poco a poco

I can't believe I've been here 3 weeks, it feels like 3 months. Everything is so different here, but I feel like slowly, but surely with each day that different is becoming a good thing. Nothing is bad about being here, it never has been, it's just been different. A Honduran that my roommate Jess works with told her this week during a moment of stress, "poco a poco" (little by little), Which, I feel is a perfect mantra for how, my journey here has been going so far.

poco a poco.

School has its up and down moments, just like any teaching experience, but on the whole, I feel like they just get better and better and better. My assistant Fanny was really sick this week. She came to school on Tuesday and sounded terrible, had a fever, and was just clearly very sick. She didn't want to leave me hanging with all of our little rascals so she thought she'd tough through it for me. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate her help, but I also reallllly don't want to get sick down here, so I told her she should stay home and get better the next day.

I dreaded school on Wednesday, simply because I was envisioning a terrible day without Fanny to help me out. Maybe it was because I entered the day expecting the worst (not a good mindset, I know), but my day actually proceeded along just fine with out my trusty assistant. I missed her extra set of hands, smile, and her understanding of the Honduran culture, for sure, but my two days flying solo with my little ones, we're surprisingly good days. I still get insanely frustrated when they don't listen to me and when they have no clue what I'm talking about. I hate that I lose my patience with them so often. I wish I could maintain a consistent level of patience when they don't understand a word I say and just stare at me cluelessly or at least just appreciate their cluelessness more. But, I'm working on it, and honestly maybe they're just scared of me, I don't know but my high expectations seem to be paying off because we're definitely improving! More and more of my kids are attempting words in their journaling, which is just so impressive to me! So poco a poco, we're moving right along in 1st grade, getting adjusted to each other, and having a good time while we are at it.

At school we are busy getting ready for Día del Niño and Independence Day. Just as daily living is not simple in Honduras, neither are holidays. Everything requires time, preparation, lots of glitter, preciseness, and everything must be over the top. So this week the kids have been practicing for the parades, which are next week. Rosa (my 1st grade counterpart) informed me on Wed. that none of our kids were going to be marching in the parades, so we would just be teaching the whole day. MAJOR BUMMER, since I have no aid and didn't plan on teaching during that time. But, luckily Peggy told me that I should just play with the kids during the last hour. That hour of playtime, has definitely been my highlight with my kids so far. I put out play centers for them to see how they would do rotating on a buzzer, working in groups, and then of course, playing! We had puzzle, drawing, dominoes, puppets, and play-doh centers. The kids were so good and I didn't even explain the directions in Spanish. They put their hands on their head fairly quickly after the timer rang, there was no arguing, their voices weren't too loud, and they switched without much complaint. HOORAY! I was so excited to have the time to just interact with them in a play setting and to see how well they did, because now I'm so hopeful for learning centers!

Friday Fanny came back yeah! It was also the día del niño celebration for the kinder and prepa students, which is right across the hall from me. Needless to say, I lost a battle that day. My journaling activity could in no way shape or form compete with the fact that across the hall and through the windows we were watching children smash open a piñata. Alas, piñata 1, miss nardozzi 0. But, whatever. I am also excited because my kids are starting to say Miss Nardozzi and not just meeeeeeeeessssss all the time. After school on Friday we had to stay late to help with decorations for the parades next week. So much glitter, painting, drawing, and pressure! But, it was so much fun to hang out with the Honduran teachers. Poco a poco we are getting along better and making friends. I'm really loving the school community!

Then Friday night, we all got to go over to Padre Ricardo's house for dinner. AMAZING. Padre Ricardo is a fascinating and truly amazing person. I'd been waiting anxiously to meet him since he started this whole shindig! 20 years ago he came down here, and he's just stayed. Since being here he has created a University, elementary, high school, and special needs school--can you get any more awesome than that? His house on the university campus is super sweet! It is like an indoor/outdoor home. It's beautiful and relaxing! He welcomed us with popcorn, cheese, crackers, and wine. yes please! Then he cooked the most delicious meal for us...all from his own garden. He had salad, omg 3 weeks without salad, I'd missed it soooooooo much!!!!!! And then, an eggplant parmesan like dish, heckkkkkk yes! All grown in his garden. It was fantastic and needless to say I was full for the first time in 3 weeks! Besides the amazing food, it was just great company! It was so nice to hang out for an extended period of time with all of the volunteers. I got to talking with Lacey and we discovered that we studied abroad at the same time and lived on the same street in Sevilla---WEIRD. I just had an amazing time.

Despite all of the awesomeness that was my week, I am feeling a little people-sick. Padre is an awesome guy. He was a pastor in Boston before coming here, so like everything he said reminded me of someone from home. We talked about how wonderful Fr. "Billy" Joy is and what a great community there is in Dorchester and Jamaica Plain. He told me how he used to teach classes at Fairfield. He lives on the cape and loves to go to Woods Hole. He went to Bolivia and studied at the language school that Scott and I want to go to. Oh and ummm he went to the North Pole. Why? Cause it's there. It was crazy talking to him about al of this. As fun as it was, I was feeling a little down too as all of these convos just kept reminding me of the people I love back home.

This week has been full of that same weird feeling. It's like this week has been my happiest here and yet it's also been my most people-sick week. I keep telling myself that I'm just lucky that I have all of these memories and that I've has all these opportunities to make these connections and feel these reminders. But, sometimes it stinks too. In the end, I tell myself, I would rather feel the twinges of missing others than to not have had the memories. And plus, as I said, poco a poco, things get better and better here.

poco a poco.