Two Days...

I can't wait to see all of you!!!

"I am not exaggerating when I say that this time two years ago, I was a hot mess in Olancho. I felt incompetent and discouraged in my classroom. I missed my friends and family en los estados, and to top it all off, I had broken my ankle and had a cast up to my knee and an old-lady walker which Carlos found in a donation pile at Nazareth. I requested a meeting with Annie, then principal, to discuss the possibility of leaving since I had heard of a prospective volunteer (with a teaching degree) who wanted to come down to Olancho if, and only if, she was given her own classroom.

For weeks I pondered if this was a sign from above. I had been feeling like a failure in my classroom and I thought perhaps this was God's way of telling me to go. Maybe the best way to serve the children of Santa Clara was to leave and let someone else, with teaching knowledge and experience, do the job more adequately. But alas, Annie convinced me to stay. And thank God she did!

After Christmas break, my munchkins (2nd graders) did a complete 180! It was as though they suddenly "got it". They started absorbing material like crazy, reading and writing in English, speaking in English and following directions! It was AMAZING. I too, started to understand their needs much better and became so inspired as my role as their teacher. Lesson plans were no longer a drag, but rather something I enjoyed doing because their success was incredibly motivating. The cherry on top came one day when I found out several of my students had snuck into my classroom during recreo to read Dr. Seuss books aloud to one another. A few months ago, they couldn't even identify the letters of the alphabet in Spanish, much less read in English.

Thus, hang in there! Teaching is tough! Life in Olancho is tough! But something greater has called you to Olancho (whatever it may be), and in THIS moment YOU are absolutely THE best thing for your students and for Santa Clara. Your persistence and commitment to these children WILL generate the success that you've hoped for. Just hang in there." - Maria Balata