Collecting the world in small handfuls

A long awaited update

2011-07-18T00:32:00.002Z

Hi!

I wanted to take a few minutes and say "Hello" to all of you! I realize it's been nearly forever since I last wrote an update about my life, thus keeping you on tenterhooks as to the goings on of yours truly.

There is a lot going on in life and I am overjoyed to say that God continues to bless me in incredible ways.

First, I am still living in Estoril, Portugal. I have been there for three years now and am happier being there now than ever. I have found a place that feels like home, where I have an amazing amount of support, a fantastic life, and a bright future. I am still working at the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon though my role at the school is soon to change. For the past three years I have happily taught 3rd grade. In January I was approached about my interest in moving from the Elementary School to the Middle School to become a 6th grade teacher. While at first I rejected the idea, the more I thought about it and talked with friends the more the idea grew on me until I finally told the school that such a proposition would interest me very much. And so, starting in about a month and a half I will do the unthinkable and become a middle school teacher! I am filled with both excitement and trepidation when I think about what the following year is going to look like and oftentimes am consumed with the desire to run back to school begging to be given my old job, but this next year will challenge me to grow as a teacher and as a person and I welcome the challenge. It helps a lot that both the principal and the middle school coordinator have great faith in my abilities and are encouraging me to do things in my own style, giving me plenty of freedom to play with how things are presented. I will continue to coach at the school, basketball, soccer and cross-country and will be looking for other ways to make an impact once the school year starts since some of my old avenues will no longer be viable.

Secondly, since November I have become involved with an AMAZING church family just outside of Sintra. If there had been any area which had really been lacking for me in my overseas journeys it was that I hadn't ever found a church home where I felt comfortable and welcome. Grace church is so much more than I could have dreamed of. From the first time I visited I have felt welcomed. I have now become a part of the church in several ways. On many Sundays I have joined with others in leading worship either through playing the jembe or singing or a combination of the two. I am a part of several bible studies and prayer groups, which have given me so much more strength and courage as I try, day by day, to live a faith filled walk. I have been doing a lot of hanging out with the youth and some with the children and hope to do a lot more with those groups in the future as they are an astounding group of young people. I thank God for granting me the opportunity to find this church where I am able to nourish a part of myself that has gone unwatered for far too long.

Thirdly, Joana. :) Joana is the BEAUTIFUL woman who is in this photo with me.
Her accolades are far too many to count. Let it be known though that she constantly pushes me to be more Godly, more loving and to be a better pool player as she has thoroughly smacked me down in that game. We met after having seen each other once or twice during a movie night at a friends house. Our mutual friend, Zuzia, called ahead to ask if she could bring her roommate to movie night. I, half jokingly, asked the person Zuzia had talked to on the phone if it was the cute roommate. Lo and behold the two of them walked in the front door and it WAS the cute roommate! I then proceeded to make an utter fool of myself in trying to play it cool while at the same time flirting shamelessly. At the end of the night, though the movie wasn't over and I wasn't really tired, I said that I was and asked Zuzia if I could get a ride back to my house with her and her roomie. I have no idea what the two girls talked about on the ride home as the whole time I was thinking, "I really want to talk to this girl some more. But Zuzia is here and I can't ask for her number in front of Zuzia, what if she doesn't want to give me her number? When will there be time to ask her? Should I ask her now??? No, that would be dumb, they're talking about something. Oops, they asked me a question! What did they say?" "Yep, I agree with that." "I hope that was something I would agree with, but who cares, how can I talk to this girl again?" And so forth on what felt both like an eternal drive and yet was over before I knew it. In the end I ended up giving Zuzia a bottle of wine that one of my students had given to me, while at the same time saying I had gotten it for her as a going away gift (is it bad that this all started out on a little white lie?) so that she would be distracted and I could finally ask Joana for her phone number. She smiled as she gave it to me, (my heart melted a bit with that smile) and we promised to talk more soon. Never having been one to claim patience as a gift, I called her the next day and we set it up to go for a walk on the boardwalk the next day. And we kept hanging out. She is now someone who I share bible studies, church services, breakfasts, lunches and dinners, pool games, stories, happiness and frustrations with. God has absolutely blessed me with someone who first loves Himself and secondly loves me and I could not possibly in my wildest of dreams be happier.

And that is kind of my life right now. I'm in the states looking forward to supporting my amazing sister as she gets married next Saturday. I have been fortunate to spend time with my family and friends.

Lastly, I want you to know that whether it has been hours since we talked or years, I appreciate you. I appreciate the support that you have given to me through ups and downs. I appreciate the prayers, the advice, the phone calls and emails, and most of all the love that I have felt from you, my friends and family. You have made me who I am today and I thank God for each and every one of you and beseech Him to bless you as I have been blessed.

In Him,
Justin Wallace

Reaching out to the world

2011-01-19T22:51:00.002Z

My kids just started a project last week that I have high hopes for.

We wrote a letter, as a class, telling who we are and asking questions like, "How many people are in your class?" and "What do third graders do for fun in your country?" We then chose 50 countries from all over the world that we would like to know more about. I then spent several hours looking up international schools in each of the 50 countries, (Which was way more interesting than I thought it'd be. I may have some new ideas about where I want to go next.) and copying down their addresses. The kids then practiced their address writing skills as they filled out 50 envelopes, folded 50 letters, placed a postcard of Portugal in each envelope and then carefully sealed each envelope.

We hope to get responses back from each of the schools. We look forward to learning more about others, to making connections with people from all over the world. To learning how other people lead lives that are different from our own. To discovering how much we have in common with people we've never met.

....

At times I find myself in a state of wonderment for the pathways that God has brought me down. I am so blessed. I have so much to be thankful for. There is so much to look forward to.
I hope that I can live up to the expectations that God has for me. I hope that I honor Him with my life. I hope that I make Him proud.

Love

2010-05-23T23:42:00.002Z

I love grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Before you turn up your nose you must, as everyone constantly says to me, give it a try. The way that the peanut butter melts into the jelly, the warmth and crispness of the bread, the great big goopy mess of everything, the smell that fills the space giving your stomach a wake up call, it is a truely magnificent sandwich.

In Portugal I would be looked at funny for saying that I love a sandwich. I can really really really like the sandwich. I can adore the sandwich. I can say that the sandwich is the best thing ever. But to say that I LOVE the sandwich would instantly set me apart as someone not of this land.

In Portugal (in my experience) you love your family. You love your spouse. You might be able to love your country though I've never tried to say that. Other than those things I'm not sure that you say, "Love" to too much more than that.

Now I can understand the Portuguese mentality to an extent. Do I really love the new book that I just read? Do I really love chocolate? Or the new Facebook application? Does my claiming love for every little thing that pops up in my life cheapen the word? I don't know.

But I miss love. I miss hearing people claim that they care about something other than bloodties enough to say they love it. I miss people loving their job. I miss people loving an activity. Music, food, the ocean. I love a lot of things, certainly not in the same way that I love my family or the spouse that I one day hope to have. But I know that the way that my heart warms when I go to my friends house and their child laughs and reaches for me is more than me really really liking her. I know that the way my spirit lifts when I hear the first few beats of the first dance song of the evening are more than me adoring the individual notes that I hear. I know that, even on my most difficult of days, there is no other kind of work that I want to dedicate myself to and that the feeling that I have in front of the classroom or working one on one is soooo much more than appreciation.

I have conformed. While the word love has moved into one of the rarer words I use, (which makes me very very sad to type) I will happily look about the world I live in with love that hopefully pours out in my actions, my language, my very eyes, to the point that when people want to describe me to others they will be forced, despite nationality, custum or habit, to use the word... love.

The fight

2010-05-22T11:24:00.001Z

Last night I went to Rock n Rio. A concert/fair/music explosion of sorts. I was looking forward to watching John Mayer and maybe checking out the Shakira concert as well. I had decided to go alone and just appreciate the music and the freedom to have some time to myself, with several thousand screaming people.

John Mayer was amazing. He can play a guitar, wow, like no one I’ve ever seen. Including at one point him laying the guitar flat on the ground and kneeling over it and then playing it without even holding the thing. It was ridiculous. When he sang “Why Georgia” I thought I was going to bust a vocal cord. It was so much fun and I had wheedled my way close enough to the stage that had I had a baseball John Mayer and I could have played catch. Which would have been fun.

After John Mayer finished (doesn’t he just seem like one of those people who you ought to say their first and last name, even when you’re talking to them) I made my way through the crowds to the rollercoaster that had been set up. I was so psyched because even though this had nothing on the Vortex or the Great American Scream Machine it was still a rollercoaster and it had the added bonus of cars that spun around in circles as you went up and down the tracks. Oh, yeah, and the cars were mice, one of whom was smoking a cigarette. Ok, so a little strange, but they were from Spain, so… whatever ;) Since I was on my own I ended up in a car with the two ladies in front of me, one of whom was probably about 13 and I am convinced had never ridden a rollercoaster before and the other, her cousin/sister/I don’t know who was decidedly cute and about my age. The car had some buttons on it that would add special effects and I asked the girls if they wanted to press the button and the younger girl said, in a no-time-for-a-breath-but-I’m-still-talking-somehow stream of consciousness in no uncertain terms, that she absolutely positively didn’t want anyone thinking of pressing the button. So I did… no not really, that would have been mean. And then the ride started and the girl started screaming and her friend and I started laughing and the ride started spinning and then a cat ate our car and there was a constant flow of what sounded like appeals to a higher power from the girl and more laughter from us and then the ride was over. As I asked the girl if she was ok as she shakily got off the ride she said that she was, in-between her continuing flow of unbelieving statements about how that was craziness to get on something like that. I thanked the ladies, waved and walked off to go hear Shakira. Which is when the craziness began…

I am leaning against a building. A man stumbles, steps on me while spilling beer on me. Words are spoken. Then the crowd begins to perk up. Heads turn. Bodies scramble away. A woman is knocked into and collapses at my feet. Suddenly where there was once a crowd, people are now shoving each other to get away. I see a man with no shirt on come out of nowhere and a vicious head-rocking right cross is thrown. There is blood. And screaming. More fighters show up. We are standing toe to toe. I don’t know what to do but Shakira has long since been forgotten. Angry women are trying to hold the men back. Beer is thrown on the shirtless man. And then I am surrounded by security. The man who threw the punch and the man who spilled beer on me have disappeared. The security talks so fast, asking what happened, I don’t understand and shrink back into the wall that I was leaning against before all this happened and try to disappear as well.

And then I left. Because security didn’t care about me, they were trying to figure out what happened with all the people who were fighting around me. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and after listening to some more of the concert, which was surprisingly good, Shakira puts on a good show, I decided it was time to get home. I walked away with slightly sticky feet from having a drop or two of beer spilled on them, a smile because I’d very much enjoyed my time, aside from watching a fight break out around me between some very intoxicated men, and a story, which is always a good thing.

We both made it out with our wallet and only one of us was hit by a car...

2009-12-03T14:34:00.010Z

Turkey was amazing! My friend Nick and I flew out of Portugl on Friday afternoon, had an uneventful flight and arrived in Istanbul Friday night at about midnight. Nick's friend, Chadis, I think that's how that is spelled, met us at the airport and we set out on our adventure.

After briefly getting lost on the highways of Istanbul we successfully drove through the ridiculously think fog to Chadis' mother's house in Edirne. Although we arrived after 2 in the morning his mother and sister were still up to greet us with large amounts of food and his friends even stopped by to see everyone and share in the food consumption. Everyone was really friendly even though there was little English spoken round the table. The highlight of the night was when one of Chadis' friends was leaving and after having spoken only a word or two of English throughout the whole evening/morning he poked his head around the doorway he'd just left through to say, "I must go now...because I'm married". Being that almost the only thing I'd understood for the previous hour was the nearly constant ribbing he'd been given over his being married and needing to be accountable for his hours it was really funny.

The next morning we woke up to a feast of a breakfast complete with Turkish tea. Being a non-tea drinker I was a bit apprehensive but drank through a glass with the help of two sugar cubes. It wasn't too bad, but I politely declined a second glass. After breakfast we all, mom, sister, Chadis, Nick and I piled into the small family car and drove to the grandparent's place. As we drove Nick and I learned about how to great the older generation with respect. So when we met the grandparents we both took their hand, kissed the back, touched our foreheads to their hand and then gave lose hugs with a kiss first on the right and then the left. After that we were treated like family. They were wonderful people and, while I once again didn't understand most of what was being said, we all got on very well. At one point during the visit each person was given a small cup of Turkish coffee. I have consumed even less coffee in my lifetime than tea and managed to take a few sips before realizing that I just couldn't get through it. There was no problem though, Gulce, the sister, (it's supposed to have two dots over the u but I don't know where that key is) nicely dumped my coffee but brought back the cup with the residue in it. We were told that mom could read our fortunes and that we ought to flip the cup onto the saucer. A few minutes later I learned that I will soon come into a large sum of money, that I will be taking a big trip in either four days or four weeks or four months, she wasn't sure about the specific time and that currently I am thinking of courting two young ladies and I would be better served to make a decision. The whole experience was done with a sense of seriousness that let me know that while it wasn't concrete it was still taken with some level of respect within the family.

After visiting the late father's grave, which was my first time in an Islamic graveyard, they have raised graves that are covered with soil so that families have planted flowers on the graves, we all went to the Eski Camii. The Eski Camii is an enormous mosque in Edirne. It was amazingly huge and absolutely spectacular. As with most old cathedrals that I've visited there was an overwhelming sense of awe of how many hours went into building such an amazing place for the sole purpose of honoring and worshipping something greater than the people who built it.

After the mosque the five of us walked around town for a bit before going to a local restaurant that is famous for it's local quisine. Our new friends didn't feel the need to tell us what we were eating until we'd already devoured half a plate of whatever was put in front of us. It turns out we were eating fried liver. And loving it. The drink was something that Nick and I didn't go back for seconds on, a sort of salty yogurt. I never imagined I would like liver more than yogurt, it even feels weird to say, but man that was a great meal.

After leaving the Chadis' mother and sister in Edirne with hugs, well-wishes and hopes to one day see each other again the three of us went back to Istanbul. We spent a few hours seeing the Hagia Sofia, an ancient cathedral turned mosque, the Blue Mosque and a basilica, which we all decided had something to do with holding water but we weren't really sure what we met up with another of Nick's friends for dinner. After dinner we drove to the Asian side of Istanbul, (I've now been to Asia!!!) to rest and get ready for a night out. As we were driving around I was struck with the immensity of this city, it is easily the largest and most confusing place I've ever been. Nick and I quickly realized how fortunate we were to be traversing the city with people who knew their way around.

That night we went out for drinks, before Chadis, Nick and I went to a rock bar. It was great fun. We were out dancing till just after five in the morning. The band was great and I even tried to sing along at one point. I'm not sure I sang any of the right words, being that they were Turkish, but we gave it a valiant effort. I then got to drive home, being the non-drinker of the group, which was cool, I've now driven on five continents, before we all crashed at Chadis' place.

The next day we went walking along the Marmara Sea. It was nice looking out over Istanbul, just relaxing a bit. Even though we'd woken up at two we all decided we could use a nap before going out that night. We later met up with Nick's other friend again for dinner and drinks and had a nice relaxed evening.

The next morning we woke up early, made sure our bags were packed and went back over to the European side to check out the Grand Bazaar. Nick and I agreed we were expecting more of an outdoor market but it wasn't that at all. It was kind of like an ancient mall with lots of small shops selling lots of very traditional Turkish type things. I managed to pick up a little magic genie lamp, which is now residing among my "trophie collection" of knick-knacks from around the world.

After the bazaar we walked around for a few more hours before heading off to the airport.

I really had an amazing time in Turkey. The people were all very friendly, the city was amazing to behold and it was a fun adventure. One I would certainly recommend to anyone looking for something very different from the norm.

Oh yeah, and the car thing...

We were walking down to the ferry port and weren't sure which way to go. For some reason, which I definitely don't remember now I stopped in the middle of the road to look at a sign, not that I could read any of the signs but I must have thought it a good idea. Anyway, the driving in Istanbul rivals that of Freetown for the craziest drivers I've ever encountered and stopping in the middle of the road is unadvisable. I heard the briefest of "heads ups" shouted by my friend before I found myself flat on my back and a car wheel rolling up on my foot. I was more surprised than anything else at the moment and popped up laughing like an idiot. I think it was my bodies way of dealing with the stress. I limped off the road, waved to the man who looked aghast at hitting me that I was o.k. and trudged off down the road. I was and am fine, my leg ached for a bit and my shoulder was sore, but I'm fine and can now say that I've been hit by a car in Asia.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-11-11T07:26:00.002Z

Last night was about as close to being perfect as it could be.

I went to Lisbon last night for the Salsa class that I'm taking now with an incredible instructor. He's really cool, does a good job teaching and just in general is a really great guy. Last night he brought his children, who were probably less than two and maybe four, and the kids were running about the class. Since I had shown up early for the beginner class I took it upon myself to entertain them for a while so others could focus on the steps they were being taught. We had a good time playing around in the hall, watching some guys playing basketball in the gym downstairs, "Uma bolla!!!", and in general just having a good time. Then it was the intermediate groups turn to dance and so after playing with kids for an hour I then got to dance for an hour. I'm not real sure what could be better than two hours with two of my favorite things. It was funny because a few times while I would be dancing with someone the little boy would come up with arms upstretched and wouldn't go away until I picked him up. I then was able to dance with him and my partner, who luckily thought it was fun rather than being annoyed by the disturbance. Anyway, all that is to say that I had a wonderful time last night in class.

This morning I recommited myself to getting in touch with God. I have once again become remiss in this and want to make myself more available to Him. So from now on, instead of reading random books on the bus on the way to school, I'll be reading His Word. This morning I read the first 7 chapters of Matthew. As I was reading the first chapter and reading the geneology of Christ I was struck with the fact that each of these men, and the few women mentioned too, are not just names in a book but at one point walked around on this earth. These people faced trials and tribulations, stubbed their toe, admired sunsets, loved their children, were frustrated by noisy neighbors, and all of the rest that goes into living a life. These people also lived their lives for God. There were three series of 14 generations which is like 30 something generations (or something like that, it's still early) and while I read their names in the span of a minute or two their lives spaned thousands of years. Thousands of years worth of stubbed toes is a lot of stubbed toes. Thousands of years worth of devoting their lives to God, stumbling, rededicating their lives, falling again, making good again, is a lot of years worth of what I am going through in my own life. It helps me to know that I am not alone in this. The things that I struggle with have been struggled with for years. The welcoming arms that God opens to me have been opened for years.

Pretty amazing...

Catching up

2009-10-21T10:51:00.002Z

So, there aren't any months in between July and mid-October, right?

Ok, so lets see, what's been going on?

