Back in Honduras

Happy New Year!

I had a great trip home for the holidays. I got to spend 2 1/2 weeks with family and friends. Some things I enjoyed that I do not get to do in Honduras: washing clothes, sheets and towels in a washing machine, lounging on the couch and watching T.V., going to the movies, eating Indian food, driving (instead of riding a bike or bus where I need to go), and replenishing my supply of books, oatmeal, and cheese. The weather was not even as unbearably cold as I had imagined.

I have been back in Honduras about a week and a half now. The weather has been very nice. It has been 85 degrees F everyday with no rain. The humidity has not been too bad either. I hope it stays nice like this for awhile. Everyone keeps telling us that April, May, and June are unimaginably hot and humid. Of course I have been going to the beach almost every morning and on the weekend. The water has been clearer than ever and is the perfect temperature. One day I swear I saw a sting ray so I have been careful to shuffle my feet in the sand. I got stung by a stingray about 6 years ago and I am not about to let it happen again. It was a miserable experience which included my foot becoming hugely swollen and me getting 6 shots. Ouch!

We began teaching again on Wed. Jan. 9. My students are doing great. I have convinced a few of the lower students to come in for extra tutoring in the mornings and they have been showing up. I can't believe the year is already half over! We have so little teaching time I get frustrated with how little progress we are making. I was looking over my science materials... there are 6 units and we have only had time to cover 1 1/2 so far! At least the math, reading, and writing are moving along a bit better. When I was back in San Diego, I got some new pen pal letters from the students there (thank you Mrs. Miller's 4th graders and Miss Sokoun's 2nd graders!). When my students got them, they excitedly opened the envelopes and read them, sharing parts with their friends. They immediately began writing replies with no prompting from me.

This is only our first full week back and already classes were canceled for 2 days. How surprising! Wed. Jan. 16 was the anniversary of our school. Each grade was told to choose one girl to be the princess. Great... reinforcing the whole cultural idea that girls are only meant to be pretty. If they insist on competitions, why can't they be academic like spelling bees or math bees? To make it fair, I had each girl who wanted to be princess write their name on a slip of paper and ball it up. I put them in a can and had a boy pick one out. One of the girls who was not chosen was very upset and went to the principal claiming it was an unfair way to choose a princess. Luckily, the principal backed me up and declared the princess valid.

On Wed. the students could wear free dress and had no classes. The first half of the day was set aside for grades to compete in futbol (soccer) games. Of course, the students that were not currently playing just ran around the school. And it happened to be the hottest day since we have been back.

After 2 1/2 hours of futbol, we all went upstairs to the 'auditorium' for the princess contest. I did not want to have anything to do with it but I also wanted to support the poor girls who were chosen. The contest started with the kinder and prepa. They had about 8 girls parade up and down the 'runway'. The little girls even walked with struts and wore makeup. One girl was so nervous she started crying. The 'princesses' had 3 parts. First they wore casual clothes and paraded up and down one by one. Then they changed clothes and each performed either a lip sync or a dance. Finally, they put on their best dresses, did up their hair, and strutted one last time. After the little girls, it was the elementary 'princesses' turn. They proceeded with the same 3 segments. It was a nightmare. The dancing was so inappropriate (as was the whole concept). Afterward, the principal had the audience clap and shout for their choices and the three judges announced the winners. I wish I had just called in sick because that is what I felt like at the end. What a waste of a school day.

Classes were also canceled for Friday in order to have parent conferences. A little more than half of the parents showed up. Most importantly, I convinced the parents of my two lowest students to let their children stay one hour after school on Tuesday and Wednesday for extra tutoring.

Other news:
I cut my hair! It is going to get really hot and humid here and my long hair would have made me miserable so I got up the guts to cut it short. I like my hair better long but this will be much better for the weather here. Last night a firefly somehow got into my room and it was so magical just watching it fly around while I fell asleep. I really am enjoying my time here and just wish you all could be here too.