this past week was a work week for us teachers to get ready for accreditation. a few of us took advantage of getting to sleep in a little to have our own little alfred hitchcock film festival. it was amazing. that man was a genius! after each movie, however, we felt the need to lighten the mood a little and therefore turned to b-boys, otherwise known as breakdancers. there is this incredible documentary about 4 b-boy crews from around the world called Planet B-Boy. we would watch a little bit each night, awestruck by the feats these guys can perform. here is the first place team from korea, and perhaps the most incredible routine ever:
if you like this, check out the other crews on youtube! Igicheki from Japan is amazing too! and Phase-T from France has the cutest little kid on the crew, who is also incredible! there is now a little part of me that wishes that i could do this!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
a lesson from the little ones
yesterday, tragedy struck the second and third grades. about a week ago, we discovered a bird's nest built in the tree right outside our two classrooms. there were two tiny blue eggs in the nest. our kids were beyond excited and the next few days were spent lifting child after child up to peer into the tree and catch a glimpse of this tiny miracle. we cautioned our students not to touch the tree or the nest, or else the mother bird might not come back to care for the babies. they were very careful, keeping guard to make sure nothing happened to the eggs. we eagerly discussed what would happen when the baby birds hatched. then the drama began. first, a middle school student picked up one of the eggs. the second and third graders came running to find us, scared that now the babies would have no mother. we talked to the middle schoolers, and tried to assure our students that we would just have to be more careful and we should pray that the mother bird would still come back. then joy of all joys, thursday morning the eggs hatched and two tiny, baby birds were in the nest! the middle schoolers, just as excited about this miracle of life, yet not as careful, kept pulling on the tree to see the nest. then, a well-meaning teacher, took the nest out of the tree to keep it safe, not realizing that by doing so she had just killed the baby birds. our students were distraught and spent all of recess digging worms to mash up and feed the baby birds. i didn't have the heart to tell them that that wouldn't work and the babies needed a mother. the nest was put back in the tree, yet it had fallen apart in all the movement and therefore was not as sturdy or well attached as it had been. and then, that evening, the skies opened up and the worst storm of this rainy season ensued. the next morning, the nest was empty. the students tried to believe that the mother had taken the baby birds away, until 2 precious third grade girls found one of the dead babies on the ground under a nearby bush. they gently wrapped it in a tissue and placed it an box and went to the mountain to bury it. i spent the next 15 minutes trying to console several crying 8 year olds. as if this was not enough, they also discovered that day that the family of slugs they had been watching had been taken to be used as fish bait, and only the mother remained and that she was sick.
now many adults might find this entertaining and even a little silly, especially the part about the slugs. they are just slugs, some of the most useless and disgusting creatures ever. i personally, hate birds and hate creepy, crawly, slimy things and therefore, was personally not too distraught. but when you are the one looking at the quivering lips and red, watery eyes of children who have just experienced death in a very real way, there is nothing funny about it. there was real pain there, and just because we are adults whose lives are full of bigger, "more important" pains, we cannot discount the pain a child experiences over the death of a bird or a slug. we were children once, and if we take the time to remember our childhood, i am sure we can find a time when we experienced true pain over something that seems insignificant now. but that is how we learn to deal with pain. if we did not have those tiny moments of pain as children, we would not be as well equipped to handle the biggers trials that come down the road. as i reflected on yesterday's sad events, i was reminded of jesus telling his disciples that if they wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven they needed to become like the little children. and i was struck with the truth of this statement. because, although my kids had been devastated by death yesterday, they were able to enjoy a beautiful writing ceremony and valentine's day activities and they were still able to laugh and have fun. they didn't forget about the birds, but they were able to focus on the joys the day had to offer. that is what we are all called to do. life is hard. it is not fair and it is full of pain and suffering. but we are called to focus on the joys. children often live in the moment, one minute crying over a dead bird, the next smiling and clapping about putting their writing in the school library. this can be a lesson to us adults, who often dwell on the bad things in life. life is but a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of time, and if we let the suffering get us down, we miss out on all the other joy life has to offer.
