Hot Stuff's Still Got It

We are at our destination finally. We are getting used to this new culture. It is always weird to go to a country where you can't speak the language. We are learning some words but the learning curve seems quite steep. In order to be here for longer, we would need to learn the language.

Our first experience with this culture was on our airplane ride from Singapore. We had a great time on our last day in Singapore. We had spent pretty much all our time in malls going to and from our conference. On the last day, the Ehrmans, a family from home took us to the orchid garden, to the famous merlion statue and out to eat. We also got to spend time in their luxurious apartment. It was an awesome blessing.

On the airplane, we witnessed an intense argument. We did not need to know Mandarin to understand what was going on. The crotchety old man was insistent that the window shade stay up during take-off. The young professional lady next to him wanted it down. The man made a big scene and started yelling at the lady who yelled back. This went on for a few minutes until the steward came over. He brought the woman to a new seat away from the intense old man. After this, the man proceeded to stare grinning out the window for the duration of the flight.

After this outburst, we knew this guy was one to watch. We encountered him again at the baggage claim. A lone brown bag was circling the carousel for about ten minutes. Apparently the grumpy, obnoxious old guy had an identical suitcase. He kept grabbing the bag and loudly exclaiming. Finally the officials came over and tried to placate the man. Finally his suitcase arrived and he was escorted out, probably as not to make another scene.

Most of the people here are not like this man, though they seem to speak a lot louder here than in other parts of Asia. Yesterday we got a tour of the city by the security guard in our building. He is not on our team but he has been reading our book. I think there were some cultural differences as he didn't speak much English. The 14 year old son of the people we are staying with was our translator. After telling me that I was fit, the guard starting asking me things along these lines: Why aren't you married? What do you look for in a guy? What do you think of long distance relationships? Do you want to go to a Chinese wedding? How do guys and girls show they like each other in the USA? Do you believe in love at first sight? This was all through a somewhat naïve 14 year old boy. So apparently I am hot stuff even overseas.

Singapore

I only have seven minutes left at the internet cafe so this is bound to be brief. We are in Singapore at our Go Asia conference. It's been really cool to be with other like-minded people from around the world especially Asia. We've already run into contacts from Borneo and the Phillipines. I am so glad all our visa stuff worked out for our next country. We have heard many stories of people getting denied. We feel very lucky!

Singapore is hard to fully understand. It's like some other Asian countries and then totally different at the same time. There are so many cultures together here. Everything is in English but things are not cheap like they are in most of Asia. Cheerios are over $10 US! The shopping is not near as much fun. They do have some spectacular malls here. Sarah and I are sleeping on mattresses on the floor with a team from Pittsburgh. That part has not been very luxurious.

I gotta go before they charge me more.

Asian Update

I didn't anticipate writing a blog entry so soon into my trip but I also didn't expect some of the things that have happened so far. I am currently in Taipei, Taiwan. We were supposed to be here for a three hour layover after our flight from Honolulu. It turns out that our flight to Singapore was canceled. This stinks because a family from my church who are living in Singapore was going to give us a tour tomorrow since we had a free day before the conference started. Now, the airline has put us up in a hotel and provided us meals. We will now leave tomorrow afternoon. One good thing is that we will now be on the same flight as the other half of our team- Pete and Will.

We are currently deciding what to do with our unexpected time in Taipei. We are a bit tired from last night. We spent the night in Honolulu after a flight from Maui. Before the flight, I decided to charge my cell phone. We even moved closer to the plug so I wouldn't forget it. But, I did. I figured this out during the 30 minute flight. I called the airport but they seemed pretty incompetent and directed me to some sort of state lost and found, which was closed. I was obviously unhappy about this turn of events. I canceled the phone so I don't have to worry and a friend is going to the airport to check today. Ugh! Not at all the way I wanted to start my trip.

