Kisses for the Easter Bunny

Most three-year-olds incessantly ask "Why?" to everything. Why is the sky blue? Why is Minnesota far away? Why are dinosaurs dead? Well, you get the picture. My three-year-old, however, has not caught onto the "why" line of questioning. For him everything is "¿Dónde?" (where?).

Easter Sunday was a little rainy, and we had to conduct our Easter egg hunt indoors. Nicolas woke up first, found some eggs, had a good time throwing them around, and quickly lost interest.
Agustin woke up later and had a great time looking for his basket and eggs. Everything he pulled out of his basket was brandished before the camera so that we could record it for posteriority: what the Easter bunny brought Easter 2007.


After the excitement died down and candy had been eaten, Agustin settled down to watch a movie. Suddenly, he turned and asked me, "Mommy, dónde?"

"Dónde what, honey?"

"Dónde is the Easter bunny?"

I didn't know the answer. "I don't know where he is. Why?"

"Because I want to give him a BIG kiss!"

New monitor

Went to breakfast, came back, and the technician had changed my monitor to one of those new, flat screened monitors, like 17 inches or something. Wow, everything is gigantic, and I don't have to squint anymore to read what's on my screen. And no more glare! Last week I felt like I was going blind, but now maybe I'll get my sight back!

Back to the Grind

Back from Seattle and enjoying the craziness of being "Mommy" again. TESOL was amazing - before I went I thought it was a bit pricey for a teachers' convention (registration alone is something like $300), but after experiencing it firsthand, I have come to realize that it is actually a heck of a deal. Over 1000 workshops and presentations, poster sessions, the electronic village, publishers' booths, discounted books, freebies, etc. make it worth the money. But probably the best thing about the convention are the networking opportunities - having so many people with similar passions congregated in one place is phenomenal. Speaking with, meeting, and sharing ideas and stories with the authors of web sites, books, and newsletters was an awesome experience. Highlights of my time there were hearing Betty Azar speak, meeting the author of the TOEFL iBT preparatory books, and attending a workshop by Randall of Randall's Listening Cyber Lab. What a cool place to see and meet the people "in the know" of your profession!

It was also great seeing Dad and spending some "quiet time" with him. Just sitting back and relaxing our way through a conversation - a luxury when you've got a pre-schooler and a toddler!

Getting home was nice, too - connecting with the kids again and receiving their hugs and kisses - there are no words to describe that kind of satisfaction and contentment.

And the excitement of getting back to blogging after a short break... Well, I haven't been the most reliable at posting, but now, with my new PDA, I am expecting it to be a bit easier - for example, I am pecking this out while tucked under my covers here on a Saturday night at 9 pm as I wait for the inevitable rounds of crying, sleeping, and waking to begin. (That, my friends, is another post altogether, one titled "Why don't manufacturers come out with sleeping pills for babies?") Of course, this still won't get published until Monday morning when I come into work, but at least it is already typed and easy to transfer to my blog once I get Internet access. Maybe you'll be seeing more of me!

First Birthday

I will have to try and get some pictures up of Nicolas and his first birthday. We had a small party and he received some cute gifts. Of course, big brother monopolized the gifts and is having trouble using the word "yours" and not "mine" with them, but after the novelty wears off I suppose it will be easier. It is so hard to teach kids to share. I need some of your advice. Do I take the toy away and give it to the other one? Do I take it away and give it to no one? Do I force big brother to play with little brother and possibly get pushed or something else if little brother plays with the "wrong" toy?

In the meantime, I am enjoying the fact that the two are actually old enough to fight. I don't like seeing them grow up so fast, but it is fun watching them interact like little people.

Being a woman means being

invisible. It happens to me on a daily basis, mostly at work. I am the Academic Coordinator, responsible for the curriculum, teacher training, screening new teachers and deciding in the hiring process, creating materials, writing exams, and fielding students’ academic complaints. The sub-coordinator, who works beneath me on a mostly administrative level, is a man. When people come (especially men but also women, for that matter), they ask for him. They don’t believe me when I tell them that I, actually, am the one they want to speak with. They look at me suspiciously and then say, “Yes, very well, but I would feel more comfortable if I spoke to HIM (insert sub-coordinator’s name) directly.” And I am promptly ignored.

