Corinna's Update from Honduras

Please Note About Blog:

2010-07-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

There are lots of photos and comments on this blog about my experience missionary teaching in Honduras from 2005-2007. These photos and comments can be found under three separate links. If you look to the right, there is a heading entitled "Archives". Under this heading, there are three links entitled "June 2006", "December 2006" and "August 2007". Click on these links to view photos and comments that I posted at those times. Enjoy! :)

End of Year Update--August 2007

2007-08-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Well, another school year has ended at the CEE school in Siguatepeque, Honduras. There have been a few changes at the school this year. Mr. David, our English Director, has retired from his position. Though I'm sure his services will be missed, he is keeping busy and active as ever with many projects and activities in the community. Also, the school has hired a new all-school director. Her name is Silvia and she is a bilingual Honduran. She is very friendly and easy to talk to. It is nice to have someone who is bilingual to oversee the entire school.
I am really glad that I returned to teach for a second year. I have had an even better year than last year! This year, I was much better prepared...I understood the language and culture more and how the school operates. I also was able to improve on some things and do things that I didn't have time for last year. In addition, I was able to strengthen some relationships I had built and make new ones! Overall, this year has helped me to "tie up loose ends" and to bring closure to my experience here.
If you haven't heard already, this will be my last year teaching at the CEE school. I have been offered a teaching position in North Carolina! It is in Chatham County and the school is called Siler City Elementary School. I will be a kindergarten bilingual teacher in an immersion program. 70% of the students there are Latino and they put 50% of native English speakers in the class and 50% native Spanish speakers in the class. I will teach in both languages. The goal is that by the time the students are finished with 5th grade, they will be bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural!
I am really excited about this new teaching position and God has provided in so many amazing ways to make it happen! Thank you to all my family and friends for your prayers, encouragement, and support. I would also like to thank my church in Michigan, Lake Center Bible Church, for their prayers, guidance, and financial support. I often talk about my "home church" in Michigan wherever I am!
Well, I definitely will miss many people in Siguat. I have already shed some tears while saying some goodbyes. But, I want to keep in touch and hopefully I will return during the summers to visit and to help out in some way. If any of my friends who are still in Honduras ever need anything, please contact me! I will be glad to help! And, you are all welcome to come visit me in North Carolina! Many blessings to all!
In Christ,
Corinna

Deb Miller's Parents

2007-08-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

I would like to give a special thank-you to Deb Miller's parents who visited us this school year. In addition to helping out at the school in a variety of ways and donating many things to the school, they also gave me a digital camera and a travel drive! I couldn't believe it! I had wanted these for quite a while! It has made taking photos and posting them to my blog MUCH more easier and fun! THANK-YOU!!!

The CEE School-(Comunidad Educativa Evangelica)

2007-08-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the school where I taught for two years during 2005-2007. The first year, I assisted teaching English to the preschoolers and taught English to the kindergartners. I also taught Science in English to the third and fifth graders. The second year, I taught English to the preschoolers and kindergartners and taught Science in English to the third graders. In the first picture, you can see the school logo at the entrance to the school. In the second picture, you can see the "comedor", or cafeteria, and the teachers' house. About 20 years ago, the school used to be an airport. You can still tell how the cafeteria used to be an airplane hanger. In the third photo, is a picture of the "escuela" buildings--the 1st-6th grade classrooms and offices. In the fourth photo, is a picture of the "jardin de ninos", or preschool and kindergarten, buildings. In the last photo, is a picture of the "colegio", or high school, buildings.

The Betel Church

2007-08-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Betel church is the church that I call my "home church in Honduras". It was only one block from the teachers' house, so it was very convenient to just walk there. We came to know a lot of wonderful people there and enjoyed all the activities and services...even though they were all in Spanish! During the week, the church building also served as a school to many neighborhood children. In one of the photos is a picture of Pastor Hugo and his family. Both of his children were my students at the CEE school. In the last photo is a picture of the elders of Betel.

More Photos of Betel Church

2007-08-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos from the Betel church. In the first photo is a picture of Dr. Martinez and his wife Doris. Dr. Martinez is head of the hospital in Siguat, an elder at Betel church, and he and his wife are the founders of the CEE school where I taught. The next photo is a picture of Peter and Maileen Simpson. Many people from my church in Michigan, Lake Center Bible Church, will remember Peter's uncle...Dr. Watterson and his wife Leota...they were missionaries here for 10 years. Peter is an elder at Betel, the youth pastor, and he teaches high school philosophy at the CEE school. Maileen used to teach elementary at the CEE school and she still gets called upon to help out at the school in a variety of ways. She also serves in many capacities at the Betel church and within the community. The last photo is a picture of the clowns from the Betel church when they visited the CEE school. They sang a lot of songs and got all the kids (and teachers) involved. It was a lot of fun!

Photos of the City of Siguatepeque

2007-08-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the city of Siguat. The first three photos are the stores that we would commonly visit in town...Del Corral, Despensa Familiar, and Tienda Toledo. The next photo is a picture of a small store near our house that we frequently visited. Small stores are called "mercaditos" here. The last photo is a picture of a popular icecream shop in town called KOBS.

More Photos of the City of Siguatepeque

2007-08-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

In the first photo is a picture of the park in Siguat. It is across the street from KOBS, the icecream shop. So, it is nice to buy some icecream and then stroll through the park! The next photo is a picture of the bank that we would visit to cash our checks and do any other banking. In the next two photos are restaurants near our house that we would often visit...a Chinese restaurant and a Mexican restaurant. And, in the last photo is the internet cafe that we would go to in order to check our emails, make long distance calls, etc.

More Photos of the City of Siguatepeque

2007-08-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

The first photo is a common sight that you could see at the teachers' house...Dominos delivering pizza! In the second photo is a picture of Esther at the market. Because some of us didn't like getting up really early Sunday mornings before church to go to the market, Esther would often take our food orders and go to the market for us to buy fruits and vegetables! It was cheaper to buy our fruit and vegetables at the market than at the supermarket. In the next photo, you can see a woman making pottery. And in the next photo, is a road side stand that you can commonly see, especially near the highways. In the last photo is one of Honduras's ways of advertising. They use the rocks to paint on their logos and messages.

A View of Tegucigalpa (Tegus)--The Capital City of Honduras

2007-08-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Statue of Jesus Overlooking the Capital City of Tegucigalpa

2007-08-21T16:26:00.001-07:00

The English Teachers

2007-08-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

The first picture is a group picture of the English teachers for the 2006-2007 school year. Only Nikita is not one of the English teachers. She is a friend of ours who works for the Peace Corps. She is working at a local orphanage in Siguat. There are also Honduran English teachers that are not pictured that work at the school. From left to right are: me, Monique, Nikita, Deb, Esther Bettney, and Esther Dobos. The next pictures are what you could commonly see in the teachers' house: Deb working at her computer, Esther grading, Monique making personal cards for others, and Deb and Esther making "pan de coco" which means coconut bread. I often could be found preparing lesson plans in my room or making chocolate chip cookies!

