Itchy, Scratchy, and Happy

I feel like Job. There are boils everywhere. I have so much in common with him right now that it's funny. I followed God's call when he said go to Palau. I tried to be his faithful servant and do what he wanted. Now I'm here and I love it, but I am in total physical pain. There are hundreds of teeny bubbles on my body. I can't walk because there are so many in between my toes! My ear, my chin, my thigh, my ankle..so so many bumps! And there is nothing that helps. Going in the water only makes it worse, and I'm in the process of getting my divers certification.
Today was the second day of school. We started out with worship and then I headed over to my classroom. After a worship with them, I told them to line up and they did! In a straight perfect line! And they walked into the gym! It's funny how such little things can make me so happy. After we got to the gym we waited for all the other classes to get there too! It was party day! That means we played school wide games and tried to involve anyone. Unfortunately, my kids don't have a two hour attention span even for games. After about 45 minutes I heard nonstop "Can I go to the bathroom?", "Can I get a drink?", "Can I call my mom?", and "This is boring!" Kylie was so adorable and clung to me the whole time. After games, we went back in the classroom for snack time! That was pretty fun until some of the boys decided to wrestle. I finally got control again and read them a Bernstein bears story! Then it was recess for the rest of the day. I pushed them on the swings and held their jump ropes. Then we played a game called cat and mouse with 3B. That was lots of fun. Except of course Makani wondered off and I had to track him down. But all in all today went quite well.
After school we waited for the boys to come from PMA and then we went to Sam's to start learning how to scuba! When we got there we met the instructors, Kostas and Alex, and singed some wavers. We then watched a 45 minute video and took a quiz. Then a break to get our gear and learn how to use our regulators, air tanks, and all the other fun equipment. Out of the water it is so heavy! Then we watched two more videos and took more quizzes. After 3.5 hours we finally got to get in the water! Even though it was only for a swim test that was pretty tiring it was still a really nice change of pace. After that we packed up and headed home. Poor Tammi can't dive so she had cleaned the whole apartment for us! I tried to do my laundry but the machine ate all my quarters!! Sadly, they were the last, so no laundry for a while. We have a dive Sunday at 7 am, and we won't be home until 5. I don't understand how I am supposed to do lesson plans when I don't have any time, or even my schedule yet! It's quite stressful, but I guess that's in the job description.
This evening we went to youth vespers at the church. It was the first time I got to meet a lot of the high school, but Kevin and Ralph were there (friends and alumni of PMA) which was cool. I can't remember if I've mentioned them before, but we went out to lunch with them a few days ago and it was really cool getting to talk in person, instead of just on Facebook. Worship was great. We read in Matthew about the salt of the earth and the light of the world and it was cool hearing what others had to say. We also met Jose, a nice man from the Philippines who is here as a journalist. It was such a great day, and while I have been writing this I've even felt less itchy!
It's crazy but I already am in love with my kids. MY KIDS. They are all so unique and special and love so easily. I wish this Internet would let me upload pictures because they are just so cute! There is Mairee who tells me she loves me every day and calls me "Miss Chels". Sora who came new today but still jumped right in. Shayne who sings me songs and loves when I read to her. Makani who never listens but still brought me a hot dog for lunch. Ichiro who screams "teacher! teacher!" every few minutes wanting to show me something. Mariah who can sit and play with blocks quietly for hours. Mizora who always says goodbye and gives me a hug. Krystal who leans her head on my shoulder when shes tired. Martin who tried to add me on Facebook. :) Ked who asks to pray all the time. And Kylie who jumps on my back, shares her lunch with me, won't let go of my leg, and tells me all about her life. I'm so fascinated at how great they are to me, even though they're loud and messy. It's crazy to think that there has only been two days of school.