I wrote this on Monday but didn’t get a chance to post it until today.
February 22, 2010
A couple of things for today. First, Mondays are tough. I don’t know what it is, but I always feel like my teaching is a little off on Mondays and they are always tough to get through. Today was one of those days when I was just waiting for that last bell to ring at 3. But I got through it (with no coffee, which may be why it felt so long. I have unfortunately started to drink a lot of coffee down here, something I said I would never do. But it’s so good!). I am looking forward to the rest of the week though.
So after school today Mr. Bran and I took off up Celaque. It was only my second run since rolling my ankle a few weeks back. Well, the day I rolled my ankle I made it up (to the visitor center, 1.8 km) in just over 12 minutes, and was on pace to make it down in 6 minutes. That would have been around an 18 minute 30 second run, with half of it being very strenuous up hill. Well, today I rocked it. I made it to the visitor center in 11 minutes and made it down in just over 7. I am excited. If I can keep doing that 3-4 times a week I think I’ll be able to get my goal of breaking 10 minutes to the top—I am shooting to do that before Spring Break, which is the end of March. I am just so much more careful coming down now because of rolling my ankle, so I could push myself harder down, but I don’t want to mess myself up more. Plus my ankle isn’t fully healed yet to it’s still a little tender.
Tonight we lost power again, right before dinner. I hadn’t showered yet from taking my run and was going to do it after dinner, but then the power went off. Since the hot water needs electricity that meant my only option was to take no shower or a cold shower. I waited a little bit after dinner, but the power did not turn back on, so I decided to do the cold shower option (which wasn’t that bad). I took the flashlight with me and set it so I had some light. After the cold shower I got dressed and opened the bathroom door and walked out into the dining room with my flashlight. Low and behold the power was back on and there I was standing with a flashlight after my cold shower, with all the lights on. I asked Laura Beth, who was sitting with Mr. Bran at the table, when did the power come back on? She said it turned on about half way through my shower. Since I didn’t have any lights on in the bathroom and didn’t turn the water heater on I had no idea. Oh well.
Anyway, I’ll try and get another post up later this week.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
February 19, 2010
So I am actually writing this Thursday night, but will be posting it on Friday.
So I had a fun day today, and by fun I mean a very achy and sore day. I can’t imagine what I am going to feel like in the morning. I’ll probably add to this in the morning with how I am feeling.
Now, I am a rather competitive person, and one of the things I greatly missed after I graduated from high school was competing in team sports, specifically soccer, which I played all through high school. When I got to college I was able to play Intramurals in the fall and indoor in the winter, and that was a lot of fun. However, it was only once a week, and I had to miss it every once in a while when school got the best of me. Well, today I got to enjoy some good competitive soccer.
I was able to get my priorities right, along with all of the principals, when I (and them) skipped after school tutoring (the 8th graders don’t have a test this week so it was okay) and played soccer. We first played against the boy’s team for an hour and worked them over pretty good, although they did score a couple of goals on us, which is something they didn’t do last time we played. However, as the game against the boy’s team started to wind down I noticed a group of guys in shorts and t-shirts standing on the sideline looking like they were getting ready to play. Finally Mr. Bran blew his whistle to end practice and Mr. Lara brings everyone together and tells us that the guys on the sidelines are the construction workers who are currently working on the new office building at our school. They wanted to play us. He then went on to say that these guys play constantly in their free time including a league on Sundays in town and that they are really fast. Sweet.
For the next hour I had some of the most intense soccer I’ve played since high school. Not to mention I got worked on several occasions. Which is expected. But pair that with playing on dirt (and a little bit of grass) with it sprinkling, in running shoes with no traction and it is even more of an adventure. By the end of the hour match, which we lost probably 11-6 or so, I was bleeding from both knees and one elbow and had a strawberry on my right side. Not to mention my shoes were caked in dirt and I had dirt on my face. Consider the day seized.
But tomorrow will be a sore day—at least it is Friday so I have the weekend to heal.
Friday update:
Yeah, I could barely get out of bed this morning. I couldn’t sleep on my right side last night because I took a nasty spill and the bruises and strawberries were too much to sleep on. But I am feeling good. More importantly, my ankle, although still a little painful, is feeling much better and I think I’ll try a run in Celaque today after school.
Adios for now.
So I am actually writing this Thursday night, but will be posting it on Friday.
So I had a fun day today, and by fun I mean a very achy and sore day. I can’t imagine what I am going to feel like in the morning. I’ll probably add to this in the morning with how I am feeling.
Now, I am a rather competitive person, and one of the things I greatly missed after I graduated from high school was competing in team sports, specifically soccer, which I played all through high school. When I got to college I was able to play Intramurals in the fall and indoor in the winter, and that was a lot of fun. However, it was only once a week, and I had to miss it every once in a while when school got the best of me. Well, today I got to enjoy some good competitive soccer.
