Strange Creatures, Work, the Pier, Graduations, and more...

More Strange Creatures
*Cockroach - The other night, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something crawl across the wall. Sure enough, it was the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. It must have been left over from the dinosaur days or eaten some nuclear waste. As I sprayed it with the crappy Honduran version of Raid, it started flapping it's wings and chasing me (luckily it didn't fly). As I continued spraying, the chase continued from room to room. Finally it keeled over and I scooted it outside with the broom.

*Termite Nest - Just above our gate we have a huge termite nest. It is bigger than my head but I never see any termites around it. Everything in our house that is wood always has little piles of termite leftovers around them. Pretty soon we will have no doors or furniture left. *Bee Hive - Above our gate to the left of the termite nest is a bee hive. The bees are skinny and small and unlike any bees I have ever seen before. They haven't bothered us at all but just knowing I am walking right next to it any time I come or go from the house is a bit creepy. *Weird Worm Cocoon Thing - On the walls of our bathroom we often find these tiny brownish-gray cocoons. The are dormant during the day but at night a teeny, tiny, little worm will poke it's head out of one end and drag the cocoon to a new spot. We have asked around but nobody seems to have any information about them for us. Are they metamorphosing in those cocoons or what? We have many vacant cocoons so something obviously happened to the worm thing that was inside. Well, maybe you can figure it out. Here is video of one worm poking around in it's cocoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRk5m1UDJYw*Strange Flying Insects - I often see many very strange flying insects of all different sizes and colors. *Goats - On the way home from the beach on Wednesday, I spotted a whole goat family munching away and carelessly roaming the streets. Busy Work
Friday, Monday, and Tuesday we were still required to go in to work even though there was nothing to do. Friday I read a book for an hour and then chatted with Vanessa and Christina for the next 2 and we were finally allowed to go home 2 hours early since there was nothing for us to do.

Monday was much the same. We put some finishing touches on the library, read awhile, then were recruited to do some mind-numbing repetitive arts and crafts making some table decorations for the 6th grade graduation. We were finally given permission to go home an hour early when we finished the task.

Tuesday we helped decorate the upstairs "auditorium" for the K-5th grade graduation, helped make some certificates on the computer, and finally we just left 2 hours early because nobody else needed our help.

I mean, we were still getting paid for that week so I could see their point but it just felt like a big waste of time with busy work. The weather had been very gloomy, although still warm (70F-90F), those three days so at least it wasn't like I was missing a gorgeous beach day or anything. If I wasn't at work, I probably wouldn't have done much anyway. Before work all I did was my last hand-washing loads of clothes and towels and started to pack my suitcases a little. One night went to dinner with Marlon to Paseo Junior's in town for a last evening of pupusas.

The Pier
The blue sky finally came out on Wednesday so Christina and I headed to the beach. We walked down to the pier and with the intention of jumping off the end. Some local fishermen helped us pick the best spot to jump but none of them would try it first. I stood out on the ledge and, although my brain was prepared for the jump, it couldn't convince my body to take that final step. This turned out to be lucky because Christina jumped off and then got into trouble.There are some hanging stairs from the water to the pier but she couldn't pull herself up onto them. She decided she would just swim into shore since it is not very far. Well, she swam about 1/3 of the way and couldn't make it any farther. She started to panic and finally some fishermen threw her an inner tube so she could swim back to the stairs where they proceeded to pull her out of the water. Poor girl. Somehow the whole thing was quite hilarious and really not as life threatening as it sounds. Afterwards we walked back to the shore and relaxed, read, and swam for a few hours before heading home to get ready for the K-5th grade graduation.

K-5th Grade Graduation
The graduation began at 3:00pm and surprisingly not that many students came. We gave certificates out to each student who earned honors (90% average or higher) and certificates to parents that were especially helpful over the year. Then each student got printed report card (the students that didn't pass received a letter listing which subjects they need to repeat recuperations for in August). The ceremony was short and sweet. 6th Grade Graduation

Thursday was the 6th grade graduation held in a hall at the fancy Telamar Hotel in town. All the teachers had to meet there at 8:00am that morning to help decorate. It was more busy work. We literally filled balloons (with a hand pump, only one) and tied them together for 5 hours. We finally finished at 1:00pm and I went for quick swim at the beach before going home to get ready for the graduation.

