Superman - Guest Author Zach Barnes

        Thursday was the first day I went to a school because I had been working other places. I had already played soccer with the kids in town. When we went to the first school, the elementary school, everyone was busy. Mr. Patterson was doing Recreation. Miss Allyson was talking to some children. There was a puppet skit going on. Brandi and I were sitting at the back, leaning against a wall. We were blowing up inflatable balls.

We looked over to see a kid we recognized from the town. We had begun calling him Superman. He was peering over the wall, watching us interact with the school children. Since we didn’t have anything special we were assigned to do right then, we started handing him crackers over the wall and doing things to make him laugh.

        Once we began to be involved in dealing with the elementary school kids, we still looked over to see him continue peering back over the wall. Right before we left the elementary school, while we were packing up our things, we saw Superman climbing on his bike and riding down the road back towards Jalaca.

        I think Miss Allyson asked one of the teachers about him. His name was Gary. He couldn’t afford the school uniform; so, he was unable to go to school.

        So we packed everything back in the truck and started riding to the next place, a middle school. We passed a very familiar boy wearing a Superman shirt on the way.

        The middle school was a much more frustrating experience. The Honduras middle school kids acted about the same as American middle school kids – difficult to teach, tough to keep their attention and somewhat disrespectful. Toward the end of this visit, I became very discouraged with the whole situation and the lack of responsiveness these middle schoolers had in comparison to the earlier elementary schoolers. As I was discussing my frustrations with my mom, she told me of her discussion with Mrs. Grooms and how if even one kid was impacted by what we did, then all of the frustrations would be worth it.

        As I looked around, I saw that familiar Superman tee-shirt and that face peering through that fence. Superman Gary had followed us a couple of miles from the elementary school just to hear what we had to say – all over again. And I couldn’t help but feel that maybe all we had done that day – just maybe – it had been for Gary to hear.  

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Ayers)