Credit for the Little Things

Seems like at the end of most days I find myself thinking of all the things I DIDN'T get done that day.  I've been meaning to hang some pictures, work on my son's quilt, clean the bathroom, call a good friend, pay the bills, etc.

Today, while looking after my reflection in my spotless stovetop, I was feeling quite proud of myself and the amazing job I did cleaning my stove.  I felt a little silly as I stood there patting myself on the back for doing something simple I honestly should be doing more often!  

Next I FINALLY hung the clothesline I've been meaning to do for months.  

As the day rolled on, I fed toddlers,  did laundry, made dinner, got kids to nap, all the usual daily things, I got to thinking about my good feelings from accomplishing a clean stovetop and hanging a clothesline.  Why did I feel silly being proud of those little things?  Should we not feel accomplished when we do something good?  Whether it's big or small shouldn't matter.  I'm not expecting to do any "big" accomplishments any time soon.  I've graduated from all the school I plan to attend, I've gotten married, I've birthed two babies, and I'm not planning any big changes in my career.

These small accomplishments are what I should me noting and being proud of, because these small accomplishments are actually building blocks for my only remaining major accomplishment I'm working towards.  My last big goal is to be a good person, a dedicated Christian, and a loving wife and mother.  My days are filled with small things, little bites of time, continually moving from one task to the next.  These small things really are what I should be noting!  These small things, done well, are the things that matter the most, because these are the very things that are getting me to my last major goal.  So, next time your toddler eats all their food without complaint, or potty training is going surprising well, or you had time to deep clean your stovetop and hang a clothesline, or your baby sleeps though the night, or you get your daily prayer time in 3 days in a row, or you finish the yard work, you make a really great new recipe for dinner, or you and your spouse have a really great discussion, feel good about it!  You should feel good about it, you are building blocks and getting closer and closer to your most important goals. 

My last and greatest goal

English Camp

 English Camp was pretty much what I expected it to be.  Communicated with the children was difficult, but not too bad.  We played a lot of charades, especially when explaining directions for games.  

I taught the younger students, ages 6-9.  Thankfully all my students were 8 or 9.  My co-teacher, Bill, taught the older students, ages 10-12.  We were teaching in a small Catholic school in Cislago.  Don Luigi Monza School is named after a Catholic priest from the town of Cislago who has been declared a Blessed by the Catholic Church.  Everyone at the school was so welcoming and helpful to me and Bill.  Especially the English teacher, Martina, who not only drove Bill and I to and from school, but also helped us during the day with translated and taking care of unruly children.  

Martina, Bill, and I

Each day consisted of morning prayer, English class, P.E., Music class, a second English class, and play practice.  Lunch was served at 1:00pm, the usual time in Italy.  The children sit at small tables that seat 6 children.  The meal is served in courses!  Martina taught us how things operate.  The students are required to eat the first course in silence!  Which requires a lot of shushing by the teachers, just like it would in the States.  

Our school day started at 8:30am and ended at 4:00pm.  The students are accustomed to finishing school at 1:00pm during the school year, so the last couple hours you could see them getting more and more tired.  After school Bill and I spent about 30 minutes cleaning up and prepping for the next day.  Then Martina would drive us home, we’d have a couple hours before dinner at 7:30pm or 8:00pm, and I’d either take a nap or later wish I had taken a nap.  A few nights I fell asleep on the couch while watching a World Cup match before dinner.  

Celebrating Bill's birthday

The last day of camp we put on a show for the families.  This year’s theme was Africa so the students sung songs about Africa and danced to Shakira’s Waka Waka (their favorite act).  The performance was a huge success and I think the parents enjoyed it as much as the students did.  I hope to get a video clip from one of the parents to put on the blog.  

The Lions in our final performance.  Aren't they cute?

The Robot Song - Final Performance

Making funny faces is fun in any language! 

My Italian Family

Seriously, my Italian host family ROCKS!  They are so welcoming and down to earth.  I am so blessed to be able to be a part of their family for two weeks.

