Desfile de Antorchas - Torch Parade

Parade fun

The parade of torches and San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS)

First grade student at torch parade

Tired girls resting during the parade

Fourth grade boys with their torches

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.

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.