Day 78 October 24
I got up early to meet up with Ever, the folks who work or volunteer for Copan’s Urban Promise, and a bunch of local teens who help them out. I met Ever outside of Casa Villamil and got to see the UP office for the first time. After much waiting, as it goes in Honduras, we left to go catch a bus. As I was passing Picame, Estibon told me that the man who was repairing our toilet was waiting (apparently, Abby was sleeping too hard for him to wake her up.) I quickly unlocked the door and caught up with folks.
The kids were really energetic and playful, they were also incredibly patient with my Spanish, but we found other ways to communicate. They found lots of game to play, including trying to fake each other (and us) out on who tapped you on the shoulder and wet willies. It was very entertaining.
We went to the same waterfalls I’d been to before, but this time we only stayed at the lower ones. The current was stronger too, so most people weren’t willing to swim into the swirling vortex at the base of the waterfall, carved out of the rock. I did, several times, and was actually a taxi for a couple of the smaller kids, but I didn’t do that much. I was getting tired, and not about to risk swimming with a kid on my back if I wasn’t positive I was strong enough.
A beach ball was brought, as was a soccer ball, and much fun was had with that. I did some climbing in the vicinity, and while sitting up on one of my high rocks, I felt as though the sticks falling around me were not just falling. I couldn’t find a source above me, and I looked in the vegetation in the cliffs on either side of me, but saw nothing. I finally saw one coming right for me, and at least new where they were coming from.
The plants there were moving a lot, but I couldn’t see anything. Finally, I thought I saw a silhouette in the plants, but nothing concrete. After a while, I came down, and the plant movement followed me from above. Eventually, I saw the top of a head, and when I moved back to the main group, I could see that there were alternating heads poking up and disappearing whenever I looked. I tried to get someone else to see them too, but no one else did for a long time. Finally, I saw a hand waving, and I waved back. It was after several wavings that one of the others in our group saw my mysterious followers.
They kept pretty much hidden, but I started paying less attention to them and went back to playing. We even took a small fallen tree and put it on a rock to make a teeter-totter. The boys were crossing from one well vegetated area, to another, when I saw them. They were two young men. Mystery solved (except for their curiosity about us.)
The teeter-totter was a lot of fun, but eventually we broke it (before which, I slipped off and was hanging upside down, it was a slippery, water teeter-totter.) We all got together and gathered our things to head back. When we got back to the town of Santa Rita, we grabbed lunch before catching a bus. (We learned that the nice things about having a really big group, is the bus leaves when you want it to.)
The ride back was even more playful, and I’m really glad to have gotten to know some of the youth of Copan outside of Mayatan. One of the kids thought I was a tourist until the ride back when he asked me how much longer I’d be staying. I couldn’t quiet read what he thought of me being a Mayatan teacher.
When I got back to the house, I found the toilet sitting on the floor in front of the sink and broken cement all over the upstairs. I asked Estibon if the guy had told him anything, but he knew nothing, so I went back in to get ready for the rest of my day.
After a nice shower, I made some food and chatted with Allan and Abby. I took care of some things around the house and went to Casa Villamil for internet updating and future job research. Some things I’m just going to have to wait on until I get home, I think.
I left Casa Villamil and went the guys’ house for an Italian themed dinner which was very good. Theo, Nash, Megan, Tammi, Eileen, Michael, Luis, and I all pitched in and helped with the good. My garlic dicing skills were utilized. All the food was amazing. Conversation was a span of things from, of course, students, to politics, to physics, to the mail we had gotten from Megan before the meal started. It was fun.
I got home pretty late and went to bed.
Day 79 October 25
Today I learned that even though I learned to sleep through the sound of roosters, it was only if I have the help of fan white-noise. After my 4:30 wake up call, I went back to sleep until my alarm went off at 9. I got ready for mass and headed out.
I’m getting better at song choruses and responses. It helps when the well-enunciating priest presides over the mass, which he did this morning. I still don’t understand much of the homily, but I’m picking out more words and sometimes can at least get idea of what we’re talking about.
Mass was only an hour and a half instead of two and a half hours today, so I got to Vicky’s house almost on time. There were only six of us, but we had a nice reading followed by songs and prayer. It’s a comforting group.
When we were done, everyone sat around talking. I asked Megan how Hondurans feel about Halloween and she said that all the churches condemn it as of the devil. Good to know for class.
I left to get my laundry started, so there’d at least be a chance of it being dry for work tomorrow. Before I could get started, Kelvin dropped by to check in us, but didn’t stay long.
After laundry, I headed to Casa Villamil for interneting. I started chatting with a few people but then my focus went to a long Skype call with mom. We talked about many things, which was really nice. I got to talk to dad and Wallie for a little while too. Wallie didn’t know what to think of the sound of my voice at first. Poor confused puppy.
When I came home, I found Sierra sitting in Picame, home from her trip to the beach. We met up inside and caught up on each others’ weekends. I made tea and headed to bed.
Day 80 October 26, Day 81 October 27
This week consisted of low funds, low sleep, and low time. I met with Fabiola and her cousin for intercambios 3 times, which lasted between 2 and 3 hours each time. I had 2 hour long classes at the Spanish school, I tutored Isaac for 3 hours, I had my regular tutorias after school (three 45 minute sessions), and I worked on grades and year long plans, both of which were due on Friday. Even on the nights I could get to bed early, I had a hard time sleep. I know I had a lot of fun, but my memory of the week is kind of fuzzy because of everything that happened and the lack of sleep. I couldn’t remember enough details for days 80 and 81 to make it worth writing up a log considering I went to write the week’s log a week later.