First Sandro, the father, greets me with a huge smile and welcomes me into his home.  Within 24 hours of knowing me, he's offered me their house in Sienna to stay in, but since I can't this go there this summer, than I must stay there the next time I am in Italy.  He is 4 years into the deaconate program for the Diocese of Milan and we go to Mass together in the mornings.  If I don't go he jokes that he's disappointed because I've left him alone with all the old ladies.  I tell him he better get used to it if he is becoming a Deacon!  He is very witty and funny and so loving to his wife and daughters.  Just think of the father from the movie Life Is Beautiful, that's Sandro.

Next, Beatrice, my host mother.  Beatrice is a stay at home mom who does everything and anything for me before I've even asked.  And, she is able to do it in a way that seems effortless somehow.  Delicious meals every night, and such attention to detail without seeming stressed or overwhelmed.  It's really quite amazing.  It's as though having a stranger in her house for two isn't a burden at all, quite the opposite!  It's also great to see the love between her and the children.  Every night at the end of dinner her daughter sits on her lap for a few minutes and just hugs and loves on her.

Carlotta and Rebecca are their two daughters.  Rebecca I have not met because she has been staying with friends in England.  Right now I am enjoying staying in her room though!  Carlotta is your average 9 year old.  She is very involved in gymnastics and likes to dance.  Although she is not in the English camp and I don't converse with her much, she always looks excited to see me when I get home from school and is very curious about the projects I'm working on at home.

Emanuela is Sandro and Beatrice's foster daughter.  I wouldn't have known she was not their biological daughter if they didn't tell me.  She was placed with them when she was 4 years old and has been a part of their family for the past four years.  She is quite a character and in some ways well beyond her years.  She has a big attitude, in good ways and sometimes in bad ways, haha.  She loves English camp, especially dancing to Shakira's "Waka Waka".  When she gets home from school she plays the song and teaches Carlotta all the dance moves!

 

After dinner my second night, Sandro brought out the guitar and the family joined him in singing a song dedicated to me  :) 

 

Beatrice and Carlotta, Sandro and Emanuela

 

After one of our great discussions the second or third night, Sandro said something about the wonderful friendship that will form between us.  He was right.  This is a beautiful family and I'm so blessed to have their friendship!  I wonder if meeting this family is one of the main reasons God brought me to Italy this summer :)  Also so I could visit my friend Katrina in Switzerland... but that's for another blog post!  Goodnight all!

 

 

My lovely room (thank you, Rebecca :) 

Belize to Novazza!

The week in Belize was perfect.  I was able to get to the beach, visit with friends, and most importantly see the students I taught four years ago finally graduate!  What a beautiful celebration it was watching the kids graduate years of working, praying, and struggling.  The kids were all smiles, radiating joy on Parents’ Night and the day of Graduation.  

            After hardly any sleep, not surprisingly, we headed to the airport Monday morning after graduation on Sunday.  I can’t tell you much about the flight to Milan because we were sleeping pretty much the whole way.

In Milan we were shuttled off to a host family’s house while we awaited the rest of the teachers arrival.  There are 34 teachers in all so it wasn’t bad that only 5 of the flights were delayed.  The rest of the teachers vegged out, ate pasta, and got to know each other.  At about 3pm we took a bus North to Novazza, right in the mountains of northern Italy.  Here’s the view from the window of my room. 

 

Training has been surprisingly busy.  We’ve been here 3 days and I think I’ve seen more lesson plans and manipulatives than I did in 3 years in Belize.  On Sunday morning we head to our camp assignments in separate cities and it’s just me, Bill, my camp counselor partner, and a bunch of Italian kids ready to learn English!  

Driving... Well, trying to

Before I arrived in Ireland I had two thoughts about driving here: 

1. It won't be that bad driving on the left.  It will be relatively easy to pick up. (And to the people who told me this,I would like to tell you I don't appreciate your lies)
2. I'm a pretty decent driver.  I haven't had an accident since high school, no speeding tickets in years, and I've driven successfully in other countries. 

