Decision day for me was supposed to be tomorrow as far as if I’m going to stay or not next year. I’m not ready to make my decision by tomorrow when Mr. Lara and Jake leave for the States, so I sat down with Mr. Lara to ask for more time. He said I could tell him when he gets back from recruiting, which is 2 weeks from now; I have a little more time to make my decision and with my parents being here, it hasn’t been the most fore front in my mind. I also asked him some questions about if I stayed for next year, did I have to teach fifth grade or could I teach the older kids, what could I teach, and other questions like that. So now the countdown begins again. My parents came to see the school and my class just before lunch. My kids had finished their science projects and were presenting them today and tomorrow, so my parents were able to see their dioramas and oral presentations. My kids were really excited to have them visit; at first they didn’t know what to call them and asked for their first names, which are difficult to say for those who speak English as a second language. After class, they ate lunch in the cafeteria with me and saw more of the school. I had some free periods in the afternoon, so we just chatted about the school and my kids until my last hour.
At the end of the day we were going to catch the bus with the kids down to town so I wouldn’t have to call a mototaxi, but then I was told we had a meeting, which turned out to be not true, but I didn’t find that out until the bus had already left. I was really frustrated with the administration at that point for the miscommunication, especially since my parents were here, so my parents got to experience the ‘fun’ of that. I called a moto and we ended up waiting about an hour for one to come up (when we could have gone in the bus), but eventually got down to town. My parents really liked Guancascos, so we ate there for dinner and I had a great conversation with them about what I should do for next year. We talked about my goals for the next few years, what I liked about living and teaching here, what I didn’t, what I could do if I went home as far as a job, housing, and other related subjects. I went back with them to the hotel just as we lost power and I was about to go up the mountain. It came back on though by the time I arrived at my house. Another experience my parents got to have being in Honduras!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21
Today my parents came up to Villa Verde, but first I met them down in Gracias for lunch and to get a few things from town. We had lunch at Guancascos, ran a few errands and then my parents had their first mototaxi ride! I was afraid my dad wouldn’t fit in it because his legs are so long, but he fit alright in the back with my mom and I sat up front on our way up the mountain. It was a bumpy ride, quite jarring for my parents, but they made it. I brought them to my house, showed them around and brought them to the comedor to meet the Melgars and some other neighbors. They met all the rest of the teachers living up here as well. We climbed in Celaque for a little bit so my parents could see the beauty of it, but with the elevation and heat and hills, we made it about half way up to the visitor’s center. We had a family style dinner with everyone having dinner over at the comedor. They made(baleadas), which my parents loved. I had made them for my family over Christmas break, but Sonia’s are the best by far. I wanted them to stay for church to get that experience, but I didn’t want them to get back too late to town, so they headed back after dinner. It was awesome to have my parents actually come and see where I live, the people I live with, and how beautiful it is up here.
Later that night, we heard this HUGE boom outside and everyone came outside to see what had caused it. The neighbors were saying it was a bomb in the mountains somewhere. The kids and all of us were talking about it the next day, trying to figure out what this huge boom was. My dad told me that the space shuttle was supposed to land at Cape Canaveral that night and then all the sudden it made sense. The noise we heard was the shuttle entering the atmosphere! How cool is that…I got to hear the space shuttle enter the atmosphere in Honduras; another great experience to add to my growing list.
Later that night, we heard this HUGE boom outside and everyone came outside to see what had caused it. The neighbors were saying it was a bomb in the mountains somewhere. The kids and all of us were talking about it the next day, trying to figure out what this huge boom was. My dad told me that the space shuttle was supposed to land at Cape Canaveral that night and then all the sudden it made sense. The noise we heard was the shuttle entering the atmosphere! How cool is that…I got to hear the space shuttle enter the atmosphere in Honduras; another great experience to add to my growing list.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 20
My parents and I had breakfast at the hotel, checked out and then started to head towards the bus terminal when one of our friends from Gracias called saying they were coming to San Pedro with their big van and could take my parents and I back instead of taking the buses. We thought about the offer, but in the end decided it would be better overall for my parents to take the buses. One for the experience, second because we would still arrive in Gracias earlier with the buses, and third then my parents would have experienced the buses so they could do it on their own when they went back to SPS to go back to the States. We met Kirsty at the bus terminal and found the bus line we wanted to take to Santa Rosa; we had to wait an hour for it to arrive, but since I knew this line was nicer, I was willing to wait. My parents just took it all in: all the craziness of the bus station, the people constantly asking them if they want to buy things, the heat and smells. A few buses came that we thought were ours and weren’t, but finally ours arrived. We got back towards the back of the line and ended up sitting towards the back. Kirsty and I were in the very back, while my parents were a few chairs in front. My poor dad had to sit in a chair that over-reclined and wouldn’t sit up for the whole ride! And behind him was a lady with some kids so he couldn’t even sit back in the over-reclined chair if he wanted to. I got to talk to Kirsty the whole time, which was great to catch up on more than surface level stuff in our lives.
