Some memorable moments from my first two weeks of teaching in Philly:
1. At freshmen orientation, students are asked to give three reasons why they need their student IDs. They give two of the answers pretty quickly (to get into the building, to check out library books) and then get creative with the last one: "In case we get kidnapped. Because it says return to...."
2. Michael Vick. Not kidding. He came and spoke. And you thought Obama was controversial.
3. One of my students asked me to call him "Jigga"; he insisted it was his real name. Newsflash, kid: I've got your real name on a roster right here and it's not even CLOSE.
4. While reviewing nationalities, I gave my (mostly Puerto Rican) students the word for Puerto Rican in Spanish - puertorriqueño. They ooh-ed, and said, "I didn't know there was a Q in there."
5. Again, while reviewing nationalities in Spanish. Students were asked to write a sentence saying a person's nationality given some information. The information given said: "Yo soy de San Antonio, Texas." I am from San Antonio, Texas. They said: "Miss, you didn't teach us Texas!" I asked, "Where is Texas? What country is it in?" The reply: "I don't know, Miss. Mexico?" *sigh* That, kids, is a lesson for another day....
So it's been ages. Here's the deal: 1. I'm engaged. 2. Wedding's in December in PR - we used the trip to get some of the big stuff taken care of. Wedding coordinator has been hired, praise the Lord! 3. We're both looking for jobs. Praying, praying, praying. 4. Yes, there are a gazillion wedding plans in my head.
That said, one of my favorite things ever is to make lists of songs that would be great first dance songs. Some are traditional, others not so much, some I'd never choose, some I'd choose if I could... Anyway, as long as I've got weddings on the brain, I figured I'd make a list of possible songs.
1. "Is This Love?" by Bob Marley
Because it's still the song that I most love for a first dance. I remember listening to it a lot while I was in Costa Rica and thinking, "This is so the song I want to dance to at my wedding."
2. "Forever" by Ben Harper
Ideal for non-dancers with its insanely slow tempo - all you have to do is sway. Plus, how sweet and sexy is it? And the lyrics! Lines like: "I won't let my forever roam" and "Give me your forever...not a day less will do" make me love this one.
3. "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds
Stinkin' adorable. That is all.
4. "Bendita la luz" by Maná
I can't even count how many times I've mentioned this song on this blog, and I still love, love, love it. Such a blessing to find those people at just the right time in just the right place. Bendita la luz, indeed.
5. "Making Memories of Us" by Keith Urban
Much more on the traditional side. Much more mushy than most of the songs I'd have chosen for myself, but still, I love it because I have an unabashed love for cheesy country songs. There. I said it.
I remember listening to this song when I was, like, fourteen, on this Spanish channel (as in, from Spain) and falling in love with both Eros Ramazzotti and this song. I remember how I just LOVED the line that says "Gracias por existir"; it kinda blew my mind then and still does.
7. "Hard to Concentrate" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Because they're one of the few musical acts that I've loved since I was ten and because, hello, the love! Different, but still totally appropriate.
7. "Come Close" by Common
Because Common is a smart rapper, because it's romantic, because I love the idea of pulling out a little hip hop for a first dance.
8. "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" by Lauryn Hill
Classic with a twist.
10. "Amor de conuco" by Juan Luis Guerra
*Sigh* Honestly, what I most want is to walk down the aisle to this lovely little song. "Na' me tienes que ofrecer, tu mirada es lo único que quiero...." Off the charts, this one.
11. "Almas gemelas" by Gilberto Santa Rosa
How fun would it be to do a little salsa number as the first dance? And I love how it captures the idea of sharing and growing together that marriage is all about.
I'm so glad she's been writing more songs about love that survives, because, at least in Spanish, I think she's got a great way of saying things.
14. "Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)" by John Legend
Because I can't have a list without Mr. Legend. This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite of his songs. The love!
15. "Solamente" by Fiel a la Vega
"Encontrarte es una historia que hoy deberían publicar" is just a bit too intimate, but this one - this one is lovely and abstract and perfect. It's hard to pick a favorite Fiel song or to rank them in any way, but this is one of the first ones that I fell absolutely in love with. It's those last two verses that really get me: "Rellenas mi espacio sin corazón y resurges mi idea de redención." *Sigh* Those Fiel boys get me every time!
This girl is thisclose to being a MASTER. No more sitting in classes for me.
That, of course, is why I've been pretty much absent since early June - Summer I will do that to a girl.
But I've emerged with one more project to do just in time to spend three glorious weeks in Puerto Rico. Love!
I'm trying not to worry too much about anything - about the job situation (or lack thereof), about the housing situation (or lack thereof), about saying goodbye to people with whom I've spent so much time for the past year. Bittersweet.
In the meantime, I'm packing, heading to the Shore, celebrating the fourth just to be with people, and remembering.
This year has gone by so fast. So, so fast. All those days and nights of reading and writing and preparing presentations have slipped away. The days I thought I wouldn't make it - well, I've made it.
And soon there will be time to write, to think about what comes next, to worry about the way my life will play out after all that I've learned and experienced this year. Good times, hard times, challenges.... For now, though, Puerto Rico awaits. I'll be back the 27th - catch ya on the flip side.
1. Hit a cute little bird while driving on I-76E on my way to the school where I volunteer and felt really, really sad about it.
2. Passed out in the hallway at aforementioned school, tumbling over a recycling bin, losing a flip-flop, scratching my neck, and bruising my knee (and my ego) in the process.
3. Put my hands over my eyes in class and felt my contact fall out of my right eye, forcing me to leave the room to put that sucker back in.
*Sigh*
What. A. Day.
