I face a real dilemma here in Honduras that I never thought I would have to deal with. I teach seven year olds. They are rambunctious and funny and silly, and many times I cannot get them to listen to me. I have all sorts of discipline systems in the classroom, but sometimes they just don’t work. Today, for example, a little girl was crying because two of the boys had hidden her things and wouldn’t tell her where they were. I have lectured my class over and over again about respecting other people’s things, and these boys are troublemakers, so I sent them to the office. I figured they would get a lecture from the principal (who is both scarier than I am and more effective since he can talk to them in Spanish.)
They came back sobbing. When I asked them why, they each individually told me that the principal said he would call their homes, and their parents would beat them. This isn’t the first time my students have told me that their parents hit them. I know that hitting children is a fairly common practice here in Honduras, but it makes me so sad that my actions of reporting them to the office could cause them to get beaten at home. So I am faced with either not asking the office for support in disciplining the children, or causing them to get hit when they go home. I know that it is fairly common practice to strike children with belts here, and the thought of that just makes me absolutely sickened. I understand that this is a different culture, but I don’t think I will ever, ever feel remotely comfortable with the idea of striking a child. I think I will have to just stop sending children to the office now that I know the ramifications of what they’ll face when they get home. It makes me really sad and a little frustrated to be living somewhere where that kind of parenting is considered acceptable.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Copan Ruinas
Well! It has been quite the week of exciting events. It feels like such a blur to me! On Tuesday, I woke up and found that my pajamas were stuck to my leg wound. I unstuck my pants and saw that my scrape had turned into a full-blown infection. It was seriously the most severe infection I have ever seen in real life…my scrape was just white pus that had hardened to my leg. To make matters worse, every neighbor who saw it that morning gasped and asked me what had happened, and made sure to tell me that it was infected.
When I arrived at school, I asked the principals what I should do about it. The secretary, who is such a sweet lady, offered to clean it for me. It really touched my heart and made me feel bad, but she seriously sat on her knees and cleaned my leg as best as she could. Then she did it again that afternoon, and then again the next day and the next day. It has been incredibly painful, and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have a fairly nasty scar on my leg. It’s still a little infected, but I bought my own medicine and have been cleaning it out as much as I can. It’s pretty nasty. This photo is about ten days after I fell, so as you can see, it's still pretty bad!
In spite of my oozing leg, we packed up our stuff and headed to Copan, which is a little tourist city that is built around some Mayan ruins, not too far from Gracias. The ruins were so incredible. I kept imagining human sacrifices and the fall of such a massive empire. The ruins were also really fun because we could climb on them! The town of Copan was really cute too, although I started to get a little annoyed at how much it was built for tourists. The expensive souvenirs were all in dollar amounts, and to me, the city felt a bit contrived. It was just too cute to be real! I still really liked it though. :)
We also went up to a bird sanctuary in Copan, which was so much fun! We saw all sorts of birds, some native to Honduras. There were all sorts of colorful parrots, as well as hawks and other birds. To be honest, I'm actually not all that into birds but these ones were really beautiful. I was also really excited when our tour guide stuck three of the parrots on my arms and shoulder! I couldn't stop giggling, and also being a little scared because he told us that those parrots have 700 lbs of pressure in their beaks. Crazy!
So anyway, Copan was pretty amazing. It was fun to have a weekend away and to get out of Gracias for a little bit. It's cool that I live by Mayan ruins! My life is cool.
When I arrived at school, I asked the principals what I should do about it. The secretary, who is such a sweet lady, offered to clean it for me. It really touched my heart and made me feel bad, but she seriously sat on her knees and cleaned my leg as best as she could. Then she did it again that afternoon, and then again the next day and the next day. It has been incredibly painful, and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have a fairly nasty scar on my leg. It’s still a little infected, but I bought my own medicine and have been cleaning it out as much as I can. It’s pretty nasty. This photo is about ten days after I fell, so as you can see, it's still pretty bad!