I was able to get my priorities right, along with all of the principals, when I (and them) skipped after school tutoring (the 8th graders don’t have a test this week so it was okay) and played soccer. We first played against the boy’s team for an hour and worked them over pretty good, although they did score a couple of goals on us, which is something they didn’t do last time we played. However, as the game against the boy’s team started to wind down I noticed a group of guys in shorts and t-shirts standing on the sideline looking like they were getting ready to play. Finally Mr. Bran blew his whistle to end practice and Mr. Lara brings everyone together and tells us that the guys on the sidelines are the construction workers who are currently working on the new office building at our school. They wanted to play us. He then went on to say that these guys play constantly in their free time including a league on Sundays in town and that they are really fast. Sweet.
For the next hour I had some of the most intense soccer I’ve played since high school. Not to mention I got worked on several occasions. Which is expected. But pair that with playing on dirt (and a little bit of grass) with it sprinkling, in running shoes with no traction and it is even more of an adventure. By the end of the hour match, which we lost probably 11-6 or so, I was bleeding from both knees and one elbow and had a strawberry on my right side. Not to mention my shoes were caked in dirt and I had dirt on my face. Consider the day seized.
But tomorrow will be a sore day—at least it is Friday so I have the weekend to heal.
Friday update:
Yeah, I could barely get out of bed this morning. I couldn’t sleep on my right side last night because I took a nasty spill and the bruises and strawberries were too much to sleep on. But I am feeling good. More importantly, my ankle, although still a little painful, is feeling much better and I think I’ll try a run in Celaque today after school.
Adios for now.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
February 17, 2010
Friends and Family,
Before I left for Honduras I had applied through CIEE, a foreign exchange program, to teach English as a Second Language in Spain. My goal was to have several different possible options when I returned to the United States after Honduras and decided that this could be something I could see myself doing. However, I did not think I would be accepted into the program because they said they were looking for intermediate to advance level Spanish speaking individuals, which did not describe me. Yet, once I found out I was going to Honduras and would have the opportunity to learn Spanish I wrote a letter to CIEE describing what I was doing and my intention of immersing myself in the Hispanic culture in Honduras and to learn Spanish. This letter may or may not have helped my cause but two weeks ago I found out I was accepted into this teach in Spain program.
I only had 10 days to either accept or decline my acceptance and it was a very difficult time for me as I wrestled with my decision. In the end I decided to accept the position and I will be going to Spain this coming August and be there for the entire school year teaching ESL somewhere in southern Spain.
I am now in a waiting period where CIEE is working on finding me a placement in Spain. This will be the next step—CIEE contacting me about a possible placement offer.
I am really looking forward to this experience. It will be a great opportunity to not only improve my Spanish speaking skills (which will only benefit me once I come back to the States) but also give me another year of teaching experience. Along with this, I will be in Europe and have the opportunity to travel. As a social studies teacher I find this to be extremely valuable because when I can talk about places in the world and actually say I have experienced/seen them it allows me to teach in a more meaningful way. Along with this I am extremely excited to be near my uncle and his family who live in Algeciras. I will be the first person in my family to make it to Spain and visit him and his family and I am looking forward to it.
Overall, this was a very difficult decision. Yes, I will gain valuable experience teaching overseas and being in a new and exciting place. But it also means it will be more time, this time an entire academic school year, away from my friends and family and the United States, which I have a new love for after being in Honduras for such a short period of time. Yet, I am excited and ready to see what the future holds.
I want to also take this time to thank all of you who have been keeping up with me while I am down here in Honduras. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read about my experiences down here and that you will continue to do so. Thank you.
Friends and Family,
Before I left for Honduras I had applied through CIEE, a foreign exchange program, to teach English as a Second Language in Spain. My goal was to have several different possible options when I returned to the United States after Honduras and decided that this could be something I could see myself doing. However, I did not think I would be accepted into the program because they said they were looking for intermediate to advance level Spanish speaking individuals, which did not describe me. Yet, once I found out I was going to Honduras and would have the opportunity to learn Spanish I wrote a letter to CIEE describing what I was doing and my intention of immersing myself in the Hispanic culture in Honduras and to learn Spanish. This letter may or may not have helped my cause but two weeks ago I found out I was accepted into this teach in Spain program.
I only had 10 days to either accept or decline my acceptance and it was a very difficult time for me as I wrestled with my decision. In the end I decided to accept the position and I will be going to Spain this coming August and be there for the entire school year teaching ESL somewhere in southern Spain.
I am now in a waiting period where CIEE is working on finding me a placement in Spain. This will be the next step—CIEE contacting me about a possible placement offer.
