Honduras

Compassion Letter

2008-01-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

for : http://lovelaidbare.blogspot.com

Dear Christy Carlson,Thank you so much for writing a letter to your sponsored child.Please write again soon!Remember, your e-mail does not go directly to your child. Yourletter will go through the normal translation process and be mailedto your sponsored child as soon as possible.Please keep this copy of your letter for your own records.Thanks for making a difference in the life of a child,Compassion International.

This is a letter I wrote to the Compassion child that I personally sponsor. He has written me 3 times just this fall! I figured it was about time that I write back to him. I chose to sponsor Benjamin about a year and a half ago. During a 5 week Spanish-learning trip to Ecuador, I visited a Compassion International project in Cuenca (the city where I was staying). Because of my love for the country of Ecuador and Compassion, upon returning to the U.S., I looked for a child from Cuenca whom I could sponsor. Although there was no one, this little boy kept coming up online under those who had waited the longest for a sponsor. He was from a town close to Cuenca. Because of those circumstances and the Spirit's leading, I chose to sponsor Benjamin. I think I will someday visit Cuenca again, and, the idea is that when I do that, I will be able to also visit Benjamin.

Querido Benjamin, El 18 de enero, 2008
¡Hola! Estoy bien emocionada que pueda escribirte. ¡Gracias porescribirme tanto! Me alegro leer tus cartas y saber como estás.

¿Cómo estás? Estoy muy contenta y alegre. No he escrito a ti porunos meses porque he estado haciendo una practica para la Universidad. Le falta un semestre antes de que yo me gradue. ¡No puedo creer que ya ha pasado 4 años en la Universidad! Estoy estudiando la educación primaria y español. ¿En cuál grado estás ahora? De octubre a diciembre yo estuve trabajando como maestra enuna escuela bilingue en Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Honduras es un país muy lindo, con montañas como Ecuador. Tuve la oportunidad practicar español más. Espero que haya mejorado. Decidí que voy a escribirteen español e inglés para que puedas practicar más el inglés, si túquieras. ¿Tomas una clase de inglés, no?

Me preguntaste que fue mi color favorito. Es rojo. Me gustanotros colores, pero lo más me gusta es rojo. ¿Cuál es tu color favorito?

También, quieres saber cuantos años tengo. Acabo de cumplir 22 años el 2 de enero.

Me alegro que tienes tantos deseos y anhelos. Continúes en pensar,orar, y soñar así.

¿Cómo están tus clases? Espero que estén bien. Eres un muchacho muy especial y sé que estás esforzando mucho en la escuela. Estoy escribiendo esta carta y mirando a tu foto que está sobre elescritorio.

Gracias que siempre ores por mi. Las oraciones a Dios son muy fuertes y poderosas. Por favor, ores que Dios me dé sabiduría porqueno sé donde voy a trabajar cuando me gradue. Necesito sabiduría durante la busqueda por un trabajo. ¿Puedo orar por algo específico para ti y tu familia? Oro por ti, que crezcas a ser un hombre valiente y fuerte en Dios. Te despido con amor para ti y tu familia.
Chao con amor,
Christy

January 18, 2008
Dear Benjamin,
Hello! I'm so excited that I can write you. Thank you for writing me so much! It makes me happy to read your letters and know how you are doing.

How are you? I am very content and happy. I haven't written to you for a few months because I have been doing a practicum for the University. I only have one semester left before I graduate. I cannot believe that four years at the University have passed! I am studying elementary education and Spanish. What grade are you in now? From October to December I was working as a teacher in a bilingual school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Honduras is a beautiful country with mountains like Ecuador. I had the opportunity to practice Spanish more. I hope that I have gotten better. I decided that I am going to write you in Spanish and English so you can practice English more, if you want. You're taking a class in English, right?

You asked me what my favorite color was. It's red. I like other colors, but the color I like the best is red. What is your favorite color?

Also, you want to know how old I am. I just turned 22 years old on January 2nd.

It makes me happy that you have so many hopes and desires. Continue to think, pray, and dream like this.

How are your classes? I hope they are good. You are a very special boy and I know that you are working really hard in school. I am writing this letter and looking at your picture that is on my desk.

Thank you for always praying for me. Prayers to God are very strong and powerful. Please pray that God will give me wisdom because I don't know where I am going to work when I graduate. I need wisdom during the search for a job. Can I pray for something specific for you and your family? I pray for you, that you will become a brave and strong man in God. Goodbye with love for you and your family.

Goodbye with love,
Christy

Compassion Letter

2008-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

In response to a contest posted at http://lovelaidbare.blogspot.com, here is the letter I wrote to my family's Compassion International child.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Mark Carlson,
Thank you so much for writing a letter to your sponsored child. Please write again soon!Remember, your e-mail does not go directly to your child. Your letter will go through the normal translation process and be mailedto your sponsored child as soon as possible. Please keep this copy of your letter for your own records. Thanks for making a difference in the life of a child,

Message:
Querido Enrique, 6-1-07
¿Cómo estás? Estoy tan emocionada que pueda escribirte. Ahora estoy viviendo en Indiana en una casa con 5 de mis amigas. Empezamos las clases el jueves pasado. Aunque estoy en los EEUU, pienso mucho en ti y en Honduras. He contado muchas cuentas a mis amigos del tiempo que pasé en Honduras.
Tengo que decirte que eres MUY especial a mí y a mi familia. Fue un milagro que tuvimos la oportunidad de conocernos cara a cara. Espero que te gustó el viaje y Tegucigalpa, McDonalds, el Picacho (la estátua de Jesucristo), el hotel y todo que estaba incluído en la visita. ¿Cual fue tu cosa favorita de la visita? Para mí, fue maravillosa verte y pasar tiempo contigo. Eres muy chistoso y divertido. Estoy segura que tu familia está muy orgullosa de tí.
Leí a tus cartas viejas y vi a los dibujos. ¡Son muy lindos!
¿Cómo está tu familia? ¿Cuándo empieza la escuela? ¿Has disfrutado las vacaciones? Disfruté las vacaciones de Navidad muchísimo. Fue increíble pasar tiempo con mi familia otra vez.
Enviaré algunas fotos del tiempo que pasemos juntos en elcorreo proxímo. ¡Espero que nunca se pierda tu sonrisa y espíritu linda!

Con amor,
Christy (para la familia Carlson)

(In English)
Dear Enrique, January 6, 2007
How are you? I'm so excited that I can write you. Right now I am living in Indiana in a house with five of my friends. We started classes last Thursday. Although I'm in the United States now, I think about Honduras and you a lot. I have told my friends a lot of stories about the time that I spent in Honduras. I have to tell you that you are SO special to my family and me! It was a miracle that we had the opportunity to meet each other in person. I hope that you liked the trip and Tegucigalpa, McDonalds, el Picacho (the statue of Jesus Christ), the hotel, and everything that we did during the visit. What was your favorite thing about our visit? For me, it was wonderful to see you and spend time with you. You are very funny and fun! :-) I'm sure that your family is very proud of you. I read your old letters and I saw the pictures. They're so nice!
How is your familiy? When does school start? Have you enjoyed your vacation? I enjoyed Christmas break a lot. It was incredible to spend time with my family again. Next time I write, I will send some pictures of our time together in Honduras. I hope that you never lose your wonderful smile and spirit.

