por fin. viernes.

When I was walking my kiddos to my classroom Arantza looked up at me and was all, " Are you going back to the United States?" And she looked sooo genuinely worried, I told her not yet and to not worry about it. It's going to break my heart to leave. Little Regina called me Mommy today when she was reaching for me to pick her up, the sweet little girl ha ha! They all looked so cute today, in their regular classes they had a pajama party so they were all running around in footy pajamas.

My classroom is my happy place. It has this giant window and vaulted ish ceilings that I taped construction paper butterflies all over and it's so open. It's just a peaceful place that is all my own with my decorations. It radiates happiness and probably some sort of zen positive energy junk.

So you know when middle aged people take to many laxatives and loose control of their bowels? Don't worry this is a metaphor. I lost control of my emotional bowels today. Ha ha that sounds sicknast. I just feel like I've been on a roller coaster of emotion. Like today I got up for my run, and got to our meeting spot, and no one was there. So I ran down our route to see if I could catch them but I didn't have my contacts in and the chances of me getting smashed by a car instantly went up 90%, so I turned around and went home. I confronted her about it after classes and for some reason I just started to cry and I was just thinking what the junk little girl why are tears coming out of your face!?


And then Abraham and Nick were going to the Gran Bodega to get some avacados for lunch, and I decided to tag along to get a few things, and the cashier made a huge deal out of me trying to use my card. She was all.. " Don't you have money?" And I wanted to be all.. dude... " En Estados Unidos, tarjetas y dinero es igual. Esta bien?!" So I had to wait around for like an hour for them to ring up my flippin tampons, only to get home and discover that they have a diaper smell that you can catch a whiff of like 10 miles away. So that will be fun.

Two more hours of teaching.. and I will be on vacation. And I will live. And not cry randomly anymore. Everything is just happening so fast.. vacation and then a few more days of teaching and then.. the L word.. Leaving...

Yes I realize I discussed loosing control of bowels and diapers in the same blog. Bahahahah!!

P.S I will be back with amazing vacation posts in a week!!! Keep luving me untill then, promise O ye blog viewers???

besos y abrazos,
Kayla

be less fun. i mean it.

The principal at the school we teach at has a lot of complaints.. all of them completely offbase and ridiculous... After school yesterday a teacher approached me and was all.. " Oscar said that Javier punched him in the face, why weren't you watching your classes better?" I just stared at her with my face that means.."Seriously???" For one.. these kids are 3 years old.. and yeah.. right in the middle of me reading a story shy little Javi just goes all bi-polar and completely contrary to his nature he pops Oscar in the face and I didn't notice... that happened. Not.. It took my all not to roll my eyes at her. Javi is the sweetest kid in existence.. the probability of Oscar punching himself in the face is like 200 times higher. Javi is the one in the picture on the left. He looks like an agressive bully, huh? ha ha

Today the complaint was that Iron needs to be "less fun" because the kids don't want to go home. Ha ha ha seriously!! So.. Iron if you could ehh.. tone down your funness because these kids are smiling too much.. Yeah.. so get on that.. and stuff.. Right??? Ha ha wooo time for Friday.

Today Iron did balloon animals, and I was going to to face painting, but I decided hand painting would probably bother parents less than their kid running out with a tiger dripping of their face. In the evening I had a class of boys. And they were all.. wanting spiders and dragons and dinosaurs and things that I have never thought about drawing. The girls are so easy and are all " I want pink flower!!" or " Kitty!!!" So anyways.. I am now a veteran dragon painter. They didn't look bad either basically I was impressed.

In my morning classes the only problem is I don't have enough lap for all my kiddos to sit on, or arms to pick them up ha ha. We have 2 little girls that refuse to walk to class they have to be carried or they cry ha ha but I can only carry one 3 year old at a time!! Iron has skills on account of he has like 20 siblings and can carry 2, which helps a lot ha ha.

My run went good today, yes I got up ha ha. When I got back I even made breakfast!! I never get to cook here in Mexico unless my host mom sleeps in and we are out of milk for cereal. I made eggs and Nick and I made an orange strawberry smoothie it was perfection in a cup I promise.

Tomorrow will be Chiapas trip prep day!!! I need to do a bunch of laundry and pick up some snacks for the road!! I am puuummmped I tell you. I need a little break I feel a little wore out today.

wake up slow

So you know how the url of my blog is thisfarfromhome? It's from this song.. it has a special place in my heart.. It's called Child of Light by Mindy Gledhill... My first few weeks in Mexico I listened to this song repeatedly every night on my ipod before I would go to sleep.. It was comforting for me in a place where everything was new and unfamiliar.

