Visitors! and other things

In which I hang out with the Weavers and the Ramos family in Texistepeque for the weekend... I had been looking forward to this for quite some time, especially since I got invited to the Ramos residence for a whole weekend of being with people from my own church! The weekend didn't disappoint, either. We played games, sat around, and basically just did a lot of catching up. Facebook and Skype do a lot of things, but they don't replace actual interaction. :) Some highlights:

• Sitting around and talking
• Playing games (Black 7, Corn Hole, etc.)
• Watching Kendrick and laughing at all his minion-like sounds and indescribable escapades (we watched Despicable Me one too many times with him)
• Walking the town at night and watching fútbol (soccer, for all you Americanos)
• Passing out Antorchas in the local town

Alverda wasn't able to come along to pick me up from the school, because of a serious sunburn. On the way back, though, everyone came along and I showed them my classroom and where I live and we took group pictures. (see below) It was a bit hard saying good-bye to the visitors, but it was fun while it lasted, and I was glad for the opportunity to see them.

Some other things that happened here at school since last time...

Invariably, when learning something new, especially relating to language learning, one eventually makes a mistake that's either a painful recollection or humorous incident. Every Thursday, we staff have a meeting out in the veranda to have devotions and to discuss each of our plans for the following weekend. We were required to avoid using English. When my turn came, I eventually got said what I wanted to say, but it was afterwards when I made a rather unfortunate gesture*. Elmer, the deaf maintenance man, just saw some of it without any context and reacted with an incredulous expression on his face. I was innocent and didn't see it, but Matthias said it was hilarious. We all laughed for a while and then that was that. But, it confirmed what I already know--don't gesture randomly around people using sign language if you don't know what you're doing! *I won't post here what the word was that I signed, but just know that it had the potential to be kinda awkward. Thankfully, it wasn't. :)

Our sewer system has been giving us fits for the last couple weeks now. Let's just say I'm glad I'm not the maintenance man! (or the lady who does the cleaning, for that matter) Four times now, water has come up the shower drains, toilets haven't flushed, etc. I'll spare you all the gory details. :) The first two times, we think it was caused by a rag being in there and the last time, there was a shirt stuck in the pipe. That'll do it every time! We think we have it fixed now, but we'll see. I'll keep you posted if you're interested. :)

Now that school has been going for a week, the "newness" of it all has worn off a little for the students, so it's a little harder to keep their attention, but it's still going well. My main focus the last couple days has been number sequences in math. My students struggle to understand "what comes next" when I give them a number. I'll work on it, and hopefully I'll be able to pound it in.

My students are all at slightly different learning abilities, so I have to kinda juggle my time between the three of them. The hardest thing is to keep them all occupied and busy, even when I'm just working with one student. If you leave one student, especially the youngest ones, with nothing to do for even 10 seconds they will start horsing around. It takes a lot of patience, but it's worth it by far!

Some prayer requests:

• For wisdom and patience as I teach and interact with the children
• Beatriz won't be coming to school, details in last blog post
• Jairo, the 6 year old, has been sick twice now. Pray that he could feel better.
• Thank God for the lovely weather and that our visitors (James, Leonard, and Alverda Weaver) and the Ramos' could have a safe trip to Guatemala and back home.

Thanks for praying and for your support. I really appreciate it! Email me at samuel@mikesclan.com if you like.

We stopped at the local nevería for some ice cream.
Thanks Kendrick for taking the picture!

Wouldn't be James without at least one model airplane around, right? :)
This was Sunday at the Ramos' house.

The poor parrot had to endure much pain and suffering with us around
teasing him all the time.

I wanted a group picture to remember this occasion by, so we took one in
my classroom.

Always need a crazy pic, right? :)

Mornings and evenings are so beautiful around here!

Jairo--what a goober. Giddy-up cowboy! :)

Iced coffee is regular afternoon fare around here. It's especially welcome as
a break from studying and preparing for the next day's class.

Waiting until the dishes are done, so we can head over to the chapel for
afternoon devotions. Left to right: Silvia, Paola, Teresa, Andrea, Ana,
Clifton, Carlos, Kevin, José, Eduardo, Mauricio, Melody, Joel

School Begins!

A lot has happened since I last wrote here. I'll do the best I can to keep you up to date.

