Limping Towards the Finish Line (by Lawrs)

My dear blogophiles,

I'm finding it difficult to write as much now that I am working full time.  More than a few of you have lamented the slowing pace of new entries, but such is life.  Since I am spending most of my time working now, I thought it might be fun and interesting to shoot photos of my typical school day.  All of us getting ready, and me heading off to my job.  The varied means of transport, the after school activities, the unexpected guests. The days are certainly full.  

I have been trying to do at least a bit of yoga every morning when I wake up at 6:00.  Three or four sun salutes gets the energy flowing and puts me in a good mood.  And believe me, I need to be in a good mood to get into our shower.  It's not much more than a trickle and now that we are embarking on winter down here in the southern hemisphere, the concrete bathroom is more "meat locker" than it is cozy.

Isabel usually cooks her own breakfast, an egg and toast.  She's gotten pretty adept at lighting the gas stove with a match and is finding her way around the kitchen quite well. 

Sophia gets a lot of help from her sister, but is also able to do a lot independently herself.  She often curls up on the couch for a bit until she is fully awake and ready to greet the day. 

The hallway from our apartment to the outside world is dark and narrow, and opens onto this:

the "sidewalk" which is light and narrow.  One of the neighborhood dogs is always waiting to greet me with his icy stare.

Around here, the common wisdom is that a "good dog" is one who barks, chases and bites.  Happily, this is not a "good dog." Turning the corner at the end of the block, I head toward the ruins of Saqsaywaman, bathed in the early morning sunlight.

I share a cab with four other teachers every morning.  It's about a 20 minute drive down the valley to school.  We usually sing some schoolyard song with lyrics changed to something morbid, like dying in a head-on-collision.

This intersection will give you an idea of the inspiration behind such song-craft. 

 

The school is tucked behind this giant metal gate.  We usually go through the door by 7:30 every morning.

My classroom, without students, and with.  My sixth graders are GREAT!  They have a lot of energy which I always prefer to teenage angst and apathy.  One ambitious prankster removed every single nut from each of the desks in the second week of school resulting in a lot of rickety junior-executives.  After she was ratted out, she spent two recesses reassembling the furniture.  

The ride back to the city is usually in a converted minivan on the "Batman Line."  These rides are super cheap and therefore packed to the gills with passengers. 

 

Fazilli, me and Jessica snagged the coveted back seat on this trip, and this was our view.  It costs about 20 ¢ for a ride that would cost $3 in a cab.  

After school on Tuesdays and Thursdays we are running all about ferrying the girls to lessons.  On this day Sophia went to her ballet lesson with Miss Katia while Isabel was at violin.  Both the girls' teachers are amazing.  Katia has this aura of warmth about her that you can almost see and can definitely feel. 

The weekend has officially begun, but I am too tired to do anything about it.  I guess really I am too tired to do anything about it most nights, but staying in hurts a bit more when I know I won't have to get up early the next day to get to school.  We did manage to go out for dinner and Krista and I toasted each other over a pair of pisco-sours.

This week I showed the class the film Wall-E as an activity to get them thinking about heroes and heroines.  I think they got the connection based on their comments post viewing, but what I loved the most was how they laughed and teared up at the story.  In my opinion it's one of the most beautiful love stories every portrayed on film, and these kids really got it.  Watching them watch the movie, these sometimes cynical pre-teens were kids again, thrilled to let themselves be sucked in by the story.  And I was sucked in too.  The universal truth that Wall-E and Eve discover in their time together is that we all share the same "directive," to be connected with each other.  I thought about those little robot hands intertwining their metal digits as I sat with Krista, Isabel and Sophia on this Friday night, sharing stories about our week and enjoying each others' company.  Togetherness is our directive too.