Sweet Home Juticalpa

Finally, the weekend has arrived and I have a few moments to sit down and collect all of my thoughts. I arrived back in Juticalpa on Sunday evening and was right back up at the school working on Monday morning at 7am. I barely have even had a moment to just step back and think "wow, my time here really is almost half over." I can hardly believe it is January, but it is.

The two days before I left and my first day back in Juticalpa were difficult. First of all, I somehow acquired this nasty cold at home. After my doctor's experiences here in September and October and my neverending hosts of stomach ailments, the worrywart in me started thinking "what if this turns into pneumonia and I end up in the Juticalpa Hospital". Let me tell you, that is NOT a place where I have any desire to spend any of my time.

Anyway, I have started to get back into the rhythm of things here. My kids were off the wall all week and not much was accomplished, but I think by Friday I had gotten them at least back to understanding my behavioral expectations. (Believe me, this has by far been the most difficult of all of my endeavors here.) In any case, my students seem to have retained all of their letters and sounds and I'm really pleased with the progress they are making. I had 7 students in November that I seriously thought were in "danger" of not being promoted to second grade. Now; I only have 3 that I'm seriously worried about. I have been holding extra classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school for these students, and think I may start doing it on Monday and Wednesdays as well. I am realizing that I should never lower my expectations for these kids, because they CAN do it. It is amazing how they are like little sponges, soaking up everything that I say. I do have to say that I'm really proud of myself for how far they have come. Annie told me the other day that my kids are more ready for second grade NOW than last year's class was in JUNE. I must be doing something right!

Even though coming back was a bit difficult, as soon as I stepped off that plane and as soon as I arrived in Juticalpa" with my now old friends; it felt like I had never even left. There was once a time where weekends consisted of sitting around trying to entertain ourselves while sitting in front of 3 fans inside our sweltering apartment. Now; my weekends are loaded with places to go, people to see, and things to do. This weekend, Ginny (the new volunteer) and I have plans to hang out at Wendy's and learn to cook Honduran food. Tonight, I am going to Los Arcos (the local disco) with a few of the teachers from Santa Clara. Tomorrow; we'll all head into Catacamas for some hiking fun.

Realizing that my time here is starting to dwindle, I have to decided to soak up every moment that I have with these people, this culture, and friends I have made that I will have for a lifetime, even though we will be thousands of miles apart. For now, this is home. Sweet home Juticalpa!!!