On Saturday, SJBS got in the Christmas spirit with its annual cena navideña (think Christmas pageant). All staff arrived at 9 a.m. to begin the decorating process (that was started earlier by Miss Amarilys and I). We proceed to make candy canes out of PVC pipe, a balloon arch, set up seats for about 500 people, and decorate a chair for the school’s queen (a 5 year old in kindergarten). Everyone dispersed to their houses to get dressed up. It was great seeing the teachers all look so nice as well as the students. Around 4 p.m. the fun began. In true Honduran fashion we began with a prayer and several opening remarks. We then moved into the student performances. Imagine the following program:
Kinder- If You’re Happy and You Know It
Prepa – Jingle Bells
1st- Rudolph
2nd – Frosty the Snowman
3rd – Dance mix to three songs
4th – Own version of Jingle Bell Rock
5th – California Dreaming
6th – Little Drummer Boy
7th – Home
8th and 9th – No Woman No Cry
US teachers – Carol of the Bells followed by Feliz Navidad
We also had a great performance singing by a 4th grader, a 4th grade ballet solo, a choregraphed dance by two 9th graders and a song composed and sung by a 9th grader. This mixed in with Santa Claus, several gift raffles and a nice dinner.
Today, began the last week of 2010 at SJBS and is the beginning of a very festive week. On Wednesday, we are having a bachelorette party/bridal shower for our Honduran Director who will wed on December 19. On Thursday, one of the families is inviting us over for karaoke, dinner and drinks. On Friday, we celebrate the service of two teachers leaving SJBS (one Honduran and one US). Most teachers take off for the US later in the a.m. on Friday but those who stay may be invited to a welcome home party for a much loved SJBS student. All the festivities and plans make it seem more like the holidays (since we don’t have the snow on the ground to remind me its winter).
Fun With The Parents December 2010
Fun With The Parents December 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
A long time coming.....
Things have been crazy to say the least. The last couple of months have been filled with malaria, traffic jams, visits from the states, trips to Tegucigalpa, new babies, handing out of grades for the first quarter, school soccer games, community backlash about kinder enrollment, dead rats and fumigation, an engagement, many and I mean many arts and crafts. We also successfully celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving and we enjoyed a Hanukkah party last night. I’ll do my best to explain in more detail, but first I want to share my favorite sign in all of Cofradia – it is hand written and taped to the outside of a house I pass every day on my way to school. It says “Leña, platanos, conejos y mas” or “Firewood, plantains, rabbits and more”. Interesting, no? Kind of makes me wonder what the more could really be.
Not long after our return from Belize one of our teachers was diagnosed with malaria. He is fine and fully recovered but when he received the lab results from the local clinic he and I decided it would be good for him to get those lab results confirmed at a clinic in San Pedro Sula. We left around 2:30 in the afternoon and noticed a car accident on our way into San Pedro. Little did we realize that that small accident would turn our three our tour into an almost 24 hour ordeal. I have never seen such a traffic jam. We got the teacher the needed meds and hopped into a cab to get back to Cofradia. Three hours later (by this time 9 p.m.) we were stuck in the traffic jam with no out. It was dark, we were far from Cofradia and our cab driver told us he was returning to San Pedro. Fine we said. We’ll find a hotel and return in the a.m. We get to the hotel and the cab driver wants to charge us three times what we had originally agreed upon. Fortunately, the hotel owners were very kind and helped us out greatly. The hotel was cute and was quiet (we both slept a solid 11 hours), clean, had hot water and included a really good breakfast. So in the end it ended up being fine and we returned to Cofradia in the afternoon of the following day.
Not long after that we had several visitors from the US. Last year’s administrator, who currently works for BECA in the US visited and helped in so many areas. We also had two mothers visit and spend time at SJBS.
The first parcial (quarter) ended and we handed out grades. It’s hard to believe that it’s December already and that we’re now almost done with the second quarter.
Late October graced us with an invitation to a Halloween party in San Pedro Sula hosted by teachers at another bilingual school in San Pedro. Costumes were elaborate (those who know me from last year’s Halloween party don’t worry I did not dress up this year either). I think what was mostly noticed by BECA’s teachers was the difference in life style between teachers (and students) at EIS and SJBS. They make the equivalent of a US teachers’ salary, they have fingerprint scanners to get into their school, and their students have bodyguards. The teachers live in great condos, have air conditioning, hot water, and they can afford to buy real Halloween candy, etc. Needless to say, we were like country cousins coming to the city. But the teachers are awesome and have invited us several times to play ultimate Frisbee and hang out so I guess we did not make such a bad impression.
There were a couple of weeks in early November that were not pretty. It all stems again from the list of students who were accepted into kinder next year. Families not on the list were complaining and bad blood between differing sides was aired for all to see. It was a very tense and often uncomfortable time for me, but thankfully those who had their doubts reviewed the work that we did and have not been back.
The rest of November moved along quite quickly. We had a local school supply store come and teach our students manualidades (arts and crafts) – and I mean only the ones who paid to participate in the activities. This was divided up by grades (kinder and prepa), (1st-3rd), (4th – 6th) and (7th-9th) over a two day period. This was to be a two hour project for each grade. Not nearly so. The organization was not prepared at all. Supplies weren’t ready (nor were there enough), no one really led the activities, and one project even took about 6 hours to complete (the lucky ones who finished). I had glitter all over me, glue everywhere and a short-liveed hatred for art projects after those two days. From now on our own Honduran teachers will be teaching the US teachers how to do manualidades so the teachers can incorporate them into their classrooms and we don’t have to worry about cost or lack of preparation.
A lot of my spare time in November was spent figuring out how to prepare a turkey (we had no meat thermometer nor did the turkey come with its own pop up thermometer). It is tradition for the BECA teachers to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal and invite the Honduran staff. We worked until noon on Thanksgiving Day and then set off to cook and boy do I mean cook. The Honduran Director was nice enough to buy the turkey for the meal. I and one other teacher volunteered to prepare the turkey. I am proud to say that this turkey was so juicy and tasty (others agreed because there was nothing but bones left at the end of the night). We basted the darn thing every twenty minutes while it cooked but it was worth it. Everyone contributed wonderfully – we had turkey, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, corn pudding, homemade cranberry sauce, carrot salad, crescent rolls, jello, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, banana cake and two types of cooking. I think it ended up costing us around $5 per US teacher for the meal and we served 30 people. I think most of the Hondurans enjoyed it but some I think would have preferred their rice, beans and tortillas. Nonetheless, it was great to spend the evening socially with our Honduran co-workers and give back to them a small portion of the hospitality that they show us daily.
Another great benefit of the Thanksgiving holiday was that they gave us Friday off. I left really early and caught a bus to Teguc to see friends. It was so nice to be back in their homes and sharing laughs with them. Fabiola was preparing for her graduation to be a primary school teacher. She wants everyone to start calling her profe. It’s hard to believe that I met her when she was 5. Spending the day with Luz’s family was great as always - Ana gives me stylish haircuts. Her daughter makes me laugh. Mayra shows me great music videos. I also on this trip go to meet two babies under 2 weeks old. I spent hours holding them and being amazed by all that they do at such a young age. Did I mention how cute the babies were? Though one still did not have a name (common here as that's the second 2 week old I know without a name). I also spent a much needed night hanging out with Mando. I laughed until I cried – it’s great reminiscing with friends that you’ve known forever. Inside jokes are great too.
During our time away after Thanksgiving we had our households fumigated as some places had mice and cockroaches (my place had neither). So far the fumigation has worked. Now we just have a cat that likes to have kittens in boxes in our 1st grade classroom.
We’ve had some awesome soccer games scheduled at school. We had a girl’s game against another school, a teacher’s game against teachers from another town and a boys game against the other bilingual school here in town. After school activities are not that common in Honduras so it’s great to see the students get permission to stay after school and root for their classmates or teachers. My role is crowd control and ensuring that we are being sportsmanlike. There was a glitch in one game for me when a parent called me and told me that their daughter did not make it home. I searched the school over and called I could think of to look for the girl as her normal means of getting her home didn’t make it. Come to find out the neighbor knew the mototaxi was broken and borrowed a car to come get her kids and this persons as well (without telling the other parent). As the neighbor was driving home she did not answer her cell phone. I was so happy when the mom called back to tell me that her daughter had arrived at home.
The Honduran Director of SJBS is getting married on December 19. I’ve had the fortune of going with her to a seamstress to pick out her wedding dress (an amazing dress and will only cost about $40 to make - unbelievable). I also helped her pick out wedding cake designs - cake will cost more than the dress. It’s been great helping her and seeing her so excited. Sadly, none of the US teachers will be in the country for her but hopefully we’ll celebrate with her upon our return.
I’ve had some great home visits lately. Tonight we all went to a 4th graders house for her birthday. We had great food, danced a lot and shared in a special moment with the student and her family. It was a great way to spend the evening. At another family’s house we talked a lot about our volunteer house and how it had mice. The family laughed and said they’ve never had mice when their dog ran up behind the table we were sitting at on their front porch and dropped a huge dead rat. It smelled so bad and gave us all sore stomachs from laughing so hard. That dog had great comedic timing. On Sunday I visited a house (still not sure if the girl had told her parents I was coming or not) and had a great time. The student entertained me all afternoon talking in English and showing me all her toys. She was excited because that afternoon her 15 year old half sister (who she’d never met) was coming to live with her. All she talked about was her sister and how excited she was to meet her. It was cute to see how shy she became when the sister arrived. She ran away and later told me she didn’t know what to say to her. I asked her on Monday how things were going and she said great and that her and her sister talked a lot after I left. That makes me happy!
