Vacation to Ceiba

Because Independence Day is such a big deal here we had three days off for it from September 15-17; so 17 of us teachers decided to head up to the north coast to Ceiba. We left at 5am and travelled on a bus for 9 hours until arriving in Ceiba around 4pm

Upon arrival we got our rooms- I stayed with Jen Alderette, Julienne, and Jenny. The first evening we swam in the Carribean Sea (such warm water!), swam in the outdoor pool, and headed out to the supermarket in Ceiba to stock up on groceries  for the rest of the weekend.

Thursday, Sep. 16

Woke up at 7:30 am to be picked up by a boat at 8 am for a trip to several islands where we went snorkeling and sunbathing. We saw some really cool fish- my favorite of course was the star fish! Spent the afternoon back at our resort on the ocean. Ended the day with a communal spaghetti dinner. Our room's house was to prepare the pasta- remind me to start boiling water an hour earlier than normal when cooking for 25 people... good thing everything is late in Honduras anyway!

Friday, September 17

Woke up at 8:30 am and got picked up by a pick-up truck at 10am for our next excursion in the canopy. This was a sweet excursion! First we ziplined down about 15 lines through the jungle with a gorgeous view. Then we spent the next few hours relaxing in the Hot Springs as we were served a platter of fresh fruit and pampered with a mud bath.

The rest of the day we spent relaxing by the ocean and then went out for dinner as a group. I had the opportunity to hold Bobby's (one of the staff for IST) children! They are beautiful!

Independence Day

Independence Day is a very big deal out here in Honduras! The week before Independence Day we had what felt like 5 different assemblies. We had one large assembly in the poli in which several classes performed different songs and dances of the Honduran tradition.

 

Above is a picture of my students dancing to some song about green bananas. I am still not really sure what the significance of the song is. The left picture is a picture of my two students: Sarah and Jorge. To the right are Hector and Josue (the biggest and smallest boys in the class!) Below is a picture of Sarah, Ana Carolina, Josue, and Laura!

My typical work day...

Before you think that all I do here in Honduras is have fun and travel, I would like to give you the schedule of my typical work day just to show you that I do work... a lot!

5:15am  
Wake up (if I am lucky- sometimes Nichole wakes me up at 6:10 when I am late)  and get ready.

6:35am
Picked up by school bus

6:45 am 
Arrive to school and dash to my classroom and rush to get things as organized as I can in 25 minutes in order to feel somewhat prepared for the day ahead.

7:10am  
Students enter classroom. Help get kids settled. I developed a system where I put a timer on the   promethean board with a 3 minute countdown and they need to have their bags unpacked and sitting down within those 3 minutes. It works very well! Then the students copy down the day's agenda and turn in their homework. Well that's what they are supposed to do anyway... we're still working on it.

7:25      
Spanish class- another teacher teaches them Spanish so I get an extra 1/2 hour to prepare for the day. Thank goodness- I just can never get enough time in the day!

8:00      
Pray with the students, do calendar, finish agenda, try to remember to do attendance, and teach  math

9:20      
Recess- I spend this time preparing for the afternoon subjects if I am lucky. Often I spend this time helping students who need extra help with homework or simply help with desk organization. Everything takes longer with my students because some of them still speak and understand little English.

9:40      
I teach Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies straight to 12

12:05    
We are all ready for lunch. I scoot them as quick as possible so I can make it out for yard duty

12:35   
Teach 1 or 2 subjects and some specials where other teachers come in. I am so thankful when there are special subjects in the afternoons because that means I get some time to get re-organized! Often these preps are spent just cleaning my desk- somehow by 1:00 my desk is always overflowing with papers!

2:30    
Bell rings and students get ready to go home. I walk them to the bus, say good-bye and go back to
my classroom to clean up the mess and prepare for next day.

5:00    
Go home. Sometimes I go home on the 3:10 bus but lately its been 5

Evening  Spend several hours lesson planning, preparing materials for next day, and grading.

And then repeat schedule 5 times...

It is exhausting, but I love it!! I love teaching; I love my students; and I love learning how to be a better teacher each day and constantly trying new things to make things go smoother in my classroom. I thank the Lord for giving me the strength each day, and that my students put up with me despite all my shortcomings as a first year teacher!

El Picacho

Update!

So I think its about time for a new blog post... I am new at the whole blogging thing so I am not exactly faithful in my postings, but I am working on it...

The past 2 weeks here have flown! Its amazing that I have only been in Honduras for a month and it feels like I have been here forever. I already feel quite comfortable in my surroundings and in my position as a teacher here at IST. When I reflect on the past month I can't believe the experiences I have already gained...

• meeting 30+ teachers
• trying out LOTS of different restaurants... haven't been dissappointed yet!
• visiting El Picacho (see pictures)
• teaching my own class of 21 students
• living with 2 new awesome roomates
• walking around my neighbourhood and learning my way around
• taking numerous taxi rides around the city (some with drivers I hope I will never meet again)
• going to at least 4 different malls in the city
• celebrating 5 birthdays
• attending a Spanish speaking church
• attending a Central American dance class (I swear you can hear the music from a mile away)
• riding in a city bus (none like the ones in Ontario- you squeeze at least 2x the amount of people in these ones)
• Children's Day (a day held in honor of children here in Honduras)

I feel so blessed to be here in Honduras and am really enjoying all the experiences that I have already had here! I am so thankful for the people I have met, the children that I teach, and for the safety I have in my well protected house! Each day here is a gift, and when I hear about what all goes on in this country I find myself so thankful for all that I have been blessed with.

There are children in my school whose family members have died from Dengue (a disease transferred from mosquitoes), children whose parents have been murdered or family members who have passed on from landslides and other natural disasters. Not too far from home are people trying to survive on the streets and find enough food to live by. It really opens my eyes to how ungrateful I am even when I have so much- and reminds me of the need to pray for people in Honduras and around the globe who are experiencing real suffering and loss.

Please keep the people of Honduras, my students, and myself in your prayers this week!

My House!

Gate leading into our house

Neighbour's house across the street..

Front of our house

Hallway leading to our clothesline

Living/Dining Room

Kitchen

My Bedroom

My closet space! More than enough...