I feel my biggest crime is that I went to the Açores and somehow didn't right about my time there. Unforgiveable! I had a blast! I went with several of my friends from here in Portugal and was able to meet one of my friend's family who live in San Miguel, which is one of the islands of the Açores. The most beautiful island if rumors are to be believed. We stayed for five days and traveled the island over. It was absolutely amazingly beautiful. There were black beaches, waterfalls every few miles, amazing vistas over green rolling hills, hot springs which we layed about in for hours, and lots of happy cows. The Açores are actually known for their happy cows. I often wondered what made them happy but when I saw the amount of lush green grass that they had available to them and the relative ease with which they lived their life then I kind of understood better. My friends family was wonderful. They welcomed us in and spoke very slowly for me, which helped a lot as their accent made Portuguese even harder to understand. We even went whale watching and saw two or three Sai whales and a pod of bottle nosed dolphins, which I was able to watch play at the front of the boat as I hung off the front by my toes, or so it seemed at times. That was fantastic!

Since returning to the mainland life has resumed in it's normal busy manner. School resumed and I, for the first time ever, am teaching the same grade for two years in a row. I have 16 students this year, which seems like half the number I had last year, even though it is only 6 less. I have 5 students who are in ESL1 or English for the first time and a student with MS, so there is a lot of planning lessons with differentiated aspects to do. My kids are pretty cool this year though. I'd forgotten how far my students from last year had progressed throughout the year and so was a bit surprised at the level of my new students at the beginning of this year, but we've figured things out pretty well in our first six weeks. I'm now the fourth and fifth grade basketball coach for the school, which has been a lot of fun. Trying at times, but overall very rewarding.

Outside of school things are going very well. I continue to dance with the Historic group that I started with last year. We have a performance in the Castele San George in Lisbon. It is great to be working with them again as they are a great group of people and we tend to have a lot of fun in our various adventures. They help me out with my Portuguese a lot to and are generally very patient with me.

In addition to this I have been going to a Lindy hop lesson that has just started in Lisbon. I am really excited about this since I have wanted to learn this style of dance for years. The woman teaching it is really cool and has become a fast friend. Actually I've gone up to Porto a few times to see all of my new friends up there and to work on learning Lindy as they have a group that's been established up there for about a year. The people up there are great and I love the city, if we could move our school I think I'd be game for living in Porto.

I've continued playing football/soccer with the group I played with last year and continue to love doing that. They are a lot of fun and have helped me to learn the kind of Portuguese I should not be learning from my students. :) I occasionally get to play on the offensive side of the field now, which has been fun as I've been a defender pretty much the whole time I've played. Still haven't scored a goal yet, but I had a "brilliant" cross for an assist in our first game of the season and that was pretty exciting.

I am still single, which, as I just told a friend I'm talking with on Facebook, is o.k. because it gives me the freedom to fill my hours with all sorts of things and make snap decisions about where I want to go and what I want to do without checking in like a lot of my friends have to do. Having said that I will admit to having joined a Christian online dating website and have talked to a few people. If nothing else it's fun talking to new people. I continue to want to be a father and have continued to do research into adopting at some time in the future, which I think will be absolutely amazing, when it happens.

So I'm thinking that, if everything works out, I'd like to stay on in Portugal for a while longer. I really like my work and have found several niches that I feel I fit in well with outside of school as well. Add to that the fact that I am now, finally, getting to the point where I can hold brief if not totally correct, conversations in Portuguese and it all adds up to making more sense to stay on here for a while longer. If I can straighten out the details I have nothing to complain about.

I'm looking forward to going to Turkey at Thanksgiving. I've heard a lot of amazing things about it and my friend and I have a lot that we already want to jam into the few days that we are there. I have some friends from college coming over at new years. They will be my first official, "International Visitors" but I'm hoping to get many more. My parents have said they are coming out in the spring and I am superpsyched to be having them, they are going to love it! I specifically rented a place that is too big for me so anyone else who wants to visit and have a free place to stay, this is a not so subtle hint that you're invited! :)

I'll write more soon (as in more soon than two and a half months later)!

Hope you are all well!
God bless,
Justin

p.s.

2009-07-28T13:57:00.000Z

I bought an old man hat the other night at the fair by my house. It's awesome. That's all. The end.

In the interim...

2009-07-28T13:22:00.002Z

Bulgaria...

I loved the fields of sunflowers and am working on a creative way of describing the beauty of filds upon filds of the yellow flowers that lay at the feet of mountains.

I learned that these flowers are called girasol. When I proclaimed to one and all that they were missing the beauty around us they politely took note and then went back to their conversations. One friend though took it upon herself to make sure that a field wasn't passed that wasn't brought to my attention and so for the next three hours to our destination and the entire four hours on the way back to the airport a few days later anytime a sunflower was spotted a cry of "girasol" was announced from the depths of the bus.

Our dancing went well, we danced in an old castle along the banks of a river that seperated Bulgaria from Romania to an enthusiastic crowd. We were able to meet new friends from all corners of Europe and I witnessed forms of dancing that I was previously unaware existed.

I was able to lose all of the weight that I'd put on in the states during our five days in Bulgaria. The food was slightly less than wonderful, but the bread and butter were good.

I had a really great time with the group though and was able to get to know my fellow dancers a lot better. My Portuguese improved as that was pretty much all that was spoken. They did take mercy on me and when I had the truelly lost look in my eyes would make sure to catch me up on what was being talked about.

I was able to make a self observation during our trip. A few years ago I took an improv class wherein we talked about different levels of humour and comedy. While on our trip to Bulgaria I realized that at this point in my life, at least here in Portugal, I am at the most basic elementary level of humor. I am constantly using physical, almost slapstick type humor to make people laugh. I'd like to think I'm more sophisticated than this and that it's my limited language that is causing me to act this way but I can't say diffinitively. Just another thought with no point but which will give me something to think about in the future.

I'm back in Portugal now. And I'm really excited to be here. I've been coming into school for the past couple days, slowly getting things together for the next year and trying to brainstorm different ideas that will make me into a better teacher. It's been nice, quiet, and it's o.k. if I get sidetracked with things like facebook and infrequently updating my blog.

My house is clean. Like for real. Like I even did the windows. It smells all nice and clean like too. It's a habit I'd like to get into, this keeping a clean house. I feel a lot better when things are clean and now that it's clean I'm finding that it takes a lot less effort to keep it clean rather than when it got ridiculous and then took days to clean. So, this is my official announcement... Justin Wallace will now be keeping a clean house! For all the naysayers out there, you're probably right, but I'm going to make an effort, which is more than I've said for myself, well... ever.

2009-07-11T18:47:00.001Z

So I'm sitting outside of a Starbucks in Augusta, Georgia when a guy at the next table pulls out his sitar...

Speaking in broken tongues

2009-06-22T10:49:00.004Z

Yesterday my sister said something to me that I didn't quite hear and I responded with, "O que?" As in the Portuguese for, "What?"

In the airport in France the other day a man was speaking with me in French, I think I responded in a strange Portuguese/English/Krio mix, just trying to find something that he would understand.

I am at this moment reading an article in Mens Health Portugal about the form of self-defense that James Bond or Jason Bourne uses. I'm understanding parts of it but feel like I'm in first grade again where you kind of word call until you get to something you understand and then see how that word might illuminate the parts of the sentence that were glazed over a moment before. If I was doing a running record for myself I would have so many "repeated phrases" marks that the score card would probably look like a game of shutes and ladders.

Today at the mall an Asian man asked me in hesitant English if I wanted a massage. I replied with, "Nao, obrigado" which translated from Portuguese means, "No, thanks". I'm pretty sure I didn't consciously think that a random Asian man in the Augusta mall would speak Portuguese, but that's what popped out.

Estrango/strange

This is an unexpected complication in my world tour. How many different bits of languages can my brain hold? It would be different if I was fluent in each, but I'm not. And I'm thinking that unless I decide to stay in each place for longer than two years I am probably not going to be reaching the fluency level in any of the places.

(3 days later)

Life is good.

I've been in the states for a bit over a week and am really relishing my time with friends and family. Despite the fact that this will be a shorter time in the states than previous visits I am squishing in together time with different people so as to make up for lost time. It's like a three week long round of speed dating (not that I've tried speed dating... I'm just saying it's what I think speed dating would be like...).

"Hey! How's it going?"

"Great, what have you been up too?"

"Not much, pretty much the same."

"Cool"

"Where are you going next year?"

"Staying in Portugal"

"Cool"

"Ummm, see ya next year."

None the less, broken conversations kind of match my broken language right now so it all works out.

Photo's of the latest

2009-05-19T18:12:00.005Z

Leslie and João at Montemor-o-velho

Me at Montemor-o-velho

And again at Montemor-o-velho
Dancing with Rita and Leslie at our espectaculo (show).
One of the beautiful side streets in Coimbra

At Fatima, a religious pilgrim destination.

Lady Leslie in her renaissance dress.

The much awaited photo. Me in full renaissance mode.

Portugal vs. Sweden world cup qualifier.

(p.s. There are a lot more photos of the latest on my site http://www.flickr.com/photos/15104001@N00/ Enjoy!)

What's up

2009-05-06T11:07:00.002Z

Lots of things...

Today I have reached the status of grandma. (Yes that is in fact a sentence I never thought I'd say) This morning one of my students (8 years old) told me to go to youtube to see this music video. Then she says she knows another one that's really good but I shouldn't go to it because it has bad words. I can just remember saying the same thing to my grandmother not so long ago.

I am really enjoying my tango classes. I've been going to and three times a week and feel like I'm starting to catch on. It's a bit frustrating because some of my teachers are speaking a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish which means I don't understand at all. The teachers who speak only Portuguese are a lot easier to get. (Which I think means my Portuguese is getting a lot better)

Monday I went to do another voice reading in Lisbon. I am really enjoying this opportunity and I think that they are happy with my work. However, you know at the end of the movies when they show the bloopers? Looks like a lot of fun right? Well the first few times it is kind of funny. After about the sixth time it is no longer quite as humorous. I had one line that I just flubbed over, and over, and over... but we finally got it right. Anyway, they were talking about another job either right before I leave for holiday or when I get back in August so that's cool.

Third grade is studying space right now. I know that I'm a social studies teacher but we had to move some things around so that we could cover all the things that we are supposed to before the end of the year. So I get to teach space! Which I LOVE!!!

The weather has FINALLY turned for the better! As of last Thursday we are finally having the weather I dreamed of in Portugal. The days are hot, sunny and beautiful. Lots more playing outside, lots more beach time and at least this past weekend lots more sunburns. Doh!

I have a conundrum. I was just told yesterday that the historical dance group that I am a part of is going to Bulgaria (I just realized I've been mistakingly telling people Belgium) for 4 or 5 days in the middle of July for a performance festival and that the city of Sintra is paying all but 200 euros of each person's trip. This would be an incredible experience for me. The uncertainty lies in whether or not to go as I was planning on being home for all of the month of July. Being that I don't get home very often I am hesitant to cut the trip home short. I have looked at the calendar though and decided that if I leave the day after school gets out instead of the week after I would only be cutting of my trip by a week. Then I could possibly have time to travel around Europe a little bit before school starts back and see some friends who I haven't had the chance to see yet. So I don't know and I think I have to decide by this afternoon or tomorrow.

(Insert an hour pause here as I play around on the internet looking at flights)

O.k. so...
I think I'll probably go to the States from June 20th to the 15th of July then fly back to Lisbon. After that I'll go with the group on the 17th to Bulgaria. We'll stay there till the 22nd of July at which point they will fly home and I'll fly to Frankfurt (hopefully without my costume) where I hope to crash with friends for about a week (Julie if you're reading this I hope you're going to be around from the 22nd to the 29th of July). Then I'll fly from Frankfurt to Paris and stay with some friends there from the 29th to the 6th (Sofia if you're reading this I hope you'll be around from the 29th to the 6th). After Paris I'll fly to Amsterdam and spend a week there (Hanneke and Sandra if you're reading this I hope you'll be around from the 6th to the 13th of August) Then I'll fly back to Lisbon and have a few weeks to get my class ready before meetings and kids come back. All for the low low cost of 1,212 Euros. ($1,620)!!!
So that's the plan as of this minute! We'll see how that works out. There may well be some rearranging going on depending on availability but we'll see.

Oh, so this past weekend I went down to the Algarve with some friends. That's the southern most part of Portugal and it was BEAUTIFUL! We had a really good time, stayed in my friends apartment and spent a lot of time at the pool. Then Saturday, Leslie, a friend and fellow teacher, and I came back to Lisbon and went to a big dinner and dancing night with our historical dancing group. It was SO MUCH FUN! We danced swing, waltz, cha cha, foxtrot, tango, merengue, and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting. It was amazing!

That's the news from over here. I hope everyone is well. I look forward to seeing you soon!!!

Randomness... Singing in the shower is one of my favorite pasttimes, it's impossible to dance too often, I still haven't taken the Christmas reigndeer down from the television in my classroom, the song "The Circle of Life" is really funny to sing on Singstar because one person says "Himinya way himinaminyawe (or something like that) for the whole time.

someone loves you

2009-04-02T12:15:00.004Z

That's what the note in my wallet says.
It's been there for at least five years.
On a small green post-it note.
It came from a friend who now lives far away.
And while our lives have changed drastically since the note was given.
I know that our love for each other,
while our lives may look different,
remains as strong as the day she wrote it.
The thing about the note is that,
while I look at it nearly everyday
and I think fondly on the friend who gave it to me,
it doesn't only remind me of the giver.
Rather, as I glance upon the note each day,
not really needing to read it anymore
because I know what it says
but mearly seeing it's presence in my wallet
reminds me of all the people who love me,
of the adventures we've had,
of the prayers they offer for me,
of the kisses and hugs, tears and laughs that we've shared.
And I know in these moments
that I am beyond fortunate.
That I am blessed beyond comprehension.
That whereever I am
Whatever I'm doing
No matter how old I am
or how long it's been since we've talked
someone loves me
and most fortunately for me
lots of someone's love me.

2009-03-30T16:34:00.002Z

So much I could say right now...

I like this blogging thing. I've just spent the past half an hour reading over previous posts, smiling at pictures from Sierra Leone, reminiscing about where I was when I wrote the different things I've written. Lots of amazing times. Lots of hard times. Lots of experiences that I'm glad I have chronicled.

When I look back on this past weekend I look forward to the smiles it will bring. (Note to future self... "Hey")

So I knew going home on Friday that the weekend was going to be jam packed. I actually wasn't sure that everything was going to happen that needed to happen but I was looking forward to all that was planned. So rather than going out with some friends whose Friday tradition is to go to a local pub I instead went to the new cafe that has opened a stone's throw from my house with a heavily burdened bookbag and began marking papers. I was still there marking when, an hour later, a man came in who was either drunk or not carrying a full deck. He proceded to walk around the cafe with drink in hand and talked to himself. At one point he came over to my table and started picking up some of the pictures my students had drawn and mumbling something in Portuguese. I waved off the horrified cafe worker as, at that point, he wasn't really hurting anything. Eventually he moved off, my stacks of paper none-the-worse for the experience and I went back to grading. As he was finally ready to leave a man in the cafe who was trying to help him to leave realized he didn't have enough money and the GNR (police) were called. At this point I worried a bit just because I was hoping they wouldn't ask me anything. I've picked up a bit (stress a bit here) of Portuguese but certainly wasn't up to explaining the odd behaviour of my fellow cafe patron. Luckily they didn't ask me anything and the evening ended uneventfully.

The next day I woke up early and went to meet my teammates for our trip up to Porto. Our club was going to play a rival club in a football match that has been going on for nearly thirty years (note the game hasn't been going on that long as games don't actually last for thirty years, rather the rivalry has been going on at least that long). Our trip up was great, I was able to get to know some of my teammates a lot better. Then we played our game and won! Which is good because our club hasn't won in a few years from what I understand. We played really well, worked well together, and were really aggresive. It was a lot of fun!

After the match we hung out for a few minutes before going to a World Cup qualifier match between Portugal and Sweden. On the way I managed to pick up a 76 euro ticket for not swiping my metro card at the appropriate place. I've since talked to a lawyer friend of mine here who seems to think I should be able to get out of it (let's all collectively cross our fingers right... NOW!). When I finally did get to the game it was amazing. The stadium was incredible and the players were amazing. We were crazy close to the game and I saw Christiano Ronaldo do ridiculous things with a football. Unfortunately we came away with a draw which is REALLY bad for Portugal. Craziest part of the game though was the teenage girls behind us who swore like sailors at the top of their voices throughout the game. I felt fortunate at my lack of Portuguese understanding but still understood enough to know that it was not good at all.

After the game we went for dinner and then drove back from Porto at three on Sunday morning. It was an uneventful trip despite the fact that our driver was bent on breaking land speed records. It was actually the fastest I've ever been in a car, maxing out somewhere around 200 kph (125 mph).

Sunday was really cool too. I slept from six in the morning to twelve and then woke up to go to a dance performance. It was my first time dancing with the Historical Group that I've found myself a part of. I still laugh everytime I see myself in my costume in a mirror. In the below picture I'm the guy in blue in the center of the picture. Anyway, I managed to withhold the laughter for the most part, enjoyed dancing in an amazing garden setting with turrets surrounding us, and am now able to say that I've been part of a tourist attraction.

I ran out after the performance ended to catch a train, to catch a subway, to run a kilometer, to get to my Tango class. Unfortunately the class was ending as I got there so I wasn't able to get in on that and didn't really feel like going through the rigamarole (spelling?) of asking people to dance so I instead walked about Lisbon and talked to family back in the States, which was just as nice.

And so another weekend has passed. Five more school days till spring break. Good times.

Justin

Random thoughts: I haven't done random thoughts for a while, I should be doing report cards, I wonder if luck is real or not, I have had a blessed life.

Lately...

2009-03-17T16:08:00.002Z

Lately

Things have been going well.

School continues to be a place that I look forward to coming to. The kids come in each morning and without my needing to say anything other than a "Good morning" along with their handshake they know what to do and how they are expected to come in each morning. They are constantly doing or saying things that make me laugh and we seem to appreciate each other. I had parent conferences the other day and everyone seemed pleased with how the year is progressing.

I am dancing several times a week. Around four or five if I keep going with the new classes I've started. Tango on Sunday. Historical on Monday and the occasional Wednesday. Contemporary on Tuesday and Thursday. Clubbing on Friday or Saturday if anyone is going. It's a good life.

I get to play football (soccer) two to three times a week, which has been wonderful. Two weekends from now we are traveling to Porto, in northern Portugal, for a tournament. Then we are going to go and see a World cup qualifying match between Portugal and Sweden. It should be a really great weekend as I get to know the guys from my club better.

As I sit here trying to think about what else is going on I'm kind of hard pressed to think of anything. As I tend to do I have kind of filled up my days. Which is good. And I am continuing my lifelong pursuit of balance. Sunday morning I woke up early, went to a nearby cafe, ate my breakfast while listening to a sermon on cd and grading papers. It was a very nice morning followed by a football game and then some good beach time.

Speaking of beach time!... I have just recently found out that it is possible to rent a smart car for a euro a day! In case you don't know what these look like I've added a picture below.