With love,
Christy (for the whole Carlson family)

*My parents have sponsored a Compassion child since I was young. Although they are responsibile for the financial support, I have always felt that my role was to write letters and communicate with the child. We have sponsored many Compassion children over the years. Compassion chose Enrique for us, because our previous sponsored child dropped out of the program. We began sponsoring him when he was in 2nd grade. He is now entering 7th grade.

Tegus

2007-12-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

I'm loving these last days in Tegus.... seeing Enrique....hanging out with guys from the Micah Project.... not being at school.... It's a lot of fun and insightful into the country that I have been living in for 2 months. I was going to "lay low" in the house tomorrow, but after spending the day in the city, I'm going to do it again tomorrow. It's my way of enjoying Tegus for all it has to offer during my last day in the city. I might be going to an orphanage. Vamos a ver!

Random Cultural Thoughts

2007-12-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

On Music
Music in Honduras is not the typical Latin American deal. Instead of Ranchera music or Latin pop, Reggaeton is what's usually played. Daddy Yankee is one of the popular singers. So, when one is riding the city bus, a taxi, a colectivo, or is just walking in the street, the music that will be played is Reggaeton. Although it's definitely not my favorite type of music, I have come to appreciate it enough so that I might even miss not hearing it in the States!

On Restaurants
There are many fast-food places in Tegucigalpa. McDonald's, KFC, Duncan Donuts, TCBY, Little Caesars, and Pizza Hut are all places frequented by Hondurans. However, I have actually been surprised to learn that there are only 5 McDonald's in Tegus; thus, not many Hondurans eat at McDonald's. These restaurants came to Honduras following Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Apparently, the Honduran government wanted to boost up foreign investment in Honduras, so it gave foreign businesses a tax break to establish their business here. Interesting.

On Zoos
There is one zoo in Tegus, and it is very interesting. There are some "normal" zoo animals, such as peacocks, crocodiles, and monkeys. One "abnormal" thing about the monkeys: they are not all in their cages, but many walk on the outside of the cages, roaming freely. It was the closest I've ever been to a monkey before! The zoo also had some "abnormal" American zoo animals. Raccoons, ducks, and guinea pigs were all caged! I guess they're not frequently seen here, so that makes them more interesting.

On Water
Drinking water is always purified. Brushing teeth with the normal water is fine. The faucets here have intrigued me. The conclusion I have made is that only ONE faucet works on every sink. It's not always the same faucet. I don't know why, but that's the way things are. The water is always cool. So, for washing dishes, we use a strong soap to kill the bacteria and germs. We have a special hot-water-creater for the shower, so that's actually warm. The water in the washing machine is strongest in the morning. By the afternoon, it's a small trickle.

On Police
I haven't totally figured out my opinion of Honduran security personnel. However, I DO know that I have heard many stories of corrupt police (you can pay them if you get in an accident or get pulled over). Also, I know that my view of them does not escalate when they give a group of American females the stare-down, whistles, or say "piropos" to them.

*Piropos are pick-up lines, but when they're not used properly, they can be derogatory.
Ex. We frequently hear "mi amor" (my love) whispered as we walk by.

On Health Services
*Warning* If you are poor, never get seriously sick in Honduras.
Health services in Honduras are not good. I learned this from going to Hospital Escuela and seeing the conditions there. I learned this after only seeing a few ambulances (in a city of 1 million people) during my 2 months here. I learned this from talking with missionaries who told me that even if a ambulance does come, it will most likely take forever. People who actually want the guarantee of good medical service have to pay a company monthly, so that in the event that something does happen, a private ambulance will pick them up. What happened to valuing the sanctity of life?

On Honduran Culture
From what I've observed, Honduras does not have much of its own culture. There are very few - if any at all - famous singers, athletes, musicians, artists, or writers - from Honduras. Yes, there are the traditional Latin American artisans. However, there are no currently famous Hondurans who can act as a representative for the country. A lot of this, I have heard and tend to believe, is a cause of the American presence in Honduras. For more than 100 years, America has invested in Honduras, originally because of placing the Dole banana plantations on the North shore of Honduras. Now, America continues to invest in Honduras. Possibly the largest investment comes through Hondurans (in the US) sending money back to the "home country." El Salvador changed its currency to the US dollar, because there were more US dollars in the country than their national currency.

On Work
It doesn't surprise me that many Hondurans (around 20%??) don't make more than $1 a day. They sell produce, used shoes, clothing, or jewelry. I don't blame them for selling these things - I would, too - but Who is shopping?
There has got to be a better way.

On Work Ethic
This may be a contradiction to what I just said above, but in general, Hondurans do not demonstrate the highest work ethic. Although El Salvador is a poor country, it is known for its strong work ethic. This, according to a Honduran, allows the country to make more money each year. Sometimes, taxi drivers here will refuse to take you, because you refuse to pay a ridiculous price for their services. In reality, if they would take the job (even if it didn't pay a ton) they would earn more money, because they wouldn't just be sitting idly.

Atypical Days

2007-12-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

How do I process what has just happened? This is my feeble attempt. However, let me add that I don't process things quickly, so this is only one small step to making sense of an experience.

I went downtown last night to meet my family's Compassion child. I was nervous about going - not so much because I was nervous about what I was going to say - but I was worried about going to El Centro by myself at night. However, I paid almost $5 for a taxi, so I got to the hotel fine. I know I was also a bit nervous about the whoel encounter, because I had such high expectations for it.

I got to the hotel, went up to the room, and no one was there. However, as I came back to the lobby, a younger man looked at me affirmingly and said something. I took a double-take at the man, and he said "It's her." He pointed and said "there's the boy." I looked and saw a handsome 12-year old boy wearing a Puma shirt and blue slacks. He had the hugest, sweetest smile.

We spent about 2 hours getting to know each other in the hotel lobby. He prefers to be called Enrique. In fact, the project director called him "que-quito," (I think). It's the endearing form of "little Enrique." It was neat to see the relationship between the project director and Enrique. It's clear that Enrique sees him as a male adult figure, and I'm guessing that the director even acts as a sort of Dad for many of the project kids. I was very impressed.

I didn't sleep normally last night, because I was so excited to see him again in the morning. I got together some extra goodies - gum, candy, a bracelet, etc. - that I had in the house that I thought he might enjoy. He did!

After a misunderstanding, we wound up waiting for each other in different places for at least an hour. However, we finally met, ate at McDonalds, and went to Picacho (the Jesus statue that overlooks the city). That was great, because it was something I had been wanting to do.

Then came time to say goodbye. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to talk more and get to know him better. Although I can speak Spanish fairly well, it's still my 2nd language, so sometimes I don't think of things to say as easily as I would in English. (actually, this is the case most of the time). Nevertheless, we took a final picture, gave each other a big hug, and said goodbye.

Where does this leave me? I don't know. I will definitely write him letters - because they can be more meaningful to me and to him. It seems like he's really well taken care of at the Compassion project there in La Entrada. I would like to visit.

For now, I'm left with joy for seeing Enrique, sadness for leaving him, and a heart that deeply wants to impact individual children's lives. It only takes ONE person to do that.

