I'm home!!!
December recap...It was a busy month. It was also an oddly warm month.
I met the new president Pepe Lobo. Had a conversation with him and took a picture. Just another day in Honduras. Yesterday I sat across the aisle from Elvin Santos and he helped me get my bag out from the overhead compartment. Elvin was the runner up in the presidential race. Just another day...
I went to the ballet "Little Mermaid". Honestly the ballet was a joke, couldn't help but laugh. We got the tickets free from a family and then when the show was done they had their driver take us home. The husband in the family is someone important in the government, so they have a driver and a couple body guards. Rubbing elbows with the rich and famous is something I probably will never get used to.
I went to the feeding center a couple different times. I am going to try to go as much as I can from here on out. These kids just need love! They are soooo precious! Going there as much as I can is something I can get used to.
I checked out an apartment with Stacy and Stephanie as the three of us really desire to be in the city. We truly appreciate the community of the Pinares staff and love the people that work there, however I didn't move to Honduras to seclude myself in Gringoville, as I like to call it. So our students are helping us out in finding a safe affordable place to live. They are SUPER excited for us to live in the city. One class declared we are the coolest teachers ever for wanting to live in the city. Just goes to show that these kids want real teachers. Teachers who will live in community with them and have them over to hang out etc. They truly do see us through different eyes now. Pray that the board will grant us permission to live in the city and that the apartment that we looked at will work out, because it is an amazing apartment.
The students had their Christmas concert. It was so fun to see them all dressed up. I love watching my students perform, I feel like a proud parent! They did a great job in choir, band, and bells. They had a staff choir as well which I was able to sing in, I love singing in choirs!
Soccer season is underway. I am the JV assistant coach and the goalie coach for all the teams. We had a friendly game on Friday and tied 3-3. Soccer is a different story from basketball, no more 104-2 losses!
Our apartment looked festive with our Christmas tree. I loved sitting on the couches doing work to the glow of the Christmas tree.
I had many prayer requests that families will just get along during the Christmas season. Pray for these kids.
And now I am home and in a couple of hours I get to see Colby and I am PUMPED!!! I am so thankful to have such a great home and such a great family!
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! God's many blessings!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Article
Here are 2 articles about the dad who was killed.
BBC CNN
The viewing and the funeral were today. In Honduras, the burial and funeral have to be the day after the death. This is just Honduran law. Adds even more stress for the family that is already in shock. Needless to say, the family needs prayers.
BBC CNN
The viewing and the funeral were today. In Honduras, the burial and funeral have to be the day after the death. This is just Honduran law. Adds even more stress for the family that is already in shock. Needless to say, the family needs prayers.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Tough Day
At our school there are students of many important political figures. One of the senior's dad is/was a general in the military and he was the director of the fight against drugs in Honduras. He was very successful in his fight. This morning he dropped off his daughter at school and at the bottom of the mountain he was killed in a drive by shooting. Guilianna, his only daughter, found out in her 2nd period class. I do not know her, but I know some of her close friends and all the seniors were pretty shaken by it. It is tough to see these kids struggling with such unjust act. They spent most of the afternoon in prayer and song, lifting their hurts to God. Tomorrow is the funeral. Pray for the Gonzales family as they struggle through the pain.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Pepe
Thanksgiving has come and gone. Elections have come and gone. Christmas is coming! We had a half day on Wednesday and we will go back to school tomorrow. It has been a relaxing time off. Wednesday we had quite the meal provided by the school. After lunch I, along with Steph, Stacy, and Kirsten, went to Caroline's house, a teacher who lives in the city. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday we spend hanging out in the city. Our hope was to go lay out by a pool at a nice hotel, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead we wondered around the city finding a great little cafe and then sat poolside in our jeans and t-shirts. We did some grocery shopping and got food to make a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal. Let me tell you folks, we should open a restaurant. We make a great team and we make great food. We prepared green bean casserole, stuffing, corn, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, punch, and then for dessert apple crisp and homemade chai tea. It was amazing. On a side note, we were trying to find the french fried onions...I tried to describe them to a couple employees at the grocery store, dried, crispy onions in a can...They looked at me like I had asked for human fingers in a can. No worries though we created our own.
Friday we went to a city named Valle de Angeles. It was our own version of Black Friday. We went Christmas shopping, but not for clothes and gizmos and gadgets. It was a fun day. That afternoon we went over to our 'mom and dad's' house and made cookies and watched college football. We had to get some football in this Thanksgiving weekend.
Saturday we went shopping, saw the movie 2012...
Yesterday was elections. We needed milk so 2 of my roommates and I decided to walk down to the new grocery store to get some. We forgot that one of the voting sites was in between here and the grocery store. We walked right past it and we were in no danger. There were people from both parties there and it was completely peaceful. There were quite a few people just standing around. It wasn't at all like people thought it might be. It was peaceful. It goes to show that people just want their lives back to normal. They want change and they want to be done with what went on. Whether or not the elections are actually legit and not full of corruption is another story. The man who was elected Pepe Lobo lost to Zelaya in the 2005 elections. Honestly he doesn't give this country much hope. From what I hear, he too has corrupt tendencies. Neither one of the 2 main candidates offered much hope, but we can pray that God will work through Pepe.
I will be home in 19 sleeps. I am really, really excited to go home!!!
Friday we went to a city named Valle de Angeles. It was our own version of Black Friday. We went Christmas shopping, but not for clothes and gizmos and gadgets. It was a fun day. That afternoon we went over to our 'mom and dad's' house and made cookies and watched college football. We had to get some football in this Thanksgiving weekend.
Saturday we went shopping, saw the movie 2012...
Yesterday was elections. We needed milk so 2 of my roommates and I decided to walk down to the new grocery store to get some. We forgot that one of the voting sites was in between here and the grocery store. We walked right past it and we were in no danger. There were people from both parties there and it was completely peaceful. There were quite a few people just standing around. It wasn't at all like people thought it might be. It was peaceful. It goes to show that people just want their lives back to normal. They want change and they want to be done with what went on. Whether or not the elections are actually legit and not full of corruption is another story. The man who was elected Pepe Lobo lost to Zelaya in the 2005 elections. Honestly he doesn't give this country much hope. From what I hear, he too has corrupt tendencies. Neither one of the 2 main candidates offered much hope, but we can pray that God will work through Pepe.
I will be home in 19 sleeps. I am really, really excited to go home!!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
104-2
104-2. That my friends is the score of a basketball game. That my friends was the score of the basketball game of the team that I coach. My team was the 2. It was a humbling experience to say the least. I am coaching 9th and 10th grade girls. In the States by 9th and 10th grade, most girls have at least played at recess or in youth league. Honduras is not the States. I knew going into this that Pinares is not very competitive in basketball but I wasn't expecting 104-2. I must say I was very proud of my girls for at least scoring and keeping a great attitude. My girls have grown a lot. The next game after our 104-2 loss we came back and had the lead after the 1st quarter. The score was 3-1, but we won a quarter! I am trying to learn the tricks of the trade. I have always coached my girls that defense is played with your feet. Not here, defense is played by hugging your opponent, and hugging is not a foul. And you can jump across the line when you are shooting free throws, and you can take a step without it being travelling..Lots of fun rules. It has been a fun learning experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Elections...Pray, pray, pray. There is lots of talk that things are going to get ugly. They are this Sunday. The way elections work is that everyone has to go to where they were born to vote. So the roadways will be busy, that is if people are going to vote. Some of Zelaya's supporters are saying they aren't going to vote. If not enough people vote then the elections don't count, and then...I don't know. People are scared to vote because of bomb threats and fear of getting shot. Things have been so peaceful it is hard to believe that something is going to happen, but really how can something not happen? We were going to go on a little vacation but have decided against it for our own safety. Not going to the beach is very sad, but we value our lives, so we're staying put.
Last night 3 other teachers and I went to Micah Project for Sunday night worship. It was great to hang out with the boys. They show their love by trying to playfully beat us up. One minute they are resting their heads on our shoulders and the next they are trying to beat us up. There is just a lot of raw love. One thing is certain, they are growing into strong young men of Christ.
Well that's all for now folks.
Elections...Pray, pray, pray. There is lots of talk that things are going to get ugly. They are this Sunday. The way elections work is that everyone has to go to where they were born to vote. So the roadways will be busy, that is if people are going to vote. Some of Zelaya's supporters are saying they aren't going to vote. If not enough people vote then the elections don't count, and then...I don't know. People are scared to vote because of bomb threats and fear of getting shot. Things have been so peaceful it is hard to believe that something is going to happen, but really how can something not happen? We were going to go on a little vacation but have decided against it for our own safety. Not going to the beach is very sad, but we value our lives, so we're staying put.
Last night 3 other teachers and I went to Micah Project for Sunday night worship. It was great to hang out with the boys. They show their love by trying to playfully beat us up. One minute they are resting their heads on our shoulders and the next they are trying to beat us up. There is just a lot of raw love. One thing is certain, they are growing into strong young men of Christ.
Well that's all for now folks.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Reflections
Yesterday I heard a great sermon. I have been going to a church in the city center. I am not really sure what denomination it is, but I really enjoy worshipping there. The sermon was about the good Samaritan. Many of us have probably heard a sermon or two about the good Samaritan, but how many of us have taken time to allow this story to challenge us? Who are we in this story; the thief, the religious man/woman, or the Christian? Are we always wanting more for ourselves or doing things for our benefit, are we seeing and knowing but not doing, or are we looking for the needs of others and trying to meet those needs? I think a lot of times I fall into the seeing and knowing but not doing.
In my last post I mentioned that we had a sleep out to raise money and awareness for street kids. One of these projects is called The Micah Project. The Micah Project falls into seeing the need and striving to meet the needs. It was powerful because many of the project boys worshipped with us yesterday. These boys were the Jew who had been left for dead until their good Samaritan came along and bandaged their wounds and gave them a place to stay. Would I have walked right by these kids? How many street people do I walk by every single day? What am I doing to make sure I am loving my neighbor as myself?
At the sleep out a couple weeks ago I experienced a small slice of Heaven. How is sleeping outside on a soccer field Heaven? It is the interactions of the rich and the poor coming together playing soccer, frisbee, basketball...praying together and for each other. We weren't Pinares students, teachers, Micah Project boys, Transition Home girls, band members, rich, poor, we were/are all children of God laughing and playing together. We laid hands on each other and prayed for each other. Each one of us having different needs, and God hearing all of them. It was powerful.
I am left thinking about all of the kids who still need a home like Micah Project provides. UNICEF reports in 2007 there were 170,000 kids orphaned in Honduras. That is just in Honduras. These Micah Project boys left their families to live on the streets, many of them while living on the streets became addicted to sniffing yellow glue. These boys had nothing. These boys were and are loved. They were hungry and were fed, they were thirsty and given something to drink, they were naked and given clothes. Am I loving my neighbor as myself?
"'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' ...'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, "GO and DO likewise."' Luke 10:36-37
In my last post I mentioned that we had a sleep out to raise money and awareness for street kids. One of these projects is called The Micah Project. The Micah Project falls into seeing the need and striving to meet the needs. It was powerful because many of the project boys worshipped with us yesterday. These boys were the Jew who had been left for dead until their good Samaritan came along and bandaged their wounds and gave them a place to stay. Would I have walked right by these kids? How many street people do I walk by every single day? What am I doing to make sure I am loving my neighbor as myself?
