Pictures - for those of you who don't have facebook!

My favorite picture by far - Eduardo - a sweet and funny kid

Kyle and Mario

Andrea and Ester

Cindy

Alex - his machine included a mouse trap! Fernando and his Rube-Goldman project
Marlon - he's a small and fun kid
My ant-bitten foot along with a scar from the waterfalls !

My warmest Halloween yet - at least 80 degrees!

Another random post:

Hormigas (ants) here in Honduras bite. I found that out after I received a lot itchy bumps on my foot on Saturday. The kids at the waterfall taught me how stomp my foot so the hormigas leave your feet. They itch a LOT!!!

I went running this afternoon with Laura (a TU grad)and Ben (a Hope grad). It was good - and challenging! There are a lot of hills here. I promise that I will post pictures sometime in the near future - as soon as I take them! I knew that I needed to "decompress" from the day.

Today was encouraging, yet challenging, because the kids were SO talkative. I had a really good meeting with my supervisor here, the director of curriculum, and she encouraged me, like I had learned in my last placement, to set high expectations for the students in my class. If I set high expectations, the students will know exactly how to behave when I am teaching. It will make my job much easier, and the kids will glean more from the teaching, also.

I'm taking over more things next week. That will be good, because I get kind of bored during the school day. I'm sick of sitting in the back, although that's clearly an easy thing to do. I'm also not really looking forward to a lot of work to do, but I don't think things here will be nearly as hard as my last placement, so I will be fine. I like sleep, though, so I don't really look forward to more difficult times. Asi es la vida.

I couldn't figure out a title for this post, until I realized that it is Halloween. Halloween here is considered to be demonic. The kids say things like, "Miss....those boys were saying that it's Halloween tomorrow, and Halloween is bad..."

That's pretty much it for today. Happy Halloween to all!

What is there to say? It was probably about 80 degrees today, so I'm still getting quite a bit of the warm weather. My calves are sore from running and aerobics today. Our kids had 4 specials classes today (art, P.E., etc.) so it was pretty relaxed.

Most of what I'm learning pertains to working with ESL kids. I'm using some of the same material that I created for my 3rd graders! I assumed that the subject and predicate cut/paste activity wouldn't take them too much time bc they are 5th graders, but it took just a little less time than it took the 3rd graders. School is so much harder for these students, because mostly everything is in their 2nd language and the school expectations are really high. The grading scale is as follows:
A- 95-100
B- 88-94

You get the idea. Crazy.

Now I'm going to take a quick nap and plan. I might go to the teacher worship night, too.

Adios.

Lunes Lunes Lunes (Monday Monday Monday)

Quick post for today:

I taught my first lesson - it was grammar, which is one of the things the students struggle with the most. I thought the lesson went well - it wasn't fantastic, but it also wasn't that exciting, either. Pretty much, the students are introduced to grammar concepts early in elementary, and they continue practicing it every year. We are reviewing the same things the 3rd graders are doing right now. The school's philosophy is that every year more students will fully understand. That's the bilingual/ESL approach the school has chosen to believe and do.

One of my roommates, Jenna, wanted to go to Salsa Aerobics today. Because I didn't have much work to do, and she really wanted to go, I went with her. It was really fun! It lasts about 1 hour and costs $2.50 per time. We were constantly moving. The footwork and moves are appropriate to salsa. I wasn't so great at the hip movement and shaking random parts of my body! It was really fun, though, and Jenna and I were the only gringas. I true Honduran experience. The music, for the most part, was also typical Latin American salsa, hip hop, etc. There were a few occasional songs like "Great Balls of Fire."

I made spaghetti tonight - I was quite proud that I made a "real" meal. I even put green peppers and shredded cheese in the sauce!

Friday we're having a "Fall Festival" with a Bake-Off, a Costume party, and carving watermelons. Calabazas (pumpkins) are scarce here. I have to come up with a costume - Jenna is going to be a ghetto girl with her fake grills. HA! I don't think I can come up with a creative outfit for myself. We'll see, I guess.

It's time to plan, so I'll say "goodbye" for now. Somehow these posts always are longer than I anticipate.

Spanish words

Here are some new Spanish words I've learned. I'll hopefully be updating this:

cabezazo - head butt (learned when playing soccer with kids
reta - challenge
retadar - to challenge
diezmo - tithe (diezmar)
juzgar - to judge
involucrarse - to get involved
liderazgo - leadership
alzar - to lift up (eyes, etc.)
regocijar - to rejoice
dones - gifts (dones espirituales)

Lagos

Things have been awesome the past day and a half. About 20 of the American teachers went on a retreat to Lago de Yojoa, the only lake in Honduras. Really, the trip wasn't about the lake, but our hotel happened to be on the lake. We left after school (2pm, because it was a half day) and headed to the destination. We went north west from Tegucigalpa to get to Lago de Yojoa. It took about 3.5 hours, plus a pit-stop. Once we arrived, we ate a meal at the hotel (a nice Honduran meal with cheese, beef, beans, and rice which were all placed in tortillas). Platanos (plantains) were also on the plates. Platanos are not my favorite, although I have discovered that plantain chips are very good!

