its the little things

ive been lacking inspiration to write about lately, so today in school i went through all of my old posts. i realized i mentioned some things that i have not followed up on, so ill use this post to make updates to some of those things.

first, the names.

i started trying to learn them by making seating charts and using their nicknames. after doing so, they promptly rearranged most classrooms. there goes that plan.

so after the first two weeks of school, i decided to have all my classes make name tags which they would use every time in class. of course, many of them lost those after the first day, but there are still some that have theirs, and some that even have theirs out before i walk into the room and ask them to place them on their desks. after a week or so, i took pictures of them holding their name tags, kind of like mug shots, that i have on my computer.

it worked out, and even though im pretty sure im pronouncing many of them wrong, i can recall at least half of their nicknames when i see them in the halls or at gate duty in the morning.

next, my goals.

ive been pretty good at keeping up with most of them. i wish i was running more, but its just so freaking hot and humid here that it makes it hard to do so on a regular basis. a few weeks ago there were about two weeks that it cooled down a bit and i was able to go almost every day, and the looks i got from people as a female running on my own in the evening could compare to those steinar and i received when we were trying to get my keys out of the sewer.

there was one goal i realized i didnt put on my list that i should have, and which i have accomplished beyond what i could have imagined, and that was meeting new people/making new friends. if said it before but i cant say it enough: the group we are here with is simply amazing. ive started to worry about what i will do when most of them go home at the end of this term. i know it wont be horrible, but there is definitely something to be said for having them there to go to during the weekends.

the drawings.

the ones i had the kids draw on the very first day of class. the ones i used to clean up the ants with. the ones i had a personal goal of finding as many uses for as possible. they are sitting in a cubboard in my room. i havent found any other uses yet :(

babysitting.

for the first two weeks, this meant tutoring grace and guy at my school for about an hour. after that, i was asked to meet them at their house after school, with an increase in pay and the need to leave school early, at 3 everyday. after the first week of that, someone at the school discovered that i also know spanish, and so now i am teaching them that as well, with another pay increase.

both of the kids are great. they are very good at both reading and speaking english, though grace is definitely more advanced, and they offer me a chance to interact with kids who can actually understand me. also, while im at their house, i am always given either a pastry or fresh fruit for a snack. they are definitely well off, having multiple women at the house at all times as help, in addition to two houses, one for the family and one for the live-in housekeeper, nanny, cook, etc.

their school has been on winter holiday for the last two weeks until the new year, so i thought i would have a little bit of a break again. but no, last tuesday i showed up at school to find out i would be tutoring at the school for an hour, from 4-5, every day this month since they knew i wouldnt be with the twins. oy.

my "routine."

obviously, the babysitting and tutoring have changed this a bit. since i dont get home until 5 or later, the time i am there seems to go faster. however, even though i am doing more, i have fallen back into the routine i have at home, where it takes me forever to fall asleep, and it is then that i REALLY wish we had internet at our apartment. we seriously need to work on that. it would make a world of a difference, and give me better opportunities to talk to people.

my keys.

no more incidents....yet.