Summer days are over...almost

I am desperately looking forward to the cooler weather as the summer comes to an end here in Paraguay. It has been a little over a month since I first arrived and the adjustment to a different culture, language, and climate among many other things has been difficult. But looking back, I am thankful that my hardships have driven me to a deeper dependence upon my heavenly Father.

My cereal of choice

I have been teaching a total of 8 English classes so far. There are two classes each for the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 10^th grade levels. My day begins at 5:30 AM when I wake up to eat some breakfast in the kitchen below my dormitory room. My breakfast usually comprises of a bowl of cereal (Nestle's Fitness), some bread with strawberry spread, and a few vitamin pills. After taking a quick shower, I saunter over to the chapel (literally a one minute walk) for morning devotionals with all the teachers at Colegio Presbiteriano Cerritos. Every morning the school’s chaplain, Cristian Jara, gives a short message. On occasion I am asked to play a song on the keyboard for a time of praise. My first class begins at 7 am. Walking into class I say, ‘Good morning class.’ Then all the students proceed to stand up and say, ‘Good morning Teacher Mr. Joe.’ (On the first day of class I told them all to call me Mr. Joe, but since it is their custom to address all of their teachers ‘profesor/a,’ they just call me Teacher Mr. Joe.) I respond by saying, ‘How are you today?’ Then they say, ‘Fine, and you?’ I end by saying, ‘I am also doing fine today. Please be seated.’ The conversation would pretty much end there anyways because that’s all they know. Each elementary class is 40 minutes long, and they all go by so quickly. That is, unless you have to discipline the kids for failing to take out their notebooks, or have to constantly tell the kids to stop talking while the lesson is being taught. Those classes seem to last forever. By 11:40 am my day of teaching comes to an end. I teach 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade classes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and I teach my 10^th graders on Monday and Wednesday in 80 minute blocks of time. I have really enjoyed teaching mostly due to the fact that the students here have shown me such unconditional love. Even students that I had just previously disciplined that day would come up to me during recess and give me a hug. But you know what the absolute best feeling is as a teacher? It is when you see the eyes of a student light up with eagerness to learn and participate in class.

Here is a picture of two of my 6^th grade students with a 3^rd grader. The one on the left is Ife and the one on the right is Jose. I personally think Ife looks like Luis Fonsi, a famous Latin American singer.

Next week I will be going to all the high school classes to advertise my animation class. The first thing I’m going to write on the whiteboard is this: ‘ANIMATION IS A PAIN.’ Since it’s also a class that will be offered after school hours, I’m hoping that I’ll be only getting the truly motivated ones to sign up for it. The worst thing would be to get 30 students who think animating is glamorous because the final product is, when in reality it’s a lot of hard work, stress and frustration.

I don’t believe we have shared any pictures of the new synthetic soccer field at the school. After I finished my classes this morning, I decided to walk around and take some pictures of it. It’s a beautiful looking field that is already a big hit with all the students at the school.

Update: Thank you to those that have been praying for Martin. He is doing much better, but still has some issues with draining the water from his stomach. Please continue to pray for his recovery.