Yes, I have been so bad about updating my pictures that I am forced to inundate you all with a plethora of pictures all under the label of "recap"! So, get ready to jump from one life event to the next and to join the whirlind, otherwise known as my life.
This year has given me a new.... 1. classroom full of wonderful students and memories!
Here we are pre-August 10th (notice the sticky note guides?)...
And here we are post-August 10th..
Middle School's wacky Thanksgiving feast...
And our Christmas party!
2. landscape to ooh and awe over...I LOVE the rugged beauty of Bolivia!
Some scenes from the Takesi hike about a month ago...
3. group of high schoolers to mentor and enjoy!
Some of the 8th grade girls on our hike...
Fun with our life group girls (in the picture below, I am what we call the "AFTER-hours" lawyer!).....
Our life group Christmas party...
4. set of traveling adventures...
Assisting the sweet Chilean man while he "fills" up our rent-a-car on the way to Iquique, Chile..
Thoroughly enjoying the beach that ONCE belonged to Bolivia...and don't you forget it (because Bolivians sure haven't :)!!)... AND....
5. reason to get together with old friends! 2009 has proven to be a year of rich blessing and distinct change. I thank the Lord for what He has done and I look forward to what He will do!
After countless hours in numerous airports, 3 days in snowy Chicago with special friends and way too many minutes crammed into 5-inch heels for "the" wedding, I have made it back to Twin Falls, ID! I am excited to curl up with my picture folders, a warm cup of something and "go to town" updating you all on the past few weeks of my whirlwind life! But, until that happens, you can picture me happy, safe and sound. It's the most wonderful time of the year.....truly!
As you can probably deduce by this title, life has been a little crazy these past 11 days!
Therefore, instead of writing separate posts for each event, you get a little taste of my busy yet rewarding life!!
Thursday, November 19th :
Probably experienced one of 2009 hilghlights....seeing my kiddos share their talents, time and homemade maracas with precious blind children in my neighboorhood! Not only did they show Christ's love to these children, but they pulled off a last minute yet original play of Noah's Ark (omplete with a variety of sound effects) and performed "the cup game" to Prince of Peace....priceless!
Another highlight was seeing them all pounce on my bed immediately after entering my casita for some post-field-trip-cookie-fun!
Friday, November 20th:
After a ripped contact and a drive that led us to the middle of NOWHERE, we began our Takesi hike with the 8th graders (6 girls and 3 boys), chaperones (4 girls and 4 boys) and backpacks filled with WAY too much weight of who-knows-what!
Saturday, November 21st:
Exhausted from the day before that was supposed to be "easy", we packed up in the rain and started on the longest, yet most rewarding, day of the hike! Although we had to trek through literal rivers of rain water that were rushing down the rocky paths and one of our boys ended up breaking his leg in 2 places, it was a good day that taught the students (and teachers) some good life lessons....and showed us how beautiful Bolivia is!
Sunday, November 22nd:
Sore and SMELLY we all made our way into the beautiful city of Yanacachi (after 20 false alarms of "the end," might I add) and piled into the buses that promised to take us back to warm showers, soft beds and Thanksgiving food. A Thanksgiving FEAST, to be exact, complete with homemade rolls, delicious pumpkin cake and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" projected on a white sheet for all ages to enjoy:)!
Monday, November 23rd:
Still recuperating from the Takesi, I discovered muscles that I never knew existed and incessantly thanked the GENIUS that made Monday "pajama day" for our spirit week!
Tuesday, November 24th:
"Twin day" meant that Steph and I came as....inspired by a blonde wig that has made its way around HIS....Miley Cyrus (me) and Hannah Montana (Steph). Pretty creative if you ask us!
Wednesday, November 25th:
Winter Olympics Team Day = hundreds of paper snowlfakes taped around the school + crazy outfits of yellow, red, green and blue + "ice dancing" high schoolers on pavement assisting elementary students with their arabesque form + a screaming Miss Speicher because her AWESOME blue team won!!!!!!!!!!
Wish you were there?....I know!
Thursday, November 26th:
La Paz looks different when you're leaving it at 4am in a rented car watching movies and "thanksgiving" tv episodes on the car's OWN dvd player! And, now I have had yet another Thanksgiving meal at the American "symbol" of gratitude...McDonalds...gotta love it!
Friday, November 27th:
Chile is AWSOME....Bolivia got shafted when they got our beach!
Saturday, November 28th:
Finally some beach time and, yes, New Moon :)......gotta keep up with friends back home!
Sunday, November 29th:
4am is becoming an enemy....but my bed, again, feels soo good and I'm glad to be home!!!
The End
For those who made it to this point, thanks for sticking with my 11-day itinerary of craziness!
If you can continue that patience, you might be lucky enough to veiw some pictures to back-up these stories! And if you can't, just check out Stephanie Ainsworth's pictures on facebook:)!
Yes, I am pulling out a "classic" Jordin Sparks phrase in honor of this upcoming weekend when (I have this feeling) I'll be thinking it a lot!
"Don't you often feel out of breath living at 12,000 ft. above sea level??" you may be thinking.
Yes, I do...because of the altitude, it's common to get winded doing normal things, such as rolling over in bed or walking less than a block to your house. But I'm not carrying my tent, sleeping bag, firewood and food for 17 people!
This weekend my roommate and I, along with 6 other adults, are accompanying the 8th graders on their backpacking final. We are leaving early Friday morning and hiking the Takesi trail, an Incan trail that is about 2 hours away from La Paz. We will return to La Paz on Sunday afternoon dirty and tired....but hopefully inspired!
