1. The crazy class.
I used to have a pastor who told the story of his (now adult) daughter as a small child. He said she was so much fun, he couldn't wait to get home and play with her. In fact, he would sometimes wake her up to play for a while if he came home to find her already in bed!
One of my class sections is like that daughter. I'm always glad when I know that group of students is on its way to my room.
2. A growing ability to hear what Spanish-speaking Hondurans are hardly saying.
Here, like probably everywhere, people can tend to slur words together, drop the end off words, and otherwise speak in a manner that's comfortable for them and perfectly intelligible for countrymen...but impossible to understand for those still attempting to master the language.
Honestly, there are times I hear speech around me that makes me doubt Spanish is really what's being spoken! Thank heavens for the slow-growing ability to grasp what previously would've been lost in the rapid rate of speech or swallowed vowels and consonants of the locals here.
3. The teenager who has changed my name to "Mister-Can-I?".
Every day, this young person has a lot of things she would like to be allowed to do. It comes close to wearing me up sometimes, and the answer she hears from me is frequently NO! But she also has the kind of personality that kinda makes her a star the hearts of her classmates and teacher, so she has endeared herself to all of us without even trying.
4. People back home who are clearly ready for my year away to be over.
5. The privilege of being able-bodied.
6. The re-opening of my go-to restaurant for empanadas.
3. The teenager who has changed my name to "Mister-Can-I?".
Every day, this young person has a lot of things she would like to be allowed to do. It comes close to wearing me up sometimes, and the answer she hears from me is frequently NO! But she also has the kind of personality that kinda makes her a star the hearts of her classmates and teacher, so she has endeared herself to all of us without even trying.
4. People back home who are clearly ready for my year away to be over.
5. The privilege of being able-bodied.
6. The re-opening of my go-to restaurant for empanadas.
I had to pardon its progress for a period while it was being renovated.
7. Times when I'm able to bestow the gift that's just right for what someone needs.
8. "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry.
This novel that I found for my students to read is turning me into a World War II buff. The book tells the story of the effectiveness of Denmark and Danish people seeking to help almost the entire population of Danish Jews escape the Nazis and reach freedom in Sweden. All my background research and planning has left me fascinated - the history of WWII has so many compelling pieces and players.
9. Willing models.
Sometimes I find people willing to let me use them as models for my photojournalism-style photography hobby. It's interesting to me the way photography allows me to show people the beauty I see in the world and sometimes the beauty I see in them.
10. Mushrooms - a food ingredient whose fabulousness I only discovered in recent years.
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