Just Another Boy in the Kite Contest

Flying kites on the Day of the Dead is a tradition in Guatemala, and this year, our mayor decided to organize a special kite-flying contest for kite-flyers of all ages.

We heard about it over the loud speakers (it's a very small town). Lu wanted to go, but then, at the last minute, changed his mind. And then he changed it back again. So he got his little kite, and off we went.

He wasn't sure if he was going to participate

in the contest.

So he just ran around, off to the side.

But then they announced that

his age group was coming up, and

to please approach the organizers to sign up.

He wasn't sure. He looked at the other kids.

He gave it a good, long think...

 

and then, with a tiny push from me,

and a lady standing next to me,

and his grandmother,

and the guy in the blue pants

(who waved a friendly "come here", 

for which I nominate him for sainthood)...

 

... he signed up!

There was a little practice time before the contest,

 

 and then they called the participants to line up

and show their kites.

And the contest began...

 

Lu's kite crashed a few times...

but he always managed to get it flying again.

Lu didn't actually make his own kite. A friend gave it to him for his birthday. The more serious competitors made their own kites, and the originality of the designs were an important part of the competition. It's about looks and ability to stay in the air, and go really high. Lu's kite was very simple, so he knew he wasn't going to win, but he says that next year he'll make his own kite and really compete.

Some of the kites were incredibly elaborate.

 

I'm proud of him for participating. He is usually reluctant to participate in big local events because the boys can be rough, and sometimes he gets pushed around. He gets picked on because he's usually the only white kid, and he understands it, and we talk about it, but it's still hard to be the odd one out - whether it's because you look different, or move differently, or talk differently, or have a different belief system, or different abilities, or think differently from the majority of people around you - it's always hard to be different. But today, Lu's differences didn't cause problems - he was just another boy in the kite contest, which is exactly what he wanted to be.

A Writing Breakthrough

These are my new favorite pants. Found them for about $1.50 at a thrift shop (the only way I shop). They didn't come with the avocado stain. That's from lunch. And that's my new no-longer-a-smoker waistline that I'm working on accepting, because -apparently- I'm serially starting a diet tomorrow because there's ice-cream today.

The other day I posted something about this writing assignment - how Lu had put zero effort into it, and how disappointed I was.

The next day, we sat down and I had him read it to me. He agreed that it was pretty crap. I told him that I thought that it was a waste of time and paper to have a writing class if he didn't really want to write (and I tried to do so in a non-judgemental tone). I also told him that knowing how to write well could be really handy in life, and how cool the writer's life can be. But that, if he really wasn't that interested, we could skip writing class. 

I was afraid he'd take me up on my offer, but then, on his own, he picked up his notebook, went back to his desk, and wrote an entirely new comparison/contrast essay titled "Homeschool vs. School". 

The handwriting was better, the spelling was better, and he put a lot more thought into the actual writing.

 

After we edited, he wrote a final draft and then typed it up.  

- For typing, I'll sometimes put a book over his hands on the keyboard,

to get him to keep his eyes on the screen. -

I'm not sure exactly what it was, 

but something clicked.

Here it is, typed by Lu:

Homeschool vs. School

When I was five years old I started going to a school. I kept on going there and made lots of friends.  One day I met a boy and he became my best friend.  A few years passed and he started to bully me all the time.  So I decided that I would start to homeschool to spend my time with my mom, instead of spending it with bullies.

Homeschool and school are similar in many ways.  You have fun in both of them.  You have special activities, you have your friends and your teacher close, and you have recess. The most important thing is that you learn and you have fun learning.

Homeschool and school are also very, very, very different. In homeschool you have lots of fun with your mom or dad, while in school you have fun with your friends. In homeschool you can work inside or outside. In school you have to work inside. In homeschool you learn more than you do in school, you have more fun, and you can choose what to learn. 

The last sentence of the second paragraph. That one's my favorite.

I'm glad that, besides the bullying, he remembers his school experience fondly, and that he sees homeschooling as something that he chose. Kids, like adults, appreciate having a say in things, and given a choice, they'll often surprise you for the best.

The Bone Man and the Magic Stone

My sweet boy bullied again.
He's really becoming an expert in the field.