Can't you just see me bebopping around town in one of these! Anyway, my new plan is to go rent one and drive it up and down the coast for a day. This way I can get to see more of Portugal without relying on when my friends decide they A)want to go somewhere and B)want me to go with them. Plus it will be a TOTAL BABE MAGNET!!! Ok maybe not so much be there's no harm in trying? I guess we'll see.

So that's my life at the moment. Hope you're well

Singing Tree

2009-02-25T13:25:00.002Z

Singing Tree

I never knew a palm could coo
a morning's greetings to me and you
But as I walk to school each day
a tree I pass greets me this way

I've gazed among it's branches green
the source of the coos I've never seen
And so with confidence I say now
that it must be the tree, though I know not how

What do I do with a tree that sings
What do I make of it's joyous feelings
As it calls to the sun and it shouts to the sky
The low setting moon gets a soft lullaby

To stop, to sit, to listen a spell
to all that my singing tree's trying to tell
In this way perchance I might happen to see
the things that before have escaped from me

If a tree can sing what else have I missed
rocks that have shouted or waves that have kissed
As here I am, there I am, all over bound
I wonder what treasures keep the earth turning round

My chance is upon me I hardly dare wait
while the years stretch before me it isn't too late
Now I must learn there's no reason to rush
I'd do better to slow down, I'd do better to hush

I walk now with a smile, my spirit set free
all due to the cooing of a tall green palm tree

Justin Wallace
2-22-09

Living the dream

2009-02-25T12:37:00.002Z

Hokay so...

A few weeks ago I wrote 25 things about me. I really enjoyed the exercise as it gave me a lot of time to reflect and try to decide what 25 things I wanted to share. I could have put out an entirely different list of 25 things about me or I could have put out a list of 25 things I hope you don't know about me, but I feel good about what I shared.

Anyway...

The point of my bringing this up again is that a week after my list went out a friend of mine here at school, who hadn't read the list, forwarded me an e-mail. The e-mail was from a Portuguese company who needed a reader with an American accent to come down and read some things for a book they were contracted to record. I ignored my students for the minute it took me to immedietly respond to her e-mail saying that I would LOVE to do this and it is something I have always wanted to do. A few days later I was contacted by the company and details were worked out on our meeting and what would be asked of me. I was informed that I was to go to Lisbon where I would be picked up and then taken to the sound studio. There I would read a script for a book for Portuguese students learning English. For my efforts they would compensate me 150 Euro!

So, I made it to Lisbon, met the people at the studio, all of whom were really really great people, read a two page script about MTV, listened to myself, then re-read a few hiccuped spots (luckily I didn't actually get the hiccups, that would have been tragic!) and thirty minutes later I was done. Everyone seemed really pleased with my reading, which is comforting as it's something I've had lots of practice doing. The sound editor lady talked about how hard it is to find a reader with an American accent here in Portugal and expressed that she would like to work with me again in the future! As I was being taken back to the train station the guy who drove me said that he was impressed that the sound lady had taken to me so well as she is normally a hard person to please and reitterated that he hoped to get in contact with me in March or April to come back and do some more reading!

As I got back on the train to head off to my dance class I had a hard time fitting through the train door with my ginourmous smile!

The longest week...ever!!!

2009-02-12T16:34:00.002Z

So this week the other third grade teacher has been absent. He hasn't been feeling well. Along with most of the pre-schoolers and a large number of other teachers. Since we don't really have a large substitute teacher pool to pull from I told the principal on Tuesday that I could take both classes for the day. The kids were great on Tuesday so dispite the 42 children I had sitting on the floor of my classroom the day would have to be considered a success. Wednesday morning dawned and I arrived at school to find out that my fellow third grade teacher still wasn't around. The principal had found a parent substitute for the day but as the morning bell was ringing asked if I could put together work for the class to do. Rather than running around trying to do this I just said that I'd take both classes again.
Unfortunately the novelty had worn off and while I am blessed with two classes full of relatively well behaved children, they are still two classes. I found myself being slightly less patient and slightly more harried by little concerns. I was thoroughly frustrated with some things that are outside of my control and it took a late night call last night to one of my teacher friends before I could put my mind to ease that I'm doing the best that I can do.
This morning I came in to find out that my fellow teacher is still ill and that I still had fourty some odd children. Again, they are generally well behaved but the juggling of the two classes who have different schedules and are at different points in what they are studying caused me to be a bit less patient than I normally strive for.
I have just heard that tomorrow will be a return to normal as my fellow teacher intends to come back.
Sweeter words could not have been uttered.

The difference is...

2009-02-06T17:47:00.003Z

I wrote this entry after my first year in Sierra Leone upon visiting the States. I was rereading it and realized that even though it's only been a few months I've started to gloss over some of the details of my two year stay in Freetown.
Many people have already read this and I hope you will excuse me from posting an old note rather than something new. But I needed a more constant reminder of my former life than the occasional happening upon it in an e-mail folder that I hardly open anymore...

The difference is...

Everyone asks when you come back, "So, What is the difference?"

Five words...21 letters...

It doesn't seem fair. I have so much that I could say.

Does the person want an answer that corresponds in brevity to their own question?

If so, "Everything. It's all different"

And that still has too many letters.

Does the person have the necessary time for what would begin to approach an acceptable answer?

Is it rude for me to ask if they actually want to know or if they are asking because it is expected?

The most honest of answers would probably be something like...

"I'm not entirely sure yet. There are still things that I am rediscovering here that I'd forgotten. There are things that I think about back "at home" in, Sierra Leone as I have found myself referring to it since my return, that I am already missing."

But even if I were to respond to the very best of my abilities how can I explain the multitude of differences between my two homes. I am sure that I don't have the knowledge of language or the ability to paint a picture that would encompass these two worlds. I could just as soon explain to a blind man what color is, when there is no real way to describe color, as explain to my friends and family here, many of whom have never stepped out of the States, what it is like to go to the market on a Saturday morning, it is the equivalent to describing color. We just don't have the same language or memories to relate to in order to understand.

The difference is...

...

...

Where to start?...

The roads are dirt and all of your clothes turn a fun shade of orange, as soon as you step outdoors.

Think about going to a farm. Out in the country. And not one of the high tech. farms. Think of the mom and pop farms. The ones with the rocking chairs on the front porch and the sweet pale lemonade in an old glass pitcher waiting to break your thirst in two. Think about that kind of a farm. Think about what happens when it rains and the yard turns into a muddy patch of nothingness. Remember what it was like to run to your car, raindrops drenching your best Sunday dress. And when you sat down in your car, wiped the cold drops of water from your brow, and looked down. That is what Sierra Leone is like. When you look down and realize that your primping and your bathing, your curling and your polish, has been taken away in the five yards between your screened in porch and the old vinyl seat of your beat up pickup truck. That feeling of wonder and frustration, not knowing if you will ever be able to get out that old Georgia clay. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

The poor and beggars inhabit the street corners, the road home, the hill behind your house, the market that you shop at, the entrance to your work, the everywhere you look, all day, everyday.

Think about that time that you were getting off the highway and you saw that old dirty worthless man. "How does a person get to this point?” you ask yourself. "That would never happen to me. I wouldn't let it. I wouldn't get to the point where I have to rely on others to provide me with clothes, food, and shelter. That person must have no initiative. That person has given up. I would never be like that." And you looked the other way and stepped a little harder on the gas when the light turned green because that makes the problem go away and God forbid that the person approach you for help because like an infectious disease, like the plague or the pox, this person may spread whatever lackluster spirit-crushing sickness that has so infected them onto your person. Now multiply that one person. Raise that person to the n exponent. Surround yourself with that person and no green lights. Take away that person’s overnight shelter. Take away their food pantries. Take away their Red crosses and their ability to write a sign pleading for help. Take that away with that many people. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

The noise. The great cacophony of noise. Surrounding you. Creating a cocoon that never breaks. Strike up the orchestra of dogs, generators, horns beeping, helicopters passing overhead, late night stereo's blaring, children screaming, people calling, cars squealing, goats bleating,...

Think about the time your six year old was having a Disney princess sleepover with ten of her closest friends, while your droll teenager was out in the garage with his band buddies practicing their latest remake of an old Kiss album, and your crying baby takes up one arm while the phone rings and the pizza man is at the door. Don't forget about Rover who desperately needs to get out to make a deposit on the back sidewalk and won't stop barking until he gets his way and the airport that has just completed it's new runway and has been running test flights at regular thirty minute intervals to ensure the safety of all those landings that will soon be zooming over your head. Insert that into your cookie cutter neighborhoods, into your carefully patrolled burroughs. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

The greetings. The smiles. The children running to grab your hands. The wrinkled old vegetable women asking how your day was. The bare chested guard asking when your friends will be visiting next. The taxi man who tells you about his wife and children and driving a taxi for thirty-two years. The lorry driver who slows down enough that you can jump on and save some money on a bright and sunny day. The gimp old man in his white plastic chair who calls out a respectful greeting or the sun shaded young block maker who yells white man.

Think about going to visit your relatives when you were a child for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Think about the feeling of anticipation that you have when you woke up the morning of the trip. You could hardly sleep because you knew that you got to go see the grandma who makes frosted cookies and lets you eat the dough. The grandfather who lets you sit on his lap for a football game and teaches you which are the good guys and which are the bad guys. The uncles who take you out after a belly busting meal and teach you how to hit a baseball or work a half-nelson. The aunts who just can't believe how big you've gotten and want to know about the little cute red-headed girl at school. Remember what it was like to get in the car and never get there. To have that feeling of knowing you are going to a place where you will be greeted and fawned upon. Loved by all who inhabit your space. It is a feeling of being special. It is a feeling of acceptance. It is a feeling that each person that you interact with is glad to see you. It is a feeling that happens each time you open your door and walk onto the street. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

That people go from strangers to acquaintances to friends in lightning fast time because you never know how long this person you are meeting is going to be in the country. A week. A month. Six months. A year. The evolution of friendship gets put on warp drive because it has to or else who are you going to share your life with.

Think about someone who has been told they don’t have long to live. They realize that there is so much to do in life and there may not be time enough to get the things done that they wish to accomplish. Think about the desire they have to see new places, correspond with old friends, have adventures, cherish love, live every moment of everyday to it's fullest because their moments are numbered. In my home we are living something that mimics this proclamation. We don't know how long we have with a person. And we may not have time to stretch out an acquaintancship over weeks or months as we might here in the states. There you ask a person's name, what they do in Freetown, and how they managed to make it to such a place and the person is then well on their way to becoming a friend. If you hang out a second time then the relationship is established. After three times you are old pals and forever after that each meeting only adds to the bond that is now something you will remember for the rest of your life. Squeezing in so much into a short amount of time. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

That everyone and everything you have known and cherished is out of reach. Few e-mails and fewer phone calls don't mean that people have forgotten you but an incredible thing happens. While your adventure takes place...other people are still living their own lives. While it would be interesting to see what happens if everyone else's life gets put on hold when you are not around, this doesn't happen.

Think about when you went to summer camp for the first time. Can you remember how dark it was at night. Odd sounds and weird shadows. Your brain screaming at your prone body to jump right off your squeaky rusty bunk bed and sprint, not walk, not run, but sprint to the phone and dial in a blaze of fingers your home phone number which marches through your head, just to hear your mom or dad say, "Hello? Who is calling at 1 in the morning?" You are more than willing to risk the admonition from the counselors and the heckling from your fellow campers if you can just talk to your family for a moment, for that briefest of times that would allow you to know they haven't forgotten you and that, while they are still living their life, they do miss you and look forward to your return. That is what it is like.

The difference is...

Too vast to explain. And yet... both places are now home. I look forward to being in one place while I'm in the other. Last night I dreamt I was shopping at the market in Freetown. I spoke and heard Krio as I bartered with the local store owners. Months before I came back to the states I started having dreams about places I used to work here, people I used to hang out with, my church, my friends, my family. Everyday since I have been back I have converted most of the prices that I've seen into Leones. For ten months my brain acted like my own little bank and worked out how much I was paying in dollars with most purchases. Everyday since I've been back I've thought about the friends that are in Sierra Leone. Everyday that I was there I thought about the people that I had left and counted the months until I got to see them again.

The difference is...

My way of thinking. Because when I first stepped off the plane ten months ago I was speechless and couldn't have imagined that any place on earth could be more different from the home I had just left than the place I was going to inhabit for the next ten months of my life. And it is different. And while I have tried to relate some of those differences to things that would have made sense to me when I left, I have not done a sufficient job at painting my picture. I cannot relate how I felt that Freetown quickly became my new home because I was able to relate my experiences there with my life here. I cannot relate how each day I learned new things from new experience because it took those new experiences to learn those new things.

The difference is...

Guess I'm still stuck with my original quandary. I will continue to try to decipher what people really want to know. Quick and painless or listen to my voice drone on while I wonder if my audience has grown bored with my endless stories.

The difference is...

Something I am still figuring out.

God bless and my love,
Justin Wallace

25 Things about me

2009-02-05T07:26:00.001Z

25 Things about Me

I am a five foot ten, blue eyed, short haired, athletic, single white male who likes sports, reading and quiet conversations in hidden away café’s, looking for a … oh wait that’s for a different “Things about Me” list… sorry about that.

1. I love to write. I keep a blog and update it occasionally. I am a huge fan of haiku. I have had entire conversations with people in the form of haikus. One of my poems was published when I was in grad school. It was for a project we were supposed to spend the week working on. I forgot about it and wrote my story of myself during class. The professor liked it enough that she admitted it to a journal she worked with. (justinswallace.blogspot.com)

2. I love photographs. I have a buried desire to become a better photographer someday. I would like to think that I occasionally have an eye for what would make a good picture. Mostly though I just like that with a small piece of inexplicable machinery I can soon have a piece of paper that has clearly captured a moment in time that I can then look back on for the rest of my life. That’s pretty amazing.

3. I shaved, like all the way with a razor, for the first time in years last night. Not that I’ve been growing a gigantor beard. I kept it generally neat and trim. But last night I decided I’d like to see what I look like without the accumulated hair. I must admit I cut a dashing figure.

4. I am absolutely horrible at carrying through with ideas that I have. I’m a pretty creative person and have been told that I have good ideas. But I’ve also discovered that I’m a good brainstormer, not such a good carrier outer.

5. I have an interesting relationship with God. I think we understand each other most of the time. My faith is definitely something that is important to me. It is also something that I have seen change more dramatically than any other aspect of my life in the past 28 years.

6. I am a quintessential renaissance man. I will try just about any new thing that I encounter (except food) and generally find that I can do a passable job at most things. I would not say that I am really amazing at any one thing and sometimes wonder what it would be like to dedicate myself to the pursuit of excellence in one area. Instead I continue living the life I have been given and do pretty well for myself jumping from one activity to another.

7. I once did a back flip off of a 30 foot high cliff into a river. My friend yelled up to me that I shouldn’t over-rotate. As I jumped back off the cliff and did my flip I realized that I was pretty much where I started only three feet from the ground I had just left. 30 feet gives you a lot of time to look around, flail about and think about the lack of wisdom involved in doing a back flip off a 30 foot tall cliff. The sound of my back hitting the water still causes me to cringe.

8. I have the unfortunate ability to remember the ending to books I’ve read even if it’s been years since I’ve read them. I still reread books more often than I read new ones. It’s more about the process than the conclusion, I’ve found.

9. I had a major life realization in December. I was writing to a friend about my faith and I realized that I firmly believe that there is a bit of God in all of us. And once I actually realized that I believed that then it TOTALLY changed the way I look at people. As I made that discovery, in a centuries old monastery, I looked at the people around me and my eyes welled up with tears at the sudden and overpowering realization that I could look at the people around me and see God. I was literally surrounded by Him. I’ve professed for years that God is everywhere but this was, to my recollection, the first time that I ever actually saw that God was all around me. It was an amazing moment and has caused me to look at people very differently.
10. My BIG BIG goal in life is to teach on every continent. I am currently up to three. I taught fourth grade for a year in Georgia (the state not the country) and learned an incredible amount about myself and about my chosen profession. I taught first kindergarten and then a combined k-1 class in Freetown, Sierra Leone and was reminded everyday, despite the countless frustrations, why I love being a teacher. I am teaching third grade in Linho, Portugal where I am learning how to put into practice the ideas I come up with and the importance of good classroom management schemes. While it’s a bit early to know I am starting to think that my next post will be in New Zealand as I’ve developed a strong contact with a school there.

11. I love romantic comedies. I have no problem with walking into the “chick-flick” section of the store and picking up a few good movies. I look forward to new Hugh Grant movies. I don’t know what it is but I like them.

12. I have been known to randomly burst into song without preamble. I really enjoy singing. I sing in my classroom all the time. I sing in the shower… loudly. I sing in cars. I sing walking to the bus stop in the morning. I sing in church. I am singing in between entries. I really love to sing.

13. Unfortunately, in consideration of number 12, I am horrible at remembering lyrics. It drove a certain friend of mine in college crazy. She was a wiz at lyrics. I never understood how she did it. I can sing along with music pretty well, but get me on my own and the most random phrases imaginable will come belting out of my mouth.

14. I have always said that if I won the lottery my dream would be to throw a gigantic masquerade ball. I would invite everyone I knew and each invitation would contain a ticket for dance classes, that way when the ball actually happened everyone could really dance. I would hire out cirque du soleil to come and do their craziness in and amongst the guests. It would be freakin amazing. And now that I live in Portugal and am literally surrounded by ancient castles I have plenty of venues for my dream to happen.

15. I find kids to be absolutely amazing. I couldn’t imagine working in a job that wasn’t surrounded by children. Their outlook on life, their zany humor, they just make life more fun.

16. Amongst the many things that I am, I would have to say that, apart from things dealing with children, the thing that makes me happiest in life is dancing. I started actually dancing in high school, before that I danced but it was probably more a flailing, white man overbite, impression of the guy from Hitched, than actual dancing. I began with swing and ballroom and these are still probably my favorites, but since then I’ve done modern, latin, jazz, blacklight and even a bit of ballet. My ballet career fell flat before it started though because of my inability to point my toes despite hours and hours of attempts.

17. I am a frustration to my parents. Well that’s half true. I am a frustration to my amazing mother. I am a reflection of my father so he can’t get too frustrated with me. Despite my life long pursuit to do everything, my parents have continued to support me whatever the newest craze is. For that I am eternally grateful.

18. The first thing I did in my new classroom was to put up a sign that reminds me that “Patience is a virtue!” This is a lesson that God has been trying to drill into my head for the past forever and I continually seem to need reminding. Having a visual reminder helps a lot though.

19. I work hard to live a life that will never allow me to look back on things and regret any decision I’ve made. That is not to say that I haven’t made my share of stupid choices. I’ve probably actually filled my life quota for stupid choices and I’m only 28. However, I make a concerted effort to use those stupid choices to make myself into a better me. It doesn’t always work like I mean for it to, but I try.

20. Someday, when I either don’t want to be a teacher anymore, which seems inconceivable at this point, or more likely when I just want a break, I want to become a librarian. For a school. That seems like an amazing job. Recommending and reading books to kids all day long. I could deal with that.