I am really looking forward to this experience. It will be a great opportunity to not only improve my Spanish speaking skills (which will only benefit me once I come back to the States) but also give me another year of teaching experience. Along with this, I will be in Europe and have the opportunity to travel. As a social studies teacher I find this to be extremely valuable because when I can talk about places in the world and actually say I have experienced/seen them it allows me to teach in a more meaningful way. Along with this I am extremely excited to be near my uncle and his family who live in Algeciras. I will be the first person in my family to make it to Spain and visit him and his family and I am looking forward to it.
Overall, this was a very difficult decision. Yes, I will gain valuable experience teaching overseas and being in a new and exciting place. But it also means it will be more time, this time an entire academic school year, away from my friends and family and the United States, which I have a new love for after being in Honduras for such a short period of time. Yet, I am excited and ready to see what the future holds.
I want to also take this time to thank all of you who have been keeping up with me while I am down here in Honduras. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read about my experiences down here and that you will continue to do so. Thank you.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
February 15, 2010
Well Happy Valentine’s day, a day late. I hope it was most enjoyable for everyone.
I had a pretty good day yesterday. First, the girls and I made an all American breakfast—French toast and sausage (I guess “all American” might be an overstatement since it is called “French” toast). After this Julia, Rachel and I made our way down to the river. Rachel and I used our Lake Michigan experience (she is from Hudsonville) and made sure we faced the sun for the most quality sun exposure—and then neglected to put on sunscreen. My stomach is fried, but I don’t care, it was gorgeous and back home I’d be walking around in a winter jacket. Later, after laying down and relaxing for about an hour, Rachel and I went rock hopping up the river and found a nice little pool of water that was about 6 feet deep. After much thought we decided to go swimming. After watching me wade in and gradually get myself up to neck high water Rachel simply jumped in. It was cold, but refreshing. But now I can say I have swam in a mountain stream in Honduras.
I am enjoying my time down here. It’s hard to believe it has already been a month. As the school weeks continue to come I am continually getting busier and busier. From planning, to grading to making sure I am taking time to enjoy myself here in Honduras, it’s been an awesome experience, professionally and personally. Yes, it’s already been a month, but I have 5 more to go. Bring it on.
That is all.
Well Happy Valentine’s day, a day late. I hope it was most enjoyable for everyone.
I had a pretty good day yesterday. First, the girls and I made an all American breakfast—French toast and sausage (I guess “all American” might be an overstatement since it is called “French” toast). After this Julia, Rachel and I made our way down to the river. Rachel and I used our Lake Michigan experience (she is from Hudsonville) and made sure we faced the sun for the most quality sun exposure—and then neglected to put on sunscreen. My stomach is fried, but I don’t care, it was gorgeous and back home I’d be walking around in a winter jacket. Later, after laying down and relaxing for about an hour, Rachel and I went rock hopping up the river and found a nice little pool of water that was about 6 feet deep. After much thought we decided to go swimming. After watching me wade in and gradually get myself up to neck high water Rachel simply jumped in. It was cold, but refreshing. But now I can say I have swam in a mountain stream in Honduras.
I am enjoying my time down here. It’s hard to believe it has already been a month. As the school weeks continue to come I am continually getting busier and busier. From planning, to grading to making sure I am taking time to enjoy myself here in Honduras, it’s been an awesome experience, professionally and personally. Yes, it’s already been a month, but I have 5 more to go. Bring it on.
That is all.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
February 13, 2010
Just so you all know I posted a new Picasa web album today of Gracias. Click on the Picasa Web Album on the right to access these pictures and all the others I have posted.
So today has been a pretty low-key day. Me, Rachel, Laura Beth and Julia walked into town and got some lunch and did some shopping. I finally bought a fan to keep in my room to drown out some of the early morning noise outside my door that wakes me up around 7 on the weekends. I am also used to sleeping with a fan back home so it'll be nice to have.
However, I want to let you know about something we experienced while walking down to town. Granted I have had a lot of new experiences down here: constantly dealing with stray dogs, coming across a woman urinating in the middle of the street and it running down her legs and shoes and creating a puddle on the road, talking on the phone at night and having a horse come walking by me eating grass and doing its own thing. All of these were unique and different but I had another experience today on the way to town that was rather entertaining. Every once in a while you come across a horse (as mentioned) or a cow that is wondering around by itself on the street. Well, on the walk to town today the four of us first came across a momma cow and two calves walking down the road to town with no other human in sight. It was a pretty cool experience. Well, shortly thereafter we came across something else: about a dozen or more cows, including some bulls, walking down the road with no one leading them. Rachel and I were booking it down the mountain hoping to make it to the bank before it closed (which we did) so we were a ways in front of Julia and LB, so we first maneuvered our way through the cow maze. Well, we made it through but then LB and Julia made it to the cows and the cows panicked a little bit and started trotting a little quicker, right towards me and Rachel. We held our ground and the cows went around us. So there we were, the four of us, with a large pack of cows in front of us. We eventually came to a fork in the road and the cows took the road less traveled and we were separated, but it was pretty crazy. I was able to record a short video of it on my camera and I am hoping to get it uploaded soon.
