Second Grade Photo Session

I have a wonderful friend here, Jacki, who has kept me sane during the past ten months. In addition to being a great friend, Jacki takes beautiful photographs! (If you need a wedding photographer, contact me and I'll give you her number.) Anyway, I asked her to come by my classroom one day and just take some pictures of my students, and these were a couple of the photos she took. They look like they're from a magazine, I swear.

My students are so beautiful.

Ada:

Adelso:

Jesariel:

Jeison:

Sofia:

Carlos:

Abi:

Bryan:

All of us:


So much love in second grade:

Rainy season and La Union

I'll start off with a few ear bug pictures, taken in my kitchen:






I have heard that the ear bugs only mark the beginning of the rainy season and that they're just about over, so I'll just hope that's true. We haven't had them for two nights now, so maybe their time is done. But that's what's happening here: the rainy season has started with a vengeance. The rain has always made me feel really spiritual. I just love the rain. However, my love for the rain dwindles when it pours nonstop and I have to walk to and from school in it, and when my roof leaks, and when my clothes and towels don't dry because the air is wet. I live in a cloud forest!! However, even though the rain makes living here a little bit more difficult, it's still pretty amazing to me. I have never seen rain like this before; it just pours all day and all night. The seasons changed from sunny and hot every day to chilly and wet. It's strange that it's summer back home, because it feels like the months approaching winter here.

We've come in a full circle; we arrived during rainy season and we're leaving during rainy season. Having the rain here again makes me remember the fall. I spent so much time in the girls' house; I was there today, napping on the bed I used to sleep on, and I remembered the fall, and what a beautiful time that was. I would wear hoodies and jeans every day in the fall, and bundle up to go to bed. This past week, I pulled out my long-sleeved work shirts again. Has it really been a full school year here? It's a strange sensation, because in the USA, summer marks the end of the school year. Here, the best weather happened from February to April.

Nevertheless, we are heading into our last two weeks. We've been having fun, both in school:


And in town (We always celebrate when the grocery store here has something new, and we were delighted this time to find Koala bear cookies!):


Last weekend, Jacki and I took a trip to La Union. It was pretty awesome to be in a new place. We left school at 11am and took a bus. We were in La Union by that afternoon. All the La Union photos are compliments of Jacki.




We had a really fun time seeing the Vida Abundante school and finding a place where we could buy baleadas for 5 lemps (about 25 cents).



One of the highlights of our trip was when we were serenaded by a mariachi band! It was pretty awesome.


I also rode on a motorcycle for the first time. And I tried on one of Jake's shirts, which was one of the biggest shirts I've ever seen!

Jacki and I had a small moment of panic on Sunday morning, because the ONLY bus to Gracias from La Union left at 5am, and we slept right through both of our alarms. We knew Jake was annoyed, and we were annoyed too! And worried that we wouldn't get back in time, or that we might have to take a chicken bus to San Pedro Sula and then back to Gracias. But we are really lucky, because we are good friends with our neighbors and co-workers here, and we asked two of our friends to come get us, and they came! We rode all the way home from La Union in the back of our friend's truck, and it was so much fun.

Here I am with Juan Carlos:


Trying to teach him something!


We had a great time in La Union. And now, there are only two weeks left. I am trying to give my students as much love as I can, and enjoy my time in spite of the rain and the bugs. My students have become very, very affectionate with me because they know I'm leaving soon, and they've also become really rowdy because they're ready for school to be over. I love them so much. I am still ready to come home, though. Only 2 weeks left.

Ear bugs

So, the last time I blogged, I mentioned the ear bugs. They are tiny little bugs with four wings each, and they came to Gracias when I was in town last week. When I left town to come up to Villa Verde, however, they weren't here, so I figured they didn't come this high up the mountain. Well, I was wrong... they arrived tonight. Jacki, Julia and I were just finishing dinner in the kitchen when we noticed that outside there were thousands, literally thousands, of small black bugs in the air. Then they started to come into the kitchen, through every crack in the wall and hole in the window.

They are small bugs (maybe 1 cm long long) and they each have four wings. They fly around and then shed their wings, which land everywhere, and then the body of the bug just starts going on the land. They're pretty horrible, because their wings get all over everything (in food, in dishes, in our hair, on our clothes, in our drinks) and then the creepy crawly things are everywhere too.

