Cuñada, mamii and madrina

These three words describe different relationships. I have something to say about each one of them. First one -- cuñada. It’s sister-in-law. Some of the 6th and 7th grade girls started to call me so lately. Why? Because they looked at my little brother Karlis in my Latvia pictures and they liked him a lot. They asked me to introduce them to him... and they are willing to get married to him. And then I’d become their cuñada. :D Second word -- mamii. That one is clear -- it’s mommy of course. One night when I had checked all girls and admitted that they are clean I walked through all the rooms again to remind them to be quiet and wish them sweet dreams. The youngest girls who sleep next to my room told me: Buenas noches, mamii! (Good night mommy!) Wow... I didn’t expect anything like this... so sweet... I’ll be honest with you -- I almost had a half tear in my eye... Our yongest girl Rosa (Rosita) sleeps there and she is only 6... once in a while she runs to me, hugs me tightly and calls me mammii... oh, poor little thing... both of her sisters are here too, they are a little older than her, but she misses her mommy of course... I happily hug her again and again! Madrina. This word doesn’t describe a relationship but it’s a word that is given to the senior class’ special teacher. Each class picks a padrino or a madrina. It’s a person who’s picture is put in the same frame with the senior class’ and school principal’s pictures that later hangs in the teacher’s room. It is a person who the senior class has chosen to be with on their graduation day... so on Father’s day when the girls and I were sitting and watching football they suddenly asked me: Profe Liene, would you like to be the madrina of our class? And I didn’t know what to say... of course I would like to! A lot! But the graduation is in October... and I won’t be here anymore :( The girls are saying that I have to return... and I didn’t know how to respond... I would LOVE to do it! It is a huge honor that they asked me something like this! And I would love to take this honorable role... but I guess I won’t be able to do it. Only if I happen to be under money rain and then I could return here in October for their graduation :) Actually I’m having the hardest time with this class in English because they feel and are big. But they don’t like that they have big requirements in english class even though their knowledge is very poor... but I have to teach them from 12th grade book. It’s a very complicated process. I’m trying to use different approaches and methods with them but it’s so hard to break the ice. Finally the ice broke a little today. It was a huge satisfaction both for me and them! Pray, that during this short period of time while I am working with them they can learn SO, SO much.. that they really would have a good English foundation to build more knowledge on it :) Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE to work with them? I guess more than once. I have different issues... sometimes they cheat on tests, copy other student’s homework, lie and do all other things that happen at school, but I like it anyways!

Sometimes I feel down. There are moments when I get bored and I want some change. But I thank God -- I have many fantastic promises in my head and my Bible that help me cheer up and go on. And there are many things that give me joy, strength and energy. For example, the beautiful Samuel’s and Panfila’s love story, walks on the air field, awesome cheese and banana pies I learned to make, the total mess girls make when they mop the floors because they mop themseves too -- they roll on the floor, sit in the sink and rub themselves with Omo :D I’m delighted that all girls learned to sing “Open the eyes of my heart” with great excitement! I can’t complain about boring life because there is a bat that falls from the ceiling, tarantula that I managed to smash with a bowl, crazy night-moth who tries to crash me and grasshoppers that jump around. I’m fascinated by the village life where everyone knows everything about everyone. Everyone notices when someone leaves or passes them by. They know where you are at any given moment. And who knew - it’s contagious! I have started to notice better what happens around me. And the girls ALWAYS notice when I go somewhere or change my location or I’m carrying something etc...

Oh, I forgot to mention the phenomenon after Father’s day football. Since the sun was shining my white flesh became red, of course. And it seemed like I was again in my first week here when they were so surprised to see my white skin. Now they were staring at me because Profe Liene was red :D Even two teachers took a photo of me :D Today they said that Profe Liene is brown :)

And I loved that one day Ondina announced that I’m not complicated :D It’s supposed to be a very good characteristic :)

And I loved that one day a British biologist with two Bolivian helpers came here and stayed for couple of days. They came here to research some plants. We met at a moonlight night by Rincon’s gates. I could immediately tell by his “face” that he is not a local, I was able to help him find the right house. The following day he asked what my nationality is because he was sure I’m Canadian or American. We had a nice conversation and then he left to look for some new plant species.

Life goes on! I’m still very grateful for every day, for this place and this time. Please, keep praying for Velta’s endurance and new helpers! We need to pray for a Brazilian couple especially who are looking after the boy’s dorms. They are having a hard time. They speak very little Spanish and they don’t have any children so it’s a bit complicated. But they are VERY needed here. Let’s pray that they too can learn the language QUICKLY and understand the boys and the specifics about raising children in this area. They have a hard work to do. But God has a lot of strength that He can give them!

I’ll have to go to Corumba soon, because the 3 months since I entered Brazil will be over and my 3 month visa will expire. I’ll have to do something with my passport. I hope it goes well. And it will be good to change the environment a little! And then I will fly with the pastor on his tiny airplane :) It’s going to be an adventure! I have to run to check the feet and teeth! :) May God bless you abundantly! And most importantly -- believe in big things!!! :) God is able!

