i got to talk to my family quickly thursday and my brother asks "why do you have to work tomorrow?" no...thanksgiving is not a holiday here, but we sort-of celebrated with a large dinner at our house (i`m going to estimate 50 people came).
with my reflections about thanksgiving i`d been planning a thankful post for awhile (i have a lot to be thanksful for) then when thanksgiving passed and i didn`t have a chance to do it, i was just going to let it slide, but yesterday as i was swinging in a park overlooking 3 soccar fields full of games, the mountains in the distance & the beautiful sky i realized i still wanted to do it.
better late than never.
I usually love Thanksgiving. I think it`s a great chance to thank people who are particularly amazing in my life so this year i thought i`d send a big shout out through here.
i want to thank my family for their support in life. support as i finished college and entered into a new adventure. event if they didn`t/don`t really support my decision to enter into this program. they still wished me luck, gave me love and pray for me. i especially appreciate the packages (which i know cost an arm and a leg to mail), the letters (i treasure them and read them many times) and the email updates on your lives....and the patience waiting for me to respond because i`m really bad about it here. i love feeling like i`m still part of your lives thousands of miles away. i know it`s especially hard as i start missing events and we start to realize that i don`t get to talk to you as much (it takes a lot of effort), but i appreciate the continued support and love. i`m thinking of you too, more than you realize.
p.s. with thanksgiving on the mind i`m grateful for all the times i enjoyed my grandma`s homemade applesauce as i`m missing it now (and my throat kind-of hurts so it would be perfect)
it`s definitely hard to be here without the friends that i`m used to seeing/talking to so often. if i have advice it`s to appreciate the time you have with each other...every second, even the bad and awkward. as i was leaving i had the best send-off from chicago i could imagine including the cards that i treasure (yes i have them here) and even presents that were extremely unneccessary. i was thinking about doing some individual shout-outs, but i was afraid i`d forget someone, which would be tragic so i`m not, but i love you ALL. especially being here i value my friends where i could understand all the details of stories (here i`m at the point of understanding the gist...if that) and laugh at jokes (here i don`t really understand them). I miss my friends dearly & you can bet i have pictures of you up in my room along with letters and cards i received. as i was preparing to leave i can`t thank my friends enough for all their support, even if they didn`t want me to go, they calmed my nerves and showed nothing but love. even now as i suck up emailing and miss out on big events i get great descriptive emails and so much love.
my roommates. they deal with it all, from listening to my stupid stories, my funny experiences, and my frustrations. thank you.
my orientation family (in san antonio). i wish i could stay in touch with you better now, but we all off doing our own things and staying very busy...exactly what we entered the program to do. i admire all of you and think of you all the time =)
thank you to the kids i work with everyday, for their hugs & patience (especially when i say things that make no sense. They try so hard to understand and help correct me sometimes too =) ) They all have their own unique hugs: I can count on Emiliano to grab my hand and jerk away as he says they`re cold. Hanna likes to have long hugs where she`s basically just leaning against me. Felipe likes to get a good grip on my leg and hug hard...he really likes when I then try to walk. Arleth basically likes some physical contact at all times, she holds my hand a lot, etc. Israel likes solo hugs (not group hugs) and likes to play with my hair, pet my hands and arms a lot and ask me lots of questions about my looks and why I speak English, etc. He likes to tell me "te quiero mucho" and kiss my hands a lot too. They bring so much joy to me. At the end of bad days I realize they are just kids and I love them through it all.
They take care of me too. One day last week when I wasn`t feeling well I was sitting and the usual line was forming for me to sharpen their pencils so I had to keep getting up to go to the trash can & i wasn`t exactly enjoying it until one of the kids (i think Dante) brought the trash can over to me. smart kid because i didn`t think of that.
thank you thank you thank you
i have a very blesssed life and these are just some of the reasons (but we won`t lie...when the posts get super long they`re just too overwhelming and this is sufficiently long)
with my reflections about thanksgiving i`d been planning a thankful post for awhile (i have a lot to be thanksful for) then when thanksgiving passed and i didn`t have a chance to do it, i was just going to let it slide, but yesterday as i was swinging in a park overlooking 3 soccar fields full of games, the mountains in the distance & the beautiful sky i realized i still wanted to do it.
better late than never.
I usually love Thanksgiving. I think it`s a great chance to thank people who are particularly amazing in my life so this year i thought i`d send a big shout out through here.
i want to thank my family for their support in life. support as i finished college and entered into a new adventure. event if they didn`t/don`t really support my decision to enter into this program. they still wished me luck, gave me love and pray for me. i especially appreciate the packages (which i know cost an arm and a leg to mail), the letters (i treasure them and read them many times) and the email updates on your lives....and the patience waiting for me to respond because i`m really bad about it here. i love feeling like i`m still part of your lives thousands of miles away. i know it`s especially hard as i start missing events and we start to realize that i don`t get to talk to you as much (it takes a lot of effort), but i appreciate the continued support and love. i`m thinking of you too, more than you realize.
p.s. with thanksgiving on the mind i`m grateful for all the times i enjoyed my grandma`s homemade applesauce as i`m missing it now (and my throat kind-of hurts so it would be perfect)
it`s definitely hard to be here without the friends that i`m used to seeing/talking to so often. if i have advice it`s to appreciate the time you have with each other...every second, even the bad and awkward. as i was leaving i had the best send-off from chicago i could imagine including the cards that i treasure (yes i have them here) and even presents that were extremely unneccessary. i was thinking about doing some individual shout-outs, but i was afraid i`d forget someone, which would be tragic so i`m not, but i love you ALL. especially being here i value my friends where i could understand all the details of stories (here i`m at the point of understanding the gist...if that) and laugh at jokes (here i don`t really understand them). I miss my friends dearly & you can bet i have pictures of you up in my room along with letters and cards i received. as i was preparing to leave i can`t thank my friends enough for all their support, even if they didn`t want me to go, they calmed my nerves and showed nothing but love. even now as i suck up emailing and miss out on big events i get great descriptive emails and so much love.
my roommates. they deal with it all, from listening to my stupid stories, my funny experiences, and my frustrations. thank you.
my orientation family (in san antonio). i wish i could stay in touch with you better now, but we all off doing our own things and staying very busy...exactly what we entered the program to do. i admire all of you and think of you all the time =)
thank you to the kids i work with everyday, for their hugs & patience (especially when i say things that make no sense. They try so hard to understand and help correct me sometimes too =) ) They all have their own unique hugs: I can count on Emiliano to grab my hand and jerk away as he says they`re cold. Hanna likes to have long hugs where she`s basically just leaning against me. Felipe likes to get a good grip on my leg and hug hard...he really likes when I then try to walk. Arleth basically likes some physical contact at all times, she holds my hand a lot, etc. Israel likes solo hugs (not group hugs) and likes to play with my hair, pet my hands and arms a lot and ask me lots of questions about my looks and why I speak English, etc. He likes to tell me "te quiero mucho" and kiss my hands a lot too. They bring so much joy to me. At the end of bad days I realize they are just kids and I love them through it all.
They take care of me too. One day last week when I wasn`t feeling well I was sitting and the usual line was forming for me to sharpen their pencils so I had to keep getting up to go to the trash can & i wasn`t exactly enjoying it until one of the kids (i think Dante) brought the trash can over to me. smart kid because i didn`t think of that.
thank you thank you thank you
i have a very blesssed life and these are just some of the reasons (but we won`t lie...when the posts get super long they`re just too overwhelming and this is sufficiently long)
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