At the sleep out a couple weeks ago I experienced a small slice of Heaven. How is sleeping outside on a soccer field Heaven? It is the interactions of the rich and the poor coming together playing soccer, frisbee, basketball...praying together and for each other. We weren't Pinares students, teachers, Micah Project boys, Transition Home girls, band members, rich, poor, we were/are all children of God laughing and playing together. We laid hands on each other and prayed for each other. Each one of us having different needs, and God hearing all of them. It was powerful.
I am left thinking about all of the kids who still need a home like Micah Project provides. UNICEF reports in 2007 there were 170,000 kids orphaned in Honduras. That is just in Honduras. These Micah Project boys left their families to live on the streets, many of them while living on the streets became addicted to sniffing yellow glue. These boys had nothing. These boys were and are loved. They were hungry and were fed, they were thirsty and given something to drink, they were naked and given clothes. Am I loving my neighbor as myself?
"'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' ...'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, "GO and DO likewise."' Luke 10:36-37
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Oh Where Oh Where Did October Go?!
Hard to believe it is November. That means I go home next month! So what in the world has been going on over here...
Well life is busy and about to get busier. No complaints though. We finally finished a quarter of school. It took a couple extra weeks but we got it in. We have been going to school everyday except October 15 for the celebration of Honduras making it to the World Cup. US citizens were pretty popular after the US soccer team scored a last second goal, tying Costa Rica putting Honduras above Costa Rica to make it to the World Cup. It was very nice to have a day off. No more days off hopefully till Thanksgiving!
Our first basketball game is next week. We have a lot to learn before then. It is going well though and the girls are great.
2 weekends ago we had a leadership retreat. There were a few students and Bible Study leaders that participated in the retreat. We prayed for each student by name. Were challenged to serve and be the leaders, and got little sleep!
Last weekend we had a sleep out. The sleep out was a fundraiser, awareness raiser for street kid ministries. The students found sponsors and for every hour they slept out on the soccer field they had someone sponsoring them. We had about 40 students that participated in the events. We had activities planned like making games and sculptures out of garbage, praying for kids that have been taking in by different ministries, playing games with the kids from the ministries, worshipping, sleeping on cardboard boxes on the field...It was a impacting experience for them. I too learned a lot from the experience. At one point during the night 2 boys from the Micah Project were sharing their testimonies of being rescued off the streets. When they were asked what they want to be when they grow up they both responded that they want to help the poor people just like how they were helped. How many of us want to have jobs that will make our lives more comfortable? These boys challenged me.
Last Saturday we went to the feeding center again. We went to a different one than the first time. The kids at this one were so affectionate and loved crawling up on our laps. I hope to be able to go on a regular basis.
Last night butternut squashes were carved. We couldn't find pumpkins but we had fun carving the squashes, making homemade chai tea, eating pumpkin bread and watching Charlie Brown Halloween.
Last week was spiritual emphasis week having chapels every day. Our prayer is that hearts were touched. The week before that was 24-7 prayer. Many of the kids really embraced that. It is good to see kids alive for Christ. Others are not so alive for Christ. There are many kids who do not feel the need for Jesus. There are many kids that have so many earthly belongings why would they need a God to provide for them? It is a battle we are fighting!
Tomorrow soccer starts. Monday and Saturdays I'll be coaching soccer. Tuesday and Fridays-Basketball. Wednesday-meetings. Thursdays-Bible Studies. All good stuff.
This past Thursday was Colby's birthday. He turned one. I got to be there for most of the party via Skype. I am so thankful for Skype. Colby is getting WAY to big WAY too fast. I can't wait to go home and chase after him! And the best news that was shared this month is that come this spring I will have another little nephew or niece to love to pieces. Life is good. God is good!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Busyness Has Begun
This weekend my roommate Steph came up with the idea of making a movie "A Day in the Life of a Gringa". Being a gringa here can be rather entertaining. Everywhere, yes everywhere, we go we are noticed and called at and talked to. 'Where are you from?' 'I love you.' You are beautiful.' Saturday, Steph and I were on a rapidito, a little bus, and before we even left the city a man asked Steph where she was from. Her response was the United States. His response 'California or Carolina?' The conversation went on...Parting words from the man to Steph...'I love you sir. Jesus love you.' We laugh... Same rapidito ride another man gets on and introduces himself as Mel Zelaya. He was very drunk...Anyway, again he asks us lots of questions and tells us about 20 times that we are beautiful and to be careful. He also told us we would be waiting a long time for our princes to come because there are a lot of bad men. You might thing all this attention would be flattering...it isn't...it is entertaining though! One of these days maybe we will make a movie...
Yesterday was the Honduras vs. USA soccer game for qualifiers for World Cup '10. The US is at the top of this region of the world. Honduras isn't too far behind. You all should check it out. Anyway, US smoked Honduras when they played in Chicago, but Honduras hasn't lost at this stadium in 2 years. It was a great game. USA won 3-2. If you didn't watch it, you missed a great game with many near goals by Honduras.
This past week was busy. Basketball on Tuesday and Friday was rather entertaining. These girls did not grow up playing basketball. A few of them couldn't even hit the backboard doing layups. But we will improve and we will have fun! Wednesday was meetings and a planning session for an upcoming Sleep Out. The Sleep Out is a fundraiser where the students and staff members, like me, will be sleeping out on the soccer field. The students get people to support them for every hour they sleep out on the field. The money goes to organizations that work with street kids. It will hopefully be an impacting time. Thursday was Bible Study. We only had 4 11th grade girls but they are great girls. Friday after basketball was Living Out Loud, LOL. LOL is a youth group type thing for a students. The students who go seem to like it!
So that was my week. Not too exciting. There was a lot of laughing with my students. A lot of saying prayers for patience. I am ready for another week!
Keep praying for this country. Our rights have not been given back to us. The meetings with the OAS did not get too far. Neither side is willing to compromise. So we will see what happens. Something will happen before elections which is November 29. Things are peaceful which we are grateful for!
Yesterday was the Honduras vs. USA soccer game for qualifiers for World Cup '10. The US is at the top of this region of the world. Honduras isn't too far behind. You all should check it out. Anyway, US smoked Honduras when they played in Chicago, but Honduras hasn't lost at this stadium in 2 years. It was a great game. USA won 3-2. If you didn't watch it, you missed a great game with many near goals by Honduras.
This past week was busy. Basketball on Tuesday and Friday was rather entertaining. These girls did not grow up playing basketball. A few of them couldn't even hit the backboard doing layups. But we will improve and we will have fun! Wednesday was meetings and a planning session for an upcoming Sleep Out. The Sleep Out is a fundraiser where the students and staff members, like me, will be sleeping out on the soccer field. The students get people to support them for every hour they sleep out on the field. The money goes to organizations that work with street kids. It will hopefully be an impacting time. Thursday was Bible Study. We only had 4 11th grade girls but they are great girls. Friday after basketball was Living Out Loud, LOL. LOL is a youth group type thing for a students. The students who go seem to like it!
So that was my week. Not too exciting. There was a lot of laughing with my students. A lot of saying prayers for patience. I am ready for another week!
Keep praying for this country. Our rights have not been given back to us. The meetings with the OAS did not get too far. Neither side is willing to compromise. So we will see what happens. Something will happen before elections which is November 29. Things are peaceful which we are grateful for!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Kids...
Today I was teaching one of my Pre-Algebra classes and we hear a branch crack and fall to the ground. We look out the window and there is Jose, our awesome maintenance man, in the tree with his machete "trimming" the tree. He whacked that tree apart. One Honduran boy raises his hand and says "Miss, this wouldn't happen in the States. They would just use a chainsaw." This is the same boy who before the test raises his hand and says "Miss, I can't study anymore because if I study more my brain will get all wrinkly, and then it will shrivel and then I won't be smart. I saw it on Discovery Channel." Have I mentioned that these kids are pretty funny?
Progress reports go out on Friday. Every 7th grader gets one. My grades are all updated, so it shouldn't be too much work right? I wish...we are in the stone ages here folks. We get to hand write them, and not only do we get to hand write them we get to use carbon paper so the office can have a copy too. I have all week to do them, it won't be that bad...It really just makes me smile!
Life is getting back to normal here. Supposedly our rights will be given back to us tomorrow. The city is pretty peaceful. Last week we went down into the city and got pedicures. The following day we went to the mall and movie theater. So all in all, life goes on.
Basketball FINALLY gets to start tomorrow! I am pretty excited about that. Rumor has it that the girls here are not good, at all. It will be a fun challenge. Bible Study will also start for real this week. Last Thursday we had an initial meeting during a lunch period. This Thursday we will actually go to the other leader's house after school. I am really excited to connect with all these girls! Pray that we can continue with all these after school activities!
Progress reports go out on Friday. Every 7th grader gets one. My grades are all updated, so it shouldn't be too much work right? I wish...we are in the stone ages here folks. We get to hand write them, and not only do we get to hand write them we get to use carbon paper so the office can have a copy too. I have all week to do them, it won't be that bad...It really just makes me smile!
Life is getting back to normal here. Supposedly our rights will be given back to us tomorrow. The city is pretty peaceful. Last week we went down into the city and got pedicures. The following day we went to the mall and movie theater. So all in all, life goes on.
Basketball FINALLY gets to start tomorrow! I am pretty excited about that. Rumor has it that the girls here are not good, at all. It will be a fun challenge. Bible Study will also start for real this week. Last Thursday we had an initial meeting during a lunch period. This Thursday we will actually go to the other leader's house after school. I am really excited to connect with all these girls! Pray that we can continue with all these after school activities!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Life Goes On
Life does go on. After waiting 3 weeks, my kids finally were able to take their first test. After 3 weeks a student admitted she thought my name was Miss Murder. :) After 3 weeks my students are back wanting hugs and ready to learn. It has been good for all of us to be back in school. Things are settling down in the country. Might be the calm before the storm. There still is no resolution. Zelaya is still in the Brazilian Embassy. We still don't have our freedom of speech etc. It isn't over, but we continue on. We are enjoying not feeling stuck on the school compound, taking walks up the mountain. We still don't venture down into the city as we had before, but we'll take what we can get. Radio and TV stations have been shut down because of the suspending of our rights. People are being arrested. Other countries are hurting too...In Guinea they are experiencing something almost identical to Honduras. The former president of Peru was sentenced to jail for 6 years for his corrupt behavior. There is the frightening earthquake and tsunami by Sumatra. There are all the deaths in the Philippines with the flooding...There is a little girl born at 28 weeks fighting for her life in Thailand. We live in a broken hurting world, but we have a God who is so much bigger than all of this. We have a God who is looking out for us. That is where we put our trust. I have been asked if I or my colleagues are second guessing being here. I for one am not, and I have not heard from others that they are. We all trust that God has put us here at this time and He will watch out for us. We know that God is bigger than the situation at hand. Thank you for praying with me and for me. We certainly do feel the prayers! Continue to pray!