English Bible Study at the Teachers' House

2007-08-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

This year, one of the teachers, Monique, and a local missionary, Mrs. Visser, held a weekly English Bible study at the teachers' house. We really enjoyed this time together when we could share prayer requests, read and discuss the Word, and fellowship all in English!

Our Spanish Teacher

2007-08-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our Spanish teacher, Dona Reina, and her family. Her oldest daughter who is married and has a son is not in the photo. Dona Reina taught Spanish to almost all of us English teachers! We really enjoyed her and her family! Her two children pictured here would often sit in on our lessons and help with translation. All of her children graduated from the CEE school that we now teach at. Her family also attends the Betel church.

Hanging with Friends

2007-08-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of some friends and I celebrating Deb's birthday. Next to me is Gena who was an English teacher at a nearby Montessori school. We are enjoying some icecream from a popular icecream shop in town.

Traveling with Friends

2007-08-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

In order to satisfy our visa requirements, we had to travel every three months to a non-bordering country and stay out of the country for 72 hours. Sometimes, we could get a month's extension. The nearest places that we could travel to were Mexico, Belize, or Costa Rica. We would make the best of the requirements by traveling with friends and having lots of fun! Here is a photo of some of my friends in Copan, Honduras. We are on our way to Mexico. Three of the girls in this photo are my three roommates and Caroline, in the purple shirt, is a friend of ours who teaches at a nearby school. Marlon is our "jack of all trades" friend who has been very helpful to all of us. He graduated about 5 years ago from the CEE school that we now teach at. His English is VERY good! He is now studying to be a dentist at a university in Tegucigalpa.

House-sitting at the Hagler Missionary Home

2007-08-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is a picture taken at the Hagler house. For four months, I house-sat for the Hagler missionary family while they were in the states. Tim Hagler is a pastor here and a trainer of pastors. During that time, a couple from Canada, Wil and Melanie (center), came to stay with me for six weeks while they worked at the Christian camp "Cerro de Luz". In addition to working at the camp, hosting work teams, etc., they did a variety of other activities such as helping out with a VBS, visiting an orphanage, etc. This experience in Honduras satisfied his internship requirements for his study in Christian Ministries at a Bible college in Canada. I really enjoyed spending time with them. They encouraged me spiritually and they were a lot of fun! We especially enjoyed sharing stories of the tarantulas we found in the house! On the far right side is Dave and Esther. This will be their second year here. Dave is a full-time volunteer at the camp. He is a carpenter by trade, but he does a variety of other tasks and activities at the camp in addition to his carpentry work. Esther is a high school English teacher at the CEE school, though she can also be found helping out at the camp in many ways. Esther and Melanie knew each other beforehand through their church in Canada. On the far left side is Peter and Maileen. They are full-time missionaries here. Peter is a high school philosophy teacher at the CEE school and he is a youth pastor and elder at the Betel church. Maileen used to teach elementary school at the CEE school, and she still gets called upon to help out at the school. She also is involved in a variety of activities at the Betel church and within the community.

The Preschool Class Photo

2007-08-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Kindergarten Class Photo

2007-08-21T13:11:00.001-07:00

The "Escuela" Class Photo (1st-6th Grades)

2007-08-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

The "Colegio" Class Photo (7th-11th Grades)

2007-08-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

My Preschool and Kindergarten Classes

2007-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of my preschool class (the inside photo) and my kindergarten class (the outside photo). They had just participated in an Easter egg hunt! They were so excited for weeks and couldn't wait for us to have it! Most of the students said that they had never colored Easter eggs before nor participated in an Easter egg hunt. They really enjoyed searching for and finding all the candy and eggs! I really enjoyed these two classes this year. They were both very good classes and the little ones are so precious! Halfway through the year, three orphans from a local orphanage joined our classes. After a bit of adjustment, they fit right in. I will miss all of my students!

My Class of Third Grade Science

2007-08-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my third grade science class. I really enjoyed this class this year. It was a really small class...only 9 students...so I was able to get to know them more personally and spend more individual time with them. Here you can see them participating in different activities. For example, in one photo they are trying to light a lightbulb when we were studying electricity. In another photo, one of the students just made a fossil using play-doh and a small dinosaur. In another photo, the students were doing an experiment with "oobleck"--a "mystery" green substance that they had to figure out if it was a solid, a liquid, or a gas. In another photo, the students are coloring Easter eggs to celebrate Easter. They also made Easter baskets and we had an Easter egg hunt! In the last photo, you can see some students reading some science books. Last year, the school didn't have any other science books for the children to read other than their textbooks. This year, I brought down some science books that I already owned, books I had bought at garage sales, and books that my church in Michigan, Lake Center Bible Church, had donated. The kids ABSOLUTELY LOVED the books! I had a check-out system where the kids could sign out books and take them home. They would often check out 5 or more books a day to take home!

Honduran Independence Day Parade

2007-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the students participating in the Honduran Independence Day parade in the town of Siguatepeque.

Preschool and Kindergarten Day Camp

2007-08-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from the preschool and kindergarten day camp. This is the Christian camp called "Cerro de Luz" which means "Hill of Light" that the Visser missionary family is building here in Siguatepeque, Honduras. Many mission teams come to help build the camp and to participate in or lead activities. There is also a four year leadership program that many Hondurans are participating in so that they can become qualified leaders at the camp. The camp just recently built a high and low ropes course and they just built some more cabins. Many local schools, churches, and other groups come to the camp. The younger children just come for the day, while the older kids usually stay overnight. There is always a time for Bible study, a worship service, fun and games, and food! I have attended many of these camps and I have always enjoyed my time there. I hope that in the future, I can return to Honduras and help out at the camp in some way.

3rd-6th Grade Camp

2007-08-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the "Escuela" camps--3rd through 6th grades at "Cerro de Luz". As you can tell, the kids really enjoy their time there.

High School Camp

2007-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here the high schoolers are enjoying some fun activities at "Cerro de Luz" camp.

Staff Activities

2007-08-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

At many of our staff meetings and events, we would play games that were really entertaining. Here you can see some of the staff getting in on the fun!

Staff Retreat at TelaMar

2007-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

At the end of the school year, a lot of the staff and members of the school board went to TelaMar. TelaMar is a resort area in Tela on the northern coast of Honduras. I was quite impressed with TelaMar! As you can tell by looking at the pictures, it was a very nice area! We rented two cabins that had about four bedrooms in each cabin. We were given full access to the pool area and the beach. Some of the staff had made a cooking and cleaning schedule, so we all took turns cooking and cleaning...even the little kids pitched in! So, it was a great time of sharing meals together, having morning devotionals together (led by Pastor Hugo), and swimming, swimming, swimming!!!

