It's official: my entire family has now come down to visit. Mom and Dad came over Christmas last year, James came for Easter, and David just left after his Thanksgiving visit.
We hit the beginning of his trip pretty hard and ended pretty light. Any day that I was working, I was able to get a wonderful breakfast over at the hotel.
I had school on Wednesday. So he just slept to recover from his travels. When I got home we went into town, walked around, saw a few things, and ate dinner. Thursday we wanted to go on the Canopy Tour, but it didn't pan out. Originally we thought we'd still be able to go in the afternoon, so we went to the bird park. I had my first “yeah, that's what happens when you hang out around a pissed off animal, even if you're not messing with it or even in it's vicinity—it can fly” experience when a bird flew at me, clung to my shirt, and clamped down on my arm. It was unexpected to say the least. When we found out that we would not be going to the Canopy Tour, we instead went to the ruins before they closed. All the English speaking guides were already out, but between my Spanish-ish and Cid's Spanish, we made it work. I was really excited at how much I understood for myself (sometimes even correcting details that Cid missed) but it was nice to have someone actually fluent to fill in the gaps. It was a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving.
We were able to go on the Canopy Tour in the morning. Unfortunately for me, I made poor decisions the day before and regretted them for the rest of the night. Around 6 water became an option, and a wonderfully vital one, and by breakfast time at the hotel I was taking 30-45 minutes to eat my plate of fruit and just as long if not longer on the two plain waffles. It was all fine, as the problem was already taken care of, and most of the day's problems were simply to result of tiredness and dehydration.
Luckily, I'm better at mornings, so I was able to enjoy the tour and we just took the rest of the day easy, which was fine, because those two days combined had whipped us out.
Saturday we got up early and toured up to the pottery aldea of Llanitios. It was fun, and the guide was nice. Usually their tours are about 3 hours, but I asked for a special tour to a particular place where we then hung out, made and ate food, and chatted with Dona Lucas. We paid for the guide's food and David got some nick-nacks from her pottery wall. Then, we rode back down into town, thought the horses were rather tired by then.
Sunday was mass followed by hanging out and talking. We caught up and did a little bit of tourist shopping. We discussed the different experiences different cultures can bring to the church, but the sameness it can still retain.
Monday I went back to work, and I was in no mind to work, and the kids were in no mind to listen, and David came early in the day and all and all we were all off. We got through though, and then David and I played tourists in the shops (or I played and he embodied) and did his bit to help the local economy. I got an awesome new bag that carries my computer and all my school books and isn't my backpack. We had our last dinner, hung out for a little while, and went to bed early.
By 4:45 we were out in the morning. There were no taxis, so we walked down, with all the stuff, to the bus station. We were early, but that's fine. I waiting around until he loaded up and then walked back up the hill to finish getting ready for school. I then taught, a little more back to normal pace, had tutoring after school, walked into town for tutoring with Isaac, went to class where I talked about it all, and went home to have Sarah-is-alone time in my hammock, which is now up on my porch.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
It's Time to Start Thinking Forward...
I've recently been coming to terms with the fact that my entire, for all intents and purposes, adult life has been here, in the mountains of Copan Ruinas, Honduras. Imagining my life in a year, is nearly impossible. It's so easy to imagine being a part of my old life in the States, but whatever life I go back to, it will not be my old life, and besides, it's really hard to imagine not being here. This place houses almost all of my independence.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine not being in Virginia. Despite moving to another country and living there for two years, the idea of moving to a foreign State is simply beyond me. I suppose that in part it is because I can't imagine leaving here for anything that isn't home. This place has become my home, so to give it up, it almost has to be so that I can return to the things and people I miss.
I have rolled around ideas, such as staying in Honduras, but at a school where I can further my other academic goals. Or leaving VA for other alternative certification programs. I've thought of looking for jobs at schools that don't really care if I'm already certified and would help me get there, but at the end of my thought process comes this:
Most of these alternative methods will only get me certified, and, eventually, I want my masters. Once I have my masters, my options will be pretty limitless, so I might as well buckle down and just get it done.