Our friend, Kimo picked us up in Honolulu. He took us around Waikiki and took us to this funny little Hawaiian diner place. It was fun. He graciously let us stay at his place, actually giving up his bed to me and Sarah to sleep on the floor. Then in the wee hours of the morning, he drove us to the airport. Now that is a good friend!

Gawking at the nudes

I don't have a lot of time to write since I still need to pack, take a shower and make a trip to Wal-Mart before leaving for Honolulu tonight. I can't believe I am already leaving for Asia! I have had a good time while I was in Maui. It's indescribable how it feels being surrounded by so many other Christians who are passionate about missions. Besides being spirtually uplifted. I have also been having some quality Elizabeth-style fun. I went to Makena beach with my former students, Kera and Rachel, their friend, Natalia and Kera's fiance, Steve.

I knew there was a nude beach just over this rocky cliff-type thing but I had never been. Rachel and Natalia were also curious so we snorkeled around the big rocky cliff. It was harder to get around than I thought and I definitely thought of sharks- bad idea. We made it and then started treading water several hundred feet from shore. This was pretty much the perfect way to experience a nude beach. We were far enough away so that we couldn't fully make out details but could still see that these people were indeed nude. We could also giggle to our hearts content since we were fully out of the nudes' earshot.

We enjoyed seeing what these nudes liked to do at the beach. Unfortunately even with a less than perfect view, we could see that most of the nudes had strange, undesirable bodies. One nude was doing sit-ups. Who does that at the beach, nude or not nude? Another guy stretched before surfing by leaning back and thrusting his pelvis towards the ocean, or us. This surfing guy spoiled a bit of our fun. There aren't really waves there but he was determined to surf. He paddled out uncomfortably close to where we were treading water and gawking at the other nudes. He started making comments about how we should get nude and that it was so freeing. Eww! I told him we were working up to it though there was no way I was going to get naked. I didn't know what else to say. We left shortly after these as the inviting nude surfer made us a bit uneasy. All in all, though, it was a great day!

I don't think they'll have any beaches like these in Asia.

Home Sweet Maui

I have been back in Maui for a few days and it has been pretty busy. It feels a little strange. It feels like home and yet it doesn't feel like home. Right now I am kind of hiding out in my friends' room. I am tired of having to catch up with people. I want to be automatically caught up so we can just have fun and make new memories. Luckily there are several people here who I do keep in touch with so we can just be regular friends. Actually hiding in my room is a bit like what I did when I was on staff and needed a break from community. Back then I would have had an Amy Kirk by my side, though. I miss her a lot when I am here since we spent 90% of our freetime together. I also miss my friend/mentor, Maria who is fun to be around but can give the often-needed kick in the butt when necessary. Maui isn't the same without the two of them. There are certainly others I miss but those are the two whose faces keeping coming back to me over and over again.

I have been going with the flow so far but I am fast realizing that this won't work for the duration of my visit. I have now started making myself a schedule so I can see all the people I want to say. More than half of my Maui friends live away from the YWAM base where I am staying so I have to make an effort to meet up with them. Tomorrow I am going to Kihei with two of the amazing girls from the team I took to Bangladesh, Rachel and Kera. Kera's longtime boyfriend surprised her with a proposal on July 3rd so she's still on cloud nine. This development got all the YWAM boys talking about how much they should spend on a ring. I told them one month's salary, which for some of these missionaries is $200. Hello Wal-Mart. I have since learned that it is supposed to be three month's salary, which seems way too much to me. That Wal-Mart ring is sounding better and better.

Later in the week I have other friends to hang out with and beaches to vist. My friend, Gena, wants to hike bamboo forest. I have been there twice with slightly disasterous results. The first time I went, my shoes were unnaturally slippery and I fell down repeatedly. It was embarassing and humbling since I was the only one who seemed to have that problem. The second time I went with my friend, Katie H and got us hopelessly lost in the woods. I had a vague idea where the car was but not where the path to get to it was. I just started climbing up this cliff-like thing to get to the car. It was a perilous journey but I made it. Unfortunately Katie couldn't make it and was forced to find another way while I was at the car with no keys. It was a scary time but we both made it out alive. I can only hope this trip goes better.