Anyway, I thought it might be a story worth reading.
Just so you all know I posted a new Picasa web album today of Gracias. Click on the Picasa Web Album on the right to access these pictures and all the others I have posted.
So today has been a pretty low-key day. Me, Rachel, Laura Beth and Julia walked into town and got some lunch and did some shopping. I finally bought a fan to keep in my room to drown out some of the early morning noise outside my door that wakes me up around 7 on the weekends. I am also used to sleeping with a fan back home so it'll be nice to have.
However, I want to let you know about something we experienced while walking down to town. Granted I have had a lot of new experiences down here: constantly dealing with stray dogs, coming across a woman urinating in the middle of the street and it running down her legs and shoes and creating a puddle on the road, talking on the phone at night and having a horse come walking by me eating grass and doing its own thing. All of these were unique and different but I had another experience today on the way to town that was rather entertaining. Every once in a while you come across a horse (as mentioned) or a cow that is wondering around by itself on the street. Well, on the walk to town today the four of us first came across a momma cow and two calves walking down the road to town with no other human in sight. It was a pretty cool experience. Well, shortly thereafter we came across something else: about a dozen or more cows, including some bulls, walking down the road with no one leading them. Rachel and I were booking it down the mountain hoping to make it to the bank before it closed (which we did) so we were a ways in front of Julia and LB, so we first maneuvered our way through the cow maze. Well, we made it through but then LB and Julia made it to the cows and the cows panicked a little bit and started trotting a little quicker, right towards me and Rachel. We held our ground and the cows went around us. So there we were, the four of us, with a large pack of cows in front of us. We eventually came to a fork in the road and the cows took the road less traveled and we were separated, but it was pretty crazy. I was able to record a short video of it on my camera and I am hoping to get it uploaded soon.
Anyway, I thought it might be a story worth reading.
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 12, 2010
Well it’s Friday and I am sitting at school waiting for the school day to end. We are done at 1:40 today because we have parent teacher conferences starting at 3. However, the conferences are to discuss the grades from the last marking period, which I was not here for, therefore I will be doing some meet and greet with the parents.
It’s been a long week. Wednesday was a super long day. We had school and then had to go into town to get ready for the arrival of Pastor Evelio, the head pastor of the church that my school is centered around. He came from Tegus (the capital) to talk to the parents of our kids about building a strong family and home. We had to be at the church at 4, so right after school. We then did meet and greet with the parents from 4:30 to 5:15, and then Pastor Evelio spoke until 7. We then grabbed some dinner and headed back home. We stopped by a street vendor in Gracias and got some pretty good tacos. Five of us ate for 100 lemps, or about 5 dollars. That is a dollar value meal right there. We ended up not getting home until almost 9. We were all exhausted to say the least, and add that to todays long day with conferences from 3-6—we (the teachers) are all glad it is Friday.
So one of the things that I told myself I was going to do when I came to Honduras was to try and workout, or mostly run, to get back into shape. Now, you have heard me mention the National Park I live next to, Celaque, and how tough of a run it is up this mountain, and pretty steep at parts. Well, there is a visitor center that is located 1.8 km, or about 1.12 miles, up the mountain from where I live. Up to this week I had been running up Celaque for about 2.5 weeks and had yet to make it to the visitor center. This week that changed. On Tuesday I ran with Mr. Bran and another one of our neighbors. We did not only make it to the visitor center, but I did it in about 13 minutes. We then made it down in about 7 minutes, so it was about a 20 minute run up and down, totaling about 2.2 miles. Which I think is pretty darn good if you look at the terrain we have to run up. Well, yesterday we did it again and this time I made it up in 12 minutes and 20 seconds. When we got to the top we stopped for a few minutes to catch our breath and then headed down. I was feeling super good on the way down and was keeping a pretty good pace. I was hoping to make it down in 6 minutes. Well, about half way down the inevitable happened—I stepped on a rock, rolled my ankle, and heard it pop. Ouch. I walked it off for about 100 feet and then jogged the rest of the way, but it hurt. I iced it when I got back down to the house but by the time I went to bed last night it was the size of an apple. It was better this morning but still pretty painful and swollen. Rather frustrating because I don’t know how long I’ll have to be off it (in regards to running) and I hope it’s not too long. My goal is to make that run up to the visitor center in 10 minutes before I leave Honduras.
