Escuela

Ay! Today, I taught kindergarten at Tegucigalpa's International School. This is a private Christian school and tuition is required. All classes are taught in English but each classroom has a bilingual assistant.

I must admit, I was pretty nervous. Yes, I know how to count and add and spell and all that good stuff but can I maintain control of 20 five-year-olds? Are kids going to be telling me off in Spanish while I smile and nod? Scary stuff. Luckily, all the teachers/assistants are extremely nice and helpful. In response to my anxious questions, they smiled, shrugged and waved a hand as if to say, "Ah, no worries."

Likewise, the Honduran children are just as adorable/cheeky/sweet as one might imagine. One little girl approached me during recess, "Hola, Miss Julie. Que linda usted es!." (Hello, Miss Julie. How pretty you are!). She's either very sweet or very smart.

Highlights of today:
- Paula (my gracious host) made me coffee and oatmeal for breakfast.
- I felt like "one of the gals" as Paula, her 3 roommates (who are also teachers), and I made what will become the routine commute to school.
- Fanya, the principle of the preschool (nursery-Kindergarten) told me that the school is very "blessed" to have me.
- Discovered that my Spanish isn't so rusty, especially when disciplining unruly children.
- Taught the children the concept of "more:" four is more than three, this group has more blocks than the other group, etc. The kids got it! I gave high-fives all around.
- I'm going to be organizing some short dramas/poems for the kids to work on and perform.

The International School is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Because the weather doesn't vary as much, the school was built to feel open and warm. Enjoy the pics below!