Honduras Día 4

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Am I sore! I have never worked so hard in my life! I don’t think I am cut out for this manual labor. Mixing cement, sifting dirt, laying brick, filling in cement walls, etc. And this is all in over 100 degree heat! So I am sunburned, and had to forgo the tank top this afternoon. I gave in and cut the sleeves off of one of my t-shirts. Not as good as a tank top but my back can’t take any more sun! And the mosquitos love me! Almost as much as the kids do! Especially the ones I bought ice cream today, from the ice cream truck!

Aside from the heat, bites, sunburn, and sore muscles, today was still a great day. The highlight for me was sitting in on one of the classes at the school. It was an English class taught by one of the SHH volunteers. There were 13 kids, and after singing the Alphabet song, the kids wrote letters in ENGLISH back to my students in the United States! I let the kids keep the original letters and they were so excited. I can’t wait to give them to my students next year at LMS. I also can’t wait to give the school supplies to the school here. There was a whiteboard in the classroom that has remnants of all previous writing, a whiteboard marker that was almost dried out, and a big bag of markers, most of which didn’t write well. The classroom is also right next to the other classroom, which had kindergarteners. I was amazed at one point to see that the teacher had stepped out, and every child in the class of 30 remained seated and working the entire time they were left alone. It was also pleasing to see the computer lab, donated to the school by Global Playground.

I thought it was interesting that the students attend school in the summer, but I learned that their school year runs from mid-February to November 20^th. They have their break during the winter months, as they follow a similar schedule as do schools in South America. While most of the children here in Villa Soleada attend the school, some of them are unable to due to finances or lack of permission from their parents. Those kids hang out by the school anyway and wait for their friends to have recess and play soccer. While many children in the US fight to stay home from school, Hondurans feel privileged to have the opportunity to attend, and receive an education. And from what I learned, all of the adults in the village were given an opportunity to receive schooling as well, though many chose not to.

Es todo para esta noche. Hasta mañana!

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