The graduation was from 4:00pm until about 6:30pm. There were only eleven students in the 6th grade class (and all but two came) so it was fairly short and sweet: each child donned a burgundy cap and gown and was escorted down the aisle with their parents (or a stand-in chaperon), each was given a kind introduction and received their certificates, there was an adorable mother/son, father/daughter dance, and then we ate. Carnival
So basically all carnival is is a bunch of small neighborhood street parties with stages for bands and dancing, food and drink stands, some game booths, and lots of people carousing (picture the PB Block Party, or OB Street Fair, etc. but smaller). A different neighborhood has one each night of the week and some a bigger than others. They usually begin around 8:00pm and can carry on until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes ending in those spontaneous, raucous, midnight parades around town. All the schools give the students the week off and Friday is a holiday with many businesses closed. The week culminates on Saturday with a large parade through down town like the one we witnessed in La Ceiba.

Our Last Week on Utila
We leave Friday morning for a taxi, a bus, another taxi, and a ferry to Utila, an island off the Caribbean coast. Our plan is to check out the town, go to the beach, and snorkel on Friday. Saturday we hope take a day trip to a teeny tiny, uninhabited cay for relaxing, swimming, and snorkeling. Sunday to Wednesday we will complete the Open Water scuba diving course which includes course work in the mornings and practice dives in the afternoons. Thursday we will catch the ferry, taxi, bus, and another taxi back to Tela.

Friday we will finish packing and say goodbye (and maybe sneak in a little final beach time) and on Saturday morning we take off back to California. If it all works out, and even if it doesn't, it should be a very memorable last week. I will write about it as soon as I can and I will see you all very soon.

Crossing the Border

Crossing the Border
Obviously talk of the United States comes up often here. I have met many Hondurans that have been to the US before. Some of them went legally on short term visas to visit family already living there, as our friend Marlon has been doing every summer for the past 9 years. Some of them are lucky enough to get long term visas and work there for extended periods, sometimes for good and other times for a few years before deciding to return to their families in Honduras.

Many people also dream of coming, mostly to earn more money for their family, but don't want to cross illegally and haven't been lucky enough to obtain a visa yet. Many are waiting and hoping, most in vain, while others have accepted their fate and resigned themselves to living here. Marlon has been waiting for his visa. His entire family, mom, sister, brother, nieces and nephews, have all been in the states on permanent visas for years. He is still waiting for his. He is living alone in his mother's empty house.

There are also many people who would like to go to the US just to see it and don't want to move there but it is very hard even to get a tourist visa. (Remember... a large percentage of the world does not have the freedom to travel anywhere they want as we privileged Americans do. And ludicrously only about 27% of Americans even have passports much less take advantage of our incredible opportunities and use them!).

Almost every single person I met here has some family living in the US. The vast majority of my students have a parent, some of them both parents, living and working abroad, mainly in the US. I am sure it is heart-achingly painful for all involved. Many kids are being raised by grandparents who often struggled to survive alone yet now are required to meet the needs of a child or children.

I have also met a few people here who have crossed the border illegally. Here is one man's story: He is currently 24. He decided to cross the border to earn more money to send home for his family. He hired a coyote (a person who is supposed to help lead you across the border for a fee) who led him by bus to the border. The coyote instructed him to swim across the river (presumably the Rio Grande).

Climbing out on US soil, he met up with another coyote who led him on a two-day walk with a group of 6 others immigrants through the desert. At a pick-up point, he hopped into yet another coyote's van for a ride to a city in Texas. He quickly found a job working in a laundry.

During this time he met some missionaries at a local church. They convinced him that they would foot his college tuition for him to become a nurse. This would require him to return to Honduras, apply for a student visa, get accepted at a college, and then finally be able to return to the US where they would, hopefully, fulfill their promise.

He decided to do just that and, after 3 years in Texas, returned to Honduras. Now he has to go through the visa application process and wait. While waiting he is planning to begin his schooling here for the nursing degree. He is still in contact with the missionaries from Texas.

