hola! Hello I am one of Miss Barnett's student. I am tutoring with her, but I haven't done absolutely anything in this hour. Miss doen't  vlog(yes it's cooler with a v). So here it goes:
- There was another huge earthquake  5.4 i believe...or so
-I am Niall Horan's and Liam Payne's future wife
- I....hate math, but I enjoy Miss as a Bible Teacher...i will post soon,i will kidnap her computer but whatever....anyway gtg hope you read this or else no one will read this and i will be posting for no one and will be forver alone forever :p

- Naomi Payne Horan

Spider

Yesterday I gave a boy a detention, because he caught a huge spider and then released it on the table where a girl in his class was working. She cried. I was a bad teacher and laughed a little. (I still can't kick the habit of laughing at inappropriate times!) The boy got mad at me and said I was unfair. He still got the detention. It's never a dull moment; that's for sure!

Class, Swag, and JB

Earlier this week an eighth grade boy asked me this...

"Miss, what would you rather have, class or swag?"

I laughed and said class. I'll let Lainey keep the reputation of unique swag. She pulls it off so well! Kids do make me laugh!


In other news, Justin Bieber is coming to Guatemala City in October, and Megan and I bought tickets to the concert, haha! We're not sitting in the "Belieber" zone by any means, but I still think it's going to be a blast...along with all of the other teenage girls that will be there!

Week 2 is Here

Well the weekend is pretty much over, and I'm not ready to go back to school tomorrow. I could use one more day! I haven't been super motivated to work this weekend. I can "get away" with lessons I've done the past two years, but I really shouldn't. Lessons can always get better. There can always be a more creative or effective way to teach. Right now, I should be working on lesson plans, but I'm procrastinating more by writing this blog post.

In fact, I've been procrastinating all day. Megan and I went to church, bought a birthday present, ate lunch, and then I went to the grocery store that's farther from our house. Then I went to a nearby tienda to buy saldo for my phone. On the way home, I stopped at a little stand and bought fresh blue corn tortillas and paches. Then I worked for a bit until two of our friends came over for dessert and tea. They stayed for a few hours, and then I cooked a zucchini pasta for lunch tomorrow. I think I'll go take a shower now, work a little more, and head to bed. This week, I have morning duty, which I always enjoy! I like saying hi to the kids and their parents. 

Ok enough procrastinating...it's going to catch up with me in the morning!

Day 1 Done

First day selfie

Glimpse of the classroom (taken with Photo Booth, so it's all backwards)

Day 1 is done, which leaves 179 days to go! Tomorrow we're hitting the ground running with writing expressions and equations (Algebra and Pre-Algebra) and comparing whole numbers (Math I)! It was so good to finally see kids again, but I think I was more excited to see them than they were to see me...middle schoolers! I have some planning to do, and then I'm going over to a missionary family's house for dinner. The dad is the school board president, and the son is in 7th grade. I'm looking forward to it! I just went to Xelapan and bought some of their new chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies to bring. I sure hope these cookies are here to stay! They're delicious!

School Starts Tomorrow!

I must admit, I have always loved the first day of school! As a teacher, I still love the first day of school and everything that goes along with a new school year...a few new clothes, a fresh haircut, and of course, school supplies! Tomorrow starts school year 3! You would think that I would have everything ready to go, considering I'm teaching the same four classes, but I was still scrambling to get things printed and copied this afternoon. I can't seem to kick the bad habit of procrastination! This past week has been filled with school meetings and lesson planning (definitely not my favorite), so I'm excited to see kids tomorrow! Before I left school (around 6 PM), I spent some time praying for kids by name-- that they would grow in relationships with Jesus, the perfect One who took on our sin and died the death that we deserve so that we may have full, eternal life with the Father. This is truly why I am here. Yes, I want to teach them math, and I want to do my best at that, but most importantly, I want to show them Jesus. I want them to know Him and live fully for Him. A lot of these kids are the future leaders of Guatemala. They have influence. They have affluence. They have a big responsibility. I pray that they will love the Lord with all of their hearts, minds, and souls. I pray that they will surrender everything to Him. 

On a lighter note, Don Luis, the man that cleans my classroom everyday (who is also a pastor), came into the room when I was praying. I think he thought I was asleep, because he asked me what happened, haha! 

Aside from lesson planning and preparing for a new school year, we welcomed Jocelyn Broekhuis, Kendra and Collin's sweet baby girl! She is such a good baby, and they even trusted me to hold her! I still can't believe that they are parents! 

