[Sunday, October 26, 2003]
Wow, I can't believe it's already Sunday and almost time for another week. Well, I'm going to start today with a little "language story." Well, first of all, we changed times this morning, like you all in Ohio. (I didn't know it until someone told me this morning.) Well, anyways, The husband of the family that usually picks me up for church (Brian Nevin) called to say that the Hudson's would be picking me up this morning instead. Well, when the phone rang, I answered it, "Bueno," like I always do. So, Brian spoke back to me in Spanish. I was kind of tired and not really paying attention to what he said. Usually after I say Bueno, the person on the other end says, "Quien es?" which means, "Who is it?" So, thinking that's what he asked I said, "Angelina." Only, then I realized he'd asked me, "Como estas?" which means, "How are you." Well, I recovered from that and got the information I needed, no big deal. Well, not until I got to church. When Brian did arrive, he went to some of my friends in the youth group and told them in Spanish my little mix-up. So, if that wasn't embarassing enough, my friends started going around to another, pretending to greet each other and asked "Como estas?" and the other person would answer, "Angelina." Well..... my face got just a little red as I watched them tease me. So, that was my language story. Onto other news. Well, mom and dad, family and friends,I hope you are sitting down right now because you won't believe what I have to say. Friday night, I got put in jail. Twice. Well, not real jail of course. Let me explain. The school had a fall festival for teachers, friends and families. They have games set up in some of the rooms, rope climbing, jail, a maze, nintendo, cookie decorating and the wedding chapel. About jail: I was hanging around, having a good time, when one of my students came up to me and said, "Miss Starkey, can I show you something?" Well, this was one of my most sincere students who tells me all the time how much he loves school. I follow him around the corner and he says, "I put you in jail!" I couldn't believe it! Well, the student had paid to put me in jail for 5 minutes. He thought it was pretty funny. The second time, it was my friend from youth group. So, I paid to have him put in jail with me. I think he forgot that I could put him in jail too. Well, funny we should be in jail together because later that night we were married. (He was my 2nd of 3 husbands.) I know it sounds interesting, but it's a school tradition that you can pay to have people married. 40 cents - the cheapest wedding ever! Anyways, the 5th and 6th grade girls arranged for me to marry their teacher, Mr. Connor. That was the first wedding. Way later in the evening, I was hanging from a rope on the side of the school, doing the rope climb, when I hear people yelling, "Miss Starkey, you're getting married." Well, they were just going to have to wait because I was dangling in the air. A few minutes later, a little brother of one of my students came and yelled, "Hurry up and get down. You have to get married." I finished the rope climb. So, I go upstairs to marry a 6th grader, a brother of a boy in my class, also the brother of the boy who yelled at me. So, I walk in the room and standing at the altar is not a 6th grade student, but a boy from youth group. (The one I was in jail with.) So, with lots of people watching I married Leandro Lozada. Then, they told me not to go anywhere because I was getting married again, this time to the 6th grader. Well, it was fun. I enjoyed the school activity, even when I was forced in jail and forced to marry. All my students were there. They had a costume contest so they were all dressed up. Well, I can't think of anything else really. Oh wait, one other thing. We've been having a problem with ants. This week, they about drove me crazy, because one day I came home to find them crawling on the side of the refrigerator and on the stovetop. I think the school is going to fumigate. I'll be glad about that! Well, I hope everyone's week was filled with as much enjoyment as mine! I'll write again soon. Angelina
[Monday, October 20, 2003]
Hola! Well, first I'm going to make a comment about my last entry. You remember how it was a beautiful day and the sun was shining? And, I said that it felt like spring all the time..... well....
