Above Freezing

2-18-2010

I think humans are a lot like water. We tend to flow through much of life and adapt to new situations quite well. Sometimes we are as stubborn as a solid wall of ice and other times we are as clueless and unbound as sweltering vapor. The beautiful thing about humans is that they never remain in one form. If you throw us into a torrid situation we boil, and if we get tossed into frigid circumstances we freeze up, anything in between we are just going with the unstoppable flow of life. If only humans were as predictable as water; we cannot determine the exact “temperatures” at which humans will change form because every person is different. I say this because I have been reflecting on my life and the different situations I’ve gone through. I have been noticing myself materializing to the situations around me and I am trying to be conscience of the quick passing of any form. I like to change my mind; I like to shake things up a bit; I am not ok with static. I also say this because today was the first day in a couple weeks that it has gotten above freezing. It constantly sounds like it’s raining and you have to be careful where you walk because the roofs are dripping and puddles are forming. All the snow has turned to slush and the slush has turned to mud. I think I might want the cold weather back.

Today was a day. I just took my basic form and went with the flow. I woke up late and battled a sore throat, but I think I have successfully fought it off. Today was my busy day with no break from 4-9pm. It is these days when I feel energized. I need pressure in order to do good work. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my kids today. We played a game where I laid out pictures of animals and they had to point to the correct animal as I called it out. Whoever got it first would get a point on the board. Then instead of animals I widened the game to include colors (they have to run around the room and find something with the specific color I call out) and body parts. They are making so much progress and I enjoy getting to play around with them.

One of my favorite parts about teaching here is the chances I get to sit down with the local people and drink in their culture. I get to talk with both native Kazakhs and migrant Russians who both know and respect each other’s traditions. I’ve been learning about weddings, the male dominancy of Kazakhs, the craziness of Russians, and the deep roots that run within us all. Culture is a complex code that runs through every person’s veins. It determines how we interpret everything we come into contact with and it continues to fascinate me, especially when I spend time with the locals. I had fun in video class today poking fun of the old 80’s films we watch and discuss. It was a good day, but I’m glad this week is at a close. I need to get out of the city this weekend.