Yesterday in first grade, I was tempted to laugh, but managed to restrain myself. We were talking about the Baroque era, how it was a long time ago, and how things were very different. As we talked about Bach, I was explaining that Bach loved God, when Nathan raised his hand to ask, "So they knew about God way back then??"

Well, I got everything moved and I'm loving it! The new place is bigger, cheaper, and closer-although that didn't satisfy one of my helpers. He's 6 yrs old, and as we're carrying boxes out of the old house, he asked, "WHY are you moving?" I answered, and asked if that was ok with him, and he answered, "NO!" Anyway, moving day was almost fun-I had 6 people helping me, all very good friends (and 3 under the age of 13), so we did have some good times, and got it all done in about 3 and a half hours. Ok, at least moved, that doesn't count any unpacking. The most fun was going out to eat afterwards, and shopping. Maybe I'll be able to post pictures soon-my next door neighbor offered use of his wireless internet......
And on a side note, I love how I have been able to make friends from many different countries and cultures-on Friday, I was riding to a bridal shower with friends, and we noticed that not only were the 4 of us from different countries, we were from 4 different continents! One from England, one from Zimbabwe, one from Bolivia, and me from the US. It's so neat to see the bond we can have as sisters in Christ coming from such different places!

Well, there is officially no reason for me to rush to get a tv as soon as I move in order to see the NCAA championship. If I get one, great, I'll watch it (basketball is one of 2 sports I will watch no matter who's playing), if not, life goes on. Yep, Jayhawks lost! Hard to believe, but sadly, it's true. And I didn't even get to see a single game. Probably good though, because I would have been frustrated.
As for other things, I've been busy preparing for Easter music, spring piano recital, and various "performances" of my piano students. One student will hopefully be doing a duet with me for Easter, another will hopefully do a duet with me for the recital and sometime later for church (this same student will play in his sister's wedding this summer) and another will hopefully play in the recital and later in church a hymn that I arranged for his level.
My middle school girls made me laugh today in PE. The class has 29 girls, 7th and 8th graders, so as I'm sure you can imagine, never a boring moment. Last week, we started soccer, which we will be working on for this last quarter. Last week I did something that may seem crazy, but there was actually a method to my madness (for once in my life). We played a 14v14 game with barely any explanation or practice. It was a mess, but I intended it to be. If I start with drills and practices, they whine and complain about why they have to do this and "can't we just play a game?" etc, but when they see that they are lost, they are eager to practice and drill the skills they need. So why did they make me laugh? Last week, I had maybe 2 out of the 29 happy to play soccer-the rest were whining and complaining. This week? As soon as they saw me in the hallway, asked what we were doing, and heard me say soccer? I had maybe 2 out of the 29 that were complaining. The rest were overjoyed and cheering. I really do love middle school-they are soooooo interesting......
And tonight, ASL class again. Which may come in handy pretty soon, considering how my throat is starting to feel after the way I abused my voice today.

Moving and March Madness

I think second term may describe the first. I really do hate moving-that's why I'm trying so hard to get as much as possible done ahead of time. I never thought I'd be so excited about boxes. But you know what, I am! It was kinda frustrating this weekend going through stuff and organizing it and having not a single box to put the stuff in and get it out of the way! I asked at school, and I was told I can use as many as I want as long as I bring them back. So, I'm taking a few at a time and packing them as full as I can-mostly with books, books, and more books, and oh, by the way, did I mention that I have a few books?? I'll also try to get as much of my kitchen packed as possible and just be eating from paper plates, etc. for the next couple of weeks. I've found out that I have a bed, or at least most of a bed. Ok, so it's not in my possession, but it's available. There's still one part of it that I don't have that I'm not really sure what it is-I didn't really understand what it was, but we'll figure that out when the time comes.
One other nice detail that I'd forgotten to mention so far, is that this apartment comes with cable, which really isn't all that necessary in my life until it comes to March. Ok, so it's not technically necessary......unless you're a Kansas basketball fan. Which I am. Have been since before I was born, or so I'm told. Now I'm not moving until the 30th of March, but I will be moved in time for the Final Four and the Championship games. Let's just hope there's something good left to watch.

It's relatively official-I'm moving during spring break. I talked with the landlady today, and everything's set for me to move March 30. I hate moving! But, again, the closeness of this apartment, the price, the size, and the area will be worth it, I know. The moving shouldn't be too bad though. I've had 3 people/families who have already told me to count on their help, and a couple of others who have mentioned helping. If moving must be done, it might as well be done with friends!

