The past month...

Sorry that I haven't posted anything for.. more than a month! I guess its about time for another post. It has been a GREAT month! Normally I find January and February to be difficult months for me likely because of the cold and short days but here in Honduras I am feeling so much better probably due to the sunlight and heat. That has been a blessing!

A quick recap of the past month.

No vacations.. all work! But this month has been great with my students. I really feel like I have connected with my students and that there has been a mutual respect that has developed. I also feel like I am starting to get the hang of teaching; I have found an effective way to manage my classroom, and lesson planning and grading have become less daunting tasks. I love my job so much and look forward to seeing my students every day!

Here are some pictures of my students doing "Literacy Centers"

I also ran my first birthday party in my class this month. I didn't know this.. but Hondurans like to celebrate full out birthday parties IN CLASS. This includes presents, music, pizza, pop, cake, party hats, goody bags. I was in the middle of independent reading when the parents of the birthday girl came in with all this STUFF. Needless to say that was the end of silent reading. It was fun although I was slightly overwhelmed. I have never run a birthday party for a kid before.. and then I have to run this party with 25 + kids!

Birthday girl- Andrea

I also went to an orphanage outside of the city one Saturday this month. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pictures. But it was a wonderful time- I spent most of my time with little girls about 4-6. I painted all of their nails and played tag for an hour or so. It was rather tiring especially because I was "it" the entire time. It was so much fun though and I hope to be back again soon!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend time with another Honduran teacher at our schoool, Aurora Varela, and her family. We went to a town called Valle up in the mountains. It is a quaint little town that is safe to walk around in. It has shops with authentic Honduran goods. We enjoyed a lunch together and walking around the town.

Aurora and her 2 boys- Josue (the baby) and Daniel

Christmas with my roomates

I meant to post these pictures of my roomates and I around Christmas time. Nichole Unger, is my red-headed roomate from Saskatchewaan, Canada. I am so fortunate to live with another Canadian considering there are only 3 of us total out of all the staff at our school. The blonde curly haired girl is Kaitlyn Kornelly. She is from Arizona. Both Kaitlyn and Nichole are returning teachers and I am so happy to be living with them. They have taught me A LOT about how to survive in Honduras. I made a lot of mistakes my first month or so in Honduras, but with their help I feel like I am a lot more fit for living Honduras now! They are a blast to live with- couldn't ask for better roomates.

Kaitlyn, Nichole, and me

Kaitlyn, me, and Nichole

Back in Honduras

Its hard to believe just a week ago I was wearing my fur coat in Canada and now I am back in Honduras trying to keep cool! Although I definitely prefer the warmer temperatures of Honduras, it was so great to be back with my family and friends in Canada. Sometimes it feels like I live 2 separate lives. When I think about it, its amazing that I'm able to adapt to both "lives" so easily.

In Honduras I am trying to keep cool in the day and keep warm in the night and in Canada I am trying to keep warm during the day and am comfortable at night in my heated home.

In Honduras I see Latin American people and hear Spanish wherever I go; in Canada I keep seeing white people and thinking I should know all of them because they speak the same language as me.

In Honduras I am either running to the nearest "pulperia" (little street store) or boiling water to meet my water needs; in Canada I just turn on the tap and there it is- just like that!

In Honduras I am constantly on the lookout for a taxi to take me to where I need to go; in Canada I step outside and there is a car ready for me right on my driveway.

In Honduras I am praying during most of my taxi trips for safety;  in Canada I can drive in peace, and still feel safe even if my attention is somewhat divided.

In Honduras it's not very safe to walk anywhere without a friend by my side; in Canada  its an added bonus to be walking alongside a friend.

In Honduras I am always early; in Canada I am often late.

In Honduras my friends of 5 months have become my family; in Canada I am surrounded with people who have loved me my entire life.

Anyway.... I could go on and on.. but its crazy to reflect on how different my life is in both countries and how God has given me the capacity to adapt so well in both countries. I feel like my time in Honduras has really changed my perspective on a lot of things. I feel as if I am a lot more flexible and open-minded about things than I ever was in the past. Things are not always so black and white, and I think there is a lot that both the Latin American and North American cultures could learn from one another.

I am so thankful to God for all my new experiences here in Honduras and also for all the dear people back at home in Canada who love me and support me. I feel so blessed!

A Stressful week...

To be honest, I had a really stressful week. It seemed like the longest week of work ever- probably because it was the first 5 day week since... well since awhile. Also, we had a Spiritual Emphasis week meaning we had a 45 minute assembly every morning. As great as it was, my students didn't respond well to the change of schedule which meant it was a challenging week for me!

So in the midst of a difficult week I've decided to think of the good things that happened that helped me make it through!