Day 82 October 28
In the morning, I introduced my kids to Miss Sarah’s Kitchen, which was, in fact, our classroom. I gave them the rules and told them anyone who broke the rules (2 rules were broken, two kids sat out.) The PE teacher wasn’t at school because he lives in Guatemala and they were on strike, the details of which I missed, I was in charge of PE. They played futbol, as 100% voted for it when we took the vote, and then brought them back for soup prep. We had three stations: a decision station which dictated how much of each item we put in the soup, a washing station, and a cutting station. Things went pretty smoothly, but I really wish I could have more folks monitoring in my room when I do things like this.
Francis didn’t put a knife down when I told him to, so he didn’t get to help for the last 20 minutes of prep time, and Isella ate some of the jalapeño juice, which made her sick and she went home. Caused her to miss her math test and makes for 2 kids getting sick in my room in the first quarter of school.
While they were in recess, I cut up the veggies up more because they were way too big. As I pulled them from the water, my hands began to burn, which lasted for the next three hours. I tasted the water and the kids had dumped in hot sauce, hot peppers, and jalapeño juice. It was way too hot.
I sacrificed some of the flavoring agents and poured out the water, replacing it with fresh water. At the end of the day, when we ate the cooked soup, the kids still thought it was too hot. The vegetables had just soaked up so much of the picante water that it stuck with the soup. I thought it was great.
After school I had tutoring at Isaac’s, with his adorable new puppy Goofy. Then, continued working on grades and year long plans.
Day 83 October 29
My last day of classes for the week was pretty hectic, but we had tests to tackle. I miss identified how long the two tests would take, and we finished in half an hour what I had thought would take and hour and twenty minutes.
So, to fill the time, I read “Me and My Mom” followed by a nice discussion of the book. They liked the giant teddy bear, so I drew a picture of me hugging a huge teddy bear. Then they wanted me to draw my mom, since there was a mom in the book, and I did. Then, they wanted me to draw an elephant that follows me around everywhere, since it’s my favorite animal (and in the book the kid had a frog everywhere.) This turned into me drawing my whole family. Which turned into them wanting me to draw a boyfriend or husband. The evolution of this took me aback, but for the rest of the day my students were heckling me about having a “boyfriend.” Also claiming that David and James were my boyfriends. Oh children.
At the end of the day, I tried to continue working, and I had two kids in the hall finishing work they had not finished during the week, but several of the other classes exploding out of their rooms with balloons for Halloween (which isn’t really a part of Honduran culture, as the churches teach that it’s of the devil, but the kids think it’s fun.) It made my lessons impossible, so I let my kids go early and had the two finish their work in the room.
I organized the room for tomorrow’s workday and headed home for class. My class went well, but I kept making errors I know better than to make because I was so tired. I went home and gathered up lots of books and papers and went to another un-planned Mayaten pow-wow at CasaVillamil where we all sat working for a few hours. I also had an intercambio with the girls, but I felt like I was pretty worthless for that too. We planned to meet again on Monday at 5. When I was done, I went home for more work and a little relaxation.
Day 84 October 30
Getting to sleep in until 6:15 is much nicer when you actually get to sleep through the night, but that is apparently not what my body wants these days. I headed to school, and was actually the first teacher to arrive, but I must admit it was strange walking with so many more people out and about. Shortly before the last big hill, a black car with tented windows pulled up beside me and told me to get in. I assumed it was someone from school, but wanted visual affirmation before getting in, and sure enough, it was Alexis, our accountant, and Pedro, one of the other teachers.
The day was long and tedious, but I finished my grades quickly. The year long plan took a while to finish up, even though I’d been working on it all week, and it had to be put off for two hours as the Christmas Committee met in my room. I finished up about 45 minutes after we were originally allowed to leave (the time was changed from 2 to 12 half way through the day because the caseta was closed and no one had food, but I left at 2:45.)
I got home and went directly to the bank, where there was an surprise Mayatan reunion. Norma, the Spanish teacher, Norma, the principal, Megan, Kathy, and I were all in to get our pay for the last month (also Frankie and one of my students and his mother were there.) I just knew everyone. I got paid and went back home.
As I walked by Picame, I saw all of the Urban Promise folks ordering dinner after their last day of the after school program. I asked if I could join them, and we ate a large meal filled with memories of the work they’ve done.
I went home and cleaned up a little bit, reorganizing my life as the quarter is done. I read up on the roof during a rainstorm and then headed to Tammi’s for dinner 2.0. We have chicken soup and I brought veggies to fry up. Unfortunately, all of Tammi’s knives were at school for a home ec project, so we had to use butter knives to cut carrots. It was an adventure, but the food was great.
Sierra called me, saying she was locked out of the house and people were there for Caroline’s birthday party, so I hurried on home to let folks in, but by the time I got there, they were already inside, via Abby’s key. The party was a little dead, but one of our friends from the Peace Corps (who we met in Santa Rita months ago) invited us out to ViaVia for their party there. Away we went.
We didn’t actually make it to ViaVia for a while. First we went to a different bar, which had no change so I got my 20 lemp orange juice for 15 lemps (I had 15 and 100, and at first they were going to give it to me for free, but I told them I could give 15 if they had no change.) We then went to the park for some street food, and learn that Allan had been accepted into med school! Yay Allan! We all sat up on the fountain, talking and enjoying the evening.
After a while, we went to ViaVia, where almost everyone we know from Copan, outside of school, and the other foreign teachers from school, and all the Peace Corps folks were hanging out. It was fun to watch.
By midnight, I was pretty wiped out and headed home.
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