Kids can really make you think sometimes...
Funny things:
Have you ever had a tumbleweed inside your house?
L--, grade 5- Look Jen, look at this cactus he's trying to poke me with!
(holds up tumbleweed that is almost as tall as him, 4 feet? and is as wide as him)
Me- um. why is THAT inside the house?
Grocery Shopping
(after unloading the car)
M--, 19 yrs old- Did you accidentally buy a box of fish?
Me- um. no. Why do you ask?
M--,- that box has a picture of a fish on it, it has fish inside it, right?
actually it had apples inside it, but it was labeled "Trout", the next week I brought home a box labeled "Lemons", that had apples inside it.
reuse, but maybe not recycle?
Going out with friends
M--, 19 yrs old-So when you go out with friends in the states, do you go out to tacos?
Me- um. no. not exactly. well, we don't have taco stands where I live.
M--, 19 yrs old-But you have tacos right?
Me- yeah, but they aren't the same, it's like...
(interrupts)M--, like diet tacos?
Me- sure, like diet tacos.
more with M...
M-- has not had a meal unless she has said two key phrases... "no pica nada" meaning "it's not spicey" and "ya me llene" meaning "I'm already full" except that she continues eating after she says that, or even asks for seconds. I tried to ask her if it is just something everyone says, and that if she doesn't really mean it when she says it, maybe it really means "this food is great!". Unfortunately, she just looked at me confused.
after C--, 16, had a nightmare and slept on the couch
M-- You slept on the couch last night.
C-- while sitting on couch, with blankets and pillow No I didn't!
M-- You cried during the night, Jennifer woke you up, You came and slept on the couch.
C-- I did?!?
M-- You can't watch movies anymore. No more movies, because you have nightmares.
C-- no, no, the movie didn't make me cry, I was scared.
M-- The movie had monsters in it. The movie made you cry.
C-- oh. yeah. I won't watch that movie anymore, but I will watch the other movies.
(Is the Chronicles of Narnia THAT scary? and maybe I'm out of a "mom" job)
I've decided to always have my door locked. always. I had this weekend off, and I was in my room part of it, with my door locked. Everytime C-- came in or out of the house, she jiggled my handle. I don't think she realized that I was in my room. She only knocked a few times, and those were times she didn't jiggle my door handle. I think I counted that she tried to open my door 12-15 times. I wonder why she wants in?
Cultural differences
We have two sisters M and E, 10 and 9 respectively, who come from a poorer background, also Spanish is their second language...
Me-what's for dinner?
M- "flesh of hen" (notice she didn't just say "chicken"- Thanks Tani for pointing this out to me when it happened)
Me- Why haven't you gotten in the tub to take a bath yet?
E- well, M said you didn't ask her.
Me- She doesn't need to take a bath, you need to take a bath.
look of fear and surprise
E- I have to take one WITHOUT her??
V, 11- Jennifer, they don't take baths alone. They have never taken baths alone.
Me- If she doesn't want to take a bath, she can sit on the toilet and keep you company while you take your bath.
.
.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
"Give me eyes to see the world surrounding me...
give me strength to be only me" -OtR/Dido
So I’ve been in Mexico one week! It hardly feels like I ever left, just like it feels when I go back to Ohio. I jumped in with both feet. I had Sunday off, but hung out with the family anyways since I hadn’t seen them in a while. The kids asked me what I got them for Christmas knowing that they already received my gifts. ;) Unfortunately, I wrapped them so long ago I forget what I gave them! Although one girl is using the purse I got her for school.
The kids really enjoy having me back, even if I already have made oatmeal for them!
While the Midwest has a cold wave, we are having a heat wave. Thursday night it was 70 degrees after the sun had already went down. My family went to the beach on Friday and Saturday. I’m really enjoying the weather! (although my house NEVER warms up. If I’m not in the sun, I have long sleeves on.)
My trip back here was a little frustrating, as I sat on the runway for an hour and a half while they de-iced our plane. It doesn’t take an hour and a half to de-ice a plane, its just that the de-iceing employees (or their equipment) weren’t all out there yet. Better to be safe than sorry, so I’m very happy they took the time to de-ice the plane, but I realized that maybe I’m not as secure and confident a traveler as I thought myself to be. I got stressed out, knew I was going to miss my connecting flight, and wasn’t nice when I asked the stewardess for the phone number to figure stuff out. In the end, they took care of it before I could even phone them. All my stress and worry was ridiculous, because I was getting picked up from the airport by friends of mine, who LIVE IN MEXICO, and therefore are used to schedules changing, people being late, flexible, calm people. Sometimes when we are embarrassed by our emotions we hold it all in (missing people) and then it comes out where it’s not supposed too (being mad at the stewardess).
Before I left Ohio, my siblings and I did go sledding, I might put the videos up on youtube. I think we were out there enough time for my brother to say “it’s not gonna work” and we tried the big hill a couple times. He ran, pushing me down the hill…that worked, but not exactly sledding, even with his efforts I only went 50 feet. So we switched spots, except we went to a part that is usually landscaped so it was bumpy with the root balls of the plants that reappear in the spring. We didn’t remember that it was landscaped until I went down the snow covered speed bump hill of death. It had much more snow on it than the “official” sledding hill, and steeper- the speed made up for the bumpiness. We went down three or four more times, and then after a grand total of 10 minutes sledding we retreated to the car. Matt had come without gloves on, I had snow down my pants, and Carrie had only come b/c she loves me.
C—was singing a lot today. She sang all of “Happy Birthday” in ENGLISH, and also said “Thank You” in English to me. She has grown up mostly hearing impaired, and I have a hard time understanding her Spanish. She must have acquired a lot more English than I think in her time of being cared for by English speakers. I already knew she said “wa” (what) when she is confused. I know that Louise has started working with her on English one day a week, but this is like, woah!
Well, I’m gonna leave you with some quotes, and a promise (perpetually unfulfilled!) to write less, but more often. I read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott on the second flight (instead of talking to people that looked like they had just came back from Costa Rica and Café Britt) and she’s all “short assignments!”
From God was in this place, and I, i did not know by Rabbi Kushner (the ellipse are me making the passages shorter)
“The story is customarily offered as a “miracle” that God performed to get Moses’ attention…The “burning bush” was not a miracle. It was a test. God wanted to find out whether or not Moses could pay attention to something for more than a few minutes. When Moses did, God spoke. The trick is to pay enough attention to what is going on around you long enough to behold the miracle without falling asleep. There is another world, right here within this one, whenever we pay attention.”
“Real love means that self-fulfillment comes from forgetting yourself and serving another. Love persuades us to regard ourselves as nothing. To set another’s self as more important than our own is mysteriously gratifying. We give our selves away. For this reason, Dov Baer’s idea that we must make our selves as nothing and the experience of loving are identical….We are so fully present, unbounded, and un-self-aware that we are not even aware we are present.” (This is totally echoed in Theology of the Body- Christopher West said something LIKE…we were made to give of ourselves and feel most complete when giving…but I need to read the real book now)
“Religious rituals are a funny sequence of things we do to help us remember that we have forgotten why we have been created, and gently provide us with the instruments of return. They are ancient techniques for sending us back to everyday life with a childlike sense of wonder.”
