Ok, really, have I outdone myself again...

....only so you would be more excited for my next post....did it work? LOL

I helped represent the girls in the US Embassy's Artisan Fair.  It was a great event.  Way more vendors than we were expecting.... I'm really glad that volunteers put on an event like this.  It was a huge motivator for the girls to know their work would be showcased at the US Embassy....more so when I told them the US Ambassador stopped by the booth and loved the pieces.  (No pic becauase no cameras were allowed.)  

The next morning we were off to San Pedro Sula (SPS) in search for ~350 gifts.  Yeah, the proyecto purchases every participant a Christmas gift...(The proyecto, Center for Integral Development is under an umbrella organization, Compassion, a Christian child sponsorship ministry.)  The proyecto has worked out a deal with a clothing vendor, Don Elias y Dona Margarita, a Palestinian-Honduran couple.





Don Elias taught me some Arabic dancing.  I was told he stopped playing this type of music in the store after his daughter passed.  I was honored.  They invited us over to their house....a beautiful mansion with an amazing back yard including an alter to the virgencita.  They are definitely a special couple and I hope to be visiting them soon.  

We were back at the proyecto in time for the preparations of the wedding on Saturday.  During one of our breaks, the girls asked if I knew how to dance....of course I responded that I would love to teach them.  Lots of fun!  Some of them had little to any rhythm and I was reminded that most of these girls have had a rough childhood.  They very rarely have time to be a silly kid where maybe they would be playing music and dancing for fun.  I will definitely be making for time for dance "lessons".  

I was really curious what a boda evangelica would be like.  The bride was the proyecto's cosmetology taller instructor.  The wedding was a church effort...most everything was donated.  The proyecto was helping with the decorations.  Yanira is very creative and the salon looked rally nice.  The original wedding bouquet wasn't going to be ready on time so I go to make the bride's bouquet.  Some of the girls helped out...what do you think, can we make it as florists? 

I ended up out at the feria that Saturday night. The event was a bit different than I expected.  For one, feria here means two major event areas...one sponsored by the Camara de Comercio (Chamber of Commerce) and the other by los Ganadores (Ranchers)....plus, you have some traditional events at the park...like the opening/closing night, the queen coronation, and a few other sponsored concerts....and finally, you have a ton of block parties in various neighborhoods all trying to prove their music/firecrackers are the loudest.

We took the girls out Sunday night...giant baleadas at La Princesita & dancing at the central park.  They got to try out their new dance moves...lol.  They loved the Christmas tree and took a million pics.  I love seeing them happy & just be kids.  So many times we forget that some children simply don't have a "traditional" childhood.

Please keep in mind those less fortunate in this holiday season....I wish everyone a great Christmas!  

Feliz navidad!

back online....

Ok, this is offically the longest I've gone without posting.  I'm a bit scared of how long this post will be.  j/k ...I'll keep it short.

The horse show in Teguz was not the greatest of events....but we did aprovechar to do a little sight seeing...check out Iglesia La Merced...beautiful!

The ENCA is officially on vacation.  Graduation was this past Friday...the ceremony was a real outdoor gala.  The decorations were out of control...and it makes me a bit upset because I know that most of the budget came from the students' pockets...which I feel was totally unnecessary.  I'm starting to understand why kids that have dropped out of school here mention money as the number one reason.  Public school is expensive!  The ceremony had all of the city's politicians, news media crews, and a ton of family/friends.  We actually had two graduation ceremonies, each with about 300 students.

My proposal for my TEAM English classes was approved! Yay! A local NGO will be funding two courses, one in my site and another in a nearby community.  I was suppose to have a second induction meeting for this new community but it was canceled last minute.  I am definitely getting excited about this project for next year but know that I will need a lot of energy to keep up with everything.  

I ended up sending five scholarship applications for the USAID SEED program.  I am very excited about two of the applicants.  One of the girls has a challenging life.  She is pretty much on her own.  Her mom  lives in Belize because of work, she never met her dad, her extended family can only provide for the basics.  She sells artwork to have some cash and help her nine year old brother with school essentials.  In hopes of having more competitive applicants in the future I offered the first year students the opportunity to form a volunteer group.  They need to create some extra-curricular activities to gain leadership skills and extend their community work.  

Yo Merezco has its ups and downs.  I had low attendance one session but have had much better participation overall.  The girls from the hogar definitely need some guidance.  Two of then were caught in some risky behavior.  They had a new addition join the group....a nine year girl pulled out of her home because she was suffering sexual abuse by several neighbors.  The mom recently passed away so the authorities took action.  She is still adjusting to the new environment and demands a lot of attention.

I joined a committee dedicating to reviving the community's culture.  The have been inactive till recently when they were asked to organize the New Year's eve activities.  From what they were told, the nation's president wants to join the community for the ringing of the bells at midnight New Year's eve. I'm not sure what my role will be but I'm learning a lot about my community.  

