Flying: surreal. It seems like it really should take longer than 4 hrs to completely change lives.
Weather: Cold! My body's more or less used to 90-degree heat by now, and this 45ish stuff was a surprise.
People: Evelin, Sulmi, Kristel, Angelica, & Nancy took me to the airport and saw me off. It was especially hard to say goodbye to the girls. And good to have them there.
Intersections: The desk agent at the airport saw me signing, and when I got up to the counter signed, "Are you Deaf?" I was definitely surprised. "No, I'm hearing, but you sign?" Turns out she's Elton's sister! (Elton is an 18yo Deaf man we know in Orange Walk). Then on the plane I sat next to a woman who's father is Deaf and mother's an interpreter for Sorenson.
Size: Everything really is bigger in Texas. Bigger, and just more. There is just so much of everything. It was a little overwhelming, even though I knew what to expect. But it was good to see my cousins again and to eat a hearty Italian meal:)
Communication & Disorientation: I left my cell phone in the front seat of my cousin's Hummer when he dropped me off at the airport. Grr. Then I kept forgetting where exactly I was and where exactly I was going, with so many destinations and plans swimming thru my head for the next week. I stared at the baggage claim monitor at O'Hare for a good two minutes trying to figure out why "Chicago" was not appearing under the "Arrivals" list, before I realized I was *in* Chicago and arriving *from* Dallas.
Reunion: Andy and Emily picked me up, despite a relay of communication in order to get in touch w/ them w/o the use of my cell phone. Then we went to his house, ate yummy chilli and sheet cake, played with the dogs, caught up and headed back to Goshen. I was beside myself for the last 20minutes of the ride--- Goshen really has been good to me and it's good to be back. Then we had a house meal at La Barna w/ Anika & Veloris, I bundled up in more clothes, caught up some, and started my homework:P. Feels good to be home, briefly, before finding my next one.
Off to a good start, gotta keep runnin
Monday, May 12, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The next craziest week
I don't know how it's all gonna happen, but here's where to find me from now until May 19::
Saturday (hoy!): Say my final goodbyes (for now) to Belize. Fly to Dallas. Spend the night with my cousins-in-law
Sun. morning: Fly to Chicago. Catch a ride back to Goshen with Andy and co.
Sun-Thurs: Pack up my life in Goshen, meet with profs, take final exams with the ASL dept, tie up any loose ends with the college, pack my car, **see people**
Fri dawn: Drive to O'hare, fly to Kansas City. Catch a ride back to Hutch with Adam (and his dad), who's flying in the day before from Guatemala. Hang out w/ the fam.
Sat morning: Go to Ann Marie's graduation. Woot!
Sat. afternoon: Drive back to KC. Fly to Chicago. Grab my car. Drive to DC.
Sunday: Drive to DC. Move in with Dominique and co.
Monday: Start work w/ the Entry Level Interpreting Program at Birnbaum Interpreting Services
Heaven help me....
Saturday (hoy!): Say my final goodbyes (for now) to Belize. Fly to Dallas. Spend the night with my cousins-in-law
Sun. morning: Fly to Chicago. Catch a ride back to Goshen with Andy and co.
Sun-Thurs: Pack up my life in Goshen, meet with profs, take final exams with the ASL dept, tie up any loose ends with the college, pack my car, **see people**
Fri dawn: Drive to O'hare, fly to Kansas City. Catch a ride back to Hutch with Adam (and his dad), who's flying in the day before from Guatemala. Hang out w/ the fam.
Sat morning: Go to Ann Marie's graduation. Woot!
Sat. afternoon: Drive back to KC. Fly to Chicago. Grab my car. Drive to DC.
Sunday: Drive to DC. Move in with Dominique and co.
Monday: Start work w/ the Entry Level Interpreting Program at Birnbaum Interpreting Services
Heaven help me....
Friday, May 9, 2008
Lasts
Pues,
It was a good last week. I was having doubts about whether or not I had been any more effective by staying 16 weeks instead of 10, so I made a list of things that have happened in the last 6 wks, and was pleasantly surprised. I felt affirmed in having stayed, despite some of the challenges that came along w/ it too. Maybe I'll try to post it at some point.