Monday, September 28, 2009
My Freedom of Speech
Interview with Fox News:
MICHELETTI: You cannot change the constitution ever.
VAN SUSTEREN: Ever?
MICHELETTI: Ever.
VAN SUSTEREN: There is no way to amend it?
MICHELETTI: Since 1980, (inaudible) is who made the constitution. And they thought that someday there was going to be big man who would try to change the rule in our country, is why they support two, three, four articles in the constitution that it's not allowed to be president again.
Email we got from the US Embassy today:
The Embassy advises citizens residing in and visiting Honduras that the
de facto regime issued a decree suspending certain rights under the
Honduran constitution on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This decree
affects all people in Honduras, including non-Hondurans. Specifically,
the following articles of the Honduran Constitution have been suspended
for the next 45 days (until November 11, 2009):
Article 69: The right to personal freedom
Article 72: Freedom of Speech
Article 78: Freedom of Association
Article 81: Freedom of Movement
Article 84: The right to due process _
For the next 45 days, the defacto regime has stated that the local and
national police, at times to be assisted by the military, will arrest
individuals for the following reasons:
* Disobeying announced curfew, or appearing to engage in
suspicious activities
* Gathering in public without prior approval from police and
military forces
* Carrying out media announcements violating the law or government
resolutions , or offending human dignity or any public official
The de facto regime has also stated the following:
* Individuals that are arrested for violating the above listed
restrictions will be detained
* All public installations which are occupied by demonstrators or
which are occupied by persons carrying out activities prohibited by law
will be cleared
MICHELETTI: You cannot change the constitution ever.
VAN SUSTEREN: Ever?
MICHELETTI: Ever.
VAN SUSTEREN: There is no way to amend it?
MICHELETTI: Since 1980, (inaudible) is who made the constitution. And they thought that someday there was going to be big man who would try to change the rule in our country, is why they support two, three, four articles in the constitution that it's not allowed to be president again.
Email we got from the US Embassy today:
The Embassy advises citizens residing in and visiting Honduras that the
de facto regime issued a decree suspending certain rights under the
Honduran constitution on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This decree
affects all people in Honduras, including non-Hondurans. Specifically,
the following articles of the Honduran Constitution have been suspended
for the next 45 days (until November 11, 2009):
Article 69: The right to personal freedom
Article 72: Freedom of Speech
Article 78: Freedom of Association
Article 81: Freedom of Movement
Article 84: The right to due process _
For the next 45 days, the defacto regime has stated that the local and
national police, at times to be assisted by the military, will arrest
individuals for the following reasons:
* Disobeying announced curfew, or appearing to engage in
suspicious activities
* Gathering in public without prior approval from police and
military forces
* Carrying out media announcements violating the law or government
resolutions , or offending human dignity or any public official
The de facto regime has also stated the following:
* Individuals that are arrested for violating the above listed
restrictions will be detained
* All public installations which are occupied by demonstrators or
which are occupied by persons carrying out activities prohibited by law
will be cleared
Congress has asked Micheletti to annul this to which he responded he would talk to the congress at an opportune moment in the next few days. So the last president was impeached because of trying to rewrite the constitution, and now the next president is taking away basic human rights. What is this country coming to? Taking away the rights of people is not going to fix the problem at hand. The government wants to feel that they are in control therefore they tie everyone’s hands behind their backs and take away their voice.
We had school today. We dismissed at 2 instead of 2:40, otherwise it was a ‘normal’ day. Out of my 140 students only 2 were absent. I was very shocked so many students came. They had stories from the past week. Being in the wrong spot at the wrong time and fearing for their lives. One student’s grandfather lives right across from the Brazilian Embassy. He told stories of the protesters demanding water or they would urinate on the house; taking things from the yard to throw at people, demanding to come into the house to escape from the gasses. The grandpa at times stood in front of the door with his gun telling people to back off. Some students admitted that taking the bus home was scary. The military was yelling at them for being out past curfew. But everyone made it home safe. We did our best to create a normal school environment; a respite. The rest of the week we are dismissing at 12:30 so that our buses will have adequate time to get the students home if by chance the curfew would be moved up. The majority of the students are Micheletti supporters but there are Zelaya supporters. They are mostly respectful of each other; though they can talk about politics like many of us can talk about sports. It is fascinating.
Keep praying for this country. There are random acts of violence and innocent lives being taken. The government will not allow OAS members to come into the country, Micheletti keeps delaying the meeting. The presidential candidates met with the US ambassador today. Pray that God will use various leaders of the OAS and leaders of nations to walk alongside the government and find a peaceful solution. Pray that both Micheletti and Zelaya will stop being stubborn and agree to work out a solution. Pray for our students, bus drivers, and nannies as they travel the streets each day. Pray for the parents as their kids are away from them. Pray for this country!
We had school today. We dismissed at 2 instead of 2:40, otherwise it was a ‘normal’ day. Out of my 140 students only 2 were absent. I was very shocked so many students came. They had stories from the past week. Being in the wrong spot at the wrong time and fearing for their lives. One student’s grandfather lives right across from the Brazilian Embassy. He told stories of the protesters demanding water or they would urinate on the house; taking things from the yard to throw at people, demanding to come into the house to escape from the gasses. The grandpa at times stood in front of the door with his gun telling people to back off. Some students admitted that taking the bus home was scary. The military was yelling at them for being out past curfew. But everyone made it home safe. We did our best to create a normal school environment; a respite. The rest of the week we are dismissing at 12:30 so that our buses will have adequate time to get the students home if by chance the curfew would be moved up. The majority of the students are Micheletti supporters but there are Zelaya supporters. They are mostly respectful of each other; though they can talk about politics like many of us can talk about sports. It is fascinating.
Keep praying for this country. There are random acts of violence and innocent lives being taken. The government will not allow OAS members to come into the country, Micheletti keeps delaying the meeting. The presidential candidates met with the US ambassador today. Pray that God will use various leaders of the OAS and leaders of nations to walk alongside the government and find a peaceful solution. Pray that both Micheletti and Zelaya will stop being stubborn and agree to work out a solution. Pray for our students, bus drivers, and nannies as they travel the streets each day. Pray for the parents as their kids are away from them. Pray for this country!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Today we were able to go get groceries. We drove right by the US and Brazilian Embassies. Of this series of pictures I took the first 3 and the rest I found on the internet.
This is between the US and Brazilian Embassies.
This is a gas station owned by a Pinares Family. It is between the two embassies which was a hot spot. Abierto means open. It is just boarded up for protection.
This is the road leading to the Brazilian Embassy.
This is between the US and Brazilian Embassies.
This is a gas station owned by a Pinares Family. It is between the two embassies which was a hot spot. Abierto means open. It is just boarded up for protection.
This is the road leading to the Brazilian Embassy.
Friday, September 25, 2009
What is going on according to me...
Last night we had a cultural adjustment meeting with the president of the school board and his wife. They have been living in Honduras for 19 years and have been missionaries their whole life. Mr. Caudill growing up in Cuba. They are very knowledgeable people and after our culture session a few of us asked them to clarify some of the happenings. So using what they told us and from what I hear from the news I will try to summarize what in the world is going on here.
A little background. Zelaya and Hugo Chavez are buddy buddy. Hugo Chavez is the president of Venezuela but more accurately would be described as dictator. This summer Zelaya tried to re-write the Honduran constitution so that he could be elected for another term. The Honduran constitution allows for presidents to only serve one term so there is not threat of dictatorship. Because Mel was acting in a way that was breaking the constitution the government took action. They were trying to prevent exactly what Mel and Hugo wanted, so they had Mel impeached. This is what is known as the coup. Micheletti was the president of the congress which is the person next in line to be president, like the vice president. So that is why he is president.
The problem with the impeachment is that Mel was not tried right away for his illegal actions. Why things were not done differently, I do not know. But as you may or may not know he attempted to fly back into the country and hung out at the Nicaraguan border, stepping foot in once. It was kind of a chess match to see what he would do next. Over the summer Chavez paid people, not even Hondurans necessarily, to protest. He paid them a day's wage and they would walk the streets of Tegucigalpa protesting on behalf of Mel. Again Chavez is very behind this.
So why did Mel come back? Chavez and Mel saw that the country was running just fine without Mel. Yes the world was/is not recognizing Honduras and its government, but the country was peaceful. They realized that the elections would happen in November, Micheletti would hand over the power in January, the world would eventually realize that what happened was legal and start funding Honduras again. This could not happen for Mel. So he came back.
He came back with the aid of Brazil. Brazil is the 2nd richest country in the Western Hemisphere and is on the up. It wasn't by chance that Brazil was chosen to help. He came across the Guatemala border in a car with South American license plates. And he has been in the Brazilian embassy since, creating all sorts of problems. What has to happen is A. Mel turns himself in to be arrested or B. Brazil gives him political asylum meaning that Brazil uses an embassy car and brings him to the airport, puts him on a plane, and flies him to Brazil. He cannot be attacked when that is taking place or while he is at the embassy because attacking an embassy is attacking a country. That is why the troops only surrounding the embassy cutting of the water and electricity. At one point for about 15 minutes they even tried using a really annoying noise to get him out. Now it is the waiting game...
Another question is why is the world supporting Mel? Really why are they? Mel's actions were not legal. He is a very corrupt man. Mr. Caudill worked for many years bringing water to the rural communities of this country. Before Mel was president he too worked for one of the government water organizations. Mr. Caudill met with Mel to present a joint project to bring water to three communities close to where Mel was from. The way that Mr. Caudill presented it was three times cheaper than what Mel had planned. But when Mr. Caudill presented it Mel just simply laughed in his face not giving him the time of day. Why was Mr. Caudill's plan 3 times cheaper? Mr. Caudill wasn't pocketing two thirds of the money whereas Mel was. Mel claims to want to help the poor when really he is stealing from the poor. So again, why is the world supporting such a corrupt man? It has to do with money. Not that Honduras has much money, it is the 3rd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but the world has to be benefit ting somehow.
So that is the story. Other random facts. We read somewhere that every day that Honduras has a daytime curfew it cost the country 50 million dollars. We also read the Micheletti thinks the country can survive for 6 months on the food it has here. We can't. Every time there is a daytime curfew all of Central America suffers because the borders close and no trucks can pass through and you have to pass through Honduras. Micheletti definitely isn't perfect. But in the end, he is following the constitution and will allow the elections to happen.
What is going on here right now? Things are pretty peaceful. There are a few demonstrations but people are at work trying to lead as normal of a life as possible. Earlier yes there were cars and stores that were ruined. Tuesday they lifted the curfew and grocery stores were madhouses. There are pictures on yahoo.com. We don't have school yet today. Why? Our school represents families with money. Our kids run a great risk of being kidnapped. Last year in one week there were 4 kids from other bilingual schools who were kidnapped, one killed. Parents are not jumping at letting their kids out quite yet. Hopefully Monday we'll start up again.
What are my thoughts and reactions and how am I dealing with living in this historical time? All I can do is pray. I hope that you will join me in prayer. As I have said, there is a lot of corrupt tendencies in this area of the world. Pray for a peaceful resolve. This has never been scary for me. The only fear I have is for my students and their families. This has divided families and brought fear to our kids. As they were getting off the buses on Monday, they were questioned and targeted. Pray for them as we begin school again.