I got to meet with most of my Asia mission trip team today. It got me excited about our trip. I have recently learned that two of the team members are looking to be in the country longterm so what we are doing is trying to clear the way. We should be praying a lot as well as figuring out the logistics to make this happen. I am also hoping to make some friends at the university. Apparently many students want to practice their English so they are very eager to talk to foreigners. So exciting!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, (actually no trains)

I leave for Maui early tomorrow morning. It seems pretty surreal at this point that I am actually beginning my Asia adventure. I had high hopes of getting a lot done this week but I have had a small case of the Lazy-ees. I have gotten some stuff done but I have also played a lot of Guitar Hero. Oh well, I will accomplish all I need to accomplish just like how I wrote a paper in college- the night before.

My family has had some good and bad car experiences in the past few days. On Sunday, I was at Urban Outfitters looking for a Jesus action figure for my upcoming Asia trip. As I was leaving the parking lot, another car hit me. It's really debateable whose fault it was. It's a strange road. The area we were in makes a T. The top of the T is parking spaces you can pull into off the two lane road. There is a stop sign at the middle of the T, where this lady was stopped. I looked behind me and to both sides before backing slowly into the intersection. No cars were moving. I guess as I was backing out, she turned left from the stop sign and hit me.

According to the insurance people, it is my fault because I was backing up. Apparently everything is your fault if you are backing up. This hardly seems fair. I feel like backing up involves a bit of risk and the other drivers are supposed to help the backer upper out by not ramming them in the back. It's like when you are going straight in a parking lot and someone in front of you backs out. You stop and let them go whether you have right of way or not, you don't ram them. This lady was facing forward and should have been able to see me and stop. Anyway, the insurance company doesn't see things my way so I will have to pay about $500 to get my car fixed. Because I am about to leave, my mom will have to take care of a lot of the hassle. Thanks, mom.

Speaking of my mom, she is now the proud owner of a red Prius. Grandma drives a Prius. She used to have a bowl cut and drive a mini van. Now she has long hair and drives a Prius. She's come a long way. The car is pretty cool and we're still trying to figure out all its features. It has a navigation system, back-up camera, integrated phone thing and a lot more. I am not going to lie, it's pretty cool. Now, I am driving the mini van while my car is in the shop. Don't be too jealous.

Friday fun

I am trying to prepare everything for my upcoming trip. Today I went shopping hoping to find a nice raincoat and a good sleeping bag. My family has a few sleeping bags that are very large. They are really glorified comforters with zippers. I didn't care about anything but compressability. REI was having a sale. Unfortunately the sale sucked. I was hoping for high quality merchandise at low prices. There was nice stuff but it was all over $100. I was feeling far too cheap for that.

While I was shopping at another store, my friend, Jane called and offered to let me use her very compressable sleeping bag. Hooray! I don't have to spend money on one!
And then my friend, Bethany called and invited me to an Astros game tonight. I had been wanting to go to one but feared they would be sold out. Now I get to go for free! Hooray! Good day!

Lazy days of summer... I mean really lazy!

So, I am pretty much the epitome of lazy today. Maybe that's a bit of an overexaggeration but I am pretty sloth-like these days. I am technically not allowed to work out until next week on the account of my surgery. But I had hoped to work on my writing- I still want to write books someday, though wanting doesn't make it happen. Also I want to start studying for the GRE, in case I decide to go to Grad school. I need some sort of motivation. I figure since I leave Houston in a week, this motivation will come a few days before. Too little, too late.