Today a gentleman came in looking for a job. I was with the sub-coordinator, and as I tried to help him with his questions, I noticed that he was not paying attention to me. Whenever I answered a question, he would look at the sub-coordinator and then respond. I would say it again, and he wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence. This often happens with Ecuadorians, although they are not always so rude as to not even LOOK at me as I speak. This gentleman, however, was from South Africa. Are men from South Africa known to be like this? I don’t want to generalize, but maybe there is something cultural that I am unaware of.

Whatever the excuse, it really annoys me. About a two years ago I refused to wear the uniform anymore because I was treated with such bias - like a “lowly” secretary, or someone that people could yell at and treat badly. (Of course I quickly learned that secretaries are anything but “lowly” having to put up with so much arrogance from others.) I would get a look as if to say “silly girl”, and a “A ver, mijita…” or “A ver, niña…” when I try to help them. They’d call me “little girl” or “little daughter” (already sexist terms), using a patronizing tone, as if I were someone of no consequence. Once I stopped wearing the uniform , the snide, rude, sexist remarks stopped.

It is bad enough that this happens with students and prospective teachers, but it also happens within the organization. It has been two years since we switched directors, and since then I have requested various times that I be put on the list of coordinators (a very important list in which all the important information such as meeting dates, etc. is communicated), to no avail. I remain off-list and yet am responsible for knowing the things which have been communicated through the list. How? Through ESP I guess, since I have asked over 6 times that my name be added to the list, and it never has. (I am the only female on the list, needless to say.)

This university is definitely an all-boys’ club. No room here for those bothersome women. And what are women anyway, but maids, secretaries, someone to go run off a copy or fetch a cup of coffee for you. Certainly not a peer. Definitely not someone with a higher position.

Women and Sleep

This seems to be a common theme today. I've seen two posts about it already, without even looking for it. Blogging baby had this to say about the subject, and one of the funniest blogs I read, The Sarcastic Journalist, had this to say.
What do I have to say? I have to say, I can relate. I am so tired all the time. I feel like I haven't had a decent night's sleep since Agustin was born. Even if I go to sleep at 8 pm, I am woken numerous times during the night. Often I have to sleep with one of them in order to get any sleep myself. I have tried letting the little one cry himself to sleep, and he does sometimes, but anyways my sleep is interrupted. When I do get a full night's sleep (once in a blue moon, like once every three months), I am so unused to it that I sleep like a brick and don't feel rested at all. Any advice out there?

More pics

Cool Slideshows

Another blog in the blogosphere

I've been largely absent on my blog lately. I've been really busy at work, which is the only place I can post blogs from, since Blogger doesn't like Safari much. I've also been working on the CEC blog, which I've created for CEC students but which could be used for English students in general. Here's the link. Check it out and leave a comment. It is a team blog, but so far (as you can see), I am the only one posting anything. I'm having a ball with it though as I learn how to embed youtube videos (easy) and other widgets like that cool Hangman game. Plus, I "get" to read books frm our library and post reviews, which gives me an excuse to read. And anything that gives me an excuse to blog, of course. Blogging rocks.

Nicolas recently had his one-year birthday. We will be celebrating this weekend, but we did have cake and a few presents on the real day. Here is the birthday boy now.



















and another one:




















and we can't forget his big brother...

The Amazing Race in Ecuador!

For Amazing Race fans (not saying who that may be, although some of you out there actually know me!), the reality TV show has finally made it to Ecuador. I missed most of the episode, but there may be a bit left in Ecuador next week.

Walking, walking, ... GONE!

The baby is starting to walk. It won't be long now. He can take up to six or seven baby steps himself before he decides to get down and crawl, but he lets go a bit more every day. He loves crawling up the stairs, too, and has recently began doing so upright. And he recognizes things. "Where's the music?" and he points to the stereo mounted on the wall. "Where's mommy?" and he points to me. "Where's ñaño (brother)?" and we get an earful of gibberish, hand gestures included. makes you really wonder what it is that he is saying.

Can you guess where I'm from?