About 10 minutes after I'd finished writing to you, the sky was almost all dark. (Remember, I also said the weather changes very quickly here.) It was getting darker by the minute, so I quickly finished an e-mail and walked home. Whle walking home, I noticed that the whole sky was dark, not just near Malinche. I'd barely closed the door when it started to pour! If I remember correctly that was also the night we got hail last week. Anyways, so much for the beautiful day. And, it has been really, really chilly this week. You know, the one thing I didn't bring to Puebla was a coat. I don't know what's going on with this cold weather. (Now, if I were back in Ohio, it might not seem so cold, but for here, it's like winter!) Now, onto news. On Thursday, we had our first Show and Tell- In our classroom we had 1 dog, 1 fish, 1 hamster,2 turtles, and 3 kittens. Yes, it was quite the experience. However, we gained a class pet, because the hamster stayed.My student, Adrienne, said they couldn't keep it at home anymore and asked if she could be a class pet. The cage didn't have a lid, which was logical because, well, to put it nicely, the hamster hasn't been working out too much lately. So, I thought, there is no way this hamster could get out. Moral of the story to come: Never assume, never assume. I was working in the classroom one evening and went to the library for about 15 minutes or less. I came back and thought I'd check to see if Butter was still sniffing around the cage for more food. She wasn't visible in the cage, so I started looking for her in her bed, but no Butter. I just stood there a moment, in utter amazement. I even thought perhaps someone came in, took her out of the cage just to play a joke on me. Then, I realized the truth, she'd escaped. How-- I'll never know, but she did. The door to the room was open and it was pitch black outside on the patio. OH NO! But, I think Butter was just as shocked of her ability to escape as me because she was sitting on the floor (which is able 4 feet beneath her cage) kind of walking in circles. She didn't run, or do anything much. So, being the creative person that I am, I got a little box, put some food in it and put it near her. Naturally, she crawled into the box. So, I was able to safely return her to her cage. Also, being the smart person I am, I thought I'd better put something on top of the cage, and I did. What a relief! So, that was my venture with the class pet.
Now, more news, I've taken on a new class. Starting tomorrow, I'll be leading the 7th-10th grade girls in Kickboxing. This will take the place of P.E. every Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it. Well, to close today, I want to thank everyone who has e-mailed me this past week. It was so encouraging. I really appreciate those of you who take the time to write me! It means a lot to me. I will try to respond to everyone's e-mails within a few days of when they write. Well, I've got lots to do. Have a great week everyone! Angelina
About 10 minutes after I'd finished writing to you, the sky was almost all dark. (Remember, I also said the weather changes very quickly here.) It was getting darker by the minute, so I quickly finished an e-mail and walked home. Whle walking home, I noticed that the whole sky was dark, not just near Malinche. I'd barely closed the door when it started to pour! If I remember correctly that was also the night we got hail last week. Anyways, so much for the beautiful day. And, it has been really, really chilly this week. You know, the one thing I didn't bring to Puebla was a coat. I don't know what's going on with this cold weather. (Now, if I were back in Ohio, it might not seem so cold, but for here, it's like winter!) Now, onto news. On Thursday, we had our first Show and Tell- In our classroom we had 1 dog, 1 fish, 1 hamster,2 turtles, and 3 kittens. Yes, it was quite the experience. However, we gained a class pet, because the hamster stayed.My student, Adrienne, said they couldn't keep it at home anymore and asked if she could be a class pet. The cage didn't have a lid, which was logical because, well, to put it nicely, the hamster hasn't been working out too much lately. So, I thought, there is no way this hamster could get out. Moral of the story to come: Never assume, never assume. I was working in the classroom one evening and went to the library for about 15 minutes or less. I came back and thought I'd check to see if Butter was still sniffing around the cage for more food. She wasn't visible in the cage, so I started looking for her in her bed, but no Butter. I just stood there a moment, in utter amazement. I even thought perhaps someone came in, took her out of the cage just to play a joke on me. Then, I realized the truth, she'd escaped. How-- I'll never know, but she did. The door to the room was open and it was pitch black outside on the patio. OH NO! But, I think Butter was just as shocked of her ability to escape as me because she was sitting on the floor (which is able 4 feet beneath her cage) kind of walking in circles. She didn't run, or do anything much. So, being the creative person that I am, I got a little box, put some food in it and put it near her. Naturally, she crawled into the box. So, I was able to safely return her to her cage. Also, being the smart person I am, I thought I'd better put something on top of the cage, and I did. What a relief! So, that was my venture with the class pet.
