Poastie Toastie

For Potato.
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Whats all going on?

I shouldn´t but I am counting down the days until I come home. I was talking to my friend about the strange, strange feeling of getting on a plane in one place and entering into something entirely new. Im looking forward to that weirdness. I will probably only go home for two weeks. I do not have sufficient days to be galavanting in los estados divididos. As much as Id like to stay for a month or more. Impossible. The midyear vacation for the public schools is supposed to be the week after my birthday, which also coincides with the Dia del Maestro; however, they haven´t announced anything. Everything is rumos here. Rumors floating through the air, circiling into peoples´ ears and out of peoples´mouths. This same friend and I went walking yesterday in the morning. She´s been living in our little town for at least 6 years but she still hasn´t been through all the paths that have been dug from the edge of the highway. This makes me feel better. I´ve explored more than her. But she has three kids so maybe I shouldn´t feel so great. Don´t listen to what anyone has to say here, about other people anyway. She told me that some guy had her that I was dating the director of one of my schools. I couldn´t stop laughing. I must have looked foolish walking down the highway saying, ¨En serio?¨while laughing and slapping my knee. Precisely she said. You can´t believe these people she said. Oh, and the 40 year old man that kept harrasing me so that he could let me borrow a book on the ladino slave or some shit like that, apparently broke his father´s feet so that he would stop drinking because he was an alcoholic. Way to support. Shudder.

Another good anecdote for you. There is a chofer in my town who all the girls have a crush on. I admit, me too. Or I had at least. A few weeks back he fled to Guate because someone got on his bus and told him that if he drove to the next stop that he wouldn´t live. Dramatic huh? He comes back a week or two later. What happen, baby? I thought you got a death threat. So this is what went down. Prepare to be amazed by the creativity of those who surround me. So one day the chofer decides hes going to use the bathroom while on his shift. By the last parada there is a parqueo where people sell, chips, arracheras, en fin, bastantes cosas. He goes to use the bathroom in the parqueo but the bathroom didnt flush so he went to ask the girl (teenager or maybe around my age) if she could get him a bucket or bowl to throw water to make it all go away. She says sure just wait right here. She takes a long time, in the time he waits, the owner of the parqueo, father of the girl comes up. He says I need a palangana to flush the toilet. Man´s like, sure, they go towards the bathroom but the door on the bathroom is somehow locked. They open the door and his daughter is in there, naked. Man starts yelling at the chofer saying that he was going to take advantage of her and blah blah blah and if he didnt give him 10,000 Q he was going to kill him. He freaks out and goes to Guate only to soon find out that this owner of the parqueo has done the exact same thing with at least one other chofer. How the hell did he devise something so freaking weird and distasteful to ¨earn¨money?

That is all.

I love you guys. I am making a list of all the stuff I want to eat when I get home. Be prepared.

Mwere

Random smallness going through my mind. Zipping in and out.

Mwere. Me voy a ir. Said really fast by my primero students. They think its hilarious that me voy a ir sounds like were. So when they see me they either shout mwere or good morning.

My brain is bouncing up and down fro m that ride up and down that hill. Mountain, really.

I´m still thinking about that tiger riding that horse.

Bebes is so cute. I cut his hair so hes got all these bald spots by his belly because I suck. He looks like a little lamb. A little black sheep. Speaking of, there were so many lambs on that mountain today, all I could think about is that Mediterranean place that Chris and I would go to in Chicago.

Pollo Campero has good coffee.

May was or has been a freakeashly good month. June, dont fail me. You gotta be even better than May. Still...F U February for sucking so much. How could you when two great people were born that month? Phil and Michael Jordan. Ok, so Jordan is a douche cus he cheated on his wife. One amazing person was born this month.

I got new books to read. Thanks, Maggie.

Send me books, people. I need books.

Send me face paint. And board games.

I was missing good food so badly yesterday. Profe Juan and I were talking about what we´d have as our last meal. I listed cheese empanadas, sushi, 31st and canal burgers and a thai iced tea.

I went up to El Mirador for the one billionth time.

I missed my students today. Why do I love the instituto that is way more messed up.

I need to wash my dishes and clean my house.

The neighbor that died in the states was finally brought back after over three weeks for his burial. My goodness.

No protests YET this week. Hoooray. All quiet on the western front!

Art Club starts tomorrow????

I love you guys.

My birthday is coming up!!!

Querida mami, lejos de usted, le deseo los mejores de los dias, aunque ya esta por terminar. Usted sabe que no necesita un dia en especial para que le digamos que la amamos. Espero que sepa que todo los dias del año usted es alguien sumamente importante para nosotros. Estando aqui, siempre me vienen visiones de cosas, lugares o experiencias que tuve alla con ustedes. Puede ser en los mas extraños de momentos, pero usted siempre viene a mi mente. Cosas como cuando usted y yo nos sentabamos a comer quesadillas y tomar cafe y usted siempre me decia que como le podia poner tanto cafe. Que me iba a adictar. O, cuando ibamos de compras juntas. O cuando ibamos a caminar al rio. Extraño todo esto pero este segura que cuando regrese estos momentos continuaran y crearemos muchos mas.

La quiero mucho mami, por ser fuerte, por ser chistoza, por bailar conmigo, por no juzgarme tanto, por amar a papi y a mis hermanos, por ser una mujer de Dios, por enseñarme que la educacion es importante, por ser sensible y por ser mi mamita.

early may

I´m tired. I gave a surprise quiz to my 2o English class. As soon as I said, take out a blank sheet of paper, they were freaking out. It wasn´t hard but their spelling is horrible in English (Spanish too). I think the other 2o which Im not teaching is way ahead of us. But I really want my students to at least get the basics really well. I know they learned numbers and days of the week last year but they couldnt say them this year.

In other school news, I´m still giving the communication charlas. They are going really well. A little too good? Today in class we were talking about assertive communication and then I started talking about the Golden Rule (la regla dorada as I called it..lol) and then about karma. I was thinking about Alicia Keys the whole time and her getting down in the subway station with the drums. Hahaha. But whatever, it went well. My 3o students...different story. I wanted to send them to the principal´s office so badly last week. There is this lack of confianza in me on the girl´s behalf and then the boys just want to be funny. We were talking about their goals, triumphs, low points and now are talking about life as a journey. And you can´t go on a long important journey without proper ID. So we are going to start talking about identity and self'esteem then go into decision making then all the good stuff like drugs, sex, violence, etc. I think I am going to read The Alchemist with them but I have to do it so as not to take too much time from the regular charlas. We´ll see.

Non-school happenings. My friend, Jane, came out to Huehue and we went dancing with my friend, Profe, and a bunch of his cousins. It was really fun. Surprisingly fun. I was getting down. Nothing unusual. Ooooh, I also went to a baby shower in my community. First one I´ve been to. I picked up a few game ideas for when I have to plan Rabs. You guys have to hold off a little longer to start having bebes.

That´s all for now. I´m tired. Need to take a nap and then continue working.

Love you all.

PS, someone´s bday is coming up.