Directions + Christy + Honduras = ????

2007-12-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me well (or maybe at all) you know that I am not the most directionally-inclined person you've ever met.

Imagine me trying to give directions to a taxi service on the phone, in Spanish, in a city where where are no street signs. Directions go something like this: I live in Rio Grande, by Loarque. Go straight on the big hill, until you come to the end. Take a right. Go about 3 or 4 blocks. Take a left by a little tiendita (corner store). My house is at the end of the street and on the left. It's green. (We have no house numbers, to my knowledge).

I wound up telling the taxi service that I would wait at the corner of my street and the main street. I'm not sure if our understanding of "calle principal" (main street) is the same. I guess we'll see? It's quite possible I'll be late for meeting my Compassion child.

Enough said? Maybe I'm not the taxi service's easiest customer. :-)

5A - My Class

2007-12-16T04:30:00.000-08:00

Juan Mario
Josseline

Rebeca
Sofia
Vilma

Lissa
Maria
Marlon
Monica
Oscar

Fernando
Francis
German
Joan
Kyle

Cindy
Cristhian
Daniel
Eduardo
Ester

Alejandro
Alex
Andrea
Arleth
Ayleen

I'm DONE!!!!

2007-12-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

My last day of school was today, so I'm DONE!!!! Officially, however, I am not done, because I have to finish planning a math unit. I didn't have time to finish it during the week, so now I'm stuck with weekend work. Bah-humbug. It stinks, but at least I don't have to plan a ton of things!!

My kids through me a surprise party for me. However, I have discovered that a "surprise" party doesn't really work very well in Elementary. No one said anything, but I picked up on the "small" clues. Some of the students brought candy and small pastries, and I poured pop. They had written on the white board and some of them made me cards. It was nice of them.

I am going to bed at 7pm tonight. I'm still sick - it's in my voice and my nose now. Surprise, surprise! Also, I have been getting around 5 0r 5.5 hrs of sleep, so I am in the mood/physical state that requires more sleep. I can probably get 12 hrs now.... ahh..

Vacation is near! Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me!

Most Unique Christmas Present EVER!

2007-12-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

One of my students and his mom stopped by my house today and gave me a Christmas present. It´s definitely the most interesting present I have ever received. His dad is a fisherman in Roatan, an island on the North coast of Honduras. So, my gift was a frozen lobster! It's cut into 4 pieces and is striped. I need to figure out how to cook and season it, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know! I'm sure it will be delicious! Until then, I have a LOBSTER in my freezer! haha.

La Tigra/Valle de Angeles

2007-12-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Jorge and Monika's house in La Tigra
Oh yes... my very own High School Musical tambourine. Much fun to be had !
The cloud forest of La Tigra National Park. This is where we hiked on Sunday!
The cascara on our Sunday hike.
Our cabaña at Jorge and Monika´s! It´s so exotic, really!

Teal, Debbie, and me dining pupusas and licuados in Valle de Angeles.
Teal´s future husband with the plated teeth.
Ahhh, the cloud forest.
Valle de Angeles.
Jorge and Monika´s house.

Sick

2007-12-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

I have a cold in my voice. It makes teaching very difficult!! I cannot speak very loudly at all - and I am exhausted. i'm really glad it's Wednesday tomorrow. I'm supposed to be videotaping my lesson, so we'll see if anyone can even hear me. :-) I'm off to take a nap.....

Not Much

2007-12-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

There's not much to say, other than the fact that I'm really enjoying not having the pressure of teaching full-time. I'm only teaching 1 lesson tomorrow! Yes!! Tonight I'm going to try to finish all of Math and Grammar until next Wednesday. It's possible! Then, I'll just have to finish planning my math unit (the probability part) for my cooperating teacher.

This weekend, I might try to visit Picacho, the Jesus statue that overlooks the city of Tegus. Pretty relaxed, cheap, and chill trip. I'll also have to get a gift for Jesus and his family.

Weekend Happenings

2007-12-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

So, I know I still haven't written about my time in Nicaragua, but hopefully sometime I will. Most of you will just get to hear it from me in person!

Here's the short version of the weekend:

All of the teachers went to Valle de Angeles, a touristy town, to Christmas shop on Saturday. It was a cute little town with some great shops. I'm quite pleased with my purchases (family, don't get too excited, it's nothing extremely phenominal, but the things are nice).

Ro, Deanna, Debbie, Teal and I then went to La Tigra (hitchhiking, of course!). It was awesome. I will have to write more later. Basically, it was a night of delicious home-cooked food, we tucked away in the mountains and clouds of Honduras, with fresh air to breathe, and we went hiking for 3.5 hours today (Sunday) to see a waterfall. All-in-all, it was a great time. Also, it took us forever to get a ride back to Tegucigalpa. This was the first time I had seen this, but almost every person who passed us laughed as we had our thumbs sticking out. They full-on laughed in their cars. We didn't understand why. However, a really nice guy from Tegus let all 5 of us get in his truck (there was room INSIDE!), and we didn't feel so ridiculous about hitchhiking anymore.

It's the last week of student teaching!!! Yippee!!

On Pollution

2007-12-08T06:40:00.001-08:00

Pollution here in Tegus is horrible. It's been notably worse this past week, because it hasn't rained in awhile. Tegus is a bowl-shaped city, because it's surrounded by mountains. Therefore, all of the pollution "hangs" in the city and clogs our lungs. It's fantastic, really!

One of my roommates has been sick her whole time here. We think it's the pollution. It's worse, also, because there aren't any regulations about carbon emission. People buy diesel because it's cheaper, thus furthering to our early death by pollution.

However, I'm going to La Tigra today, and the air is fantastic. I've never enjoyed clean air more than when I last went to La Tigra!

Hospital Escuela

2007-12-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Today all of the 5th graders went on a field trip to Hospital Escuela, a public hospital in Tegus. The hospital building was definitely modest - with small, not-extremely well-lit hallways, and older equiptment. It was a great experience, but I'm definitely tired emotionally and physically from it.

The students, who all come from middle to upper-class families, kept on saying they were scared, and that they wanted to go back to the bus. They said they were going to faint. We just encouraged them to stay positive so they could encourage the families and the patients.

We came with about 800 stuffed animals, so that each child at the hospital could receive a Christmas gift. My class first went to the orthopedics. The students each handed out a stuffed animal, and were told to chat with the patients as well.

Then, another teacher and I got to go to the Intensive Care unit. Most volunteer groups do not go to the IC, so it was special that we could go. There were 7 kids in the room, all hooked up to IV's, and ranging in ages from a few days old to 13 or so. All were sleeping, and even one was in a vegetative state. I was told that maybe 2 out of the 7 would survive. It was really sad.

We then went into another IC unit that had more kids. We delivered the gifts to the kids, although the kids, again, were mostly connected to IV's. There was a medical missionary group that was helping. There was a surgery going on right in the room -without any special procautions or safety measures in place. OIH! (Only in Honduras...and other developing countries, I guess).

When I got back to my students, they were all teary-eyed and some students were crying really hard. I guess they had seen a baby with an inflamed head. He or she had to have a needle in his/her brain to drain the fluid. Even the "tough" boys were crying.

