creating, creating, creating!


a government:) today, one of my government classes was given the assignment of creating their own governments due to their entire student body ending up on a desert island. i was so wonderfully surprised at their enthusiasm towards the assignment and their understanding of John Locke and the social contract theory. his theory has to make an appearance in their government in one form or another, that will be interesting:) i decided to google image search the words creating a government and told myself to take the first one AND this little cartoony was it. i laughed quite a bit, that last square caught me by surprise:) take no offense, ok? :)
i know there is a john locke in LOST. now might be a good time for me to dive into it:)

so good...

all of us together:)

thank you Lord.
back to the books...
ps...beck, it is NOT cool to eat a funfetti cupcake 'in front' of me when i can't have one!

chaos

i had my first chick-fil-a...i don't go for the chick, i go for the fries:)
i did some unpacking before the trip and i found this little guy in my closet...well, what was left of him. i thought he was alive at first and he gave me a fright...realized he had been there for a while just seconds later...i laughed:)
lets just recap on last night with a few photos:)
two buses and a 1/2 full of boarding students and four of us:)
they quiz you before you can eat...we passed!
just before the rain.
that's me. he was ginormous. joe and joni, aren't you so proud of me?
getting suited up...for the rain:)
today i read and read and shopped:) if you know me, you should at least know that i read well and i shop well...if nothing else, know these two things:)
this morning, i saw marlena's rescue up close. she is so amazing. she found some caterpillars and rescued them and googled how to help them and they are doing so well! they are in their cocoon stage(how crazy!) which means they will be beautiful butterflies in no time:) she loves animals so much and i appreciate that about her a whole lot. she found a lost pup the other day and walked about until she found his home. the butterfly rescue, there were actually two. the first was when she saved a butterfly from the crazy rain storm(sarah, if you read this, lena and her love for animals reminds me so much of you!)
lena and i stopped by the church to drop off her pup and these guys were there just chillin:)
there is an animal rescue located just next door to the church. the amazing thing---they rescue animals like zebras and water buffalo and all sorts of other fun ones. one time marlena and i sat on the grass and had our lunch while animals just walked by. amazing.
we stopped by winter garden for a quick bite to eat before shopping and this place is amazing! the new coffeehouse is located in downtown just a couple doors down from an old movie theater where they play old films:) a couple doors down on the other side is a french pastry shop...recently relocated from france and the pastries are so yummy an the owner is super sweet.
can you say...yum?
this is the shop! most wonderful location, most amazing building. it is so big inside! it is going to be such a neat place for such a cool city. it has potential to create a really super coffee culture here where that seems to be lacking a bit:)
and their cause is so beautiful and i am so excited to be a part of something so new and good.
after shopping i had pool duty and that was fun. i got to chat with some of the students and seriously, they just blow my mind. it started to pour so i got out early and decided to tidy up some more in my little apartment. it is really coming together so nicely. i just love it so far.
i received a really neat tv stand and those two boxes, they are my two very tall new book cases, black forest is the color...they are really brown:) i love my arts and my cherry blossom clock is so lovely.
i hung my little owl by the door. i think he will like it there:)
i love the kitchen. i am going to love cooking in there. the lake view is breathtaking:) big red has his own corner in there. i brought him with me.
the trees here are like nothing else. they have these long strands of moss hanging from the branches and it is just so beautiful and i have them just outside my door next to the old horse barns. it is like a fairy tale here:)
and last but certainly not least...
i drove number 7 today! oh my goodness he is so big and scary but mr. c, my teacher, told me i was a natural:) we took the minibus for a ride around town, it is not a city but a town, and i was a bit nervous at first but was okie dokie by the end. next up, get my big bus license...eheheheh:)
that's all i got.
busy day of church and reading and talking coffee and hanging out with the kiddos tomorrow:)

i have pool duty.

