Feliz Navidad!

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a nice run up to Christmas and that you have your Christmas shopping done already! Here, it’s as busy as ever, and next week is the last week at school for us. The school play is on Thursday, which means lots of rehearsals and crafting of wreaths, grinch hands and Who hats. However, the play is coming on very well, and the students are coping very well with the difficult language, as we are doing most of the play in English.

We have also had a few cold spells in Sigua, as hard as that may be you back home to believe. Although it only gets to about 10 degrees, it can feel very cold when there is no heating or insulation and many buildings don’t even have glass in the windows. We are also acclimatized to the Honduran weather now, so have been wrapped up in our hoodies most days drinking hot chocolate (courtesy of my aunt Jane, uncle Danny and my cousins, thank you J). The Hondurans wrap up very well, when a slight chill descends and we have spotted people around town with wooly hats and scarves. Some of my kids looked like they were preparing for an artic expedition with one boy wearing a vest, a jumper, his school t-shirt, then another jumper and to top it all of a massive coat that must of belonged to an older brother or his dad! It was very cute and my kids were all shocked when I told them that it can be this cold all year round in Scotland.

We have also spent the past few weeks preparing for the Christmas parade, which was last night. Each grade was tasked with making a float, however ours was not at school until Thursday, so we had a very rushed time the past few days painting (and then re-painting because the colors were too pale) a cardboard train, and then decorating a float for it to go on. I was quite impressed with what we managed to achieve in the little time we had to make it, but in the end the kids didn’t even get to ride on it because the parents wanted them to walk so that they could see their costumes! I didn’t mind so much as the kids, some of them are just 3 years old and had to walk for about 2 hours all around the town.

The real work of art however, was 11^th grade’s float. They had constructed an entire igloo out of wire and plastic, covered the rest in grass (pulled from the school garden!) and also snuck two benches from school, and borrowed a giant snow globe a 3^rd grader happened to have in their house. They had also acquired two lampposts from somewhere and strung “peace on earth” made from glitter between them. To top it all off they had cut paper bags to spell “seniors 2013” and placed candles inside. On top of everything was snow. It was truly amazing. Now you may be wondering how they got snow on top of everything in Honduras? Well, Erin and I, among others spent many an evening in the past two weeks grinding bits of polystyrene together to make tiny bits of polystyrene that looks like snow. However all the work was worth it, and I wish I could describe it better as this doesn’t really do it justice.

Things are feeling very Christmassy here, as everyone has decorations up. I was particularly impressed with our host family’s effort: we have a Christmas tree, a wreath on the door, a little nativity scene and lights all up outside!

Happy St Andrew's day from Honduras!

Our host family's christmas lights!

Thanks for the chocolate santa mum! Didn't quite survive airmail :(

1st Grade's Christmas door display

My Christmas door display

The school christmas tree

Our host family's tree

As the four-month mark has come and gone, I wanted to share with you all some reflections on my time here so far:

At first teaching was quite a shock. I was confronted by a class full of four – year – olds who had never held a pencil or sat in a classroom before. They also did not speak a word of English, yet I had to conduct all of my classes through the medium of English. It was certainly a challenge. However, I have found that with a lot of enthusiasm and a packet of stickers a lot can be achieved.

Many of the children come from families where the father is absent, often working illegally in the USA. A lot of them were left in the house alone, or with an older sibling before they started in my class, hence many of them struggle to remain seated during the class and to follow rules. However, I feel they have improved considerably after giving them time and attention. Their ability in English has also really improved, as I very rarely use Spanish in class.

I teach the children from 8am – 12 noon, most of their subjects: science and art to English and maths. A bilingual teacher then comes in for an hour to teach them, followed by an hour of P.E. The school has no books for the children to work from, which means that for most classes I have to handwrite 14 worksheets the night before – a lot of work, but I feel I am adjusting to the workload, and making my lessons more interactive makes them more engaging for the students and means less copying out sheets. 

I have also become involved in a project in the local community one afternoon a week, after my lessons. The project takes in very poor children who are not able to afford to go to school. It provides day – care for the youngest (aged 2) and a classroom to give the children a basic education. The children are also given a free nutritious meal, as many do not get adequate meals at home. I teach them an hour – long English lesson and then spend the next hour playing with them in the garden, acting as a big sister and giving them lots of love, time and attention.

I am also currently in the process of setting up after – school sports clubs, as there is very little for the children to do after school and at the weekends. As a brown – belt in Karate I will hopefully hold a karate club for the younger children, and introduce rounders into Honduras with a rounders club for the high school students. I hope to bring you more news about this after the new year.

Personally, I feel I have learnt so much already in my time here. I live with a host family, which has allowed me to gain a real insight into the culture and customs here. My partner and I cook our own meals, which at first I found a challenge but am now really glad I have leaned this vital life skill. My Spanish has also gone from non – existent to a level where I can understand most of what is said to me. I currently get Spanish lessons twice a week from a teacher in school, and in return I give her English lessons. I defiantly feel that I have gained a huge amount of independence so far, and hopefully that will continue to grow throughout the year.

Amanda in her winter coat

Daniel

Nathalie and Clelian

Some of my kiddies

We are off on Friday to go traveling for Christmas, after we have a Christmas dinner with all of the teachers at the school. First we are going to visit the Mayan ruins at Copan, then we are heading over to Utila, one of the bay islands, to spend Christmas and New Year with the other project trust volunteers. Finally we are going to a little town called Gracias which is supposed to be very nice.

So Feliz Navidad! Have a great time and I shall tell you all about my travels when we get back.