November 15, 2009
The rainy season has finally arrived in earnest here in La Ceiba and somebody already stole my umbrella (I suspect my neighbor). Go figure. We had a storm system come through about a month ago that got stuck for two days and caused so much rain that we actually had to close school because it was unsafe to drive on the roads (drainage is a luxury in Honduras). However, it has been sunny and hot since then. This week, the temperature dropped about ten degrees to the low 70s and it has rained on and off almost everyday.
I love it. For once I am not drenched in sweat and can stand to wear pants outside of the classroom. I can actually spend time outside walking around and not feel like I am going to drop dead from dehydration. I have been able to sleep with the air conditioning off. With the rooster finally gone to the country where he can sing the hourly watch to his hearts content and the local stray dogs staying home, all I can hear at night is the rain. Much more my style of climate.
The students at school however, have not adjusted so well. I have to laugh when I come into the classrooms because it reminds me of a Senior Center bingo game: every student bundled up in a sweater or a light jacket chair, the collars of their uniform popping out awkwardly and fidgeting with their notebooks, uncomfortable and wishing that class would get started already. Meanwhile I am more comfortable than I have ever been, I can actually hear myself because the fans are turned off and the windows are shut, and I don’t even have to ask the class to settle down. I hope this weather lasts for awhile.
One problem that the rain does bring is that my apartment is not particularly water proof, as I have mentioned before. There are no gutters above my kitchen windows and when rain hits the aluminum roof, it bounces pretty high. The windows leak even when they are shut but when they are open, anything on the counters is in the flood zone. I have found this out the hard way a couple of times, but I am now pretty well trained to close my windows anytime I leave the house. When I remember…
I came home from school on Wednesday this week during a down pour, soaking wet from foot to knee after wading across my street to get to the sidewalk, wondering if I had remembered to close my windows that morning. The sinking feeling in my stomach subsided as I climbed the stairs to the second level and saw that in fact the windows were tightly shut.
It had been a tough day in a tough week. I was on the wrong side of a tradition I did not understand that had taken a strangle hold on Trinity in the last two weeks. United Nations Day. “A spirited discussion and celebration of the history, parts, functions and future role of the UN as an intergovernmental organization?” Wrong. This was a two hour evening presentation to the parents where each class was required to study a country then come up with a dance, make a booth, and sell typical food of that culture. “Okay, maybe there is some relation to the UN.” Three such countries included Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, and Ancient Rome. “What?” And, in order to complete this project, the students needed three class hours per day, plus after school preparation time. Any other classes they had (ie Science class), they would blow off, too tired or distracted to really contribute let alone get the homework done. “Does anyone know who the UN Secretary General is or what he does?” AHHHHH!
Ready to sit on my couch, unwind, check up on the news and the Red Sox off-season activities, and eat a Granny Smith apple with peanut butter, I unlocked my door and walked in. Splash! My already wet sneaker was inundated in an inch of water. My entire kitchen was inundated with an inch of water. I searched for the source of the flood. I saw a thin silver stream flowing from the faucet, hitting a rippling lake of water and a few protruding plates and rolling gracefully over the counter, down the peach tiles and onto the floor in spectacular waterfall and I knew exactly what happened. My sink has a mind of its own. Some times it is silent, other times it drips, other times it flows in spits and spurts. It all depends on the water pressure, which can change at any minute. Some time during the day, my leaning tower of dirty dishes had succumbed to the forces of gravity, fallen into the sink, closed the drain and the rest was history.
Finding no better tool than an old yogurt container I had been using for Tupperware and my trash can, I proceed to bail and dump the contents of the floor for the next hour and a half. I filled three two-gallon trash cans before finally I grabbed the mop, spread the remaining water out, turned up the fan, and let evaporation do the rest while I enjoyed my apple. I realized then what a better mood I was in than when I had started the clean-up. Luckily I had not left anything important on the floor and the beauty of concrete construction had prevented any damage below. And to be honest, my apartment really needed a good mopping.
I took that positive energy to school the next day and instead of fighting the UN day program, I tried to be a little more flexible and see what I could do to get the project done. I even gave my 7th and 8th grade classes the afternoon off to get prepared for their presentation that evening. In an attempt to recognize what the day was supposed to be about, Veronica asked me to give the opening speech and discuss the UN briefly. Considering the speech was in English, the parents only speak Spanish, and the kids were all upstairs getting ready, I would say it absolutely flopped but it’s the thought that counts, right?
I was really proud to see all the students participating and performing. They went all out, choreographing their dances and making all the costumes by hand. The Pharaoh and Michael Jackson were in full regalia. There was a wardrobe malfunction that derailed one of the dances but that was the only drama over the entire night. I even got a free cheeseburger from the 9th grade booth (they did the USA) for picking up glitter for their American flag the day before. Even though it only has 9 stripes and 37 stars, I decided to put it up in my apartment afterwards. By the end, the students were completely wiped out but there was an aura of happiness and accomplishment that seemed to wash over everyone.
I am hoping that this upcoming week will be a little more normal and a lot more relaxed. After Noah’s flood, both figuratively and literally, I think we are all ready for a fresh, positive start. While I did not understand what UN day is to Hondurans and I hope I never have to deal with one again, I know I grew from the experience and I think everyone else did too.
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