A couple of student quotes:

It's my mom's fault. It's that she has a lot of things in her hair.
-Julio, 5th grade (his comment when he came to get his late slip)

I'm really not that much of a behave-y person.
-Daniel, 3rd grade (he was explaining to me about his bad day)

And now, I'm off to sign language class.

Field day and other events

Last Friday we had field day, and it was a little different this year, since we couldn't have it at the track (the track was under repairs for special olympics events). We used the outfield of a rather large baseball park, and set things up with ropes and cones. I was out on the field working with the races instead of in the scorer's tent like I have been for the last 4 years. It's a lot more tiring being in the field (we were in the sun from about 7:45 to 3:00) but I enjoyed being able to interact with the kids more. I teach just about all of them that were there, so they would come to me excited to show off their ribbons and tell me about their events.
In other news, I will most likely be moving during spring break. I have lived on the same street (I moved from one side of it to the other about 3 years ago) for almost 5 years. There's an apartment that became available that is about 2 minutes away from work with NO traffic, as opposed to 10-15-20 minutes where I live now, depending on which direction, what time, and how much traffic there is when you go. In PR, it's often quite difficult to go to and return from a place in exactly the same way, especially if it involves getting on the interstate. Also, I can think of about 3-4 variations of how I can get to school, each one having its own strengths and weaknesses depending on time of day, etc. So this new apartment is much larger, is much closer, and I like the yard! Seriously, I'm a country girl at heart and there's just something about sitting out side being able to see green, and not hearing cars-just the coquis (a puertorican frog that sings "coqui, coqui" at night) The banana and mango trees and the flowers don't hurt its appeal either. It's not completely for sure, but that's the general plan right now. I may be questioning my sanity in a couple of weeks (some of you probably already question my sanity), but I'm looking forward to being moved in-notice I did NOT say I was looking forward to moving!
A couple of student stories for you:
-I was teaching about even and uneven rhythm patterns in 1st grade music, and trying to get them to think, I clapped an uneven pattern, and asked them this: "If the first pattern I clapped was called 'even', what do you think this pattern might be called?", after which I clapped a skippy type pattern. Christian raised his hand and shouted, "Odd!!"
-while I was giving instructions in 7th and 8th grade girls PE, one of the girls shouted, "Teacher, your eyes!" Made me a little nervous, wondering what she saw, so I asked, "What's wrong with them??", and she replied (again shouting), "they're beautiful!"
Tonight is ASL class again-I seem to have a pattern (however shortlived it may be) of writing on Wednesdays. Maybe that's because I have a longer break in the morning and can get more of my school work done before the afternoon. A couple of weeks ago, we told Bible stories to the class. I had been joking with my teacher that my story was "Abraham not kill his son. The end" which amounts to about 5 signs. I chose the story of Daniel and the lions den though, I think mostly because I think the sign name for Daniel is cool. We would tell our stories, and then our teacher (who is deaf) would repeat the same story, giving facial expressions, helping with order of signs, missing details, etc. It's been a lot of fun, and I've learned so much.
And now, I just realized that I don't think I ever posted that I've got a "new" car. Classic (my old red car, so named by Hulda) did its time, and has been given away-it wouldn't pass inspection and someone drove by and asked what I was going to do with it. Since it was just going to the junk yard, I told them that if they would take it off my hands, they could have it-they did me a favor by taking it so I wouldn't get another ticket for having an unstickered car in the street. Yep, you read right-ANOTHER ticket. Anyway, the Lord opened up the opportunity to buy a 1994 Buick Skylark from one of the ladies in the church for a decent price. It has had issues of its own, but at least I'm not falling through the floor. =) Also, since the new one has a tape player, I've really enjoyed hearing service tapes from Bible Baptist as I drive around. It's been fun to hear familiar voices singing and preaching, and I always enjoy singing along with the music.

I got my car back today, not that any of you would know that it was in the mechanic since you probably think I've been off in the mountains of Tibet to find myself. I don't think I've ever been so happy to spend $500 in my life, but since I've been without a car for almost a month, I was plenty happy to part with the money. I'm looking forward to using the car-grocery shopping, etc.! In other news, last night I enjoyed hearing Dr. Bob Jones III speak in a conference in Levittown. Several of us from church went over there, and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. The message was exactly what I needed to hear, and the music was very nice as well-it was especially nice since I was able to just listen. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do here, but it is also a blessing to hear and enjoy good music that others have put together. Tonight we'll have ASL class again, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm learning a lot, and the people in the class make it........... interesting.

