I took a day off yesterday, and have chosen to blog every other day to ensure I have something to say and don't feel the pressure to write every night....entonces escribo ahora....
I started school yesterday, and have been TIRED from my morning classes, homework, and project work. It's all good, though. It is all a blessing.
Yesterday I showed up thinking I was just taking a test, and found out that I was to start my classes as soon as my level was assigned. I was very happy to test into their fifth level class (out of eight), which is like a low advanced class. My classes are held on the second floor of a building about two blocks from my apartment; it is a building that one would miss easily, no sign or placard denoting it as a language school. I arrive at 8:30 in the mornings and settle in for three hours of grammar and conversation with a 30 minute break in-between sessions. The grammar block is so good for me because I understand and speak a lot more than I really know how to write or read correctly. My grammar teacher is a small morena with a large personality and presence in the classroom.We work out of a one paperback book provided by the school and she uses only a chalkboard and conversation to drive instruction. As a teacher of language myself, it is really interesting to see what she does with the limited resources they have. Compared to the endless supply of STUFF we have to use in education in the USA, it is bare bones around my school, yet in the end, sometimes the simple choice is the best. A pencil, notebook, and a good teacher go a long way in life. Following our break I return to our small room for an hour and a half of conversation with my 19 year old teacher whose personality fills the room ten times over. Today she decided that we should spend the time talking about love, relationships and our past relationships! As a 28 year old in class with two 20 year old college boys, it was an hysterical class. I like my school and know that I will walk out in four weeks with more confidence and abilities with Spanish.
Que mas...I am devouring this photography thing...loving the learning process and eagerly spending a good hour or two in the evenings doing street photography. People here are very willing to be photographed, which makes the experience a joy. When taking a photo, choice is so important. What are you trying to capture? Who or what draws your attention most? What feeling, emotion, or moment do you want to be recorded? Thus, I have been thinking a lot about choosing these past two days.
Choices are everywhere in this post-modern world, especially for educated Westerners, like myself, who have evaded early marriage and familial commitments. Sometimes I feel as overwhelmed with the choices my own life presents to me as I do when trying to choose what to photograph. Travel opens up new worlds, new places, and if you are like me everywhere you go, you can envision a life there and see how that reality would be possible. The choices are overwhelming, like being stuck in a Baskin Robbins for eternity, but instead of 31 flavors to choose from, there are an infinite number of options. How do you know where to be, what career to do, who to love? These are questions that rattle around my brain often, especially when I escape my dictated reality of teaching high school in Indiana. Don't get me wrong, I am so blessed to have the career I have...I am absolutely in love with teaching. It defines me in so many ways. At home in my bubble, I can forget how big the world is and how many options I have. I become focused on my students, my friends and family, my daily life, and I let the choices drop away. When I am traveling, it reopens the enormity of our world and the various realities in which I could be living. In the end, I come back to the knowledge that intuition has always been my ultimate compass, thus far it has guided me pretty well. The challenge is simply to create the space in life to hear myself and know why I choose what I choose. Whether taking a photo or making a major life choice, may I always move with the assurance of intuition...could I be so lucky?!
Choice. What do you choose to do with your life's energy and why? I would love to know.
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