However, I need about a years worth of undergraduate credits in order to even get certified. I'm basically a career switcher, because the original plan was to go into Secondary Ed. Now, I'm lacking in a lot of the basics I need to be a primary teacher.
The programs I have talked to told me that I can get my undergraduate credits taken care of while I'm in the program, and I think I would if it was 3 classes. However, with as many as I need, I think I'm looking at a year of community college followed by about 2 years more of school.
Three more years. And then, where? William and Mary seems to make the most economical sense, but I simple can't move back home for three years. I'm going to have to find another way. Longwood also has a draw on me because it's already known. Anywhere in Virginia has the in-state advantage.
It's hard to imagine not going back, but it's also very difficult to go back to a world in which I have nothing. I'm like a child in the States. If I go to another State for school, I still have to build up from nothing. I have to create community all over again. Even in Virginia that will be true to a certain extent.
This is why I hate moving and I hate change. It's weird, because I came down here. But it was scary too. I want some kind of magic to bring me back to the States, but with a sturdy foundation already in place. That's simply not possible. What I have to keep telling myself is that I cling to the notion of home very hard, but where ever I go, that seems to be the home I'm clinging to.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine not being in Virginia. Despite moving to another country and living there for two years, the idea of moving to a foreign State is simply beyond me. I suppose that in part it is because I can't imagine leaving here for anything that isn't home. This place has become my home, so to give it up, it almost has to be so that I can return to the things and people I miss.
I have rolled around ideas, such as staying in Honduras, but at a school where I can further my other academic goals. Or leaving VA for other alternative certification programs. I've thought of looking for jobs at schools that don't really care if I'm already certified and would help me get there, but at the end of my thought process comes this:
Most of these alternative methods will only get me certified, and, eventually, I want my masters. Once I have my masters, my options will be pretty limitless, so I might as well buckle down and just get it done.
However, I need about a years worth of undergraduate credits in order to even get certified. I'm basically a career switcher, because the original plan was to go into Secondary Ed. Now, I'm lacking in a lot of the basics I need to be a primary teacher.
The programs I have talked to told me that I can get my undergraduate credits taken care of while I'm in the program, and I think I would if it was 3 classes. However, with as many as I need, I think I'm looking at a year of community college followed by about 2 years more of school.
Three more years. And then, where? William and Mary seems to make the most economical sense, but I simple can't move back home for three years. I'm going to have to find another way. Longwood also has a draw on me because it's already known. Anywhere in Virginia has the in-state advantage.
It's hard to imagine not going back, but it's also very difficult to go back to a world in which I have nothing. I'm like a child in the States. If I go to another State for school, I still have to build up from nothing. I have to create community all over again. Even in Virginia that will be true to a certain extent.
This is why I hate moving and I hate change. It's weird, because I came down here. But it was scary too. I want some kind of magic to bring me back to the States, but with a sturdy foundation already in place. That's simply not possible. What I have to keep telling myself is that I cling to the notion of home very hard, but where ever I go, that seems to be the home I'm clinging to.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Walking vs. Riding
On Monday, I had a bit of a premonition experience. I woke up, and refused to believe it was time to get up. I simply could not believe it was 5 o'clock. Granted, I'd been up more than an hour later than usual on Sunday night (I was up until 9:40!) but I still couldn't believe that the amount of rest I had gotten was the amount of rest I was going to have to trudge through with. Nope. Not possible. I was so convinced, that I came to the conclusion that my fancy-pants radio alarm clock, that is set to a time zone, had reset itself in the night to daylight savings time. My clock still thinks we're in the States. However, upon checking my phone and watch, I had to face that it was 5, or by not, 5:30, and time to get up.
