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Monday, November 28, 2011

Tyra Banks and Paula Abdul

I've been feeling even more integrated into the community lately, and also feeling more respected and welcomed in my counterpart organizations.  Last week, I successfully gave 3 "charlas" (training sessions/presentations) to the teachers at the colegio.  They wanted charlas on teaching techniques and motivation.  I was nervous going into it because I don't feel at all like an expert on the topic and it's way more difficult to give a presentation in Spanish in front of a group of adults than a group of kids.  Despite my nerves, the charlas went great.  I filled them with "dinamicas" (icebreakers and games), and the teachers loved it.  Hondurans love to play, even adults.  I was surprised by this because I think that if I gave the same training in the states the teachers would be moaning and groaning about having to do lots of silly games, but these teachers were very enthusiastic.

On Tuesday, I introduced them to a bunch of icebreakers and teambuilding activities that they can use in their classes with their students.  We played human bingo, speed-dating, and the big wind blows ("el viento lo mueve").  For teambuilding activities we did the human knot, some line-ups without talking, and an activity where they had to write something working as a team using a contraption with ropes, a plastic plate, and a marker.  Wednesday was about motivation, and I introduced some teaching techniques like KWL (SQA en espanol).  Thursday I taught them a bunch of games that they can use with their students to review before a quiz or test.  The attendance dwindled as the week went on, but the teachers seemed to appreciate the charlas, and they were enthusiastic and participative.  They asked if we could organize the same type of thing at the beginning of the next school year with all of the teachers, so hopefully I'll be able to present to a bigger group.  The goal is to give the teachers some more tools to make their classes more interesting and enjoyable to the students.


I didn't really do anything on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving, but I hope all of you ate plenty of turkey and pumpkin pie.  (My mom already promised that she'll make me Thanksgiving dinner when I come home to visit.)  On Friday, I woke up nice and early and headed into Tegucigalpa, the capital city.  The bus ride was a little rough, because it was really crowded and I ended up standing in the aisle for the first 2 hours.  In Teguz, I met up with my friend Emily at the Intercontinental Hotel, which was super fancy.  We headed out to the Peace Corps office in a cab so that we could pick up some more books.  The office has a great library, and we're allowed to take as many books as we want.  So, I now have like 15 new books to keep me busy for the next couple months.  Then, Emily and I headed back to the hotel and went to the mall which, conveniently, was located right next door to the hotel.  We split a pizza in the food court and hung out for a little bit with a couple of other volunteers.  Then we met up with Deandra and went to the movies to see Happy Feet 2 (in Spanish, and very cute!), did some shopping, and went for a swim in the hotel pool.  Our "Thanksgiving dinner" was at TGI Fridays, and I had a hamburger and french fries.  Not the same as a home-cooked turkey dinner, but it sure was delicious.  Saturday morning I had to wake up super early to catch the 6 a.m. bus back to Sulaco because I had an event to go to at 3.

Saturday at 3 (well, it was supposed to start at 3 and didn't actually start until 5:30- that's Honduras for you), was the selection of the "Madrina Agasul," which is like the beauty queen of the agricultural organization in town.  Norma, the librarian from the colegio, organized the event and asked me to be a judge.  This was the third of this type of event to happen in the past couple weeks.  The first was the reina (queen) of the feria and the second was the "reina infantil" (young queen).  I was able to go to the selection of the reina infantil, and it was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.

The "Madrina Agasul" competition consisted of a bunch of high school girls parading around the stage in different outfits.  They started with a dance, and the other rounds included sportswear (excercise clothes), dresses, and cowgirl style clothes.  Then they had to answer questions, which all had to do with the organization Agasul (Associacion de ganadores y agricultores de Sulaco).  I didn't love having to judge the girls on things like their modeling walk and "elegance," but it was an honor to be asked to be part of the event.
Hondurans don't like to smile for pictures.  But gringas do!

I was also asked by someone from the church to be a judge for the "Festival de la Cancion- Maria: Musica de Dios."  Each town in Honduras chooses a saint and during the "feria patronal" they celebrate their town's saint.  Sulaco's feria is for the virgin Mary, and the music festival was a competition with children and youth who were all singing songs about the virgin Mary.  I liked this event better because I wasn't judging people on the way they looked or walked, but by their singing.  All of the kids were great, and the top 3 from each age group are going to compete in a regional festival on December 8th, and I'll be a judge for that too!  So, I've felt a little like a reality TV show judge the past few days.  It's really been an honor that the people in my community have been inviting me to be a part of these events.  I'm looking forward to the feria next week.  Should be filled with lots of exciting events, and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it!
The winning group from the older kids division...I have a video of them, but it would take forever to upload :-(
In other news, I bought a modem when I was in Teguz, so please skype me! sarah.stockmann1

Monday, November 14, 2011

Things That Would Never Occur in the U.S.—Part 1


I’m thinking this will become a reoccurring post theme, that’s why I’m naming it part one.  This post is not at all meant to criticize the Honduran culture, it is meant to highlight some of the cultural differences so you can get a glimpse into what it’s like here.