Other than running random errands, my usual day consists of a lot of reading- (I have read about 6 400+ page John Grisham books since Summer began.) I also spend time cruising the internet for random youtube videos and the like. I have also been watching a lot of TV. Most of it is fairly mindless. There is an exception, though. The other day I watched an amazing new show- "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" It's just so funny! For those of you who missed its premiere this week, here is the gist of it:

Ten random Americans signed up to be on an unknown reality show. They all arrive at the L.A. airport and get into a van. The van drives from arrivals to departures and the contestants are told they are now getting on a plane to Japan. They still don't know what's going to happen. When they get to Japan, they are introduced to the place where they will stay. It's a pretty sweet Japanese style house complete with an older, overweight Japanese woman called Mama San. I am not quite sure what her role is other than to scream at the contestants as she enforces bedtimes and wake-up calls.

In the morning the contestants are told they are going on a tour of Tokyo. They drive them to some famous Tokyo TV studio. Then, the contestants are herded into a dark room, still not knowing what's going on. All of a sudden, the lights go on and they are smack dab in the middle of a Japanese gameshow. There is a wacky host and about a hundred Japanese spectators screaming, cheering, and playing a variety of instruments. The surprised looks on the Americans' faces were absolutely priceless.

Now they finally know what they are going to be doing. They will be competing on a Japanese gameshow to win $250,000. They are broken into teams- The Yellow Penguins v. The Blue Monkeys. They have to compete as a team in a wacky event. The winning team gets a prize. The losing team has to be punished and then pick two players to play an elimination game. The first challenge was where one person had to eat moshi balls off of a tray attached to the head of a team member who was running on a treadmill. When they fell on the treadmill, they ended up in a vat of flour. The whole time they are competing, the zany announcer is saying stuff in Japanese that the Americans can't understand. The audience laughs hysterically. Subtitles let the viewers know that the host is saying things like, "That man with chubby cheeks sure can eat."

The winning team won a helicopter tour of Tokyo while the losing team had to play rickshaw drivers for a few hours. For the elimination challenge, two players are dressed as bugs and must jump on a trampoline to place some sort of marker on a giant pretend windshield. Pretty weird! From my meticulous rehashing of this show, it should be clear that it is my new favorite. It's just so funny. It makes Americans look selfish and dumb at times but that can be true. I highly recommend this show!

Support Musings

It's been a bit weird to raise support for my Asian mission trip this summer. I've raised money for many mission trips before and have been super blessed by my loved ones' generosity. The money always comes in just in time. This time is different because I am no longer a full-time missionary. I have another job, a real job. I probably could have figured out a way to scrimp and save my teacher salary in order to go. But, when I think about what that would be like, I realize it is not the way God intended missions to be.

Missions is best when it includes interdependence. I am depending on supporters for the funds to go and they are depending on me to spread God's love in Asia. Not everyone can go overseas and it is a real honor for me to have so many supporters behind me. I feel a real sense of responsibility and accountablity to the people who have donated money for me to go. If I had funded this trip myself, I wouldn't have that feeling of support and responsibility. It can be humbling to ask for money but I wouldn't have it any other way. I plan on doing my best to represent those who have donated to me. I want to make them and the Lord proud.

The day before the complete inner nose overhaul

Tomorrow I am having sinus surgery. I like to say that I am having nose renovations. In reality, I am getting a bone spur removed, a cyst removed, and some sort of nose membranes trimmed. They are also going to correct my deviated septum. Sounds like fun, huh?

I am not too nervous. I have grown up with a mom who's a nurse. I have always found value in medicine and surgical procedures. This is my second time to go under the knife. I had an ear surgery in high school.

I have heard several different reports of recovery time. My doctor says that about half his patients go to work on Monday after having surgery on Thursday. He told me that I need to roll gauze and tape it to my upper lip because stuff may drain out. Basically I will be making a gauze mustache. Needless to say, I will be looking really hot. Anyone is still welcome to come keep me cxompany during my recovery but you can't laugh at my gauze mustache. What I am I saying? I certainly would laugh at my gauze mustache so I can't really hold that against you. Luckily both my mom and my roommate are nurses so I should be fine.

