Thursday

The week seems so slow in some ways, yet it is flying by in others. It seems like just yesterday that Liza and I boarded the little plane to fly over to this surreal place. However, we both agreed that we are tired and are missing home, family, friends and my students! Liza seems a little sick; maybe too much sun, dehydration, or something she ate/drank. Her eyes are always bloodshot; she is quite tired; and has been somewhat nauseous. Nevertheless, she has been a trooper and is taking everything in. Sometimes we come back to the room, shower, and I tell her to do homework. Yet I find her resting on the bed quietly thinking. I do really think she is digesting how different her life is than so many other people's. She told me tonight that no matter how many times someone were to preach that we are all so lucky, that you don't truly understand until you see it first hand. You do not have to come all this way to see your good fortune, but it seems it is so important to do so in some way.

Today Mr. Bood's class spent the day making a video for me to take back to our fifth grade. They were working all day and even took a field trip across the bridge to sing a Belize song on the beach for us. They sung the song in Spanish, Creole and Garifun. They are so excited, and Mr. Bood seems like a fantastic teacher.

We have made so much progress with the girls! We all noticed early on that they are treated differently than the boys, at least with sports. There are technically two soccer teams, but the one soccer coach seems to spend most of his time with the boys. The girls are just told to go stretch and kick around while he works with the boys for over an hour. The coach, Mr. Koba, may come see the girls for twenty minutes or so, but then he sends them home and keeps the boys for an extra hour of practice and fun scrimmaging. The girls have been so excited to learn new moves, play fun games and get to know us. Today Elizabeth (in the green shorts below)told me she wished I were her mother. She brought two hand made necklaces for me and Liza. She is so sweet. When it was time for practice to end at five, they BEGGED to go later. I am not used to seeing that at home. In fact, it is usually the opposite. Our kids at home have so much else to do, so many more obligations and distractions, but these kids have nothing to do and nowhere to go. Think about it: most have no electricity or even running water. This is the highlight of their day. In fact, so many children just come sit and watch us for hours, even if they are not part of this school or any school.

There are some random funny things I haven't mentioned. There are stray dogs everywhere. Our field is also the road out of San Mateo, so there are always people, bikes, cars and dogs passing through. It is just part of the chaos that I have slowly grown accustomed to. Beaten up vans run over our cones. An older lady walking through may get beaned in the head with a ball. Sometimes dogs get jostled, and the kids think it is funny. Many do not seem to feel empathy because they are so angry. This is certainly not the case for everyone. The more we learn, we realize the children and teens who are in the most trouble and seem to misbehave the most have very bad family situations. It is so hard for them to break the mold when they see mom and dad on drugs, drinking, fighting or completely absent. If they are lucky enough to be in school (and many are not), at least they are busy and off the streets in the day. My last random comment is about Greg, the security guard. We have grown to love him, and he has been such a help to us. He sits outside the school all day and reads any novel he can gets his hands on. He also has loose pages of the Bible folded in his book. He keeps watch of the kids, breaks up fights, chases soccer balls, and talks to me when I am tired on the sidelines. Ali bought him a beautiful hand woven bag to hold his books since we often see the loose pages flying away in the wind. I went across the bridge to get him a Gatorade today because he bakes in the heat all day. He just smiles and tells us how grateful he is to meet new friends like us. Meanwhile, he has been the gift to us. He is in the picture below with me and Jeff. I will miss Greg for sure. What a wonderful man.

Bye for now! Can't wait to see you all.