Where to Begin? How to End?

I had originally thought to write about my own students’ creativity as a continuation of the grouch’s last post, but then it occurred to me that while my father and his friends’ creative genius stems from boredom and deeply entrenched delinquent tendencies, the creativity my students exhibit is a lesson in survival and coping strategies.  For example, one of my students showed me how a cheap flip flop can double as an eraser, a trick he picked up in a refugee camp in Thailand.  Another student of mine uses a clear, plastic water bottle as a pencil case.  All of my students are tri-lingual, their native language (Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Oromo, Vietnamese, French, etc), English and a code-switching blend of the two a la Spanglish which they use whenever they can’t quite find the right word in either ‘official’ language.  I even have one native Oromo speaking student who, being the only non-Spanish speaker in a class of 12, has started to learn Spanish and now uses it at home and in his other classes when he feels it to be the best way to express himself.

My kids are great.  Whenever anyone asks how my first year in Minneapolis is going, my first response is how lucky I got when it comes to my kids.  They can be stinkers, of course, it is middle school after all, but in general they are respectful, dedicated kids who are willing to work with each other and me.  And from talking to other teachers and my past experience with less cooperative groups, I know what a difference a good group of kids make.  All that being said, my kids being stupendous and adding in excellent co-workers (yes, I’m bragging, it’s my blog, so what?), I’m STILL not ready for winter break to be over! 

Alas, 4 more days and I’ll be back in the classroom and that is why it’s imperative that I write this blog now.  Not that I have a whole lot of important things to say, but I’ve been informed that I’m falling down on the blog job and that I need to pick it up.   So here you are, you asked for it!

Pako and I arrived in Zihua on Christmas day; a whopping 3 months and 8 days after Pako entered the United States.  At the beginning, he felt a little silly coming back already, but it didn’t take long for him to develop a perma-grin that hasn’t left his face yet.  (I have a sneaking suspicion that I know when it will leave his face, but that sort of thinking is pessimistic and those of you who know me well know that I’m the consummate optimist…).  Pako’s sister, Lorena, and her husband, Tito, met us at the airport with our 3.5-month-old niece, Leah Elizabeth.  Yes, she is named after me, and no, it’s not a coincidence that she is the most beautiful thing I ever did see.  She also happens to be incredibly strong (she can almost stand on her own!) and completely mellow and happy and easy-going.  Just like her aunt (I’m also almost able to stand on my own… any day now).  Since we’ve been here, we’ve spent as much time with her as possible (and the rest of the family as well, but who are we kidding, there’s no competition between the world’s cutest, happiest baby and a bunch of adults) and Pako stood up as her godfather when she was baptized.  (I couldn’t be the godmother as I am an un-baptized heathen, but she’s got my name, so really, who is winning this game?) 

Don't even try to tell me this isn't the most adorable baby you ever saw!  She's wearing a party dress to boot!

We’ve visited a lot of friends and family, eaten a lot (too much) of good food, spent many a happy hours at the beach (Pako on his board and me on the beach with my books) and tried to soak up as much warm weather as possible since we’ve been here.  At one point, during our first week here, I mentioned to Pako that I missed my parents (awwwww) and Pako said, “me too.”  And THEN he said, “I miss Minnesota,” and I almost broke my neck I whipped my head around so fast to see if he had actually said that or if I had had some sort of hallucination due to too much sun and beer, but no, he actually said that he missed Minnesota.  Poor guy, he’s clearly taken too many direct UV rays, but it was cute and warmed my heart as I do worry about him moving from such a paradisiacal place like Zihua to… Minnesota.  No, I’m not down on Minnesota after such a short time spent back in the States, but I am also not blind or without a sense of temperature.  Plus, it has only snowed once and our coldest temperature was still way above 0, so the poor guy knows not what he speaks.

Now that our time is quickly waning and it’s clear that we won’t be able to do everything we want to, we’re both starting to feel the weight returning to our shoulders.  By the weight, I mean of course, the real world of 12-hour workdays, shoes and socks and scarves and mittens, and grey slush.  Ugh.  Sigh.  Ugh again.  I definitely feel like we’re destined to always have the vague sense that we’re really meant to be somewhere else, one foot in Minneapolis and one foot in Zihua.  It’s not fair really, because it’s hard to feel completely satisfied with our lives in either place, but it’s also extremely cool to have two places to come home to, two families to welcome us and two cultures to embrace.

As it is a new year and all (though I’m sure I’ll write 2011 on checks for at least another month or so), Pako and I have been talking about plans and dreams and goals for the future.  We don’t have anything concrete and certainly no definite timelines (Pako is Mexican after all and time in his culture is relative), but we know we want to buy a house in Minneapolis, a vehicle (though to hear Pako talk, we want to buy a truck and 3 different cars that can fulfill any possible transportation need), a piece of land here in Zihua on which to eventually build a house, a dog (or, again according to Pako, 7 dogs and 2 cats and a bird), we want to both work in schools so that we have the summers to spend with our family here in Mexico and eventually (but VERY eventually) we want to have a baby or two (not at the same time, knock on wood!!!).  Who knows which of those things will come to pass in 2012 or at all, for that matter, but it’s what is on our mental list of things to do when we’re grown ups (so not for awhile yet, I guess).

I’m not entirely sure how to end this blog as I’m not entirely sure what I have rattled on about up to this point, but end I must.  This Saturday we are having a small memorial toast to our friend, Jim Nelson, who passed this past August.  Jim played no small role in turning Zihua into a place that felt like home for me and I definitely notice a shift in my perception now that he’s not here.  I know I’ve said it here before, but he was a wonderful man and he is sorely missed.  Multiple times a day I find myself thinking:  Jim would love this!  Especially when it comes to Leah Elizabeth aka Betty (after Jim’s wife) because he would of loved her and she, him.  It’s still hard to believe that he’s really gone, but I look forward to the opportunity to celebrate his life with a group of people who knew and loved him like we did. 

Jim and us at our wedding, Feb 2011

Jim and us, right before he drove back to Vancouver, Feb 2011

So, who knows when I’ll be back, but the grouch has musings on many things that he’ll no doubt want to share with you all sometime soon. 

Until then, Feliz Año!