The students were really humbled by the trip, and I think it was effective. We came back to the class, shared about some kids we had met and why they were in the hospital, and then we got into groups of 3 or 4 and prayed together. Many of the kids had been in car accidents. I was very impressed with how my teacher handled the "debriefing." She let them do 99% of the talking.

It made me thankful for my own health - which I take for granted every day. I also found out today that a student from Saline just died in a car crash last night - another reason to be thankful for life!

Spelling Sentences

2007-12-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

hoofs: the fingernails of animals.
cuffs: the theecker material at the end of a sleeve (plural of cuff)
lives: the space of time between born and dead

Sometimes these things make me laugh.

Random info: some of my students have chauffeurs!

Visit and Evaluations

2007-12-06T03:35:00.000-08:00

I just talked with Compassion last night, and they said that I could visit Jesus (my family's sponsor child) at the hotel on Sunday night, Dec 16, as well. This gives me more time with him, which is fantastic. I have to buy his gift next weekend!

I'm going to Valle de Angeles this weekend. There are a lot of artesanias there, so hopefully I'll find some good Christmas gifts, as well as souveniers for my future house :-). I think I'm also going to La Tigra again, but this time I'm going to spend the night in a cabin owned by a German couple. Everyone here LOVES it, so I figure for about $30, I should experience the wonder. Somewhere in there, I have to figure out time to plan some lessons!

I got my final evaluations from my supervisor yesterday. They're pretty good. They definitely point out the things that I did wrong/need to improve on more than I would like, but they also add that I will be a good teacher. So, I guess they're pretty accurate.

Overall, this placement has been difficult for me - for different reasons than my placement in Indy. I wasn't ready mentally for being here, and this impacted my adjustment a lot. I thought this placement was going to be easier, but it wasn't, so I had to adjust to that. The kids in my class talk A TON, and I had to figure out what management techniques worked with them. This took (and is still taking) me a long time. My relationship with my cooperating teacher is very different, because she's only a few years older than me and has only been teaching for 4 years.

Anyway, things are coming to a close at IST, and I can say that I've gotten good practice in the classroom. I've learned a lot, I think, and I believe that I would be able to do a good job of managing this class (eventually), or had I begun the year with this set of students.

New Critter

2007-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight it was not a large ant in the living room with Jenna, but a tree frog in the bathroom with Deanna. We could almost play our own "Honduran Critters" version of Clue! He was cute, but I was ready to get him out of the house, because I had grading to do. I finally got the frog out by using a towel and a mug. I will post pictures later.

Sad Soccer Story

2007-12-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Am I lesson planning again? Yup, you guessed it! However, it is nice to only have 2 lessons to plan daily. I'm so pumped, because MATH IS PLANNED UNTIL FRIDAY!!! Technically, that was supposed to happen every week (have the next week planned in advance), but this is the first week it's actually happened.

For a little bit of Honduran life:
Yesterday at the futbol game I saw something that really bothered me and tapped on my heart and my head in a way that I haven't experienced yet in Honduras.

For the "quick" version (anyone who knows me well will know that my "quick" will....well... not be so quick; but, I'll try), I noticed a young boy, of 12-14 years, sitting a few rows in front of me in the stadium. He was so skinny and looked really malnourished. I also noted that he seemed to be sniffing something. "It's probably glue," I thought.

Then, he proceeded to "help" some men sitting beside him. He took their wide twine, pulled it apart into small pieces, then proceeded to place it in his seemingly-empty Coke bottle. When he pulled out the twine-like-material, it was damp. He gave the material to the men, and they proceeded to sit back and "discreetly" sniff the material. I have no idea what the material or the liquid was, but this situation evoked several emotions in me:

-I was saddened that the boy was selling this "substance" at such a young age
-I was angry at the men for using the boy in this way

And then, after Olympia (the team from Tegus) scored a goal, everyone was going crazy, except for the Americans (us), who weren't so loyal to any team. The men started laughing at us, mainly at me, because I was just sitting there, while the rest of the stadium was extatic. Call me stern, or cold, or whatever, but I refused to look at those men who had so evily used the boy for their own pleasure.

Then I realized that there are probably so many kids in Honduras being used this way and in other inhumane ways - in order to stay alive and to give pleasure to other people. Que horrible.

Mixed Thoughts/Emotions

2007-12-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

I've started only teaching 2 subjects a day, which is nice, but it has its drawbacks.

I realized today that I'm going to have to fight really hard to stay focused on school during these next 2 weeks. I'm loving the culture here, but I'm ready to be done with student teaching. However, if I end my experience with a lackadaisical (yes, I had to look it up to know its spelling) attitude, that's not only going to affect my kids, but also my teacher's impression of me. Not a good way to end this experience. So, I must keep pressing ahead, knowing that both the kids and other teachers are anxious for Christmas break. One thing that has helped me a TON during my time here has been the support of the fellow American teachers. They all know that teaching at IST and living in Honduras is no easy task. Teaching itself is hard enough, but add the gazillion (I looked that word up, too...haha) other factors that affect teaching and life here, and you've got a very challenging situation.

Anyway, we're going to Hospital Escuela on Friday with all of the 5th graders. We've been collecting nicely used and new stuffed animals and we're going to deliver them to kids who are in the hospital. So I hear, there will be a lot of kids who don't have much money, so this will hopefully mean a lot to them. Hopefully, in the process, the IST kids will also learn about themselves, their responsibility (coming from families with money), and the status of their country. It should be a good time.

Partido de Futbol

2007-12-02T18:30:00.001-08:00

You all are the recipients of my lack of focus. Writing posts is what I do when I'm supposed to be lesson planning! I hope you're enjoying it!

The futbol game was fun. The team from Tegus won. The most exciting part of the game was definitely not the numerous comments and "smooching" noises that were made toward us. Hondurans find it so cool to speak any English they know when they see us. So, sometimes you get some interesting (and inappropriate) comments. It makes me want to wear a bag.... Actually, though, I think they would still make comments. I could be FEO FEO FEO (ugly), but I would still get comments, just because I speak English. Go figure.

Really, the best part was that the fan section for Olympia (the team from Tegus) was ridiculous. Thank goodness, we didn't sit there. However, we did have to walk by them. As we were doing so, firecrackers started going off just a foot away from us. It was so loud! Furthermore, after we made it through the chaos, Jen informed us all that one of the firecrackers had hit her jeans, and that it had burned a hole in them. Yes, there are most definitely several charred marks (and a small hole, I believe), on her jeans. Of course, this happened to Jen. She's always the recipient of random occurances such as this. Anyway, that's your cultural lesson for the day. Watch out for fireworks next time you're in Latin America... they might just burn a hole in your jeans!

Prayer Request

2007-12-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

I discovered one of the reasons that people don't want to live in developing countries - parasites. Thankfully, I have not acquired one; however, this is the situation:

One of my students has parasites in her brain. I shouldn't tell too many details, because of the "free for all" nature of the internet, but it's a VERY serious situation. The parasite comes through eating bad meat or vegetables. She hasn't been to school in a week. There is no treatment available, whatsoever.

There's also another parasitic disease here called Mal de Congas. Apparently it eats away the valves of your heart.

