This was a great week. Wednesday the leadership team took me out to lunch to celebrate me being in Honduras for 2 years. That was a nice surprise and honor. They gave me a nice magnet for my fridge. My first piece of scripture in Spanish! They didn't even know I collect refrigerator magnets. I love it.
We had a meeting Wednesday morning about the sports program. We still need some bikes for cycling. We are hoping to get some road bikes with the goal of having some kids ride in the Coast to Coast race next year. Coast to Coast is a famous race in Honduras. It think it lasts 4 days. It goes from the South Shore to the North Shore of Honduras.
If all goes as planned, swimming should start the first weekend in April. They are really handing me the reins with the swimming program, which I am excited about. What I am not excited about is the fact that it is at 8-10 a.m. on Saturdays and 7-9 a.m. on Sundays. But I remember dreading the schedule last time, and I ended up not even needing an alarm clock to wake up. Hopefully that will make this transition a little easier.
I am thinking once things get rolling I can drive directly to the pool. That will save me mileage and an hour of time every morning. I will just have to find someone I trust to monitor who is allowed on the bus. Now that it is HOT outside I can imagine we might have a few people just randomly show up, wanting to spend the day at a pool.
Let me tell you. It is beastly outside right now.
We took attendance for the past 2 weeks at the Breakfast Program. Kids who attended 5 of the 10 days got a special necklace with their name on it which allows them to come this week while the team from Colorado is visiting. 84 kids are invited! The team brought things for 80 kids to do each day so we should be just perfect. I didn't realize we were feeding so many different kids. I thought it was the same basic group of about 80. Turns out that we have about another 30 who show up now and then.
I have mixed feelings about this new approach, but overall it makes things more manageable. It is also a great reward for the kids who truly are a part of the Buen Provecho program. They deserve to have special treats.
Last time a team visited we had a lot of behavior that was not acceptable and not the way they normally behave. This time the kids know that if they have poor behavior this week, they will not be allowed to attend next week when another team comes.
Belinda told me today that she wants me to be at the gate on Monday. I will have to turn kids away. But I do think the way we went about it is fair. They knew for two weeks we were taking attendance. They knew their was going to be a big reward for those who attended. They even started a rumor within themselves that they had to have perfect attendance. I also think to ask them to be at the church for only 5 of 10 days is fair in order to participate in all of the activities with the team this week.
We made exceptions for Milagro, who had chicken pox. Also Lesly and Cindy will be coming. They were at home with their sick grandmother. They are kids who normally come every day.
I was yelled at Friday by a Grandmother who insisted her granddaughter attended the program every day. She even went so far as to lie several times. Finally Belinda told me to come into the office and shut the door. Then I heard one of the tutors tell the Grandmother that as a tutor she is at the church every day and she knew the girl had not been around much. The grandmother admitted that she only sent the girl when she knew there are free gifts. The grandmother was angry that nobody had come to tell her that we were handing out bags of candy Friday so she could send her kids.
So far all of the kids have been very respectful, even if they were not able to attend. I think they are calm because they knew the expectations were clear. They have known for 2 weeks that their attendance would earn them something very special and important. Twenty of them had perfect attendance and a bunch more only missed one day.
Today the team from Colorado was at church. I was excited to see them. I knew two of the kids and one of the teachers from when they came last year. The rest of the group is new. I am really looking forward to spending this week with them.
I have had a hard time posting anything lately. Not for lack of trying. My internet connection is very weak so I haven't been able to add any pictures. Many nights I can't even log on. Finally I broke down and spent $25 for a month of internet on a little modem. But that connection is just as weak as when I use my neighbors' wifi. That was a waste. Walter is hoping to fix a computer for me to use at the church. He has been working on it quite a bit, but so far he has not been able to piece together one for me.
Friday my mechanic took me to the place where he bought my car battery. I have to go there every 3 months and have that place check the battery in order to maintain the 7 year warranty. The battery was fine.
We stopped to look for tires. They are on sale right now. If I buy them now they cost about the same as in the US. We have been waiting since November. Tires here only go on sale once/year. I never thought I would drive on tires like I am driving on right now. People around here drive on tires until they pop. That's how you know when to get a new one.
I asked the mechanic if he could adjust my clutch. I said when I am driving home from the gym with tired legs it is really hard to push in the clutch. He said that is the clutch talking to me. The clutch is telling me I will need a new clutch soon. Oh boy. New tires and a new clutch are not in my budget. I asked if the clutch can wait a while. He said yes, the clutch is talking but it is not screaming yet.
Saturday I took Jetty to the vet. She needed her feline leukemia shot. She also needed a check up for her asthma. This season is tough for her with the air full of smoke from forest fires. The doctor did a blood test and said her liver is doing well with the asthma meds, but we decided to change her to a non-steroid for a few weeks and see how she does. She also got an anti-parasite medicine. She'll need that once/year. The vet and her assistant spent almost an hour with me. They fell in love with Jetty.
When I first took Jett out of her cage to get weighed the assistant asked if she is aggressive. I assured her that she is very "tranquila". Later in the appointment the vet came back into the room from doing the blood work and said that Jetty must have turned the assistant into a cat lover. The assistant was sitting on a stool with Jetty sprawled on her lap. I assumed she always liked cats, but apparently Jett is the first. Lots of people here are dog people and don't like cats. Jetty has her own mission in Honduras. To get people to like cats. The vet and her assistant repeatedly said they wish all cats were like Jetty. She is pretty darn special.
I am so blessed to have a good mechanic and a good vet. It is a huge relief to know that my cat and my car are both in good hands.
Last night I had a horrible fever. My sheets were drenched with sweat. It was the strangest thing. My head was so cold if I had had the energy I would have gotten up and put on a winter hat. My body felt like it was cold on the outside but burning up on the inside. I had horrible nightmares about people chasing me and killing everyone around me. I kept trying to find a spot in my bed that wasn't soaked with sweat, but everything was drenched.
Today I've had a sore throat, a tiny bit of a runny nose, and my ears feel funny. But I am not allowing myself to be sick. I have been looking forward to this week for too long. The bug that everyone else has lasts for 2 weeks. It is a rough one. I am hoping some vitamins, lots of rest, and healthy meals will fight this off. We have the team from CO this week and another team next week, so I need to be in top form!
I just tried to post my pics from last week, but I can't even get to the screen where you upload them. Sorry! Someday soon.