21. In relation to reading books. My other someday dream job is to be the guy that reads books onto tape, or cd as the case is these days. I think I could do a good job of that. If anybody has a hookup with someone who needs a reader for their book, give me a call!

22. If Facebook ever needs an advocate or spokesman I will gladly take up the role. I am so grateful for this “socializing device”. Especially since living overseas makes it difficult to stay in touch with people, Facebook has been the most amazing tool possible for staying in touch with friends and family. I get on everyday and get excited every time I’m told I have a new post, a new message, a new friend.

23. I cannot snorkel. I don’t know why. I’ve tried. And I always lower the water level of whatever body of water I’m in by drinking my body weight in water.

24. I always want to wake up first on Christmas. I want to be the first one to check out what’s in my stocking. This year I called my dad at seven in the morning England time, which is two in the morning Georgia time, just to make sure he could be privy to my early morning Christmas joy spreading. I can’t say that he was overjoyed by my call, but I think he got the point. Having said that, I don’t like to open my presents first. I like to sit back and watch everyone else open theirs first and then quietly open mine on the side.

25. I’m bad at keeping in touch with people but think about them far more than I let them know. Memories of friends and family keep me going when I go to new places and am surrounded by new people. In Timbuktu I spent the afternoon and evening thinking about what different people would say about the rather non-attractive camels we rode into the Sahara. In London I walked around for days on my own imagining what different people would want to see or what they would say about the rather interesting fancy dress New Years Eve party at a small village bar I went to. During the time I spent in Freetown I constantly thought about how different friends would react to the craziness that I encountered everyday. And now here in Portugal I wonder what different people are doing where, how their lives are changing and when I will get to see them again. Though I may be bad at writing to people I hope that they know that they are constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

Pictures from Portugal and vacationing in England

2009-01-07T13:32:00.012Z

This is the local fort just by my house.

Leslie, João, and I went bowling at Colombo.

Some of the Christmas decorations in Sintra.

Some more decorations.

I helped make that. My first Yorkshire pudding.

An authentic thatch house just outside of Ely, Eng.

Percy, Joy, and I out for a walk on Christmas day.

Charlie and I at Cambridge.

Me in front of some Cathedral in Cambridge.

I liked this because it shows a Lisbon taxi.

One of the street performers on the South Bank, London.

Big Ben and me. And my nose hairs.

Ummm... yeah.

The entrance to the Natural History Museum in London.

Hard to see but it says Knightrider street! Ha!

A grainy picture of the London eye.

A blurry picture of one of the bridges crossing the Thames.

Christmas dinner complete with cracker hats!

Tom killing the leftovers.

Ely Cathedral

Maribeth and me. And the as yet unnamed reindeer.

Making Christmas cookies with my kids.

Lucas in a Santa mask with me and the reindeer.

Xiao Feng trying to eat the camera.

Yotaro and Erdem are my best artists.

My kids at their Christmas concert.

We're still working on the straight line bit.

The monastery at Belém.

An example of the beautiful sidewalks here.

Me at Belém Monastery.

Me at Belém monastery...again.

Belém monastery... without me.

The tribute to the Portuguese explorers.

Affectionately known as the Golden Gate bridge II

The statue of Christ overlookings Lisbon.

The view from my balcony.

Dance Performance

2009-01-05T14:47:00.004Z

I have written that I am finally getting the opportunity to dance again. I have had a really good time getting to know the people I dance with, trying to figure out the Portuguese instructions for what I am supposed to do and where I am supposed to do it, and generally just getting to move again.

We had a performance on December 20th and I was able to get a friend of mine to record it on my shiny blue camera that mom got me for my birthday. Hope you enjoy!

Thoughts

2009-01-01T21:36:00.002Z

A friend of mine from Sierra Leone is thinking seriously about moving back to England, where she is from. She still loves Sierra Leone, probably as much as anyone I know. But she has been thinking a lot about roots or in her case the lack thereof. She is worried that she is losing touch with her friends. She doesn't want to become one of the world travelers that we have seen that move all over the world but don't have anywhere to call home.

It has raised interesting thoughts for me.

I would say that the vast majority of the time I am very happy with the choices that I have made that have taken me to first Freetown, Sierra Leone and now Estoril, Portugal. I have made a conscientious effort to make decisions that I will not regret. And I don't. I love what I am doing. I love the experiences that I am having. I love the people that I am meeting. But...

But last night was New Years Eve. And as I hung out in a small English pub wishing my one friend, her two friends, who I got on well with, and a host of strangers a happy New Years I kind of just wanted to go home. I have had a fantastic holiday but you know that point where you are kind of spent and are ready for your own bed, a normal routine, and all the rest, well I reached that last night. But as I threw more darts and thought about wanting to go home I realized that I'm kind of without that at the moment. This isn't the first time it has hit me that I am kind of homeless but it really struck hard last night.

The United States... I lived there for 25 years. I still have a lot of friends there. My family is all there. But people keep asking me things about the US, you know like movies, singers, t.v. shows and I can't answer them. And it isn't just that I'm not plugged into pop culture. It's that I really don't have much of a desire to go back for any extended length of time. I would love to go for holiday, but that's about it at the moment. I figure I could go back if I wanted to. I could get a job teaching or enroll in school somewhere or do just about anything, but I don't really want to. And I guess you can't call a place home if you don't want to be there.

Sierra Leone... I spent the past two years there. I still have several close friends there. I am sure that if I wanted to go back to the school they would LOVE to have me back. I could probably even move into my old house and sit on the same hammock that I left there. But my time there feels done. If I would have stayed another year I am sure that I would have loved it. But I made the choice to go. And I don't regret that choice. There are a lot of frustrations that I have glazed over in my six months of not being there. A lot of people that I knew and who made Sierra Leone what is was for me are now gone. God led me away from Sierra Leone and I followed. Freetown is different and I am different. If I went back I would want it to be like it was and I would have a hard time adjusting to how things are now. Add the fact that I don't really have a history there and Freetown isn't home.

Portugal... Live there now. Have a flat that I love. Have made some great friends in the past few months. Absolutely love my work. But a place cannot become a home in five months. It just can't. I'm all about the idea that home is where you lay your head and I guess that has kind of been the way that I've lived my life for the past bunch of years. I can't call Portugal my home yet. I could see it growing into a home. Actually, pending my ability to learn Portuguese (which has been highly frustrating thus far), I could actually see me being there for a very long time. But for now, it's not home.

So... ummm... I'm not real sure where that leaves me for the moment. Surely without much of a home to speak of. But the big question and the center of my thoughts has been, "What do I intend to do about that?" I certainly can't make this a quick fix. But what do I intend to do? I have at least a year and a half left in Portugal, which I am really quite happy about. I still think my big big goal in life to teach on every continent is a good one and something I plan to stick to. The timing is what is in question now though. I could, quite easily I imagine, continue doing two year contracts until my goal is achieved. Actually, it doesn't even have to end there. I could keep moving around forever if I chose to. And I have to admit that the idea is vaguelly appealing. Always moving around, living in new places, making friends all over the world, seeing sights that others only read about in books or don't even hear about at all. It's exciting, it's adventurous, it's an idea.

Or... I could make my life goal into more of that; a LIFE goal. I could take my time. Spend more than two years in a place. Really get to know the language, the culture, the hidden places that tourists don't know about. In this situation it's easier to see myself attaining my other big big goal in life which is to have a family. Depending on how well you know me or how often we've talked you will know how desperately I want to be a part of a family. I think it would be the most incredible thing I ever do to find someone who will love me forever, hope, pray, and beg if needed for her to marry me, and then have children, love them sooooo much, and be the most amazing father, husband, family man I can possibly be. It's a bit difficult to see this happening with my round the world tour kind of lifestyle, not impossible but difficult. However, if I find a place that I really like, stick around for a few years, maybe that could be a more attractive trait than the "Let's move EVERYWHERE", approach that I've been trying but failing with.

So, again, what to do... I guess I don't know. I guess there are times when everyone isn't overjoyed with their lot. And I guess that I have a lot to be thankful for and during times when I feel like I'm missing out on something I ought to keep in mind the absolutely fantastic life I've been given.

Still, it would be nice to have somewhere that is "home".

But that to will come in time and maybe this is just another opportunity to learn what has been my biggest struggle in life.

Patience.

Happy New Year and God bless,
Justin

A social experiment

2008-12-30T01:59:00.002Z

I have been on my own in London for the past few days. For those who know me you may be asking yourself, "How is Justin managing on his own for three days? He has never seemed like the type that would get on well all on his lonesome. He normally has to be with people doing something."
I would answer you that you are not alone in your thoughts. I myself had the same thoughts. But the time has been good for me. I've seen a lot of London, walked around A LOT, and generally had a lot of time to think thoughts.
One thought that occured to me two weeks ago when I was writing a letter (notice I actually wrote letters... on paper) to a friend. I was writing to her about my beliefs and one that I firmly hold to is that I think that there is a bit of God in each and every person. As I was writing to her I looked around at the people who were in the Cathedral and I teared up with the realization that I was not only in the presence of God in that I was in a Cathedral but I was surrounded by the presence of God in all of these people. It was a big realization to make.
Well as I packed my things into a borrowed satchel bag on Friday night I realized I'd be spending the next few days on my own and decided that as much as I possibly could during my time alone I would look at the people I pass on the street, the people I interact with in shops, and just everyone I encountered in any way and conciously (I never know if I spell that word correctly) think to myself, "There is a bit of God in you".
The results of this have been interesting. For one thing I've realized it is really really hard to keep in mind the decision to think that of everyone. Part of this is that I wouldn't be able to think anything else being that I'm constantly surrounded by people here. Another is the newness of this. I haven't ever tried to think anything like this all the time. I have several times a day caught myself not having thought about this for several hours at a time and will strive to be more dilligent in my thinking.
Aside from the difficulty of it it has been really really great. I quickly realized that I couldn't JUST think of God as being in each person. Once I thought that I then felt the need to wish God's blessings on the people I was passing. Then I thought about how each person has a story, a history and a future, that I will never know because they are faces on a sidewalk (which by the way sounds like the title of a poem. I should give that some thought). Mostly though I have spent my three days walking the streets of London smiling because my eyes are slightly more open to the amazingness of God. He is in all of us, irregardless of what we believe. He has taken the time to get to know us. We reflect his image. When I look at a man on the street do his ears curve just like God's? That woman, is her pinky finger an exact replica of the Almighties? It makes walking the streets much more interesting.
I have a few more days here but I doubt that I will ever be able to look at people the same way again...
Which I'm o.k. with.

God bless,
Justin

Pictures of Life in Portugal

2008-12-04T15:53:00.009Z

(Above)

A birthday celebration for Nasreen and me. Great Greek food, good friends, definitely a night to remember!

(Below)

Christina and Carla threw a wonderful birthday picnic for me at the BIG BLUE HOUSE ((I've decided that their house shall forever be all capsed)). We had an amazing cake, I recieved an infants book of Portuguese, which we decided was still a bit hard for me, and had a great time with my new friends.

(Below)

Halloween fun at THE BIG BLUE HOUSE ((I've decided the THE in THE BIG BLUE HOUSE needs to be capitalized also)). Some fun decorations, interesting costumes, karaoke and Buzz!

(Below)

Halloween night at Joy's place. Amanda, not shown below, definitely won the best dressed prize by showing up dressed as an oven with a picture of a loaf of bread on the oven door. She was expecting to give birth like two weeks later. The party stopped as everyone turned to behold her glorious costume. Good times.

Life is good

2008-10-16T15:39:00.002Z

I can't help smiling as I recline at my very clean desk at how good life is right now.

My first Portuguese conversation resulted in a friend and I going to the theatre two weekends from now... I think... or maybe we are meeting for coffee tomorrow. I probably ought to call her to check on that.

My room is cleaner than it's been all year.

I feel very ready for my parent conferences tomorrow, which probably means I'm not ready at all but at least for the moment I feel good about them.

My kids were drawing pictures of me on the whiteboard after school today. Right now I am looking upon a green picture of a oval with sunglasses, a beard, an extra mustache, a very little bit of hair, and a sign that says, "Dom't irase Mr. Wallace". At least they spelled my name correctly. I'm sorely tempted to leave it on the board for conferences tomorrow. It'll give me something to smile about.

The housecleaner is at this moment taking the ruinous mass of my house and making it livable again. Actually it wasn't that bad off but she assures me she can make it sparkle so I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of magic she works.

I have dance class in just a few hours where I will have the opportunity to gaze off into nothingness, and reenact a pretty good facsimile of some of my students in class, while the dance instructor goes on in Portuguese. Then I get to dance. And it will be wonderful! I smile at the thought.

Last night I went to bed at nine something. Actually I fell asleep on the couch after eating reheated take out chinese. But it was about nine something that I drifted off. At about twelve I woke up and thought about school and friends for thirty minutes before I managed to fall back asleep.

I've caught up on a few e-mails today. If you weren't one of the lucky recepients I'm still working on it. Sorry! :)

Tomorrow after an exhaustive day of meetings I'm going to some friends house for a bar-b-cue before going out dancing with my dance instructor and some other friends in Lisbon.

Nothing planned on Saturday so may fulfill my one time dream of sleeping through an entire day. Then two football matches on Sunday.

Overall I'm feeling really good about things right now.

Ha

2008-10-16T15:33:00.003Z

I am at this moment trying to have my first written Portuguese conversation on Facebook chat. There is lots of copying and pasting going on with the free online translator, frantic flipping through my copy of 501 Portuguese Verbs, and still lots of miscommunication going on. Good times! :)

Class Photo

2008-10-08T16:21:00.002Z

ME AND MY NEW CLASS

These are my awesome new kids! We took a few pictures for our pen pals and I thought I'd share one. They are very very cool and we are having a great start to the year!

Bitten by a Portuguese dog

2008-10-05T12:41:00.004Z

I was bitten by a dog the other day. I was walking to St. Julians for training with my football club, the Lisbon Casuals, when out of nowhere I hear the pounding of paws on the ground and look up to see a giant Doberman kicking up dust in an all out sprint in my direction. A moment of fear gripped my rapidly beating heart... and then the dog tripped over a dirt pile. It got up, tongue lolling out of it's mouth, gave me a glance, and ran back to it's owner. That wasn't the dog that bit me.
That event happened a few minutes later when I was walking up to a small house to ask directions to the football pitch. Out of nowhere (maybe I need to be a bit more observant) a small ball of hair reached out and bit my ankle. It scared me more than anything, it didn't break the skin, and as I made to punt it (I wouldn't really kick a dog) it ran off barking.

...

The other day a lady said I have big boobs. I was at the outlet mall, which is crazy by the way, and was looking at shirts. One of the ladies at the shop was helping me to find my size and she consulted with the other lady at the shop about whether I was a size 2 or 3. The consulted lady indicated that the 3 would be too big for me. My helper looked at me, looked at the lady, then put her hands on her own puffed out chest and made motions that I took to mean big, then pointed at me again. I had to stifle a laugh and tried on the too big shirt. We found out that my boobs aren't as big as the lady thought and I am in fact a size 2.

...

As I rode the bus home the other night my mind flashed back to my years of dancing with the Berry College Dance Troupe. What would make me think back to those wonderful years? My new Contemporary Dance class that I've signed up for! I'm now dancing for two hours, twice a week and it's GREAT!!! I certainly didn't have any kind of outlet like this in Freetown and forgot how much I missed dancing. We're putting together a piece of choreography that my friends have informed me we will perform at some later unknown date. I really can't even explain how jazzed I am about this. One of the funniest bits is that I forgot to tell my friend who initially invited me that I've danced before and she got a bit flustered when I picked things up faster than she did after she's been going for a while. I think I may have gotten hit for that one. :)

...

I'm finding my way here in Portugal. My kids continue to be wonderful. I'm having a great start to the year and the people at school continue to seem like they appreciate what I'm doing. I'm working hard to stay balanced, trying to make sure I consider the importance of things before getting to worked up about anything, and makings sure I give thanks to God for the opportunities He's given me.

God bless,
Justin

Life in Portugal

2008-09-10T16:49:00.000Z

Hello all,

Four weeks ago(ish) I arrived in Portugal to wild fanfare and much rose throwing. The crowds greeted me with traditional dancing and the ladies swooned as I rode through the streets.

-or-

Four weeks ago(ish) I arrived in Portugal, met my school director, and traveled to my new home Estoril. I looked around for apartments that same day and within a few hours (and 48 euros worth of phone calls) found my new apartment. It's great! I live on the fifth floor of my building, basically have a rap around veranda that overlooks Estoril, Cascais, and the ocean, and have redecorated enough that I feel quite comfortable now. I have a good sized kitchen, especially considering the closets some of the other places called kitchens, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. So anyone who would like to come visit...there is plenty of space waiting for you!

I get to school on the city bus each morning at a bit after seven. School starts at eight thirty so I get plenty of time in the mornings to make sure that I have things ready for the day. The school is well equipped with a laminator, book maker, and I'm even allowed to make my own copies which is SOOOOO great!!! I have 22 kids from all over the world. I think last time I checked we've got kids from China, Japan, Turkey, USA, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Peru, and India. They are a really good group of kids, I've had a great start to the year. My overall hesitation about teaching older kids is being put to rest. It kinds of help that I've been spending 11 hours at school though so I can stay on top of things. I would like to think I've learned a lot from my past few years of teaching and am really working hard to keep on top of things. My room is full of classroom management stuff too so that the kids have a routine and know what is expected of them. It's made things work so much smoother.

I've been making friends with a lot of the teachers here at school. They've been showing me where to go out here, which is really nice. The other night after I had a dozen people over to mine for drinks and snacks a few of us went out and ended up at a bar/dance club that had a 250 euro entrance fee (which my friend helped us bypass because it was her birthday) which was the most ridiculous place I've ever been in my entire life...ever! Bad red plush booths, horrible music that was so bad that you had to dance to it, people trying to act awesome because they'd just payed a small fortune to get in, it was hilarious and we stayed till five something cutting a rug. It was one of those things were I would look around every now and then and laugh just for the absurdity of the situation (kind of like when I went dancing this past summer in Augusta; if you haven't read about that check out my blog at justinswallace.blogspot.com). Anyway, all that is to say that I am making some friends over here, the people I work with are really great, some of the most helpful people ever, and that I'm not sitting around every night twiddling my thumbs.

Last Sunday I woke up for church. There is a church of England not five minutes from my house. The crowd is a bit older than me... by a few decades, but it was good to go to a church where I felt very comfortable with the service. The Father used to be a vicor in England too so he has this wonderful accent! I really enjoyed it and will work harder to wake up on Sunday mornings from now on.

Tonight I'm going to go for a try with the Lisbon Casuals, which is a local football club/soccer team. It'll be great to get out and kick about again. I'm a bit out of shape though so will see what happens with that.

I did get a chance to go for a Hash run on Saturday. It was more family oriented than the group I used to run with in Freetown but the opportunity to see more of the country is wonderful. We ran through the Sintra hills which were beautiful.