Young Life camp

I just got back from Young Life camp. Well, technically I just got back from visiting friends in Georgia for a couple days after Young Life camp. The camp I went to was near where my YWAM friends, Matt and Bethany Laskey for a while. They surprised me by stopping to pick up another one of our YWAM friends, Stephanie Rolon, who happens to be spending her summer working at a summer camp less than an hour from Matt and Bethany's house. Like all YWAM reunions, it was weird and yet not weird at all. It felt like no time had passed. I love these kinds of reunions!!!

As for camp, it was great! Young Life camps are like little Club Meds. The camp I worked at in college was nothing compared to a Young Life camp. They provide sheets and towels in their posh air-conditioned cabins. They have a blob, ropes course, water zip line, basketball, sand volleyball, disc golf, climbing wall, mountain bikes, and more.

It's hard to detail what happened at camp because there was simply so much. I got to know a lot of the girls in my cabin better. In the last few months of school, I wasn't able to hang out with my Young Life kids as much so it was great to get to know them better.

There was another group of urban kids there and I enjoyed watching the white kids from other schools try to dance ghetto style.

I am too tired to right more. Tomorrow I have a pre-op doctor's appt, a picture party and then I am spending the night at my parents' so we can leave early in the morning for South Padre. In the words of the illustrious Ricky Martin, "Livin' La Vida Loca."

Random funny things

Tomorrow is my last day of school! It doesn't even feel real. I don't know what I thought it would feel like but it is not this. On Friday we have a teacher work day and then Saturday night I head to Young Life camp on one of those big buses with TVs.

One of our Young Life kids was afraid her boss wouldn't give her time off work to come to camp. About two weeks ago, she told her boss that she would need the first week of June off for her Grandfather's funeral. Unless she was going to kill him, it'd be a little hard to predict something like that. Needless to say, she was fired.

On another humorous note, today I was hit on by a mentally handicapped guy at Big Lots. For those of you unfamiliar with Big Lots, it's kind of a step up from the dollar store with a similar clientele. I was looking for garish make-up for a skit I will be performing for tomorrow's talent show. As I wandered the aisles looking for make-up, I noticed a guy who seemed to be everywhere I was. He looked normal though seemed to be struggling to carry one of those jumbo multi-packs of paper towels. When I finally found the make-up, he sidled up to me.

After some very awkward silence, he said something like this with very stilted speech, "I have been going up and down aisles of things I haven't been interested in...all to get up the courage to talk to you." Eek! I didn't know what to do as it was suddenly clear that he was of below average intellect. I decided to ignore him. Then he said, "My name is Tim and you seem nice." To this I replied, "It's hard to tell if someone is nice by watching them shop." (It actually would have been safe to assume that I was a hooker since I was buying red lipstick, hot pink blush and blue eyeshadow.) I tried to politely ignore him. I didn't want to be mean but I didn't think I should show any interest for fear of leading him on. He then said, "My parole officer said I am no longer a danger to myself or others." I am not certain whether this was a joke or not because it was delivered in the same stilted monotone. Needless to say, I was not reassured by this; joke or no joke. Then he mumbled something about browsing other aisles.

I quickly gathered my whore make-up and got out of there. Just another day at Big Lots!

Pre-Summer

I had a three day weekend this weekend and I think it was a bit dumb. It's not that I don't think Memorial Day should be a holiday. Obviously I am in support of a holiday that honors soldiers who gave their lives for our country. The dumb part comes with next week's schedule. We are off today, Monday. Then we have a full school day tomorrow, a half day on Wednesday and a half day on Thursday(the last day of school). The teachers have to come in on Friday to wrap everything up. I really don't know what I am supposed to do with one full day and two half days. I am going to bring some kids' movies since I have a suspicion that the other teachers are just going to have kids watch movies all day. We'll see. I guess I will prepare a back-up lesson just in case. The three day weekend did give me a little taste of what summer will be like or more accurately what the two and a half weeks I won't be traveling will be like.

