Well, a lot has happened in the past few weeks. First I got sick. Really, really sick. Sicker than sick. More sick than I'd been in I don't know how long. We are still unsure if it was food poisoning or the flu, since my mom ended up sick 5 days later (a bit long for a flu transfer, don't you think?) and La Hija never got sick at all. The day after the night of the worst of it, I had to go to a meeting so I could begin subbing. That was a treat. Nothing like being nauseated during a 2 hour meeting with an auditorium full of people!! It was worth it though, since I finally got everything in order and began subbing last week! I also had my, first classroom observation experience, which was really interesting. It was much more exhausting than I'd imagined. Basically, it was like sitting in a lecture for 5 hours, because I was having to analyze and take notes the entire time.
I taught kindergarten yesterday and am actually physically sore! Whodathunkit??
I had one student who was most likely autistic, but it was never verified to me. We had a hard time at first because he couldn't deal with any sort of change in routine and was really acting out with me and the other students. I tried to talk with him and was incredibly patient when he needed to say things over and over again or when he got frustrated because he couldn't do something. Honestly, it reminded me of my daughter's "I wanna do it myself!" toddler behavior, but it was taking place in a 6 year old. I spent a lot of time defusing issues between him and the other children. It was rough.
At the end of class (this was AM kindergarten), he refused to do his work and was sitting in a chair away from the other students looking very mopey. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I am just sad because I'm gonna miss you. You were very kind to me and most people are mean. I want you to go home with me!" and he started crying. I ran up to me and gave me this huge bear hug (he was strong!!) and cried and kept telling me how sad he was and asking when I could come back.
It was an emotional day.
In other news, business went really went over election weekend. Mi Amor tells me that our family is thrilled at the FMLN victory. Mi Amor was of the opinion that he didn't care as long as he made some money that weekend!
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sorting it out and other nonsensical ramblings
Things are coming together.
(Again)
Yes, La Hija and I are still returning to the states on a temporary basis, but Mi Amor and I have a time line and some goals we've set out.
We also have a plan B, so we can make sure this is temporary and a few months doesn't turn into another 2 year separation.
We've also decided that I am going to go back to school to get my teaching certification. I can do most of the program online, and when it comes time for me to do my student teaching, La Hija and I will again return to the states for a semester. This will allow me to get a much higher paying teaching job down here than the one I'll have in a few months.
Local governmental elections are tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Interestingly enough, we had amazing water pressure during the day today, which is very unusual. We decided it was all too convenient that the day before elections we've got water galore.
Mi Amor is going to work in the morning to take advantage of having a bunch of hungry voters around, and we hope to have a little BBQ with his sister and her daughter in the afternoon. Monday he has a new employee starting. Here's hoping this one likes the work and sticks around.
Speaking of employment, the woman who cleaned our house a few weeks ago came back the other day!! I was so excited--both because she does a great job and that makes keeping it all up easier during the week, and because La Hija really enjoys playing with her daughter... not to mention that it gave me a little bit of faith in people taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. I'm curious if she will come again this week.
Last but not least, I'm still waiting for the mangoes to ripen. I hope I get to taste at least one before I go. We've used some of them already with salt and limón, but I really want a nice, sweet mango!!
(Again)
Yes, La Hija and I are still returning to the states on a temporary basis, but Mi Amor and I have a time line and some goals we've set out.
We also have a plan B, so we can make sure this is temporary and a few months doesn't turn into another 2 year separation.
We've also decided that I am going to go back to school to get my teaching certification. I can do most of the program online, and when it comes time for me to do my student teaching, La Hija and I will again return to the states for a semester. This will allow me to get a much higher paying teaching job down here than the one I'll have in a few months.
Local governmental elections are tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Interestingly enough, we had amazing water pressure during the day today, which is very unusual. We decided it was all too convenient that the day before elections we've got water galore.
Mi Amor is going to work in the morning to take advantage of having a bunch of hungry voters around, and we hope to have a little BBQ with his sister and her daughter in the afternoon. Monday he has a new employee starting. Here's hoping this one likes the work and sticks around.
Speaking of employment, the woman who cleaned our house a few weeks ago came back the other day!! I was so excited--both because she does a great job and that makes keeping it all up easier during the week, and because La Hija really enjoys playing with her daughter... not to mention that it gave me a little bit of faith in people taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. I'm curious if she will come again this week.
