Just like I said before . . . Any time you've blogged about food you've gotten more comments than any other topic. Anyways - what are you feeding her in that last picture? It looks like a grub.
Tom
Tortillas PS: -- Aren't tortillas were made with corn flour? (That would be much less elastic, as corn has less gluten.) Maybe you need to ask the vendor ladies what they use.
Mastery In "Outliers" Malcolm Gladwell reports that it takes 10,000 hours to master a discipline. While this may be broader than merely making tortillas (probably including cooking, in general) tell Karina not to despair. Nobody is born as a tortilla master. Like most things, it takes plenty of practice. ~eric.
Wonderful Adventure Clint - I love your adventurous spirit! That was something I enjoyed most about going to NOLA (which I am STILL convinced IS another country) - learning about that diverse culture, food. God gave us such a diverse world to love and explore. I love to hear your adventures - you are quite the writer. I'm still hoping to make it to the wedding. BTW...how's the scrabble games going with the students? Can they play it?
Los hermanos Jonas Yeah, the Jonas bros have some decent lyrics. They are all about girls, but there seems to be some Christian undertones. It could just be me searching for some deeper meaning, but I like to think they write their own stuff. I haven't heard their music yet, and I'll probably keep it that way.
Que Bueno Sounds like you're doing great Clint, keep up the good work and the blog. I like your attitude on the Jonas brothers "poetry." It's not that I'm much of a Jonas Brothers fan, it's just that I think it's good to keep an open mind.
Flack jackets for Rambo Clint,
I'm freaked that kids can bring handguns to school!!! My cousin, who was a Marine, won't have one in his house. He says they are dangerous beyond description. Neither will I have one, although I do keep a few long guns at home. These stubby weapons are not toys. Adults can't even handle them safely with consistency. I would have skipped school for this event. Is this scary practice common at other schools in Honduras? ~eric.
In defense of the kids First of all, "Mister" is still being used to address men. Open any dictionary and check the second common definition http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mister). Granted, it's a bit archaic, and reads a bit low-class, they do seem to use it correctly as a pronoun. At least they're not calling him "Dipwad". My mother has the same deal with her chinese students in Brooklyn. They call her "Missy Chen" and "Missy" for short. The Chinese have a hard time with words that end with consonants, so they tend to slap on a -y or -ie at the end of them. So they're really trying to address her as "Miss." Although they should be addressing her as "Teacher," at least it's not "Old Hag," so "Missy" doesn't seem so bad.
There are plenty of "Americans" that walk around thinking that they speak impeccable English, because they're second generation American, or their ancestors came in on the Mayflower, but they butcher the language just as bad as some immigrants. In the end, isn't that the beauty of the American English language? It's a melting pot that is continually evolving. If anyone has ever studied the language, you'd see how much of it is made up of bastardized words from other languages centuries ago. Words and phrases get chopped up, mixed up, and assimilated every decade. So my message is two-fold: The English language is difficult, so give foreigners credit for trying, and before criticizing people for their use of grammar make sure you know the language enough to back yourself up.
Hay Meester I would tell them, Eric... but at this point "Meester" has become my name. After Charles Schultz named Charlie Brown's gang "The Peanuts" he hated the name, but He couldn't change it because once something is named... well that's that. Although they use "Meester" in the most crazy way I have ever heard, I can't bring myself to change them. I did point the mistake out one day. They gave me some really confused looks and started calling me "Teecher." ;)
UnLearning Wetback English Clint, somebody (hey, Teach!) should tell your students that "Meester" is not the equivalent of Señor. Mr is only used in conjunction with a particular individual, such as "Mr Guiterrez" or "Mr Smith." No gringo ever says, "excuse me, Mr." What they might say instead would be "excuse me, Sir" (that is, if they aren't saying "hey, you" or "Uh, Bubba. . . .") But I really like your post. It's got mucho sabor.
~eric.
Tuesday Mom, I'll e-mail the photo. Tom, I'll discuss the Uncles in the next blog. Eric, awesome comment, I'm going to finish reading it after dinner... Mmmm... baleadas.