We left early in the morning to go to the town fair, where a temporary arcade has been set up. We're on break and Lu wanted to go play the video games before the other kids got out of school. It had gone well the day before. A few boys had started giving him a hard time and he had stood his ground. 

We got there at noon, half an hour before the public school lets out. There were only 2 or 3 other kids there. Lu got his choice of game and was playing when the bell rang. Kids raced out of the school and a group of about 15 boys ran straight for the arcade.

I was sitting on a bench outside the arcade, reading, and the blue curtain didn't let me see inside. 15 minutes later, Lu came out and said "Let's go now."

We made it through the better part of town and then sat on a bench in an empty park, and the tears came streaming down. 

The boys had first circled him. Then they started pushing. Then they pulled his hair. Then one boy yanked off Lu's hat and started running. Lu ran after him, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and demanded his hat be returned. He went back to his game. They kept running past him and punching him. One boy even hit him on the head. At one point, Lu turned around and pushed a boy out of the arcade, flat on his ass. Lu was angry. He wanted to fight. It was when an older boy came up behind him and used a very vulgar phrase, that Lu finally walked out and came to me.

I wanted to go back. I wanted him to point them out to me. For a moment, we almost did. But then we thought about it and realized that it could just make things worse. So, instead, we talked about the fact that there are bullies everywhere, and that we must learn to deal with them without making enemies out of them. In such a small town, one really doesn't want enemies.

We got home and Lu had another long cry with his daddy. We had lunch and talked more about it. Basically, bullying sucks. Bullies run the world. This is the way it is.

Whenever something like this happens we bring up the possibility of going to spend some time with Cha's family in UK. Although I can't imagine going back to the world of cars, tickets, taxes and lines, I do like the idea of going back to the world of libraries, museums, cultural diversity, basic human rights... Lu is intrigued too, but has a hard time thinking of leaving our home and our pets.

I don't know if he really understands that in other places we wouldn't be as "different", places where he would just blend in. I've never really wanted to put it to him quite like that. I've explained that those boys are just testing his reactions because he seems so different to them, that they need to prove that he also feels pain, gets mad, bleeds... It's a difficult concept to grasp - our history classes will hopefully help shed some light on the historical reasons for this.

Several hours later, getting into the shower, Lu suddenly started feeling a terrible pain in his shoulder, where one of the boys had punched him. 

Dislocated. 

The closest hospital is 3 hours away. So we called the Bone Man. 

The Bone Man, or huesero in Spanish, is taught the art of manipulating bones. It is an inherited trade, usually passed down from parents, aunts, or uncles. When someone gets hurt in town, they go to him - unless it's a fracture. So Cha ran down to fetch him. We've had to call him before when our older students have dislocated shoulders doing acrobatics. He's always there and ready. 

They were back in less than 15 minutes. Lu was scared. He'd seen the procedure done on someone else who was yelling in pain. But he needed not worry, it wasn't that bad for him. There was a bit of pain with the pulling and twisting, but Lu kept a brave face. 

Then, the Bone Man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, smooth, round stone, and started pushing the shoulder back in place with it. Soon, Lu's face relaxed and he was able to move his arm around again.

He wants to cut his hair now. He says he loves his long hair, but that he doesn't want to live like this the rest of his childhood. I told him that it wouldn't necessarily stop all the bullying, and that he shouldn't let idiots make him do something he doesn't want to do. He said he knew those things, but that he still wanted to do it. OK, I said. (but I hope he changes his mind)

And I'm torn. Do I keep on preaching peace to my sweet boy and manifesting a future world of respectful camaraderie, or do I accept that idiots are and will always be everywhere, and train him in the fine art of ass-kicking?

*  *  *  *  *  *

I get up to make a snack, hang out with the guys a while, Cha and I keep on telling Lu that if he cuts his hair he's letting them win, Lu insists he wants to cut it, an hour or so goes by, I come back to post this photo (taken last night after the Bone Man operation) -

Lu comes up and sits next to me, looks at the picture, wraps his arm around my shoulder and says: "and to think I was going to cut off my hair for those jerks."  

YES! One for the hometeam.