It has taken me way to long to write this post, but nonetheless, here it is:
It was a whirlwind two weeks in America, but alas, I am back in Hondu and back in the saddle. Indeed an abrupt awakening to life back in Honduras but one which I had little time to actually get used to it. I landed on Monday around 1 pm, got back to my apartment around 3 pm, unpacked all my things and immediately begin planning for school. Oh yeah, I had to be up at 5:30 the next day to be at school ready for a 4-day week and 23 kids who are also not ready to return. That sounded like a perfect recipe to cancel school. The administration did not agree. I basically was going to school without having stepped in my classroom in 2 weeks and having very little ready to go.
Surprisingly though, I made it through the first day without as much as a minute of wasted time, and have even lasted the next two with even easier ease than the days before. The adjustment back into my classroom has been so easy, it feels like I have already been here for weeks.
While I was home I shared with many of you some of the funny things that happen here daily. Since arriving I have already heard the following phrases and/or noises:
“He is bothering”
“Don’t lie”
a real live fart
followed by “Don Josh, Rigo is throwing farts!”
“Why do you see me?”
“Don’t be so bruto.”
I have not shared that last one with many of you, but that is what you say when someone gets the wrong answer or does something wrong and I catch them doing it.
Hearing all of these things go back to normal, and being able to laugh at them with my students, has been a great homecoming of sorts and has made the transition a bit easier. But, you can definitely tell we teachers are all still drooling over hot showers, good food, comfortable beds, and that generally clean feeling you have when you are not in Honduras.
But I think the greatest, and easiest transition I have had to make is coming back to a great team of teachers and friends. The look on everyone’s face to see each other, and the excitement about the adventures to come was the most welcoming and warming (not like we need it to be warmer) part of the return. It can best be described with the first thing that happened on Tuesday morning (the first day of school) when Norah, as she always does, knocked on our door early in the morning to deliver coffee to Jules. She had arrived late the night before and no one had seen her yet. But without even missing a beat, a cheery, albeit, exhausted Norah walked into the apartment with a full pot of coffee to greet a smiling Jules: “Good morning.” “Thank you, Norah.” “You’re welcome, Jules.”
And so it begins, round two. Though this part will be a little longer than the last one, it hopefully will be easier. I am not starting from scratch with a bunch of kids I don’t know. I have come back with a fresh mind and some fresh ideas of how to improve my classroom. I hope you will continue to read the blog and that it continues to entertain you, while I am sure being here would be incredibly entertaining.
Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