The 2nd grade students have been rock stars lately about school trash pick up. For the last few weeks they have gone around the school on their own during recess and lunch and picked up discarded trash. Its amazing the amount of trash the collect daily and to see them doing this with a smile on their faces.
All classes are in preparation for our annual Christmas Dinner (this Saturday from 4-7). Each class will perform at the dinner (as will the teachers), gifts will be raffled off and I hear Santa may stop by. Should be fun. On a final note, we had a Hanukah party last weekend and all dressed up as famous Jewish people. It was good fun.
I’m excited to see my parents in less than two weeks. The weather here needs to cooperate a bit more. It’s been chilly (I know not freezing cold with snow) and rainy. I’ve even started heating up my bath water because it’s hard to shower in the a.m. with ice cold water when its 60 some degrees out. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Take care and I’ll try and be better about posting to my blog in 2011.
Not long after our return from Belize one of our teachers was diagnosed with malaria. He is fine and fully recovered but when he received the lab results from the local clinic he and I decided it would be good for him to get those lab results confirmed at a clinic in San Pedro Sula. We left around 2:30 in the afternoon and noticed a car accident on our way into San Pedro. Little did we realize that that small accident would turn our three our tour into an almost 24 hour ordeal. I have never seen such a traffic jam. We got the teacher the needed meds and hopped into a cab to get back to Cofradia. Three hours later (by this time 9 p.m.) we were stuck in the traffic jam with no out. It was dark, we were far from Cofradia and our cab driver told us he was returning to San Pedro. Fine we said. We’ll find a hotel and return in the a.m. We get to the hotel and the cab driver wants to charge us three times what we had originally agreed upon. Fortunately, the hotel owners were very kind and helped us out greatly. The hotel was cute and was quiet (we both slept a solid 11 hours), clean, had hot water and included a really good breakfast. So in the end it ended up being fine and we returned to Cofradia in the afternoon of the following day.
Not long after that we had several visitors from the US. Last year’s administrator, who currently works for BECA in the US visited and helped in so many areas. We also had two mothers visit and spend time at SJBS.
The first parcial (quarter) ended and we handed out grades. It’s hard to believe that it’s December already and that we’re now almost done with the second quarter.
Late October graced us with an invitation to a Halloween party in San Pedro Sula hosted by teachers at another bilingual school in San Pedro. Costumes were elaborate (those who know me from last year’s Halloween party don’t worry I did not dress up this year either). I think what was mostly noticed by BECA’s teachers was the difference in life style between teachers (and students) at EIS and SJBS. They make the equivalent of a US teachers’ salary, they have fingerprint scanners to get into their school, and their students have bodyguards. The teachers live in great condos, have air conditioning, hot water, and they can afford to buy real Halloween candy, etc. Needless to say, we were like country cousins coming to the city. But the teachers are awesome and have invited us several times to play ultimate Frisbee and hang out so I guess we did not make such a bad impression.
There were a couple of weeks in early November that were not pretty. It all stems again from the list of students who were accepted into kinder next year. Families not on the list were complaining and bad blood between differing sides was aired for all to see. It was a very tense and often uncomfortable time for me, but thankfully those who had their doubts reviewed the work that we did and have not been back.
The rest of November moved along quite quickly. We had a local school supply store come and teach our students manualidades (arts and crafts) – and I mean only the ones who paid to participate in the activities. This was divided up by grades (kinder and prepa), (1st-3rd), (4th – 6th) and (7th-9th) over a two day period. This was to be a two hour project for each grade. Not nearly so. The organization was not prepared at all. Supplies weren’t ready (nor were there enough), no one really led the activities, and one project even took about 6 hours to complete (the lucky ones who finished). I had glitter all over me, glue everywhere and a short-liveed hatred for art projects after those two days. From now on our own Honduran teachers will be teaching the US teachers how to do manualidades so the teachers can incorporate them into their classrooms and we don’t have to worry about cost or lack of preparation.
A lot of my spare time in November was spent figuring out how to prepare a turkey (we had no meat thermometer nor did the turkey come with its own pop up thermometer). It is tradition for the BECA teachers to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal and invite the Honduran staff. We worked until noon on Thanksgiving Day and then set off to cook and boy do I mean cook. The Honduran Director was nice enough to buy the turkey for the meal. I and one other teacher volunteered to prepare the turkey. I am proud to say that this turkey was so juicy and tasty (others agreed because there was nothing but bones left at the end of the night). We basted the darn thing every twenty minutes while it cooked but it was worth it. Everyone contributed wonderfully – we had turkey, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, corn pudding, homemade cranberry sauce, carrot salad, crescent rolls, jello, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, banana cake and two types of cooking. I think it ended up costing us around $5 per US teacher for the meal and we served 30 people. I think most of the Hondurans enjoyed it but some I think would have preferred their rice, beans and tortillas. Nonetheless, it was great to spend the evening socially with our Honduran co-workers and give back to them a small portion of the hospitality that they show us daily.
Another great benefit of the Thanksgiving holiday was that they gave us Friday off. I left really early and caught a bus to Teguc to see friends. It was so nice to be back in their homes and sharing laughs with them. Fabiola was preparing for her graduation to be a primary school teacher. She wants everyone to start calling her profe. It’s hard to believe that I met her when she was 5. Spending the day with Luz’s family was great as always - Ana gives me stylish haircuts. Her daughter makes me laugh. Mayra shows me great music videos. I also on this trip go to meet two babies under 2 weeks old. I spent hours holding them and being amazed by all that they do at such a young age. Did I mention how cute the babies were? Though one still did not have a name (common here as that's the second 2 week old I know without a name). I also spent a much needed night hanging out with Mando. I laughed until I cried – it’s great reminiscing with friends that you’ve known forever. Inside jokes are great too.
During our time away after Thanksgiving we had our households fumigated as some places had mice and cockroaches (my place had neither). So far the fumigation has worked. Now we just have a cat that likes to have kittens in boxes in our 1st grade classroom.
We’ve had some awesome soccer games scheduled at school. We had a girl’s game against another school, a teacher’s game against teachers from another town and a boys game against the other bilingual school here in town. After school activities are not that common in Honduras so it’s great to see the students get permission to stay after school and root for their classmates or teachers. My role is crowd control and ensuring that we are being sportsmanlike. There was a glitch in one game for me when a parent called me and told me that their daughter did not make it home. I searched the school over and called I could think of to look for the girl as her normal means of getting her home didn’t make it. Come to find out the neighbor knew the mototaxi was broken and borrowed a car to come get her kids and this persons as well (without telling the other parent). As the neighbor was driving home she did not answer her cell phone. I was so happy when the mom called back to tell me that her daughter had arrived at home.
The Honduran Director of SJBS is getting married on December 19. I’ve had the fortune of going with her to a seamstress to pick out her wedding dress (an amazing dress and will only cost about $40 to make - unbelievable). I also helped her pick out wedding cake designs - cake will cost more than the dress. It’s been great helping her and seeing her so excited. Sadly, none of the US teachers will be in the country for her but hopefully we’ll celebrate with her upon our return.
I’ve had some great home visits lately. Tonight we all went to a 4th graders house for her birthday. We had great food, danced a lot and shared in a special moment with the student and her family. It was a great way to spend the evening. At another family’s house we talked a lot about our volunteer house and how it had mice. The family laughed and said they’ve never had mice when their dog ran up behind the table we were sitting at on their front porch and dropped a huge dead rat. It smelled so bad and gave us all sore stomachs from laughing so hard. That dog had great comedic timing. On Sunday I visited a house (still not sure if the girl had told her parents I was coming or not) and had a great time. The student entertained me all afternoon talking in English and showing me all her toys. She was excited because that afternoon her 15 year old half sister (who she’d never met) was coming to live with her. All she talked about was her sister and how excited she was to meet her. It was cute to see how shy she became when the sister arrived. She ran away and later told me she didn’t know what to say to her. I asked her on Monday how things were going and she said great and that her and her sister talked a lot after I left. That makes me happy!
The 2nd grade students have been rock stars lately about school trash pick up. For the last few weeks they have gone around the school on their own during recess and lunch and picked up discarded trash. Its amazing the amount of trash the collect daily and to see them doing this with a smile on their faces.
All classes are in preparation for our annual Christmas Dinner (this Saturday from 4-7). Each class will perform at the dinner (as will the teachers), gifts will be raffled off and I hear Santa may stop by. Should be fun. On a final note, we had a Hanukah party last weekend and all dressed up as famous Jewish people. It was good fun.
I’m excited to see my parents in less than two weeks. The weather here needs to cooperate a bit more. It’s been chilly (I know not freezing cold with snow) and rainy. I’ve even started heating up my bath water because it’s hard to shower in the a.m. with ice cold water when its 60 some degrees out. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Take care and I’ll try and be better about posting to my blog in 2011.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Catch up time
Sorry its been so long since my last post (the early post from today was something I started in September and never finished and I couldn't remember what else I wanted to say so I just posted it). So much has happened since my last post I don't even know where to begin.
