It’s back to school time here on Rancho Santa Fe. Life has been incredibly full and busy and I’ve ended each day falling asleep earlier than I ever thought possible in college. Classes have gone well this 2nd time around. I know the students, teachers, and system this time, plus I feel like I actually have somewhat of a clue what I’m doing in the classroom. My Spanish scolding vocabulary has greatly improved and I’m no longer left speechless when the kids start acting out. 3rd grade (last year’s 2nd graders) are still difficult and I do all I can to remain calm as they continue to talk when I am, hide in the cabinets, tell me they hate my class, and so forth. There have been many lessons in patience.
The “this is my life” moment of the week happened last Monday when we entered the classroom to find none other than a bird who had taken up residence in the classroom over the weekend (the windows are only separated from the outside by decorative barring so small animals, bugs, and the wind can easily slip through). Angela (my fellow English teaching partner) and I decided to leave the thing and just let it try to find its way out on its own. Unfortunately, the kids did not have that same idea. And as much as they tried, they could not resist the urge to throw paper, pencils, and dirt at the animal as it swooped around the room dodging the objects. Orlin (who was doing chores for throwing paper in a confetti-like manner all over the floor) found it most optimal to “sweep” the air, swatting at the bird as it flew all over. Thank goodness it exited sometime during the night or Tuesday could have been an even longer day.
By the time Friday hit, I was pretty exhausted from the week. I stopped by the internet after work and ran into some kids who had arrived at the Ranch the previous day. At times it’s frustrating having the kids hang all over you/ask you questions/beg you to look for music videos online when all you want to do is check your email… but these kids were friendly and sweet and as we began chatting, they asked if I’d accompany them to one of the playgrounds on the Ranch. As the 6 of us climbed aboard this giant swinging teeter-totter-ish contraption, the laugher began and didn’t stop for the next 20 minutes. I do laugh a lot, but it’s been awhile since it resonated throughout my entire body. I’m not even sure what’s so fun about that swing, but laughter’s contagious and we all caught it really badly. And after those thoughtless moments of pure joy, I felt so thankful for this to be my life right now.
Parts of life here I still find hilarious – like coming upon the kids playing blackjack with chunks of clementines. Others make me wondering when in my other life I would ever do these things – like burning my hands with bleach while helping clean spaghetti residue out of a cooler? Others frustrate me – like the stealing, fighting, and rudeness. And others make me smile inside – like tucking them into bed at night, listening to them speak spanglish, having other volunteers tell me they were singing the English class songs in hogar or being hugged just because you walk in the room.
At times being here is so tiring and other times the kids make me so upset and at other times I think of all of the people and things I miss from home, but the beautiful moments do far outweigh the difficult ones. And that’s what makes me want to be here. These first few months have already flown by and I’m afraid this next year will go even more quickly. But I’m also excited to be here for another year to share life with the kids as they steal a little piece of my heart.
And if any of you have ever wanted to sponsor a child, I could totally hook you up with a cute one if you are interested! Just let me know! :0)
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