In spite of my oozing leg, we packed up our stuff and headed to Copan, which is a little tourist city that is built around some Mayan ruins, not too far from Gracias. The ruins were so incredible. I kept imagining human sacrifices and the fall of such a massive empire. The ruins were also really fun because we could climb on them! The town of Copan was really cute too, although I started to get a little annoyed at how much it was built for tourists. The expensive souvenirs were all in dollar amounts, and to me, the city felt a bit contrived. It was just too cute to be real! I still really liked it though. :)
We also went up to a bird sanctuary in Copan, which was so much fun! We saw all sorts of birds, some native to Honduras. There were all sorts of colorful parrots, as well as hawks and other birds. To be honest, I'm actually not all that into birds but these ones were really beautiful. I was also really excited when our tour guide stuck three of the parrots on my arms and shoulder! I couldn't stop giggling, and also being a little scared because he told us that those parrots have 700 lbs of pressure in their beaks. Crazy!
So anyway, Copan was pretty amazing. It was fun to have a weekend away and to get out of Gracias for a little bit. It's cool that I live by Mayan ruins! My life is cool.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Weather woes, mountains, and cameras
Wow...it feels like forever since I've been online. Living in the mountains is very strange...it's like a time warp. Time goes very, very quickly and I forget that I haven't been online in a week, that I have no idea what's going on in the news, and that it's almost November. Almost November! I can't believe it.
Well, a couple interesting things have happened in the past week. The first is that, overnight, it got cold. The temperature literally dropped from around 85 to 60. On Saturday, I walked around wearing shorts and a tank top, and then on Sunday, I had to bundle up in sweatpants and a hoodie! I know that 60 isn't that cold...it's like jeans and sweatshirt weather. But we have no relief from it here. None of the houses have central heating, and most houses have open-air windows that don't close. We have open-air classrooms too. So I know that 60 isn't bad, but it's nice to be able to go inside, and we just don't have that option. "Inside" is still extremely breezy! So on Monday and Tuesday, all my little students were bundled up in hats, scarves, and gloves, and they never took them off all day! I slept in two hoodies and two pairs of sweatpants. Today, however, the temperature jumped back up. So, it's a weather roller coaster, which is fine...I just hope that I don't get sick.
The second interesting thing that happened, was that I fell down a mountain. The gym teacher at our school goes running most days in the mountains, so this week I decided that it might be fun to join him. Well, first of all... I learned during that experience that if you run a half marathon and then you don't run for a year, your body doesn't maintain that level of fitness you once had. I was dying! But oh well. So we ran up part of the mountain (and when I say ran up a mountain, I mean it...be impressed, because it's a mile and a half of just...up) and then we ran back down. And on the way down, of course, leave it to me...I tripped and fell. I really, really banged up my left leg. I was bleeding pretty profusely and had to pick quite a bit of gravel out of my skin. I'm lucky I didn't get hurt worse, but I fell on Sunday and today, Wednesday, it still hurts pretty badly when I stand up. My leg was super swollen on Sunday, but it's going down now.
My camera broke, too, so pictures on here might be limited. I don't really know what happened, but I'm really upset about it. A camera is a really important thing to have, I feel, during an experience like this. This weekend I'm going to the Mayan Ruins that are close to where we live, and we have our fiesta tipica coming up for our school, and I want to be able to take photos. I'm so sad about my camera.
So that's it! I guess I wrote about three negative things in this blog post, but I am having a blast, I love living in the mountains, and...my life is amazing. :)
Well, a couple interesting things have happened in the past week. The first is that, overnight, it got cold. The temperature literally dropped from around 85 to 60. On Saturday, I walked around wearing shorts and a tank top, and then on Sunday, I had to bundle up in sweatpants and a hoodie! I know that 60 isn't that cold...it's like jeans and sweatshirt weather. But we have no relief from it here. None of the houses have central heating, and most houses have open-air windows that don't close. We have open-air classrooms too. So I know that 60 isn't bad, but it's nice to be able to go inside, and we just don't have that option. "Inside" is still extremely breezy! So on Monday and Tuesday, all my little students were bundled up in hats, scarves, and gloves, and they never took them off all day! I slept in two hoodies and two pairs of sweatpants. Today, however, the temperature jumped back up. So, it's a weather roller coaster, which is fine...I just hope that I don't get sick.
