An open mind and a heart to serve: First Day of School

Today I got up early (6am) to get ready for the "first day of school" which basically just means a welcome and performances (no actual classes). Well the school bus normally is at the corner around 6:45am and leaves at 7am to the school (on normal school days) so I got there around 6:45am. It was there, but we didn't leave until 7:15am. I found out then that the acto (event) wasn't going to begin until 8am. Hmmm, so I sat and read my book for awhile and greeted teachers and students as they passed. It was rainy and all the students and parents hovered together underneath the overhangs by the classrooms waiting for the acto to begin. I saw one of my counterparts and he told me that he heard the acto wasn't going to start until 9am. Yikes! He said, "remember, this is Nicaragua". Funny--his words, not mine :)

Anyway, the acto started around 8:30am with a Catholic priest welcoming everyone and opening in prayer. Well, this turned into an hour long mass. They sang songs, prayed, passed the collection plates, and lit candles. No separation of church and state here (this is the main public high school in Boaco). After the priest left, they announced the teachers' names and forgot Kelli (other PCV) and me... Then they announced a dance performance. I had to leave because I was supposed to be at my other school around 9:30am before the students left at 9:45am to give them some instructions for tomorrow's class. I stood out on the corner on the highway and a few taxis passed by completely full and then one finally picked me up and another guy. He drove all around town before taking me to the school, so I felt really bad making all the students wait. Oh well. I showed them an example Valentine's Day envelope and a valentine in English and announced that we were going to have a Valentine's Day party tomorrow :) I had talked to the teacher about this idea and we got excited so we went with it. I'm looking forward to it!

So I was texting Kelli later and found out that they eventually announced our names at the acto around 10:30am. Well, I was long gone by then. Oops! I couldn't have stayed though--I remember last year's went til noon...