Guat Journal: New Teaching Strategy

Well, whoa, holy cow, and sheesh. I have been hit with the kids full throttle. Whoo, it's exhausting just writing about it. I am a kindergarten teacher for pediatric demons. They literally climb the walls to escape me. I'm not kidding. There is a foot wide space between the ceiling and wall of my classroom, and the kids scale it and jump out. It's really remarkable. Anyway, that was before Christmas, and things have calmed down a little since then. I have a new strategy now, which involves complete apathy on my part. I just tell them what work they have for the day, and if they don't do it, they have to sit in class with me during snack time. Otherwise, I just wait and look bored. You seriously can't be too fun in class, or try to engage them in any serious games. It just ends very quickly in a wrestling match, or someone jumps out of class. I have an unbelievable amount of patience. I don't humor them, I just wait. And eventually they come around and finish their addition. But only when they see that the other kids are outside eating fried platanos (then they really jump to it!). So, to say the least, I am not planning on continuing with teaching kindergarten once the official school year starts. I would then have 15 kids, rather than the seven that I have now. That would be the death of me. One more month, entonces. One more month and my Dad gets here. You have no idea how I am looking forward to seeing him. Life is tough here, and Dad is going to understand it first hand. Plus, we are going traveling and looking for new volunteer projects. I have some that I am very interested in seeing. Lots of animal projects! Yea! So, for the first time in my life, I am glad to see Christmas go. I thought I would go crazy just trying to wrap presents for all the little girls, but then the fireworks came along. Angie gave every kid (even those who were just 4 years old) three packets of scary blow-your-hand-up firecrackers, and many little boxes of matches. I've been dealing with burnt hands and my own ringing ears for two days now. Honestly, this place is insane. And to top it off, the kids all had giant bags of taffy which they ate in class today. Their pencils were all sticky with goo goo, and the wrappers were all over the floor waiting for me to pick them up. I couldn't get them to pick up the wrappers, because my apathy plan doesn't allow for too much yelling. Ha ha, wow. I sound like a nut case. But, really I am okay for the time being. It's nice to see my world totally crazy for once. That way I feel sane. Okay, I am going to say goodbye to my best friend, Lene. She leaves for Nicaragua tomorrow. She is looking for new projects. I might join her...we'll see! I love everyone very much, and it has been very nice to read everyone's entries on the blog. I laugh out loud every time I see those pictures, or read everyone's accounts of their crazy, funny holidays. Take care everyone, and thanks for all your fond thoughts of me. I love you all very much.
Love Maia

Sandwich Puzzle

Hey Simpsons! Great to see everyone, great pahtay, thanks Laura and Bill. Believe it or not, this is my first post on the blog. Sara and I spent numerous hours trying to piece together the "Sandwich" Take a gander, we'll ship the puzzle to anyone who wants to try it themselves, hours of family fun.

Holiday Greetings from the Left Coast

<>The closest we came to a White Christmas was the fog bank that rolled in for the morning. The girls spent the entire day in their pajamas that Sandy Clause delivered Christmas Eve. Santa made an appearance at the neighbors Christmas Eve party; he closely resembled me, and shares my literary taste. The kids, all over 18 except Helen, got early Kurt Vonnegut books from Santa, in an effort to develop their sense of alternate reality. My mom and Bill came over for a Huntie Christmas dinner, which included a “noble sight” (does anybody remember this reference from our grandmother?). The whole family loved seeing the Christmas pictures on the blog. Merry Christmas to all.

Jim, Wendy, Alex, Liz, Helen, Bill, and Aunt Lib

Santa Himself making a point to a neighbor.











The Gang.








91 Last week.








Jewish elf with Alex.

64th Wedding Anniversary--December 26, 2005

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all! We had a nice party here Christmas Eve afternoon and evening. Here are just two of the many clothing changes that Hope made. Hunter loved his new pet the "roboraptor". I don't think that hat is too small on Thatch do you? One of the many presents I got for Christmas was an emergency root canal on Sat. morning. I don't recommend it. Immy 's gifts were much better. See everyone soon. xxxxxxxoooooooo PEACE

Have a Smiley Christmas

The Simpson-Oplingers (less Maia) and the Malmquists show off their special Christmas smiles as they wish you all a very happy holiday.

xmas aught 5

whlst i have a moment tween activities just wanted to wish everyone in the family a very merry christmas and a swell new year. this pic of the old boy, his newest daughter-in-law, and his youngest grandchild was taken on xmas eve at fellowship village. the dubster was in great good spirit despite not having a clue it was christmas.