Along with running while I am down here I wanted to get into some sort of upper body workout routine as well. Enoch, one of the family members that lives in my house, has made a bunch of weights out of cement and metal bars. I really don’t know how much each of them weighs but they provide a pretty good workout. Add the fact that Mr. Bran is a physical education teacher and knows many different lifts, I am hoping to leave in both running shape and muscle shape. Wish me luck.
This weekend is looking pretty busy for me, in relation to schoolwork at least. I have a lot of grading to do. My hope is that I will be able to go down to the river tomorrow and get some sun while grading tests for every single one of my classes. Should be fun.
Anyway, the bell just rang so I am off.
Well it’s Friday and I am sitting at school waiting for the school day to end. We are done at 1:40 today because we have parent teacher conferences starting at 3. However, the conferences are to discuss the grades from the last marking period, which I was not here for, therefore I will be doing some meet and greet with the parents.
It’s been a long week. Wednesday was a super long day. We had school and then had to go into town to get ready for the arrival of Pastor Evelio, the head pastor of the church that my school is centered around. He came from Tegus (the capital) to talk to the parents of our kids about building a strong family and home. We had to be at the church at 4, so right after school. We then did meet and greet with the parents from 4:30 to 5:15, and then Pastor Evelio spoke until 7. We then grabbed some dinner and headed back home. We stopped by a street vendor in Gracias and got some pretty good tacos. Five of us ate for 100 lemps, or about 5 dollars. That is a dollar value meal right there. We ended up not getting home until almost 9. We were all exhausted to say the least, and add that to todays long day with conferences from 3-6—we (the teachers) are all glad it is Friday.
So one of the things that I told myself I was going to do when I came to Honduras was to try and workout, or mostly run, to get back into shape. Now, you have heard me mention the National Park I live next to, Celaque, and how tough of a run it is up this mountain, and pretty steep at parts. Well, there is a visitor center that is located 1.8 km, or about 1.12 miles, up the mountain from where I live. Up to this week I had been running up Celaque for about 2.5 weeks and had yet to make it to the visitor center. This week that changed. On Tuesday I ran with Mr. Bran and another one of our neighbors. We did not only make it to the visitor center, but I did it in about 13 minutes. We then made it down in about 7 minutes, so it was about a 20 minute run up and down, totaling about 2.2 miles. Which I think is pretty darn good if you look at the terrain we have to run up. Well, yesterday we did it again and this time I made it up in 12 minutes and 20 seconds. When we got to the top we stopped for a few minutes to catch our breath and then headed down. I was feeling super good on the way down and was keeping a pretty good pace. I was hoping to make it down in 6 minutes. Well, about half way down the inevitable happened—I stepped on a rock, rolled my ankle, and heard it pop. Ouch. I walked it off for about 100 feet and then jogged the rest of the way, but it hurt. I iced it when I got back down to the house but by the time I went to bed last night it was the size of an apple. It was better this morning but still pretty painful and swollen. Rather frustrating because I don’t know how long I’ll have to be off it (in regards to running) and I hope it’s not too long. My goal is to make that run up to the visitor center in 10 minutes before I leave Honduras.
Along with running while I am down here I wanted to get into some sort of upper body workout routine as well. Enoch, one of the family members that lives in my house, has made a bunch of weights out of cement and metal bars. I really don’t know how much each of them weighs but they provide a pretty good workout. Add the fact that Mr. Bran is a physical education teacher and knows many different lifts, I am hoping to leave in both running shape and muscle shape. Wish me luck.
This weekend is looking pretty busy for me, in relation to schoolwork at least. I have a lot of grading to do. My hope is that I will be able to go down to the river tomorrow and get some sun while grading tests for every single one of my classes. Should be fun.
Anyway, the bell just rang so I am off.
Monday, February 8, 2010
February 8, 2010
Wow, I am not very good at this whole blog thing. I think now that I am starting to get into the school routine down here, i.e staying busy, I am finding less time to sit down and update. I will continue to try and post 3 or 4 times a week, but I am not going to make any promises.
So it was a pretty low-key rest of the week and weekend.
I feel like I had a breakthrough with my 8th grade class on Friday. I was finally able to get them a little more involved and even got them to crack a couple of smiles while I was teaching. It was a nice change from the usual stone cold “this is boring/I have no idea what you are talking about” look I have gotten from them the last two weeks. That was exciting.
My ESL class is starting to drive me a little crazy. They are so excited to learn English, which is great, but their overzealousness is very disruptive and I need to figure out a way to funnel that energy and enthusiasm into a productive outlet. I have been trying to get them up and moving around using vocabulary and having them write on the board, but that really hasn’t been enough—they are still crazy. Mrs. Lopez, the other teacher (she teaches the ESL, spelling and reading portion of the class, I teach phonics and vocabulary), has decided to use the name on the board system, which to be consistent I will use as well. So, we’ll see how that goes.