Last but not least, I'm still waiting for the mangoes to ripen. I hope I get to taste at least one before I go. We've used some of them already with salt and limón, but I really want a nice, sweet mango!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
So today, beyond giving thanks for my family, friends and a long overdue upcoming move, I am thankful for a responsive congressman.
Before the elections, I wrote to Congressman Brad Ellsworth about supporting free elections in El Salvador.
I actually got a written response and a conversation request from a member of his legislative staff:
Dear [Aighmeigh],
My name is Zach Pfister, and I work on Congressman Ellsworth's legislative staff. We recently received your e-mail regarding free elections in El Salvador, and Congressman Ellsworth has asked me to contact you discuss this issue in greater detail...
Ok, what???
I am seriously excited and seriously thankful and a Congressperson would take the time to do this.
So yes, I'm thankful for a lot of things today. Even though I know there is much tension about the roots of the holiday, this year I just want to be thankful for life and the many blessings I've been given.
Before the elections, I wrote to Congressman Brad Ellsworth about supporting free elections in El Salvador.
I actually got a written response and a conversation request from a member of his legislative staff:
Dear [Aighmeigh],
My name is Zach Pfister, and I work on Congressman Ellsworth's legislative staff. We recently received your e-mail regarding free elections in El Salvador, and Congressman Ellsworth has asked me to contact you discuss this issue in greater detail...
Ok, what???
I am seriously excited and seriously thankful and a Congressperson would take the time to do this.
So yes, I'm thankful for a lot of things today. Even though I know there is much tension about the roots of the holiday, this year I just want to be thankful for life and the many blessings I've been given.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Things are coming together...
I had to take a break from the blogosphere for a while... all the politics were beginning to wear down on my delicate sensibilities. I get really emotional about some things, and the state of the world that we live in is definitely one of them. Discord hurts me more than it should. I can deal with conflict and certainly love a good debate, but when there is hatred involved I don't do well.
Anyway, I'm glad the intensity has turned down a bit. Now I just need to stop reading things I know will rile me up, like Internet commentary on the election results. I am appalled at the lack of basic respect people can have for each other. Seriously.
So things are smoothing out with the move, slowly but surely. Mi Amor got us a new house in the city I wanted to live in!! It's got 4 bedrooms, 3 of which have bathrooms, which is excellent since we will have some of his friends/employees living with us for the time being. I have mixed feelings about it but got used to living with people during my college years so I can learn to deal with it again, I hope. The main thing I require (and I've said this) is that there are established boundaries and that we have some private space. Of course, Mi Amor has thought about this and actually laughed when I brought it up. "You're my wife! Of course we are going to have some privacy!!" he said. We'll deal with it as it comes. Right now, the most important things to me are that we are together and that we are saving money in every way possible. I don't want to rent forever.
My mom is coming for a short visit on Monday, which is very cool. There was a questions of whether or not she'd come down and I was very upset by that. She lives in The Netherlands at present and I was having a really hard time with the thought that she would be an 8 hr drive away for 10 days but wouldn't come to see me... especially since it was my birthday a few days ago and I was feeling that ache of loneliness that always seems to rear its ugly head around special occasions.
Basically, I moved to this small Indiana city (town) to be closer to my mom but her husband got a European job transfer a year ago. So, for about a year now I've been pretty isolated and without any sort of family support--my nearest family member is a 4 1/2 hr drive away. My parents have some friends who would help me in an emergency, and I have made a few very close friends here, but they are few and far between. It has been a serious lesson in self-sufficiency and I have learned what I am made of.
So tomorrow I am packing more and putting some stuff together which I hope to talk my mom into bringing back to Michigan for me. I really need some more space in this little hole of an apartment. It's getting a bit too crowded in here for me!
Anyway, I'm glad the intensity has turned down a bit. Now I just need to stop reading things I know will rile me up, like Internet commentary on the election results. I am appalled at the lack of basic respect people can have for each other. Seriously.
