Lunching!

Did I ever tell you about the school cafeteria? It's kinda cool. And best of all, the food is a cut above what's probably served in most U.S. school cafeterias!

Take a peek at the place.

I Freakin' LOVE Artists

My student's father is a talented artist who agreed to do a talk and show some of his work on campus.

One piece got my full attention and
made me want to spend money I didn't have!

"Beautify Everything In Your Life"

You know who's awesome? People who beautify my life with kind, heartfelt words.

It's only a compliment or a vote of confidence, but isn't it a nice surprise when people use words in a way that makes you feel like a hero receiving his medals?

There's an interesting thing about human nature, though...a tendency to let lovely compliments go in one ear and out the next, whereas we often hold on to every word and all accompanying body language when someone drops hurtful words on us.

But shouldn't it be the other way around?

Personally, I'm on a new mission to invest more energy in cherishing kindnesses that take place when people speak of me.

She'll Need Her Out Of Office Reply

Something that will come in handy when I'm back in Alabama this summer:
the four hundred thousand work vacation days my mom always accrues and never gets around to using until there's a nudge from me.

It'll be good to have some time to hang out with her.

There's always fun to be had when mom and I are together.
And now and then, I sneak in a little surprise,

like the time I arranged for her to meet one of her musical heroes,

the legendary Karen Clark Sheard.

Because I'm A Country Boy!

Sometimes in life, it's hard to let yourself receive a gift or even praise from someone else.

When one of the teenagers brought me the gift of a ripe, juicy mango, accepting it was NOT a struggle. I let that thing sit in the fridge for a couple days before taking a bite that was so perfect it almost made me lose my mind!

Food truck, Honduran style:

This mango truck near the park reminds me of
the peddlers in the small Alabama town where I was born.
Those peddlers, though, used to drive their truck to people's home
to sell them the produce they wanted.

#1 Mom

A good time was had by all at the school's Mother's Day program!

No matter what North American state I'm living in, I usually find a way to get home to Alabama for that holiday. This year, I was unable to leave Honduras, but I'm thankful for friends back in the hometown who can be my hands and feet for things like delivering flowers to the best mom in the world.

Losing My Composure

So I was approaching the bank teller window at my bank, and my favorite DREAMY teller was seated there.

Just before I took the last two steps, she looked me in the eye with her cool confidence and said in Spanish, "Hello, Joshua - how are you? How can we serve you today?"

Now the junior high school part of me still gets flustered in situations like having a cutie unexpectedly remember my name and use it to greet me.

So, in that moment at the bank window, my usual composure came undone a little bit. I needed a second to regroup!

Maybe it wasn't too obvious, since the workers in my bank probably recognize me as one of the town's gringos who is still stumbling over the language when communicating in Spanish.

Anyways, there could be a photo of her on this blog someday; she's on the list of local men and women I keep thinking of as possible models for my photography hobby.

Oscar's New Voice

You should've seen my face when a new, deep tone came from the voice of one of my 14-year-olds.

I have worked with students throughout my professional life, but this year is a little different. I teach a couple of 8th grade classes this year, and I'm just now realizing one of the ways this year's students are growing up before my eyes. Amazing.

Little guys like this one are great for laughs and smiles when I'm over on the elementary school side of campus,
but it's nice having bigger kids in my classes.