THE SCIENCE FAIR
So, last week the colegio was taking their exams, and one of the days they held a science fair where the students could work in a group, design and perform an experiment, and present it to be judged by some of the teachers.  In many ways it was like a typical science fair—groups of students gathered around posters and explaining their experiments using visuals and props.  However, some of the things would definitely never fly in a U.S. science fair:
  • Fire: One of the groups explored the properties of fire (or something like that), and their experiment involved making a fire and putting a flat, circular, metal pan on top of it.  Once the pan was really hot, they poured water on top, and the fire flared up really huge.  And that was their experiment.  I have no idea what the scientific principles are behind it…and if you do, feel free to comment on this post and explain.  This experiment might work in a U.S. science fair, but the students would just have some pictures on their tri-fold board showing the experiment.  However, these kids started a fire right there on the floor of the half-finished gymnasium where the science fair was held.  And then they did their experiment, which made flames that had to have been at least 10 feet tall. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the huge flames on film, but you can only imagine the excitement and crowd that formed around the demonstration. 
  • Alcohol:  So, I walked up to one of the groups, and their poster said something about tequila.  So I asked the girls what their experiment was.  And they explained that they made alcohol.  I thought that maybe it was some kind of cool scientific way that they did it, but when I asked they just said that they put nance juice, alcohol, sugar, and cinnamon in a bottle and let it sit for a few days.  And that was their experiment.  When the teachers who were judging came around, of course they were given a small sample to smell and taste.  And let’s just say that the judges were not the only ones that tasted the experiment….
  • More fire…Fire seemed to be a big thing in this science fair.  One group made a welder (probably not the right word for it, but that’s the word I’m going to use) using a car battery, water, and salt, and then demonstrated it’s use.  Another made some kind of gas using chemicals and then lit it on fire to show that gas was being produced.  There were multiple volcanoes as projects.  I figured they’d be erupting with vinegar and baking soda, but that’s not how it’s done in Honduras.  Fireworks are the eruption of choice here.
the fire experiment

the alcohol experiment

making some kind of gas and then burning it

the alcohol experiment once the kids figured out what it was haha

So, safety is not so much a consideration when it comes to the Honduran science fair.  There were a lot of very safe and interesting projects as well, but the “wow” factor apparently plays a big role.  The winning group from each grade got a cake and soda to share.  I’m not sure which groups ended up winning, but I’m guessing some of the kids that played with fire are eating cake and drinking Coke right now.  Part of me was freaking out and worried that all of the tipsy students were going to fall into the fire or get their fingers welded together, but the other part of me loves the carefree attitude that Hondurans have, and how excited they get about things.  
A project about volcanoes/the impact of humans on the earth

A model of a section of the town to show how they could provide electricity to light the soccer field.

A model of a lunar eclipse.

If I don’t post again before Thanksgiving, I hope everyone has a great one!  I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year, including my family and friends who are so encouraging and supportive, especially my H-19 Peace Corps friends.  And of course I’m also thankful for anyone who takes the time to read my blog!  If you read regularly, you can click “subscribe” on the right side in order to stay updated on new posts!

Coming soon… Things That Would Never Occur in the U.S.—Part 2: Dancing

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

What I´ve been up to...


So, I’ve been in site for more than a month now, and in Honduras for almost 4 months.   Time flies! The school year is winding down, and I’m trying to start planning for the school vacation, which encompasses the entire months of December and January. 

In the colegio (7th-12th grade), I really wasn’t doing too much in the beginning.  I would go to the school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and hang out and chat with the teachers.  Peace Corps has told us many times that this kind of work, hanging out and gaining “confianza” (trust) with our communities and counterparts is important also.  But, I was anxious to actually be doing something.  Luckily, Fernando, the P.E. teacher and baseball coach that I work with, noticed I wasn’t doing much and offered to let me lead some activities with his classes.  So, I’ve worked with a bunch of gym classes doing teambuilding activities.  It’s taken lots of creativity because, although I have some experience with these kind of things from working at camp, I have barely any resources to work with.  We’ve done the human knot, working as a team to fit a big group of people in a small space, and a game that involves communication where some of the team members can’t see and others can’t talk.  Normally, at camp, we would have a low ropes course and lots of materials to do these activities.  However, here I’ve improvised by using recyclables, circles of masking tape, and whatever else I can find.  We did an activity where they had to cross a “rio de fuego” (river of fire) using pieces of paper as stepping-stones, and another where they had to pass a flyswatter (once again, I’m using whatever materials I can find) around to everyone in the circle without using their hands.  In the beginning, it was really hard for them.  The culture and education system here doesn’t really allow students to think for themselves.  I’ve noticed that the concept of “wait time,” teachers giving students time to think and respond after you ask a question, definitely isn’t taught in education classes here in Honduras.  Teachers do not let students think on their own and come up with ideas.  Thus, when left to figure things out for themselves, students don’t have the skills to problem-solve and teachers end up giving the answers.  During the first day of activities, the students struggled a lot.  However, the second day they were more thoughtful and communicated better with one another.  My de-briefing skills need a little work though…everything’s so much harder when you have to say it in Spanish!
trying to communicate without using words, so that their teammates can tell the blindfolded person where to go/what to do

human knot...el nudo humano

How many people can you fit in a teeny tiny circle made of masking tape?  Fernando counting to see how many seconds they can stay like that.


