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I had my first day of work last Thursday, and what a day it was! I had been warned that this place was disorganized, but what happened Thursday was a step above what anyone had warned. I spent the morning observing some of the classes and just kind of getting to know the school. After recreo I joined my roommate, Jeremy, with the first grade class. Apparently, during recreo some of the colegio kids (7th-9th grade students) had gotten permission to watch a film. I´m not entirely sure what they were watching as the title was in Spanish, but it was some horror film by the makers of Saw... clearly something most children in the states wouldn´t be allowed to watch. Besides being given permission to watch the film, they were also given permission to use this as an "organized" activity to raise money for the school... an organized activity that none of the teachers actually knew about, of course. So, they began charging the children 5 lempira a piece (approximately $0.25 and all of their lunch money) to watch this film. Once they´d admitted a good number of 1st through 3rd grade students, the children started acting like children do... being rowdy. So, the colegio students kicked them out... then began the UPRISING! A good 20 kids storming the door and the colegio classroom screaming "el dinero! el dinero!". I´ve never seen anything like it! After the kids took down a colegio kid and left him with a good goose egg on his forehead and one of the colegio kids punched a 2nd grader leaving him with a bloody nose, things finally calmed down. I addressed the principal about it (who speaks no English) and told him that they should give the money back, and he said that it was the kids fault for being rowdy.... THEY´RE KIDS! Unreal! This place is crazy!

I found out what I´m going to teach: In the mornings I´ll be helping Jeremy with his kids, before lunch I will work with the colegio kids on reading, and after lunch until the end of the day I will work with the children with especially low levels of English. I´m really looking forward to it.

There´s truly no way to explain all of the things that I´m experiencing down here. The poverty that I saw on the bus ride to San Pedro yesterday was heart-wrenching. The poverty here is almost as bad. I knew what I was coming down to, but I don´t think there´s any way to truly be ready. Nonetheless, I´ll do my best to relay some of my experiences to you all back home, but no matter what I say there´s no words to explain it.

I miss you all already! ... as well as good food, good meat (that´s not hacked up with a machete), hot showers, paved streets... this will be a long 5 months. But, I´m excited about everything to come, and I know this will be an incredible experience! Until next time: I love you guys!