I told Johana about the Holocaust the other night. We were reading a story that was set during the Holocaust that had moving pictures, but simple words. I was touched by the end of the book, so I asked her if she knew what it was about. “No,” she answered, “I was really confused the first time I read it.” I tried my best in 5 minutes and in Spanish to explain those horrors to her, but I’m sure I did little justice. I don’t often feel like I’m doing anything “important,” but for some reason as she kept questioning me, it felt like our conversation had meaning.

The rainy season has started. Since fall and spring buffer winter and summer where I come from (well except for certain days), it was strange to be in the dry season and then one day start raining and be in the rainy one! Green grass is growing, leaves are shooting out of the branches, and life is returning to what last week was dead, dry, and a fire hazard. We have puddles, wet clothes, and frequent losses of power. There is a strange feeling of comfort though, since this was the season it was when I came to Honduras. But as comforting as returning to the familiar is, it is also distressing to remember, “oh yeah, this is what the rainy season is like,” (and know we have 6 months of it). The random power outages have definitely made me more patient though, because there really is nothing to say other than, “oh well, maybe later,” when one flips the switch and nothing happens.

There is also a disgusting inundation of June bugs right now (or perhaps May bugs we should call them?) that cover our porch and fly at your body as if trying to attack. But I’ll take these crackle-under-your-feet bugs any day over the death-mosquitoes that leave me looking like I have the chicken pox that will be here in a few months.

And school is going well. The kids are actually learning! I couldn’t have been happier tonight when Santos overheard my conversation with one of the other volunteers and I said the word “notebook” to which she looked at me and said, “notebook, notebook, cuaderno?”. YES Santos! I wasn’t even speaking clearly or slowing or doing actions! They still don’t listen in class sometimes, but generally they are well behaved. They love all the songs we sing, which is fun and makes me smile. And my teaching abilities have improved so much. I was reflecting on my first few months here the other day and I can’t believe how horrible I was! Sometimes I still feel like I lack the book knowledge in regards to curriculum or lesson planning or discipline, but I have also learned so much from my daily classroom experiences that I could never gain from any book. I still have a ways to go, but I have definitely grown, which is a nice feeling. I continue to go back and forth whether this will be something I pursue in the future, but for now it’s enjoyable.

I hope you’re having a wonderful day!!! I send hugs!! :0)