Back in Guacamole

A lot has happened since I last wrote in May...

• I prepared my first sub plans, took off 3 days of school, flew to Dallas early Thursday morning, had a blast at Nicole and Ryan's wedding, and came back to Xela on Monday. It was a short trip, but I couldn't miss their special day! Amy did a great job being me while I was gone.
• I finished writing, proofing, and copying finals for all four classes. 
• I finally got enough courage to tell Betty that I won't be living with her when school starts again next year. I was so nervous, but she was very understanding! Megan, the second grade teacher, and I will live together in the same apartment she lived in last year.
• In class, we finished learning and reviewed for finals. We all wore pajamas the last day before finals, which was a lot of fun and gave me a reason to wear my red onesie!
• On the last day of school, I graded finals, signed yearbooks, cleaned the classroom, finalized grades, turned in keys, and got May's paycheck.
• Some of the other teachers and I went to the hot springs to relax before going to graduation practice. 
• I finished up things here in Xela and flew to Dallas just in time to surprise Benny for his LHHS graduation.
• I spent all of June and the beginning of July in Dallas with a quick trip to College Station somewhere in there. I enjoyed spending time with family and catching up with friends. Being back was probably more of an adjustment than I thought it would be, mainly because I spent a lot of time by myself. Yet, it was really good and relaxing visit!
• And now I am back in Guatemala! I'm going to continue living with Betty and study Spanish for the next two weeks. Then my mom is coming to visit the last week in July, which I am so, so excited about!

Tomato Soup

It's late! I'm grading papers, and things seem to get funnier as the night goes on. Here's a word problem that a sixth grade student created that just made me laugh:

"I am having to take a bath with tomato soup, because I have the smell of a skunk. The can of the soup has a height of 9 and a diameter of 6 feet. What is the surface area?"

Adios Parasite

I finished taking the parasite medicine this week, so I should be parasite-free! Betty asked me if I said bye to the parasite, and I just laughed!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Technically it is supposed to be summer right now. McDonald's has their "Sabor del Verano" menu choices including an ice cream sundae with mora (blackberry) sauce and a pineapple and Oreo McFlurry. Walmart is showcasing beach towels, swimsuits, flip flops, and inflatable pools. However, despite all of these marketing attempts, it just doesn't feel like summer. The mornings have been sunny, but the afternoons have been cloudy and rainy. I really dread the rain, especially since rainy season isn't supposed to start until May. Right now, it's cloudy and probably going to rain soon. This weather just makes me want to curl up in bed and watch a movie (though I don't have a TV, so that option is out), read a book, or sleep. I could use this time to grade or plan for next week, but I just don't want to do that!

Long Time Gone

Though I haven't written in for-ev-er, I'm still here! It is really hard to believe that I have been living in Guatemala for over 8 months, and school ends in less than 2 months! Here are some recent highlights...