The second interesting thing that happened, was that I fell down a mountain. The gym teacher at our school goes running most days in the mountains, so this week I decided that it might be fun to join him. Well, first of all... I learned during that experience that if you run a half marathon and then you don't run for a year, your body doesn't maintain that level of fitness you once had. I was dying! But oh well. So we ran up part of the mountain (and when I say ran up a mountain, I mean it...be impressed, because it's a mile and a half of just...up) and then we ran back down. And on the way down, of course, leave it to me...I tripped and fell. I really, really banged up my left leg. I was bleeding pretty profusely and had to pick quite a bit of gravel out of my skin. I'm lucky I didn't get hurt worse, but I fell on Sunday and today, Wednesday, it still hurts pretty badly when I stand up. My leg was super swollen on Sunday, but it's going down now.
My camera broke, too, so pictures on here might be limited. I don't really know what happened, but I'm really upset about it. A camera is a really important thing to have, I feel, during an experience like this. This weekend I'm going to the Mayan Ruins that are close to where we live, and we have our fiesta tipica coming up for our school, and I want to be able to take photos. I'm so sad about my camera.
So that's it! I guess I wrote about three negative things in this blog post, but I am having a blast, I love living in the mountains, and...my life is amazing. :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
2010 World Cup Qualifier!
Well, last night the Honduras soccer team secured a place in the 2010 World Cup. As a result of their win, school was canceled today! We received a call last night to let us know that the president went on the television and said that no one in the country has to go to work today, because today is a day for celebrations. I absolutely cannot imagine something like that happening in the United States. It's so awesome! So today we slept in (until 7:30) and then walked to town. I think I will go to the school for a couple hours to decorate my classroom. We have been required to put up Thanksgiving decorations by the end of this week.
Now just as a side note... I don't mind putting up some pictures of food or maybe a turkey, but I am not doing anything with pilgrims. Give me a break. It's bad enough that we're teaching these children from an American curriculum (which is, by the way, full of super patriotic American stuff, which always includes a Christian twist), but to talk about the "Pilgrims and Indians" story as if we were in the United States just seems like too much for me. I don't even think we should tell that story that way to American children! The patriotic American curriculum deserves a blog entry in and of itself. Maybe I'll type an excerpt from one of the books into this blog one of these days, just to prove my point.
Anyway, after decorating my classroom, I don't know what I'll do for the rest of the day! Maybe venture up into Celaque, the national park in my backyard. There is a really beautiful river that's probably around two miles from my house. It sounds really great to spend the afternoon up there, reading and writing. We'll see. But in any case, it feels so good to not be in school right now. One thing is for sure...I'll be singing Honduras fight songs all day! Vamos vamos todos!
Now just as a side note... I don't mind putting up some pictures of food or maybe a turkey, but I am not doing anything with pilgrims. Give me a break. It's bad enough that we're teaching these children from an American curriculum (which is, by the way, full of super patriotic American stuff, which always includes a Christian twist), but to talk about the "Pilgrims and Indians" story as if we were in the United States just seems like too much for me. I don't even think we should tell that story that way to American children! The patriotic American curriculum deserves a blog entry in and of itself. Maybe I'll type an excerpt from one of the books into this blog one of these days, just to prove my point.
Anyway, after decorating my classroom, I don't know what I'll do for the rest of the day! Maybe venture up into Celaque, the national park in my backyard. There is a really beautiful river that's probably around two miles from my house. It sounds really great to spend the afternoon up there, reading and writing. We'll see. But in any case, it feels so good to not be in school right now. One thing is for sure...I'll be singing Honduras fight songs all day! Vamos vamos todos!
Monday, October 12, 2009
2 months in Honduras
Well, my first weekend at my new house has come to an end, and I feel... like I don't deserve the life I seem to have stumbled upon. I live in Honduras, in these beautiful mountains, at a wonderful school, surrounded by amazing people. I am being challenged and I'm speaking Spanish. And I've been here for over two months now. Last night I was lying outside and looking at the stars- I swear, I have never seen a clearer night sky than I can see from the mountains in Villa Verde- and I was listening to music, and I just thought, 'Wow. I don't think things can get much better than this.' I feel so peaceful here. It's not just that it's quiet, or pretty, or tranquil. I actually feel at peace here in Honduras. Since my college graduation, I feel like I have just been floundering, and I finally feel calm. I am proud of the work that I'm doing and how I'm living. It's pretty exciting for me to feel free.