I have had the opportunity to see some amazing cultural festivities in my few weeks here. There was an art fair just down from my house throughout the month of August which I managed to go to twice. There were lots of neat arts and crafts and the second time I went I watched a dance group perform traditional Portuguese dances. That was wonderful. I also had the opportunity to go see a big band call The Weasel perform in Cascais. I wasn't super into it but the square where they performed was packed with people from newborn to needing a cane to get around. The people were fun to watch. Every Friday and Saturday they shoot off fireworks over the ocean which are great to watch.

This past Sunday I went to a palace in Sintra and watched a play with nine new friends. The play happened in the gardens of the palace and we walked through them as the play progressed. It was really weird, maybe moreso because I didn't understand anything that was going on as it was all in Portuguese, but really good to see anyway. The gardens were beautiful, some of the comedy was visual so I got to laugh at that, and the play ended with a traditional wedding festival dance around the garden which was super fun because you don't need to speak Portuguese to dance.

Umm... other stuff... I'm eating a lot of pork and beef. I had octopus the other day in the spirit of trying new things and actually did o.k. until I got to the sucker bits. That part wasn't so great.

I will be voting in the upcoming election. People may or may not be talking about it much here. I don't understand most of what is said around me so... We talked the other day about McCain's choice of runningmate. That caused a bit of a stir.

My aquisition of the language is going painfully slowly although the Portuguese people I've been hanging out with have told me that I'll pick it up with no problem. I try not to scoff to hard at them for their niceness. I am looking to sign up for classes as soon as I figure out which nights football happens.

I miss Freetown... a lot. It's hard not being there, missing my kids, my friends, that way of life. It's true that things there were hard but it really was two of the best years of my life. God really blessed my time there. I wasn't sure about things here for the past couple weeks but am starting to feel that things here are going to work out. God has a purpose and all, we'll see what comes of it.

So yeah, that's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure that I missed talking about something but it's twenty to six and I'm starting to think more of getting home than the things I've missed. Sorry. Please remind me about the things you've asked me that I've forgotten to mention.

Love you all,
God bless,
Justin Wallace
justinswallace@yahoo.com
justinswallace.blogspot.com

A wand no longer needed for the Knight bus.

2008-08-27T15:42:00.002Z

I am absolutely convinced, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that J.K. Rowling took a trip on one of the busses going from Estril to Sintra Portugal before writing about the Knight bus in her Harry Potter series. These busses careen around narrow corners, hurtle through tiny streets lined with parked cars, and somehow manage to miss just about everything on the road. It's really miraculous, or magical if you want to take Rowling's side.

Other than that realization which occured yesterday things are going well. I'm pretty happy with the way my classroom looks now. I've got plenty of things up on the walls to show parents who come tomorrow yet there is lots of space for student work. I've been meeting a lot of the new teachers and they all seem wonderfully helpful, which is really nice.

Saturday we're having people over to my apartment for food, drinks, and hanging out. It should be fun. I want lots of people to come but don't know how many my place can hold so it could be an interesting social experiment. If it isn't too windy (which I'm not betting on at all) then we could take the chairs and tables up to the rooftop terrace where there is plenty of room. However if things continue as they are if we tried such a manuever everything would blow off the top including the people, so we'll see.

I'm feeling much more prepared than normal at the beginning of the year. I think that I've spent a lot of time reflecting on past years and trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. It could just be blissfull ignorance and next week is going to hit me like a ton of bricks. Or I could be realizing that stressing out and running around doesn't really help matters, that ten minute breaks to update a blog actually helps to refocus the mind, and that things can only be so ready for Monday morning. After that it's all about flexibility and rolling with the punches. So we will see.

Random thoughts...
(There is no space in my mind right now for random thoughts, I'm pretty focussed on school right now...)

Toto, I don't think we're in Freetown anymore.

2008-08-20T15:24:00.002Z

What's different? Everything.

Like the fact that the @, ?, and ' are all in the wrong spot on this keyboard so if you don't understand what I'm typing I apologize in advance.

I arrived in Portugal three days ago. It's been pretty crazy. Getting here was nuts to start with. It seems I was supposed to fly out last Thursday NOT last Friday when I showed up at the airport. Oops. I don't think this one was my fault though, everything I'd received told me that the 15th was my departure day. Anyway, I was able to spend some extra time with friends in Atlanta (Thanks Faye and Jeff) and made it onto the Saturday flight.

I made it to the airport in Lisbon with little complication. That was nice. Then my school director picked me up, showed me to the hotel, and informed me that even though I'd been up for the past umpteen hours and had flown over a giant body of water I ought to go apartment hunting that afternoon. So after a quick shower I was off.

It was actually a lot of fun looking at apartments. It is absolutely beautiful here. In a different way than Freetown though. I commented on how brown everything here is and was told some other teachers who have just taught in Kuwait for the past several years were marveling at how green everything is. Perspectives. Anyway, I found a place relatively quickly. It was packed with old grandma knick-knacks, which I was able to look beyond and see a great three bedroom (lots of room for visitors... hint hint) place with an exceptional view of the ocean. I spent a lot of yesterday throwing... I mean placing carefully, old grandma stuff in closets. I need to get some sticky stuff for the walls so I can redecorate a bit, but it's starting to feel a lot more like home already. (Home being a very non-concrete concept for me)

I've spent a lot of time walking up and down the boardwalk, which is actually made of tiles. I've resumed my morning Bible reading and working out schedule, which is nice. I hear there are places to take yoga here so I may start that up again depending on how things go once school starts. I've already started talking to a few people about getting a bike to ride to school and have had a few places recommended. Yesterday I bought a phone that was too expensive for me but is really nice, taking pictures, which is good since I don't have a camera, and playing music, which is nice cause I don't have an i-pod.

Other than that things are kind of just moving along. I met my co-teacher today. He is new to the school also and comes from the British system so I think there will be a bit of a blind leading the blind mentality for the first little while. It does give us the, "We didn't know that's how it was supposed to work", excuse for a while. I think our director is pretty cool though and will be very supportive.

So that's the news from here. I'll throw some pictures up here once I figure out how to get them off my phone.

Random thoughts: Dogs on cups with cups in their mouths begging for change make good companions to accordian players lying in the street, Portuguese women really are as beautiful as people keep saying they are, there is a castle five minutes from my house and people talk about it like it's no big deal, roundabouts shouldn't have stoplights.

The wrong place to look for a date

2008-08-10T04:07:00.004Z

Tonight was AWESOME! I went to the Christian Singles dance this evening in Augusta. The website advertised that individuals from 18 and up attended, that the typical dances included swing, ballroom, and line dancing, which all sounded good to me. So last minute I threw on some clothes, made sure I was looking hot and my breath was minty fresh and took off.

So, I show up at the dance and see pretty quickly that this is going to be an interesting evening. Out of the hundred people that were at the dance there might have been four that were about my age. The rest... closer to 60. At least. Maybe one or two in there 40's, several in their 50's, a lot above social security age. I took a few minutes to decide what to do. Then I spent the next three hours dancing with people older than my parents. It was HILARIOUS. I had such a good time. Maybe didn't help out my singleness very much, but I did get to dance and had a good time doing it. There were times when I would look around and just laugh because I tried to picture what I looked like surrounded by blue hair and dentures. Most of the time though I forgot where I was because I was having such a good time.

Random thoughts: "I kissed a girl and I liked it..." gets stuck in your head and never leaves, I had too much junk in my house before moving to Sierra Leone, I leave for Portugal on Friday and finally feel like I'm ready to go, Strawberry-Banana yogurt is my favorite.

My last weeks in Salone the photo edition

2008-07-18T03:01:00.014Z

The last two weeks of my two years in Freetown, Sierra Leone were absolutely packed with things I never ever want to forget. I tried to capture some of the highlights and will share them with you below. Thanks to everyone who made my final moments a time that I will cherish forever.

Fourth of July: Including Indoor Masked Badminton, Crazy Charlie, and lots of drinks, food, and friends!

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Hike to Charlotte Falls: Includes kids making crazy faces, beautiful scenery, my new singles.com photo, and swimming in the rain with umbrellas to keep dry

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The International Worship Service: Includes the best picture of Sandra and me ever, me and the ladies, the Incredible Paul and Sara Choi

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Farewell to Bjorn: Includes excellent and not at all silly group shots of the gang. Unfortunately omits groundnut stew dinner when everyone's bellies grew three sizes, funny and slightly offensive racial jokes (about our own races of course), and a surprisingly deep game of Angel cards.

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Bible Study Party: Included dinner and chatting, friends, an incredible amount of support and love shown and appreciated

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Sports Club FC: Includes team photo's, the magnificent pitch, defensive backs watch out for each other on and off the pitch

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Going away bash at Alex's Sports Bar: Includes loads of dancing, plenty of friends, a slightly inebriated camera that had a hard time focusing

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Last beach trip to River Number 2: Includes lazy Sunday lounging, beautiful beach babes, and paradise

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Random Shots of Freetown: Includes the busiest street I've ever tried to bike down, young footballers in Victoria Park, my friend Elaja and the unbeatable Ms. Abigail, the national landmark of Sierra Leone; the cotton tree, and my friends down the street Mohammed and his family

I'm back!

2008-07-17T07:24:00.003Z

I'm home!

Sort of. I'm in my parent's new house, in a city I haven't lived in for nine years, in a country I haven't lived in for two years. But things are still familiar, and if home is indeed where the heart is then I'm more than halfway home.

My journey back was rather unremarkable in everything but length. I think it took something like forty hours to get here. Which is a while, but things went well, so no worries.

I now have the uneviable task of figuring out how to squish everything that I want to get done into the next month. There are lots of people to see and places to go and I want to make sure I do as much with my time here as I can.

Random thoughts: It's less nerve racking to travel over the Atlantic Ocean than it is to ride in the back of a packed poda-poda knowing at some point I will have to climb over everyone to get out; some houses are meant for certain people and my mom found HER house, I am drinking water out of the faucet for the first time in 11 months and it's weird; I'm glad the first thing I ate upon arrival in the States was McDonalds, I feel more like I'm at home for having done so.

Yesterday

2008-07-08T15:15:00.003Z

I was hit by a taxi yesterday. Not exactly the highlight of my day. I was riding my bike down Siaka Stevens street and dodging in and out of cars. I ducked around this big SUV just as a taxi started to cross the street. I saw what was going to happen a split-second before it happened and through instinct was able to break, slide the bike, and brace myself for impact all at the same moment. It was a glancing blow off the front of the car. I stayed on the bike, was lucky nothing else was moving through the intersection, and answered the lady in the SUV who worriedly asked if I was o.k. before moving off through more heavy traffic.

My reasons for braving the ridiculously crowded streets of downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone include...
1. I've been out of school for two weeks and have spent a large portion of that sitting on my rump. This is the main reason for my waking up everyday last week at 3:30, wide awake, and unable to sleep for several hours. I don't do so well with sitting around for large amounts of time and need to get out and do more.
2. I am working on a children's book. Part of the project includes taking lots of pictures of street scenes in Freetown and I thought that since it wasn't raining torrentially, like it's been doing recently, I ought to take advantage of the day to get some pictures.

While the getting hit by a taxi part wasn't fun, I did have a really good time. Riding around on a bike gave me the chance to see parts of town I've never seen before. It gave me the freedom of movement to get around to different areas quickly but still allowed me to stop and talk to people that riding in a car doesn't really provide. I was also able to get through really crowded area's faster than I could have otherwise done.

Like when I saw a row of poda podas (vans that can seat up to 16 but often hold far more than that, including a cow that my friend saw in the backseat of one once) that was stuck at a junction. They couldn't turn because the other street was also full of poda podas that weren't going anywhere. Being the brilliant rider that I am I thought I would just ride around the traffic, cut the corner to where I saw a wonderfully empty street. There was a puddle of nasty filth water on the corner by the poda poda but I figured I could easily ride through it on my way to freedom. Alas, as my front tire sunk halfway down into the muck the bike froze. Time slowed as I frantically looked for a place to put my foot down in order to keep myself upright. Time didn't slow enough as the only place to put my foot down was more of the nastiest muck I've ever seen. Up to my knee. I had no option but to laugh. I quickly pulled my foot out of the muck, got my bike headed down the road, smiled at the people calling out to me, and laughed. My leg was covered in slime, my shoe was a putrid brown color, and I could just laugh. I'm sure I looked a little funny.

Later I road home and used about a half a bar of soap, everywhere, to make sure I hadn't been contaminated by whatever I'd stepped into. Good times.

Last night was really nice. I went over to my friend Claire's house. We had an excellent vegetable stir fry. Then I hang her hammock in her screened in porch and we just sat, her in the hammock and me in a chair, and for a good while neither of us said anything as we enjoyed the cool night breeze and the sound of the crickets and tree frogs chorused around us. It's really nice to have friends who you can just sit quietly with, comfortable in silence.

That was my day. It was good.

Random thoughts: Dark chocolate has it's moments, 24 hours isn't enough time in the day, one week to go, it's great to reminisce with friends, I need a personal masseuse

Faith and Art

2008-06-21T16:40:00.003Z

I started out white like a canvas
A blank slate with potential to spare
My life was stretched out before me
Waiting on a hand to paint me with care

The artist started out simply
Broad strokes were laid down with pride
A framework was needed for structure
For my faith which would later be tried

The time that He took was precious
As his painting began to appear
A few more strokes and then finished
The faith that evolved became clear

The painter stood back for perspective
To see what he'd created thus far
The weaknesses others might pick at
He saw for the beauty they are

The painter then did the unthinkable
He left the painting undone
To finish the work isn't His job
He has left that to me, His son

I am not left on my own though
He wouldn't do that to me
He watches as I pick up the paintbrush
The details he waits to see

At times the painting is easy
The framework He's painted is sound
I find the details come simply
My faith built upon solid ground

Other times distractions are frequent
And the details they start to blur
These times my Father will hold me
To keep my hand steady and sure

The painter and I work together
What comes next, only He knows
But my once white canvas is colorful
A testament to how my faith grows

Justin Wallace
June 20, 2008

Random thoughts: Goodbye's aren't fun, crying is o.k., chocolate cake makes everything better, there can never be too much football, facebook chat rocks my face off

The end...

2008-06-20T12:10:00.003Z

And then there were none.

The six students that made it through the gauntelet have just left.

Some went out smiling and laughing.

Others went out crying and not wanting to go.

Most were asking why both their teachers were crying.

I'll admit it. I cried. My children, some of which I've had for two years, have just left me. And chances are I won't see them again.

I think that means I'm allowed to cry.

It's the little things that show big changes

2008-06-17T15:12:00.004Z

Eating ants.

That's how a small thing showed me what a big change two years can make.

During my first week of teaching at the American International School of Freetown I did an activity with my kindergarten class where the gingerbread man that I had made escaped our classroom and we had to follow clues that led us all over the school in order to find out that he had really just come back to our classroom. During the course of our running around the school sugar ants came and attacked the gingerbread man. By the time we got back he was covered. I took one look at him and quickly covered him back up and doled out the extra ginger cookies I'd brought for my lunch. My aide looked at me funny when I suggested we throw out the ant covered cookies and proceeded to munch on the cookies, ants and all.

This afternoon I ordered a pepper chicken wrap from a local restaurant. It was mighty tasty, in addition to being all sorts of flaming hot, but I wasn't able to eat the whole thing in one sitting. My lunch was eaten on my classroom floor while reading a magazine and listening to my screaming children outside. I mistakingly left the second half of my wrap wrapped in tin foil on the ground while I went to take care of some other school related business (facebook, espn.com, checking out apartments in Portugal). An hour later I went to eat the rest of my wrap and found it crawling with sugar ants. And man did it taste good. No hesitation, hands tickling with ants, down it went. Mmmmm.

Thoughts: Time has the uncanny ability to fly or trudge always at the wrong moment; Diaspora is a better than and cheaper than meat from a can; Parent magazine says it's got everything a mom can want, yet I thought parenting was generally a two person job; two and a half days; I've changed my blog to Portugese instead of English so now it's time to "GUARDAR AGORA" then "PUBLICAR MENSAGEM"

Where do moms come from?

2008-06-16T15:17:00.003Z

The sky is dark, clouds sit atop mountain tops, making what light passes through a muddy mixture that dampens spirits as well as clothes.

Despite the dreariness of the day my kids made me laugh today. We were reviewing what we learned about whales. They let me know that whales are not fish because they have babies like people and they have to breath air. One student said that whales lay eggs but the others quickly corrected him. When I asked him where whales come from he said their mommies belly, like people. On a whim I asked where mommies come from. "Heaven", was one response. A general pointing up to the sky, was another response. Most of the kids had something to say about moms coming from heaven. When I asked again one little girl hesitantly spoke out, "From their mother?". "That's right, from their mother!", I was proud of this outside the box thinking. That's when the little girl sitting next to me looked me straight in the eye and said, "So we come from our mom's belly and they come from their mom's belly, but their mom came from up there", with an upward pointing finger.

I guess we still have a good bit to cover before Friday!

I literally just read a blog, randomly, that caught my attention. At the end of her blog she wrote the random thoughts that have been occupying her time for the past day/week/month/etc. I like the idea. So I'm thinking of...
Looking forward to early morning Facebook messages, flights home, staying up too late, skin like a tomato, the pleasent repetition of life, needing to make an itenerary, new batta drums.

Dedicated to mom

2008-06-10T12:17:00.011Z

Mom asked me nearly two years ago about the different kind of flowers that grow in Sierra Leone. Her amazing patience will finally be paid off, at least in part, as I show not all the flowers that grow in Sierra Leone but mearly the ones on our school compound, which I hope will satisfy in part.
Love you mom!

2008-06-02T10:30:00.002Z

I once tried to swing for an hour, fell asleep in the swing, hit my head on the firemans pole, and woke up later watching Fraggle Rock, after my parents picked my unconscious form up off the ground and brought me inside.

2008-06-01T13:17:00.004Z

Thoughts of the day...

I remember one of the best feelings in the world as a kid was getting new shoes. My sister and I always got new shoes at the same time, something about mom not being able to deal with multiple trips to the shoe store. The shoe shop was great! New shoes everywhere, each shoe full of potential to make you cool or nerdy, lightning fast or left in the dust. Choosing the correct shoe was definitelly a process. First mom would go off with my sister to get her shoes and would leave me to play basketball or videogames, which Shoe Carnival, in it's infinite wisdom, thought necessary to have in a shoe store. Finally she would come back and it would be my turn. I'd try on the first pair of the day, walk up and down the aisle and then legs and arms becoming a blur run in place to see if these were the shoes that were going to turn me into a track star. Inevitably the first pair would fail the test. What fun would picking the first pair be? Then mom would try and pawn off some white, no color, way too heavy pair on me and I would scoff. Three or four pairs later, and multiple mini-sprints later I would find my pair of shoes. Of course my sister and I would insist on wearing the shoes home. When we got home we would tear around the house looking for dad to show him our new shoes, somehow dad managed to get busy with work or household chores he'd been putting off right in time to miss shoe shopping. Dad would grab the two of us, collect mom, and we'd all go in the backyard to see how fast our new shoes made us. I felt like I could fly with my new shoes. I'd leave my sister in the dust as I pelted full on into the back fence, which was wooden and left a few marks when I, in my excitement, forgot to stop. Those were good times, shoe shopping and running into fences.

