Never-ending Summer....

It has been awhile since I have really blogged. For some reason; I just feel as though sometimes I can't put into words all that I want to say. To say that the past couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions would be the understatment of the century. Let's just say in the past 2 weeks; I have seen the reaction of Honduran parents when their child fails English class, I have gone to a "Honduran Halloween Bash", gone on another relaxing weekend away in the mountains, and felt the stress of trying to do grades by myself for the first time ever. In any case, I feel as though lately I am having days that are either "super high" or "super low". I am feeling the stress of trying to test first graders on all that I have taught them thus far, and the frustration level when I realized many of them retained most of it was a bit upsetting to say the least. On a positive note; I gave my first REAL Spelling test today and 80% of the kids passed it. I feel like I am starting to make progress little by little, but this is surely the biggest challenge I have ever undertaken in my career thus far. I do love it though; and I am starting to imagine how difficult it will be to leave these children in July. Everyday I get on the bus; only to have them fight over who gets to sit with me. It never ceases to make me laugh that they will run up to me excitedly; rattling off an entire story in Spanish filled with all this body language and expression; still not realizing that I have no clue what they are saying. I have one student in particular (Andrea Lizeth) who I can't help but crack up laughing at everytime she comes up to me. She always has one hand on her hips, and she flails her arms around wildly with wide eyes as she fills me in on the latest "first grade gossip"...in Spanish, mind you. After she goes off on her rampage, she looks at me expecting an equally intense reaction, and I usually simply respond with "ohhhh, siiiiiiii!" She probably thinks I am insane! She is my leader too; and I would be lost without her. Everytime I speak to the class in English and they look at me as though I have lobsters crawling out of my ears; she marches to the front of the room and relays the message to the class in Spanish. Lately, I make an attempt to try to give my instructions out in Spanish. I have decided to dub my Spanish "caveman talk" because that is just what it is. In any case, my friend Edgar (the gym teacher) told me that I have the Spanish speaking level of a toddler. I suppose I can't blame him; seeing where I only talk in the present tense. For instance; if I say "Please put your books in your backpacks and come and sit down for storytime" it would probably translate into Spanish "Your backpacks put your books in and sit here for the book". I still find myself trying to add an "a" or an "o" to the end of English words; convincing myself that this is the solution for every situation in which I do not know what the correct word for something is. It is starting to register that I can't say "Do-o you-o want a drinko?" when I really want to say "Do you want a drink?" (For the record, I THINK it's something along the lines of "Quieres una bebida?", but I could be wrong. In any case, enough rambling about my lame attempts at speaking Spanish.

A couple of "big events" are coming up over the course of the next month; and I have much to be excited about. First of all; Colleen (one of last year's volunteers) is coming into town on Saturday for a week and I will be making the trek into town with Carlos to get her. It will be a week of dancing, partying (which here in Honduras means LOTS of food... most of which does NOT agree with my stomach still), and lots of visiting of different families. Also next week; I will celebrate my first-ever "Honduran Thanksgiving" which will supposedly include ALL the fixings. I wonder if they have cranberry sauce here in Honduras? And in four weeks; I will make the big trip back to the States to celebrate Christmas. I have to say that while it is an adventure here; I am actually super excited to be headed home for a couple of weeks. I am sure my opinion may be different though after I get off that plane and remember how miserable the weather is in New England for 4-5 months out of the year. It's going to be HARD for me to EVER want to live in such a cold place again after this year. I am at the point now where 70 degrees is "chilly". Right now, I am wearing socks because I have cold feet. It's probably 75 degrees out! Another reason I know I am becoming a tad bit Honduran? I ate nachos for breakfast at 8:00 this morning. With extra salsa! Who does that? This is my life now, and I do!