10% of my year....GONE! plus...one year anniversary of this blog

The Island beach called Playa Blanca...we ventured there on 2 hours of winding roads and a 20 minute boat ride last Saturday. Another fresh fish and fruit lunch beach-side...with views of paradise!
Strangely enough, though, the whole two hour drive was sprinkled with colorful villages like this-or smaller and less developed-that reminded me SO MUCH of Benin. 

***I am sitting on my balcony typing this while watching the lights of the city bounce off the caribbean and reveling in a spontaneous fireworks display across the bay. Bob Segar's "Night Moves" is playing in the background and the waves are lightly lapping against the docks where the dozen or so yachts are parked. I don't think this could ever get old....sigh.

I have been here a month-that is 10% of the 10 months of the school year. I cannot believe how quickly it has passed. Even more strange than that, this blog is one year old! As I look back at the uncertainty of last fall, I am stunned by the role of providence in where I have landed. 

This week was a bit more challenging than others. Some new teachers are starting to enter various phases of culture shock and are struggling. I remember those first months in Benin and my heart goes out to them. To make matters worse, the power and water and have been intermittent for the last 5 days. I am more prepared than most with jugs of water stored to flush toilets, various battery powered lights and a small generator, and even a bucket of water in the shower to take a dip shower. For me, it has been a small inconvenience, that is all. We did have to cancel school Friday afternoon, though, due to the heat. No one could learn in that heat. 

Thursday while a few of us were at "our place" having drinks and dinner, the power went out. We ate by candlelight. The breeze off the caribbean just 10 feet from us kept us cool while we shared our joys and frustrations of the week. I treasure the process of building these new friendships. Friday, after getting out of school early, we had a staff pot luck. It was a huge success-many people came and stayed a long time so we talked and laughed and made crazy memories. Then Saturday we all ventured to the island pictured above. The roads were narrow and winding, which made the return trip in the rain a bit (A LOT) sketchy. It was heart wrenching seeing so many villages that reminded me of Benin...such a dichotomy of the wealth of my condo/town/school and what exists a mere 20 miles from me.

I have found a cool church in English. Many of the Oil Company families attend as well as a few other straggling ex-pats. A few members are parents of my students-the ex-patriot community is small so that happens pretty often.

Life is good....very good. I love having Skype to talk to people as much as I want and email and facebook....so many ways to stay connected these days. So, until next time...connect with me when you think of it by any of the above methods=)  PEACE....

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

The GIRLS out on the town in Lecheria (our town)!!!

LOVED this mural from El Yaque in Margarita Island...it is my computer screen saver now!

PHOTOS BELOW are from Margarita Island as well....my happy place=)!

DISCLAIMER: if you are looking for a true life account of my adventure-read on. If you are looking for embellished stories or flatly fictionalized anecdotes-stop now and never return to this site. This blog is about my life as an international teacher-nothing is made up, nothing is imagined, no identities are concealed...no need to play hide and seek to separate fact from fiction-IT IS ALL TRUE=). Enjoy!

MARGARITA ISLAND!!!... is the paradise pictured in the photos here. I spent last weekend lounging on that beach, eating seafood and fish so fresh it literally came right off the boat and onto the grill, drinking coconut based drinks straight from the trees you see, and learning to kiteboard from a tall, dark and handsome professional kiteboarder named Luis! TRUE STORY!!! It was the best way to end three weeks of meetings and adjusting and our first week of school. Seven new teachers (including me) and our Venezuelan "adopted-new-teacher", Keyla, all took the ferry Friday night to the island and returned late Sunday night. We stayed at the world famous wind surfing and kite boarding (world championships were held here in May of 2009) beach called El Yaque. We came back tanned, tired, and itching to get back to the island!

Earlier in the week we had our first day/week of school. I have 17 6th graders who hail from over 11 countries. Many have Italian heritages via some Latin American nation, and thus speak English with a cute Italian accent-while they are also fluent in Spanish. The students are AMAZING-not a single discipline problem. When I make an assignment and tell them to write one page-they write one and a half. If I tell them to research a few facts about China, they come in with typed notes that they have memorized to present and color coded, hand-drawn maps of ancient dynasties. The challenges are keeping everyone learning at deeper levels and making sure that everyone is understanding the English I speak since only about 25% are native English speakers.

Another challenge is that this is rainy season so there are daily afternoon storms. When storms hit, the power goes out. That means the AC goes out and the computers do as well. Unfortunately, teachers are very dependent on their computers....so this makes planning a bit trickier. It hasn't really annoyed me yet-I just have to always have a back up plan for planning in place.

Also, although I LOVE LOVE LOVE being in a small school (it is my favorite type of teaching situation), small schools carry the additional challenge of having to wear many hats. So, for example, I am the 6th grade Social Studies, PE, English, and Math teacher, the HS personal fitness teacher, and the grade 4-6 cheer/dance coach. I also am helping with yearbook and with the school's preparations for our upcoming SAACS accreditation review next year.  I am sure that as the year rolls on, I will continue to amass even more "jobs". The great part is that our superintendent encourages us to create clubs and sports to offer for students that are things we know and love. Maybe I can start a kiteboard club...hhhmmm????

