Duties of a Teacher

Today was parent teacher conferences. It was strange giving the students grades as I have never had that responsibility before. However, meeting with the parents was a great experience. I have learned much more about each child as I interact with their parents. There are so many different kinds of people, different development levels, different parent philosophies, different problems with the children in class, etc. When I met the parents it helps me understand who the child is and a little bit of why they may be that way. Always a challenge working with a classroom of children that each need their own special way of being taught. The teacher's job is a tricky one, but once you begin to figure out how to work with the students and see their progress it is very rewarding. Many of the students who first started school here in January have made such great improvements in their English. It's really neat to see them go from not understanding a thing, to being able to speak a phrase here and there. I am glad that we get to see a glimpse of their development.

Wednesday was a national holiday and everyone from Sunday wanted to play soccer. It ended up that 50 people came to play! The field is small and only 12 can play at a time so many of us just watched the whole time. But we were very encouraged by all who showed up. We are going to wait one more week before we create teams for the Glory Soccer ministry in hopes that even more young boys will join. Paul and I are excited to see this ministry begin.

As a side note: Paul and I had the privilege of trying two new strictly Brazilian foods yesterday. We had what I would call tapioca omelets. It is made with tapioca (a little different than the kind sold in the U.S. to make the dessert), coconut, cheese, and sweetened condensed milk (a popular product down here). The tapioca is heated in a pan while the coconut, cheese, and milk is put on top and then folded over to create the omelet part. Hard to describe, but the tapioca makes a firm jello-wy type consistency. The tastes go amazingly well together and it fills you up quite a bit as well. Yummy. Second was acai. I think it is a fruit that only grows in the Amazon and spoils quickly so they freeze it to be transported. They served it slightly frozen with granola, bananas, and honey on top. It was really good too and makes your teeth purple! And supposedly it is very healthy for you as well. Ok, side note over, hope you enjoyed it!

God bless you all!