A little background. Zelaya and Hugo Chavez are buddy buddy. Hugo Chavez is the president of Venezuela but more accurately would be described as dictator. This summer Zelaya tried to re-write the Honduran constitution so that he could be elected for another term. The Honduran constitution allows for presidents to only serve one term so there is not threat of dictatorship. Because Mel was acting in a way that was breaking the constitution the government took action. They were trying to prevent exactly what Mel and Hugo wanted, so they had Mel impeached. This is what is known as the coup. Micheletti was the president of the congress which is the person next in line to be president, like the vice president. So that is why he is president.
The problem with the impeachment is that Mel was not tried right away for his illegal actions. Why things were not done differently, I do not know. But as you may or may not know he attempted to fly back into the country and hung out at the Nicaraguan border, stepping foot in once. It was kind of a chess match to see what he would do next. Over the summer Chavez paid people, not even Hondurans necessarily, to protest. He paid them a day's wage and they would walk the streets of Tegucigalpa protesting on behalf of Mel. Again Chavez is very behind this.
So why did Mel come back? Chavez and Mel saw that the country was running just fine without Mel. Yes the world was/is not recognizing Honduras and its government, but the country was peaceful. They realized that the elections would happen in November, Micheletti would hand over the power in January, the world would eventually realize that what happened was legal and start funding Honduras again. This could not happen for Mel. So he came back.
He came back with the aid of Brazil. Brazil is the 2nd richest country in the Western Hemisphere and is on the up. It wasn't by chance that Brazil was chosen to help. He came across the Guatemala border in a car with South American license plates. And he has been in the Brazilian embassy since, creating all sorts of problems. What has to happen is A. Mel turns himself in to be arrested or B. Brazil gives him political asylum meaning that Brazil uses an embassy car and brings him to the airport, puts him on a plane, and flies him to Brazil. He cannot be attacked when that is taking place or while he is at the embassy because attacking an embassy is attacking a country. That is why the troops only surrounding the embassy cutting of the water and electricity. At one point for about 15 minutes they even tried using a really annoying noise to get him out. Now it is the waiting game...
Another question is why is the world supporting Mel? Really why are they? Mel's actions were not legal. He is a very corrupt man. Mr. Caudill worked for many years bringing water to the rural communities of this country. Before Mel was president he too worked for one of the government water organizations. Mr. Caudill met with Mel to present a joint project to bring water to three communities close to where Mel was from. The way that Mr. Caudill presented it was three times cheaper than what Mel had planned. But when Mr. Caudill presented it Mel just simply laughed in his face not giving him the time of day. Why was Mr. Caudill's plan 3 times cheaper? Mr. Caudill wasn't pocketing two thirds of the money whereas Mel was. Mel claims to want to help the poor when really he is stealing from the poor. So again, why is the world supporting such a corrupt man? It has to do with money. Not that Honduras has much money, it is the 3rd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but the world has to be benefit ting somehow.
So that is the story. Other random facts. We read somewhere that every day that Honduras has a daytime curfew it cost the country 50 million dollars. We also read the Micheletti thinks the country can survive for 6 months on the food it has here. We can't. Every time there is a daytime curfew all of Central America suffers because the borders close and no trucks can pass through and you have to pass through Honduras. Micheletti definitely isn't perfect. But in the end, he is following the constitution and will allow the elections to happen.
What is going on here right now? Things are pretty peaceful. There are a few demonstrations but people are at work trying to lead as normal of a life as possible. Earlier yes there were cars and stores that were ruined. Tuesday they lifted the curfew and grocery stores were madhouses. There are pictures on yahoo.com. We don't have school yet today. Why? Our school represents families with money. Our kids run a great risk of being kidnapped. Last year in one week there were 4 kids from other bilingual schools who were kidnapped, one killed. Parents are not jumping at letting their kids out quite yet. Hopefully Monday we'll start up again.
What are my thoughts and reactions and how am I dealing with living in this historical time? All I can do is pray. I hope that you will join me in prayer. As I have said, there is a lot of corrupt tendencies in this area of the world. Pray for a peaceful resolve. This has never been scary for me. The only fear I have is for my students and their families. This has divided families and brought fear to our kids. As they were getting off the buses on Monday, they were questioned and targeted. Pray for them as we begin school again.
Monday, September 21, 2009
He's Back...
So in June the president was "kidnapped". If you want to read about it there is a writer from the Wall Street Journal that reported this story in truth from day one. The writer's last name is O'Grady...I just went to the WSJ online and searched Honduras, O'Grady and there are a few articles that show up. I have found them helpful in understanding everything. Anyway...Mel came back to Honduras today for the first time...There are a lot of demonstrations etc. You will probably see stuff in the news but rest assured I am safe. We don't have school tomorrow because the busses cannot travel safely. Pray that the situation can be resolved peacefully!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Central American Adventure Swine Flu Break '09 is over...Well we have the weekend yet, but the travels are done. If you don't want to read a novel then you'll have to skim!
Tuesday morning we (and when I say we it is me and 6 other teachers, who none of them I really knew a whole lot. One of them is my roommate Steph but even then we have known each other for a month...) packed up our backpacks/duffel bags and headed down on the rapidito. Bus #1. We then got taxis to a bus that would bring us to Choluteca, Honduras. Bus #2 On Bus #2 we enjoyed the views of Honduras. The rolling green hills, the cows on the side of the road, a semi that had flipped over, rivers and curvy roads. Upon arriving in Choluteca we got in a microbus to take us to the border. Bus #3. We ate our knees for this short ride. The people were friendly and helped us when the van stopped. When the van stopped I felt like a piece of meat being swarmed by flies. Men wanted to change my money, they wanted to bring me to the border on a bike taxi, they wanted to sell me food and drinks...We were 7 and they were probably 27. We were a bit out numbered and really didn't know what to do. So one of the ladies that had been in the microbus helped us get good rates on the bike taxis and they brought us where we needed to go. We took care of the border crossing and then we got on a bus to Leon, Nicaragua. The people on the bus were very friendly and wanted to know who we were and where we were going...We had to stop at a check point which is very common in Central America. People cannot travel illegally through these countries. We discovered it appeared that we were travelling illegally. For some reason they had not stamped our passports when we came into Nicaragua. After a bit of discussion they let us go and wished us luck getting out of the country. Great way to start the trip! Well we would just cross that bridge when it came. Bus #4 is what we call a chicken bus. What is a chicken bus? It is a school bus that transports people and livestock from point A to B. No there were not chickens on the bus, but it could have happened! It was about 8 when we finally got to Leon and in Central America it gets dark at 6. We had no clue where we were going to stay and as we got off the bus a couple told us to follow them and they would show us a good hotel. And that they did. $6 a person with a bathroom in each room...not bad. We found some gallo pinto (rice and beans) sold by a lady sitting out on the sidewalk. It hit the spot.
Day 2 - The morning was spent walking around, exchanging money, sweating buckets, and eating breakfast. We ate at a nice little restaurant that the food is displayed in a big glass case...fried chicken, fried fish, rice and beans, taquitos, pancakes with cheese...you know typical breakfast items. And they take it right from the case and buen provecho. It was delicious! After breakfast we took a camioneta to a bus that would take us to a beach. What is a camioneta? It is a truck that serves the same purpose as a bus. It is covered in the back and you sit on the benches or stand in the middle. For about $0.10 you can get where you need to go. Again people were interested in what we were doing and where we were going and they recommended a beach called Benitas. They showed us exactly where to catch the bus and so we took bus #4 to Benitas. Along the way we probably backed up and turned around 5 times. It was a very accommodating bus to where people needed to be dropped off. We got dropped off in paradise. Benitas is a beautiful beach with hostels and hotels lining water front. It isn't resorty or touristy, just accommodating. So we paid our $6 per person and stayed at a great hostel that was on the beach. We played in the water, read on the beach, talked to the local kids trying to sell us jewelry and just enjoyed the afternoon. The sunset was gorgeous. The stars were AMAZING. The hostel also was a restaurant and I ordered fish. I was served a whole fish, eyeballs and all. It was some of the best fish I have ever eaten. It was a relaxing peaceful night.
Day #3 Nicaragua is hot. By 6 AM the sun is up and it is already hot. So we had an early start to our day. It was a lazy morning of staring into the ocean, eating breakfast, walking on the rocks, and finally leaving around 10:30. We took a bus back to Leon bus #5. Rode again in a camioneta. And got on a bus to Managua. Bus #6. The Nicaraguan landscape is beautiful. There are volcanoes jutting out of the green fields. The sky is a pure blue and the land is lush and green. Upon arrival in Managua we weren't really sure where to go. People were telling us different things, taxis wanted to bring us places. Finally we got two taxis that would bring us to where we could catch a bus to Rivas, a border town. The bus station was overwhelming, everyone wanted us on their bus, but we found where we needed to go and crammed onto the bus, bus #7. And when I say cram it means 2-3 people in a seat, people standing in the aisle...No personal space on these buses. We arrived in Rivas around 5 so we could actually walk around trying to find a decent hostel. I am not really sure if a decent hostel existed in this town. We checked out 4-5 and finally settled for one. It seemed to be okay until we realized the water didn't really work in 2 of the rooms, there were bedbugs...but we were on an adventure. We ate at a nice restaurant and enjoyed the night lounging at smaller restaurant where we met a man named Fidel. While talking to Fidel we discovered he worked at the border and he said he would escort us across in the morning. Remember how I said they had wished us luck on getting out of the country? Our luck, our angel, was Fidel.
Day 4. After a hot, bedbuggy, loud, restless night we were on the road by 7. Fidel accompanied us on the chicken bus to the border, bus #8. Guided us where we needed to go. Made sure they let us out of the country no problem and into Costa Rica. An answer to prayer! We ate breakfast with him and then said our thanks and good-byes. We had made it to Costa Rica. We took bus #9 to a town along the coast, where very friendly and helpful people helped us find a bus to Quepos which is where the beach Manuel Antonio is. So bus #10 was probably one third gringos due to the fact that Quepos is a very popular tourist destination. We had to stand for about half of the ride. The view from this bus windows were again volcanoes, rain forests, monkeys, crocodiles, and heavy rainfall. We arrived in Quepos by 7 that night and ran through the rain to Hotel Sanchez. We rented a little house and ate some dinner and called it a night.
Day 5. Beach day! We took bus #11 to Manuel Antonio, only a 10 minute bus ride. And we laid on the beach for about 6 hours. We were entertained by men playing soccer on the beach, people learning how to surf, and the vast array of people of different cultures. And we all got a little color, for better or for worse! Not much to be said of this day, but playing in the water, reading, eating peanut butter sandwiches and simply relaxing. Took the bus back, bus #12 and that evening we ate some pizza, sat around and chatted and Stephanie and I made plans for the rest of the trip.