We played Around-the-World ping pong, which was SO fun. It was crazy, and I discovered that I can serve really fast (and get my opponents out, too!). I didn't ever win, but did a good job of amazing and frustrating people with my quick serve! There was a group of Hondurans trying to play pool there, too. We pretty much were the epitomy of American stereotypes - very loud and probably obnoxious - but nevertheless, it was a very good time. We then went into my group's hotel room and sang and shared stories about what brought us to the International School. It was neat to see how God had placed such a clear calling in many people's lives to come and teach at the school. This group of people has been very encouraging to me.

This morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out for our adventure at the waterfall (cascara). As people talked about the waterfall, I began to realize that what I was about to do would definitely be an adventure! The goal of the venture was to walk under a waterfall - and because there had been a lot of rain in Honduras this year, the other teachers anticipated that the waterfall would be especially big.

Boy were they right! We parked our bus in a small village/neighborhood and saw the beautiful waterfall. It's huge, but gorgeous. I took pictures with my waterproof camera. You might have to wait until I get back to see the pics. Those who were participating (most of us) started decending toward the bottom of the waterfall. I just wore a t-shirt, shorts, and someone's Teva-type sandles with straps. Flip-flops would not suffice!

So that this blog doesn't become so ridiculously long, I'll cut to the chase.

We went in groups of 5 with a tour guide. We stood at the side of the waterfall, held onto the person in front of us, and walked underneith the waterfall. It was CRAZY! !! I was actually really scared. We all had to keep our eyes closed, because there was so much water pouring on us, and we had to deliberately take short, shallow breaths so we didn't hyperventilate. It was definitely something that required focus and bravery (and trust). Many times I could not see ANYTHING but just held onto the person in front of me, and I was ok. When we actually got under the waterfall (we stood in a crevice in the rock) we looked up... It was amazing to realize that we were under a waterfall.

The day continued to get better - we ate (I decided not to eat much, because I didn't feel like eating chicken with congealed fat on the top...), and then I played with kids for the rest of the afternoon (for at least 3 hours). It was SOOO much fun. I met Kati (Kathy in English), Norris, Cesar, and Luis. I also played with Carlos, Maximillian, and Andi. Mom, loved that she had the same name as my mom! Dad, I decided not to tell the girl named Norris that she shared her name with you. :-)

I absolutely LOVED being with the kids - things couldn't have been better. Some people ziplined over the waterfall. I thought about doing this, but then decided to wait for another opportunity, if I get it. However, I didn't want to be with other teachers. I just wanted to invest my time in the kids. They were just hanging out, so I started talking to them. Cesar was 10 and in 3rd grade. Andi was 11 and in 2nd grade. Yikes. Cesar said that they only go to school until 8th grade. Apparently, some people nearby go to school on Saturdays, too, because we saw them wearing their uniforms. We played frisbee, volleyball, futbol (soccer, what else), and Loca (Monkey in the Middle).

I asked if the kids knew of a Compassion International nearby. They did. They said that Compassion has a bilingual school which has computers. One kid said he applied, but was asked to pay 200 lempiras (about 10 dollars) and he didn't have the money, so he couldn't go.

It occurred to me today that maybe I should look into teaching in a poor area in Latin America. I don't know, yet, but I have always enjoyed relating to kids in less-than-ideal situations. It's just a thought, but one that I'm going to entertain and pray about for sure.

Today was wonderful - seeing God's creation, having great conversations with new friends, speaking in Spanish a lot, playing and talking with kids (Honduran kids!), and doing something adventerous and even terrifying.

I know this is extremely long - I'll try to keep my posts a little shorter - but my blogs are also serving as a type of journal for me, so I will include a lot of details at times so I will remember in the future.

Better Days Ahead

Today was better. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I'm getting more used everything - namely, the chattiness of the class. It's a totally different class atmosphere. I was just telling my friend online that I came from a school that demanded quiet hallways. In my current school, the kids run in the "hallways" and definitely talk! Also, the kids don't always have to have an escort to their next location (recess, specials, etc). Really, there are no hallways, because everything is open.

It's gorgeous. I need to take pics and post them so you all can marvel at Honduras' beauty. It's right outside my window! (not quite, but outside of my house, at least!)

It's been a little chillier lately. Still, it's really nice (70's, probably).

I had the opportunity to kind of "teach" today. My cooperating teacher handed me a math activity for the kids to do, so I explained it and facilitated it. It felt good to be at the front of the class again. She wasn't even in the room, so I liked that.

