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.

Basketball

I'm pretty excited about some of the non-teaching opportunities that have come up so far. One that took up a lot of time this weekend is being able to be an assistant coach for the boys basketball team. They had a tournament this weekend (4 games in two days), which was a lot of fun and created some loooong days. The boys finished second, losing out on first by just two points. It should be a fun season!

A week in the Bay Area

I'm Good news! 

I have my work visa. I'm totally official. 

Bad news... 

I had to miss a week and a half of school.

Good news! 

My mom came to hang out with me in San Francisco while I waited for paperwork. And she made sure I had lots of good food to eat 😀

Coit tower! 

Amazing cake!

Ice cream!

Food truck falafel!

A tiny taste of fall!

Then I got to hang out in Walnut Creek with my godparents. It was nice to get out into the brown open space and not be in a city for a while. 

Nancy took me to In n Out, even though she hates it!

We went to the beach in the clouds!

I love the ocean!

We saw whales out there!

Hiking is good for my soul!

Nancy bought me the best ever ice cream sandwich!

After hanging out for a while, I went back to the city to pick up my visa and head back. I had just enough time to explore a little more...

Golden Gate Bridge!

Really good cupcake!

Bad news...

It took me a little longer than anticipated to get back - one of my flights was canceled - but I eventually made it.

Good news!

Brasilia feels like home for now, which was confirmed while I was gone. It really is good to be back. 

Open house

This was supposed to post on August 27... Oops.

Yesterday was the first parent event of the year. Open house is a big deal around here. I only met a handful of parents, which was enough for me. I will likely not remember any of the parents that I met because it was in quick succession. 

On the bright side, we got t eat crepes! Apparently crepes are really big down here. Which may help to fill the waffle sized hole in my heart. 

The dinner set up was higher end than I would have expected for a school. Also, I'm not sure how clear it is, but there is an inflatable toy on that basketball court for the kids to play on.