"Teaching"

I have been in Belize nearly one month. Where does the time go? SERIOUSLY, where does it go? I mean does time even exist? I'll stop now, before this post turns into a philosophic/quantum rant.
I work at the one and only prison in Belize. Currently I'm a teaching at WYF (Wagner's Youth Facility), a.k.a. boot camp. It's defiantly not a "normal" teaching gig. Rather, more poignantly, it's absolutely not a normal teaching gig. I actually have trouble calling it a teaching gig. Why do I keep saying teaching gig? (again!? blast!). I teach math, but I say teach very loosely, since some days I more or less just hangout.
Kolbe, the prison, is a very fascinating place. I've only been there a week and I can already see that every day presents a new unexpected roadblock to trying to follow any plan that may or may not ever existed. Maybe a guard won't come to work....class cancelled....maybe an inmate escaped last night, entire jail is now locked down and the two adult inmate teachers, Charles(life skills) and Sergio(trade) that help Pat and I at school can literally not come. So the schedule that Pat and I made is trashed and now instead of 3 classes for one period, pat teaches English, in the life skills class, and I teach math, while the third class is now with level 1, which does not attend school, doing drills. Just another day. Tomorrow I'm suppose to teach 3 classes, but perhaps there will be a repeat of Friday and Sambula, the head guard at WYF, awesome guy, will come into our office, "Hey Dudes," he likes to joke at us white boys by calling us dudes, "all the boys are high, we can't have class!" "Ok, Sambula, we'll stay until after lunch." Days like these, instead of waiting for the 25-30 minute bus ride, back to the city, Pat and I leave the front gates, and head down the mile and half stretch of highway back to the Western Highway, waving down any and every vehicle going our way to try to catch a ride. Sometimes we walk the mile and half, and then try to hitch back to the city from the highway until a bus comes and we hail it to stop. And sometimes we get lucky and get rides, mostly in backs of pick-up trucks.

That's a pretty typical day. And thus far....I f-ing love it! I'm so happy about my placement. When the plan melts away, it opens up opportunities to just be with the boys, which is why I'm here. At least at the momemnt that's why I think I'm here.

For today, converse with  someone you wouldn't normally converse with,
Jonathan

books I'm reading
Gracias!-Henri Nouwen
Pedagogy of the Oppressed- Paulo Freire
Autobiography of a Yogi- Paramahansa Yogananda
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

movies recently watched:
Almost Famous (I'm will be on a 60s-70s music kick for the next month)
Zombieland

looking close
but so far away
cross culture

check out Jeremy's new blog post Photographic Goodness, which can be accessed on the right collum of my blog. It has some pictures of my house!