Semana Santa

April 7, 2013

West Bay Beach!  What we had to look forward to :)

 Here in Honduras, Easter is a big holiday.  It is so big that is has taken over the whole week and is titled, Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Because of this most places close down for the week and people have the whole week off.  It also coincides with spring break time in the states, but whatever you want to call it us teachers got the whole week off and we were ecstatic about it.

The pool and ocean at Infinity Bay

The family together :)

As usual the period leading up to break was a bit crazy and stressful.  The students and the teachers were all in need of some time off and it was evident in everyone’s behavior.  This was only accentuated only by the fact that shortly before break our copier was taken away to be serviced and our printer broke.  We were once again a school without the basic equipment.  I was making my worksheets and activities by hand and sending them to a store in town to be copied.  Luckily our printer returned to us in about a week and while I still had to send the copies out, I was in a much better situation then before.  Our copier has since arrived back (this past week) but we still have not been able to use it…I’m not sure why though.

Murphy paddleboarding

The craziness finally came to an end when Semana Santa arrived.  Friday night after school we spent time packing and had an amazing chicken alfredo dinner cooked by Kara in honor of Harriet’s birthday.  We left La Union at 3 am in the back of a truck.  It was a long and chilly drive but it was fun to drive through the mountains and just look up and see all the stars.  We arrived at the San Pedro Sula airport at about 6:30 am and checked in and grabbed some breakfast.  We took a small plane to the island of Roatan just off the coast of Honduras.  It was about a 45-minute flight.  When we arrived in Roatan my fellow teachers left for their hotels and I stayed.  I spent 2 hours anxiously awaiting the arrival of my mom, sister Kelly and best friend Murphy.  I hadn’t seen them since Christmas break and I was excited to spend vacation in the Caribbean with them.  All of our flights went well and we got transportation to our resort, Infinity Bay, in West Bay.  The hotel was beautiful.  It was located on the western tip of the island and had a reef just off the coast where we could snorkel.  There was a beautiful infinity pool and the rooms were nice although lacking a few things that were supposed to be in there.  I immediately put on bathing suit and headed for the pool and swim-up bar.  We were all swimming by 1pm.  We spent the afternoon by the pool and then Murphy and I walked along the beach where we saw a large iguana and ran into my fellow teacher Brooke.  Her and her family was headed out to do a little snorkeling so we went out with them.  It was beautiful and the ocean was warm and blue. 

Murphy and I zip lining together

Most of our days were spent by the pool and evenings were spent visiting the local restaurants and eating great food.  The weather was great, very hot although there were a few rainy afternoons.  Kelly, Murphy and I also took a trip out to look for whale sharks.  They are currently in their migration north for the summer and are easy to spot.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see one but we did spend some time snorkeling and visiting the island of Utila.  Despite the disappointment we had a good time on the boat and checking out the reef by Utila.  The whole family also spent time shopping in West End.  Here there are a lot of local shops and restaurants with typical Honduran crafts and food.  We were all able to find some souvenirs and gifts and enjoyed seeing another part of the island.  Kelly, Murphy and I also took a trip out to a zip line and enjoyed a canopy tour.  The guides were great and showed us a great time.  There were even some awesome views of the island and we got to do a few tricks.  We went for a ride on a banana boat with some of the other teachers and spent some time on paddleboards in the water.  One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was just the food.  I was able to finally get some American food.  I enjoyed a great cheeseburger, ribs, shrimp (many times), and sushi.  Our favorite restaurant was called the Argentinean Grill.  We ate there twice and enjoyed every last bit of our food including desert. 

Water taxi ride back from West End

On the last day my family was there we rented a van and drove the length of the island (about 2 hours).  We stopped at shops along the way and got see a different part of the island.  West Bay and even West End are designed more for tourists and are a bit more upscale, but as we traveled the island we were able to see how the locals live and I was able to give them an idea of what mainland Honduras is really like.  It was a great way to spend the last day.  On Saturday I took them to the airport and had to say goodbye.  It was really hard to do this.  I am not sure why but I really wanted to get on the plane with them.  I think I am getting burnt out teaching and having to prepare at least 5 classes each day.  It is beginning to take its toll and I’m ready to spend more time with my loved ones.  I traveled to a different part of the island called French Harbour to a new hotel where I spent my last night.  It was raining like crazy and I was a little depressed so I spent the afternoon at the spa and got a nice massage.  When I came out it had stopped raining and was a bit cloudy but I decided I couldn’t let the pools go to waste.  I spent some time swimming and then watched basketball while I waited for Beth to arrive.  She stayed the last night with me and we enjoyed a great last meal at the pub where we could watch the NCAA tournament and hang out. 