So things are smoothing out with the move, slowly but surely. Mi Amor got us a new house in the city I wanted to live in!! It's got 4 bedrooms, 3 of which have bathrooms, which is excellent since we will have some of his friends/employees living with us for the time being. I have mixed feelings about it but got used to living with people during my college years so I can learn to deal with it again, I hope. The main thing I require (and I've said this) is that there are established boundaries and that we have some private space. Of course, Mi Amor has thought about this and actually laughed when I brought it up. "You're my wife! Of course we are going to have some privacy!!" he said. We'll deal with it as it comes. Right now, the most important things to me are that we are together and that we are saving money in every way possible. I don't want to rent forever.
My mom is coming for a short visit on Monday, which is very cool. There was a questions of whether or not she'd come down and I was very upset by that. She lives in The Netherlands at present and I was having a really hard time with the thought that she would be an 8 hr drive away for 10 days but wouldn't come to see me... especially since it was my birthday a few days ago and I was feeling that ache of loneliness that always seems to rear its ugly head around special occasions.
Basically, I moved to this small Indiana city (town) to be closer to my mom but her husband got a European job transfer a year ago. So, for about a year now I've been pretty isolated and without any sort of family support--my nearest family member is a 4 1/2 hr drive away. My parents have some friends who would help me in an emergency, and I have made a few very close friends here, but they are few and far between. It has been a serious lesson in self-sufficiency and I have learned what I am made of.
So tomorrow I am packing more and putting some stuff together which I hope to talk my mom into bringing back to Michigan for me. I really need some more space in this little hole of an apartment. It's getting a bit too crowded in here for me!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
We Are Making History...
I voted early, but I voted and therefore display the handsomely designed button of wonderfulness at the left with pride. Many thanks to Nezua at The Unapologetic Mexican for sharing his talent!Today is an important day in American history and I made it a point to discuss the larger ramifications of this election in my classes today. Regardless of the ultimate outcome of this election, something will be radically different in our next administration: there will be a minority in one of the two of this country's highest offices. This is huge! Think about it: the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote in 1870 and many remained disenfranchised until the National Voting Rights Act of 1965... women (regardless of color) weren't allowed to vote until 1920!!
Considering my political leanings, I am even more excited by how much support my candidate of choice has and how so many people of all races have rallied around a candidate of color. It warms the cockles of my cynical and sometimes hardened heart and gives me hope for the future of this country.
In class today we were serendipitously scheduled to read "I Have a Dream" and I was excited by how amazingly perfect it was. It is important to talk about race and gender in politics, and I know that my students aren't asked to think (let alone talk) about such things very often.
It was a good day and I am happy to have taken place in such an historical event... it will be something to talk with the grandkids about.
Seriously folks, get out there and vote if you haven't already. No excuses. Take part.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Why am I always disappointed?
Why am I always disappointed, even when I am not surprised? Over the past few months, I've had a number of political conversations that swing around to the topic of fear for Obama's welfare and safety. He's been under the watchful eye of the Secret Service for quite some time, but that does not quell people's fears but it can sometimes make folks a bit more comfortable or confident...
...and then you see things like this and the worry festers like a gangrenous wound.
...and then you see things like this and the worry festers like a gangrenous wound.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Change is a Threat...
...and boy does it bring out the ugly in the world.
As if Obama's popularity in the polls didn't cause enough of the American racists out there to tear off their PC muzzles and begin spewing their rhetoric of ignorance and hate for the whole world to see... as if the possibility of "One of Them" in power wasn't spurring enough of an upsurge of frightening public (re)actions... the sickness seems to be spreading worldwide.
Evidently, it's not even safe to wear an Obama t-shirt these days--even in the UK.
As if Obama's popularity in the polls didn't cause enough of the American racists out there to tear off their PC muzzles and begin spewing their rhetoric of ignorance and hate for the whole world to see... as if the possibility of "One of Them" in power wasn't spurring enough of an upsurge of frightening public (re)actions... the sickness seems to be spreading worldwide.
Evidently, it's not even safe to wear an Obama t-shirt these days--even in the UK.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Election Interference?
While the past two U.S. elections have been... shall we say... questionable... I'm not actually referring to our elections in this post. I'd actually like to talk about possible U.S. interference in El Salvador's upcoming elections. See, we supported right-wing ARENA militarily during El Salvador's bloody civil war and seem to have a mind to keep them in power, as illustrated perfectly by the strong-arm tactics used in 2004 to frighten the Salvadoran people into "supporting" ARENA. In September, Marisol Argueta, El Salvador's Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke to the American Enterprise Institute and stated that, "more U.S. support is urgent, lest President Saca be defeated in the 2009 elections."
