I sure can. Today I was overwhelmed with kindness and I just can't stop thinking about it. On Monday, one of my Guatemalan co-workers, Leo, told me I looked like I needed a hug and gave me one. She was spot on, by-the-way, as I was letting school and external feelings get the best of me. Since then, she has given me a hug at some point everyday. This morning, she came into my classroom with spring rolls and soy sauce because she had found out that I was "not a coffee drinker." She then gave me my daily hug and reassured me that, "We all love and appreciate you here in Guatemala... just in case you forgot." :)
Later when we were reading Charlotte's Web in 3A, Walter came into my classroom with flowers, placed them on my desk, smile and waved, and then walked out. I was so speechless I don't even remember if I said anything at all. The funny thing is Walter is heading to Miami tomorrow to run a half marathon and he went out of his way to make others smile. I got so caught up in my own unnecessary stress that I didn't think to make him a card this time around. Good thing I have people like Walter to remind me to be selfless...
We ate lunch in the classroom today because the cafeteria is being used for an Art and Music Festival and we had an unplanned skyping session with Mr. Mike. I'm labeling it a skype "session" rather than "conversation" because my kids pretty much screamed the entire time. I think there were maybe 30 actual words used the entire time and it was mostly me telling everyone to calm down. Anyway, as we were hanging up, I saw out of the corner of my eye one of my students who was particularly attached to Mr. Mike crying in the corner of the classroom. This little dude had a really hard time saying goodbye and has been getting emotional all week whenever he even thinks about the name "Mr. Mike." I guess he got upset this time because everyone was so crowded around the computer that he couldn't even see Mike. He gave up, walked away, and cried his eyes out. As the kids ran off to recess I pulled this student back into the classroom and we called Mr. Mike right back and had a private conversation with him. I think it was exactly what he needed-- to be reassured that he really hadn't been abandoned. Mr. Mike showed this student his dog and the snow on the ground in KS and since this student has never seen snow before, it was a pretty special event. I still can't really believe how much my kids were moved by having Mr. Mike in their class but I am so very thankful they were.
At soccer practice today, the head coach, Francisco, gave me some candies from his hometown in Amatitlán, Guatemala. Apparently this city is not very far from where I live but looks and feels like a completely different place. Its around a lake and has beautiful mountains and other cool things to look at. Not only was he kind to give me candy but he also reminded me that I still have so much to learn about this country.
I bumped into my dear friend Claudia in the halls today and she asked if there was anything she could do to help me with my report cards. I thought about it and realized everything I needed to do were things that only I could do and I sighed and thanked her for the offer. Later in the day after I had entered all the data into a spreadsheet, I backtracked and asked Clau if she could put the numbers, letters, symbols and other nonsense into the actual report card template. She had it done and sent back to me within an hour, when it probably would have taken me at least 3. I can't believe how amazing that woman is, not only at her job, but also at being a friend.
I'm still not sure how I got so lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful people, but hopefully that look of distress that worried those around me has left permanently. My report cards should be completely done by tomorrow which means I'll have the weekend to either meet up with Keri and Kurt at the beach, or hang out with my friends in the city. Either way, I'm grateful this week wasn't as painful as I thought it would be and am actually looking forward to putting on my JEANS (we got casual Friday approved, finally!) tomorrow and finishing this week up strong :)
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