Saturday, October 31, 2009

Exhaustion...

So, for over a week now, my brain has been checked out. I am always tired by the end of the week, but last weekend I did not get my rest like usual, so it's been EXHAUSTING this week. Last weekend there was a mission team down here from Florida, so I helped out at two crusades. By the end of Friday night, a group of little kids discovered that I could speak Spanish, so they stuck to me like glue. Needless to say, they found me again on Saturday night.


This actually turned out to be such a blessing for me because I helped someone from the team translate with the kids because they were unsuccessfully trying to communicate. You can imagine my completely shocked face when he asked if I would translate for him while he witnessed to this very large group of kids. I suddenly couldn't swallow, my stomach dropped, my mouth was hanging open in an almost successful attempt to catch some bugs, and my eyes were the size of grapefruits as I proceeded to find myself nodding that I would help. I could not believe that I found myself agreeing... Anyway, he then asked me to translate while he prayed and wanted the kids to repeat what he said. I was completely sure that he was asking the wrong person, but I did it anyway. I somehow had the words, and even when I said things incorrectly, the kids managed to understand and repeat it. I was amazed at God's work in that particular situation. Did I just translate? For real? Wowee...... Who knew!?

Well, for the whole rest of the evening, the kids kept finding me, hugging me, asking to take pictures with me, asking me questions, and all together just wearing me out. My friend Dennis kept saying, "You are famous," in his best attempt at English. He probably regrets telling me that.... All week I have been using that to my advantage around him. My roommate Sara asked him if he could take out the trash, and he looked at me and said that I should do it. I looked at him and put on my best "shocked" face as I proceeded to say, "...But I'm famous!" He then laughed and went to take out the garbage. I tell you, there may be something to this being famous thing.

Monday, of course, was a holiday so NO SCHOOL! Unfortunately, that's our last holiday for a few weeks until the Friday after Thanksgiving. Then, we had school Tuesday and Wednesday... I am also in a new classroom now since I had the most students and the smallest room. I don't think most teachers get their second classroom in their first year of teaching, but I do! Moving all the kids' things and reorganizing was kind of a bear though...

Thursday was another day off because I had to attend a conference with other bilingual teachers. It was one of the better teaching conferences I attended. Mr. John Glasgow was the speaker, and he was really interesting. I even got a diploma from that conference! I GRADUATED!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I never knew you could graduate just by attending a free 3-hour conference about how to teach beyond the textbook. I wonder if I can put that on my resume.....

Friday was another 5am prayer meeting day. There is nothing quite like waking up at 4:40 in the morning on a Friday when I am already exhausted from the work week. Sara had a friend come down to visit from Texas, so she came with us also. We got to the church, and I suddenly realized how awake I was. Probably because my eyes were completely glued to the sight before me. There was a good-sized tarantula sitting by the wall. The first words out of Sara's friend were, "Aw... I wish I had my camera." Let me just say, those weren't the words my mind was screaming... No, mine were probably a little more like, "Oh my GOSH!!!! KILL IT, KILL IT!!!!!" There is something about a tarantula that makes you not want to close your eyes for an hour to pray... Needless to say, my eyes were wide open and staring at my shoes the whole time.

Today was another laundry day, which means there is a chance of rain. The weather may not know it yet, but there is. Every day that I do laundry means it will rain. I did sheets today, too. Although, I am lucky because 2 of my 3 sheets are already dry and back on my bed. Maybe I will beat the rain afterall!... And then the downpour begins...

Monday, October 19, 2009

What A Week!

Wednesday, October 14:

Last game.... Last chance. Honduras versus El Salvador and USA versus Costa Rica. Honduras AND the US must win in order for Honduras to take the 3rd spot in the World Cup in South Africa 2010. There were over 25,000 Hondurans at the game in El Salvador. Honduras wins by one goal... Down to the last 20 minutes of the USA game and they are down by 2. They score 1!!! They must now score at least 1 more point to tie the game in order for Honduras to be qualified for the first time in since 1982. The US is still down with less than a minute to go..... THEY SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honduras is in the World Cup, baby!

Picture this... Last goal, a room full of Hondurans and 1 American jumping up and down screaming, high-fiving, and hugging... Only to repeat the process for a total of about 10 minutes before it finally quiets down. The Honduran soccer team was in tears, and I was almost in tears because I am here to be a part of all the excitement.


