Sometimes Pictures Descibe Best

 

 

 

Sipping Maté

This Friday a few of us girls went to our cook, Raquel's, house after lunch.  She was so welcoming and inviting and serving. Though she serves us lunch every weekday as her job, she was more than willing to have us over into her own personal living space and continue to serve us with her personal effort.  She introduced us to her house, family of dogs, actual family, and kitchen, where we all enjoyed ice cream and coffee.  Later, we all sat outside for hours simply enjoying the cool of the evening, being in each others' company, admiring the flourishing vegetation, and sipping Maté [the traditional drink of the Southern Cone].  The scene was perfect: love of relationships, relaxation outside of the busyness of life, and no watch of time; simplicity.  I felt like this was yet another step deeper into the South American culture.  Its entry way was marked by a Uruguayan staple: sitting and sipping Maté.

Bell to Bell

          Observing a classroom from the morning to the end of the day was an amazing experience especially because it was at an international, American school.  Some statistics behind it are: the student population was about 25% Americans, 25% International, 50% upper class Uruguayan, the school ranges from Kindergarten to 12th grade, and there are around 30 students per grade.
          I observed a third grade classroom.  The students were from everywhere around the world, from New Zealand to Ireland to Argentina to Spain to USA to Uruguay.  There were so many different backgrounds, so many voices of accents, so many colors of ethnicity, so many personalities.  It was a beautiful combination in every way. The class had a lot of motion as mainly Spanish speaking students moved from their courses in Spanish to their home class in English and as mainly English speaking students moved from their English courses into Spanish class and as all the students moved from class to recesses and lunch and P.E.  Though the motion may sound like a distraction and a lack of focus, it really was not a big commotion.  The teacher was very organized and had her classes very well structured in order to be as productive as possible.  However, the school did not feel as uptight as most American schools do in the United States.  The rules were simple.  The atmosphere of movement created a unique flow as it was common for students to only be in one country for a couple years then move onto the next.
          I loved being a part of the class. The teacher let me jump in and be a part of everything.  When the class had a science experiment, I joined a group of the little girls.  They were so happy to have me join them and be an active participant in their work.  I also was able to lead a reading group when it was time for reading.  When the teacher was occupied w/ another student and one near me had a question, she told the student to ask me, and she had another excited student show me her success.
          P.E. time came, and the children were ecstatic!  They all ranted and raved about their P.E. coach in how cool he was.  I met the teacher Jeff, and his story shocked me.  As a retired professional basketball player for six different Uruguayan teams, he decided to spend his time with children.  It was an extremely humbling yet encouraging story to mentally capture and evaluate how he was doing more than the typical American life.
          After my experience at the Uruguayan American School, I have a new excitement for my future.  I do not know where specifically God will have me work with kids, but whether it is in the United States or somewhere around the world, I will be thrilled to be doing His work in positively impacting His precious children.

Toes in the Sand

This weekend a small group of us went to Atlantida, which is an hour bus ride from Montevideo. 
So cute, so quaint, so relaxing.  Though my mind was filled with everything I had to get done, it was a nice step back, a breather, and a relaxer before the coming storm.  Breathing in the fresh air revived my lungs.  Walking barefoot along the beach was calming.  Sinking my toes in the soft sand was soothing.  Rolling up my pants and splashing in the shallow water was invigorating.  Taking pictures with my mind of the beach front eased my mind. Throwing a glass bottle with a message in it into the ocean fulfilled an adventure! Embracing the moment is singular; there is nothing quite like it. Enjoying the time and creation of the Lord is so satisfying!!!

October 21, 2010: Paraguay!

One goal of the trip was to hit 4 countries, and we did that in 4 days! Uruguay. Argentina. Brazil. Paraguay. Checked off the list! Paraguay was quite different from the other three countries we had already visited. The streets were filled with vendors and people.  It was quite a rush looking around.  The volumes of items.  The shouts in the street.  The city air.  There are so many different and unique peoples and cultures in the Lord's unique creation!

