Students and Rubber Bands

I have never felt sorry I got into teaching English.

Yes, there have been tiring, stressful, exasperating, patience-exhausting times, but fortunately not very often, and the good times have by far outweighed the bad ones. Every week something happens in one class or other which leaves me so happy, touched or thankful that it makes everything worth it.

Excuse the quality of the picture... both my cameras let me
down at the same time, and I had to take this pic with my
iPhone, which doesn't have a good camera.

An example? These days something new has become trendy and it is huge among the children, very much in style: bracelets done with rubber bands (to see a basic example, click HERE). Well, this week two of my girls from completely different ages, classes, and even days, have given me this as a gift! My ten-year-old gave me a yellow and black bracelet on Wednesday, and my six-year-old has given me a Spring-coloured bracelet and ring today (because we're studying Spring in English together [smile])! They're such sweethearts...

This is why I love teaching.

Sounds

Here's a link you might find interesting and useful when you miss any kind of sound you like! I have been using it to listen to rain while working, reading, writing, etc., and oh... what can I say? It's a wonderful thing.

Click HERE or copy and paste this link in a new browser tab/window:  http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :)

P.S.: I couldn't resist the kittens eyes any longer. I had to post, or die.

Please, please

It's already March and this Dreamy girl is busy, busy. Too busy, in fact, to remember to log out when she uses other people's computers...

Please, Dreamy girl, please post something new.

La Línea

Vienna New Year's Concert 2014

Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2014 full of beauty and blessings.

Vienna, Austria, is where the most famous New Year's concert takes place every 1st of January. It has been a tradition in our family to watch it ever since I can remember, but this year we missed it because we had an engagement elsewhere. Therefore I searched it on the Internet, and found it on YouTube. In case you missed it too, here's a chance to watch it!

However, for some reason, Blogger won't let me find the video, so I will just post the link. You can click HERE, or go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GlxUNue2MI

Enjoy! It is beautiful!

New Lullaby

New on the list of "to-learn" for when I sing babies to sleep!

It Is Well With My Soul

This hymn is a favourite of mine, mainly because of what it says. The lyrics are very beautiful and full of meaning as to the right attitude towards life. In all things we should rest in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father watches over us and that

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Incongruent House Part 4

...and here's the fourth post of pictures that show how awesome our family life is! Last, but not least.

My Mum enjoys a cuppa before going to bed... or two, or three. I guess she's quite fond of it!

Nina and Rhonda conspiring about something or other... 

My Mum likes to mix my similar socks on purpose. That day I was reading with these socks on and my Dad came to me to tell me something. Instead, he glanced at my socks, then at all the hair clips on my bedpost, picked up two favourite ones and clipped them on my feet. Voilà.

Here's Xoc trying to help me out with my History lessons... (you really can't leave your place for more than five minutes!)

Here I found Rhonda and Blackberry misbehaving.

Ninin pretending to be studious with Daniel's jumper on. 

This must be my favourite. WHO leaves a brick of orange juice in the bathroom?!

Well, hopefully you've enjoyed the series and have had a couple of chuckles. Personally, I'm happy that I have these pictures so that I can laugh on my own for a little bit every time I see them. 

Peace

“Peace … which passeth all understanding.” 

Philippians 4:7

Jehovah, how many are they that trouble me, many they that rise up against me! (...) But thou, Jehovah, art a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head. With my voice will I call to Jehovah, and he will answer me from the hill of his holiness. I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for Jehovah sustaineth me.

Psalm 3:1,3-5

Does all trouble find your heart so resting on God as your Father, that when it is multiplied, it leaves your spirit at rest, your sleep sweet, lying down sleeping, and rising as if all was peace around you, because you know God is, and disposes of all things? Is He thus between you and your troubles and troublers? And if He is, what can reach you?

 Pilgrim Portions, selected from the Writings, Hymns, Letters, etc., of J. N. Darby

What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who against us?

Romans 8:31 

Incongruent House Part 3

My sister made these for New Year's Eve, and afterwards no one wanted to eat them because they were too cute! Poor Pingus.

I think I've already mentioned my predilection for socks... :P

Xoc looking at me very innocently. No, his intentions towards the chocolate biscuits aren't obvious...

One day I found my brother's boat shoes like this. I wonder how he took them off...?

For some reason or other someone placed the glue stick in order to keep the wooden blinds from moving, I suppose! 

I cannot help but laugh every time I see this picture. Very sense! Much intelligent.

Part of my family being goofy after discovering that I was trying to take a picture of just how big the lake was...

One more post to come!

December 1st

Written on Sunday 1st December 2013:

December is a month I love... it's finally cold, it makes time at home precious and cozy, and yet, when you go out, you get to use hats and scarves!

At the same time you look forward to a new year coming up soon, you can look back to the beautiful one you've lived, yet another blessed one to add to your life, lived and walked with the Lord.

It is such a combination of quiet and awed thankfulness and bubbly excitement! I can imagine my eyes shining with the feeling of both. How perfect life is! 

