorrow to tell people about my life but it occurred to me as I was preparing this that I miss it. I miss the rain and the crowds and the corner store with that adorable kid who sits on the counter. I miss the slowness of the pace, the idea that time isn't something to worry about. This little piece of South America has really started to become home for me.
It's strange when the places switch, when the place you live becomes home and when home becomes the place you visit. But it's a good strange; you start to feel less like a visitor and more like someone who lives their life there. It's a little conflicting as well but those are the feelings that makes you human because you will always miss something, somewhere.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Auld Lang Syne*...
I know I haven't blogged much about being home and probably I won't because it's been such a whirlwind. And I want to keep some of those memories just for me. Let me just say I'm having a wonderful time with family and friends. Now on to what I really want to blog about...
Happy New Year!!
A quick thing about me you should know - those email surveys that go around with like a 100 questions all about yourself - Love them! Last year someone sent me one entitled Goodbye 2008 and it was all about what you had or had not done that year. Some of the questions are silly but some actually made me think about what I actually wanted to do with my life in the future and what I was doing with it in the present.
It starts off with this question: What did you do this year that you had never done before?
If I were answering for 2009 I would say: moved to South America, hiked in the rain forest, taught my own class, drove on the left side of the road, visited Memphis, and lived with people I had never met before. I'm sure there is more, this is just a sampling.
When I started 2009 I had no idea that this would be my answer to that question. I had no idea that I would be living in South America teaching kindergarten. I just figured my life would go in the direction I had planned it to: degree, relationship, teaching at home... and that was not in the plan at all; clearly God had other ideas. Got the degree, but nothing else stayed according to my plan. But as I look on 2009 I have to say God's plan was definitely better: get degree, get passport and go. It was hard and scary and at times I thought I was crazy but it honestly has been one of the most worthwhile things I've ever done. It's still hard and scary some days but it's also been funny and rewarding and full of people who make my life better everyday (family, roommates, students, co-workers...just in case you needed a list).
So the ultimate answer to what have I done in 2009 that I have never done before? Been brave and followed a plan that wasn't of my own design. And what a ride it has been.
*Auld Lang Syne - comes from a 1780s poem by Robert Burns and basically translates to days gone by. It's a song sung mostly on New Year's Eve now.
Happy New Year!!
A quick thing about me you should know - those email surveys that go around with like a 100 questions all about yourself - Love them! Last year someone sent me one entitled Goodbye 2008 and it was all about what you had or had not done that year. Some of the questions are silly but some actually made me think about what I actually wanted to do with my life in the future and what I was doing with it in the present.
It starts off with this question: What did you do this year that you had never done before?
If I were answering for 2009 I would say: moved to South America, hiked in the rain forest, taught my own class, drove on the left side of the road, visited Memphis, and lived with people I had never met before. I'm sure there is more, this is just a sampling.
When I started 2009 I had no idea that this would be my answer to that question. I had no idea that I would be living in South America teaching kindergarten. I just figured my life would go in the direction I had planned it to: degree, relationship, teaching at home... and that was not in the plan at all; clearly God had other ideas. Got the degree, but nothing else stayed according to my plan. But as I look on 2009 I have to say God's plan was definitely better: get degree, get passport and go. It was hard and scary and at times I thought I was crazy but it honestly has been one of the most worthwhile things I've ever done. It's still hard and scary some days but it's also been funny and rewarding and full of people who make my life better everyday (family, roommates, students, co-workers...just in case you needed a list).
So the ultimate answer to what have I done in 2009 that I have never done before? Been brave and followed a plan that wasn't of my own design. And what a ride it has been.
*Auld Lang Syne - comes from a 1780s poem by Robert Burns and basically translates to days gone by. It's a song sung mostly on New Year's Eve now.
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