New soccer season

The after school soccer season started last week, and we have our first games this week. I have 3 returning team members from last year, as well as some others I'm looking forward to working with. Since there are only 3 teams this year, we are alternating multiple practices and games. Each week one team will have 2 practices, and a different team will have 2 games. My team has 2 games this week and 2 practices next week.
In other news, Carlos turned 10 on Monday, and while I was talking to his mom, I learned 2 new Spanish phrases-flat tire, and the Puerto Rican expression for old maid.
The reason I learned about flat tires is simple-I had one. Monday morning on the way into work, I started to hear a funny noise, but I wasn't sure what it was. As I've told people here, even if one side of my car was lower than another, with the road conditions here, you never know if it's because of a pothole or a flat tire. By the time I figured out it was a flat tire, I was not in a safe place to stop. I know it's not good for the car to keep driving on a flat tire, but Dad always said you can replace a tire, but not a life, so get somewhere safe. I drove into the parking lot of a Texaco station, where I saw a couple of men, one of whom I was sure I recognized from seeing him begging at the traffic light. He ended up being the one who changed my tire. After about 45 minutes, a changed tire, and an interesting conversation with an older man waiting in the parking lot, I finally made it to school at 7:50, only 50 minutes late. Thankfully on Mondays we don't have chapel, and I don't have a piano lesson until 8:30, so I was there in plenty of time.
A few recent student quotes:
The other day, I was coming out of the restroom, and I heard one of the teachers ask if there were any students left in there. We both heard a voice from one of the stalls say, "No, teacher, nobody's here!"

The other day, Gabriel in first grade told me, "Teacher, I like chapel days!" When I asked him why, he said, "Because I like to be with God!"

I was talking to a few of the 5th grade girls in the park, and Yolimar said, "Teacher, when you get mad, you get real quiet. You don't get loud, you just talk really quiet and when you're mad at the boys you get in their faces and talk to them really quiet."