“Well Jackson, the Super Bowl teams have been decided – the Chiefs and the 49ers!”
“Yes, Nilla, I’m sure you’re pleased – being a California bear. I’m not happy at all – there are no ‘Jacksons’ on either team!”
“Might as well stick with me Jackson.”
“Tell you what Nilla, I’ll wear red.”
“Awwh, that’s no team spirit! Both teams have red uniforms!”
“There you have my commitment Nilla.”
“Leaving the Super Bowl aside, let’s get on to the week in review – another busy one at the Sai School for sure!”
“Tia Rosa loved “Horton Hears a Who!” book and gave it to one of the English teachers to read to her students – every child, no matter what age, enjoys a good story.”
“The rhyming words make it fun too – and don’t forget she did watch and listen to the story being read in Spanish last week.”
“The network connection cables were challenging – the crimper rusty and minimally functional, brittle wire, hot weather all added to slow progress but with more new wire and a new crimper the project is now complete.”
“Yes indeed Jackson – now all the computers can be on the network and have access to the internet – an important feature if one is going to use the computers to reinforce English lessons. That yellow bird still taps at the windows. Reflection issues for sure!”
“In the classroom one of several lessons this week, initially the ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ and a second one, the ‘Lion and the Mouse’.”
“Mouse and mouth again. Hard for the students to clearly pronounce the two.”
“Bullying takes place in every school Nilla. And here is no exception. So, the Ts wrote and illustrated a story about bullying and fighting.”
“The first grade teacher and the school administrator loved it and want to use it in other classes.”
“The first grade class understood the story (with some explanations in Spanish) and seemed to pay close attention.”
“The teacher wants it written in Spanish – so that’s a project for next week at some point.”
“Another exciting situation this week was when the Ts cell phone dropped out of a pocket and got left on the bus seat!”
“Luckily they realized it before the bus took off!”
“It was close! Need to use those ‘fanny packs.”
“The trip to Crucita was fun Jackson.”
“It is always fun to catch up with old friends but this trip was a little different – looking for potential rental properties for next year.”
“The Ts haven’t decided where they want to stay. They have everything they need in San Clemente and love the beach here, but transportation via buses is more convenient in Crucita, and of course our friends.”
“Not to say we haven’t made friends here too Nilla.”
“So which property did you like the best Jackson?”
“I think we both liked the condo on the top floor of Palm Beach but the problem could be the four flights of stairs.”
“Jackson, aside from school and rental properties – what else summarizes this week?”
“We didn’t go to Manta – delayed until next week. The hauling of the nets is a daily occurrence and always interesting to watch.”
“And we did learn that in Crucita the topography of the ocean floor, the drops offs, make it extremely difficult to manually pull the nets in – so generally, except in one barrio of Crucita it’s not done there.”
“The beach in San Clemente and the topography, a gentle incline, makes it possible here. They still mark the nets the same way with a black flag attached to an orange float.”
“You would think they’d use another color flag – something that would be more visible Jackson.”
“You would think so – perhaps it’s traditional.”
“The long walks on the beach are fabulous and it’s so much fun to see families playing together in the sand.”
“People are so friendly too!”
“Don’t forget what else we learned this week.”
“What was that Nilla?”
“The torn twenty dollar bill.”
“You’re right – most unusual I think.”
“In Ecuador they will not accept a torn bill, even one that is torn less than an inch – and the bank won’t exchange them either – even if they are dispensed from the bank’s ATM.”
“It doesn’t seem fair. It’s even more interesting – one can not tape the money – that’s almost worse.”
“So after a discussion, the Ts finally got the bill accepted after the teller took glue out of her drawer, approximated the edges and glued the bill together!”
“Sticky business practice don’t you think?”
“That’s not funny Jackson! Wait until the 49ers win the Super Bowl!
Adventures of Nilla and Jackson 