Wednesday ramblings

For the last few months, I've been feeling kind of guilty. I used to work full time, all the time, and loved it. In my last "real" job, I worked as a missile maintenance technician for the Air Force. Actually, I had 27 years with the Air Force. After I retired, I came here and tried to be a housewife, but problems at home took me back to Cheyenne last summer, where I ended up getting a job 3 days after returning. I worked at Dillard's department store, selling kids' clothing. I can't say it was a very fulfilling job, nor can I say that Dillard's is a very good employer. They treat their employees like they are throw-aways. I hope I never work in a place like that again. Say what you want about the US government, but I've never had such a good employer. It's probably safe to say that I never will, either.

Anyway, I'm working part time now, and feeling like I am not carrying my full share of the load. I know if I went to work all day, Celeste would be locked in her room for a big part of the day. That wouldn't be fair to her. And I have those days, even working just part time, that I can hardly drag myself into work. In spite of that, I've been thinking about updating my resume and taking it to a couple of other places to see what I come up with. Pacific University is just a couple of blocks from where we live and Universidad Peruana is also really close, half a block away. Both have English programs, and I'm hoping that they would be interested in a native speaker from the US. And then I'd see where my hours at the military institute would fall in my day.

Rani commented that teaching is a labor of love, hate, etc...yes, it is. I don't think my students know how much I want them to excel. I do. I really want them to be the best and to walk out of my classes speaking with confidence and having a good grasp of the language. Sometimes they do just that. But other times, I know they just barely passed the class and if faced with an English speaker somewhere in their lives, they'll fall back to that "no hablo inglès" and never speak another word of English. And I'm fairly demanding of them in my class. I insist that they participate. I insist that they speak, if only in class. I expect and push them to ask questions and take the risk of making mistakes. This is how we learn. And I'm sure that they hate me for it sometimes.

I know I said I had no plans to get involved in another yarn project, but Celeste apparently needs pajamas. It's damp and chilly here in Lima, and she shivers every night. So, I guess I'll either be donating a t-shirt to her or getting on the ball and making her a sweater to sleep in. I've already donated 3 pairs of jeans for her bed, so I guess I shouldn't mind lending her a shirt to sleep in.

Speaking of the cold, they say that this winter is colder than it has been before. People are saying that wow, it's only June and we're already freezing. What's going to happen in August? Snow? Wouldn't THAT be a sight.