Now, more news, I've taken on a new class. Starting tomorrow, I'll be leading the 7th-10th grade girls in Kickboxing. This will take the place of P.E. every Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it. Well, to close today, I want to thank everyone who has e-mailed me this past week. It was so encouraging. I really appreciate those of you who take the time to write me! It means a lot to me. I will try to respond to everyone's e-mails within a few days of when they write. Well, I've got lots to do. Have a great week everyone! Angelina
[Tuesday, October 14, 2003]
Hello everyone! It's a beautiful day here in Puebla! The sun is shining. It's a little above 70 degrees. Yesterday, the thought occurred to me that it feels like spring here all the time. You know how it feels in April when the weather starts getting nice again, that's how it feels here. I like it. :) Well, I'm feeling pretty good today. I've finally kind of gotten ahead a little with my planning. I'm getting more and more into the routine. Today I will actually have a free evening. That will be nice! This week, I also got e-mails from some friends and church members at home. It is SO NICE to get e-mail. Being so far away, I never know what's going on and so I love hearing from my friends and family. Well, not much exciting has happened this week. Things were pretty calm. Oh, we did find a new bakery near our house. My. my. my....Mexicans can make delicious pastries! Mmmm... If any of you have questions about Mexico, etc. please e-mail and ask me. I'd love to answer your questions through this weblog. It would be nice to know what kinds of things you are curious about, or are interested in. Hmmm...what can I tell you today? I don't think I have told you about how we do laundry. Well, we have a washing machine on the roof. (People here keep many things on their roof, because not many have a yard. The roofs have walls or fences up around them as well. You'll see grills, dogs, chairs, etc.) So, our washing machine is on the roof. It's great that we have a washing machine, but it takes forever!!! First of all, the water trickles in to fill it. So, we have a bucket we use to fill the machine up at the start. So, we carry about 10 buckets of water and dump them in the washing machine. However, for the rinse cycle, we just let the water trickle in slowly, so it takes about 1 1/2 hours for the washing machine to run one load. Then we hang up the clothes on a clothesline on the roof. You have to be careful though to look for dark clouds. If the clouds are dark towards Malinche, then there will be rain. If they are dark towards Mt. Popo, then it won't rain. Here, it rains at a moment's notice and it pours! There have been a few times when my roommate and I have been sitting inside eating dinner or something, then all the sudden we hear this noise. We stop, look at each other and run out the door up 2 flights of steps to the roof to rescue our clothes. Fun stuff! Well, speaking of eating dinner, my roommate is cooking for us tonight and I should get home. Have a great week and I'll try to write again this weekend! I hope all of you are doing well. Please write if you have a spare moment. I'd sure love to hear from you! Angelina
P.S. All you from LBT, I'm praying for you with the death of Mr. Basinger.
P.S. All you from LBT, I'm praying for you with the death of Mr. Basinger.
[Tuesday, October 07, 2003]
Hola todas mis amigas y familia!
I really haven't said much about Spanish, but I have learned a lot since I've been here. I understand so much more than when I first came. I'm enjoying the learning process. On Tuesday after school, an older man from my church comes to the school. He helps me with Spanish for about a half hour and I help him with English. It's a neat opportunity. Anyways, onto other exciting things. My weekend.... my first experience rappelling and rock climbing ( or should I say cliff climbing.) Well, on the way to Valsequillo, I was able to see all 4 volcanoes! I saw Mt. Oresabe for the first time. The morning was beautiful. The sky was clear and the mountains looked like you could reach out and touch them. We also got to see the valley of Puebla. I never really realized how much we are in a valley. We were up about 8,500 ft above sea level in Valsequillo. Puebla is about 7,000 ft. So, we were up on some cliffs and it was gorgeous! It made me stop and think, "Lord, did you carve the cracks and crevasses in the cliff with your hands?" Well, first I did some yo-yo climbing. These are small routes set up near the base of the cliff. They don't go very high, but can be difficult. You have to find any little ledges or cracks you can to wedge your feet or hands into. It was fun. I did both yo-yo routes. Then, I decided I was going to walk the trail back up to the top and rappell for the first time. Let me tell you, it's a little scary to step backwards off the top of a cliff, even though you have a waist /leg harness that is hooked to you by and rope and that rope is hooked to the harness of the person at the top and that person has a rope tying his harness to a tree. The rope itself can hold 7,000 lbs. Nevertheless, it was scary. It took me a few steps to get used to walking down backwards on the side of a cliff, and I was nervous from the top all the way to the bottom, but it was great! I enjoyed it. At one point the cliff curved inward