Yep, I'm still alive. Busier than ever this year, though. Of course, I say that every year. Anyway, I was helping in 3rd grade today, and read a paper that made me laugh. They were supposed to be describing the trip that a train took, and part of one girl's description was "threw a lake."

And another-again I asked Daniel what he was thinking about, since it certainly wasn't piano. His reply (without a moment of hesitation)? Marshmallows and tomato sauce.

Winding down

Yes, the school year is winding down. Actually, I wonder why we call it that? Seems to me it's just getting busier. We've finished one graduation (college) which was really nice, and we have three more before we're done. And 2 weeks after the last graduation, we have a wedding here-my first since I moved here, and my first to play for. Should be interesting, but I'm looking forward to it. One of my piano students will also be playing in the wedding- "Taco Bell's Cannon" as we like to call it. =)

Student quote of the day

This actually happened a few days ago, but I had forgotten about it until now. Nathalie and I were in my office, and with the recital coming up soon, we decided to go to the chapel to practice, since the piano is different there. This year for the first time, we have id cards for students and teachers. The teachers' cards open locked doors, so we often joke about "having the power" or being "powerful." I was saying to Nathalie that I had to get my card before we left so that we could get back in, and I was also joking and saying that I was "powerful," to which she replied, "No, you are NOT powerful. GOD is powerful." Not much you can say to that one.

5-5-09

Well, the piano recital is officially over. I actually enjoyed this one a good bit more than last years' recital (although I enjoyed that one too). This year, all the kids had their songs memorized, so that made life tons easier on them and me. Now, the big things coming up for me are graduations, which really are a lot less stress than anything else-I just have to show up and play, not too much thought required. So, the big stuff for me this year is finished! I can't believe this year has gone by so quickly.
This one's short, I know, but I must go home, get my laundry, and go to the laundromat-we're going to Culebra on Friday, and I need clean clothes! (and hopefully my newly ordered snorkel equipment will arrive soon)

4/30/09

I got my car keys back today! Apparently they were able to put down some sheet metal, braces and a two by four so that I'm not doing an imitation of the Flinstones. The metal bar that the drivers side seat is anchored to snapped (it was/is very rusty) and poked a decent sized hole in the already almost rusted out bottom of the car. I haven't ben driving it for a whilek, because should the seat decide to fall through completely while I'm driving 65 mph down the highway, the outcome would not be pretty. Mr. Zimmer says it's pretty badly rusted, and he doesn't know how long it will last, but the fix should buy me a little more time-I'm trying to make it without having to buy a car at least until I come back from the summer.
In other news, piano recital is coming up on Tuesday. All the kids have their songs memorized, which makes life one hundred times easier. More stories about the recital to come later, off to the last college choir practice before graduation!

March Madness

Well, it was fun while it lasted. KU lost by 5 Friday night. It was a pretty exciting game, and at least I got to see it, but I'm still sad they lost (that, and it's so long before I get to see them play again). I also figured out how to get cold in Puerto Rico-go out at midnight! Not that I do that on a regular basis, but the game was over 11:45 ish, so when I went out side, I got to experience "cold" Puerto Rican style. (it was probably high 60s low 70s) I also got to take advantage of an interesting law on the way home-between 12AM and 5 or 6AM, you can run stoplights as long as no one is there. It's actually in the drivers manual that, if you can do so safely, you do not have to obey the red light. Apparently it's partially to reduce crimes at that time of night, or so I've heard. I only got to take advantage of it once-at the other lights there were cars there.
And the student quote for the day:

While watching the game, I was telling Carlos that I've been a Jayhawk fan my whole life, in fact I went to games before I was born, to which he replied "Wow. Then it's a wonder you don't have feathers!"

3-27-09

I can't believe March is almost over. At least March Madness (my favorite sports event to watch) is only half over. Jayhawks play tonight, and I'm going to get to see the game. I didn't get to watch the first 2 games of the tournament because they were at times that I couldn't go to someone's house to watch.
Our softball game today went pretty well. We were struggling in the field, but our kids were making contact almost every time up. Not too many strikeouts. We couldn't finish the game becuase there's a youth activity tonight, but we'll start early next week and finish today's game before we start the next one. The score right now is 6-3 with my team down by 3.

3-26-09

Today's student quote (this one came after a discussion of verses in Romans that the student was studying):

"Wow, Teacher, Paul had it all: missionary, daredevil, philosopher......"