now many adults might find this entertaining and even a little silly, especially the part about the slugs. they are just slugs, some of the most useless and disgusting creatures ever. i personally, hate birds and hate creepy, crawly, slimy things and therefore, was personally not too distraught. but when you are the one looking at the quivering lips and red, watery eyes of children who have just experienced death in a very real way, there is nothing funny about it. there was real pain there, and just because we are adults whose lives are full of bigger, "more important" pains, we cannot discount the pain a child experiences over the death of a bird or a slug. we were children once, and if we take the time to remember our childhood, i am sure we can find a time when we experienced true pain over something that seems insignificant now. but that is how we learn to deal with pain. if we did not have those tiny moments of pain as children, we would not be as well equipped to handle the biggers trials that come down the road. as i reflected on yesterday's sad events, i was reminded of jesus telling his disciples that if they wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven they needed to become like the little children. and i was struck with the truth of this statement. because, although my kids had been devastated by death yesterday, they were able to enjoy a beautiful writing ceremony and valentine's day activities and they were still able to laugh and have fun. they didn't forget about the birds, but they were able to focus on the joys the day had to offer. that is what we are all called to do. life is hard. it is not fair and it is full of pain and suffering. but we are called to focus on the joys. children often live in the moment, one minute crying over a dead bird, the next smiling and clapping about putting their writing in the school library. this can be a lesson to us adults, who often dwell on the bad things in life. life is but a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of time, and if we let the suffering get us down, we miss out on all the other joy life has to offer.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
life
RainPatty Griffin
It's hard to listen to a hard hard heart
Beating close to mine
Pounding up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won't climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep
You think that you're gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep
With all this rain falling down
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Its hard to know when to give up the fight
Two things you want will just never be right
Its never rained like it has to night before
Now I don't wanna beg you baby
For something maybe you could never give
I'm not looking for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm still alive underneath this shroud
Rain Rain Rain
Sunday, February 1, 2009
sketchy/shady/awesome
last night was perhaps one of the best nights i have ever spent in la paz and i just felt like it deserved a blog post. the evening was planned by a couple of dear friends and fellow teachers, who last week found the sketchiest amusement park/carnival thing close to their home. they decided it was worthy of a group outing and made a night of it with the theme sketchy/shady/awesome.
we began the evening meeting for dinner at a chinese restaurant called love city, chosen solely for the name. thankfully though, it was not as sketchy as it sounds and we all enjoyed a good meal. we then piled 9 people plus a baby into a land cruiser and drove a few blocks down to galaxy park. let me try to paint a picture for you. picture a 1980's amusement park squeezed into a square lot in the middle of the city. or you could picture the sketchiest fair or carnival you have been to and multiply by ten. to clarify though, it wasn't the people or dark corners that made this place shady, it was only the rides. they were quite old, made many squeaky noises, and went incredibly fast with barely any safety equipment. now i know why rides are so short in the states, your body is really not meant to be flying around in circles at top speeds for any extended period of time. we left the park definitely feeling like our insides had been all mixed up. i never scream on rides in the states, however, i can barely talk this morning from all the screaming last night. in the states, the rides might be scary, but i know they are safe. here there were no such guarantees. perhaps the two worst rides were the roller coaster, which was a single two person car with no seat belts that i swear every time was going around the corner seemed as if it was going to just fly straight off the tracks instead (i really have no idea what was keeping it on) and one called the kamikaze. the kamikaze was like a viking ship but instead of just swinging side to side, actually flipped upside down and went around in full circles. i have perhaps never been so scared on a ride in my life. they held you in the air upside down for several seconds and you had to use every muscle in your body to try to stay close to your seat. however, the ride is "really safe" now since they added the harnesses. apparently a few years ago the same ride only had a lap belt and your whole body was just flailing around inside the car. the entire night we just kept laughing at how incredibly crazy this place was, just stuck right in the middle of the city. but we had a blast and i would definitely go back!
the night concluded with curling up in the stadium seating at our friends' house watching slumdog millionaire, which i really loved. and although my body is feeling a little bruised and banged up (spinning at top speeds in metal cars with no cusioning will do that to you) and although i really have no voice from all the screaming, last night is a definitely a night i will repeat next year! just perhaps without the chinese food first!