My issue is not with which party is better suited to meet the needs of the Salvadoran people. I have no desire to talk left-wing/right-wing politics. The point I want to stress here is that the election results and subsequent ruling party should solely reflect the desire of the Salvadoran people, and nothing more.
For more Salvadoran election coverage, please read Tim's El Salvador Blog and Free and Fair Elections. If you are a Salvadoran and would like write President Saca in protest of U.S. interference in the 2009 elections, you can see SHARE's sample letter here. Finally, if you oppose U.S. interference in El Salvador's elections, please contact your Congressional Representative. You can find a sample telephone script, which could be easily turned into a letter, here.
My issue is not with which party is better suited to meet the needs of the Salvadoran people. I have no desire to talk left-wing/right-wing politics. The point I want to stress here is that the election results and subsequent ruling party should solely reflect the desire of the Salvadoran people, and nothing more.
For more Salvadoran election coverage, please read Tim's El Salvador Blog and Free and Fair Elections. If you are a Salvadoran and would like write President Saca in protest of U.S. interference in the 2009 elections, you can see SHARE's sample letter here. Finally, if you oppose U.S. interference in El Salvador's elections, please contact your Congressional Representative. You can find a sample telephone script, which could be easily turned into a letter, here.
I've Tried...
I have tried so hard to keep politics out of my writings here. I really wanted to attempt to focus solely on my move and the whole experience of relocating to a foreign country, and I was almost certain I could do it.
Honestly, I should have known better.
As much as I try to remove myself from it, my mind and heart still goes there. My beliefs are strong and I don't suppress my emotions well, nor should I have to. It seems I'd just imagined this blog differently and wanted to somehow unnaturally compartmentalize myself. Emotions here. Business there. Creativity somewhere else. The disturbing inner workings of my fragmented psyche in yet another, more anonymous locale. I don't think it works that way for me, though, so I will just have to allow this blog to be what it will be.
So, a good friend of mine sent me this video today and I am horrified. The thought that these people are shown as anywhere near representative of the Everyday American is appalling, and the reality that their sentiments may be more common than I'd like to think is both disheartening and downright terrifying.
It breaks my heart and frustrates me to no end that there are people in this world who are so comfortable and content in their feelings of hatred and fear. I want to take these people, shake them violently and say Why do you cling to your fear like a life jacket? Are you happy? Do you feel safe in your ignorance? What the hell is so threatening about difference anyway?? What ever happened to that idea you have about that God of yours creating everyone in "His image", huh?? How does that only apply to people who share your light skin tone? And who the hell are you to impose your unwarrantedly elitist, antiquated, unenlightened, racist ideologies upon me?
And so it goes.
More later on other things political--as I have a lot to say and I'm sort of on a roll.
Honestly, I should have known better.
As much as I try to remove myself from it, my mind and heart still goes there. My beliefs are strong and I don't suppress my emotions well, nor should I have to. It seems I'd just imagined this blog differently and wanted to somehow unnaturally compartmentalize myself. Emotions here. Business there. Creativity somewhere else. The disturbing inner workings of my fragmented psyche in yet another, more anonymous locale. I don't think it works that way for me, though, so I will just have to allow this blog to be what it will be.
So, a good friend of mine sent me this video today and I am horrified. The thought that these people are shown as anywhere near representative of the Everyday American is appalling, and the reality that their sentiments may be more common than I'd like to think is both disheartening and downright terrifying.
It breaks my heart and frustrates me to no end that there are people in this world who are so comfortable and content in their feelings of hatred and fear. I want to take these people, shake them violently and say Why do you cling to your fear like a life jacket? Are you happy? Do you feel safe in your ignorance? What the hell is so threatening about difference anyway?? What ever happened to that idea you have about that God of yours creating everyone in "His image", huh?? How does that only apply to people who share your light skin tone? And who the hell are you to impose your unwarrantedly elitist, antiquated, unenlightened, racist ideologies upon me?
And so it goes.
More later on other things political--as I have a lot to say and I'm sort of on a roll.
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