That being said, life in the mountains isn't a cakewalk! I've done what I can with my room, but it feels totally damp all the time. I don't mind living in the dampness, but I'm a little concerned that 1) my stuff is going to grow mold, and 2) I'm going to get sick. It's seriously at the point where the mats on my floor are just straight up damp, and my towels can't dry if I leave them in my room. I'm not really sure what to do about that. I have had some serious battles with creatures in my room. There was an enormous spider, a wasp with fangs and a stinger, and a toad that hopped in under the door. I didn't kill the frog (just urged him out), but the other two were goners. I don't have good cell phone reception up in the mountains, and my butt hurts from walking so much! But I still really love it.
We've walked to town twice in the past three days, and every time we come to town, the Post Office is closed. A couple people have sent me some pretty amazing packages (thank you!!) and I know I have another one waiting for me that I can't pick up. It's very frustrating. The post office is only open until 3pm during the week (right when school gets dismissed), and it's supposed to be open until noon on Saturday. But today and Saturday it was closed when we finally got there. agh.
I have learned, by living in Honduras, that I really don't need that much to be satisfied. Before moving here, I never would have imagined how little I actually need. On a daily basis, I sleep, read, write, eat and listen to music. If I have some music, a book, paper/pen, cereal, and somewhere to sleep, I'm pretty set. I only wear T-shirts and shorts. I hardly ever put on makeup. The other day I woke up, had breakfast, read for a while, and then walked into town...all without once looking in a mirror. It's just kind of weird, how simple my life has become. But I really love it. Like I said, I look around and I just can't figure out what I've done to deserve this kind of joy.
That being said, life in the mountains isn't a cakewalk! I've done what I can with my room, but it feels totally damp all the time. I don't mind living in the dampness, but I'm a little concerned that 1) my stuff is going to grow mold, and 2) I'm going to get sick. It's seriously at the point where the mats on my floor are just straight up damp, and my towels can't dry if I leave them in my room. I'm not really sure what to do about that. I have had some serious battles with creatures in my room. There was an enormous spider, a wasp with fangs and a stinger, and a toad that hopped in under the door. I didn't kill the frog (just urged him out), but the other two were goners. I don't have good cell phone reception up in the mountains, and my butt hurts from walking so much! But I still really love it.
We've walked to town twice in the past three days, and every time we come to town, the Post Office is closed. A couple people have sent me some pretty amazing packages (thank you!!) and I know I have another one waiting for me that I can't pick up. It's very frustrating. The post office is only open until 3pm during the week (right when school gets dismissed), and it's supposed to be open until noon on Saturday. But today and Saturday it was closed when we finally got there. agh.
I have learned, by living in Honduras, that I really don't need that much to be satisfied. Before moving here, I never would have imagined how little I actually need. On a daily basis, I sleep, read, write, eat and listen to music. If I have some music, a book, paper/pen, cereal, and somewhere to sleep, I'm pretty set. I only wear T-shirts and shorts. I hardly ever put on makeup. The other day I woke up, had breakfast, read for a while, and then walked into town...all without once looking in a mirror. It's just kind of weird, how simple my life has become. But I really love it. Like I said, I look around and I just can't figure out what I've done to deserve this kind of joy.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
New Home
In Europe, Alex and I always talked about how we wanted to just know Spanish without having to learn it. We also talked about how we wanted to know all sorts of facts about history, without having to study. We just wanted the information to be in our heads without having to do anything to get it there.
Well, I felt the same way about moving up the mountains. I really wanted to be living up in the mountains, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of moving all of my stuff. Yesterday, though, something awesome happened! The principal of my school took his truck to my house during the school day, piled all my stuff in it, and brought it up the mountain for me, so I didn't have to do anything at all! It was pretty awesome, and so last night, without any trouble, I spent my first night in my own house in the mountains.
