Too cool [cold] for school

The kids here are too cool for school, but it’s definitely not a snow day.

I peer down at the foaming water beneath the bridge. Sunlight sparkles through tiny breaks in the thick foliage. My ears fill with the sound of water; water under attack as delighted children fling themselves from vines into its cool depths. Expectant faces turn upward, waiting, watching, wondering. I have cliff jumped before, but this seems much higher. I’m nervous, determined and slightly worried, worried about falling on the rocks at the base of the small waterfall. Laurel and Pablo [one of the teachers from the high school who often hangs out with the kids from the Hogar] join me, as well as two Honduran guys. They’ve parked their blue truck right behind us on the bridge, but insist that there’s enough room to jump. As if to prove their point, they count to three and leap, clearing the rocks below and bobbing to the surface as the current begins to drag them toward the river. A few minutes pass and Pablo jumps. I can’t think about it anymore. Before my mind has a chance to catch up, I send my body over the edge. Seconds feel like minutes; the air binds me in a protective cocoon, but gravity’s greedy fingers wrench me free and my body hits the water with a definitive bang. I wriggle to the surface and wipe water droplets from my eyes, reaching for the rocks on the shore. I am satisfied.

Honduras doesn’t have snow days, they have political days. School is cancelled when a toque de queda [curfew] is issued. We didn’t have classes for two days because Zelaya made a stealthy return into Tegucigalpa on Monday and because of unrest there, a nationwide curfew was issued. In other news, the pool turned a slimy green and had to be drained, which meant that when the kids were stuck at the Hogar with nothing to do, we had to find somewhere to cool off. The river was the next best thing.

Why did the river suddenly become better than the pool? The answer is simple. The pool had gone a few days without chlorine. The heavy rains had washed in dirt and leaves and grimy children had forgotten to wash their feet before jumping in. The filters in the pool had become clogged. Algae began to grow, slowly at first, but then faster and faster. The pool was no longer refreshing, it had become stagnant and ugly. I think our minds are like the pool. If we don't constantly add new ideas and thoughts [chlorine], they become slimy and stagnant. If our filters stop working and we let leaves and bugs [bad thoughts, words, images, sounds] clog our pipes, the water [our life] will no longer be precious. The river's constant motion and influx of new water [ideas] keeps the water clean and pure. I want my life to be a river, not a stagnant, slimy pool.

And I'm definitely too cool for school. I'm counting down the weeks until vacation.