Blogger Beta? Totally killing my world. Well, that and the fact that we 'accidentally' blew out our cable modem while we were rearranging the office. Thank goodness for neighbors!
I'm not particularly inspired at this very moment, and as usual wish that I had some wit and witticism for my (3? 4? readers). At this very moment, all I am is tired. Preparation for the new class (the first ones arrive tomorrow) is exhausting, even though I'm not all that involved. But the general energy of the organization is GO! GO! GO! and it’s the sort of this where if you don't have something to do, there must be something wrong with you. Right now, it is 11pm and we're all in the office, working. I've been designing place cards for PalooooZA, which is our celebration of the work we've done in the last few months. It’s a big deal. I even got a new dress. ROCK!
And the kids are frustrating. Everyone in Chile is pregnant, so my tias have been sort of rotating, leaving me solita in my class with no idea what I'm doing. Mostly we do puzzles and work on letters of the alphabet when I'm left to fend for myself. Or we play Abajo! Arriba! which is just as complicated as it sounds. But they love it, because jumping is fun.
My kids are rotating, too. My little favorite (not Ojos, the one who gives me the finger) has been out for almost a month, as he's apparently prone to illness. I miss his constant shooting at me (he brings fake guns to school, and I've yet to figure out the translation for 'recipe for disaster'), and the way that he mocks the other kinds with no malice. I think about the way that we all mock each other and feel like its a healthy part of growing up. If you can't call a friend out on something ridiculous, are they really your friend?
They've also placed me in another classroom for part of the morning, since another volunteer left. Its the jumpy jumpy room for an hour, which flies because of one little boy who thinks he's Superman. He has multiple Superman t-shirts, and wears one everyday. I can just picture his madre in the morning, trying to get him to wear something else. He probably just screams, as they all do, because they can. Its standard practice at my colegio.
Chile loves Superman.
I'm working on getting some photos to post of Dia del Nino, which is bigger than Christmas down here. I recall myself asking my dad at some point when I was growing, that if there was a Mother's Day, and a Father's Day why wasn't there a Kid's Day.
"Everyday is kids day," he said. My dad is no joke.
In Chile the respect for kids (and soon-to-be-mothers) is EVERYWHERE. There is actually a special line at the grocery store for those who are expecting, which includes those with little ones. So Dia Del Nino was a huge frackkin deal. Our celebration included: A dance contest (you haven't lived until you've seen the girls in the hogares dance to the reggaeton....it's an art), an art contest (which I missed because I was at dance central), a presentation by the Carabineros and their perritos which I will totally not explain to its fullest hilarity without the aid of photos and.....wait for it....the Tortugas Ninjas!!!!!!!!
Remember them? Raphael, Donatello, etc? As it turns out, in addition to Superman and knocked-up women....CHILE LOVES THE DAMN NINJA TURTLES!!! So much in fact, that the carabineros have a show where they dress up in costumes, do motorcycle tricks and JUMP THROUGH A RING OF FIRE!!! Possibly, the most awesome thing I've ever seen. Besides, of course, the first season finale of LOST.
So that's what I got. The men are still men. The kids are still kids. And the tortugas, well, they're gonna live forever.
I'm not particularly inspired at this very moment, and as usual wish that I had some wit and witticism for my (3? 4? readers). At this very moment, all I am is tired. Preparation for the new class (the first ones arrive tomorrow) is exhausting, even though I'm not all that involved. But the general energy of the organization is GO! GO! GO! and it’s the sort of this where if you don't have something to do, there must be something wrong with you. Right now, it is 11pm and we're all in the office, working. I've been designing place cards for PalooooZA, which is our celebration of the work we've done in the last few months. It’s a big deal. I even got a new dress. ROCK!
And the kids are frustrating. Everyone in Chile is pregnant, so my tias have been sort of rotating, leaving me solita in my class with no idea what I'm doing. Mostly we do puzzles and work on letters of the alphabet when I'm left to fend for myself. Or we play Abajo! Arriba! which is just as complicated as it sounds. But they love it, because jumping is fun.
My kids are rotating, too. My little favorite (not Ojos, the one who gives me the finger) has been out for almost a month, as he's apparently prone to illness. I miss his constant shooting at me (he brings fake guns to school, and I've yet to figure out the translation for 'recipe for disaster'), and the way that he mocks the other kinds with no malice. I think about the way that we all mock each other and feel like its a healthy part of growing up. If you can't call a friend out on something ridiculous, are they really your friend?
They've also placed me in another classroom for part of the morning, since another volunteer left. Its the jumpy jumpy room for an hour, which flies because of one little boy who thinks he's Superman. He has multiple Superman t-shirts, and wears one everyday. I can just picture his madre in the morning, trying to get him to wear something else. He probably just screams, as they all do, because they can. Its standard practice at my colegio.
Chile loves Superman.
I'm working on getting some photos to post of Dia del Nino, which is bigger than Christmas down here. I recall myself asking my dad at some point when I was growing, that if there was a Mother's Day, and a Father's Day why wasn't there a Kid's Day.
"Everyday is kids day," he said. My dad is no joke.
In Chile the respect for kids (and soon-to-be-mothers) is EVERYWHERE. There is actually a special line at the grocery store for those who are expecting, which includes those with little ones. So Dia Del Nino was a huge frackkin deal. Our celebration included: A dance contest (you haven't lived until you've seen the girls in the hogares dance to the reggaeton....it's an art), an art contest (which I missed because I was at dance central), a presentation by the Carabineros and their perritos which I will totally not explain to its fullest hilarity without the aid of photos and.....wait for it....the Tortugas Ninjas!!!!!!!!
Remember them? Raphael, Donatello, etc? As it turns out, in addition to Superman and knocked-up women....CHILE LOVES THE DAMN NINJA TURTLES!!! So much in fact, that the carabineros have a show where they dress up in costumes, do motorcycle tricks and JUMP THROUGH A RING OF FIRE!!! Possibly, the most awesome thing I've ever seen. Besides, of course, the first season finale of LOST.
So that's what I got. The men are still men. The kids are still kids. And the tortugas, well, they're gonna live forever.
