How Did I Misplace a 6yr old?

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Yesterday was the Presidential Inauguration and I can't believe I spent it in Honduras! During school, the older classes got to go to the library with the teachers and watch it live on CNN. I on the other hand, teach the 1st grade and there is no way they would sit still for that long. Plus, they wouldn't have understood most of it anyways. They are very new to the English language and it is their first year having their classes taught to them in English.

I was lucky enough however, to have two free periods back to back during the ceremony. I can officially say I watched that moment in history live along with millions of others. I found the experience to be truly incredible. Here I am in Honduras in some remote city, watching the ceremony with a few American teachers and many Honduran citizens and yet you could feel the room. All of the students were clapping and cheering when Obama walked out. It was as if it didn't matter at all that it was the American President, they were just as happy as the rest of us. The looks on everyone's faces in that room when Obama gave his speech, is something I will never forget. For me it was a mix of joy and a lot of reflection. It is amazing how far people have come and I wonder how much else will change int he future.

Later that night, Charles, Annie, Leann and Brian...our local pseudo teacher, came over for our "New President Party." We had some, or maybe a few too many, drinks and food. We just talked a lot and had a great time. Nothing too fancy, just some much needed Tuesday night drinks with the gang.

I kinda surprised a few people before when they asked me what my background is. They all thought that I was Latina, but I informed them that I am definitely not Latina...I am mulatto. This of course surprised everyone, but I believe Charles the most because he is black and I don't think he is used to seeing someone as light skinned as me announce that kind of thing. Anyways, I thought it would be cool to show him the family website where you can see my past lineage and sure enough he thought it was very cool. It just seemed to fit into the day perfectly because it proved how different and yet how much the same we all are.

Everyone ended up leaving at about 11, which may seem rather early to call it a night...but when you start your day at 4am, it changes everything. I did not want to get out of bed this morning! I kept hitting the snooze button but eventually I got up and went to school.

I swear the kids knew that I was just not in the mood for screaming and running and craziness today. I did my absolute best to put a smile on my face and pretend that I wasn't secretly wishing for school to all of a sudden be canceled so that I go to bed. It seemed to go okay until after lunch. The kids had already been inside for recess because of their behaviour the day before, so by the time lunch came around they had some serious excess energy.

I find right after the lunch break to be the worst part of the day no matter which day of the week it is, but today was definitely something else. I was writing a phonics lesson on the board and when I turned around, i noticed I was missing a kid. Not just any kid. The most hyper active kid in the class. at first, I was thinking it was possible that I had let him go to the washroom and that I had just forgotten. Five minutes go by and Doniel is still not around. I looked under his desk and around the room, to no avail. that's when I heard rustling in the back of the class by the lockers. i should have guessed sooner. He apparently wasn't into my phonics lesson and decided it would be much better in his locker. That's right, he put himself in his locker. Not regular lockers byt he way, these are small lockers like at the train station. So now, Doniel is stuck with me for recess again tomorrow. Oh the joy of 1st grade.

Hopefully tomorrow will go better, not that it was bad today...it just could've been better. We did play Simon Says and Tic Tac Toe, how hard could my day really be lol.

I still haven't started my Spanish classes yet, it's been way too busy. But next week is the absolute starting time. I am looking forward to being in Spanish class and becoming fluent in the language. Although, I have made some serious improvements int he last two weeks! I can actually manage to have a not so Spanglish conversation these days. I am getting around great and have even been able to make a deal at a store instead of paying full price. I can only imagine the language skills I will pick up in the next month.

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Comments

[lyette]

Its days like these that you wish it were a snow day!!!! stay in bed and forget it.

[Tina]

Hyperactive child
You now know what me and Julie go through on a daily basis. You have a hyperactive child in the class. Good thing you lived close to Jules for so long and you know how to handle this type of behaviour. Then there was me who has 2 hyperactive children. Oh the joy. Keep close monitor on the special one. Have lots of fun keeping one eye on him at all times.