Sunday morning I rolled out of bed bright and early. I threw
my sheets in the washer and settled in on the porch with a cup of coffee and a
book while I waited for them to wash. After a lovely breakfast of macheteadas
made for us by Mildred, I decided to hop in the shower before we went out for
the day. Much to my surprise, in the time between doing laundry and deciding to
take a shower, we’d lost running water. No problem though, not the first time
I’d had to take a bucket shower.
Sunday day Mildred’s brother took us into Copán. On the way
back home he made sure to point out cool Mayan points of interest and different
random things to us like a cliff that people like to say is home to a gateway
to “the other side.” He even took us to get an up close look at one of the
Mayan steles that sit atop a hill overlooking the river. I loved being so close
to all that history and cannot wait to explore the ruins park when we finally
get around to it.
When my alarmed sounded at 5 on Monday morning, I was really
hoping for a real shower. I was pleasantly surprised when I turned the knob and
water actually began to flow from my shower head. Most unfortunately, that only
lasted until my hair was full of shampoo. Washing all of that shampoo out of my
hair on my own with only a bucket of water was a real adventure, but I managed.
We didn’t have water again until Tuesday morning which made my unexpected 4:30
am wake-up call that day considerably more bearable.
That’s right, 4:30. What was my wake-up call, you may ask?
Fireworks. Because why wouldn’t you set fireworks off in the streets at 4:30
am? It was flag day, after all. And apparently our neighbors are big fans of
the holiday. Some of our older students were set to be part of the town’s flag
day celebration and Mildred decided to take all of us white folk along so we
could enjoy the experience. There were marching bands, dances, color guards,
and of course more fireworks. It was a long day of standing in the sun but I
really enjoyed it. The greatest part was watching some of our 8th
and 9th graders perform a dance they had prepared, it was beautiful!
The rest of the week, school progressed on as usual.
Thursday morning I got to lead the morning assembly so that was weird. I
survived though. And it was really fun to hear a chorus of 108 kids say, “Good
morning Miss Jacque, how are you?” They are adorable. The 6th
graders and I are getting along much better. I have realized that the best
approach seems to be to teach only a very short mini lesson and then give them
lots of time to work in class. They stay more focused that way and I am able to
help them one on one when they have questions. I am encouraged each time one of
the classes, or even just one kid for that matter, seems to get whatever we’ve
been working on. It makes me feel like perhaps I really do have a faint idea of
what I’m doing here.
In other news, Thursday evening, we got to cook dinner by
candle light because the rain had knocked the power out for a few hours.
Luckily we have a gas stove. I always enjoy the nights that we all cook
together (which is most nights) but I found it especially fun to do everything
in just by the light of a few candles. Unfortunately, none of us really knew
any good ghost stories to share, but it would have been the perfect environment
for telling them as the lightning cracked outside and we sat in the dim light.
Next week we’ll have children’s day, so only 4 days of
actual school and the Independence Day parade the week after. The whole week
after the parade we won’t have school and some of the teachers are planning a
trip to the beach in Omoa. I’m very excited about the beach! It’ll be October
before I realize it and that still seems so crazy to me. Almost seems like just
yesterday that I was sitting at the airport surrounded by my family and friends
ready to set out on my new adventure.
I’m grateful for each of my new experiences here. Things
like having a few days without running water or cooking dinner by candle light
when the power is out remind just how very fortunate my life has always been. I
think we all need that reminder once in a while, even if we know the realities
of the rest of the world, it’s easy to get comfortable in our little corners of
the world and remember that sometimes
running water and electricity are huge luxuries to people. We have no water
again today, but life marches on in the absence of modern conveniences.
Thank you all for your continued love and support on this
journey!
Until next time. Talk to ya later, world!
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