It's November...

Good Morning! School is going well-it was nice to have a long November holiday, but now it’s good to be back at work. Because I have such a small class (just 11) plus a full time aide, work is much less of a challenge than I’m used to! That’s not to say that my students don’t have things they’re working on! For example, most of them are second language learners so I’m using a ton of ESL strategies. Also, many of my students have been raised with loving parents and also with a loving nanny, maid and chofer. I’m having to use lots of patience when they leave stuff all over the place expecting someone to come behind them and clean it up. One of my new phrases here is, “We don’t have maids at school! Clean up your own mess!” I need to remind myself that they’re not being malicious, it’s just what they’re used to. That being said, it’s nice to be able to have a life outside of work! I’m feeling the need to get involved in the community…I’ll let you know how that goes! There’s a women’s shelter in Quito for single moms and their kids-I’m going to check out that place to see if I can help with after school activities or focus groups or something else like that! Also, perhaps Special Olympics, which is very active in Quito. I’ll keep you posted…and speaking of sports, I’ve got a half marathon coming up next weekend. Some girlfriends from school and I are running the race. The distance is no problem…it’s the altitude! I’m not expecting a PR, just a nice long run at over 10.000 feet. These days, I’m also just so grateful that I am able to run and mostly grateful for my health. It was scary last year thinking I was having a heart attack every day, horrible heart palpitations, sweating, feeling as though I had drunk 20 cups of coffee, insomnia.

Just being able to slow down and breathe is a blessing.

I’m trying to remind myself of that every day, not just on Thanksgiving…which, by the way, of course, is not celebrated in Ecuador, but rather at my school. We have a big Thanksgiving potluck, which will be nice. But I will miss the gathering in NY!

And then it’s Christmas! Where has the year gone? They’ve decorated the lobby of my apartment in Quito with nativities, Christmas tree, garlands with lights. The malls are playing Christmas music. I will need to adjust my thinking….because the weather is pretty much spring/fall like all year round, it just doesn’t seem like December is almost here! But I’m trying to get into the Spirit J

Love to you all, Rachel