Today was a literal day of rest. I pretty much finished planning my trip for when school is done: budgeting, checking into things, making sure of stuff. It takes some work! I did the dishes, talked to family and friends, made tipico for lunch, listened to a downloaded sermon on worship, and got ready for bed. Around 9pm LB comes barging into our room and was like, “We don’t have school tomorrow!” I thought funny joke LB. But it was true. Kirsty had been down at Guancascos and was talking with Froni. Froni had said it was a presidential mandate to close schools all over the country because of the massive amounts of rain we’ve had this week. It’s caused flooding in parts of Honduras and roads are bad in parts as well. No school for me tomorrow!! I get my Memorial Day long weekend after all…
It's also crazy to me that tomorrow is June 1. June 1...the month of May is done and I have 12 more days of the school year left. 12 days left to be a teacher with my fifth graders, to live in Villa Verde, to explore Gracias. Now that the time is drawing to a close, it's becoming much more real for me that I'll be leaving. And because of that, I want to enjoy every part as much as possible.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29
Today was the day to climb Celaque to its highest point, Cerro de Las Minas. This had been a goal all year for some of us, and of course we waited til one of the last weekends to do it; one where it had been raining all week so it was muddy and messy. It was debated about going or not because of that, but in the end Tad and I decided to still go with Don Luis (our neighbor at the comedor). We got up early (5 am) and thankfully it wasn’t raining to start. I had been up the mountain once before, but only to the Mirador de Cascada (Waterfall Lookout). I just kept climbing and climbing and climbing. I recognized some places like the switchbacks the trail starts with and some rest sites, but past the waterfall lookout, it was all new to me. The hike was hard, I’m not gonna lie. I feel like I’m in shape enough, but this killed me. I was huffing and puffing because of the altitude and difficulty of the climb up. I had Don Luis make us walking sticks. He just takes his machete, chops a small tree or branch and whittles the bark off of it and viola a walking stick. If I hadn’t had that, it would’ve been extremely difficult. I got so frustrated that I couldn’t keep up with Don Luis and Tad, but I just had to remind myself I was going to fall behind no matter what and to not get an attitude about it. There were a few times I wanted to give up; my muscles were screaming at me, asking me what was I thinking. Some parts of the trail were easier than others and those parts I enjoyed, but the other parts that were tough, I just had to get through. I carried a small backpack with me with water and food as well. We stopped to rest at one of the three camp sites we saw for our morning ‘snack’ then kept climbing. Don Luis pointed out different plants, trees and birds along the way including wild orchids. We heard a toucan and a quetzal, but weren’t able to see them.
Finally, after five and a half hours of climbing, we made it to the top. It felt amazing! The view wasn’t much, actually none in fact, but the sign was there to prove we had made it. It was windy and cloudy and cooler at the top. I had on a long sleeve and pants and I was chilly. We rested there for a while, enjoying our accomplishment, and then began the trek down. One would think the way down would be easier than the way up…not so. Since it had been raining, the ground was extremely wet and muddy and therefore slippery. So those steep hills I climbed up, well I had to climb down them too, which led to numerous slip and slides on the way down. I accepted the fact I would probably end up on my butt a few times on the way down. Tad and I both got quite muddy and to top things off, it started raining on the way down as well. The walking stick saved me again numerous times. The hardest part for me on the way down was the pounding on my knees; I was constantly walking downwards, trying to keep myself from falling and my knees killed. The rest of my legs at that point were so fatigued they just kept doing what they had been doing for the last 6-7 hours.
At last we got back to the visitor’s center, which was familiar territory and descended down to Villa Verde. It was such a great feeling to know I accomplished that hike to 9,000 plus feet in 10 hours. I ate some soup, took a warm shower and literally laid in bed the rest of the day, letting my body recuperate. Day seized.
Finally, after five and a half hours of climbing, we made it to the top. It felt amazing! The view wasn’t much, actually none in fact, but the sign was there to prove we had made it. It was windy and cloudy and cooler at the top. I had on a long sleeve and pants and I was chilly. We rested there for a while, enjoying our accomplishment, and then began the trek down. One would think the way down would be easier than the way up…not so. Since it had been raining, the ground was extremely wet and muddy and therefore slippery. So those steep hills I climbed up, well I had to climb down them too, which led to numerous slip and slides on the way down. I accepted the fact I would probably end up on my butt a few times on the way down. Tad and I both got quite muddy and to top things off, it started raining on the way down as well. The walking stick saved me again numerous times. The hardest part for me on the way down was the pounding on my knees; I was constantly walking downwards, trying to keep myself from falling and my knees killed. The rest of my legs at that point were so fatigued they just kept doing what they had been doing for the last 6-7 hours.
At last we got back to the visitor’s center, which was familiar territory and descended down to Villa Verde. It was such a great feeling to know I accomplished that hike to 9,000 plus feet in 10 hours. I ate some soup, took a warm shower and literally laid in bed the rest of the day, letting my body recuperate. Day seized.
Wednesday-Friday, May 26-28
Wednesday
I did chapel and decided to talk about being yourself and that God made you just the way you are. The rest of the day went fine at school. We went to town and it was raining on the way down. I was in the back of the truck so I got wet. Awesome. I didn’t do much after I got home as far as schoolwork, just relaxed. Sarah came up with Gustavo later that night and took the dog back with him. I liked Fitz, but he was biting too much and sad to say I don’t think we all wanted the responsibility of him anymore. He will always be my first puppy though.
