I'm Not Afraid

  This song just brings out the "fighter" spirit in me :) HA. And in these past few days where the resonating theme has been professional frustration, I've definitely been trying my best to maintain optimism and perseverance... Thus, I'm not afraid.

Today, I had just a good day - nothing incredibly amazing happened but considering all things of the previous angst-ridden days... I felt the need to somewhat commemorate the tiny victories, even if just to bolster my own current morale. So here it goes :)

The school board president came and spoke to the entire faculty this morning; she's one of those people that steps up to the front and simply commands your respect and attention simply through presence. She recast the greater vision and purpose for the school, as a unique place in our current world of international politics. In short, I was inspired :D yay

Despite the immense heat (high of 117) & lack of air conditioning, I still managed to function at school today... sorta ;) In-between the endless meetings, I am proud to say that I have completed my classroom Word Wall! (Remember, I said "tiny victories") Photographic proof:

Once in a while, when I need to just laugh and put current things into perspective, I go hang out with this really fabulous teacher. Today, she shared with me photographs that made me giggle until tears: With Ramadan, we've been asked to be respectful of the Moroccan staff members and thus, not eat or drink in front of them. MUCH easier said than done. Therefore, we've had to be a bit "creative" in finding ways to stuff food down or chug water during our short breaks between meetings or being inconspicuous within our classrooms with open windows. This is a picture of her sneaking food from her desk drawer & eating in her purse :D Victory.

 

After a very very very long long day of sweating, its nice to go back to my apartment and simply lay on my bed. Still no air conditioning but at least I can preserve my energy in the immense heat :) Just lay down and stay c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y still... think sloth thoughts :) Victory.

Lastly, there's the issue of dinner. food. sustenance. What happens when you can't run out to the nearest Kroger and get frozen peas with pizza rolls? What happens when cereal isn't even the greatest option because the boxed milk tastes a little funky? What happens when restaurants are closed due to Ramadan? WELL, let me tell you a story of victory :) My roommate and I opened the fridge and discovered the following: chicken breasts, peppers, tomatoes, and carrots...hmmm. We ALSO had a large avocado - booyah!

So I went to allrecipes.com (thanks, kelly!) and typed into the ingredient search: chicken, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and avocado. Search results: nothing. Sad, sweaty, and hungry desperation was starting to kick in...  I decided chicken and avocado were really the only two things worth eating and entered just those items into the ingredients and YAYYY! I found this great recipe which turned into a delicious meal! :D Victory.

And now, here I sit after showering off the bzillion layers of dust & sweat of the day, accumulating new layers of sweat, ready... for all that is still to come. I'm not afraid. :D