The best part of rainy season is the time when you sneak home between downpours. You sit in your classroom during the last period of the day, listening to the students try to shout above the din and sigh, silently dreading the walk home in a few minutes. Will it be drizzly, or heavy-duty monsoon rain that floods the streets and makes every oncoming vehicle a hazard?
Today in Study Skills as I talked about how to take good notes, I did just that. Drizzle? Monsoon? Something in between? But then the bell rang and I realized I still had an hour of work to do before I could go home. By the time I'd finished, the rain had quit! Yippee! I walked home blissfully. In the not-rain.
And now as I sit dry and happy in my dining/living room, I'm watching the steady rain fall outside my window in the orange glow of the streetlight. I hear the chirp of the happy treefrogs, listen to the growl of traffic, and am thankful to be here. Safe, dry, and warm.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
To Really Love a Woman
In a taxi on the way to Quicentro a couple weeks ago, I heard part of the song "I'm Ready" by Bryan Adams.
For those who don't know, Quicentro is a mall. Bryan Adams is the king of romantic, admittedly sappy love ballads. I am a fan of both.
Anyway, hearing part of that song compelled me to dig out my greatest hits cd. I've been listening to it a lot since then. You know how sometimes you listen to a cd too much and get tired of it and then it gets put away and forgotten and then a couple of years later you unearth it and remember why you overplayed it in the first place? That's what happened. But here's the sad thing about Bryan....
...he's too romantic. Check out these lyrics:
"To really love a woman, to understand her, you gotta know her deep inside.
Hear every thought, see every dream, and give her wings if she wants to fly
And when you find yourself lying helpless in her arms, you know you really love a woman."
And in case the words aren't enough, listen to the Spanish guitars in the background.
I've never been in a significant relationship, but I know lots of people who are. And judging from what they say and how they act, I'm led to believe that this Bryan-Adamsy-ness is just a myth. This is depressing to me. Shouldn't I at least get to believe that relationships are like this until such time as I can be disillusioned by my own experiences?
Depressing. Sorry. There is no point or funny anecdote or profound thought to end this post. The end.
For those who don't know, Quicentro is a mall. Bryan Adams is the king of romantic, admittedly sappy love ballads. I am a fan of both.
Anyway, hearing part of that song compelled me to dig out my greatest hits cd. I've been listening to it a lot since then. You know how sometimes you listen to a cd too much and get tired of it and then it gets put away and forgotten and then a couple of years later you unearth it and remember why you overplayed it in the first place? That's what happened. But here's the sad thing about Bryan....
...he's too romantic. Check out these lyrics:
"To really love a woman, to understand her, you gotta know her deep inside.
Hear every thought, see every dream, and give her wings if she wants to fly
And when you find yourself lying helpless in her arms, you know you really love a woman."
And in case the words aren't enough, listen to the Spanish guitars in the background.
I've never been in a significant relationship, but I know lots of people who are. And judging from what they say and how they act, I'm led to believe that this Bryan-Adamsy-ness is just a myth. This is depressing to me. Shouldn't I at least get to believe that relationships are like this until such time as I can be disillusioned by my own experiences?
Depressing. Sorry. There is no point or funny anecdote or profound thought to end this post. The end.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Rainy Day Feeling
Jeeze, I cannot believe it's already January 17th and this is my first post of the year! Sorry to those out there in cyberspace who have grown wane and thin from lack of Leslie-blogging.
New Year's Resolution Update:
I know you're all dying to find out how I’m doing. So, um, not too bad. I have eaten at least one veggie all but one day, I believe. And I've managed the afore-mentioned goal of two per day about half the time. I am trying to get better. Part of the problem is my poor pre-planning. I'll be on my way out the door for school and realize I don't have a veggie for lunch. But I have neither something ready to go, nor enough time to prepare the veggies to take. So I skip the lunch veggie with plans to double up on the supper veggies. Which sometimes happens, and sometimes...not so much. Complicating my problem is Ecuador's lack of frozen or canned veggies. But all that to say I bought another big load of vegetarian goodness today at SuperMaxi (yes, that's what the store's called; its big brother is MegaMaxi. I'm not kidding) and spent an hour decontaminating, slicing and dicing. Hopefully I'll be set for success this week.