October 20, 2010: Just Keep Walking

The day consisted of walking, and walking, and more walking! We walked along the streets of the average Brazilian's living place: cobble stones, tiled drive ways, and flower pinned tree trunks. Our final destination for walking was the Buddhist Temple. It had many interesting statues and beautiful greenery, but what I most liked about it, was the shade it provided from walking to far and long in the midday heat.  There was something very distant about the Temple.  It was cold and silent; dead; not life giving.  I am so glad that I serve the God of the universe and not a statue and remembrance of a person!  Our legs, though tired, were still alive, so we walked some more! My professor and I actually ran up part of an intensely steep, cobblestone paved hill.  By the end of the day, my legs could not take anymore! We figured that the whole day, we walked over nine miles! It was a good day's work! Good to use this body, which God has blessed me with.

October 19, 2010: International Dance Show

At night, we attended a combined dinner and show.  The food was delicious, classic Brazilian food as well as other international food because it was an international show.  El Rafian. The show was an imitation of many different Latin American cultures.  Some very interesting and entertaining stunts were done; such as a woman balancing 5 bottles on her head while dancing, a man on stilts acting like a condor, and the best tango I have ever seen.  It was also very entertaining when one of the girls in our group was taken up on stage, asked some questions, then had her butt commented on. It was quite a scene! The whole thing was a very cultural experience of all of Latin America combined.

October 19, 2010: White Water Rafting Grand Adventure!!

          Five of us girls decided that we wanted to be adventurous and do white water rafting on the bottom river of the falls.  The tale begins with a hike through the jungle.  When we arrived to what we believed was our destination, we realized that we were still on the top of the falls instead of down on the bottom level of the river.  Thus our journey continued.  We had to climb down over 15 flights of outdoor stairs, most of which were spiral stair cases! That in itself was an adrenalin rush! We kept telling each other, "This is a test, if you can make it down, then you are ready for the rafting." Once we made it to the bottom level, we had to climb about 100 yards over of large rocks to reach the rafting hut.  Another "test." At the little hut type shed structure, they made us sign a contract stating the risks, which could be FATAL!!! We had to wait for more people to come, and the first group that arrived was three older Asian women. It was quite a quiet laugh because not only were we not fully sure of what we were doing, but now we were sure that the rest of the group was completely unaware as well!  After everyone had arrived, they made us take off our shoes and climb down more enormous rocks to the raft while barefoot! 
          A whole saga later, the rafting was finally about to begin!  While waiting for a boat to come pick up our valuables, which could not get wet, our guide (a 20 year old, personable, and slightly obnoxious male) psyched us out on how difficult it was.  He said it was near the professional level of rafting, so he drilled us over and over again with the commands.  He also warned us that the first part was easy, then it got much harder.  We departed from the shore!  We crosses a little spurt of rapids, then anticipated the harder second part around the bend.
          We came to a still in the water, and our guide had the one male in the boat try to do the main oars.  After, he asked if anyone else would like to try, so of course, I volunteered! It was sooo hard! You have to be very strong to be able to do that; I definitely do not have that kind of upper body strength to say the least.  While I was on the main ores, the guide told everyone to jump out. We all kind of nervously chuckled, but then knew he was being serious when started pushing people over the side! Instead of getting pushed off, I offered to let myself off by doing a flip off the edge; it was awesome!!! We floated along side the boat for a while, got back on, got back off, I did back flips off with him and with another girl in our group. A hilarious part of it all, was getting people back on the raft. The person being pulled up was like a dead fish; it was probably one of the funniest things ever!
          There really were no enormous rapids after all.  All of the psyche up was just for our guide's enjoyment and amusement.  The whole experience was probably the most fun thing yet. It was nothing of what I expected, it was way past!!! It was a grand white water rafting adventure!!! Praise Jesus for fun!!!