My 7th grade and 9th grade classes have been going really well. I have been having a lot of fun with my 7th graders. They are a pretty talkative group but I think I have scared them enough to have them on their toes. How? Well a combination of catching them cheating on a test (for another class) and having a stern conversation with them, as well as the strategic calling out of students or the class. Ninth grade is such a small class (9) and they are pretty respectful that I can just go into class and teach and get through what I need to get through.
So there may be a few bumps here and there with the classes, but overall it is going really well and I haven’t had too many problems.
This weekend was pretty chill.
Friday night consisted of about 2 hours of Euchre play in which my partner (Rachel) and I won three straight games and did not give up more then 5 points in all three. It was pretty fantastic. Saturday we were planning on walking down to town but it was cooler and rainy all day so we all did our own thing. Between Friday night and Saturday I watched all three of the Lord of the Ring movies. It was epic to say the least. Since we didn’t get to town on Saturday a group of us walked down on Sunday. The main motive: buy food for the Super Bowl. That’s right, we went to town, bought salsa and chips and three pizzas, and had ourselves our own Super Bowl party down here in Honduras. The game was on two channels, both which were in Spanish, but we were able to watch it (but no commercials). Go Saints!
Overall it was a nice and relaxing weekend. Which was nice after last weekend’s trip to Santa Rosa. Anyway, that’s all for now, I’ll hopefully post something mid-week, hopefully Wednesday. Until then, take care!
Wow, I am not very good at this whole blog thing. I think now that I am starting to get into the school routine down here, i.e staying busy, I am finding less time to sit down and update. I will continue to try and post 3 or 4 times a week, but I am not going to make any promises.
So it was a pretty low-key rest of the week and weekend.
I feel like I had a breakthrough with my 8th grade class on Friday. I was finally able to get them a little more involved and even got them to crack a couple of smiles while I was teaching. It was a nice change from the usual stone cold “this is boring/I have no idea what you are talking about” look I have gotten from them the last two weeks. That was exciting.
My ESL class is starting to drive me a little crazy. They are so excited to learn English, which is great, but their overzealousness is very disruptive and I need to figure out a way to funnel that energy and enthusiasm into a productive outlet. I have been trying to get them up and moving around using vocabulary and having them write on the board, but that really hasn’t been enough—they are still crazy. Mrs. Lopez, the other teacher (she teaches the ESL, spelling and reading portion of the class, I teach phonics and vocabulary), has decided to use the name on the board system, which to be consistent I will use as well. So, we’ll see how that goes.
My 7th grade and 9th grade classes have been going really well. I have been having a lot of fun with my 7th graders. They are a pretty talkative group but I think I have scared them enough to have them on their toes. How? Well a combination of catching them cheating on a test (for another class) and having a stern conversation with them, as well as the strategic calling out of students or the class. Ninth grade is such a small class (9) and they are pretty respectful that I can just go into class and teach and get through what I need to get through.
So there may be a few bumps here and there with the classes, but overall it is going really well and I haven’t had too many problems.
This weekend was pretty chill.
Friday night consisted of about 2 hours of Euchre play in which my partner (Rachel) and I won three straight games and did not give up more then 5 points in all three. It was pretty fantastic. Saturday we were planning on walking down to town but it was cooler and rainy all day so we all did our own thing. Between Friday night and Saturday I watched all three of the Lord of the Ring movies. It was epic to say the least. Since we didn’t get to town on Saturday a group of us walked down on Sunday. The main motive: buy food for the Super Bowl. That’s right, we went to town, bought salsa and chips and three pizzas, and had ourselves our own Super Bowl party down here in Honduras. The game was on two channels, both which were in Spanish, but we were able to watch it (but no commercials). Go Saints!
Overall it was a nice and relaxing weekend. Which was nice after last weekend’s trip to Santa Rosa. Anyway, that’s all for now, I’ll hopefully post something mid-week, hopefully Wednesday. Until then, take care!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
February 2, 2010
Ugh, tough Monday. In my 8th grade U.S. history class I just finished the Revolutionary War and I am trying to teach them the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. I knew the students were struggling when one of them raised their hand and asked, “So, is the Articles of Confederation a person or a document?” This is a tough job I have; teaching United States history to Honduran children whose second language is English (and for many of them isn’t that good). But I am doing what I can and trying not to get frustrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love it down here and love the kids, but moments like that make it tough, and I just need to punch through, and be creative and straight forward with how I teach the content so that it will get through to the kids.
The above was written this morning, the following is written this evening.