One of the most interesting things about the classroom here is the "bilingual" factor. I heard a statistic - whether completely accurate or not - that the kids don't understand about 40% of what we say....yikes! no wonder they turn in assignments incorrectly and we have to constantly look for ways to give them more points!

That's it for today. Lesson planning calls my name.

Wednesday

Just a few random thoughts:
Bananas are really cheap (maybe 10 cents a pound?). Rice, beans, and tortillas are also really cheap. Produce is reasonable. Everything else is pretty much close to prices in the States.

I'm going to Lagos (the largest lake in Honduras) this weekend with International School staff. It should be enjoyable. I've heard it's beautiful. I brought an underwater camera, so hopefully I'll get some good shots.

I went to a cookout tonight at the Gigante House (it's really huge). It was really fun and was a great group of people. We had burgers, pasta salad, and amazing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. A taste of home. We ate all of this and shared riddles on the house patio (almost on the top of the house). It faces the city and has a GORGEOUS view. Tegus at night looks so peaceful (although I'm sure that is anything but true). It was picturesque.

I went to Duncan Donuts with Jen Walsh and it was a splended time. We rode the city bus, which was an experience, and made it to Duncan Donuts. The cashiers thought we were rude Americans, but there was a very generous man behind us who paid 2 lempiras for each of us (toward our bill). We tried to get our money out, but he paid for us while he played with his daughter. It was very nice and unexpected. I wanted to talk with Jen about her experience at the school last year and talk about how she adjusted to the cultural things here in Tegus. I really appreciated her advice, as well as her generousity in giving up a few hours of her time.

I received my first "Hola gringas" of my time here. In addition to that, I received a few inappropriate stares. Welcome to Latin America!

Now I must write a journal entry and try to plan a bit for grammar next week. I'm trying to fight my cynical and pessimistic nature which so easily creeps in when I'm in a new and semi-uncomfortable situation.

Second Day

As you can see by my many postings already, I haven't had too much work to do. However, the work will probably be picking up, as I gave my teacher permission today to give me whatever she needs to get done. Because of this statement, I have to grade tonight :-(. Boo, back to grading. Oh well. I know it's part of the job, so I want to be doing what is included in the job. It amazes me how relaxed the teachers are here. Tonight they're going to a dollar movie. I would've gone, but I really should start planning my math unit.

We have 1/2 days this week, so that's good, I guess. Because I don't have a lot to work on yet, it just means that I have to stay at school and find things to do. It's more relaxed, though, so that's good.

A lot of girls go to Salsa Aerobics every day. It's around $2 each time, so I think I might go sometime in the near future.

My kids are working on a research paper about hunger - the causes, effects, statistics, etc. Very interesting. I think they're mostly like Americans, because they have no concept of how much they are blessed with material goods.

I spoke with the custodian today about Honduran culture. She said that work is always "duro" or hard. She had 2 uncles die this past week, and because they had to be buried so quickly (because the bodies aren't preserved like in the States), she wasn't able to go to the burial. She also told me about how some of her friends have entered the U.S. illegally and how she considered it, too. For awhile, she wanted to move to Spain so her kids could be educated well. Interesting, for sure. I caught most of what she was saying, but not all of the details.

That's about it for now. I must begin on work, which I am not so thrilled to do. It's been a little difficult to adjust, because I was loving my other class so much. It's hard to be at the "learning stage" again, and to not feel totally comfortable with things. Learning a ton of new things is not always welcoming when you've just become acustomed to feeling comfortable with things. I guess that's how most of life is, though.

Christy

First Day of School

The day started off with a BANG! Fortunately not a real bang, although a gun shot might not be out of the question in Honduras...however, my alarm clock did not go off! i meant to wake up at 5:30, but instead woke up at 6:10. Therefore, I had 30 minutes to get up, get my stuff together, shower, eat breakfast, and be out the door. It worked, actually. I won't plan on regularly doing that!

It gets light early and dark early here, so the sun is usually up for 12 hours - from 5:30am - 5:30pm.

I have 26 students - all of whom are adorable. Two of them are a combination of Honduran and Asian. The rest are all Honduran. They call the teachers "Miss" in a cute accent, and they usually leave out the last name. They all have fun accents and still struggle with english. Essentially, they're all ESL students. The main difference between school here and the states is that Honduran kids talk SO MUCH! They talk when the teacher is talking, and that's not really considered to be rude. It might be quiet when kids are working individually, but as soon as someone starts talking (including the teacher), the students' mouths begin moving, too! That's probably going to be my biggest management challenge, which isn't too bad.

I have to go - I just bought 10 small tortillas from the "tortilla man" outside of our house for 25 cents! (5 Lempiras) and now I'm going grocery shopping. It should be interesting! (like most things here!)