and my feet didn't touch, so I was just hanging in my harness, slowly letting myself down. Interesting I know. It may also sound dangerous, but the school takes this annual trip and from the nearly 8,000 students that have gone, there have been no injuries. It is a very safe sport when you have trained people in charge (which we did.) So, if the rappelling wasn't enough fear and thrill, I decided I wanted to climb back up the cliff. My goodness, does it make you nervous to climb 3/4 of the way up and look down. I just thought, "Hmm, I'm climbing up the side of a cliff. It's a long way down." The climbing up was scary (in a good way) and difficult. It took a lot of strength and energy. At one point, when I was about 3/4 of the way up, I just felt like I couldn't go any farther (as if I had a choice whether I was going to climb anymore or not. I had to either go up or down, you know) and I just prayed, Lord help me finish this. So, I waited a few seconds and got the strength to keep going. Boy was I shaky when I got to the top, but it was a tremendous feeling! Now, for a spiritual thought. Those of you at LBT know that around August, Pastor Hohman decided he was going mountain climbing and invited us to go with him. (Spiritual mountain climbing that is) Well, now I can understand a little bit more about how that works. I was all excited to start on my journey up the side of the cliff. I thought, "I can do this just fine." Then, not longer after I started, there were a few set-backs. The rope got stuck in a little crevace and wouldn't come out. (Kind of little how we sometimes get stuck in our Christian walk) After pulling and yanking, I was able to work with someone to get the rope unstuck and I was able to keep going. (Hmm.. kind of like how as CHristians it's hard to get through tough things on our own.) Then, several times on the way up, I'd get to a spot where it seemed there was no place to put my feet and I'd yell down to the people at the bottom, "I can't do it!" Then, they'd yell back up, "Yes, you can!" That was all I needed, just the encouragement from my friends. I really didn't want to give up and I knew I could go on, but I just needed the encouragement and support. (We all need that in our lives. Especially when we go through times when we just don't know what move to make next.) Then, when I got to that spot where I prayed, I knew I was almost there, but I needed some more strength. (Usually it's the hardest when you're so close to attaining your spiritual goal as well.We need to go to the Lord and give it to Him and let Him be our strength!) ) Oh, but then, when I got to the top- been through it all- had the scratches and a few bruises to prove it- I was so so so glad I didn't give up, that I kept on going! What a feeling- to make it to the top- to overcome the difficulties. Thank the Lord he is there with us through it all! For those of us who know Him as Savior- we can testify of all the things He's done for us, the strength He's given and the feeling of being victorious for Him! SO, I hope you all are doing well on your climb up the mountain. I KNOW it can be difficult- but when you get to the top, it will be worth it all! Love- Angelina
I really haven't said much about Spanish, but I have learned a lot since I've been here. I understand so much more than when I first came. I'm enjoying the learning process. On Tuesday after school, an older man from my church comes to the school. He helps me with Spanish for about a half hour and I help him with English. It's a neat opportunity. Anyways, onto other exciting things. My weekend.... my first experience rappelling and rock climbing ( or should I say cliff climbing.) Well, on the way to Valsequillo, I was able to see all 4 volcanoes! I saw Mt. Oresabe for the first time. The morning was beautiful. The sky was clear and the mountains looked like you could reach out and touch them. We also got to see the valley of Puebla. I never really realized how much we are in a valley. We were up about 8,500 ft above sea level in Valsequillo. Puebla is about 7,000 ft. So, we were up on some cliffs and it was gorgeous! It made me stop and think, "Lord, did you carve the cracks and crevasses in the cliff with your hands?" Well, first I did some yo-yo climbing. These are small routes set up near the base of the cliff. They don't go very high, but can be difficult. You have to find any little ledges or cracks you can to wedge your feet or hands into. It was fun. I did both yo-yo routes. Then, I decided I was going to walk the trail back up to the top and rappell for the first time. Let me tell you, it's a little scary to step backwards off the top of a cliff, even though you have a waist /leg harness that is hooked to you by and rope and that rope is hooked to the harness of the person at the top and that person has a rope tying his harness to a tree. The rope itself can hold 7,000 lbs. Nevertheless, it was scary. It took me a few steps to get used to walking down backwards on the side of a cliff, and I was nervous from the top all the way to the bottom, but it was great! I enjoyed it. At one point the cliff curved inward and my feet didn't touch, so I was just hanging in my harness, slowly letting myself down. Interesting I know. It may also sound dangerous, but the school takes this annual trip and from the nearly 8,000 students that have gone, there have been