Last Year's Highlights

As you probably noticed, I did not blog once during the past school year. I think this was partly because life here has became more and more "normal." I never thought I would say that! A lot of the newness has worn off. I have signed another one-year contract for the 2013-2014 school year, and I am excited to be teaching the same subjects! Before moving forward, I want to reflect on last year's highlights. 

2012

• August: I moved out of Betty's house and into an apartment with Megan, who taught 2nd grade for the past two years. She will be teaching kindergarten this next year! She is so fun, humble, and encouraging! I am excited to be living with her again! She is also quite the chef, so I hope to learn more from her! Not living with a Guatemalan family forced me to learn how to go grocery shopping, light a gas stove and oven, call the gas man to deliver a new tank of gas, and work with a landlady who is not always the friendliest. In the first month, I managed to catch a bag of beans and the shower (while I was in it!) on fire! I think Megan was a little scared of what she had gotten herself into by living with me!
• September: A group of teachers and I went to Antigua to hike Pacaya, an active volcano. It was beautiful, and we got to roast marshmallows from the volcano's heat to make smores! To celebrate Guatemalan Independence Day, a bunch of teachers and I returned to El Salvador to enjoy the beach. We stayed at the same little bed and breakfast from last year that is right on the beach.
• October: I honestly can't remember anything from this month! Some things just become routine.
• November: At school the PTA moms hosted the annual Thanksgiving feast, complete with turkey (quite the delicacy here!), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pink Waldorf/marshmallow salad (not my fav), and pie. Go figure, Megan and I ended up with a large container of the pink salad that leaked on the bus ride home. Since we were out of school for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving, Megan and I invited Betty's family over for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Then we went to IRTRA, a resort, to relax. We read by the pool and got massages, which was quite the treat!
• December: Some of the girl teachers and I led a Bible study for high school girls throughout the year. I taught most of these girls the year before, and it is even more fun to just be their "adult friend." We met as a group every other week. One weekend, we took the girls to Pana to host an event for the kids at an orphanage called Eagle's Nest. One of the girl's family has a house in Pana, so we got to stay there. The high school girls did great with all of the little kids as the teachers ran the different stations! Yasi, the school secretary, and her husband led songs and a Bible lesson. We finished with cookies and juice. I hope we get to do something like this again! As school started to wrap up for the semester, Meredith came to visit! She was such a good sport as I dragged her to the staff Christmas party, a quinceañera at IRTRA, and coffee shops to grade LOTS of papers. She also proctored and graded the middle school English exams. I felt bad that we didn't get to do more of the touristy things, but she definitely got to see the day to day stuff! We flew back to Dallas together.

2013

• January: We got back into the swing of things after enjoying Christmas break!
• February: As a teacher, Valentine's Day is not my favorite, because the kids eat a lot of candy and are hyper all day long. However, I did receive lots of candy and treats that day!
• March: After a long week of Spiritual Emphasis Week, Megan and I hosted a bachelorette party for the fifth grade teacher. We had great food and fun games! For Semana Santa, three teachers and I went to Pana for the Bible teacher's wedding and then to Rio Dulce! We had such a great adventure full of castles, dolphins, white sand beaches, hot springs, waterfalls, American boat cruisers, and floating docks.
• April: I flew to Dallas for Mer's wedding. The next weekend, I went to Antigua for the fifth grade teacher's wedding. I also celebrated turning 24 with ice cream sundaes on Sunday.
• May: Megan and I hosted a baby shower for Kendra, who should be having the baby any day now! At the end of May, all 12 seniors graduated. I am really going to miss this class!

The second semester was full of celebrations! 

Guatemomma

About this time last year, my mom came to Guatemala to visit! We had such blast in Tikal, Antigua, and of course, Xela! Sometimes pictures do more justice than words! 

Yep! I have my own ice cream store throughout Guatemala!

Our awesome guide, Erdo, in Tikal

From the top of Temple IV

In the Main Plaza

On the bus from Flores to Guatemala City

Beau-ti-ful hotel we stayed at in Antigua
(Quinta de las Flores) 

Visiting a church

Under the Arco de Santa Catalina in Antigua

Looking at some "floats" used in church processions

Our "favorite" guide who tried to charge us double at the end of his made-up tour

On our "tour" with the guy above

Inside an old church

Love the bright colors here!

Atop Cerro de la Cruz, overlooking Antigua

Cemetery in Xela

Cathedral in Xela's Parque Central

Entrance to school

View from school

I hope we get to do this again! My mom loved Antigua, but we didn't even get to go to Pana. She'll just have to come back!