Hasta luego,
Christy

I'm Here!

Yes, it's true. I'm here in Tegucigalpa. I arrived around 11:30am, after a 3 hour flight. The flight was so quick - I spoke with a Honduran man sitting beside me, wrote in my journal, and napped for about 45 minutes. The Honduran man was really nice and had been in the U.S. for business. All of my conversation with him was in Spanish :-). I feel confident in one-on-one situations (talking in Spanish, that is), but when I get in a group setting, I have trouble using my Spanish, when I know that there are other people in the group who speak Spanish. I'm not as bold as other people when it comes to using the language, I guess. The landing was not bad, actually. It's been said that the Tegus airport has the shortest runway in the world (for a commercial jet, I'm sure). I had also been told that people on the plane erupt into applause when the plane lands safely. I experienced the reality of both of those things today. #1: The plane stopped quite abruptly. #2: People did, indeed, clap as soon as we landed. The airport itself was actually pretty nice.

I arrived in my house. It's pretty nice, but small. The floors are tile throughout the whole house, and the walls are white. My roommates have decorated their rooms, but because of the length of my stay, my walls will stay white. Boring, but conventional. I was reminded, after being introduced to the kitchen, that I will need to make my own dinners. This might be a learning experience, my friends. We'll see ! Especially when using foreign ingredients, my dinners might be interesting.

We talked for awhile, then played volleyball at the school with about 3 other teacher friends. It was fun and entertaining for a few hours. I unpacked, and then at 5:30, we went to Gelato y Creperia. It's a restaurant, as well as a dessert place. Mode of transportation: taxi. Comfort of ride: I don't think I'll ever be able to use "comfort" with the word "taxi" in Honduras. Let's just say the taxi sounded like it could've fallen apart at any moment. Seeing cows in the street is a common occurance, too.

The restaurant was quite good - I got a Sandwich de Pollo (Chicken Sandwich) con Papas Fritas (fries). They were really good and quite American. Nice for a meal on the first day out of the country. I don't want to shock my system too much. I was with 5 other IST (International School of Tegus) female teachers. It was really fun, and they are a good group of girls. I'm sure I will be spending quite a lot of time with them. There are only a few male teachers in the whole place, so most of my interactions will be with young, single females. Mom, no need to worry about me bringing back a Honduran man!

The taxi on the way back was also interesting. We had to wait forever to get one, and we scrunched 6 girls plus the driver into a small car. It was cheaper!

I hope I have a lot of opportunities to practice my Spanish. I spoke with one of the teachers about this issue, because she knows Spanish well. She said that it is sometimes really difficult to gain enough practice in Spanish, because teaching is the main focus. While this is true, I hope that I will gain enough practice so that my Spanish improves a lot.

It's been a long day for me, so I'm going to head to the cama for tonight...This is probably the earliest I've gone to bed in...at least 2 months!

Hasta luego, (until later)
Christy

This was an awefully long blog. No worries, for those of you who are impatient with long blogs. I'm sure once teaching picks up I won't have time to write such long posts.

My Students

This week is moving quite rapidly.... It's nice not to be teaching and planning as many lessons. However, there is still plenty to get done! My latest headache has involved the whole money issue. How will I get money while in Honduras? That's the question I'm still asking myself. Other than that, the week is going well. I'm tired, but love being at school with my students. I feel like I can be myself at school. My cooperating teacher has seen that, as well. Sure, life is not perfect at school (anyone who thinks that is crazy), but I can say that I'm genuinely happy where I am. My students have really grown on me, and I have come to care about them deeply. (This was not the case at the beginning of the year). :-) I wrote a journal entry last night about how my students have grown. It's so exciting to watch the students - especially a few specific students - change and grow into responsible third graders. It's fantastic, and I have decided that it's the best part of the job of being a teacher.

I must run to grade papers, write a rubric for projects that will be turned in tomorrow, and go to Walmart with Leeann. I have a feeling that trip will last awhile :-). Until later (probably in Honduras!!!!),

Christy

Leaving in 2 weeks!

I decided to join the "blogging world" so that I can more easily communicate with friends and family when I'm in Honduras. So.... here it goes!

I'm leaving (2 weeks from today) to student teach in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I'm really excited! I know it will be challenging and filled with new adventures :-). Part of me is eager for a new student teaching placement; on the other hand, I'm really beginning to love my current students, my school, and my supervising teacher. It took me SO long to be able to say that I am enjoying my student teaching experience!

This weekend I need to get my thoughts in order regarding Honduras. I need to think about which things I should take to Taylor next weekend, etc. Yeah, this is kind of boring for you all to read, so I'm going to say "hasta luego." Hopefully I'll put up some good info about Honduras, so you can learn with me!

Christy