Fun With The Parents December 2010
Fun With The Parents December 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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!
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