From Dave Matthews
If you give, you begin to live.
You begin, you get the world.
From Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Quoting her father- “This is the great tragedy of California for a life oriented to leisure is in the end a life oriented to death- the greatest leisure of all.”
Quoting her friend, Tom “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people do.”
Books finished: Bird by Bird, Dirk Gently's Holistic Dectective Agency-HILARIOUS.
Books I'd like to read in the new year: The Bible in SPANISH, Architecture of Happiness by de Botton, Status Anxiety by de Botton, Contemplative Prayer by merton, How to read a film, Green Mansions, Wanderings, Man in White, Rules of Engagement by Prince, Outline of an Anglican Life, Rosshalde, The Alchemist, Orthodoxy, Cost of Discipleship, something by Umberto Eco, Ender's Game, Lillith by MacDonald, Following Jesus, Surprised by Hope, Four Loves, anything I haven't read by C.S. Lewis, The End of Poverty by Sach, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, Honest to God by Robinson, something by Sayers, something by Willard, something by Wendell Berry, and maybe The Jesus I never Knew
I gotta get my book borrowing on.
So I’ve been in Mexico one week! It hardly feels like I ever left, just like it feels when I go back to Ohio. I jumped in with both feet. I had Sunday off, but hung out with the family anyways since I hadn’t seen them in a while. The kids asked me what I got them for Christmas knowing that they already received my gifts. ;) Unfortunately, I wrapped them so long ago I forget what I gave them! Although one girl is using the purse I got her for school.
The kids really enjoy having me back, even if I already have made oatmeal for them!
While the Midwest has a cold wave, we are having a heat wave. Thursday night it was 70 degrees after the sun had already went down. My family went to the beach on Friday and Saturday. I’m really enjoying the weather! (although my house NEVER warms up. If I’m not in the sun, I have long sleeves on.)
My trip back here was a little frustrating, as I sat on the runway for an hour and a half while they de-iced our plane. It doesn’t take an hour and a half to de-ice a plane, its just that the de-iceing employees (or their equipment) weren’t all out there yet. Better to be safe than sorry, so I’m very happy they took the time to de-ice the plane, but I realized that maybe I’m not as secure and confident a traveler as I thought myself to be. I got stressed out, knew I was going to miss my connecting flight, and wasn’t nice when I asked the stewardess for the phone number to figure stuff out. In the end, they took care of it before I could even phone them. All my stress and worry was ridiculous, because I was getting picked up from the airport by friends of mine, who LIVE IN MEXICO, and therefore are used to schedules changing, people being late, flexible, calm people. Sometimes when we are embarrassed by our emotions we hold it all in (missing people) and then it comes out where it’s not supposed too (being mad at the stewardess).
Before I left Ohio, my siblings and I did go sledding, I might put the videos up on youtube. I think we were out there enough time for my brother to say “it’s not gonna work” and we tried the big hill a couple times. He ran, pushing me down the hill…that worked, but not exactly sledding, even with his efforts I only went 50 feet. So we switched spots, except we went to a part that is usually landscaped so it was bumpy with the root balls of the plants that reappear in the spring. We didn’t remember that it was landscaped until I went down the snow covered speed bump hill of death. It had much more snow on it than the “official” sledding hill, and steeper- the speed made up for the bumpiness. We went down three or four more times, and then after a grand total of 10 minutes sledding we retreated to the car. Matt had come without gloves on, I had snow down my pants, and Carrie had only come b/c she loves me.
C—was singing a lot today. She sang all of “Happy Birthday” in ENGLISH, and also said “Thank You” in English to me. She has grown up mostly hearing impaired, and I have a hard time understanding her Spanish. She must have acquired a lot more English than I think in her time of being cared for by English speakers. I already knew she said “wa” (what) when she is confused. I know that Louise has started working with her on English one day a week, but this is like, woah!
Well, I’m gonna leave you with some quotes, and a promise (perpetually unfulfilled!) to write less, but more often. I read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott on the second flight (instead of talking to people that looked like they had just came back from Costa Rica and Café Britt) and she’s all “short assignments!”
From God was in this place, and I, i did not know by Rabbi Kushner (the ellipse are me making the passages shorter)
“The story is customarily offered as a “miracle” that God performed to get Moses’ attention…The “burning bush” was not a miracle. It was a test. God wanted to find out whether or not Moses could pay attention to something for more than a few minutes. When Moses did, God spoke. The trick is to pay enough attention to what is going on around you long enough to behold the miracle without falling asleep. There is another world, right here within this one, whenever we pay attention.”
“Real love means that self-fulfillment comes from forgetting yourself and serving another. Love persuades us to regard ourselves as nothing. To set another’s self as more important than our own is mysteriously gratifying. We give our selves away. For this reason, Dov Baer’s idea that we must make our selves as nothing and the experience of loving are identical….We are so fully present, unbounded, and un-self-aware that we are not even aware we are present.” (This is totally echoed in Theology of the Body- Christopher West said something LIKE…we were made to give of ourselves and feel most complete when giving…but I need to read the real book now)
“Religious rituals are a funny sequence of things we do to help us remember that we have forgotten why we have been created, and gently provide us with the instruments of return. They are ancient techniques for sending us back to everyday life with a childlike sense of wonder.”
From Dave Matthews
If you give, you begin to live.
You begin, you get the world.
From Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Quoting her father- “This is the great tragedy of California for a life oriented to leisure is in the end a life oriented to death- the greatest leisure of all.”
Quoting her friend, Tom “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people do.”
Books finished: Bird by Bird, Dirk Gently's Holistic Dectective Agency-HILARIOUS.
Books I'd like to read in the new year: The Bible in SPANISH, Architecture of Happiness by de Botton, Status Anxiety by de Botton, Contemplative Prayer by merton, How to read a film, Green Mansions, Wanderings, Man in White, Rules of Engagement by Prince, Outline of an Anglican Life, Rosshalde, The Alchemist, Orthodoxy, Cost of Discipleship, something by Umberto Eco, Ender's Game, Lillith by MacDonald, Following Jesus, Surprised by Hope, Four Loves, anything I haven't read by C.S. Lewis, The End of Poverty by Sach, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, Honest to God by Robinson, something by Sayers, something by Willard, something by Wendell Berry, and maybe The Jesus I never Knew
I gotta get my book borrowing on.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
I'm packing...
...to leave for Mexico on SATURDAY at 5:30 AM.
(so this is a quick commercial break.)
It was my intention to only take one suitcase back down this time, as I'd left *half* of my stuff in Mexico.
Except I forget which half.
and I'd intentionally brought things back to Ohio that I knew I didn't need anymore.
But now I forget which things I'm supposed to leave here at home.
so my possessions are now singing at me...
"should I stay or should I go now???"
hehe.
quite the dilemma.
I've had a cold for 3 weeks now, so I resorted to another doctor's appt and got a shot! I like shots.
I think the salty sea air is going to help things out a lot, and the non forced air heated houses.
I've been getting rid of things. I found a list of "to read" from 2000, and on that was Ender's Game So I've wanted to read it for 9 years yet haven't :)
I got rid of 3 more boxes of stuff. Threw out a drawing of my 4th grade classroom that I'd made to figure out how many kids were in my class (to buy Valentine's or something) I've always been a visual person I suppose.