Thursday
There was craziness and confusion again in trying to explain the language bio report next step of making the topical outline a rough draft. The kids needed to take the outline they had made and now instead of just having facts, they would convert those facts into sentences. Each main idea, of which there are there are three, will be a paragraph and all the subpoints in those main ideas make up the paragraph. The kids had a hard time understanding. Like I’ve said before, a great amount of kids here lack the skills they need to do things that their counterparts in the States know how to do. Some middle schoolers don’t know how to find important details in a paragraph. Some my fifth graders don’t know how to write complete sentences. Some of it has to do with the language thing, but it makes it that much more challenging and rewarding to help these kids try to understand these skills they need. I had my kids make up homework and test in seatwork. It was rainy and chillier all day; it’s been pretty much the same all week. Welcome rainy season in Honduras.
Friday
Today was Founder’s Day, which is specific to Abundant Life. The day honors Dr. Evelio Reyes, who is the man who started the church and school in Tegucigalpa. The day is to celebrate his influence in Honduras, the organization of Vida Abundante, and his life. While I think this is all well and good that we honor a man who has helped to provide an education and been a good influence in Honduras, at times they went over the top of how they portrayed him. I mean no disrespect to Dr. Reyes at all, just the way he is presented at times glorifies him in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable, like it’s too much. They showed a video about him (which I didn’t see all of it and it was in Spanish) and Mr. Calderon talked for a little while about how this school and the students there will make a difference in the future of Honduras. I believe that with all my heart, but some of the things he said to motivate the students to think about that were not quite on target. Anyways, all of that aside, we got to have cupcakes and juice as part of the celebration, which was great. For the younger kids, the electricity went out halfway through the movie, so we had to come back later in the day (which interrupted our classes; not fun). The kids were dismissed for home at 1 pm, but the teachers had to stay til 3 pm to get our full work day in. I got a lot done during that time, so it was fine with me. The evening was relaxing with chicken barbecue pizza for dinner and movie to finish.
I did chapel and decided to talk about being yourself and that God made you just the way you are. The rest of the day went fine at school. We went to town and it was raining on the way down. I was in the back of the truck so I got wet. Awesome. I didn’t do much after I got home as far as schoolwork, just relaxed. Sarah came up with Gustavo later that night and took the dog back with him. I liked Fitz, but he was biting too much and sad to say I don’t think we all wanted the responsibility of him anymore. He will always be my first puppy though.
Thursday
There was craziness and confusion again in trying to explain the language bio report next step of making the topical outline a rough draft. The kids needed to take the outline they had made and now instead of just having facts, they would convert those facts into sentences. Each main idea, of which there are there are three, will be a paragraph and all the subpoints in those main ideas make up the paragraph. The kids had a hard time understanding. Like I’ve said before, a great amount of kids here lack the skills they need to do things that their counterparts in the States know how to do. Some middle schoolers don’t know how to find important details in a paragraph. Some my fifth graders don’t know how to write complete sentences. Some of it has to do with the language thing, but it makes it that much more challenging and rewarding to help these kids try to understand these skills they need. I had my kids make up homework and test in seatwork. It was rainy and chillier all day; it’s been pretty much the same all week. Welcome rainy season in Honduras.
Friday
Today was Founder’s Day, which is specific to Abundant Life. The day honors Dr. Evelio Reyes, who is the man who started the church and school in Tegucigalpa. The day is to celebrate his influence in Honduras, the organization of Vida Abundante, and his life. While I think this is all well and good that we honor a man who has helped to provide an education and been a good influence in Honduras, at times they went over the top of how they portrayed him. I mean no disrespect to Dr. Reyes at all, just the way he is presented at times glorifies him in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable, like it’s too much. They showed a video about him (which I didn’t see all of it and it was in Spanish) and Mr. Calderon talked for a little while about how this school and the students there will make a difference in the future of Honduras. I believe that with all my heart, but some of the things he said to motivate the students to think about that were not quite on target. Anyways, all of that aside, we got to have cupcakes and juice as part of the celebration, which was great. For the younger kids, the electricity went out halfway through the movie, so we had to come back later in the day (which interrupted our classes; not fun). The kids were dismissed for home at 1 pm, but the teachers had to stay til 3 pm to get our full work day in. I got a lot done during that time, so it was fine with me. The evening was relaxing with chicken barbecue pizza for dinner and movie to finish.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday and Tuesday, May 24 & 25
Monday was a normal Monday for me; it’s a good day to ease into the week. My kids kept kids kept asking about the field trip like if they could bring cellphones, ipods, wear normal clothes, when they would go, now long, what we would do…typical fifth grade questions about everything haha.
Tuesday is always a tiring day for some reason. We still had no chimbo and were supposed to bring the container down, but forgot so we had sandwiches for dinner again. I had crazy chaos in language trying to explain our language biography report. Questions were flying everywhere almost before I had opened my mouth. I reminded the kids to wait until I was done giving all the directions, and THEN they could ask questions. Our field trip to Celaque with sixth grade got changed to next Wednesday, so the kids were super disappointed (which is why I told Mr. Lara to tell them and why). It will be better for them because Mr. Bran can come and they will get the whole day off school.
