Time flies and all that...

I kind of can't believe that another week is coming to a close. I really can't believe that I've been here almost a whole month. But 'tis true. I don't really have an awful lot to say this week, but I promised to try and keep this updated for all of you lovely people back home.

Despite the cold I have been fighting the whole time, this week has been great. First thing Monday morning I had a chat with the 6th grade class about how their behavior last week was unacceptable. I told them we would start fresh. We've started working with a daily point system and it seems to help. There are still rough moments, but we're getting along MUCH better than before.

This has definitely been a great opportunity to practice being flexible. For example, one of the math problems the 6th grade class was working with yesterday asked them to write the remainder as a fraction...they didn't understand what a fraction was and were all sure they had never learned fractions. Today's planned math class got pushed back for a quick lesson on fractions. I think they had merely forgotten learning them before because they caught on really fast. But I'm glad we don't have a standardized test to teach to because it gives me the time to go back and reteach things or spend extra time on lesson is we really need to. I've decided I would much rather take longer to make it through things than attempt to race through a textbook and leave half of the class behind.

I'm still not a huge fan of the early mornings, but I'm getting used to it. And the smiles and hearing "Good morning Miss Jacque" from each of the kiddos as they arrive is certainly one of my favorite parts of every day. And getting out of school at 2 is really nice, especially when I'm usually back in bed by 9! Mostly my free time at home is spent working on school things or reading or watching movies. The other day though, we went to the pool after school. That was a nice, relaxing treat! On a touristy note, last weekend we visited Copán to do some shopping at the school supply store and enjoy a nice lunch out together. We also went to a soccer game on Sunday-my first ever soccer game.

There's talk of visiting a school in a rural area tomorrow. And perhaps a visit to some of the Mayan sites on Sunday. We shall see. No matter what, I'm thankful for the weekend and time to recuperate from being sick. Going to school sick when you're the one teaching is way more taxing than when you're the student.

Until next time, world! Thank you for journeying with me!

My first week teaching.

My alarm went off SO EARLY on Tuesday morning. It's been a long time since I rolled out of bed at 5 am every day. But that's my new wake up time so I can be showered, have my coffee/ breakfast, and be ready for the bus that arrives around 6:40 and the school day that begins promptly at 7.

The first day was fairly uneventful, beginning with a welcome assembly then a day filled with get to know you activities and games. All in all, it was a great day and I enjoyed meeting the kiddos.

Speaking of the kiddos, I teach 3 grades. My home room is 5th grade but I also teach 4th and 6th grade math and language arts. The classes are very small, only 20 kids between the 3 of them. 4th grade is the smallest group with only 3 in their class. They are a fun little class of 2 boys who have lots of energy and a sweet girl who is new to our school this year. The boys have been very good about helping her since she has no prior experience with English and I'm only supposed to speak English with the kids. I do sometimes give her a word or 2 in Spanish because I feel bad knowing she's sitting there so lost. It's been fun getting to know these kids better! One of the boys told me yesterday about how he loves to cook. I asked if he could teach me to make tortillas and he just started rambling off about how to make them like it's the easiest thing in the world, it was so cute.

My 5th grade class is so amazing!! Seriously, those 8 kids are all wonderful. They are so smart and mostly very well behaved. I cannot wait to see how much they grow and learn throughout this year! I can see many of these kiddos doing huge things when they get older. Most of them are in the band and are also talented little musicians. Seriously, they're just great kids.

I'm having a bit more trouble with the 6th graders. They're sweet kids and several of them are really bright. But they are so hard to keep on task. It already feels like a losing battle with them when I have to tell them like 5 times to do something before they all actually listen. On that note, if anyone had any ideas for classroom management with 6th graders, please send them my way! These 8 kids have the potential to do really well in class, they just don't seem to care. They'd rather be doing random art projects or playing with their band stuff or talking to each other. I don't get that because I was always the kid who wanted to be in class.

Some things this week have been incredibly frustrating. There has been a lack of communication, near constant schedule changes, classes moving much slower than I anticipated, reteaching things that the class appeared to understand very well the first time around, a lack of books and materials for planning/ teaching, and just some general confusion. I've tried not to make comparisons to the American public school system, but that's been hard. When we're cutting classes down to practice for a parade, it's tough not to get annoyed and want to point out that we're losing valuable learning time.

But it has also been so great. The moments when we're talking about a new topic and I can tell that the kids are actually understanding it are so so wonderful. Totally worth all of the other frustration. I'm eager to see how things improve as we move through the year and I figure out the best ways to reach each group of kids.

For now, I'm happy to have survived my first week and am ready to enjoy a restful weekend with the other teachers!

Talk to you soon, world!

What am I even doing here?

At some point in my first week here, I was having a bit of trouble adjusting and I remember emailing my best friend and asking her, “What am I even doing here??” She answered me but in true fashion for me, I ignored her and instead sat there and contemplated if I was really cut out for this or not or if I’d made a colossal mistake. A few days later, we were Skyping and she brought up Cecil the lion, to my great annoyance. You see, I’m of the opinion that while it wasn’t right to kill said animal…it’s an animal. There are people dying all over the world every day of things we could totally help prevent, but we don’t seem to care. But a lion is killed and everyone seems to think the world is coming to an end. Wait, what?? Come on guys, you’ve got to be kidding me. 

