So this post will be a long one - a multi-day endeavor, to grow and to change whenever I catch a moment or think of an anecdote to share.
Hopefully it will be worthwhile.
Today (Wednesday) is chilly here on the mountain. It's overcast and just lacking the 85-degree warmth that we have grown accustomed to in the last week. However, I guess chilly is relative, right? Because the thermometer in my classroom is telling me that it is 68-degrees. That's practically a dream for many of my friends and family this month - and yet my feet (and my students) tell me it is cold. It makes me question how well I will handle the two weeks and two days that I will spend in the States. Of course, many of my friends here are going home to places like Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and South Dakota. I certainly can't complain! :)
Last Thursday night, we had our annual Academia Los Pinares Elementary Christmas Program. It was one of the craziest things I have experienced in Honduras so far... I know the Lord was gracious to me that night - giving me flexibility, joy, and contentment beyond explanation. I felt his grace in the form of a sort of divine Prozac on a night when I would ordinarily be mad at
- the children running around outside in the dark when they should have been meeting in their classroom...
- the poorly planned program, before which the music teacher (that I thought was in charge) came to me to ask what time we were supposed to be there...
- the parents who stood up, walked around, and talked THROUGHOUT the presentation
- the parents who came up to the stage to take pictures of their beautiful hijos (children) before, during, and after the singing..
- the fifth graders who, when asked to sit on the floor under the basketball goal, proceeded to talk, move around, play loudly, and do almost everything but respectfully and attentively watch the K-4 program...
I can only give credit to the Lord for the fact that this ordinarily high-strung teacher was able to laugh and relax and just roll eyes at all the disorganization and chaos. :)
Last weekend was a busy one... Friday night I stayed with Emily in the city. I still thoroughly enjoy the fact that we're both from the Birmingham area, both from Shelby County Schools, and both from Brook Hills - and yet we met in Honduras. We listened to the recordings of the most recent Secret Church about angels, demons, and spiritual warfare and had good discussions... Things like that are almost like professional development for us because we sometimes receive questions from students about such matters. For instance, one of my kids recently asked if Lucifer was an angel who chose to sin and rebel against God, then do or could the current good angels choose to sin? I love the way children don't just accept things and move on like I do so often at this point in my life - but sometimes they process and analyze and ask questions.
Saturday morning, we got up pretty early for a Saturday to have breakfast with some of our friends and two Honduran women that go to our church. Although I didn't hear from her for a while, Emily and I have been "adopted" through our church by Doña Ruth... (In Spanish, Doña is like saying "Mrs." when you don't feel right calling a woman who is older than you by only her first name. For instance, my mentor at home is and always will be Mrs. Leigh Ann to me... I never just call her Leigh Ann. It doesn't feel right!!!)
Anyway, Doña Ruth and her sister met us at a coffee shop to pick us up. Then they drove us to her house where we explored in her garden, chased her pet (more about that in a second), ate waffles, and felt like we were in a real home for a little while. They have a bird in their yard that is supposed to be very loud when strangers approach. The only problem is, this one is timid and just runs and hides... Sounds like a great guard-bird, right? We had never seen anything like it before, and they were unable to tell us an English equivalent for the name. It had legs like a road-runner, a body like a quail, a neck like a duck, and large eyes that were set pretty far back on its head. It was funny.
That afternoon, I made homemade banana pudding and sweet tea to take to the Christmas parties that I was attending that night and the next afternoon. I love to bring a taste of the south to these Yankees in Honduras. Haha... :)
That night, we had our Christmas party at our principal's house. We all brought terrible White-Elephant gifts to exchange. (That's when you re-gift something awful that has been given to you.) It was pretty funny. Teachers are usually good at this kind of thing because we get lots of wonderful goodies from students with sweet hearts and good intentions!
Sunday was full with a Christmas pot-luck in the afternoon (which actually made me a little sick, so instead of grading papers as I had planned - I just stayed in bed reading for the rest of the afternoon) and a Care Group Christmas party that night. I think most of us could have used a day off after our weekend!