Christmas in Honduras 2006--The Preschool and Kindergarten Classes in the Christmas Program

2006-12-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of the preschool and kindergarten classes in the school-wide Christmas program. They performed the traditional Christmas drama of the nativity while a first-grader read the script in Spanish. This first grader was in my kindergarten English class last year and he has an amazing ability to read very well in both English and Spanish at such a young age! The students' costumes were incredibly beautiful...I'm not sure who made them...probably the parents or a friend(s) of the Honduran director. After the drama, the students sang two Christmas songs in English that I had taught them. They sang the first part of the songs "Joy to the World" and "Angels We Have Heard on High". It was not easy for the small children to learn these songs in English...we practiced a lot! But, they did very well during the program. The last song they sang was "Un Mundo de Colores" in Spanish. We were all very proud of our young performers!

More Pictures of the Preschool and Kindergarten Classes in the Christmas Program

2006-12-22T16:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Honduras 2006--Third Grade Christmas Party

2006-12-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of the third grade Christmas party that was held at my house. The students decorated cookies, strung popcorn, had a secret friend gift exchange, ate pizza, roasted marshmellows, played games, watched the "Narnia" movie, and basically had a lot of fun! They had been soo excited about the party for months and had talked about it all the time. They couldn't wait! I also invited the other two third grade teachers to help out (I only teach science to the third graders). One Honduran teacher is the Spanish teacher and the other Honduran teacher is the English teacher. I think everyone enjoyed themselves!

More Pictures of the Third Grade Christmas Party

2006-12-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

The Visser Family

2006-06-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

The Visser Family--this missionary family has just arrived in Honduras this year from Costa Rica. They have spent the last 7 years in Costa Rica building a Christian camp there--complete with climbing walls and a lot of other fun activities! Now they have come to Honduras to build another camp here called "Cerro de Luz" which means "Hill of Light". Mr. and Mrs. Visser are both involved in the EBS school and their children also attend there.

The Hammond Family

2006-06-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Hammond family--missionaries in Honduras for one year. Mr. Hammond is a family doctor serving at the hospital. Mrs. Hammond is a teacher and is teaching high school philosophy at the EBS school. All their children attend the school as well.

The Director of English

2006-06-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Director of English, Mr. David, and his family.

The Preschool Class

2006-06-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

The preschool class. The Honduran kindergarten teacher (who is also the director of the preschool and kindergarten) is on the left hand side by Erika and the Honduran preschool teacher is on the right hand side by me.

The English Teachers

2006-06-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

The English Teachers. From back to front, left to right, there is Esther, Erika, Ruth, Monique, Tabitha, and Corinna.

End of Year Update

2006-06-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hola todos otra vez! (Hello everyone again!)
Can you believe it? Finally…another missionary update letter from me! I’ve only written one and that was soon after I had arrived! I’m sorry that I haven’t written more, but I have just been VERY VERY busy!! Since I would like to give a thorough description of my experience here over the past 9 months, I will divide this letter into subtopics. It will probably end up being a VERY long letter! So, feel free to skip to the topics that you are interested in or, of course, you can read every word or none at all!
Well, I hope you enjoy this missionary update letter from Honduras. I am still enjoying it here…in many ways it has become to feel like home. There are still many interesting and exciting things that I am experiencing here, but it is also a lot of work. I would like to include a quote here that our director of English gave to us. It is an email that a former teacher of this school sent to him:

“May God bless you, and all you’re doing for Him and His kingdom!!! ~ I keep having to remind myself that “doing things for His kingdom” isn’t always exciting. Lots of times it’s a slow process full of normal (and even overwhelming) daily responsibilities and routines. I saw a quote online from a teacher who had taught overseas, and it expresses what I felt – and feel - more eloquently than I could ever capture it. So I’ll pass it on ‘cuz I think it’s so true—

“My time has not been a super-charged, action-packed adventure in ministryland. It has, instead, been “real life”, characterized by all the ups and downs and “hum drums” of life anywhere. I found a city, not only a “field” and my work was work, not just ministry, and I—no more dramatic, outgoing, or vocal than I ever was. So, a great part of my pilgrimage here has been to incorporate my outer reality with my inner reality and to be satisfied with the results. I will never be a great spokeswoman, but I have learned this year that ministry does not depend on high profile activities, but on daily faithfulness to the qualities God has given me.”

Honduras Facts
The full name is, Republic of Honduras. Honduras was the original banana republic, and is still one of the least developed and industrialized countries in Central America. It is the “knee” of Central America and is slightly larger than the state of Tennessee with about 43,277 square miles of land. It is bordered by Guatemala on the west, El Salvador and Nicaragua to the south. The Caribbean coast is 500 miles long, and the pacific coast is 40 miles long. Three-quarters of Honduras is composed of rugged hills and mountains. Lowlands are found only along the coasts and in major river valleys. The climate is tropical and subtropical depending on elevation. The government is a democratic constitutional republic. Honduras gained their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Spanish is the predominant language. The literacy rate is 78.5%, with 6 years of education compulsory with 70% attendance, but less than 16% attend at junior high level. The population is 5.8 million with a growth rate of 3%. The Roman Catholic Church is the officially recognized religion, but there is a separation of Church and State and religious freedom. Protestant groups make up about 11% of the population. The capital city is Tegucigalpa (Tegus for short). The monetary unit is the Lempira. The exchange rate is about 19 Lempiras for every 1 U.S. Dollar.

Siguatepeque Facts
Siguatepeque (or Siguat for short) is located almost exactly halfway between Honduras’ two largest cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. You can be in Siguat within 2 hours travel from Tegus or San Pedro Sula. Siguatepeque is located in the Central Mountains of Honduras and is considered to have the best climate in Honduras. Even in the hot season, air conditioning is unnecessary, with a fan almost always being enough. In the winter, heating is rarely needed, just a good jacket. It is at an elevation of 3,700 feet above sea level. Because of the high elevation, there is not a lot of concern about malaria or hurricanes.
If you would like to learn more about Siguat or you would like to see some pictures of Siguat, you could check out this new website: http://www.siguaonline.com/ If you open the website through yahoo, you could open it up in English for a rough translation. I came across this website when I went to the internet café near our home called “Skynet”. This website was on the computer as a screensaver, so I just started to scroll through it. As I was investigating this website, the owner came up behind me and took my mouse and said “Let me show you something.” He proceeded to scroll down to a picture of the man who created the website. He then said, “Now look behind you!” It was the same man! The owner of the internet café and his friend had just created the website. They hope to create a version in English soon.

