Great Reminder

“The truly patient man neither complains of his hard lot nor desires to be pitied by others. He speaks of his sufferings in a natural, true, and sincere way, without murmuring, complaining, or exaggerating them.” 

In my 10-hour layover in Miami, I finished reading a book about the 18-year kidnapping & imprisonment of Jaycee Dugard, who only was 11 at the time in which it happened (“A Stolen Life”).  It expounded upon her continual sex slave status, her two pregnancies during being a captive, and the overall mental manipulation endured.  After finishing this heart wrenching book and bawling my eyes out in the airport cafe, I am convinced of three things:

(1)   There are some SICK people in this world.  No apparent logic.  No conscience.  No heart.  Of course, I knew this, but this book only illustrates this point further. 

(2)  I am amazed at how much the human spirit can survive such inhumaneness.  You should read this woman’s story, if only on Wikipedia.  She has moved ahead, written this successful memoir, and is trying to regain strength to enjoy life in a whole new way. 

(3)  I am ashamed about how much we complain about not-life-or-death matters.  “OMG, my cell phone isn’t working” (at least you have a cell phone) or “My teenagers are so misbehaved all the time” (at least you were able to conceive in the first place, at least they are still safe in your arms) or “This food is disgusting, makes me want to gag” (you probably have three meals a day, no?) or “I can’t believe I have so many essays to complete.  No social life possible.” (SO guilty here. But at least I had a chance to pursue an education – I had the financial support, the time, and the opportunity.)  Humans as a whole need to learn to be content right where we are, with exactly what we have.  We must live life without grumbling or complaining, especially when so many others in the world live with much less and in much worse, unimaginable circumstances.  Before negativity and pessimism overtake my words, I really need to weigh my problem.  Life or death?  Just breathe, Kerrie Isabel, no words necessary. Just oxygen.

Great reminder to me, my life & my current obstacles.

May I have a heart of compassion.  May I see the needs of others.

May I not complain about the minor problems that invade on a daily basis.

May I continually cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

Melodious Howling?

Written: 05-12-2013

So if you're not even slightly okay with noise, it isn't recommended that you live in a Latin American country. Perfect example is as follows.  Today is Mother's Day, and to welcome in the day, at 12:30am until 1:30am, there was a loud speaker set up two doors down, conducting the traditional serenade in honor of the special day. I cannot begin to express how painfully flat the daughter was in the midst of her musical dedication.  It progressed to the point where my physical cringing transformed into laughter.  It wasn't necessarily that I was laughing at her; it was more of a laughter of utter pity for the three block radius that had to endure such loud belting. I will not negate in the least that each word was sincere and heartfelt.  She, indeed, was expressing such immense appreciate and gratitude for all that her mother had done in her life.  However, can we not express this at a more conducive hour to my bedtime? Neither the pillow-over-my-head technique nor the two hard-core earplugs could deter those sound waves.

This morning, dead on my butt may I add, I was still giggling to myself about the Mother's Day insanity.  And then I was humbled all of a sudden, at the breakfast table nonetheless. In the Bible, it simply states to make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 98, 100). Nothing more, nothing less.  It doesn't declare being in tune and melodious (to the human ear); it declares sincere and pure intentions (for the Lord).  The Lord clearly spoke to my heart that we must develop a profound appreciation for His goodness, faithfulness, and provision --  that same gratitude unfolded in the daughter's song.  The same vulnerability and wild abandonment to sing of the Lord's works, no matter how it may sound to those around us.

So, instead of me laughing to no end about her horrendous vocal cords, I should instead take last night as a lesson to my life.  To end the morning's epiphany, it was if the Lord said, "Hey, Isabel, I hear your heart, and nothing more.  If I were to merely listen to the musicality of your song, how could I even begin to compare it to the choir of heavenly angels around me? Hmm?  I want your heart. I want you."

Thank you, horribly off-key woman, for the revelation.