On Wednesday we have a class party and awards presentation. Apparently I have to think of an award for each kid. Some will be very easy but others will be quite difficult. "Smelliest farter," "Most likely to say a cuss word" and "Most likely to end up in prison" are probably not acceptable despite their validity. In all seriousness, I want to validate something I see in them that other people or even themselves might not see. I should probably start thinking and praying about this.

On Friday we went on a field trip to Moody Gardens- a hodgepodge of random attractions in Galveston. The day started off very poorly with an unplanned wake-up call at 8:00am from my teacher friend, Belinda. I normally wake up around 6am and arrive at school around 7:15-7:30am. School starts at 7:45. Needless to say, I felt terrible. I made it to school at 8:30 feeling pretty dumb.

Field trips are good and bad. Good because it's a chance to be with the kids on a more informal way and bad because they won't stop asking the same innane questions over and over again. We went to the aquarium, on a paddle boat ride and watched an IMAX movie. The movie was in 3D and watching all the kids try to touch the 3D images was very entertaining. It was about the Grand Canyon and made me want to go rafting down the Colorado River. Apparently it is super pricey.

Weekend Fun

I had a pretty good weekend. I might as well share it with my blog fans. On Friday night I went out to eat with my parents. That's the way we bond these days.

On Saturday I went to the Pasadena Strawberry Festival with a new friend. It was way bigger than I had anticipated. It was more like a fairly big carnival with a strawberry theme. They had the world's largest strawberry shortcake and I got to eat a big piece of it. Yay! I am sure you are all jealous. The thing was said to be an astonishing 1300 sq feet.

They also had carnival rides but the sketch factor was high and we didn't want to take the risk. There was a mud volleyball tournament that was fun to watch. Maybe I will have to compete next year. They had carnival games and my friend dazzled me with his basketball skills to win me a basketball painted like an eight ball from pool. Now I know you are jealous. My carnival game skills were nothing fancy and I did not win any prizes.

They also had mutton bustin'. We speculated a lot about what this might be. I thought it was where people hit large pieces of lamb meat with a sledge hammer. Luckily I was not correct. It was where small children tried to ride a sheep in a similiar fashion to bull riding. It was pretty funny. The smallest kids seemed to do the best. Maybe they have a lower center of gravity.

All in all the Strawberry Festival was a good time for all. Maybe I will go next year.

Today I went to a bridal shower for my childhood friend, Leena. She is Indian and so were most of the guests. I was the only white person there and I loved it. I enjoy racial humor (not the offensive kind). At one point the song, "Boot Scootin' Boogie" came on and someone asked if anyone knew the dance. I assured them that despite being white, I did not know how to do it. There was another racial moment when we played this strange party game that awarded points for different things you had or were wearing. One part gave points for green eyes. Everyone looked at me and I reminded them that my eyes were brown, just like theirs. It was pretty funny! I am really excited about Leena's wedding. I have never been to an Indian wedding. I think I am going to get a sari and go all out. Also there is a big dance before the wedding called a garba. It is awesome! I highly recommend them to anyone. Indian people really know how to party!

After the shower I went for a bike ride. Thankfully I am finally getting used to my clip-on pedals. I haven't even fallen down yet. Then I read a book on my porch swing for a few hours. Talk about a good day! Now it's time to make my lesson plans for next week. Only two weeks left! Whoohoo!

Fun and Funny Field Day

Today was my school's Field Day. This is when the kids get to compete in a variety of physical challenges for colored ribbons and the esteem of their classmates. I loved it as a child. In fact, in fifth grade I actually trained for the water balloon toss. What kid trains for the water balloon toss? My neighbor, Sherika and I would go to the park and practice. Since no one else was practicing, I knew we were shoe-ins to win. Unfortunately tragedy struck. I was in a bike accident and broke my arm. Our cheap first place ribbon dreams were dashed. I really let Sherika down.

