Here and There

Quick update today...

I've found I have a bad habit of not posting when I'm busy because, well, I am busy, and it's a daunting thought to try and convey everything I'm thinking. So I don't. But then when I am not busy I don't really feel like posting about what I'm not doing.

But here I am moderately busy, so you get a post!

I actually had some things to update you all on.

1) I changed the way this site looks. You're at the right one--no worries.

2) After praying a lot and talking with friends and family, I've taken a job teaching in Gudalajara, Mexico for this coming school year of 2009-2010. A lot of you probably know this, it wasn't a secret or anything, but I haven't really posted it on here either. So now you know! I'm going to be teaching high school English (two sections of 9th grade and then one of 10th, 11th, and 12th). It's a christian school there and I'll be teaching in English (the kids are fluent or close) to mostly mexican kids but the school also has missionary kids and other nationalities who live there for various reasons. It's the same school that Marcella taught at.


3) Because of the above reason I have to leave here a bit earlier than originally anticipated. I need to be in Mexico in early August and with various family things going on this summer and a trip back to Lima to see everyone and the need to repack to leave the country again and hopefully a little rest somewhere in there, I'm planning on leaving here May 21st. This will give me about 2 months in the US to acomplish all the above and more. It will be a busy time I think. I'm super sad about the fact that I only have 37 more days left (if I've been telling people less than that, that's only because I started getting a little confused and counting days as having 5 days each...I'm not particularly good with numbers. Which is why I'm not teaching math next year.). I can't believe my time here is drawing to a close. I'm thrilled at the idea of seeing my family and meeting the new dog at home and being able to talk to everyone in English (although I am really starting to become fond of French and can finally manage conversations in it!). But it will be really hard to leave. I can tell that already. I'm constantly tempted to start looking for a way to stay, but I really think God is leading me on to Mexico, and I hate to start throwing a fit. I wasn't always too sure I really wanted to come here and it's been great so I have faith that Mexico will be a good experience as well!

4) On the bright side, my upcoming departure date means that I feel an urgent sense of "oh no! I have to do everything now or I may never get to try it!" I'm not sure how I'm going to go about getting everything done, but I'm going to try. This means I should be doing interesting things and you should get some interesting updates (unless of course I get too busy :-p)

I think I'll add my list of things on the side here if I can figure out how and then you can see what ridiculous things I'm hoping to get into and what I have escaped alive. (actually they're not that exciting mostly. But I think I will add crazy stuff I have done as well just to make my list more impressive.

5) The first things I'm getting myself into are coming up on Friday and early May.
With my urgent "do-it-now-sense" pushing me on into unexplored waters I found myself asking a friend who was over Sunday if I could go to school with her. She's in Highschool and is about the equivalent of a sophmore in the states. She's very nice and speaks a fair amount of English. She and her brother and a younger sister come to visit Lisa most Sundays and they've become friends of mine too. Lisa wasn't back from church yet sunday when I brought up this fabulous half-baked plan and it took quite a bit of work to make sure that this was ok. I was certain based on their reactions at first. But Liz is going to ask her professors (she was quite certain they wouldn't mind) and then she set up with me to meet her down at the Hospital Friday morning so I can come along to school for her morning classes. They have class in the morning (English, Biology, and Spanish in this case) and then a break for a few hours for lunch and then more classes. I'm only going to the morning classes so that I can still watch Luke and Sarah in the afternoon. I'm very excited about this though!

And today I talked with Joanna about riding up with them to Libreville and back when they go up in early May sometime. This way I can hopefully see people more and say that I made the trip by car. I'm excited. :-)

That's about it for now! If nothing to exciting happens then I'll plan to share some of the highlights of this past weekend before the week is over!