My clothes have been on the line for 24 hours and are just as damp as when I hung them. Oh, Concepcion! I remember once my clothes grew mold because it took so long to dry. Gross.

Well, this morning I went over to the school to tell my duck and grape joke to the other batch of 9th graders. I think they really liked it. Heck, I like telling it. I wish I had more time to spend with these kids - in both sections of the 9th grade - because they are so interesting. The way some of them are so shy they speak with a hand over their mouth. Then others who march right up to me and ask, Hey seño what's shakin'? - in other words. And the way an intimidating little group of 17 year old boys are immediately disarmed with a "buenos dias" because they will always part from their teenage boy goofing off to give a respectful response of "buenos dias."

A lot of the kids today are siblings of my past students. I see their faces and I remember their siblings. One Juana reminds me of another Juana. There are just a few names that circulate around here. For boys: Juan, Pedro, Alonzo, Lorenzo, and for girls: Maria, Juana, Josefa, Catalina. But every now and then there is a kid with a fairly unique name. Today I met "Tiburcio." That's a first, because well, tiburon is shark so I think of him like "Sharky."

I'm feeling better today from my cold. I know I have some people to visit this afternoon but I am still a bit run down. Alonzo, one of the kiddos in 9th grade - a 16 year old I've known since he was 10, was telling me about his family today and we talked about his plans for after 9th grade. His dad has been in the US for years, decades, and his older brothers have all had their stints. I guess Alonzo wants to go now. Either that or be a doctor, he says. Oh boy do I wish for this kid to be a doctor. This town still doesn't have a doctor of it's own. But there's just so much distraction, cost, obstacles to staying in school. The path to el Norte, as dangerous and potentially empty as it may be, is still more real than being a doctor.