Saturday, June 25, 2011

Stronger each day....one year in country!

One year ago, I boarded a plane in agreement to dedicate two years to service no matter the assignment.  I felt comfortable going to Honduras given my experience in Latin America.  I was hesitant given the statistics...second poorest in the Western hemisphere and the most violent country in Central America.  Yet the excitement for new experiences and adventure ran through me.
One year ago 6/23/10 @ SFO airport


I am happy to say that I am loving my experience. =) I have been placed in one of the most beautiful cities & I work with very special people.  I love my local "familia" made up of hard working girls, generous volunteers, and dedicated teachers, plus many others that remind me to move forward in my efforts.
@La Princesita w/ the girls (Mary & Yani not pictured)

The last few weeks have been filled with observations.  Some of my favorite teachers proved their devotion is achieving great strides with their students.  In the words of one of them, "We are reading & writing in English!"  I continue to see the need for classroom management strategies.  In the most extreme cases you'll have a first grade class with 45 of the neediest children and a 19 year old teacher. (Sounds kinda like TFA in the States, right? Only we're in a third world country!)  I'm considering starting a pilot classroom management program with the same group of teachers.  To be continued.
Taking cover from the rain before class.

I did have some time to relax and get ahead on my lesson planning.  I ended up spending the Semana del Estudiante (Student Week) in town.  I spent a day at the pool...amazing views at the golf course!  I went down to Donkey Polo in Yuscaran during their Feria de los Gigantes.  Imagine the sight...20+ PCVs trying to ride donkeys while playing soccer polo. Let's just say the first match was something like 42 - 3 in favor of the Hondurans.  So much fun!
Donkey Polo Yuscaran 2011

I celebrated the closing of our abstinence program with the girls by hosting a ice cream & popcorn movie night.  The original gala dinner was canceled last minute...don't want to explain....erk :| I'm not sure what to do next, if anything, with this group.  They would like to have the boys join us but it would have to be geared toward self-management or developing their leadership skills.  I would love to start a creative expression group, maybe a reading circle or theater group.  They seem to really enjoy these activities.
Chayo, Mary, Vilma getting ready to watch The Princess and the Frog

I just got back from a mini vacation.  I was invited to join Jesse's family visit in El Salvador.  My first time visiting and I can't wait to go back!  The family was really great with me & made me feel a part of the familia. Aw!  My favorite few days this year by far.....much thanks to Jesse & Susy.   Susy ended up surprise visiting for a day on her way to Peru for her Masters travel program.  We had a great time together...lots of laughs & great memories!  I love catching up with friends....it's one of the things I miss the most!
Cafecito, platanos fritos con frijolitos y crema fresca....que rico!

La Libertad 2011 

Lago Suchitlan in Suchitoto

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Only in Honduras.....

I love these moments.  Only in Honduras will your students celebrate your birthday 20 days after the fact.  One of the groups at the Normal had a piƱata waiting for me yesterday morning.  They spent the last two week in their practica (practice) in community preschools.  Plus, since I haven't been going as often, yesterday we finally coincided. I'll ask them for the pics later.

I took the day off on my actual bday.  I spent the day spoiling myself with my favorites in the capital city.  This included a Denny's breakfast, shopping at the mall, enjoy a cafecito while reading a great book in the plaza, and ending with a sushi dinner.  Later that week, my TEAM (English class) students had a birthday surprise waiting for me in class, a huge cake, gifts, plus having them all sing the birthday song in English & Spanish.  At the end of the week, after a committee meeting, the girls from the hogar plus Mary & other staff members had a surprise of their own.  The girls had each made me a little gift out of the recycled materials they work with.  Each of the girls wrote me a letter thanking me for being a part of their life.  The staff members made me a slideshow of pictures and phrases/quotes.  It wouldn't be a Honduran celebration without a cake, they had a pastel de tres leches (sweet milk cake) for everyone.  I felt very special having so many different people show their appreciation for me all week.  


Prior to my birthday, I'd spent the week with my fellow Youthies in Valle for our last IST (In Service Training).  The topic was career development and the director had many organizations join us.  One of the groups served as our facilitators teaching us a ton of new dinamicas and team building ideas.  The group had mentioned creating a video to enter the Peace Corps Third Goal competition.  That's all that needed to get said to have the entire group work together in creating a rap music video on the use of condoms.  Before you knew it, we had a video director, music editor (yours truly), dance choreographer, costume designer, song composer, singer, dancers, etc.  It was so much fun I wish we had started this idea in prior ISTs.   We plan to soon post it on YouTube and become famous. LOL

Much of the group stayed a night in Teguz. I invited Mary and her sister to join.  We watched Fast & the Furious 5, had dinner and went out dancing.  The girls had a ton of fun!  I think it was their first time out to a nightclub in the capital.  Creo que he despertado una nueva pasion en Mary. (I think I sparked a new passion in Mary.) I invited her out dancing this past weekend for her birthday and again she agreed. :)  I'm glad we've been bonding more, she's a very special person and I hope we can continue to learn a lot from each other.  

My observations are going well.  I'm trying to finish everything this month & have jammed packed my calendar.  All in all, teachers mostly struggle with classroom management.  Some of them could be a lot stricter in their expectations of the kids' behaviors.  This is especially true in the most marginalized communities as the children need a lot of guidance.  


Next week is a school holiday, celebrating Student Week.  Plus, I'll be taking a week off in late June to visit a friend in El Salvador.  I'm very excited for this trip.  It will be really special to connect with someone from home since I probably won't be going back this year.  

I'm about 20 days away from my one year in country anniversary.  How time goes by.  The more days that pass, the more I want to extend my service here.  It makes me very happy knowing I am content with my work here and see myself growing even more from it.  However, my parents would be heartbroken if I extended.