Week 10: Qualifying for the World Cup

Day 64 October 10
Sierra was up just as late, if not later, as I was and had plans to leave at about 6:45 with the school to head to the game, so I was surprised she had gotten up and cleaned the house. The trash was all by the door, the dishes were all done, the lights were down and in their box—I was impressed. All I had to do was sweep and shower before the repair man came to fix toilets (no more floods!)
When he got here, he seemed to fix it really quickly, both the upstairs and the downstairs. I told him the shower being clogged was part of the problem and I think he said someone else would come for that. The downstairs toilet had stopped it’s constant running, but it was turned so tightly it had also ceased filling with water (which I fixed myself, ta-da!) and the upstairs…well, the shower was still clogged and I still had to toggle the handle after flushing.
I spent some time at Picame, eating pancakes and drinking orange juice, which was nice, and then I spent the next several hours just cleaning up the house, doing laundry, and relaxing upstairs. Around 4 Tammi called and asked if I wanted to meet her at Casa Villamil, which, of course, I did.
We chatted for a while, and talked with Ever, and met two army guys who are stationed in Comayagua, Honduras. They had been confined to the base since the political situation started, back in July. This was their first weekend off, so it was a big deal. We chatted a while and they were excited about the game, as we all were. They left before we did and said they might join us, and the guys, at Tun Club for the game.
Tammi and I stopped for ice-cream on the way to watch the game (Tammi’s drug of choice) and hurried over so the guys wouldn’t have to guard our good seats for much longer. Tun Club has a large TV screen for games, which is really nice. It’s also full of Hondurans, not tourists, which I like a lot better on game nights.
The first half was intense. Honduras was playing really well and things were looking good. There were a lot of nearly-goals, but nearly-goals don’t get points, so no one scored in the first half. Honduras scored in the first few minutes of the second half. Things were looking even better. But, I think the Hondurans were much more worn out from the first half, and they started getting clumsy. The US scored twice soon after and got a penalty shot they made. Honduras made a goal, but was barely off-sides and completely choked on a penalty shot. We scored once more, but still lost. The whole town sounded depressed.
I left soon after the game ended and headed home. I ran into the army guys again, who had been with their friends at the Wine Bar (and their friends had gotten engaged out at the ruins.) They had been cheering for the US, but had hoped Honduras would win so they could see the celebration. We told them about how it usually goes with Honduras wins and our experience in San Pedro before continuing on to bed (they were now headed to Tun Club.)

Day 65 October 11
I was up pretty early, which is good, since I never set an alarm. I showered downstairs (still not trusting the upstairs bathroom) and cleaned up for Abby and Allan’s arrival home. I went to mass, and though it was still very long (I guess only my first Sunday was an hour and that was a rare thing!) but we had my favorite priest (the one who speaks slowly and clearly, so I at least understand some of it, today his homilee involved beer and drinking too much, at least in the middle, the beginning had to do with something I didn’t grasp, and the end too, but it was 50 minutes long.)
I was joined by a Mayatan third grader in Miss Beth’s class who wanted to know if Miss Beth and I were friends, if we were very very good friends, if Miss Beth is Catholic, what church Miss Beth goes to, if I enjoyed communion (I forget the Spanish word for the Host now, but she taught me), if I liked her dress, and at the very end if I have a novio (boyfriend.) After she asked me that last one she left without even saying bye. She also complimented…everything. My earrings, my necklace, my skirt, my shirt, my necklace with my shirt, and my face. She was chatty. I don’t even know her name, though after asking Miss Beth about her, she thinks it might be Fernanda.
I left for English worship at Vicki’s and was late as usual, since they start before I’m done (or ‘start’ is more accurate, it’s usually another 45 minutes after I arrive before singing actually starts.) Today we listened to a 45 minute sermon by Tony Campolo and then did some songs. It was very good, I’d like to hear more from him.
When I got home, Abby and Allan were home and unpacking. I told them all about the birthday party, the game, and, por su puesto, the flood. They told me all about their trip home, the wedding, airport drama. They brought home a bunch of stuff, both for the house and things that other people requested they get.
I headed to Casa Villamil (shocker!) to meet with Beth about year long plans and we divvied up our classed. We’ve been wanting to get on the same page for classes, so maybe this will help us. I didn’t get much else done, because the plugs were all in use when I arrived and before I could recharge my computer, the power went out. I headed home to chat more with the roommates about the weekend’s experiences.
After a while, I headed upstairs to read and watch the storm come it. It was beautiful and I took pictures of it’s progression. Some of them turned out very blue in color, which I liked. While I was up there, the power came back on, so when the rain got hard enough that my little roof on the roof couldn’t protect me in the hammock, I came back downstairs.
I decided it was time to write up a week’s worth of logs since I’d only been keeping lists of things that had happened. I worked on these until about 7 when I headed to ViaVia for The Brother’s Bloom. Since we were their only audience of the night, a few folks got food first and then we watched the movie when we were ready (which was really nice.) When it was over, I headed on home for some reading and bed.