At school...
We're in review week as our first quarter ends next week - we have exams throughout next week. We sadly had a teacher return to the US last week so we've had two great team members step up and take over her classroom until a permanent replacement can be found. This means that I've also been spending more time with second grade as well. I notice a huge difference between attention spans of pre-kinder and kinder students and 2nd graders. I'm having fun working with the students on their independent reading. Today was the first day I took the students to the library...what an experience.
A funny thing about working with students is that they say things without a filter. In one day I had two students (independent of each other) say the following to me:
1st student - Miss Andrea you look a lot older today.
Me - why?
student - The wrinkles in your forehead are a lot worse than they were before. But don't worry Miss Andrea, everyone gets old.
2nd group of students at lunch
Miss Andrea, can we guess how old you are?
Me- sure
One student - 26
Me - I like the way you think but I am older than that
Second student - 36
Me - great job, how did you know how old I am?
Second student - because of the wrinkles in your forehead.
Nice huh? I find it all very funny and I don't think my wrinkles are that much worse.
The new classroom is all built. Now we are just waiting for a whiteboard, chairs, paint and electricity to be added.
Enrollment for next year's pre-kinder class. This consumed so much of my time and was a HUGE headache. Its done now and we have the list of the 20 students who will enter our school next year. Our school board of directors wanted to change the process mid stream (several meetings and discussions about this - not happening for next year but a conversation that is still happening), people called to ask favors, stopped by my house to see if I could get their neighbors kids friend in, and people slept outside the school to be first in line for open enrollment. I have learned a lot from this process and have many suggestions to make next years process less hectic and stressful.
Bee season seems to be upon us as this week they have been out in full force. I hope they go away. The weather has been somewhat pleasant lately as well.
Visa
As I posted earlier, I went to San Pedro Sula to renew my visa and was told to go to Teguc as they no longer processed extensions in SPS. I did and got the extension needed - I did have to wait for 3 hours because the one director authorized to sign the extension was at a long lunch. It was a hectic trip - there in one day and back the next - but I got to stay with friends and see my friend Celin who I haven't seen in almost 3 years. We had dinner and talked school as he's a 3rd grade teacher.
Last week on Thursday, we left for Belize to renew our visas. I'm excited to explore Belize more with my family in December. It is beautiful. We stayed right on the beach in Placencia. The food was fantastic (fish, shrimp, rice, beans, chicken, banana bread, and tons of icecream - think cholocate banana and peanut butter - my mouth is watering right now thinking about it). The trip took about 12 hours to complete and on the way there consisted of the following modes of transportation:
1. a mini van that drove us past the Honduras/Guatemalan border - actually took us to where a bridge had been washed out
2. a boat to cross the river
3. another mini van to a point in the road covered with water
4. the back of a pick up truck to immigration in Guatemala
5. the back of another truck to the port city of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
6. 1 hour boat ride to Punta Gorda, Belize
7. 2 hour bus ride to Mango Creek
8. 10 minute boat ride to Placencia
9. walk to hotel
Same in reverse on our way back. My back has some huge knots in it right now due to the travel, but worth it. We're all legal until we leave for break in December. The hardest part of organizing this trip was working with US dollars, Lempiras, Quetzales and Belizian Dollars. I need more practice with exchange rates. Also, this trip helped me figure out how to travel in December to meet my family in Belize City.
Friends
I'm excited to have made a new friend. She was a neighbor from a home visit. We've gone to the movies and this weekend we're going hiking to the Coca Cola sign in San Pedro Sula (its in the mountains and will overlook the entire city). Its hard making friends here that do not have a connection to the school. Not that having a connection to the school is bad but making friends and getting away from work is nice. I'm happy to have a new friend. The Director and I are still in our walking club...we actually went for a walk today. I'm glad to spend time with her outside of school as well as she has a great sense of humor and she laughs at my awful jokes.
Our staff decided to celebrate dia del maestro at the end of September. We normally have an all staff meeting the last Friday of the month (school gets out at 11:15) and we meet. We decided to have that meeting at a student's pool and have Miss Danelia cook a wonderful meal for all of us. It was a great day to get to know each other well and share great food. We also celebrated Miss Amarilys' (director of the school) birthday. My favorite part of the story was when we asked the mother if we could borrow there pool for this teachers' meeting. She enthusiastically said yes but that a bit of help would be needed to get things in order at the pool (its not at the property where they live). She pulled up in front of our apartments and started honking and yelling for me and the teachers. I thought this would be a small feat and all the other teachers were busy with other commitments. She and I (and Don Ramon - the school guard who loves the lawn mower - and the lawn mower as well) arrive at the property. The pool was empty and very dirty. The grass around the pool was at least 2 feet high. The house is partially constructed. No worries though. In two hours the pool was clean and the grass around it cut. When we arrived the next day, there was space enough for a small soccer field, the pool was full and we had a wonderful day.
My boss arrived today from the states. He will be staying in my apartment for the next 10 days or so. It will be nice to have him here to explain a few things to me and to help with some team discussions.
At school...
We're in review week as our first quarter ends next week - we have exams throughout next week. We sadly had a teacher return to the US last week so we've had two great team members step up and take over her classroom until a permanent replacement can be found. This means that I've also been spending more time with second grade as well. I notice a huge difference between attention spans of pre-kinder and kinder students and 2nd graders. I'm having fun working with the students on their independent reading. Today was the first day I took the students to the library...what an experience.
A funny thing about working with students is that they say things without a filter. In one day I had two students (independent of each other) say the following to me:
1st student - Miss Andrea you look a lot older today.
Me - why?
student - The wrinkles in your forehead are a lot worse than they were before. But don't worry Miss Andrea, everyone gets old.
2nd group of students at lunch
Miss Andrea, can we guess how old you are?
Me- sure
One student - 26
Me - I like the way you think but I am older than that
Second student - 36
Me - great job, how did you know how old I am?
Second student - because of the wrinkles in your forehead.
Nice huh? I find it all very funny and I don't think my wrinkles are that much worse.
The new classroom is all built. Now we are just waiting for a whiteboard, chairs, paint and electricity to be added.
Enrollment for next year's pre-kinder class. This consumed so much of my time and was a HUGE headache. Its done now and we have the list of the 20 students who will enter our school next year. Our school board of directors wanted to change the process mid stream (several meetings and discussions about this - not happening for next year but a conversation that is still happening), people called to ask favors, stopped by my house to see if I could get their neighbors kids friend in, and people slept outside the school to be first in line for open enrollment. I have learned a lot from this process and have many suggestions to make next years process less hectic and stressful.
Bee season seems to be upon us as this week they have been out in full force. I hope they go away. The weather has been somewhat pleasant lately as well.
Visa
As I posted earlier, I went to San Pedro Sula to renew my visa and was told to go to Teguc as they no longer processed extensions in SPS. I did and got the extension needed - I did have to wait for 3 hours because the one director authorized to sign the extension was at a long lunch. It was a hectic trip - there in one day and back the next - but I got to stay with friends and see my friend Celin who I haven't seen in almost 3 years. We had dinner and talked school as he's a 3rd grade teacher.
Last week on Thursday, we left for Belize to renew our visas. I'm excited to explore Belize more with my family in December. It is beautiful. We stayed right on the beach in Placencia. The food was fantastic (fish, shrimp, rice, beans, chicken, banana bread, and tons of icecream - think cholocate banana and peanut butter - my mouth is watering right now thinking about it). The trip took about 12 hours to complete and on the way there consisted of the following modes of transportation:
1. a mini van that drove us past the Honduras/Guatemalan border - actually took us to where a bridge had been washed out
2. a boat to cross the river
3. another mini van to a point in the road covered with water
4. the back of a pick up truck to immigration in Guatemala
5. the back of another truck to the port city of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
6. 1 hour boat ride to Punta Gorda, Belize
7. 2 hour bus ride to Mango Creek
8. 10 minute boat ride to Placencia
9. walk to hotel
Same in reverse on our way back. My back has some huge knots in it right now due to the travel, but worth it. We're all legal until we leave for break in December. The hardest part of organizing this trip was working with US dollars, Lempiras, Quetzales and Belizian Dollars. I need more practice with exchange rates. Also, this trip helped me figure out how to travel in December to meet my family in Belize City.
Friends
I'm excited to have made a new friend. She was a neighbor from a home visit. We've gone to the movies and this weekend we're going hiking to the Coca Cola sign in San Pedro Sula (its in the mountains and will overlook the entire city). Its hard making friends here that do not have a connection to the school. Not that having a connection to the school is bad but making friends and getting away from work is nice. I'm happy to have a new friend. The Director and I are still in our walking club...we actually went for a walk today. I'm glad to spend time with her outside of school as well as she has a great sense of humor and she laughs at my awful jokes.
