time for another round of "the last year of your life." For a good time, check out last year's thoughts on turning thirty and the year of 29. Seeing growth in yourself is important. And makes you laugh. I highly... Continue Reading →
I'm really cuddly. I'm built like a cuddly person. I'm like Olaf - I like warm hugs. And the nice thing about teaching is that around kids, your hug bucket can always be full. Even if you have to demand... Continue Reading →
Teaching English is funny. You do a lesson on something, say occupations. Then you start talking about uniforms and farmers in overalls and realize your students don't know much about clothing. Which is not much of a surprise, since we... Continue Reading →
After six months of classes, we have graduated from beginner Portuguese to intermediate Portuguese! Yay! I can't believe it. In order to pass into the next class, we each had to deliver presentations with Powerpoints for at least five minutes,... Continue Reading →
I'm a pretty good teacher. My kids learn the stuff. I always have stickers in my room. And candy for my fellow teachers. I attend meetings and rarely pretend to go to the bathroom just so I can play a quick round of Trivia Crack. I answer emails. I participate in every dress-up day. But, of course, I have a few bad habits.
I had my flatulent little princess first thing this morning. She was sitting in my lap and we were playing sentence-building games when she ripped a glorious one that vibrated my legs. I'm serious. My thighs jiggled.
I just looked down my shirt and realized I had forgotten about the papertowel I had stuffed in my sports bra to soak up the sweat a few hours ago. It's hot in Brazil. Sometimes when I get undressed at night, these paper towels just fall out, and I realize I'm turning into my grandmothers far sooner than I expected, tucking kleenex and toilet paper away in clothing/skin pockets.
People often ask me what has changed since I've moved to Brazil. There are things that I notice, things maybe others notice more than me. I'm not sure. But here are some basics: My most intense conversations are with bugs. For example:... Continue Reading →
Nothing is quite so beautiful and terrible all at the same time as an all-school Christmas musical. Our first rehearsal was Wednesday, and I was shaking with silent belly laughs, tears streaming down my cheeks from watching the little kids perform.
Wednesdays are hard, man. Even spelling the word is hard. (Am I the only person who still has to go "Wed-nes-day" in her head when writing that one out? Along with "def-in-ite-ly be-a-u-ti-ful." Every time. And I'm 30. And teach... Continue Reading →
I look forward to Mondays. I look forward to the challenges I will face with my students. To the words I will discover they don't know and figuring out a meaningful way to act them out and a poster I... Continue Reading →
Sunglasses Always Fit 