and then it was the last day of school...in May

What time is it? Summertime!

Hey, I'm catching up.

Oh, the last day of school.  Glorious.  I let the fifth and sixth graders in on the secret that I speak English, which was beyond fun.  There were a lot of, "Wait - - what?"s, "You're so awesome!"s, and "I  KNEW it!"s, along with my other favorites, the "I'm glad you did it that way"s.  I'm excited for next year when I can talk to them outside of class like friends, the way they and I have been wanting to this year but couldn't really.  If I participated in conversations this year the way I wanted to, no one would  have understood, so I'm excited to be able to respond to their fun plans and stories with something other than, "¡Excelente!" 

The last day of school was also a lot of fun in the other grades.  We played, danced, sang, reviewed, and I answered the questions they asked the week before on their year-end surveys.  I'm glad I get to teach them again next year!  

And I got pictures of all my classes.  Do you know how many classes that is, people?  23.  Twenty-three classes of twenty-five students.  That's a lot of kids, and a lot of adorable class pictures.  I'm not allowed post them on the Internet, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  

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"YOU ARE ALIVE.  Your journey is not over.  NO matter what, this simple fact alone is proof that you still have something meaningful to achieve." - Marc & Angel Hack Life blog

jobs (other than my own) that I would love: part 2

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A tutor, particularly in Spanish or Math (or Self-Esteem - that would be fun:).  These are my two favorite subjects (as far as tutoring goes), and although I love teaching, there's something about giving one-on-one help that's different and special.  Also, the grammar-based style of teaching Spanish is getting older and being phased out a little, but I really enjoy tutoring students who have learned by that style because I love grammar (and teaching it).  I am fascinated with the nuances of speech, grammar, accents, and pronunciation.  Anyway - I could go on but I won't.  Job #2 = tutor (but hopefully we both would look happier and the kid would have a better haircut).

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"The difference between [Peter] and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe, while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing."  - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

last post translation

A few of you have asked what the song from my last post was actually saying, so here's a "more or less" translation. :)

I'm about to start travelling

toward the unknown

I don't know if I will see you again

It's not easy to accept having lost.

Chorus:

No matter how much I begged you not to leave me,

you said, "It's not me, it's destiny."

And then I understood that even though I loved you,

I had to choose another road.

What good does life do me

if I don't live it with you?

What good does hope do me

if it's the last thing that dies

and without you, I've lost it [hope].

What good does life do me

if you are what I want / ask for

I go after your tenderness

but I don't have a single doubt

that you leave me without your kisses.

Listen well, love, what I tell you

because I don't think I'll have another chance

to tell you that I'm not sorry

that I gave you my heart.

Chorus

"De qué me sirve la vida," por Camila

This video is one of my favorite reminders that every single person - whether or not we know them, no matter their opinions or whether we agree - is a person, just like me.  Every person has hopes and dreams and fears and worries, just like I do.  It's easy to see people just as other humans walking around; it takes more effort to remember we're all so alike.

Basically it says, "What good is life to me if I have to live it without you?"which can be interpreted as just a love song, but I think it also applies to people around us.  What good is life if we have to live it without each other?  The point of this life is to learn to love and serve, to make families, and to learn to be Christlike.  If each of us were isolated with no human contact, what good would living do?  We need each other.

Yes, most of the examples in this video are sad.  That's not to say that every person is sad or has some depressing secret.  I, personally, am pretty happy.  I have bad days, too, though.  You never know if it's someone's good or bad day.  All the people in the video look "normal" and have something sad in their lives.  To me, it says that everyone has their own struggles and we don't always know each others', so we should be kind to everyone, no matter what.  "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Edit: Some of you asked what the song was saying.  Here is a "more or less" translation. :)

English translations of the posters people hold up:
"Your words are knives."  "I have AIDS. Don't be afraid of me."  "Listen."  "My family abandoned me. I have nothing."  "I am addicted to suffering."  "No one loves me. I am worth nothing."  "I have AIDS. Don't be afraid of me." (again)  "I also dream. I also am human."  "My name is Martín. My dad makes me rob people in the streets. I am not a criminal. What am I supposed to do?"  "My name is Julián. I am gay. I was kicked out of my house. They tell me I am a punishment, a curse / damnation."  "My name is Ana. I see myself as fat. Ugly. Horrible. I am disgusted by myself."  "My name is Beatriz. I am 13 years old. My stepfather raped me."  "They wrote this for me. I am illiterate."  "[Beatriz] And my dignity?"  "I am an alcoholic. My only friend is the drink. My family left me. I have nothing."  "Don't discriminate against me."  "[Beatriz] Will you also sexually abuse me?"  "They killed my brothers and now, who will protect me?"  "I am also gay."  "What did I do to you? Why can you not accept me as I am? Why can I not love without hiding?"  "I am María. I am 16 years old. I am pregnant. My parents don't know."  "I need love, too. Don't make fun of me."  "[María] My boyfriend left me. What do I do now? I am afraid."  "My husband hits me. I live terrified."  "In this second, a woman dies because of domestic violence.  She could be your friend, your mother, or even you."  "Should I tell that he hits me? Or should I be quiet? What would you do?"  "Respect others."  "Yes. I'm fat. Obese. And?"  "If you see or know about familial abuse, do something. Report it."  "Don't give up hope. All will be well."  "Don't waste time. Ask for help. Now."  "Don't hurt. Don't kill."  "I'm Julie. They shut me up in an asylum."  "Accept."  "[Julie] I carry solitude with me as I live."  "I live in a nursing home. I am a nuisance to my family.  Please don't ignore me."  "I want to commit suicide."  "You're not alone."  "I feel for you."  "Fight!"  "Don't be quiet. Break the silence."  "Don't ignore others' pain. Help!"  "Accept those who are different and think differently."  "I'm Esteban. I get beat up at school. My teachers and parents ignore me."  "Have hope."  "Open your mind. Open your heart."  "Never stop dreaming."  "Never stop acting / doing something."  "Learn. Change."  "Open your eyes to the soul."  "I also have rights."  "Share. We need you."  "Enough with violence."  "Live without fear. Love exists."  "Participate."  

Vamos a hablar hoy de la casa de la maestra...

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Today was my first time teaching a not-my-teaching-methods-class class.  It was a Spanish 101 class here on campus.  I was so so so so nervous!  Luckily, I wore a long-sleeved shirt and when I got in the room it was boiling hot..... :) You might be thinking, "What a random picture to use for this post," but you'd be wrong.  The lesson I taught today lasted about 15 minutes and was on furniture/"around the house"-type vocabulary.  I used that picture to help teach the word las sillas (chairs). 

Thoughts:
Overall, I think it went pretty well.  I kept not being able to decide if I wanted to use tú or Ud. and for some reason randomly kept mixing up the difference between saber and conocer, but other than those things it seemed okay.

I wish I knew everyone's names so I could call on individuals more easily.

It was surprisingly easy to teach the lesson in Spanish the whole time, but from some of the blank looks I got and some of the "suggestions" that weren't really suggestions they gave me at the end that I maybe could've clarified a few things in English.  Not a lot - they seemed to get things pretty well - but a couple of things. 

I passed out notecards and asked that they write down any suggestions they had for me and didn't get many, so they either didn't understand what I asked or were so blown-away by my sweet teaching skills that they saw no room for improvement ;) 

I think it was a fun idea to use pictures of my own house to teach the words.  It's fun to see a little bit into the non-school life of a teacher :)

I will be teaching the same class again on Friday but don't know yet what my topic will be, but I'll let you know how it goes!