School is over! Christmas is coming!

Happy Christmas Season everyone!

            Here in Nicaragua the school year is over and we are preparing for Christmas with daily piñata workshops, celebrations of Mary’s immaculate conception and all of the kids are overjoyed with all the free time. To be quite honest, I was also a bit relieved with the end of the school year.

            I have hinted at the frustrations I face daily in class before but was originally afraid to admit my frustrations for fears that I was simply being a whiner and should “suck it up”. But then I read a friends blog who is teaching in South Sudan and realized that it’s ok to share my troubles because I am learning to deal with them. (He actually has a wonderful entry about how dealing with life’s struggles and I suggest you check it out: http://wearecalledtoserve.blogspot.com/2014/11/love-without-reservation.html ).

            Today, I am following Kevin’s example and sharing my true struggles in school as well as how I am learning to cope with them. Everyday I teach four or five classes and after each one I may be ready to rip my hair out or beyond impressed with my students behavior. It is an emotional rollercoaster that falls and rises by the hour, leaving me utterly exhausted by the time lunch comes around.

            To get a better understanding of my classroom life, here are the major problems I face.

1. Lack of resources. The kids quite often don’t have pencils, notebooks or even a seat to sit on. The problem here isn’t that we don’t have the funds. The problem is that they are slowly learning how to respect or value their things so often steal, loose or break them.

2. My co-teacher. She is a wonderful person who I have gotten to know well but in the classroom is more of a hindrance rather than a help. The culture here doesn’t demand much from teachers so it is perfectly acceptable for her to sit in the back of the room on her cell phone while I try to teach.

3. My lack of experience I have always love kids and school but I have no formal training in teaching, which would help me greatly here. Thank goodness I have lesson plans from past volunteers, a locker overflowing with donated English supplies and friends and family who sent me even more.

Given this situation I often ask myself, “Why am I even here?” “What is the point of me teaching English in such a difficult educational system that I myself can’t understand?”

But to get the full picture imagine students running up to me in the hallway asking “Do we have English today?! Do we? Do we?”, bursting with excitement. Or other kids asking me (in English) “What sport do you play?” as I jog past in my running gear. Or how about a visitor who is impressed with the (very) small talk a 12-year-old girl can partake in. So yes, there are also moments that bring me to cloud 9.

Recently I have been listening to a great deal of Christmas music, specifically my all time favorite “The Little Drummer Boy” and have been learning to see my teaching in a new light. For those who are not as obsessed with this song as I am, here is my favorite part of the song

“’I am a poor boy too. I have no fit to give that fit to give our king. Shall I play for you?’ Mary nodded. The ox and lamb kept time. ‘I played my drum for him. I played my best for him. Then he smiled at me.’”

As I was singing along the other day while thinking about my classes I realized how each one of us is like the poor boy. I do not have all of the resources nor training fit to teach as we do in the states. But just as the boy has his drum, I have love, perseverance and wit.  Just as the boy offered all he had to baby Jesus, so to will I offer all I have to “my kids” here. All God asks of me is to play my best, with all my heart. I must trust that God will take care of the rest. With this calm yet uplifting message from God, I know I will be even more ready to tackle the next semester when it comes. (Although I’m sure I will be listening to this songs all year to remind me of it!)

On a lighter note, here are some pictures from my break last month in Matagalpa, which I used to relax and recharge!

A quiet walk in the forest, which turned into a 4-hour trek up a mountain and down (quite often on our buts!).

A cup of coffee and a bit of chocolate at “Castillo de Cacao” a chocolate factory.

            And as always, some photos from my boys…

We all need to take a nap in the hot afternoons here. 

Re-painting statues outside the house.

We got confused about if we were supposed to paint each other or the statues...

In Managua at an altar to the immaculate conception of Mary. 

Just pondering life while staring out over Lake Nicaragua and Volcano Conception.

One of the boys in my house is on the back cover of a new NPH Nicaragua newsletter.