Melody Anabel Turner was born Wednesday night! She is so tiny and so perfect! She has long fingers, red hair, and beautiful eyes. She is adorable and will not be lacking in people to hold her. Jeff and Lindsay are super happy! Jeff's sister, Julie, is here to help with cooking for a month and Lindsay's mom, Jan, is here to help Lindsay for the first month. It's super awesome around here and everybody is baby-love struck!
Last Friday a family from the school called to see if I wanted to go to Caruaru with them for the weekend. I really like this family so I decided to go! So a half hour after the call we were on our way to Caruaru. It was a wonderful weekend! The dad, Junior, had an Ipad so we used google translator a lot but I used my Portuguese and the mom, Glaucia, speaks pretty good English so we managed to communicate! I watched my 4th grader, Vinicius, down a triple cheeseburger and then a half of another one. Turned my world upside down. We had a birthday party for their daughter Gabbi and it was really fun! The kids were parading me around their friends and saying "This is my English Teacher. She's from America so she doesn't speak Portuguese." Then I would be stared at and eventually they would ask Gabbi or Vinicius how to say something in English and then giggle and come say something to me. It was pretty comical especially from Gabbi because she's only in 2nd grade so she would send them over saying things like "The cat is on the table." Cracked me up!
While in Caruaru, Glaucia and Junior took me to some weird indoor shopping center and it completely overwhelmed me. I think it was my first taste of what coming home might be like. Glaucia wanted to buy me something for my birthday and I couldn't find anything that I felt justified in buying. I think there will be more than just culture shock to deal with but also the difference of living as a missionary dependent on other people's support and not your own money. It's definitely going to be interesting but I'm 6 weeks away from that.
My birthday was uneventful, just the way I like it. I got chocolate from Emily, Lindsay, and Jeff and my 5th-6th grade class wrote on the board for me on Monday. All in all it was good!
Brittney
Well, my weekend and week have been incredibly uneventful. I spent the weekend hanging out in the apartment and it was good for me to just rest and try to get some energy. Tuesday night we had a big salad party with a very special treat of dried cranberries. It was so fantastic. Today Rachel (one of my roommates) left and Lindsay's mom came (still no baby :( ) So uneventful is good and relaxing.
I'm about to turn 2o. I was pondering this while I was looking in the mirror the other day (not something I do very often here because there is only one small one in the bathroom for the whole house so I can now completely live my life without one) anyway this isn't really what I thought I would look like at 20. This isn't really where I thought I would be in life at 20. But I don't mind I love this journey God has me on. I love that I am already achieving dreams. I love that I am okay with my looks and my body. I am God's and He is writing my story and directing my journey.
So there is only a month of school left! Crazy! I cry like everyday now because I'm not sure I can live without seeing my beautiful wonderful kids. Every day one of them does something and I consider that I may never see them again and I cry. Pathetic but true. Anyway here is a list of things I love:
I love giggles
I love when they don't know the word for something in English and they try to explain it "Teacher it is this it is one. . ."
I love reading them stories and the looks on their faces as I read
I love getting stickers
I love getting pictures
I love hearing "Teacher Brittney!"
I love watching their faces when I speak in Portuguese (outside of class of course)
I love when the boys link arms with me (normally 6 at a time) and walk me to class (I also love trying to make it through doors and up the stairs like this)
I love hearing "OH Teacher"
I love seeing smiles
I love when they tell me they love me (especially rodrigo because he does this silly blowing a kiss deal)
I love getting kisses
I love giving kisses
I LOVE hugs
but most of all . . .
I LOVE LOVING THEM
Workshops have been great! I'm doing so many different classes now that it's crazy! I must say, once I find a book to work with, I can plan a fantastic lesson like it's nothing! I love it! Last week I didn't do quite as many as normal but we learned to be available. This week we've done David and The Giant, Mrs. Rosey Posey and the baby bird, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? All of them went great!
I started leading Opening Session for 1st - 5th with Emily this week. Emily does the talking (about the character trait and Bible verse) and I do the song leading. I love children's songs! I'm teaching them Arky Arky a verse a week!
