Lights

I may or may not have blown the electricity on my block here in Gracias.

Let me backtrack. Since having moved to Honduras, one of the biggest things that I have learned is to never take anything for granted. Paved roads, for example. Another example would be the ability to walk around outside without being verbally harassed by men (light hair and skin makes girls targets, I think). But one of the most important things that I have come to appreciate is electricity, and more specifically, electrical outlets. I have one electrical outlet in my room. That means that I can plug in one electronic device at a time. This becomes especially harrowing at night, when I have to choose between my fan, my alarm clock, and my many electronics (phone, computer, ipod, camera, etc) that all need to be charged. Furthermore, my one electrical outlet only has two prongs, so I can't even use it half of the time.

But there are realistic solutions to such problems! One of the teachers at my school so kindly lent me a 3 prong adapter, as well as a surge protector. So last night I very excitedly plugged in the adaptor and then the surge protector. It was plugged in for a good ten seconds before the entire house went dark. As the children started screaming and excitedly looking for candles (apparently the loss of electricity is a fairly common occurrence), I looked out the window and saw that I couldn't see a single light in any house or any street lamp in any direction. And the teachers who live up the mountains just told me that their electricity blew out last night too. oops.

And there was nothing that we could do! The children lit candles and we sat around in the dark for about an hour, and then the lights came back on. But then they went off again half an hour later. And this morning they were on for a while, but then went off again right before I left the house. So the moral of my story is, appreciate your electricity! Some of us down here don't have it, and not having electricity is a major bummer. Also, don't use surge protectors if you're not sure of the havoc they could wreak.

I had parent-teacher orientation last night and it went so well! I am super excited to meet my little kiddies on Monday. I should probably feel more nervous than I do, considering that small children's educations are in my hands. But I think it's going to be such a fun year!! :)