Life in secundaria

Today I received a glimpse of what my life will be like if I work in Secundaria...Wow! Secundaria is the three sections of older girls in Miacatlan; they are teenagers. Right now I am leaning toward working in Secundaria. I think this is the group that needs my help the most and I think there are so many more opportunities to interact. I am a little nervous because everyone says this is the toughest age to work with, but I really felt good about it. I am going to have a meeting with one of the directors to discuss my options.

Anyway, my day began at 4:45 a.m. I went to the segundo section of Secundaria and helped supervise chores with the other encargada. At 6:30 the girls ate breakfast and then went to school at 7. I had time to quickly down three cups of coffee before I had to do sweeping chores at 8. At 10, I helped set up and serve breakfast. From about 11 to 1, I had time to do my laundry and read. Lunch was at 2 and then the girls had to work in the fields for two hours helping to pick the corn. After that they studied, showered, ate dinner, read, prayed and went to bed. Needless to say my 15 hour day has left me exhausted!

But, the best part of my day happened at the end. I was talking to some of the older girls about me and my life. They asked about my Goddaughter and I told them I had known her for six years. They then asked what group from Minnesota I used to come down with. I described some of the people in the group and they remembered them. And Then to my surprise, they wanted to sing songs they had learned from our group years ago. They remembered the words. I was totally floored. We came down for one week at a time and are remembered more than six years later. I am so proud to have been part of those groups and I am so proud to know that the work we did was valuable.

Well, I am off to sleep. I am doing the same thing tomorrow with terceros and then with primeros (other sections of Secundaria) on Wednesday.

Peace