Anyway, if you could pray for my student, it would be great. She might be returning to school tomorrow, but only in order for her spirits to remain positive.

Party!

2007-12-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

I went to one of my student's birthday parties this afternoon. Inviting teachers to birthday parties is a normal occurance here in Honduras - until about 6th grade, that is. It was from 3-6pm at the ONLY bowling alley in Tegus - MetroBowl. Bowling is "boliche" in Spanish. I had to get her a birthday gift. I left the house with 300 Lemps (15 dollars), but unfortunately I had miscalculated how much I would need. I wanted to get her a gift for 200L, which would've left me with 100L for transportation. Clearly I didn't think that through enough. So, after spending 60L on my first leg of the trip (to the mall), I realized that my gift was going to be quite small. The gift cost 90L (a small notebook, pencils, stickers, and bag...kind of an embarassingly small gift, really), leaving me with 210L for transportation. I needed almost all of it.

The party was fun. Rebeca told me who she liked!, we bowled (I did horribly), ate pizza, cake, and I talked with the other 5th graders there.

Honduran/Latin American tradition: the birthday boy or girl takes a bite of the entire cake. When this is being done, friends and/or family push the person's face in the cake. Rebeca wanted this to be done to her, so there was a face imprint in the cake afterwards! Kind of fun!

Oh! The theme was High School Musical 2. I have a bracelet, a cup, and some random goodies now. The bracelets were shipped from the U.S. Crazy.

My goal is to finish planning math tonight (actually, I don't really have a choice in the matter) and hopefully, I'll have enough done so that tomorrow I can go to the soccer game between two Honduran teams. Yeah!

Also, I went to a SYMPHONY concert last night! That's right.... there is maybe one symphony concert a year in Tegus and I went! It was free and took place in a Basilica in El Centro (the "center" of Tegus). It was a holiday concert and was really good! The local university sponsored it. It was an orchestra and a choir. They sang Christmas carols in Spanish, as well as typical songs composed by LeRoy Anderson. Overall, it was wonderful to hear good music again (instead of Reggaton or random 80's songs which are always heard here)

The Best Email

2007-11-30T15:55:00.000-08:00

I just received an email from my students in my last placement. I could cry, I'm so happy to hear from them. No joke.

The news that made me the most happy?? That one of my students had a week of getting all 10's on his chart. This was the same student who threw chairs, had to be walked to the bus with his hand held, and caused a lot of trouble at the beginning of the year. However, due to my cooperating teacher's and my consistency in disciplining him, and our persistence in encouraging him, he started to really turn the corner when I was there. I KNEW that he would continue to succeed.... and he has blown me away. Maybe 5 students total had ever had a perfect week (10's every day).

I love this student.... I can't explain it, and Leeann would always laugh at me because I had a story about him every day. But this kid means the world to me. I can't wait to see him (and the rest of the class) in January.

I also got a Thanksgiving card from Mom and Dad yesterday... It was definitely unexpected, so it was even more-so appreciated! Included was a photo of our Compassion child - the one who is visiting me in 2 weeks. What excitement God has in store for me! Who am I to be anything but thankful for my life?

Fake Post

2007-11-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

So, this isn't a real update on my life or my happenings in Honduras. It's more of an excuse to keep my blog "updated." I don't want to lag, because writing in my blog has been something I've enjoyed so much. With full-time teaching (this is the last week!!!), I just haven't had time to recount all of the details about my Nicaragua trip and life here. I WILL write more this weekend, but first, I have to get through this week. Things are going well, but are busy, as always. (When isn't the life of a teacher busy??)

I got to speak in Spanish for about an hour tonight and pray in Spanish as well. I love that.

Nicaragua

2007-11-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Emily and me
In front of a cool mural at Masaya!
Here we are!
Volcanic crater. Awesome? I'd say so. Steam is constantly emitted from the crater because it's so close to the Earth's core.

A church in Granada.
Overlooking Granada.

I am a petroglyph!!
Lago de Nicaragua

Concepcion erupted just as we left the island!!!
The sulfer made the ocean turn green!!
AHH ! The volcano is erupting!!!
Yummm. A licuado and a Tralala (or something to that effect)
My delicious grilled chicken, rice, and plantain chips! Yumm...

Me Voy a Nicaragua

2007-11-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Nicaragua! The story is way to long to tell here..but basically, I had the top people of International School on the phone with the bus company, the head people at the Honduran Immigration Office, and anyone else they could think of. Clearly they could see that I was worried...We pulled some strings (also called "personal connections") and I got my passport! I feel very loved by the IST staff, because they bent over backwards for me.

One more week of full-time teaching! I have to say that I'm really glad. I don't know what else to do to with them, talking-wise. I have gotten to know the students better, but still don't feel really attached to them. Maybe it's because they know I'll eventually leave? Who knows. I just know that this weekend will hopefully be GLORIOUS, because it will be time away from school and will be time with fun, quality people. And, hopefully, I'll get in some sleep as well.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Happenings in my Honduran life

2007-11-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

There is currently a birthday party underway outside my house. A child (apparently one of my neighbors) is having his or her party in the street. They had a piñata, sang Happy Birthday, and everything. There is a special tune to Feliz Cumpleaños here. Actually, it´s a totally different song - one that I do not know yet. I love the sounds of the birthday party - kids playing in the street, obviously having fun. They´re comforting and encouraging sounds. All seems well in the world - for awhile, at least - when kids are happy.

A problem I have run into - I need to renew my permit to be here in Honduras. They gave me a 30 day permit, and I am here for exactly 60 days. Today marks the 1month anniversary of me leaving the States. Thus, I brought in my passport to school, and they took it to the Honduran office of immigration or whatever. I was informed (today) that it usually takes 3 days to get your passport back.

I bought a bus ticket to Nicaragua last night for $66. We leave on Thursday.

See a problem? Today is Tuesday. Three days from today is Friday. The bus leaves early on Thursday morning for Nicaragua (a different country) which requires me to have my passport.

Uh oh. Problem. What am I going to do? I don´t know yet. It looks like my options include these -
-try (again) to persuade the immigration office to get me my passport TOMORROW!
-stay in the country, at my house, with my roommate and find some ministry opportunities
-go on a trip with other IST teachers and stay in the country
-take the bus to Nicaragua and try to pay off the guards at the border. Possible? Yes. Scary and somewhat risky? Yes.

If you have input or divine wisdom, please let me know. It looks like things will be different (at least somewhat) than I anticipated. I should have known..... or as some teachers say TIH!! (This is Honduras)

La Vida Dura

2007-11-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

An American teacher just found out today that the waitresses at the coffee shop we always frequent only get paid 100 Lempiras a day. That's about $5 for an 8-hour shift. It's minimum wage here, apparently. That means, that if they worked every day of the year, they would earn 36,500 Lempiras a year. The first-year teachers at IST earn 90,000 Lempiras (about $5000) a year. Basically, the baristas at the coffee shop would earn roughly $2000 a year. The IST teachers' housing, electricity, and insurance is paid for by the school.