we began the evening meeting for dinner at a chinese restaurant called love city, chosen solely for the name. thankfully though, it was not as sketchy as it sounds and we all enjoyed a good meal. we then piled 9 people plus a baby into a land cruiser and drove a few blocks down to galaxy park. let me try to paint a picture for you. picture a 1980's amusement park squeezed into a square lot in the middle of the city. or you could picture the sketchiest fair or carnival you have been to and multiply by ten. to clarify though, it wasn't the people or dark corners that made this place shady, it was only the rides. they were quite old, made many squeaky noises, and went incredibly fast with barely any safety equipment. now i know why rides are so short in the states, your body is really not meant to be flying around in circles at top speeds for any extended period of time. we left the park definitely feeling like our insides had been all mixed up. i never scream on rides in the states, however, i can barely talk this morning from all the screaming last night. in the states, the rides might be scary, but i know they are safe. here there were no such guarantees. perhaps the two worst rides were the roller coaster, which was a single two person car with no seat belts that i swear every time was going around the corner seemed as if it was going to just fly straight off the tracks instead (i really have no idea what was keeping it on) and one called the kamikaze. the kamikaze was like a viking ship but instead of just swinging side to side, actually flipped upside down and went around in full circles. i have perhaps never been so scared on a ride in my life. they held you in the air upside down for several seconds and you had to use every muscle in your body to try to stay close to your seat. however, the ride is "really safe" now since they added the harnesses. apparently a few years ago the same ride only had a lap belt and your whole body was just flailing around inside the car. the entire night we just kept laughing at how incredibly crazy this place was, just stuck right in the middle of the city. but we had a blast and i would definitely go back!
the night concluded with curling up in the stadium seating at our friends' house watching slumdog millionaire, which i really loved. and although my body is feeling a little bruised and banged up (spinning at top speeds in metal cars with no cusioning will do that to you) and although i really have no voice from all the screaming, last night is a definitely a night i will repeat next year! just perhaps without the chinese food first!
Friday, January 23, 2009
jesus loves the little children
after saying goodbye last night, i needed a reminder as to why i am here in bolivia....
Friday, January 16, 2009
who am i serving?
life is changing. to be more accurate, my life is not really changing...it's more like everything around me is changing and moving at 100 mph and i am standing still. and i'm not sure how to deal with it. the director of my school and his family have had to leave suddenly due to their baby daughter's health problems. she can no longer live at this altitude. jason is an amazing director, he is incredible at his job. but more than that, this family is my family away from home. jason is the big brother i never had and his wife, sara, is one of my closest friends. we came to bolivia together 3 years ago. we have gone through all the adjustments to a new country together. we have spent hours talking about everything and planning the rest of our lives. we know each other's struggles and burdens. we have cried together and celebrated together. and now the life we had planned has been drastically changed. we no longer have a year and a half left together. our time together is finished, and i didn't even get to say goodbye. the past two days at work have been extremely hard. jason is here to get the semester started and will be coming three more times during the semester. we had a meeting today about the chain of command while he is gone. it's going to take 6 people to take his place. and i was sitting there thinking, "this isn't what i signed up for. i keep renewing my contract because i want to work for jason. he is the biggest reason i have stayed in bolivia. and now, he won't be here? i can't do this" and i know many in the room were thinking the same thing. and then james, our high school science teacher and jason's best friend, stood up. looking at the people who are filling in for jason he told them that he was speaking for the staff when he said that we did not come to bolivia to serve jason. we came to serve god. and therefore, although we don't want jason to leave, it doesn't change anything. we are here because god called us here, and we will continue to be here serving him, and that means we will submit to their authority because we have submitted to his authority.
and that is truth. i did not come to bolivia because jason called me here. i came because god called me here. and he has called me to at least another year. i am here to work for him, not jason. and while this is still a sad time, full of tears and confusion, ultimately, my work here has not changed. and i have committed to serving him, here or anywhere else he calls me. i just needed to be reminded of this commitment.
and that is truth. i did not come to bolivia because jason called me here. i came because god called me here. and he has called me to at least another year. i am here to work for him, not jason. and while this is still a sad time, full of tears and confusion, ultimately, my work here has not changed. and i have committed to serving him, here or anywhere else he calls me. i just needed to be reminded of this commitment.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
many the miles
To begin, let me give this warning-this will be very long. But people keep asking me about my trip, and I have decided the easiest way to share about it is to just type it once here. I am going to try to just give the major highlights and keep it brief, but if you've read my blog before, you know I don't usually succeed at being brief!
