sábado, 15 de diciembre de 2007
We aren't in Kansas anymore
Yesterday was one of those days where I'm more acutely aware of the fact that we are definitely missionaries in a foreign land. The US embassy has issued a recommendation that Americans should not travel to Bolivia. Our neighbors said they saw fighter jets flying over their house. I went to the pharmacy to pick up anti-parasite and amoeba pills to take because I talked to a nurse and she thinks I picked up some kind of creature in my stomach. At the same time I was picking up pills to kill whatever is living in my stomach I picked up some medicine to kill a tropical rash I have on my arm that won't go away. If you know me this kind of stuff I do not take with a grain of salt...it grosses me out and I was so mad for a while thinking why in the world do I have to pick up everything that comes my way. I've adjusted my attitude and tried to laugh it off and just keep taking medicine and hoping everything clears up. My parents are still coming on Monday and will be here for Christmas. Grant's parents are coming at the end of December. Our plans to travel around the country might have to change a bit. We are doing well and I praise God for that.
End of the Semester
Here are just a few pictures of the end of the semester and some of my classes. It was a really great half a year and it went by so quickly. I had a wonderful time and I love all my students (most of the time :)
Spanish III I was handing back their final and telling them the good news that they survived the semester and all did very well.
Every Friday I have Library time with the Third grade class. I was reading a Christmas story that they loved. It's hard to imagine reading Christmas stories and everyone is wearing shorts :)
This is my 5th grade class and this is their favorite thing to do--play Manzanas a Manzanas. It's Apples to Apples but I made cards in Spanish to help them learn new vocabulary.
This is my Spanish 1 class....yes just three girls :) We had a class party and one of the girls brought in Saltenas. They are a popular traditional treat. They are made of dough with chicken, peas, potatoes, and broth. First thing you do when you eat them is shake them to distribute the broth and then you just eat them out of your hand. The first one I ate like that I made a mess but it doesn't take long of living in Bolivia and you are a pro.
Spanish III I was handing back their final and telling them the good news that they survived the semester and all did very well.
Every Friday I have Library time with the Third grade class. I was reading a Christmas story that they loved. It's hard to imagine reading Christmas stories and everyone is wearing shorts :)
This is my 5th grade class and this is their favorite thing to do--play Manzanas a Manzanas. It's Apples to Apples but I made cards in Spanish to help them learn new vocabulary.
This is my Spanish 1 class....yes just three girls :) We had a class party and one of the girls brought in Saltenas. They are a popular traditional treat. They are made of dough with chicken, peas, potatoes, and broth. First thing you do when you eat them is shake them to distribute the broth and then you just eat them out of your hand. The first one I ate like that I made a mess but it doesn't take long of living in Bolivia and you are a pro.
A Christmas Carol
I was the Assistant Director of A Christmas Carol. We started in September and just performed the 6th and 7th of December. It was a fabulous show. I was in charge of set design and props and we built a three level stage and created many creative backdrops to change the scene. 
" Two honest benefactors pleasant to behold" For costumes the students wore basic black and added shawls and bonnets, scarves etc..
These are two of my Spanish students and they are also part of our mission. This was their first show and they did great.
This is another backdrop we painted. One of my students designed the triangles and we had them made and then they created a wonderful winter scene.
Here is Scrooge with Jacob Marley the ghost. We had to build two extra platforms for the bedroom and office of Scrooge and we painted 8 backdrops.
Here is our Scrooge holding Tiny Tim. Josh (Scrooge) is an unbelievably talented actor. Behind them is one of the beautiful backdrops that the kids painted to make a London city scene.
When I got flowers the first night I was surprised but when the kids gave me another bouquet the second night as well I was overwhelmed. They are one of the greatest group of kids I've ever worked with.
" Two honest benefactors pleasant to behold" For costumes the students wore basic black and added shawls and bonnets, scarves etc..
These are two of my Spanish students and they are also part of our mission. This was their first show and they did great.
This is another backdrop we painted. One of my students designed the triangles and we had them made and then they created a wonderful winter scene.
Here is Scrooge with Jacob Marley the ghost. We had to build two extra platforms for the bedroom and office of Scrooge and we painted 8 backdrops.
Here is our Scrooge holding Tiny Tim. Josh (Scrooge) is an unbelievably talented actor. Behind them is one of the beautiful backdrops that the kids painted to make a London city scene.
When I got flowers the first night I was surprised but when the kids gave me another bouquet the second night as well I was overwhelmed. They are one of the greatest group of kids I've ever worked with.
Our Kids for the Day
Here's the family....Edwin is showing off his injury....he was already sad because we left right after this picture.
While Vivi and I were ordering food Grant and Edwin had fun with the camera.....I love this one!
