Flying Kites in Cowpies
I remember flying a kite with my dad when I was a kid. My parents bought me a 4-foot-tall Darth Vader kite and dad took me down to the field by Percy Priest Dam. I don’t remember it being particularly…
Category Stories
A village on the mount
There are many different pros and cons associated with living and working at a boarding school. For example, I can wake up 15 minutes before school starts, take a quick shower, and be on my way to the foreign language…
Las Fiestas!
It’s fiesta season here in Guatemala and I’m learning more than I ever thought I would about Mayan culture and community. Starting last weekend, we were graciously invited to a family wedding shower for one of the Cardenas family’s cousins.…
A break
While these past few weeks have been full of afterschool tutoring, planning, meetings with girls in the neighborhood, Pacho English class and movie club and cultural Friday nights, it was a relief this past Sunday to hear that we as…
Kru (Teacher) Kyle
Despite a lot of stressing over the first lessons and much sweating in my hot classroom, I can officially say that I am a teacher. My first week is over and done with, and it feels great. The faculty, students,…
Thank your teachers.
My dad taught in Metro Public Schools for 26 years. From Kindergartners to the pre-pubescents of 6th grade, my dad impacted the lives of countless students in the worst neighborhoods of Nashville. He facilitated the lockdowns in East Nashville before…
Home, and Back Again
After a year in Cape Town, I returned home. However, my visit in the States only lasted three weeks. Between 1 October and 22 October I visited Knoxville, Nashville, New York City, and Boston to see close friends and family.…
Update on Our New Reality
The past two weeks have felt like the fog has lifted off our dream-like experience and the reality of our adventure here has slowly settled in. A couple weekends ago, some of our Guatemalan family took us sight-seeing. First, to…
Culture Fatigue
Sometimes it feels as if I was born again. New sights, sounds, and tastes are impossible to avoid when I leave the comforts of my small concrete home. Even the simplest things in life have become a demanding task that…
SuperVacas
This past week was SuperVacas!! All of our hard work and planning finally came together in a week full of dancing, crafting, singing, and water balloon wars. I won’t give a day-by-day account of everything that went on (to be…