1. A word wall word this week was "was". I have the students write them in sentences each week. This is Gerardo's sentence: "The Miss from Kinder was very pretty."
2. Hearing some of the street boys from Micah project share part of their stories at a Spiritual Emphasis assembly and seeing how our students responded
3. Getting my first apple as a gift from my student Orquidea.
4. Getting random love notes left on my desk from students
5. 3 girls offering to stay in for recess to organize all of our classroom books!
6. Italian food for Jen Alderette's birthday and a ride home in a bolsitto for all of us gringos
7. A formal American thanksgiving dinner at a beautiful hotel in the city.
8. Seeing Mr. Greene freestyle dance for 5 minutes at the same dinner
9. Having a fall party at Jen, Julienne, Sarah, and Paula's house with lots of delicious fall treats!
10. Relaxing outside in the warm sun and listening to a sermon from my home church

Me & Aurora, the Bible teacher of my students
At the Thanksgiving Dinner on Friday night

Alright, now this past week doesn't sound as bad as I thought it was! I thank the Lord for giving me the strength to make it through this past week and for always giving me a reason each day to experience joy even in difficult circumstances!

La Tigra

On Friday night, my roomates, Nichole & Kaitlyn, Leslie Jones, and Lauren Manting headed up to La Tigra in the mountains and stayed at a bed and breakfast place for the night. The place is gorgeous and the view from the cabin was remarkable! What a relaxing and peaceful weekend after a busy week of school! 

Stairs leading up to our cabin

Inside of our cabin! These comforters were so warm which was great because the night was cool and rainy!

Kaitlyn looking out at the beautiful view on the porch of our cabin.

The gorgeous view from the cabin we stayed in!

Where we ate dinner and breakfast. This was the view from the eating area! Gorgeous!

The 5 of us who went!

A taste of Honduran countryside on our walk in an old mining community

On Saturday morning we walked about 2 hours to get to the bottom of the mountain and then hitchiked (first time!) in the back of a pick up truck to Valle where we spent the day looking around and shopping at all the markets there.

A great weekend after a busy and somewhat stressful week in the city.



Trip to Lago October 23-24

This weekend about 15 of us teachers headed up to Lago, a 4 hour trip away from Tegucigalpa. It was such a great weekend of relaxation after a busy first partial!

I stayed in this cabin with Jen Alderette, Julienne, and April

This was the lake we stayed at. I went paddleboating on it a couple times with Jen & Jenny.

On Sunday we headed out to a park with this waterfall.

The teachers on this trip.

Me and April

We went hiking behind the waterfall. One of the scariest things
I have ever endured. We literally hiked directly under the falls
to a point where I could hardly breathe or see anything. We
had to hold each other's hands and coach each other through it
but we survived! 

Thanksgiving Weekend!!

 On Friday I was starting to feel a bit homesick thinking about my family going to the cottage for Thanksgiving weekend. This is the first year in many that I would not be going with them. Thankfully, we had a lot going on here this weekend which made this weekend much more bearable!

On Friday we left for a Teacher's Retreat to a retreat center at the top of the mountain in Tegucigalpa. IST has this retreat every year for the purpose of the teachers to get to know one another better and to develop relationships between the Honduran and North American teachers.

The weekend was great! On Friday night we enjoyed a dinner, a time of worship, a talent show, and a bonfire. On Saturday we woke up VERY early at 7am for breakfast followed by a time of worship again in which I had the priviledge to help lead by playing keyboard. Afterward we spent the next couple hours in free time where many teachers played sports and many of us sat outside on a blanket and played Catch Phrase! Love that game! We ended the weekend with lunch and made our way back home on the bus by 2:00.

On Saturday evening, Alex, Nichole's boyfriend made us the most delicious Honduran dinner ever! It was amazing! It took him 2.5 hours to prepare and we were all so hungry, but it was totally worth the wait!!!

After church on Sunday I sat outside and enjoyed sitting in the sun while doing some work and then had the best surprise ever! As I was thinking about my family eating thanksgiving dinner back home today, my roomates were busy preparing me an authentic Canadian Thanksgiving dinner- love them! At 6:00, the table was set up- and there I saw stuffing, chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and pumpkin pie! I was so suprised! Apparently while I was at the retreat they were organizing all this for me! The dinner was delicious- and they totally made my day! Thank you Kaitlyn, Nichole, Caitlin, and Sage!

I'm so thankful today for all that the Lord has blessed me with in my life- for my family back home who loves me and prays for me; for my new experience in Honduras and all the blessings that have come from that- awesome roomates, my students, the opportunity to teach, and experience a new culture. I am so thankful for everything the Lord has blessed me with! God is so good!