The other thing that I am doing with the colegio is teaching English classes during the night shift.  Because the colegio has so many students, they have different shifts.  In the mornings, the students in 1st-3rd  ciclo ( 7th-9th grade) have class, and they get out at 12.  At noon, the Bachillerato students, (10th-12th grade) come in and have class until 4 or 5.  At 4:00, there is another shift of 1st-3rd ciclo.  These students, for various reasons, attend school at night.  Some of them work during the day, either in a pulperia (store), planting and harvesting crops, or whatever else.  There aren’t many students, each ciclo has less than 10 kids.  So, I’ve been working with my host dad to teach his English classes.  They didn’t have anyone to teach the classes, so Milton agreed to do it, even though he really doesn’t speak English at all.  He learned some things from the previous volunteer who taught an English class for teachers, but it’s really not much.  So, I’m supposed to be co-teaching, but really I’m teaching the classes almost completely on my own.  Each ciclo has 3 English classes per week, and each class is only 35 minutes.  This is the last week of classes, and exams start next week.  Last night, I ended up teaching both classes alone, and the students asked me if I could always teach them alone, without my host dad.  The class that said this usually doesn’t participate at all when Milton is there, but with me they all participated a lot.  I was flattered, but of course I couldn’t say yes.  I’m here to collaborate and equip the teachers to teach better, not to just teach on my own.  However, the students really like me, and, although working with high schoolers and middle schoolers isn’t my specialty, I’ve enjoyed the colegio English classes.

In the escuela (1-6), I’ve been teaching English to the classes of 5th and 6th graders one hour per week.  The classes are huge, some have as many as 40 kids!  This makes classroom management a struggle, especially because it’s hard to give instructions and take control of the classroom using only Spanish.  The kids love it though,  and are constantly yelling “Good Morning!” and “How are you?” to me when they’re at recess or when I’m walking down the street.  I’ve also been working a little bit with the kids who are struggling to learn how to read.  This has been tough because of lack of resources.  I do have experience doing small group reading interventions, but without books and other materials I’ve had to get creative once again.  During the break, I’m hoping to make some materials and come up with more ideas for the upcoming school year.  In addition, this week and next I am holding meetings with parents to set up the “Escuela de Madres y Padres” (school for parents) for next school year.  It is mandatory for schools in Honduras to have a parenting school, yet most don’t have one.  The hope is that we can plan in the next couple of weeks so that we can get started with the parenting school in February.  I’m a little nervous because it’s a lot harder for me to speak in Spanish in front of a big group of adults, but I’m hoping they’ll participate and we’ll get things planned.
there was one day when the bell didn´t ring until like 9:00, which gave the kids an hour and a half of free time, so we took a bunch of pictures
In addition to taking pictures, we played bingo with numbers in English, because the kids enjoyed it so much in their English classes last week.

Bring your machete to school day...and I´m not even kidding.  They didn´t have anyone to cut the grass, so all of the kids brought machetes to school to help out.

My last project is the baseball team.  This week, Fernando and I decided that we are going to have two different groups of kids that practice on 2 different days.  Because the kids differ so much in age and skill level, it’s really hard to hold a practice with all of them together.  So, we’re going to start practicing with a team of older kids with higher skill levels to teach the sport more and try to form a team to compete with.  The other kids will still get to come and play for fun on a different day.  This should solve some of our equipment issues for the time being.  My parents are working on collecting gloves to send down, so eventually we’ll have enough equipment for everyone.
Hey horses!  Get off our field!

Although it seems like I’m really busy, I actually have a ton of down time, which has been kind of difficult.  In a little over a month of being here in Sulaco, I’ve read 5 books, watched the first 6 seasons of “How I Met Your Mother,” the first season of “Arrested Development,” and a couple of movies.  The boredom was really bothering me, but I’ve realized that I just have to get used to it.  On weekends, I’ve started going for long walks, hanging out with some kids and going to the soccer field, and relaxing and listening to music.  I need to learn to accept that I’m in a culture that’s much slower-paced and that there’s nothing wrong with just hanging out.  Everyone here spends lots of time just doing nothing, so why can’t I?  I guess I just like to stay busy.
Encountering a herd of cows while out for a walk...this was right after I had to turn around because there was an angry goose that wouldn´t let me pass.

I’m going to start trying to plan some activities for the kids during vacation, since they’ll really have absolutely nothing to do.  I’m going to try to meet with the kids from the colegio to put together a group of youth to help me plan the activities.  I’m thinking of having a “day camp” Monday through Friday for a couple hours each day for all of vacation.  That way I can stay busy and keep the kids of Sulaco busy too!  
Sulaco