Apparently beans and common staple foods in Honduras have been increasing in price, because the Honduran food company that produces many of these staples can sell them for cheaper to the neighboring countries (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala). So, Hondurans have to pay an import tax on the beans, which were made in their own country. For this reason, beans which used to cost 50 Lempiras now cost 80 Lemps. Asi es la vida, I guess.

This is what I like talking about instead of lesson planning. :-)

Oops

2007-11-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

Worst cultural "fo paw" (clearly I don't speak French) of my life so far:

I was reading a book to the students about what life was like on the Mayflower. One section talked about food and what the Pilgrims and passengers on the Mayflower ate. The sentence said that they used a _______ to heat their food. The word was "brazier." Well, I had not read this book before, so I paused a little before the word, because I was unsure of the pronunciation. I wound up saying "brazierre," which actually means "bra" in Spanish. Way to go, Miss Carlson! So I had just said that the Pilgrims used bras to heat their food on the Mayflower. Needless to say, my kids were laughing pretty hard. I couldn't help but to laugh myself. Oh my.

It was a pretty good day - filled with ups and downs, but the kids were better. Still talkative like crazy, but better.

I bought my bus ticket for Nicaragua today, so I'm officially going ! Yay!

Now off to read and learn about electricity. Hijole....

Pure Honduras

2007-11-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

Alejandro, Alex, and Kyle.
Fernando, Daniel, Mario, Eduardo, Juan, and German. They all dressed up for the Thanksgiving chapel and meal.
I love this picture! Mario, Eduardo, Juan, and German. It pretty-well captures their personalities (all except German's).

The view from the apartment next to my house.
Neighbor's house.
The street on which I live!
Ahh, this is Honduras.
The teal house is mine!

Otra informacion

2007-11-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Nicaragua over Thanksgiving Break. It should be a good time. It's going to be 6 of us - Jen Walsh (from TU), Roshanna Lehman (from TU), Emily (from Calvin), Deanna (from Colorad0), and Jony (from Honduras). Details need to be figured out this weekend.

I AM going to see my family's Compassion child - he is coming on December 17th. I'm meeting him at McDonalds en El Centro and we're going to the Copan Virtual museum. I'll have to detail more on my blog as the next month passes. I'm beyond excited.

I'm meeting with some American missionaries on Sunday. I think it'll provide good insight into the Honduran culture. I'm looking for ministries to invest in my last week here, so that might provide me with some contacts.

Mejor

2007-11-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today was much better. I had a more positive outlook on the day, and I tried to channel that attitude through the students. Tomorrow will be good, I think, because my teacher is going to be gone at a conference. I need to think about a fun activity that I can do with my students.

I'm so ready for the weekend. I'm tired! I came back from school and watched a movie. Christy watching a movie on a week day? Yup. The movie choice: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It was a good choice. :-) I always need to chill for about an hour before approaching the evening ahead.

Haha. My teacher and I are finding out about male-female relationships between our students in our class. It's so funny when I find love notes. The students are horrified, of course, that I have retrieved such a valuable item, but I just laugh when I read it. Actually, though, I have to talk to some students about these "relationships." No wonder they did horribly on their math exams. Ah, young love....

I have a ton of grading and recording to do for tomorrow, so adios!

Maybe It's Just a Long Week??

2007-11-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, my kids weren't any better today. Actually, they might have been worse. They talked through half of their exam, so I wrote down names of students and had them flip their cards. 12 of my 26 kids have detention tomorrow! Yikes. Only 5 of the 26 had "green" cards, which means that they had a good day. My cooperating teacher is beside herself with our students' behavior, too. I took the hour after school (before the teacher bus left) to sit in the silence of my classroom, with half of the lights dimmed, and ponder the day's events. I couldn't bring myself to grade papers. I went running after school, because I knew that I had to decompress.

The kids took their Math exam today and did horribly. We were supposed to start a new unit tomorrow, but instead, we're re-teaching the material from the previous unit. They will take the new test on Monday or Tuesday. However, what do we do with the students who did fine on the test today? Hijole, no se. ("Wow, I don't know.")

I just hope they get all of this out of their system before Friday.. when my cooperating teacher is gone. On the other hand, my teacher isn't even really in the room much anyway, so maybe it won't make that big of a difference. Ayyy.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2007-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

One of my students told me that my hair looks like a mushroom. She assured me that it was a good mushroom. She called me "Miss Mushroom" today.

I was explaining symmetry to a group of boys in our science lab today. I used my face as an example. One of the boys "secretly" turned to his neighbor and commented about how my face wouldn't be symmetrical, because I have a pimple on the right side of my nose.

Oh my......

Another Long Day...

2007-11-13T15:02:00.000-08:00

My students have been crazy this week... I'm sure what's "eating them" but it's really taxing on me! Maybe it's because I'm teaching full-time, so that's a change for them. One student told me today that she likes it when Miss Schmitkons teaches better when I teach. Wow, the guts of that girl! Really, I'm not completely surprised that she said that today, because frankly, I was constantly "on" the students today for talking and inappropriate behavior. If I had two teachers, and one was being "stern," I would definitely prefer the other teacher, too! It's a kid comment to say.

There are so many cultural things telling them that it's ok to talk when others are talking.... Many of the American teachers here battle with these things all of the time. I just hope they get better before Friday, when my teacher will be gone at a conference. Please, kids, don't be horrific for me! It's so frustrating.... At least my cooperating teacher was frustrated, too.

On a positive note, we're having a faculty Thanksgiving dinner on Friday afternoon. Should be fun??

I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for Thanksgiving break. Hopefully that will be settled soon. I'll probably be going to either Nicaragua or Belize. I still want to see my family's Compassion child in Santa Rosa de Copan, but Compassion told me it would cost $200 to bring him to Tegus! No thank you... I need to pray that another option opens up (basically, that someone would want to go to Santa Rosa de Copan with me).

La Tigra

2007-11-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

The picture does not do it justice. On the way back to Tegus from La Tigra.

Debbie and Me in the bed of a pickup on the way to La Tigra!
Blackberry (Mora) fields
Cute house
The countryside is beautiful!!!!

Long Day!

2007-11-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

Today seemed so long - other teachers even commented about it.

I taught Math, Reading, Social Studies, Grammar, and Writing today. No wonder I'm tired! Writing, Reading, and Grammar weren't that involved, but still..... I guess that's a record for me ! I only (at most) had to teach 4 subjects a day.

I don't know what to do with my students... they have so much more potential than they show. This whole morning I was pulling teeth to get them to understand the lessons. Math was SO long because they weren't understanding how to make improper fractions into mixed numbers and visa versa. I guess it's kind of a difficult concept. I'm worried, though, because they haven't had much practice with it, and their test is Wednesday. Test on Wednesday = review tomorrow = bad scores on the test! I wish we could put off the test for another day.

Another thing that's frustrating is that they don't follow directions! I have kids who get 50% on their homework because they didn't follow directions, even when it's clear that they understand the concept. I don' t know if they're just not understanding the directions because of being ESL students, but it's a horrible problem. My class is really immature, too, so that contributes to everything.

I have a ton to do tonight....this is the part of teaching I don't like. I guess it's reality, though, so I'd better get on it!