This morning, I woke up to my alarm, and felt amazing. I had gone to bed at 8:30 and woke up to my alarm at 5. At 5, except the sun was already shining. At 5, except the street noises were too loud. At 5, except my alarm had reset itself a few days too late and it was really 6. 6, which means the bus would be leaving the bus stop, which is 3 minutes from my house, in about 4 minutes. No go.
I skipped some of my normal routine and got ready in 15 minutes and then did something I haven't done in weeks. Something I did every day last year, but have somehow avoided this year almost entirely. I say “somehow” but really, I mean that there's a new bus driver who come by at 6 and gets me to school by 6:15, which is the most bang for my buck. I still get there fairly early, but I have more time in the house, and in bed. When I miss the bus, I usually end up catching a ride with one of the Honduran staff members on their way to school.
But today, I walked. I forgot why I liked it so much. I still think I'll usually end up taking the bus, but I there are some things I need to remember to appreciate about my walk to school.
Being in Honduras, I find myself in a giant bubble, lacking in news, current events, and the culture that I will one day return to. This became obvious to me when I was home over the summer. After just one year, the day-to-day cultural references were completely out of my grasp. I can only imagine what it will be like after two years. However, by being a Mayatan teacher and a gringa, I'm in another bubble. I'm not really apart of the day-to-day happenings and culture here either. Most of the people I associate with are ex-pats, fellow teachers, or tourists. I do have Honduras friends, but I find that most of the time spent together is still not similar to the daily interactions I sometimes glimpse when I'm walking around town.
There are a variety of people who frequent my walk to school, in the opposite direction. When I walk regularly, I form a kind of 5-second-a-day relationship with them. But we recognize each other and when we see each other outside of our work, we are friendly. I like that relationship, but I do wish I was more outgoing, and more able to be closer to more locals. It's one of those things I've been working on.
When I walk, I have the opportunity to glimpse very small, but significant day-to-day interactions. I live a pampered life here. It's easy to get caught up in it. My house is comfortable, my shower is warm, I have a fridge, a stove, and a small oven. This is how my Honduran friends, most of them, live, but it is certainly not the norm.
This morning, I woke up to my alarm, and felt amazing. I had gone to bed at 8:30 and woke up to my alarm at 5. At 5, except the sun was already shining. At 5, except the street noises were too loud. At 5, except my alarm had reset itself a few days too late and it was really 6. 6, which means the bus would be leaving the bus stop, which is 3 minutes from my house, in about 4 minutes. No go.
I skipped some of my normal routine and got ready in 15 minutes and then did something I haven't done in weeks. Something I did every day last year, but have somehow avoided this year almost entirely. I say “somehow” but really, I mean that there's a new bus driver who come by at 6 and gets me to school by 6:15, which is the most bang for my buck. I still get there fairly early, but I have more time in the house, and in bed. When I miss the bus, I usually end up catching a ride with one of the Honduran staff members on their way to school.
But today, I walked. I forgot why I liked it so much. I still think I'll usually end up taking the bus, but I there are some things I need to remember to appreciate about my walk to school.
Being in Honduras, I find myself in a giant bubble, lacking in news, current events, and the culture that I will one day return to. This became obvious to me when I was home over the summer. After just one year, the day-to-day cultural references were completely out of my grasp. I can only imagine what it will be like after two years. However, by being a Mayatan teacher and a gringa, I'm in another bubble. I'm not really apart of the day-to-day happenings and culture here either. Most of the people I associate with are ex-pats, fellow teachers, or tourists. I do have Honduras friends, but I find that most of the time spent together is still not similar to the daily interactions I sometimes glimpse when I'm walking around town.
There are a variety of people who frequent my walk to school, in the opposite direction. When I walk regularly, I form a kind of 5-second-a-day relationship with them. But we recognize each other and when we see each other outside of our work, we are friendly. I like that relationship, but I do wish I was more outgoing, and more able to be closer to more locals. It's one of those things I've been working on.
