February 5th:
Beautiful weather again! Today was a holiday, so we didn't have any school. I was especially thankful since I am a little sore after yesterday's carpet cleaning. Loafed around the house until 10, then Stacy and I ran some errands and went to the market. I bought some large pots for cooking. (We have a small sauce pan, one small pot, and a frying pan, so it is difficult to cook anything on a large scale.) I'm looking forward to trying refried beans soon! :)
For lunch I heated up some food that the neighbors brought over. Around 1, Andy came by with the rug (thankfully it didn't rain last night or today, so it was completely dry). He also brought a new modem that he picked up for me last night. Hooray for internet again! John came over at the same time and replaced our entry light (he had just gone out and bought a new bulb for it). Then Mary and their little baby boy joined us, and Stacy and I had a fun little gathering in our apartment for 20 minutes or so. Can't get over how helpful everyone has been - I am really blessed to have such a considerate team.
Later, I went out to Holland and bought some jeans (they are actually Wranglers!) Then took a taxi to Mazi. I picked up the staples that I like to get from Mazi to last me the week (juice and yogurt) along with kitchen tools (a spatula and measuring cups) and "specialty" items (tortillas and whole wheat penne). My "big" adventure for the day was the taxi ride home. Unfortunately the driver didn't know the location that we usually use as the landmark to get us home, so I had to give him step-by-step directions. I really don't know any useful words outside of "straight ahead," "left" and "right," so the driver had to put up with me as I repeated the same phrases over and over without really being able to give him any general information about the final destination. Thankfully, we worked it out and I ended up at home.
The little neighbor girl was out in the alley and helped me carry my bags upstairs. She came in and then wandered around, looking at things. I decided to make the most of it and asked her the Kurdish names of things. I tried to write down the phonetic spelling of the words so I'd remember them, but I think that interacting with her was more important. Since she didn't speak any English, we couldn't really communicate outside of pointing at things and saying their English and Kurdish names.
Ate more of the neighbor's rice with some bread from Mazi. Then I cooked up a kilo of potatoes (in our new pot!) and made mashed potatoes - some for freezing, some for breakfast burritos, and some for fried potato pancakes. Mom and Dad talked to me on Skype (the brothers were at Grandpa and Grandma's house) and we had a good 1.5 hour conversation.
February 6th:
I have been here exactly one month. Thankful for all the things I have learned in the last 30 days. I still feel like I have a long way to go. I am prone to compare myself with fellow team members and think that I should have accomplished more by now, but I must continue to trust that God will direct me where I need to go and lead me through the lessons I need to learn. In many ways the time has flown by.
Had my 8:30am class this morning. They were good and attentive. Walked home afterwards and passed John and Mary on their way to class. It was fun to see familiar faces! Stacy and I ran some errands, then came home for lunch. The neighbors brought even more food last night. (Since it was a holiday, they had a party to celebrate and shared their food with us - it will take Stacy and I several days to finish ALL the food they brought). After eating some of the food for lunch and getting geared up with an ice coffee, I headed back out for the 1:45pm (rowdy 4B) class. I was greeted with pounding desks – not fists on the desks, but students picking up their desks and pounding them on the tile floors. Several of the boys were also in the mood to fight, so it took a little while to get them all settled down (not to mention I had to physically put myself in between them to get them to stop).
All the classes (including 4B) are settling into our new system – first we review concepts learned, then practice new concepts in our art books (today they had to “draw three emotions”), lastly they get to work on a graded project that incorporates all the lessons so far. For the projects this week and next, I am having each class work on a collaborative poster. The students are paired up and working on a section of 1 Cor. 13. For example, a team might have to draw “Love is patient” or “Love is not arrogant.” Next week, I will tape all the pieces together so the class will have one large poster. The best poster will go someplace prominent in the school so other students can see it.
Before allowing the class to leave, I told them they had to sit down and “be perfect.” (Usually I release the students in the order of who had the best behavior in class.) It took 7 minutes before everyone was perfectly still (even then there were a few minor exceptions – the students were getting tired of waiting for the one lone student who would not obey, so finally one of the students forced him into his seat and sat on him – I decided to fight the “no physical contact” battle another day, glanced around for the split second that everyone was sitting, and then dismissed them with a relieved sigh.)
After class I did some laundry, read my emails, and went over to visit with John and Mary around 4:30pm. We enjoyed a cup of tea, talked about how the Lord had brought us here, and then walked to Sarky’s Pizza for our team meeting. It was fun to have the whole group together… at last. Our end of the table split a cheese pizza and a veggie pizza – really yummy! Unfortunately the restaurant was out of finger chips (French fries have a lot of names around here)! We took our time and chatted, then left when the babies started to get fussy. On the way home, we stopped by Holland and picked up ice cream bars (Magnums). Stacy and I went over to John and Mary’s to enjoy our ice creams and talk about games, movies, and dreams.
February 7th:
Overcast this morning. They say it will snow in the mountains this week. Went to the 9:15am class and had a good lesson. The students were a little fidgety, but once they began working in their art books and on the brainstorming part of the project, they settled down. In each class I have a handful of students who show real artistic talent – it is fun to see what they will come up with as I challenge them with different types of projects. Though the other students may not be naturally gifted, most have shown improvement in the last month and I am beginning to see where their strengths lie. This is a real encouragement to keep pushing all of the students and challenging them to step outside their comfort zone.
After grading art books, I went home for lunch with Stacy (more of the neighbor’s food), then went back to school to prep for my afternoon class. I was going to try something new and take the students to the art room to work, but the administration ended up having a meeting and only announced it about an hour beforehand. I switched to plan B and got the posters ready to take to their classroom. I had a few minutes to observe Lisa teaching a 6th grade art class – neat to see what the older kids can do – then headed up to 4B to see what another day would bring. More fighting and general rowdiness, but I tried to get them started on their posters right away and that helped settle everyone down. Only two of the groups turned out mediocre posters, the other nine groups really worked hard to incorporate detail, action and emotion and I was pleasantly surprised with their illustrations.
Walked home in the rain and got pretty wet, ate an after school snack, then left for Dan and Julie’s house. I was going to take a taxi, but there weren’t as many driving by (usually they are back-to-back every second), so I ended up walking the whole way. I was pretty wet by the time I got to their house. After a cup of tea to help me warm up, I trimmed Julie’s hair! I was a little nervous getting started, but some of the things I’d learned from my hairdresser and past experiences began coming back to me and I think it turned out alright.
Caught a taxi on the way home. The driver was impressed with my Kurdish – ha! He didn’t know the “usual landmark” either so I had to use my three Kurdish directions. Thankful to arrive home warm and dry. Fixed a “burrito” for dinner – I fried up some potatoes, mixed in some chicken (from the neighbors) and cheese, then folded it all up in a tortilla with salsa (which I found at Holland the day they had Soy Sauce). Perhaps not authentic Mexican, but it tasted good!
Updated my blog in the dark with no electricity. It sounds like a storm is brewing outside.