The REAL excitement, however, ocurred AFTER the game. I went to the caravana (caravan) with everyone afterward, where TONS of cars and people were out in the streets screaming, honking, celebrating, waving flags, wearing the Honduran colors, and wearing costumes. I have NEVER seen so many people unite to celebrate a sport in my life, and this occurs throughout the entire country, not just here in San Pedro Sula. I saw so many people chanting "U.S.A!" and waving the American flag as a way of thanking the US for helping Honduras make it to the World Cup. In fact, imagine my surprise the first time some random guy leaned over to me and started shouting, "U.S.A! U.S.A!" right in my ear! I also had many people say, "Thank you, gringa." I was famous, and these people didn't even know me.... All the while I was still wearing the Honduran jersey.


The Honduran pride and excitement was something else to see... And you know their love for holidays? Well, the President declared Thursday a holiday due to the triumph of the team. NO SCHOOL!!!!
Friday, October 16:

As you can well imagine, my kids were more-than-excited about the Honduran win. I could not get them to stop chanting, "Hon-du-ras! Hon-du-ras!" and "Viva Honduras!" the entire day. There were also 2 kiddos that wore honduran jerseys, shorts, and blue and white "100% Catracho" (Catracho=Honduran) hats. It was both hilarious and adorable to witness since they are only 4 and 5-year-olds. On a side note, instead of coloring as he was supposed to, I had a boy try and stick his gallon-sized plastic bag for his crayons over his head. When I saw him, he had it down to the point where he was about ready to pull it over his eyes. I'm not sure what to think of this...... I hate to find out what he tries to do the next time we decide to use scissors... I have already had another boy that almost cut off a big hunk of hair as he stared right at me, smiled, and held a big wad of his hair hostage with a pair of kid-sized scissors. You wouldn't think a pair of dull scissors that are like 2 inches long could do any damage, but these kids are creative.

Saturday, October 17 (I have officially been here 2 months):

You know what "Saturday" means.... Laundry day!!! Yup, that's what I did. Jeans, T-shirts, tank tops.... 2 hours of laundry. It was a great day because it was nice and breezy and sunny. Within 4 hours, my clothes were almost completely dry (including my jeans!). Imagine my excitement!!! Unfortunately....... As is the case EVERY laundry day in the life of Bobbi, it started pouring down rain... And I was at a movie. I got home to have my laundry all damp as if I had just washed it............ AGAIN! Well, the rain had stopped, so I left my clothes out.... So, what happens next? I wake up the next morning to pouring rain. Seriously, it's like the sky is flipping me off or something. I don't think I can do my laundry outside anymore because it hates me. It is almost 6pm on Monday evening (2 1/2 days later), and I STILL have a pair of jeans drying. It rained from 7:30am-11pm or later... ALL day.... WITHOUT stopping. Sheesh. Can't catch a break.

Sunday, October 18:

Except for raining all day (from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed... nonstop), not much of anything happened. I took a full-sized hammer to a bunch of frozen chicken to try and get the pieces apart for dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't have my protective eye goggles on, otherwise that would have made a great candid photo moment.

In retrospect, the week was sure something...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Snowball Effect

Ever wake up in the morning having one of those days, right from the get-go? That was me today... I shot out of bed at the sound of my alarm, but it's like I wasn't even moving. It seemed to take me an extra long time to get ready, so I felt rushed. I even had to eat my cereal with warm milk... Ick. So anyway, I got to the school to print off some things and get some work ready for my classes today, but then I decided to open the bathroom door of my classroom.

I always check my bathroom to make sure it hasn't gotten destroyed or that it isn't smelly and whatnot, but today.... Oy, today.... Today, I had a flood on my bathroom floor. No joke, this puddle was covering the ENTIRE floor, and it was not just a damp floor... It was like an ocean! The principal actually helped me clean it up, so I thought the worst was over, with the exception that I was now super sweaty. I was still feeling rushed though.

Next, I went to help herd the kids into the dining area for their devotional time. As I was doing so, one of my kiddos stopped running, stood in place, bent over, and vomited in the middle of the play area floor. The principal just looked at me and shook her head as if it was just "one of those days," and said, "Oy, Miss Bobbi..." Yeah, yeah.... I then looked back at the little boy, only to see him bend over again..... Double dose. Yay.... Needless to say, I went straight to my room, grabbed my weapon of choice (Lysol), and went back to spray a nice haze of fumes from an aerosol can to cover the scent. During that time, however, I got back in time to see the boy ride a bike through the mess. Of course he would do that... He's one of my kids. Anyway, I finally got that mess mopped up, and Lysoled some more.