October 19, 2010: The Panoramic

The first day we visited Argentine side of the falls, which was a more hands on experience.  The second day in contrast was the Brazil side which held the views.  Instead of hiking though jungle and seeing bits and pieces up close and personal, we were able to see more all at once.  Each new view of the falls from the Brazil side was phenomenal.  I would say that the Brazil side was the panoramic view, however, there is no such thing as a panoramic view of the falls because their length and surface area are so extensive.  It is a beautiful analogy to life.  A person can never see the full picture from one standing place, however, when taken in the sky, the entire landscape can be seen from the clouds.  The gleeful greenery, the swirling mist, the fluttering butterflies, the graceful birds, and the pouring fountain of falls all added a stroke of the paint brush to the scene.  What a wonderful Maker! The Painter of every panoramic and the Author of every story!

October 19, 2010: The Bird Park

          In the morning, we went to an exotic bird park, which was filled with wonderful birds native to South America, and mostly native to the country we were in, Brazil! Every time I have seen birds of such vivid colors and varieties, their attire seems so flashy and elaborate.  However, the way the Lord has dressed them is not very flashy at all in their natural environment, the jungle.  I thought the little parrots with yellow heads and green bodies were just flashy and for looks, but then when my eyes observed the entire scene, they remarkably resembled the yellow headed and green bodied flowers behind them.  Who would have thought that such vivid colors was actually camouflage in essence! And the great beaks of the toucan and other beautiful birds serves the purpose of hunting its food, not just to flash bright orange, yellow, and blue colors.  God is so creative in how He has shaped and molded each creature to fit its environment so perfectly.

          I have gained a new dislike, however. I used to think that toucans were fun and pretty birds, but they are really mean.  I learned that the reason their beaks are formed as large and open and hard as they are, is so they can eat their prey: baby birds! They are quite vicious creatures! A pretty funny story came about from their ferocity actually.  A girl in our group was wearing flip flops, and a toucan seemed interested in her toes.  It hoped close to her feet, then she backed away.  It hopped closer, and she retreated again.  The chase continued until it ended with her turning and the toucan biting the back of her leg and actually drawing blood! That story is going down in the records of the trip. Student bit by a toucan, check! A couple more exciting things to add to the list of check marks are: I held a parrot! I held a McCaw! and I held a huge snake! God is so good in teaching me things down here, developing preferences, and blessing me with unique experiences!

October 18, 2010: Guanani People

The Guanani people are the indigenous people who have lived around the Iguazu Falls for centuries.  We went to their land and were blessed to see a bit of their lifestyle and culture.  They have suffered and gone through many difficulties, but despite their struggles, they still hold to their core values.  The greatest thing that struck me about these people, was their view on possessions.  Nothing really holds greater value in the terms of "Gold is more valuable than silver." They weigh worth based off of necessity and need.  So, if they don't need a cell phone, but NEED water, they will trade their phone for a filled water bottle.  It is such a foreign concept to me, but it holds great morals in the sense of not having greed or obsession with possessions.  God created them very unique with such a rich culture!