This Week

2007-11-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

This upcoming week is my first week of teaching full-time. I'm kind of nervous - because I have so much to do. On the other hand, there isn't nearly as much to do as the previous placement. I already have a general sketch of what we're doing in most of the subjects. I have never EVER taught a lesson in science, so that's intimidating. The only subjects I'm completely creating from scratch are grammar and math, as I did the previous weeks. Actually, creating math lessons from scratch begins on Thursday. I'm terrified, because it seems like I can never find time to plan for math.

I don't really know how things will go, seeing as I'm picking up 3 additional subjects this week. AHH! (Tomorrow starts with a bang! 6 subjects)

Back to planning I must go.

Transportation and Nature

2007-11-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

Forms of Transportation ("sí" if I've taken it!)

-city bus (sí)
-busito - a smaller bus (sí)
-walking (sí!)
-colectivo - taxi (sí)
-hitch-hiking (sí!)

Note to Mom and Dad : (I knew that you would be concerned about the last one!) We only hitch-hike in the country. We got an amazing hitch! The people were so nice and even offered to take us back. People in the country are so much more laid back and friendly - kind of like how ¨country¨people are in the States.

La Tigra was SO fun today. So relaxing, so wonderful to be in God's creation, so refreshing to be with great girls.... Basically, La Tigra is a national cloud forest - kind of like a rainforest, but colder. It´s BEAUTIFUL. How do I summarize it? We took a taxi to El Centro (the center of Tegus, which is an experience itself), took a busito to El Atillo (on the bus ride, the honduran man next to me fell asleep and almost put his head on my shoulder! it was so funny!), walked for FOREVER, got a few short hitches, visited a house that sells Mora (Blackberry) Wine and Jelly (where I bought some tasty jelly!), walked more (all uphill), got a hitch from some wonderful people, walked in La Tigra for about 2 hours, rode back with the same people to Tegucigalpa, ate Little Caesars and TCBY for dinner, and took a taxi home.

That was my day! Sometime I´ll probably post pictures. But, for now, I´m going wash out my cut that I got in my leg while hiking! Yippee!

A deceivingly-long sentence!

2007-11-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

The newly-updated portion "About Me" in my blog profile, for those of you who don't actually read those random parts of the blog:

I'm currently student teaching in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where life tastes different (like tortillas!), there is no completely safe place to be, girls from America receive a lot of stares (and I mean STARES - no blinking involved) from even well-to-do people, buildings have no carpet or form of heat, clothes are hung outside to dry, an entertaining evening consists of chasing a 1 inch-long ant, English-speaking Honduran kids have amazingly cute accents, everyone of at least mild means has a maid, the neighborhood ice cream truck EXISTS!, people wear winter attire when it's 60 degrees outside, the electricity randomly goes out, students have to write 100 sentences for each time they speak Spanish in class (writing, "I will only speak English in class"), little boys easily control their mothers, school regulations are nothing compared to schools in the States, the tortilla and purified water men visit the neighborhood every few days, transportation options include: driving a car (which not many people own), riding the city bus, taking a colectivo (a taxi), walking, hitch-hiking, or riding in the bed of a friend's truck (which I most frequently do), the currency is lempiras (also known as lemps), and GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

More Adjusted

2007-11-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

Today the students had a half day, because it was Parent-Teacher Conferences. Parents were allowed to come from 12-4pm to talk with the teachers. No appointments were made - parents just waited outside until the teacher was free to talk. That was definitely a Latin American version of conferences! They went better than expected, considering that 12 of the 26 students had one or more F's. Some parents were definitely frustrated with their kids. A few parents asked both Jen (my teacher) and I for parenting advice. Neither of us is married or has kids, but surprisingly, sometimes we can offer better parenting advice than parents themselves can provide (at least we THINK we're providing good advice!). Some parents are clueless.

One thing that was interesting is that some of the girls in my class are heading into the "pre-teen" stage. This means that they're having an attitude about things and that they're interested in new things, such as.................. BOYS!!! A few of the girls have formed crushes on boys in our class. Haha....it's pretty funny, the drama that can result as a result of the opposite gender.

Also, conferences were interesting because the meetings (with the exception of two of them) were all in Spanish. My teacher is really fluent in Spanish, because her boyfriend is Honduran and doesn't speak English. So, she spoke really quickly, and I just sat there, trying to soak up all of the Spanish. I understood 99% of what was said, but didn't understand quickly enough to have enough time to add my comments in Spanish. Also, I've only been here for 3 weeks, so I don't know these kids as well as I knew my last students. I wish I could've participated in conferences for my last class, because I think I could've added a lot of suggestions/advice/observations about the students' behavior and patterns.

Not sure what my weekend plans are yet, but I'm determined to learn more about Honduras, whether by going somewhere outside of Tegus tomorrow for the day, or by visiting a few important places in Tegus (such as the Basilica).

Last night I completed a Visit Request for my family's sponsored child (thru Compassion International) to come visit me in Tegus during my last week here. We'll see if it happens, but I really hope it does. It's dependent on how much it will cost me to bring he and a Compassion Representative here (from 6 hours away, north of Santa Rosa de Copan), pay for food and lodging, and any additional costs. It's also dependent on whether 0r not Compassion's local branch approves my request, because I've given them less than 6 weeks to process the request. It would be quite the experience, and I can't even imagine how excited I would be if it actually happened. This is kind of a dream for me ............ so I hope it becomes actualized!

I'm beginning to kind of like it here - this week was the first that I began to appreciate more things about being here. Sure, the school has a lot of rules, and sure, the culture exchange can be annoying and challenging many times, but those things almost make the experience more rich. Maybe it's because I'm teaching more - at my last experience I enjoyed things much more when I was more occupied and more involved in the classroom. I love having the freedom of controlling a classroom. My teacher gives me a lot of freedom that way - when I'm teaching, she frequently leaves the room. Actually, even if she's there, I usually forget that she's present.

Work

2007-11-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

"Children are our most valuable natural resource."
Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. President

I was observed today.... it went well! She said that I was completely in control of the classroom! :-) I personally, didn't feel like they were doing fantastically, because they were really chatty. However, one of the main things I learned in my last placement was CONFIDENCE. My supervisor said I appeared really confident. That makes me happy. Of course, there were things on which I can improve....but that's always the case.

One of the frustrating parts about teaching is that there's always more work to do.... I felt "on-top" of things last night, and tonight I feel like I have to plan the entire next 1000 years of the school's curriculum. Bah!

I'm going to fellow teachers' house for homemade pizza tonight! They're so hospitable. I am a gracious recipient of any pre-planned dinners! :-)

On Friendliness

2007-11-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Jen and I were talking about how we can't even be very friendly to people here in Honduras unless it's in a certain context. The bus to our neighborhood didn't come after waiting for 30 minutes following coffee, so we decided to take a taxi. Our taxi driver was younger and really nice, and I wanted to ask him how his day was, but I didn't. We have learned to be somewhat guarded here because of security. It's a shame, really, but also a reality. I want to be able to smile at people , but the only people I feel that I can smile at here are women and children, unless I'm at church or at school. It's too risky to give any attention (even eye contact) to males here. We already get comments for being gringas. Maybe this is just me overreacting, but I don't think so. It goes against my nature to avoid eye contact with people, but it's just something I've had to adjust to while being here.

