Waterfall!

Yesterday, I was able to get out of the city with some of the people from school. It was good for my soul to leave the concrete behind for an afternoon. We drove about an hour outside of the city to Poço Azul. We swam and jumped off rocks and sat by the river and got a little sun burned. It was definitely a good day!

Amazing Amazon!

A couple weeks ago, I didn't have school for a week. Brazil is really big on Carnival, so we have the whole week off of school. I decided that I was going to go explore the Amazon. I spent most of the time in the city with another teacher, Bethany. We also ventured out into the jungle for a night to stay at a lodge and see some of the jungle a little more off the beaten path.

Really good fish, called Tambaqui

Teatro Amazonas

Gourds unloaded at the port and being brought to market

"Swimming" with river dolphins

Me and a native dude after he and his family performed a dance

Sticking my tongue out at a baby anaconda

it's a sloth!

holding a cayman

Jungle walk

Amazing sunrise

Fishing for piranha

Me and Bethany on Rio Araçá, a tributary of the Amazon

I love getting to explore and see new parts of God's amazing creation. I also read a ton, which was good for my soul. Back to the grind for a while. It was good to get back to my kids. They're pretty great.

Things I've noticed...

There are some interesting things that I've noticed about life in Brasilia...

• Picking your nose in public - no big deal... I've even seen adults pick it and eat it
• Being old or pregnant - good for more than just a seat on the subway... you also get your own grocery line and get to skip in line at banks and other places
• Body image - not an issue... I have seen more skin than I care to on a wide variety of body types
• Dentist booties - no bare shoes allowed... I'm assuming because there is a recognition that things around here are dirty.

Dentist booties!!

There are others, for sure, but those are the ones that come to mind for now. Also, double rainbows are not entirely uncommon here. It's pretty fun. 

Double Rainbow

In other news, the staff at BIS were charged to choose joy this semester. That is a struggle for me. It always has been. I have tried to surround myself with joyful people, hoping that it might rub off on me. It still hasn't... it's as if it is supposed to come from God and not from others or something... go figure. I wish I was one of those people that could just wake up be grateful for each and every day and opportunity. I wish that came easily to me, but it doesn't. I'm willing to bet that it doesn't really come easy for any of the people I've encountered either, but, last I checked, it's pretty easy to idealize the experience of other people. For me, the fight for joy seems like punching one of those inflatable clown punching bag that pops back up and will hit you if you're not careful. Like this guy:

http://ii.worldmarket.com/fcgi-bin/iipsrv.fcgi?FIF=/images/worldmarket/source/26364_XXX_v1.tif&wid=2000&cvt=jpeg

I fight for joy. I punch the clown. Then he pops back up (discontent, discord, comparison, gossip, sorrow, and so much more) and hits me when I lose focus. It's a constant fight. Sometimes I feel like I should be able to fight once and then just be joyful. But that's not the case. Other times I feel like I'm somehow less because I do have to keep fighting. But the clown only hits me when I lose focus. Focus on Jesus. Focus on the good in life. Focus on His faithfulness. Focus on how far I have come. 

This thought is still in progress. But then, so am I. 

 

Since November...

The last month of school was really busy. Good, but busy. We had a Christmas program. I had my first round of semester finals to create and then grade. I clearly had more exploring of Brasilia to do. Then it was December and time to head back to the states. I spent most of my time in the Seattle area with a quick detour to Portland. It is always good to see family. But I was ready to be back here. Ready to be back teaching. Ready to be back to my students. Ready to be back to this place that feels a little more like home.

As soon as I got back, I got sick. Then I went on a retreat for school. It was a good time to refocus on Christ and his joy. I'm glad that I have the chance to work in a place that is as Christ-focused as BIS.

Here's a couple sunrise pictures just for fun.

The past month or so

Life has been moving forward.

I love teaching my kids, especially the oldest ones. We have had a lot of interesting conversations about the US as a whole with a lot of different viewpoints, which keeps my on my toes. I love it. I'm struggling a little with figuring out how to get my 6th graders engaged - there is just such a huge difference between 11 year olds and 18 year olds. It is becoming more clear to me that I prefer the older kids. It's a good realization to have, but as longs as I'm here, I don't see the age range I teach changing. So I'll learn to adapt.