Our staff decided to celebrate dia del maestro at the end of September. We normally have an all staff meeting the last Friday of the month (school gets out at 11:15) and we meet. We decided to have that meeting at a student's pool and have Miss Danelia cook a wonderful meal for all of us. It was a great day to get to know each other well and share great food. We also celebrated Miss Amarilys' (director of the school) birthday. My favorite part of the story was when we asked the mother if we could borrow there pool for this teachers' meeting. She enthusiastically said yes but that a bit of help would be needed to get things in order at the pool (its not at the property where they live). She pulled up in front of our apartments and started honking and yelling for me and the teachers. I thought this would be a small feat and all the other teachers were busy with other commitments. She and I (and Don Ramon - the school guard who loves the lawn mower - and the lawn mower as well) arrive at the property. The pool was empty and very dirty. The grass around the pool was at least 2 feet high. The house is partially constructed. No worries though. In two hours the pool was clean and the grass around it cut. When we arrived the next day, there was space enough for a small soccer field, the pool was full and we had a wonderful day.
My boss arrived today from the states. He will be staying in my apartment for the next 10 days or so. It will be nice to have him here to explain a few things to me and to help with some team discussions.
Food, food and more food (from September 26)
Due to the very generous hospitality of our Honduran hosts we have eaten very well this week. We have all been doing home visits (visiting our students at their houses to get to know the students families and to see the students in their natural environment). Many families have been nice enough to invite all 14 of us over. All visits usually entail very good food (baleadas, pastelitos, carne asada...and at one house three desserts). Oftentimes, food is followed by fun; recently we've played cards and had modeling competitions. The families are extremely giving and open to sharing what they have with us.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dia del Maestro (Teacher's Day)
Good thing the walking club is in full force because I think I'm still recovering from Teacher's Day last Friday. Miss Dorin had the 7th grace Social Studies class redo their classroom and transform it into a Honduran cultural arena. The students were dressed in traditional clothes, the room had many wonderful decorations and best of all was the piles and piles of food. We had elote (corn on the cob), tamales, catrachas, baleadas, plantains stuffed with beans and cheese, various breads (corn bread, coconut bread and women's bread), etc. They also had coffee, horchata and atol to drink. Did I say that this was at 9:15 a.m. and was the day after a huge dinner Profe Mabel fixed for all 14 of us at her house? Another parent brought in a huge tray of pastelitos. A student gave me a dessert her mom had made. The food didn't stop. One teacher even got a card that wished him a great teachers day and said he deserved it because of his hair, the way he walks and other beautiful reasons. It was really cute.
Later on Friday evening, Don Wil (a wonderful SJBS father who does nothing but give to the school turned 50. His family had all 14 of us over for baleadas, cake, ice cream and a pinata. It was great conversation until late into the night (ha ha I was home by 10:30 but I lasted hours longer than others:)
This week continues the food fest as we're all going to another SJBS students' house on Thursday for dinner. Friday is a half day for teacher in service and we're having a meeting and then a social for the Honduran and US teachers to mingle. Miss Danelia is making food and we're going swimming - should be fun. On Sunday, I will again be visiting a student's house.
Life is good and things are busy. Student behaviors are changing and more students are being sent to the office for discipline issues. It is interesting to see how parents react when they are called into conferences at the school, even more interesting is to see their children's reaction when the parents are there. I subsituted for a sick teacher for a period today in sixth grade. I'd just come from the pre-kinder room. Boy what a difference in behavior. It was great to see the 6th graders working through the writing process. They were finishing the pre-writing (brainstorming stage) and starting their first drafts. Looked like the start of a lot of good material.
Its crazy to see pictures of people back home in sweatshirts and jackets. Its still in the mid 90s here on a daily basis (actual temperature), let's not even talk about the what it feels like temperature. Two pairs of shoes have died on me in my short three months (one pair of chacos - don't worry I'm going to see if the shoe repair man in the market can fix them - and a pair of flip flops). My computer is slowly coming back to life (thanks Giulio) but I still don't know how to download pictures with this new set up. Baby steps I say. I'd heard before I got here that laptops come here to die....I'm going to challenge this and hope my laptop is still going strong come July 2011.
Tomorrow I'm off to renew my visa for one month. Hard to believe that I've been here for 3 months already!
Later on Friday evening, Don Wil (a wonderful SJBS father who does nothing but give to the school turned 50. His family had all 14 of us over for baleadas, cake, ice cream and a pinata. It was great conversation until late into the night (ha ha I was home by 10:30 but I lasted hours longer than others:)
This week continues the food fest as we're all going to another SJBS students' house on Thursday for dinner. Friday is a half day for teacher in service and we're having a meeting and then a social for the Honduran and US teachers to mingle. Miss Danelia is making food and we're going swimming - should be fun. On Sunday, I will again be visiting a student's house.
Life is good and things are busy. Student behaviors are changing and more students are being sent to the office for discipline issues. It is interesting to see how parents react when they are called into conferences at the school, even more interesting is to see their children's reaction when the parents are there. I subsituted for a sick teacher for a period today in sixth grade. I'd just come from the pre-kinder room. Boy what a difference in behavior. It was great to see the 6th graders working through the writing process. They were finishing the pre-writing (brainstorming stage) and starting their first drafts. Looked like the start of a lot of good material.
Its crazy to see pictures of people back home in sweatshirts and jackets. Its still in the mid 90s here on a daily basis (actual temperature), let's not even talk about the what it feels like temperature. Two pairs of shoes have died on me in my short three months (one pair of chacos - don't worry I'm going to see if the shoe repair man in the market can fix them - and a pair of flip flops). My computer is slowly coming back to life (thanks Giulio) but I still don't know how to download pictures with this new set up. Baby steps I say. I'd heard before I got here that laptops come here to die....I'm going to challenge this and hope my laptop is still going strong come July 2011.
Tomorrow I'm off to renew my visa for one month. Hard to believe that I've been here for 3 months already!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Honduran Independence Day
Today has been a great day! Started the day off right by doing a load of laundry (crazy when your whole wardrobe fits into one load of laundry!). I then went downstairs to the main square and watched the independence day parade. There was a great marching band and some of our students in attendance. Great fun. This was followed by an 1 1/2 hour hike to a waterfall. One of our scholarship students studying in San Pedro took us to the waterfall in Naco (a nearby town). The water was cold - which was perfect to wash away all the sweat from the hike. Then got all sweaty again on the hike back. Best part of the day - the one lempira topgigio I got when we got back to Naco. Its a frozen popsicle in a bag - it was pineapple and delicious! Here are pictures of the day. Just kidding about the photos. My computer had to be wiped clean the other day because it was very virus infected (the internet guy came and told me to stop using the internet with my computer until it was cleaned properly). Fortunately enough one of the teachers is very smart when it comes to technology so he cleaned my computer properly; now I don't know how to download my pictures from my camera. Hopefully, it will be an easy process to figure out (and for those who know me well can you believe how many photos I've actually posted?)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Dia del Nino (Kids Day) and the weekend
Dia del Nino
It is a holiday taken very seriously in Honduras. It is a day to celebrate kids. There were several disussions amongst the parents of each grade and plans made to celebrate the day. The school day was from 9-12 and all of it dedicated to celebrating kids. At 9:00 we started with some fun skits/dances by the teachers. The Honduran teachers went first, then all the teachers together did a skit (ending with some of us getting punished by the students and having to dance alone in front of the whole school - yes I had to do this!), and finally a dance performance by the US teachers. Students and parents laughed a lot. Then each class went back to its classroom where the rooms were decorated with balloons, pinatas, games and tons of food (pizza, chicken, garlic bread, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.). We only had one pinata accident (they scare me with blindfolded kids swinging sticks and everyone clammering to the ground when candy starts to fly). Overall, the day was a success and several sugar high kids went home happy at noon.
In terms of the start of the school year, families take a financial hit. They are required to buy uniforms (for everyday and one for PE), pay their matriculation and monthly payment (this amount varies from kinder/prepa, primary school an secondary school), 50 lempiras for drinking water, school supplies (each student isgiven a list of items to bring to school for the school year (notebooks, poster paper, toilet paper, hand soap, markers, crayons, etc.) torches (if they want their student to participate in the torch parade) and each class buys all the treats for Dia del Nino (some parents were required to pay 100 lempiras or more per student for the festivities). I know for our scholarship families that this can be quite a burden. I hope costs go down in the coming weeks.
I left for Teguc after the festivities ended to visit friends for the weekend. On Saturday, there was a free concert "Orgullo Catracho or Honduran Pride" in the central park. I went with my friend Ana (a single mom who works a lot but she took the day off to hang out with me - she's my hair stylist :)) The concert had all of Hondurans most famous musicians (our friends from Montuca Sound System played first), there was a bachata band, regueton, Guillermo Anderson and Paloche. Ana and I had a great time. I got really sunburnt and we also got soaked as it poured for about 15 minutes. The concert was free and it was so great to see Ana out and enjoying herself. It was a well deserved break for her. I spent the rest of the weekend introducing my friend Mando to the world of facebook. I think we will soon need to do an intervention to get him off the computer but it was great to see him connect virtually with friends from years past.
Our soccer team lost its first game by one goal in penalties on Thursday. I went on a home visit on Thursday to a very pleasant family and had a wonderful chat with the mother. It is great that families are so open and kind inviting us into their homes and sharing their food and ideas with us. It is great to get so many families perspectives on the school and what they want to see happen with the school. In my busyness of the week I did not get to skype with my dad before he left for Minnesota. I hope he catches tons of fish and hope he knows that I love him (love you too mom - we'll talk this week). Mom informed me today that her Aunt Karen died last week. Heaven has received another good one.
