I'm a Bad Blogger

October is almost over, and I have only written 4 blogs this month! Oops!

• Last weekend, I went to Tapachula to renew my visa. So, I am allowed to be here for another 90 days!
• School is flying by! Monday begins the third week of the second quarter. 
• Last Tuesday I went with three other teachers to a unique school for kids that have to work during the day. The school is actually right in the middle of a huge market called Minerva. The students introduced themselves and told us where they work. Many of them help their moms sell things. The Guatemalan school year runs from January to October. So we joined the students for a delicious end-of-the-year dinner. The seventh graders at IAS held a bake sale on Monday to pay for this dinner. Oddly enough, I ran into a girl who went to LHHS. She is taking a year off from seminary and working at this school. She didn't recognize me, but I somehow remembered her face. She graduated two years ahead of me, but what a small world!
• While the dinner was so, so good, I think it made me sick. I felt awful all night Tuesday night. I shouldn't have gone to school on Wednesday, but I did, simply because it's almost easier to go and bear it than to prepare things for a sub. Needless to say, I felt awful all day. I took a nap outside during my morning planning period, and the English teacher woke me up just in time for the next class period. (She thought I had fainted, haha!) I came home from school, bought some Pedialyte, and went to bed. I slept for at least 13 hours and woke up feeling much better the next day. I'm still not 100%, but I am tons better than Wednesday. I will probably get tested for amoebas in a couple of days if things are fully better by then!
• I think we are officially out of the rainy season, and I welcome all of the sunshine! The mornings and nights are super cold (I can see my breath! At night, I sleep in a long sleeve t-shirt, 2 fleece jackets, a scarf, running tights, fleece pajama bottoms, and socks!), but the days are so warm! It feels like Texas spring weather! It is amazing how sunshine really improves my mood as well!
• Texas Rangers fans will be proud to know that I went to a restaurant to watch the game last night. Although, I really didn't watch much of the game (which probably isn't a surprise)!
• Halloween is really looked down upon here, especially by Christians. One of the eighth graders invited me to come to her church Monday night "to pray for everyone who celebrates Halloween". This made me laugh, but I might go, just to see what it's like!
• I am incredibly blessed to be here. Although I am living in a foreign country and could even be classified as a missionary, life seems so normal and ordinary. I tend to desire those mountaintop and valley experiences. They are adventurous and difficult at times, but they almost always produce intimacy with God. Yet, God is teaching me the significance and value of being with Him and walking with Him in the ordinary, everyday things. Until now, I think I held this fantasy about missionaries. Maybe I'm wrong, but I now believe that being a missionary means being with God, listening to Him, obeying Him, and serving Him wherever we are and with whoever is before us. Therefore, we are all missionaries. 
• We don't have school on Tuesday (but we do on Monday!) because it is All Saint's Day. Everyone eats a certain meal and flies kites. One of the eighth grade girls invited me to her house to eat the special lunch! I think it's basically a mix of veggies and meats, so it should be interesting. People either really like it or really hate it! I'll let you know which way I go!