Within the first 30 minutes of pulling out of the rental car parking lot I realized both #1 and #2 were severely wrong.  Also, the rest of the group had swiftly changed their minds about each having a go behind the wheel in Ireland!  Nobody wanted to drive at all, in fact, nobody even wanted to be in the minivan!  In that 30 minutes we came close to having a couple of accidents, we were honked at twice, and another driver dropped the f bomb on us (the lanes are so narrow that we could just read his lips, no need to roll the window down to yell)

They pretty much force you to buy insurance, and I quickly realized why!  You can opt out of insurance but you have to put a hold for 5000euro on your credit card.  None of our cards would work for an amount that big... So we begrudgedly bought insurance.  Again, it took less than 30 minutes for everyone to agree it was better to have insurance anyway!

For starters, the driving on the left side of the road isn't that bad.  Honestly, if it were only that I would've been happy.  Here are the other concerns when driving in Ireland:

Roundabouts: yes, we have them in the States, but they are nothing like here.  Here they use roundabouts in place of almost every four way stop light.  And not only are you driving clockwise, but there are different lane usage rules.  Sometimes it's a one lane roundabout (very straightforward, my favorite type) but there are also two and three lanes.  The inside lane can turn out any time they want (on two lane roundabouts). That was the first almost accident, when someone on my right turned left directly in front of me causing me to slam on my brakes so as not to run into him.  I thought he cut me off, obviously he shouldn't have done that, right?  Nope, I was in the wrong.  The outside lane must exit in the roundabouts here.  Oh no, I didn't learn that from a sign; it was all good old fashion trial and error!  And lots and lots of prayer! 

Shifting:  I've been driving a stick since I was 15 years old (no need to calculate how many years that is :)  I wondered if shifting with my left hand would be difficult.  Well, it wasn't awful, it was a 6 speed, so that was a bit different, and it took a while to get used to the gears and shifting with the left, but really it was just one of the many contributing factors of stressful and dangerous driving in Ireland. 

Narrow roads:  if you're imagining a narrow lane in the States, let's say one lane bridge that's a good image to start with, now cut 2 to 3 feet off and you have the average lane width in Ireland.  Usually there was 6 to 8 inches on each side of the vehicle.  Ugh, don't get me started on parking in tiny spots while steering from the passenger side of the vehicle!  Narrow roads, so narrow we started a game called "1 lane or 2?" Narrow roads are especially fun when coming upon a bus and you have a stone wall instead of a shoulder!  It doesn't help that since you are not used to steering from the right side of the vehicle It's very difficult to know how close left side of the car is to the edge of the road.  I wish I would have taken a picture of how narrow the roads were at certain points.  Sometimes your whole lane was parked cars and you just drive around them in the opposite lane of traffic. 

Road signage: ok, visitors to the U.S. probably think we have poor signage as well. Here sometimes there is a sign, sometimes not, sometimes after the roundabout and sometimes there are 10 things written on the sign in a small font so you don't have time to read them all as you drive by.  The role of the navigator was almost as stressful as being in the driver's seat.  When we drove into Dublin (providentially after 5 days of practicing in smaller places) it took everyone in the van reading road signs out loud, Katie reading the map, and me driving to get to the hotel. Like other places in Europe, the street signs are small and on the corners of the buildings.  Also, the names of the streets change every block or two!  I literally could not have done it alone.  That day driving into Dublin my stomach was in knots as we got close.  Like I said, the first 30 minutes I was driving, when we left Dublin the first day of the trip were really bad.  Amazingly, it got better throughout the week and I didn't have a panic attack when I saw a roundabout since I have learned the rules for driving in them. 
And what does this arrow painted on the road mean?  It's in my lane but for people going the opposite direction to read?!  Never really figured out that one. 

Note: after every stoplight in Dublin, the two lanes (going the same direction) will merge into one lane, then expand again into two, after the next light merge into one again.  There are no signs for any of the merging, it's just how it goes.  Also, vehicles are allowed to drive in the bus lane, in fact they have to sometimes because it's also the turn lane now and then. 

Katie's guide book said you can buy an "L" to put in your front and back window to show others that you are a Learner driver.  Best 2 euros I ever spent!  Katie and I felt like we have a protective shield around us.  I'm sure the Irish drivers appreciated the heads up to stay away from us!  Other drivers were more patient and we didn't get any honks or vulgarity with our protective L on display.