Off to bed, but will post some Dia del Nino pictures first. And a final shout out to Katie Saur and Mary Russell - thanks for the awesome care package - you guys are the best!
It is a holiday taken very seriously in Honduras. It is a day to celebrate kids. There were several disussions amongst the parents of each grade and plans made to celebrate the day. The school day was from 9-12 and all of it dedicated to celebrating kids. At 9:00 we started with some fun skits/dances by the teachers. The Honduran teachers went first, then all the teachers together did a skit (ending with some of us getting punished by the students and having to dance alone in front of the whole school - yes I had to do this!), and finally a dance performance by the US teachers. Students and parents laughed a lot. Then each class went back to its classroom where the rooms were decorated with balloons, pinatas, games and tons of food (pizza, chicken, garlic bread, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.). We only had one pinata accident (they scare me with blindfolded kids swinging sticks and everyone clammering to the ground when candy starts to fly). Overall, the day was a success and several sugar high kids went home happy at noon.
In terms of the start of the school year, families take a financial hit. They are required to buy uniforms (for everyday and one for PE), pay their matriculation and monthly payment (this amount varies from kinder/prepa, primary school an secondary school), 50 lempiras for drinking water, school supplies (each student isgiven a list of items to bring to school for the school year (notebooks, poster paper, toilet paper, hand soap, markers, crayons, etc.) torches (if they want their student to participate in the torch parade) and each class buys all the treats for Dia del Nino (some parents were required to pay 100 lempiras or more per student for the festivities). I know for our scholarship families that this can be quite a burden. I hope costs go down in the coming weeks.
I left for Teguc after the festivities ended to visit friends for the weekend. On Saturday, there was a free concert "Orgullo Catracho or Honduran Pride" in the central park. I went with my friend Ana (a single mom who works a lot but she took the day off to hang out with me - she's my hair stylist :)) The concert had all of Hondurans most famous musicians (our friends from Montuca Sound System played first), there was a bachata band, regueton, Guillermo Anderson and Paloche. Ana and I had a great time. I got really sunburnt and we also got soaked as it poured for about 15 minutes. The concert was free and it was so great to see Ana out and enjoying herself. It was a well deserved break for her. I spent the rest of the weekend introducing my friend Mando to the world of facebook. I think we will soon need to do an intervention to get him off the computer but it was great to see him connect virtually with friends from years past.
Our soccer team lost its first game by one goal in penalties on Thursday. I went on a home visit on Thursday to a very pleasant family and had a wonderful chat with the mother. It is great that families are so open and kind inviting us into their homes and sharing their food and ideas with us. It is great to get so many families perspectives on the school and what they want to see happen with the school. In my busyness of the week I did not get to skype with my dad before he left for Minnesota. I hope he catches tons of fish and hope he knows that I love him (love you too mom - we'll talk this week). Mom informed me today that her Aunt Karen died last week. Heaven has received another good one.
Off to bed, but will post some Dia del Nino pictures first. And a final shout out to Katie Saur and Mary Russell - thanks for the awesome care package - you guys are the best!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Week 3
Its hard to believe that today is only Wednesday, its been a long week. Monday started by going to school and starting with our normal acto civico AND then out came the traditional folkloric dancers. Fun...they performed four or five songs and then got all of the US teachers out in the middle to dance punta (a lot of fast hip and butt movements). Kids all day long kept coming up to me and saying that I danced well. How kind of them. After school I had two meetings and didn't get home until 9 p.m. I had my first meeting with the scholarship parents. We covered a lot of information and even held elections. This is the meeting where I was to be mean. I got applause after the meeting and accomplished all I wanted to so, so far so well. The board of directors meeting for the school is always long and starts 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour late but we covered a lot of important information.
Tuesday, I helped in the kindergarten and first grade classes for most of the day. Then came home and cooked a stir fry for fourteen people and led a team meeting.
Today, walking to work I saw three teachers from the other bilingual school here in town get mugged at gun point. A car sped past me, stopped where they were walking, two men got out and took the teachers backpacks, etc. No one was hurt but everyone was badly shaken up. After reporting what happened to the police and making sure the other teachers were ok and got where they needed to go, I helped again in first grade. In the evening we attended the annual desfile de antorches (parade of torches). Its an annual tradition for schools to participat in. We got there early and were the first to parade. I've added some photos from the parade to this page. It was followed up by eating baleadas at the 6th grade fundraising stand! Excellent food and I think they made a fortune on their sales.
Tomorrow, we have school as normal and then our first soccer game of the year. Its confusing as some think its an 8 and under game while others think 3-6 grades can play. Guess we'll find out tomorrow. I am then helping tutor a student studying in San Pedro Sula through our scholarship progam from 4-5. At five I'm going to do a home visit (and hopefully get some really good food out of the visit :)) Then we have dance practice.
Friday is Dia del Nino (Kids Day). We are having a party at school from 9-12. School gets out at 12. The parents of each grade organize a huge party for their kids (I'm talking pinatas, cake, ice cream, pizza, juice, etc.) It starts with an all school assembly where we have to perform and make fools out of ourselves. That is why we have dance practice tomorrow night. I plan to take pictures of all the sugar highs on Friday a.m. as well. Friday afternoon I'm headed to Teguc to see some friends and relax.
Tuesday, I helped in the kindergarten and first grade classes for most of the day. Then came home and cooked a stir fry for fourteen people and led a team meeting.
Today, walking to work I saw three teachers from the other bilingual school here in town get mugged at gun point. A car sped past me, stopped where they were walking, two men got out and took the teachers backpacks, etc. No one was hurt but everyone was badly shaken up. After reporting what happened to the police and making sure the other teachers were ok and got where they needed to go, I helped again in first grade. In the evening we attended the annual desfile de antorches (parade of torches). Its an annual tradition for schools to participat in. We got there early and were the first to parade. I've added some photos from the parade to this page. It was followed up by eating baleadas at the 6th grade fundraising stand! Excellent food and I think they made a fortune on their sales.
Tomorrow, we have school as normal and then our first soccer game of the year. Its confusing as some think its an 8 and under game while others think 3-6 grades can play. Guess we'll find out tomorrow. I am then helping tutor a student studying in San Pedro Sula through our scholarship progam from 4-5. At five I'm going to do a home visit (and hopefully get some really good food out of the visit :)) Then we have dance practice.
Friday is Dia del Nino (Kids Day). We are having a party at school from 9-12. School gets out at 12. The parents of each grade organize a huge party for their kids (I'm talking pinatas, cake, ice cream, pizza, juice, etc.) It starts with an all school assembly where we have to perform and make fools out of ourselves. That is why we have dance practice tomorrow night. I plan to take pictures of all the sugar highs on Friday a.m. as well. Friday afternoon I'm headed to Teguc to see some friends and relax.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Week 2
Its funny how in some ways time seems to fly by and in others it lasts forever. Week two of school was a bit like that. I've continued observing some classes, co-taught and taught a course and felt very overwhelmed at times. I also had my first meeting with the elected group of representatives from the scholarship families. I learned a lot from them that will help me with Monday's first general meeting with them but also felt a little deflated. The basic jist of what they kept telling me was that since I'm a woman everyone will try and take advantage of me - I need to be mean. I don't want to be mean. I've continued following the policies and procedures put in place by the last administrator but for some reason everyone thinks I'm inventing my own feminine way of doing things that is not as good as the manly way it was done before. There is also a food war going on at school between the glorieta "cafeteria" we have and a rival pulperia "store" that's selling our kids junk food. Got to figure out a way to solve this as well.
In terms of the classes, they are great to observe. I spent some time in our middle school classes and am impressed by their levels of English and the books that they are reading. The first grade teacher was a bit under the weather this week so I was her voice for several classes - I'm learning a lot of kid songs. The Honduran Civics teachers went home sick on Friday so I was her replacement for 1.5 hours yesterday afternoon. That was fun since there wasn't much work for the students to do.
A highlight of the week was a trip to San Pedro Sula for some supply shopping. We purchased a new lawn mower for the school as well as some new mattresses for our apartments. All went well. The school guard who helps a lot with the cutting of the grass was like a little kid on his birthday when he saw the new mower. He often just sits and stares at it in his spare time and has spent several hours mowing already.
Tomorrow we have our first PTA like meeting - should be very beaurocratic and interesting. Today is a down day finally and I think I'm going to SPS to a movie and to check out some air conditioning. Next week we begin getting some time off for holidays. Friday, Sept 10th is the dia del nino (day of the kid). It is a party with the families at school in the a.m. and we get out at noon (think I'm going back to Teguc for that weekend - also some band friends of our are playing in Teguc that weekend). September 15th is Honduras' independence day. September 17th is dia del maestro (day of the teacher); we're not sure if we get that day off or not yet :)
I think the hardest part of my job so far is hearing the families talk to me about their economic hardships. One parent closed themself in my office yesterday for about a 1/2 an hour and talked about all the debts they have, how they may have to remove their daughter from school and how neither of the parents in the family are working right now. I don't know what to do in these situtations. The person gives so much to the school and works occasionally for the school but since the daughter goes to the school the person feels bad charging the school what they should for the work completed. Since the daughter gets a scholarship this person wants to thank the school by helping out but in the end its compromising the livlihood of the family. Heartwrenching.