The pool at the last hotel I stayed at.

On Sunday morning we met all the other teachers at the airport and began our journey back to La Union.  We had a smooth flight and trip back in the truck and arrived with plenty of time to make sure everything was ready for the next day back to school.  I had such a great vacation and was happy that my family and friend decided to make the trip.  It was a really good change of pace from the life here in La Union and I loved getting to share some stories and time with the people I love.  

The return back to La Union was bittersweet.  We got thrown right back into the craziness of school because 1 of our teachers was still with her family in Guatemala and another teacher didn’t make it back from Tegucigalpa in time because she got lost.  So it made for a long week with another teacher getting sick and many visitors coming.  We had a mission group from a church in Holland that was doing work with the MicroFinance group and another group from a charter school in Zeeland that is looking at doing an online pilot through our school.  This weekend we spent time relaxing and preparing for the week.  We also made a potpourri of food for dinner on Saturday in honor of Beth who did a lot of extra work this week while people were gone, sick or occupied with other things.  She was amazing and helped us out so much so we wanted to treat her to something nice.  It is encouraging to know that we only have 2 months of school left although I know I will miss the kids and the school the end of the school year is always an exciting time. 

Weekend Update

March 6, 2013

This past weekend Lenny’s sisters were flying in.  To provide Kara some company and for the chance to visit the grocery store, Brooke and I decided to travel to San Pedro with Kara.  Albin drove us in one of his trucks.  When we arrived we went to a giant grocery store that had everything you could imagine.  It was even better than the Wal-Mart in Tegucigalpa.  We were able to get fresh vegetables and fruits, cheese and some snack foods.  The three of us were completely mesmerized and Albin just kind of laughed at us.  It was a reminder of life in the states and how different things are here in La Union.  We spent an hour wandering every aisle so as not to miss anything and when we finally checked out we had a heaping cart full.  The next stop was the airport where we picked up Hannah and Jackie and had some lunch at Wendy’s.  I inhaled ½ a cheeseburger and ½ a chicken sandwich (Kara and I split them because we couldn’t decide which one), fries and an oreo frosty.  It was amazing to have food like that and we were all very happy.  Hannah and Jackie just sat and laughed at us because we were so elated by Wendy’s, something that probably would never happen in the states. 

Typical of Honduras our great day had to have a kink in it.  While we were gone it was raining in La Union which meant that the roads had become very muddy.  On the way home Albin stopped to ask someone what the shortcut road was like into La Union.  This road is shorter and much steeper both up and down.  Of course we soon learned that the guy had lied.  We got stuck in the mud and being a typical Hondruan and typical man, Albin said that he refused to turn around, we had to make it up the mountain and then he could slowly get us down.  So basically we had to get out and push the truck up the mountain.  It was quite a sight, 5 gringas pushing a truck up a muddy mountain.  We fell and slipped in the mud.  By the time we finally made it up I had mud all over my jeans, inside and outside my Toms and it was even in my hair.  Here is a picture of what our shoes looked like when we got home. 

Of course once arriving home, we found the fair in full swing.  There were people everywhere, along with loud music and lots of food.  I retired early on Saturday night but on Sunday we had dinner made by Brooke on top of Albin’s house (the terrace) overlooking all the fair had to offer.  We hungout, rode the ferris wheel which looks like it was rejected by the US 10 years.  It was a little sketch but we survived.  We watched the crowning of the fair queen which happened to be one of our 8^th grade students and then went home to prepare ourselves for the week.  Since our houses are all so close to the park (where the fair is) the past week has been full of noise.  Every night they play loud music until about 9:30 and we were even woken up by fireworks and music at 3:30am on Sunday morning.  Most of the fair has finally left and we are grateful to have our quiet and our streets back. 

