Monday, August 7, 2017

Ya queremos pastel

Friday was a big day.

In the morning we said farewell to the "Alabama team" -- really a misnomer since half came from Mississippi, and 5 of the 6 were members of the same Bedford family. There was a sweet multigenerational love in this team. Pastor Mike, the elder statesmen, has been coming for eight years.

The plan today was for me to teach first period, and then to go with Sharon (the former administrator of IER, now living in La Ceiba) to Toncontin, about half an hour further into the valley, where she and her 3 homeschoolers had set up an Egyptian museum in an alternative colegio run by Jose and his wife Caitlyn. Jose is an IER alum and worked with Jason and Sarah at the orphanage in Urraco, as did Caitlyn. Sharon's three homeschoolers are the nieces and nephew of one of her former students, Melvin, who is now a doctor and lives in Las Mangas. His family lives a long way out -- Sharon described it as a 10 hour walk -- so this is a chance for them to get an education. Sharon and Earl have taken them on (and their grandmother too) for 3 years.

The threads are many and intricately woven here in la cuenca.

But as is often the case, the plan changed. We waited around the colegio -- I got to sit in on more of my classes -- which ended up being a good thing, because one of the ninth grade classes wanted to do something for Raindrop. They crowded us into Cesar's classroom and had us all sit down. We waited. Students worked on homework. Suddenly the burst in singing "Happy birthday" in English, to "Alaihhsssa" as they call her. They had caught wind that her birthday is Sunday, and had -- on their own initiative, with some help from the English teacher and one of our hosts, Maranda -- baked a cake, purchased some sodas, and made some "churros preparadas" (little bags of chips with beef and cheese shoved in. Nachos in a bag). They had even purchased a gift: a bag of marshmallows, which are called besitos here, or "little kisses."

Raindrop beamed.

Sharon showed up a couple hours later, and we rushed up to Toncontin to see the museo and meet Jose and Caitlyn. Wifey was supposed to be back in time to teach art class, but Sharon thought we could make it in time. She was wrong :), but we are so glad we went! I got to hear Jose's story -- how he spent a night in his hometown of Toncontin just before leaving for work in Roatan, and was so horrified by the way his people were living, that he determined to stay and help young people find a better path -- and it was sweet to see the three middle schoolers in Egyptian garb and speaking knowledgeably about that ancient civilization.

After school, a couple of the male teachers stayed behind and played soccer with the students. Corrie and Kelly played, and so did all three of the older children -- with the 7-9 graders. True to Clarkson form, both scored goals.

At dinner -- hamburgers! -- Raindrop received another birthday present: an inflatable pool, from our hosts and from Mike Segar. She is feeling the love. She even said that she is not so sad about not having her birthday at home.

The oral history project is going. Students are checking out recorders and taking interviews. They are uneven of course, and the nights of rain haven't helped (most folks have tin roofs), but there have been some beautiful and interesting stories. I love this guy's voice.
Que sorpresa







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