Duran does the Olympics.

So while I may have missed the "world" olympics due to my current life situation...today i plenty made up for it by participating in our 3rd annual after school program wide Olimpiadas, or Olympic Games. And ya wanna know what, they were about 100x better than any Nancy Kerrigan ice capade. Let me set the stage. This happens every year---every year the three programs that we as volunteers run, Valdivia, Manos Abiertas, and of course Semillas compete in a grueling academic and athletic event to determine who in fact is the best program. Well, okay, that may not be the exact point, but from our stand point, there is a lot of taunting and name calling about who has the best/smartest/most athletic kids---all in fun of course. We all love our kids, in fact, we love all kids, well most of us, but it´s fun to get a little competative blood running. And we all know how I love competition.



And today were the games. The past week we have been preparing, drilling, practicing, getting ready to bring our best game to the events. Geografía, well that was easy, Jhon and Victor Cuenca can fill an Ecuador map with 24 provinces and capitals in less than 2 minutes---Matemáticas--alright, Adonis knows all his time tables and writes at rapid pace, along with José who´s only 10, but can do just as well--Lenguaje-Joselyn y Marcía, well they write better spanish than me and they´re only 11. Alright, we got this i´m thinking. Boris and Diego--two solid brothers who are so sharp and on their game. Gavi---so much creativity--he´ll definitely rock the invention convention. Solid. So much potential. And on top of it, our chiquititos--so smart--vowels, numbers, shapes, colors---damn this kids are GOOD. I´m pretty pumped to say the least.



So anyway, as today came, the nerves started building. Some may have said I went into "crazy Jamie" mode a few hours before we started, but i might beg to differ---where are the markers? the t-shirts? the cups? the face paint? the keys? the microphone? the CDs? the pencil sharpeners? Did someone remember to pop the popcorn? While I love big group events like this, they tend to make me a little...okay maybe a lot, yes, crazy---but I was still under control.



Then we get to Semillas, where the event took place---and the intensity started rising---our kids were so pumped! They looked awesome in their yellow t-shirts! We all wore yellow, Valdivia-red, and Manos-blue. They were just so excited, and with the music blasting, and our newly painted banner all ready from yesterday, we were legit. We also invited parents to come and support---it was really just a great sight.



And then we started with opening ceremonies---we had 16 kids from each program compete, but there was still a lot of kids who came to support family, brothers, friends, etc. We lined them all up with our awesome banners, played the Ecuadorian anthem, and processed in like champs---They were proud. Heck, I was proud. I felt like they were so grown up! Anyway, enough sentimental crap...Then we started, with the cheering, the yelling, the screaming, the dancing! It was sooo much fun. Our kids were doing well too---acing their events, trying their best--even supporting the other teams. I mean I barely have a voice right now.



It was just such an awesome day where I felt like, "Wow, I´m so glad they could have this...I´m so glad they could feel proud of themselves, have confidence, feel important, feel support, and most of all have fun"....So now i´m sure you´re all wondering how it turned out....



Well, unfortunately, we didn´t come in first....but! we didn´t come in last either, and really, our kids were great about it. In the end, along with a diploma they each got, every participant got a very "cool" neon orange or neon green backpack with all fresh school supplies, so they were in their glory! Forget they Olimpiadas, they all got prizes! So all in all, just an awesome day. All of the stress, all of the sleepless nights, yes i´m serious--i´ve been stressing about these for at least a week. All turned out really well. Lots of smiles, lots of laughs, and great memories for these kids to have. That´s really all it´s about anyway right---happy childhood memories?



Still loving life here, everyday brings about something beautiful. I hope you are all smiling and feeling great as the weather warms up. Missing you insanely.



Love,

Jamie



Semillas! Semillas! Semillas!!!!!!!

God, are you punishing me??

i take it back....i take it all back....

teaching is God´s way of punishing innocent human beings who "think" they have something good to share with others. seriously, what did i ever do to deserve this???

was it that time in seventh grade when i harrassed Mrs. Johnson about the metric olympics? or back in high school when we were smart ass teenage girls to Mr. Girard?? please, i am sorry for all i have done, but don´t make me go back to school and teach!!

let me give you some highlights from my day:
---today i had two kids, not one, but two throw up in my classroom
---today i was dished out 12 year old attitude, by kids who are obviously too cool for school
---today i sang the "wheels on the bus" 14 times and i still had kids picking their noses
---today, and this tops it, i had one child, who will remain nameless for confidentiality sake, actually climb up my body grab my neck and bite my arm....i do not kid here.

to every teacher i have ever had in my life----you are my idol. i could never do what you do, nor do i want to ever again.

i have tried to be creative. i have tried to be nice. but i´m over it. these kids are not nice. okay, there was that one kid who offered me his toni mixto( a delicious yogurt treat that i politely declined--who knows where that cup has been). but the majority no. and on top of it all. they do not know a word of english----so me teaching english, has really turned into me being in front of a classroom stuttering out spanish with english vocab inserted here and there. i honestly do not know how people do it. and the thing is, teaching is such a crap shoot. one year, you could have an amazing class---kids who actually listen, kids who actually do what you say. and then the next----it could be like all hell has broken lose.

so today i had my septimo (7th) class for two hours, then recess, and then kinder for two more. two hours of those little devils. talk about two different worlds. septimo was just pure attitude. and i dished it right back. i told them, hey, i´m not the one going to school next year, i don´t HAVE to know this information, so really, it´s only yourself that you´re hurting if you don´t want to learn. and then i said, i have kinder kids who listen better than you (which of course is a total lie, but i had to make them feel really bad)....that shaped them up a little, but it was still a war zone.
and then.....