moving in yesterday felt like college again. only, i have to lecture and put plans together:) this afternoon, i have pool duty, like summer camp or something:)
before i go there, i will shop for home. after i will listen to music and read books and finish planning for next week. getting back into reading books, even textbooks, has been such a treat for me. it is reminding me of why i schooled and that it wasn't in vain and also, exactly how much i loved and love learning and studying. i went to school because it was for me. i didn't do decently in school just to do it and say that i did or even because that may have been what was expected, i did it because i liked it so much. no one dives into history head first because it is a promising field;) they do it because they love it. and i am being reminded of that even on days like today...saturday:) and now i get to teach what i loved and love to learn to others and hopefully i will teach well:)
my mouse got in two nights ago and i am going to have the best time digging through my many boxes of books!

this was a night to remember...forever.

this week in general was one that i will remember for a very long time to come. there were moments of rough but so many real smiles and laughs, things that were missing for a while in my life. my heart was lifted, burdens removed, there was too much goodness almost, if there is such a thing. it was my first week of classes and i will blog about that tomorrow i think. for now i just want to focus on this evening. tonight i got to go to universal with the boarding students from the school and it was such a wonderful experience.
there were so many languages, so many laughs, so much singing. if there is such a thing as getting too much culture, i think i am getting it:) the teachers that went along took me to bubba gump shrimp company. i don't eat fish but that was a place on my list of places to go and i got to cross it off! AND i ate a mushroom burger and if you know me, you know mushrooms are NOT my favorite but this is a time of newness and adventure for me and that means eating mushrooms:)
it was so nice getting to know them. we walked around a bit and the craziest thing started to happen. rain. BUT not everywhere...only in certain spots:) you could walk two steps to the left and be in rain and step back and be in the dry! how crazy is that! we just walked and laughed and found NBA city. joe and joni you would have been so proud:) i took a photo with a giant basketball man AND the rain decided to pour down so i bought a nice blue NBA city poncho...me and one other teacher did, and we wore them proudly:) and laughed and just had such a lovely time.
on our way back to the school i had a really wonderful conversation with a chinese student. he was talking a million miles per hour and i didn't understand everything but he loves learning english and basketball and he is so happy and that brought so much joy to my heart. the students here just melt my heart. as time goes by, the more i can't believe that i am here and i just feel so undeserving and i am so undeserving but i am so grateful that we are not dealt what we really do deserve. i think you know what i mean.
when we got to the school i got off the bus and landed into a huge puddle of water and just laughed. i walked down the street to my car and jumped in every puddle i could find! and i laughed and laughed:) the puddles here are perfect for that after a good rain. i stood really still for a while and the most amazing thing happened...i really heard the music of nature. really. it was so loud and it seemed like everything was working together to make it happen and it fit and my jaw dropped. there were frogs and crickets and other bugs and they all worked together to make a song. i got to my car and just stood there. i listened and said goodnight to students walking by and just teared up. we miss those little things sometimes. and when we just sit and listen, they really aren't even little things, they are huge.
i drove home and listened to this song on repeat...it is the same song i have been listening to for days now and i will share it one of these days. it is beautiful, about Jesus. the drive was calm and rainy and my heart felt peaceful and full.
the past couple days were rough for me. to feel peace tonight and get that wonderful gift, it was good and i am grateful. it is late...off to bed:) big weekend ahead, the apt is coming together so nicely. lena, thank you for the help!
photos to come...

STAR WARS...

today went a bit differently from what was expected and now things have finally settled down. i think it was a patience thing for me and i failed:/ BUT it is ok. i don't have my books with me and i won't be back at school until later tonight so the books will have to wait just a bit.
here is what just happened: lena was getting ready for voice lessons and shawn and i were sitting in the living room. i was grading, he was hanging out. all of a sudden he started speaking like yoda and all of a sudden i got crazy distracted. i said i love star wars and we started to chat and one thing led to another and pretty soon we were laughing like crazy over the most amazing youtube videos maybe ever! seriously, just watch for yourselves...
back to grading. i have to grade now, it comes with the whole teaching gig!!! yahoo!
roundabound:)