At least I got in a good workout this morning before chaos ensued.
There are some songs that I associate with summer. I hear them and think of riding in the car with the windows down heading to the park, to the beach, to a BBQ.... Oh, yeah!
So, the sounds of summer, for me:
1. "Summertime" by Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff
'Nuff said.
2. "Canción en la arena" by Fiel a la Vega
This is THE beach song, in my head. The title translates to "Song on the sand" - it's a little slice of life, a day on a Puerto Rican beach. Love, love, love it. This is such a summer song for me. PLUS, it's FIEL! Can't go wrong with those boys.
3. "Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Dixie Chicks
I don't know why I associate this song with summer, but I do. I guess it might be the idea of sleeping on a pillow of bluebonnets with a blanket made of stars. That and the fact that I think that this song is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. So perfect I can barely even stand it.
4. "I Wish" by Skee Lo Y'all know you remember this one. Fun, fun, fun stuff - and hilarious.
5. "Vamos de nuevo" by Víctor Manuelle
Or anything by him, you know, because I love him. He is my favorite salsero, and there is nothing like driving around with some good salsa playing on the stereo. A few more good ones: "He tratado", "Cómo se lo explico al corazón", and "Así es la mujer".
6. "Guayaquil" by Don Omar
I know, I know. Don Omar doing cumbia? Oh, but it's catchy! And I don't know how it works, but Latinos can make an accordion sound HOT! Believe it. Oh, and as a 6 1/2: "Salió el sol" by Don Omar. I'm not huge into reggaetón, but this song makes me want to dance EVERY TIME!
7. "Quickly" by John Legend
Because y'all KNOW I can't make a soundtrack without Mr. Legend.
8. "Is This Love?" by Bob Marley and the Wailers
This song reminds me of walking down Costa Rican streets on my way to the beach from some little café where I might have just enjoyed a fresco de guanábana. Delicious. Also, the lyrics? "I wanna love you and treat you right....We'll be together with a roof right over our heads, we'll share the shelter of my single bed." LOVE!
10. "Touch the Sky" by Kanye West feat. Lupe Fiasco Two of my three favorite Chi-town rappers, Common being the third. Actually, I'll take pretty much anything by Kanye. He's good summer music.
So I'm late on this one. I've been thinking about it since well before Mothers' Day and have been meaning to write it for a loooong time and then the end of the semester came and knocked me upside the head, and I'm only now beginning to emerge...just in time for the beginning of my summer classes. So anyway, I have cover letters to write and a gazillion pages to read, so I figured this was the perfect time to get this post out of the way.
I'm one of those women who thinks of her mother as her best friend, which is funny, because things weren't always this way. Growing up, my mom had no interest in being my friend. I had enough friends, she said, what I needed was a mother. Looking back, I'm glad for that. I had friends, good ones, but my mom needed to be something more, and she was. She got here to the States when she was about twenty-four, following her husband, with two kids in tow: a four-year-old me and my one-year-old sister. She came without speaking the language, without knowing a soul, without knowing how many years of bitter cold she'd have to endure in this strange land. My mother is a brave woman, braver, I think, than I. I don't know that I could have handled it the way she did. My mom learned English by watching Oprah and the news. She's the kind of woman who knows how to fake confidence, how to make herself look more secure than she is inside. She never apologized for her accent, and she wasn't afraid to speak up when she knew someone was trying to take advantage of her, of us, of anyone else. My mother showed me strength, told me that women could do anything, let me know that I had choices. She stayed home with my sister and me, a stay-at-home-mom until we were old enough to fend for ourselves, and then home again when we moved to Germany. Once in a fit of anger, I lashed out at her, told her I'd be more than a housewife. I can't remember what the punishment was for that, but I do know that I deserved it. She stayed home, yes, but that did not make her weak, did not make her one of those silent, subservient women. There was a strength to choosing to stay home, choosing to forgo her own dreams to see her daughter's dreams fulfilled. There's a strength in sacrifice that I see now. My mother is the type of person who will give and give and give without reservation, like her mother before her; I like to think I've inherited some of that. I remember her volunteering at my school, with a community of migrant field workers in our area, at our church. She gave her time, gave her skills, and never asked for anything in return. To this day, she works for a pittance because she loves what she does, and she translates and interprets for free because she knows someone needs to do it. She's an advocate, my mother. She's the woman people call when they don't have the words to fight for themselves, because she'll march into a bank or a store or a doctor's office with you and give someone what-for. Believe, she's a woman you'll want in your corner. My mother flings open the doors of her home to bring people in. If you need a place to stay and you're in town, come on over. If you just want to hang out, come on over. If you need someone to listen, come on over. She'll let you in, feed you till you can barely move, and kill you with hospitality. The woman knows how to throw a get-together. And don't even get me started on her fashion! We used to tease her, my sister and I, for covering up and layering, but my gosh, she always looks polished and elegant. We have different styles - my look is a little funkier, a little more in the scoop neck/deep V territory - but we can both rock some basic pieces and have a passion for a beautiful, well-crafted shoe that is both stylish and comfortable. And best of all, she taught me how to walk in heels without lurching or looking like I'm tripping all over myself. Thank you, mom, for teaching me how to work a stiletto in comfort and with grace. I love my mamita. Love her for being a parent, perfectly imperfect, the kind of woman who made me who I am: a well-adjusted, intelligent, passionate woman who can only hope to be half as stylish and generous as she. Even more, I love her because on this side of childhood and the self-righteous anger of my adolescence, we can be friends, women who can share victories and struggles, hopes and fears. I love that she's still in my corner, but I'm also glad to be in her's now.