School Facts
The name of the school is the Siguatepeque Bilingual School. In Spanish, it is called Escuela Bilingue Siguatepeque (or EBS for short). It is also known as the Evangelical Education Community. In Spanish, it is called Comunidad Educativa Evangelica (or CEE for short). The school was started in 1990 by a group of parents with a dream. The Honduran education system suffers from academic, disciplinary, and many other critical deficiencies. Out of concern for their children’s education the school was formed. It began with a total of 13 students in the first and second grades. Today the school offers complete primary and secondary education, pre-K through eleventh grade, to nearly 200 students. It is a private, Christian bilingual school. Some of the students receive scholarships in order to attend the school. Most of the students receiving this benefit come from families of a lower economic status.
It is interesting to note that EBS is not considered a “poor” school here in Honduras, although compared with the schools in the United States, it would definitely be labeled as such. I am told that EBS is one of the most expensive schools to attend in Siguatepeque. It seems as if everyone I talk to comments about how expensive the school is. (I’m not sure how much it costs to send a child to the school, but some people have told me it costs about 100 dollars a month.) I definitely can see the social economic status in the parents of my students. Many of the parents are either a doctor, a surgeon, a pastor, a professor, a teacher, an administrator at the local hospital, or some other professional. This difference in social economic status became very apparent to me at Christmas time. While I was observing the small children at EBS play with toys that were broken and missing important parts (everyday they play with a tricycle that has only two wheels!) and feeling bad for them, the school was planning a missions outreach of their own. A few days before Christmas vacation, the preschool and kindergarten classes went to a very poor church high up in the mountains. The students helped pass out clothes, shoes, toys, etc. to some very needy children there. The students from our school are generally well clean, well fed, and well taken care of. But, these children at this church appeared dirty, wore mismatched clothing, and obviously were not very well taken care of. I had to hold back tears when children kept coming to me and asking me for shoes and I had to turn them away because we didn’t have any in their size or there weren’t any more left. I could tell that they hadn’t had a good pair of shoes to wear in a long time.

The English Teachers
There are 6 of us English teachers working at the school (not counting one Honduran English teacher) and we all live together in the teachers’ house which is located in the school yard. Thankfully, all the girls are really sweet and we all get along very well. I will give a brief description or a little bit of information about each one:
*Esther—our most fluent Spanish speaker. She has been very helpful to me when I have needed help translating important notes to parents and students. She is from Pennsylvania and teaches in the middle school and high school grade levels here.
*Erika—also very good at Spanish. She assists me in kindergarten and I assist her in preschool. She has been very helpful to me with translation during department meetings and when communicating to the small children. I have learned a lot of Spanish this year from her. She is also from Pennsylvania and she teaches gym to the middle school and high school students in addition to her duties mentioned above.
*Monique—our social butterfly! Monique is helpful in keeping us all informed of the social activities going on in the church, the school, or the community. She often brings home new friends for us to meet. She grew up in California and has spent the last few years in Oregon. She teaches in the middle school and high school grade levels.
*Tabitha—my “roomie”! Tabitha and I share a bedroom in the teachers’ house. I think that God chose us to be roommates because we are so much alike. We both say that it was probably the best choice for each of us. (Mr. David assigned us to our rooms.) We are both quiet, very organized, and respectful of one another. We haven’t had one disagreement all year! Praise God! Tabitha is from South Carolina and teaches in 5th and 6th grade.
*Ruth—she enjoys renting movies and cooking and baking. We all benefit from her hobbies! There always seems to be a new movie lying around the house that we can watch if we have time. And, she always seems to be cooking or baking up something delicious. Ruth also enjoys playing the flute and has played in the church that we attend. She also came to my kindergarten class once and played for the students when we were reading a book about a flute. Ruth is from Virginia and has recently moved to Ohio. She teaches 3rd and 4th grade.
*Me—my teaching duties include teaching English to the kindergartners and assisting with teaching English to the preschoolers. I also teach science in English to the 3rd and 5th graders.

The Director of English—“Mr. David”
I cannot say enough good things about our English Director, Mr. David! He has been very wonderful to all of us this year. He really takes good care of us. We all admire and respect him. He plays so many different roles for us, yet does each one remarkably well. He is our boss, our mentor, our host, our friend, our brother-in-Christ, and at times, he is even like our dad! One time, when he took all six of us teachers to a pottery store, the store clerk asked him if he was our dad. Erika overheard and responded, “No”. The store clerk replied, “Well, he’s like your dad, isn’t he?” Later, Erika and I said to each other, “Yeah, he is like our dad sometimes!” Mr. David has been working at the school as the English Director for 5 years. He said that before he came, there wasn’t an English director…the English teachers just had to figure things out for themselves. We said that we couldn’t imagine that…there is so much to learn! He came from New Jersey to Honduras with his wife after retiring from the education field. He has many years of teaching and administrative experience. He also has many years of experience on the mission field. Soon after he arrived, his wife passed away. They have two grown sons. About a year later, he remarried a Honduran woman, Paola, who also lost her husband many years before. She has two daughters. One daughter is in 8th grade and the other is in 6th grade. It is interesting to note that Paola’s first husband worked in the Honduran President’s Cabinet. He worked in the financial department. Now, Paola continues working in politics. She was just elected as a representative to Congress for the state of Comayagua.

Living at the Teachers’ House
As I said in my first update letter, the teachers’ house is much bigger than I thought it would be. There are two apartments, but we are keeping it open as one. There are two kitchens, two living rooms, two bathrooms, two double bedrooms, and two single bedrooms. In one living room, we have hung up a hammock which is very fun and relaxing to lay in!
Throughout the year, we have tried to divide up the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. We take turns going to the supermarket. And, we take turns going to the open-air market Sunday morning before church in order to buy lots of fruits and vegetables. It is much cheaper at the market and there is a greater variety. On our side of the house, Erika, Tabitha, and I have a rotating cleaning schedule. In addition, for the first half of the year, we all had a rotating “cooking and cleaning the kitchen” schedule for dinner. But, after Christmas, we all decided to just start fending for ourselves for dinner because it was too time-consuming with all the demands of teaching. We actually thought about hiring a maid, but we never got around to it. Maids are very common here. People often have two or three maids (one to cook, one to clean, and one to help care for the children). They are very inexpensive to hire. And, if you are considered wealthy, you are expected to hire a maid because you would be giving someone a job. The average pay that a maid receives is about 60 Lempiras a day…that is only about 3 dollars a day! But, when a family hires a maid permanently, they are expected to take care of her and her family for life! Mr. David said that there are plenty of people willing to be hired as a maid; the problem is in finding one that is honest and will not take your things! It is best to hire a maid that someone knows and recommends to you.

Teaching…busy, busy, busy!!!
Teaching is a lot of work, no matter where you are…whether in the states or abroad. There is always something that needs to be done. We English teachers say that we don’t have “week-ends”, we have “work-ins”! There are always lessons to plan, tests or study guides or other worksheets to make, copies to make, papers to grade and record, grades to calculate, materials to buy and prepare, classrooms to upkeep, meetings to attend, after-school activities to attend, parents to contact, etc. I appreciated the letter that Bill Klein sent to me from my church in the states. It was a letter about being a teacher in the public schools. It gave a long list of the many responsibilities and demands that a teacher has, yet at the end of the letter, it said that teachers are not allowed to pray in school (when that is obviously what they need the most!). Fortunately, I am a teacher in a Christian school and I am allowed to pray publicly and with other teachers and students.