By this time, I re-checked my bathroom, only to see a NEW large puddle in the middle of the floor that had already taken over half the bathroom. Unfortunately, it was my turn to take over my class, and the kids were LOUD! I could NOT get their attention... One of my kids has a new record. I had to move his worm to yellow after 5 minutes of class.... Not a great start to the day! I thought that having new seats would solve the problem, but I guess not. Finally, I plugged my ears and let out a super-loud, bellowing, "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" That seemed to resound throughout my room. My kiddos just got super quiet and sat their with eyes the size of tennis balls as I told them that they needed to start listening. It was actually quite an effective method.

Recess was a new ball game in itself... I had to tango with a little girl that is not in my class. I have always had problems with her not listening to me. In fact, I tell her not to throw the blocks at other kids, and she looks at me, smiles, and does it anyway. Oh boy. Today she hit a nerve with me. She took a really hard plastic hammer and hit one of my students on the back of the head as he was riding a little tricycle around the play area. His poor face was a mixture of shock, pain, and a look that said, "Hmm... I think I might be about to cry because that hurt." I shouted the little girl's name as she wound up for another swing, but she ignored me, so I snatched her up so fast, put her in a chair, and took away the hammer. She immediately erupted in sobs (I was happy that I finally got a reaction from her for a change), and as I proceeded to scold her in Spanish, she attempted to kick me. *shrugs* I didn't care, and I just continued to tell her that she was never to do that again.

All the while, my puddle on the bathroom floor kept expanding. By the end of the day, I was scared to let kids go to the bathroom for fear that they might fall in the puddle and drown. It was like the size of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, the kids were dismissed and within a few minutes, the boy that had vomited earlier was bleeding. Then, it started to storm, and another one of my boys came up to me completely freaked out. So here I am, trying to carry a 5-year-old boy who is clinging onto me for dear life and pass out homework to the parents as they come to pick up their kids. It was a long day in the life of Miss Bobbi.

I thought it was all better this afternoon, until I looked at a new schedule that I was given at the end of school... My schedule was completely switched around, I don't have all my books at home to prepare, and the changes are to take effect tomorrow. Yippee.... Nothing like a day of winging-it! Luckily, Miss Bobbi always has more stuff that she can pull out of her sleeve (at least, I hope)! I also get to wake up bright and early..... Well, more than likely it will be dark.... Prayer meeting 5am. God and I will probably just be waking up at the same time...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Got Game?

Who knew I would turn into a sports fan when I moved to Honduras? Well, let me tell you... You can't come here and not love soccer. It is a beloved sport in this country. Yesterday, I sat through an entire soccer game, and I actually watched the entire thing... I know what you must be thinking... "Oh no she didn't!" Well... I have a response for you. Oh yes I did!


The big game was Honduras vs. USA, here in San Pedro Sula, for a position in the World Cup to take place in South Africa in 2010. Let's just get something straight. Soccer is not just a "game" here.... No, no, no. It is a passion. If you want to better understand, then you need to see the amount of Honduran paraphernalia that is sold on the streets the week before a game. You need to see how many people wear the prideful blue and white of their Honduras jerseys the day before and the day of a game.... It is probably 85% of the people around here. One thing I can guarantee is this: when there is a Honduran game on, you can bet that a television is on in every household. Soccer is the beloved sport of Honduras, and it's the only one they really have. These people get more excited about this one sport than the entire US about all of their sports COMBINED! Maybe this brief explanation will help you to understand why I was wearing the Honduran colors yesterday for the game.


Yep! You've got it! I was totally decked out in my Honduras jersey. As we began watching the game, it was like a whole lot of excitement for no action..... How many times can the ball get close to a goal without going in it? Let me just answer that question for you... A LOT! The whole first half (45 minutes), neither team scored a single goal. Kind of disappointing, eh? I thought so. However, within the first 2 minutes of the second half, Honduras scored!!!!!! Now, picture this: 13 Hondurans and a little white girl all jumping around a living room screaming "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!" at the top of their lungs and high fiving. For the announcers, everytime someone gets a goal, it is natural for them to shout "Gol!" and hold it out for as long as they can without turning blue and fainting. They probably have training camps for all the announcers so that they can practice screaming and holding out random words for much longer than 99% of all humans. Anyway, all this happened in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half.... Unfortunately, less than a minute later, the US had also scored. Then a few minutes later, they scored again. Finally, with about 10 minutes left in the game, the US scored again. Honduras made one more goal, but they still ended up losing 2-3. The last chance that Honduras has to make the World Cup is Wednesday. They must beat El Salvador, and the US must also beat Costa Rica in order for Honduras to make it.

If Honduras makes it to the World Cup, this would be the first time in 27 years that they have gone. Needless to say, I think it's their time! When Honduras lost, Javier told me that I had to walk home..... Then everyone congratulated me. The whole night I tried to convince them that I was Honduran now, so I didn't want the US to win. There is something totally not believeable about a little pasty red-headed girl trying to convince a group of native Hondurans that she is also Honduran. For some reason, they kept laughing at me.... *shrugs* I have no idea why.