• Today I said that the room seemed really hot and asked the students if they felt hot too. One sixth grade boy replied, "Well Miss, I'm the reason there's global warming!"
• Last week we didn't have school to celebrate Semana Santa. Many students traveled, and one eighth grade boy went to Miami, FL. At the end of class on Monday, he waited until everyone else left the classroom and quickly handed me a little bag from his backpack. He said, "Here, Miss. I got this for you." I was excited, because unlike elementary teachers, I really don't get gifts from students! I thanked him, and he went to his next class. After he left, I opened the bag to find shards of glass and glitter, haha! He bought me a snow globe, but it must have broken in his backpack! I wrote him a thank you note, but I didn't have the courage to say anything about it being broken! I just hope he doesn't ask why I haven't put it on my desk!
• For Semana Santa, Lindsay came to visit! It was fun to get to show her where I live and teach! Lindsay, the second grade teacher, and I traveled all the way to Tikal to see the Mayan pyramids! I thought it was pretty incredible! Then we hopped on another bus and went to Coban and La Lanquin. Unfortunately, Lindsay got sick, so we didn't get to go to Semuc Champey. However, we stayed at a beautiful place, and I hope to go back there soon! I was glad to be back in Xela and relax for a few days here. 
• I really missed being home for Easter! In fact, I had a dream that I went home, but then I couldn't figure out how to get back to Xela. I missed going to church, going to my aunt's house for lunch, and eating Reese's Eggs. The Catholics here celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection with processions. I watched a lot of them (about 5 hours worth!) in Parque Central! Much to my surprise, the evangelical Christians really don't do much for Easter. In fact, I went to church Sunday morning, only to find out that it was closed! Either there was just one combined earlier service or no service at all!
• Well I haven't had official Spanish lessons since January or February, mainly because Tanya has been too busy with her work. I think my Spanish is suffering, but I'm still learning poco a poco (little by little). Usually I learn new words, because I need to actually use those words. So my new word for the week is parásito. Yes...I currently have a parasite, but honestly, I think I have had it for awhile now. I wasn't feeling well last Friday, so I went and got tested. I am taking strong medicine now. Yasi, the school secretary, has a sister who is a doctor, so she was the one who helped me get the medicine. However, she didn't tell me about the side effects of this medicine. Well it turns out, this medicine makes your pee LIME GREEN, like Mountain Dew! Needless to say, I was a bit surprised/concerned when I went to the bathroom, but at least I'm on the road to recovery!
• I have officially signed a contract for next year! I decided to sign just a one-year contract, mainly because I didn't feel a strong desire to sign a two-year contract. 
• Right now, I am planning on spending half of the summer in Texas and the other half here, studying Spanish! I am  really looking forward to both!
• While I really, really enjoy being here, I feel like I am missing out at times. I miss getting to hang out with my sister. We have had some good conversations on Skype, but sometimes it's just not the same! So I am really excited about getting to hang out with her this summer! 
• My mom is thinking about coming to visit at the end of the summer, which would be so, so fun! As I saw with Lindsay (my first visitor!), I have become accustomed to certain things about Guatemala that are very different from the States. I think I will have do a better job of preparing my mom for some of the culture shock!
• Above all, I continue to pray that I may be poured out for His glory. Yasi sent me a sweet e-mail today that encouraged me and reminded me that I am here to be a light in the school, among the parents, students, and other teachers. Everything else in this word is meaningless except for the surpassing greatness of knowing our Lord Jesus. I know this truth, and yet I fail to live it out. So many times, I find myself abandoning time with God, because I have other things that need to get done. How foolish am I! I am nothing, and I can do nothing without Him. 
• It is my prayer that you were able to really reflect on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection this past weekend. It is pretty incredible that a perfect man would die for such imperfect people so that we may enter back into a relationship with the One who created each of us. It only through believing in Jesus that we will find real, authentic life. We are studying evangelism in Bible right now, and I stumbled across a guy rapping the gospel. You should check it out by clicking here!

Life as I Know It

• I remember being very critical of teachers when I was in school. I always analyzed what they wore and noted whenever they made a typo. I remember thinking, teachers should not have typos. They should actually take the time to proofread their stuff. Well the tables have turned, and I find myself finishing things at the last minute with very little time to go back and check to make sure everything is just perfect. Today the Algebra I class took a test. I actually try not to make mistakes with tests, but I put a system of equations that was too big to graph on the coordinate grid that I provided. So I just wrote a different system of equations on the board. Later, one student told me that if I had gone to bed earlier, the test wouldn't have had so many mistakes! Within about 5 minutes of that comment, another student said how the Bible teacher last year was "at least better than you!" Haha, I am really learning not to take anything personally!
• This Saturday I get to go to my first ever quinceañera and I am so, so excited! Good thing I brought some heels here after Christmas! I mean, this is the real reason why I wanted to teach middle school, haha! I will try to take some pics!
• Next week is Spiritual Emphasis Week. The middle school and high school is going on a retreat from Wednesday to Friday. So, I will leave teacher mode and become a camp counselor for those few days. (A little weird, because then I will have to be the teacher again on Monday!) I am excited, but also a bit nervous! Some of the 8th grade boys asked me what I would do if I woke up with Jolly Ranchers stuck to my face...
• I decided to try to read the Bible in 90 days again. I figured March 1 would be a good time to start, since I should finish right when school gets out. However, the first time I tried this, I failed. So seeing that it's almost 5:30 PM, and I haven't started reading today's assigned reading, I'm not off to a great start!
• So right now we don't have running water at the house. I was going to go to an aerobics class tonight, but I don't want to get all sweaty and then not be able to take a shower! It's crazy how I take so many things for granted!

Late Night Grading

Grading is a lot more fun when kids write funny things. In Bible, I usually have a few questions that they have to answer when the bell rings. However, 2 weeks ago (yes, that's how behind I am with grading!) I let them choose what they wanted to write about one day. This is what one student wrote:

"Hi Ms. Barnett. Today I hit you with the ball. I was sorry for it. It's just that the game was really intense and we had to win the doritos so things happen at a certain point. I hope you dont get a bruse because if you do then...that would be bad because you will have a purple dot by me. I have an idea if a bruse come out you should put by [student's name] so when you leave you can remember of me. If it gets like the balls sides that would be awesome JK."

Another student wrote:
"Once upon a time there was a young girl. This girl was known as a witch. She would always be bothered. They would paint her desk with lots of names. When they saw this girl, everybody would say, 'Burn the witch.'" 

Sometimes it's the little things! Though teaching can very time consuming, I really enjoy it!