Archive for August, 2008
Bump, set, spike!
Volleyball try-outs have come and gone. The team has been selected (with quite a bit of heartbreak, unfortunately). A skills test has been taken; an entire week of practices over. We’ve got some cheers ready, uniforms ironed, and t-shirts ordered. *sigh* Boy, am I glad for the weekend.
But I tell you what. This is definitely one of those things that I was “meant to do.” Coaching rocks my socks off! We’ve got our first game coming up this Thursday…against our biggest rival (and the girls are well aware of that!). I’m feeling good; we’re gonna look great!
They’re filling up our rosters.
And…Erik made the team! Hurray!
However, it wasn’t a happy story all around. In fact, that was pretty traumatic news for one of the fathers whose son didn’t make the team. Somehow he found out that a Mexican boy made the team who doesn’t even speak English. He wanted to know the school’s policy on that because he doesn’t even think they’re here legally. “How can I explain to my little son that an ‘illegal’ person took his spot on the soccer team. How can kids that don’t speak any English attend our schools and take up the roster space on teams?” Our principal told him that he was here for ALL kids. Even if this family really is here “illegally”, that isn’t the child’s issue. The conversation ended with the father asking who he needed to speak to about “illegal aliens” in our community.
I have so many issues with everything said that I don’t even know where to begin! Perhaps when I cool down…
“Mr. Glass, can I play soccer?”
I was working with 6th grader Erik from Mexico. Doesn’t speak a lick of English. I sat with him and his buddies this morning at breakfast, just to get a feel for how he’s doing. He mentioned then that he didn’t realize soccer tryouts were yesterday and how bummed he was (he played on several teams in Mexico). Roberto was going to take him to Mr. Glass’s room this morning to ask if he could still tryout. However, Mr. Glass wasn’t there. Erik still wanted to ask, but he couldn’t go by himself because of the language barrier. So I was asking him this afternoon how the conversation went, and when he told me he couldn’t ask, I asked if he’d still like to. *big nod YES* While we were in the hall waiting for Mr. G.’s class, I got the idea that he should ask himself. So for the next 15 minutes (and yes, it took that long), we practiced, “Mr. Glass, can I play soccer?” And guess what? He stuttered it out, Mr. Glass said si, and he hasn’t stopped beaming since (and neither have I)! Will let you know if Erik made it when we find out on Friday…
Surfs Up!
Yep, I (James) did it! I surfed for the first time successfully (second time trying). Who would have thought that Winona Lake was capable of creating totally tubular waves for surfing. Actually, I wouldn’t even call them waves—it is just the wake of the boat. Inland Surfing is similar to wake boarding, but not really. You are much closer to the boat and are standing on a small surf board rather than strapped onto the board. The goal is to catch the wake of the boat, not just be pulled behind it with a rope. It was a daunting task but I conquered the wave…uh, wake.
However, while Chris was conquering said wake, the boat slowly came to a stop…we ran out of gas! Stranded. Chris, grabs hold of the back of the boat and starts pushing us in. Seriously, I have no idea how the pushing thing worked in the water, but by the Grace of God we got to a stranger’s dock where they ran and got a gas tank. It is a good thing that worked out because the prior yelling and trying to wave down strangers was not successful.
Share with us an adventure you have had recently.
No hablo ingles
So today I (Sarah) started kindergarten testing. I take all the little ones whose parents marked on a form that they have spoken or currently do speak another language. And then I give them a test (I like to call it a game). Here’s how it goes: (me) “Hi, my name is Mrs. Steele. What is your name?” (them) *smile* (me) “How old are you?” (them) *bigger smile* That’s when we switch over to Spanish, where they chatter away to no end. The actual test part that is recorded is pretty easy because if they can’t respond to the first two sections, we call it quits! 
I love my little lindos!
Our search has finally ended!
Every new car needs a hot car model!
As many of you know, we have had our fair share of car frustrations–the latest being with our Dodge Intrepid. We have spent the past few weeks researching, shopping, and saving. We had the following requirements in mind: ability to pay cash, compact 4 door, reliable for more than 9 months (!), and good gas mileage. And…we got it! Praise the Lord! We feel so blessed…
THE BASIC SPECS:
- ’94 Toyota Camry XLE
- 127,000 miles
- V6 3.0L
- Power everything
- Air conditioning! (It’s been a while)
- Moon roof (yes, it even opens)
- Leather seats (hot stuff)
-
- Every new car needs a hot car model!