Other than soccer, it has been a pretty uneventful week. There were 2 days in which my worst troublemakers were not at school, so I didn't have too much of a problem with them. Unfortunately, getting 5-year-olds to turn in their homework everyday is a whole new problem. I had one parent ask if the kids were supposed to bring back their homework or if it was just to keep at home........ Hmmm...... I don't even know how to respond to that question. When I heard that, my jaw probably fell to the floor as I almost burst out laughing. "No, ma'am, I just felt like your child needed some extra school stuff to look at for sheer enjoyment in the event that he/she may have a sudden revelation that leaps off the page at them.... Plus, it might be good punishment if he/she gets out of hand... 'Here kid! Have a worksheet' *cackle, cackle*"

On the bright side, NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!! National holiday. I like all these national holidays that they get off down here..... Maybe we could add a few more holidays into the curriculum in the States.... Pick a day! No school! Wouldn't life be lovely?

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Victory.... AT LAST!

Victory! Sweet Victory! My clothes are all washed! Either I must be getting stronger (since last week) or I just had an immense amount of determination this morning because I managed to spend over 2 hours washing my clothes. Unfortunately, the clothes I am wearing are in need of a good washing now... But there is a huge sense of accomplishment in washing your own clothes by hand.... The feel of the soap through my fingers as I scrub them over the washboard... The constant back and forth motion to which I can hum various Michael Jackson tunes to as I work (okay, I don't really do that... but it's something to consider)... Who am I kidding?! Washing clothes here is one of the worst jobs! Oy.

Anywho... Last week was long. It was the first full week of school that I have had in over 2 weeks. We started teaching out of the actual textbooks on Thursday, and that was nice to have new activities for the kids. Unfortunately, my kids have been little angels one minute and little terrors the next. Don't let their cute little faces fool you.... In fact, BEWARE of the cute little faces! The cutest ones are the ones to look out for! They are the most dangerous because they suck you in to believe that they are wonderful little angels who would do no wrong... Only to turn on you. I have learned to not let my guard down around my 10 kiddos because you never know what they will do next.

I almost got to my breaking point at the beginning of the week. That was interesting. So, I have 3 little boys that are constantly refusing to listen, and I ended up sending them to the principal's office (in fact, I sent 2 of the 3 of them back later as well). The 1 boy that I did not send back to the office made me so frustrated that after I verbally reprimanded him to the best of my ability in Spanish, I ran out of Spanish vocabulary, and I started going off in English. I started saying, "Do you know how INFURIORATING you are being right now?!" Needless to say, his eyes were the size of grapefruits as he stood directly in front of me staring up at my angry face.... Needless to say, for that last part of class he behaved a lot better. Mission accomplished.


I finally have my discipline system in action. I made 3 big apples and 10 little worms. Each of my kids has a worm, and they have 3 chances to behave before I send them to the principal or talk to their parents. I just hung up the apples yesterday after school, and earlier this week I had been using the same system just by putting their names up on the board if they misbehave. That did actually help because they could tell when they were getting in trouble, and no one wanted their name up on the board. I guess we will see how the apples fare as this next week unravels.

Wednesday was probably the longest day of this past week. I went to a prayer meeting before school..... WAY TOO EARLY. Did you know that God is awake at 5am to hear your prayers? I wasn't sure that He was..... But I guess so. I woke up at a little before 5am to go to the church with 5 others to have a prayer meeting. It is something that I am glad that I did, but my brain was a little fuzzy, and I was tired for the rest of the week. If I'm going to continue to do that, I need to have some sort of conditioning or training or something... Ay.

I always feel good after going to the prayer meetings that we have though. There is something about having that intimate time with God for a full 45 minutes to an hour that really just makes a person feel lighter and uplifted. We always have a Friday evening meeting, and I do recommend the idea to anyone who feels led.

In addition to all of the other happenings, I have recently become addicted to taking Facebook quizzes. Did you know that I am 15% mean, 0% blonde, 84% attractive, 40% hated, 40% nerdy, and 45% retarded? Yeah, neither did I! It's amazing how many things you can learn about yourself in the 2 minutes or less that it takes to take these quizzes. I also found out that I am "Lame-o" and not even a little awesome. It is so comforting to know all of these facts about myself... I don't know how I ever made it through life without knowing what color of M&M I am and what my old lady name is. By the way, when I am old, you may refer to me as Eleanor, and I will be a cat lady...