After this disappointment in my last field day, I had to redeem myself. I did so by winning the joust against my friend, Ms. Flores. It was great fun! My kids did pretty well but it was hard to make sure all kids got to participate and not just let the really athletic ones do everything so we would win. I made the mistake of letting some of the larger kids do the obstacle course and they got stuck. So much for the team gold!

Probably the funniest moment of the day was after the kids had water fun with the water slide. One of my students, I will call him Joey, is kind of an odd kid. He is 9 years old but looks and acts a bit like a grumpy old man. He is a bit of a complainer and wears a dark blue polo shirt and dark blue pants every single day. Today after the water fun, he tells me that he has a secret. Then he whispers in my ear that he is not wearing underwear. Eek! I explained to him that it is called going commando and it's okay but he shouldn't tell people. Pretty funny.

I have a few other funny stories concerning my students' recent community projects. They had to research a foreign country. Some of them either just made up information or just completely misread their facts. A girl said in her project that it never rains in France. Another said that South Africa and Houston are the same in that they both have African Americans...hmmm!. One kid's project listed the number of Wal-Marts in China. Now that's an interesting fact!

Blessings

I have recently begun raising support for my upcoming overseas mission trip. It's always a bit weird to ask people for money even though I have now done it dozens of times. I have never had any trouble raising support but I was had some doubts about this time since I am no longer a full-time missionary. Luckily God is bigger than my doubts.

I sent out support letters last week and got my first response today. I am not going to say who it was from but the amount floored me. It was for $500! That's about 1/7 of what I need and it was only from one person. I am so thankful for people who give generously and selflessly. It also shows me that God is faithful even when I have doubts. So, now I am off to write an incredible thank you note.

sick

I am sick again. I seem to get this sinus mess once every month or so and I hate it. I am hoping my sinus surgery in June will stop this cycle of sickness. I was supposed to go to the art car parade with a new friend tomorrow and now I can't go. I hate to let being sick stop me from doing what I want to do but I know that resting now will help me to get better faster. I guess there is always next year for the parade.

Today I went to school despite my sickness. I couldn't miss our school's Cinco de Mayo program. The student population is 97% Hispanic and more than half of the faculty is as well. This means we do Cinco de Mayo big, real big!

Each grade performed a dance from a different Latin American country. The kids praticed hard and looked really good. I was so proud of him. One of the kids in my friend, Ms. Flores's class is part of a ballet folklorico group. He and his sister performed and it was really neat to see. Some of my kids were in two of the dances. I really enjoyed watching them shake it.

When the fifth graders performed, it got a little weird. They had one of the student's older brothers choreograph it. The brother is in high school and already a flamboyant homosexual. He wears makeup and carries a chiuhuahua around ala Paris Hilton. This guy likes the spotlight. He created a borderline inappropriate routine with his limberness as the main attraction. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. He pranced around, did the splits; the kid could dance. The fifth graders in the show were relegated to mere background dancers in this kid's egotistical wake. It was weird and wrong. All I could do at the time was stare with my mouth open.

The fourth graders did a somewhat provocative dance where some of the kids pop, lock and dropped it. It was borderline scandalous as well. I couldn't fully understand if what they were doing was appropriate because it was part of their culture. We honkies don't have much history of provocative dancing. Oh well, everyone had fun.

A week less ordinary

This week was not your average week at school. For one thing, there were TAKS tests being held on three out of the five days. The third graders took the Math test on Tuesday and those who failed the Reading, took a retest of that one on Wednesday. All principals get really paranoid about TAKS and the condition of the entire school that day. We are all highly encouraged to take field trips. Third, fourth and fifth are all on the same hall so if one of them is testing and we are not, we have to move to an alternate location. It's pretty crazy.

So, on Wednesday while ten of our students took the retest, my co-teacher and I were put together with the rest of our students into a spare classroom. It was pretty strange and hard to get anything done. In the end, we decided to just put on a movie. The other three third grade classes had it worse as they were all crammed in the gym.