Day 66 October 12
Sierra was sleeping downstairs in the hammock, so when I woke up before 7am and couldn’t get back to sleep, I tried to only go downstairs if it was necessary. I stayed up in my room watching TV on my computer and reading my book (this one’s a long one, The Hummingbird’s Daughter, I’ve been working on it for a few weeks and am about half way through. It took me longer to get into it, though.)
At around 10, I came down and finished up my laundry. I did a tiny bit of grocery shopping and did a few more things around the house.
Around 1, I packed up my ITBS booklets, the most recent letters I’ve received, my lesson plans, my grade book, my year long plan guides, my Guacayama lessons, and the computer and headed to Casa Villamil.
I was there for hours, chatting with people as they came on, but I did my homework for my Spanish classes, wrote letters, planned for the next week, updated my grades, worked on my year long plans, and did some research. It was very productive, but done at a pretty leisurely and broken up pace. I got to talk with Mary and Bob, which was really nice. Bob was pleased with my Spanish progression, though the internet connection was in and out on us.
In the evening, I headed home and made milk-noodles in cheese and garlic. I relaxed for the rest of the evening and Kelvin came over about half an hour before I went to bed. We caught up some, but I knew I’d need sleep if I was going to start the week off right.

Day 67 October 13
It took me a while to get to sleep, but once I did, it was a weird night. I woke up about 12:30 in the following scenario: in my sleep I had cleared my bedside table and woke up with my pillow and head on the bedside table, my body on my bed at an awkward angle. I brought my pillow back to my bed, checked to see if I had broken anything in the clearing, and righted myself in the bed.
I woke up in the morning with the light coming in my window, which never happens on school days. My clock said 5:40, but that just didn’t make sense. Sierra’s door was open, but the light was out. I hit the button on my alarm to take me between alarm and regular time several times to check for AM/PM errors or to see if it was really set, or for the right time. Regular time: 5:40AM, Alarm time: 4:30AM. I checked my phone to make sure the time was right, but I had a text and three missed calls: Sarah, when you wake up, could you open the gate? from Sierra. 5:40 is the time we usually leave, and halfway not expecting anyone to be there, I threw on some clothes and ran out to the street. Sierra had been sitting on the curb since 5.
She lost her keys several days ago and last night got back around 10:30, unable to get in the gate, unable to wake us via phone calls, and unable to get in touch with other teachers, she got a cheap hotel for the night. She said later that the disoriented look on my face was so funny she nearly laughed at me when I got her.
She took about 3 minutes to get ready and headed out the door, nearly on time. I took my sweet disoriented time and decided to catch the bus with Abby: but the bus got stuck behind another bus that was stuck in the mud. After 10 minutes of sitting, I decided I had to at least actively work toward getting to school, so I started walking. The bus beat me by a minute.
So, with that as the start to my school week, I rushed for 15 minutes to do what I usually do in an hour (also, the coffee was not ready) and started class.
The day did not go poorly, but I didn’t feel great about it. After tutorias, I rushed to get home so I would have a minute to study for my Spanish lesson, but there was a man waiting on my stoop to look at our toilet again. This time, I had a translator with me, a volunteer named Merium. She helped explain the severity of the problem and that it doesn’t act up with minor usage.
At first he thought it just needed drain-o, but by the time he saw how a toilet flush often caused water to overflow into the shower, he said it was a much bigger problem. He said he would need a whole day to work on it. He suggested Saturday, but all of school will be in Belize for visa renewal. So, he said he’d start working on it in increments, starting tomorrow from 3-5.
Just before my class, I discovered that I had left my homework and Spanish notebook at Mayatan. I went to class, wished Luis a happy birthday (after forgetting, which I’d remembered all day, but I got caught up telling him about my crazy day and how sorry I was for forgetting my homework.) He chastised me but wasn’t really worried about it. He had seen me working on it at Casa Villamil the day before (even on a day when I don’t go, it still gets mentioned!)
I got home and relaxed some, updated my roommates on the bathroom situation, and made dinner. After a while, our buddy Jesse, who had been back to the states, came by. He showed Sierra how to make pancakes (she’s…not much of a cook) for Luis’ birthday and we all got ready to go to ViaVia for movie night—Frida, which I’ve never seen before.
The movie was fun, though, not a super-happy tale. I now want to do some research on Frida Kahlo, because I feel like what I know of her is based mostly in a fictionalized version of her life.
After the movie, when I came down into the bar/restaurant side of ViaVia, an Israelite who had just come into town asked me if I was going out. Poor man was looking for a party on a Tuesday night in Copan. I told him a couple places he could look, but that I had to go home so I could get up for work in the morning (I mean, come on, it’s already past 9. Do you have any idea how late 9 is?)
We had Luis over for Pancakes, but on one was up for a long night, so I was in bed before 10, and lights out just after.