Yeah right . . . So, how was your visit with Karina's UNCLE? You didn't say much about him. ¶ On a more serious note: I really like the way your writing style is developing. I'm being serious. But, I got lost; what does the bumble bee represent in your garden metaphor? ¶ Tio
skipping??? you really should try it sometime.....although, on second thought, maybe not. I don't think it would look good on you. Hey - I really really love the photo of you and Karina at the top of your blog. How can I get a copy of that?
Imitating the Teacher Hi Clint,
'Sowing what you reap' is St Paul's version of Christian karma -- what goes around comes around. A careful look at what Jesus taught on this deep, deep subject is worthwhile. I don't want to bore you or your readers with a sermon, but then, when was Jesus ever boring? So I'll post his own words here from his parable of the 'tares and the wheat' from Matthew 13 -- actually, I'll go better by posting the entire chapter, as it also contains the parable of the seeds planted in various places, and a few other short parables, too. (I've posted from The Message translation, but I've also provided a link so readers can see it rendered in any version they might prefer, including several Spanish translations, by simply going to the chapter. Gateway has over 100 versions online.)
Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/
HERE's JESUS (as reported by Matthew) ---
Matthew 13 A Harvest Story
1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
3-8"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
Why Tell Stories? 10The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"
11-15He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again:
Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing.
The people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won't have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won't have to look,
so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.
16-17"But you have God-blessed eyeseyes that see! And God-blessed earsears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
The Meaning of the Harvest Story 18-19"Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
20-21"The seed cast in the gravelthis is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
22"The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
23"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."
24-26He told another story. "God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.
27"The farmhands came to the farmer and said, 'Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did these thistles come from?'
28"He answered, 'Some enemy did this.'
"The farmhands asked, 'Should we weed out the thistles?'
29-30"He said, 'No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.'"
31-32Another story. "God's kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it."
33Another story. "God's kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley breadand waits while the dough rises."
34-35All Jesus did that day was tell storiesa long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy:
I will open my mouth and tell stories;
I will bring out into the open
things hidden since the world's first day.
The Curtain of History 36Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field."
37-39So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels.
40-43"The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.
"Are you listening to this? Really listening?
44"God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstaticwhat a find!and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
45-46"Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
47-50"Or, God's kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won't do any good."
51Jesus asked, "Are you starting to get a handle on all this?"
They answered, "Yes."
52He said, "Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it."
53-57When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" They got their noses all out of joint.
58But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.
Teaching maturity requires the patience of God! (The student's tuition is high, and the teacher's wages are paltry; and it will cost you your life. But there is no better Employer on the planet or in the cosmos.) God bless you and your students. "God with us!" (and in us). I would have enjoyed teaching with you this semester.
~eric.
What a fabulous assignment! Mr. Holmes - combining kids views of the world and themselves and their ideals with an internet blog in a foreign language. You get my vote for teacher of the year.I have recently begun working in a mentoring program and I will suggest this to the students.
Team Tranquilo - if everyone in the world thought the way you do - this would surely be a more humane and peaceful loving place.
I am American and am counting down the days until Bush goes back to Texas. I am so excited about Barak Obama - seems like I have been waiting for him my entire life.
I must, however, let you all know that tom's comments about the "evil jews" is incredibly offensive. The reason this world is in so much upheaval is this religious division. Peoples beliefs, whether Judiasm, Islamism, Christianity, or any other of the world's religions - should NEVER be an excuse to hate. People are people, some good, some bad and it is our duty as human beings to call out the bigots and haters.
Being a hockey fan in the heart of Honduras isn't easy. No ice rinks, no vacant parking lots, the streets aren't level and even if they were there is no one else to play with. I try to watch soccer, but it just isn't the same... and baseball is way too boring. Adapting to new cultures is always a challenge. However, I think I have a knack for it. When I spent almost a year living in New Orleans, after the storm, I learned a plethora of effective ways to settle into something new.
First, and most obvious, one needs to embrace the culture that they are living in. Second, it is always ... full info
Tio Tom
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Just like I said before . . .
Any time you've blogged about food you've gotten more comments than any other topic. Anyways - what are you feeding her in that last picture? It looks like a grub. Tom