I threw out old phone lists from before I ever had a cell phone. so many colours of ink, numbers crossed out and rewritten, red, blue sparkly, pink, orange, even lip liner. Documentation of how many times friends had moved in excited strokes.
One of the lovely things about early winter is all the green underbrush. It seems strange to me that the trees would be leafless and barren, and yet there is the promise of new life crowning their bases. The roots hibernate in the protection of the shrubbery, twisted together, imitating families of dormice.
Granted, it isn't early winter anymore, and now everything is brown. or white, where the snow fell :)
I think large schools of fish, tornados, and snow flurries on the highway move the same. They scurry, twist, swirl, and are generally unpredictable.
(I think my brother and sister and I are going to sled tomorrow morning, but just for like 15 minutes, since I'm sick.)
We played Apples to Apples and all the cards I earned described the character from Legally Blond perfectly, (except for foreign) clueless, funny, popular, briliant, sexy and responsible.
I beat everyone with 340 points in Wizard, my first time playing the game EVER. my work here is done....
coming? quotes, and some highlights from Theology of the Body.
(so this is a quick commercial break.)
It was my intention to only take one suitcase back down this time, as I'd left *half* of my stuff in Mexico.
Except I forget which half.
and I'd intentionally brought things back to Ohio that I knew I didn't need anymore.
But now I forget which things I'm supposed to leave here at home.
so my possessions are now singing at me...
"should I stay or should I go now???"
hehe.
quite the dilemma.
I've had a cold for 3 weeks now, so I resorted to another doctor's appt and got a shot! I like shots.
I think the salty sea air is going to help things out a lot, and the non forced air heated houses.
I've been getting rid of things. I found a list of "to read" from 2000, and on that was Ender's Game So I've wanted to read it for 9 years yet haven't :)
I got rid of 3 more boxes of stuff. Threw out a drawing of my 4th grade classroom that I'd made to figure out how many kids were in my class (to buy Valentine's or something) I've always been a visual person I suppose.
I threw out old phone lists from before I ever had a cell phone. so many colours of ink, numbers crossed out and rewritten, red, blue sparkly, pink, orange, even lip liner. Documentation of how many times friends had moved in excited strokes.
One of the lovely things about early winter is all the green underbrush. It seems strange to me that the trees would be leafless and barren, and yet there is the promise of new life crowning their bases. The roots hibernate in the protection of the shrubbery, twisted together, imitating families of dormice.
Granted, it isn't early winter anymore, and now everything is brown. or white, where the snow fell :)
I think large schools of fish, tornados, and snow flurries on the highway move the same. They scurry, twist, swirl, and are generally unpredictable.
(I think my brother and sister and I are going to sled tomorrow morning, but just for like 15 minutes, since I'm sick.)
We played Apples to Apples and all the cards I earned described the character from Legally Blond perfectly, (except for foreign) clueless, funny, popular, briliant, sexy and responsible.
I beat everyone with 340 points in Wizard, my first time playing the game EVER. my work here is done....
coming? quotes, and some highlights from Theology of the Body.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
plug back into a conversation...
I know it's been 6 weeks since I've written/posted. I go back to Mexico in a week and a half...
This is what I've done with my time.
-spoke to a 6th grade girls Sunday school time about what I do in Mexico. They had great questions!
-had3...4...no 5 family parties/get togethers!
-decided there are too many parties this time of year
-ate a lot of sushi
-enjoyed spending time with my brother and his fiancé, and my sister.
-made biscotti for the first time
-went to several Christmas concerts (teared up when the little kids sang "Feliz Navidad" and saw my Aunt dance HULA at Christmas Eve service)
-enjoyed the architecture of the Athenaeum (Catholic Seminary in Cincinnati)
-insulted my sister after she got me a cd for Christmas b/c I didn't realize it was from her... "I would much rather have an older album than their greatest hits album, b/c I already own some of these songs..." opps!!!
-drove north twice, and south 3 times...
***I saw perfect white smoke at a farm hanging in the dark, so still and heavy and not moving. It was brighter than the moon and time was frozen. I saw the sun setting and bleeding pink into everything like a paper towel had soaked up a kool aide spill. Sweet victorian houses with such ice sickles hanging off them that might kill a man. A river completely filled with snow and not moving. The moon, a gigantic milky glass plate low on the horizon. All the trees clean and white with their blanket of snow, and all the bushes encased in ice. Enough to distract me from driving :) I don't mind the long drives, going to Mandy's house was like driving to San Diego.
-saw Over the Rhine play, twice, two completely different set lists...realized I should have taken my ear plugs, and also noticed their line "from Cincinnati to Ensenada" for possibly the first time. (I live two hours south of Ensenada in Mexico)
-contemplated my future, talked, contemplated some more
-didn't go skiing, ice skating, or dancing... maybe next year? I did go climbing!
-ran 5K on Thanksgiving Morning...on a treadmill, INSIDE. since I'm a wimp.
-watched too many movies, slept through Prince Caspian
-got my car cleaned off twice by fabulous service oriented men (one brother, one friend) I was oblivious! "there's ICE on my windshield??? But I needed to leave 5 minutes ago, oh! that's why they had a two house school delay"
-sang Karaoke (for the first time)- "All I want for Christmas is You" and "Someday We'll Know"
-lost my voice
-went Caroling in below 0 weather (didn't talk for 2.5 days prior to see if I could un-laryngitis my voice!) I had been looking forward to it since September. We sang at 3 houses then went and warmed up, then at 3 more houses!
-learned a lot of new songs on the piano, tried to use my musical ability as a way to serve and worship the Lord
-realized the difference between cooking b/c you have to, and cooking for people you love
-tried to pray for and forgive my "enemies"
-got rid of more of my stuff that i don't need
-substitute taught, about 3 weeks worth. here are some excerpts...
***Me, explaining what I do in Mexico to 3rd grader-"I work with foster kids, you guys know what those are?"
***3rd grade girl- "I do! My grandma OWNS some foster kids!!!"
***Disrespectful High School boy- "How old are you?"
***Me-"Old enough to be your momma."
***Disrespectful High School Boy- "My momma don't dress like THAT."
***explained a students Spanish notes to him b/c he was confused. turns out, he hadn't even read them over himself!
***embarrassed a student from Puerto Rico when her classmates started asking her if she had her green card and what not!
finished these books:
Black Swan Green, The Minotaur, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I am America (and so can you!), An Idiot Girl's Christmas, The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter truths you can't avoid, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Authobiography, Pardon my Spanglish, The Latke who couldn't stop screaming, The lump of coal, Never Let me Go, the Power and the Glory, Belly Laughs, Baby Laughs, Life Laughs, My Dad John McCain, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Plan B: Further thoughts on Faith, Sex God, some medical Spanish book
started these books:
God was in this place and I, i did not know, Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, Theology of the Body, Unsung
felt bad that I didn't read these books:
Eat Pray Love, Contemplative Prayer, Architecture of Happiness, How to read a film, Bird by Bird, Green Mansions, Wanderings, Man in White
listened to: Christopher West's commentary on Theology of the Body, Iron and Wine, Mindy Smith, Jon Foreman, Over the Rhine, Mars Hill sermons, Apex sermons, the RADIO!!!