Day 68 October 14
Going to bed at 10 always leaves me tired…but I always seem to sleep through the night too. I had a great night’s sleep and, crazily enough, woke up to my alarm (twice, I reset it for 4:45 after I woke up the first time.) The only thing was, after I started cleaning up the kitchen (for once, not doing the dishes) I tried to take a shower. I saw tried, because for the first time in 68 days, my house has no water. I tried every faucet available to me. Luckily, it’s a game day, so I’m already expected to dress casually (only if casually means jeans and a jersey, otherwise it’s a uniform day) so a blue bandana covering my hair won’t feel so out of place.
When I got to school, I found I had a functioning brain, for the first time in a little while. I took advantage and planned for the next two weeks, coming up with fun activities, a practice test/quiz schedule for math and science to help my kids get better grades, and all sorts of grade planning/school stuff. I was more energetic in the classroom and felt fresh (for someone who hadn’t showered, anyway.)
After school, as I was leaving, I caught two students stealing from my candy prize jar. I was sad, but the situation is being dealt with as best I know how. I neither want to treat them like written off children (their lives are tough enough already) nor do I want to let them believe that this is okay. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but they are 6 and 8, so if a lesson can be learned, now is the time.
I caught a ride home in Mr. Mario’s car with Abby and Allan. Judy had done her laundry in our house during the day, so she met me at the house with my keys. The toilet repair man came, and Judy and I caught up until 4:05 when Sierra got home. I rushed off to tutoring at Isaac’s house for tutoring. This tutoring session had three key elements: 1. His mom sat with us for a good portion of it, and asked question about definitions, so I taught her some English too, I think she was pleased. 2. There was a British tourist eating in the restaurant for most of the lesson, and when he got up to leave he turned to me and said, “The answer was 8.” It was a math problem I had repeated several times, about 20 minutes before. I thought it was really funny, and wished him a good stay. I’m glad our tutoring lesson entertained him during his meal. 3. Isaac had an addition/subtraction break through. He always counted on his fingers, and all of the days problems involved nines, so I taught him the nine tricks, and after a little while, it clicked. He finished the rest of the questions without counting on his fingers or asking me any questions. I successfully taught him something with immediate results!
Now, to the real important part of the day: The futbol matches. Costa Rica vs. USA and Honduras vs. El Salvador. Costa Rica and Honduras were close enough in points that Honduras needed, not only to win, but for Costa Rica to not win to make it to the World Cup. The World Cup. The first time Honduras went to the World Cup was in 1982, 27 years ago, and they haven’t been back since. They had a shot, but both games had to go well.
The bar was packed. My students were everywhere, parents, other folks from the community I know. In the Hon vs. ES game, no one scored in the first half, but Honduras was not playing well. Tensions were high. To make it worse, the USA was losing 2-0 to CR, which just wasn’t supposed to happen. That game should have been in the bag. My friend Luis gave up at half time, and I said to him, “Tiene la fe,” or have faith. It became our motto during the game.
In the second half, the USA scored, and came close to scoring several more times, but it was so intense. Honduras scored once, but El Salvador made a run for their money. They got really aggressive and came really close to scoring.
In the last few minutes, looked like Honduras was going to win by one, and the USA was going to lose by one, so our win wouldn’t mean enough. El Salvador almost scored, which was terrifying, and then, in the last seconds of the game, the USA scored on CR and tied the game. Honduras. Is. Going. To. South. Africa.
There was so much yelling, and hugging, and crying, and free drinks flowing, and people jumping in cars for the street celebrations. It was unbelievable, which is what most of my Honduran friends were saying, “I just can’t believe it.” Luis told me it was because I told him to have faith.
We went out, yelling into the streets to join the rest of the town. The procession went on for hours. Luis was upset because he didn’t have a car to get in, as a joke I said, “Tiene la fe!” and a truck, with an empty bed, driven by a friend of his came around the corner and it became the gringo truck con tres Hondurans. We packed in and went all over town, cheering, shouting for Honduras, and having a good time.
It’s the first time people have been thrilled to see gringos. Since I’ve been here, they’ve been indifferent or slightly bitter (unless they know us and Mayatan) because of the lack of foreign aid. But this night, people were thanking us “Gracias, gringa, Gracias!” and cheering for the USA in the streets also.
We went out, celebrating, talking, and continuing to state “I can’t believe it, I must be dreaming.” It was a long night, but it was good and fun. I was really happy for my friends who have followed futbol their whole lives and only dreamed of getting to go to the World Cup. For me, I’ve been following it for 2 months (my track record it better.)
Also, and this is a madness I can’t comprehend: the president declared a national holiday for the next day…because of futbol. We were going to the World Cup in sports, so no school. What? I think it’s awesome, and just what this country needs right now. In the States, there’s nothing like this that brings everyone together in a use, national rally of morale boosting like futbol is here. Despite the politics, despite the lack of aid, despite the instability, they have something to hold onto and that’s great. I think calling off work for the next day was a good move, just because it brought people together even more in joy. It took a while for me to believe it just because I couldn’t imagine such a thing would happen, but when I got a text from the boss, that’s when I was willing to stay out and celebrate.