Saturday, Elodia and Rubia took me to Chunox, a pretty pueblo in the North where we had to take a hand-cranked ferry across the river. We met a sweet, sociable Deaf boy. He lives so far north on rutted roads that it would be unlikely he could come to Mary Hill for school, but the mom did take him to visit Nancy's class after we talked with her b/c they were going to be in Orange Walk for a Dr.s appt anyway.
In any case, I got to have good goodbyes w/ my schools this wk. We played the "Elephant Game" at San Narcisco and all the kids brought me snacks to share for a goodbye party. I talked to Mitchel and Laisha's principal about coming to the Wednesday afternoon Deaf class at Mary Hill, then talked their mom into sending both the kids, along with their hearing sister who I've been teaching to sign and their Deaf sister who rarely leaves home now cuz she has a 4mo old baby girl. Mitchel came in the morning w/ the principal for Sp. Olympics practice, then the sisters came in the afternoon for the Deaf class/Signing workshop. He and Christopher played all morning and I had no desire to corral them into participating in the official activities;).
The workshop in the afternoon was really fun. I enjoyed chatting with the Deaf teacher, Mr. McCool (perfect name, eh?) and I borrowed a cool math strategy from Nancy to teach to the teachers who came along w/ their Deaf students. I had a lil burst of pride too when Mitchel, who tends to be shy, jumped up and rattled off the alphabet when Mr. McCool started to teach it to the new students.
Yesterday I said goodbye to the Mary Hill kids, and gave them each a DVD I made of their work (yay for iDvd on my Mac. I recorded all "my" students signing a book, which they loved-- "I'm on TV!") The woman who makes lunch for the teachers made flour tortillas for me b/c she knows they're my favorite, and I had some nice moments with Miss Lupita and Miss Sheba (her teaching assistant). I tried to set them up with a webcam as a going away present, but the logistics did not work in my favor. They will get the camera but the programs I wanted to set up so they could use it more easily w/ the kids will have to be left to someone else to do, so I hope they have time for it. Elodia's talking about doing a masters in Sp. Ed in North Florida next year, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I say goodbye to her and Rubia tonite, after Girl's Night, the last of the local goodbyes. All Nancy's students signed a gift for me today and hugged me goodbye in the afternoon. Nancy took me out to lunch for a debriefing on the internship as well.
Overall, it's been a good closing week. I still have things to run around and finish before I leave, but at least I'll get to spend some quality time w/ the girls before I leave tomorrow. Sulmi & Evelin are staying the night tonite instead of going home for the wkend, and they'll come with Nancy to drop me off at the airport tomorrow, along with Kristel.
Be seeing you all soon. Much love!
It was a good last week. I was having doubts about whether or not I had been any more effective by staying 16 weeks instead of 10, so I made a list of things that have happened in the last 6 wks, and was pleasantly surprised. I felt affirmed in having stayed, despite some of the challenges that came along w/ it too. Maybe I'll try to post it at some point.
Saturday, Elodia and Rubia took me to Chunox, a pretty pueblo in the North where we had to take a hand-cranked ferry across the river. We met a sweet, sociable Deaf boy. He lives so far north on rutted roads that it would be unlikely he could come to Mary Hill for school, but the mom did take him to visit Nancy's class after we talked with her b/c they were going to be in Orange Walk for a Dr.s appt anyway.
In any case, I got to have good goodbyes w/ my schools this wk. We played the "Elephant Game" at San Narcisco and all the kids brought me snacks to share for a goodbye party. I talked to Mitchel and Laisha's principal about coming to the Wednesday afternoon Deaf class at Mary Hill, then talked their mom into sending both the kids, along with their hearing sister who I've been teaching to sign and their Deaf sister who rarely leaves home now cuz she has a 4mo old baby girl. Mitchel came in the morning w/ the principal for Sp. Olympics practice, then the sisters came in the afternoon for the Deaf class/Signing workshop. He and Christopher played all morning and I had no desire to corral them into participating in the official activities;).
The workshop in the afternoon was really fun. I enjoyed chatting with the Deaf teacher, Mr. McCool (perfect name, eh?) and I borrowed a cool math strategy from Nancy to teach to the teachers who came along w/ their Deaf students. I had a lil burst of pride too when Mitchel, who tends to be shy, jumped up and rattled off the alphabet when Mr. McCool started to teach it to the new students.
