Spanish

Yo comi pastel de fresa y tome agua.

Gotta start somewhere, right? I made a commitment to learn Spanish when I started working in the classroom with Hispanic students. I've been at YES for nearly three years, and I am now just beginning to speak in complete sentences. Sadness, no?

So I start now. I am making a commitment to learn oral and written Spanish on my own (and to try to speak in complete sentences when I am talking to others).

Cold Front

After dinner, I stood out in the parking lot with my co-worker Jesi, her sister, and another friend, talking about the cold front to come tonight. As we were speaking, the gusts of warm wind suddenly changed to frigid blasts.

Holy guacamole.

Too bad I was in my cargo shorts and Tevas.

Valentine's Day

I'm sitting here in my office, watching the kids as they bring in carnations wrapped in clear florist plastic, silvery helium balloons, and ribbons-- lots of pink, red, and white ribbon. The topper-- the senior who totes a huge white polar bear as she walks into senior seminar.

And then there's the candy.

Oh, the candy.

I see students chomping on chocolate or walking around with suckers in their mouths. Valentine's Day isn't about the love. It's all about the sugar. Aside from Halloween, Valentine's Day isn't the best day for teachers who deal with sugar-ridden children.

It's gonna be a long day at school today...

Would You Like Some Queso with That?

Some people wake up with teddy bears in their arms.

Some people have to have their special blankets or pillows.

I apparently have to have a tortilla.

Yes. That's right, folks. A flour tortilla.

Who knows? When I woke up this morning to my alarm, I felt that I was grasping something flat, round-ish, and grainy. I don't usually hold any stuffed animals when I go to sleep, so I was a little surprised that I was clutching anything at all.

So imagine my surprise when I rolled over to see what I was holding: a half-eaten flour tortilla.

Huh? When? What? I certainly didn't remember getting up to still those hunger pangs in the middle of the night, and I really didn't remember opening up the fridge to gaze longingly at the stash of leftover tortillas from lifegroup. And who knows when I actually ate that thing? I didn't even get the satisfaction of tasting my midnight snack.

Clearly I was sleepwalking.

Oh, well. As my friend says, maybe the next time I sleepwalk I'll advance to adding chicken and cheese to my tortilla to make a taco.