Day 69 October 15
I had a confused night of sleep, waking up hot and concerned about my alarm, only to remember that I hadn’t needed to reset it…there was no school. Despite going to bed very late, I was up at 8:30. Sierra and I talked about the night’s events for a long time and then got ready to go to breakfast.
The group met at ViaVia for a phenomenal breakfast, just to finish off the celebrations. It was really nice. Great conversations, great food.
After, Sierra and I did a little shopping and then I cleaned up my room, listening to good music. I organized the work I want to get done for tomorrow (a Friday, ilanded by time off from school, will be worthless, but I’ll plan accordingly and get something out of it.) Then, por supuesto, I went to Casa Villamil and did some research an chatted with folks.
I went home and grabbed cheese and garlic to add to the night’s adventure of group pizza making. We made three pizzas, and they were really good. Good folks, good conversation, a nice outdoor family style dinner.
I went home pretty early to catch up on sleep.

Day 70 October 16
I woke Sierra up at 5:50 and she rushed to get ready, having slept in by 50 minutes. We left a little late and headed out.
My kids were very entergetic and super excited because many of them had seen me in the caravana and others had seen me on TV (the local channel, it showed the caravana) on game night. This was a big deal to them. I spent most of the day trying to calm them down.
I did my best to do everything that I needed to get done to close out the week. Since next week is a short week too, I couldn’t exactly make up for lost time then. We have two weeks until the end of the quarter and two weeks until I need to finish my year long plan and this weekend I’m going to be in Belize.
When the day was done, I still had 4 worksheets to make before I could leave (I’d made 4 during my free time, but I had to get them all to Megan before she left so that she could get them to the copier-lady before the weekend, before we went to Belize, so they could be ready Monday.)
I walked home with Beth and started on my laundry right away in hopes that it would dry enough for me to pack it in the morning. I even hung it on the roof, in the direct sunlight, to speed it up the drying. Hopefully that’ll work out.
I then went to Casa Villamil for last minute interneting, before disappearing for several days. Not many folks were on, but I got some news updates and chatted with the people around me.
After, I went to Blaire’s house (or the house of most of the North American volunteers working for the Copan branch of Urban Promise) to watch a show they are all obsessed with and I had never heard of (Friday Night Lights.) It was entertaining, but nothing I’m dying to see again.
I went home and started packing. I read more of The Hummingbirds Daughter and, unfortunately, needed to stop in the middle of a climactic part (it wasn’t going to end any time soon and it was late.)