Scorpion

The Pre-K teacher had some unplanned excitement of an unusual nature. Her finger looks a little purple now after an initial misstep, but in the end she found a way to..."contain" the situation.

This container may have once held Pringles,
but whoever reaches inside now will get something
far different.

Thug Life: It's Hard Out Here For A Teacher

I noticed a thought in my mind that went like this:

Some moments of a teacher's life are like trying to force-feed a room full of people so they take what you know they'd suffer without.

"Claps or pounds on two - 1, 2..."
We have a rhythmic little system for checking answers in class. The teens have learned to clap twice or pound on
the desk twice on my command to indicate whether they agree or disagree with the answer just given
by a classmate. Lets me know instantly whether a question needs to be discussed further.

Feeling Outside My Mind For What's Impossibly Inside It

Realizing today that I'm having a bizarre experience internally that feels a little insane.

A bit of backstory:
For some reason the other month, God decided to say something to me about the future.

Now the thing he said is completely unsupported by present circumstances. There's no basis for it in the reality of today. I guess that's not so strange, in light of ways the Lord has interacted with man since ancient times.

In the history of my faith journey, there have been times God gave me instructions for something I needed to do. But the message he sent this time was about what he plans to use his own hands to establish.

Getting back to the point of all this -
I guess this is just the first time I've experienced how much it freaks the mind to simultaneously know something very significant regarding the future...something the brain has no way of knowing outside of the Holy Spirit...something observable facts do not yet support...and to have limited control or responsibility in the matter other than trusting God, continuing to listen and walk, and waiting for the moment he presents his work so the rest of the world understands what you knew all along...while at the same time being inevitably affected and influenced by the unseen truth that's now part of your reality because of the confidence you have regarding the things God says.

Very strange mentally. Also cool all the way around.

Quiet

More and more conversations are pointing out the way modern life often lacks two things that were more commonly experienced in days gone by:
quiet and stillness.

By now, we're all aware that these things give way to our busyness and to our attachment to the technology that is with us constantly due to increased functionality and portability.

A public speaker once pointed out that at any given time, a person today may have at least three or four ongoing conversations in process between face-to-face, wireless internet, and text messaging interactions. Without a doubt, there is quite a bit of information and "noise" steadily washing over us nowadays. And those advocating that we all need a break from it regularly - probably daily - seem to make a good point.

I thought of all this today, realizing that the dreaded detention sessions in my classroom during recess may be the only moment of quiet and stillness some kiddos experience.

I Remember

[Conversation with mom on the eve of my move to Honduras a year ago.]

Me (checking my luggage): You ever made plans to do something, and then just before the time comes, you're hit with a feeling that you can't believe it's actually going to happen?

Mom (working in the kitchen): Yes, but nothing like what you're about to do...

I knew all along that moving to a foreign country was a little crazy.
But if I hadn't gone for it, I would've missed out on this french fry-esque Caribbean delight made from plantains!

The Day No Kid Is Absent From School

Preparation and hard work by our school staff helped create a wonderful celebratory moment for the campus.

The annual Children's Day celebration combines fair-style food and fun activities, including inflatable bounce houses, face painting, and an obstacle course created by teachers for team competition.

Children's Day is a morning of delight for students who are glad to have a break from the hard work required of our talented bilingual scholars.

9 Months To Live...

A calendar alert that beeped in today read:

"What's Next/Update Resume"

I set this little appointment somewhere back in the spring. What it means is the time has come to start the soul searching, job post-reading, resume-updating process whereby I will find a place to move on to in the event that my final academic year at the bilingual school is at hand.

It's funny - in the past week, I've had more than one unexpected moment of looking up and saying to myself, "I know I'm gonna miss these scenes (or these students) when I'm gone."

My goal for now is simply to make the most of the priceless teaching, learning, and growing up taking place for me here, with the awareness that it's possible I have only 9 months left to live in Copan.

"Kids, guess who this is..."

Now and then, some relative or friend or sweetheart visits Copan from the home country of whichever foreign teacher he or she belongs to.

At our school, that visitor receives a possibly warmer, and definitely more hands-on welcome if his or her foreign teacher works on the elementary school side of campus.

Miss Chelsea's class meets
boyfriend from the midwest.

Bueno/Menos

My day was good.

Bueno: one of the new teachers, a young lady from Peru, has had some difficulty with work stress and with insect bites. She said insect repellent seemed to be making her skin even more attractive to the biting bugs!

I was able to share a couple things to try to help - a stress ball for her to squeeze when necessary as well as a bottle of the lotion I use to keep bugs away.

Members of the non-Honduran staff hanging out after school.
I arrived late, so the waiter was still bringing an extra chair for me when
this picture was taken.

Menos: Both my adult ESL evening classes were canceled, making me miss out on about $7.50 that I definitely needed to collect!

Where The Heart Is

As much as Copan makes me feel I could be happy here for a long time, that's not the whole story. Truthfully, my mind wanders to thoughts of making a simple, rich life for myself back in my home state.

Lake Guntersville, north Alabama.
I am looking forward to the day when scenes like this are within reach again.

Even though the gorgeous mountain setting and tropical climate I live in now are exquisite, I still find myself longing for the sweet southern beauty of the part of the world where I was born and raised.

Until It Happens To You

Some time ago at the wedding reception for someone I grew up with, I was introduced to a family friend.

The gentleman's name was Ross, he was somewhere around college age like the rest of us, and I knew nothing of him before that moment.

He seemed like a nice man, and for a while, he stood talking with us before getting lost in the crowd of wedding guests.

Something I said to my friend afterwards must have been what caused her to explain to me, "Ross lives in France."

Now my life experience at the time had given me no exposure to real-life American-born young adults who willingly chose to reside in another country. So, for whatever reason, I was taken aback by the whole idea.

It's funny to remember that now in light of my current circumstances.

The town's welcome sign doubles as a soccer goal for these two kiddos.