I've been meaning to blog for the last 4 months... but life got really busy. So here's a quick update!
Alex (Panama to most of you) is enjoying his new job, and still really thankful to be working! He has also been teaching in the Spanish service of our church (Iglesia Atesorando a Cristo) along with another friend of ours, Marco. He enjoys teaching very much, and we are waiting to see how God works in the community, and in our new church service. I enjoy seeing him teach, but it makes me sad not to be able to understand him, since I don't speak Spanish. He is sweet to often tell me the night before what he is going to teach about, so I can at least be a part of it. God has really been helping me to be thankful for this new season of our lives. I'm trusting in God that I can play a role in this ministry that my husband and I are involved in, even though I don't speak Spanish.
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| This is the coffee mug I have sitting on my desk at school. I mean it! :) |
I'm enjoying my new job as a 3rd grade teacher. My students are pretty cute. And apparently the transition from 2nd to 3rd grade is tough! My new students kind of make my class from last year seem like high schoolers. It took me a few weeks to put an end to their incessant whining, but they figured out pretty quickly that Mrs. Batista doesn't have a soft spot for whiners. Quite the opposite, in fact. They are growing up and maturing quite nicely though, in my opinion. Cutie pies :)
As Alex works and teaches, I've been thinking a lot about my job, and whether or not I want to do it longterm. I've thought about teaching ESL, going back to school to be a counselor, or to train to just teach one subject, like math. I love math. I also love to write. I don't think I could write a book though. At least not a book with a plot. It takes so much imagination and time to develop the details that would support a novel. I wish I could just suddenly become about the same level of famous as Donald Miller, because I'd love to write a book and already have a group of people that would want to read it. I'm not really up for the hard work of trying to get people to read a book I wrote :) I imagine if I ever wrote a book it would be filled with random stories, many about teaching, and some just about how ridiculous people can be (but in a funny way, not in a mean way). I absolutely love to watch people. If I'm not careful, it can quickly spiral into judging them, but on a good day it's just amusing to observe people.
Another exciting event in our lives: I bought my first pair of Toms. They are really comfortable when I'm teaching. I feel pretty cool, you know, being about 2 years behind the trend. That's how I always have been though. I joined late on the following trends: capri pants, big sunglasses, skinny jeans, owning an iPod, boat shoes... I enjoy observing the trend for a few years to see if I think it looks dumb. Then, I sometimes join in. Here are a few that I have chosen not to join: Twilight, colored jeans, nerd glasses, and eating organically.
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| Alex and I with some of his family at our wedding reception :) |
We are going to be traveling (travelling? no. traveling) to Panama in November! I'm so excited to meet Alex's dad and see his family again! I will finally get to see where my husband grew up, and many things that make him who he is. It will also be good for me to be surrounded by Spanish pretty much the whole time. This will help in my quest to eventually be able to say more than, "¿Hola, como esta?" His family is so excited to see him too. It's been too long singe they've been able to spend time together. We can't wait!
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| Poucha was ignoring us and pouting. She has quite the little personality, for a dog. |
Alex and I will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary in just a few weeks. We are going to enjoy a "Staycation" in Raleigh. We have really enjoyed our first year of marriage. I thought of five words that could sum up year #1, and I asked Alex the same thing. Mine are: learning, fun, laughter, prayer, and sleep. Alex's are: delight, understanding, closeness, study, and love. More on those 10 words in a later post.
Poucha has probably endured the biggest hardships of our first year of marriage. She and Alex are the best of frenemies. She was (and still is) a bit traumatized by Alex moving in once we got married. The first week we were back from our honeymoon, she was super confused about why he wasn't going home. Confused, and not very happy about it! She has been acting out so much, I think that we may need a surprise visit from The Dog Whisperer. I'm hoping we are rounding a corner and she will realize that Alex isn't going anywhere. They are stuck together for a good long while :)