I think the one thing that stood out to me most during the whole trip was the clear presence of the Lord the entire time. There were many things that could have gone very wrong, and often did go wrong, only to work out for the best. It was clear someone quite a bit bigger was in charge and had all the plans under his control.
My traveling buddy, Ali, and I set off to the La Paz bus terminal at 5pm Friday afternoon...and we didn't arrive to our first destination, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, until 8am Monday morning. It was a crazy beginning to the trip. We took a 14 hour bus to Santa Cruz, Bolivia and then had 7 hours to kill in Santa Cruz. We then got on a bus for Asuncion, Paraguay. This was probably the worst bus ride of my entire life...so far, anyway. We drove across the ENTIRE country of Paraguay, which we learned is mostly the Chaco, a huge dry, barren, dust bowl. At Paraguayan immigration, we were so hot and so dirty, but we had no Paraguayan currency to buy a cold drink. We thought we were going to die, and this was when the first quote of the trip was uttered, "If hell had another name it would be Paraguay". Honestly, we drove for 16 hours and didn't see any signs of life until about 30 minutes outside the city of Asuncion. We arrived in Asuncion looking forward to finding a way to exchange money, buy a cold drink, and use the bathroom. However, the man at the bus station told us that we did not have seats on the bus to Foz de Iguazu because the La Paz office had not sent our information and all the buses were full. So instead of having 3-4 hours in Asuncion to recuperate, we had to immediately get on another bus to go to another city on the other side of Paraguay and then they gave us money to buy a ticket from there to Foz de Iguazu. Well, the entire time we had been worrying about going to Foz because that is the Brazilian side and we did not have Brazilian visas. We weren't sure how this was going to work and I had been praying about it the entire bus ride across Paraguay. I asked the man if instead we could buy tickets to the Argentina side, but he said this was impossible. So still praying, we boarded the next bus, which was crammed full with people standing in the aisles, and drove another 4 hours. We arrived at the bus station at 3am and of course, everything was shut down. We settled into sticky, green plastic bench chairs, put our stuff on the filthy ground and tried to figure out what to do. At this point, we still had no Paraguayan currency, except for money for the next bus, but since we did not have any idea how much that bus would cost, we couldn't use that money for buying the drinks we desperately needed. We also have no money to pay to go to the bathroom, so we took turns sneaking in, and then settled down for a few hours of rest before the buses started running again. Needless to say we were pretty miserable. However, around 6am (it's Monday morning, now), the buses started running and we learned that we could take a bus directly to Argentina, bypassing Brazilian immigration completely, and that it only cost about 1/4 of our money. We laughed the whole way to Argentina, amazed at how the Lord had worked through the misery to keep us from going into Brazil.
We saw amazing things throughout the trip, here are just some brief highlights:
*Iguazu Falls-If you have ever seen the movie The Mission, those huge waterfalls are the Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. They are absolutely incredible. We took a boat around the falls and then under a few of them. After being so hot it was incredibly refreshing to be completely soaked by the rushing water! We then walked around the balconies overlooking the Devil's Throat, which was a massive waterfall just roaring into white mist. Over the mist was a beautiful double rainbow. It reminded us of God's faithfulness and his promise never to leave us.
*Buenos Aires- We ended up spending most of our time in this huge, European-like city. There was a lot to see and do. I loved all the street, artisan markets, that also included street performers. There was the weirdest cemetery that looked more like a miniature city than a final resting place. We went to tango show one night, which was quite over the top and dramatic, but full of amazing dancing. We spent a lot of time in plazas and gardens. And of course, spent time wandering around La Boca, the famous street with all the colored buildings, known for tango.