I just took a quiz called What American Accent Do You Have? Of course, they were able to nail it on the head. I was really happy to see the question: Do you think bag sounds like vague? questions, since we Minnesotans get a lot of grief for our alleged mispronunciation of all words like tag, bag, and flag (to the point where I've had Californians ask me to spell the word because they cannot for the life of themselves understand where I've just put my paper and pens).

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The South
The West
The Northeast
North Central
Philadelphia
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Kind of fun!

Just took this one, too.

You are 79% Minnesotan

You are urban Minnesotan, or at least from the suburbs, and you know your stuff pretty well! Great job!

How Minnesotan are you?
Make Your Own Quiz

I suppose I got the speed limits wrong, maybe some of the highways, too.

It worked!

Wow, the experiment worked. I am going to be trying to put up videos and everything. This should be fun!!! Now I just have to update the photos and also my sidebar! I've been reluctant because it took me so long to figure out and then I tried changing it and it didn't work well. Let's try again!

Edit: Notice my new voice mail widget! I don't know how it works yet, so if you do, please send me a voice mail!

Testing what I've Learned

I've been involved in some online workshops about using technology (blogs, internet, wikis, etc.) in the classroom, and I've come across so many great ideas. Over the next few days, I'll be experimenting with them and posting them somewhere so I don't forget! Here is the first experiment: a photo cube! how cool is that?

Cool Slideshows

At work and liking it

I have to admit - I like to be at work. I am there now (and have been since early this morning), dreaming away my time on the internet, reading inspiring articles about teaching, catching up on what's new in the field, preparing classes and workshops, etc. etc. But I love the time I get here. Since I've had kids, I've been divided. Half of me wanting to go home, and half of me wanting to stay, just 15 more minutes, so I can get that "me" time.

On another note, my favorite author once said that having children turns your brain to porridge. Boy do I agree. In class I find that my lucid moments are further and further between as I try to think of such difficult words and phrases such as "I appreciate the observation you made", "perceptive", and - oh, what's that word - practice. Seriously. I can NOT think of words. I just go blank on the silliest thing. My mind stops working and, although I know exactly what I want to say, nothing comes out in the form of language. I can do the gestures, I can mimic my idea, but I can't get the simplest words out. So, what am I going to do about it? I'd appreciate comments. In the meantime I will start a word journal, copying down other people's thoughts and expressions until I somehow get over the bump. I blame it on the kids and hope that once they are a bit bigger my mind will become my own. But I don't know if that's fair. Can it really be their fault?

Can it be true?

I think we've done it - I think we conquered potty training. I can't claim victory yet - at night we are still in diapers. But during the day, we are accident free. I am soooooo psyched. I feel like this is bigger for me than it is for that cute little three-year-old. And it happened just like the books say. When he was ready. He was ready, and ta-da. There has been no going back.

Going now to do a little happy-dance.

Heat Wave

Funny how everything is relative. This month a "heat wave" was reported for Quito, with five days of record-setting temperatures in the city. I believe the high was 75 degrees. The weather has been lovely, needless to say. It has been humid for Quito, which means even though it may be 50 degrees it feels like a cool coastal morning. Mornings by our house are foggy and heavy, but the smell of the air! So fresh, so summer-like, almost like a living thing.

Back for the New Year

It's been awhile since I've written. I was back in MN for Christmas and the New Year, and it felt good to be back on my "turf". There was almost no snow and it wasn't very cold (I hear that's changing as I write), but it did snow for Christmas and New Year's, so we got our taste of it.

Things at work are hectic as usual. It always takes some time to get back into the routine after a long vacation. I'll be posting some pictures from our vacation later this week. In the meantime I am still trying to catch up with e-mails and planning our school cycle. Andres and I are trying to get things together for TESOL Seattle, and if that works out then we will be going in March. I would love to attend and just hope the university realizes what an opportunity this would be for our program. Andres will be presenting on Teaching English for FTA's or some other academic-sounding topic, so I'd love to go and see what he has to say about global English, too. (Don't think that just because we are married and live together we actually talk - those days are gone. Now our conversations consist of screaming over a kid's crying or playing or whining or... well, you get the picture. There is little "real" conversation, and much less work-related stuff, going on in our house at the moment).

