The stories never end...

A blog from 3 weeks ago that never got posted (March 7-11):


Once you get used to life here, the different things that annoyed you the first few months turn into a long series of hilarious moments and stories.  For example, if you were a principle and decided that all the kids in 5th and 6th grade needed tetanus shots, you would definitely send the nurses into the classroom to give the shots at the teacher's desk without notifying the next teacher and of course it wouldn't matter at all if the rest of the kids were still in the classroom wandering around, yelling things at the kid whose turn it was, and eliciting a little bit of chaos.   As each student mustered enough courage to go forward (or endured sufficient ridicule from his/her fellow classmates that appearing a coward was the new issue), the nurses would just take a card from them, let the classmates engage in an endless barrage of unhelpful cliches, and stick them. A little cotton ball and they were sent outside for some fresh air.  Of course the nurses had the courtesy to ask which arm they write with so the soreness wouldn't effect their ability to do school work.  And I learned something very curious about my class: 90% are left-handed!  Go figure... Like I said, no longer annoying, just thoroughly entertaining.

Next exciting thing: teachers won the soccer tournament against the high school girls!  7th grade was the only grade to beat us and we played them again in the finals, winning 3-0.  It was a little anti-climactic really because we scored the first early on and they were never able to get past our outstanding portera (goalie), Dawnelle Clark of Jamaica! Hehe...

One last fun moment before I wrap this up... Thought I had gotten past most of the "you-are-like-a-celebrity-because-you-are-american" moments, but they still pop up.  At yesterday morning a mother was tying her girls shoes up in the entry and said something to me in Spanish I didn't catch.  I asked her to repeat herself and in Spanish she says, "My daughter wants to talk to you."  She was probably in kindergarten and I talked to her for just a minute as she asked me questions about where I'm from and if my eyes are really blue.  I've never felt more like Santa Clause in my life!

I wish life in the US were this hilarious...