I look forward to celebrating a New Year tonite, and to celebrating a marriage on Saturday...
a quote from Foer: “So many people enter and leave your life! Hundred of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!”
a quote about weddings from Lamott: "Building a wedding is a recipe for muddle—the bridal party, the families, the guests, the minister, the vows, the food. You’re attempting to make something beautiful out of unruly and unpredictable elements- the weather, the nuttier relatives, the rivalries, disorders, and dreams. Out of mostly old neurotic family and friends, you hope to create something harmonious. You do so as an act of faith, hoping that for a brief period of time, the love and commitment of two people will unite everyone; and it will sort of work. Even if the weather or personalities are worrisome, the breezes and water will flow through the structure of your wedding, will sanctify and change it, and it will hold."
This is what I've done with my time.
-spoke to a 6th grade girls Sunday school time about what I do in Mexico. They had great questions!
-had
-decided there are too many parties this time of year
-ate a lot of sushi
-enjoyed spending time with my brother and his fiancé, and my sister.
-made biscotti for the first time
-went to several Christmas concerts (teared up when the little kids sang "Feliz Navidad" and saw my Aunt dance HULA at Christmas Eve service)
-enjoyed the architecture of the Athenaeum (Catholic Seminary in Cincinnati)
-insulted my sister after she got me a cd for Christmas b/c I didn't realize it was from her... "I would much rather have an older album than their greatest hits album, b/c I already own some of these songs..." opps!!!
-drove north twice, and south 3 times...
***I saw perfect white smoke at a farm hanging in the dark, so still and heavy and not moving. It was brighter than the moon and time was frozen. I saw the sun setting and bleeding pink into everything like a paper towel had soaked up a kool aide spill. Sweet victorian houses with such ice sickles hanging off them that might kill a man. A river completely filled with snow and not moving. The moon, a gigantic milky glass plate low on the horizon. All the trees clean and white with their blanket of snow, and all the bushes encased in ice. Enough to distract me from driving :) I don't mind the long drives, going to Mandy's house was like driving to San Diego.
-saw Over the Rhine play, twice, two completely different set lists...realized I should have taken my ear plugs, and also noticed their line "from Cincinnati to Ensenada" for possibly the first time. (I live two hours south of Ensenada in Mexico)
-contemplated my future, talked, contemplated some more
-didn't go skiing, ice skating, or dancing... maybe next year? I did go climbing!
-ran 5K on Thanksgiving Morning...on a treadmill, INSIDE. since I'm a wimp.
-watched too many movies, slept through Prince Caspian
-got my car cleaned off twice by fabulous service oriented men (one brother, one friend) I was oblivious! "there's ICE on my windshield??? But I needed to leave 5 minutes ago, oh! that's why they had a two house school delay"
-sang Karaoke (for the first time)- "All I want for Christmas is You" and "Someday We'll Know"
-lost my voice
-went Caroling in below 0 weather (didn't talk for 2.5 days prior to see if I could un-laryngitis my voice!) I had been looking forward to it since September. We sang at 3 houses then went and warmed up, then at 3 more houses!
-learned a lot of new songs on the piano, tried to use my musical ability as a way to serve and worship the Lord
-realized the difference between cooking b/c you have to, and cooking for people you love
-tried to pray for and forgive my "enemies"
-got rid of more of my stuff that i don't need
-substitute taught, about 3 weeks worth. here are some excerpts...
***Me, explaining what I do in Mexico to 3rd grader-"I work with foster kids, you guys know what those are?"
***3rd grade girl- "I do! My grandma OWNS some foster kids!!!"
***Disrespectful High School boy- "How old are you?"
***Me-"Old enough to be your momma."
***Disrespectful High School Boy- "My momma don't dress like THAT."
***explained a students Spanish notes to him b/c he was confused. turns out, he hadn't even read them over himself!
***embarrassed a student from Puerto Rico when her classmates started asking her if she had her green card and what not!
finished these books:
Black Swan Green, The Minotaur, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I am America (and so can you!), An Idiot Girl's Christmas, The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter truths you can't avoid, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Authobiography, Pardon my Spanglish, The Latke who couldn't stop screaming, The lump of coal, Never Let me Go, the Power and the Glory, Belly Laughs, Baby Laughs, Life Laughs, My Dad John McCain, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Plan B: Further thoughts on Faith, Sex God, some medical Spanish book
started these books:
God was in this place and I, i did not know, Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, Theology of the Body, Unsung
felt bad that I didn't read these books:
Eat Pray Love, Contemplative Prayer, Architecture of Happiness, How to read a film, Bird by Bird, Green Mansions, Wanderings, Man in White
listened to: Christopher West's commentary on Theology of the Body, Iron and Wine, Mindy Smith, Jon Foreman, Over the Rhine, Mars Hill sermons, Apex sermons, the RADIO!!!
I look forward to celebrating a New Year tonite, and to celebrating a marriage on Saturday...
a quote from Foer: “So many people enter and leave your life! Hundred of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!”
a quote about weddings from Lamott: "Building a wedding is a recipe for muddle—the bridal party, the families, the guests, the minister, the vows, the food. You’re attempting to make something beautiful out of unruly and unpredictable elements- the weather, the nuttier relatives, the rivalries, disorders, and dreams. Out of mostly old neurotic family and friends, you hope to create something harmonious. You do so as an act of faith, hoping that for a brief period of time, the love and commitment of two people will unite everyone; and it will sort of work. Even if the weather or personalities are worrisome, the breezes and water will flow through the structure of your wedding, will sanctify and change it, and it will hold."
Thursday, November 20, 2008
"I wish I had a river...
...I could skate away on." -River, sang by various artists.
The other weekend, my brother was here. And we both were in the bathroom. Well, not together you see. We both WANTED to be in the bathroom. But we didn't even talk about it. No, "hey, remember that I need to shower too!" We just waited until the other was finished and entered in silence. And it was then I'd realized we'd matured....You see before, if I (or he) walked past the bathroom and he (or I) was in it, we'd open the door a crack and keep walking. And then the one in the bathroom would shout (attempting to sound angry, but actually happy). This prank happened ALL the time. Now we're older and don't do things like that.
I thought my parents would be the only ones affected by empty nest syndrome, and that was true. I didn't notice that they had an empty nest, especially since I wasn't in it. But now that I'm home for a little while and my brother and sister are gone, it IS very lonely.
The British House of Commons was on C-Span 2 the other night. and while I usually don't watch TV just for kicks, I was drawn to it...I had been required to watch some House/Senate action in high school and this was SOOOOOO much more interesting than the C-Span coverage of the U.S. gov't. They were arguing and "here, here!"-ing and standing up when they agreed, and interrupting each other, and making snide comments about "the opposition." They jabbed each other with well thought out words and phrases. I am not that clever!! It was PROPERLY rude. so entertaining!!
