The Pain of Joy

This has been an interesting couple of weeks. Last week, we celebrated "Palestinian Independence Day," a bit of an oxymoron, but it was a great excuse for the teachers to have a day off & head up to En Gev. It was so nice there and the weather was perfect. We went to the Canada Center in Metulla, where there are several recreational activities to enjoy. There is a shooting range that I really wanted to try out, but the cheapest option was an air rifle with 15 shots, and I wanted to shoot a real gun. It was just too pricey. So I decided to go ice skating, which is something that I've only done twice before, many years ago. What a lovely feeling gliding oh so gracefully over the ice - yeah right - but really, I wasn't doing too badly, and it really did feel lovely until I decided to stop. I started into a kind of spin, panic set in, my arms and legs started doing that I'm-falling-backwards dance and then, with both feet flying high into the air, I landed right on my tailbone. Something cracked, I saw a flash of light, and I instinctively turned over onto my hands and knees, panting from the intense pain. It took me several minutes and some helpful hands to finally get up, and then I tried to "work it off" by skating some more. After a few times around the rink, the foolishness of my actions hit me. What the heck was I thinking, skating after a fall like that? I decided that I shouldn't push my luck and, thankfully, I got off the ice before I had another wipe-out. The damage, however, had already been done. I'm pretty sure I cracked my sacrum, and I've been moving rather cautiously since then. It seems to be getting better now, though when I'm walking up stairs or climbing into a van, I am reminded of the impact of that happy day. Believe it or not, it remained a nice day after the fall, aside from the pain. And the rest of the trip was pleasant as well; I was sad to leave.
A couple of days after our return, Mandy, who leads a small group that I help with, hosted a sleepover for some of the high school girls. Erin and I helped chaperon; the girls made pizza and then we made bracelets and key chains and watched Friends. We had a good time. Erin got into a wrestling match with one of the girls over a recliner dispute. I got some pictures and had a good laugh. Sadly, my ice skating incident kept me from participating in any wrestling matches that night. The next day, we went to watch the last soccer match of the season. The boys played first and Wilma and I mainly wanted to see the girls' game, so we left and found a nice place to have some lunch. When we got back to the field, the girls' game was already underway. I went to sit with Erin for a while and we saw some of the guys go into the woods behind the field; just mischievous boys having a bit of fun. Within a couple of minutes, two of the guys came rushing out; one of them badly wounded. He had fallen onto a broken bottle and cut his wrist wide open. He was rushed to the hospital and spent two days there. Erin is really close to this kid because she tutors him, so she was particularly upset. Thank God that he is doing much better - it was quite a serious wound. We all know that God had His hand on this boy: normally, a bus drops the team off and picks them up after the game, but we had a van there that day. Also, the field just happened to be less than 5 minutes from the hospital, so they were able to get him there almost immediately. There have been people praying for him here and back in the States way before this happened, so I know that God wants to bring something good out of this. He can't come to school for two weeks and he is in a lot of pain. Erin visits him regularly & I think it means a lot to him. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call in his life, at least, that's what we're praying for.
This past week's highlight revolved around a lovely American-style Thanksgiving Dinner. We had everything one could wish for: turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, and so much more. . .it was grand. It was much better than I expected; definitely better than it was last year. God bless America. Unfortunately, I began to feel a little nauseous later that evening. I went to bed slightly uncomfortable but slept well for about 5 hours. I woke up feeling really sick, but I waited it out & fell asleep again only to wake up again in an hour, this time unable to suppress it. I won't go into details; I'll just say that the next hour was unenjoyable. The good news is that afterwards, I felt much better and didn't get sick again. It's a good thing too, because we didn't have water that day. . .but that's a different story that I don't have time to get into right now. If you've lived here then you would understand. God bless Palestine.
That night I had a new experience. For the first time in my life I felt an earthquake! I know an earthquake is serious business, and I think it actually did some damage in Tel Aviv, but we just felt the tremor for a few seconds and it was over. I was almost asleep when I felt it. I was a little confused at first, but then I realized what had happened. Apparently this is the second one to hit within the last two weeks. It was pretty cool and I was really excited that I felt it, but that's about as strong of a tremor as I care to feel.
So yeah, this has been an eventful couple of weeks, but that's par for the course here. More adventures soon to come. . .

Reasons to smile

As I write, I'm feeling the all-too-dreaded sensation of a sore throat. I'm now drinking jamine green tea with honey and lemon, and I plan to gargle with salt water before I go to bed tonight. Erin was really sick a couple of weeks ago, and I do not want what she had. Actually, several of the teachers have, or are currently recovering from, an illness of some sort. It hasn't been the healthiest couple of weeks for us at school. Anyway, I'm watching "Rushmore" for the first time. I've wanted to see it for a really long time, and I'm enjoying it very much so far. Until now, I haven't been much of a Jason Schwartzman fan, but I think this may change my mind.
There are some moments during class that truly give me joy. Not so many, but a few. My students are such cuties, but that's charming for only a little while. The cuteness is either enhanced or becomes almost non-existent according to the personality of the child. In some cases, you find yourself stuck with an adorable brat. There are many different personalities in my classroom, and I have found that some of them are very entertaining. There is one boy in particular who makes me think of Elvis - young, cute Elvis, except that he's blonde. Yes, a blonde Arab. Now that I think about it, Elvis was actually blonde too. Anyway, this kid lifts his hands in the air and shakes his hips with his feet spread wide - oh my goodness, it's so cute. I can't help but laugh when he does it. Sometimes I get marriage proposals from some of the boys, which of course will always make me smile. There are lots of hugs given and received from both boys and girls, and I realize how precious it is to have such an opportunity with these children; although, at times, it can be difficult to remember that. We have music and art this year, and I really enjoy seeing the kids sing and dance. Even though the sound isn't always pleasing to the ears, the heart of it is.
We had a sleepover last night at the high school with 3rd - 6th grade girls in the Stars program. I didn't stay all night because I don't feel that great & I don't need to be staying up all night, especially since lack of sleep is probably the reason that I'm feeling ill these days. But, I did get to spend time with some of the girls I taught last year and it was so nice. They painted my nails and then drew on my face and I got to do "Twister Moves" with them, which is basically doing dance moves on a mat to an instructional CD. I was surprised at how difficult it was to do, but we had lots of fun with it.
There is so much that I'm learning here. Not only am I learning how to teach children, but I'm learning how to love them. Until last year, I had never really been around children before. I am so thankful to God for giving me this opportunity and experience - I can't help but feel that He is preparing me for a family of my own someday. It seems very odd to me to write that, but it's how I feel. I guess only time will tell.