no injuries. It is a very safe sport when you have trained people in charge (which we did.) So, if the rappelling wasn't enough fear and thrill, I decided I wanted to climb back up the cliff. My goodness, does it make you nervous to climb 3/4 of the way up and look down. I just thought, "Hmm, I'm climbing up the side of a cliff. It's a long way down." The climbing up was scary (in a good way) and difficult. It took a lot of strength and energy. At one point, when I was about 3/4 of the way up, I just felt like I couldn't go any farther (as if I had a choice whether I was going to climb anymore or not. I had to either go up or down, you know) and I just prayed, Lord help me finish this. So, I waited a few seconds and got the strength to keep going. Boy was I shaky when I got to the top, but it was a tremendous feeling! Now, for a spiritual thought. Those of you at LBT know that around August, Pastor Hohman decided he was going mountain climbing and invited us to go with him. (Spiritual mountain climbing that is) Well, now I can understand a little bit more about how that works. I was all excited to start on my journey up the side of the cliff. I thought, "I can do this just fine." Then, not longer after I started, there were a few set-backs. The rope got stuck in a little crevace and wouldn't come out. (Kind of little how we sometimes get stuck in our Christian walk) After pulling and yanking, I was able to work with someone to get the rope unstuck and I was able to keep going. (Hmm.. kind of like how as CHristians it's hard to get through tough things on our own.) Then, several times on the way up, I'd get to a spot where it seemed there was no place to put my feet and I'd yell down to the people at the bottom, "I can't do it!" Then, they'd yell back up, "Yes, you can!" That was all I needed, just the encouragement from my friends. I really didn't want to give up and I knew I could go on, but I just needed the encouragement and support. (We all need that in our lives. Especially when we go through times when we just don't know what move to make next.) Then, when I got to that spot where I prayed, I knew I was almost there, but I needed some more strength. (Usually it's the hardest when you're so close to attaining your spiritual goal as well.We need to go to the Lord and give it to Him and let Him be our strength!) ) Oh, but then, when I got to the top- been through it all- had the scratches and a few bruises to prove it- I was so so so glad I didn't give up, that I kept on going! What a feeling- to make it to the top- to overcome the difficulties. Thank the Lord he is there with us through it all! For those of us who know Him as Savior- we can testify of all the things He's done for us, the strength He's given and the feeling of being victorious for Him! SO, I hope you all are doing well on your climb up the mountain. I KNOW it can be difficult- but when you get to the top, it will be worth it all! Love- Angelina
[Thursday, October 02, 2003]
Hola mis amigos!! My goodness, I thought I'd never have a spare moment this week. Last weekend was so busy that I kind of got behind with school preparation and it felt like I'd never get caught up. Finally, I am, but only for the day. Now, I have to get ready for next week. Next week will be nice because my whole class will begin having music twice a week. Up to now, the 3rd grade has gone on one day and the 4th grade on another. So, I will have 2 more free planning hours starting next week! Well, on to other things. This Saturday, the junior/senior high is taking an annual rapelling trip. The staff is also invited. So, I'm going rock climbing and rapelling for the first time!! I'm looking forward to it. I've had a little practice with these on the side of my garage at home. (Dad, I sure hope my training on that climbing wall in the backyard helps me out. Just Kidding) I'm not sure where exactly we're going, but like I've mentioned before, Puebla is surrounded by mountains. It's going to be a lot of fun. I've had a question about the weather here. Lately it's been very windy, which isn't that common. I'm not sure what's going on with that. And, it's been a lot cooler in the morning and night. It's pretty warm though by the afternoon. Rainy season is ending, so it doesn't rain everyday and the rain comes at different times of the day now. We're kind of changing seasons. Don't worry, it's still going to stay warm during the day. Nice and sunny. :) I'm sure I'll get plenty of sun on Saturday. Well, that's all I've got to share for today. Oh, yesterday it was my turn to do chapel. I had to give my testimony. I told about a theme that runs through my life and that is prayer. I shared the way God has answered prayers in my family. (Mom and Dad- it was a neat time to think about all the hard times God has brought us through.) I ended by reading a verse that says "I will call upon the name of the Lord as long as I live." So, I challenge you as well to remember the things God has done, the prayers He's answered and encourage you to keep praying!! I especially think of the way God provided for me to be here. Thank you to those who prayed for God to provide and for those who heard his call to give. Thank you so much! My being here is a testimony of God's faithfulness! God is faithful to those who have received his son Jesus as Savior. He is an awesome God!! Have a great weekend.