I am in a tough position with my 8th grade U.S history class. I have 14 chapters of content to get through in the next 14 weeks, and it has taken me two days to teach what the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution are and how they relate to U.S government. So, to reiterate what I wrote this morning, ugh. The question comes down to what is more important, should I present all the content and only skim the surface of all of it? Or, do I take my time and make sure the students get the information (which will then cause me to not get through all of the content)? I am split right now. But I love this, I am actually teaching what I love and have to make decisions about how and what I teach. My current thoughts on this matter is to slow down and make sure the students understand the content we are talking about now. However, I know the school wants me to stick to the curriculum and complete it.
Let me know what you think. I am planning on talking to my principal this week to see what his thoughts are about this topic.
Ugh, tough Monday. In my 8th grade U.S. history class I just finished the Revolutionary War and I am trying to teach them the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. I knew the students were struggling when one of them raised their hand and asked, “So, is the Articles of Confederation a person or a document?” This is a tough job I have; teaching United States history to Honduran children whose second language is English (and for many of them isn’t that good). But I am doing what I can and trying not to get frustrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love it down here and love the kids, but moments like that make it tough, and I just need to punch through, and be creative and straight forward with how I teach the content so that it will get through to the kids.
The above was written this morning, the following is written this evening.
I am in a tough position with my 8th grade U.S history class. I have 14 chapters of content to get through in the next 14 weeks, and it has taken me two days to teach what the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution are and how they relate to U.S government. So, to reiterate what I wrote this morning, ugh. The question comes down to what is more important, should I present all the content and only skim the surface of all of it? Or, do I take my time and make sure the students get the information (which will then cause me to not get through all of the content)? I am split right now. But I love this, I am actually teaching what I love and have to make decisions about how and what I teach. My current thoughts on this matter is to slow down and make sure the students understand the content we are talking about now. However, I know the school wants me to stick to the curriculum and complete it.
Let me know what you think. I am planning on talking to my principal this week to see what his thoughts are about this topic.
Monday, February 1, 2010
February 1, 2010
Again, it’s been a while since I last posted, and I apologize. I’ll try and give as good of update as I can.
My first full week of teaching went really well. Of course that doesn’t mean it was easy, because it was far from that. But it went well and the kids seem anxious to learn both content and English. I am still waiting on some curriculum for my ESL class. I talked to the principals again today and they said phonics books are on their way and that I should teach vocabulary that will help the students in all of their classes next year. This means I will be teaching math, science, and history vocabulary. So, it looks like I will not have structured curriculum in my vocabulary class, but will have some direction with a phonics book. Other than this the rest of the school week was pretty uneventful. It feels great to be in the classroom again teaching.
As mentioned last week I went to the town of Santa Rosa this weekend with Mr. Bran, Laura Beth, Kirsty and Rachel. We took taxis from our mountain homes into Gracias where we grabbed a quick coffee and went to the bank. We then made our way to the bus stop and found a bus that was leaving immediately for Santa Rosa. Now, the girls were telling me that these bus rides can be quite interesting. You have several different possibilities for the bus, ranging from a 30-year-old school bus to a newer greyhound type bus. Either way, you can be surrounded by some interesting characters and be packed in like sardines. Well, the bus that we caught was fortunately of the newer greyhound variety but when we got on there were no available seats so we had to stand in the back the entire one-hour trip. Now, imagine standing on a bus that is packed full of people going up and down mountains and zigzagging through the mountains for one hour. Seem difficult? Think you might get sick? Well at one point I did begin to feel a little nauseated and so did one of the other teachers. Fortunately no breakfast was lost and after an hour ride through the mountains we made it to Santa Rosa.
When we arrived in Santa Rosa the first thing the girls wanted to do was to go to this coffee shop called “Café Americano.” This is about the closest to Starbucks you’ll get in the area. They had lattes, and mochas, and even some pastries. While we were there we ran into another Gringo who is in the Peace Corps and from New Jersey, or for him, it was simply “Jersey.” We actually saw him the next morning at breakfast as well, he stayed at the same hotel we did. Anyway, after getting some pseudo-Starbucks coffee we hopped in a taxi and made our way towards town. The bus stop was on the main highway outside of town—Santa Rosa itself is on top of a mountain about 5 minutes from where we were at.
The taxi took us right into town. We first started a quest for a hotel. Rachel has a Central American guide book and we were trying to find the hotels listed in the book, but were rather unsuccessful We eventually stumbled across Hotel San Jorge and we got a pretty good deal two rooms for 1400 Lemps (about $74). Each room had three beds and a nice shower (with hot water) and we got a free breakfast. Once we found a hotel we headed into town and walked around the main city park which is located right in the center of town. There was a gorgeous catholic church across the street from the park and we checked that out as well as a cool Gazebo, which was located in the center of the park. Eventually we got hungry and found a hole in the wall place and got some papusas. Papusas are basically two tortillas that are put together with beans, avocado and mantiquila (a butter type substance) put in the middle. They are delicious, especially with a little hot sauce. After lunch we found another whole in the wall place that sold fruit dipped in chocolate. So for dessert I had some strawberries dipped in Chocolate with peanuts. We then went back to the hotel, took a nap, and then went out for dinner. In Rachel’s guidebook there is a listing for a pizza place owned by a Honduran-American. We went their for dinner and the pizza tasted wonderful. We then walked around town for a bit and made our way to an Italian restaurant where we all had an after dinner drink (some incredible sangria) and eventually made our way back to the hotel where we all hung out for the night.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel (I had pancakes, which again, were very good) and we then made our way to the bus stop via taxi, grabbed some coffee and Café Americano and hopped on a smaller bus which was pretty empty. We got back to Gracias early afternoon and after having some difficulty finding a taxi made it home.