I spent Thanksgiving in a La Paz.  The local volunteers organized a lunch for an orphanage.  There were about 20 volunteers helping cook/prepare a huge Thanksgiving feast....three turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, jello, fruit, salad, corn bread, cake......the works!  The ~20 kids and guests loved it!  

The kids ~20 kids are supervised by one lady, the nun at the table. 

Being veggie has been on/off since in Honduras...this was definitely an off moment.

I hosted a dinner for the Youth Development volunteers at my apt T-day weekend.  It was such a pleasant experience having the YD familia over...everyone was super considerate.  Gracias!  We made finger foods and had yummy cornbread/mashed potatoes/corn chowder.  We spent the next day sight seeing, shopping, and went out dancing....LOTS of fun!  Most everyone left Sunday but the rest of us made some amazing pad thai and a Vietnamese salad....mmmm!

Comayagua is officially celebrating the town's fair.  They lit the Christmas tree at the central park this past Fri.,had the queen coronation contest last night and the festivities will continue thru Dec. 19th.  

Desfile de caballos walking through town while we were having lunch at the central park...I couldn't resist!

The girls were teaching me how to dance punta. =)  LOL

I am so thankful for my beautiful site assignment, great friends, and hard working counterparts!!!

Busy last week of classes at ENCA

Happy Friday!  It’s raining it’s pouring ….the day was beautiful….clear sky & sunny (but not hot)…when all of a sudden it starts pouring.  It was actually really pretty for a while since it was raining and still very sunny. 

I had a great week and will have an even more exciting next week.  We had a super busy week at work .  The third year students had their big day of presentations of their proposals.  I helped the group working on English curriculum.  They had mentioned the preparations for the classroom but I never imagined to what extent they actually decorated.  Most groups had rented furniture, tablecloths, & curtains.  Plus they got us a gourmet lunch with wine.  It was outrageous.  Other groups brought in sofa sets and huge flower arrangements.  People are HUGE on presentation here. 

The profe and I continue to team teach.  It is very energizing the way we get to feed off of each others ideas.  It was the students last week of classes so vacation is around the corner.  They have exams next week….which, if you remember, means they only go for a half day..they will have two exams each day.   Unfortunately many of them will not pass…despite having a passing score of 60%..yes, you read correctly, students only need a 60% to pass….and you wouldn’t believe how many students fail.  Errk

On a very positive note, I helped prepare several students for a USAID SEED scholarship.  High achieving student from a low income household have a chance to be selected to earn their associates degree from Georgetown.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for all of them.  Most of the students come from households that earn below the local minimum average and live in tiny communities….I would love to see that one of them get an opportunity like this….what a life changing experience. 

I held my session of Yo Merezco.  The girls impressed me with their abilities to express themselves.  Their education level is not on grade but they were very comfortable explaining their definitions.  I keep feeling odd when we bring up topics up like teen pregnancy since two of the girls are teen moms but the keep acting like nothings different so I do my best to get past it. 

My preparations for TEAM classes next year continued.  I wrote a proposal to seek support from the local NGOs focused on education.  The staff members from the local school district are leading this project.  They are very interested in the program’s success so I am expecting a great outcome. 

Bueno, I’m off to pack my bags…I’ll be in Teguz tomorrow to pick up mail and check out a horse fair.  We’ll be doing some sightseeing in the big city!!  

I'm all settled in to my new place.  I really enjoy my time at the apt because I get to disconnect a bit from everything...my favorite disconnects include cooking dinner to the sounds of salsa music....watching a episodes of seinfeld......knitting or sewing to Brazilian sounds.  However, most of my evenings go by super fast....I get home around 4pm...go running at 5...make dinner and take a shower....I'm usually crashing out by 9....the exceptions are Thurs & Sun.

Victoria, another H17 youth development PCV, visited last Saturday from San Jose, La Paz...just hours away from the El Salvador border.  She brought her host sister and cousin to watch a movie as a gift for graduating from colegio (9th grade).  It was the girls first time at the movies.  We watched Legend of the Guardians.  You would be surprised on how different our movie experience was compared to the States.  For one, a huge crowd of teenagers sat in the back and was talking during most of the movie...several people answered their cellphones....people kept walking in and out.  Sea como sea (it is as it is)....the girls didn't notice and enjoyed the movie.  My taxi friend ended up hooking us up with free entrance to a discoteca.  We ended up going out dancing...another first for the girls...we only stayed a few hours but again we totally made the girls' night.  =)

At La Princesita...of course...mmm!

I was super busy last week...hence the lack of postings.  I held the presentation on the TEAM (English teaching & methodology) course to current teachers/NGO directors/school principals.  Everything turned out really great!!  The room was packed, everyone expressed a lot of interest, and we heard a ton of positive remarks.  Yay!  My late nights paid off....the best part about my hard work is that I was able to share the PPP & docs with other volunteers to hopefully help them get their plans going in the right direction.  