We made it to Santa Rosa, made a quick stop while me and Kirsty found a bus to Gracias, and then headed out. For me and Kirsty, the bus was a normal ride to Gracias in a normal bus. For my parents it was an old school bus on a windy mountain to Gracias. My dad handled it ok, but my mom was done when we finally arrived in Gracias. They’re so great and brave for doing it! We dragged their suitcases to their hotel (new ones by the way, they’re not so nice and new now!) and I helped them get settled in. Their hotel is one of the best in Gracias and they really liked it. We all went to Bella Celaque where they had a tipico cena, their first Honduran meal in Honduras. They were wiped out after that, so I headed back up the mountain with Kirsty and found Laura Beth trying to fix our sink.
See our sink has been broken in some form since we got here, but now the pipes were basically holding up the sink and the thing holding the sink into the wall was loose. So Laura Beth took it upon herself to try to fix it (since we were having company J), but she was having some trouble. There was a pipe that water was constantly coming out of and since we didn’t know how to turn off the water, she had to hold that pipe at all times to avoid water going everywhere. Well it had happened a few times already so our bathroom floor was soaked. I felt bad and went in to help her, but changed into my bathing suit first J We tried to fix this thing for an additional hour or so, but the sink wouldn’t stay up on the wall, which meant the pipe with water couldn’t go into it. We finally stuck the pip in the outgoing hole in the wall and kept the sink on the floor. Our neighbor Juan Carlos finally came and showed us how to turn off the water, but not after our floor was literally flooded. It took another hour to clean up the water. It was a sight to see though, two Dutch girls holding their thumb on this pipe to keep the water from coming out and trying to fix a sink and limited tools. At least we’re becoming resourceful here in Honduras.
We made it to Santa Rosa, made a quick stop while me and Kirsty found a bus to Gracias, and then headed out. For me and Kirsty, the bus was a normal ride to Gracias in a normal bus. For my parents it was an old school bus on a windy mountain to Gracias. My dad handled it ok, but my mom was done when we finally arrived in Gracias. They’re so great and brave for doing it! We dragged their suitcases to their hotel (new ones by the way, they’re not so nice and new now!) and I helped them get settled in. Their hotel is one of the best in Gracias and they really liked it. We all went to Bella Celaque where they had a tipico cena, their first Honduran meal in Honduras. They were wiped out after that, so I headed back up the mountain with Kirsty and found Laura Beth trying to fix our sink.
See our sink has been broken in some form since we got here, but now the pipes were basically holding up the sink and the thing holding the sink into the wall was loose. So Laura Beth took it upon herself to try to fix it (since we were having company J), but she was having some trouble. There was a pipe that water was constantly coming out of and since we didn’t know how to turn off the water, she had to hold that pipe at all times to avoid water going everywhere. Well it had happened a few times already so our bathroom floor was soaked. I felt bad and went in to help her, but changed into my bathing suit first J We tried to fix this thing for an additional hour or so, but the sink wouldn’t stay up on the wall, which meant the pipe with water couldn’t go into it. We finally stuck the pip in the outgoing hole in the wall and kept the sink on the floor. Our neighbor Juan Carlos finally came and showed us how to turn off the water, but not after our floor was literally flooded. It took another hour to clean up the water. It was a sight to see though, two Dutch girls holding their thumb on this pipe to keep the water from coming out and trying to fix a sink and limited tools. At least we’re becoming resourceful here in Honduras.