Yesterday I said goodbye to the Mary Hill kids, and gave them each a DVD I made of their work (yay for iDvd on my Mac. I recorded all "my" students signing a book, which they loved-- "I'm on TV!") The woman who makes lunch for the teachers made flour tortillas for me b/c she knows they're my favorite, and I had some nice moments with Miss Lupita and Miss Sheba (her teaching assistant). I tried to set them up with a webcam as a going away present, but the logistics did not work in my favor. They will get the camera but the programs I wanted to set up so they could use it more easily w/ the kids will have to be left to someone else to do, so I hope they have time for it. Elodia's talking about doing a masters in Sp. Ed in North Florida next year, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I say goodbye to her and Rubia tonite, after Girl's Night, the last of the local goodbyes. All Nancy's students signed a gift for me today and hugged me goodbye in the afternoon. Nancy took me out to lunch for a debriefing on the internship as well.
Overall, it's been a good closing week. I still have things to run around and finish before I leave, but at least I'll get to spend some quality time w/ the girls before I leave tomorrow. Sulmi & Evelin are staying the night tonite instead of going home for the wkend, and they'll come with Nancy to drop me off at the airport tomorrow, along with Kristel.
Be seeing you all soon. Much love!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Winding up before winding down....
**Main events in bold for the benefit of scanners:)**
The title here is what we always say about Sulmi around her bedtime, but it's true of my last couple wks here as well.
Last wk we took a field trip to the zoo w/ Lupita's class (Christopher), and they invited Mitchel and Laisha along too. So much fun! It was April the Tapir's (Belize's national animal) 25th birthday and the zoo had a party for her. "My" students made fast friends which great to see. Mitchel was beside himself w/ excitement over all the animals. I loved spending the day w/ them.
Evelin is adjusting great! We were worried when she got seriously homesick the first wk, but since then she's been fine. Her language skills have literally exploded; Nancy and I are asking ourselves if she always knew this much and we just missed it or if she's an incredibely fast learner. Probably some of both. We knew she was smart and not being met at her potential in her previous environment, but we're now realizing just how smart she really is. I'm so grateful to see her in a learning environment where she can really thrive.
Last wkend I went to Chetumal, Mexico again w/ Elodia. Got my visa renewed, ate a nice lunch at the beach, and checked out the Maya museum. I was stunned by the differences in consumer culture when you cross the border into Chetumal: so convenient, so tempting, so overwhelming. I enjoyed seeing a little bit more of the town tho and feeling like I can say I've been to Mexico with just slightly more credibility (it still seems strange to me to think of having "been to" a whole country after only getting to see a little piece of it.)
Last Friday for Girl's Night there were no hearing siblings in attendance and the sweet mischevious 2yo daughter of one of the women slept through the whole thing. It was a nice change of pace and, while I really like interpreting Girl's Night, it was a good change of pace to feel like more of a participant.
Ah! How could I forget-- I went to Belize City this week and visited the Deaf school; so much fun! I knew several of the kids from a past field trip, so I got to chat w/ them, interview one of the teachers, and get a better idea for what life is like for Stella Maris Deaf Academy students. And then on Wednesday, the long-planned, often-delayed workshop for all of Corozal's Deaf students materialized in Mary Hill! We only had 4 students, and for some reason Mitchel & Laisha's teacher didn't bring them as planned, but the teachers from Stella Maris came and said they plan to keep coming. Ryan, a 6yo from Paraiso came w/ his tutor and got over his extreme shyness by the end, playing happily with Christopher. I'm hopeful that Mitchel and Laisha will come next wk, my last week here!
Yesterday we had the day off and Nancy thought to take the girls to a new pool w/ a water slide. We had a grand time splashing, learning to swim (Sulmi was bravely venturing into the deep end by the end of the afternoon), sliding, and using the underwater camera I intended for snorkeling but never got to use. Today Nancy's class took a field trip to Mary Hill, intending to get the Deaf kids together, but all of my other students were sick or absent today! Very unfortunate, but the kids had a good time anyway I think, and Lupita got to talk to Elodia (who came with) about the possibility of teaching for at least a term in Stella Maris next year to learn about Deaf Ed.