Gladness

March 5, 2013

First of all, I am very excited that it is March because it means I am getting so much closer to seeing my family and best friend on Roatan.  It is currently only 2 ½ weeks away!  Since my last post showed some anger and frustration, I wanted to be sure to fill you all in on what keeps me going and brings me joy.  The title of this post comes from an activity that Kara, Heather and I did with the 11^th grade girls.  The girls have been coming over on every other Tuesday night and we hangout with them.  This gives them a chance to use and practice their English and a chance for us to get to know them a little bit more.  They all have very shy personalities and it doesn’t help that the 11^th grade boys are all very outgoing and tend to overpower the girls in class when it comes to attention.  This past week we did and activity called Empty The Jug.  You divid a piece of paper into 4 squares and in the first one you write everything that you feel mad about.  After a few minutes of writing you move on to things making you sad, then glad, and lastly anxious.  They then paired up and shared some of their feelings with a partner.  This was a fun experience and it was great to see them interact and share things with their classmates.  It reminded me though of some of the things here in Honduras that I have really been enjoying and that’s when I realized I better share some of those things.  Tuesday nights with the 11^th grade girls are definitely on the list.

Another thing that has recently started is basketball practice.  I am coaching the girls team with the help of Brooke and I love it.  I have really missed being in the gym and working with athletes.  The girls have a lot to learn and it is similar to watching 3^rd graders play, but I still enjoy the time I get to spend with them.  Most of my time has been spent either at school or with the other American teachers so it is nice to get out of both of those roles and to do something different.  I also get to see all of my students learn something other than science and see them compete with each other and also work together at the same time. 

I have one student who continues to amaze me.  I know I have talked about him before, but it is worth saying again.  He only learned English a year ago and yet he is thriving in all of his classes.  After only a year of foreign language I could not imagine taking classes like World History, Biology and Algebra 2.  He is completely dedicated to his studies and is an all around great person even outside of school.  I sat and talked to him one day about his goals for the future and he told me that his dream would be to study in the states.  While his english is good, it is not good enough for the test that is required to study in the states.  After some thinking and discussion with Kara we concluded that if he could spend some time in the States practicing his english then he weould be able to improve enough to make an attempt at the test.  So we were on a mission.  Kara’s dad is a pastor at a chuch in Holland, Mi and every summer they hire about 12 high school interns who work with neighborhood kids, teach Sunday school, help with vacation bible school and work with one of the mission groups.  Kara talked to him about the possibility of sending our student there for the summer and he thought it would be a great idea.  So, we worked with him to fill out an application and send it off.  The group that chooses the interns meets on March 10 to make their decision so we have been hoping and praying that he gets this opportunity to continue to learn and practice his English.  He is a student that can do great things and I am hoping that this will give him even more potential. 

I also must say that the friendships with teachers and students I have made here have been a great source of joy and happiness.  I have enjoyed getting to know each and every person and I couldn’t be happier that they were put here with me.  Our similar experiences have only brought us closer and the company is great.  I have learned so much from them about the world, myself and others and I know that if any one of them was not here our family would be incomplete. 

Very lastly, the upcoming adventures that we have planned are keeping me thinking positively.  This weekend we will be heading to Gracias to go ziplining.  Lenny’s 2 sisters are on their spring break and are here visiting so we thought we would show them Gracias and give them experience they won’t forget.  We will also be having dinner at the place we found last time we were there that had the most amazing chicken wings.  Then shortly after that trip will be our trip to Roatan where we can soak up the sunshine, snorkel on the reef, swim with whale sharks and eat lots of great food. 

By continuing to remind myself of the positive things that are happening in my life, I can deal with the frustrations of being here.  I constantly remind myself the effect a positive outlook can have and continue to look for things that bring me comfort and joy. 

Frustrations of Teaching in Another Culture

 

The past few weeks have reminded me of the differences in culture and mindsets of Hondurans and Americans.  In the states participating in extracurricular activities is a privelege that students earn by having good time management and leadership.  In other words they have to have good academic standing and record in order to participate in activities.  Here this is not the case.  When outside school activites come up academics seem to take a backseat.  While preparing for fiesta tipica they took students from classes and canceled classes on numerous occasions so they could practice.  While I understand the value in this it seems that other times could be used; for example, after-school or even during PE class.  Now that fiesta tipica is over we are still facing the dilemma because SAG (student annual gathering) is coming in the next 2 months.  At SAG the students compete against the other Abundant Life schools in all sorts of activities including sports, bible trivia, spelling bees, art competitions, singing competitions, crafts and many more.  Our principal has decided that in order to give the students more time to practice for their events they would take out 2 of their classes each day.  So today I arrived to my 11^th grade chemistry class to find out that they didn’t have class because they were practicing.  I couldn’t believe it!  First of all some warning or communicaiton from my administration would have been nice so I didn’t have to find out from the students and second of all they are going to be missing a whole chemistry class each week for the next 2 months.  So much for getting through all the material they want me to.  When I was not happy and went to find someone to ask about it I was told 2 more things.  First off, all of the students participating in sports would have practice before school on Monday and Friday and since they were commiting that time they wouldn’t have to arrive at school until after first period.  I was also informed that the students participating in SAG would be rewarded and have their homework/study load lightened so they had more time to practice.  Basically meaning I have to cut them a break and they would be exempt from some quizzes and tests.  I have never heard of such craziness where academics are so undervalued compared to sports and extracurricular activities.  I am currently trying to creatively come up with a way to handle all of what is happening.  I know that all students will have to take all tests no matter what, for my class atleast, but I am not sure how I am going to handle Tuesday afternoons yet.  My patience and creativity is continually tested here and I am learning a lot about myself and my priorities.  All I can say is I hope all the practice pays off for them at SAG and that they not only have a good time but are succesful in their competitive endeavors. 