It was a fun weekend and it felt good to get out and see more of Honduras. I myself did not take very many pictures but the girls took a few. I will try and get them from the girls and post them.
Again, it’s been a while since I last posted, and I apologize. I’ll try and give as good of update as I can.
My first full week of teaching went really well. Of course that doesn’t mean it was easy, because it was far from that. But it went well and the kids seem anxious to learn both content and English. I am still waiting on some curriculum for my ESL class. I talked to the principals again today and they said phonics books are on their way and that I should teach vocabulary that will help the students in all of their classes next year. This means I will be teaching math, science, and history vocabulary. So, it looks like I will not have structured curriculum in my vocabulary class, but will have some direction with a phonics book. Other than this the rest of the school week was pretty uneventful. It feels great to be in the classroom again teaching.
As mentioned last week I went to the town of Santa Rosa this weekend with Mr. Bran, Laura Beth, Kirsty and Rachel. We took taxis from our mountain homes into Gracias where we grabbed a quick coffee and went to the bank. We then made our way to the bus stop and found a bus that was leaving immediately for Santa Rosa. Now, the girls were telling me that these bus rides can be quite interesting. You have several different possibilities for the bus, ranging from a 30-year-old school bus to a newer greyhound type bus. Either way, you can be surrounded by some interesting characters and be packed in like sardines. Well, the bus that we caught was fortunately of the newer greyhound variety but when we got on there were no available seats so we had to stand in the back the entire one-hour trip. Now, imagine standing on a bus that is packed full of people going up and down mountains and zigzagging through the mountains for one hour. Seem difficult? Think you might get sick? Well at one point I did begin to feel a little nauseated and so did one of the other teachers. Fortunately no breakfast was lost and after an hour ride through the mountains we made it to Santa Rosa.
When we arrived in Santa Rosa the first thing the girls wanted to do was to go to this coffee shop called “Café Americano.” This is about the closest to Starbucks you’ll get in the area. They had lattes, and mochas, and even some pastries. While we were there we ran into another Gringo who is in the Peace Corps and from New Jersey, or for him, it was simply “Jersey.” We actually saw him the next morning at breakfast as well, he stayed at the same hotel we did. Anyway, after getting some pseudo-Starbucks coffee we hopped in a taxi and made our way towards town. The bus stop was on the main highway outside of town—Santa Rosa itself is on top of a mountain about 5 minutes from where we were at.
The taxi took us right into town. We first started a quest for a hotel. Rachel has a Central American guide book and we were trying to find the hotels listed in the book, but were rather unsuccessful We eventually stumbled across Hotel San Jorge and we got a pretty good deal two rooms for 1400 Lemps (about $74). Each room had three beds and a nice shower (with hot water) and we got a free breakfast. Once we found a hotel we headed into town and walked around the main city park which is located right in the center of town. There was a gorgeous catholic church across the street from the park and we checked that out as well as a cool Gazebo, which was located in the center of the park. Eventually we got hungry and found a hole in the wall place and got some papusas. Papusas are basically two tortillas that are put together with beans, avocado and mantiquila (a butter type substance) put in the middle. They are delicious, especially with a little hot sauce. After lunch we found another whole in the wall place that sold fruit dipped in chocolate. So for dessert I had some strawberries dipped in Chocolate with peanuts. We then went back to the hotel, took a nap, and then went out for dinner. In Rachel’s guidebook there is a listing for a pizza place owned by a Honduran-American. We went their for dinner and the pizza tasted wonderful. We then walked around town for a bit and made our way to an Italian restaurant where we all had an after dinner drink (some incredible sangria) and eventually made our way back to the hotel where we all hung out for the night.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel (I had pancakes, which again, were very good) and we then made our way to the bus stop via taxi, grabbed some coffee and Café Americano and hopped on a smaller bus which was pretty empty. We got back to Gracias early afternoon and after having some difficulty finding a taxi made it home.
It was a fun weekend and it felt good to get out and see more of Honduras. I myself did not take very many pictures but the girls took a few. I will try and get them from the girls and post them.
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