The worst part about them, though, is that they nest in people's ears. They crawl deep into people's ears, trying to burrow as far in as they can. Julia's students told her that if they get in there, people hear an unbearable buzzing sound in their ear, and they have to go immediately to the hospital. So, we have been walking around our houses with toilet paper stuffed in our ears so that the creepy bugs don't get in. Agh. And in the meantime, we have to keep cleaning up everything, rewashing our dishes, and shaking out our clothes and hair to make sure we don't have wings or bugs in them. Get me home.

Bugs and weekend exploring

Well, the week is just about over! I ended up sorting things out with the computer class, I told the principal that I would just use the class as a study hall from now on because I have completed enough projects with the students to be able to give them 4th quarter grades.

A quick note on the bugs in Honduras- they're pretty fascinating. I don't think I'll ever really be squeamish again. This past week, I killed two or three huge scorpions outside of my house. Furthermore, the cicadas all seem to have died because I don't hear their singing anymore, but they have been replaced by bugs that apparently nest in people's ears. They are these bugs that fall from the sky and have wings (but they can shed their wings), and they try to nest in people's ears. ew ew ew ew ew. I was kind of laughing today because my entire back and butt are covered with bug bites that I must be getting in bed, somehow. I have no idea.

Anyway, tomorrow, Jacki and I are going to La Union! We are planning on hiking around a coffee farm and hopefully we will have a chance to see the Vida Abundante school there as well. It should be a fun weekend, I'm really looking forward to getting away. I'll post pictures next week.

Computer class

I teach ninth grade computer class, in addition to second grade. I have been blogging for almost a year now about the school and my students, and I think I've mentioned ninth grade computers once. Maybe twice. That's because, beyond telling me that I'm teaching ninth grade computers and giving me two hours a week to teach it, the school administrators have basically done nothing to help me and have given me nothing to work with. The main problem is that we have no computers at our school. Well, at first we had no computers. For the first half of the year, the principals told me that I could use the class as a study hall, because I clearly couldn't teach it without computers and without a curriculum.

Then, one of the two school principals had a "curriculum" sent in from Tegucigalpa. This curriculum was about 75 pages, in Spanish, of computer lingo. He told me that the Tegucigalpa administrators wanted the students to have grades on their report cards for computer class, and that I should just do what I could with the material. After looking at it, I decided that I would try to see if I could take the random computer parts that were in boxes in the library to try to make some functioning computers. I was able to find enough parts to piece together two computers. Now, I know nothing about computers, but I knew that the computers I had to work with were really, really bad. They basically are able to turn on and run Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. But it was better than teaching the students computer jargon in Spanish.

So, I have been teaching computers by putting three students to a computer and making the groups rotate to finish projects. Today, I went into the library, where the computers are, only to find that the school administrators had taken them all apart to find a part they needed for their own office computer.

This led me to I go into the office and tell the principal that I was beyond frustrated. They pressured me to teach this class but gave me nothing to help me do it. They clearly don't care if the students learn anything about computers, they only care if there's a grade on the report cards so that the parents don't ask about it.

I have many frustrations about my job. I know that leaving the children at the end of the year will be one of the hardest things I've ever faced, but I also know that, in terms of the actual school, I won't be sad to leave it behind. The example of how the administration treated my computer class this year (with complete disregard in terms of the class, and yet concern about the image presented to the parents) is one example that speaks to a much larger picture of the some of the problems in the school. Until the administrators (whether in Gracias or Tegucigalpa) get their priorities straight, they will not have any luck in either retaining American teachers or truly achieving the higher level of education that they desire.

Less than a month left

There are four weeks left of school, and I can see a change in my students. They are so animated all the time, very easily excited, and always wanting to play. It's a little more difficult to control them and hold their attention- they are ready for the summer! August 24-June 11 is a very long school year. It's hard for the teachers, too. I think the natural cycle of teaching is that by the end of the year, teachers are ready for the summer. However, I spend a great deal of time trying so hard to not wish the end of the school year away. Unlike most teachers, this is it for me. I will not be back in the fall, so although I am ready for the summer, I am also ultra-aware of the fact that this will be my last time with these children. I don't want to get too caught up in the excitement of going home.

The school year, for me, has been very successful. I remember how overwhelmed I was when I first arrived here in Honduras. The children could barely speak English, I didn't know how to control them, and the school offered little to no instruction on how to manage a classroom. But everything improved so much! The students and I became used to each other. I learned what to reasonably expect from seven-year-olds (although that's definitely something I'm still learning). I learned what's important to them and how to relate to them. My class is so advanced, too. They learn things so quickly. We are going to finish all of our curriculum early, and almost all of my students have good grades. This year has been incredible, and I am such a proud teacher.

