a little of this and a lot of that

I haven't been around for a while. And by that I mean, I haven't posted it a while, almost a whole month to be exact! Sorry to those of you that check regularly to see if I have posted!! I think that I have just been a little bit carried away with life and without the ability to sit down and say much about whats been going on. But lots has been going on. My work schedule has picked up quite a lot, which I am happy for. I think there is a fine line between teaching too many classes and being frazzled and teaching too few classes and having too much time to prepare (hello super obsessed and extra long lessons). I need balance in my teaching time. And I feel that lately I have been able to have that. I'm teaching a variety of students these days, some group classes, some teenagers, some private classes. I like the variety. Actually, quite irconically I am teaching my old coworkers from when I worked at the kindergarden last year! I was a little nervous to start (read: very nervous), but being a co-worker and being their ESL teacher are two different types of confidence (for me at least). The class is actually turning out to be one of my favorites. We go out once a week for class, we are rotating one week a park and the next a cafe. It's been working out quite well. I've started teaching some teenagers also. .... You would think that having studied psychology that I would be better prepared when I go into a class of a different generation of students than me. Well, lesson learned. I'm learning a lot with them. About myself. And about how I am not ready for children yet in my life, at least teenagers. But I suppose babies aren't born teenagers from the get-go huh. Anyway, they are teaching me a lot about limits. And how my limits as far as "this bothers me but I'm not going to let you know because I'm not controversial like that" and my limits of "how the heck would you discipline in this situation and is it even my place? i really need to learn how to be more firm" ... those limits or ranges... really need to get closer together.

But I have been able through the few 3 years that I have been here, to have quite a range of experience teaching. That's something that my friend, and boss, pointed out to me today as he told me that he was promoting me to the role of Academic Director for our company... right before we walked into a meeting with new clients today. I was a little taken aback at first. But I'm excited. I'm going to continue teaching but perhaps not as many classes, and also help out and eventually take care of ... academic coordinating. Helping out and organizing the other teachers and clients. Peru (God using me in Peru) has been good to me. I have had the opportunity to work in an institute environment, privately, with SMALL children in a school, and now with professionals - businesses and individuals. And now I am going to start the journey of learning a new role in the same field. I didn't see (any of) this coming!

But enough about me and more about Julton! We... are coming up on our one year anniversary! Wow, how fast the time has passed. It's absolutely flown. And we have both grown and gone through many changes over this year. In recent weeks Julton has been busy with his work in the clinic, especially with the visits of medical teams that have come to do campaigns and doctors that have come individually to spend some of their time with the clinic. He has been able to work beside them and learn from them as he translated for them. Every time there is a visiting doctor (or even since the new doctor, Marcus Ueltschey and his family) has been in the clinic, Julton has such excitement about stories and stories to tell me about what they had done or what he learned. Not that I understand a lot of it... but he tells me anyway!

Doctors Marcus and Julton

Other than his work with the clinic Julton's been busy with so much else too. The cell group leaders, or rather the group of Pablos as they have been saying (using the relationship of Paul and Timothy to form/plant and continue cell groups for the church Cristo Rey) have been preparing for our cell groups to start back up again. We are excited, we had had such a variety in ours in the past, (college students... young couples with young children.... older parents whose children have already left home...) if we could get everyone that came now and then to come regularly we would have quite a family! Apart from cell group preparation Julton's also been busy with deaconal meetings, choir meetings (he rotates with another to direct the choir every other Sunday), and finally coming sheer steps closer to getting the materials that he/we need for him to be prepared to take the USMLE exams, to do his medical residency in the states. Wow what a task. Very, very thankfully a friend of a friend that is coming to visit from the states was able to help him find some essential videos that weren't quite so expensive, and is coming to Peru for a visit so he's bringing them here! That is a blessing I cannot even begin to explain. How long we have looked for those videos...

Coming up on our anniversary, we are both taking vacation. And I couldn't be more excited! We are going to travel north to a beach town where although my teenage students told me (as if they were going to bring me disappointment) that it's best to go in January (the middle of tourist season) -I know from experience that in late March the water is still warm and the sun is still shinning, ... and the air still smells fresher than in the center of the third largest city in Peru. I'll take it.

Also... check out Ari! Another way I've been spending my time recently has been catching up with friends here, nearly all of whom ironically, have recently had babies. This is my friend Cindy's newest family member. And of course her mother gave me the look over that went with her actual spoken words of "Julie?...and you??...not yet??? why not yet??... I don't understand" Peruvian couples (usually) have babies pretty soon after they've gotten married. So everyone we know here, even if we only know them not so well... are all waiting. Usually I can get by on the "oh, she's a foreigner" card, because they just assume it's different. But I liked the way a friend of mine put it just recently when someone asked my why I didn't have babies yet in their presence "No, they don't... they married because they wanted to be married to each other" I am completely content getting to know Julton better and growing in our marriage more before we start having children... so sorry none of you will be tios or tias for now!

And Zanax... she's growing. Man she is growing. She's a little less jumpy near the windows with the bugs and birds, her belly is getting bigger and bigger from the food that she's finally decided that she likes (her cat food... it took a while to find a brand that she liked.. who knew they could be that picky?) she's playing just a little less in the litter pan, and being just a bit less wild and more likely to snuggle. Although she will still catch you off guard with a bite or a scratch or a jump 5 feet in the air (because that's how tall I am) to try to catch a ponytail. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but she really does jump the scale of the chair to try to grab hair if it's moving.