Vivianita y yo
Two very handsome fellows if you ask me :) They were inseparable all day.....
This was Edwin's transportation all day because he had cut his foot so bad so we called him Tiny Tim. He did find he could crawl and play on the play set at Burger King.
lunes, 10 de diciembre de 2007
Parents for a Day
Sunday was a busy but great day. All the staff of Talita Cumi wanted to have a retreat for a day but it's impossible because they always have kids. So our church volunteered to take the kids in individual families for the day. So Grant and I were on to be the teacher's for Sunday school which is normally a challenge. Keep in mind our church is in English so normally we teach Sunday School in English but now we've added 30 kids who only speak Spanish to the mix. So we joined classes so I could talk and then translate for myself. It went well. I sometimes forgot which kid I was speaking to and would choose the wrong language but we got through.
After church we had Edwin who is 6 and Viviana who is either 15 or 18. The orphanage told us she is 18 but she says she is 15....who knows. We went to lunch with the pastor and his kids to Burger King. They had never eaten onion rings and Vivi hated them but Edwin liked them. We were going to go swimming but Edwin fell and cut his foot and had stitches so we couldn't swim. Grant had to carry him all day because they only sent him with one flip flop and so he couldn't walk. We decided to take them to the cinema instead of swimming since Edwin couldn't play much. He had never seen a movie in the cine before. We saw Enchanted the Disney movie except in Spanish. Grant said he didn't mind. The kids loved it. They ate so much popcorn and drank every drop of pop. After the movie we went home and jumped on the trampoline. Edwin couldn't jump so he sat on the trampoline and Grant bounced him and he laughed endlessly for an hour. We took some pictures together and they gave us a thank you card and then it was time to go home. Edwin didn't say a word on the way home and he cried when we got there. He didn't want to leave us. It was sad. It's unbelievable how quickly you can get attached in one day.
I will post some pictures at a later date!
After church we had Edwin who is 6 and Viviana who is either 15 or 18. The orphanage told us she is 18 but she says she is 15....who knows. We went to lunch with the pastor and his kids to Burger King. They had never eaten onion rings and Vivi hated them but Edwin liked them. We were going to go swimming but Edwin fell and cut his foot and had stitches so we couldn't swim. Grant had to carry him all day because they only sent him with one flip flop and so he couldn't walk. We decided to take them to the cinema instead of swimming since Edwin couldn't play much. He had never seen a movie in the cine before. We saw Enchanted the Disney movie except in Spanish. Grant said he didn't mind. The kids loved it. They ate so much popcorn and drank every drop of pop. After the movie we went home and jumped on the trampoline. Edwin couldn't jump so he sat on the trampoline and Grant bounced him and he laughed endlessly for an hour. We took some pictures together and they gave us a thank you card and then it was time to go home. Edwin didn't say a word on the way home and he cried when we got there. He didn't want to leave us. It was sad. It's unbelievable how quickly you can get attached in one day.
I will post some pictures at a later date!
lunes, 3 de diciembre de 2007
Orange=Grant
So Grant has discovered that his name is possibly the hardest thing the kids at the orphanage have ever had to say. When he was first introduced they just had blank stares when they were told his name. Then they tried to say it and it sounds like Gruugh and then Grounge and then Grump. One day Esteban was teaching the kids their colors in English and he taught them orange. Somehow the kids thought that orange sounded like what they called Grant so they started to say oh yeah Tio Orange. So to some Grant is now called Orange and you can call me the Turkey Queen :)
Today my classroom had a funny smell to it that I couldn't place. When my kids came in they noticed it too and said it smelled like dead fish. Not until 4th hour my junior high class came in and one looked at the air conditioner. There was a dead frog in my air conditioner plastered to the vents so the air was flowing past his dead carcus! I was almost sick when I realized that was what had been smelling like dead fish and we had been breathing it all day. So I had a student stick a ruler in through the vents and dislodge the frog and get it out and chuck it out the window. I then asked from any girls with perfume to spray some in the air :) Crazy adventures of life in Bolivia.
Today my classroom had a funny smell to it that I couldn't place. When my kids came in they noticed it too and said it smelled like dead fish. Not until 4th hour my junior high class came in and one looked at the air conditioner. There was a dead frog in my air conditioner plastered to the vents so the air was flowing past his dead carcus! I was almost sick when I realized that was what had been smelling like dead fish and we had been breathing it all day. So I had a student stick a ruler in through the vents and dislodge the frog and get it out and chuck it out the window. I then asked from any girls with perfume to spray some in the air :) Crazy adventures of life in Bolivia.
Wilma's Graduation Dinner
On Saturday night we attended a Graduation Dinner. It was one of the girls from Talita Cumi, Wilma. It was a great night and we had so much fun hanging out with the kids.