Day 6. As the rest of the group was sick of travelling and didn't want to go any further south, and Stephanie and I wanted to keep going, we parted ways. Steph and I got a morning bus to San Jose, bus #13. We were hoping to get a bus at noon to take us to Panama City, and we did in fact make it to San Jose to get that bus. So we hopped on a Tica Bus, which is equivalent to Grey Hound buses, and began our journey to Panama. Bus #14= AC, reclining seats, bathroom, and movies. Much different than the buses we had been taking, but with 2 white girls travelling the safest way to go. The bus to Panama city took about 15 hours. The border crossing was entertaining as we needed to go to one window after an other getting different papers etc. It was very nice to have the bus company direct us in what we needed to do. I can't really tell you what the country side of Panama looks like because it was dark by the time we got there. We slept as well as one could on the bus and got into Panama City around 3:30 AM.
Day 7. Upon arriving in the bus station we were shocked by how big it was. We felt like we were in Europe. It was modern and it had multiple food courts and stores...Hundreds of buses pass through it daily. Being that it was 3:30 in the morning it was pretty quiet there. We sprawled out on some chairs and fell asleep only to have a security man nudge us awake telling us we couldn't lay down. So we had to sleep sitting up! By about 7 the place started to get busier. We bought our returning bus ticket, to leave at 11 that night and then found a bus that would take us to the Panama Canal. Again we were absolutely packed on this bus, people hanging out the door...Bus #15 brought us to a place where we could walk to the canal. So what does the Panama Canal look like? It looks like a river cutting through green foresty land, and it has barges trudging up and down it. It was pretty spectacular. We viewed the canal from the Miraflores Locks. There are 3 sets of locks on the Canal. We were fortunate enough to see 2 barges pass through the locks. If you don't know what locks are, google it! There was also a visitor's center where we could watch a video on the canal and walk through exhibits telling the history, the wildlife, the operations, and the future of the canal. It was truly fascinating, and a dream come true to be able to see the canal. After spending a few hours at the canal we headed back to the bus station and ate and read and people watched and were more than ready to get back on the bus and out of the station. So by 11 that night we were on the road again, but #16.
Day 8. Again I cannot tell you want Panama looks like because we travelled through it in the night and not only was it dark, I was sleeping! We did the whole border thing again, slept, watched the movies being played...and we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica by mid afternoon. After not showering for a few days and sleeping on buses and freshening up as much as you can in a bus station we were ready for a bed and a shower. Day 8 also happened to be Independence Day in Costa Rica. We saw no celebrations and we saw a lot of closed restaurants and hotels. However, about 100 feet from the bus terminal we stumbled across a hostel. It had a shower, a bed, and a TV. It was glorious.
Day 9. Bus to Managua, Nicaragua, bus #17. Not much to be said...The border was crazy busy so it took a couple hours to cross. The country side was beautiful. A common site along the road is cows being herded. Occasionally the bus would have to come to complete stops as to allow cows to cross the road. Managua is not the safest city so we were thankful that there was a hotel and a cafe in the bus terminal. So we enjoyed those accommodations and slept our last night on the adventure.
Day 10. We had to be up around 3:45 as we had to check in around 4 for our bus at 5. So it was a rather early morning. But we were on the home stretch which we were thankful for. So we boarded the bus to Tegucigalpa, bus #18 the final bus. Again not a whole lot to say. We crossed the border no problem. We got into Tegus around noon, we got a taxi and were home by 1. We were ready to be home. Our clothes were not clean smelling anymore, and as much as I loved seeing the country side, I am fine with not getting on a bus tomorrow! All in all it was a wonderful trip and I am grateful I had the opportunity to go!
Tuesday morning we (and when I say we it is me and 6 other teachers, who none of them I really knew a whole lot. One of them is my roommate Steph but even then we have known each other for a month...) packed up our backpacks/duffel bags and headed down on the rapidito. Bus #1. We then got taxis to a bus that would bring us to Choluteca, Honduras. Bus #2 On Bus #2 we enjoyed the views of Honduras. The rolling green hills, the cows on the side of the road, a semi that had flipped over, rivers and curvy roads. Upon arriving in Choluteca we got in a microbus to take us to the border. Bus #3. We ate our knees for this short ride. The people were friendly and helped us when the van stopped. When the van stopped I felt like a piece of meat being swarmed by flies. Men wanted to change my money, they wanted to bring me to the border on a bike taxi, they wanted to sell me food and drinks...We were 7 and they were probably 27. We were a bit out numbered and really didn't know what to do. So one of the ladies that had been in the microbus helped us get good rates on the bike taxis and they brought us where we needed to go. We took care of the border crossing and then we got on a bus to Leon, Nicaragua. The people on the bus were very friendly and wanted to know who we were and where we were going...We had to stop at a check point which is very common in Central America. People cannot travel illegally through these countries. We discovered it appeared that we were travelling illegally. For some reason they had not stamped our passports when we came into Nicaragua. After a bit of discussion they let us go and wished us luck getting out of the country. Great way to start the trip! Well we would just cross that bridge when it came. Bus #4 is what we call a chicken bus. What is a chicken bus? It is a school bus that transports people and livestock from point A to B. No there were not chickens on the bus, but it could have happened! It was about 8 when we finally got to Leon and in Central America it gets dark at 6. We had no clue where we were going to stay and as we got off the bus a couple told us to follow them and they would show us a good hotel. And that they did. $6 a person with a bathroom in each room...not bad. We found some gallo pinto (rice and beans) sold by a lady sitting out on the sidewalk. It hit the spot.
Day 2 - The morning was spent walking around, exchanging money, sweating buckets, and eating breakfast. We ate at a nice little restaurant that the food is displayed in a big glass case...fried chicken, fried fish, rice and beans, taquitos, pancakes with cheese...you know typical breakfast items. And they take it right from the case and buen provecho. It was delicious! After breakfast we took a camioneta to a bus that would take us to a beach. What is a camioneta? It is a truck that serves the same purpose as a bus. It is covered in the back and you sit on the benches or stand in the middle. For about $0.10 you can get where you need to go. Again people were interested in what we were doing and where we were going and they recommended a beach called Benitas. They showed us exactly where to catch the bus and so we took bus #4 to Benitas. Along the way we probably backed up and turned around 5 times. It was a very accommodating bus to where people needed to be dropped off. We got dropped off in paradise. Benitas is a beautiful beach with hostels and hotels lining water front. It isn't resorty or touristy, just accommodating. So we paid our $6 per person and stayed at a great hostel that was on the beach. We played in the water, read on the beach, talked to the local kids trying to sell us jewelry and just enjoyed the afternoon. The sunset was gorgeous. The stars were AMAZING. The hostel also was a restaurant and I ordered fish. I was served a whole fish, eyeballs and all. It was some of the best fish I have ever eaten. It was a relaxing peaceful night.
Day #3 Nicaragua is hot. By 6 AM the sun is up and it is already hot. So we had an early start to our day. It was a lazy morning of staring into the ocean, eating breakfast, walking on the rocks, and finally leaving around 10:30. We took a bus back to Leon bus #5. Rode again in a camioneta. And got on a bus to Managua. Bus #6. The Nicaraguan landscape is beautiful. There are volcanoes jutting out of the green fields. The sky is a pure blue and the land is lush and green. Upon arrival in Managua we weren't really sure where to go. People were telling us different things, taxis wanted to bring us places. Finally we got two taxis that would bring us to where we could catch a bus to Rivas, a border town. The bus station was overwhelming, everyone wanted us on their bus, but we found where we needed to go and crammed onto the bus, bus #7. And when I say cram it means 2-3 people in a seat, people standing in the aisle...No personal space on these buses. We arrived in Rivas around 5 so we could actually walk around trying to find a decent hostel. I am not really sure if a decent hostel existed in this town. We checked out 4-5 and finally settled for one. It seemed to be okay until we realized the water didn't really work in 2 of the rooms, there were bedbugs...but we were on an adventure. We ate at a nice restaurant and enjoyed the night lounging at smaller restaurant where we met a man named Fidel. While talking to Fidel we discovered he worked at the border and he said he would escort us across in the morning. Remember how I said they had wished us luck on getting out of the country? Our luck, our angel, was Fidel.
Day 4. After a hot, bedbuggy, loud, restless night we were on the road by 7. Fidel accompanied us on the chicken bus to the border, bus #8. Guided us where we needed to go. Made sure they let us out of the country no problem and into Costa Rica. An answer to prayer! We ate breakfast with him and then said our thanks and good-byes. We had made it to Costa Rica. We took bus #9 to a town along the coast, where very friendly and helpful people helped us find a bus to Quepos which is where the beach Manuel Antonio is. So bus #10 was probably one third gringos due to the fact that Quepos is a very popular tourist destination. We had to stand for about half of the ride. The view from this bus windows were again volcanoes, rain forests, monkeys, crocodiles, and heavy rainfall. We arrived in Quepos by 7 that night and ran through the rain to Hotel Sanchez. We rented a little house and ate some dinner and called it a night.
Day 5. Beach day! We took bus #11 to Manuel Antonio, only a 10 minute bus ride. And we laid on the beach for about 6 hours. We were entertained by men playing soccer on the beach, people learning how to surf, and the vast array of people of different cultures. And we all got a little color, for better or for worse! Not much to be said of this day, but playing in the water, reading, eating peanut butter sandwiches and simply relaxing. Took the bus back, bus #12 and that evening we ate some pizza, sat around and chatted and Stephanie and I made plans for the rest of the trip.
Day 6. As the rest of the group was sick of travelling and didn't want to go any further south, and Stephanie and I wanted to keep going, we parted ways. Steph and I got a morning bus to San Jose, bus #13. We were hoping to get a bus at noon to take us to Panama City, and we did in fact make it to San Jose to get that bus. So we hopped on a Tica Bus, which is equivalent to Grey Hound buses, and began our journey to Panama. Bus #14= AC, reclining seats, bathroom, and movies. Much different than the buses we had been taking, but with 2 white girls travelling the safest way to go. The bus to Panama city took about 15 hours. The border crossing was entertaining as we needed to go to one window after an other getting different papers etc. It was very nice to have the bus company direct us in what we needed to do. I can't really tell you what the country side of Panama looks like because it was dark by the time we got there. We slept as well as one could on the bus and got into Panama City around 3:30 AM.
Day 7. Upon arriving in the bus station we were shocked by how big it was. We felt like we were in Europe. It was modern and it had multiple food courts and stores...Hundreds of buses pass through it daily. Being that it was 3:30 in the morning it was pretty quiet there. We sprawled out on some chairs and fell asleep only to have a security man nudge us awake telling us we couldn't lay down. So we had to sleep sitting up! By about 7 the place started to get busier. We bought our returning bus ticket, to leave at 11 that night and then found a bus that would take us to the Panama Canal. Again we were absolutely packed on this bus, people hanging out the door...Bus #15 brought us to a place where we could walk to the canal. So what does the Panama Canal look like? It looks like a river cutting through green foresty land, and it has barges trudging up and down it. It was pretty spectacular. We viewed the canal from the Miraflores Locks. There are 3 sets of locks on the Canal. We were fortunate enough to see 2 barges pass through the locks. If you don't know what locks are, google it! There was also a visitor's center where we could watch a video on the canal and walk through exhibits telling the history, the wildlife, the operations, and the future of the canal. It was truly fascinating, and a dream come true to be able to see the canal. After spending a few hours at the canal we headed back to the bus station and ate and read and people watched and were more than ready to get back on the bus and out of the station. So by 11 that night we were on the road again, but #16.