I also love coaching. I have gotten to build some relationships with kids through passing on my wisdom and continuing to demoralize them when I play against them. Ha! There is a high school girls team for the first time, so that's a lot of fun - and a lot of work. Teaching 16 year old girls the basics of basketball is not something I saw coming. The boys keep referring to how great the NBA is... and I keep reminding them that it sucks because it stole the Sonics. It's all good fun.

I also have had some interesting conversations:

Randomly in the middle of class:
Student - "Miss, why do you have wisdom hair?"
Me - "Because I am old."
Student - blank stare

During break one day:
Student - "I wish you would lecture more" (I never saw that one coming)

Before a basketball game:
Student - "Miss Maxwell, you should get a car so you can give us rides to the game."
Me - "I'll give you a ride to the game, but not home. You guys stink after the game."
Student - "We can roll up the window and just sit in the smell" (or something equally as gross)
Me - "I'll get a convertible and only give you a ride home when it isn't raining so the top can be down."

During civics:
Student - "I need to learn about government because I want to take over the world"

Also during civics:
Student - "Did Hitler get elected like Trump did?"

Again, during civics:
Student - "Miss Maxwell, where would you go if there was a Zombie Apocalypse?"
Me - (pointing to map of Alaska and Canada vaguely) "Somewhere around here... I can't tell you. You're not invited"

While learning about the rise of Christianity in Rome:
Student A - "Miss Maxwell, are you a Christian?"
Me - "Yeah"
Student A - "You're not like the other teachers. You don't force it on us as much."
Student B - "You have to be a Christian to work here."
Student A - "It's like the others don't care about what we believe"
That one struck a chord a little - it definitely reminded me of going to a Christian school growing up. It was a good reminder that there is a reason why I am here.

I'm learning a lot here. One thing I need to keep learning is how to let Christ invade every aspect of my life and my teaching so kids don't wonder if I'm a Christian or not, but also continue to not feel forced to believe what I believe....

Window Screens

If I were to walk into Home Depot or Lowes back in the US and look for window screens, I could almost positively find it on my own. If not, I would be able to clearly ask for what I was looking for. Not the case here in Brazil. There have been some serious bugs getting into the apartment, so I decided it was time to get some window screens. I went to the hardware store hoping that I could find them on my own and not have to use my very, very, very limited Portuguese. But no. That would be too easy.
So I looked around for the kindest-looking person I could find and said, "nao quero moscas no meu apartamento" (which I am pretty sure means, "I don't want flies in my apartment").
She asked if I needed "tele para janela" or something like that, which I recognized as meaning window screens.
"Sim, sim," was pretty much all I could respond with (yes, yes).
"lajsdgglkj otro lado ba;ksdjhfas," was pretty much what I understood next, so off I went to the other side of the store.
I still couldn't find them. So I found more people to ask. This time I was armed with more words. My mouth said, "tele para janelas?" and my face said, "please help the poor foreigner who doesn't know how to speak your language."
"sl;dfjasdlfkj 108 askdjfhasd" is what I thought I heard.
So off, I went to aisle 108. It was plants. So I just wandered around for a while and eventually found what I needed in aisle 112.
Maybe not the best hardware store experience, but I got what I needed. And hung them up with pretty owl duck tape.

My New Normal

I haven't written lately, because things just seem to be normal. I wake up in time to (hopefully) spend a little bit of time with Jesus and coffee before walking to school. I have conversations with kids that stretch me more than I thought they would (I was told by one student that everything that is bad in the world is because of the United States). I help out with basketball to end my school day. I walk home. I try to decompress. And I do it again.

On the weekends, I have been exploring a little more. I got an early birthday present bike from my parents, so I've been out riding on the highway, which is closed every Sunday. I also went to a market with some friends and have wandered a little farther from home. Things are almost comfortable here. I have done a horrible job of taking pictures. I'll work on that.

We entered rainy season, which is a relief from 90 degree days. I like the rain. Here it rains harder than what I'm used to at home though. It's all good though.

I'm learning a lot. I'm being stretched in ways that I didn't predict. In some ways, I'm not being stretched as much as I thought I would. Things are good overall.