1. Tela: Our weekend getaway on the beach in a Garifuna community. The Garifuna are descendants of Caribbean slaves.
2. Futbol: Soccer match against Costa Rica. More energy than any crowd I've ever been in.
3. Angie's Cumpleaños: 7 year old's birthday party. Excellent photos captured and peak into party culture.
4. Seidy's Baby Shower: Games, prizes, rain, yelling.
5. Last week of prep for classes!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Pocket of Peace: 8/18/09
Yesterday I found a new calm (at least for a little...). I’d been stressed out about school starting in a week and frustrated by my own inefficiencies and the inefficiencies of small town life when I rushed over to pick up tortillas from the “Super Baleada” lady. It was 5:30pm and my dinner group had to serve dinner at 6:00pm so I was cutting it close, as it took 15 minutes to get to the tortilla lady’s house on the wet hillside of loose gravel. Two teachers in my dinner group had made the order about 3 hours before and she’d confirmed that the 25 extra-large flour tortillas would be ready for pick up after 5:00pm but when I arrived, she hadn’t yet started any. I stood there in front of the three surprisingly young women with my obvious impatience and the entire day’s worries straining my face. 5 minutes pass. They give me a chair and tell me to sit. I do. 5 more minutes pass. I stare out at the muddy street and lush greenery near the polluted trickle of river from under the dining porch area covered by soggy banana leaves and a thin leaky plastic sheet of yellow. 5 minutes pass. My face finally relaxes and I feel a weight lifted off. Maybe I’d passed it onto the tortilla lady who now seemed like she was sprinting to fill my new request of just 10 tortillas. One by one. Hand rolled and hand stretched. More likely it was just having time to sit still without guilt. Not feeling like I should have been doing something productive for planning my class or exercising or reading a book or anything else. I had to sit there and wait and it was peaceful. As I sat there and chatted with Carla, the tortilla magician, I learned that they hadn’t started my tortillas before because they’d been busy all day. They’d gotten many orders and their usual day begins at 6am and they don’t close shop until 9 or 10pm. Right then I realized that working so much is a blessing in disguise. They can only work so much because they can find work. So many people here are chronically unemployed, recently laid off, or just have unreliable jobs. And then I thought about me. Remembered that I’m busy all day because I’m not only employed but its a challenging job that I find deeply meaningful. Being busy, having a lot on your plate, is just part of living a full life. Exhale. Then it was dinnertime and I remembered how to enjoy my company, my food, my night.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
2 Days in.... (THE CLASSROOM!!!)
Hey Ready Readers! (sorry... getting into 5th grade mode)
Here's an overview of my professional schedule down here (as opposed to my personal):
We have Summer Institute, a 6 week span of teacher training, before school starts. This is my third week so far. For the first two weeks we had pretty intense pedagogical theory and practical techniques workshops for many hours a day. We have two trainers fly in from Tegucigalpa, the capital, and they're doing a really great job giving us all a crash course on teaching and helping us feel prepared. They're gringas and both have been working in Honduras and the states for a good number of years. That's one of the many things I really appreciate about BECA (an impressively well-run non-profit), just having them here to guide us because sometimes I feel so lost and unqualified. Here's my schedule:
2 weeks of workshops (check)
2 weeks of practice teaching (current): Summer Academy
1 week of individual preparation time
1 week of working at school (to prepare the classroom, get the final touches ready for the big first day and first units of class)
Yesterday was the first day of the Summer Academy. The Academy just two classes, one for the teachers who will teach the younger grades to practice in, and the other for the teachers of the older students (including me--5th grade). In my class, we have about 15 students who are risng 6th and 7th graders come everyday from 1-4pm. I teach most of the Language Arts periods and will also be guess teaching Math and Science before the end of the Academy so I get practice in all the core subjects. As yesterday was the first day of the Academy, we (me and 3 other teachers) did a lot of ice breakers and introductions. I had the whole class to myself for the first time today and it went much better than I expected.
Notes about my theme and today's activities:
-Unit Goal: prepare students to present to new teachers at the first assembly!
-Major themes: different types of questions, interview techniques, presentation techniques
-Today: Intro of topic, flow chart of what's to come, intro of new vocab, puppet show of gossip conversation, circle discussion of puppet show, and idea storm of topics to ask new teachers
-My feelings: FUN!!! I had a really good time interacting with the kids, trying to keep them engaged, and doing my best to spark conversation. They got really excited about one of the vocab words: flirting, and really enjoyed the puppet show. Excited about having my own class and creating a class culture!!!! yay!
I was feeling pretty overwhelmed a few days ago about teaching in general and about being observed during the academy but today went really well. I'm learning how to engage kids at the 11-13 age group and didn't even really notice the observers.
That's all for now. Some preview of awesome topics you'll enjoy reading about:
1. how i chipped my front tooth
2. honduran wedding + national curfew = ???
3. and other general things about my life here....
Oh, and yesterday when I was walking home, I ran into 6 people I knew. First time I felt a part of the community.