Even though it is supposed to be a beautiful trek through the wilderness of Bolivia, it is also supposed to be full of bugs, rain and drama-queens! The 8th grade girls have this reputation of crying every time they have to hike the "hills" behind our school....so it should be an adventure!
So if you think of it, you can pray for all of us going...that we would make it out of there alive and the 8th graders would actually enoy the trip:)!
Last Wednesday was the 1 and 1/2 quarter mark! I cannot believe how quickly the school year has gone by so far. It has been a busy but very enjoyable past 3 1/2 months and I would like to share some of the highlights with you....
One foggy morning, we all donned our new HIS sweathsirts to showcase our ever-expanding staff and enthusiasm for the new year....or something like that!
Often we find ourselves outside of our classroom doing some kind of lesson amidst the mountains and blue skies! This particular lesson showcases some of my 6th graders' acting skills as they act out the story of Siddhartha's journey to Buddah while others dilligently take notes....oh how I love my students:)!
October was the month of our Spring Carnival which entailed a wacky-dress day to gear up for the big event...
...many different games for the kids to enjoy, including a huge blow-up octopus (HILARIOUS!)...
...and teacher-revenge in the form of a pie toss and a "wet jail" where the hose was my worst enemy!
October was also the month of the FIRST annual dodgeball tournament! After months of EVERY recess minute being spent working on their bullet-like throws and out-of-nowhere catches, the students were ready to compete against the teachers for the the coveted title of "dodgeball champion!" Sadly, the intense competition proved to all that, even though I may rule the middle schoolers in my classroom, I am forced to bow in submission on the dodgeball court!
In math class we worked with recipes to create cookies while sharpening our fraction skills. However, reason # 43 why living in Bolivia is different than living in the US, was brought to my attention when the kitchen staff was gone and we were no longer able to use the oven because the gas for the oven was taken with them! Therefore, Steph and I had to use a more creative way to cook the cookies...the MICROWAVE! There were only a few casualties and some of the cookies actually turned out somewhat normal!
Most recently, the 4th graders picked different teachers to write a biography about his/her life and then presented their findings at our very own, HIS Wax Museum! Here's my little twin, Hannah, who is also the middle child of 2 sisters and seems to share my same taste in accessories:)!
Now, if any of these pictures cause you to doubt the fact that we, at HIS, take our job seriously, just look at these "teacher" faces...would we lie to you?!
Usually I use this blog to share of my life in La Paz; attempting to capture the beauty that surrounds me....the spirit of people here....or the hilarity that I hope others will appreciate:)!However, maybe because it's Friday (finally) and I have a long weekend ahead of me (YAY for All Saint's Day!) or maybe because it's that time when the new becomes old and the exciting becomes ordinary....whatever the case, I find myself sitting on Steph's bed (while she naps beside me), in the dark, perusing old folders of pictures labeled "October" or "November." And, as you probably guessed, I'm missing the familiar smells, sounds and sights of what these above months bring! Therefore, below are some of the sweet memories I found while I laughed my way down memory lane. I am posting these post-facto pictures partly because I think those involved will appreciate them and partly because I'm hoping it will make me a little less homesick right now!
This picture brings me back to TU Homecoming when I was able to visit my sweet sister who chose hilarious decorations (compliments of Croplan Genetics....and our father) for the wing and also thought it was a good idea to take multiple pictures posing with them! Oh, I do miss that girl! This picture brings me back to my FAVORITE getaway in Charlotte. Yes, this trip to the 'mountain house' did not disappoint between the piles of leaves just waiting to be jumped in and the great company to share in the fun:)! This picture is a funny reminder of how different my life is from almost a year ago and even though just today my answer to a question regarding the best job I've ever had was my job right now at HIS, I still miss my sweet Charlotte babies and their crazy/beautiful hair!
And, last but not least, this picture just reminds me of what I am missing right now.....vivid colors that paint the sky. For those of you who are experiencing this yearly gift, enjoy it for me :)!
Since coming to Bolivia, my roommate and I have noticed that there are many little inconveniences that we have come to live with, and at times, forget that they haven't always been in our lives! But, then there are some things that have never ceased to be the bane of our existences. What are those, you may ask?
Stephanie- a kiln for her ceramics class
Me- internet on my computer at school
I could go into great detail how each has made it's way to this elite title, this dominant status, this obsessive thought! I could tell you that Stephanie has piles of uncooked clay peices in her art room just waiting to be fired so that they can be used, enjoyed, appreciated by many! I could tell you that she's asked ALL 4 of the people in La Paz that even own a kiln if she could use it multiple times, and everytime the answer is the universal "no!" I could tell you that everyday I wish I had access to Websters.com when my sweet, ESL babies don't know a word and no dictionary exists (at least one that is easy to access). I could tell you that we are changing to a new internet based program to do our attendance, planning and grades...AWESOME when you have no internet at school! But there is no need to whine and complain anymore!!! Our existences as we know it have been improved....THE INERNET AND KILN HAVE ARRIVED! Today both of our problems were solved and we are just so thankful! Stephanie found out that fifth time's the charm and I discovered that window updates are beneficial:)! So...thank you for all of your prayers, even the general ones. God is faithful and does answer our prayers, even those that seem little and insignificant :)!
I was recently married to my perfect-for-me husband and we find ourselves, together, trusting in God's faithfulness while living and working in the DC-metro area.
And here we are post-August 10th..
3. group of high schoolers to mentor and enjoy!
4. set of traveling adventures...
Thoroughly enjoying the beach that ONCE belonged to Bolivia...and don't you forget it (because Bolivians sure haven't :)!!)...