So I continue to get rid of things I don't need anymore. One of those things is a bottle I brought back from Chile. It has ferns etched into the bottom of the bottle. My friend and I had gone out to eat chocolate cake in the arty district (Bellavista) and I was to embarrassed to drink out of my fake Nalgene at this nice restaraunt. So I bought a bottled water, and I was served this squatty bottle that had ferns coming up from the base. I already threw it away,but now I wish I had a photo to show, but I didn't find any on the WWW. The marca was something like "puehelecho". After being relentless and searching in Spanish "companies that distribute water, national copmanies that distribute water with echted ferns in Chile" and all sorts of other stuff, I found it!
http://www.aguamineralpuyehue.cl/
The opening photo is the best of the bottle that I found on the internet. But I don't know how to save photos from flash sites.
In the process of finding this I really enjoyed looking at Coca Cola, Danone, and Nestle'spropaganda public relations sites.
Yesterday I visited the school that I had worked at for 2 years. (I hadn't been there in 1.5 years) The kids were SOOOOO tall. They are in a new building and it's BEAUTIFUL. and I was so touched that I had worked with people that work their butts off to give those kids a better future. My favorite quote from my visit was "I'm not in trouble Ms. B, I chose to walk out of the class room." (he was one of my big trouble makers when I worked there) and "How do you know my name?", and "you used to be the art teacher"...no, that wouldn't be me. And the kids who didn't use to speak very much English before, didn't sound like they had any Spanish accents any more. And then one kid, who IS hispanic, and his mom is bilingual said "I don't know that much Spanish" after we'd been speaking in Spanish together for a few moments. That made me sad. I found myself not knowing what to say, but then I remembered that was how his Spanish was 2 years ago. Sometimes not being around people or to not think of them is the best way to not miss them.
In the last 2 weeks, 3 people who were in my childhood have died. Granted, I haven't really interacted with these people in recent years. But it has seemed strange to me. Maybe if there were no winter months we'd have less death? right?
Our city thinks it's big enough for those road signs that advise how many minutes to the next hwy intersection. But I think it's lying to us. They are currently "constructing" and so the legal MPH is 45. The sign says, "ABC Hwy 5 Miles, 5 minutes" wait, how is that possible if we aren't even allowed to go 60 mph???
One thing I've enjoyed back in the states are the fruit snacks. yummy! That's one thing I've never really tried to "import" from San Diego.
I had a dream about my girls the other night. I gave one of them a present with Winnie the Pooh on it, and she said "this isn't winnie the pooh" and told me she didn't want it, and then I woke up.
I played piano for a church's prayer service yesterday night. It didn't go how I would have liked it to go, I was so nervous. But they've asked me back. :)
I finished "Never let me go" by Ishiguro, I highly recommend it for a fiction book. I hope to read Merton's Contemplative Prayer, and Lamott's Plan B. Now maybe I need to stop reading Danone's website and actually do something helpful.
The other weekend, my brother was here. And we both were in the bathroom. Well, not together you see. We both WANTED to be in the bathroom. But we didn't even talk about it. No, "hey, remember that I need to shower too!" We just waited until the other was finished and entered in silence. And it was then I'd realized we'd matured....You see before, if I (or he) walked past the bathroom and he (or I) was in it, we'd open the door a crack and keep walking. And then the one in the bathroom would shout (attempting to sound angry, but actually happy). This prank happened ALL the time. Now we're older and don't do things like that.
I thought my parents would be the only ones affected by empty nest syndrome, and that was true. I didn't notice that they had an empty nest, especially since I wasn't in it. But now that I'm home for a little while and my brother and sister are gone, it IS very lonely.
The British House of Commons was on C-Span 2 the other night. and while I usually don't watch TV just for kicks, I was drawn to it...I had been required to watch some House/Senate action in high school and this was SOOOOOO much more interesting than the C-Span coverage of the U.S. gov't. They were arguing and "here, here!"-ing and standing up when they agreed, and interrupting each other, and making snide comments about "the opposition." They jabbed each other with well thought out words and phrases. I am not that clever!! It was PROPERLY rude. so entertaining!!
So I continue to get rid of things I don't need anymore. One of those things is a bottle I brought back from Chile. It has ferns etched into the bottom of the bottle. My friend and I had gone out to eat chocolate cake in the arty district (Bellavista) and I was to embarrassed to drink out of my fake Nalgene at this nice restaraunt. So I bought a bottled water, and I was served this squatty bottle that had ferns coming up from the base. I already threw it away,
http://www.aguamineralpuyehue.cl/
The opening photo is the best of the bottle that I found on the internet. But I don't know how to save photos from flash sites.
In the process of finding this I really enjoyed looking at Coca Cola, Danone, and Nestle's
Yesterday I visited the school that I had worked at for 2 years. (I hadn't been there in 1.5 years) The kids were SOOOOO tall. They are in a new building and it's BEAUTIFUL. and I was so touched that I had worked with people that work their butts off to give those kids a better future. My favorite quote from my visit was "I'm not in trouble Ms. B, I chose to walk out of the class room." (he was one of my big trouble makers when I worked there) and "How do you know my name?", and "you used to be the art teacher"...no, that wouldn't be me. And the kids who didn't use to speak very much English before, didn't sound like they had any Spanish accents any more. And then one kid, who IS hispanic, and his mom is bilingual said "I don't know that much Spanish" after we'd been speaking in Spanish together for a few moments. That made me sad. I found myself not knowing what to say, but then I remembered that was how his Spanish was 2 years ago. Sometimes not being around people or to not think of them is the best way to not miss them.
In the last 2 weeks, 3 people who were in my childhood have died. Granted, I haven't really interacted with these people in recent years. But it has seemed strange to me. Maybe if there were no winter months we'd have less death? right?
Our city thinks it's big enough for those road signs that advise how many minutes to the next hwy intersection. But I think it's lying to us. They are currently "constructing" and so the legal MPH is 45. The sign says, "ABC Hwy 5 Miles, 5 minutes" wait, how is that possible if we aren't even allowed to go 60 mph???
One thing I've enjoyed back in the states are the fruit snacks. yummy! That's one thing I've never really tried to "import" from San Diego.
I had a dream about my girls the other night. I gave one of them a present with Winnie the Pooh on it, and she said "this isn't winnie the pooh" and told me she didn't want it, and then I woke up.
I played piano for a church's prayer service yesterday night. It didn't go how I would have liked it to go, I was so nervous. But they've asked me back. :)
I finished "Never let me go" by Ishiguro, I highly recommend it for a fiction book. I hope to read Merton's Contemplative Prayer, and Lamott's Plan B. Now maybe I need to stop reading Danone's website and actually do something helpful.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
"Snow is falling...
...like forgiveness from the sky." -Darlin' by Over the Rhine
I used to take writing entries sooooo seriously. I think.
Now sometimes I avoid writing b/c it makes my life less stressful. I don't want to try to be entertaining. My resolution, is to write shorter blogs, more often. But I make this resolution ALL THE TIME.
I could write everyday if I just posted my favorite quotes out of books I've read.
But that would be lame. (unless this was my blog's purpose and then it would be Non-lame)
This is how Anne Lamott feels about libraries (and how I feel about libraries)
"We were there to celebrate some of the rare intelligence capabilities that our country can actually be proud of—those of librarians. I see them as healers and magicians. Librarians can tease out of inarticulate individuals enough information about what they are after to lead them on the path of connection. They are trail guides through the forest of shelves and aisles—you turn a person loose who has limited skills, and he’ll be walloped by the branches. But librarians match up readers with the right books…as Barry Lopez once said, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive"….If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don’t get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn’t miraculous—and it is."