Driving is not as nerve wrecking as I anticipated. The memory of police stops from my years in Benin makes me very nervous when I see police here (and they are EVERYWHERE). I thought I would faint if one ever stopped me but I was stopped this week and it went well. Thankfully, my principal was in the car when it happened or I would have cried. Not speaking spanish is certainly to my advantage when that happens again-a crying, blonde-haired gringo who can't speak spanish is something no policeman wants to deal with. One up side of driving is that gas is so cheap that I filled up my tank in my truck for 80 cents!!! TRUE STORY!!!

Other good news is that I have a cell phone, cable TV, a maid once a week who cleans my house and does laundry and dishes, and the lunches at school are so good that egg and toast in the morning and peanut butter at night is all I need. The food here is terrific-rice, plantains, or potatoes with shredded meat of some kind (including terrific fish), lightly sauteed fresh veggies, soup (pumpkin, fish, vegetable cream), and fresh salad. It is not spicy but is well seasoned. And the coffee...oh, the coffee...mmnnnnnn=).

Oh, and lest I forget...last weekend we went out and enjoyed local nightlife on Friday. Then we went on a boat with fellow teachers to an island on Saturday. We swam and wake boarded (yep, I even got up on the board...after 6 tries) and ate fresh conch ceviche' (meaning they walked up with shells right out of the water and pulled out the conch, chopped it up, and marinated it in lime right there in front of us) and enjoyed cruising around the islands of the national park that are scattered over this corner of the caribbean. That night, the board of directors hosted the new teachers and put out a spread of food that was delicious and plentiful. Everyone is so nice and soooo laid back! They sent us all home with "doggy bags"=).

If you want my stateside forwarding address, my cell number, or instructions on how to call me from your computer to my computer via SKYPE or on your computer to my phone for 3 cents a minute (it is only 2 cents for me to call you, though)....then send me an email or message. If you have any questions you want me to answer in my future blogs...ask away!!! 

Until next time...PEACE.....

-.lovin' life in Venezuela!!!!

My Arepa lunch....fried plantains for dessert!

Our group at "our place"

My classroom....I have four small balconies too-one is out the door you see in the center of the wall.

Honeymoon period

No, I am not married, nor planning to get married anytime in this lifetime. The honeymoon period is a phase of cultural adjustment when everything seems to be fun, interesting, an adventure. My first two weeks here in Puerto La Cruz have been a honeymoon period for sure.

My classroom is ginormous. I could fit 40 students in there, yet I have only 17. As I have been putting around my room preparing for the start of classes, several of my students have popped in-mostly girls. From their screams and excited giggles, you would think I am a rock star. They are as excited to meet me and start school as I am to meet them and begin teaching. It's a wonderful feeling.

Having fun with co-workers is a high priority. We vowed to work hard and play hard-and we have been true to that thus far. To us, everything is a reason for a party-from coming to my house to all use my internet connection ("internet party") to dinner and dancing in the huge living room of another couple's condo ("dinner party") to movie night at yet another co-worker's house with popcorn and movie projected on the wall of one of his rooms ("movie party")... we really do have fun. Last Sunday we strolled down the beach to a little restaurant/bar that we have claimed as our own. We drank sangria, ate plentifully, and laughed at ourselves for hours.  Tonight we are going back to "our place" for dinner and then headed out to dance the night away with a Venezuelan co-worker as our guide.

Daily life is pretty darn good as well. I have a women coming to clean once a week beginning Monday. She has worked for another family for years so I don't have to train her or worry about anything. I bought an OLD truck for cheap from a departing teacher so I could be independent. On my first journey home from school I got lost and ended up in the mall parking lot. I had to park, pay to "park" at the ticket window, then get back in the car and head out the other way. It was a hoot. I am doing better now-but still a bit nervous about all the police. As for other things-well, I was the only new teacher with internet for 2 weeks and we have only had one power outage for about 4 hours-which is really good since it is rainy season.

The food is delicious. Arepas are these corn meal patties that are fried, then split open and filled with anything from shredded beef to cole slaw, eggs, cheese, veggies...you name it. YUM. Another funny thing is that Venezuelans LOVE hot dogs. Most street vendors sell only hot dogs-topped with crumbled chips, salad, corn, beans, ...anything you want, really. On of the best things to have, though, is the fresh juice. All along the side of the road in the AM are guys with piles of fruit and blenders. You choose your fruit and they slice it and blend it into juice for you. WOW! It's funny to think but everything we buy fresh here is organic-like I have my own whole foods store.

The weather hovers around 85, medium humidity and afternoon showers daily. It is rainy season so it will stay like this until November. I wake up at 5:30 and watch the sunrise over the water while I sip coffee on my patio. Then I leave for school at 7 and come home by 3:30. After school I try to swim laps (a mile) or hike for 45 minutes or so UP the huge rock peninsula we live on. My classroom is on the 4th floor and my condo is up 9 flights of stairs-and I ALWAYS take the stairs. So, in addition to the great food, I am getting great exercise. Plus, beginning next week, I teach a PE or fitness class for 80 minutes each day. By 9:30 each night I am back on my patio watching the reflection of the moon off the water and reading my book before bed.

Yep, it's a great honeymoon. I wish you were here. It's hard to put into words the full effect of all I see, hear, smell, experience every day. I hope this gives you a glimpse of it, though.