• I navigated through the streets of El Salvador to take the deaf children home after church, with the help of a friend who told me where to go. Also, down here it's ok to make speed bumps in the road in front of your house if you don't want people going fast.
• Eating hot sauce continually is not good for one's insides and maketh the bathroom a constant friend. (III Samuel 1:1). See what I did there? :)
• When you buy data for your phone, make sure the number you give them is the correct one, so you don't send free data to someone else.
• 90 deg. weather, flip-flops, and ice-cold Fanta > 12-18 inches of snow (not to say I don't miss home. I do)

This past Saturday, after debating if it's wise or not, I went to the local town of Augilares by myself (previously, I had always gone with a more fluent Spanish-speaker) to visit the coffee shop. The ride there was uneventful, but on the way back, I told the taxi-driver where I wanted to go, but he went the wrong direction! (or so I thought). With my limited Spanish, I told him I wanted to go back to where we started from. He eventually did, and charged me $2 for his trouble (normal rates are 25 cents). I then oriented myself and discovered the driver had been right all along. Silly me!

So, today was the first day of school. I have been preparing my room and myself all week to be the best teacher I can possibly be. I sometimes get discouraged with how little creativity it seems I have in the teaching area. I get a lot of my decorating and teaching ideas from the other staff here. But then I remember that I haven't been doing this for very long and it's natural to feel that way, especially since it's a different culture and everything. Also, I've been sticking to one of my mantras: "All that's required of anyone, is that they give it all they've got." No one can do more than that, after all. Of course, it's easy to use inexperience as an excuse to slack off then, but I try to stay in the middle of the road. Most important through all this though, has been my relationship with God. I know that no matter how hard I try, if God and I aren't on the same page, it won't matter.

This morning when the children finally came and class commenced, it pretty much fixed everything! I know it's just the first day, but they seem to be fairly well behaved, and who could maintain a hard heart with these little guys around? It's a little hard to communicate here in the beginning, but as I learn better how to communicate via sign language, it'll get easier. Experience is the best teacher! I'm really looking forward to imparting some of my knowledge throughout the rest of the year, and I expect to get lots more in return!

I've been enjoying myself immensely down here. The other staff have been very helpful with teaching me various nuances of the languages down here. I'm learning more and more every day, and one day I will be able to have a full conversation. The weather is gorgeous, especially in the evening when it cools off a little bit. There is usually some remnant of a breeze going, so it's never unbearable hot, at least not yet. I'm slowly, but surely turning this white skin into a darker hue. :)

Some prayer requests:

• for Beatriz and her home situation. She hasn't been able to come to school because of some bad things going on at home. She is a 12 year old deaf girl, and many of those years have been filled with misery.
• for wisdom for the staff here at the school as we try to teach the students and mentor them spiritually.
• for myself as I work on learning both Spanish and sign language
• Also, praise God that I haven't been sick and that I had a safe trip

Thanks everyone for your support and for praying. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to send an email, I would be happy to hear from you. My email is samuel@mikesclan.com. I'll try to respond!

Sitting at my desk in the morning, waiting for students to arrive.
The left part of that wall needs some help yet, but it'll get done. :)

During recess, Eduardo, Joel, and Jairo do their best
 to make their Lego toy look like the one on the picture.

Playing in the beautiful El Salvador sun.

My class and I on the first day of school. They are such awesome children!

Firsts and Lasts

In these last couple days before I move to El Salvador I have encountered a lot of lasts:

• Last sign language lesson
• Last church service at home
• Last youth party
• Last full day at home
• Etc.

Wow, maybe I shouldn't think about this too much or I'm gonna be even more sad. :) But anyway, then I also had to think of a lot of firsts:

• First time away from home for more than 6 weeks
• First time flying by myself
• First time being an actual teacher (!)
• First time doing VS in another country (always something I hoped I would be able to do)

I think I'm gonna try to focus on the second list, then maybe it won't be quite as bad. It might actually be helping a little now, come to think of it!

So I hope (notice I said hope) this blog will be updated at least once a month as a means for all you fine people out there who are interested to keep in touch with what I'm doing. Also feel free to email me at samuel@mikesclan.com if you have comments or suggestions. 

I appreciate all your prayers and support very much--it means a great deal to me to know that I have all these people looking out for me. God bless you all!

The property of the deaf school where I will be working. The school
 building is on the far left. The house is in the background behind the
blue building on the right.

My students (left to right): Joel, Jairo, and Eduardo. They are ages 7, 6 and 12.