I haven't done a good job calling people to hang out. It's because other things are hanging over my head. Like cleaning out my closet, and going through all my possessions that are in boxes. It's silly that that incapacitates me to be social. Or maybe it's just a good excuse. Maybe I'm not so much going through "culture shock" but a funny adjustment to routine.
It snowed here, and it was beautiful. Although I'm not enjoying the cold wind. I was trying to put groceries in my car on Sunday, and had to hold my breathe so that the wind could not assail my lungs.
There is a house I've always struggled to see when I'm driving about. So much so, a friend and I tried to...dare I say, "trespass" once to see it. But now it's not just a house anymore. Someone has bought it, and the land and has torn down all the trees that once masked it's majesty. They are building on the property, but are keeping the mansion. Much to my delight.
My parents small group came to our house on Sunday, and I fed them Posole, Tortillas de Maseca, Pico de Gallo (although it didn't have much jalapeño in it), and two kinds of salsa. It was fun! It was the first time I'd cooked in 2 weeks and surprisingly easy to get Chiles de Arbol. I didn't even have to go to the mexican stores. My mom took the right things to work today to eat Ceviche de Tuna, my other favorite food, but then called me to make sure she was eating it right. I may try to make some dinner appointments and cook for other people. Let me know if you wanna come over!
Next Tuesday I will have blogged for 1,900 days. I'm saying it now, because I know I'll have forgotten by then. The important becomes ordinary.
I'm hopping to go out dancing, and go to bed early. To see tons of people, and enjoy the peace and quiet. To eat all these foods I don't eat in Mexico, to be 15 pounds lighter in January. To study Medical Spanish, to take a break from thinking. I AM a living paradox.
ok. One more quote.
from Graham Greene's Power and the Glory
"When you visualized a man or woman carefully, you could always begin to feel pity—that was a quality God’s image carried with it. When you saw the lines at the corners of the eyes, the shape of the mouth, how the hair grew, it was impossible to hate. Hate was just a failure of imagination."
I used to take writing entries sooooo seriously. I think.
Now sometimes I avoid writing b/c it makes my life less stressful. I don't want to try to be entertaining. My resolution, is to write shorter blogs, more often. But I make this resolution ALL THE TIME.
I could write everyday if I just posted my favorite quotes out of books I've read.
But that would be lame. (unless this was my blog's purpose and then it would be Non-lame)
This is how Anne Lamott feels about libraries (and how I feel about libraries)
"We were there to celebrate some of the rare intelligence capabilities that our country can actually be proud of—those of librarians. I see them as healers and magicians. Librarians can tease out of inarticulate individuals enough information about what they are after to lead them on the path of connection. They are trail guides through the forest of shelves and aisles—you turn a person loose who has limited skills, and he’ll be walloped by the branches. But librarians match up readers with the right books…as Barry Lopez once said, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive"….If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don’t get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn’t miraculous—and it is."
I haven't done a good job calling people to hang out. It's because other things are hanging over my head. Like cleaning out my closet, and going through all my possessions that are in boxes. It's silly that that incapacitates me to be social. Or maybe it's just a good excuse. Maybe I'm not so much going through "culture shock" but a funny adjustment to routine.
It snowed here, and it was beautiful. Although I'm not enjoying the cold wind. I was trying to put groceries in my car on Sunday, and had to hold my breathe so that the wind could not assail my lungs.
There is a house I've always struggled to see when I'm driving about. So much so, a friend and I tried to...dare I say, "trespass" once to see it. But now it's not just a house anymore. Someone has bought it, and the land and has torn down all the trees that once masked it's majesty. They are building on the property, but are keeping the mansion. Much to my delight.
My parents small group came to our house on Sunday, and I fed them Posole, Tortillas de Maseca, Pico de Gallo (although it didn't have much jalapeño in it), and two kinds of salsa. It was fun! It was the first time I'd cooked in 2 weeks and surprisingly easy to get Chiles de Arbol. I didn't even have to go to the mexican stores. My mom took the right things to work today to eat Ceviche de Tuna, my other favorite food, but then called me to make sure she was eating it right. I may try to make some dinner appointments and cook for other people. Let me know if you wanna come over!
Next Tuesday I will have blogged for 1,900 days. I'm saying it now, because I know I'll have forgotten by then. The important becomes ordinary.
I'm hopping to go out dancing, and go to bed early. To see tons of people, and enjoy the peace and quiet. To eat all these foods I don't eat in Mexico, to be 15 pounds lighter in January. To study Medical Spanish, to take a break from thinking. I AM a living paradox.
ok. One more quote.
from Graham Greene's Power and the Glory
"When you visualized a man or woman carefully, you could always begin to feel pity—that was a quality God’s image carried with it. When you saw the lines at the corners of the eyes, the shape of the mouth, how the hair grew, it was impossible to hate. Hate was just a failure of imagination."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"how to live, not how to cry..."
Tortillas
For all you people out there interested in making tortillas...Don't use a wooden rolling pin. Thin PVC pipe is the way to go. I was helping make tortillas a few weeks ago (using the wooden rolling pin) and mine weren't turning out. I tried the PVC pipe the other lady was using, and WHAM they were beautiful.
I've found that when I mix my thinking in Spanish/English I don't remember the details of what someone said to me. I remember the general idea, but not the quote, which isn't good when you're trying to remember EXACTLY what the person said.
A couple weeks ago it RAINED!!! Only for like 5 minutes, but I stood outside the whole time. I love the way rain smells. and how it was sunshiny while it rained.
She NEEDS help to travel
Well, I'm back "home" for a while. My trip was good. They dropped me off at the airport WITH their son, which was fabulous, b/c he helped me with my suitcases, and was patient while I redistributed stuff to be under the weight limits (I know, I should have done that BEFORE I got to the airport) and then he escorted me to the security line before joining his parents for the car ride back to Mexico. But the funny thing is after two flights and arriving at my destination, the same guys that were in line behind me at San Diego, got to observe my parents holding all my carry on luggage for me while I grabbed my bags off the belt. Maybe they thought I was a special needs passenger or something? hm. :)
Newspapers and Radiation Therapy
We had a great conversation in the car on the way to Cali. David, the helpful one, noticed that his dad hasn't grown back the hair where he got radiation treatment (for cancer). His suggestion, he's 17 and very opinionated, is that girls should go to the doctors and get radiation on their legs so they don't have to shave anymore!!!!! The other thing he shared with me is that girls MY AGE, don't read the newspaper. And that it's weird that I like to read the news. and that YOUNG women shouldn't waste their time reading the news. I couldn't redeem myself. Every woman that I saw with a newspaper that morning had gray hair. He cracks me up. Lydia, age 8, entertained me too, by asking tough questions, and seeing if I could answer them. All those years on the quiz team and watching Jeopardy really paid off!! haha.
Culturally CLUELESS
On the plane ride I met a Persian lady who spoke Farsi who had immigrated to the states. I learned how ignorant culturally I was in just a few sentences. Apparently, not ALL the middle eastern countries have the same culture.
