A little break from life.
I love those moments we get once awhile in life to just “get away.” This is why I love Thursday. My students have 1 hour and 20 minutes of gym class. None of the other teachers have breaks at this time, so I love just sitting in the silence of the computer lab, listen to music, and escaping from the world for just a little bit.
As good as these last few weeks have been in my personal life, I have seen a lot of hurt and tragedy in the lives of people around me. All the students in the public schools in Honduras have not had class for weeks. The teachers have been on strike. In the capital, riots have turned violent and teachers have revolted and there have even been various teachers in the capital killed. There is a generation of students here in Honduras losing their education, not because they want to, but because the government and of what seems like the root of many problems in life…money. The students from the youth group gvc tell me they are so bored and want to go back to school, but as of yet there is no news as to when the students will able to enter once again in the schools.
Talking earlier about the joy of getting to escape from life, on the other hand I think we also have moments in which life seems to completely stop and we realize the true brevity of this life. The other day I was leaving church and I always meet my neighbor who goes to another church in the area to walk back home so I don’t have to walk alone in the dark. Well this day, he met me at church and said a youth who had been attending his church off and on and just been killed and he wanted to go to the viewing. Most of my friends from my church were going as well, so I tagged along because otherwise I would have had no one to walk home with it. The death was very violent and had to do with drugs. Upon entering in the house which was packed with people from all over town, the young boy’s twin brother was standing by the coffin sobbing. There are so many things I just don’t understand in this life. I truly felt as though in that moment, life stood still. “What am I doing here?” “Why did this happen?” “What is my purpose here?” “Am I truly living life to the fullest?” It was a very somber and heartbreaking experience, but a good heart check and reminder of my purpose here on this earth and the realization that we are only invincible until God calls us home.
In lighter news, I have joined the praise band at church. I play the acoustic guitar and sing. I had my first practice last night and it was so much fun playing with a full and rocking band. I still find it so crazy sometimes that I live my life in another language most of the time. Sometimes there are conversations with people in which we switch back from English to Spanish. It is quite cool.
In even lighter news, there are only two more weeks of classes until Semana Santa. This means there are only two weeks of classes until VACATION. Two of my teacher friends and I are headed for El Salvador and my awesome El Salvadorian roommate from college is meeting us there and we are going to spend the week with her family. I am so excited.
Well back to the real world!
-Sarah
Up. Down. Around. 