During Bible class today the seventh graders had to take a quiz. I told them no talking until everyone is done and they could do homework, read, draw or rest. So most of the kids were done, but a few weren’t. I went to stand by a few girls that had been prone to wandering eyes and when they were done I moved between a boy and girl I knew had some cheating pasts. As I stood there, one girl wrote the answer for a quiz question on an eraser. I saw her drawing but didn’t see what it was until I saw her start to pull the eraser out of its sleeve. I grabbed it and told her she was going to the office after the quiz. Then I see another girl right next to her write the same answer in her notebook right in front of me! The ‘ironic’ thing was that it was the answer the only boy in class not finished with his quiz needed and he was sitting next to the girl who had written the answer in her notebook. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I brought both of them to the office, wrote up conduct reports for both of them and had the principals talk to them. They tried making excuses saying they were finished (which doesn’t matter to me) and Mr. Lara kept saying to not pretend like we’re stupid. I was so angry because I make it so easy for them to do well on these quizzes and they still cheat. These girls had had problems with cheating in other classes this past week as well, which made me even more angry. A fun way to end Tuesday.
Tuesday night we had a plague of flying termites invade Villa Verde and our house. They fly around after it rains a lot and lose their wings and crawl around everywhere: floor, beds, bathroom, everywhere. Rumor has it they can burrow in your ears while you’re sleeping. Not sure if it’s true o not, but still…gross. The one thing I will NOT miss about Honduras is the myriad of bugs we’ve experienced and having to kill them all. I will not be squirmy going back home.
Tuesday is always a tiring day for some reason. We still had no chimbo and were supposed to bring the container down, but forgot so we had sandwiches for dinner again. I had crazy chaos in language trying to explain our language biography report. Questions were flying everywhere almost before I had opened my mouth. I reminded the kids to wait until I was done giving all the directions, and THEN they could ask questions. Our field trip to Celaque with sixth grade got changed to next Wednesday, so the kids were super disappointed (which is why I told Mr. Lara to tell them and why). It will be better for them because Mr. Bran can come and they will get the whole day off school.
During Bible class today the seventh graders had to take a quiz. I told them no talking until everyone is done and they could do homework, read, draw or rest. So most of the kids were done, but a few weren’t. I went to stand by a few girls that had been prone to wandering eyes and when they were done I moved between a boy and girl I knew had some cheating pasts. As I stood there, one girl wrote the answer for a quiz question on an eraser. I saw her drawing but didn’t see what it was until I saw her start to pull the eraser out of its sleeve. I grabbed it and told her she was going to the office after the quiz. Then I see another girl right next to her write the same answer in her notebook right in front of me! The ‘ironic’ thing was that it was the answer the only boy in class not finished with his quiz needed and he was sitting next to the girl who had written the answer in her notebook. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I brought both of them to the office, wrote up conduct reports for both of them and had the principals talk to them. They tried making excuses saying they were finished (which doesn’t matter to me) and Mr. Lara kept saying to not pretend like we’re stupid. I was so angry because I make it so easy for them to do well on these quizzes and they still cheat. These girls had had problems with cheating in other classes this past week as well, which made me even more angry. A fun way to end Tuesday.
Tuesday night we had a plague of flying termites invade Villa Verde and our house. They fly around after it rains a lot and lose their wings and crawl around everywhere: floor, beds, bathroom, everywhere. Rumor has it they can burrow in your ears while you’re sleeping. Not sure if it’s true o not, but still…gross. The one thing I will NOT miss about Honduras is the myriad of bugs we’ve experienced and having to kill them all. I will not be squirmy going back home.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday-Sunday, May 21-23
Friday afternoon finally came and I was ready to relax for the weekend. Since there’s not trash pickup here in Villa Verde, most people burn their trash. We used to bring it to school when it got full, but lately we’ve been doing it the Honduran way and burning our trash in the backyard. We had three bags of trash and I started building the fire for it. It takes a while for some stuff to get going so I was watching it, throwing stuff on to it when all the sudden I hear this huge explosion and felt something hot and sizzling on me. My flight or fight response kicked in so I ran back to the house, tore off my ipod, whipped the cold shower on and stood there for a few minutes waiting until my adrenaline calmed down enough for me to figure out what happened. I was covered in black ash stuff, soaking wet and some spots of my neck hurt. I dried off and looked at my neck in the mirror. I had about 5 little spots that got burnt on my neck. I figured out some ‘empty’ mousse can that was in the trash must have exploded and it shot right at me, therefore giving me the burns on my neck. I hit a wall after that and laid down for a bit to calm down from my eventful fire making. To help me relax, I watched Godfather for the first time. I realky liked it; it was well done and a classic. I need to see many more classic movies, so that’s one of my list.
Saturday I did some schoolwork, then watched Wolverine instead of working (it was Saturday after all haha) and then went to town to see the end of a soccer game our older boys were playing. Afterwards Tad, Mr. Bran, Laura Beth and I tried to go to Villa de Ada, which is this neat place in Gracias that has a restaurant, pools to swim in, a little lake to row around in, and some big meeting rooms. LB had gone there before to see Dani and Eunice (our students that switched schools) perform at a talent show there and she said it looked like a fun place. Oddly on a Saturday night at 6pm, it was closed. I don’t understand Gracias and their time schedules for things. I was bummed because I was looking forward to doing something different. Instead we decided to just walk around the premises, see the lake and pools and see the monkey and birds they had there. We still needed dinner so we ate at Don Juan’s and headed back up to Villa Verde to crash.