Mary, Edwin, Fabiola and Gustavo sitting nicely before dinner in their best clothes. They were all on their best behavior with all the guests coming to the party. A lady from our church cooked the dinner and had all kinds of pasta. The tables were beautiful and there were flowers as centerpieces.
Me, Juan de Dios and Grant
This is Wilma. She graduated second in her school which means she gets a full ride scholarship to a public university here in Bolivia. She is the first to graduate from Talita Cumi. Her graduation was the night before and the next night there was a dinner in her honor at Talita Cumi.
Juan de Dios sat at our table for the dinner. After dinner we taught a couple of the boys Paper Rock Scissor. They had so much fun they couldn't stop laughing. They had never played the game and Juan would get so excited he hugged me in between each game.
After dinner and playing Paper Rock Scissors for a while Juan de Dios wanted to dance! So we went out on the patio and danced.
After a while of dancing and me spinning Juan de Dios he got the idea to spin me. When you are at least two feet taller than someone it's difficult to say the least for them to spin you. :)
Mary, Edwin, Fabiola and Gustavo sitting nicely before dinner in their best clothes. They were all on their best behavior with all the guests coming to the party. A lady from our church cooked the dinner and had all kinds of pasta. The tables were beautiful and there were flowers as centerpieces.
Me, Juan de Dios and Grant
This is Wilma. She graduated second in her school which means she gets a full ride scholarship to a public university here in Bolivia. She is the first to graduate from Talita Cumi. Her graduation was the night before and the next night there was a dinner in her honor at Talita Cumi.
Juan de Dios sat at our table for the dinner. After dinner we taught a couple of the boys Paper Rock Scissor. They had so much fun they couldn't stop laughing. They had never played the game and Juan would get so excited he hugged me in between each game.
After dinner and playing Paper Rock Scissors for a while Juan de Dios wanted to dance! So we went out on the patio and danced.
After a while of dancing and me spinning Juan de Dios he got the idea to spin me. When you are at least two feet taller than someone it's difficult to say the least for them to spin you. :)
Thanksgiving in Bolivia
On Thanksgiving Day our mission has all it's missionaries from across the country get together and celebrate together. There was food followed by a program where many talants were shared and then we sang Christmas carols together. 
Lots of food....all the traditional Thanksgiving musts except there was not any cranberry sauce to be found.
Here is Grant and I on Thanksgiving day and we are glistening because it was at least 90 degrees that day and inside it was worse with no air conditioning. It was a lot of fun though with lots of traditions to be a part of with World Gospel Mission.
That is in fact a turkey's head that our director's wife is holding. Every year it's tradition for Bonnie to sing "Oh Tom the turk, Oh Tom the turk why did you have to be a jerk" Holding in her hand a real turkey head. It stank to high heaven but it was good entertainment.
After all the programs and caroling we made bags full of school supplies for the pastor's children in the church group we support here. I think we made nearly two hundred bags up. School is going to be starting up again the end of January. Right now Bolivian kids are on summer break.
Lots of food....all the traditional Thanksgiving musts except there was not any cranberry sauce to be found.
Here is Grant and I on Thanksgiving day and we are glistening because it was at least 90 degrees that day and inside it was worse with no air conditioning. It was a lot of fun though with lots of traditions to be a part of with World Gospel Mission.
That is in fact a turkey's head that our director's wife is holding. Every year it's tradition for Bonnie to sing "Oh Tom the turk, Oh Tom the turk why did you have to be a jerk" Holding in her hand a real turkey head. It stank to high heaven but it was good entertainment.
After all the programs and caroling we made bags full of school supplies for the pastor's children in the church group we support here. I think we made nearly two hundred bags up. School is going to be starting up again the end of January. Right now Bolivian kids are on summer break.
Turkey Queen
The Friday before Thanksgiving the Senior class had a Thanksgiving banquet as a fundraiser. Grant and I went and sat with some people from our mission. It is very cheap here to rent chairs and tables, table cloths, dishes and glasses so they rented everything for 150 people and set it up in our gym. We had chicken instead of turkey but the theme of the night was turkeys. They had emcees talking about facts about turkeys and jokes etc. Before dinner our waitress said we had to pick one person from our table as a representative but we didn't know for what. My table nominated me to go up on stage. It turned out to be a game show and there were questions about turkeys and the country of Turkey. I was last to answer a question and I was hoping it wasn't something about the government of Turkey. Instead my question was "What does a Turkey say?" Relieved it wasn't a difficult question I gobbled away. There was a panel of judges that voted on the best responses and a Queen and King were named. You guessed it. I was named Turkey Queen. I was given a crown and a flag from the country and asked to address my people. It was a fun night and I don't think I'll forget too soon the night I was named Queen of Turkeys.
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