October 18, 2010: Wonder of Water

          We went to Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil! It is the Niagra and Victoria Falls of South America in essence.  For the first day of our visit we went on the Argentine side, which holds the majority of the falls (the count of the whole entity, depending on the amount of water from rain, is around 270 waterfalls).
          Upon arriving to the river via safari train, we approached an endless bridge.  It was firm and stable and rose about 6 feet above the rushing water.  Butterflies fluttered all around like flakes of joyful glitter in the air.  The jungle engulfed the whole scene, buzzing with life and activity.  As we approached the first scene of waterfalls, their loud thunderous roars echoed.  The mist rising in the air breathed with anticipation.  The scene slowly unveiled, one gorgeous bit of surface area after the next.  How mighty and strong was the force of the falls!!! The hundreds of gallons of water plummeting over the ledge; my what a fascinating sight!!! Each new scene called for that many more snaps of the camera.  We walked over the falls, suspended in the air by the bridge.
          As we continued our journey a distant lovely little yellow butterfly caught my eye.  Despite the mighty thundering sounds all around, beyond the rushing river and rapids, a silent breeze stirred the butterfly to flutter in my sight.  I reflected on how similar a thing it was when God spoke, not in the mighty earthquake or violent fire, but simply in a soft voice.  How lovely is it to hear the Lord's voice in a peaceful, graceful, gentle entity despite the surrounding noise and chaos.  Pondering, I realized through this, that when we are searching for the Lord, He speaks to us in ways that we do not anticipate or expect until He makes them sparkle in just the right moment to catch our eye. 
          Further in the adventure, we crossed over more and more waterfalls.  When I looked down at the water forcing its way over anything and everything in its path, it reminded me of the Flood.  How great and forceful the water must have been to completely cover the earth! It was strong and commanding.  It demanded attention, God was demanding attention.  Though God speaks in a soft and quiet voice when we are seeking and pressing deeper into Him, sometimes He shakes us upside down and floods our world with water to get us to pay attention to Him and put our focus back where it belongs.  He does what is necessary to get our gaze back on Him.  Though He speaks softly and gently, He can still roar as the rivers rage.  What an AWEsome and fearful Creator we have!

Praise to the Lord - to THE LORD!

For the wholeness of His Word.

In all the ways He speaks

Whether mighty or meek,

It is purified with truth

In correction and rebuke

Or in the still silence.

From demanding obedience

By an all consuming flood,

Clearing away the dirt and mud,

Or by softly speaking

To us independently.

Praise to the Lord - to THE LORD!

For the truth and variety of His Word.

          The mist of the gushing falls thrust marvelous colors into the air! As the water came tumbling down the cliffs, there was a promise strung in the air, a promise that the world would never be fully submerged again.  This promise was smiling at me through a deep reflection in a mirror of mist, the rainbow.  How wonderful a promise I could see and further understand.  When I crossed the raging river, the mist of the waterfalls placed many droplets of water in the air to reflect the vivid figure, of which I saw in a whole circle around my body as a kind of shield or protection.
          What a wonder the water was! What a marvel are the "reflections," which can be seen in such a wonder.  Praise God for His wonderful work: water!

Dipped in Culture!

Tonight, our group went on a very unique excursion.  We went to an "art burning." This wasn't anything hedonistic; but rather a cross cultural tradition.  Every year, Spain picks a Latin American country, hires a local artist to create an enormous statue of paper machete, then hosts a celebratory burning of the "sculpture" in honor of one of their saints. This year, they chose Uruguay!! So we were blessed with the unique experience. The masterpiece was bright and vivid with the life and culture of South America etched into it. The band played music all night.  Fireworks anticipated the event.  Children chanting "Fuego! Fuego! Fuego!" lit up smiles. And, the burning of the masterpiece was consecrated as ash and smoke swirled into the sky. I am unsure as to the complete purpose of this event, but either way, knowledgeable or not, I was dipped deeper into the Latin American culture.

Not Loving School Work

As a contrast to my last post, there are some days that I do not like school work at all.  Today was one of those days.  In my Education Perspectives class, we had to read The Child Called It. The book was good educationally to further open my eyes to the necessity teachers play in children's lives, but the images it stuck in my head are terrifying, depressing, and haunting. The main summary I learned was: it is amazing how many things go on behind closed doors that affect who a person is and who a person will become, but no one, at a glance, can know those things.  So, though learning still takes place, there are some days that are worth praising Jesus for school work, and others for crying to Him about it.

Loving School Work

It's a strange title, I know.  However, for one lesson that I have had in particular, it is very true! Amidst my six hours of Spanish, 3 hours of Education Perspectives, and 3 hours of Latin American Studies, I am taking an online British Literature class.  The online syllabus creates interesting and innovative ways for assessments; thus, homework assignments are often creative.  I particularly loved the last module I did; it covered two of my favorite things: poetry and love songs!! I can never say that I mind homework that "forces" me to listen to my favorite songs pertaining to love and read poetry. I love both! Some days are well worth praising Jesus for school work!