Last night I went on my first home visit with another teacher. We learned how to make flour tortillas (I know how to make the dough - we learned how to slap them out into cirlces with just our hands - no plates or rolling pins). The food was great and the company very fun. Its great to see the kids in their natural environments.
Everyone in the US enjoy your labor day weekend. I'll celebrate that day in May with the rest of the world. Until next time.
In terms of the classes, they are great to observe. I spent some time in our middle school classes and am impressed by their levels of English and the books that they are reading. The first grade teacher was a bit under the weather this week so I was her voice for several classes - I'm learning a lot of kid songs. The Honduran Civics teachers went home sick on Friday so I was her replacement for 1.5 hours yesterday afternoon. That was fun since there wasn't much work for the students to do.
A highlight of the week was a trip to San Pedro Sula for some supply shopping. We purchased a new lawn mower for the school as well as some new mattresses for our apartments. All went well. The school guard who helps a lot with the cutting of the grass was like a little kid on his birthday when he saw the new mower. He often just sits and stares at it in his spare time and has spent several hours mowing already.
Tomorrow we have our first PTA like meeting - should be very beaurocratic and interesting. Today is a down day finally and I think I'm going to SPS to a movie and to check out some air conditioning. Next week we begin getting some time off for holidays. Friday, Sept 10th is the dia del nino (day of the kid). It is a party with the families at school in the a.m. and we get out at noon (think I'm going back to Teguc for that weekend - also some band friends of our are playing in Teguc that weekend). September 15th is Honduras' independence day. September 17th is dia del maestro (day of the teacher); we're not sure if we get that day off or not yet :)
I think the hardest part of my job so far is hearing the families talk to me about their economic hardships. One parent closed themself in my office yesterday for about a 1/2 an hour and talked about all the debts they have, how they may have to remove their daughter from school and how neither of the parents in the family are working right now. I don't know what to do in these situtations. The person gives so much to the school and works occasionally for the school but since the daughter goes to the school the person feels bad charging the school what they should for the work completed. Since the daughter gets a scholarship this person wants to thank the school by helping out but in the end its compromising the livlihood of the family. Heartwrenching.
Last night I went on my first home visit with another teacher. We learned how to make flour tortillas (I know how to make the dough - we learned how to slap them out into cirlces with just our hands - no plates or rolling pins). The food was great and the company very fun. Its great to see the kids in their natural environments.
Everyone in the US enjoy your labor day weekend. I'll celebrate that day in May with the rest of the world. Until next time.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Dad - these photos are for you of the group "mowing the yard"
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| It took 10 men to cut the grass (only the back part of the school today) but we (I raked and hauled away the cut grass) did it in under 3 hours. Record for my time here so far! |
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Open House
We had SJBS's first open house today and I think overall it was a success. Open houses are not customary in Honduras so the concept was hard for some parents to understand - they wanted a formal meeting with the teacher and all parents at the same time. I think in the end they enjoyed talking one on one with the teachers. My role was to welcome the parents as they came in and to see what parents are interested in taking English classes themselves. Four of the teachers have agreed to give classes two times a week to parents who want to learn English.
I spent a lot of time talking to parents and am humbled by a lot of the stories I hear. Some of the Beca families (families who receive scholarships from the organization I work for) amaze me. They are so giving and often are the ones who have the least to give. They work very hard for the school to give back so that their kids can have a bilingual education. Many moms come in the afternoons to help clean the classrooms. One father is the school handyman (and our go to guy to fix things in our apartments as well) - he often doesn't get paid for this work at the school but does it for his daughter's education. Fourteen people will come tomorrow to cut grass. All so their kids can receive a good education. I have many invites to houses for dinner - next weekend is looking booked for meals :) Which is good because we are on our own for meals on weekends!
After the Open House, the first grade parents had a carne asada fundraiser. Carne asada is really good meat (as you know we don't get a lot of meat so it was really good!). Fifty lempiras ($2.65) for a plate of grilled steak, beans, salad and tortillas. Can you beat that? I did break down today in San Pedro Sula today though and buy a box of macaroni and cheese (for when I need a comfort food). Today's lunch was also really good (beans, mantequilla (crema), one of the best avacados I've ever had and bread). Yummy and the best part was the 3 lempira avacado!
Off to bed as I'm on grass cutting duty at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. Below are a few photos of the carne asada fundraiser, summer academy, our trip to Triunfo de la Cruz, the school and my apartment. Will try and take more photos soon.
I spent a lot of time talking to parents and am humbled by a lot of the stories I hear. Some of the Beca families (families who receive scholarships from the organization I work for) amaze me. They are so giving and often are the ones who have the least to give. They work very hard for the school to give back so that their kids can have a bilingual education. Many moms come in the afternoons to help clean the classrooms. One father is the school handyman (and our go to guy to fix things in our apartments as well) - he often doesn't get paid for this work at the school but does it for his daughter's education. Fourteen people will come tomorrow to cut grass. All so their kids can receive a good education. I have many invites to houses for dinner - next weekend is looking booked for meals :) Which is good because we are on our own for meals on weekends!
After the Open House, the first grade parents had a carne asada fundraiser. Carne asada is really good meat (as you know we don't get a lot of meat so it was really good!). Fifty lempiras ($2.65) for a plate of grilled steak, beans, salad and tortillas. Can you beat that? I did break down today in San Pedro Sula today though and buy a box of macaroni and cheese (for when I need a comfort food). Today's lunch was also really good (beans, mantequilla (crema), one of the best avacados I've ever had and bread). Yummy and the best part was the 3 lempira avacado!
Off to bed as I'm on grass cutting duty at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. Below are a few photos of the carne asada fundraiser, summer academy, our trip to Triunfo de la Cruz, the school and my apartment. Will try and take more photos soon.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Almost the end of week one
This week has been quite a learning experience. I'm learning to work with four year olds instead of 18-22 year olds. Its taken some adjusting. When pre-kinder kids do not want to be in school they cry, scream for mom and often times bolt when the teacher is not looking. I have spent hours with one pre-kinder student this week who keeps trying to get into her sister's fourth grade class. Kids come to the office with upset stomaches and I am the person who takes care of them - not really a nurse but a good substitute I guess- not really as I don't like to give kids medicine and the Hondurans in the office do. We had our first real casualty yesterday. A first grader fell off our ancient monkey bars and busted his arm. His mom came and got him and took him to get two rods put in his arm. He's back home now and should be back to school next week. We're hoping to fund raise at the school to help cover the costs.....
I've been observing classes this week. I've set in on 1st - 4th grade so far. Its interesting to see the difference in attention spans of the students. First graders need to be stimulated all the time! Our school is getting bigger. On Monday, they are starting new construction on a classroom. It will be our first second story building. We'll see how that goes while students are in class.
This weekend will no be restful. I'm off to San Pedro Sula tomorrow to get money and pay some BECA bills. Then back here for our Open House at the school. On Sunday its back to cutting the grass at 7 a.m. for about 7 or so hours. Its been raining a lot during the evenings and the grass is growing quickly. We're macheting it up on Sunday as the current mower is dead again. Then meetings with a couple of scholarship families to go over contracts and responsibilities. Then a call to my boss in the US.
On the food side of things, I learned how to make a great sauce for a vegetable stir fry that has pineapple in it and can't wait to try it again. We had hummus tonight so it kind of felt like a normal summer dinner for me. Someone also made brownies and they were to die for! Lunches are provided for by the school and include fresh juices (you drink them out of a bag). I had habiscus juice today and it was wonderful. Yesterday it was cantelope juice. Day before passion fruit juice. Anyone jealous yet?
Bought my parents plane tickets for our December trip to Belize. I'm excited as we'll see Mayan ruins in Belize and Guatemala as well as take a glass bottom boat. Looks like my cousin Joel will join us for some of the time and spend New Year's Eve with me. Other friends are talking about coming in February....so will be good to see people.
I've been observing classes this week. I've set in on 1st - 4th grade so far. Its interesting to see the difference in attention spans of the students. First graders need to be stimulated all the time! Our school is getting bigger. On Monday, they are starting new construction on a classroom. It will be our first second story building. We'll see how that goes while students are in class.
This weekend will no be restful. I'm off to San Pedro Sula tomorrow to get money and pay some BECA bills. Then back here for our Open House at the school. On Sunday its back to cutting the grass at 7 a.m. for about 7 or so hours. Its been raining a lot during the evenings and the grass is growing quickly. We're macheting it up on Sunday as the current mower is dead again. Then meetings with a couple of scholarship families to go over contracts and responsibilities. Then a call to my boss in the US.
On the food side of things, I learned how to make a great sauce for a vegetable stir fry that has pineapple in it and can't wait to try it again. We had hummus tonight so it kind of felt like a normal summer dinner for me. Someone also made brownies and they were to die for! Lunches are provided for by the school and include fresh juices (you drink them out of a bag). I had habiscus juice today and it was wonderful. Yesterday it was cantelope juice. Day before passion fruit juice. Anyone jealous yet?
