As promised, here’s part 2 of 2 in a update that is mostly photos. Enjoy!
vinchas / hairbands
No, you haven’t stumbled onto Etsy by mistake. Aren’t these hairbands precious? I visited a women’s group in a barrio (neighborhood) of Asuncion that is producing all kinds of handmade goods like bags, jewelry and these hairbows. They sell for a competitive price (just 3.500 Guaranis) and are excellent quality. I stocked up (the pink one’s mine, plus one of my each of my little host sisters), and plan to disassemble one to see how the petals are made. I’d like to see if my women’s group has an interest in making this product. I think they’d sell in town. Also, I just happened to have read The Tipping Point, and I’d like to see these vinchas become the next thing.
mega balloon 2
That orange globe is mega balloon. And the person in the foreground, Zach, is responsible for bringing mega balloon to PC festivities. This time, we hung it up piñata style. This particular evening we were celebrating the birthday of our compañera Carolina. Feliz Cumple Carolina!
happy valentine's day
I had an English class scheduel on Valentine’s Day, or Dia de Los Enamorados, and to piggy back on this theme day, as any good teacher would, I changed the lesson plan for the day! We learned a love poem, phrases like hug me, kiss me, be mine, etc. It was fun to watch the 13- and 4-year-olds squirm. But it wasn’t so terrible and embarrassing when they thought about sending their cards to Nick Jonas and Justin Bieber!
We were also able to review colors and the vocabulary for school and craft supplies. We made pop-up Valentines. And they loved the pop-up idea.
pop-up cards
taco night with host fam
I made tacos for the host family! Yum yum! They included chicken seasoned up with lime juice, cumin and garlic on baked or fried empananda disks (sorry, but couldn’t bring myself to make homemade tortillas), lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream and rice! It was a hit.
tough crowd
I attended a thesis defense at the national university of my host brother-in-law, Dani. He passed and is now a certified Civil Engineer. His thesis investigation concerned the rapid and efficient construction of classrooms using prefabricated materials. Bravo!
host family!
me and host mom
It was great to talk to you today and hear about the activities pictured in your second photo-postcard. We do enjoy your blog and all the photos. We are excited about Skyping this weekend! Please give our love to your host family. Love you dearly, Mom.
Thanks for reading, Mom! I love our phone updates. And I love you!
Hi Em,
OMG I was looking at the photo of your host family and I wondered which one the mom could be. Then the next photo was of you and her. She looks so young. Just figured Mom had stayed home that day.
English class: Parker is learning to read. Last week she had to write “I can” statements beside pics of jumping rope, running, dancing,etc. Last, she had to draw an I can activity. She drew a pic of a blonde girl playing basketball. Obviously she can’t play basketball but her topic was timely. Your team is doing well and really well considering most are freshmen. Mike’s team is doing well, too and I’m sure you wish they weren’t. lol Final 4 is in Houston this year. Same old problem with tickets, unavailable. However, if there is open practice like last year at regionals, I’ll be there.
81 days until THE wedding. Can’t wait to see you.
Love u,
Ann
Ooh! I love that ¨I can…¨ idea. I will definitely incorporate that into my lessons. I´m always looking for new ideas.
Menos de 81 dias! Love you!
Hi Emily,
You have quite the following! Here is a link to the church website: http://www.firstreformeducc.org/
Scroll to the bottom of the homepage, click the pause button on the audio player, turn up your volume and click on your name (not your picture as it will bring you back to your blog).
I was hoping to upload the audio to your blog…but it won’t let me. :(
I hope this works just as easily for you.
I can’t wait to meet you in May…Take care!
Thank you Lori! It worked perfectly. Thank you for sharing, and to those that helped arrange the audio clips. That was very thoughtful.
Emily