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.