Bible Reading. Going...ok. I'm a little worse at this one because I know the goal is for the whole year, rather than day-by-day. Both weekends so far have been used to catch up to where I should be. I am moderately embarrassed about this. But still I plug on. I'm reading in chronological order, so we started with Creation in Genesis, and now I'm wading through Job's horrible excuse for a social network. I mean seriously! "Curse God and die!" ?? Did Job's wife's mommy forget to mention the "supportive" and "encouraging" aspects of being a wife? Man, she makes ME look like a person with the gift of compassion! And his friends? Yikes, man! Is there no one else in town? Maybe one of those "I alone survived" guys to come be your yes man? In all, it stinks to be Job.
Moving right along. It seems that the "real" rainy season may finally have arrived in my fair city. It's been raining nearly non-stop for about 24 hours now. Well, I guess I can't really account for the hours between 1am and 10am. But it was raining both when I fell asleep and when I awoke. It usually starts to rain in the afternoon during 8th period (last period of the day) which is convenient for my walk home shortly thereafter. But Friday it wasn't raining- it was pouring down in true monsoon fashion. I chatted in the teacher's lounge with some friends for awhile hoping to wait it out, but eventually the futility of that plan occurred to us, and we headed out.
I cross one big street during my 6 block walk. This particular road (Avenido America) is split in the middle with the trolley lanes. So there's, I think...8 lanes all together. Three northbound, then a little sidewalk to wait on; then the two trolley lanes; another sidewalky area; then the three southbound lanes. So I got stuck on one of the sidewalks between the roads because of the LUNATIC DRIVING that happens on Friday and Saturday nights in Quito. I mean, now this is a definite tangent, but these people are CRAZY! It's like all common sense and knowledge of all things driving-related is shut out of drivers' head by some sort of magnetic force.
Anyway, so I rushed between the stop-and-go traffic to the first sidewalk area and, in my haste to not be run over, didn't notice the big trolley (which is actually more like a bus) that was speeding across the intersection. Said trolley aparently did not notice me, either, because it rushed past, sloshing nasty, cold, dirty street-slime-water all over my feet and legs.
Just as I was preparing to be annoyed, I glanced up and caught the eye of an Ecuadorian woman who had just been assaulted in the same way by the same rude trolley. She smiled at me as she brushed herself off, and I couldn't help smiling back. Thanks, unknown Ecuadorian lady, for the perspective. No harm done.
And it was good that the unnamed lady put me in a good mood about my wetness at just that moment, because about 10 seconds later, as I was trying to cross the rest of the street, I ran into a cross between a huge puddle and a flooded street. Short of walking through the middle of the cross-street, there was no way to NOT wade through six inches of rushing water in the street-turned-river. I opted for wet feet over death (you will remember the drivers had all gone temporarily insane) and I just walked through the stream. Here's what I looked like by the time I got home:
New Year's Resolution Update:
I know you're all dying to find out how I’m doing. So, um, not too bad. I have eaten at least one veggie all but one day, I believe. And I've managed the afore-mentioned goal of two per day about half the time. I am trying to get better. Part of the problem is my poor pre-planning. I'll be on my way out the door for school and realize I don't have a veggie for lunch. But I have neither something ready to go, nor enough time to prepare the veggies to take. So I skip the lunch veggie with plans to double up on the supper veggies. Which sometimes happens, and sometimes...not so much. Complicating my problem is Ecuador's lack of frozen or canned veggies. But all that to say I bought another big load of vegetarian goodness today at SuperMaxi (yes, that's what the store's called; its big brother is MegaMaxi. I'm not kidding) and spent an hour decontaminating, slicing and dicing. Hopefully I'll be set for success this week.