On Thursday the fifth graders were taking their Reading TAKS test so we went on a field trip. We got a tour of minute maid park, our local major league baseball stadium. It was a cool tour but a little short. We were left to kill time with the kids for a few hours at a park. It reminded me a bit of being a camp counselor again. The kids' incessant questioning and whining was driving me crazy.

We survived the field trip. On Friday, the moment I had been training for my entire life, came, the faculty basketball game!!!! I actually had trained a bit by shooting around with my dad and Neha at the gym. I just wanted to look like a competent player and make my students proud. Well, my team lost but I still had a great time. I was by far the best girl and that made me feel really good. I wish I had had more playing time but it was just a faculty game anyway. Everytime I scored a basket, I felt like a Houston Rocket as the whole gym erupted in applause. The kids held signs to support their teachers. The best part was that there were several kids that I knew from other grades as well as some I did know who had signs with my name on it. I expected that from my own students but it was really neat to see it from other kids as well. What can I say? After that hot cheetos costume, I am just really popular!

That's TAKStastic!

So, the last round of TAKS testing is upon us. I have already completed my last tutorial including my last Saturday tutorial. Hallelujah! I especially dislike Saturday tutorials. Big Surprise, huh? It's not the actual tutorials themselves but the very idea of being forced to come to school on a Saturday. The principal gave them and us McDonald's cheeseburgers and french fries for this last Saturday. The kids were pumped but it didn't seem much of a reward for the six- ten hours these kids had been spending in tutorials each week for the last five months. Unfortunately many of them will still fail.

As a disclaimer, I must say that I do get paid to do tutorials. But I don't need the money so it feels more like I am being forced to do it. But hooray it is over!!!!

We have the Math TAKS on Tuesday which I have been cramming my kids for all week. We are supposed to try for 90% to pass the Math but it is looking more like 80%. Please pray. I would love a TAKS miracle. The retake for the Reading TAKS is on Wednesday. I really think some of the ten kids who failed will pass this time.

On Thursday the fifth graders take a TAKS Science test so we are going on a field trip to Minute Maid Field. We are getting a behind the scenes tour. I am excited. Afterwards we are going to hang out in a new park downtown. It should be a nice relaxing post-TAKS retreat for students and teachers.

May should be a lot of fun. Instead of cramming for standardized tests, we can help the kids have fun with learning. Oh and I get to teach Social Studies again. Yay!

Reflections on the road

I have been meaning to write this for a week so I will apologize for its untimeliness.

As I rode my bike for 150 miles in the MS150, I had a lot of time to think. I was surrounded by people that I didn't know. My dad left me in his dust at mile 1. Being on a hybrid bike and not training much meant I couldn't even dream of keeping up with him. He's become a fairly hardcore biker in recent years. He has lots of gear including these funny spandex leg warmers and sleeves.

Anyway, lots of time to think meant lots of Liz-style relevations. And now I share them with the world... for better or worse.

If you have never been a part of an organized bike ride, there are a few things you should know. There are a lot of rules to these things, both written and unwritten. When you are riding in such a large group, you need to announce your pressence when passing someone to avoid a collision. The average person just shouts "Left" as they pass you on the left. Though you are supposed to say this everytime you pass, I didn't mind when people passed several feet away from me without saying anything. Being on a hybrid bike, I got passed a lot. But it drove me crazy when someone would pass inches away from me- close enough for me to identify the gatorade flavor on their breath. It was very dangerous. If I wasn't concerned about my own safety, I would have veered right into them. That would teach them to be more polite, right?

I spent most of the ride wishing I had a road bike as I watched people who were obviously in worse shape pass me by over and over again. I coveted other people's bikes. In fact I convinced myself of my need for a road bike so much that I bought a bike the Friday after the race. Next time I ride I will also have some sort of speakers. You are not allowed to wear headphones but I was very jealous of those people with speakers. It was amusing to take note of the musical tastes of the other riders.

I know I had some other musings but I am tired from riding my new bike 20 miles this afternoon and I desperately need a shower.