When you need more time, time expands...When I was in the beginning stages of motherhood, one of my dearest friends always told me that, so long as I was taking care of my being, if I needed more time, time would expand. This week I turned to her wisdom as the school year is now in full force. With my current job, I have 4 separate preps. This means that I plan and prepare to teach 4 different classes/day. The scope ranges from kindergarten students having never been exposed to Spanish all the way to level 5 native or near native-fluent in the upper high school level who are preparing to take the AP exam. Needless to say, thinking and planning within these different levels is a mental marathon. I have never had such a challenging workload in my life; thus, I foresee being easily driven into a cycle of stress. Guided by the aforementioned words of my wise friend, I have realized how essential it now is to take care of my being (mind, body, and soul). The mind/body connection...With this mentality in mind, I have experienced and embodied the following over the course of 1 week: taking time to connect with (through reading, conversing, questioning, and observing) the culture around me, swimming in the ocean with my family, starting a love affair with Jiu Jitsu, attending a free outdoor movie on a school night, and dancing salsa in the heart of the city. This week I accomplished all of the above and had time to plan and create my classes. The result was that I felt more focussed at school, was able to (by Friday) connect with each of my students and find flow in my classes, was more present at home (thus giving my family more love and attention), and I receive almost an adequate amount of sleep in order to continue on with this crazy new life. Say, "kimchee!" In celebration...In celebration of a successful week, we decided to try for a pizza and movie night (our Friday night ritual in Colorado). Thanks to another new friend, we have not only acquired enough furniture to all veg out in the living room, but have also been blessed with a library of digital movies. As I have alergies and Domino's is not an option for me, I discovered that it is possible to make pizza dough out of nothing but rice flour, eggs, and cheese (in a skillet). The toppings of this first masterpiece included salsa (as pizza sauce), roasted garlic, chicken, and American cheese. I know it doesn't sound very good, but we thoroughly enjoyed it!!
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AuthorHi, I'm Sarah, or Sarita as called by many. In an effort to cultivate multicultural empathy and deep respect in our daughter (Rosa), my husband (Brian) and I sold everything in order to embarked on a journey through life. Archives
November 2018
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