checking out on life

In case you weren’t aware… few of my last posts have been about Honduras.

I’ve been checking out a bit… desperate to return home and eager to forgo my responsibilities here. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but I found myself much more interested in anything but my present life.

I’m hoping this is a phase that will pass soon.

For some seemingly inexplicable reason, teaching is easier this semester than last. My students are far from angels. I despise any form of planning. And all I want to do in the mornings is to call in sick. This is hardly a picture of “improvement”.

And yet… today in class, Alexa raised her hand AND volunteered the correct answer! This floored me. I almost wanted to hug her, and considering how many more times I’ve wanted to slap her, that is saying something.

In 11^th grade, two girls who I’d long ago given up hope trying to impress were cracking up at the corny things I was saying. They stayed an entire lunch period by me. Free will.

Then at the end of the day, Simon went to give me a high-five! (Unfortunately I deflected to tease him.) This is the kid who frequently seethes with rage and has even showed me pictures of his guns… something I viewed as a not-so-veiled threat.

And finally… having short hair has awarded me much less attention from the Honduran men. But by the same token, two girls have said they want to cut their (absolutely beautiful!) hair like mine.

And to think I wanted to stay home this morning!


(I still do, tomorrow.)