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The tea time with …
Under the candle light
30 seconds
( pick one … as much as you can in 30 seconds )
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Mrs . Carmona is not only a teacher . She is woman ( well , everybody knows that ), wife and mother , and she has dreams , hopes , and memories like everybody has . That ’ s why we wanted to know more about her , and we asked some question to know more deeply the person outside the classroom .
-I believe that everybody has scars inside . Do you have scars in your soul ?
-Not many . I would say that I ’ ve been a very fortunate person . Scars ! That ’ s a difficult question . Maybe , when I had to leave Bi-national Center in Valparaíso , that was a little bit painful but it has been good in the long range because I had been able to be here in one side and to go back to teaching . I ’ m a classroom person and being locked in an office was highly stressful . I cannot say I ’ ll not do it again because you always learn . Anything you do gives you lessons . Why would I say it ’ s a scar ? Because that ’ s the place where I first worked , so I deeply loved it and I deeply loved the people I worked with for more than twenty years . So , I ’ m saying maybe that can be a little scar , not that big . I was disappointed in some people that I never expected to behave the way they behaved at me .
-How do they look like now ? Are they wounds or just scratches ?
-Oh ! Just scratches , because life has been good and you always need to look at the bright of everything .
-So , you say they are completely healed ?
-Healed ? I think so . Yes . Yes , definitely . -Do you use to cry ?
-You mean if I usually cry ? I cry easily . Yes , definitely . Yesterday , I ran into a student here in the program . She recently lost her mother ; she was my student in first year a couple years ago . I never met her mother , she is not my student now , I haven ’ t lost my mother but I have a daughter , so I imagine what her life might be like if I wasn ’ t around . That certainly hurts . But I usually cry with movies and acts . You know , Mother ’ s day acts make me cry all the time . And if you say something that is really sad I might even … my eyes even water in front of the class . I hate that . Yes , I think I cry easily .
-Have you make wrong decisions in your life ?
-I think everybody has . I cannot think of anything now , but we always make wrong decisions . We always do things that later we regret . Maybe it ’ s not that regret but maybe I should ’ ve try going abroad and study when I was single . I was so much in love , I still am , but now that I look back I think maybe I could ’ ve travel and study abroad when I graduated from university . But it ’ s not a real regret it ’ s something that I , when I look back , I think “ oh maybe I should ’ ve ”. But again , I have a beautiful family , I ’ ve been married to the same man for twenty one years , he is a saint I know that , I have two beautiful children . And I think you can never have everything in your life . I think I have been enormously lucky , fortunate , to have what I have . I have been able to have family and be a professional and not many people could have both things .
-Do you regret them or you consider them as part or steps in your internal growth ?
-Red , white or water -Fancy restaurant , fast food or dinner at home -Chocolates , flowers or jewels -Skirt , pants or jeans -Books , music or movies -Penelope , Mata Hari or Amelia Earhart -Vivian Leigh in ‘ Gone by the wind ’, Audrey Hepburn in ‘ Breakfast at Tiffany ’ s ’ or Elizabeth Taylor in ‘ Cleopatra ’ -Clark Gable , Harrison Ford or George Clooney -Sir Sean Connery , Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig -High heels , flats or sport shoes -Celine Dion , Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston -Past , present or future -Health , money or love -Breakfast , lunch or dinner -Chicken , beef or fish -Spring , summer , autumn or winter -Gold , silver or pearls -A little black dress or a red valentino evening gown -Go shopping , walk next to the beach or stay in bed
-Everything ! I mean , when it happens to you , you certainly suffer and it ’ s painful and you ask why , why me , why not . So , as you start healing you realize it was for the better , somebody has something prepared for you , I said before I believe in God . I certainly believe that if something happens to you it ’ s for a reason . What doesn ’ t kill you makes you stronger ? Yeah , stronger . I truly believe that . We must be positive . I know that sometimes we cannot see it because we ’ re too much in pain but then later on we will always realize that that was the best thing for you . Everything has to be a learning and experience . Everything .
-Is there any whish that you have not come true yet ?
-Yeah , my PhD . I cannot say going abroad because I have . Definitely , a PhD is something that is somewhere in the back on my mind . I hope I can accomplished that before I turn fifty , before I turn sixty , which it ’ s around the corner by the way . But if not , if it doesn ’ t happen for me I won ’ t feel any less fulfilled than I feel now . A PhD is kind a logical next step but it ’ s not killing me . I know that it ’ s necessary ; I ’ d really like to do it because I like to study and learn but I feel a really fulfilled professional .
think so .
-For what do you want to be remembered ?
-She was responsible . She was a good teacher … yeah , I
-If you could leave a message for the humankind , what would it be ?
-I need to say that in Spanish , I really don ’ t know how to say in English what Jesus Christ said to us “ Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo ”. That ’ s something we do not think it all about . I can ’ t separate my being Carmen Carmona from my believing in God . I don ’ t mean to impose but it ’ s a very important part of my life or who I am , which doesn ’ t mean that I have to be weak , I think they are two very different things . That would be it , Jesus ’ words , not mine , I ’ m sorry .