WOW, I managed to attach some pictures! One is with me and Velta, we baked those pasties. The other one is of me and my youngest Rincon friend Valerie!

Father's day

March 19 and 20 was celebration - Father's day! And "party" is exactly what I needed. The usual schedule is of high value of course but I as a little creative and sometimes spontaneous person longed for something different - and there it was! And it was so beautiful! On Saturday we were supposed to have a show for all fathers and then a football game. It rained a lot the day before and in the evening you could see more dark clouds gathering in the sky which meant it will rain even more. Rain cancels everything here. The kids looked forward to having this celebration so much because they had a chance to see their parents. If it rains, the roads become impossible to drive... so no one could come. Some girls started to cry even before Saturday because they understood what rain would do. Some adults started to complain that the holiday won't be a success. But I had faith that everything should go as planned! And already on Friday I thanked God that there will be no rain on Saturday and all events will will be successful! And God took my little prayer of faith and turned it into a big, great, sunny day when not a single rain drop fell. Neither did it rain that night so parents were able to go home on quite dry roads. Some rode bicycles, come horses, some walked (those who lived closer - in about 15 or 20km (9-12miles) distance).
Saturday started with breakfast as usually when Velta told me I have to try a new dish. OK, immediately started to eat it. Name - Pataska! It's something between a soup and porridge with corn, some type of meat and it all was in mild brown tone. I ate it and declared it to be good. It's good that they told me afterwards what the soup was made of. If I had known it before I might not have eaten it :D So this traditional Bolivian breakfast dish is cooked this way: they take a whole cow's head and put it in a pot. The head just as it is with everything that's inside :) They boil it under the brain and all other goodies separate from the bones... then they add corn, some spice and eat happily. Tough, isn't it? :D Ondina looked for a piece of tongue especially for me :D I didn't ask for extra bowl of soup...
Then there was a beautiful concert where children performed songs, poems, dramas and gave speeches. And if I ever thought that I read poetry quite expressively and beautifully then I have to admit that my skills are pretty dim :D  How these Bolivians read poems! Oh my! They have such mighty voices, pain, expression, posture, confidence and you add motions to all that! They show everything the poems text says also with their hands and bodies. Amazing and very powerful! The concert took an hour and everyone was standing this whole hour  - as they always do in school's big events. Only fathers were able to sit on special festival chairs - blue plastic :) I remember how we couldn't sit still during school's official events. We wanted to shuffle. But these Bolivians stood still this whole hour! What a discipline! Unfortunately some dads couldn't come so come children had some tears in their eyes... but they all stood brave! Then an unusual act of honoring took place - all fathers (present and future) stood in front of us and then ALL students, teachers, parents, guests went and shook hands with them. That's about 200 handshakes per father - great tradition! When fathers and teachers finished eating the huge blue Father's day cake then students put on their uniforms and hurried to the football field where someone had already marked the lines with ashes and boys had removed all the cattle's brown "cakes" :) The long awaited football competition between grades could start. Of course, almost all Rinconians had come to watch the game. And the coolest thing was that teacher Erlin had found big speakers that ran by a big battery so we had music during all games! I'd say it was real club music :D Shakira sang her Waka waka song every 30 minutes. And to my surprise I suddenly heard Russian language. What's that? Tatu girls were included in the soundtrack with their song "Ya soshla s uma"... I didn't know what to do - to laugh or cry :D So I better laughed. It was so good to hear loud music. I know, I know - I should listen to the sounds of nature and listen to silence etc... but sometimes I want something rhythmical and smooth... and loud! OK, but Bolivians really know how to play football! Although my big brother recently wrote me that Latvians beat Bolivians in football recently the youth here play football with unseen passion and energy! In Latvia middle school girls usually only walk on the field :D (I'm speaking based on my middle school experience) But these girls run until they're burnout and they fight till the end! There was also an adult team from neighboring village of Bokaina - wow! They had practiced a lot and made our Rincon men look weak. They made many breathtaking combinations on the field. And I can say that I had never watched a football game with such interest! Beautiful! Besides convincing feet and ball combinations I was enlightened by the things that happened on and around the field during and between games. For example, during one break a HUGE pig momma came to the middle of field with 5 or 6 piglets. suddenly she fell on the field and all the piglets started to "eat" their mommy. What a beautiful and impressive feeding process - everyone was amazed! This show is definitely better than cheerleaders they sometimes let out on the field for the sake of entertainment :)
At the end of the day Ondina and I went to the field again to watch the rise of full moon and it's dialogue with clouds. Big cows had gathered before us who calmly chewed their food, grasshoppers made their sounds and you could also hear a choir of frogs... but the sky... fantastic! Wow, who would have thought that looking to the sky can be so exciting? Ondina has taught me a lot about watching the sky and I think that there is still much to learn. When I was in Riga I rarely looked at the clouds. Now sky is my movie theatre!

