No hay problema

Sometimes I forget how much I truly enjoy the feeling of a challenge that shapes and grows you.  If teaching at the Marantha Bilingual School is like climbing a mountain, I'm a novice climber with a scribble on a piece of paper for a map.  Fortunately, there are some experienced teachers that are willing to answer questions and re-explain things when things get lost in cultural translation.

My first few days have been... really good all things considered.  Praise the Lord that I don't feel defeated or totally exhausted yet.  But I understand now why the teachers' reply to Emily's question about what they do in their free time was, "free time? what free time?"  Although they do manage to play a game or two of futbol every week.

Here's the run down of my day: wake up at 4:30, yes that is a.m.  Eat, pray, read, get dressed, make lunch and out the door by 6:30 (most mornings).  Needless to say, doing laundry by hand in the pila has fallen to the wayside and we'll be using the washing machine on the weekends from now on :-)  Get to school, have devotions with the other teachers, and go to class #1, which on any given day is different or might even be a break period for me.  Class #2 is always 7th grade section B, but after that there's no telling depending on the day.  Thursdays are the worst because I teach 6 forty minute classes in a row; we'll see if I can survive after that tomorrow.  The kids leave at two thirty and we get to leave at two forty-five.  The afternoons are full of either Spanish class or library work at the hogar, then dinner, then maybe an hour of planning for the next day then bed.  But I've discovered that the desire to do something... fun can keep you up late even if you know you've gotta be up at 4:30.  Hence the reason why I'm blogging at almost 10 at night.  Let's talk about vicious cycles, ha.

So, can I do this for a year?  No problem.  Right?

No seriously, it has been a wonderful experience so far.  Stretching me for SURE.  But I figure I need as many "what doesn't kill you only..." experiences before med school as I can get :-)

I could spend another two hours just describing how different the system here is than the one in the States, but I'll just give you one example and leave it at that for now:  I am not permitted to test over material that I have already given a quiz over....wait... what???  And I'm required to give 3 quizzes and 1 test every quarter.  Figure that one.

The bottom line:  God is good.  He loves the kids and wants to love the kids through me.  And I'm doing my best to let him, even when I miss...well... everyone.