*Patagonia- Because of problems with our plane, we missed a whole day in Patagonia, which was disappointing, because it was the most beautiful place. Yet, the problems gave the Lord another opportunity to show his sovereignty as we were easily able to arrange another flight. Patagonia, was windy and cold and absolutely perfect for those of us who were missing winter. We spent New Year's Eve day gawking at the incredible Perito Moreno glacier...the world's only advancing glacier. There are really no words to describe the magnificance of this sight. We then had a party at our hostel to ring in the new year, complete with a true argentina parillada (cook out)-run by the town butcher, lots of music, fun people, and fireworks (a tradition apparently the US is the only country not participating in!).
*Mendoza- Mendoza is beautiful city right in the middle of Argentina wine country. It is surrounded by beautiful vineyards. The city itself is full of trees, beautiful plazas, and the biggest park I have ever seen. We spent one day here driving a ways out of the city to go white water rafting through the Andes. It was amazing, and I realized how much I really do love rafting. We also ran into friends from Buenos Aires, which was so crazy, small-worldish and lots of fun!
*Valparaiso, Chile- After over 3 hours waiting at the border, Ali and I finally got to Chile (without having to pay $131 for a Visa...another example of the Lord's provision, as we had spent forver the night before looking for a way to get US$ and had been unsuccessful, and so were unsure how we were going to pay for this visa). Valparaiso is a quaint city about 2 hours north of Santiago. It is is very bohemian with lots of fun old houses, painted all different colors, and all of the walls are full of of huge murals and graffiti. We enjoyed a day wandering around the city, running into a British friend from our bus, then spending the rest of the day with him, going out to the famous poet, Pablo Neruda's house. We also had a beach day here, which ended in terrible sunburns, perfectly timed for the long trek back to La Paz.
By the end, I was definitely ready to be back in La Paz, where I knew how public transportation worked and how to do life, where I could sleep in my own bed and not live out of a backpack, but have lots of clean clothes to choose from, and where I did not have to sleep on another bus for a very long time. Yet, at the same time, I felt like I had missed so much. There was so much to see and 3 weeks just wasn't enough time to see it in. I must go back sometime, especially to Patagonia, to really experience and see all that was there. Someday....
I think the one thing that stood out to me most during the whole trip was the clear presence of the Lord the entire time. There were many things that could have gone very wrong, and often did go wrong, only to work out for the best. It was clear someone quite a bit bigger was in charge and had all the plans under his control.
My traveling buddy, Ali, and I set off to the La Paz bus terminal at 5pm Friday afternoon...and we didn't arrive to our first destination, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, until 8am Monday morning. It was a crazy beginning to the trip. We took a 14 hour bus to Santa Cruz, Bolivia and then had 7 hours to kill in Santa Cruz. We then got on a bus for Asuncion, Paraguay. This was probably the worst bus ride of my entire life...so far, anyway. We drove across the ENTIRE country of Paraguay, which we learned is mostly the Chaco, a huge dry, barren, dust bowl. At Paraguayan immigration, we were so hot and so dirty, but we had no Paraguayan currency to buy a cold drink. We thought we were going to die, and this was when the first quote of the trip was uttered, "If hell had another name it would be Paraguay". Honestly, we drove for 16 hours and didn't see any signs of life until about 30 minutes outside the city of Asuncion. We arrived in Asuncion looking forward to finding a way to exchange money, buy a cold drink, and use the bathroom. However, the man at the bus station told us that we did not have seats on the bus to Foz de Iguazu because the La Paz office had not sent our information and all the buses were full. So instead of having 3-4 hours in Asuncion to recuperate, we had to immediately get on another bus to go to another city on the other side of Paraguay and then they gave us money to buy a ticket from there to Foz de Iguazu. Well, the entire time we had been worrying about going to Foz because that is the Brazilian side and we did not have Brazilian visas. We weren't sure how this was going to work and I had been praying about it the entire bus ride across Paraguay. I asked the man if instead we could buy tickets to the Argentina side, but he said this was impossible. So still praying, we boarded the next bus, which was crammed full with people standing in the aisles, and drove another 4 hours. We arrived at the bus station at 3am and of course, everything was shut down. We settled into sticky, green plastic bench chairs, put our stuff on the filthy ground and tried to figure out what to do. At this point, we still had no Paraguayan currency, except for money for the next bus, but since we did not have any idea how much that bus would cost, we couldn't use that money for buying the drinks we desperately needed. We also have no money to pay to go to the bathroom, so we took turns sneaking in, and then settled down for a few hours of rest before the buses started running again. Needless to say we were pretty miserable. However, around 6am (it's Monday morning, now), the buses started running and we learned that we could take a bus directly to Argentina, bypassing Brazilian immigration completely, and that it only cost about 1/4 of our money. We laughed the whole way to Argentina, amazed at how the Lord had worked through the misery to keep us from going into Brazil.