Dreaming of a white Christmas- Global Warming Strikes

Well, our hopes for snow are dashed again. (See thermometer w/ Helen and Liz) Liz and Alex are home for the duration and did well in their first quarter at the big U. Helen is spending evenings with her friends giggling. Wendy and I retain our roles as ineffective but omnipresent overseers of the cacophony.

Unposted Comments:

Welcome Tica, it is nice to have a representative of another Simpson branch as these WBers gang up on you and post unflattering pictures. I hope you post and/or email those WWII letters, the ones I have seen are wonderful. I would like to encourage Mary Ann, Nancy and Karen to join up – brief, without pictures, posts are OK.

The continuing adventures Maia of the South have our whole family checking for the next installment. Sara and Dave the house you guys did is magnificent. Finally, it is fun to see Christmas preparation in the east; I’ll post some Christmas morning pics Sunday.

I think we need a rant. Prompt: How about that domestic spying?

Jim

October 9th, Revisited

Since we're digging out old photos, I thought this would be my in to post a few more from my wedding. These are the pics that my friend Sarah took. She has some fancy, shamancy camera that makes anyone look fabulous. Hey, Simpsons...if any of you have photos from that day, could you e-mail them to: pnkducky11@yahoo.com? I'd like to complete my album with a few that include your faces. Or you could just pass them along when I see you over the holidays. Either way works for me. Merry Christmas to all. See you next week. S.

willy & the cocka2

here we have laura on our honeymoon just days after becoming a simpson pointing to the famous brass sign outside simpson's restaurant in london.














and of course here's a close-up of the famous sign.








and last but not least, a close up of laura's comfy footwear for our strolls up & down pall mall.

Guat Journal: Antigua

Hi Mom-
Boy, that made me laugh out loud about the Bagel Caboose. I wouldn't
put it past Patrick though. He is really nutso. I really miss my
fish. I miss all my pets a lot. I haven't had a very easy time keeping
pets in Guatemala. I had a kitten for a night, but everyone in the
volunteer house was giving me trouble about it. They were afraid it
would get fleas in their bed. Which it probably would. Plus, there was
no way I could keep it inside. It was a truely Guatemalan ghetto
kitty, and I couldn't care for him humanely. Anyway, I went to a pet
store today in Antigua. Yes! I am in Antigua. It is beautiful, and it
has a pet shop with fish just like Penelope. These were the first
fancy goldfish I have seen in Guatemala. Well, the first domestic fish
that I've seen. I went to the famous handcrafts market yesterday, and
bought a whole lot of gifts for everyone. I wish I could give them to
you on Christmas. But Dad will have to bring them home with him. I
don't trust the mail system down here. It's really terrible. So no
presents in the mail. But Wow! What presents! You will really like
them. I drive a mean bargain down there at the market. Of course, the
first price they tell you is insane. So, it's easy to get the prices
lower. They expect you to bargain. They are so persistent. God, it's
unbelievable. So last night we went out, but all the bars were very
European, and I was with my Spanish friend, and she doesn't understand
English. Everyone speaks English in Antigua. So my friend Lene (from
Denmark) stayed out, and Iratxi and I went to bed around 10. We were
planning to leave at 6 in the morning today to go climb the volcano.
The girls went, but I stayed here because I was vomiting this morning.
Man, you never know when you will have stomach trouble in this
country. I woke up a 4 am and was vomiting for no reason. Anyway, I
missed the awesome hiking trip, and I am pissed. I paid 7 bucks for
it. Oh well, that's travel for you. Maybe I'll just go buy more stuff,
and keep a toilet in my vicinity. I am glad Dad is so excited about
coming to Guatemala. He sure does his research. And I have A LOT of
books there. They are the best books out there too. I can't wait to
see him. I am thinking, at the moment, that I would like to come home
in May. That is plenty of time to be down here. about seven months is
sufficient. And it will be enough time teaching too. I miss you mom. I
saw that picture of the house with snow on the blog, and it made me
sad. I do miss snow! I didn't think I would, but I do. I just had some
breakfast in the park. I had a ham and cheese croissant with some
strawberry kiwi juice. It was SOOOO good. I really appreciate good
food. I need to leave this internet cafe now and find a bathroom.
Ha ha, I eat good food, but it still doesn't stay in me. Not that I am
losing any weight though. I am gordita here. You would think that
eating beans and rice would slim your waist, but it is not true. AND
my skin looks like crap with all the humidity. I have to leave all
that vanity behind. Except for my tan, which is quite amazing. Okay,
really need to find a bathroom. Oh, by the way, this internet place is
in a barber salon. The customers are getting their hair cut on one
side, and the computers are on the other side. There are mirrors
everywhere. So weird!
Tell everyone that I say hello, especially Tiffany. Tell Will I have a sweet present for him, and that it is seriously beautiful, and he will like it. Talk to you soon.
Love Maia