My house is pretty hilarious, and anyone who knows me would laugh if they saw it. As you can see in the pictures, the house consists of three rooms which all lead onto the front porch. My room is very tiny, and the bathroom (more specifically, the toilet) is the first thing you see when you open the door. I'm going to have to buy some curtains. I don't have a mirror, and my shower is a pipe. I also can't get into the kitchen yet because it's not finished at all. I have a teeny shelf for my clothes, and that's about it. But I love it. It's all mine. I have never had a house before, and I am already loving how it feels to just have my own place. The neighbors are so sweet, a couple of them came over yesterday just to welcome me and ask me if I needed anything. The man who walked us up the mountain a couple weeks ago, Don Luis, saw me struggling with the gate for two seconds and he came running up to my house to show me how to work it. It's a really lovely community with amazing people, and I am so excited to be living there!
Here are some photos!
My room:
The magnificent view from my backyard:
A banana tree right next to my fence:
Well, I felt the same way about moving up the mountains. I really wanted to be living up in the mountains, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of moving all of my stuff. Yesterday, though, something awesome happened! The principal of my school took his truck to my house during the school day, piled all my stuff in it, and brought it up the mountain for me, so I didn't have to do anything at all! It was pretty awesome, and so last night, without any trouble, I spent my first night in my own house in the mountains.
My house is pretty hilarious, and anyone who knows me would laugh if they saw it. As you can see in the pictures, the house consists of three rooms which all lead onto the front porch. My room is very tiny, and the bathroom (more specifically, the toilet) is the first thing you see when you open the door. I'm going to have to buy some curtains. I don't have a mirror, and my shower is a pipe. I also can't get into the kitchen yet because it's not finished at all. I have a teeny shelf for my clothes, and that's about it. But I love it. It's all mine. I have never had a house before, and I am already loving how it feels to just have my own place. The neighbors are so sweet, a couple of them came over yesterday just to welcome me and ask me if I needed anything. The man who walked us up the mountain a couple weeks ago, Don Luis, saw me struggling with the gate for two seconds and he came running up to my house to show me how to work it. It's a really lovely community with amazing people, and I am so excited to be living there!
Here are some photos!
My room:
The magnificent view from my backyard:
A banana tree right next to my fence:
Monday, October 5, 2009
Teaching and community
I feel like I am finally in the swing of things here at school. I no longer feel overwhelmed at the prospect of planning or controlling the class. I really love my students and I feel like they are learning things. Every single day I look at the mountains, the butterflies, the flowers, and the clouds that provide the backdrop to my school, and I'm overwhelmed by their magnificence. It's funny... at the beginning of this experience, I really thought that teaching just wasn't for me. I thought that teaching was a profession that just would never fit with who I am. But now I feel like I actually really love teaching. It's really fun and rewarding. Every morning I feel...not necessarily excited, but content to go to work, and that's something I greatly appreciate. Every day is different, brings different challenges and different joys. One of my little students brought me a rose today. When I walk in in the mornings, they all yell at the top of their lungs, "GOOD MORNING, MISS MAC!" The little boys all hide behind the door in the afternoons after recess, and when I pretend to be surprised to find them back there, they squeal and giggle as if it was the cleverest and funniest trick ever. I just love being around them all day.
And on Friday, I'm moving up to the mountains! I can't wait. I spent this past weekend there again, and I just love it up there. It's so quiet and peaceful, and exactly where I want to be. We ate dinner at the comedor, this teeny little family-owned restaurant. There are literally maybe 12 people in the community, and they are all so generous and kind. I went to church with the other girls last night, and there were..I'm guessing 8 people at the service, besides us. It was really nice to see how convicted the people up there are by their faith, and they were so wonderful to us. They talked about us throughout the whole service! It was just really, really nice. When I told them that I would soon be their neighbor, they were giving me hugs and telling me that they would help me with anything I need (cualquier cosa!). I am so excited about my experience in Honduras so far. It's been incredible.