Day 8. Again I cannot tell you want Panama looks like because we travelled through it in the night and not only was it dark, I was sleeping! We did the whole border thing again, slept, watched the movies being played...and we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica by mid afternoon. After not showering for a few days and sleeping on buses and freshening up as much as you can in a bus station we were ready for a bed and a shower. Day 8 also happened to be Independence Day in Costa Rica. We saw no celebrations and we saw a lot of closed restaurants and hotels. However, about 100 feet from the bus terminal we stumbled across a hostel. It had a shower, a bed, and a TV. It was glorious.
Day 9. Bus to Managua, Nicaragua, bus #17. Not much to be said...The border was crazy busy so it took a couple hours to cross. The country side was beautiful. A common site along the road is cows being herded. Occasionally the bus would have to come to complete stops as to allow cows to cross the road. Managua is not the safest city so we were thankful that there was a hotel and a cafe in the bus terminal. So we enjoyed those accommodations and slept our last night on the adventure.
Day 10. We had to be up around 3:45 as we had to check in around 4 for our bus at 5. So it was a rather early morning. But we were on the home stretch which we were thankful for. So we boarded the bus to Tegucigalpa, bus #18 the final bus. Again not a whole lot to say. We crossed the border no problem. We got into Tegus around noon, we got a taxi and were home by 1. We were ready to be home. Our clothes were not clean smelling anymore, and as much as I loved seeing the country side, I am fine with not getting on a bus tomorrow! All in all it was a wonderful trip and I am grateful I had the opportunity to go!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Well you won't be hearing from me for a couple weeks. Our school has been shut down due to H1N1. There are no confirmed cases at our school. But there are a lot of kids out with just the flu. There are quite a few schools in the area that have shut down. It isn't an overreaction. There are a lot of people that are sick. So...I am going on an Central American Adventure! The only plan we have is to end up at the Panama Canal! I'm leaving the computer behind...so check back in 2 weeks!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Oh one other thing...Today I had 2 boys serving lunch detentions. One of the boys actually had 2 lunch detentions, one with me and one with another teacher. You get in trouble if you don't show up to one but you can't be in two spots at once. He begged me to let him serve tomorrow. His line was 'Miss, what would God do if He were you. He would let me go so I don't get in trouble.' I laughed and told him God is a just God and he had to stay. I'm such a mean teacher. :)
My apologies for not posting for a while. I teach, I come home from school, I socialize with my roommates or other teachers, I stare at my computer, I go to bed. The end.
I'll fill in the holes. I am really enjoying teaching here. The kids are funny. They are VERY social beings and they like to test my limits. I have had to discipline more here than I did in New Mexico. I don't find this a bad thing, I am sure in a month the kids will have me figured out and realize what is excepted of them. Today I had my 8th graders do a group project. Each person in the group had a job and it was highly entertaining to watch them work. I am convinced that other teachers have not trusted them to work in groups. They were so excited to be able to work with other people it was awesome. They however did more socializing than working. I was not discouraged though. By the end of the year they will be able to positively work in a group, that is my goal! My 7th graders still worship me. I hope it stays that way! :)
Last Friday was open house, so I got to meet a lot of parents. It was fun. They all were very supportive and said they were at my service. It was very encouraging. The best was when they would come in introducing themselves in very broken English and I would tell them they could speak Spanish and this wave of relief would wash over their face. This will hopefully enable good relationship with parents so we can work together to help their kids understand math. Speaking of understanding math, my kids can't add 9 and 13. They have to use their fingers...I'll take any suggestions on what to do with these kiddos!
Today my roommate Stephanie and I rode a school bus down into the city. It was the most well behaved school bus I have ever been on. Each bus has a nanny. They are workers of the school that take care of the kids on the bus. They even carry backpacks off the bus for the kids. They make sure the kids get off on the right stop, make sure they are seat belted in, make sure they aren't being naughty. Every school should have nannies!
While downtown today Steph and I felt like we were in a parade. We have walked around el centro a few times but today especially EVERYONE was staring at us. The joys of being American. We just walked around, stopped at a few shops. For about $3 we got a chicken sandwich and a delicious coffee. Can't go wrong. It is nice to get off the mountain!
Next week the basketball season starts. I am coaching JV girls. Practice is only twice a week and supposedly they aren't very good at all! It will be an adventure.
In a week we have a long weekend for Independence Day. We're hoping to go a beach and relax. I'll let you all know how that works out.
We finally have a maid. She is amazing. Coming home to a clean apartment and supper on the stove is amazing. We truly appreciate her! She even lines up all of the shoes in the closet. :)
Things continue to go fantastic with my roommates! And I am truly enjoying being here!
I'll fill in the holes. I am really enjoying teaching here. The kids are funny. They are VERY social beings and they like to test my limits. I have had to discipline more here than I did in New Mexico. I don't find this a bad thing, I am sure in a month the kids will have me figured out and realize what is excepted of them. Today I had my 8th graders do a group project. Each person in the group had a job and it was highly entertaining to watch them work. I am convinced that other teachers have not trusted them to work in groups. They were so excited to be able to work with other people it was awesome. They however did more socializing than working. I was not discouraged though. By the end of the year they will be able to positively work in a group, that is my goal! My 7th graders still worship me. I hope it stays that way! :)
Last Friday was open house, so I got to meet a lot of parents. It was fun. They all were very supportive and said they were at my service. It was very encouraging. The best was when they would come in introducing themselves in very broken English and I would tell them they could speak Spanish and this wave of relief would wash over their face. This will hopefully enable good relationship with parents so we can work together to help their kids understand math. Speaking of understanding math, my kids can't add 9 and 13. They have to use their fingers...I'll take any suggestions on what to do with these kiddos!
Today my roommate Stephanie and I rode a school bus down into the city. It was the most well behaved school bus I have ever been on. Each bus has a nanny. They are workers of the school that take care of the kids on the bus. They even carry backpacks off the bus for the kids. They make sure the kids get off on the right stop, make sure they are seat belted in, make sure they aren't being naughty. Every school should have nannies!
While downtown today Steph and I felt like we were in a parade. We have walked around el centro a few times but today especially EVERYONE was staring at us. The joys of being American. We just walked around, stopped at a few shops. For about $3 we got a chicken sandwich and a delicious coffee. Can't go wrong. It is nice to get off the mountain!
Next week the basketball season starts. I am coaching JV girls. Practice is only twice a week and supposedly they aren't very good at all! It will be an adventure.
In a week we have a long weekend for Independence Day. We're hoping to go a beach and relax. I'll let you all know how that works out.
We finally have a maid. She is amazing. Coming home to a clean apartment and supper on the stove is amazing. We truly appreciate her! She even lines up all of the shoes in the closet. :)
Things continue to go fantastic with my roommates! And I am truly enjoying being here!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
So I've had a great couple days. I actually feel like I experienced Honduras yesterday. Friday was my second half day of teaching. It was a great day. I love teaching. I had my 8th graders and they are hilarious. They had problems adjusting last year with being a chatty class and just behavioral problems. The school worked with them a lot last year so we'll see how this year goes. I am not a teacher who needs the classroom constantly quiet so hopefully we'll get a long just fine. It is night and day difference with my 7th graders. They don't say a word! I am sure that will change. We'll see how Monday goes when I actually have to teach a math lesson.
We still don't have a maid but last Wednesday and Friday we've had subs. Maids will often cook for you if you asked, so we asked and came home from school to arroz con pollo (rice and chicken). It was so nice after being in meetings all afternoon. So after another sweet walk we chowed down, watched The Office and went to bed.
Saturday morning up at 6 AM. No sleeping in here! Every other Saturday a school bus will take us to the market. I love doing stuff like that. The market is every Friday and Saturday when people from the country bring in their fruits and vegetables to sell. So we stocked up on fruits and veggies. I also bought a bed side table and hangers. You can find just about anything there. We ate some food while we were there too, baleadas. I love feeling like I am actually in Honduras instead of being in the complex.
That afternoon we met up with a returning teacher, Caroline. She is involved in working with feeding centers. She also has a car which we are thankful for! So we drove to a gas station and waited for a pastor to pick us up. On the way to the gas station some police that were standing around decided to flag us down because 5 white girls driving around looks a little odd. But it all was fine. The pastor came and we piled into the back up his truck to pretty much drive straight up a decently steep river bed road. It was a fun bumpy ride! :) We got up to the feeding center and there were about 100 kids there. Every day during the week there is a crew that goes to the feeding center to feed sponsored kids and then on Saturdays any kid can go, I think that is how it is at least. Anyway, some of the leaders lead prayer and song and then we lead little lessons. Caroline led a lesson and I added my 2 cents too all impromptu which was a fun challenge. After the lesson the kids lined up with their cups and waited for their rice. We also handed out little bananas and we ran out of everything with at least 20 kids to go. Sad. We had some time to interact with the kids talking to them and loving on them before we headed back down.
When we got back we had to wait for another teacher so that we could follow her. We ended up sitting in a gas station parking lot for about 20 minutes as there was a demonstration supporting Zelaya (the former president). It was peaceful. There were maybe 100 cars with flags taking up the whole road honking and yelling. No violence though. They did however block the road we wanted to take so we ended up having to go another way. But it all worked out.
Today I went to church with one of the Honduran teachers. It is a bit outside of the city. The people were very friendly and it was fun to get out of the city. What was church like. A bit charismatic and the preacher was a yeller. A good 2 hours long, but it was nice! Afterwards we went out for lunch and now it is time for a Sunday afternoon nap!
We still don't have a maid but last Wednesday and Friday we've had subs. Maids will often cook for you if you asked, so we asked and came home from school to arroz con pollo (rice and chicken). It was so nice after being in meetings all afternoon. So after another sweet walk we chowed down, watched The Office and went to bed.
Saturday morning up at 6 AM. No sleeping in here! Every other Saturday a school bus will take us to the market. I love doing stuff like that. The market is every Friday and Saturday when people from the country bring in their fruits and vegetables to sell. So we stocked up on fruits and veggies. I also bought a bed side table and hangers. You can find just about anything there. We ate some food while we were there too, baleadas. I love feeling like I am actually in Honduras instead of being in the complex.
That afternoon we met up with a returning teacher, Caroline. She is involved in working with feeding centers. She also has a car which we are thankful for! So we drove to a gas station and waited for a pastor to pick us up. On the way to the gas station some police that were standing around decided to flag us down because 5 white girls driving around looks a little odd. But it all was fine. The pastor came and we piled into the back up his truck to pretty much drive straight up a decently steep river bed road. It was a fun bumpy ride! :) We got up to the feeding center and there were about 100 kids there. Every day during the week there is a crew that goes to the feeding center to feed sponsored kids and then on Saturdays any kid can go, I think that is how it is at least. Anyway, some of the leaders lead prayer and song and then we lead little lessons. Caroline led a lesson and I added my 2 cents too all impromptu which was a fun challenge. After the lesson the kids lined up with their cups and waited for their rice. We also handed out little bananas and we ran out of everything with at least 20 kids to go. Sad. We had some time to interact with the kids talking to them and loving on them before we headed back down.