Bet you never heard Paul described quite like that.

Wednesday

Not much time today, but I wanted to post a couple of interesting thoughts.

I was having a discussion with my Music Appreciation students the other day. We have been studying various musical forms, and how they have changed through various musical eras. My students asked me which was the best, and I began to talk about the benefits and differences of each era. I told them that I can't relax and listen to Bach-doesn't mean I don't appreciate him, I really do, but when I listen I always find myself thinking about the counterpoint, how it's working, how he's using his ideas forward, backward, upside down, inside out, etc. To which one of my students replied, "Oh, so it's a lot like reggaeton!" I had to laugh. =)

The other day, I was waiting in line in Walgreens, and as I have a habit of doing when waiting in line in drugstores, I picked up a random product and began to read the label. I've found some pretty interesting things doing this-for example, on a Rogaine for Men package-"Do not use if pregnant or nursing". The product that I picked upt this time happened to be a pretty intense antiaging/antiwrinkle substance, and among the various amounts and uses found this: "For children younger than 6 months consult a doctor before use."

Bits and Pieces

I found a list recently of things that I had apparently made a list to blog about sometime back in October or so, but I never got past the first 2. I finally put my blog close to the top of my list of favorites in IE, so hopefully I'll make my way over here a little more often. As for the bits and pieces, most is either student quotes, or experiences with them, so here goes:

1. It is interesting the contrast in home life that I can see just from comments that kids make. One student told me she didn't like a certain song, because she heard it in her dad's church, and, as she put it, her dad is "evangelic" and she is Catholic. Not long after that converation, one of my students told me that she loved her sister and that whenever she fights with her sister, her mom tells them not to fight because the Bible says to love one another-her parents just got saved a few months ago.

2. My 8th grade boys really enjoyed-and when I say that, I mean they kept bring it up for several days-a joke I told them that is one my dad had told me. They had been telling jokes, so I decided to tell them one- What's green and has wheels? After they guess, and I tell them no, for each one, I say, "Grass. I lied about the wheels." I never expected for them to go as crazy about it as they did.

3. Ifyou think about it, pray for one of my students. His mom was killed in a small plane crash here in PR about a month ago. He lived with mom, but he's living with his dad now, and seems to be doing very well, but at his age (2nd grade) that's a lot to deal with. He really is doing well, but as I talk to him in piano lessons, I hear things from time to time that break my heart-just continue to pray for him.

4. About a month ago, we had a really exciting visitation. I went with a first grade teacher, and we were talking to this family about school, but it didn't look like we'd be able to have a serious conversation because the two little girls were running in and out, playing and talking, and generally preventing anything serious. So, we gave both the parents tracts and were preparing to leave, when the mom said to her husband "While the teachers are here, why don't you ask them that question about church?" She actually asked the question for him, and it had to do with why he felt like a hypocrite sitting in church and realizing he had sin in his life. Obviously, even though we didn't think we would be able to share the gospel, God had other plans and opened the door. We began talking, and found that neither of the parents were saved, but they both had a great interest in the gospel. We were able to share the gospel, and as we read I John 1:9, the mom asked "How do you do that? confess?" The mom trusted Christ that night, and it was exciting to see how clearly God had prepared the way for us that night.

5. Not long ago, one of my 7th grade students asked me, "Teacher, do you want a violin?" Apparently, he used to play in second grade, but quit, and now is way too large for a 3/4 violin. I told him, "Sure, as long as it's alright with your parents." So now, I'm the proud owner of a violin that is way too small for me. But it's not too small for my siblings......

6. My 4th grade students have discovered that I can solve a rubix cube, so they've been passing them to me to solve-usually I'll do it on the way to lunch, in between students, etc. It's kinda funny-sometimes I'll have 3-4 at once. They know that if I take it up because they're playing with it in class I'll mix up their progress, so several of them just give it to me before class starts so they won't get tempted to play with it.

7. I am now an assistant coach for a co-ed softball team. "But I thought you didn't know any thing about softball" you may say. You're right, I don't.

Now for student quotes-
1. Liliana tells me that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, or maybe a teacher who also teaches piano, or maybe a "pianist teacher"

2. Her brother Daniel told me he didn't want to go to Texas because there's lots of bulls there, and he saw a cartoon once about a bull trying to kill a clown. This same boy also said (when asked what he was thinking about instead of piano) "Babies. and that they do vomit."

3. My HS girls PE students told me when I introduced the sport we'd be playing for the quarter- "We're girls. We don't play basketball."