And on Friday, I'm moving up to the mountains! I can't wait. I spent this past weekend there again, and I just love it up there. It's so quiet and peaceful, and exactly where I want to be. We ate dinner at the comedor, this teeny little family-owned restaurant. There are literally maybe 12 people in the community, and they are all so generous and kind. I went to church with the other girls last night, and there were..I'm guessing 8 people at the service, besides us. It was really nice to see how convicted the people up there are by their faith, and they were so wonderful to us. They talked about us throughout the whole service! It was just really, really nice. When I told them that I would soon be their neighbor, they were giving me hugs and telling me that they would help me with anything I need (cualquier cosa!). I am so excited about my experience in Honduras so far. It's been incredible.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Moo
A cow chased me down the road today.
I'm spending the weekend in Villa Verde again because Jacki and I think it would be really fun to go hiking every weekend. After all, she (and soon I) have a national park in the backyard! So we're going hiking tomorrow, but today we decided to come to town and buy some food and go to the bank. We headed out this morning to walk the five miles (we could have taken the faster way and called a mototaxi, but it's so beautiful here in Honduras!) and we started off. So Jacki and I were just walking along on the dirt road with two stone walls on either side, and all of a sudden we saw this brown cow poke its head out from around a corner.
We ignored it and kept walking, but then to our surprise and discomfort, the cow mooed really loudly and started following us! Then it picked up its speed to a jog. I didn't even know that cows could jog. But the stupid cow was chasing us down the road, and we were really scared! We were trying to not turn around too much and to just walk quickly and get away from it, but the cow was straight up chasing us down the road. Now, this wasn't a bull. It didn't have any horns- in fact, it had a huge udder and looked like it needed to be milked. We had no idea what to do, we weren't even sure what kind of damage a cow could do to us! I mean, could a cow attack me? Cows are big animals! We were holding hands and were genuinely scared because there was just nowhere for us to go...there were literally stone walls on either side of us. We were trying to come up with a plan for how to escape the cow. Finally, we saw some little old Honduran ladies with a child walking ahead of us, and we sped up to reach them and Jacki yelled out, "Ayudanos!!" (help us!!) We kind of jogged over to the ladies, leaving the cow behind, and they just looked at us, really puzzled. The cow turned around and trotted back up the mountain.
So we escaped, narrowly. I can honestly say I will never see or walk past a cow the same way again!
I'm loving my weekend in Villa Verde. The lady that is remodeling my house says that it will be done by the end of next week!!! I can't wait!
I'm spending the weekend in Villa Verde again because Jacki and I think it would be really fun to go hiking every weekend. After all, she (and soon I) have a national park in the backyard! So we're going hiking tomorrow, but today we decided to come to town and buy some food and go to the bank. We headed out this morning to walk the five miles (we could have taken the faster way and called a mototaxi, but it's so beautiful here in Honduras!) and we started off. So Jacki and I were just walking along on the dirt road with two stone walls on either side, and all of a sudden we saw this brown cow poke its head out from around a corner.
We ignored it and kept walking, but then to our surprise and discomfort, the cow mooed really loudly and started following us! Then it picked up its speed to a jog. I didn't even know that cows could jog. But the stupid cow was chasing us down the road, and we were really scared! We were trying to not turn around too much and to just walk quickly and get away from it, but the cow was straight up chasing us down the road. Now, this wasn't a bull. It didn't have any horns- in fact, it had a huge udder and looked like it needed to be milked. We had no idea what to do, we weren't even sure what kind of damage a cow could do to us! I mean, could a cow attack me? Cows are big animals! We were holding hands and were genuinely scared because there was just nowhere for us to go...there were literally stone walls on either side of us. We were trying to come up with a plan for how to escape the cow. Finally, we saw some little old Honduran ladies with a child walking ahead of us, and we sped up to reach them and Jacki yelled out, "Ayudanos!!" (help us!!) We kind of jogged over to the ladies, leaving the cow behind, and they just looked at us, really puzzled. The cow turned around and trotted back up the mountain.
So we escaped, narrowly. I can honestly say I will never see or walk past a cow the same way again!
I'm loving my weekend in Villa Verde. The lady that is remodeling my house says that it will be done by the end of next week!!! I can't wait!
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