Ahorita...

Oy... Where has time gone?!

I can hardly believe that it's almost November...

Awesome Things:

Elections are over.

Patagonia....

Trying to get warm before sleeping in the airport in Santiago, Chile 

2 nights at Casa Teresa in Porto Natales, Chile

Wild horses coming to check us out and drink from the creek

Sunrise from our camp site

 Reaching the end of the trail

Filling our water bottles from the lakes, rivers, and creeks

Checking out a glacier

Trekking with no one in sight as far as our eyes could see

Always noticing the small rays of joy

Indoor evening tea before tackling the extreme winds in the camp tent

nature's phenomenal beauty

Hiking and trekking in Patagonia's extremely diverse landscapes

Camping for 5 nights in a row

Living on granola, trail mix, crackers, and Fuch's bread 

(salami and tuna for luxury items)

 Having all of my thoughts turn into songs

Awkward Things:

Don't trust anything in Venezuela to go as planned. 4th-6th grade planned a field trip to an insect exhibit. The other teacher and I went to the exhibit to plan the event for our classes, but on the day of the field trip when we arrived with parents and kids, the exhibit had just disappeared. Hmm... so we took the kids to see Valiente (Brave).... T.I.V. (This is Venezuela...)

I finally got my health certificate... Immunizations, OBGYN samples, blood samples, fecal samples, urine samples,... I offered a finger donation, but they said it was not necessary. I'm not sure which was the most interesting:

OBGYN: live video recording of my organs (3-4 hours)

Samples: all given/done at school - community-building activity

Immunizations: wait in line outside to get a number to wait in line inside... waiting room (cement walls and partially outside) of 20 people, when they call your number, go to the table, get pricked and shot up in front of everyone in the waiting room - no bandaid - sit back down. Wait to get your paper stamped. Wait to get your name written in a book. Done, 5 hours later.

Trying to pick pasted dough out of my hair as I type this... We had Fall Festival today. Three students lovingly put me in "jail" where they got to dump water and flour all over me. Hm... time for a new strategy on this predicament... Cheers :)

Tranqi Tranqi

It's around 11am on a Tuesday, and I am sitting on the back patio with a glorious breeze and view of the avila...

School has been canceled for the week due to elections. We were shut down on Monday at 4pm, so that armed military could come in to use the building next door for voting. For the first time, I get to work from home! It's a crazy sort of thing. I am posting assignments online and interacting with my students via a web program. It's a new way to do 4th grade, that is for sure...

Life has been crazy busy, as it goes...

On Friday, my students had a performance showcase of all of the work we have been doing over the past month. Parents came into my tiny classroom, and students got to show off what they know. I was really quite impressed with their knowledge, understanding, and reflections.

Saturday was our staff social - American BBQ that had some volleyball, potluck food, and dance party.

Sunday we were advised not to take the Metro, because there was a huge march...

Avoidance is key... Around the neighborhood I saw tons of people rallying together to go into the city. As much as you hear news of Caracas and Venezuela... I have been blessed enough to not see any of it. For me, everything is muy tranqi... tranquil