When I walk, I have the opportunity to glimpse very small, but significant day-to-day interactions. I live a pampered life here. It's easy to get caught up in it. My house is comfortable, my shower is warm, I have a fridge, a stove, and a small oven. This is how my Honduran friends, most of them, live, but it is certainly not the norm.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Whew! Busy!
The last few weeks have been full. This week is the end of the first quarter, so the end of grades and a lot of paperwork. I've been on top of my grades, but I did just get back a big, multi-faceted project from my kids. The individual comments take the longest, but we also have to grade the students on morality, punctuality, attitude, organization, and sociability. I think the school is being more organized about how grades are turned in this year, and that should help smooth things out for everyone, especially darling Marisol who is in charge of putting it all together and translating all the comments. We also have our year long plans to finish up for Friday.
Last weekend was Kyle (and my Daddy's!) birthday. I was the pinata lady and followed through with his request for a bird. Most of us were still tired after the short 3 week from the depths of horror. It wasn't really so bad, but we had observed during the month of October that each 4 day week was worse than the one before. The students were all off their rhythm, we also were off our game, and the 3 day week, started with a spelling bee for Library Week (which was a lot of fun and I was really proud of my students), was the hardest. It didn't help any that we arrived back in Copan late at night the night before we went back to school after 12 hours of traveling to Belize.
I know I won't get much sympathy for that one, and I don't expect to. Belize was incredible. It would be wonderful if we could spend more than one day there for the 24 hours of round trip traveling, alternating between boat and bus. I love Belize, and I adore Placencia. I got to go snorkeling for the first time and it blew me away. I got see a barracuda, a tarpin, two nurse sharks (I spotted one before anyone else. It was sleeping in the reef and our guide pulled him out and he swam away), a variety of sea cucumbers, urchins, anemones, different types of seastars, coral, and a host of tropical fish. It was an overcast day, so the water wasn't that shocking blue I saw the year before, but it did keep us from getting burnt.
The trip was great, I have no complaints. Plus we got to meet some locals (including Robinson Crusoe. He showed me three forms of ID, he's actually a Jr.). But I maintain it's brutal to travel 12 hours, get back late, and wake up for school the next day.
This week has been worlds better. I actually caught up on cleaning, laundry, and some of my schoolwork over the weekend, which losing a weekend meant I hadn't really done much for about 2 weeks. Plus, and most importantly, I caught up on sleep. I've been making it to bed at a beyond-reasonable hour (for me, you might judge my 8, 8:30 bedtime.) I've had more energy in class and my kids have been very responsive. I've been working after school on my plans, and I've gotten a lot done. However, most of the work I've been doing is not actually what should or will go into my year long plans. It's very useful for me, and therefore good to have done, but not so good for what I need to get done for Friday.
This weekend is Halloween, which is another reason I need to be sleeping now. All of the Peace Corps volunteers in Honduras will be here in Copan for this “satantic cult festival”. It's times like this I'm particularly glad that I live in Copan, because Mayors around the country are being encouraged to shut down any celebration of Halloween. Copan is touristy, and they make a lot of money this weekend. Plus, there is a more liberal side to this town that understands that just because people dress up, doesn't mean they are worshiping Satan.
I look forward to seeing many of the friends I met last year and figuring out what exactly I'm going to be. Kat and I have been out costume hunting once already and will go again this afternoon. I'm also looking for things I can re-wear and reuse. I might try to borrow something, but if it's something I need to buy, then it has to be worth the money.
Last weekend was Kyle (and my Daddy's!) birthday. I was the pinata lady and followed through with his request for a bird. Most of us were still tired after the short 3 week from the depths of horror. It wasn't really so bad, but we had observed during the month of October that each 4 day week was worse than the one before. The students were all off their rhythm, we also were off our game, and the 3 day week, started with a spelling bee for Library Week (which was a lot of fun and I was really proud of my students), was the hardest. It didn't help any that we arrived back in Copan late at night the night before we went back to school after 12 hours of traveling to Belize.