4. Ana asked needed an eraser for her work page, and she asked me, "Do you have a lonely eraser?"
"A what??"
"A lonely eraser, you know, an eraser without a pencil."

5. Sam (10th grade) asked me as I walked through the hallway one morning, "Miss Nething, you know what's been tugging at my heart lately? That there's people dying and going to hell every day all over the world."

The chicken didn't have a chance

Softball practice started today (I know hardly anything about it, but the teams are coed, so they wanted a female assistant coach) and it went pretty well. Home plate is a good 6-8 feet below street level behind us, so we see things from a different perspective. I turned around after hearing something, and I saw the poor chicken running from a cat, who was running from 2 medium sized dogs, who were running from a large dog. In all that, I don't think the poor chicken had a chance. Practice was interesting, but good. We only had one fat lip, and had some decent hitters. I think I may learn as much as the kids who haven't played before.
Since I last posted, we've had our Christmas program, I've gone home for Christmas (which didn't really feel normal since my brother went into the hospital with a ruptured appendix on Christmas Eve), come back to PR, and just recently finished a missions conference, among other things. The missions conference was a great blessing-all the speakers were graduates of the Bible college here who are now back in their own countries. We had speakers from Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Dominican Republic, and Bolivia. A couple of them are still around, and a couple more are coming back through next week.
Visitation went well this week-the mom said she would try to come to church this Sunday. We'll see how that goes. We were able to share the plan of salvation with her on Monday night. She said that she understood and had made the decision to trust Christ before, but I don't quite think we were on the same page. Lord willing she'll come to church and maybe Pastor Ramirez can follow up with her.

Tigers On Fire!

No, the zoo isn't burning. =) Yesterday was the championship game for the volleyball season, and my girls won! Tigers are champions for two years in a row (only one of my team was a repeat customer, since the teams are mixed up every year). By the way, the title was our team "cheer." We started using it last year in the tournament, and it really seems to get the girls excited. I'm so proud of the girls and the progress they made, and I'll really miss working with them. One of them told me this morning, "Teacher, I wish volleyball wasn't over!" Last year my team started with a lot of talent and didn't have to work as hard, but at the end everyone contributed to an extremely hard fought championship-by the end of the year, the other teams had improved greatly and only the determination and team work pulled it off for my team. This year, I started off with one returning player (who ended up as my team captain), 1 other who could serve fairly consistently, and 2 with a little experience, but extremely inconsistent serving. The other 4 had never played volleyball before. Annais (aka "old lady"), the team captain, was our "glue." She was our most consistent server, and could always be depended on to pass the ball back over the net. She was also the team cheerleader-I always noticed a definite difference in team spirit when she was at practice and games, and I heard several comments from spectators about her good attitude. The girls really looked up to her, and I'm happy to say she provided them with a good example, in serving technique =) and attitude. Valeria (from 6th grade) had experience, and was fairly consistent in serving, and always dependable to return the ball. When Annais couldn't be there, Valeria took over and got the job done. Paola, my only lefty, at first constantly served outside the line, but after much practice was able to remember to step, and hit it straight, and became a very consistent server. She was also a big part of our team spirit, always cheerful, and excited to play, and when the 6th graders were late or absent, Paola took charge. Julimar began with inconsistent serves, and very hard time focusing, but by the end was consistently serving well, and paying attention to the game. I'm really excited about her progress. Amarys began the year playing scared (with a family member watching practice and chewing her out the whole time) always popping her serves up to the roof-strength was definitely not her problem. =) But as soon as practices became closed, she was able to work with out being scared, and turned into another very consistent server. Yarelis began with very weak serves, but after LOTS of practice at home, she turned into another consistent server. Valeria (from 4th grade) started out very weak serving as well, but at the end I could always depend on her for points coming off the bench. Alejandra was my smallest player, and therefore had the hardest time with serving, but she was able to figure it out (with the help of Annais and her visual example) and toward the end, though not necessarily consistent, had several very important serves (including a series of 3 to win a game) and contributed to the team effort in every game.
If you can't tell, I'm very proud of this team and what they accomplished. I'm excited about the volleyball they played, but as I was commenting to another teacher that out of the 4 teams I've coached in my years here, this is the best by far not in talent, but in attitude and team spirit. We had a great season, and I'm really going to miss them.
Go Tigers!

FBFI Conference

So far it has been really good! I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. You can check out the messages online here . The date is listed, and those with the word "bilingue" in the title include translation into Spanish. The message last night by Mark Bouslog was especially good.