I had another bout of culture shock yesterday. At least I think I did. I had to ask my friend if it was possible to have reverse culture shock while you were still in the country you were supposed to be having initial culture shock from. To attempt to clear that up a bit...
After football yesterday my friend to me to the UNPX, the UN grocery store. It was a really really odd experience. First of all all of the prices were in dollars, which I couldn't figure out and had to keep converting to Leones, the official currency of Sierra Leone. Then there were things like ham, bacon, and real cheese, which I haven't seen in nearly a year. Finally there was a side room full of electronic equipment that looked new, not new in the Sierra Leonean sense of washing off something old to give it a new appearance, but new like they might even give you the thing you buy in the box it's supposed to come in. The whole thing was strange and has made me think about the last time I traveled back to the west after spending a year in Africa. Last June I arrived back in the states and my dad couldn't stop asking me if I was o.k. because of the haze I was walking around in, not talking much, eyes flitting around everywhere trying to take in everything. I wasn't expecting to have that experience for a few more weeks.

I had the best meal in the world yesterday. I took my ham that I'd bought at the px along with the pickles I also bought at the px. Bought some five blok bread from down the street and a 1,000 leones worth of mayonaise, grabbed the mustard and had a ham sandwich to die for. It was one of the best things I've eaten in a long long time. Acutally the thought of having another one in a few minutes is makeing my mouth water. I think I'm done with my thoughts now and I'll go get that sandwich!

Amazing kids

2008-05-28T10:15:00.004Z

More examples of why my kids are the best in the WHOLE WORLD!!!

Reason #1: This week the fourth and fifth graders have been coming to our room to read different stories as a part of our book week activities. My kids have been pretty well behaved, only fidgeting a little, which for my kids should count as their first miracle toward sainthood, and haven't bothered the reader at all about being able to see the pictures. The best part though has been after the reader finishes the book every student, with zero prompting, has clapped enthusiastically for the reader. Many even say, "Thank you, name of student!" It makes my heart swell with pride that they know how to be a good audience, how to make others feel good about the work that they do. We've worked on this SO much in the past two years, it's good to see them putting it into practice on their own.

Reason #2: About two weeks ago we were sitting around at carpet time working on our skip counting. We practiced our 2's, 5's, 10's, 20's, 25's, 50's, 100's and had started working on 3's, which by the way are pretty tough. Then I kind of forgot what I was doing for a moment and started saying, "What's 1+1?" "2", the responded. "2+2"? "4" (ha!, I typed 3 there at first and luckily caught the typo before making a HUGE fool out of myself) :) I kept going, "4+4"? "8" No worries so far. At "8+8" I realized my folly. They responded "16" with no problem. Just to try them out I asked, "16+16"? One girl answered, "32". O.k. let's see how far this goes. "16+16"? At "64+64" we had to start writing the problem down, but since we've been doing two digit addition anyway they didn't have a problem with that. The story continues up to them answering 16,??? (can't remember what the rest of the 16,??? is), to get an answer of 32 thousand something. I was really impressed. My six and seven year olds were doing five digit addition. They were carrying digits to the next place value. About the only thing they had a hard time with was saying the answer because we haven't started naming numbers in the thousands yet. As if that wasn't enough when we finished doing that they asked if we could do multiplication. Some of their older siblings are doing it and we've done simple stuff like the five's, ten's, zero's, and one's before. So we did some multiplying by two's, three's, and four's. Once they found out that they can draw pictures they figured things out pretty quickly. They didn't do any by themself but were able to tell me what to do as a class. It was great! And then, the coup de grax, (spelling?), one girl had written about doing division in her journal the other day and so they asked if they could do some division. We did 25/5. And again, once they realized they could draw pictures they figured it out pretty well. We only had time to do one but they, my six and seven year olds, figured out a division problem. They amaze me.

Reason #3: The boys, instead of seeing silly rhymes when they see the girls underpants, turn their eyes and whisper to me that someone needs to sit in a chair. That's a lot more mature than I was in first grade.

And so many other things that they do each and every day that make me smile at what a great group I've been able to work with over the past two years.

After two years

2008-05-27T12:01:00.003Z

(A note of farewell to my parents at A.I.S.F.)

After two years it’s quite plain to see
What a change you’ve all made in me

I came here fresh, quite new, hardly tried
You’ve given me a home, a place to abide

I’ve taught your children and they’ve taught me
I hope they remember what they’ve learned, we’ll see

We learned about a’s and we learned about bee’s
We learned to say thanks and we learned to say please

We’ve written books and we’ve illustrated too
The paint’s turned my hands a light shade of blue

We put on some plays, like the Three Bears
We measured the walls and the doors and the stairs

We learned about plants and we learned about space
We learned about Freetown and the happenings of this place

The students enjoy the games that we play
Though sometimes it’s hard to sit still, to stay

The journals they write amaze me at times
The things that they say and the words that they rhyme

There have been times when we like to throw paint
The laughter echoes as the children create

The number one rule in our classroom is this
To love one another, follow this, you can’t miss

Though all are different no one is the same
All have potential to be anything, we claim

I’ve learned a lot as a teacher while here
The lessons I’ve learned I will always hold dear

The children share aspects from all points of the earth
The cultures they’ve learned since the time of their birth

So my thanks I give to each of you now
You’ll be in my thoughts forever I vow

Another suitcase in another hall

2008-05-16T15:12:00.003Z

The silent slippery sliding sand of time begins with the first, "Hello". Somewhere someone watches us and their only job is to sit in a cold and windowless room turning the sand timers, some big, others tiny, that tell how long we will enjoy the company, or detest the presence, of another person. Some timers are so ponderously large, so slow running that their sand will flow for a lifetime. Others are so miniscule, so fleet, that their sand runs out in the time it takes strangers to pass in the night.

One of the hardest things to do is to say goodbye to someone you care about. There are million dollar card industries which specialize in helping tongue-tied individuals find just the right words, whether they be flowery and beautiful or coming from dogs wearing silly hats and riding red tricycles or, my fathers favorite, thought bubbles of obscenely obese and heavily wrinkled old women in skimpy bikinis, to say farewell. How many movies involve long, drawn out and often tearful goodbye’s? Look at The Lord of the Rings. Adventure. Killing. Elves. Ghosts. Goblins. And then they cap off this epic trilogy with an hour of goodbyes. Bilbo’s mother’s aunt’s secretary makes an appearance just to make sure there is enough closure for even the most devout Tolkein fans.

The cards, the movies, the singing quartet that shows up at your office to embarrass you with an acapella version of Boyz 2 Men "It's so hard to say goodbye" are all testaments to people's inability to gracefully allow the sands of time to run their course. We want to hold on to those we care about. We hold on to relationships even after that friend has boarded the hovercraft or the lover has entered the grave. We stand on the front porch and wave long after the car has turned the corner before reluctantly turning back to the house that will feel like it's missing something we just can't put our finger on.

The past two years of my life are a testament to the idea that the human spirit can endure anything. If saying goodbye is one of the hardest things a person can do, which I've just spent the past three paragraphs definitively proving to be the case, then Freetown has to be one of the hardest places on Earth to live. Two years ago I said goodbye to everyone from college, everyone from my home town, to everyone of my relatives, to my family, to my co-workers, to the garbage man, Bill, who did an extra good job of making sure to put the can back in it's correct spot instead of letting it roll into the road where a stray SUV could run over it. I said goodbye so that I could go on a new life adventure. Teaching in the dark continent. Braving what few others would consider rational. Teaching a pack of unruly five year olds. Madness. But I came. And I thought I was done saying goodbye for a few years.

Few people in the history of the world have been as wrong as I was in making that assumption. Alexander thinking he could take over Russia was a better assumption. Thinking the teachers couldn't see when we stuck earphones up our jacket sleeves to listen to music in class was more correct than my thoughts on leaving goodbyes behind. I have met a plethora of incredible people here in Sierra Leone. People from all corners of this round world. And making friends here is like nowhere else I've ever been. Here in Freetown if you see a person more than once and talk to them on both occasions then they are probably thought of as a friend. Because the nature of the beast is so transient the natural thing to do is make friends in a hurry. Which is great in that meeting people is never a problem and it is hard to feel lonely here. But the sands of time run faster here than anywhere I've ever lived. And so many of that plethora has left me waving goodbye that it is impossible to count.

In fact the problem has gotten so out of hand that I've given serious consideration to spending my evenings at the hovercraft terminal. I could go each night, watch excruciatingly boring CNN reports about market crashes or idiotic multi-millionaire athletes messing up their lives because they're too dumb to realize they're living the dream life, and wait. And after my hours of waiting, after re-reading the same article about when it's appropriate to wear white shoes or which nose trimmer works best underwater, I will get my chance to say goodbye. As people tote their overstuffed bags I will be there waving, with a goofy smile, never missing a chance for closure. Because in Freetown, if you aren't on your toes, someone will leave and you'll miss your chance to say goodbye. If you don't pay attention the sands will slide down until the last grain drops and it's often so quiet that you don't realize that something is missing till long after the time is up.

Backup

2008-05-13T15:11:00.002Z

So, I've decided that since I have now felt the unbelievable pain of loosing a journal without it being backed up at all that I would try not to submit myself to that again. So I'm putting my journal from 2006-2007 onto blogger with the hope that I don't loose the journal and have blogger also shut down at the same time. Hopefully this way when I loose my old journal, because it is inevitably something I will do at some point, I will have it backed up.

From now on blog entries that begin with a date are entries from the journal that I thought might be interesting reads for other people. I will not be putting all entries on blogger so no worries there, you'll only get some of my dirty secrets.

Cheers,
Justin

Paradise

2008-05-12T15:21:00.003Z

This weekend I was called an idiot several times. My judgement was questioned. People asked if I'd lost all my sense.

I was actually the one doing most of the name calling.

This weekend was as close to perfect as a weekend could be. Friday afternoon I played tennis with Amanda on a warm overcast afternoon. Friday night I had a number of people over for dinner. Taco salad with fruit and ice cream for desert. The food was good. The conversations were fun. It was a really great night.

Saturday morning I woke up crazy early and went with a group of people hiking out in the mountains surrounding Freetown. It was the perfect morning for a hike. The weather couldn't have been better. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. I was able to meet new people and have good conversations with old friends. I got to chase some kids who had come with us all over the side of the mountain and pretend to throw them into the pools of water that are all that is left of Whale River. We saw some interesting wildlife in the form of chameleons (which I've recently learned can give you the deadly but not often heard of Chameleon disease if they bite you) and giant frogs.

After the hike a group of us went to Burra beach to celebrate Naomi's birthday and spend the night. Burra beach is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, which is a bold statement but one I will standby for the rest of my life. The emerald mountains fringe the coastline. Flocks of snowy white seabirds call to one another from the sand before taking off to form a dazzling blizzard overhead. The river allows floaters to glide along it's currents or relax in the shallows. The sparkling blue water crashes over the white sand inviting one and all to swim in it's depths or ride it's powerful waves to the shore. A short swim out to Marooned Island with friends yeilded a stunning view of the mainland and gave me the opportunity to have a lesson in floating, which I am horrible at, while listening to the tide scatter the shells upon the sand and watching the cotton-ball clouds lazily pass across a saphire blue sky. Add the pleasant company of friends to this environment and it makes for an amazing weekend.

That's when the names started flying. When my sanity was put into question. When I wondered for the hundreth and certainly not the last time... "Am I really leaving this on my own accord?" The simple answer is, "yes". I'm choosing to leave paradise for the unknown. I'm leaving a life that I LOVE to go off and find a new place for myself in the world.

You see the thing is, there's always a thing, the thing is is that when I made my BIG LIFE GOAL of teaching on every continent in the world, I was coming out of the worst year of my life. I had just survived, yes survived, my first year of teaching. Life was chaotic, I didn't have a place to live. I was constantly nervous, or worried, or frustrated, or... something else negative. And halfway through I threw up my hands and proclaimed to the world that I wanted out. So I started my international search. And I made my BIG LIFE GOAL that I would one day teach on every continent, (excluding Antarctica because penguins are difficult to teach, but adding Space if they ever get this space station up and running and need a kindergarten teacher).

Which has brought me here, to paradise. O.k. not paradise all the time, but a place that I find myself loving. I love the people. I love my students. I love the role that I have found myself filling here. I love the bible studies, the worship services, the weekends at the beach, the football, tennis, and bike rides. I love getting to know new people all the time. I love it here.

And in 48 days I will be leaving. In three months and three days I board a plane for Portugal. A place that everyone assures me I will love. A place who's pictures are breathtaking. A place with 24 hour electricity, paved roads, real restaurants, and countless other ammenities that I can't even think of right now because I've lived without them for so long.

I know, in my heart of hearts, that I am going to love Portugal. I am a person who loves change. I enjoy adventures. I look forward to meeting new people and learning new languages. I will enjoy teaching a new grade and certainly look forward to teaching so much science, (I'll teach science to both third grades while the other teacher will teach both classes social studies). There is a lot to look forward to.

At times though I wonder, and probably will wonder for the next bunch of months, "Am I making the right choice?" It's actually a moot point now as the choice has been made, but I still wonder. I guess the thing to do in this situation is enjoy my time here, make the most of everyday, make sure I figure out how to stay in contact with the people I've met (YAY FACEBOOK!!!) (Liz if you're reading this...JOIN FACEBOOK!!!), and live a life without regrets, which I have always felt are a waste of time.

So while I may be an idiot, while it is probably reasonable to ask whether I've lost my senses, while my judgement should be questioned often, I will stick by my decision and know that whatever comes next is going to be amazing as well.

Life is too short not to take advantage of opportunities that make themselves available. A door has opened for me to go to Portugal. I will stride through it boldly, looking back fondly at the time I have had here in Sierra Leone, but looking forward into the unknown at the marvelous times to come.

Things that make you say hmmm....

2008-05-05T09:26:00.001Z

So I'm sitting by our school's football field where I am doing the commentating for our Sports Invitational. We had invited four other schools from Freetown to our school to come and participate in an assortment of games for the younger students and a football tournament for the older kids. It was halftime of one of the games and I've just been giving thanks over the PA system to many of our sponsors when I notice a young girl walking across the pitch. This in itself was not a big deal, many students were walking back and forth to get to the refreshment stands or back to their seat. However, this student caught my eye because she had stopped and appeared to be looking at the stone wall that edges one side of our field. There really isn't anything special about this wall and I sort of wondered what she was doing, but didn't think enough of it to get out of the shade and investigate. A moment later she had pulled down her shorts and squatted down by the wall to empty her bladder, in front of almost two hundred watching eyes. I thought it was funny and knew there was nothing I could do short of making an announcement on the mike that our field should not be used as a restroom, but I thought that might be worse than what she was actually doing. One teacher did start screaming and ran out onto the field but was way too late. By the time she got there the young girl had done her business and looked up questioningly at the lady running and screaming at her.

Revelations

2008-04-21T15:42:00.003Z

God is not fair...

Isn't that wonderful? A friend of mine and I were talking through the night and through much of the early morning on Saturday night and one thing that she said repeatedly to me was... "I can't believe that there is a good God who allows so much suffering to happen. It doesn't seem fair" (all quotes are paraphrased as it is sometimes difficult to remember what was said in the early hours of the morning) And it isn't.

It isn't fair that some people starve while others gouge themselves on food.
It isn't fair that some people must beg for money while others have it thrown at them for hitting a ball or playing a role in a movie.
It isn't fair that some people are born into countries where corruption, disease, and hunger are rampant while others are born in countries where justice, healthcare, and provisions are plentiful.
These things aren't fair.

But...
It also isn't fair that each of us can make mistakes, some big and some small, everyday and be forgiven of them.
It isn't fair that we, who can only do good as a reflection of Him who is good, should get credit for making a difference.
It isn't fair that someone else had to make a sacrifice so that we might be free.

There is a lot that isn't fair. I agree with her. But, God gave us freedom. He gave us an amazing gift in that we can choose. We have a choice. My friend, who doesn't believe in God, is as free to make that choice as I am to give my life into His hands. In giving people the ability to choose God took away fairness. People can make good choices, which positively impact themselves and those around them. But people can also make bad choices, which hurt not only themselves but God knows how many other people.

My friend responded to this by asking, "Why? God could have made a world in which there was no bad. A paradise where every choice given to people was between one good option and another good option. Why couldn't God do this?"

I don't know. I guess because then there wouldn't be any good options. In order for there to be good there must also be bad. If there is no bad, logically, there can't be good. It wouldn't make sense. Not that things need to make sense. But where would the good be in a choice if it wasn't really an alternative? If the only thing that a person could do was something good, then they aren't really doing good. They are doing what they can do. Which means there is no choice, which means that God wouldn't have given us such a gift.

My friend brought up that "Heaven", which the two of us have talked about, "is that sort of place, why couldn't He have skipped the Earth part with all the suffering and just have created Heaven?"

Again, I don't know. I guess he could have skipped the Earth and suffering part. I feel relatively sure that God doesn't gain any pleasure from our suffering. But I'm not sure all the suffering was really part of the plan.

Somehow we then got into a discussion about 'God's laws'. And after fumbling through things for a few minutes I finally realized that we actually do know God's laws. Love God. Love your neighbor. Everything, from any religion I've heard about, pretty much boils down to these two laws.

To which God, through my friend, put me on the spot like few times that I can remember. My friend looks at me, at something like three in the morning and says, "That sounds a lot like a human king. Why does God need us to love him? Isn't that just being boastful or proud?"... I can hear my own voice echoing through this question as this is something I've dwelt on for years. Why does God need us to love him? What is God trying to show by requiring that his creations love him first and above everything else? An excellent question.

It took me a few minutes. Or maybe it took me a few years as I have actually been pondering this for a while. Why does God require our love? And then God showed me...

"He doesn't need our love." And really it's as simple as that. God isn't being boastful or prideful because it isn't something he needs for him.

"He doesn't need our love. But it is kind of like this. I love my family. I really do. There have been hard times. There were times when I was so angry at my family. They infuriated me. There were times when they disappointed me. There have been times when they have made me sad, or hurt me, or confused me to the point that I didn't know which way I was headed. But, because of my love for them I kept coming back to them. I kept giving them chances. I opened myself up to finding out why they made certain choices that impacted my life. And there were times in life it was only through the love that I had for them that I didn't just throw my hands up in frustration and walk away from the whole crazy lot of them. Only love."