I know I won't get much sympathy for that one, and I don't expect to. Belize was incredible. It would be wonderful if we could spend more than one day there for the 24 hours of round trip traveling, alternating between boat and bus. I love Belize, and I adore Placencia. I got to go snorkeling for the first time and it blew me away. I got see a barracuda, a tarpin, two nurse sharks (I spotted one before anyone else. It was sleeping in the reef and our guide pulled him out and he swam away), a variety of sea cucumbers, urchins, anemones, different types of seastars, coral, and a host of tropical fish. It was an overcast day, so the water wasn't that shocking blue I saw the year before, but it did keep us from getting burnt.
The trip was great, I have no complaints. Plus we got to meet some locals (including Robinson Crusoe. He showed me three forms of ID, he's actually a Jr.). But I maintain it's brutal to travel 12 hours, get back late, and wake up for school the next day.
This week has been worlds better. I actually caught up on cleaning, laundry, and some of my schoolwork over the weekend, which losing a weekend meant I hadn't really done much for about 2 weeks. Plus, and most importantly, I caught up on sleep. I've been making it to bed at a beyond-reasonable hour (for me, you might judge my 8, 8:30 bedtime.) I've had more energy in class and my kids have been very responsive. I've been working after school on my plans, and I've gotten a lot done. However, most of the work I've been doing is not actually what should or will go into my year long plans. It's very useful for me, and therefore good to have done, but not so good for what I need to get done for Friday.
This weekend is Halloween, which is another reason I need to be sleeping now. All of the Peace Corps volunteers in Honduras will be here in Copan for this “satantic cult festival”. It's times like this I'm particularly glad that I live in Copan, because Mayors around the country are being encouraged to shut down any celebration of Halloween. Copan is touristy, and they make a lot of money this weekend. Plus, there is a more liberal side to this town that understands that just because people dress up, doesn't mean they are worshiping Satan.
I look forward to seeing many of the friends I met last year and figuring out what exactly I'm going to be. Kat and I have been out costume hunting once already and will go again this afternoon. I'm also looking for things I can re-wear and reuse. I might try to borrow something, but if it's something I need to buy, then it has to be worth the money.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Writing, hiking, building
The last few weeks have been trying. It's just been one of those “when it rains, it pours” times. So, in an effort to not get taken under, I've been trying to keep my focus on the things going well, because there are many.
I haven't really been getting much sleep this week. That's mostly my fault, but the nights I did actually go to bed at a good hour, I was unable to sleep and when I did sleep I dreamed poorly, but yesterday I took a two hour nap and last night I slept for 9 hours. Catching up is upon us.
I know I still have a long way to go with my teaching, but I am worlds better than I was a year ago, and better, even, than I was at the end of last year. Teaching a new class for science is giving me a different perspective too. When they came in, I had to adjust to them, and they've had to adjust to me. This class has a different personality than my class and I find myself having to teach them differently to keep their attention as a whole. This class, however, only has 5 students passing because almost no one turns in my homework. Emily is having similar issues with my class for Math. We've tried expressing that, yes, you do get a grade for this class, but they just don't get motivated. We make them write it down, when they go back to homeroom, I remind them of Math work they have and Emily reminds hers of Science. When they don't bring it in, remind them daily for a week, sometimes a few will bring it in then. I fear that it's going to take quarter grades, a lot of parent-teacher conferences, and about 15 science recuperation tests for anything to really change. But, if if it works, then I'll take it. I should probably just prepare a statement in Spanish to share with each parents I need to meet with about Science. The kids also had a chance to make up their quiz grades, and most did not.
However! For the first time in my teaching career, I gave a test that actually appears to have grades that completely reflect the student's understanding. The kids who get it, got good grades, the kids who don't get it and don't try, got very poor grades, and the kids who struggle, but work hard, got decent grades. Which, I can and will also share with the parents when it's meeting time.
