6th grade rocks!

Well, I got my handy dandy camera out this past week and took some shots of the kiddos. One of the pictures is of the 6th grade Presidential race. It was so fun to see how much the kids wanted to participate in this event. They hung signs, shared buttons, and gave speeches. Then the kids of course voted. It was fun being a part of this. Did I tell you that I LOVE sixth graders? I forgot how much I did until just a couple weeks ago. They really are adorable. They're not proud or too grown up for their own good. They don't roll their eyes at the teacher for screaming and yelling "It's time for class!" in the hall because the afternoon bells don't work (yeah, I'm that teacher...apparently the 8th graders have nicknamed me the "Bell Teacher"...and I'm perfectly OK with that so long as they get to class on time. I'm for their own good. :)). Back to the precious 6th graders: They love to be in class on time. They are eager to bring in class supplies. They ask permission to use my tape and stapler. They greet me in the morning with hugs and kisses. I'm telling you, I love sixth graders. And I tell them that everyday. :)

School's going well. I'm getting somewhat used to being the language arts teacher. Sometimes I'm not sure how to go about getting everything in without giving homework, but the kids are hanging in there. We're reading My Side of the Mountain. The students have a strong command of the language, so we're able to discuss some fun stuff in class. I'm not sure how to incorporate music in the class yet, but I'll figure it out sooner or later. The cafeteria is right beside my classroom, so I have the tantalizing smells of food coming through my windows everyday. There is no air conditioner in the building (for the most part, it stays about 75 in the classrooms). The only time it gets warm is two afternoon classes. But the kids here aren't big complainers yet...:) I'm more of a complainer, actually. 

I love this country, but efficiency is not a strong suit here. However, I have found some gluten-free goodies at our nearby grocery store (La Colonia). They have GF Chex cereal, and I found their small stash (which I bought them out of) of Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Cake mix. It was a glorious find! We're in the mood for a car, but I think we'll be waiting a month or two to buy. Lemons are easy to find...we want to make sure we avoid making a rash decision. I wish we could just ship our Subaru down here, but oh well. For now, it's the taxi ride with Marlo...or Carlos...or German...or Oscar...or Luis. I actually like Don Miguel the best, but his car was in the shop the other day. So...And I'm learning that I can't be like my grandma all the time. I like the negotiation process (for the price of the ride), but I keep forgetting that an extra dollar is not a big deal. An extra dollar is a meal for the families of these exhausted drivers. A dollar goes far...and we have them to give. 

We're sticking around the palace today. The last few weekends we've spent at various stores slowly finding our homemaking items. The best purchase we've made so far is the bed! I think it's better than the one we have at home. Anyhow, we've slept wonderfully all week because of it. Lamps cost an arm and a leg down here. Overhead lights are still the norm here. No time or money for ambience. My walls are still naked, so I need to find some Honduran art to warm the place up. Maybe we'll find some fun stuff on our upcoming excursion to La Ceiba (the north coast). In Honduras, they celebrate their independence for three days. So, we have a five day weekend coming up in September. Yey! And our new friends, Mike and Mavis, are joining us for the trip. 

So I've blabbed enough for now. If my phone would have worked, I would have been able to get some of this need for conversation off my chest with my buddy Natalie. But alas, I'm learning to let go of my need for efficiency...kind of. Now to grade some papers...