As the end of the year approaches, I can't help but reflect back on my time here. There are some things I just really miss. I miss the fall. It was such a lovely time of the year. It was too cold for the bugs to be out, and everything was misty all the time. I loved when I first moved up to Villa Verde and pretty much lived with the four girls in the other house. It was really nice. They didn't have their front door then, and I felt like I was outside, even when I was technically in their house. Everything felt so fresh and new and touched by God. Everything felt spiritual to me, and I was so content with everyone and everything. I didn't want to be anywhere except where I was. It was a golden time, because things never stay like that. Novelty wears off and reality sets in, and things change. Our perceptions change.

Now everything is dry and hot. I feel gross because of all the starchy food I eat. I'm tired of washing my clothes on a pila and having to sleep with a tennis shoe in my bed so that I can kill the bugs that wake me up. I am sick of watching the neighbors yell at and hit their children. The girls up the mountain have a dog that bites and a big front door and I feel like I rarely see most of them anymore. A male American teacher moved up the mountain after Christmas, and that really did change things in many ways. It changed the dynamics on the mountain. The men here also caused some of the girls to change their behavior, and that changed our friendships. We also started to get internet at our house. For many reasons, things are just different now. Not necessarily in a bad way- but it is incredible how things can change. It doesn't feel like ten months have passed in Honduras. I can't help but think that I won't even realize everything I've been through until I'm out of this situation and can just look back on reflect on it. I feel like I've experienced and seen so much that life will just never be the same- it will be like BH and AH- before Honduras and after Honduras. There's more to say on this, but I'll save it for another day.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in the world! I was sad because I wasn't able to be with my mom today. I have done a lot of thinking about moms over the past year. I have met an awful lot of moms during my time in Honduras. I have met some moms who care so deeply about their children, and some who do not seem to care as much. I have talked to moms who are overly concerned, and I have talked to moms who simply don't seem concerned at all. I have met with moms who are already worried that their seven-year-olds might not make it to university if they mess up second grade. I have encountered a lot of moms.

During this year, I thought a lot about how lucky I was to be born into my family. My parents are simply amazing; they give me absolutely everything they can. They love me unconditionally. They make me feel of worth. When I was in school, they always supported me and did everything they could to help me. It's at times like these when English fails me; I have no words that can truly convey the emotion I feel towards my parents. I am really blessed. To my mom- Happy Mother's Day, mom. I'll take you out for dinner when I get home. :)

In my class this week, we made Mother's Day cards. I have included just a couple of excerpts from some of my students' cards. Many of the cards were almost the same, some were a little different. I have just included a few that stood out to me, for whatever reason.

Happy Mother's day!!!!

***

Dear Mom,

Thank you for being my mom. Thank you for giving me the food. Thank you for buying me the things. I love you. You are the best mom in the world.

Love, Shirley
***

Dear Mother,

I love you. Do you love me? Please love me forever, because you are my mother and you will be my mother for the rest of my life.

Love, Carlos
***

Dear Mom,

I love you. You are my favorite person in the world, for dad went to the United States and you stay here to take care of us. Happy Mother's Day.

Love, Sofia
***

Dear Mom,

I love you. I love to be your daughter. You are the best mother in the world.

Love, Alejandra
***

Dear Mom,

I love you. I like to be your son. Thank you for the playstation.

Love, German
***

TGIF

Well... this past week was one of the worst weeks I've had in Honduras. The only time that was worse than this week was at the very beginning, when I was so overwhelmed because I moved to Honduras, signed my contract, and started teaching second grade to non-English speakers all in one week.

This week was bad for many reasons, none of which I'm actually planning on writing on this blog. I would be more than happy to tell anyone who wants to ask me about my crazy witch neighbor who is constantly starting drama, or about the frustrating way the school administrators choose to conduct themselves, or about the fact that our oven ran out of gas this week, or about the cicada that flew into my room and is still in here somewhere, or about a few other things that happened this week that made me want to pull my hair out in frustration. But I'm going to skip the details here. :)

So all sorts of stupid things happened, but now it's the weekend. I love weekends. They give me an opportunity to stop and breathe, and enjoy the mornings, and sit and look at the mountains all day. My weekends are always the same- I wash my clothes... and that's about it. Haha. But I love it. I need it. I sit in the hammock and read, or write, or just listen to the noises. It's peaceful.

We're getting to the home stretch now...less than 5 weeks left. Bad weeks are okay. They make the good weeks feel even better.