Sunday was another town day because our girls were playing Minerva (the other more prestigious bilingual school in town). Because of the rivalry, it was a great game. The first half no one scored, and then in the second half we pulled away and won 3-0! The girls were ecstatic. They had an older student ref the first half of the game and then decided to make it fair and wanted someone from Vida Abudante to ref. Well, Tad got suckered into refereeing for the second half of the game (with flip flops on haha). After the game he and I went to Guancascos for lunch and internet and returned to watch some of sub-10 soccer game. I was getting tired and didn’t feel like sitting through another game so I went back to town to get dinner because we still had no gas in our house. I picked Tad up on the way back, while LB stayed to help Mr. Bran clean up. We watched the Godfather Part II (long movie) to finish the weekend.
Saturday I did some schoolwork, then watched Wolverine instead of working (it was Saturday after all haha) and then went to town to see the end of a soccer game our older boys were playing. Afterwards Tad, Mr. Bran, Laura Beth and I tried to go to Villa de Ada, which is this neat place in Gracias that has a restaurant, pools to swim in, a little lake to row around in, and some big meeting rooms. LB had gone there before to see Dani and Eunice (our students that switched schools) perform at a talent show there and she said it looked like a fun place. Oddly on a Saturday night at 6pm, it was closed. I don’t understand Gracias and their time schedules for things. I was bummed because I was looking forward to doing something different. Instead we decided to just walk around the premises, see the lake and pools and see the monkey and birds they had there. We still needed dinner so we ate at Don Juan’s and headed back up to Villa Verde to crash.
Sunday was another town day because our girls were playing Minerva (the other more prestigious bilingual school in town). Because of the rivalry, it was a great game. The first half no one scored, and then in the second half we pulled away and won 3-0! The girls were ecstatic. They had an older student ref the first half of the game and then decided to make it fair and wanted someone from Vida Abudante to ref. Well, Tad got suckered into refereeing for the second half of the game (with flip flops on haha). After the game he and I went to Guancascos for lunch and internet and returned to watch some of sub-10 soccer game. I was getting tired and didn’t feel like sitting through another game so I went back to town to get dinner because we still had no gas in our house. I picked Tad up on the way back, while LB stayed to help Mr. Bran clean up. We watched the Godfather Part II (long movie) to finish the weekend.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday-Friday, May 17-21
This week…I changed my seating chart so it’s a half circle type arrangement in rows. We’ll see how that works. Some kids, no matter where you put them, will do well and some will bother others and not pay attention. I just think you can never find a perfect seating chart. Wednesday we went to town and Laura Beth and I stayed in town to have dinner with two of our students who moved to another school in Gracias, Dani and Eunice. We keep in contact with them by facebook and talk to their mom every once and a while. We met them for pizza and had a nice time catching up with them. Thursday I talked to Mr. Lara about how my kids have been behaving lately. I understand that it’s the end of the year and the kids (as well as the teachers) are ready for the year to be done. But it sometimes takes me ten minutes to start class and then when I do, I keep being interrupted, thereby wasting more time. I went through minimal material on Thursday, which puts me behind in my lessons. I want to make sure they understand everything as well, but I have to keep stopping to tell someone to be quiet, sit down, sit straight, pay attention, why do you have an attitude, what’s wrong…then things don’t get accomplished. So Mr. Lara and Mr. Calderon came in to talk to them and remind them of the way they should act the last few weeks; that we’re not done yet and when it’s time to do things, do it.
During the year my kids have been working to get different phrases like GAME DAY and such. Well we have enough letters to do something, but I hadn’t decided what we would do. Laura Beth came and talked to me on Wednesday about having a picnic day with her sixth graders. Mr. Lara said it would be fine because it would be considered our field trip. So, fifth and sixth grade will be having a picnic day up in Celaque this coming Wednesday. I told them and they were extremely excited! Neither grade was too excited about having the other with them, but we both told our kids if the other grade comes, then they both get to go home early (at noon). After that there was no complaining! It should be a fun time; we just need to plan some things they can do up there for a few hours. Thursday Sarah and I were preparing dinner and right in the middle of cooking, the chimbo (gas) goes out. Awesome. We called Sonia to see if we could use her oven and brought all the food down there. Just as we were bringing things down, it started pouring rain. Then, just as we were starting to eat, the electricity went out. Sarah commented that it’s like Honduras is trying to show us out haha. So we ate dinner by candlelight and the power came back on a few hours later. We still don’t have gas, but hopefully we can take care of that this weekend. Friday finally came and I couldn’t believe how tired I was in the morning; they’re my long days at that so I was more than ready for the afternoon to come.
A few things my kids did this week…I was in charge of doing songs for chapel on Wednesday and we taught the whole group a new song. They did an awesome job helping me teach the group with motions and words. Thursday during devotionals, one of my girls (who often gives me attitude or pushes the envelope a little) comes up to me and whispers in my ear, “You are very beautiful.” I had to ask her to repeat herself because I wasn’t sure what she said at first and she did. I was slightly blown away, but it definitely made my day, especially coming from her. Often times there are moments where I realize how special my kids are and that even when I get frustrated with them, they’re still kids, growing human beings and I get to have a part in that. How rewarding...I may never see the fruit of my labor, but I think that’s something I may just have to get used to and trust God that He is using me right now and maybe later in these kids’ lives.
