All the Changes I've Gone Through

Hello everyone!
After my long absence from the blog world, I am finally back! Wow, it's been a while...114 days to be exact! I've been so busy with teaching and I don't have much time on computers anymore since my laptop died in November (though, I have to say, after living in front of computers for 5 years [3 years of virtual school, 2 years of office work], it's really nice to have a break!). But today I'm off from school because of Carnival (Mardi Gras) and I'm able to borrow my mom's laptop for a little bit.

Things have changed a lot since October 24th (the last time I blogged)....
At that point, I hadn't been teaching for very long, I had 15 students, I was teaching 9 classes a week (History to 6th and 7th graders, and Bible to the High School), I only knew a few words of Portuguese, and I wasn't really enjoying Portugal that much.

Now, however, I have been teaching for about 5 months (and still enjoy it!), have 10 students, I'm teaching 20 classes a week (Reading, Math, and Bible to the 1st grade class, and History to 6th and 7th graders), I can get by with speaking Portuguese (YAY!), I'm enjoying Portugal, aaaand.....I'm registered to go to Azusa Pacific University in California this Fall!!! (I plan on majoring in Education with a minor in Psychology.)

The reason why I have fewer students but more work is that the high school at Cornerstone Academy closed, while the first grade teacher left, so, since the school's financial situation has continuted to worsen and they are not able to hire anyone, the director asked me to help (more). So, that's what I'm doing. Teaching first graders is definitely different and, at times, a challenge, but I only have two boys and they are really good students.

It is SO nice to finally feel like Portugal is somewhat of another home for me (among many other places that feel like "home")!
When I first arrived here, I thought it would be an easy transition. I had figured, "It's a southern European country, so it can't be that different from Italy, where I had lived for 18 years!". But surprisingly, it was not such an easy adjustment. I had gotten used to living in the States (never thought I would be able to say that!) and Portugal was so hot in August, the grass was so brown, the architecture seemed so random, the culture unfamiliar... It wasn't anything like Italy!
Also, coming from a community of 500 people, where I always had someone to hang out with, a friend I could go talk to and pray with, all kinds of people around me continually.... to moving in with my family, in a small town in the middle of nowhere, where my friends always seem so busy and aren't able to hang out with me whenever I want (not that they should and I'm not saying that's bad; life outside of community is just different) So, needless to say, it was pretty difficult.

After summer was over, though, the rains came and everything became such a gorgeous green, the air was breathable, teaching occupied my time (so I didn't have to just sit around doing nothing, missing my friends in Chicago), Portugal slowly became a familiar place, taking the bus became a normal and comfortable routine, and slowly I learned more and more Portuguese.

I think the thing that has helped me the most in becoming used to and liking Portugal, has been taking the bus. At first, it made me a little nervous 'cause my previous experiences of taking the bus by myself hadn't been good (I ended up getting lost), I wasn't used to the crazy Portuguese way of driving, and I didn't really know my surroundings or the language.

After a short time though, I grew accustomed to it. I made a few "friends" on the different buses I took (it's so nice to have locals recognize you!), was able to say a little more than "não sei" (I don't know), or "não falo português" (I don't speak Portuguese). It's SO NICE to be able to communicate with people! I found I could take advantage of the two hours I spend on the bus each day, reading books. In fact, I really enjoy being able to read so much! And I love watching all the different people on my bus! I think my favorite groups of people are the older Portuguese and the Africans. The older Portuguese people happily greet one another on the bus and talk loudly to each other, despite the distance between them on the bus. It's hard to explain what old southern Europeans are like if you've never met any...but, well, I love them! The Africans are also kind of loud and carefree, and almost always happy and vibrant. I love watching them interact with each other and listening to their mixture of their native African tongue and Portuguese!

So, yeah, things are a lot better for me now. Of course, I still have my moments of missing everyone in Chicago and wishing I could speak Portuguese fluently like my siblings do, but it's been good.

I'm sorry this is so long! I'll save the rest of my thoughts to share next time =)

So long for now,

Whitney