Friday, February 19
I had a busy day today with my longer day at school and then heading out early at lunch to meet my parents. My last class with my fifth graders we had a spelling test and I told them I needed to make sure I left on time so if they could be quiet and finish the test quickly, I would let them out early for recess; it did the trick! They were so good and I was able to leave on time. Kirsty and her brother Matthew came with me because Matthew goes back to the US on Saturday. So after Kirsty brings him to the airport, she’ll meet my parents and me at the bus station to ride back to Gracias with us. We hopped on a bus around 1 pm, got through Santa Rosa alright and on a bus to San Pedro. When we arrived in San Pedro, I said bye to Matthew and Kirsty and caught a taxi with a nice old man to the hotel where my parents were staying. I was a little nervous to take a taxi by myself, but it worked out fine.
I arrived and asked for my parents at the front desk and down the stairs they came! It was so surreal to see them in Honduras after we’ve been talking about them visiting for a few months and now they’re actually here! I went to their hotel room to freshen up before we went to the mall to Applebee’s to eat dinner. My parents told me about how things went for them getting from the airport to the hotel on Thursday night. They found what looked like a taxi, but we’ll never know for sure it was a registered one or not! The guy charged them about $15 USD to get to the hotel , but there weren’t any other options for them and that was about what I expected. We chatted over dinner and I did my best to help them order their food and stuff, for which they were very thankful. My parents were glad I gave them some phrases to use when they arrived, but now that I was there it was a lot less stressful. They kept telling me things they noticed about Honduras that I didn’t realize had become normal to me, such as trash on the roads, how dirty and dusty it was, and other things like that. I (well, my parents) splurged and got a steak, mashed potatoes and veggies, which was amazing, along with dessert. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, figured out some details for tomorrow and got some needed rest.
I arrived and asked for my parents at the front desk and down the stairs they came! It was so surreal to see them in Honduras after we’ve been talking about them visiting for a few months and now they’re actually here! I went to their hotel room to freshen up before we went to the mall to Applebee’s to eat dinner. My parents told me about how things went for them getting from the airport to the hotel on Thursday night. They found what looked like a taxi, but we’ll never know for sure it was a registered one or not! The guy charged them about $15 USD to get to the hotel , but there weren’t any other options for them and that was about what I expected. We chatted over dinner and I did my best to help them order their food and stuff, for which they were very thankful. My parents were glad I gave them some phrases to use when they arrived, but now that I was there it was a lot less stressful. They kept telling me things they noticed about Honduras that I didn’t realize had become normal to me, such as trash on the roads, how dirty and dusty it was, and other things like that. I (well, my parents) splurged and got a steak, mashed potatoes and veggies, which was amazing, along with dessert. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, figured out some details for tomorrow and got some needed rest.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday, February 17 & 18
Wednesday
Pretty good day; I did the chapel message for 5th, 6th grade and Nivelacion (our ESL class) on the tower of Babel, which went as well as it could. I felt like it related with the ESL kids (at least what they could understand of it) because it talked about how God changed the languages. Leonela and Adolfo had been giving me attitude all day and I was getting very frustrated with it and finally took them in the hallway to find out the reason for the disrespect. We talked it out and got things figured out, but it was just hard. Later that day Adolfo told me he’d change his attitude, which made me really happy he wanted to come to me and tell me that. It was redeeming for me. I love my kids, but sometimes I just don’t know how I’m doing with instilling respect and discipline while still keeping open those friendly lines of communication.
Thursday
Good day…my kids were good and listened pretty well which always makes things go smoother and I had tutorias after school to review prepositions for language. There was a boys futbol game (teachers vs. students) that I wanted to see and the kids did too, so I promised them if we could work well for 30 minutes, I would let out early so we could see the game; they worked well so we went to see the end of the game, which the teachers won. Afterwards, the teachers and administrators played another team of the men who work construction at our school. That game was more intense and the administration/teachers lost, but they had already been playing for an hour at higher elevation than some of them were used to; they were so tired and beat up! We walked up after the game and made and ate dinner, which we invited Kirsty and her brother Matthew who’s visiting, to eat with us.