I've also really been missing writing recently. I've been trying to get some of my old writing buddies to edit some of my work, but it's slow as they have no motivation to get it done and have other lives going
on. Plus, I just don't have that much to give because I haven't been writing much.
I found a word generator, that gives you 60 seconds to write the first things that come to mind, and I've started doing that a couple times a day. I'm also going back through my old notebooks where I wrote down ideas that never came to anything and looking up journals online to submit to/read their works. Kat and Emily are fiction writers, and Emily actually started a website for free expression concerning
domestic violence. She's printing an issue and is still working on it from here and I've volunteered my services since I worked in editing for two years at the Dos Passos Review and I miss it. Even though we're different genres, we've started playing with the idea of starting a mini-workshop here. I think that'd be great.
I've really gotten into stumbleupon.com and have spent the last couple of days just going through the categories “writing” and “poetry.” I've been reading more, writing more, and saving journals that I think I might like, or other tools (like a cliché finder, though it only does word-for-word cliches, not whole images, but that's okay).
I've also been hiking a lot recently. Yesterday a few of us went up searching for illusive waterfalls that we never found, but we did learn a little more about the flora and got to stretch the legs. Plus, Kat and I were able to geek out of the obsidian sprinkled road we were walking on. We just walked really slowly and picked up all the pieces we could find. Some were very clearly a part of tools, and the others are just pretty. We're thinking about going back up tomorrow and taking it more slowly.
I think, sometimes if you're missing something, you need to build it where you are. The tools are here.
I haven't really been getting much sleep this week. That's mostly my fault, but the nights I did actually go to bed at a good hour, I was unable to sleep and when I did sleep I dreamed poorly, but yesterday I took a two hour nap and last night I slept for 9 hours. Catching up is upon us.
I know I still have a long way to go with my teaching, but I am worlds better than I was a year ago, and better, even, than I was at the end of last year. Teaching a new class for science is giving me a different perspective too. When they came in, I had to adjust to them, and they've had to adjust to me. This class has a different personality than my class and I find myself having to teach them differently to keep their attention as a whole. This class, however, only has 5 students passing because almost no one turns in my homework. Emily is having similar issues with my class for Math. We've tried expressing that, yes, you do get a grade for this class, but they just don't get motivated. We make them write it down, when they go back to homeroom, I remind them of Math work they have and Emily reminds hers of Science. When they don't bring it in, remind them daily for a week, sometimes a few will bring it in then. I fear that it's going to take quarter grades, a lot of parent-teacher conferences, and about 15 science recuperation tests for anything to really change. But, if if it works, then I'll take it. I should probably just prepare a statement in Spanish to share with each parents I need to meet with about Science. The kids also had a chance to make up their quiz grades, and most did not.
However! For the first time in my teaching career, I gave a test that actually appears to have grades that completely reflect the student's understanding. The kids who get it, got good grades, the kids who don't get it and don't try, got very poor grades, and the kids who struggle, but work hard, got decent grades. Which, I can and will also share with the parents when it's meeting time.
I've also really been missing writing recently. I've been trying to get some of my old writing buddies to edit some of my work, but it's slow as they have no motivation to get it done and have other lives going
on. Plus, I just don't have that much to give because I haven't been writing much.
I found a word generator, that gives you 60 seconds to write the first things that come to mind, and I've started doing that a couple times a day. I'm also going back through my old notebooks where I wrote down ideas that never came to anything and looking up journals online to submit to/read their works. Kat and Emily are fiction writers, and Emily actually started a website for free expression concerning
domestic violence. She's printing an issue and is still working on it from here and I've volunteered my services since I worked in editing for two years at the Dos Passos Review and I miss it. Even though we're different genres, we've started playing with the idea of starting a mini-workshop here. I think that'd be great.
I've really gotten into stumbleupon.com and have spent the last couple of days just going through the categories “writing” and “poetry.” I've been reading more, writing more, and saving journals that I think I might like, or other tools (like a cliché finder, though it only does word-for-word cliches, not whole images, but that's okay).