Kaio
He wouldn't let me take a picture of just him so here is a group picture and he is the boy that is not Hugo ie the tall skinny one. He is pretty quiet and is a really sweet kid but his best friend is Hugo so sometimes he gets into some not-so-great stuff. Regardless, he is very intelligent and pretty sweet. He wants to take over his dad's business when he gets older. He has to leave his house at 5:30 every morning and travel 2 hours to get to school - that's commitment! So, needless to say, he works hard on his school work. He's a great kid and awesome to have in class!
I love you guys!
Love your emotional, loving, singing girl,
Brittney
I don't have too much to say or too much to tell you about this week. . .
I'm looking into getting my intestines removed. . .not really but it was just the dramatic comment I needed to make me giggle a little. Friday night we were supposed to go out for pizza and I was excited but then I got really super sick and I couldn't go. I was sick in bed until Tuesday morning and even then it was sheer will that got me to school because I couldn't be in my room one more day (the title is what my 3rd-4th grade class asked while I was gone) I'm getting sick of this so I decided to do some research. It seems that I have a more chronic case of giardia. I then decided to self -prescribe the recommended anti-biotic. Only after I bought the anti-biotic did I read more on it and found out that the side effects were so bad that the FDA wouldn't approve it in the USA. So, I was a little concerned but I figured it was a 5 day deal and I could just handle it. Well, no side-effects yet and I'm functioning again so we will see. I could definitely use some prayer.
Speaking of buying pills. Free health care is not all it's cracked up to be. My mom couldn't send me my pills like I mentioned earlier so when I got the anti-biotic I figured I would pick up my other ones too and then found out it is 90 reals for a 28 day supply. That was a punch in the gut.
Anyway, enough about that.
Friday was parent-teacher conferences and I think they went pretty well. Some kids look freakishly like their parents, though.
Classes have been great this week! Today for 5th-6th grade we made a pizza and it was pretty yummy if I do say so myself! Then, in my 7th-9th class we were discussing the current flooding of nearby cities and they are really passionate about helping out. They want to have a work day and many other things! I am so excited!
Deborah
If I were ever to describe an ideal student I'm pretty sure she would be who I based my description upon. She is so incredibly smart, sweet, and wonderful! She's still young enough that she loves Hannah Montana but old enough to grasp some of the complexities that we discuss in class. She gets perfect grades on everything, is always willing to read and answer questions, and is super respectful and just great! She's wonderful!
Eduardo (Dooda)
Dooda is great ! She is not afraid to put the two boys we have in their place. She is very intelligent and very animated. She is very passionate and opinionated. I would say she is incredibly stimulating to the classroom! She's great at her work and is always up for sharing and reading. She is so much fun to have in class!
I can't believe how fast this trip is flying by!
I love you!
Love your sick, awesome teacher, passionate girl,
Brittney
Melody Anabel Turner was born Wednesday night! She is so tiny and so perfect! She has long fingers, red hair, and beautiful eyes. She is adorable and will not be lacking in people to hold her. Jeff and Lindsay are super happy! Jeff's sister, Julie, is here to help with cooking for a month and Lindsay's mom, Jan, is here to help Lindsay for the first month. It's super awesome around here and everybody is baby-love struck!
Last Friday a family from the school called to see if I wanted to go to Caruaru with them for the weekend. I really like this family so I decided to go! So a half hour after the call we were on our way to Caruaru. It was a wonderful weekend! The dad, Junior, had an Ipad so we used google translator a lot but I used my Portuguese and the mom, Glaucia, speaks pretty good English so we managed to communicate! I watched my 4th grader, Vinicius, down a triple cheeseburger and then a half of another one. Turned my world upside down. We had a birthday party for their daughter Gabbi and it was really fun! The kids were parading me around their friends and saying "This is my English Teacher. She's from America so she doesn't speak Portuguese." Then I would be stared at and eventually they would ask Gabbi or Vinicius how to say something in English and then giggle and come say something to me. It was pretty comical especially from Gabbi because she's only in 2nd grade so she would send them over saying things like "The cat is on the table." Cracked me up!