Full house, great facilities, plus we had tasty appetizers!

Getting the participants out of their chair =)

The Yo Merezco workshop this week was also a success.  The girls came through with their participation.  My favorite part about this week's session was seeing some of the quiet ones shine while they presented themselves to the group.  (Yes, your eyes do not fail you...that's a teen mom in the background...we actually have two teen moms participating.)  A co-worker from La Normal has been helping update/fix the computers.  He's also interested in helping with the computer course....the kids are going to love him...he's a great male role-model.  

I helped el Profe with his evening English class at the Instituto Hondureno Cultural Interamericano and met the owner of the Chinese restaurant Man Ying...the best in town.  She treated us to dinner.  It's crazy how things work out....so of course we went over this past Thurs when Anna visited.  She chatted with us a while and treated us to lunch....yum!  We're adopting her as our "tia".  

ENCA here I come!

Wow, I will be going back to work tomorrow.  Yay!  The profe and I will be trying out team teaching.  We met with Sandra (our program director) last Fri and she agrees this is the way to go.  It will definitely help to test run it now.  Next year, we will be starting out with about 17 - 20 sections of about 45 students each for three hours a week per section....that means 765 - 900 students....34 - 40 hours of English lessons a week....so, 8 hours a day without a break!  Of course we have to arrange for some time off during the week since I dedicate my Saturdays to my other counterpart.  Not to mention I will most likely be running two TEAM classes with current teachers in the evenings.  All this boils down to a lot of English teaching experience. =)

I started a Yo Merezco group this past Weds...that will run through summer vacation.  The first day did not go as planned but the girls seemed really interested and excited for it.  I was happy to see the girls from the family home in a new light.

BTW the girls have been working hard on producing a ton of accessories from pop tab tops.  We signed up for a artisans craft fair organized by business volunteers.  It will be taking place early Dec at the US Embassy.  We hope to sell a ton of goodies so that we can develop a micro-enterprise for the family home.  Please let me now if you are interested in anything.  I'll hopefully be flying home in January and can mail it out to you then.

The profe and I received some help with the planning of our TEAM classes.  The ladies from the technical department at the local school district office organized an induction meeting for local English teachers.  See the government has recently added English class to 4th - 6th grades without proper teacher development training in this area.  Many schools have decided to hire one English teacher to fulfill this requirement...in some cases charging the students to cover his/her salary.  We hope to help improve the teaching practices of these individuals given they will have the greatest impact in the community as a whole.


My meetings with the library staff are still getting canceled so I'm considering modifying my literacy efforts.  I'll be vising the local elementary schools to recruit kids for small literacy circles.  I continued my work with the third year students in getting together their proposal presentation ready.  They get really excited about creating things but struggle to stay motivated in actually analyzing/understanding what they are proposing.  In many ways, their work is very low level; however, I realize this is (in many ways) a reflection of the overall education they've received so far.  It saddens me to accept that the cycle with continue to repeat itself as they soon become the next generation of teachers.

I had my first night out in the city this past weekend...lol.  A friend and I went out dancing at one of the local nightclubs.  It was interesting because the crowd ranged from a high school aged crowd (yes, including some of my own students) to an older (didn't think they would be out that late) crowd. Turns out celebrating Halloween is prohibited ....so no costumes were allowed.  The place itself is beautiful...an old Spanish style home....with a central patio, fountain, and fruit trees.


I still can't believe it's November already.  At one time, 27 months seemed like forever, but now that work is underway...it seems like the remaining 22 months won't be enough.

Life is forever changing

I started Saturday in one emotional state...and ended the day in the exact opposite.  They are right about the Peace Corp Roller Coaster.....things change so often out here...and the least expected is what you usually get....so I do my best to deal with it....because as a friend wrote on his blog...life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Who better to learn this lesson from than mi amigo Pedrito.

Pedro and his family lived in a shack over in one of the most caliente (dangerous) parts of town.  Last week, his dad gave his family (mom, grandma, younger brother, and two younger sisters) a small plot of land (dad doesn't live with them).  Turns out a group of people invaded public lands and "squatted" taking control of the property.  After some legal actions the squatters gain ownership.  So, there we have Pedrito and his family building a house out of scraps of wood, random objects, sheets of tin...on the inside you find two full size beds and not much else. Their stove is an empty barrel placed upside down with a hole cutout. Plus, it turns out the two teenage boys are the ones providing for the family.

Life is so amazing....when I needed some reassurance, I'm presented with Pedrito's uplifting story.  Something these "outrageous" situations are so "normal" for them...and yet for me they are a part of a completely other I am familiar with.  But just as Pedrito's family took what life presented them and did the best they could....I will remind myself to do the same.  Think positive.

