When I got to the church this morning Marlin was making oatmeal. She was also cleaning out the shelves. She told me "I cannot clean these shelves and stir the oatmeal at the same time." She asked me to stir the oatmeal. I love it when she designates things like that. It's such a big change from when she used to be so shy and passive.
In preschool I prepared papers for each child. We've been working on recognizing letters and
the sounds they make. I wrote the child's name at the top, then put lines underneath for them to practice writing the first letter of their name. The three year olds got to trace their letter. Two of the boys can write their entire names on their own. Then we talked about things that begin with the same letter as their first name. Each child drew pictures of the things that start with the same letter. Their work turned out great, so I asked Lourdes to come into the class to "oooou" and "ahhhhh" over their papers. She had them applaud the younger kids and praised the older kids for their great work.
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| Jose wore his pajamas today. |
I have new helpers lately. They are boys. I like having them help with the class. They are good with the kids, not too bossy, but still on top of things. They choose to help with the class over playing fútbol! Male/female roles can be strictly defined here, so I love that the boys want to help be teachers. Friday will be our day to play! We've been working hard this week. The kids are already planning which toys they want to use on Friday.
After everyone was fed, I talked to Lourdes about getting my blood test results. She recommended that I call the taxista since I had several errands to run. I got my blood tests, stopped and picked up a prescription, went to a used clothes store and bought an Eddie Bauer cardigan in perfect shape for 100 lempiras, which equals $5. I want to go back there and really look through everything for some long sleeved shirts. When I have my own car...
Last night I was wishing that houses here had heat. It was chilly. It's going to get colder. When I move to the mountains it will be even colder. My taxista suggested that I buy a space heater.
The pharmacy near the clinic did not have the medicine I needed. We had to drive around to find a
different pharmacy so I got to see a part of town I've never been to before. It is a lot of streets filled with fruit and vegetable stands and used clothing stores on both sides of the road. I wish I could walk around and shop there. I asked the taxista the name of this area. It is called The Kennedy. I hear the ladies from Los Pinos talk about it all of the time. It is where they shop and sell their wares if they are business ladies. When I told the taxista I had never been there before he said that is because it is dangerous. I asked if it was as dangerous as Los Pinos. He said a little less dangerous than Los Pinos, but still very dangerous because Los Pinos is very, very dangerous.
I got home early and did a load of wash. It was a lot of jeans. Jeans take a long time to dry. It started to sprinkle before I was finished washing so I was not hopeful that the jeans would dry. However, it is now close to bedtime and most of the clothes are close to dry. I am not used to having to think about so many things - like how will I have clean pants to wear tomorrow.
I am trying to enjoy my last few weeks in my little house in the city. This has been a wonderful place for me. I felt at home here from the very first moment I saw the house. I will miss this place when I move to the mountains. I will miss Fany, Santos and Laura too. I really like my home here. I hope the mountains are as good to me. It think they will be.
My blood test results were not quite normal. Tomorrow at 2 pm a doctor from the church will look at them. I tried to figure out what the results meant by googling things on the internet, but I couldn't make any sense of it. I don't think they show why my hair is falling out. At first I was very anxious about having the blood work be abnormal. I started imagining that I might have to go back to the US for treatment. You know, thinking of worst case circumstances. I took a quick nap and woke up with peace. I am sure that Dr Gustavo will tell me what is wrong, or maybe nothing is wrong at all. The dermatologist wants to see me in 5 weeks for my hair. She warned me not to expect any progress for the first month or two. I do hope I see progress soon.
We are having a birthday party for Jairo on Sunday. I have to do some errands on Saturday to prepare. I am going to make his birthday cake. My taxista already agreed to help me run errands on Saturday.
Tonight I have a strange sense of peace. Despite the jeans on the line and the fact that it is likely to rain before they dry. Despite the results of my blood tests, I feel peaceful and grateful to be here. Life in Honduras is good for my soul.