A Typical Day

6:00 a.m. -- My alarm goes off.
6:30 a.m. -- I finally get up!
7:15 a.m. -- I am at the gate to the K and Pre-K buildings, greeting parents and students.
7:30 a.m. -- School begins. I assist Erika with teaching English to Pre-schoolers.
9:30 - 10:30 a.m. – Planning period—break time!
10: 30 – 12:00 p.m. -- I teach English to the Kindergartners.
12:00 – 12:15 p.m. -- I clean up the Kindergarten room.
12:40 – 1:20 p.m. -- I teach science to 5th graders.
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. -- I teach science to 3rd graders.
2:15 p.m. -- School ends.
2:30 p.m. -- I often have to tutor a student(s) or I have a department meeting or an after- school event.

Pre-School
There are 21 students in the class. (There were 22, but one boy moved to the states.) There are 10 boys and 11 girls. This group of students is a very calm, cooperative group.

Kindergarten
There are 23 students in the class. (There were 24, but one girl moved away.) There are only 6 girls but 17 boys! This group of students is much more active and there are many more discipline issues. In addition, it seems as if almost every child has their own unique struggle, problem, or area of concern. For example, one little girl hardly ever talks and if she does, it is in a very quiet whisper. She also will not play outside with the other children and does not like to participate in group activities. However, she is very conscientious of her work and is obviously very intelligent. Another little boy has some type of condition…possibly a nervous tic…where he will often move his fingers very rapidly in front of his face and cross his eyes. He also, however, is obviously very intelligent. I was told that he was sent for testing, but nothing has been determined yet. His dad is aware of the problem, and being a doctor himself, I am sure he is doing everything possible for his son. Still another child has some kind of speech impediment or delay. The Honduran teachers even have a difficult time understanding him at times in Spanish. Even with all the struggles of this group, I have come to know and love each one! I enjoy planning for and teaching this class!

3rd Grade Science
There are 17 students in this class. This class also is a very calm and cooperative group. I enjoy teaching this age group as well. However, it has been frustrating trying to plan lessons for science. It has been frustrating partly because I feel “stretched thin” in my teaching responsibilities and I do not have a lot of time to prepare lessons for science. The younger children are my main responsibility and I pour a lot of time and energy into them. It also has been frustrating because there are not a lot of science materials other than the textbook. There is hardly any science lab equipment that can be used for experiments and there is hardly any other science books to supplement the textbook. There also is not a lot of science videos, except for a series of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” videos, but the children quickly get tired of those.

5th Grade
There are 19 students in this class. This has been my most challenging and difficult class to teach. There are many discipline issues in this class. The other teachers that work with this group of students comment about the discipline problems as well. I have tried many different disciplinary strategies, but many times, I do not see much improvement in their behavior. In addition, I think that as a teacher, I work better with the younger children. My training and teacher preparation was geared more towards the younger children.

A Local Orphanage and the Orphans
Two of the students in my preschool class, Leticia and Luis, are from a local orphanage. They receive a scholarship in order to attend the school. Leticia has an older sister, Veronica, who is also in my kindergarten class. Luis is not biologically related, but they all call themselves brothers and sisters. All of us preschool and kindergarten teachers (Honduran and English) were invited to visit the orphanage. There are 15 children who live at the orphanage. The orphanage is quite large and could easily fit many more children, but I was told that they didn’t have enough funding right now to support anymore children. I was really impressed by this Christian orphanage. All the facilities were very clean and well-maintained. The staff were all very friendly and we could see the love they had for the children and for Christ. The stories they told us about the background of these three children in our classes, however, was heart-breaking. But, praise God, there is a happy ending! Luis, for example, arrived at the orphanage so malnourished that his stomach was bloated to the point that he couldn’t see his feet. He was so neglected that he had fungus growing in his hair! Veronica, at three years of age, was left at home by herself to care for her younger sister. They both were about to be sold by their parents into prostitution before they were rescued by “Tita” from the orphanage—the woman they consider to be their mom. Veronica and Leticia actually have a younger sister also. Tita went looking for her, only to discover that her parents had given her up for adoption to a couple from the states. When Veronica arrived at the orphanage, she had been physically abused—she had been struck repeatedly on her ear. Tita took her to an ear specialist. When the doctor examined her, he began to cry because the damage was so great. He said her ear was like an egg that had been smashed. The doctor told Tita that if she did not bring Veronica back the next day, she would be deaf for the rest of her life. Today, Veronica does not have any noticeable signs of hearing loss.

Challenges of Living and Teaching in Siguatepeque, Honduras
There are a lot of challenges to living and teaching in Siguat. To begin, there are no big supermarkets such as Wal-Mart or Meijers—the “one-stop shopping” places. Most times, I have to go to several different stores to buy the things I need. And sometimes, I have no idea where to go to find the things I need. And when I do finally find what I need, there is no guarantee that the store will have them again later on. There are also materials that are very difficult or impossible to find here. For example, pocket folders (the kind that are all one color) are very hard to find. I searched for a long time to find those!
In addition, things are not as reliable here as in the states. You cannot depend on a store keeping regular business hours. They may choose not to open for the day or they may choose to close for the afternoon “siesta” or for no apparent reason at all. Also, the electricity sometimes goes off in the entire neighborhood or town. I have often been at home, school, or church and the electricity goes off. In church, they simply light candles and continue on with the service. At school, we continue teaching without lights or fans. At home, we turn on our flashlights and lanterns and do our best to continue with our daily lives.
Another difficulty that I have encountered is not having a reliable copy place to go to such as Kinkos! When the electricity goes off, they of course cannot make any copies. In addition, I have gone to make copies several times and they have been out of ink, toner, paper, or the copy machine is broken! We do not have access to a copy machine ourselves at the school, but we can turn in papers to the secretary and she will copy them for us. But, we must turn them in 24 hours in advance. Sometimes, that is difficult to do. Many of us English teachers spend a lot of our own money making copies at a copy place.
Other challenges that we face have to do with teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in a foreign culture. Mr. David said that most teachers who come down to teach at the school are first-year or beginning teachers (that is true for all of us this year)…the first few years of teaching are always the hardest and to do it in a foreign culture makes it even more difficult. In addition, we are teaching ESL when most of us do not have any ESL training. A teacher must be ESL certified in the United States to teach ESL, but most of us are teaching it here without any training or certification. Furthermore, it is very different to teach ESL in your own English speaking country than it is to teach ESL in a foreign country. In a non-English speaking country, the students are not being fully immersed in the English language, and so acquisition of the language is slower and more difficult. Also, a teacher who is working in a foreign culture that is new to them, is learning the language, culture, norms, school rules, etc. at the same time that they are trying to teach. This can be over-whelming at times.
One final difficulty that I will mention is that it is difficult to be away from your home church. All of us teachers say that we do not feel as if we are getting as spiritually fed as we normally would in our home churches. This has to do with the language barrier. Even our best Spanish speaker, Esther, says that even though she can understand what is being said, she is not getting spiritually fed because she is thinking of how to translate the words instead of really meditating on the message that is being presented.