The countable and uncountable

When you live life in such limited environment as I do you start to take notice of different things, you start to count. For example, I count how many pens I have used :D I count how many toothbrushes and toothpastes I have used, how many times I have "shopped" at Rincon's shop, how many Sundays I have spent here, how many Sundays I still have to spend here, how many cakes we have had, how many times I have used the internet... how many times I have visited Ondina's dentist's office, how many times I have had an apple (two!), how many times I have had something that tastes like chicken (three!), how many times I have worn something... and some other things... I don't notice these things in Latvia. I guess since the circulation of information is so limited here, all these things gain a different value.
But there are so many things that are uncountable. For example, how many times I am greeted by my girls again and again. I can't count how many mosquitoes I have killed. Mosquitoes and different other tiny living creatures. Uncountable are all the plates, mugs, forks, knives, spoons and pots I have washed. I can't count how many times I have had to ask the same questions to my students in class until they remember what they need to know. Uncountable are the songs that have been sung by girls in dorms or kitchen. Also you can't count how many times it has been raining here. It happens so unusually often. I can't count how many cats are there in Rincon. Thousands! Mostly grey ones. And I laughed so much when one lady said that there are too many cats in Rincon and we should get rid of some of them :D They way she presented this idea was so specific... like you would plan to secretly blow up an atomic bomb :D I can't count how many frogs and toads  happen to be on my way when I walk through grass in the evening and make this loud noise during the night. And I don't know the number of all God's blessings that flow from Him without ceasing! He blesses Rincon with critically important rain that didn't rain in this time of the year in previous years. So it's not SO crazy hot as it is usually in this time of the year ( it's only 28-32C (82-90F)). We are blessed that we always have something to eat even though we happen to have some issues in this area once in a while. I want to thank God for health and endurance. The blessing s are uncountable as are the stars in Rincon sky :) But I want to count then every evening again and again...

Hello my dears!

I'm sending you all, all my love! And it is BIG!
Life goes on in Rincon. I'm doing very good. This week was very, very joyful! Pastor went to the post office finally and brought me THREE parcels - one from my big brother, one from my sister and on from my sister's mother-in-law. What a joy that was! Wednesday was my happy day. My excitement was bigger than I have ever had at Christmas or birthdays. I received so many loving words and useful things. I would like to highlight some things - I finally have a good Spanish dictionary that will improve my life significantly. And I got some chocolate! First piece I took felt like a little piece of Heaven... it was so good :) I'm saving it now so I can have  bite every day :) And I finally got a new charger for my video camera. I think I burned the first one with Bolivian power. Now everything is ok and I was making videos today. First shot was very educating... I will show it only to those above 18. Of course, it has something to do with the love processes here in Rincon :D This time the story is about turtles who live in one of Rincon's courtyards :)
And I had a great joy when the fantastic principal Panfil gave me a phone card that let me call my family in Jelgava through the satellite phone. And I got to speak to mom, dad and little brother. In the first moment mom and I just exchanged shouts of joy because we couldn't believe that this phone call is for real! It was so nice to talk to my loved ones! I have been here in Rincon for 2 months, I've been away from Latvia for more than 2 months. Gradually everything that has to do with home and Latvia gains more and more value. Although it is something invaluable in itself....
What else? It's interesting that as I become closer with the girls they start to show their characters - they become more genuine. And I simply love them more and more! But it was interesting to see that a girl from 12th grade got offended by me and didn't talk to me for a day. Next morning I found out that it was because I gave her a bad mark at an English test... And that's why she thought that Profe Liene is bad and decided not to talk to me anymore :D But we agreed that it is better to talk and use this opportunity that your English teacher lives in the same building and you can ask her for help regarding English classes. Now Ana Isabel talks to em again and greets me with a smile.
Tooth brushing has become smoother. They "smell" from a distance that Liene is coming and they'll have to brush and show their teeth. So the check up goes quicker. I have added feet to the check up because some of them wanted to go to bed with muddy feet. So now I check both teeth and feet of 60 girls at 8:15PM before they go to bed. Of course we have some "issues" - they hide under the bed, eat toothpaste to get fresh breath, some of them hide in the closet or bathroom. But since they know everything about each other - I easily get to find out where is the missing girl and see their feet and teeth! This process usually continues until 8:30PM when the lights go out. Then I spend another 15 or 20 minutes walking through the rooms and  making sure they really go to bed. They love to sneak out and visit other rooms. So I have to discipline them a bit. Sometimes they make a party in the hallway, they suck mate - it's the coolest way how to spend your free time here. Mate is a tea from tiny pieces of tea leaves, they put it in an interesting horn with a metal "straw", pour cold water over it and pass it around and suck. It cool :D But it's not allowed when the lights are off. Therefore I have to help them remember the rules.
Sometimes they get offended by me but they love Profe Liene after all :D because in the morning they greet me with a smile and they keep greeting me 5-7 times a day. I'm telling you - you would love them too!

Address

Someone asked for my address so I'll publish it again.

LIENE SVOKA
CAIXA POSTAL 101
CORUMBA
MS 79301-970
BRASIL

I'm writing this on March 11. It has been a wonderful Friday. There was a bat in my room yesterday and you can imagine how I dealt with it... and I was walking on the Rincon airfield last night... that was so beautiful... I'm doing very good. Everything is OK! Im so happy God listens to my prayers and give me strength, joy, energy, endurance for all things in all times! May it continue!