Waking up before 7 am on a Sunday is starting to seem normal. Dawnelle and I went the market to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables for week as well as a few other items. We came back carrying a huge papaya (the size of say, 2 footballs), fifteen bananas, plantains, tomatoes, oregano, green beans, rice, coconut milk, as well as some other things I'm forgetting to mention. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning our house from top to bottom. A little before noon we finally left to go to Pastor Trundle's daughter's, Nichole's, eleventh birthday pool party. None of us felt like swimming, and we were terribly confused about the invitation. It said something about "impartir" and "Mendel's". I didn't even read the invitation, so I didn't really even understand what we were confused about and was even more confused. Apparently they asked a student and got the impression that the invitation meant that we were supposed too meet at Mendel's (a department store near the school). However, just as we were leaving Miss Joline came over to tell us that Jessi was waiting for us. After walking to the Trundle's and not seeing anyone there, we decided to head over to Mendel's. Luckily Jessi drove by and picked us up, and we all tried to sort out our mutual confusion. We learned that when "impartir" is on a birthday invitation it means the gifts the birthday girl wants are separated from the other items in the store. Who knew? The present is going to have to wait until tomorrow lol. Jessi took us to a lovely pool where we enjoyed the cool breezy weather and green coconut tree scenery. We had a good time chatting with Miss Melissa, Miss Myla, and Pastor Trundle about different languages and other topics. Two best quotes:
"Girl, God gave you five spoons. Use them!" <-Miss Melissa to Miss Myla (her sister) when Myla said she didn't have a spoon for her cake and ice cream.
"Real Scottish men don't wear anything under their kilts." <-Kadian educated us on some interesting European culture. lol
They had a yummy meal as well as drinks and cake and ice cream. Nicole managed to avoid getting her face shoved into the cake (as is a common tradition in a lot of Latino countres, I think). Nevertheless, after she took her first dainty bite someone picked up a finger full of bright yellow frosting and smeared it all over the right side of her face. We rode home in the back of Miss Loyda's pickup truck. She had a baby at the beginning of the year, so today was the first day we officially met her. She seems really nice; I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.
When we got home, I needed a moment. I was tired, and I really just wanted to take a nap. Instead, I cut, filed, and buffed my nails in the wonderful peace of my room while I listened to the mix cd that Steven sent me. Then I started planning. Last week they decided to give us this coming Friday off instead of the following Monday, so I had to re-plan my lessons for the next two weeks before starting on the next two. When I finally finished revising the first ones, I was not feeling incredibly inspired about the new ones. Part of the problem was probably that I was sitting on my bed. I'm the kind of person that needs a table top and quiet to get much of anything done.
Sometimes the idea of facing tons of boundlessly energetic little kids that hardly understand you is the last thing you want to do, especially on a Monday morning. Following an Sabbath school quarterly made for kids that speak English with ESL students can present its difficulties. How do you explain a little boy coming back to life to a bunch of children that don't even understand the words to "I Just Want to be a Sheep"? Hearing that story for the first time is strange even to someone that does understand it. I have a hard time trying to explain idols and monuments when my students haven't even heard familiar stories like David and Goliath or Noah and the Ark in English. Today I got just plain right frustrated with planning and started missing Steven. After looking through pictures and moping for a while, I prayed that God would take these feelings from me. It's okay to miss him, but being miserable is not a feeling that will help me serve these kids.
Sometimes the last thing you want to do, is the very thing you must do. When that's the case, all you can do is pray for an attitude change. Currently: still praying.
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