During the year my kids have been working to get different phrases like GAME DAY and such. Well we have enough letters to do something, but I hadn’t decided what we would do. Laura Beth came and talked to me on Wednesday about having a picnic day with her sixth graders. Mr. Lara said it would be fine because it would be considered our field trip. So, fifth and sixth grade will be having a picnic day up in Celaque this coming Wednesday. I told them and they were extremely excited! Neither grade was too excited about having the other with them, but we both told our kids if the other grade comes, then they both get to go home early (at noon). After that there was no complaining! It should be a fun time; we just need to plan some things they can do up there for a few hours. Thursday Sarah and I were preparing dinner and right in the middle of cooking, the chimbo (gas) goes out. Awesome. We called Sonia to see if we could use her oven and brought all the food down there. Just as we were bringing things down, it started pouring rain. Then, just as we were starting to eat, the electricity went out. Sarah commented that it’s like Honduras is trying to show us out haha. So we ate dinner by candlelight and the power came back on a few hours later. We still don’t have gas, but hopefully we can take care of that this weekend. Friday finally came and I couldn’t believe how tired I was in the morning; they’re my long days at that so I was more than ready for the afternoon to come.
A few things my kids did this week…I was in charge of doing songs for chapel on Wednesday and we taught the whole group a new song. They did an awesome job helping me teach the group with motions and words. Thursday during devotionals, one of my girls (who often gives me attitude or pushes the envelope a little) comes up to me and whispers in my ear, “You are very beautiful.” I had to ask her to repeat herself because I wasn’t sure what she said at first and she did. I was slightly blown away, but it definitely made my day, especially coming from her. Often times there are moments where I realize how special my kids are and that even when I get frustrated with them, they’re still kids, growing human beings and I get to have a part in that. How rewarding...I may never see the fruit of my labor, but I think that’s something I may just have to get used to and trust God that He is using me right now and maybe later in these kids’ lives.
Weekend May 15 & 16
One year ago this weekend I graduated. So crazy to think back to where I was a year ago this year. I had just finished living in Chicago, one of the big cities in the US, graduated college and was preparing to come teach in Honduras for a year. Now I live on a cloud forest mountain in a small town in Honduras and I’m a teacher. How much more opposite can you get? I’m even more interested/scared/clueless as to where I’ll be a year from NOW and how different or similar it will be to where I am now.
Saturday Tad and I went to town to buy food for the dinner I was making him that night. Since I won the NCAA basketball bracket, he had to buy my dinner. I said I’d ‘make it up to him’ by making him dinner. He doesn’t get much variety in his diet living at the comedor either so I figured it’d be a nice change of pace for him as well. While we were shopping he started feeling crappy with stomachache, headache, etc. I continued to shop while he rested and we went back up to Villa Verde shortly after. I did some schoolwork while I waited to see if he was feeling well enough to eat (which he did).For dinner I made a form of lemon pepper garlic chicken with parmesan on top, green beans and broccoli, and rice. It was pretty darn good if I say so myself…success.
Sunday I did dishes, laundry, and almost finished planning the trip I’m taking after school to Antigua (and surrounding areas) and Roatan. Hopefully everything works out for it traveling, but I’m excited to see other parts of Central America.
Saturday Tad and I went to town to buy food for the dinner I was making him that night. Since I won the NCAA basketball bracket, he had to buy my dinner. I said I’d ‘make it up to him’ by making him dinner. He doesn’t get much variety in his diet living at the comedor either so I figured it’d be a nice change of pace for him as well. While we were shopping he started feeling crappy with stomachache, headache, etc. I continued to shop while he rested and we went back up to Villa Verde shortly after. I did some schoolwork while I waited to see if he was feeling well enough to eat (which he did).For dinner I made a form of lemon pepper garlic chicken with parmesan on top, green beans and broccoli, and rice. It was pretty darn good if I say so myself…success.
Sunday I did dishes, laundry, and almost finished planning the trip I’m taking after school to Antigua (and surrounding areas) and Roatan. Hopefully everything works out for it traveling, but I’m excited to see other parts of Central America.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Monday-Friday, May 10-14
The weeks just all seem to be the same coming towards the end here. School went normally this week as much as I can remember. One thing that needs to change is either the way I handle my kids or they way they act towards me sometimes. Most of my kids are good kids, but some of them will give me blatant attitude at times, which really bothers me. And when it’s constantly like that from the same individuals, I just want to give up because I feel like I haven’t had any effect on them at all this year in that aspect of being their teacher. I was talking to my friend on the phone the other night and he’s been dealing with some of the same stuff with middle school kids he works with in Indianapolis. He reminded me that we discipline because we care for these kids (or at least that’s what discipline should come out of) and the kids who need the most discipline are the ones who we can’t give up on; they need that consistency in their life. I know that education and teaching isn’t all about this, but when my class can’t learn because of a few kids’ attitudes or behavior, then it does become important. So I’m gonna have to figure out what I can do for the next 4 weeks of school to make it a better learning environment for my kids and to avoid being frustrated as much as I have been. I think God uses situations like these to remind me of our relationship as well; that when I’m not listening to him and he disciplines me, I can be as stubborn as some of the kids in my class haha. God has a great sense of humor.
I've been talking about Esther with my ninth graders this week in their Bible class and we finished and were trying to figure out what we could learn from this book. They gave some great ideas, like trusting God, being humble, and I gave the one of being in a place for a specific purpose. I feel like I still don't clearly see the reason God brought me down to Honduras. I know it's where I am supposed to be this year. I had/have total peace about coming down here. Maybe I just haven't been seeking it, maybe I've messed it up or maybe it's going to be like the rest of the events in my life: I'll understand later why I was here and see how God will use this experience later on in life. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Throughout the week, we kept bothering our administration to do something about our lack of water in our house and finally everything was fixed this week. Our pila has water, our shower has water (hot) , our toilet has water and our bathroom sink has water. Hallelujah I have never been so happy to have running water in my life.
