Short one

It's late, and I have a lot of work to do to get ready for tomorrow, so this will be a short one. 

The kids already knew "heads, shoulders, knees, and toes," but they got a kick out of watching me do the hokey pokey. They are so eager to learn English words! I decided to hold off on giving the kids the soccer ball. I figured I would either wait until I leave or at least this Friday. Today was sticker day instead. Any student who asked me how to say something in English, using English of course, got a smiley face sticker. They were very excited. After school, Rafael brought me to see the area around the school where the kids live. The school is at the bottom of a hill, and the houses are behind it. At the top of the hill is the city landfill. All along the streets are kids and adults going through trash to sort out recyclables. The view of the city from the top of the hill is absolutely amazing. You can see all the way to the sea. 

However, looking down at all of the houses that the kids live in was so depressing. I just wanted to cry for them. 

One little boy was out front of his house diligently working on homework. 

When I got out to take a few pictures, 3 young boys came running out from their house nearby, shouting "gringo, gringo!" (Gringo is not a derogatory term here. It is used to refer to any white person.) They were so excited to have a visitor and wanted to be in a picture with me. Unfortunately, I didn't take one with my phone. They asked if they could hang by my arm to swing and showed me their secret handshakes. It was a precious moment - worth more than any beauty of nature I could see or souvenir I could bring back. I think I will pick up some food to bring to those kids some day before I leave. It's hard to believe my time is already half way through. This is the most humbling and eye-opening experience I have ever had. Rafael told me that he used to have a program with a university in the US where students would come down with food packages for this "colony" and teach the kids English. It was all funded by the US government, but because of the high crime rate in Honduras, we have reduced the amount of aid we provide significantly. La Ceiba is making a concerted effort to reduce crime with their police force, so I hope that Rafael can get this program up and running again. This is the first year he hasn't been able to provide this community with assistance. 

After dinner, I headed to the movie theater with Tita and Stephanie. We watched World War Z in English with Spanish subtitles. Great zombie flick! 

Off to plan for tomorrow and do my Spanish homework. Thanks to everyone who is reading my posts, and a special thanks to anyone who is leaving me replies. They are greatly appreciated!