Did you ever wonder who you are
do your ever wonder as you stare into the stars
Where you began
And how you got this far
from home?

Have you ever walked along the shore
Have you ever seen the water dancing back and forth
Did you look inside
To see if there was more to life

You will never ever stand alone
You were never called to bare your burdens alone
Where there’s fear
Love will take control
And lead you on

There’s a dream taking wings
There’s a voice that wants to sing
Even in the deepest darkest night
The Torch is raised to the sky
There are hands that hold it high
You were born to keep it burning bright
You were made to fly you were meant to shine
Child of light



---------------------------------------

Today was chill. So chill that when my alarm went off at 8 am for me to go running with Steph and Hannah, I looked at that alarm clock, and said "No." And I slept till 10. Then I took my leisurely time getting ready and sipping some mint herbal tea that my dad sent and took an overly long hot shower. Some days you just have to.... relax.

Tonight after my evening classes my host sister Ashley and I made a cake for my host Dad's birthday. We turned on some sweet Mexican soft rock and had a really fun time! Which leads me to believe that we are a lot the same.. when I cook or clean I always turn on music.It was a lemon cake... sooo good. I know how to make it but I don't know the ingredients in English.. hmm.. Then Iron and my host brother Abraham helped us by making the little sandwiches for his fiesta.

Some of my favorite times here in Mexico have just been sitting around the table with my host family talking and usually laughing till I could pee. I am so blessed to be here with such a amazing host family!! It makes me miss my own to though.. I have a really good one. A really really good one. Being here has made me love and appreciate them 100 times more if that makes sense at all. I was sitting with my host family today thinking.. I'm not ready to leave here.. I love it here..

Then after dinner we were all saying goodnight ( we eat dinner at like 10 pm) I was the first upstairs, but the hall was all dark and scary so I decided to wait.. and by wait I mean I crouched behind the couch. And when Ashley got to the top of the stairs I went.. "BAHHHH!!" and she screamed so loud ha ha I almost died laughing.

My evening classes are so different from my morning ones. I mean in the mornings I teach adorable loving toddlers and in the evening I teach 13 year olds that are almost as tall as me, and also somehow learned to talk back and be kind of disrespectful at times. It's hard to command authority like that. I mean I want to be their friends, cause sometimes we can just talk like we are, but then I have to be all.. "Daniella, put your phone away" or " Dude, sit down we are still in class and I'm trying to teach you stuff, ok?"

Like in opening, where we sing songs and talk about the weather, we sing this song- The banana song.. and it's all.. unite bananas.. peel bananas.. smash bananas.. eat bananas.. go bananas.. but they revolted and decided to change the words to peel garret, smash garret, eat garret, boo garret... Which is kind of really gross and kind of Lord of the Flies status.

Song that is stuck in my head: The Scientist- Coldplay

Buenos Noches,
Kayla

CHIAPAS ♥

I leave for this on Saturday. I will be road trippin around Chiapas with 15 other teachers. We rented a bus. And will be entirely broke for months. But it will be worth it. Want to be really jealous? Google image these places.

DON'T WORRY I WILL TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES : )

Saturday March 28:
Leave- Tehuacan Midnight
Drive-All night

Sunday March 29
Arrive- Villahermosa morning
Party- La Venta (Pyramids)
Drive- 3 hours
Party- Palenque
Sleep- in Villahermosa city

Monday March 30:
Leave- 8 am
Drive- 1.5 hours
Party- Agua Azul, Agua Blanca, Misollata
Drive- 1.5 hours
Sleep- in Palenque

Tuesday March 31:
Leave- 3 am
Drive- 4 hours
Arrive- Yachitlan (Pyramids)
Leave- 4 pm
Sleep- in Yachitlan

Wednesday April 1:
Leave- 6 am
Drive- couple hours
Party- Lagunas de Montebello
Drive- a little bit
Sleep- San Cristobal

Thursday April 2:
Party- San Cristobal
Sleep- San Cristobal

Friday April 3:
Leave- 8 am
Drive- for a bit
Arrive- Tuxtla Gutierrez
Party- Canon del Sumeridero, Mirador
Leave- 4 pm
Drive- 9 hours
Arrive- Tehuacan Midnight