I had a little problem with my passport and I’m quite frustrated and upset about it, but apparently there’s nothing I can do. When you come into any country, you fill out a form stating where you’re from, what you’re doing in that country, etc. I filled that out in January, got a stamp on passport from January 3rd, and supposedly got my copy back of that piece of paper. Time rolls around for Teguz to renew our passports (which they were late in doing) and both Sarah and I don’t have that piece of paper in our passports. Apparently it’s supposed to be stapled to our passports and only she and I don’t have them. I honestly don’t remember what could have happened to that paper and Sarah doesn’t either. Well because we didn’t have it and that paper stated how long we were able to be in Honduras since January 3rd, we were fined $100. Yep…about ¼ of my paycheck is going to be taken out for some fine for a little piece of paper they didn’t tell us was important to keep. I understand it is my responsibility to keep track of important things like that, but I truly and honestly don’t remember having that paper (maybe even in the first place) or where it could have gone or been lost. So I’m upset because that’s a lot of money down here (equal to 2000 lempiras) and I could have done a lot with that here in Honduras, not to mention the States. I tried asking the lawyer at Vida Abudante to do a few things, to check here and there, but I guess nothing else can be done, which irks me to no end. If you’re ever in a foreign country, don’t ever lose ANY papers they give you, even if you don’t think they’re important. You never know…they may need it and you could be SOL.
Anyways, the weather has been beautiful here lately, warm but gorgeous. It’s going to be weird to finally experience fall when it comes around in September. I’m really looking forward to going home to America, especially coming back in the summer. So many things I took for granted there by not having them at my immediate disposal here. I haven’t driven a car in over 6 months or had warm water from a sink or a washer or dryer. I can see my friends and family, go to church, the mall, the movies. I’m going to try my best to soak in all I can of the next four weeks with my kids, Gracias, Honduras and my friends here, but America will definitely be getting a big kiss from me when I get home June 25.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Saturday and Sunday, May 8 & 9
Saturday a lot of our students had soccer games in town. There was a U12 and U14 game along with a girl’s game in the afternoon. Tad, LB, Paola (my fourth grade neighbor who lives at the comedor) and I went to town to watch them play in the morning. It was early enough that we could see the U12 game (which my fifth grade boys played in) before the bank closed. I really love seeing my kids outside of school, especially playing soccer which they love so much. They did great; they won 9-0! They played with great teamwork as well; only one boy scored two goals and the rest were by different boys each time. After their game, Tad, Paola and I went to run some errands in town. We had wanted to go to the bank, but when we got there the line was out the door again. ATM’s need to be brought to Gracias. I had enough money to cover lunch and we had also been assigned the task of buying decorations for our neighbor’s son’s (Neo) birthday party. We went into a papeleria to find stuff and we found a birthday sign, some crepe paper to make streamers, hats and balloons. Afterwards, we let Paola pick where she wanted to eat lunch and she chose Guancascos so we ate lunch there. All three of us went back up the Villa Verde and spent the rest of the day doing schoolwork and relaxing, finishing the day with a movie at night.
Sunday Tad and I had to decorate the comedor for Neo’s bday party; we enlisted some help blowing up the balloons from the rest of the kids. That went…interestingly. They would blow them too big and they would pop; they would blow them up and then let the air out. Eventually we taped all the balloons up, hung the streamers, put up the sign and got ready for the party. The party started at 11 (aka 12:30 in Hispanic time) and we ate some great food for Neo’s birthday. This included chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, chips with cheese and pico de gallo stuff, fruit salad and cake. Yum. It was amazing. Neo was so excited he kept saying, “It’s my birthday party!” I’m glad he had a good time. The rest of Sunday I caught up with friends and family and relaxed.