Me- "So have you enjoyed the fact that so many books are being published about the middle east, Kite Runner, Third Cup of Tea, Thousand Splendid Suns? Have you read them and enjoyed the memories?"
Her-"Well, I read them, to learn about their culture."
Me-"You mean, their culture isn't your culture."
Her-"No, no, we're very different. Iran has a better economy than..."
Me- "oh, so you guys are like the United Arab Emirates?"
Her- "No, I'm not an Arab, Iranians are Persians."
Upon arriving at home, I noticed a sweet pair of pants in my closet, that were not mine, and couldn't have been my sister's. Apparently my brother had bought them for a costume (pink and brown plaid, straight wide leg cut) and I wore them the first two days I was back. Thank you for the pants Matt!
Cockroaches or Spiders? hm
My dad insisted that I open my suitcases outside after what had happened with the stow away cockroach when I came home from Costa Rica. But I assured him that we don't have cockroaches where I live. I wonder if I should have taken his advice. I've noticed a lot more spiders than usual in our house, and one thing we DO have in Mexico are spiders ;)
I had a rough week right before I came home. 4 of our kids decided to "run away" (as best you can in 80 degree weather, without bringing water bottles, or extra food, or extra clothes) 3 of them are still with us. They had meetings and one of the girls (the instigator) chose to go back and live with her family. I almost feel like we've missed the chance to redeem her little soul. But I'm sure whatever good we did will impact her someday. But in the couple days before I left, our house was so much more peaceful. Another thing that happened was a water pipe above my room decided to break, leaving me to wet vac at least 10 gallons of water out of my carpet. Somehow all the water in Mexico found ME while I was playing soccer with long legged adolescents (the girls wouldn't play, so we got some guys to play with us. tall guys. young tall guys. BAD IDEA.)
Patient Pomegranate
The pomegranates here are 3 times the size of the pomegranates in our store. They are also 7 times the price. gah! Last week, I decided to take some pomegranate seeds with Payal and I on our little road trip to the Bachelorette party, and I forgot to close the bag. We sat them between us to share. She turned at a corner and there was a sliding/dumping sound. I said, "what was that?" and she said "my phone probably" but it was the pomegranate seeds ALL OVER THE FLOOR of her car. We cleaned that out, but the next day, she found 3 more. She'll probably keep finding them until she gets a new car.
The first week I was home I....
...went on a motorcycle ride with my father. and I had this little epiphany moment about all the things that make my home, my home...I live in the land where there is too much water (unlike Mexico) where we have gates on the roads for when the rivers flood, where John Deer tractors are everywhere, it rains, there are multiple roads to get to one destination, the roads are CURVEY...(I should have written the rest down. I don't remember them)
...sat outside in the hot sun and crunched rotten walnuts under my feet until they were black.
...read both Sex God by Bell and Grace (Eventually) by Lamottt (LIBRARY!!!)
...studied Spanish Medical terminology
...got a TB test (I'm clean), and a BCI check (what? no arrest record? crazy!!)
...played my Mom and Dad in scrabble. I think Mom won. She doesn't like the acceptable 2 letter list. She thinks it's cheating.
...watched my Dad cut a pineapple THEN RINSE THE INSIDE part off with water. But cleanliness is very important to him.
...helped with Doan and Kyle's wedding. part of the benefit was being at Doans house early friday morning and eating her mom's cooking for breakfast. I liked putting linens on tables and things, but I really like the way her mom interacts with you. She hits you! tells you what to do! and then she thanks you for it! hugs you! and feeds you! Their wedding was BEAUTIFUL. I should have gone to the Vietnamese ceremony earlier in the morning, I don't know why I didn't go. We had a TEN COURSE meal at the reception after the American style ceremony. Sea Bass, Lobster, Beef, it went on and on! We also had this milky fruit drink with bits of gelatin dropped in it, cut like jagged french fries. There was a fruit plate with fruit I had never seen before, like Longan Berries and maybe Persimmon? But it was good and we ate it! When was the last time you sat and ate dinner for 4.5 hours? yeah. that's what I thought. Maybe it was good we didn't dance a lot afterwards.
...ate sushi twice (soon to be three times!!)
...watched a Wilco, Billy Bragg special about Woody Gutherie with my dad that I got from the LIBRARY.
...listened to Mahila Jackson sing Christmas songs, and Jack Johnson (LIBRARY!)
...went to the Mexican restaurant where I used to work and chatted with a co-worker.
...saw friends who had moved to Florida (Paul and Barb)
...went new clothes shopping for the first time in a year!!!!
...held TWO babies. One named Amelia, the other Isabella.
(My shoulder/arm/cheek are in the photo)
...talked about things I didn't know at the Art Institute, and embarrassed myself. (That's a Renior! -No, No it isn't.) Saw a statue that used to be tarnished that they have since cleaned up! (Oh, the horror! It was prettier tarnished)
While I could probably have seen more people so far, it's been nice to do it gradually. Last time I came home, I was worn out from all the visiting. I've surprisingly gotten to go do a lot of things that were in my routine before. Visiting those places make it feel like home. The little cafe you used to meet your friend in once a week, driving the route you used to take to work, seeing the back roads that helped you meander to your destination so many times.
I am changed, in some ways. I went to the mall the other night, and I didn't even WANT to window shop. It was too overwhelming. I bought what I needed and I left. I used to love to walk through all the stores.
I've also noticed that the more space you have the more things you have. In Mexico, I almost always had all my things in my room. Here I've got two pairs of shoes by the TV. Another 3 pairs in the front room. Tons of stuff on the kitchen table....I'm spreading out all over!
"Thought I was learning how to take
How to bend not how to break
How to live not how to cry, but really
I've been learning how to die"
Loving Jon Foreman's Winter EP. LOVE IT.
(I think I'm forgetting how to cook while I'm home, or maybe I'm just to lazy.)
if only I had a cute way of signing off...
P.S. I missed the snow here. When I arrived it was like 75 degrees. It is cold now. So the first few days I made sure to lay out and keep my tan. I got quite a few comments on how tan I was. Unfortunately, it's gonna fade soon! But it was well worth the energy to get darker before I left Mexico.
For all you people out there interested in making tortillas...Don't use a wooden rolling pin. Thin PVC pipe is the way to go. I was helping make tortillas a few weeks ago (using the wooden rolling pin) and mine weren't turning out. I tried the PVC pipe the other lady was using, and WHAM they were beautiful.
I've found that when I mix my thinking in Spanish/English I don't remember the details of what someone said to me. I remember the general idea, but not the quote, which isn't good when you're trying to remember EXACTLY what the person said.
A couple weeks ago it RAINED!!! Only for like 5 minutes, but I stood outside the whole time. I love the way rain smells. and how it was sunshiny while it rained.