GPS. I checked my Garmin in the states and since it gave me accurate directions from corpus Christi Texas to Dublin, Ireland, I thought it would be fine.  No. What a pain!  So, if you plan to use your GPS while driving in England or Ireland you must buy a sim card for it.  We were looking and asking everywhere for a road map because the one we had wasn't detailed enough.  Finally found one in Cork when Katie had the brilliant idea to check a bookstore.  It was 11euros, but we probably would have paid 50 for it.  We felt like we had found gold.  If/when you come to Ireland buy a good map, the one in your guidebook will now be enough. 

Driving was quite exhausting and Katie and I realized it was really wearing us out.  After an hour or two of driving we needed a break!  A pale comparison to my cross country long distance hauls in the States.  We kept our hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road the whole time.  About day three I felt comfortable enough to turn the radio dial or adjust the air conditioning.  Driving in Ireland is not for the faint of heart, but it was all worth it because we were able to see so much more of the country!

P.s. The last day before we drove into Dublin each of the girls did take a spin in the driver's seat.  And because they have witnessed everything Katie and I were driving in they were satisfied with a country highway as their driving experience in Ireland.

 

These "Look Left" and "Look Right" signs were painted on the crosswalks in Dublin.  We saw many people almost step out in front of a bus or car... wonder how bad it was before they painted directions on the street!

Getting There

In Toronto I am to meet up with vita, kenzie, and Jackie, the first time flyers and first time international travellers, that way we will be on the same plane arriving in Dublin.  I wait and wait outside customs for them to come out; their flight was a few minutes late and I'm getting nervous about them making the connection.  A conversation strikes up with the security worker by the exit.  He's a funny guy and I can tell he enjoys his job because for the last half hour I've watched him give directions and info to a couple dozen people, always with a smile and a sometimes with a joke (about 50% of the time it's lost in translation).  He's originally from India and used to be a teacher there.  He also taught in Paris. He tells me he learned English in one year and he moved to Toronto for his kids, so they can go to school here.  It was getting close to boarding time so I said goodbye and told him to keep a lookout for my three blonde friends coming through. I headed through security and to my gate, praying the whole time that the girls had already come through security and would miraculously be sitting at the gate waiting for me.  And when I arrived that's exactly what happened!  There they are, totally chill and I was the freaking out.  (I still am perplexed as to how they made it through customs in 15 minutes)  These girls are going to be great to travel with in Ireland! 
Now back to my Indian security guard friend.  I realized something about myself after talking to him.  Ten years ago I wouldbt have had that conversation with him, maybe not even 5 years ago.  Not because he's Indian or because I'm in a foreign country, but just because I didn't HAVE to.  Maybe I would have asked him if he knew if their flight had come in, or where my gate is, etc.  But even that I wouldbt have bothered if I could fibs it on a monitor somewhere.  Sometimes we can all be a little too independent and self sufficient... And we miss out on the little joys that arise from conversations with strangers, meeting new people, and learning things from others.  This guy was talking about teaching and said it's impossible to teach on Monday mornings, it would be better to throw some coffee at the kids because they are all sleepy.  Haha, that's universal! 

So, one of my goals for this trip, this summer, and this life, is to take the time to talk to people more, even when it's less convenient than not striking up a conversation.  You never know what you'll get from it.

Photo of the day:
Why does my water have an expiration date?  As if the name "Enviroclear" isn't weird enough.

Flight Tips

A few things have changed on international flights.  Air Canada does not offer in flight entertainment, except for people with an apple device or laptop.  The movies and flight info are shown to everyone; you connect to their WiFi and select what you want to watch.  Unless you are one of those freak people who don't have a smartphone (only apple products are supported at this time) or travel with a laptop.  But don't worry, you can rent an iPad!  Flight tip: borrow an iPad or better yet, bring a book... Or best, sleep the whole way like Betsy :)

I took the tram twice in Houston airport. IAH is usually quite busy, but this time there were only two of us on the tram my first ride and I was solo my second ride!
Flight tip: fly on Tuesdays or wednesdays, it's not only less expensive, it's less crowded.