This morning I went for my first swim of the season with Libby. Boy oh boy was it lovely. Even the fact that my goggles kept getting water in them and my swimmers were too big couldn’t ruin it for me. I am very much looking forward to swimming again and getting my fitness back. After Gem and I had the Big Vegetarian Breakfast at the cafe down the road. There is nothing I like more than coming back from a swim and having a hot shower and then having a yummy breakfast in the sun with someone special. Life feels good.

I am getting so much spam comments at the moment. It is really annoying and some a pretty grose too. Anyway just went through and deleted them all and had a bit of a read pf my blog and realised that there are a few post I have made that need updating.

Firstly, the good news. I am going to Alice for my prac, well flying into Alice but will be doing my prac in a remote community somewhere a couple of hours out. Apparently my cooperating teacher is a 60 year old nun which I think is cool. I have booked tickets to for the second week of October. Thankfully I will get to spend the weekends at mum and Keith’s house. Very much looking forward to seeing it and them. I miss them a lot.

Secondly, the bad news. Teresa’s daughter is yet to be reunited with her mother. We were told that she had been found but now nothing has happened. It is a very long and complicated story and I don’t really get any of it at all but it’s pretty dodgy. I am not sure what exactly is going on but Teresa, some of the Ayni volunteers and a lawyer are on to it so I am hoping and praying for some good news soon. It is all so awful.

My mum just rang to tell me that Maggie (my dog) had died. She has been sick for a long time now and when mum and Keith got home today she was having trouble breathing and appeared very distressed. So my mum rang the Vet to make an appointment to have her put down but then she died about half an hour later. I am sad, she was a very special dog and we loved her a lot but I am happy that she is no longer sick and that mum was with her and she wasn’t on her own.

Maggie was really good friends with my friend Peter who died earlier this year. In fact I am convinced she loved him more than any of us, he used to cook her all this exotic meat that we never did. Anyway mum said that she had an image of Maggie and Peter meeting in heaven, both happy and healthy. I am not sure (nor is she) that, that is the way it works but it is a really nice image to hold on to as I let go.

I have borrowed a book from the library called, “Uses of Blogs” and it is sitting on the table. Many people have walked in and said “Uses of Blogs? Who is reading that?” When I say that it is me most are somewhat surprised.

But alas it is not because I am going to update this blog but because I am doing an assessment on the ways a teacher could use Blogs in language learning. We had to pick some type of IT and I thought blogs might be what I know most about. Not that I know much but hey I have one and read other people and sometimes I even comment.

It is quite interesting. I have learned some things but then I have to talk about how I may use it in my work. Given that what I really want to do is teach in poor communities where most people won’t even have a computer, let alone the internet I am not sure how useful it will be. Then again technology is one of the areas where the gap between rich and poor is growing and maybe if I could teach something it would be helpful.

Yesterday we had training. It was a pretty long (7.30 -5) and exhasting day but we invited a volunteer and her friend to come along and talk to us and they were so great. They had such an obvious and genuine affection and respect for each other, it was lovely. The friend shared very openly about her experiences, many of which were pretty horrendous, and about how helpful she found her volunteer. It very much reinspired me about what I do and I needed that.

I am eating too much junk food at the moment. We have been having lots of people over for dinner, which has been great but it means we have dessert and then there is left over dessert and so it just goes on. There also seems to be lots of events at work, today was someone ‘s birthday so we had cake and tommorrow I am sure there will be left over cake. And then what happens is a develop a sweet tooth and then after lunch or dinner I start to want sweets cause I am used it. I feel pretty grose, especially cause I am not really doing much exercise either. I think it is time to buy some dried fruit to help me wheen off the sweets.

I forgot to mention in the last post that we have some really, really, really good news. Teresa’s (who I wrote about a couple of weeks back) daughter Paola may have been found. A couple of weeks ago Martin’s dad, who used to be a police officer talked to someone he knew who is quite high up the ranks in the force and the other day he called to say that he has found her. Teresa (or no one she knows) has seen her yet so I guess I have to wait until then to confirm it but it is looking pretty good. Seems pretty crazy that Teresa can spend 5 months searching all over the country and begging the police and anyone to help her and gets nowhere and then someone else can make a phone call and a month later there she is but I guess that’s how it works. Anyway enough of that I am just so grateful that she may be back with her mum soon. Thanks to everyone who prayed.

Martin got home today. I went to the airport at 9 to get him but he didn’t walk out until about 10:10 so I was very excited by then. We came home and had breakfast with David and Ryan and then we spent the rest of the day just hanging out at home, it was nice. Lots of talks about Peru and more talks about life and what we are going to for the next stage of it. No real answers yet but certainly some ideas are coming to the front more than others. And hey I am enjoying the process. In the late afternoon we finally managed to get out of the house and we went to the fish market, bought some fish and made ceviche. Ceviche is my favourite Peruvian dish so I am looking forward to it. It is just soaking now and we will eat it later. Martin is also having a nap. About half an hour ago he just crashed but I am hoping I will be able to get him up in an hour or so for dinner.

33 hours until Martin gerts home. I am really excited about seeing him.

I too did the personality test that James and Ryan did. I like personality tests. Unlike many people I know I am happy to be boxed.

Your personality type is ENFJ.

Extraverted (E) 82% Introverted (I) 18%
Intuitive (N) 52% Sensing (S) 48%
Feeling (F) 90% Thinking (T) 10%
Judging (J) 77% Perceiving (P) 23%

Here a description that I got here of an ENFJ. It’s very focused on the good things but I guess that’s okay.

ENFJs are the benevolent ‘pedagogues’ of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it’s usually not meant as manipulation — ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.

ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability.

ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don’t resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.

ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.

TRADEMARK: “The first shall be last”
This refers to the open-door policy of ENFJs. One ENFJ colleague always welcomes me into his office regardless of his own circumstances. If another person comes to the door, he allows them to interrupt our conversation with their need. While discussing that need, the phone rings and he stops to answer it. Others drop in with a ‘quick question.’ I finally get up, go to my office and use the call waiting feature on the telephone. When he hangs up, I have his undivided attention!