With the new year I wanted to bring in some resolutions. I've always got more to do, more I want to do, I should say. But I still haven't been able to narrow them down yet. They say that you should only choose one or two do-able resolutions, and so I have spent the last two and a half weeks trying to decide which ones seem the most do-able. Of course, at this rate, my 2007 resolutions will quickly become my 2008 resolutions, so I guess I just need to commit. At the top of my list are (not necessarily do-able, however):

1. get in shape and lose weight/become healthier (I mean, really, it wouldn't be a new year without this one, right?)
2. actually sit down and write, whether it be my blog, work-stuff, a new blog (you know I can't resist!) or just a journal, but I want to exercise my writing hand more.
3. start a blog on Ecuador. Hopefully it would be enough to get me back to those feelings of awe that I had with the country pre-kids, pre-EPN, pre-stressed-out life with mortgage and debts and visa worries. Not ignoring the daily grind, but finding the joy in it.
4. and I guess I could always be a happier person, try to make more friends and keep in touch more with the ones I've got. Maybe try and reach out more at a social level with the Americans who live here and work for us.
5. oh, and I can't forget my work-related goals. Broaden my teacher training experience through other universities and establish contact with other programs, in and out of Ecuador. Start a teacher newsletter, student blog, increase usage and exposure of our wiki, etc. etc.

Now if THAT isn't enough to just sigh and want to give up and wait for 2008, I don't know what is!

you gotta laugh

Every week I get a message in my inbox about the progress of my nanowrimo. So far I've been able to ignore it with thoughts of, "yes, I'll get around to it" and "sure, I still have time." But this one, labeled Week Four, really hurt, because I haven't written a word since Week One. [Gulp]

So, without further ado, I am off to write 1000 words or so. I would have liked to get up into the 20k, but of course then I wouldn't be the procrastinating writer wannabe that I already am. At least I got more done than any other year. Of course I won't tell you what that number is. Not until I get over my guilt, at least...

Tin Turns Three!!!!!! Birthday Plans for Tomorrow

3:30 Guests arrive
4.00 Craft station: Create a Christmas ornament
4:30 Game time:
Balloon race - The children put a balloon between their legs, holding it at the knee. They race. First child to cross the finish line without dropping the balloon is the winner. If the balloon drops, the child must go back to start.
Freeze dancing - played like freeze tag. The children dance while the music plays. When the music stops, the children must freeze completely. Anyone who moves is out. Play continues until only one child is left.
Water Balloon Kick - The children takes turns kicking a ball at a water balloon, set about 25 feet in front of them. The first kid to break the balloon with the ball is the winner.
Mini Car Race - Each child chooses a Matchbox car. The children race the cars to the finish line by pushing them along a racetrack. Owner of the first car to successfully cross the finish line is the winner. Cars must cross with just one push.
Duck Duck Grey Duck (In Spanish: Pato, Pato, Ganzo) If time and energy (as well as prizes) left
5:00 Cupcake decorating: The children decorate their own cupcakes using sprinkles, M&Ms, chocolate flakes, shredded coconut, gummies and crushed peanuts.
5.30 PIÑATAS! Each child gets their own small piñata filled with mini toys, chocolates, candies, and suckers.
6:00 Cake time (adults)
6:30 Movie: Cars

We have five kids invited - Daniel, Camila, Emilia, Emiliano and Daniel Endara (the last two being second cousins). Emiliano is only 5 months old, so his mom will have to be his representative!

Nanowrimo

Do you want to hear something funny? I joined Nanowrimo this year. It isn't the first time. Two years ago I joined, also. What's actually funny is:
a) I think that I have the time to write 50,000 words
b) repeat the above
c) I have already passed my total word count for 2004.

I am at 756. I have gotten a late start. Actually, these 700+ words were written on the first day, but from there I haven't gotten back to it, due to our trip to Ambato (pictures to be posted soon). I decided, however, that I am doing OK. So, maybe I won't finish, but the point is that I got SOME writing done. And it feels good to be a part of the frantic pattering of keyboards around the world.

Even if mine is pattering considerably less than the rest.