Silly (and not so silly) Things to Look Forward To

Last night I was awake in the wee hours of the morning. Not that I would stay up that late on a school night, but my body has been doing this strange thing for the past few nights: the three/four hour cycle. I go to bed at a reasonable time but then 3-4 hours after falling asleep I ping awake. It's not my bladder gradually easing me out of sleep pleading for the bathroom. It's more that my mind is done sleeping; it needs a break from whatever craziness it's been doing during my time in REM.  So I lay there for what seems forever and then give up on that and get up. I usually cruise facebook for a bit, do something semi-productive and then head back to bed for the remaining 3 hours of my night. Last night my something semi-productive was starting the following list. I was thinking about home and everything I have to look forward too:

1) Burnt toast with natural peanut butter and honey - I don't have a toaster here. I could put bread in the oven to toast, but I don't buy bread. I have peanut butter here but it's not natural. I could buy honey, but I don't even like it. Unless on burnt toast with natural peanut butter. Why this came to me as number one? Your guess is as good as mine.

2) Carpet - I have not set foot on a carpeted floor since July 23. It's been too long.

3) A full sized non-keyboard piano with a stationary sustain peddle - I'm super thankful for the little keyboard I have here in Colombia and really it suits me just fine. But it's not full size. And it doesn't have weighted keys. And the sustain petal likes to travel while I'm playing. Living room + candles + Christmas sheet music + me + my parent's piano (that I like to claim as my own) = awesomeness.

4) Driving - Will I even remember how?

5) SNOW - Snowflakes, snow storms, snowmen, snow shoeing, snow angels, snow balls (being gently thrown at someone), snow tubing, snowsuits, snow days (I can hope for my mum to be home with me,) snowplows, snowboarding (we'll see), snowmobiling (oh wait, I've never gone. lol). Enough said? ....not yet, one last thought. After writing snow so many times, it starts to look funny: SNOW!

6) Cookie scoop - I like making cookies. Partly to eat the dough and partly because I love surprising people at school with treats. What I don't like is sticking my finger in a tablespoon trying to coax the dough out into the designated spot on the pan. The problem is solved with a cookie scoop. Imagine an ice cream scoop but much smaller. Quick easy cookie dough transfer. Oh, and my mom has like 3 different sizes.

7) Being cold - Yes. I am looking forward to being cold. Remind me that when I'm cold, being a baby and I want to complain.

8) Family/friends - Do I even need to say this one? Absolutely. Without a question. This is the greatest. And because it's the Christmas season I will see my family in almost entirety. Yes it will be busy. Yes we will be exhausted. But YES I'm looking forward to it. I also get to spend time with a lot of friends: both in UP and in troll country. Again, lots of traveling and lots of pit-stops. But oh, so worth it.

9) The Wheeler's - So this kind of piggy backs onto the last one, but I get to spend a large chunk of time at my sister's place with her husband/in-laws/animals. This will be epic.

10) Being in my own country. Simple. Straightforward. Honest. (Interesting side thought: This time around it isn't the English language I'm looking forward to. It's more being back in my own culture.)

Ten for now. Perhaps ten more in a few days as I get more and more anxious for my trip home!

Crunch Attack

A few weeks back, a dear friend of mine convinced me that doing crunches before bed is a good idea. I don't particularly like crunches, but it's a little something extra that will make my body stronger. At least I tell myself that. So I've been doing them nearly religiously almost every night. Notice the words "nearly" and "almost". You may criticize redundancy in my writing but it's intentional. I need you to know that I don't REALLY do them every night. Nearly. Almost. Anyway, this habit of mine has bred an interesting habit in my cat.

Let's discuss crunch form. Usually, one lies on their back with knees bent. Then proceeds to pull their body slightly off the ground and return to the lying position. Not me. My crunches coach explained to me that a better workout is to lift your feet of the ground until your calves are parallel to the floor and then crunch from side to side. Left elbow hits right knee. Right elbow hits left knee. Do you have that visual?

So this is where Ami comes in on the first night of crunches. Within 3 seconds of starting she had planted herself at the base of my tailbone. I ignored her and kept going. Well, I ignored her until it happened. She jumped up like a rabies-invested monster and started biting my feet. Remember, this is right before bed so I'm sock-less. Owe. Owe. Owe. Silly cat, you can't eat my feet. Can't you see I'm busy here?

