The Praying mantis

I found the most miraculous bug the other day. I was walking around the parking lot at our apartments while talking on the phone late late late in the evening, and there it was, looking, yes looking up at me. Its triangle head pivoted from one side to the other, looking me up and down…eerily. It walked slowly across the concrete as if it were on the elliptical machine at the gym, gliding, just gliding. It was white too. Perhaps that is why it caught my attention so much. I had never seen a white praying mantis before. A white praying mantis looking me up and down, and gliding, just gliding.
“I’ll have to call you back,” I said, as I placed my hand in the little guy’s gliding path. He paused for a moment, tucking his long arms in like he was really going to say a prayer right then and there, and then stretched them both towards my hand.
Now, I have never been bitten or clawed by a praying mantis, but I have heard that it is really painful. Those lovely long praying arms that they have are also preying arms, you see, with jagged barbs on the inside that could claw a human hand, belonging to a girl, walking in a parking lot, late at night.
I held my breath and tried not to move suddenly. I was worried that those praying arms would become preying arms, but that didn’t happen. The little guy hopped on my hand as if he had been thumbing for a taxi the whole time. I walked as smoothly as if I had a teapot on my head, that’s how smooth I walked. I guess the guy was feeling a little confident, so he started gliding right up my arm. That was too much! I flung and reeled, and that pious little fellow got flung and reeled to ten feet away…back to the concrete.
I approached him again, worried that he’d not be so forgiving, and put my hand in his gliding path once more. He swiveled his little head towards me, looked deep into my soul with his dark, specky little eyes, and then glided right back to his spot on my hand.
I ditched the teapot and hopped on a paso fino insead. Also smooth, but faster. The white praying mantis, the paso fino, and I glided together to the nearest shrub where I gratefully deposited the devout little bug on a branch. With one final look at my unexpected friend, I left him to his own devices, either praying or preying…I am not sure, but I hope he is well.

The weekend

Friday was a very nice and busy day for me. The highlight was that I got to go to school with my friend Charla, who is a junior high Spanish teacher. I got permission to go into the classroom and help out for the entire day. The day was especially fun because it was Mexican Independence Day, so of course, we had to teach everyone the "grito," or chant. Charla had a recording that would go on every few minutes or so that would say "Viva la independencia," then everyone would yell, "Viva!" Then the voice would say, "Viva Mexico," and the class would yell, "Viva!" This was repeated a few times to make a complete cheer. That was of course fun and exciting...so exciting that I'm afraid we might have been a little bit of distraction for the class next to us.
One of my favorite things to observe was all of the students that were already native Spanish speakers, and how they interacted with the teacher and the class. I loved all of the funny things that they would say, knowing that the class couldn't understand them. Three boys were goofing off, and one of them, a native Spanish speaker, said in Spanish, "Van a pelear! Castiga a los dos!" Basically that means, "they are going to fight! Punish them both!" I know that doesn't seem too funny to anybody reading this, but I found it really funny especially because it just caught me by surprise. Overall, that was a good day, and I am looking forward to going in again.
After getting home from teaching with Charla, I got all ready for my first intramural basketball game of the season. I had so much fun playing! There were only three girls that showed, which meant that we didn't have any subs, so I got to play the entire time! We played a really good game, but unfortunately it kind of fell apart in the last quarter and we ended up losing by one point!!! I still had a blast though, so it didn't matter too much. Something that did bother me though was two giant blisters on the bottom of my feet the size of quarters. I guess I just shouldn't have played ball in my running shoes! The game was on Friday, and here it is, Monday, and I am still walking like a goof! Hopefully that resolves itself soon.
Another happening of the weekend...some of my roommates got sick. Two were throwing up, and one had a nasty cold. This of course freaks me out because in a six person apartment, we are all living in tight quarters... this means lots of exposure. I have been running around like a maniac sanitizing everything with clorox wipes. Hopefully this plague will pass over me and my sanitized offerings...we shall see!
One more thing...BYU lost...bad. I live right next to the football stadium which makes it even harder. Okay, that is all I am going to write about that....shame.

Comfort zone

Today I did it! It was my very first singing test in my very first singing class since the fifth grade. I used to love to sing. I even had aspirations of becoming an opera star, or performing in musicals. Alas, all of my dreams came to a halt when at the age of ten I learned the truth...I cannot sing! Ever since then it has been strictly band class for me! I wasn't even good at that, to tell you the truth, but I enjoyed it.
I always felt uncomfortable singing the hymns in church because my voice just wouldn't ever go as high as it needed to, and I hated having to skip out on half of the notes in each song! Going on a mission really helped me because especially in the Spanish wards, people expect you to sing all of the time and even to be good at it! "Now las hermanas will be singing a duet...in front of the whole church." Or, "Hermanas, would you sing at my dear friend's funeral?" Let's face it...we do scary ridiculous things for the people we love! Anyway, singing got to be at least a little bit more comfortable for me after that.
I decided to try out my rekindled enjoyment of singing in a basic 111R singing class. I thought that since it was a class of eighteen, that we'd all be singing together the whole time...WRONG! We are required to perform four solos in front of the class throughout the semester. Today I sang "Where is Love," from the musical, "Oliver." Oh dear, I felt like such a nerd...."whhheeere is loooove?" I was also extremely nervous.
My wonderful roommate practiced and practiced with me until I felt fairly confident about singing the piece. My brain was settled and I was at peace with the whole situation...or so I thought! Although my brain was okay with me singing, somehow my body rebelled. As I stood up to sing I felt my throat get fuzzy, my chest get tight, and my legs start to go numb. Are you kidding me? I squeaked through it all, but was a little disappointed that it didn't come out as well as I had practiced. Owell! The fact that I went up and sang in front of a group of people I didn't know is a pretty big step for me. I should just be happy that I didn't puke or pass out! We'll work on style the next time around!