After school on Monday, I went to a Honduran, hole-in-the-wall salon to get my hair trimmed. It was quite an interesting experience... It felt a little like Steel Magnolias meets Honduras. Of course, it's always intimidating to put your hair in the hands of someone you don't know, but that feeling intensifies a bit when that person doesn't speak your language. It went just fine, although it's a little shorter than I had imagined for a trim - but it doesn't really matter. I'm just glad that I'm finally getting to the point where I feel like I can really live life here instead of saving so many things to be done at home where it will be familiar and comfortable. For instance, Twana and I are planning to go to a dentist when we get back from the break. And I'm getting used to the fact that you pharmacies sell medicines over-the-counter without a prescription. I haven't bought anything yet, but when I run out of something from home - I think I will!
After school on Tuesday, I went with Erika to meet a friend at Dunkin Donuts. She was buying a computer from a Japanese friend who is moving back to Japan, so Erika, her brother, and I all went to meet the girl. It was such a weird experience to be sitting at a table among such different cultures where three languages were intermingling for a conversation. After that, we met our other roommates for Erika's birthday dinner at a large Chinese restaurant called Mirawa. The food was good and reminded me of PF Changs, and I particularly loved reading a menu and ordering Chinese food in Spanish!
Yesterday was very long... We have faculty meetings on Wednesdays after school and are all required to work until 4:30. After that, my care group rode the bus down the mountain and then took two taxis to the only bowling alley in Tegucigalpa. This was what Erika requested for our care group celebration for her birthday. We were the only ones there for awhile, and it looked and sounded like we were at home... We put the bumpers up to help Erika (because she can't see), but we were all glad to bowl with bumpers! I actually won the game with a whopping total score of 117... Even with bumpers, we weren't that great! We finally got home at 8:30 and then grilled hot dogs and made s'mores (also requested by Erika...). It was all good, but I would have been pleased to get home and go to bed earlier than ten.
So here I am today (Thursday), trying to make the best of my last full day with my students for this year. Tomorrow is a medio dia (a half day!) full of Christmas activities, a class party, and what I'm sure will amount to pure craziness!
They've actually gotten off to a great start today. They have a few assignments that need to be finished before the vacation, so they've been working diligently in their seats. It's like a Christmas miracle! Haha...
Speaking of a Christmas miracle - my lowest student, who failed four subjects on the last report card, got an A on his last reading test! PTL!!! I'm so proud of him. His mom has been exhausting herself and working with him every night, and he's showing some improvement!!! She was thrilled when I told her about it, and she said it was like her Christmas present... :)
I'm actually excited to be staying on the mountain today - or at least, that's the plan. I'm going to go to the nurse (actually - we have a school doctor. I know... It's a hard-knock life.) during my next break because my ear hurts. I'm just wanting to see if it's infected and if I need an antibiotic. If I don't have to go into the city for medicine today, then I plan to stay after school to get some work done and then I will PACK to come home on Saturday!!!
Tomorrow, I will be leaving at 2:30 and going with a group to a poor Lenca village to help pass out food and clothes to the people for a Christmas celebration... I got really excited about this opportunity when I received an email from my friend Sarah that said, "They have no electricity, so bring a flashlight, bug spray, and a sweatshirt...". We'll be back late Friday night, and then I'll be heading to the airport for a full day of travel on Saturday. It should be fun though because a lot of us are flying to Atlanta together, and then we can hang out during our layovers in the ATL airport... I really enjoy the fellowship that we have in this community of sojourners...
Update: I went to the nurse/doctor and was diagnosed with an ear infection in my right ear. She gave me antibiotics and ear drops and told me to put a cotton ball in my ear when I fly on Saturday. Please pray that it all goes smoothly in that department. My flight is scheduled to leave Tegus at 1:25 and I am praying that there will not be a delay. I have heard of eardrums bursting while flying, so pray that the medicine will start to work over the next two days and that my ears will be safe.
Finally, I want to praise the Lord and rejoice because of the good things that have been happening recently. For instance, my parents just got new flooring put down in their house, and I can't wait to see it. I hear it's GORGEOUS! They have been working hard to get things done, and it's so great to celebrate the victory that comes after the battle... That's another thing I've been learning in my Esther Bible study. After the Jews were saved and defeated the Persian enemies, they rejoiced with a holiday, had food, and gave gifts to each other and to the poor. I know we're not commanded to celebrate Christmas or Easter - but I think we can look at the examples of feasts of remembrance in the Bible and see that our God is pleased when we remember what He has done by celebrating together.
(If you've read all of this and made it all the way to the end, then I'm sorry if there are spelling and/or grammatical errors in this... It's too long to proofread!)
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