Hot and Bothered

                Semana Santa came and went, and before you now it I’m back in dusty Juticulpa. I guess my brief reprieve to the States made my lungs go soft, because I had to spend the first two nights back sleeping with a dust mask on to prevent me from choking in my sleep (this is not a joke, I really did go to bed wearing a dust mask.)

                It has also been unbearable hot over the past week, usually in the 90’s during the day (and almost there at night as well,) making teaching a class nigh impossible. I don’t think it would make a difference is I did a song and dance number at the front of the classroom, while juggling live hedgehogs, the kids would still just sit there in a sweaty stupor (not that I can really blame them.)

                But with April finished, and May rapidly descending upon us like a troop of sugar-high, tambourine-wielding monkeys, the end of the school year has never seemed so close. There are only 5 weeks of classes left, followed by exam week and a week of recuperation exams. So the real question of the day is “what next?”

                Over the Easter break, I submitted a few job applications in the states, as well as a letter requesting sponsorship to return to Honduras for another year (I like to have my bases covered.) This is all very well and good, but what should I really be pushing for? Part of me really misses regularly running water and air conditioning (not to mention my friends and family.) On the flip side, it is a very sobering thought when you realize that you are the only person that really cares about a child’s education. I mean, many of the parents don’t really support their children in the pursuit of learning, either because they don’t see any real merit in it, or because they simply can’t (how do you help a student with homework that you yourself do not understand?)

                But that’s where my frustration hit a snag. These are MY kids now, and for better or for worse, do I really want to leave them to the tender mercies of whoever the next volunteers will be? I mean, it took me half the year to just figure out how to be a good teacher (although it would have been less if I had had a little more support from the powers that be *grumble grumble*) But if I don’t have the energy or drive to be here, is that really fare to my students?

                Regardless I can’t afford to spend too much time freaking out about the uncertainty of the future (especially since it’s going to be uncertain whether or not I have a plan.) I still have 5 weeks of classes to focus on, young minds to shape, and plenty of adventures still unexplored…plus the mother’s day lunch to decorate, the Open House to plan (curse my willingness to volunteer for stuff!) and midterm grades to finish. It’s gonna be a long night.