NormalThings

El Estudio

   So I have now been here a little more than a month, and I just had a review of things with the Directora Sor Mirna, and she said she is happy with how I am adjusting to things here. Things are starting to be more normal.  The culture and the schedule come more easily to me now.  I realize however, that that means very little to yal, as I have not told yal what normal is. 

Monday to Thursday Normal schedule:

5:20 (or earlier if I wan to go running) wake up (the girls wake up at this time too)-get ready for the day

6:00 Me or Tracy has to be outside and go to breakfast with the girls in the comedor, making sure we say our grace before and thanksgiving after the meal  

6:30 Supervise chores for an hour in the corridors, Tracy supervises chores in the Lavanderia, and the sisters supervise the chores in the kitchen, chapel, and out back.  I usually eat breakfast while supervising chores. 

7:00 School starts and on Tuesday And Thursdays I go to mass with them, while other days  I help Sor Mirna do random tasks and occasionally have a little time to myself when I can do laundry or skype or email.

11:00 Go across the street to help Doña Samira serve the kids at Cenprof, which usually means serving drinks, and washing and drying the plates and cups.

1:00pm head back and eat lunch and at one fifteen, school is over and then at

1:30 Tracy or I supervise the internas’s lunch.  After lunch they go do officios/chores again.

3:00 Teach resfuerzo classes until 3:45/4:00 except Tuesdays when I go out shopping/ running errands with the girls who need to get stuff. 

4:00- 5:00 time with the girls in recreo

5:00-7:15 Estudio riguroso  where all sixty-four girls are supposed to be in silent study except for a break at six fifteen when we all pray the rosary together.

7:15 say grace with girls then go eat dinner with the sisters 

Norma hiding from the camara while studying during recreo

Fridays:

Mornings: same, but after second oficios we have recreo, rosary

5:00 pm and then dinner for Internas, 

6:30 a movie which ends at 

9:00pm, I finally eat dinner.   

Then Finally Saturday comes, my one free day! Wow it is soo nice, but ohh how I feel guilty, because a day of rest is unknown in these parts professors work usually at other jobs, or teach on weekends too.  There is always work to be done, and its almost a necessity to do work all the time, to have a decent standard of living.  Tracy and I get our day off and though we feel lazy at times we are soo blessed, to have our day off! Ahh to sleep in till six! What a blessing, and then Me and Tracy usually go walk around the city and go out for lunch and dinner. And then Sunday comes around again and we have four hours of studio Riguroso 2 in the morning from 8- 10 am and then two more hours in the afternoon, 5 -7pm!   Man these girls are disciplined! Even though some of them end up talking a couple times here and there, for the most part I am blown away that there is that many girls able to be quiet in the same room for that long!  

The hijas de casa would kill me if thye saw this photo!

So basically this has been the past week, following the schedules more or less, while along the way going to the doctor for some kind of allergic reaction; receiving a special award with the other professors for the award our school recieved for international for educational excellence; trying some great food during the school's Honduran Gastronomical festival; and  being tricked by one of the kids at Cenprof, to make him an Id with the name of a famous soccer player instead of his own name! I also stayed up late this week helping one of the Hijas de Casa pass physics and have been spending time generally getting to know the girls in the upper classes a lot better, as I talk to them about their studies. Also I got to go to this famous vacation pool place this Sunday, on a school trip with the hijas de casa!

The hijas de casa being ridiculous as usual!

Life here is wonderful, it is challenging, but it is like that for everyone, though people here don't have free time like we do in the states, they are quite human and find ways to take breaks.  I have found that I really need to just take advantage of our times of prayer in adoration, the rosary and at Mass.  It rejuvenates you when you are empty and centers you when you are going crazy.  I’m just beginning to understand how much rest the spirit gives us in prayer!  Well Thanks for reading, sorry so long, its just we have long days :! 

Prayer intentions for the week, That the flu stops spreading among the girls, and that my blood pressure goes back to normal(I've been having some problems with having low blood pressure, but its not serious I just don't feel that wonderful always), and for a safe trip to the capital Tegucigalpa--I leave for there Thursday to visit a friend and to meet the head of the Salesian order who is visiting from Rome.
God Bless yal are in my prayers!