We saw amazing things throughout the trip, here are just some brief highlights:
*Iguazu Falls-If you have ever seen the movie The Mission, those huge waterfalls are the Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. They are absolutely incredible. We took a boat around the falls and then under a few of them. After being so hot it was incredibly refreshing to be completely soaked by the rushing water! We then walked around the balconies overlooking the Devil's Throat, which was a massive waterfall just roaring into white mist. Over the mist was a beautiful double rainbow. It reminded us of God's faithfulness and his promise never to leave us.
*Buenos Aires- We ended up spending most of our time in this huge, European-like city. There was a lot to see and do. I loved all the street, artisan markets, that also included street performers. There was the weirdest cemetery that looked more like a miniature city than a final resting place. We went to tango show one night, which was quite over the top and dramatic, but full of amazing dancing. We spent a lot of time in plazas and gardens. And of course, spent time wandering around La Boca, the famous street with all the colored buildings, known for tango.
*Patagonia- Because of problems with our plane, we missed a whole day in Patagonia, which was disappointing, because it was the most beautiful place. Yet, the problems gave the Lord another opportunity to show his sovereignty as we were easily able to arrange another flight. Patagonia, was windy and cold and absolutely perfect for those of us who were missing winter. We spent New Year's Eve day gawking at the incredible Perito Moreno glacier...the world's only advancing glacier. There are really no words to describe the magnificance of this sight. We then had a party at our hostel to ring in the new year, complete with a true argentina parillada (cook out)-run by the town butcher, lots of music, fun people, and fireworks (a tradition apparently the US is the only country not participating in!).
*Mendoza- Mendoza is beautiful city right in the middle of Argentina wine country. It is surrounded by beautiful vineyards. The city itself is full of trees, beautiful plazas, and the biggest park I have ever seen. We spent one day here driving a ways out of the city to go white water rafting through the Andes. It was amazing, and I realized how much I really do love rafting. We also ran into friends from Buenos Aires, which was so crazy, small-worldish and lots of fun!
*Valparaiso, Chile- After over 3 hours waiting at the border, Ali and I finally got to Chile (without having to pay $131 for a Visa...another example of the Lord's provision, as we had spent forver the night before looking for a way to get US$ and had been unsuccessful, and so were unsure how we were going to pay for this visa). Valparaiso is a quaint city about 2 hours north of Santiago. It is is very bohemian with lots of fun old houses, painted all different colors, and all of the walls are full of of huge murals and graffiti. We enjoyed a day wandering around the city, running into a British friend from our bus, then spending the rest of the day with him, going out to the famous poet, Pablo Neruda's house. We also had a beach day here, which ended in terrible sunburns, perfectly timed for the long trek back to La Paz.
By the end, I was definitely ready to be back in La Paz, where I knew how public transportation worked and how to do life, where I could sleep in my own bed and not live out of a backpack, but have lots of clean clothes to choose from, and where I did not have to sleep on another bus for a very long time. Yet, at the same time, I felt like I had missed so much. There was so much to see and 3 weeks just wasn't enough time to see it in. I must go back sometime, especially to Patagonia, to really experience and see all that was there. Someday....
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