El beso de la mujer araña

The Kiss of the Spider Woman

Though she didn't like the Puig novel,
Maybe she will my poem.  The Amazon 
Does strange things to those who visit her
For any length of time. Holy patch! No pirate
Ever was so daring as the Amazon Queen from the Midwest, 
Queen Isa from the Illinois country,
By the vast Mississippi.  Her kiss will not kill you.
Believe me, 'twill heal you.  Hers is of honey, not poison.
The tarantula is real, as is the eye it conceals. 
Not to worry, grandma! She'll come home as she left.
I assure you. Right, Kathie?  A mother always knows.
As do I.

Written by my dear & divine professor from Evangel:
Eliezer Oyola

May it be so. Selah.

Lately, I have been around people who have traveled all around the world: People that have been to AIDS communities in Africa, experienced indigenous gatherings in South America, helped in refugee camps in Asia, things that should leave a lasting imprint on a person’s outlook. I have further listened to their conversations, the nonverbal aspect, and how they approach life. To be perfectly honest

, sometimes it is those very people that make me feel frustrated. 

Everyone and their dog knows how much I love to travel… There is nothing like seeing more of God’s creative, majestic creation. There is still so much left for me to appreciate and discover!! However, my sincere hope is that the more I travel, the more I can understand and love on a broader range of people. Yes, I thrive on exploring new places and having new experiences -- but shouldn't the ultimate goal of international traveling be to grow as an individual as well as being able to better relate to those around you? Why should I turn such precious, unforgettable experiences merely into a platform of arrogance? Instead, I should use such life lessons to cultivate more compassion, patience and love, bringing people in closer not shutting them out. Some people become more inward the more they travel; my earnest goal is by understanding other cultural frameworks and living in the culture itself, I may slowly mature into a person who is wiser, more open and overall more approachable. 

I have been blessed with so many opportunities in my life. I want to be able to turn around and bless others in return. Always and forever, I desire with all my being to stay humble and grateful for the Source of all my blessings; I strive to have more compassion and love for those around me. Selah.

Cuy.

Student: "How do you say 'cuy' in English?"

Me: "Guinea pig."

Student: "My mom and I bought three guinea pigs."

Me: "Like as pets or for dinner this weekend?"

Student: "We still aren't sure."

Me: *trying not to lose control of my classroom as I laugh crazily*

Welcome to Ecuador :)

Oh yes, and speaking of taxi rides (because aren't we always?).......
Today, in ten minutes, the taxi driver had me analyze all the minute differences between dating a Latino and dating an American.  Needless to say, it was quite the conversation.

The Men in the Yellow Cabs

The men in the yellow cabs never cease to provide an adventure in my life here.  As stated in my facebook post yesterday, a taxi driver graded my Spanish skills during our six minute drive last night.  Just in case you were curious, I passed; I received an A from him.

Tonight's taxi ride, an eight-minute drive, still has me laughing.  

It's slightly PG-11, so you may stop reading if desired.....

First, I got this $2 taxi ride for $1.50 because I bargained him down and did my, "I'm a pitiful but cute gringa and don't make much money as teacher" face.  He agreed to my terms, mainly because of the protruding lower lip.  Then, within that eight-minute time frame, we progressed from me living here in Cuenca, me not having a cuencano boyfriend, how jealous/possessive Latino men can be, him finding out that I'm not having sex with boys here in Cuenca, me being a virgin because of my faith & for other logical reasons that I strongly believe in, him being shocked and almost speechless by this fact, and finally me being congratulated for being a virgin.  End of ride.  To describe this conversation, the word "progression" would be an understatement.

After 24 years of saving myself for marriage, it honestly does not bother me one bit to talk about this subject with anybody at anytime, but it was just HILARIOUS how in eight minutes we jumped from topic-to-topic, ending up talking about my sex life (or shall we say, the lack thereof).

Thank you, South America, once again for the laugh.

Say What?

The zero article.

Countable and uncountable nouns.

The structure of reported speech statements.

When question words function as subjects.

Zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional, third conditional & mixed conditional. 

Who knew teaching your own language could make you feel so nescient at times?

Conclusion:  I came to Ecuador to learn the grammatical facets of my mother tongue.