Bought my parents plane tickets for our December trip to Belize. I'm excited as we'll see Mayan ruins in Belize and Guatemala as well as take a glass bottom boat. Looks like my cousin Joel will join us for some of the time and spend New Year's Eve with me. Other friends are talking about coming in February....so will be good to see people.
Monday, August 23, 2010
1st Day of School
Alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. Shower. Extra big breakfast to tide me over until noon (didn't work). Left for school at 6:15 a.m. School started with the traditional Monday morning acto civico. They brought the Honduran flag in, we sang the national anthem, prayed, the school director gave a few words and introduced the Honduran teachers, I introduced the US teachers, and words of wisdom for the students were shared (as well as the rules of no running in the hallways etc.). Then the students were off. I met with some parents who were transfering kids to our school, helped clear up some scheduling problems for US and Honduran teachers, and met with scholarship parents to discuss our entire process and what responsibilitis scholarship students' families have to the school. Then came recess duty. I got two cookies and a mint from students. School was let out at 11:15 in the morning. So I helped the kinder and prepa classes (kinder is pre-kindergarton in the US and prepa is kindergarton) for a few minutes (several of the kinder students were crying for their moms at that point) and then had staff meetings until lunch. The school glorieta (snack shop) makes the US teachers lunches every day. We get meat at these lunches but it usually comes with a strong dose of salt.
After school I went shopping with three other teachers for fruits and vegetables as we are responsible for group dinner tomorrow night. Its hard to know quantities for 14 people. I then went to the school board of directors meeting (supposed to start at 6:30 p.m....the few who came tonight showed up a little after 7 p.m.) The meeting lasted until 9 p.m.
We have a team meeting tomorrow to lay out the week and talk about things that affect all of us US teachers. More later...as its 10 p.m. and I must get some sleep to have energy for day two.
After school I went shopping with three other teachers for fruits and vegetables as we are responsible for group dinner tomorrow night. Its hard to know quantities for 14 people. I then went to the school board of directors meeting (supposed to start at 6:30 p.m....the few who came tonight showed up a little after 7 p.m.) The meeting lasted until 9 p.m.
We have a team meeting tomorrow to lay out the week and talk about things that affect all of us US teachers. More later...as its 10 p.m. and I must get some sleep to have energy for day two.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Month 2
So not only do I not take many pictures, I'm also not good about writing about what has been going on in my life. School starts on Monday...hard to believe but also what I've been waiting for. These last two weeks have been crazy as we've all been preparing for school to start.
Teguc
I took a weekend away to go to Teguc to celebrate my friends (Mando and Jazmin's) birthdays. It was so great and refreshing to see old friends (and not just because they are a year older but because I've known them for 12 years). I visited many people, ate great food and danced to one Lady Gaga remixed song. First time I had been off on my own since returning to Honduras and it was nice.
Triunfo de la Cruz
Last week we went on a group bonding trip to Triunfo de la Cruz, a Garifuna village outside of Tela. Gorgeous beaches, fresh fish, plantains, coconut bread and topogigos (charamuscas) de pinol. Heaven. Loved falling asleep listening to the ocean. Walking along the beach. Snorkeling, You get the idea. The only draw back to the four day weekend was the very quick hike we did at Punta Sal National Park (I've never been eaten by so many mosquitos in such a short period of time).
This last week
Things have been crazy at the school as the teachers have been preparing their classrooms. My responsibility this week was to coordinate the students recuperation exams and the second round of entrance exams to the school. That part was easy. The hard part was calling the parents and telling them that their kids did not pass the exam to enter the school...and then answer 5 phone calls from that family's friends as to why the student hasn't been accepted into the school. We had our first full staff meeting (with the Honduran teachers) and we decided on Thursday that we'd have a half day of school on Monday - not to mention that the first staff meeting was cancelled earlier in the week due to most Honduran teachers not reporting to work on the first day back. Nice. We also received first aid training this week. Things slowed down a bit as our internet was down for two days. I got re-addicted to Friday Night Lights. I'm on the second season now.
BECA fund raising
BECA is in the midst of its annual fundraising. If anyone feels so inclined to donate to the good work our organization is going you can find much more information on how to do that at: http://www.becaschools.org/ Your donation (no matter the size) will help make a huge difference in the lives of many Honduran kids. As you can see there is no specific place to donate for me as I'm not teacher at the school. I do manage the Beca Bachillerato program (BBP) and this helps provide scholarships for students to continue their bilingual education in San Pedro Sula (SJBS only goes through ninth grade to this allows students to continue their studies past 9th grade and help prepare them for the university). A couple of weeks ago I had the privelege of going with Christopher and Katerin (our two new BBP recipients for the 2010-2011 year) and their mothers to their new high school in San Pedro Sula and help enroll them in their new school. It was great to see the students eyes light up and stare in wonderment at what will soon be their new school (I also saw some fears as well). These students will not have it easy as several new course subjects are introduced in high school but also the fact that school is now a 45 minute bus ride away and classes begin around 6:30 a.m. Can't imagine as I'm dreading next week when school starts at 7:15 a.m. Wish me well with that.
Food and exercise (or lack of)
The school director, Miss Amarylis, and I are officially starting a walking club. Hopefully that will help me not gain weight from all the delicious food I'm eating. We do group meals five nights a week. We have not had any repeat meals to date and have had many yummy items (curries, stir fries, roasted veggies, stuffed peppers (for those who know me - no worries I only ate the stuffing (and not from the pepper but stuffing kept on the side), pancakes, pasta, casserols, etc.). We also have an awesome hook up for shrimp (the mom of the girl in the photo with me). Not bad when we spend 238 lempiras for 14 people or the equivalent of $17 (just over a buck a person) per dinner. We do not eat much meat but have started a meat fund.....donations accepted....just kidding but please do enjoy the meat you get in your meals.
Phone etiquette
I have a cell phone for work. Within the first week I'd already given someone the name of do not answer in my phone....he called (and still does some times) a lot - 10-20 times a night from 3-6 a.m. Now that I have the creeps digits I know when to ignore calls. My Spanish has improved from talking on the phone so much...but do know that is it is common to call someone 5 times in a row within a few minutes if they don't answer their phone. Hondurans do not typically listen to voicemail so I don't leave them messages; needless to say with this process there are some people that I just never get in touch with.
Well that's enough for now. Its late and I need to sleep (gotta get ready for work to start at 7 next week). My next post will be about the first few weeks of school and I should have some good stories about the teachers and the students.
Teguc
I took a weekend away to go to Teguc to celebrate my friends (Mando and Jazmin's) birthdays. It was so great and refreshing to see old friends (and not just because they are a year older but because I've known them for 12 years). I visited many people, ate great food and danced to one Lady Gaga remixed song. First time I had been off on my own since returning to Honduras and it was nice.
Triunfo de la Cruz
Last week we went on a group bonding trip to Triunfo de la Cruz, a Garifuna village outside of Tela. Gorgeous beaches, fresh fish, plantains, coconut bread and topogigos (charamuscas) de pinol. Heaven. Loved falling asleep listening to the ocean. Walking along the beach. Snorkeling, You get the idea. The only draw back to the four day weekend was the very quick hike we did at Punta Sal National Park (I've never been eaten by so many mosquitos in such a short period of time).
This last week
Things have been crazy at the school as the teachers have been preparing their classrooms. My responsibility this week was to coordinate the students recuperation exams and the second round of entrance exams to the school. That part was easy. The hard part was calling the parents and telling them that their kids did not pass the exam to enter the school...and then answer 5 phone calls from that family's friends as to why the student hasn't been accepted into the school. We had our first full staff meeting (with the Honduran teachers) and we decided on Thursday that we'd have a half day of school on Monday - not to mention that the first staff meeting was cancelled earlier in the week due to most Honduran teachers not reporting to work on the first day back. Nice. We also received first aid training this week. Things slowed down a bit as our internet was down for two days. I got re-addicted to Friday Night Lights. I'm on the second season now.
BECA fund raising
BECA is in the midst of its annual fundraising. If anyone feels so inclined to donate to the good work our organization is going you can find much more information on how to do that at: http://www.becaschools.org/ Your donation (no matter the size) will help make a huge difference in the lives of many Honduran kids. As you can see there is no specific place to donate for me as I'm not teacher at the school. I do manage the Beca Bachillerato program (BBP) and this helps provide scholarships for students to continue their bilingual education in San Pedro Sula (SJBS only goes through ninth grade to this allows students to continue their studies past 9th grade and help prepare them for the university). A couple of weeks ago I had the privelege of going with Christopher and Katerin (our two new BBP recipients for the 2010-2011 year) and their mothers to their new high school in San Pedro Sula and help enroll them in their new school. It was great to see the students eyes light up and stare in wonderment at what will soon be their new school (I also saw some fears as well). These students will not have it easy as several new course subjects are introduced in high school but also the fact that school is now a 45 minute bus ride away and classes begin around 6:30 a.m. Can't imagine as I'm dreading next week when school starts at 7:15 a.m. Wish me well with that.