"Now a lot of that could be said for my relationship with God too. There are times when I've been mad at God, frustrated when my life went down a different pathway than I would have chosen, sad about things that only God could have changed, confused about what His plan for me is, hurt when prayers weren't answered in my time or to my preference. And while I can physically see my family, I can touch them, I can hear their reasoning, I can talk things out with them, I can't really do that with God. I see him in a sunset but that doesn't show me a face that is hurt when I'm mad. I can hear him in the songs of children but that doesn't give me an explaination for why my plan didn't go accordingly. I can talk to Him, and do quite often, but it gets difficult to wait for answers from a God that I must have faith in because he isn't tangible. But God has given me a way to deal with all these emotions. He says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind". He tells us this not for Himself, but for us. Because when we love Him we are more apt to let go of our anger and come back to Him for an explanation. When we love Him we are more understanding when our life takes unexpected turns. When we love him our confusion doesn't matter anymore because we know that our life lays in the hands of one who is so powerful and so all-encompassingly GOOD that we need only sit back and enjoy the gift of life that we have been given. Our love for God is really another great gift that God has given us to help us remain faithful to Him."

As the two of us sat upon the rocks, meters from the lapping ocean waves, and staring up into the brilliant full moon that shown down upon us we both realized that for the first time the law, Love the Lord your God, was actually a gift from a benevolent ruler. I don't know if my friend is any closer to being able to know God, but I think he gave both of us something to think about, and maybe, "by God and power", as the Krio saying here goes, a seed was planted that night.

The moments we live for

2008-04-18T15:32:00.002Z

Today the incredible happened. I was working on report cards while my kids ate there snack this morning. Then they finished their snack without my needing to tell them to, put their bags away without my needing to tell them to, and miraculously, went and got busy with educational type activities without my needing to tell them to. Some kids worked with clocks. Some kids played a reading game. Some kids traded money back and forth. The volume of the room was decent. When one child got tired of playing the reading game she quietly went and joined the clock gang. And for twenty+ minutes I got to sit back and watch my amazing kids teach themselves, without any guidance from a teacher.

It was amazing! One of those moments that happens once in a blue moon, can easily be missed, but if identified makes a teacher's heart glow with pride.

2008-04-16T14:40:00.003Z

Speed Racer!!!

The Flash!!!

Greased Lightning!!!

Call it what you will, but that is one fine piece of machinery right there folks. Many people passed this miracle on wheels by before yours truelly was struck by love at first sight. Walking down the overcrowded streets of Freetown a glimpse of heaven caught my eye. And like the wise Wayne once said, "She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine". And thirty minutes later, my pocket slightly more empty, and a new set of break pads freshly attached, I wheeled this beaut into those same over crowded streets of Freetown. A quick ride home, a quicker change of clothes, and FREEDOM! Speeding over winding roads, the ocean breeze running through my hair (while I don't have much I could still feel the breeze running through it), over hills, around walkers, through cars, rider and bike melding perfectly to create a blur the likes of which haven't been seen in these parts in many a day.

This was not the end but rather the beginning of a new age in Freetown. Rarely in history are individuals able to identify a groundbreaking, earthshattering, beginning of an era moment at that time, most people would say that such recognition is best left to historians to fight and argue about hundreds of years later. This would not be one of those moments. At the very start of this relationship it went down in the books as a lifechanging event.

Later rides include, but are not limited to...

The ride to the grocery to pick up ingredients for dinner. While it may sound like a boring old ride to many readers, DON'T BE DECEIVED!!!, between the rocky path, the unseasonal downpour, and the extremelly large backpack full of breakable goods, dodging in and out of traffic was made much more difficult than normal. Overall an extremelly harrowing experience.

The ride to the football match. Aww, such memories. Thus far the closest to town the dynamic duo has gone, the traffic was much worse than the west side of town normally boasts. The early morning jaunt was just the warm up that the doctor called for before jumping into a ninty minute game of football.

The epic ride to work. I live just above sea level. My school is on top of a mountain. A calf burning ride up...and up...and up. The bike and rider made the trip in less than half an hour but were able to enjoy splendid views of town that someone in a lamo car wouldn't have time to see. The throngs of people lining the street waved flags and called for autographs from the superstar, but alas the pace of half a mile an hour could not be broken for anything, whether it be adoring fans or gigantic army vehicles that almost ran me over. Finally, after climbing a mountain and losing half my weight in sweat, school was in sight. I coasted down the only hill I'd seen that morning to make it to my classroom an hour before school started. (I didn't know how long it would take to get up the mountain)

The real fun happened after school ended and it was time to go home. The gigantic, collosal, can't even see the top mountain that me and the machine got to crawl up that morning was now ready to be tamed in a splendid blend of athleticism, perfected mechanics, and dumb luck. The mountain was humbled as man and machine raced round bends, overtook cars and people, and generally just fell in a controlled manner down her sides. The mountain almost got its revenge when a couple goats wandered out in front of the man/bike combo, but even this was not enough to stop the decent that was to be known throughout the land as "the stupid white man on the rickety bike". For those of you who don't speak Krio that can be translated into English as "Wow"!

The adventures will continue. No rode is safe from the two who travel as one (which I'm thinking of making into my Indian name). No hill can't be tamed. No really big mountain can't be avoided. Yes, this is definitelly the beginning of a new era.

Songwriter?

2008-04-14T15:54:00.004Z

Wandering through the town, exploring on our own

without a map to show the way

Climbing up mountaintops, the world is at our feet

you make me feel like I could fly

And I say...

Where did you come from, and where do we go from here

So many things I'd like to say

My world is different now, I can't get you out of my mind

Can you help me find my way

A dark but star filled night, the sound of the sea on the rocks

Bearing our souls we sit and talk

The moon has crossed overhead, the hours fade into grey

I don't want this night to end

And I say...
Where did you come from, and where do we go from here
So many things I'd like to say
My world is different now, I can't get you out of my mind

I wonder if you're here to stay

My mind fills up with the days I'll never forget

Endless moments in the sun

We lay side by side, the surf washes over our toes

Writing messages in the sand

And I say...
Where did you come from, and where do we go from here
So many things I'd like to say
My world is different now, I can't get you out of my mind

But what part will you play

Can you help me find my way

I wonder if you're here to stay

So many things I'd like to say...

My AmazingTrip to Mali IV: The Pictures

2008-03-31T00:20:00.020Z

I have two more days in Mali. I have had two of the most amazing weeks of my life, doing things I never thought I would have the chance to do, learning about people, cultures, and places that I previously knew nothing about. It has been memorable to say the least. Below are some pictures that I've taken that kind of help to sum up the things I've seen, the people I've met, and the experience I've grown from (Joost and Joanna, I am now 5'11 and a half, thank you for asking). ;P

Joost and me walking to the river outside Bamako, Mali. Two studs if I do say so myself.

Joost hanging out while some Malian kids wash in the river. They were all about getting their picture taken. The kids. But mostly Joost.

Me. Hanging out in a river. Taking pictures of myself. Which meant I had ten seconds to press the 'take a picture button', run through the river over algae infested rocks, splash dirty water all over myself, and pose in this dashingly good fashion. Impossible for some. Not for me.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... So some new friends and I went on a boat ride around the rivers of Bamako, Mali. It was wonderful. We had cheese and crackers. We had olives. We had wine in a box. We had a beautiful sunset. And we had Vina on bailing duty because 15 minutes into our tour the bottom of the boat started filling up with water. Luckily Vina is a first class bailer and our feet and food stayed dry.

This picture is in honor of Fred Fiedler. The first of the great pointers. I think we would make good hunting dogs. Anyway, while others were doing frivolous things like eating and bailing out water, I fearlessly pointed the course home.

Some fishermen took their skiff out into the river to drop traps for...fish? Not sure how well fishing with traps works but they must know something I don't here because lots of people were using these small traps. I really liked the gondola style propulsion methods that they use here. Kind of makes you feel a bit more European while avoiding donkey manure and watching people bath, wash their clothes, and use the bathroom in the river.

Desert. Desert. Desert. TIMBUKTU! A view of the mythical city from our twin prop plane. It really was like a specter that appeared out of nowhere. And the landing was by far the craziest that I've ever been a part of. The wind from the Sahara blew our plane everywhichway but where the pilots wanted us to go. Fortunately my bad luck on this trip didn't ebb over onto the landing of the plane.

This summer's hottest fashion craze? Camel skin tents. Cool. Breezy. Relatively portable if you have a live camel nearby to tote it. And blends in quite well with most desert conditions. I'm guessing L.L. Bean could make a fortune by personalizing these bad boys with some initials across the entrance. They were certainly the thing all the hip people had in Timbuktu.

Joanna and me hanging out in one of those amazing camel tents from above. You didn't figure the inside looked like this did you? Me neither. I think this was the upgraded version.

Camel. Check. Turban. Check. New cheesy sunglasses because they were the only ones I could find to replace the pair I broke the night before making an excursion into the desert. Check.
I'm ready to ride!

Ibrahim my fearless guide had an uncanny sense of direction. All I saw was a bunch of sand. Some in dunes. Other times flat. But he led us to our evening camp site with nary a problem. He's good people.

After a two hour long camel ride I sit and watch the giant orb of a sun sink quickly under the desert's dunes while contemplating life. The Sahara outside of Timbuktu is a good place to do that, I think everyone ought to give it a try.

I think I look cute.

Joanna almost knocked with the 'husbands only' door knocker. Luckily she avoided that faux pas and knocked on the 'everyone else may knock here' section of one of the beautiful doors of Timbuktu, Mali.

A weaver sits making his wares in the culture market in Timbuktu. He's still got a way to go though; the yarn from his loom stretching out at least ten meters from where he sits.

A mosque rises above the rooftops as we enter Mopti, Mali. We saw many such mosque's on our travels around Mali. Most were made from mud and sticks but still managed to stretch up to 30 meters into the sky.

Ummm... that looks a lot like an ancient city built out of mud and resting under a 500 foot high escarpment. In fact that is what it is. We have entered Dogon country, Mali.

The Dogon built their houses under the cliffs in the 1400's. During that time the cliff faces were hidden by rain forests and the foliage and hight provided protection from wild animals and invading tribes.

I can tell already that this is going to be one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Our guide, Dra, tells the rest of the group the history of the Dogon while I go off to explore. This was probably my favorite part of the trip, the houses, rocks, and trees providing an excellent playground for a 27 year old boy.

Like these storage rooms which date back to the 800's, before the Dogon people populated this region. Joanna and I had a bit of a tight squeeze to get in, but it was well worth it to see the exasperated looks on all the adults faces.

The children of Dogon country. While we couldn't really communicate with words, holding hands, launching children playfully into the air, and playing football seem to get the message across to my new friends that they are pretty o.k. in my book.

In Dogon country there is stuff to climb EVERYWHERE!!! This tree happened to be in the middle of our trail and merited climbing status.

Me in the tree. Umm... that's it.

Tirelessly trekking through sweltering heat and wind blown sands the adventurers are led on by Dra, our incredible guide to Dogon country.

You can tell I've been working out because I'm holding up a bolder several tons bigger than me. Not everyone can do that. Just letting you know.

One of the many canyons we climbed through trekking through Dogon country. Remarkably beautiful, very tempting to climb everything around me, and a wonderful place to realize that God does good work.

That's a crocodile. And a chicken. Bet you can't guess who won. Our vegetarian companion didn't appreciate that we bought a crocodile it's lunch, but I think we were being generous having asked for nothing in return for a 2000 CFA meal.

The elders of a Dogon village traditionally wear blue with conical hats while the young initiated men of the village approach in their costumes and masks. They performed their traditional mask dance for us in what was a spectacular display of culture, agility, and history.

These two dancers have women masks. They represent the very rare women who are initiated within the tribe. Generally women and children are forbidden from observing the mask ceremony, although when tourists pay for it to be done the women and children may observe the dance but not the sacrifice that takes place beforehand.

The dancer for the sick. His bulging chin is representative of a common illness among the Dogon. He dances so that they may be healed.

The chief priest dancer. This mask represents the one who keeps the masks and costumes in order and thus is the head of all other dancers.

The bird mask went through a series of bowing, stabbing, and hopping motions.

The dancers form columns along with the head chanter, wearing blue, to complete the ceremony of the masks.

Dancers performing on stilts represent the young women of the Dogon. Standing on stilts that were about five feet in hight the dancers proceeded around the circle waving tails in hand.

Several dancers wore masks that reached over 15 feet in hight. The masks represented the pathway to the heavens. During their section of the dance the men bent forward and back to touch the tips of their masks to the ground in front and behind them.

It's hard to see but these masks have an upward Y and a downward Y. The upper part signifies the heavens while the part facing down signifies the earth. The band that connects the two signifies that which connects the heavens and the earth.

My trip to Mali; Part III; A comedy of errors

2008-03-29T02:23:00.003Z

"A comedy of errors is dramatic work (often a play) that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone, in which the action usually features a series of comic instances of mistaken identity, and which typically culminates in a happy resolution of the thematic conflict.

A slight variation of the "Comedy of Errors" discipline is Farcical theatre, which revolves around humour caused by the foolish mistakes of unintelligent characters and the chaos that derives from it."
(Wikipedia)

So here I am making another error. I am going to post this as a Comedy of errors post as an optimistic approach to the end of my journey here. Wikipedia has shown me that really this holiday/vacation would probably be a better fit for Farcical theatre. I have written a short song to memorialize this occasion in my life.

On the first day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I got ripped off by a stupid taxi man

On the second day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I lost four hundred dollars after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the third day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I went on a trip with Polish speakers, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the fourth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
My glasses broke while packing, can't understand Polish, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the fifth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I broke the lousy car door, no glasses in the desert, can't understand Polish, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the sixth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I soon ran out of money, broke the lousy car door, can't see in the desert, still can't understand Polish, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the seventh day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I slept in a car park, ain't got no money, broke the lousy car door, sand in my eyes in the desert, why can't they speak English, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the eighth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
Walked in on my friend in a towel, slept in a car park, not one single cent, broke the lousy car door, may be permanently blind, what the heck are they saying, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the ninth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
Got my back stuck in the car door, my friend has turned bright red, slept in a car park, no money left for anything, broke the lousy car door, cannot see to type this, Polish sounds like English backwards, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the tenth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
Hit a guy while closing the car door, got my back stuck in the car door, barging in on my friend in a towel, slept in a car park, begging beggars for a handout, broke the lousy car door, sand still in my eyeballs, who speaks Polish anyways, lost four hundred dollars, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the eleventh day of vacation I really fouled things up...
Bruised my head on a street shop, guys got a mark on his head now, great big whelt on my back, my friends towel is pink, slept by a Toyota, sold my body for a mango, broke the lousy car door, who breaks their glasses before going to the desert, I've lost all love for Poland, where is my four hundred, after getting ripped off by a taxi man

On the twelfth day of vacation I really fouled things up...
I forgot I don't speak French, bruise now on my noggin, matches the guy who I hit with the door, goes nicely with the whelt on my back, wake up so I don't get run over, five hours from home with no money, broke the lousy car door, next time pack more glasses, the world should all speak English, four hundred left on the plane, after getting ripped off by the taxi man

Thank you...thank you very much.

Just to let you know that pretty much sums up a lot of my trip. However I could have written and equally cheesy and horrible song about the amazing things that I have seen this trip. I road a camel (which isn't a cute animal by the way) into the Sahara desert. I practiced yoga on a sand dune as the sun dipped below the horizon and the wind blew my now shaggy beard in a very calming and wa filled way. I was able to spend easter morning watching the same sun rise up over the sand dunes and took a moment to give thanks for the amazingness of that moment. I have an amazing friend who hardly knows me but lent me some money so that I wouldn't be stuck by myself floating down a river in a country where I don't know the language, directions, or much of anything else. I was able to play a game of football in a dried up bay with a bunch of kids and not break anything, while making a few decent plays and not getting shown up too badly. I went to Dogon country where the villages of the Dogon remain from 800 years ago and the villages of other "little people" remain from the 800's. I was able to crawl through houses that haven't been lived in for hundred's of years. I saw a masked ritual dance performed by the initiated men of a small village in the heart of Dogon and learned about how their history still permeates their current lifestyles. I walked along a river in Segou, which was absolutely beautiful with lush green gardens, lot's of people washing, and hand thrown pottery shops adjacent to the blue sparkling waters of the Niger.

And, though I didn't really talk much, due to my new friends love of the Polish language, or the guides knowledge of only the French language, I had a really good time. It was a very change my globe of comfort type of trip. I had to be very reliant on others, I couldn't be a leader, and that is a position I don't do often and got a bit frustrated with this week. But I've learned a bit, grown a bit, and when asked why I am happy so often was able to respond with, "Why not, I always try to be happy!" Why live life focussed on the Farcical theatre that could be overwhelming? I'd rather live a comedy of errors. Where I mess up all the time but hope that, through the hard times, everything will turn out alright in the end.

My amazing trip to Mali: Part duex

2008-03-21T16:26:00.003Z

I've been in Bamako, Mali for a few days now and rather than chronicling everything that has happened to me, as much as I know you'd like to read every detail, I've decided to hit the major points.

- The evil taxi driver was waiting for me outside my hotel even though I left an hour earlier than I had told him. I basically told him to bugger off when he approached me to offer to take me to the airport for only "5,000 CFA's". I jumped in another cab and made a quick get-a-way and hope not to see him when I pass back through on my home.

- I am an IDIOT! I realized after I found out that I left my journal and a couple hundred dollars on the airplane! Doh! I've decided not to dwell and my amazing parents have hooked me up with a bit of a loan so that I can still go up to Timbuktu. Thanks mom and dad!

- I hung out at the American International School of Bamako and had a really good time seeing friends that I met in Ghana last October, seeing the middle school students do amazing monologues, and jotting down lots of ideas to take back to the American International School of Freetown.

- Last night some friends whom I'm staying with took me out with them to dinner and to hear a band play. The food was good although when you see Tortillas Espania on a French menu, it doesn't have anything to do with flat bread, onions, tomatoes, and meat; but rather an omelet with potatoes. The band was great too. There was this little kid, couldn't have been more than eleven, that was KILLIN' the drums. I was inspired and whispered to my friend that this is one of those moments that could easily become a regret later. I wanted to play with the band. And so I walked up, sat beside the guy playing the congos, he looked at me, he got up without a word as the song played and I sat in, jamming with the band in front of the 20 some-odd people who were there to listen. It was AWESOME! I had a really good time. Still need a bit of practice but didn't make an utter fool of myself. I'll be posting pictures from the trip later this week and this will definitely be a bloggable picture.

- This morning Joost, the guy I'm staying with, and I went on a tour of Bamako. We went and got the money my parents hooked me up with so I could buy my airplane ticket to TIMBUKTU, then went to the markets where some guy wanted to sell me a bar of gold. After which we went hiking through this grass plainsland down to a river. It was beautiful. After which we had lunch at this Italian place with some of the best Spaghetti Cabanara that I've had in I don't know how long.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Which brings us to now, when I'll tell what I'm hoping will happen over the next week rather than telling what has already happened. That way when nothing goes according to plan later I'll be able to say that at least my psuedo plan sounded good.