I've also been hiking a lot recently. Yesterday a few of us went up searching for illusive waterfalls that we never found, but we did learn a little more about the flora and got to stretch the legs. Plus, Kat and I were able to geek out of the obsidian sprinkled road we were walking on. We just walked really slowly and picked up all the pieces we could find. Some were very clearly a part of tools, and the others are just pretty. We're thinking about going back up tomorrow and taking it more slowly.
I think, sometimes if you're missing something, you need to build it where you are. The tools are here.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Random Mix, Ending on a Serious Note
Fun Facts:
*It's the tail end of the rainy season and I haven't bothered to replace my lost umbrella since I got here
*Fly bites lend to interesting results
*I'm finally breaking out of my Spanish-nervous-shell
Things I've been considering:
~I have a tv this year, and some of the shows are in Spanish, but there are a few channels that are almost exclusively English with Spanish Subtitles. When I watch these channels, I always read the subtitles. For a while, I was coming to the conclusion that Spanish isn't as dynamic as English. Subtleties to the language were being lost in translation. Otherwise, the translations were good. I couldn't figure why they would leave out the equivalent phrases unless they didn't exist. It's recently occurred to me that there are many different “Spanishes.” Guatemalan-Spanish is different from Honduran-Spanish, is different from Spain-Spanish, is different from Ecuadorian-Spanish. So, I'm now taking comfort in that the subtitles probably use the most direct and simple form of what is being said so it can be understood by a broader audience instead of choosing the colloquialisms that may only work for a couple of countries.
~I love taking pictures. I love the act of taking pictures. I love cropping them down to just capture the best parts of the scene. I have really enjoyed playing with space and light in my pictures. Feel free to give me tips!
~Probably the most important is: No sex ed leads to absolutely incredible rumors and beliefs among the students. Things you or I wouldn't even consider.
In a sixth grade classroom discussion, HIV/AIDS came up and the teacher was quickly informed that men, or boys, cannot get HIV. Every student in the room believed it was true.
The seventh grader boys, during their library time, all gather around the book called “Where Babies Come From” but refuse to check it out because they don't want anyone else to know they are curious.
There's a lot of controversy about how sex ed is taught, or what it should entail. In this conservative society, it always been strongly suggested to me that I just avoid all topics that could lead to those topics (though, I do teach younger children, but they are getting old enough to start being very curious.) But nothing is not good enough. It never occurred to be how little is understood if no one at school OR home will talk about it. It is not okay.
The teachers have begun to get very concerned about the lack of sex ed. With so little understanding of how things work that an entire class can believe that males cannot contract HIV, the consequences have the potential to be horrible. We've started to push the administration to allow a sex ed class, starting in 6th grade and continuing into secondary. Someone needs to teach these kids the facts of live, or at least, the consequences.
*It's the tail end of the rainy season and I haven't bothered to replace my lost umbrella since I got here
*Fly bites lend to interesting results
*I'm finally breaking out of my Spanish-nervous-shell
Things I've been considering:
~I have a tv this year, and some of the shows are in Spanish, but there are a few channels that are almost exclusively English with Spanish Subtitles. When I watch these channels, I always read the subtitles. For a while, I was coming to the conclusion that Spanish isn't as dynamic as English. Subtleties to the language were being lost in translation. Otherwise, the translations were good. I couldn't figure why they would leave out the equivalent phrases unless they didn't exist. It's recently occurred to me that there are many different “Spanishes.” Guatemalan-Spanish is different from Honduran-Spanish, is different from Spain-Spanish, is different from Ecuadorian-Spanish. So, I'm now taking comfort in that the subtitles probably use the most direct and simple form of what is being said so it can be understood by a broader audience instead of choosing the colloquialisms that may only work for a couple of countries.