Food and exercise (or lack of)
The school director, Miss Amarylis, and I are officially starting a walking club. Hopefully that will help me not gain weight from all the delicious food I'm eating. We do group meals five nights a week. We have not had any repeat meals to date and have had many yummy items (curries, stir fries, roasted veggies, stuffed peppers (for those who know me - no worries I only ate the stuffing (and not from the pepper but stuffing kept on the side), pancakes, pasta, casserols, etc.). We also have an awesome hook up for shrimp (the mom of the girl in the photo with me). Not bad when we spend 238 lempiras for 14 people or the equivalent of $17 (just over a buck a person) per dinner. We do not eat much meat but have started a meat fund.....donations accepted....just kidding but please do enjoy the meat you get in your meals.
Phone etiquette
I have a cell phone for work. Within the first week I'd already given someone the name of do not answer in my phone....he called (and still does some times) a lot - 10-20 times a night from 3-6 a.m. Now that I have the creeps digits I know when to ignore calls. My Spanish has improved from talking on the phone so much...but do know that is it is common to call someone 5 times in a row within a few minutes if they don't answer their phone. Hondurans do not typically listen to voicemail so I don't leave them messages; needless to say with this process there are some people that I just never get in touch with.
Well that's enough for now. Its late and I need to sleep (gotta get ready for work to start at 7 next week). My next post will be about the first few weeks of school and I should have some good stories about the teachers and the students.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
As many of you know, I quit my job at UW-Madison and accepted a volunteer position at the San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS) in Cofradia, Cortes, Honduras. I was happy to move back to Honduras after a decade of living in the states. I hope this blog explains to you what life is like in Cofradia and what I’ll be doing for the next eleven months (I can’t believe that one month has passed already).
Cofradia
The town of Cofradia is located about 45 minutes by car from San Pedro Sula. It is a town of about 20,000 people and the home to two bilingual schools (ours is better ha ha). I live in an apartment right off the town square. The school is about a 15 minute walk one way from the apartments. It is a nice walk but also causes you to sweat A LOT. We walk past a pineapple juice factory (which in turn causes there to be thousands of butterflies on our walking path) and a chicken farm. A nice mixture of smells.
We are in the rainy season right now. The temperature hovers in the low nineties with about ninety percent humidity. It rains almost every day for a few minutes, enough to cause the potholes in the road in front of our apartment to fill and the grass at the school to grow (more about that in a minute). The rain also cools things down a bit (even if for just a few minutes).
BECA
BECA http://www.becaschools.org/ is the organization I work for and it provides all of the English speaking teachers for the San Jeronimo Bilingual School. This year there are 11 teachers and 2 resource teachers. I am the Administrator (provide support for the teachers, represent BECA’s mission at the school and at board meetings, serve as a liaison to the local community, manage the BECA scholarship program, pay all of the bills and manage the BECA budget in Honduras). BECA provides scholarships to 25% of the students who attend San Jeronimo.
I also work with the scholarship families on contributions they can make to the school. One is by keeping the school yard looking nice. Let me tell you, grass grows really fast when it rains every day. It is amazing to see what people can do with a three wheeled mower and machetes. Let’s say it took us 14 hours (over two Sundays) to just cut the grass to a bearable height and we didn't even get to the whole school yard. . It looks like my dad and mom may save the day and donate money to buy a new lawn mower and save me and the parents about 10 hours a month on cutting grass.
Typical day
Is there one? Since the volunteers arrived a few weeks ago our weekdays have looked like this – Spanish class/individual meetings in the morning and teaching workshops in the afternoons. This last week all of the teachers began teaching at a summer academy in the afternoons with some of San Jeronimo’s students who are taking time away from their summer vacations to take classes. My part of the academy was to coordinate with the parents which students would be there, pick up and drop students off (walking with them to and from the school), and make sure the teachers are fed and have all the supplies they need to teach at the academy. We have one more week of academy and then there are two weeks before school actually begins. Next week we get to go on a group trip. We are starting the conversation tomorrow about where we would like that trip to be.
Today is a classic example of how a day of work in Honduras goes for me: I needed to get money for BECA. Oddly, in Cofradia you can only use VISA debit cards (BECA only has a Mastercard) so I had to go to San Pedro Sula to get money. Easy right? A 45 minute bus ride with 100 other adults on an old school bus from the United States-it can’t be that bad. Today it took longer as the transit police were searching all men on buses. So we had to pull over and unload all of the men. It was weird watching all of the men get searched while women and children stayed on the bus just watching. I get to the mall (its air conditioned – yeah!) and get the money I need. Then off to the bank to pay the bills (every bill gets paid at the bank – no checks or going to the company to pay the bill). Had to wait over an hour in the bank line – at least part of it was inside in the air. Then I caught a cab back to Cofradia (didn’t want to be on the bus with so much money). A mile later the front tire goes flat; he changes the tire and then we go to a tire repair place. I sit in the car for a good 45 minutes sweating and waiting for the tire to be fixed. I finally get home. My point is that things that should be easy and take no time to complete, take time here. I have learned to not stress about time, that things will get done when they get done (they always do).
Food
Baleadas, pupusas, avocados, pineapple, watermelon, bananas, tajadas, need I say more? All good. The only thing that is hard to adjust to is that Hondurans love to serve soup on the hottest of hot days. We’ve politely tried to say we like the soup but when it’s so hot we can’t eat it.
I hope that is a nice introduction to what I’ve been up to; I hope to get my camera out of its case soon and actually take some photos (definitely want one of the 15 chickens behind my apartment building that hang out in the tree).
Cofradia
The town of Cofradia is located about 45 minutes by car from San Pedro Sula. It is a town of about 20,000 people and the home to two bilingual schools (ours is better ha ha). I live in an apartment right off the town square. The school is about a 15 minute walk one way from the apartments. It is a nice walk but also causes you to sweat A LOT. We walk past a pineapple juice factory (which in turn causes there to be thousands of butterflies on our walking path) and a chicken farm. A nice mixture of smells.
We are in the rainy season right now. The temperature hovers in the low nineties with about ninety percent humidity. It rains almost every day for a few minutes, enough to cause the potholes in the road in front of our apartment to fill and the grass at the school to grow (more about that in a minute). The rain also cools things down a bit (even if for just a few minutes).
BECA
BECA http://www.becaschools.org/ is the organization I work for and it provides all of the English speaking teachers for the San Jeronimo Bilingual School. This year there are 11 teachers and 2 resource teachers. I am the Administrator (provide support for the teachers, represent BECA’s mission at the school and at board meetings, serve as a liaison to the local community, manage the BECA scholarship program, pay all of the bills and manage the BECA budget in Honduras). BECA provides scholarships to 25% of the students who attend San Jeronimo.
I also work with the scholarship families on contributions they can make to the school. One is by keeping the school yard looking nice. Let me tell you, grass grows really fast when it rains every day. It is amazing to see what people can do with a three wheeled mower and machetes. Let’s say it took us 14 hours (over two Sundays) to just cut the grass to a bearable height and we didn't even get to the whole school yard. . It looks like my dad and mom may save the day and donate money to buy a new lawn mower and save me and the parents about 10 hours a month on cutting grass.
Typical day
Is there one? Since the volunteers arrived a few weeks ago our weekdays have looked like this – Spanish class/individual meetings in the morning and teaching workshops in the afternoons. This last week all of the teachers began teaching at a summer academy in the afternoons with some of San Jeronimo’s students who are taking time away from their summer vacations to take classes. My part of the academy was to coordinate with the parents which students would be there, pick up and drop students off (walking with them to and from the school), and make sure the teachers are fed and have all the supplies they need to teach at the academy. We have one more week of academy and then there are two weeks before school actually begins. Next week we get to go on a group trip. We are starting the conversation tomorrow about where we would like that trip to be.
Today is a classic example of how a day of work in Honduras goes for me: I needed to get money for BECA. Oddly, in Cofradia you can only use VISA debit cards (BECA only has a Mastercard) so I had to go to San Pedro Sula to get money. Easy right? A 45 minute bus ride with 100 other adults on an old school bus from the United States-it can’t be that bad. Today it took longer as the transit police were searching all men on buses. So we had to pull over and unload all of the men. It was weird watching all of the men get searched while women and children stayed on the bus just watching. I get to the mall (its air conditioned – yeah!) and get the money I need. Then off to the bank to pay the bills (every bill gets paid at the bank – no checks or going to the company to pay the bill). Had to wait over an hour in the bank line – at least part of it was inside in the air. Then I caught a cab back to Cofradia (didn’t want to be on the bus with so much money). A mile later the front tire goes flat; he changes the tire and then we go to a tire repair place. I sit in the car for a good 45 minutes sweating and waiting for the tire to be fixed. I finally get home. My point is that things that should be easy and take no time to complete, take time here. I have learned to not stress about time, that things will get done when they get done (they always do).
Food
Baleadas, pupusas, avocados, pineapple, watermelon, bananas, tajadas, need I say more? All good. The only thing that is hard to adjust to is that Hondurans love to serve soup on the hottest of hot days. We’ve politely tried to say we like the soup but when it’s so hot we can’t eat it.
I hope that is a nice introduction to what I’ve been up to; I hope to get my camera out of its case soon and actually take some photos (definitely want one of the 15 chickens behind my apartment building that hang out in the tree).
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