Nos vemos,
Jess
Here's an overview of my professional schedule down here (as opposed to my personal):
We have Summer Institute, a 6 week span of teacher training, before school starts. This is my third week so far. For the first two weeks we had pretty intense pedagogical theory and practical techniques workshops for many hours a day. We have two trainers fly in from Tegucigalpa, the capital, and they're doing a really great job giving us all a crash course on teaching and helping us feel prepared. They're gringas and both have been working in Honduras and the states for a good number of years. That's one of the many things I really appreciate about BECA (an impressively well-run non-profit), just having them here to guide us because sometimes I feel so lost and unqualified. Here's my schedule:
2 weeks of workshops (check)
2 weeks of practice teaching (current): Summer Academy
1 week of individual preparation time
1 week of working at school (to prepare the classroom, get the final touches ready for the big first day and first units of class)
Yesterday was the first day of the Summer Academy. The Academy just two classes, one for the teachers who will teach the younger grades to practice in, and the other for the teachers of the older students (including me--5th grade). In my class, we have about 15 students who are risng 6th and 7th graders come everyday from 1-4pm. I teach most of the Language Arts periods and will also be guess teaching Math and Science before the end of the Academy so I get practice in all the core subjects. As yesterday was the first day of the Academy, we (me and 3 other teachers) did a lot of ice breakers and introductions. I had the whole class to myself for the first time today and it went much better than I expected.
Notes about my theme and today's activities:
-Unit Goal: prepare students to present to new teachers at the first assembly!
-Major themes: different types of questions, interview techniques, presentation techniques
-Today: Intro of topic, flow chart of what's to come, intro of new vocab, puppet show of gossip conversation, circle discussion of puppet show, and idea storm of topics to ask new teachers
-My feelings: FUN!!! I had a really good time interacting with the kids, trying to keep them engaged, and doing my best to spark conversation. They got really excited about one of the vocab words: flirting, and really enjoyed the puppet show. Excited about having my own class and creating a class culture!!!! yay!
I was feeling pretty overwhelmed a few days ago about teaching in general and about being observed during the academy but today went really well. I'm learning how to engage kids at the 11-13 age group and didn't even really notice the observers.
That's all for now. Some preview of awesome topics you'll enjoy reading about:
1. how i chipped my front tooth
2. honduran wedding + national curfew = ???
3. and other general things about my life here....
Oh, and yesterday when I was walking home, I ran into 6 people I knew. First time I felt a part of the community.
Nos vemos,
Jess
Sunday, July 19, 2009
7/13/09
Hi all! Bienvenidos a mi primer blog! (Welcome to my first blog)
Thanks so much for coming to my blog to keep up with what I’m doing down here in Cofradía, Cortés, Honduras. Feel free to invite others. This first entry was written a few days ago before realized I want to blog my topic instead of focusing on recapping days so it will be different later on. I will start blogging with topic headings like Homestay, BECA Voluntarios, Health, Community, etc so everyone can pick and choose more easily what they want to read. I’ll also write just a general introduction later so everything makes sense to everyone. But for now, enjoy this window into a day and know that I’m safe, healthy, excited about teaching, bonding with other volunteers, meeting students, adapting, and in good spirits.
7/13/09
Trying to journal has been pretty challenging here. Everyday I have so much I want to put down in words but just so little time to do it. Very little alone time. But I’ll start jotting down a few of the major things tonight before I forget.
Today was the first day of the Summer Institute, or the 6 week training session for the yearlong teacher volunteers. We started off the day 8am with a Spanish class held in the courtyard of a church. For the greater part of the 2 hours, we played an icebreaker that was amusing but seemed a little endless and didn’t involve very much Spanish at all. I’ve been craving some more formal Spanish instruction as I’ve been here about 4 days and have just been picking up new words here and there in many confusing conversations. The Spanish classes are taught by a Honduran teacher, one of our colleagues SJBS quien se llama Linda.
Next, we had a meeting at the volunteer house to cover some logistics. I really enjoy Laurence, the program director, and Mike, the program administrator, but the meeting seemed to last forever! Beside logistics, it was an introduction to the conceptual basis on which BECA was founded. We briefly spoke about educational reform in the context of economic development, a topic I love talking about but the heat of the early afternoon was rolling in at that point.
Then it was finally time to break for lunch. We split into groups to scavenge for different parts of a meal around town. I was on the hunt for tortillas de maize with some other guys and we took a beautiful walk as we tracked down some fresh tortillas. We visited four different homes until we found one with women in action. Thirty tortillas for thirty lempiras. This house is right across the street from one of my favorite features of our area, the Wisdom Tree, a great tree that must be thousands of years old with something about it that just seems to emanate a sense of calm reflection (except it’s next to a soccer field).
Lunch for the eleven of us cost about 7 dollars.
After lunch, we went to the school for the first time. School to be described more later...
Katie’s workshop. One of the teachers here is an experienced teacher and she has started giving us some pointers about how to prepare for our classes. We’re currently in the stage of going through a lot of material left from the previous years. Will write more in “Becoming una maestra.”
