i got to check a kids consequence of washing uniforms today for an hour and a half. i have no idea how it took him so long. i was frustrated because he used way too much water, too much soap, and took way too long. i know they're just things, but we really dont need to waste so much water, and he wasnt listening to me about rinsing the clothes. he missed all of activity time, and everyone came back to wash their clothes, and he was still washing uniforms. at the same time, two boys were yelling at me that the other was bothering them, three were passing a ball around naked in the courtyard - not washing their clothes, one was hitting a superman toy against the steps until limbs were coming off, then responding to my question of 'what are you doing? breaking toys?' to 'no, i have 4 arms, but the other one fell off'. its things like this that make me want to cry. so cute, yet so frustrating. mom - i only hope i was this funny when i was annoying. sorry for how annoying i was, and probably how many times i made you cry.
after cleaning the courtyard of all the soapy water that i'd rung out of pants, my shoes were completely soaked, and i just wanted to cry. i told my boss that i was gonna run to the bathroom and be right back. on my way back, i saw one of the girls i have for additional english classes on thursdays at 5, and she said 'ana, no fuiste a ingles hoy' (you didn't go to english today) and this was icing on the cake. i felt so terrible. i know its only a 30 minute class, but i know what it feels like when my students dont come to class and i felt terrible that i made my girls feel that way, too.
as i was typing this blog post in the section today, one of the boys asked to borrow my phone and typed 'hello ana. te quiero' which means 'hello anna. i love you'. it was cute, and made me smile (:
as challenging as this can be at times, it's my job. all jobs have ups and downs, and going into this i knew this would happen. going into bedtime, i was still a little worked up, but saying goodnight to 34 boys, who pretty much all give me kisses (i'd say i leave with well over 300 goodnight kisses), i feel way better when i leave.
the reasons that make everything better:
