you might have done more
you might have blabbed less
you wonder where the time went
yet you know exactly what you did
you are glad it happened
then you wander where it will end
you want to push things further
you want to let it all go
you wanna embrace every moment
yet you need to see the big picture
you wanna do it right tomorrow
you wanna start with a fresh new day
you could tell them all your adventures
you could spew what's on your heart right now
you want to iron it all out
yet you know that you are in process
you look in the mirror and know what you are...
but
at the end of the day you look at Christ, see that its all covered by Him, and worship.
and that is what counts at the end of the day
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
Psalm 63:6-7
-Candace (the pink didn't work today)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
We Live!!!
y'all had probably started to wonder...
Well, the delay in posting can be explained by the start of our TEFL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)! It's been quite busy but it's a very solid program, and we've got a solid group of fellow trainees.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the actual building where we've been working so hard, but it's become a second home to us, we're usually there from 9 to 6 Mon-Fri... sometimes seems like a first home, sheesh!
This is what our routine looks like...
8:00ish - Wakey wakey (eggs and bacey. OK not really. Cereal. But it rhymed.)
8:45 - Walk to school, 8 blocks or so
9:00 - School! Fortunately, as part of our course learning to be teachers we have an ice breaker (ie game) every day. We've all agreed that it's all pretty much down hill after that... ;D
1:00 - Lunch! Again, we've been working hard all morning on grammar and teaching methods and lesson plans and we're happy to launch into a nearby lobby to... discover our lunches. Several of the students are staying with Mexican families who pack their lunches for them. Every day we all eagerly watch eachother unpack the surprises that the "Moms" send them (which to our English speaking tummies can still be... gastronomically unfathomable). Josh and I pack our own lunch but you'd be surprised how even your own lunch can be surprising after it's been in the fridge all morning
3:15-5:15 - We spend the afternoon either preparing to teach or actually teaching our class. Our classes are usually 5 to 15 or so students and we are observed each time by one of our teacher trainer. The students have been great. They can be quiet, they can be rowdy, they can be confused or bored, but all in all they are eager to learn and a joy to teach.
6:15 - We usually go home around this time, make some supper, chill for a couple of hours, then watch some tv or listen to music before we crash. Good times, good sleep.
now that I've tried to convince you of how hard we work I wanna post the pictures that I do have, which are, of course, of everything but work... Oh well, fun is to be had!
This was a very special and occurrence for us, it rained in Guadalajara!!!
Rain is always an enrapturing experience, but rain in a dry and sometimes dirty city is wondrous. This was taken from the upstairs covered veranda, where I rushed to look at the beauty.
Alrighty, this was a pretty cool experience too. We got to go to a football game! (Ok Americans, I know we call it soccer, but seeing that the Spanish version is fútbol anyways we shall call it by the the world-recognized name!)
This is the stadium where our team was playing, for that day we were Chivas fans! There are two teams in Guadalajara and this one was in the playoffs. You will know them by their red and white shirts! Chivas!!!
These were the non-Chivas fans, from the opposing team. Almost the whole stadium was filled with Chivas fans, but there was a very brave and vocal contingent from Monterey. This is them pumping their right fist in the air, as they did regularly for... three hours.
The band of utmost hardcore Chivas fans were on the opposite end of the stadium and they must have been there for hours before we got there. These people tirelessly chanted, shouted, jumped, sang, and waved everything within reach that was red or white, flags, umbrellas, shirts, anything. At a climatic moment in the game we saw an enourmous red and white flag unfurl that must have covered hundreds of people. This is what it looked like to us, on top of the choreographed smoke that also appeared on cue.
I am rather ashamed to say that I apparently got no actual pictures of the teams playing. Whoops. The best I can give you is a shot of the very strange half time festivities...
And this, dear friends, was taken on May 21st no less, our dear brother Ben's birthday. When we got out of school Josh said, "How about we celebrate Ben's birthday by going out to eat." Sounded great to me. So we walked around til we found a nice joint in a hotel and sat ourselves down. So here Ben, this was for you, bro. ;D
And finally, last night we did go and see a movie, in English. But how can you not see the new Indiana Jones movie when it comes out, cornyness or not?!
Speaking of cornyness, before the movie Josh and Foss, a fellow trainee, devoted some of their valuable time and pesos to an arcade game in the lobby. The sport they were playing? Football of course! As the picture indicates, Josh emerged the victor...
Hasta luego mis amigos.
Buenas noches.
Well, the delay in posting can be explained by the start of our TEFL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)! It's been quite busy but it's a very solid program, and we've got a solid group of fellow trainees.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the actual building where we've been working so hard, but it's become a second home to us, we're usually there from 9 to 6 Mon-Fri... sometimes seems like a first home, sheesh!
This is what our routine looks like...