Pues, the "last time" series of events has begun, and I will much miss the people I have met here. To close out the semester, I'm making DVDs of the kids signing things they've learned this semester, so that's my big project of the week. I feel like I have learned more here than I can presently articulate; I've been in so many environments here that I had no or very little previous experience with that every day was an excercise in asombro (Spanish for amazement/eye-opening/awe). I feel like I've been marinated in a new perspective and it's going to take me a little while to distill the concrete lessons from it all, beyond the generalized feeling that I really had no idea what I was "getting myself into" when I got here, but that my many frustrations about my own limitations as well as the little joys of small triumphs and great joys of some new relationships have amounted to invaluable learning.
God bless anyone who is still reading:).
Can't wait to see you.
The title here is what we always say about Sulmi around her bedtime, but it's true of my last couple wks here as well.
Last wk we took a field trip to the zoo w/ Lupita's class (Christopher), and they invited Mitchel and Laisha along too. So much fun! It was April the Tapir's (Belize's national animal) 25th birthday and the zoo had a party for her. "My" students made fast friends which great to see. Mitchel was beside himself w/ excitement over all the animals. I loved spending the day w/ them.
Evelin is adjusting great! We were worried when she got seriously homesick the first wk, but since then she's been fine. Her language skills have literally exploded; Nancy and I are asking ourselves if she always knew this much and we just missed it or if she's an incredibely fast learner. Probably some of both. We knew she was smart and not being met at her potential in her previous environment, but we're now realizing just how smart she really is. I'm so grateful to see her in a learning environment where she can really thrive.
Last wkend I went to Chetumal, Mexico again w/ Elodia. Got my visa renewed, ate a nice lunch at the beach, and checked out the Maya museum. I was stunned by the differences in consumer culture when you cross the border into Chetumal: so convenient, so tempting, so overwhelming. I enjoyed seeing a little bit more of the town tho and feeling like I can say I've been to Mexico with just slightly more credibility (it still seems strange to me to think of having "been to" a whole country after only getting to see a little piece of it.)
Last Friday for Girl's Night there were no hearing siblings in attendance and the sweet mischevious 2yo daughter of one of the women slept through the whole thing. It was a nice change of pace and, while I really like interpreting Girl's Night, it was a good change of pace to feel like more of a participant.
Ah! How could I forget-- I went to Belize City this week and visited the Deaf school; so much fun! I knew several of the kids from a past field trip, so I got to chat w/ them, interview one of the teachers, and get a better idea for what life is like for Stella Maris Deaf Academy students. And then on Wednesday, the long-planned, often-delayed workshop for all of Corozal's Deaf students materialized in Mary Hill! We only had 4 students, and for some reason Mitchel & Laisha's teacher didn't bring them as planned, but the teachers from Stella Maris came and said they plan to keep coming. Ryan, a 6yo from Paraiso came w/ his tutor and got over his extreme shyness by the end, playing happily with Christopher. I'm hopeful that Mitchel and Laisha will come next wk, my last week here!
Yesterday we had the day off and Nancy thought to take the girls to a new pool w/ a water slide. We had a grand time splashing, learning to swim (Sulmi was bravely venturing into the deep end by the end of the afternoon), sliding, and using the underwater camera I intended for snorkeling but never got to use. Today Nancy's class took a field trip to Mary Hill, intending to get the Deaf kids together, but all of my other students were sick or absent today! Very unfortunate, but the kids had a good time anyway I think, and Lupita got to talk to Elodia (who came with) about the possibility of teaching for at least a term in Stella Maris next year to learn about Deaf Ed.
Pues, the "last time" series of events has begun, and I will much miss the people I have met here. To close out the semester, I'm making DVDs of the kids signing things they've learned this semester, so that's my big project of the week. I feel like I have learned more here than I can presently articulate; I've been in so many environments here that I had no or very little previous experience with that every day was an excercise in asombro (Spanish for amazement/eye-opening/awe). I feel like I've been marinated in a new perspective and it's going to take me a little while to distill the concrete lessons from it all, beyond the generalized feeling that I really had no idea what I was "getting myself into" when I got here, but that my many frustrations about my own limitations as well as the little joys of small triumphs and great joys of some new relationships have amounted to invaluable learning.
God bless anyone who is still reading:).
Can't wait to see you.
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