Lovin' the Lanc: July 2010

I have returned to Lancaster County, PA to live for awhile. It’s been 5 years since living in this area, and I have a new excitement for being here. Jason, Asher and I are renting a nice sized house just down the road from my parents.

As I search/wait for a job, I have kept busy with going to weddings, reading good books, spending time with friends and family, and watching our small but awesome garden grow.

Although I would love to have some sort of income, I love being unemployed. Actually, I’ll just claim my well-earned ‘summer vacation’ and call myself a teacher until the end of August. J But I do love having time available to write letters, explore new recipes, visit a friend on a whim, leave early, stay late, take naps…

roommates

pet turtles

Basil day 5

Heirloom tomatoes

some flowers I should know the name of

basil bush

My sparsely-documented time in Honduras has come to a close. It was quite a challenging year; teaching is the hardest thing I have ever done. The heat and humidity was overwhelming, making teaching (much less – planning!) nearly impossible. I quickly realized becoming fluent in Spanish (goal #1) was going to be very hard, considering English is widely used on Roatan. Secondly, I was disappointed to learn how ‘poor’ my students actually were. The wealthy will always be able to find an education and provide for their children, but the poor can not always choose – often someone else has to choose for them.

Needless to say, as time passed I enjoyed living on Roatan more. I slowly got into a routine, learned how to cope with the heat, and became close with my roommate, Amy, and the other teachers. The parents were very kind and welcoming to me, and felt like friends.

In the end, I have come to the conclusion that I do love teaching, and I believe I am a good teacher. I really enjoy the first grade, and absolutely LOVED my students, with their incredible excitement for life and learning, their surprising and humorous comments, and their unconditional love!

Some highlights: