Paz y Amor

Peace and Love. A phrase used oh-so-often by a little girl named Andrea, who I thought a lot about today as I looked down at my pink notebook and saw the sticker she gave me. Then again when I went to open my book and a picture she drew me fell out. That’s just what my trip here in San Juan has been so far, Paz y Amor.

So I'm here, in San Juan de Poaz, next to the prettiest volcano, and surrounded by mountains. I took a run (which I usually hate doing) just to see the overlooks and unbelievable mountains and it was incredible. Oh yeah, and obviously since you have already heard from me, you must know that I have internet. Scratch that, I have WIFI. :) Though I did do a bit of downloading of Dexter, today was simply packed full of fun and love. I got here and ever since then my mother has been showering me with an endless amount of love. Then I opened my devotional and found the verse in Romans 12:9 that says “Love must be sincere.” As weird as it is to be thrown around from family to family, it’s so easy to love. My family’s love is so sincere and my love for them is also. My dad met me at the bus stop, my mom made everything perfect for me at home, my dad fixed the shower the minute I walked in the door, my mom made me food, my mom rubbed my back and told me stories, my mom took me on a walk around town, my brother lets me call him mae, my sisters let me listen, my parents took me to their cabaña, my parents stopped on the road to simply let me see the scenery, my parents asked me question after question, my mom skyped with my real mom, and most of all, my family loved me from the first minute. What in the WORLD was I so worried about? Everything is good.

Yesterday I did all of the listed above, but I also took a pit stop at my school to check it out. I met the english teacher, Roxana, there that I’m working with and she spilled her secret to me....she’s leaving San Juan early and wants me to take over the class. Umm... well.... I’m in TESL and am an Ed major, but I’ve taken little to no classes to be prepared for this. What do I do? I call my mom. She always knows what to do and of course has lesson plans popping up in her head the minute you give her a theme. So that’s what I did today, I set out a lesson plans for teaching english because tomorrow, at 7 am, ready or not I’m teaching. Crazy. Thankfully I was able to talk to a dear friend tonight, Shalya, who put my heart at peace.
She said:

“just keep reminding yourself why you're there, and how wonderful you're gonna be, and that God blessed you with this wonderful talent for spanish, and you're just gonna love on these kids (i think it's kids) by teaching them english.
don't worry about it being terribly formal..just be you.”

So that’s it. Tomorrow I’m going to be me and pray that it works :)



Time to brush my teeth for the fourth time today. My family has excellent teeth hygiene.