One of Honduras' treasures....

I was fortunate to see one of Honduras beautiful tourist attractions....Pulhapenzak waterfalls...que tranquilo. The weather made for some amazing views of the mountains...I'll guess it was cloud forest because at one time the mountain tops disappeared. This also meant that we got to enjoy the sites to ourselves. The park itself is a bit small but the view of the waterfall is perfect. Beware of the slippery walkways...notice the different outfits...lol. We ended up jumping in the water despite the chilly weather...sure enough the water was ice cold! The drive was beautiful....surrounded by green, luscious mountains...passing little picturesque towns. We also drove around most of el Lago de Yojoa.

Driving through Honduras can make it tough given the extreme poverty most people live in. About 60% of the almost 8 million people in the country live below the poverty line....with 6/18 departamentos in extreme poverty. Given my placement, if I allow it, I can easily escape the realities of most Hondurans. I think this will be one of my challenges while serving since Comayagua is one of the most beautiful cities.

For example, today the US Embassy along with the Instituto Hondureno de Cultura Interamericana hosted a jazz concert in the central park....what an evening! Listened to great music all while facing the fairytale catedral and sipping my cappuccino. See what I mean about getting lost in this amazing city. I met some awesome contacts from the Embassy and hope to soon be collaborating with the IHCI to develop their English coursework and cultural events.

A new awakening...at Nuevo Amanecer!

Excellent teaching taking place at the bilingual escuela Nuevo Amanecer! It was an inspiring experience to watch those kids come alive in class. The school was started by a Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos volunteer from Switzerland twenty years ago. They started with a casa hogar (orphanage)..then added a school...eventually closed the casa hogar...and grew the school. Now they run a colegio (7th - 12th grades) and a bilingual school (pre-k - 4th). Walking through the facilities and watching those teachers in action gives me hope that working with our teachers can produce that level of quality in the students of Honduras. The school runs a dairy farm to help pay the bills. While I was touring the campus...(which btw I had already visited during training when we gave a HIV charla)....I ran into my Talanga host "niece".

I just got back from watching the 1st annual Colonial Comayagua Ballet Folklorico contest for the primary schools. The kids were too cute! Plus standing before the catedral to watch the show was amazing....! Not to mention they had a torrito de cohetes (bull of fireworks)...yes, I couldn't believe it!

OMG number 2....a snake in my office!

No way....a snake in my office! Yes, a student went to slip his homework under my door, looked up and there it was. He killed it as it was trying to crawl in through the window. Errk!

Class canceled....why? The students planned a demonstration against the land squatters invading the school territory. Local authorities are not reacting to the problem nor show interest in doing so anytime soon. So the students (with the administration's leadership) decided to take the streets in hopes of raising awareness to their concern. I couldn't participate (PC policy) but they had a huge group of students & staff.

I had an interesting weekend. The usual routine on Saturday, hand out at the proyecto. One of the girls volunteered to clean the office so together we set out to organize it a bit better. The work has to continue but I hope this will be the start of a total transformation towards effectiveness. I volunteered to “babysit” the casa hogar. I want to start gaining confianza with them since I plan to start a Yo Merezco session soon. Yo Merezco is a program aimed at female teen empowerment guided by abstinence. Most of the group loved having me. Two of the girls were a bit more reserved (mostly in their room) but participated in the group activities. I took them out to the mall..(like my modeling)...at the park....(forgot my camera)...and we hung out at the house..(again they wanted to model). I invited them to La Princesita but it cost me a couple days worth of allowance...so this won't be repeating often...boo!

My official apt search has begun. Well actually lots of students have been helping the last two weeks. It's so cute how I get random students come up to me and mention where they've seen apt for rent signs. I spent most of Thurs walking around town looking and found some excellent choices. My favorite is over my budget (2500 Lempiras = $131 per month). It's located really close to a beautiful church and the main mall (with an Expresso Americano...jejeje).

Anna was in town Thursday and Friday for a workshop. I showed up under-dressed on Thurs and only stayed a bit. The presentation was on Special Ed and very interesting to see the teachers' participation. It was also really interesting to see how they defined the different terms. Plus this served as an awesome networking opportunity.

I spent all day at the proyecto. One of the girls and I were cleaning out the office. The place needs a lot of organization. The girls are doing some amazing work with the can tops. I was given a headband that is awesome looking...plus it's bright yellow to top it off. =)

BTW, some things are just hard to understand. We went to pick up one of the girls and the grandma starts talking about how she doesn't know what to do with her other granddaughter....claiming the girl left the house, not attending school, and is now living with a friend....the granddaughter is only 12!! I don't understand it.

PS We had 14 people in the car....3 in the front, 7 in the middle, and 4 in the back...that's not the record either.