This somehow lead me to the soap box that I love to get on about how it is vastly unfair that most Americans seem to think that just because they were lucky enough to be born in America, they win. By that I mean that basically anything to do with immigration or helping other countries generally turns into a bunch of rednecks yelling about their country and how they pay taxes and they shouldn’t have to pay for a bunch of people who aren’t from ‘merica because that’s not fair. Hmmm, ok. I’m of the opinion that we’re all just citizens of the world as a whole. We’re all people and deserve the same opportunities no matter where we’re from. Governments and countries are just entities of the people. It’s vastly unfair that just because someone is born in a different place than me, I have more opportunities for an easier life. Granted, I’m not saying I have any answers or that anything will ever change, it’s just how I see things. Karman calmly listened to me and nodded her head as I ranted and then said to me, “That’s why you’re there, all of that.” And I suppose she has a point. Even if I can only do one little thing to help a kid here have a better future, I’ve done what I set out to do. I’ve been especially grateful over this past week to hear those feelings echoed by my coworkers.

Mildred started the school 9 years ago in her house. She just wanted the kids of her community to have better options than running a pulperia or selling drugs. Her goal is to see her students go to university and use what they learn to better their country. This woman amazes me! She loves all of her students so much and has put so much work into making a brighter future for Honduras.

Jacqueline is a mother of 5 grown children and a grandmother of 14. She left her job in England when she felt that it was no longer doing anyone any good because it was becoming too political. Now she’s here in hopes of doing the little bit she can to give these kids the chance they deserve in life. That is so amazing to me!

Shane, Lisa, Katrina, María José, Yubissa, Jenny, Jacenia, Claribel, Sofía, Juliana, Fanny, Bedi, Ulises, Victor, and Skarlet are all amazing human beings who work so hard to make their school a great place for students to learn and grow and prepare to change the future. I am honored to work alongside each and every one of them.

This past week has been full of preparation for the new school year. From building a schedule to decorating classrooms, everyone has been hard at work. Tuesday we will open our doors to students and parents as we have our open house. I’m a bit nervous but very excited at the same time. The stack of math books that I need to make lesson plans for is daunting but it’s a challenge that I know I can handle with a bit of hard work. Just another new adventure I suppose.

Now that I feel like I know what I'm  doing here, I'm ready to really get started!

Thanks for all of your love and support on this journey! Say a prayer for the kiddos and the school and we get ready to roll. 

Talk to ya soon, world!

This side of security.

If you've flown at any point in probably the last 15 or so years or know anyone who has then you're likely aware of the fact that security is where people say goodbye. Once you're through, your loved ones can't sit by you anymore, you're on your own. Sometimes that's not such a big deal. Sometimes you're meeting another loved one at the other end of your flight or you'll be back so soon that leaving doesn't really change anything for you. That's how most of my trips have been.

This time everything was different.
This time I was hesitant to go through security.
This time I left my loved ones on the other side of that gate, not to see them for 10 whole months.
This time I knew someone was supposed to meet me at the end of my journey but I didn't know them.
This time goodbye was so much more real.
This time I walked away from everything I know and love into the something totally new and different.
This time it was terrifying.

I'm not even kidding or being dramatic when I use the word terrifying. I don't cry but I cried so much on Sunday. Every goodbye hug brought a fresh wave of tears. Then when I walked through those security gates, I wanted nothing more than to run back through them and yell for my family not to leave without me. For something that I've always wanted to do, it sure seemed insane to be doing. But I didn't let that stop me, I boarded my first plane. I spent my night in the Chicago airport where I was sick and freezing all night long. Being sick I suppose came from just stressing myself out and it made me question my decision even more. But still, I pressed on into the unknown.

Once I was through customs, I had probably the most terrifying experience of my life as I scanned the crowd of people eagerly awaiting the arriving passengers and didn't see my name anywhere. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a few minutes wondering what I would do if there actually wasn't anyone there to pick me up. What seemed like and eternity before I heard my name was probably only more like 2 minutes, but it was terrifying none the less. After that I was put on a bus with the secretary of the school where I'll be teaching.

It is a 3 hour bus ride from San Pedro Sula to Santa Rita and it was awful. I know I'm just being a spoiled American, but between the janky bus, the heat, the crazy drivers, and the terrible roads, it was all rather unpleasant. Then we got dropped off in Santa Rita and I got try to maneuver my huge suitcase down the street to my new home.

My house is much nicer and larger than I was expecting it to be. I have my own private bathroom and a room that's actually probably bigger than the one I had at my apartment. So that's nice. Everyone that lives here is great and they all made sure to tell me that I'm family here and welcome to anything and everything in their home. I spent Sunday evening settling in and talking with my family on skype. I'm beyond thankful for technology!

Tuesday morning I was picked up by a few of the other teachers and we went together by mototaxi to the school. It's a very nice little school nestled on a hillside just on the outskirts of town. Our morning at school was spent just doing small things to help get ready for the upcoming year. I met some of the students and they were all very nice. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and working with them in the classroom. I spent the majority of Tuesday afternoon and evening just reading on the balcony that overlooks a courtyard at my house. It was glorious and relaxing. Then last night Mildred, the director of the school, invited me to church. I went with her to a small Bible study outside of someone's house. It was nice and I was pretty proud of myself for understanding most of what was said even though they weren't slowing down for the white girl to understand.

Today we again went to the school. First project of the day was scraping and painting some shelves. I really enjoyed that because it felt like I was actually useful. After that we spent the majority of the day moving books into the new library so the old space can be used for another classroom. Though is was hot and this was not super fun work, it gave me something to do that actually felt like I was accomplishing something and helping out. Plus I'm very excited about some of the books the school has in its English library and hope some of my students are advanced enough to read them!

We drove to the town of Copán to drop one of the other teachers off. I'm eager to return there and tour the Mayan ruins. Now I'm just bumming around my house and reading and such. Figured I'd use my free time to keep all of you updated since I promised you that I would. That's all I have for you for now though. Talk to you again soon, world!