update

life is really hard sometimes. it's difficult to figure out the right things to do at a moment when a decision is required. especially when those decisions involve other people, the people dearest to you.

I haven't written a lot lately because Alex and I have been going through a lot of changes. It started with deciding to take a very expensive trip back home for the holidays, forgoing Costa Rica, and has ended with our separation.

Alex and I are back in the states, as you might have heard or seen, and we're not going back to teach in Honduras. We are living apart right now because we need to decide if staying together is the best thing for each of us. It's a difficult decision to make, but we're talking and trying to make the best choice for each of us and our relationship.


I've been thinking about renaming this blog for sometime now. Maybe I will do that in the wake of our separation, even if we do end up staying together. Mostly, Alex hasn't contributed to this blog like I have, and really, though it's about our life, it's really only my perspective. So, we shall see but don't be alarmed if you do notice a change in the future.


In other news, Alex and I both have jobs, which is amazing to me given the economy's state. They're not full time jobs with benefits, but we're working which is what really matters. Coincidently, or not so coincidently, they are both with the Boys and Girls Club in Lebanon, though he's working at the main club and I'm at the brand new Teen Center. Pretty exciting, right?

Anyway, I will try posting on here more frequently now that the air is clear.

busy busy

Not going to lie... we took our vacation at the best and at worst time.

Best because the students had quite a few tests to take in our classes, and pretty much anyone can proctor a test. It was easy for us to get away.

Worst because it was at the beginning of the second partial (or quarter), which means that we needed to grade anything that we hadn't already, grade exams, and get our grades in. If not before we left, then right after we got back.

When we got back Wednesday afternoon, we were beat.

We had just traveled for 24 hours by bus and boat, and slept in a random hotel the night before.

Thursday, we had tests to grade and Friday we needed to hand our grades it. It was a whirlwind, let me tell you!

And this was in addition to planning lessons for the rest of the week, and trying to get prepared for the next week.

So, here we are. We've been back for a week and a half.

I think we are pretty much caught up on everything. 

The only thing that has been kind of lacking is my contribution to this blog, picture editing, and actual cooking of food.

This week, I think because we've been so swamped, we have literally not done anything for dinner. Some nights it was PB and J, and some nights it was take out tacos.

On the upside, we finally found a restaurant that sells tacos Mexicanos and actual nachos. Delicious!

So, today we will cook some food and I will edit some pictures for this blog. 

I know I keep saying this, but it will be up soon! 

In other news, Alex has taken an interest in computer programming. 

He's downloaded some ebooks about flash game making and is pretty into it. The hope is that if he really likes it, and is good, he will go back to school for it. 

Only time will tell.

two weeks

I suppose we've technically almost been here for three weeks, but really we have only been teaching for two.

In the States, not a whole lot happened in two weeks unless you were planning something or in the midst of a transition. At least for us, it was same ol' day after day. I can't say that I minded it, but we needed some adventure and now here we are in western Honduras.

It turns out that Green Valley School is a real place in an actual town called San Marcos de Ocotepeque in the Ocotepeque department of Honduras. We arrived here on a Monday afternoon after traveling by bus (nice but unairconditioned bus) with Marco for nearly four and a half hours from San Pedro Sula. We were whisked away after getting off the bus by Ms. Olga's driver (and let me tell you, we didn't catch her name until the first week of school, and we're still are unsure that it's correct), taken to our two bedroom apartment to drop off our things and then to meet Olga herself. She invited us in for coffee and cake, talked and asked us questions. We had literally been in Honduras for 20 hours and weren't accustom to hearing or speaking Spanish at this point, but we managed with the help of bilingual Marco.

The first week, we worked at the school from about 8am to about 2:30pm getting familiar with our book, working our schedules, and planning our classes. Alex chose to do math and English for 7th (6 students), 8th (11 students), and 9th grade (5 students). I chose health and science for the same grades. I also was assigned to help with phonics and reading for 3rd, 4th and 6th grade. We planned as best as we knew how for our classes and then waited for Monday.

The second week, we actually had students, books, and a schedule. We met everyone on Monday, a half day, and then started teaching on Tuesday. Everyone kept telling us to make sure we were strict with the kids and make rules right away. We decided coming to class prepared, turning homework in on time, and not speaking Spanish in the classroom was most important. Unfortunately, these are the things that they struggle with the most and it is a constant battle.