Wonderful "Strike" Days

2007-11-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

There was no taxi strike today. I'm sure glad there was talk of it, though, because I enjoyed my day off. I washed clothes, hung them out to dry (hopefully), got several assignments typed for Taylor, planned all of next week's grammar lessons, and went out for coffee with Jen Walsh. We went to Espresso Americano and then to Duncan Donuts. Jen is a really neat person. It's so encouraging to talk with her. I think we're going to make these chats a weekly event. We talked about going on a day trip on Saturday, so hopefully traveling this weekend becomes a reality. Now I'm eating a turkey and cheese sandwich on freshly baked bread. Yum. You would think that it would be easy to find freshly baked bread in Honduras, but that's actually not the case. Tortillas are king here.

As I'm writing this, a dog is groaning outside our window. He needs to be put out of his misery. A few weeks ago, I saw the "typical" starving-dog in impoverished areas. Not a pretty site to see the entire ribcage of a living dog.

Now, math is calling my name. It has been whispering to me for...well....several weeks now. I must finally heed it's call.

Education in Honduras

2007-11-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Taken from Compassion International's website:

Education in Honduras:
The typical school year runs from February through November. Education is compulsory from ages seven through 12. Only 58 percent of primary-school-age students reach the fifth grade. According to Honduras' National Statistics Institute (INE), on average, Hondurans complete 5.4 years of schooling. Undergraduate education is only reached by 5.3 percent of the population and graduate studies by 0.2 percent. There is one government-run and several private-run universities in Honduras, along with various trade schools. In urban areas of the country, Hondurans are more aware than their rural neighbors of the importance of education. Although many parents desire education for their children, it is often more important for children to help provide for their families, especially in the country; and because of this, the dropout rate is higher. In addition, the education provided by the government is poor in most cases, from inadequate facilities to teachers constantly going on strike and delaying the school year. There is a sense of helplessness among parents who desire good education for their children but can only afford a public education.

Anonymous "Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

When You Wished You Lived in Honduras..........

2007-11-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

So..... we just received a call saying that there is a taxi strike tomorrow. This means...............

NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thus, I'm currently viewing a movie........... this is wonderful!

"Cold" Honduran weather

2007-11-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Interesting cultural tidbit from today:
It was about 63 degrees today and everyone was freezing. Granted, it was raining and windy, so I was chilled a few times myself. However, it's really funny to hear Hondurans complaining about this being such cold weather. Several people today were wearing small gloves and hats.

Also, both Jenna and I got our hair cut over the weekend. My kids responded by saying, "Ay, Miss, you look so beautiful" or "Wow, you cut your hair!" I wore my glasses today, and one of my students said to me, "Miss, you are making so many changes!" Jenna's kindergarteners, on the other hand, told her that she looked like an abuela (grandma). Maybe because her hair is short and curly? Who knows, but I think her hair looks pretty cute.

Also, maids here don't get much say in things. One of my students said that her parents were gone so they could not sign her assignment notebook. I told her to have the maid sign it, but she said "she does not have a signature." From what I understand, maids really don't have a signature, because it is a sign of status or something that defines you.

The Honduran teachers' office is right by our classroom, so today the music teacher invited me to come and grade papers in their office. That was really nice of her, and as a result, I was introduced to more of the Honduran faculty. I really enjoyed it, as I was the only "gringa" in the room and got to speak in Spanish a little.

Changes

2007-11-05T15:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know exactly what God's got in mind for me, but He's been repeatedly telling me things about myself this week. It's amazing to realize how many times I have been struck with the same, re-occurring idea this past week - that I need to set aside the things that are preventing me from going to God as the Source of life.

I hope that I get the message this time and make second-by-second changes in my life.

Flexibility

2007-11-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

Long story short:
Today I experienced the joys of learning to be flexible in the classroom.

I arrived to school in time, ready to print out my lesson plans for today. The computer wasn't working and there was no where else to print the lessons. I internally freaked out, because I couldn't remember my lessons for the day!!! Thankfully, I had a few notes for both grammar and math which jumpstarted my memory of the lessons.

However, upon talking with my teacher, I realized that I had prepared for the WRONG lesson in math. At this point, the students were already lined up and waiting to come into the classroom! So, quickly, my teacher and I figured out what I would teach for the day. Needless to say, the lesson was kind of boring, but actually was useful practice for the kids. You can never be too prepared, but no matter how much preparation a teacher has, there will always be THOSE times when plans don't matter. I prefer to have fewer rather than more of THOSE days, but I know I need to learn how to "think on my feet," and today definitely encouraged that!

I deactivated my facebook account, not realizing that after you deactivate it twice, you can't return to your former account. OOPS! Maybe this is a good way for me focus more on school!

I'm off to plan. Adios.

Honduran Critters

2007-11-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

As I already learned, ants bite.

Tonight, Jenna and I learned another fact about ants in Honduras. They can be pretty stinkin' large! Thank goodness, this ant didn't bite us. Here's a photo to demonstrate that. Jenna and I chased this ant around for at least 10 minutes, trying to get a photo so that all of you could enjoy this moment with us. Enjoy, friends!

"Anything is hided under the Ice of God."

2007-11-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

This sentence was written by one of my 5th graders trying to write a sentence for the spelling word "anything." Definitely cute!

Our "Fall Festival" is tonight. Should be fun. I'm going to be a Greek Goddess. I'm wearing a fun belt that I found in a box in our house, a sheet, leaves, and sandles. Maybe I'll find something else random to add to the costume.

I think one of the 4th grade American teachers is going to cut my hair tonight. I'm ready for a change.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning - finally, I got up when I was supposed to ! - to work on planning. However, I really wanted to start off the day right and in a mindset of worship, so I started praying and thinking about things. God REALLY used the time to open my eyes to some things in my life and reminded me of how much I need to invest in my current students. Needless to say, I did not get any planning done, but I wasn't concerned. The time was SO much better spent in devoting myself to God and seeking His will. The goal, now, is to remind myself of the things that I learned this morning so I don't become stagnent, like usual.

As much as I'd like to say that things are WONDERFUL now - because I had the good time with God this morning - they're not that fantastic. Actually, I've been frustrated with things. It's been hard for me to be in another teacher's classroom and to have to be the "observer" and not be able to do things the way I think they would best be done. I think the students are gradually learning (hopefully....) that I won't put up with misbehavior and talking at inappropriate times. I have to wrack my brain this weekend for ways too manage the talking so I don't go crazy.

I have to figure out what I'm going to do for Thanksgiving break. We get the normal 2 days off, so a lot of people are traveling. Some people are going to Belize, while others are going to Copan, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Where do I want to go?? I want to go to Copan sometime here, but it would be awesome to go out of the country for that weekend. We'll see. I have time.

Tomorrow I might to go to a children's home nearby. I don't know details about the place, but I know that playing with kids who need love sounds like a great way to spend my Saturday. You would think that I would get tired of kids.

It takes a lot for me to get to that point.

Goodbye to you and "Hola!" to grading and preparing my costume.

Que fresa! = how cool! (literally, "What strawberry!)
My student told me I was "grrr". I think that means that I'm strict. Haha.

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

2007-10-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-10-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

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