August 20, 2009
I’m not one of those seasoned teachers that has their craft worked out to a smudgeless art. I’m not one of those cutsie teachers with a cheer pony and a matchy matchy outfit. No, I’m not that at all.
In fact, today is only number nine of 187 blessed contract days.
My feet look like over-sized, over-stuffed sausages. My face is reminiscent of days I’d rather forget- fare thee well, adolescence. Or not.
My hair is frizzy, unkempt, and frayed in a variety of ways at each and every split end. My eyes look like razor-cut slits in my face. And my waist. Lord, help my ever-expanding waist!
Did I mention my swollen feet?
But nevermind. Because today there were two notes on my desk:
“I love you. Yo body smell like biscuits.” and “You are the pretist lady in the planet.”
**Not edited for spelling. Why? because it adds to the cute factor.
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August 19, 2009
I was never the little girl that dreamed about dresses that swooshed. I dreamed about mud huts in Africa and unexplored jungles in the Amazon. I dreamed about writing books and being a back-up singer for Reba. Those were my fairy tales.
At least I thought they were.
And if you’re interested there are some photos here.
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June 21, 2009
“I’ve had a splendid time,” she concluded happily, “and I feel that it marks an epoch in my life. But the best of it all was the coming home.”
-from Anne of Green Gables
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June 17, 2009
Two monitas, los quatro Colombianos y one dinner de sopa mexicana! Que rico!
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June 15, 2009
I sat around a table this weekend with two Colombian families and my two Canadian sidekicks. We ate chicharrones, frijoles, and patacones as we carried on comfortable conversation and tried not to choke while we giggled over the drama a ten year old can conjure up.
I’m back in the city today, alone in my apartment thinking about it all. Thinking about spending my final weekend in Colombia speaking Spanish, soaking up sunshine, and driving through the Andes Mountains with a family that considers me their own.
They hug me and laugh with me and they couldn’t care less that my Spanish grammar is pot. They fix my favorite meals at the finca and tease me for going to bed so early. They bring arequipe just for me and put my glass of milk in the freezer because they know I like it really cold.
They kiss me goodnight and ask what else I need and I tell them that I have my two friends with me, them a room away, an oscillating fan, and a bed. What else could I possibly need? I snuggle beneath the sheets and wonder how in the world I ended up here.
How did I get so lucky? How will I ever manage to leave?
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June 12, 2009
I went to bed at 11:30.
My eyes are swollen.
My hair looks like poo.
My jeans are too tight.
Today could be the day I lose it.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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June 10, 2009
My life is an amazing one. There’s no question about that at all. I’ve been lucky and done more in 28 years than some people get to do in a lifetime.
I’ve seen an Australian sunrise and snorkeled on The Great Barrier Reef. I’ve stood beneath the eerie glow of Big Ben at night and hiked along the Italian shoreline. I’ve marveled at Stonehenge bathed in an early morning light and taken a nap on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
I’ve had my hair tangled by an Amazon breeze and found my way through jungles to a Lost City. I’ve played in thick Mississippi clay and I’ve heard jazz on the sidewalks of New Orleans. I’ve seen presidents carved into stone and rolled a kayak in the freezing waters of the Nantahala River.
I’ve walked through coffee fields and over mountains and I’ve run on empty trails and crowded streets. I’ve swum in rivers and oceans and danced under waterfalls and in the rain. I’ve seen love personified and I’ve had my heart broken and I’ve cried on four continents for one thousand different reasons.
I’ve watched my brother grow into a man that I respect with more intensity than I thought possible and I’ve thanked Jesus over and over for a baby Sisser that is my very best friend. I’ve turned my head away as my parents kiss in the kitchen. I’ve eaten ice cream with my Mamaw at midnight and cream cheese cupcakes for breakfast with friends that are scattered across the world.
I’ve read more books than I can name and written more words than I thought were in me. I’ve heard music in the Andes mist and wiped tears off of precious brown faces. I’ve fallen in love with Colombia and a man from some place called Carthage. I’ve learned to salsa dance and speak Spanish and to find my way home again.
To find my way home again. Yes, I’ve learned that, too, but I don’t think all of me is coming home. It can’t because…well, because I’m leaving part of my heart in Manizales.
See, I told you I had an amazing life. Thank you for being part of it.
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June 8, 2009
Mountain sunshine pouring through classroom windows.
Spanglish chatter and children’s laughter in the corridor.
The smell of coffee and empanadas dancing in the air.
Kisses on cool cheeks.
Small, brown hands around my waist.
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June 5, 2009
This post that my blog friend of a blog friend wrote about this book that I loved and this author that I stalk made my day.
I’m going to do better. I really am. I’m going to live well.
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June 3, 2009
I think I must be the most knowledgeable person in the world for all the things I’ve learned in this life of mine.
I’ve learned that chocolate milk chases nightmares away and that time doesn’t heal all hurts it just dulls them some. I’ve learned that things never happen like you plan them, but the way they turn out is inevitably better anyway. I’ve learned that hugs transcend language barriers, love crosses borders and spring always comes even if the colors are different when you live near the Equator.
I’ve learned to carry duct tape in my backpack, four quarters in my pocket, and Jesus in my heart. I’ve learned that cold showers can be good things and that it’s okay to put off a to-do list until tomorrow. I’ve learned that children are resilient and that adults hold grudges and that forgiveness should be free.
I’ve learned that I sleep better under one of Mamaw’s quilts and that people are life’s richest treasures. Sunrises are meant to be seen and sunsets should steal your breath. Exercise doesn’t give you the right to clean out your refrigerator, but eating your weight in chocolate is okay sometimes. I’ve learned that time is precious and that it is fleeting.
I’ve learned that my future isn’t dictated by my past and that the greatest freedom to be found is in knowing who you are. I’ve learned that some roads are curvy and mountainous and others are straight and sure for miles upon miles and that both of those roads lead to somewhere and going somewhere is always better than going nowhere.
I’ve learned that it’s okay to be imperfect, but not to be insecure. I’ve learned that guarding your heart keeps you from loving completely and being loved and that it’s okay to shed tears for people that you’ve never met. I’ve learned that I can’t change the world by myself, but that I can make a difference. I’ve learned that life is short and good and that there’s nothing I enjoy more than living it.
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