Day 76: Disaster Day

Today, if lived by anyone else could have easily been seen as a disaster. I like to think that it´s part of my growth here that makes me not see it as nothing but a complete failure of a day.

I got to school adn the kindergarten teacher was sick, which meant I had to teacher Phonics to 24 5-6 year-olds. No planning, no preparation, walking in blind trying to keep the attention (and teach) 24 children. In the beginning this completely overwhelmed me, but it´s begun happening on a weekly basis so I´m getting very good at teaching on the fly.

Kindgarten Phonics class is at the same time as breakfast for my class, which meant no breakfast for me today, which made me lightheaded with a slight pinch of vertigo (really weird). I laid down underneath the mango tree for awhile until I regained my center, then went back to teaching.

After school, Sully and Vicky and I went and waited at the bus station. Two minutes later, one of my little third-graders, Ricardo, showed up. He disappeared between a couple of palm trees, and suddenly I realized I left my orange soda at home. I was feeling really sad about it because the bus stop is a mile from a home so I couldn´t go and get it. Right as I was feeling down, Ricardo popped back up with a bag in his had. What does he have? Orange Soda, and some chocolate M&M´s as a special present just for me. It was so perfect.

Later, Ricardo´s mom came over and waited with us for an hour, while the sun began to set. We sat for almost two hours, until it was dark and the bus never came. We walked back, defeated, knowing we´d have to get up early to take the morning bus.

Even though absolutely nothing went right, I just didn´t care. I still walked home with a smile on my face.