Bible Reading. Going...ok. I'm a little worse at this one because I know the goal is for the whole year, rather than day-by-day. Both weekends so far have been used to catch up to where I should be. I am moderately embarrassed about this. But still I plug on. I'm reading in chronological order, so we started with Creation in Genesis, and now I'm wading through Job's horrible excuse for a social network. I mean seriously! "Curse God and die!" ?? Did Job's wife's mommy forget to mention the "supportive" and "encouraging" aspects of being a wife? Man, she makes ME look like a person with the gift of compassion! And his friends? Yikes, man! Is there no one else in town? Maybe one of those "I alone survived" guys to come be your yes man? In all, it stinks to be Job.
Moving right along. It seems that the "real" rainy season may finally have arrived in my fair city. It's been raining nearly non-stop for about 24 hours now. Well, I guess I can't really account for the hours between 1am and 10am. But it was raining both when I fell asleep and when I awoke. It usually starts to rain in the afternoon during 8th period (last period of the day) which is convenient for my walk home shortly thereafter. But Friday it wasn't raining- it was pouring down in true monsoon fashion. I chatted in the teacher's lounge with some friends for awhile hoping to wait it out, but eventually the futility of that plan occurred to us, and we headed out.
I cross one big street during my 6 block walk. This particular road (Avenido America) is split in the middle with the trolley lanes. So there's, I think...8 lanes all together. Three northbound, then a little sidewalk to wait on; then the two trolley lanes; another sidewalky area; then the three southbound lanes. So I got stuck on one of the sidewalks between the roads because of the LUNATIC DRIVING that happens on Friday and Saturday nights in Quito. I mean, now this is a definite tangent, but these people are CRAZY! It's like all common sense and knowledge of all things driving-related is shut out of drivers' head by some sort of magnetic force.
Anyway, so I rushed between the stop-and-go traffic to the first sidewalk area and, in my haste to not be run over, didn't notice the big trolley (which is actually more like a bus) that was speeding across the intersection. Said trolley aparently did not notice me, either, because it rushed past, sloshing nasty, cold, dirty street-slime-water all over my feet and legs.
Just as I was preparing to be annoyed, I glanced up and caught the eye of an Ecuadorian woman who had just been assaulted in the same way by the same rude trolley. She smiled at me as she brushed herself off, and I couldn't help smiling back. Thanks, unknown Ecuadorian lady, for the perspective. No harm done.
And it was good that the unnamed lady put me in a good mood about my wetness at just that moment, because about 10 seconds later, as I was trying to cross the rest of the street, I ran into a cross between a huge puddle and a flooded street. Short of walking through the middle of the cross-street, there was no way to NOT wade through six inches of rushing water in the street-turned-river. I opted for wet feet over death (you will remember the drivers had all gone temporarily insane) and I just walked through the stream. Here's what I looked like by the time I got home:
It was a little like rainy season in China, except colder. :) In case you're curious, this is in the hallway of my apartment building. The open door behind me is my apartment. One of my lovely neighbors, Amy, took this fantastic shot for me.
In closing, let me share a second-hand hilarious student moment with you. Craig, a Canadian co-worker was talking with some of his students (high school) Friday about the plane crash on the east coast last week. If you hadn't heard, a flock of Canadian geese fried both engines on a passenger plane, which was then forced to make an emergency water landing into Hudson Bay. Happily, there were no human casualties of the crash (though it must have been a bad day for those geese...). So, one of the kids asks Craig how they knew the geese were Canadian (remember, these are South American kids), and Craig, unable to miss this perfect opportunity, replies, "Because they said, '(honk), eh? (honk) eh?"
In closing, let me share a second-hand hilarious student moment with you. Craig, a Canadian co-worker was talking with some of his students (high school) Friday about the plane crash on the east coast last week. If you hadn't heard, a flock of Canadian geese fried both engines on a passenger plane, which was then forced to make an emergency water landing into Hudson Bay. Happily, there were no human casualties of the crash (though it must have been a bad day for those geese...). So, one of the kids asks Craig how they knew the geese were Canadian (remember, these are South American kids), and Craig, unable to miss this perfect opportunity, replies, "Because they said, '(honk), eh? (honk) eh?"
