Days of 3: We Like to Party (ok, not really)

School has felt... crazy!...the last few weeks, as we have yet to really have a full week of school. (beginning to wonder if we will) It has been good, really, but the lack of routine does nothing for the classroom atmosphere being one of focus and work. I need to not let any of it sway me, least of all the changing whims of my 12-14 year-olds. 

Random thought just popped into my head--
At camp with Meg and Aubrie, I always said, "Praise the Lord I will never be a mom to 12-12-year-old girls," but it seems I keep on finding those tweens everywhere I go--high school leading Bible study for the younger girls, camp, coaching basketball in Wheaton, India with mine, Sarah, Em and Midori's students, Franklin Middle School refugee ESL, here again with class and soccer and I might even be their homeroom teacher!--often the things we feel we are not equipped for, not super thrilled about or just not really feelin' it, seem to be where we end up, at least for a time, reminding us we're jars of clay--kind of ordinary, pretty useful, actually and needing to be worked and re-worked. 
Ok, resume...

• We had Thursday off for the 25th of July (annexation of one of the 7 provinces), so the day prior was a welcome-back-to-school/cultural celebration day for which the students had to practice and such
• Next, we had Friday, August 2nd off for the Virgin de Los Angeles--Catholics (and others, I'm sure) from all over the world, mostly all over Costa Rica walk, some on their knees, from San Jose to Cartago as a pilgrimage to celebrate Mary's appearance to Costa Ricans and be blessed and celebrate (we went to the beach.)
• Then, we actually had a long week, but it was less academic-focused, ironically, because it was a sports and academic festival week. Again, lots of disappearing, less-than-focused students for good and less-than-good reasons--they practiced and decorated and still semi-did school. Soccer games speckled the week's schedule as teams visited and Thursday two schools came to compete against LPDV in an academic olympics in the morning followed by a talent show in the afternoon. (I got my fingerprints that day so, praise the Lord, I'm closer to my visa!) Friday morning we continued the talent show and the afternoon was all soccer. (didn't know I wasn't going to teach that day...shucks.) I really enjoyed playing soccer with the teachers against my seventh graders--what a hoot! Then, I trained the seventh graders after school and went with them to McDonald's for a bit (the cool hang-out place on Fridays). 
• Saturday was an all-day parent day. We helped with a 3k race they put on (mini-mini), I coached the seventh grade girls in futsol (do I know what I'm doing?  no no no, but i love it!) and they won : ), got to talk with some parents (I do like my parents), and got to experience the day. Parents of high-schoolers were selling different foods from granizados to chifrijo to vagones to pizza and soda to raise money for the class parties at the end of the year. The elementary schoolers were lovin' life down on the field with inflatables--including one that you could roll and run/fall inside which they used to roll over one another and some of their teachers! They re-did most of the talent show for the parents, and we helped clean up at the end of the tired-feeling day/week. Kate and I both fell asleep for two and a half hours when we got home--whoops!

(We were also pet/house-sitting for the Befuses while they went to a family reunion in the States the past week or two, but their pets were pretty pouty about their owners leaving them and would scatter whenever we came to feed them! So, we kept them fed, but they didn't receive a lot of love...)

(Sunday we got to go to church in the morning--yay! And we did some work at a hotel cafe in the afternoon-weird cultural observations. We found some food for dinner and I got to talk to my grandparents after Becky's wedding --congratulations!!!)

•  This week, we have today off because it's Costa Rican Mother's Day (Why a Thursday in August? No idea.)

• Yesterday was a bit crazy because this week's been a bit of hamster wheel/treadmill catch-up and get students ready for trimester exams in a couple of weeks. My seventh graders did great overall on their exam, though and we're almost done with their biographical speeches : )
• Also yesterday we had English chapel, which we really only had Monday and Tuesday to throw together and have kids practice and lead--they did really well! 8th and 10th graders essentially self-organized a band and the 11th graders did the talk themed around sheep and following the Shepherd. I ended up having to sing to lead the last song with David, the music teacher, but I really enjoyed it, actually, and for the most part, we let them run with it  (with guidance, of course).
• Renae also came yesterday mid-morning and was a little perdida--poor thing, so I came home for lunch with her and she was great and accompanied Kate and I to the Mother's Day dinner event last night in the gym. What a champ. So good to be with her! (Pray for her at the Oasis with Kids Alive in Guatemala.)
• We're going to go hiking with James and Savanna today, Lord willing and crank out some tests this afternoon : ) 

All that to say, that's what it's been on the side, but there's a lot of regular like tutoring and lesson-planning and grading and trying to truly meet students' needs and focus their energy and love and serve them during every day. I still get some exercise in and read if I can and have to make dinner and am trying to be good about making lunch before I head to bed and coffee in the morning for Kate and myself. Learning to wake up and go to sleep handing over anxieties and lifting up praise and thanks. Running around but trying to keep my head on straight.