samil loves pizza.

my brother arrived this morning.
samil didn't really want to go to him... until he gave him food.
yep, leave it to samil. he loves food.



here's a picture of sad samil. he wanted to eat the pizza.

mommy went to the bathroom, and uncle dan and aunt emmy couldn't stop me from stealing some!

oooh! i love this menu!

countin' down.

the school year is finally over. i turned in my resignation letter two weeks ago, the only thing left is to pick up my paycheck. i have just three more classes to finish up in the house before sending the "kids" on vacation for a month.

the ministry of education just published the new school calendar, too. stupid. i swear.
i mean, i understand that full-year school works, but it includes vacations and weeks off. but not here. who thinks it's okay to send kids to school from august 7th - june 29th! christmas break and easter break- check. anything else? no, why would they need that?

and the government wants to know why they can't get teachers... i mean, this impossible schedule (remember how it's 108 degrees here in august) and the wonderful pay, who wouldn't want to be a teacher?

teachers working in public schools get paid a base rate of $6,748 pesos ($198 dollars) per "tanda" - 4 hours in the morning and/or 4 hours in the afternoon. there are bonuses for actually having a degree, the amount of family members you have dependent on you, etc... but then there are deductions too, you know health insurance, life insurance, union fees. all in all a teacher who works "full-time" (8 hours a day), with a college degree could theoretically bring home about $500 USD a month, but after all is said and done - and IF, just IF, the government has applied their benefits to their paycheck - really most only bring home about $375. amazing

i'm glad i finally made the decision to go out on my own - because it means that on top of not having to follow this insane school year, i don't have to worry about anyone else controlling my pay. given, i'm not going to be making millions, but what i make will be fair to the work i do.

my brother arrives tomorrow. we'll be headed to the beach, the mountains and the first town in the new world, la isabela. who knows what else we'll do but it'll be a nice break from teaching! next sunday i head home to philly for three weeks.

samil sunday. albeit really late.

on monday we headed to the beach with amalio's coworkers.
one of the perks of being a teacher in the public school is that throughout the year, a portion of all fundraising money goes towards "teachers day" depending on the participation in fundraising, teachers can get a great gift at the end of the year. days at local clubs, picnics, or - they're lucky - a night or two at the resort.
we got two nights in a resort - all paid for.
the resort was kind of crappy - the food wasn't great and there wasn't a lot going on, but we had a good time anyway. and samil l.o.v.e.d. the beach. we couldn't go swimming because of a storm, but he played in the sand like it was nobody's business but his.

playing tourist.

right now, i'm on the beach.


well, at the very least - an all-inclusive resort on the beach. probably sipping a margarita or some other deliciously wonderful fruity drink.


we packed up samil and took off for a small escape before samil and i head home to philadelphia on july 6.

who decided this was an emergency?

after spending two days in the bathroom, i caved and went to the emergency room.

food poisoning, parasite, amoeba - whatever - i was dehydrated. bad.

the cashier wouldn't even see me until they triaged... um, asked me what was wrong and even then the doctor wouldn't even look at me.

when this like 10 year old doctor asked me what was up, he told me i didn't have an emergency. um, excuse me?

to the doctor i went who then sent me back to the ER with a note to "Favor hidratar".


two bags of glucose solution and a nice long nap later, i was on my way home.
i finally recovered and am back in the land of the living. i think.

here's to hoping you all had a better week than i did!

miss you.

father's day.

americans are recognizing dad's today.



not so here, father's day is done the last sunday of june... and its really no big deal. i hate that.



dad's get the shortend anyway. their kids are done school by now, so there's usually no little gifts, no handmade cards or craft from school. and... let me just say it, mom's sometimes drop the ball when it comes to dad's day.



not that the recognition isn't there. it's just not as huge as mother's day.



my dad is probably waiting for my call still. we haven't been home all day and now my brother-in-law is on the phone.



my dad is a good dad. when we were little he took us to the zoo and the franklin institute. he cultivated our love for exotic foods. he drove us to our grandmom's house - and even to the beach even when he couldn't share in the vacation. he took us camping and frankly - taught me a lot of the "backwards" skills i never knew i would need, like washing dishes in tupperware, handwashing clothes out and using a latrine.



we went sledding, skiing and iceskating. ate icecream and waterice. went hiking back the crick and swimming in the falls.


now my dad is a grandpop. and i hope that samil can do all these things with my dad, too.

happy day dad!