- In a few minutes we're going on a boat ride around the rivers of Bamako.
- Tonight the circus is in town and we're definitely hitting that up.
- Tomorrow morning at 7 we fly off to Timbuktu, where we will get our passports stamped, to prove to all you doubters, go on a tour of Timbuktu, ride camels into the dessert, eat lamb while watching the sun set, wake up to the sunrise, ride back to Timbuktu where my friends will get on a plane to Mopti while I get on a boat on Monday morning that will take me down the Niger river to Mopti. I'll jump on a motorbike to go to Dogon country, hang out there for a couple days, and head back to Bamako next weekend.

So, that's the plan. We'll see how that works out. My motto this week is Hakunna Matata, so even when things don't quite go according to plan I will live a worry free life.

I hope...

My amazing trip to Mali: The beginning

2008-03-19T19:52:00.002Z

So, I'm sitting in my friends apartment in Bamoko, Mali, reflecting on the journey that has brought me to this spot. It all started when... (cue Wayne and Garth flashback music...now)

I woke up Monday morning extremely excited about my forthcoming trip to Mali. I had my bag packed, and needed to run a few errands before going to the ferry terminal. Basically all I had to do was get downtown, cash my check so that I could pick up my plane tickets, go get my tickets, go pick up my passport from the Malian consulate, go pick up my bags, and get to the ferry terminal in time to catch the 11:00 ferry, so that I could then check in by 2:30 and get on the plane at 4:00. No worries!

So, I go downtown and cash my check after checking the internet for 30 minutes while waiting for the bank to open, even got to buy a new bookbag and pair of sunglasses on the way. On schedule.

Went to get my plane tickets from my friend, the travel agent. He asks if I can come back in the afternoon because he doesn't have them yet. I inform him that will be hard because I'm supposed to be leaving that afternoon. He calls the people who have my tickets. They tell him my flight is canceled. I ask him to check again. He does and the flight is back on, but he still doesn't have my tickets. He asks if I can come back in an hour to get them. I say I need them now so I can go to the ferry. Eventually we worked out that I would go to the people who had them because it was on my way. Behind schedule.

I go next door to the Malian consulate to pick up my passport with it's new stamp. An old lady eating rice tells me the consular is sick and asks if I can come back in the afternoon. I politely insist that I can't because I'm supposed to leave in an hour and can we get it now. She goes and gets the key and we go get my passport. Still slightly behind schedule.

The okada (motor bike) driver takes me to my house where I get my suitcase and ready myself to ride around town on the back of a motor bike with a suitcase on my head. He scoffs and shows me how to put it between us. Only slightly behind schedule.

Our ride to town was uneventful except the suitcase causes me to lean WAY back on the bike, which is an ab workout that I'm going to write to Men's Health about (Sandra, there is nothing wrong with Men's Health, it is not a sleazy magazine!).

We get to the other travel agents who have my tickets. I ask them for my tickets and they tell me they need to print them out and that it will take about 15 minutes. I am definitely behind schedule now.

The okada driver then takes me on one of the scariest rides of my life through some CRAZY narrow streets with a pack of other okadas dodging in and around traffic, people, dogs, and waterdrains. We get to the ferry terminal at 11:30. The ferry is not there.

I buy my ticket, the ferry comes at 1:00, a friend of mine gives me a lift to the airport, and I then sit around and wait for my delayed flight to Dakar, Senegal until 6:00. Part one of the journey is done, we have left Freetown!

Landing in Dakar was no problem. It was actually really impressive from the air. It was night by the time we got there and there was light EVERYWHERE! Freetown is still working on getting light to people but Dakar has apparently no problems with that.

I get my luggage, no problem. Change some money, no problem. Go outside to get a taxi to one of the cheap guesthouses I looked up early and run into a problem. The taxi drivers in francophonic Senegal speak...French. I knew that was going to be the case but hoped that if I told them the name of a familiar hotel it would all work out. It didn't. Then I was surrounded by a bunch of guys who tried to "help" me with my suitcase. I wouldn't let go and kept insisting to the one who spoke English that I was fine and asked that they leave my suitcase alone. (I kept switching into Krio, like that would help) They kept shooing the taxi drivers off before I could talk to them and insisted that they had an "airport taxi", which looked just like all the other taxi's that would take me to my guesthouse. Finally one of their friends shows up in a taxi and they get me into the taxi. The guy who was supposed to be throwing my suitcase in the back followed the suitcase and told the driver to take me to a guesthouse. (I assume he also said, this guy is a sucker who doesn't speak French and we should take him for as much as we can) On the way I ask how much the taxi is going to cost and when the driver doesn't respond I use hand gestures and the guy in the back to help get my point across. The driver responds with 20,000 CFA's, which is about 50.00 US. I laugh at him and tell him no that I'll pay 1,000 CFA's which is closer to 2.50 US. They don't respond at this time. They take me all over the place, I get frustrated and point to 8 different places I could stay and they keep insisting they know the guesthouse I mentioned earlier. Finally we arrive at the place and the driver says he'll take 10,000 CFA's since we're "friends". I go up to 5,000. He says it's not enough and won't leave. I go in to talk to the guy at the guesthouse who tells me it'll cost 30,000 CFA's to stay there. He then shows me a room that has someone else's stuff in it. I'm not so excited about staying here and certainly don't think it's worth that much money.

Then the only guy I've met to this point who speaks any English says he knows of another place. I tell him I'm not paying any more money for cabs. He says not to worry about it and gets the same cab driver from earlier (who I eventually paid 8,000 CFA's (20.00 US!!!!)) to take me on a long circuitous route that I later find out lands us 200 meters from where we just left. I wind up staying at this place and English speaking guy brings my bag up to my room. Then he tells me he wants money for the help he's given me. I wind up giving him 2,000 CFA's because he did help me out, at which time he tells me he'll see me in the morning.

End of Day 1

My great week of new stuff

2008-03-07T11:27:00.002Z

What an amazing week! Lot's of fun stuff has happened this week so I just wanted to pass along the good news!

- I found out that I'm going to go to Mali for two weeks. I had previously planned on only being able to go for one week. Then I talked with my friend Charlie who suggested I stay two and just call in sick for the second week. Taking part of her advice and tweeking it I instead went to my school director and proposed to her that during my first week I check out the American International School of Bamako, making notes and taking pictures, so that I can come back and do a workshop on the things the school is doing that we might learn from. Then the second week I could go to Timbuktu with my friend and be back at school on the 31st of March. She took a couple days to think about it and let me know on Wednesday that it's a go! I think I jumped out of my seat with excitement when she gave me the thumbs up. I'm really excited about this trip!

- I bought a bike yesterday. It's a twelve speed no-name refurbished bike. I payed about $66 US for it. Then I went and road down the beach on my new old bike. I haven't ridden in years. Far too long for someone who loves to ride. It was great to get back on the road. I was pretty psyched. On Sunday I'm going to ride to school to see how long it takes and whether I'm ready to face the eternal uphills that I would have to ride to get to school. This is something I've thought about doing since I came back in August. I'm glad I finally went for it and got the bike. I'll put a picture of my two-wheeled phenome bike soon.

- I've started a new morning routine. My old routine went something like this:
6:20 Alarm goes off, snooze
6:30 Alarm goes off, snooze
6:40 Alarm goes off, crawl out of bed
6:40-7:00 Quick shower, put on clothes, leave
(I'd brush my teeth at school, just so you don't think I left that vital part of most people's morning routines out of mine)

My new routine goes like this.
5:50 Alarm goes off, snooze
6:00 Alarm goes off, wake up, call my friend Cami to make sure she's also awake.
6:05-6:30 Read some scripture, pray, practice praise songs, journal about what I read the praise songs and the journaling aren't everyday but the reading and praying are)
6:30-6:40 Push ups, sit-ups, other excercise stuff
6:40-7:00 Quick shower, put on clothes, brush my teeth (which I do at home now), leave

I am loving my new routine. It takes away a good 40 minutes of sleep but the impact on my outlook for the day is drastically different. I've had scripture and prayer in mind as I start my day which then follows me throughout the day. I've worked out my body, waking me up and giving me extra energy to face the day. And since Cami and I are calling each other to make sure the other one is awake it's not something I can skimp on. I really am excited about the changes in my life that are happening because of this. The only thing that might change is that if I decide I do want to start riding to school in the mornings on my NEW BIKE then I'll start waking up earlier.

So yay for this week!

2008-03-05T14:15:00.008Z

So I've realized that my time here in Sierra Leone is starting to wind down. There have been a plethora of amazing experiences here. Some I have been fortunate enough to capture on film (except noone uses film anymore). Here are some of my favorites from the past 20 months.

(From left to right)

Some of the boys that lived on the street that I lived on my first year here. A makeshift street school, holding children of all ages and abilities. Me, hanging out in a tree, looking remarkably like my father did twenty years ago. Best friends holding hands on our school's walk-a-thon at the beach.

(From Left to Right)

A pair of girls who would run up to greet me everyday as I walked home from school, their looks brought smiles and heartache at the same time. My kids, silly, serious, full of laughs and tears, I love them even when they stick their tongue out at me. Pulling in the fishing nets is never an easy task.

(From left to right)

A young man in Kabala watched over me while I took a nap on a log in the woods. A young man holds his sister while watching the apotodem play at Charlotte falls. Taking a moment to pose inbetween jumping in the waves and chasing friends at Burra Beach. An old wheel makes a good toy on the dusty streets of Kabala.

(From left to right)

Hiding amidst the kasava plants on our trip to a local farm. A young man waits for his cue at a schools musical theatre program in Godrich. It's tough playing on the sand and as the sun dips into the sea these two players talked for a few minutes about playing overseas and their upbringing in Salone. This boy expressed his enthusiasm for life with a song and dance in the streets of Cocklebay.

(From left to right)
My favorite little girl who lived on my street, she was always excited to see me and was full of excitement about life. Taking a moment to reflect on our climb up one of the mountains surrounding Kabala. Another young man from my street, he loved kicking a tennis ball around the street.

Oh by the way!

2008-02-26T16:15:00.004Z

I feel as though I've been a bit remise in my writing. I can definitally see that I've changed a lot in the past two years.

Two weeks ago I was offered and accepted a position teaching at the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon in Sintra Portugal. I am super psyched about this opportunity and look forward to the next step in my world tour of teaching journey. I'm not sure yet what I'll be teaching although it will probably be Kindergarten or 2nd grade, either of which would be excellent.

I've gone a bit nuts in the past two weeks with my excitement. I've spent a lot of time looking at what housing is available in the area, even though the school has already said they will introduce me to real estate agents to help me in my search when I get there. I've looked at travel agencies to find out what fun things there are to do around the city. I've spent a lot of time just learning about Portugal in general.

It's really funny how I'm different than two years ago when I found out I'd be moving to Freetown, Sierra Leone to teach at the American International School here. Then I was more worried about the school. Now I know that as long as I'm working with kids school will work itself out. Then I didn't really think to look at what my housing would be like, because it was never really an issue I faced living in the states. Now that I've been here for two years I've learned that housing makes a big difference in your life. If you are happy where you live then you can put up with a lot of stuff. If you aren't happy where you live then you don't even have that as a sanctuary.

Another way that I've changed is that this took two plus weeks to post. Two years ago as soon as I found out I'd be moving to Africa I dropped everything and told everyone I knew. Actually, thinking back, I probably told a lot of people that I didn't know too. I think I've generally been a bit more low key in my telling of people this time. Maybe because I still have four months here and don't want to bore people with insesent talk of what I'm going to do in Portugal. I don't really know. But it is interesting to note the difference.

But I am so psyched. I've heard rumors that there are bookstores in Portugal. Not such a big deal? That has been one of the hardest things about living here in Freetown. The lack of accessable literature.

I've been looking online and the pictures I've seen are beautiful. Portugal looks to combine the mountain and ocean landscapes that I've grown accustumed to seeing and enjoying here in Freetown and exploiting those amazing landscapes in a wholy new and breathtaking way.

One of the biggest advantages to living in Portugal over Sierra Leone, because don't get me wrong, I love it here in Sierra Leone, is that people might actually get to come and visit me. Traveling to West Africa is a long, difficult, and expensive experience. One that I haven't felt comfortable asking friends and family to make. But Portugal? A lot of my friends that I've made in the past two years live in Europe, which I've heard is really easy to get around, so I'll hopefully be keeping in touch with them. And my friends back at home will have a lot easier time visiting without having to take a plethora of vaccinations and getting ridiculously expensive plane tickets.

So in case I didn't say it before, I'm really excited about the move. I know that there are going to be things that I miss about living and working in Freetown, but I know that the next two years of my journey are going to be amazing and I can hardly wait for what is in store.

Trip to the Guma Valley Dam

2008-02-14T10:58:00.008Z

So this week I took the Kindergarten through Third grade classes to the Guma Valley Dam to learn about how electricity is made. We had such a good time. The gentleman, Mr. Koroma, that showed us around did a FANTASTIC job! He taught us all about how the water gets from the dam to the transformer rooms and then is purified for drinking water. He took us around the whole water works and was very patient with the kids.

After our tour we went to the dam to have a picnic and play for a while. It was the perfect day for it. The dam and surrounding mountains created a beautiful backdrop for our outing. All in all it was one of the best field trips I've ever been on.

Temperature rising

2008-02-13T14:11:00.003Z

AAARGH! What is going on?

I feel like I've angered everyone that I work with. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I'm not sure what it is.

I had my feet up in a chair the other day and when a teacher called me out on it, making me feel like one of her students, I got frustrated and said things that would have been better left unsaid. She's still mad at me and I'm o.k. with not talking to her.

Our curriculum coordinator had us doing some work that she herself said was just for her and that we probably wouldn't see again. When one of the other teachers asked why we were doing it, I responded that it's bullcrap work that was for the person coming to do our accreditation check. I know I shouldn't have said that, it was profoundly unprofessional and I later apologized, but that's what it is. Noone will ever use it for anything. We were told that we can make up what we put on it. And in a few months someone is going to come in, take a second to glance at the paper as he shuffles through binders worth of equally useless pages, and that will be the reason for our extra hour plus of work. What is the point in that? I left the states in large part due to it's push for loads of papers just like this one. Why not have teachers spend that time coming up with authentic assessment for the kids? Or work on grading? Or putting up announcement boards? Or something that is actually going to benefit the students?

My aide was mad at me today. After the meeting about the useless papers she asked if she could talk to me alone for a minute. She said that she didn't sleep last night because I had embarrassed her yesterday on a field trip. I had incredulously asked her, probably louder than I should have but I was a bit flabbergasted, if she was eating one of the student's lunch. She was! Just walking through the students, parents, and drivers, casual as you may, eating one of the kids lunch. I admit that the best course of action would have been to pull her aside and quietly ask her why she was eating a kid's lunch. But again, with the surprised thing, and it wasn't that I was yelling at her, just asking in a loud and, again, incredulous voice why she was eating a six year old's food. She went on a bit while we were talking about how rude that is and how they do things differently here, apparently they would take food from a "suckling baby" to teach them the benifits of sharing and she felt she wasn't in the wrong. When I tried to sit down and talk to her about this and about the "other" times I had done something similar in front of the kids she mumbled and said not to worry about it. INFURIATING!!! If you are going to bring something like this up, and if the person with whom you have a problem wants to sit down and figure things out so they don't happen again, WHY ARE YOU GOING TO MUMBLE AND WALK AWAY FROM THE CONVERSATION??? She is the one that has a problem. I am the one trying to find out what I can do to make the problem go away. WHY WALK AWAY???

I guess I've forgotten a bit about my mantra of patience is a virtue this week. It could be that we are all a bit tired and need a break. Or that I'm tired and need a break, whatever. I need to stop and look at things from other people's perspective. That's what I'd try and teach my kids anyway. And I say all these things and yet it is still difficult to do.

So I'll say my sorry's, and mean them, because if I make someone upset I really am sorry about that. I don't, for the most part, run around trying to make people mad. That was me half a lifetime ago and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two since then. This week it's kind of hard to tell though...

The things I've been given

2008-02-08T16:24:00.000Z

I was given a crying flower today
I wasn't sure I should take it
But I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it

I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it

I was given a hug round my neck today
small hands wrapped tightly around
Oh, I was given a hug round my neck today
The hands with their palms that were browned

I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it
I was given a hug round my neck today
The hands with their palms that were browned

I was given a mighty big five today
the sound it echoed throughout
And I was given a mighty big five today
Followed by an enthusiastic shout

I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it
I was given a hug round the neck today
small hands wrapped tightly around
I was given a mighty big five today
followed by an enthusiastic shout

I was given a small pink card today
on the inside a handwritten sonnet
Lo, I was given a small pink card today
though it was hard to read the words on it

I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it
I was given a hug round the neck today
small hands wrapped tightly around
I was given a mighty big five today
followed by an enthusiastic shout
I was given a small pink card today
though it was hard to read the words on it

I was given a headbut to my belly today
I'm not really sure why
But I was given a headbut to my belly today
By a girl who stood four feet high

I was given a crying flower today
I couldn't bring myself to refuse it
I was given a hug round the neck today
small hands wrapped tightly around
I was given a mighty big five today
followed by an enthusiastic shout
I was given a small pink card today
though it was hard to read the words on it
I was given a headbut to my belly today
By a girl who stood four feet high

The things that I've been given today
would have no value to some
But the things that I've given today
are what have made it a special one

I was given a crying flower today...

Drumming and Eggshells

2008-01-29T10:51:00.000Z

I sit on my front porch
banging my drum for all the world to hear
listening to my own beat

I've found a new form of entertainment here in Freetown
I walk down the streets with a drum strung over my shoulder
And beat with the throngs who want to see if the white man has rhythm

Before I was called white man
Now they call me batta man
The man with the drum

I am going to be playing in our new church service
The one being put together for the ex-pats
The one that will hopefully help us to feel a bit more at home

Last night I put on my headphones
Sat in a wicker chair
And beat till my hands were red and sore

We've been having a different kind of dance party in class
Normally we put on a cd and throw ourselves about for a song or two
Now we use drums

Half the kids beat maniacally
While the other half have to listen to the
rise
and fall
quickening
and slow melodic beats
and move their six year old bodies to the beat they hear

I've been thinking that I ought to take advantage
Of this amazing world of percussionists
And take a few lessons

This could be another feather
In my Renaissance man hat
Another way to wile away the summer days
__________________________________________________

I am definitally counting eggs before they hatch
But at least I can hear movement behind the shell
I'm anxiously awaiting the first crack

Lisbon, Portugal
Full of the mountains and the ocean views I've grown accustumed to
And a short trip to see so many friends I've made in the past two years

This morning my former director
Sat down with me to say that
She had gotten a call from Portugal

They asked some basic things about me
But their big concern was that I had so openly talked about my faith
Do I do the same in my classes

She assured them that I don't
That I know the rules of an American teacher
That my faith was a big part of my life

So they are checking my references
And if the thing they are asking about is my discretion
Then I feel good about my chances

Next year I could be teaching
Kindergarten or Second grade
In Western Europe

I am really excited
My teaching aide isn't
But she's always know I wouldn't stay forever

So that's the news from my part of the world
Where I sit smiling
Thinking of life's wonderful opportunities