Time

I feel a little disoriented.

   This feeling could be explained away by the fact I had a 101.4 degree fever on Friday.   I still taught all of my classes, which included lecturing on the writing process, discussing current events, giving a spelling test, of which I would not have aced, and administrating a quiz for my seventh graders.  They didn't fair so well.  During each class I had to fight off the urge to vomit or fall over because I was dizzy.  I think I got sick because of something I ate, but I don't really know.  I know I need to start getting more sleep.  For the most part my kids were really good to me because they could tell I wasn't feeling well.  They're just fortunate I didn't give the quiz to the sixth graders and the spelling to the seventh.  

Or it could be linked to the fact that my watch doesn't work.  The battery died about three weeks ago.  I'm still wearing it because I have a watch tan to protect, but I'm getting a little tired of looking down at my watch and being told that it is 6:45 a.m. and knowing that it might really be around 2 in the afternoon, maybe.  Or maybe it's because the clocks in the school are set ten minutes behind Guate time or is that ten minutes ahead of Guate time (And what really is Guate time?) and the middle school's clocks are behind the rest of the schools clocks, which makes my day longer or shorter, I'm really not sure.  Outside of the school where Guate time is supposed to be the standard I have noticed something odd.  At the gym both of the clocks are way out of whack.  If you go upstairs to where the cardio equipment is the clock says one thing and if you go downstairs where the free weights are (I spend most of my time down here, I'm a beast) the clock says another thing.   So I never really know what time it is.  The only place where I am sure of the time is at home sitting by my computer, which has the correct time according to GST (global standard time, a term I might or might not have made up).  

But here I am in Guatemala living on Guate time, not really knowing what that really means, but living on it anyway.  I know that if someone wanted to brainwash me this is how they would start.  They would constantly keep me in a state of confusion.  Maybe Guatemala is trying to convince me to live a more laid back life style.  Wait, I'm already laid back.  Maybe they just want me to forget how the rest of the world works and realize that I should live my entire life down here, but then again the clocks could just be wrong.  This is the third world after all.  I have been here a month and well, I think another month will sort things out a bit more. 

God is teaching me a lot.  I'm still not sure what I think of teaching.  I have up days and down days.  I am ready for the rainy season to end so I can go hiking more.  Maybe I just feel disoriented because I am used to an easy life where I don't have to deal with much.  God is teaching me how to face my problems.  I don't have a job where I can check out at 5 when I get home, if it really is 5.  I'm working with lives and thats a whole different ball game.  These kids require my time and my love.  I guess the thought of responsibilities alone is a little disorienting.  But God has my back, and that is a good thing.