When we got back we had to wait for another teacher so that we could follow her. We ended up sitting in a gas station parking lot for about 20 minutes as there was a demonstration supporting Zelaya (the former president). It was peaceful. There were maybe 100 cars with flags taking up the whole road honking and yelling. No violence though. They did however block the road we wanted to take so we ended up having to go another way. But it all worked out.
Today I went to church with one of the Honduran teachers. It is a bit outside of the city. The people were very friendly and it was fun to get out of the city. What was church like. A bit charismatic and the preacher was a yeller. A good 2 hours long, but it was nice! Afterwards we went out for lunch and now it is time for a Sunday afternoon nap!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
So 1st day of teaching in Honduras under my belt...Well I would hardly call it a day of teaching...It was a half day and I taught 2 classes. The first class was helping 7th graders open their lockers and the 2nd class was trying to get them to say 2 words. 7th graders are scared. It is fun and refreshing to be a new teacher and have students scared of you. Maybe it is because I stand head and shoulders taller than them. They are so little! I have my 8th graders tomorrow...that should be interesting. I hear they are a little more challenging. I have my inflatable bat to knock them into place. No really I do...
I wasn't nervous this morning. I guess I am at peace for where I am at. It is a blessing. I am just thankful I am here! I decided to not teach the mindless method. I was told I didn't have to so I am not. I decided that yesterday after talking to my peer coach. She is an amazing teacher and challenged me to do whatever I felt comfortable doing. In my opinion teaching should be a conversation with your students and filling in the blanks is definitely not a conversation. Math to most isn't fun so I want to attempt to make it a little fun. We'll see how it goes!
So what are my kids like? I will be teaching 7-8 white kids out of 140 kids. So they are Honduran kids. They have to wear uniforms. I am glad I don't have to wear the uniform. They are forest green pants with white and green checkered shirts. They can wear whatever shoes they want though. The kids have to speak English in my class. You can definitely tell that English is their 2nd language. Some of their sentence structure is weak and phrasing different things. Like typically I would ask you 'Where are you from?' They on the other hand asked 'Where did you come from?' It will be interesting to teach math in their 2nd language. Math is hard enough in a 1st language! So the kids are just kids. They love to socialize, just not when the scary tall teacher is around!
One of the benefits of living on this mountain is the gorgeous walks you can go on. Granted you can't go by yourself but the different areas that you can walk around are endless, and it is a great work out. We don't live at the top of this mountain so there are lots of hills to climb.
Oh so you all are going to love this. My roommate and I are the chess club advisers! No one else signed up to do it so we said, hey why not! And I am a Math Olympics Advisor and probably a basketball coach. And I am going to lead a 11th grade Bible Study. Maybe I am getting a little too involved but hey, why not?! If I get burnt out I'll back off.
It is 9 o'clock and I'm going to bed. It gets light at 5:30 and dark at 6. And I have to be at school at 6:55!
Some of you should comment on this blog so I know people are actually reading it...It is nice to have a little reinforcement!
I wasn't nervous this morning. I guess I am at peace for where I am at. It is a blessing. I am just thankful I am here! I decided to not teach the mindless method. I was told I didn't have to so I am not. I decided that yesterday after talking to my peer coach. She is an amazing teacher and challenged me to do whatever I felt comfortable doing. In my opinion teaching should be a conversation with your students and filling in the blanks is definitely not a conversation. Math to most isn't fun so I want to attempt to make it a little fun. We'll see how it goes!
So what are my kids like? I will be teaching 7-8 white kids out of 140 kids. So they are Honduran kids. They have to wear uniforms. I am glad I don't have to wear the uniform. They are forest green pants with white and green checkered shirts. They can wear whatever shoes they want though. The kids have to speak English in my class. You can definitely tell that English is their 2nd language. Some of their sentence structure is weak and phrasing different things. Like typically I would ask you 'Where are you from?' They on the other hand asked 'Where did you come from?' It will be interesting to teach math in their 2nd language. Math is hard enough in a 1st language! So the kids are just kids. They love to socialize, just not when the scary tall teacher is around!
One of the benefits of living on this mountain is the gorgeous walks you can go on. Granted you can't go by yourself but the different areas that you can walk around are endless, and it is a great work out. We don't live at the top of this mountain so there are lots of hills to climb.
Oh so you all are going to love this. My roommate and I are the chess club advisers! No one else signed up to do it so we said, hey why not! And I am a Math Olympics Advisor and probably a basketball coach. And I am going to lead a 11th grade Bible Study. Maybe I am getting a little too involved but hey, why not?! If I get burnt out I'll back off.
It is 9 o'clock and I'm going to bed. It gets light at 5:30 and dark at 6. And I have to be at school at 6:55!
Some of you should comment on this blog so I know people are actually reading it...It is nice to have a little reinforcement!
Monday, August 17, 2009
2 great things happened in the past couple of days.
1st great thing...I was able to attend church in El Centro. These days El Centro can be a bit dangerous with protests but Sunday was a peaceful day, only fitting, so we got to go worship there. A couple veteran teachers worship there and they invited us to check it out so we did! It is great to have returning teachers around that can help us find ways to connect and get off the mountain. The service was a bit different than a typical service at this church as a lot of teachers from the international school were there checking it out and so everything was translated as we went. It was still a great service just a lot of gringos. I like worshipping God in Spanish. There is just something about singing in Spanish that just speaks to my heart. You all should try it sometime. After church we took a bit of a walking tour of el centro looking for a place to eat lunch. There was evidence of protests in a few broken windows. But have no fear there was nothing that even resembled a protest when we were there. So that was my first great thing...
2nd great thing...I got to hang out with some students tonight. Some seniors came in to make posters for the hallways and just to hang out. They are pretty cool kids. It was just fun to be able to learn about them a little bit and hang out. It is hard to sit through all these meetings and not be interacting with kids. Now I am motivated again. :)
I keep forgetting that I am going to be teaching 7th and 8th grade. I am used to teaching older kids. It will be an adjustment from me to say the least. Pray that it will go well!
I found out today that my job is designed is rather mind numbing. The way this class has been taught in previous years is that each student receives a notetaking guide. This is a workbook that has fill in the blank notes in it...So my job is to display a transparency and fill in the blanks for them. A monkey could teach this class. I might rock the boat a little bit and at least have a little fun! Not really sure what the school's thinking is as to why the class is set up like this.
2 more days and then I get to actually have kids in the desks!
1st great thing...I was able to attend church in El Centro. These days El Centro can be a bit dangerous with protests but Sunday was a peaceful day, only fitting, so we got to go worship there. A couple veteran teachers worship there and they invited us to check it out so we did! It is great to have returning teachers around that can help us find ways to connect and get off the mountain. The service was a bit different than a typical service at this church as a lot of teachers from the international school were there checking it out and so everything was translated as we went. It was still a great service just a lot of gringos. I like worshipping God in Spanish. There is just something about singing in Spanish that just speaks to my heart. You all should try it sometime. After church we took a bit of a walking tour of el centro looking for a place to eat lunch. There was evidence of protests in a few broken windows. But have no fear there was nothing that even resembled a protest when we were there. So that was my first great thing...
2nd great thing...I got to hang out with some students tonight. Some seniors came in to make posters for the hallways and just to hang out. They are pretty cool kids. It was just fun to be able to learn about them a little bit and hang out. It is hard to sit through all these meetings and not be interacting with kids. Now I am motivated again. :)
I keep forgetting that I am going to be teaching 7th and 8th grade. I am used to teaching older kids. It will be an adjustment from me to say the least. Pray that it will go well!
I found out today that my job is designed is rather mind numbing. The way this class has been taught in previous years is that each student receives a notetaking guide. This is a workbook that has fill in the blank notes in it...So my job is to display a transparency and fill in the blanks for them. A monkey could teach this class. I might rock the boat a little bit and at least have a little fun! Not really sure what the school's thinking is as to why the class is set up like this.
2 more days and then I get to actually have kids in the desks!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
First off correction...I speak English in the classroom and at home... :) oops!
Here are a few culture things...
We ate at a mall food court. I got what looked like sweet and sour chicken...The chicken had bones and not a whole lot of meat...I stuck to the rice.
Today at PriceMart which is our Costco or Sam's Club they had samples; every other sample was an alcoholic beverage. I did not sample, I am not allowed to.
We and when I say we it usually means my roommates and I. :) Anyway we were talking to the music teacher, Mr. Kolmodin for all you Unity Christian West MI people, and he was telling us that he asked his 8th grade girls choir to come sing at a church. Everyone said they would come; 2 out of 16 showed up. When you ask someone to come you don't have to show up whether it be to dinner or to sing at a church.
Random Honduran Laws having to do with schools. You may not take away points from a student you must give them a certain amount of points. So instead of saying I will start you at 2 points a day and if you show up late you lose one and if you get a warning you lose one; instead I must say you get a point for showing up on time with your stuff and you get a point for not getting a warning! Random... Another law is that you may not have food or drink, with the exception of water, in the classroom. Last year there was a situation that student A had tea and student B asked for a drink and student A decided to throw the drink at her spilling it all over her so student B decided to start beating on student A. Who is at fault? The teacher for allowing the drink in the classroom. Lawyers were involved etc...the joys of working at a rich school.
Other random facts...one of the families of the school owns 45 miles of land on the Pacific ocean...45 miles of beach!!!
On the way up the mountain we live on there are mansions and there are shacks. In a few of the shack communities there is no running water. They city's solution? Have an exposed pipe that is continually flowing...So along the side of the road there is this 'spring' that people bring their buckets to in order to have water in their home. They will wash their clothes there...All the while the rich are driving buy to go to their mansions...We live in a mixed up world!
Last random thing...fireworks/fire crackers and lit off at all hours. 4:59 this morning sounded like gun shots...got to love that on a Saturday morning!
I posted pictures on facebook...check it out..
Here are a few culture things...
We ate at a mall food court. I got what looked like sweet and sour chicken...The chicken had bones and not a whole lot of meat...I stuck to the rice.
Today at PriceMart which is our Costco or Sam's Club they had samples; every other sample was an alcoholic beverage. I did not sample, I am not allowed to.
We and when I say we it usually means my roommates and I. :) Anyway we were talking to the music teacher, Mr. Kolmodin for all you Unity Christian West MI people, and he was telling us that he asked his 8th grade girls choir to come sing at a church. Everyone said they would come; 2 out of 16 showed up. When you ask someone to come you don't have to show up whether it be to dinner or to sing at a church.
Random Honduran Laws having to do with schools. You may not take away points from a student you must give them a certain amount of points. So instead of saying I will start you at 2 points a day and if you show up late you lose one and if you get a warning you lose one; instead I must say you get a point for showing up on time with your stuff and you get a point for not getting a warning! Random... Another law is that you may not have food or drink, with the exception of water, in the classroom. Last year there was a situation that student A had tea and student B asked for a drink and student A decided to throw the drink at her spilling it all over her so student B decided to start beating on student A. Who is at fault? The teacher for allowing the drink in the classroom. Lawyers were involved etc...the joys of working at a rich school.