8:00ish - Wakey wakey (eggs and bacey. OK not really. Cereal. But it rhymed.)
well, yes it does.
as you can see even though we didn't have any pics of our daily routine,
I felt possessed to still give you a pictorial representation of our day...
as you can see even though we didn't have any pics of our daily routine,I felt possessed to still give you a pictorial representation of our day...
8:45 - Walk to school, 8 blocks or so
9:00 - School! Fortunately, as part of our course learning to be teachers we have an ice breaker (ie game) every day. We've all agreed that it's all pretty much down hill after that... ;D
1:00 - Lunch! Again, we've been working hard all morning on grammar and teaching methods and lesson plans and we're happy to launch into a nearby lobby to... discover our lunches. Several of the students are staying with Mexican families who pack their lunches for them. Every day we all eagerly watch eachother unpack the surprises that the "Moms" send them (which to our English speaking tummies can still be... gastronomically unfathomable). Josh and I pack our own lunch but you'd be surprised how even your own lunch can be surprising after it's been in the fridge all morning
3:15-5:15 - We spend the afternoon either preparing to teach or actually teaching our class. Our classes are usually 5 to 15 or so students and we are observed each time by one of our teacher trainer. The students have been great. They can be quiet, they can be rowdy, they can be confused or bored, but all in all they are eager to learn and a joy to teach.
6:15 - We usually go home around this time, make some supper, chill for a couple of hours, then watch some tv or listen to music before we crash. Good times, good sleep.
now that I've tried to convince you of how hard we work I wanna post the pictures that I do have, which are, of course, of everything but work... Oh well, fun is to be had!
This was a very special and occurrence for us, it rained in Guadalajara!!!
Rain is always an enrapturing experience, but rain in a dry and sometimes dirty city is wondrous. This was taken from the upstairs covered veranda, where I rushed to look at the beauty.
Alrighty, this was a pretty cool experience too. We got to go to a football game! (Ok Americans, I know we call it soccer, but seeing that the Spanish version is fútbol anyways we shall call it by the the world-recognized name!)
This is the stadium where our team was playing, for that day we were Chivas fans! There are two teams in Guadalajara and this one was in the playoffs. You will know them by their red and white shirts! Chivas!!!
These were the non-Chivas fans, from the opposing team. Almost the whole stadium was filled with Chivas fans, but there was a very brave and vocal contingent from Monterey. This is them pumping their right fist in the air, as they did regularly for... three hours.
The band of utmost hardcore Chivas fans were on the opposite end of the stadium and they must have been there for hours before we got there. These people tirelessly chanted, shouted, jumped, sang, and waved everything within reach that was red or white, flags, umbrellas, shirts, anything. At a climatic moment in the game we saw an enourmous red and white flag unfurl that must have covered hundreds of people. This is what it looked like to us, on top of the choreographed smoke that also appeared on cue.
I am rather ashamed to say that I apparently got no actual pictures of the teams playing. Whoops. The best I can give you is a shot of the very strange half time festivities...
And this, dear friends, was taken on May 21st no less, our dear brother Ben's birthday. When we got out of school Josh said, "How about we celebrate Ben's birthday by going out to eat." Sounded great to me. So we walked around til we found a nice joint in a hotel and sat ourselves down. So here Ben, this was for you, bro. ;D
And finally, last night we did go and see a movie, in English. But how can you not see the new Indiana Jones movie when it comes out, cornyness or not?!
Speaking of cornyness, before the movie Josh and Foss, a fellow trainee, devoted some of their valuable time and pesos to an arcade game in the lobby. The sport they were playing? Football of course! As the picture indicates, Josh emerged the victor...
Hasta luego mis amigos.
Buenas noches.
Friday, May 09, 2008
¡El Zoológico!
Well, after a couple of days wandering around, Josh and I decided to go on a full blown day outing on Friday - the zoo! Even back in the states we'd heard that this was a very nice zoo, and who's too old for a zoo in the end?
Also for us this was a breakthrough day of learning the bus system! Well ok, that meant asking around, studying the bus system by book and internet, and finally walking 30 minutes to the bus stop we'd hoped would take us to the zoo... but hey we made it!
This was trusty Autobús 62 - our ticket to adventure.
cost: 50 American cents
I was rather charmed by the lady who sat patiently knitting while the bus bounced and flew down the road. She must know were she's going. :)
Front Gate
Josh kindly took this one of me, my hippo shirt, and my hippo friend. (he was kind of the still, stony, quiet type but that's ok)
Blue monkeys on pedestals. Don't go all rushing to your local home decoration store all at once...
This is another one I took, I thought these monkeys were so cute - they were like little old men with beards!
The polar bear! It eventually gave up pawing at its little food cave to come cool off.