Sunday Tad and I had to decorate the comedor for Neo’s bday party; we enlisted some help blowing up the balloons from the rest of the kids. That went…interestingly. They would blow them too big and they would pop; they would blow them up and then let the air out. Eventually we taped all the balloons up, hung the streamers, put up the sign and got ready for the party. The party started at 11 (aka 12:30 in Hispanic time) and we ate some great food for Neo’s birthday. This included chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, chips with cheese and pico de gallo stuff, fruit salad and cake. Yum. It was amazing. Neo was so excited he kept saying, “It’s my birthday party!” I’m glad he had a good time. The rest of Sunday I caught up with friends and family and relaxed.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Monday-Friday, May 3-7
The days during the week seem to run together more now so I forget what’s happened until I take time to remember the week (or ask other people what happened this week). Unfortunately, our water has not been consistently running for about a week now. That means we take showers at Kirsty and Julia’s (or not at all); do dishes with water from jugs or the pila that we fill when the water’s on; have to flush the toilet using a bucket of water, and can’t wash our hands very well. I never realize how much I use water on a daily basis until I’m without the convenience of it. We’re still not sure why it’s been on and off the entire week because we have plenty of water in the river behind our house so water shortages or outages aren’t necessary. We don’t know if it’s something to do with our pipes or pipes farther up the mountain or what. It just gets kinda old waiting for the water to come back on or wondering if you’ll have water in the morning or not. I think it probably bothers us more than our neighbors. They deal with it (although I would think it would bet a little annoying to them as well) because they’re used to it happening. We, being from America, are used to having water at our immediate disposal whenever we want it; therefore when it’s like this consistently for a week, we get upset. I was thinking about this and other things that happen in Honduras that can get under my skin. It bothers me more because I’m not used to it being a part of my normal life. Buses breaking down, the water not running or electricity going out are all a part of a ‘normal’ life for quite a few Hondurans; so it doesn’t bother them to the extent it may bother me. It would be like if my car broke down or had problems everyday in the States; I would come to expect it so while it’s still frustrating, I expect it. Most cars aren’t like that though in the States so when something like that happens, we get angry, frustrated, all those great emotions. That’s the best comparison I can make at the moment…
We had some visitors to our house this week. One of Jacki’s friends in Michigan knew these people and they were coming to visit Honduras and decided to come to Gracias because we were here and they’d have a place to stay. So Tuesday night they rolled in after a full day of travel. Two or all of them were from the West Michigan area; both of the girls and the guy went to GVSU. It’s crazy talking to people who visit through connections because you always find other connections. I was talking to Justin, the guy, and found out we got to the same church back home and have mutual friends. I am always blown away by how SMALL of a world it is. Also, one of the girls, Betty Sue, had received an email about a teaching opportunity for ALCS and realized it was in Gracias where she was coming to stay. She didn’t end up interviewing, but coincidence just the same. They stayed with us for a few days and then left for Teguz to visit one of Justin’s friends who was teaching there.
Schoolwise, it was just a normal week. I did chapel on Wednesday about Mother’s Day and famous mothers in the Bible. Some of my kids were ‘pensar mal’ as they like to say (thinking badly) again this week. We had a new vocab list for reading and Marcos wondered why we didn’t have 10 words like we did earlier in the year because he liked the bigger lists. Leonela commented that he likes big things and some of my boys started laughing and giggling. I turned around and asked what was going on; the situation was explained and I couldn’t believe that their 10 and 11 year old minds went there! Since Mother’s Day was this coming Sunday, we took a few periods during the week to make Mother’s Day cards, on which the kids did an awesome job. Claudia’s birthday was on Wednesday, so her mom brought cheesecake for the class on Friday; as the kids would say que rico (how delicious, good, rich, etc). I have 5 school weeks left here in Honduras and 7 weeks until I get home. Only 5 weeks left of a 10-11 month experience here…wow. More reflections on that later.
We had some visitors to our house this week. One of Jacki’s friends in Michigan knew these people and they were coming to visit Honduras and decided to come to Gracias because we were here and they’d have a place to stay. So Tuesday night they rolled in after a full day of travel. Two or all of them were from the West Michigan area; both of the girls and the guy went to GVSU. It’s crazy talking to people who visit through connections because you always find other connections. I was talking to Justin, the guy, and found out we got to the same church back home and have mutual friends. I am always blown away by how SMALL of a world it is. Also, one of the girls, Betty Sue, had received an email about a teaching opportunity for ALCS and realized it was in Gracias where she was coming to stay. She didn’t end up interviewing, but coincidence just the same. They stayed with us for a few days and then left for Teguz to visit one of Justin’s friends who was teaching there.
Schoolwise, it was just a normal week. I did chapel on Wednesday about Mother’s Day and famous mothers in the Bible. Some of my kids were ‘pensar mal’ as they like to say (thinking badly) again this week. We had a new vocab list for reading and Marcos wondered why we didn’t have 10 words like we did earlier in the year because he liked the bigger lists. Leonela commented that he likes big things and some of my boys started laughing and giggling. I turned around and asked what was going on; the situation was explained and I couldn’t believe that their 10 and 11 year old minds went there! Since Mother’s Day was this coming Sunday, we took a few periods during the week to make Mother’s Day cards, on which the kids did an awesome job. Claudia’s birthday was on Wednesday, so her mom brought cheesecake for the class on Friday; as the kids would say que rico (how delicious, good, rich, etc). I have 5 school weeks left here in Honduras and 7 weeks until I get home. Only 5 weeks left of a 10-11 month experience here…wow. More reflections on that later.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Saturday and Sunday, May 1 & 2
This weekend was great; I didn’t do much. I didn’t even go to town on Saturday. I got some sleep on Saturday, worked on schoolwork, caught up with friends and family via phone and email and watched a movie. Sunday I cleaned the house, did my laundry on the pila and dishes, planned my after school trip to Guatemala and Roatan, listened to a downloaded sermon, and watched another movie. Great. I think I'll continue this trend until school is done for a few reasons. One it saves money; two it allows me to relax and makes the weekends seem longer.
Monday-Friday, April 26-30
Monday went pretty well. It downpoured at the end of the school day and us teachers were sitting there waiting to go until it stopped when I had a sudden urge to go puddle jumping. I’ve gone puddle jumping many a time in my day and perhaps it was unprofessional of me, but no kids were around it was just us teachers and the principals were getting ready to leave. So I convinced Laura Beth to go with me and we went into our plaza and started getting wet, splashing in all the puddles. I was soaked afterwards, but I figured it didn’t matter because I was going to get wet anyways on the walk home from school (which I did).