The third week was the same, but now we know our students names, how they are, what to expect out of them, and their habits. It turns out that 7th and 8th graders aren't the best of students. Lets just say, there is room for improvement and they ought to take some advice from the 9th graders.
I've given them several lectures on how they have the privilege and opportunity to come to school when many Honduran students can't because their teachers are on strike. I have mentioned that their parents pay a lot of money for them to attend this school, the school is paying Alex and I to be here which is not cheap, and if that if they don't take advantage of this education, they're wasting all that money and our time. I told them another time that I didn't come here for fun; "In America, I had a hot shower everyday. I knew how to cook food. I spoke the language. Not here. Here, I wake up early to take a cold shower. I don't know how to shop or cook. And I don't speak Spanish." Some listened well, and others snickered. These kids, I tell ya....

Some highlights for us have been going to the weekend market in town (they sell all sorts of fresh produce), meeting some Peace Corps Volunteers from San Marcos, San Francisco, and Sensenti (the next towns over), and doing our laundry in a washing machine and not by hand.

Everyone here has been really nice to us, and has done a lot to make sure we are comfortable and have things (kitchen utensils, stove, a towel, a bed, water). The first two weeks were difficult because things are very different here than in America. The roads are dirt, and after it rains nearly every night it's mud. Things aren't packaged like it was at home, so I don't always know what I'm buying or how much it is. The electricity works most of the time, the water on the other hand does not. We're slowly figuring everything out and  easing into the lifestyle, making things more comfortable. Though, I look forward to the day when we have a hot shower and an actual mattress to sleep on.

blerg

This past week has been a whirlwind for me.
I've started my new job at the YES House as a Treatment Aide. Luckily for me, I am educated and experienced in residential programs and facilitating groups, so they have put me in charge of running the groups in the afternoon. I'm pretty stoked about this because it means I have more responsibility, which somehow makes me like my job more. I also am able to make some time for planning, which really means time away from the kids - I need that sometimes, especially when my patience for shenanagans is running a little thin. There is a lot of paperwork involved, but I do not mind it at all. Oh, and I am able to get almost full time hours, which really rocks. I can't wait to get my hands on a macbook.
So this job is taking up a lot of my time. My schedule last week was a little something like this: Juvenile Department (8am-12pm) then YES House (12:30pm-7pm), except on the weekends which is YES House (8am-1pm). Now I have school from 1pm to 2pm, so I won't get to the YES House until about 2:30pm, which I found out last night means staying til like 9pm. I really don't think it will always be like this. Once I know what I'm doing then I won't need so much time to get organized and plan. Then I can relax a little. But, I have to say that I'm not really looking forward to being completely busy and tired all the time. Does not sound fun to me, I've got to say.

Alex on the other hand had it so easy! The kids were all on Spring Break, so he was on Spring Break. He worked 3 out of the 9 days off. I'm just jealous.
He finally got all of his shots and blood work done. He got his PPD (TB) test, and forgot to go in to have it checked. So, he has to go in today to get it redone. Hopefully he won't forget to have it checked.
I asked the nurse at Detention if I could have a copy of my results, and she told me that while I'm checked off for being tested, that she never signed off on it. Not really sure how that happened, but I am going in on Thursday to have it redone.

I'd have to say that the whole medical packet for Peace Corps is frustrating, only in that I find that people are really disappointing me. The medical/dentist people. They're making this whole thing a lot harder than it's had to be and I'm really over it. We're so close to having everything completed, checked off, and signed that I just want it to be over with! Right now, we're waiting on our PPD tests, our new dental forms to be filled out, and for my physical forms to be signed. We ought to have all of that done by Friday. They've also requested that I write a personal statement, which also needs to be done.

Really, there is a lot of little things that need to be done, but it has nothing to do with us. We're just waiting on other people to get their acts together. I guess this is why we're doing Peace Corps and they're not.

dental work is expensive!

We're well on our way to having all of our medical paperwork completed. This is the good news. The bad news is that this week, when we went to the dentist to have our exam and x-rays done, we learned that we each have a couple cavities that need to be filled. Our exam and x-rays were free, but cleaning and cavities cost money. A lot of money. We're talking almost $1000 to have our mouths in working "Peace Corps" order.
Luckily, we have the money. Unfortunatly, and really the only two things I can think about is, this is all of our tax refund and this means I may not be able to get my computer/take Spanish next term. That money was spoken for and now it's going to the place that does all our our speaking. Needless to say, I'm upset.
My plan for this week is to try to find another doctor in town that can do the same job for cheaper. So far, with the research I've done, I haven't found anything substantially different, but I will keep looking.

On a lighter note, I got the job at Milestones' Women's program. I start toward the end of next week. This will help recover some of the costs, but it's only about 10 hours/week so I'm going to have to think of some other ways to make money. I actually really like having multiple part time jobs, but sometimes it gets a little hairy when trying to make schedules work together. Either way, it makes life interesting.