Last Weeks and Carnival

Last Weeks of School
I have been busy here at school. We finished up our last units and this week was review before final exams next week. Of course there are the never-ending interruptions to teaching days. Two weeks ago we had a whole school day celebration for Mother's Day which was catered and included a gypsy-esque dance performed by a group of mothers, a professional singer, a flamenco dancer, and an interpretive ballet by the little girls in Kindergarten.

Thursday of review week we had a morning marathon (7:00am -9:00am) where the streets were blocked off and kids raced each other by age group: 1st-3rd grades, 4-6th grades, and the junior high/high school. There was even a race for the parents. Medals were given to the winners and a TV crew was present. Hungry and sweaty, everyone went home, showered, ate, and changed from the PE uniform to the regular formal uniform. (I went to the beach for a little swim and sun during the break.)

School resumed again at 1:00pm and but there were no classes as we were all assigned to make confetti and posters for two hours for another princess competition. At 2:30pm we took the short bus ride to another school in town and cheered our way through the princess competition (also with a TV crew). This time the winner was to be princess of Tela's feria (or carnival) in June. The competition had 4 girls and involved clothing and dancing just as age-inappropriate as the one we attended in September.Review week was again interrupted on Friday for a Spelling Bee. Christina and I were judges and announcers. The kids were split into 3 groups to compete: 1st/2nd grades, 3rd/4th grades, and 5th/6th grades. Each grade had three finalists to represent it and there were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each group. It was very smooth and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. At least this was a more educational interruption to our teaching day. (There was a TV crew covering this event also and I had to give an interview with them in Spanish... Hopefully it will never be shown on TV.)Next week (the last week of May) are final exams. The kids come to school from noon until 3:00pm. The week after exams (1st week of June) is something called recuperation in which kids who have a failing grade receive tutoring (by their regular teacher... me) in the area(s) of need and take another exam to see if they pass. It will be interesting to witness how the school thinks a child can pass a subject she/he failed all year with just 3 extra days of tutoring. (I am fairly certain the whole thing is a big charade and the kids will be promoted regardless as I know of almost no kids that have been held back.)

The 2nd week of June we have graduations for Kinder, 6th grade, and 11th grade. Then we are done with school stuff and Christina and I get to spend one last week in the Caribbean on Utila island learning to scuba dive and relaxing on the cays there. We come home (to the US) on June 21. I still can't believe it is going so fast.

Trying to Savour My Last Weeks
As noted, Christina and I have about 4 weeks left before our flights back to California on June 21. Of course it is bittersweet as I am excited to see all my friends and family, lie on my couch, and eat some food I've been missing but I am also sad to leave behind this amazing beautiful country, the great weather, and all the free time I have here to enjoy life. (Luckily I have my job back with San Diego Unified as they have come to their senses and rescinded my pink slip... and hopefully many others also. Now I just have to figure out which school site I will be at; I'm still crossing my fingers that the one I left will have an opening for me.)

I am trying to absorb as much feeling to savour from here as I can but the weather has not been helpful. I have resorted to showering two times a day and wiping my face every five seconds as it has been more humid here than ever (the week Shannon was here was the worst of it, so bravo for her great adapting abilities). The temperature has been about 95F in the daytime and 75F at night but the heat hasn't bothered me; It is just the constant feeling of being sweaty and sticky. That said, I still much prefer this to dry weather or to being even a tiny bit cold.

It has also been overcast so the views at the beach and on bus rides aren't the amazing landscapes I would like to be photographing in my last weeks. It has poured rained (with great rumbling thunder and lightening... I love a good storm) a few nights in the last weeks but it didn't seem to cool the temperature down or clear up the overcast sky. Even with the gray sky, the beach is still as idyllic as ever with warm clear water, only tiny waves, and a nice breeze.

I have also been hand washing lots of clothes (piled up from my visitors and all the sweat from the weather), buying car insurance and looking into cellphones plans (If you have a plan you love or hate, email me) for when I return, taking Marlon, another teacher, out to dinner for his birthday, and of course reading and relaxing. I also took my sheets and towels to the laundromat for the last time.

I am sad to miss my brother-in-law, Mike's, birthday and I am devastating at the prospect of spending my birthday without my (twin) sister. We have never been apart for our birthday before. I'm trying not to think about it. I will be home soon enough. I really can't believe my time in Honduras is already coming to an end. I wish you would all just move here so I wouldn't have to leave. You must see how important you all are if I'm giving up paradise for you.

Gran Carnival Nacional
On Saturday Christina and I went to La Ceiba's Gran Carnival Nacional (La Feria de San Isidro). Most big cities in Honduras have their own carnivals (or ferias; Tela's is in June) but this is the biggest one in Honduras and supposedly the biggest in all of Central America.

The two-hour bus ride to Ceiba was packed and very slow as it stopped constantly to squeeze more people in along the way. From the bus stop in Ceiba, we got a quick baleada and beverage and walked about 20 minutes down the street to the carnival. It was about 2:00pm and the parade had just begun. It was very hot and humid but we were some of the lucky few who found a shady spot. There were numerous horseback riders, lots of princesses, firetrucks, various groups of Garifunas, floats with dancers, a float for Japan (oddly enough), a guy walking on stilts, and many creatively costumed people... some creepier than others.It was the slowest parade I have ever attended. There was a gap of about 10-15 minutes between each float or group during which time we just stood melting and contemplating whether that was the end or not. Each time a float approached, the crowd began shouting and diving for beaded necklaces tossed to them. Every few minutes we would be deafened by three hi-tech jets soaring over the parade and doing tricks for the crowd like spinning around and around and shooting straight up into the clouds. There were hundreds of people lining the streets to watch the parade but it all seemed under control and safe. We had to leave by 5:00pm to catch our bus back to Tela so we couldn't witness carnival after dark but from the looks of it, it was going to be madness.

Back in Tela we had our own parade of sorts that night. There was a big futbol game on TV and everyone was watching or listening on their radios. After the game, a huge string of cars, trucks, and vans loaded with people drove through the streets honking, playing full-volume party music, and cheering. It lasted about 20 minutes.