Blessings/Benefits of Living and Teaching in Honduras
I have experienced many blessings during my time here. The biggest blessing has been getting to know my spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ from another culture. I have found the Christians here in Honduras to be very sincere and strong in their faith. The Honduran people are very warm and friendly. They are VERY good at showing hospitality to others. I am always being invited to something…whether a birthday party, a graduation, a dinner, a Bible study, etc. I received 7 invitations on New Year’s Eve! I have really enjoyed getting to know many Hondurans through the school, the church, the hospital, the camp, etc.
Another blessing of living and working in Honduras is being able to travel. It is very cheap to travel in Honduras, as long as you don’t mind staying in cheap hostels and hotels and riding in transportation that can be over-crowded and not-so-luxurious! We often ride in “chicken buses”—which are simply old school buses. These school buses are used for many of the bus routes throughout Honduras. (To learn more about some of the places that I’ve had the opportunity to visit, see the subtitle below “Trips/Vacations”.)
Another blessing of being here is being able to improve my Spanish language skills. Though I am far from fluent, I have definitely improved my Spanish. I am no longer intimidated by the language and can usually get my point across. Only when I am in a very serious situation, such as talking to an immigration officer or getting important information while traveling, do I feel really nervous. Then I usually have Mr. David or Esther translate for me. Though we have many opportunities to practice our Spanish, we are not really “immersed” in the language. We are required to speak all in English in our classes (well, as much as possible with the preschoolers and kindergartners) and all of us English teachers live together…so, of course, we speak English at home as well!

New Friends
We are always meeting new people from all over the globe. Many people come to Honduras to volunteer their time in a variety of jobs and ministries. By working at the school, we are able to make many connections to others. For example, there is a strong tie between the school, the local hospital, and the church we attend called “Betel”. Many of the people who started the EBS school and/or are on the school board are doctors at the hospital and they attend the church Betel. Many of them also have children who attend the school. Through this strong connection or by simply one friend introducing us to another friend, we have met many volunteers and missionaries. And, of course, it is not hard to spot another “gringo” or “gringa” (that is what Hondurans call anyone whose native language is English). The part that is difficult is that usually these new friends are only here for a short time—a week, a month, a few months—and then we must say “good-bye”.

Missionary Families
There are two missionary families here that we have come to know very well. All of their children attend the EBS school. These two families already knew each other before coming to Honduras this year. Years ago, when their children were much younger, they worked together in Costa Rica. The Hammond family is from Oregon and is here for one year. Mr. Barry Hammond is a family doctor and is volunteering his time at the hospital. Mrs. Maritza Hammond is a college and high-school teacher and is teaching high-school philosophy at the school. They have 3 children (1 boy and 2 girls). The Vissar family are from Canada (though Mrs. Vissar is originally from England and their youngest was born in Costa Rica). They have been missionaries in several places including Africa and Costa Rica. Before coming to Honduras, they spent 7 years in Costa Rica building a Christian camp there. Everyone that I have talked to that has seen the finished camp in Costa Rica, says that it is an awesome camp…complete with climbing walls and other fun activities. Now, the Vissar family has come to Honduras to start another Christian camp here called “Cerro de Luz” which means “Hill of Light”. The Vissars think that it is going to take them even longer than 7 years to build this camp here. However, I have already seen many changes in the camp in the last 9 months that I have been here. I have been required to attend 4 camp outings with my students from the school. (Two over-night camps with 3rd/4th and 5th/6th; one science camp with 5th/6th; and one day camp with the preschoolers and kindergartners.) I’ve enjoyed all of these camp outings. It has given me a chance to “hang-out” with the kids outside of a school setting and I’ve been able to meet people who are volunteering their time as camp counselors. The Vissar family also has 3 children (though 2 boys and 1 girl). Their youngest boy is in my kindergarten class. At the beginning of the year, he didn’t know any Spanish. He would cling to me and start crying if I left his sight. Now, he knows more Spanish than I do and is completely independent of me! One week when Mr. and Mrs. Vissar had to go to the United States, they asked me if I would take care of their children, animals, and house while they were gone. I got to play the part of a “working mom” for a week. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!

Holidays/Special Days
Just like in the U.S., Honduras celebrates many holidays and special days. It was quite a surprise to me when I learned at the beginning of the year that we were going to march in Siguatepeque’s Independence Day Parade with our students on September 15! I felt like it was an honor to march in the parade to celebrate their country’s Independence day. They even announced our names when we reached the bandstand—they announced all of the teachers’ names for each grade of each school.
Not only does Honduras celebrate Valentine’s Day, Easter, (not Thanksgiving which is only an American holiday!), Christmas, New Year’s Day, etc., they also celebrate mother’s day, father’s day, children’s day, women’s day, teachers’ day, flag day, labor day, etc. As you can tell, Honduras has many of the same holidays as we do. But, sometimes they celebrate them differently. For example, because of the deforestation problem, it is against the law to have a real Christmas tree in your home…but many people still have artificial ones. They also do not do stockings and giving of gifts is not as common as in the states, especially in the poorer rural areas. In addition, birthdays seem very important to Hondurans. And, when it is someone’s birthday, it is common that they get water dumped on them! We have often had to lend a towel to a student on their birthday!

Trips/Vacations
Fortunately, we have had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling. Again, traveling in Honduras is very cheap, especially if you don’t mind doing so in a “not-so-luxurious” fashion. Mr. David has taken us to Tegucigalpa (the capital city), Comayagua (the old capital city—it now contains a lot of museums), Santa Lucia and Valle of Angeles (a great place to pick up souvenirs!), and the Pulhapanzak waterfalls followed by a fish dinner at Lake Yojoa (the only lake in all of Honduras!). We English teachers have also done some traveling on our own. We have gone to La Esperanza (a cute little quaint town), Tela (a wonderful beach area on the Caribbean Coast), and during Spring Break, we left the country and went to Belize (the country to the north of Honduras). One of the teachers needed to leave the country for her visa, so we all decided to leave the country together for Spring Break! I tried snorkeling there for the first time and absolutely loved it! I couldn’t believe that I had never done that before…it is so beautiful…God is an awesome creator! And, of course, we have been to San Pedro Sula because that is where the airport is that we fly in and out of. Some of the teachers have also gone on other trips. For example, Monique and Ruth went to Costa Rica during Christmas vacation. Overall, I feel extremely blessed to have had all these opportunities to travel!

