Hold Tight and Chin Up

May 9, 2013. A new day indeed. Today was so much better. I just needed to hold tight and remember what my man always says to me, "Chin up." I went to the school at 8 and observed a class (after having bread and pear juice for breakfast there). The teacher introduced me and said that I was family. All of the kids ran over and gave me a group hug :D. The class got nothing done... And there was no classroom management but hey... I finally got to observe. Then at 10, Nati, Juana Iris and I went to the school across the highway. Both schools at small but this one is a little bigger. I met the director and the teachers. They were kind and understanding of my Spanish, giving me a bit of encouragement. On the way back, I met the pastor of my community. He was wonderful; he spoke slowly, clearly, and I understood mostly everything. He asked a lot of questions about my purpose, seemed excited that I am here, and warned me about the machismo in this country lol. I will definitely be visiting him more. He had me say a prayer from the Bible in English and we went. Nati and I then walked around a bit more and Juana Iris left. The really cool thing about Nati is that she is new too. She's only been the director for three weeks and hasn't met everyone yet. So when I asked about a street and where it led, she said, "Let's find out!" We ended up getting honey straight from the comb from a man and his son (so delicious!) and met a woman with a huge yard and five cats, three dogs, a goose, hens, and a talking parrot. So cool.
After then walking to the end of the road and discovering a mini rio, we headed home. I ate dinner, rested, and headed back to the school to observe more. Again, nothing was accomplished but the kids are happy? I don't know... Lol
I went to Mayelin's house and chatted with her mom; she's super wonderful. I watched a movie with her kids (in English! But super inappropriate for the little ones, but the dad was so proud that they had a movie...) and she made me dinner. I told her that my Doña probably had dinner waiting but she made it anyways and told me she'd walk me home with it. I was right so I ended up having yuca and salami in one bowl and yuca and eggs in another. I didn't finish it all, don't worry. Haha I then put my water filter together because drinking water is in short supply for how much I want/need it. So grateful we have it though. Mayelin and I played cards, decorated my room more, and then I showered. That was more like it. I can do this. (Below are pictures from my porch). Buenas noches.