She NEEDS help to travel
Well, I'm back "home" for a while. My trip was good. They dropped me off at the airport WITH their son, which was fabulous, b/c he helped me with my suitcases, and was patient while I redistributed stuff to be under the weight limits (I know, I should have done that BEFORE I got to the airport) and then he escorted me to the security line before joining his parents for the car ride back to Mexico. But the funny thing is after two flights and arriving at my destination, the same guys that were in line behind me at San Diego, got to observe my parents holding all my carry on luggage for me while I grabbed my bags off the belt. Maybe they thought I was a special needs passenger or something? hm. :)
Newspapers and Radiation Therapy
We had a great conversation in the car on the way to Cali. David, the helpful one, noticed that his dad hasn't grown back the hair where he got radiation treatment (for cancer). His suggestion, he's 17 and very opinionated, is that girls should go to the doctors and get radiation on their legs so they don't have to shave anymore!!!!! The other thing he shared with me is that girls MY AGE, don't read the newspaper. And that it's weird that I like to read the news. and that YOUNG women shouldn't waste their time reading the news. I couldn't redeem myself. Every woman that I saw with a newspaper that morning had gray hair. He cracks me up. Lydia, age 8, entertained me too, by asking tough questions, and seeing if I could answer them. All those years on the quiz team and watching Jeopardy really paid off!! haha.
Culturally CLUELESS
On the plane ride I met a Persian lady who spoke Farsi who had immigrated to the states. I learned how ignorant culturally I was in just a few sentences. Apparently, not ALL the middle eastern countries have the same culture.
Me- "So have you enjoyed the fact that so many books are being published about the middle east, Kite Runner, Third Cup of Tea, Thousand Splendid Suns? Have you read them and enjoyed the memories?"
Her-"Well, I read them, to learn about their culture."
Me-"You mean, their culture isn't your culture."
Her-"No, no, we're very different. Iran has a better economy than..."
Me- "oh, so you guys are like the United Arab Emirates?"
Her- "No, I'm not an Arab, Iranians are Persians."
Upon arriving at home, I noticed a sweet pair of pants in my closet, that were not mine, and couldn't have been my sister's. Apparently my brother had bought them for a costume (pink and brown plaid, straight wide leg cut) and I wore them the first two days I was back. Thank you for the pants Matt!
Cockroaches or Spiders? hm
My dad insisted that I open my suitcases outside after what had happened with the stow away cockroach when I came home from Costa Rica. But I assured him that we don't have cockroaches where I live. I wonder if I should have taken his advice. I've noticed a lot more spiders than usual in our house, and one thing we DO have in Mexico are spiders ;)
I had a rough week right before I came home. 4 of our kids decided to "run away" (as best you can in 80 degree weather, without bringing water bottles, or extra food, or extra clothes) 3 of them are still with us. They had meetings and one of the girls (the instigator) chose to go back and live with her family. I almost feel like we've missed the chance to redeem her little soul. But I'm sure whatever good we did will impact her someday. But in the couple days before I left, our house was so much more peaceful. Another thing that happened was a water pipe above my room decided to break, leaving me to wet vac at least 10 gallons of water out of my carpet. Somehow all the water in Mexico found ME while I was playing soccer with long legged adolescents (the girls wouldn't play, so we got some guys to play with us. tall guys. young tall guys. BAD IDEA.)
Patient Pomegranate
The pomegranates here are 3 times the size of the pomegranates in our store. They are also 7 times the price. gah! Last week, I decided to take some pomegranate seeds with Payal and I on our little road trip to the Bachelorette party, and I forgot to close the bag. We sat them between us to share. She turned at a corner and there was a sliding/dumping sound. I said, "what was that?" and she said "my phone probably" but it was the pomegranate seeds ALL OVER THE FLOOR of her car. We cleaned that out, but the next day, she found 3 more. She'll probably keep finding them until she gets a new car.
The first week I was home I....
...went on a motorcycle ride with my father. and I had this little epiphany moment about all the things that make my home, my home...I live in the land where there is too much water (unlike Mexico) where we have gates on the roads for when the rivers flood, where John Deer tractors are everywhere, it rains, there are multiple roads to get to one destination, the roads are CURVEY...(I should have written the rest down. I don't remember them)
...sat outside in the hot sun and crunched rotten walnuts under my feet until they were black.
...read both Sex God by Bell and Grace (Eventually) by Lamottt (LIBRARY!!!)
...studied Spanish Medical terminology
...got a TB test (I'm clean), and a BCI check (what? no arrest record? crazy!!)
...played my Mom and Dad in scrabble. I think Mom won. She doesn't like the acceptable 2 letter list. She thinks it's cheating.
...watched my Dad cut a pineapple THEN RINSE THE INSIDE part off with water. But cleanliness is very important to him.
...helped with Doan and Kyle's wedding. part of the benefit was being at Doans house early friday morning and eating her mom's cooking for breakfast. I liked putting linens on tables and things, but I really like the way her mom interacts with you. She hits you! tells you what to do! and then she thanks you for it! hugs you! and feeds you! Their wedding was BEAUTIFUL. I should have gone to the Vietnamese ceremony earlier in the morning, I don't know why I didn't go. We had a TEN COURSE meal at the reception after the American style ceremony. Sea Bass, Lobster, Beef, it went on and on! We also had this milky fruit drink with bits of gelatin dropped in it, cut like jagged french fries. There was a fruit plate with fruit I had never seen before, like Longan Berries and maybe Persimmon? But it was good and we ate it! When was the last time you sat and ate dinner for 4.5 hours? yeah. that's what I thought. Maybe it was good we didn't dance a lot afterwards.
...ate sushi twice (soon to be three times!!)
...watched a Wilco, Billy Bragg special about Woody Gutherie with my dad that I got from the LIBRARY.
...listened to Mahila Jackson sing Christmas songs, and Jack Johnson (LIBRARY!)
...went to the Mexican restaurant where I used to work and chatted with a co-worker.
...saw friends who had moved to Florida (Paul and Barb)
...went new clothes shopping for the first time in a year!!!!
...held TWO babies. One named Amelia, the other Isabella.
(My shoulder/arm/cheek are in the photo)
...talked about things I didn't know at the Art Institute, and embarrassed myself. (That's a Renior! -No, No it isn't.) Saw a statue that used to be tarnished that they have since cleaned up! (Oh, the horror! It was prettier tarnished)
While I could probably have seen more people so far, it's been nice to do it gradually. Last time I came home, I was worn out from all the visiting. I've surprisingly gotten to go do a lot of things that were in my routine before. Visiting those places make it feel like home. The little cafe you used to meet your friend in once a week, driving the route you used to take to work, seeing the back roads that helped you meander to your destination so many times.
I am changed, in some ways. I went to the mall the other night, and I didn't even WANT to window shop. It was too overwhelming. I bought what I needed and I left. I used to love to walk through all the stores.
I've also noticed that the more space you have the more things you have. In Mexico, I almost always had all my things in my room. Here I've got two pairs of shoes by the TV. Another 3 pairs in the front room. Tons of stuff on the kitchen table....I'm spreading out all over!
"Thought I was learning how to take
How to bend not how to break
How to live not how to cry, but really
I've been learning how to die"
Loving Jon Foreman's Winter EP. LOVE IT.
(I think I'm forgetting how to cook while I'm home, or maybe I'm just to lazy.)
if only I had a cute way of signing off...
P.S. I missed the snow here. When I arrived it was like 75 degrees. It is cold now. So the first few days I made sure to lay out and keep my tan. I got quite a few comments on how tan I was. Unfortunately, it's gonna fade soon! But it was well worth the energy to get darker before I left Mexico.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)