kinder.

really there are no words for kindergarten teachers....they are little angels sent to this world to take care of other peoples´awful children. we all owe our lives to kindergarten teachers. i mean this one´s throwing up, the other is throwing blocks, that one is jumping off the table, the next is eating jello (seriously where did that kid get jello?)...i mean come on people----what do i have to do to get you to listen????.....well i´ll tell you.

ladies and gentlemen, the hokie pokie. if teaching is god´s punishment, then the hokie pokie is god´s savior. children love the hokie pokie, no matter how ridiculous you look doing it, they will do it again and again and again. and never tire. if i didn´t do the hokie pokie 20 times today....

so as awful as today was on a whole....there were moments of pure genius, hence, hokie pokie. maybe i exaggerate a little. maybe i´m just coming off a tense day, but seriously, this shitt is hard. the past two weeks i have had no voice whatsoever. i have been taunting my roommates with rhymes and songs...which is really just asking for a beating. i have entered into the elementary world, and i´m going to be there for at least two more weeks. but it´s true, they´re not all bad. of course after class is over, they all run up to me and hug and kiss me and tell me how much they love me, but of couse i´m only thinking to myself, you little hypocrite---playing mindgames with me.

yup, so that´s been my life lately. i´m still great though, health is solid, attitude, solid----i´m just really happy. despite my adventures in grade school of course. went to the beach this past weekend, so that was awesome. and tuesday lupe had karla and i over for a cangrejada which was delicious. so yeah as i always say, estoy contenta, estoy feliz.

still missing each and every one of you. don´t think for a minute that you are not in my thoughts and prayers, because you are. everyday.

i love you all,
cuídense,
jamie

water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink....

how many times a day do you turn on the sink, the shower, the hose, to wash dishes, take a shower, wash your hands, water the lawn, do laundry, flush the toilet, drink some water. repeat. water. water. water. all the time, never a question.

where i live right now, for this year anyway, water is a luxury. everything we do that involves water has to be intentional. our showers, our dishes, cleaning, doing our laundry, flushing the toilet (yes we´re fans of the "if its yellow let it mellow...."well you know the rest)---we´re always thinking about how much water we´re using, and how to make it last longer. unlike most of our neighbors. we´re actually lucky because our water comes out of the faucet and we have a cistern that holds gallons of water. but when the powers out, or when the truck doesn´t come to, we too have to haul water out of the cistern and into buckets to shower and clean.

one day a few weeks ago, we lost power for two days straight, and it happened while we were in the middle of our BIG three month clean---so what could we do, well, we just proceeded by pulling water up out of the cistern, being so frugal with the usage, while trying our best to clean as meticulously as possible---and then after, when we were filthy dirty from cleaning our dirty house, we only had buckets of water to clean off with....now it doesn´t sound so difficult, but its moments like those when you would really appreciate water coming out of a shower spicket.

but this was only two days for us. for the majority of our neighbors, they have to constantly wait. wait for the water trucks (tanqueros) to come by while they shout Agua, Agua, trying to get their attention. if they are heard, the truck comes to their house and fills up trashcan like buckets that remain outside their house and serve as the storage of water they have until the next truck comes. if the truck comes. i have heard stories of people waiting eight days without water. imagine. eight days, without water. incredible.

and here we are in the hottest days of the year---and water is still not easily accesible. i was really thinking about this last week when we took our kids to the pool for their paseo. they were absolutely ecstatic. and i...well...was disappointed....kinda like "are you kidding me, this is the pool" if you could even call it that. it was literally a cement hole, with water that went up to your knees, but nevertheless, the kids had a ball. i just kept thinking--these kids live in ecuador, on the equator, where it is usually over 100 degrees, and some had never EVER been to a pool. ridiculous right? and i mean it rains like crazy here at night, but still that doesn´t even provide relief for the heat during the day.

i really just can´t stop thinking about it. water. something so essential, and here, so sparce.

and its not like i can even drink the water that comes out of our tap, because its not clean. ridden with parasites.....its crazy. i have literally gotten my shower down to two minutes too. turn the water on. turn the water off. shampoo, soap, face wash. turn the water on. rinse. get out. i´m a pro.

so yeah, just some food for thought. next time you turn on the water, and let it run without looking, or take a 1/2 hr shower, just think about all those places in the world where water is not so simple. where people have to be really conscious about water usage, and don´t have the luxury of not thinking about it. and i don´t mean to get all preachy on you all, its just something to think about, because honestly, before i came here, i never thought about it. and now, it´s always on my mind.

all is still really great here, i´m actually going to the beach this weekend with a bunch of people from the neighborhood. oh! and how could i forget! i´ve started teaching during my morning job! do´n´t know how i let that slip.....brief update: the school next to my clinic is running summer school classes for a month, and long story short, i got roped in to teach english. so now, for one month, i have twelve classes a week ranging from kinder to seventh grade----hysterical so funny, i love my kids. and teaching is soo fun. exhausting but fun. everyday i´ve left wtih no voice. we do songs and games and cute little rhymes---i always wanted to be a teacher, and now it´s like a get a little glimpse of what life would´ve been like. BUT, i´m also glad this is temporary, because its so hard to be creative 24/7, and think of how to entertain a classroom. so yeah, for 3 more weeks, my days are spent in front of class, acting ridiculous and trying to engage them however i can.

that´s about it. life is solid. always laughing, always smiling here. hope life is just as great in the northern hemisphere.

love you all,
miss you everyday,
jamie