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Beginnings
So here we are. 2009. Wow. I heard on the radio this week that the illusive "they" are adding one second in between 2008 and 2009. Apparently the Earth is slowing down, so they have to add a second to supplement. Like a global time-vitamin, I guess.
Really? It's a little hard for me to believe that the Earth is slowing down. Speeding up I could understand. Seriously, 2008 flashed by in, maybe 8 months' time. How can it be New Year's again?!
Well, in spite of my adamant assertion that last year was shorter than normal, I am pleased to announce that for the first time in memory, I have pondered a list of New Year's Resolutions BEFORE the ball dropped. That is to say, I decided on December 31st. And, because I have essentially zero discipline without accountability, here they are, in all their yet-untested-and-therefore-yet-unfailed, shiny new glory:
-Eat vegetables at least twice a day
-Read the Bible through this year
Tah-dah! I know...perhaps you're thinking what a short list this is. But you know, brevity is actually a fine quality. And in my defence, let's have a virtual show of hands; how many of you have ever successfully kept a New Year's resolution for the whole year?
(crickets chirping...)
THAT'S what I thought. Me neither. So I'm thinking my chances are better if I'm only focusing on two things. I think I can manage two things. Maybe.
You know, I've never read the Bible through, that I remember. I've read all of it, I think, but not all together. Well, wait, maybe not all the minor prophets...I know I was supposed to read them for a Bible class in college...hmm, well, don't tell Dr. Soto.
And as for the veggies. I don't like them. And in Quito they take extra effort. Things like, figuring out what the veggies ARE, cleaning them before you prepare them, learning to cook them here. All extra work that I have just been avoiding. But I begin to be afraid my digestive system is going to forget how to PROCESS a vegetable, and that's no good. So, in my quest to turn from a pretend adult into a real adult I'm throwing in the veggie line.
And you? Any interesting resolutions out there among my faithful readers? In either case I wish you a fulfilling and meaningful 2009. Happy New Year!
Really? It's a little hard for me to believe that the Earth is slowing down. Speeding up I could understand. Seriously, 2008 flashed by in, maybe 8 months' time. How can it be New Year's again?!
Well, in spite of my adamant assertion that last year was shorter than normal, I am pleased to announce that for the first time in memory, I have pondered a list of New Year's Resolutions BEFORE the ball dropped. That is to say, I decided on December 31st. And, because I have essentially zero discipline without accountability, here they are, in all their yet-untested-and-therefore-yet-unfailed, shiny new glory:
-Eat vegetables at least twice a day
-Read the Bible through this year
Tah-dah! I know...perhaps you're thinking what a short list this is. But you know, brevity is actually a fine quality. And in my defence, let's have a virtual show of hands; how many of you have ever successfully kept a New Year's resolution for the whole year?
(crickets chirping...)
THAT'S what I thought. Me neither. So I'm thinking my chances are better if I'm only focusing on two things. I think I can manage two things. Maybe.
You know, I've never read the Bible through, that I remember. I've read all of it, I think, but not all together. Well, wait, maybe not all the minor prophets...I know I was supposed to read them for a Bible class in college...hmm, well, don't tell Dr. Soto.
And as for the veggies. I don't like them. And in Quito they take extra effort. Things like, figuring out what the veggies ARE, cleaning them before you prepare them, learning to cook them here. All extra work that I have just been avoiding. But I begin to be afraid my digestive system is going to forget how to PROCESS a vegetable, and that's no good. So, in my quest to turn from a pretend adult into a real adult I'm throwing in the veggie line.
And you? Any interesting resolutions out there among my faithful readers? In either case I wish you a fulfilling and meaningful 2009. Happy New Year!
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