Sorry no fun pictures, just a lot of babble!:)

So they said October and November would be the rainy season, and they've been right so far! There's definitely a good and bad part to this. The good being, it cools down a lot more, still humid, but at least the sun isn't beaming down on me and making things even hotter. The bad part being, there isn't much to do that doesn't involve getting soaked while riding my bike. Sara decided to go back home for a week, so I've been venturing out into Tela on my own (or trying to as much as the weather permits!) Although of course I miss having Sara around, being on my own for a little while has proven to be a good thng. It's given me some quiet time alone, to walk around the town and take in the atmosphere in a different way, and really think back on the things that brought me to Honduras, and why I'm here. It overall has made me more thankful for being able to do something like this, and given me a little more perspective on the whole experience. Most of all, it's made me feel a little more independent, being on my own in a foreign country, even if it is just for a week! And as an extra bonus, it's forced me to practice my Spanish more, without Sara being there to translate. My two roommates that I lived with in San Diego, Abbie and Lindsey, are coming to visit this Saturday, and after a lot of thinking I've decided to take them to "Lago de Yojoa", the lake where Sara and I just went. I figured I had such a great time there, I didn't want them to miss out! I'll be sure to post some pictures of their visit here soon.

Update with work and the school
Sara and I were very excited to finally be able to use all the books that we were able to ship here! So far, the school's in the process of raising money to help build bookshelves for the library. Sara and I have been been using the books every day with our students, and we've both seen progress in our classes. It's really great to finally be able to teach using books that are more at their level, and a lot more interesting to them than the textbooks they're so used to looking at every day. It's nice to be able to do read aloud with the kids, I can tell that they never really get read to, their undivided attention and excitement when I read to them as a group on the floor shows it! We've been focusing a lot on comprehension and trying to work with our lower readers by allowing them time to read books that fit their needs a lot better!

As for an update on my students. I finally feel like I'm really getting to know my kids and the more time I spend with them the more I realize how their English is improving slowly but surely, and most importantly their confidence in speaking English has improved! They are a very sweet class! However, on the not so ideal side, starting last week I had two students truly put my patience and teaching to the test! One boy, Alexis, has been fine every day before, some behavior problems, but nothing too big. Then starting on Monday last week, every single morning he spent about an HOUR crying when his parents dropped him off at school. And not just crying, but yelling, screaming, and running out of the room every chance he got to chase after his parents, a few times even chasing after their car. It even got to the point where he would be basically wrestling with me, another teacher, or the principal to try to run away. Yesterday he even bit me, that's right, BIT ME!! when I put my hands on his shoulders to try to calm him down! Let me remind you that I have 23 other kids just sitting there watching, all the while, taking time out of class and teaching for an hour! After the first few days of this, after feeling like I was doing everything I could to calm him down, nothing worked! Every morning since then, the principal or another adult has to try to talk to him and calm him down outside my classroom (which doesn't usually work, and he ends up putting on a show for all the kids, running around the campus crying), and then after about two periods pass, he's brought back, but not without having random moments of sobbing and whining throughout the day. Next, I have a little girl, Elsa. She came about 2/3 weeks after school started, then disappeared for about 4 weeks. Every time I asked the office what happened with her, or if she was coming back, they had no answer. Again, on Monday of last week, she showed up out of the blue, and what do you know......she started crying as soon as the bell rang! And of course normal crying wouldn't do, she was also sobbing, screaming, and crying to the point where the other kids were putting there hands over their ears and teachers from upstairs could hear her! And this also continued for our entire first period (same time as Alexis' outbreak) until the principal came in and took her to the office. This happens EVERY morning, the two of them crying uncontrollably. Elsa ends up leaving early to go home, or just spends the entire day sobbing in the office. I tried to send her work to do, but the principal simply just looked at me and said she won't stop crying! Where do I do from here?! I tried to ask if I could talk to her mom, but they said she's been out of town. I tried my best to calm her down too, it would work for about ten minutes, just enough time for me to start a lesson, and then she would start again, sobbing even louder, and screaming for her mom. What makes things worse it that she speaks and understands very little English, and she's missed so much school, that I really don't know what is going to happen and how I'll ever be able to catch her up! Even when I was teaching in a kindergarten class last September (the beginning of the year) I NEVER had any kids that cried so much! Needless to say, I've had an ongoing throbbing headache since last week!

All of next week the students have to take exams. It seems like they give exams pretty much like we have finals in college in the US! And let me remind you, we're teaching 2nd and 3rd grade! Every day next week, the kids are only at school from 12-3 and the entire time they are taking exams on the different subjects, about an hour each subject. Pretty bizarre to think that they expect these poor kids to sit there for an hour and take exam after exam, but I guess they're used to it! Makes me really wonder how they'll do. I'll keep you updated on that!

On October 25 the school is celebrating United Nations Day. Each class is assigned a different country to present. The kids are supposed to dress up in common clothes or costumes, make and sell food (to raise money to build bookshelves in each classroom), perform a dance or some sort of presentation, and march in yet another parade with that country's flag and banners. Sara's class had America, and mine was assigned the Philippines. I'm really excited to see how this turns out!