The Blog Vs Wiki Controvicki

The Blogmaster (see photo) has made a major change to our blog.
Dear Master Chicky,
Thanks for changing that wicki. It was just a wee bit icky and made me sicki and played a tricki on my dicki. Yes, it's early Sunday morn and I'm in rare form.
Immy

Let's Get Sticky

These are Marg's Butter-Nut balls. A delightful confection. The spherical item is an outdoor snow globe that Marg and I fell in love with at the local lawn mower shop. The globe, about 6 ft in diameter, contains 1,658,346 styrofoam bits (SNOW) that are keep airborne by a fan attached at the base. Seems there's a slight visibilty problem if there's any moisture in the air. The moisture turns to frost on the inside of the globe and the styro bits stick to it, making it impossible to see Santa & Frosty inside. I decided to fix it. Out I went with 150ft of extension cord and Marg's hair dryer - the idea being to heat the outside of the globe, melt the frost inside, and wahlah, visibility. Things were working well until the hair dryer exploded - too hot, too long I guess. So now we're living with Frosty the Globe. And last, but definitely not least, are Marg's amazing pecan sticky buns, a true wonder for those who have tasted them.

Holiday Treats

Mary and Sara do the cookie thang.

Twinkee Stars

Almost Finished
Cookies pictured here include Buckeye Fatballs (No chocolate on em yet), Twinkee Stars, and Spam Slices. The buckeye recipe: Mix 1 jar peanut butter, two sticks butter, 1 lb. confectioner's sugar. Form into golf balls. Chill. Dip in melted chocolate. Eat several. Barf. Eat several more.

Gospel according to Hope

Hope is usually here on Thursdays. She went around examining all the decorations with a rather critical eye. "What were those wisemen bringing anyway," she asks. "Some gold, a box, and a cup" she says disdainfully. Not very good presents as far as shes concerned. "Grandma why did you put mermaids on this tree, there aren't any fish at Christmas" she informs me. Shes very sure of her information and not afraid to tell you either. I said to her, " Hopey you don't know everything!" She thought that was pretty funny. Then it was time for a snack of cheese, cinnamon toast, several cans of mandarin oranges, an apple, and a cup of raspberry zinger.

Another Nice Day in Maine

Lacking a stimulating topic for discussion, I'm sending this picture of the weather outside (our house), which, as they say, is frightful. Maia, see what you're missing?

Christmas in Portland

Happy Holidays Peeps!

We're busy wrapping, shopping, baking, decorating and anticipating the big day. Actually I'm doing those things. Dave is still working on the house. See insert. I chose the paint colors. But the red in the kitchen was not my idea. I lost the battle to my sister in law on that one. It is her house after all.

The winter weather has finally arrived with temps in the single digits and so has the flu. I was throwing up last Friday (weren't you dying to know that?) which resulted in the cancellation of our planned trip to Jersey. But...we'll see you all during the week between Christmas and New Years. Hope you're all drinking plenty of egg nog and keeping toasty. Peace.

Beginning to look a lot like "the Holidays".

I think my Christmas shopping is done. We sang The Halleluiah Chorus last Sunday in church after practicing it ( among other things ) for two months. It was pretty bad but I'm thankful its over and now theres some good songs coming up. Our inflatable snow globe has a moisture problemo so you can't see what the snowmen are doing inside. I was going to try and heat up the surface with a hair dryer today but the extension cords are in the shed and I didn't want to schlepp through the snow. The incessant cookie-making continues, its the LAW, I gotta do it. Merry Christmas, have fun.