Fiesta Tipica

February 26, 2013

2 of my favorite students...they learned English just 1 year ago!

This past Saturday was one of our school’s big fundraisers.  It is a festival that revolves around typical Honduran culture from music and dance to food.  Each grade had a booth that the parents were in charge of running.  The men built the booths and the women were in charge of cooking and selling the food.  I was quite impressed with the booths.  They are called Champas and were built like small huts, made from bamboo, wood and had roofs made from leaves.  The fathers even built small clay/mud woodstoves for the women to cook on.  Since Brooke and I both have small classes our parents worked together to create our booth named La Calabaza (the pumpkin).  Each grade was assigned to cook different types of typical Honduran food and our group had baleadas which flour tortillas with beans and cheese, similar to a quesadilla (they also can have eggs and avocado in them, which is how we generally get them).  We also had oranges and the typical juice called orchata.  The good thing was since Brooke and I had no idea what to do our parents handled almost everything.  The event went great.  Our students had worked tirelessly for the past couple of weeks to prepare a program with classic singing and dancing.  Each grade performed a dance and then a handful of students also sang solos.  The kids did great and they all looked awesome in their Honduran costumes.  The boys wore jeans, plaid or flannel shirts and cowboy hats, while the girls wore the typical dresses that you see in old school Latin American culture.  I spent a lot of time wandering around and talking to students while eating as much food as I could.  It was great to see our students sharing their talents and to spend time with them outside of school.  I am continually impressed with their abilities, work ethic and maturity.  I tried to take lots of pictures so that you could all see what I had the opportunity to experience.  The day was very hot and of course some of us gringas ended up with sunburns because there was no shade.  It was one day that I was very grateful for my usually underwhelming shower, I guess everything has to be thought of in context. 

The 1st graders dancing

Some of the 10th and 11th graders dancing.

One of the 2nd graders

some of the champas

The 2nd graders dancing

The 5th graders preparing to dance

10th and 11th graders dancing.

10th and 11th graders again

Long Weekend Getaway

February 17, 2013
 

Happy Valentines Day!  I know many people had extended weekends recently thanks to midwinter breaks and other holidays.  We were no exception and all of us teachers were very excited to get away from La Union and do some traveling and adventuring.  For one of the first times besides Christmas all of us teachers were not traveling together.  Harriet and Beth ventured towards El Salvador and Guatamela, Kara and Lenny relaxed in Gracias and Cassidy, Brooke and I ventured to Gracias also but we hiked Celaque which is Honduras’ highest point. 

Our sleeping arrangement...all huddled together on the wood floor.

The trail straight up to the top.

We arrived in Gracias by bus and made our way to Hotel Guancascos, where we stayed when we first made it to Honduras and had orientation.  Frony, the owner, had set up a guide for us and transportation out to the national park.  We said our good byes to Kara and Lenny and ventured off.  After the half hour ride, we spent the next 6 hours hiking the most grueling trail I have ever attempted.  The trail to the top is about 5 miles long and covers nearly 10, 000 ft of elevation.  There are 2 camps along the way and we had been informed by previous climbers that the second one is the better option as far as timing and convenience.  When we arrived at the first camp, out of breath and already exhausted our guide, Santos, informed us that the most difficult part was yet to come.  We ate some trail mix and granola bars and decided to continue on.  What we realized was that Santos was not kidding.  Shortly before the second campsite was a section that ventured across a rock face and was nearly a straight vertical.  At this point we were completely exhausted and had no strength left.  I will gladly admit that I may have crawled through parts of this because it was so challenging. 

