COUSINS

As for school, it went very well.  Well, I guess I can't say very well.  There were the normal troubles that I have with students, but by now this is just normal.  However, during lunch something extravagant happened that I will never forget.  It was as if it was planned for shooting a movie about troubled kids in the inner city.  I was outside for lunch when one of the ladies volunteering at the school for the day came out to talk to me.  She informed me that we had the best behaved children she had ever worked with.  I told her there was a mistake in how she said this to me, as I know these children are not the best.  She repeated it saying she hates working in the public schools, because they students are so disrespectful to their teachers and everyone in the school, but at our school, they all stand up and greet a visitor as they walked in the room.  Right at that moment, a bag of Capri-Sun (a fruit drink for kids) flew across the lunchroom, missing the ladies face by about 2 inches and landed at my foot.  I could not help but laugh at what had just happened, because it was such perfect timing, making my point proven to her.

At 2:30 I left the school to head North to Ft. Lauderdale.  Becky Crosthwait, my oldest cousin on the Shue side was flying in to come hang out for the weekend.  How pumped I was to have another familiar face come to town and hang out.  I picked her up about 3 o'clock then headed back to the house, making a brief stop at school.  When we got to the house, we settled in for a bit, putting on comfortable clothes and good shoes, then took out walking.  Where else that Little Havana, the neighborhood I live in.  This is perfect for Becky, as she is fluent in Spanish, and gave her a chance to whip it out on some old Cuban men at the local eateries that we hit up.  We walked down the main street in Little Havana called "Calle Ocho" (8th street) which stretches about 10-15 miles through Miami.  We walked and walked, stopping for food and conversation with strangers, but all good people.  Finally, we decided to turn around as we had almost made it downtown.  If unknown, I live a good 40 blocks from downtown, which means we had walked that, and had to get back without money for the buses.  We walked, altogether, about 8 miles, most being in the dark.  It was quite the experience, and one that I have not really had yet with anyone.  It was awesome to get out and see the neighborhood that I live in.  With Becky, I have a translator, which I don't have otherwise.

After getting back to the house, we went out for some amazing, fresh sushi where we sat and talked with the chefs one-on-one for about an hour while eating and afterwards as well.  They taught us how to make the fun garnishes that come with all the dishes.  While they look very complex and fancy, there is nothing to them, just a little more time that peeling it normally.

All in all the weekend was off to a great start!  Only better things will come with the rest!