I’m back! After a month long hiatus
from this blog and two months of summer vacation things are finally getting
back to normal here in Nicaragua. Well, as normal as life can be when you spend
12 hours a day with 10-year-old boys…
In January when we came back from
the island I had a mere 5 boys in my house because the rest of the boys had
gone home for vacation. The tios were also on vacation so it was just myself
and an older boy in college who take care of the house. I really appreciated the small and
subsequently calmer house as it gave me a chance to bond with the boys deeper
than I had before. Together we went on long walks to a nearby town, read
Curious George and even made a salad.
I had wanted to teach them to make
healthy food for a while but bringing four knives and vegetable peelers into a
house of 13 young boys is a recipe for disaster. So, with five of them in the
house we were able to peel and cut tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and onions while
keeping all ten fingers intact. If
that’s not a success then I don’t know what is! We were all able to enjoy our salad in peace and the boys
learned that vegetables are in fact tasty and fun to eat!
The next day when I came to the
house we switched roles and they taught me how to make a mango salad. We collected,
peeled and chopped about 20 green (unripe) mangoes from the tree outside the
mess hall. Afterwards, we added salt, juice from the orange trees outside the
maintenance house and (lots of) chili peppers from outside the volunteer house.
We were allowed to enjoy the salad but the boys made one simple rule: no water.
The person who was able eat the most mango without drinking water to quench the
hot peppers earned the title of the “manliest”. So one by one we took a piece
from the bowl. And then another. And one by one we began to sweat and breathe loudly.
I am proud to say I beat out three of the boys but in the end could not stand
the fire on my tongue.
I was always amazed at my Cuban
grandmother’s ability to withstand ridiculously spicy foods. I finally know the
secret; they train them young in Latin America. My upper-lip begins to sweat
the same ways hers did, so maybe that means I can train myself to also withstand
the spice…
As for more recent updates, Monday was the first day of school
for the 2015 school year. I felt the same jitters and excitement that I did
when I was in elementary school. However, this time around I’m worrying about
making friends with the other teachers and if my students will behave instead
of what my outfit will be and if my friends will be in my class.
This year I will be working by
myself as the only English teacher for the primary school and am looking
forward to the challenge. Over the vacations I was able to spend a lot of time
outside of the classroom with my students who are not in my house. I am hoping
that those students with whom I bonded now have a bit more respect for me and
will not behave (too) badly in class. Now that may be naïve of me, but might as
well have hope, right?
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| All of us enjoying the vegetable salad |