Other random facts...one of the families of the school owns 45 miles of land on the Pacific ocean...45 miles of beach!!!
On the way up the mountain we live on there are mansions and there are shacks. In a few of the shack communities there is no running water. They city's solution? Have an exposed pipe that is continually flowing...So along the side of the road there is this 'spring' that people bring their buckets to in order to have water in their home. They will wash their clothes there...All the while the rich are driving buy to go to their mansions...We live in a mixed up world!
Last random thing...fireworks/fire crackers and lit off at all hours. 4:59 this morning sounded like gun shots...got to love that on a Saturday morning!
I posted pictures on facebook...check it out..
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The story of my life the past few days…meetings, meetings, and more meetings. A few highlights without the boring details. The history of Academia Los Pinares (ALP): The school started off as a missionary kid’s school. There was a population of Mennonite missionaries so they created a school for their kids. After a while other missionaries from different denominations asked if they joined in and so if they added kids they had to add a teacher so it became a multidenominational school however with the Mennonites in charge. After a while locals started to ask if they could join too, so they locals joined…The Mennonites then decided they didn’t want to be in charge of the school so they created a board with the Baptists, Christian Reformed, Brethren, and one other. And now the school will be starting its 45 year. The school started to let pretty much anyone come making a very secular student body and they are in the process of trying to get more Christian families in the school to balance it out. This they are also starting a scholarship program otherwise it is mostly upper class kids.
So that is the brief summary of the school…I won’t bore you more with all rules we learned etc…
My classroom…Its 3 years old…it’s really nice! It has lots of white walls…My largest classes are 24 students.
Adventures…My roommates and I walked further up the mountain and I made them venture with me through a fence to find a lookout of the city. We found one…it was awesome.
There are little pulperias which are corner stores…you can get snacks for cheap and meet people. Did that a couples times.
Met the returning teachers and a couple of them are going to help us get connected to organizations in the community which is a huge blessing. Honestly being here you could totally stay on this hill and never really experience Honduras. You speak Spanish in the classroom, at home...you aren’t forced to learn Spanish or get involved. NO THANK YOU! So we are going to hopefully help out with street ministries handing out shoes and clothes and food etc…
Anyone been reading about the political situation? You guys probably know more than I. We don’t have internet in our apartment so it is very hard to stay connected. And since we are up on the hill we have no clue what is going on in the city. Tuesday there were demonstrations and a Popeye’s restaurant was destroyed and a bus was burned. So it is real and it is happening but I am perfectly safe. There was a demonstration by the mayor’s house that we could hear and see a bit of the march from the balcony of our apartment. Again I am behind a locked gate so we are safe. Could make for an interesting school year if our busses can’t get through the city. We’ll just have to wait and see! Pray!
So that is the brief summary of the school…I won’t bore you more with all rules we learned etc…
My classroom…Its 3 years old…it’s really nice! It has lots of white walls…My largest classes are 24 students.
Adventures…My roommates and I walked further up the mountain and I made them venture with me through a fence to find a lookout of the city. We found one…it was awesome.
There are little pulperias which are corner stores…you can get snacks for cheap and meet people. Did that a couples times.
Met the returning teachers and a couple of them are going to help us get connected to organizations in the community which is a huge blessing. Honestly being here you could totally stay on this hill and never really experience Honduras. You speak Spanish in the classroom, at home...you aren’t forced to learn Spanish or get involved. NO THANK YOU! So we are going to hopefully help out with street ministries handing out shoes and clothes and food etc…
Anyone been reading about the political situation? You guys probably know more than I. We don’t have internet in our apartment so it is very hard to stay connected. And since we are up on the hill we have no clue what is going on in the city. Tuesday there were demonstrations and a Popeye’s restaurant was destroyed and a bus was burned. So it is real and it is happening but I am perfectly safe. There was a demonstration by the mayor’s house that we could hear and see a bit of the march from the balcony of our apartment. Again I am behind a locked gate so we are safe. Could make for an interesting school year if our busses can’t get through the city. We’ll just have to wait and see! Pray!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Honduras 1st impression…It is GREEN!
2nd impression…The roads are NOT user friendly. Reminds me of Santa Fe with the donkey trails.
3rd impression…it rocks my socks.
Things are going marvelously. My flights were as smooth as could be. 2 of my roommates and I found each other in Houston. Immigration was no problem. My bags came and weren’t searched. I was greeted by my principal right outside of customs. The bus driver helped me with my 99 lbs of luggage. It truly was marvelous. The school is located towards the top of a hill. The drive to the school from the airport is up a windy road that overlooks the city as you go up. It is an impressive sight. The city is located in the mountains/green foothills; so it just weaves its way through these hills creating this vast city of Tegucigalpa. Along the drive you will see homes of ambassadors that are mansions and homes that consist of one room. The higher you get on the hill the nicer the houses. It is a drawback to be on the hill because you easily can just live in this North American compound, but my goal is to not let that happen.
The school is a gated campus with a wall and barbwire fencing on the top of the walls. We are definitely safe. There are 4 apartment buildings that each house 8 people; 4 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartments. I am living in a 4 bedroom apartment. It is a very large apartment. You walk into an open area that is the dining area the living area and the kitchen; all open to each other and all spacious. Off each side of this open area are the bedrooms and bathrooms; 2 bedrooms and a bathroom off each side. The bedrooms are HUGE. They provide a dresser, desk and bed and the closets are about 7 feet long and 5 feet wide. It looks naked with my 2 suitcases worth of stuff! I feel spoiled to have such accommodations. And yes we do get hot showers.
Along with having such accommodations is the expectation of having a maid. So 3-4 times a week a maid will come in and clean for us, do our laundry, and cook. We are spoiled/blessed! It will be an interesting experience!
My roommates. Christa, Stephanie and Sarah. The school did a wonderful job of matching us up. I feel blessed. They are all kind, caring spirits with a passion to get out into the community and experience as much as possible. I can’t see any drama happening with us which I am so thankful for! Christa and Sarah are both teaching 2nd grade and Steph is the jr. high art teacher. They are already good friends.
The school. Very spread out. The high school is made up of 3 buildings. Plus the gym and auditorium. Elementary is also made up of 3 buildings plus random other areas. That will be an adjustment from the closeness of Rehoboth and the teachers eating lunch together and whatnot. My classroom is large and has a white boards and lots of white walls and nothing to decorate them! There are 350 students 7-12 and around 500 K-6. 7th and 8th are considered high school here. The school is 44 years old this year I think I remember hearing.
What have we been doing? Nothing…Saturday was fly in get yourself settled day…Sunday was go to church (Spanish speaking non-denominational church. Pretty much your average church but in Spanish) take Sunday afternoon naps, get a tour of the campus, eat dinner, play catch phrase, figure out shopping lists.
What am I thinking? This is going to be fun and an experience. I feel that my roommates will be great support on those tough days and even the good ones. I am thankful that there are people that don’t want to stay in their comfort zones and want to branch out. I am just thankful to be here!
Wrote that on Sunday...today is Monday night...
Today was lots of fun things like learning what foods to buy and how to wash our fruits and veggies so we don't get sick. Then we learned what our maids are to do for us and how much to pay....Then we filled out insurance forms etc...then we went shopping...I don't like shopping...We first went to a plastic store to buy buckets and tubs and laundry baskets etc...Then we went to a mall that has a Wal-Mart type store to buy groceries and other little stuff for the apartment. We accomplished a lot, buying a lot for not a lot of money and now we can eat all by ourselves.
Tomorrow is more meetings and working in the classroom! So next blog I can tell you all about my classroom...that will be so exciting! ;)
2nd impression…The roads are NOT user friendly. Reminds me of Santa Fe with the donkey trails.
3rd impression…it rocks my socks.
Things are going marvelously. My flights were as smooth as could be. 2 of my roommates and I found each other in Houston. Immigration was no problem. My bags came and weren’t searched. I was greeted by my principal right outside of customs. The bus driver helped me with my 99 lbs of luggage. It truly was marvelous. The school is located towards the top of a hill. The drive to the school from the airport is up a windy road that overlooks the city as you go up. It is an impressive sight. The city is located in the mountains/green foothills; so it just weaves its way through these hills creating this vast city of Tegucigalpa. Along the drive you will see homes of ambassadors that are mansions and homes that consist of one room. The higher you get on the hill the nicer the houses. It is a drawback to be on the hill because you easily can just live in this North American compound, but my goal is to not let that happen.
The school is a gated campus with a wall and barbwire fencing on the top of the walls. We are definitely safe. There are 4 apartment buildings that each house 8 people; 4 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartments. I am living in a 4 bedroom apartment. It is a very large apartment. You walk into an open area that is the dining area the living area and the kitchen; all open to each other and all spacious. Off each side of this open area are the bedrooms and bathrooms; 2 bedrooms and a bathroom off each side. The bedrooms are HUGE. They provide a dresser, desk and bed and the closets are about 7 feet long and 5 feet wide. It looks naked with my 2 suitcases worth of stuff! I feel spoiled to have such accommodations. And yes we do get hot showers.
Along with having such accommodations is the expectation of having a maid. So 3-4 times a week a maid will come in and clean for us, do our laundry, and cook. We are spoiled/blessed! It will be an interesting experience!
My roommates. Christa, Stephanie and Sarah. The school did a wonderful job of matching us up. I feel blessed. They are all kind, caring spirits with a passion to get out into the community and experience as much as possible. I can’t see any drama happening with us which I am so thankful for! Christa and Sarah are both teaching 2nd grade and Steph is the jr. high art teacher. They are already good friends.
The school. Very spread out. The high school is made up of 3 buildings. Plus the gym and auditorium. Elementary is also made up of 3 buildings plus random other areas. That will be an adjustment from the closeness of Rehoboth and the teachers eating lunch together and whatnot. My classroom is large and has a white boards and lots of white walls and nothing to decorate them! There are 350 students 7-12 and around 500 K-6. 7th and 8th are considered high school here. The school is 44 years old this year I think I remember hearing.
What have we been doing? Nothing…Saturday was fly in get yourself settled day…Sunday was go to church (Spanish speaking non-denominational church. Pretty much your average church but in Spanish) take Sunday afternoon naps, get a tour of the campus, eat dinner, play catch phrase, figure out shopping lists.
What am I thinking? This is going to be fun and an experience. I feel that my roommates will be great support on those tough days and even the good ones. I am thankful that there are people that don’t want to stay in their comfort zones and want to branch out. I am just thankful to be here!
Wrote that on Sunday...today is Monday night...
Today was lots of fun things like learning what foods to buy and how to wash our fruits and veggies so we don't get sick. Then we learned what our maids are to do for us and how much to pay....Then we filled out insurance forms etc...then we went shopping...I don't like shopping...We first went to a plastic store to buy buckets and tubs and laundry baskets etc...Then we went to a mall that has a Wal-Mart type store to buy groceries and other little stuff for the apartment. We accomplished a lot, buying a lot for not a lot of money and now we can eat all by ourselves.
Tomorrow is more meetings and working in the classroom! So next blog I can tell you all about my classroom...that will be so exciting! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)