First night - Ami: 1, Leanne: 0

The second night, I'm at it again. Usually when starting a new work-out plan the initial days are easy. So I was on the floor and what do you know, Ami returned to the position of the night before. I started my crunches and she laid there just under my legs. I was suspicious as I remembered the last night's attack, but I kept doing my thing. The faster you get them done the faster it's over. I made it to about 15 when the cat was suddenly in the air and her teeth were sinking into my feet. Well, I'm being a little dramatic, she never punctures the skin, but I could not continue the crunch madness until I shewed her away. What the heck cat?

Second night- Ami: 2, Leanne: 0

Third time with my crunches before bed and my cat nonchalantly lays down. I would not be fooled this night. I permitted her lay there, but kept an unoccupied shoe at my side. As I was crunching away I was watching her. And that's when I caught her. Ami's eyes went crazy and I knew she was going to attack.  I had just enough time to slip the shoe in her direction and touch her belly. The attack focus switched from my leg to the shoe. You'd think she was fighting for her life as she mauled the thing. I laughed and finished my crunches. Not me Ami, not tonight.

Third times the charm - Ami: 2, Leanne: winner winner chicken dinner

I still do my crunches. Ami still lays at my tail bone. The shoe gets attacked. Game over kitten. Game over.

A World of Mad Gabs

Some of my kiddos (okay, I'm being generous...I'll change that to "many of my kiddos") have incredibly thick Spanish accents when they speak in English. In fact, per our school culture, when a student tries to speak English correctly and with as little accent as possible, they get ridiculed by their peers. It's not cool to speak English. Seriously people? You have so much opportunity here with native English speaking teachers and yet you tease each other for trying to sound as native as possible. Something is wrong.

This wrong makes life quite challenging for me at times because I often can't even understand what the kids are saying.

Upon a lack of understanding their statement, my first question is always, "Are you speaking to me in English or Spanish?"  My kids know that I understand Spanish, so sometimes they are lazy and will talk to me in Spanish. Most of the time I understand and make them repeat it in English, but sometimes I can't catch what they are saying in Spanish due to vocabulary, slang, or they are just talking way too fast. So when I can't understand what they said, I first need my brain to be listening for the correct language: Spanish or English. If they respond "Spanish", I ask them to repeat it in English. If they respond "English", I ask them to repeat it anyway.

And now we enter into the world of MadGabs. You know MadGabs right? Phrases containing small words that, when put together, make a different word or phrase (fun fact: these are called "mondegreens"...thank you wikipedia) So when you say them aloud really fast they transform into the key phrase. An example might help: If you say "Up He Such Ease" quickly and out loud, it sounds like "A piece of cheese" ....or it sounds like my students talking.

Student: Meese, last night I put chao in abe odd hull luck oak.
Me: Are you speaking to me in English or Spanish?
Student: English
Me:  Will you repeat it please? ....all the while they are repeating, my mind flips to MadGab mode. What could they possibly be saying?
Student: Meese, last night I put chao in abe odd hull luck oak.
Me: Oooooh, you put chao (a type of mints in Colombia) in a bottle of coke? Cool! What happened?

Okay, MadGabs are challenging (and fun!!!) but my kiddos make it even harder for me. Many times, not only do the kids have funny pronunciations, but they also scramble the words. Where a native English speaker will  ask, "Can I go to the bathroom?", my students will say, "I can go to the bathroom?" If I could understand the words, it wouldn't be a big deal. It just sounds funny. But when they don't pronounce the words, my brain is overworked as it tries to put meaning to the mumbo-jumbo that spews from their mouths.

Student: Meese, eye cat row tip ape airway?
Me: Are you speaking to me in English or Spanish?
Student: English
Me:  Will you repeat that please?
Student: Meese, eye cat row tip ape airway?
Me: Oh, sure. But first, how do you ask me a question?
Student: Canite row tip ape airway?
Me: Yes, quickly. Go through the paper away.

You probably think I'm exaggerating. And maybe I am a bit. But really, I teach in a world of MadGabs.