When we got home, the other BECA volunteer I’m staying with, Katy, and I made tortillas with Juana, the mother of Seydi, my hostess. They put us to work because I had mentioned the night before that I’d like to learn how to cool local food. It was amazingly difficult to make tortillas that were up to par but definitely a lot of fun as Juana is quite a character (read: likes to give me a hard time and joke with me even though she knows I barely understand her)
Ending notes (more snippets of today that I don’t have time to elaborate on)
Getting a lot of mosquito bites because I’m trying to limit my use of deet bug repellant. Don’t worry, it’s not yet dengue fever season.
Dinner with Seydi and Juan (a friend of the family) during which we chatted about seafood, taking a trip to Los Angeles (a nearby community), chopsticks, fruit... Feels great to start to get to know Seydi as I had a lot of trouble communicating with her the first few days.
Used the wireless internet at the apartment, a common space for BECA. Talked with Dave while I was there. Inspired me with some pictures of his sculptures and shows he’s put on. TBContinued when I write about the other BECA volunteers (I really like all of them so far).
Went home and spent some more quality time with Seydi looking at baby pictures and showing her and Moises my WuSauce Dance-off video. Moises clapped at the end.
Thanks so much for coming to my blog to keep up with what I’m doing down here in Cofradía, Cortés, Honduras. Feel free to invite others. This first entry was written a few days ago before realized I want to blog my topic instead of focusing on recapping days so it will be different later on. I will start blogging with topic headings like Homestay, BECA Voluntarios, Health, Community, etc so everyone can pick and choose more easily what they want to read. I’ll also write just a general introduction later so everything makes sense to everyone. But for now, enjoy this window into a day and know that I’m safe, healthy, excited about teaching, bonding with other volunteers, meeting students, adapting, and in good spirits.
7/13/09
Trying to journal has been pretty challenging here. Everyday I have so much I want to put down in words but just so little time to do it. Very little alone time. But I’ll start jotting down a few of the major things tonight before I forget.
Today was the first day of the Summer Institute, or the 6 week training session for the yearlong teacher volunteers. We started off the day 8am with a Spanish class held in the courtyard of a church. For the greater part of the 2 hours, we played an icebreaker that was amusing but seemed a little endless and didn’t involve very much Spanish at all. I’ve been craving some more formal Spanish instruction as I’ve been here about 4 days and have just been picking up new words here and there in many confusing conversations. The Spanish classes are taught by a Honduran teacher, one of our colleagues SJBS quien se llama Linda.
Next, we had a meeting at the volunteer house to cover some logistics. I really enjoy Laurence, the program director, and Mike, the program administrator, but the meeting seemed to last forever! Beside logistics, it was an introduction to the conceptual basis on which BECA was founded. We briefly spoke about educational reform in the context of economic development, a topic I love talking about but the heat of the early afternoon was rolling in at that point.
Then it was finally time to break for lunch. We split into groups to scavenge for different parts of a meal around town. I was on the hunt for tortillas de maize with some other guys and we took a beautiful walk as we tracked down some fresh tortillas. We visited four different homes until we found one with women in action. Thirty tortillas for thirty lempiras. This house is right across the street from one of my favorite features of our area, the Wisdom Tree, a great tree that must be thousands of years old with something about it that just seems to emanate a sense of calm reflection (except it’s next to a soccer field).
Lunch for the eleven of us cost about 7 dollars.
After lunch, we went to the school for the first time. School to be described more later...
Katie’s workshop. One of the teachers here is an experienced teacher and she has started giving us some pointers about how to prepare for our classes. We’re currently in the stage of going through a lot of material left from the previous years. Will write more in “Becoming una maestra.”
When we got home, the other BECA volunteer I’m staying with, Katy, and I made tortillas with Juana, the mother of Seydi, my hostess. They put us to work because I had mentioned the night before that I’d like to learn how to cool local food. It was amazingly difficult to make tortillas that were up to par but definitely a lot of fun as Juana is quite a character (read: likes to give me a hard time and joke with me even though she knows I barely understand her)
Ending notes (more snippets of today that I don’t have time to elaborate on)
Getting a lot of mosquito bites because I’m trying to limit my use of deet bug repellant. Don’t worry, it’s not yet dengue fever season.
Dinner with Seydi and Juan (a friend of the family) during which we chatted about seafood, taking a trip to Los Angeles (a nearby community), chopsticks, fruit... Feels great to start to get to know Seydi as I had a lot of trouble communicating with her the first few days.
Used the wireless internet at the apartment, a common space for BECA. Talked with Dave while I was there. Inspired me with some pictures of his sculptures and shows he’s put on. TBContinued when I write about the other BECA volunteers (I really like all of them so far).
Went home and spent some more quality time with Seydi looking at baby pictures and showing her and Moises my WuSauce Dance-off video. Moises clapped at the end.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Day One
It's the first night in Cofradía and I'm so glad I decided to come. However, I'm completely beat today and will write about my eventful first day and warm welcome I had. But for now, it's Jess's time for bed. Nightie night all!
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