I got this one of him swimming right by, we and the people around us were exited!
Look! Mexico!
Hehe, Josh was the better photographer than I that day, and here's the proof.
the gorilla portrait.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
We are in Mexico! Things are cool! The flight down went quite smoothly. Guadalajara is hot and dry. We easily found our cab driver and he loaded our things and we were off. Candace was talking up a storm with him. But now I am getting ahead of myself because we have pictures. There is pictorial continuity here, people! Alright.
Oh, by the way, Candace wishes me to say that regardless of whose name appears at the bottom of the post, this is Josh. We will both post here. I will suggest to her that we differentiate our posts by putting her text in bright bright fuchsia. hardy har har...
(hey, stranger things have happened. Oh and we changed the title of our blog to match the title of our trip. Being the quirky bunch we are, we've always given our major trips a name like The Best of the West, or the Cool Beans trip. For this trip Josh and I had several names suggested to us, but while we were driving around Houston, cranking the radio, we heard that musical... uniqueness which is the Beatles, and in a moment we knew the name of our trip - Good Day Sunshine. :D )
This is Candace packing. My experience was much the same.
This is Candace's dashing tie-dye headband. given by my mommie :*
IAH Airport.
Talking to mum.
Soaring high above the clouds.
Landing in Guadalajara.
I took this picture because I was so struck by the terrain change once we crossed into Mexico. As we swooped over the mountains surrounding the city, most of the trees (bushes?) seemed to be barren, saving sap I suspect for the rains that will seemingly come next month and make everything green. But for now, this was the land that greeted us.
OK, textual and pictorial continuity have been realigned. This is the cab driver. He was nice about explaining things as we drove, using slow Spanish.
The Guadalajara cathedral. We met some other students from ITTO after checking in and went with them to this plaza to eat. The cathedral holds masses a few times every day.
And it looks even more amazing at night! This is five minute walk from our hostel. :D
So that's all the pictures we have for now. The hostel staff are nice and we have wireless, which is probably the biggest (nicest!) surprise to me.
And I concur with my esteemed colleague. I just have to say that we both agree that we were very blessed by the whole trip over and the accommodation situation here (photo tour forthcoming...)! We have a great room with plenty of storage , a big kitchen to cook in, free washer and drier, and just a great feeling about the staff, safety, and all!
Many thanks to everyone who was praying for us as we traveled - those prayers were answered!!!
So today we already stopped by the ITTO school, and they were very nice, walked around a bit, then came back for our siesta time. :) We'll probably do some more shopping later on and enjoy our free days before the program starts.
Hasta luego!
(until later... for you non Spanish people! :D)
Oh, by the way, Candace wishes me to say that regardless of whose name appears at the bottom of the post, this is Josh. We will both post here. I will suggest to her that we differentiate our posts by putting her text in bright bright fuchsia. hardy har har...
(hey, stranger things have happened. Oh and we changed the title of our blog to match the title of our trip. Being the quirky bunch we are, we've always given our major trips a name like The Best of the West, or the Cool Beans trip. For this trip Josh and I had several names suggested to us, but while we were driving around Houston, cranking the radio, we heard that musical... uniqueness which is the Beatles, and in a moment we knew the name of our trip - Good Day Sunshine. :D )
This is Candace packing. My experience was much the same.
This is Candace's dashing tie-dye headband. given by my mommie :*
IAH Airport.
Talking to mum.
Soaring high above the clouds.
Landing in Guadalajara.
I took this picture because I was so struck by the terrain change once we crossed into Mexico. As we swooped over the mountains surrounding the city, most of the trees (bushes?) seemed to be barren, saving sap I suspect for the rains that will seemingly come next month and make everything green. But for now, this was the land that greeted us.
OK, textual and pictorial continuity have been realigned. This is the cab driver. He was nice about explaining things as we drove, using slow Spanish.
The Guadalajara cathedral. We met some other students from ITTO after checking in and went with them to this plaza to eat. The cathedral holds masses a few times every day.
And it looks even more amazing at night! This is five minute walk from our hostel. :D
So that's all the pictures we have for now. The hostel staff are nice and we have wireless, which is probably the biggest (nicest!) surprise to me.
And I concur with my esteemed colleague. I just have to say that we both agree that we were very blessed by the whole trip over and the accommodation situation here (photo tour forthcoming...)! We have a great room with plenty of storage , a big kitchen to cook in, free washer and drier, and just a great feeling about the staff, safety, and all!
Many thanks to everyone who was praying for us as we traveled - those prayers were answered!!!
So today we already stopped by the ITTO school, and they were very nice, walked around a bit, then came back for our siesta time. :) We'll probably do some more shopping later on and enjoy our free days before the program starts.
Hasta luego!
(until later... for you non Spanish people! :D)
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