~I love taking pictures. I love the act of taking pictures. I love cropping them down to just capture the best parts of the scene. I have really enjoyed playing with space and light in my pictures. Feel free to give me tips!
~Probably the most important is: No sex ed leads to absolutely incredible rumors and beliefs among the students. Things you or I wouldn't even consider.
In a sixth grade classroom discussion, HIV/AIDS came up and the teacher was quickly informed that men, or boys, cannot get HIV. Every student in the room believed it was true.
The seventh grader boys, during their library time, all gather around the book called “Where Babies Come From” but refuse to check it out because they don't want anyone else to know they are curious.
There's a lot of controversy about how sex ed is taught, or what it should entail. In this conservative society, it always been strongly suggested to me that I just avoid all topics that could lead to those topics (though, I do teach younger children, but they are getting old enough to start being very curious.) But nothing is not good enough. It never occurred to be how little is understood if no one at school OR home will talk about it. It is not okay.
The teachers have begun to get very concerned about the lack of sex ed. With so little understanding of how things work that an entire class can believe that males cannot contract HIV, the consequences have the potential to be horrible. We've started to push the administration to allow a sex ed class, starting in 6th grade and continuing into secondary. Someone needs to teach these kids the facts of live, or at least, the consequences.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Three Day Weekend
This weekend had another hike up to Yanatios to see Dona Lucas. This time with 4 new teachers. We told her that we would be back up in 3 weeks. Hopefully that will work out. I find it incredibly refreshing to go up there.
Sunday, we went on a horse tour up to another aldea for Sarah Harrington's 30th birthday. This was a couple of first for me. I haven't been on a horse tour and I haven't been to this aldea. The only downside was that my camera died within 5 minutes of us starting out.
When I first got on my horse, I was worthless. My horse only moved when the guide, Enrique, told it to. Every time Enrique was away helping someone else, my horse, Lito, would stop or slow down again. I got to chat with Enrique a bit in Spanish, which was fun. He asked if we knew any songs, but I don't know any sing-alongs in Spanish.
On the way back down, I was good at directing my horse, and having him listen, and slowing him down (since it was downhill). Enrique was adamant about the importance of going slow on the downhill, especially for those of us who hadn't known what we were doing when we got started. When we got back to flat, we started testing going faster. After I'd been experimenting
some, and even galloped a few steps, he asked if I wanted to gallop again and I did and we went a little ways like that. It was a lot of fun. The whole extravaganza was less than $10.
Enrique also says they're going to be starting up a school for riding in November. He hasn't worked out logistics or pricing, but he'll come up to Mayatan to talk to us about it later in October. I can see
being interesting and so are 4 or 5 other teachers. It might actually be cheap enough here for it to be worth it to me, but we'll see.
Sunday, we went on a horse tour up to another aldea for Sarah Harrington's 30th birthday. This was a couple of first for me. I haven't been on a horse tour and I haven't been to this aldea. The only downside was that my camera died within 5 minutes of us starting out.
When I first got on my horse, I was worthless. My horse only moved when the guide, Enrique, told it to. Every time Enrique was away helping someone else, my horse, Lito, would stop or slow down again. I got to chat with Enrique a bit in Spanish, which was fun. He asked if we knew any songs, but I don't know any sing-alongs in Spanish.
On the way back down, I was good at directing my horse, and having him listen, and slowing him down (since it was downhill). Enrique was adamant about the importance of going slow on the downhill, especially for those of us who hadn't known what we were doing when we got started. When we got back to flat, we started testing going faster. After I'd been experimenting
some, and even galloped a few steps, he asked if I wanted to gallop again and I did and we went a little ways like that. It was a lot of fun. The whole extravaganza was less than $10.
Enrique also says they're going to be starting up a school for riding in November. He hasn't worked out logistics or pricing, but he'll come up to Mayatan to talk to us about it later in October. I can see
being interesting and so are 4 or 5 other teachers. It might actually be cheap enough here for it to be worth it to me, but we'll see.
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