We finally arrived at our camp though and enjoyed being able to drink water straight from the stream (we didn’t have to have bottled or filtered water).  Santos built us a fire and we relaxed and stretched for the afternoon.  As eveening drew near, another group arrived at the camp which included an older couple from Spain, I was very impressed that they had made it up, a guide and 2 young Honduran men.  They began setting up their tents and as it got darker we all had dinner around the fire.  Then the moment of truth came, they asked if we wanted help setting up our tent and when we replied that we didn’t have one they were all shocked and didn’t know what to say.  The site offers a shelter which we knew about, but shelters here are different than in the states.  Here the shelter was a woodfloor with three wooden siides that had gaps between them and a tin roof.  We were definitely questioning our decision about the tent but when we retired to bed, our sleeping bags under the shelter roof, we just huddled together and it was just fine.  The night was a little cold but we didn’t get wet.  Of course the wooden floor was hard and we didn’t sleep all that much so when morning came we were excited to get a move on.  We climbed for about an hour and a half without our packs to reach the top.  It was a partly cloudy day so there wasn’t much of a view but it was still pretty to be in the clouds and to know we made it to the top.  Santos then guided us back down to the camp and we grabbed our gear and began the hike down.  It took us about 5 hours to get down.  There were numerous parts that seemed to steep going down that I couldn’t believe we made it up.  When we finally made it down our legs were like jello and our feet were very sore.

 

Since it was only Friday we planned on spending the rest of the weekend relaxing and eating good food, so we met up with Kara and Lenny at their hotel in Gracias and got a room.  We were very grateful to have the opportunity to shower which was even extra amazing because it was a real shower (not the kind with the electricity running through them to heat the water).  We all went out for chinese food which was served family style with huge plates.  We greatly enjoyed the food and told stories of our journey, but since we were so exhausted we retired back to the hotel early and went straight to bed. 

The next morning we woke and not surprisingly we could hardly move.  My body was so sore, and still is, that even just flat walking was difficult.  We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then caught a bus to Santa Rosa.  We have been to Santa Rosa before but since it is slightly larger than Gracias it has a few more things to offer.  We had lunch at Weekends, the great pizza place we enjoyed when there before.  We then visited the teacher store and did a little other shopping.  The afternoon was spent relaxing at a coffee shop while it rained outside.  When it slowed down, we made our way to the big grocery store where we found a lot of things that we don’t have here in La Union.  While there we caught up with Harriet and Beth and together we all made our way back to Gracias.  We spent the evening at a restaurant called Café Kalil.  They had delicious wings and bruschetta and even had brownies with ice cream for dessert.  We enjoyed all catching up and spending somet time together again.  Sunday morning we relaxed in bed because the power was out and then once it came back on we had breakfast, watched some TV and then ventured to the grocery store.  We were able to pick up some dairy products, mostly cheese and yogurt, before we headed to the bus station to make our way back to La Union.  The ride went well except that because of the rain our bus struggled to make it up some of the hills.  Of course it was Albin (our landlord and the owner of the buses) to the rescue, he used one of his larger trucks to help pull the bus up the hills.  We finally made it home though and got all unpacked. 

While many people were off relaxing on the beach, I spent the break climbing a mountain, which I severely underestimated.  While it was very challenging and there were many moments of self doubt I am very glad that I did it.  I also got to enjoy a lot of time relaxing and eating great food, which makes coming back to La Union much easier. 

Decisions...

This past week was our deadline to make a decision about staying another year or moving on to new things.  For those of you who know me, I hate making decisions.  Sometimes I just wish that they were made for me and I just had to find a way to deal with whatever choice had been made.  So this was a very difficult decision and I spent a lot of time thinking about it.  My students here are so great and I enjoy the subject matter.  I must say though I also miss a lot of things and people from home.  The comforts here are just nonexistent.  What ended up winning for me was my family and friends back home.  It also didn’t help that the past week or two had been very challenging and that I had felt like I lost some of the passion for the school.  The way the administration had handled a few things and the demands they put on their teachers swayed me toward looking for something new.  In all of my previous jobs I have believed in their mission and enjoyed the people I was working with and under because everyone cared about the company and it success and it was very evident.  For some reason I felt a disconnect with the administraton in Tegucigalpa and our school.  While I am a bit sad about the decision I am excited to see what new adventures life will take me on.  I will surely miss the great people I have met here and become family with along with all my students and the community that has surrounded me.