Wednesday was chapel. We have this schedule of who is supposed to speak in our new chapel for fifth, sixth and Nivelacion and it’s been mainly between Mrs. Lopez and I because Laura Beth teaches class first hour, which chapel runs into. Once Tad came, he and Mrs. Lopez would take turns being with Nivelacion and the older kids. We also have these things called duty roles such as watching the plaza, the cafeteria, at recess, etc so if kids get hurt we see it. When Tad arrived they originally said they were going to incorporate him into those schedules (chapel and duty roles), but never really got around to it. He wasn’t going to mention it until LB decided to remind Mr. Calderon when he made the new chapel schedule. So Tad, even though he feigned annoyance at being put in, is now in the mix of chapel speakers and spoke for chapel. Wednesday we also ended up switching art with seatwork on Thursday, which the kids didn’t mind. We went to town (no rain this time), did our shopping and came back up for the evening.
Friday was parent teacher conferences and giving of the grades to the parents, so the kids left early from school at 1:40pm,which gave us enough time to get set up and dressed up for the conferences. The teachers are supposed to wear their full uniform: jacket, white button up shirt, pants and/or skirt, and tie for guys. Everyone also puts on more makeup and does their hair to look good for the parents. Conferences were from 3-6pm and they went really well. I had most of my parents show up to get their kids’ grades and most of them were satisfied with the progress from the first quarter to the third quarter. A few students had some grades that went down, but it was mainly because of their test scores. It was nice for me to see as their teacher the progress that many of my kids have made academically since the beginning of the year, even if it’s only a little bit; it’s still progress. At 6 we were out of there and starting unwinding and enjoying our Friday evening.
Wednesday was chapel. We have this schedule of who is supposed to speak in our new chapel for fifth, sixth and Nivelacion and it’s been mainly between Mrs. Lopez and I because Laura Beth teaches class first hour, which chapel runs into. Once Tad came, he and Mrs. Lopez would take turns being with Nivelacion and the older kids. We also have these things called duty roles such as watching the plaza, the cafeteria, at recess, etc so if kids get hurt we see it. When Tad arrived they originally said they were going to incorporate him into those schedules (chapel and duty roles), but never really got around to it. He wasn’t going to mention it until LB decided to remind Mr. Calderon when he made the new chapel schedule. So Tad, even though he feigned annoyance at being put in, is now in the mix of chapel speakers and spoke for chapel. Wednesday we also ended up switching art with seatwork on Thursday, which the kids didn’t mind. We went to town (no rain this time), did our shopping and came back up for the evening.
Friday was parent teacher conferences and giving of the grades to the parents, so the kids left early from school at 1:40pm,which gave us enough time to get set up and dressed up for the conferences. The teachers are supposed to wear their full uniform: jacket, white button up shirt, pants and/or skirt, and tie for guys. Everyone also puts on more makeup and does their hair to look good for the parents. Conferences were from 3-6pm and they went really well. I had most of my parents show up to get their kids’ grades and most of them were satisfied with the progress from the first quarter to the third quarter. A few students had some grades that went down, but it was mainly because of their test scores. It was nice for me to see as their teacher the progress that many of my kids have made academically since the beginning of the year, even if it’s only a little bit; it’s still progress. At 6 we were out of there and starting unwinding and enjoying our Friday evening.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Friday to Sunday, April 23-25
I had a great weekend this weekend. Saturday I went to town and Tad and I decided to go see the fort in the middle of town. I hadn’t been there since I arrived in Gracias in August and it’s so easy to get to, I don’t know why I didn’t go sooner. It’s called Fuerte San Cristobal and has a very interesting history behind it of protecting Gracias as a colonial town and being the location of one of the first public schools (in Honduras, I believe). It’s shaped like a star and has five lookout towers which offer a great view of Gracias from the top of the hill. On the opposite side, Celaque looked beautiful and looming. It was hot that day, though, so we didn’t stay up there long; just long enough to take pictures and enjoy the view. We bought a few things in town, ate lunch at Bella Celaque, and headed back up to Villa Verde. A bunch of the guys from the school like Mr. Bran, Mr. Rodrigo, some our neighbors and Tad played an afternoon soccer game. Laura Beth and I went to watch and be the unofficial ‘cheerleaders’ and photographers.
Jacki (23) and Candido’s (5) birthdays were Friday and Saturday, respectively, so Jacki helped to prepare a double birthday party. All of the neighborhood came as well as some of Jacki’s K4 students and parents. We had Chinese rice for dinner (people in the States have pizza for birthday parties; we have Chinese rice) and then Juan Carlos had bought a huge red dog piñata for the kids to break open. The kids had a blast wacking that piñata and it didn’t last long! The candy fell out and chaos ensued. Afterwards was cake and opening presents and clean up. It was a fun night to spend with neighbors and friends celebrating Jacki and Candido’s birthdays. Sunday was schoolwork, catch up with family and friends, laundry, and relaxing before starting another week…6 more weeks!
Jacki (23) and Candido’s (5) birthdays were Friday and Saturday, respectively, so Jacki helped to prepare a double birthday party. All of the neighborhood came as well as some of Jacki’s K4 students and parents. We had Chinese rice for dinner (people in the States have pizza for birthday parties; we have Chinese rice) and then Juan Carlos had bought a huge red dog piñata for the kids to break open. The kids had a blast wacking that piñata and it didn’t last long! The candy fell out and chaos ensued. Afterwards was cake and opening presents and clean up. It was a fun night to spend with neighbors and friends celebrating Jacki and Candido’s birthdays. Sunday was schoolwork, catch up with family and friends, laundry, and relaxing before starting another week…6 more weeks!
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