One Little, Two Little...Nine Little Boys

In the last four days I have been more exhausted, less clean and more tested than in my first two months here I think. No, I wasn't out in a mountain village pouring cement (as some of our groups have done). I was the substitute house mother for the little boy's house (ages 6-11) along with my roommate. We moved in with the boys on Sunday night and were there until this morning when their house parents returned. It was a crazy four days. Besides getting two of the kids up at 5:15 so they could help in the kitchen at 6am and then getting the rest of the boys up so they could be ready for breakfast at 7am, we were making sure they were clean and ready for school each day, helping them with homework, nagging them about their chores, helping them set out clothes for the next day and then starting all over again. Sitting at lunch on Wednesday...I have never heard my name so many times in a half-hour (by the way, I am getting used to responding to a variety of pronunciations of my name as well as Luz. By the time I get home I will probably respond to any kind of mumbled string of letters).
I will say, I don't know if any of the parents of my students in the states can complain about their child's homework unless there is just too much of it. Here in Mexico the parents also get to do a lot of the prep of school materials as well. Besides helping explain math homework, trying to decipher Oaxacan history (in Spanish) and explain it to an 8-year-old, and making sure cursive/handwriting homework was done well; I also got to put contact paper on about 100 little letters and the game pieces for a game of memory, help glue gameboards onto cardboard, sew papers together, make sure kids had dice, tissue paper and other items for school activities, and cover school books with plastic. These poor little kids lug 6-7 books home each day depending on their homework, along with 3-4 spiral notebooks. May I remind you they are as young as 6. It is definitely a different system.

Helping my little charges with homework...nine boys, five different grades, five different sets of homework, two white girls with broken Spanish to help get it all done!

On top of all of this it was just a crazy week at the mission. Hurricane-tpye storm on Monday night with wind, hail, rain and, eventually, no electricity. Craziness for a house of boys, although fun at the same time. Concussion watch for two of our boys on Tuesday night. Up and down every three hours to check for conciousness. Attempting to parent nine boys when I can't say everything I want to in Spanish.

It will be a time I remember fondly though, even for the lack of sleep. The boys are all boy, but loving just the same. I got at least nine hugs and kisses each night as well as requests for songs to be sung at bedtime. A night of all of us being laid out on the floor and couches watching a movie together. Lots of trials, lots of noise, lots of paper airplanes, lots of snuggles, a million questions, and lots of fun. I have to say though, I am ready for a nap.

Snuggle/story time with seven of the nine.