Who can fix my broken bike?
Whose strong hands can hold me tight?
When I need someone to make things right,
It's my dear old Dad.
Who does things that help me grow?
Who shows me so I will know?
When I need someone to catch or throw,
It's my dear old Dad.
Dads come in all shapes and sizes,
Big or small, short or tall,
Someday I hope that I will be,
Half as great as he.
Who helps me know right from wrong?
Who works hard all day long?
When I need someone to sing along,
It's my dear old Dad.
Dads come in all shapes and sizes,
Big or small, short or tall,
Someday I hope that I will be,
Half as great as he.
At night before I go to sleep,
I thank the stars for giving me,
The greatest man in history,
It's my dear old Dad.
It's my dear old Dad.
Sure, it was a little cheesy, but Latin America is the cheesiest place on Earth. Plus, I figured that the only people capable of understanding the poem were the two other foreign volunteers. It turned out, even they couldn't understand what the kids were saying. Overall, I was proud of my students for getting up there and trying to speak English in front of over 100 of their parents and peers. I think being up there and having worked hard to put something together brought us closer together as a group. They also had to make their fathers gifts. I had the students decorate a pint glass with glitter and their picture. Then I made bags with coffee and candy inside and placed that in the glass. They turned out really well, especially since some of the kids did some pretty interesting poses for their picture. After the festivities were over, half the glasses were still sitting on the shelf. I asked the kids why they didn't give the presents to their Father. Of course, how could I be so stupid, their fathers didn't come. Some aren't around anymore and some are working in the United States. Either way, a great deal of the problems in any third world country, or the problems of youth in general, are due to the lack of any family support system.
There were a couple things that upset me about the assembly today. As always, most of the parents were late. The invitation said 2:30 and we started after 3. "Honduran time" or not, this is unacceptable. Finally, I went up to the principal of the school and told her that we needed to start.
Most of the acts were appropriate and well planned except for a couple of the dances. A couple of the performances were just middle school and high school girls dressed in skimpy outfits and hooker make-up singing Rihanna. I just couldn't believe their teacher or the principal wouldn't have the foresight to screen the material before presenting it to the parents. It was really embarrassing.
After the assembly was over, it was time to clean up. We had to put the desks back into the secondary school classrooms. When we went in there it was completely trashed with uneaten food thrown all over the floor. There was a trashcan right outside of the door. The entire lawn was filled with trash as well as all the classrooms. Wherever and whenever the kids finished their food they threw it right where they were standing. It was really disgusting. We helped the janitor clean it all up because she is the only person in the school that does her job without complaining and with a smile on her face. We are planning on talking to each class, especially the older students who are supposed to be leaders in the school. They should be a good example for the younger kids, but the reality was that their rooms were more trashed than the preschoolers.
These sound like complaints, but really they are just observations. I am happy with how the day went and the way my kids handled themselves. On a lighter note, we are taking a trip this weekend with Abuelito and Don Ricardo. We are visiting the ruins at Copan. I went to see these ruins when I studied abroad in Guatemala, but I don't mind taking another trip. It will be over ten hours by car, not factoring in any unexpected road hazards that are sure to happen. We are leaving at 4 in the morning tomorrow. Should make for a good story. Stay tuned...
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