We had progress reports due tomorrow, so I spent much of my time doing that as well as learning the difference between matter, mass, weight and gravity. I have to teach my kids this tomorrow in science and I definitely can’t teach them something I don’t understand clearly! I looked up some more information on the internet and my housemates gave me some really good examples, so I understand it now! I feel somewhat stupid that I had trouble understanding the difference between matter, mass and weight, but it’s not something I’ve studied lately in college or high school for that matter. Hopefully I can communicate it alright tomorrow!
Pretty good day; I did the chapel message for 5th, 6th grade and Nivelacion (our ESL class) on the tower of Babel, which went as well as it could. I felt like it related with the ESL kids (at least what they could understand of it) because it talked about how God changed the languages. Leonela and Adolfo had been giving me attitude all day and I was getting very frustrated with it and finally took them in the hallway to find out the reason for the disrespect. We talked it out and got things figured out, but it was just hard. Later that day Adolfo told me he’d change his attitude, which made me really happy he wanted to come to me and tell me that. It was redeeming for me. I love my kids, but sometimes I just don’t know how I’m doing with instilling respect and discipline while still keeping open those friendly lines of communication.
Thursday
Good day…my kids were good and listened pretty well which always makes things go smoother and I had tutorias after school to review prepositions for language. There was a boys futbol game (teachers vs. students) that I wanted to see and the kids did too, so I promised them if we could work well for 30 minutes, I would let out early so we could see the game; they worked well so we went to see the end of the game, which the teachers won. Afterwards, the teachers and administrators played another team of the men who work construction at our school. That game was more intense and the administration/teachers lost, but they had already been playing for an hour at higher elevation than some of them were used to; they were so tired and beat up! We walked up after the game and made and ate dinner, which we invited Kirsty and her brother Matthew who’s visiting, to eat with us.
We had progress reports due tomorrow, so I spent much of my time doing that as well as learning the difference between matter, mass, weight and gravity. I have to teach my kids this tomorrow in science and I definitely can’t teach them something I don’t understand clearly! I looked up some more information on the internet and my housemates gave me some really good examples, so I understand it now! I feel somewhat stupid that I had trouble understanding the difference between matter, mass and weight, but it’s not something I’ve studied lately in college or high school for that matter. Hopefully I can communicate it alright tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 16
My kids have been enjoying science more this week because they get to work on their projects instead of just taking notes. I don’t blame them for disliking notes, but sometimes it’s the best way for me to communicate the information they need to know for the tests. I’m going to try to do more projects or at least in-class demonstrations so science is more interesting. I also might add more charts/drawings instead of just straight notes. Today is one of my longer days with my kids and they’ve still been talking too much in class. So during penmanship I had the last straw when they kept talking when they were supposed to be working so they wrote lines for me today. They know what they’re supposed to do (show respect, not talk when others are talking, raise your hand to speak, etc), so I ask them what they should write and then combine some of those for them to write. I didn’t have tutorias after school because Mr. Lara needed them for math, so I stayed and did some work instead. I was going to work out, but the weather has not been motivational this week with cooler, cloudier, misty weather so I went home and took a nap instead.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15
I assigned a science project for this week; the kids are to make a diorama of one of the animals we talked about in our last science unit, which was on the sea. I assigned them their animal, for which there was information in their book to look at. They need to make a written report of their animal and then make a diorama of their animal in its habitat with its predators and prey. The kids are really excited to have a project to do, but it’s been interesting to see how they go about obtaining their information and research for their animal. Some kids look up stuff on the internet, while some kids just copy everything down from the book. I’ve had to teach them that they need to find only the important information they need to answer the questions I asked them. I don’t think there’s been consistency in the way the kids have been taught, so they don’t know some skills their counterparts in the US know by now; for example, how to do a research project, how to do a simple bibliography, etc. Some of my kids have also been using their reading vocab they’ve learned during school. For example, they weren’t listening very well one day so Estela pipes up and says they were being impertinent (having rude behavior; they’ve also used their vocabulary word absurd (ridiculous) as well. It makes me proud. Unfortunately for me, the time is getting closer to decision time for next year. I need to basically let them know if I'm staying by February 23 because they are going to the States then to recruit for next year. I’m still not sure what to do, so if any of you who read this can be in prayer for me about that, I would appreciate it. I know that if I stay, I want to know that God wants me here for another year; otherwise I may motivation or focus when I need it most.
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