Nothin' like a Little Swim to Reeeaaally Turn Your Weekend Around

So after a rough start to the weekend last weekend (being sick and whatnot Friday and Saturday), I felt better by Sunday to go with my family to a big church celebration at a retreat center on Sunday. (My students really seemed to miss me on Friday...I saw some of my tenth graders at the church thing and they said they had a party during my class since I wasn't there. Apparently they didn't even bother to get the other teachers to cover/baby-sit for my classes...what kind of a school is this anyway?!) Anyway, the church celebration was awesome—there was a pool! Nothin' like a nice swim to turn your weekend right around. I was a little nervous at first that my host mom wouldn't let me swim since I had been sick -- especially after that whole boiling shower water fiasco -- but luckily she didn't say anything. There were lots of people there, and a bunch of people were selling food to benefit an orphanage the church is building. Anyway, I helped Marialouisa (my host mom) sell her “tutti-frutti” (basically fruit salad with orange juice). It was hilarious—reminded me of selling t-shirts at Rockford—I even had to pretend I knew people who seemed to know me (just like at Rockford!)..my host mom had probably introduced me to them at church who knows when (she knows everyone). Anyway, Marialouisa was going nuts trying to sell this tutti-frutti—telling some of my students that were there that I was going to fail them if they didn’t buy some…one of my student’s moms was like, “Wait what do you teach?” And when I said English she told her son, “You better buy some then!!” (Pretty sure he’s struggling quite badly in my class.) Ha.

Anyway, speaking of church, I saw our pastor and his wife in the supermarket the other day and they offered to give me a ride home. (Can’t get over how small of a city this is still. I mean, keep in mind I basically just know people from school. And yet I step outside and walk to the supermarket and I saw three teachers on the way there, another one drove past me, saw another one in the supermarket, and then the pastor and his wife...) Anyway, on the way home, the pastor asked me to sing in church. Bahahahahahaha. I told him that sorry, I don’t sing, and he was like, “Really? That’s odd…all Northamericans can sing.” Yeaaah, if you want to hear me sing I can discredit that stereotype for you reeeeaaal quick. Anyway, I thought that was kind of a funny stereotype to have, but I guess it makes sense because most people who come here are on some kind of a mission trip, and it’s true that there always are people on mission trips who can sing. 

Anyway, then on  Monday we had the day off of school for some holiday (Hondurans love their holidays), so I went to work with Marialouisa. She teaches fifth grade at one of the public schools. I just can’t even get over the differences between schools here and schools in the U.S. I mean, teaching at Vida Abundante is definitely a lot different, but teaching at a public school here would be even more of a difference. I mean, obviously the resources aren’t the same, although don’t think the school is in like horrible condition (sometimes I feel like people imagine schools in third world countries to be on like wooden benches in a mud hut or something). That being said, there were 38 kids in the class (and clearly not enough room for them all), wooden chairs that looked like they were for kindergarteners, crumbling books, and cement floors. It could’ve been worse though – they did have a small rather warped white board at least! Anyway, even more so than the difference in appearance is just differences in teaching style/routines:
1. Students either go to school from 7am to 12pm, or from 12pm to 5pm, depending on their grade.
2. For the frst half hour or so, there were like 3 students who swept the floor, and then two more students in the room who mopped it right after. And then they did the same thing after recess, and the same thing before they left for the day. A little overkill if you ask me.
3. The first hour and a half was spent with the students reading out loud from their books (all individually), the second hour and a half I taught them English, then recess for a half hour, and then the last hour and a half doing math exercises.
4. The teacher never wrote anything on the board or even stood in front of the class—she sat in the back of the room and the students did some math problems on the board at the end.
5. When students got up to the board and didn’t know how to do a problem, the teacher publicly berated them and yelled at them in a way a teacher in the states would neeeever do.
6. At recess time, instead of play on the playground (there isn’t one), students go to the pulperia to buy snacks.

Anyway, it was an interesting day. I really liked it. The kids loved learning English too. By the end of the day a student bought me a pop and some chips at recess, another gave me a marker, and another gave me some earrings. Why is it that poor people never have a hard time giving away their stuff like rich people do? 

Anyway, ended up having a great weekend and week, and here we are at another weekend already! And once again we have Monday off! (This is the last of our many holidays though...until Thanksgiving anyway.) So I'm off to Tegus tomorrow to visit Justin -- unfortunately I couldn't leave today after school because the teachers had to stay for a conference that all the parents were invited to tonight. (Which ended up lasting like 3 hours!...but that's another story.) Luckily I found a ride (the teachers I usually go with aren't going) with the principal, so I managed to avoid riding the public bus once more. But he's leaving at 5am tomorrow morning. That being said, I'm going to bed!