How do you feel about December?

Incongruent House Part 2

As promised, here are several more pictures that show a glimpse of what it is like to live with my family.

This little stowaway hid in my hood for some time before I realized he was there!

One Saturday morning I entered my Mum's bedroom and saw this scene unfold before my eyes on my parents' bed: the valiant Porridge mounting on his elegant steed Xoc confronting the dangerous Iupi.

Just another normal, everyday lunch...

"Colze" means "elbow" in Catalan.  My Mum thought it hilarious to place her elbow on it to show what it meant, just in case someone might miss the meaning. :P

I don't remember when I did this... maybe a couple of years ago when we were studying Analysis for Math. The thing is that it looked so pretty and I had had such fun doing it that I took a picture of it once I finished it. 

One early Autumn day I went out for an afternoon walk. Xoc insisted on coming with me, so I couldn't say "no". What choice does one have when Xoc looks at you with those melting brown eyes?

There are still two more posts coming up, so stay tuned!

Incongruent House Part 1

Now that the wedding pictures are finished and sent, I have had more time to dedicate to personal projects and obligations. One of these has been getting my external HD Passport in order (I am very picky about everything having its own spot and everything being classified).

When I came to classify all the photography accumulated throughout seven years I found several pictures that just about show what kind of a family we are: a bunch of crazy, chaotic (some soon-to-be) engineers. As the saying runs, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will leave you to judge for yourself. [grin]

However, as I have lots of pictures, I will post them by parts.

One day I entered my bedroom just to find my rabbit Ninin trying my summer shoes on.

The paper reads "How NOT to fall asleep in the middle of reading a book". 

Making good use of our whiteboard during Saturdays...

Fashionable mandarin...

Elephant mandarin, my Dad's specialty.

Hum... not sure what happened there. He lost his face among the teddy bears.

Leopard socks... my Mum knows my predilection for sock that are out-of-the-normal-ish. 

More to come soon! :D

Memories

I've just found the pictures I took of the design I painted on my school bag when I went back to public school. It seems like yesterday, but it was really five years ago... wow.

I wish I could design things like this again!

Perseverance For Food

Talk about having patience, eh?

Expresiones Colombianas

Some weeks ago I had the opportunity of leafing through an old traveling notebook. I had left it in Romania back in August due to luggage limitations, and while I was there in October I took the chance to look through all the chaotic lists, cluttered ideas and random phrases scattered on the pages throughout it. Need I say I re-lived past situations and laughed over funny memories? I found some treasures in there and tore several pieces of papers so that I could take them back home with me.

One of these treasures was a list of Colombian expressions I wrote down during my stay in Colombia. The ladies and the girls I spent my time with during my trip there used idioms I had never heard of before, or idioms that I had only heard from my Colombian friends. I started writing down the ones I didn't know, and one day I had Raquel sit down with me over a cup of tinto and define them for me. I ended up writing a small dictionary of Colombian idioms, a small sample of which I leave you here.

• BACANO: palabra que indica que algo es divertido, que gusta, que "mola".
• CHÉVERE: ver bacano.
• CHINAMENTA: conjunto de chinas.
• CHINO/CHINA: muchacho o muchacha.
• CHUSCO: de buen parecer.
• ¡GUÁCALAS!: expresión de asco ante una cosa desagradable.
• HECHO UN OCHO: caótico, confuso.
• ¡PREPÁRESE UN TINTO!: expresión de aviso de que lo que sucederá a continuación será impresionante o impactante
• SACAR LA PIEDRA: hacer enfadar, dar rabia.
• SARDINA: muchacha adolescente.
• SALIR CON UN CHORRO DE BABAS: hacer el ridículo cuando algo sale mal.

I pray that someday I will be able to go back and continue discovering expressions...

Aaawww

There's a polar bear running towards me! *x*

My Brother Loves Me...

...and because my hair is curly, and quite the picture when I get up, he came to me one day and said,  

"Look, Anna! This is you at 7 a.m.!"

Rima XVI

Si al mecer las azules campanillas

de tu balcón

Crees que suspirando pasa el viento

murmurador,

Sabe que oculto entre las verdes hojas

suspiro yo.

Si al resonar confuso a tus espaldas

vago rumor

Crees que por tu nombre te ha llamado

lejana voz,

Sabe que entre las sombras que te cercan

te llamo yo.

Si te turba medroso en la alta noche

tu corazón

Al sentir en tus labios un aliento

abrasador,

Sabe que, aunque invisible, al lado tuyo

respiro yo.

- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

For Your Enjoyment

Easy listening music has always been a favourite of mine - it doesn't have words, you can play it in low volume, you don't have to pay attention to it, and yet it makes your work easier by creating a pleasant and cheerful atmosphere.

For your enjoyment, I shall present you with a few of my favourites:

This is just a quick selection... I have so many folders and collections I could not choose one song from each! Hope you like 'em.