Interesting Culture Facts
In my first update letter at the beginning of the year, I talked about some interesting culture facts. I will try and write about some other interesting facts here…
Well, of course, you probably know that you cannot drink the water (unless you boil it for 20 minutes). We get our drinking water delivered. We do use the water for bathing and cooking however. Also, the gas for our gas stoves must also be delivered. Many people in Honduras do not have washing machines or dryers. We do have a washing machine (praise God!), but we must line dry our clothes. Ironing, of course, is optional! I choose to iron my clothes and it usually takes me about 2 hours to do! There is A LOT of dust here—a lot can gather in just one day! People often sweep several times a day. I haven’t seen any homes with carpeting in them—they always have tile. This probably is due to the dust and termites. Termites are a real problem here—they infest all the wood. Sometimes they will spray the wood with special chemicals to help stop the termites, but Mr. David thinks that some of those chemicals could be harmful to your health. When we buy eggs, they come in cartons and are NON-refrigerated in the stores! You can also buy milk in boxes that are NON-refrigerated. Mr. David says that he doesn’t know the process that they use, but the foods are safe. We usually buy milk that comes in a bag and is refrigerated in the stores. It took us a while to find a kind of milk that we all liked! Hondurans do not always stand in lines at stores and other public places. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t! One time, Mr. David stopped at a gas station on one of our trips. I politely stood in line behind his daughter. Soon, I noticed a Honduran man laughing at me and saying something in Spanish. I asked Mr. David’s daughter what he was saying. She said, “He said that you will never get helped if you stand in a line!” Also, if you don’t stand very close to the person in front of you in line (when a line has formed), other people may cut in front of you! I’ve often been standing in line at a “normal” distance when someone else has cut in front of me!

Animals/Insects
In my first update letter, I talked about how geckos are common household pets. And, that people like them because they eat bugs. It is always fun when we spot a gecko in our house, school, etc. Also, I talked about how things grow much bigger here. For example, we saw a moth the size of a bat in our house! I’ve also seen very big grasshoppers—about the size of a frog!
Unfortunately, there are also some “not-so-nice” creatures crawling around. Some of the other teachers found a tarantula’s nest in our laundry room! The laundry room is connected to our house, but you have to go outside to enter it. One of the girls burned the nest! The other day, Esther saw a tarantula in her room…and she has not seen it since!
At the beginning of the year, the Hammond family invited us over for dinner (they are staying in the same house that Dr. Watterson lived in). I thought, “Wow! This is a beautiful home! It must be nice to live here!” At the end of the year, the Hammond family invited us over for dinner again. This time, they told us about the many encounters that they have had with insects while living there. They said that sometimes scorpions just fall from their ceiling They had one scorpion in a jar to show us. They said that scorpions like to live around pine trees…and there are a lot of pine trees around their home. They always have to check their clothes and shoes for scorpions. Mr. Hammond said he found a scorpion in his pants the other day! Fortunately, he hadn’t put them on yet! In addition, one night they were all watching a movie in the dark. When they turned on the light, the entire floor was covered with termites And they were barefoot! No one wanted to get up and go get their shoes! After dinner, we saw a tarantula on their porch and a HUGE bullfrog on their steps! Our humble home sounded much better after that evening! We don’t have problems with scorpions or termites!
It’s also interesting to note that there are often loose farm animals wandering the streets. The cars just go around them! I’ve seen cows, bulls, oxen, horses, goats, and chickens just walking down the side of the street or IN the street!

How to get involved
After reading this update letter, do you have the desire to get involved somehow? Do you feel God tugging on your heart to be a part of a ministry here? Well, if so, here is a list of some of the ways you could get involved:
· You could come and teach at the EBS school! Mr. David is still searching for two more teachers for the next year. He still needs a 3rd/4th grade teacher and a 5th/6th grade teacher.
· You could come and teach for a short period of time in a specialized area. For example, sometimes an American teacher offers an after-school art program.
· You could make a monetary donation to the school or donate any kind of school supplies. I used almost EVERYTHING that people donated to me this year. THANK-YOU TO ALL WHO DONATED!! I’m sure nothing would go to waste. I still spend a lot of my own money on copies, office-type supplies, school materials, prizes, etc. So, anything would be appreciated! (The problem, however, is in getting these supplies to Honduras. To mail the supplies, it is very costly and it could take a long time to get to Honduras. Also, the mail carrier service in Honduras is not as secure as in the U.S. Sometimes, the people who handle the mail have been known to open the packages and take what they like! I t is best to have someone bring the materials down with them in their luggage. I have had some materials mailed to Mr. David’s address in the U.S. and to some other teachers who were returning to Honduras.)
· You could donate some science materials for grades 1-6. This is one area of the school that I would like to see improved. There is hardly any science lab equipment to do experiments with. And, if there is any, it is usually broken. In addition, there is not a lot of supplementary materials. The students generally only have their textbooks. It would be nice to have some additional science books and videos for the children to look at. We have an entire series of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” videos that a former American teacher left, but the students soon get tired of always watching those.
· You could sponsor a child to attend the school.
· You could give suggestions for a good curriculum to use with our preschool students. Right now, we are using the curriculum "Moving into English" with the kindergarten through fifth grade and it is very good. But, they do not make one for the preschool level. Mr. David is searching for a good preschool curriculum to use.
· You could get involved in many other different areas in Siguatepeque. There are many organizations where you could use your spiritual gifts, talents, and skills. (Of course, you would have to talk with the appropriate people concerning your desire to get involved.) A missionary here is also working on creating a website called "People Weave" that gives information about many different areas that someone could get involved in--Christian and secular organizations. The website address is: http://www.peopleweave.com Here are some areas that one could get involved in:
*the local hospital
*the local churches
*the local orphanages
*the camp “Hill of Light”
*and many more!

Returning Home
Well, today is June 1st ! I can’t believe that in about 3 more weeks—on June 20th—I will be returning home! In some ways, it seems as if the year has been very long and has gone by very slowly. In other ways, it seems as if the year has gone by very quickly!
I have recently read one of Erika’s books entitled "Re-entry—Making the Transition from Missions to Life at Home”. It is by Peter Jordan and YWAM publishing (Youth With A Mission). It is a very good book. It talks about many of the issues that short-term and long-term missionaries deal with when they return home, including possible “reverse cultural shock”. It also gives a lot of advice on what things you can do before, during, and after returning home to make the transition easier. I highly recommend this book!
I am very thankful for our secretary of our church who has emailed me the prayer bulletin every week. (Thank you Jan!) By reading the prayer bulletin, I have been able to stay informed of the many, many changes that have occurred within our church! I am told that our church has grown by more than 100-200 people…praise God! Also, many people have got married, had children, or have passed onto glory. I have faithfully read the prayer bulletin every week and have remembered many of you in my prayers!
Well, I have written PLENTY of information here and it is getting very late as I try to finish this letter. I will close with a scripture verse that the book "Re-Entry" recommends that we meditate on as we prepare to “re-enter” our home country, state, town, church, family, circle of friends, etc. It is the words of the apostle Paul…Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV):
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
God bless,
Corinna Gregg

Beginning of year update letter

2006-06-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

¡Hola Todos! (Hello Everyone!)
I have now been in Honduras for 16 days and I am still loving it! I thought I would send an email every now and then to all of you, all at once, to make it much easier for me. I am keeping very busy here, so I don´t have a lot of time to email everyone individually. If you are receiving my email, it is either because you asked me to write to you or I thought you might like to hear from me!
So far, everything is going very well. I arrived in Honduras on Wednesday, August 10th. I was fortunate that I even made my flight! The night before, the Roth family dropped me off at a hotel in Chicago. I hadn´t slept at all the night before, so Iwas VERY tired! I set 3 alarm clocks and didn´t hear any of them! Thankfully, the hotel wake-up call woke me up! I then made the shuttle bus with only 5 minutes to spare! I was allowed 2 pieces of luggage with a maximum of 70 lbs. each--one of mine was 68 lbs! I finally relaxed once I was on the plane. I met up with 2 of the other American teachers in theMiami airport. We talked for a long time before boarding and we went through customs together. David, the Director of English, was waiting for us at the airport. He greeted each of us with a friendly hug. He bought us lunch at a Burger King in San Pedro Sula and told us it would probably be our last American meal for quite a while. He then drove us 2 hours up into the mountains to the city of Siguatepeque. Later that evening, David also treated us to dinner at a Honduran restaurant. All of us American teachers comment about how nice and helpful David is. He is very attentive to our needs. He makes sure we have everything we need and that we know everything we need to know. He is very thorough and organized. After one meeting, we all thanked him for being so helpful. He said that before he came 5 years ago, there wasn´t a Director of English for the American teachers. They had to just figure things out for themselves! We all said that we couldn´t imagine that--there is so much to learn!
The first week (Wednesday-Sunday) was a pretty relaxing week. We unpacked our things and decorated the teachers´ house as best we could with what we had. The teachers´ house is much bigger than I thought it would be. There are 2 apartments, though we are keeping it open as one. There are 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 double bedrooms, and 2 single bedrooms. There are 5 of us girls living there now and one more is coming on September 15. All of the girls are very sweet. We all get along very well. I am rooming with a girl named Tabitha. We´ve also been shopping and cooking together a lot. We´ve gone shopping at a few supermarkets, some small stores, and 2 open markets. We took our first taxi home which only cost 15 Lempiras each to go anywhere in the city one-way. In U.S. dollars, that is only 75 cents! The exchange rate here is very good. It is about 20:1...20 Lempiras for 1 U.S. dollar. I was concerned before arriving in Honduras that the monthly income the school pays us would not be sufficient to live on. But, now I know that it is. We receive free housing, water, electric, and trash. They pay us (in U.S.dollars) $250 a month. $250 U.S. dollars actually goes a long way in Honduras. I´m excited because nowI think I can afford to go on some excursions and trips with the other teachers. We do not have internet access in the house, but there is an internet cafe right around the corner. It only costs 15 Lempiras an hour-which again is only 75 cents an hour! However, we don´t think we are allowed to download anything there or open any attachments. A sign says,¨Ask for permission.¨ So, we´re going to ask. We just saw the owner of the internet cafe at the same church we´ve been attending, so maybe he´ll understand that we are missionary teachers and he´ll allow us to. So far, only 2 of us girls have laptop computers (thanks to Don and Sheryl Stevens who let me borrow theirs!). We are sharing the laptops with the other girls. They really come in handy. Tabitha has a digital camera, so whenever she takes a picture, she saves it on my computer too. David also loaned us 2 printers to use. They only connect to my computer. We are all so happy and thankful to have computers and printers! (Thanks again Don and Sheryl!)
The next two weeks have been MUCH more busier. We have had staff meetings everyday. Most of them are all in Spanish. If the speaker talks clearly and slowly, I can generally understand what is being said. And, if the speaker hands out written material or writes on an overhead projector, for example, I can read it and follow along. Other times, it is extremely difficult and I really struggle to understand what is being said. Hopefully, with time and practice, I will pick up more of the language.
Preparing for classes has been very confusing and overwhelming at times...but also interesting and fun. The most difficult part is not knowing what is expected of us or not knowing important information. For example, I just found out what I will be teaching and at what times--and ¨Back to School Night¨is tomorrow on Friday and classes start Monday! David said that flexibility is the key. The Honduran culture is very slow in getting around to things and things change ALL the time! I will be teaching English to the Kindergartners and assisting with teaching English to the Preschoolers in the morning. In the afternoon, I will be teaching 2 Science classes in English. One class is 3rd grade, the other is 5th grade. I also will be helping children with remedial work. I don´t have my own classroom for any of my classes. I am sharing the Honduran teachers´classrooms for Preschool and Kindergarten. I am also sharing two of the American teachers´classrooms for the 3rd and 5th grade Science classes.
I really like the church we have been attending, but we are also going to visit other churches. The church is very friendly and the doctrine seems sound (from what I am able to translate!). When the pastor saw us the first time, he immediately found some Hondurans who spoke English to escort us around. Their church service is set up, in many ways, like our service in our church in the states...only in Spanish! First, we go to a Sunday School class. Next, we go to the sanctuary. They have the announcements, some singing, greeting each other, more singing, prayer,the offering, the sermon, etc.
I will wrap up this email with some interesting facts about the Honduran culture. Many things seem¨backward¨from the American culture. For example, preschool in Spanish is called ¨kinder¨and kindergarten is called ¨prepa¨or ¨preparatoria¨. That was very confusing at first! Also, on the water faucets the ¨c¨is hot because it stands for¨calor¨which means warm. When people pass you on the street, they say adios which means good-bye. It´s funny when Hondurans try to speak English to us and they say ¨Good-bye¨or ¨bye¨when we are passing on the street, not realizing that we say ¨hello¨ instead. When someone invites you over to eat, you should leave food on your plate or they will think they didn´t give you enough. Relationships are more important than projects or appointments. Therefore, if someone had an appointment, but met someone on the street while walking there, they would stop and talk to them and not feel as if they need to give any type of a reason or apology for being late to the appointment. Many things also grow much bigger here than in the states. We had a moth the size of a bat in our house! Also, geckos are common household pets. People like them because they eat bugs. Siguatepeque is surrounded by mountains on every side and it seems like the scenery changes all the time because the weather is always changing. When there is a lot of fog, the mountains seem to disappear!
One more interesting piece of information is that last week, a couple from the school invited us over for dinner. The husband, Peter, is American and teaches high school philosophy. His wife, Mylene, used to teach at the school, but now helps the American teachers with classroom management. Anyway, they were asking us how we came across this opportunity. I told them that it was Dick Watterson, our host from last year´s mission trip, who encouraged me and made all the contacts for me. I said that he had a big impact on me and I am very thankful for him. Peter said, ¨I know him very well...he´s my uncle!¨ Also, Tim and Donna Wright (our other hosts from lastyear) live right down the street from us, though they have not been here since we have been here. Donna substitute teaches at the school when needed.
Well, I think I have given you all plenty of information in order to fill you in on how things are going here. I hope and pray that all is well with all of you. Please continue to pray for me while I am here. Take care and God bless!