Cayos Cochinos

Cayos Cochinos
Christina and I got up while it was still dark Sunday morning to meet our shuttle at 5:30am. We took a taxi into town and the guys from Garifuna Tours were ready to go. We were the only passengers in the mini-van so we stretched out and slept the 1 1/2 hours to La Ceiba.

Upon arrival, we stopped by a hotel to pick up another 21 passengers. One girl was by herself. She was from Washington, D.C. and came to Ceiba for a two-week Spanish course. The other 20 varied in age from late teens to late 50's and were all missionaries from Atlanta, GA. There were staying in Ceiba for 1 week to help out at a church's health clinic that mainly focused on dental care.

After the 15 minute drive from their hotel to beach where the boats were, the 23 of us plus the 4 guides loaded into two open air motor boats. The ride was fairly smooth and only took about 50 minutes. As we approached, the string of tiny cays began coming into view. It was crazy seeing patches of land so small. You never think these places really exist until you see one in person. Cayos Cochinos consist of two small islands and 13 tiny cays. The majority of the cays are only about 24 ft across and 18 ft wide (you can walk the entire length of them in less than a minute), had a group of palm trees growing in the middle with white sand along the edges, and were surrounded but the clearest aquamarine water. The two islands were a little larger, maybe 80 ft long and 36 ft wide. Surrounding and interweaved throughout the cays is a large coral reef and abundant marine life.

Since the area is designated as a Marine National Monument, there is a foundation to take care of the reserve. It is located on the largest island and we stopped there first to sign in to the visitors log book. Then we jetted over to the largest cay, Chachuate, which is inhabited by about a dozen Garifuna families and placed our lunch orders. Finally we cruised over to a small uninhabited cay and disembarked. It was time to snorkel in the crystal clear warm water to explore the coral reef and the abundant marine life. I took some photos on my underwater camera but obviously they won't be developed for a few weeks until I get back to the states. The coral was especially vibrant with green, red, yellow, and blue coral, purple sea fans, large varied brain coral, and some plants that looked like various forms of cacti.

The fish ranged from pinky-sized to larger than my head and encompassed the entire rainbow of colors. My fill of snorkeling being satisfied, I relaxed on the white sand beach just to enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. Across the spectacular turquoise waters were the cloud covered mountains of Pico Bonito in the distance and more tiny cays.After about 1 1/2 hours on that cay, we boated back to Chachuate cay to enjoy lunch. We had rice and beans, tajadas (fried, unsweetened plantains, similar to potato chips), those non-vegetarians also ate some fried fish, and of course we had refreshments. With full bellies, Christina and I traversed the small cay. It took two minutes to walk up and down the length of it. At one end, the cay leads to another cay, Chachuate 2. When the water level is lower, there is a sand bar connecting them. At the other end was the ubiquitous laundry hung up and laid out to dry. The people on the island are able to use their surroundings to their advantage, building houses of thatched palm roofs and wood... and fishing in their colorful cayucos everyday for food. Some local kids were swimming on the lids of ice chests and insisted I take their picture. I spotted a pelican patiently waiting to strike it's prey.It was about 1:00pm when we were all reluctantly herded back to the boats to return to the mainland. It wasn't the blue sky picturesque day I would have hoped but then again clear skies means baking temperatures so maybe a few clouds were preferable... at least it didn't rain. Once in Ceiba, the guides secured the boats, we dropped off the other tourists, and then we took our shuttle back to Tela, sleeping the entire way.

Another Midnight Carnival Celebration
On Monday night there was another carnival celebration in the middle of the night. This one featured a truckload of drummers, loud speakers announcing, "Buenos dias Barrio Venecia," and more honking, cheering, and firecrackers. The motorcade proceeded up and down the street 4 times at 3:23am!

My Birthday, Carnival Commences, and La Ensenada

My Birthday (June 5th)
Christina, my roommate, is so sweet. When I woke up on my birthday, there was a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a birthday card on the kitchen table. (She knows I am not a big fan of cake, except chocolate, but I love chocolate chip cookies.) She even thoughtfully left a bowl of extra raw cookie dough in the fridge for me.

Apparently she got up at about 5:30am to make them. They don't even sell chocolate chips here so she had to chop up Hershey bars. I will really miss her when I leave. (She will be living in a suburb of L.A. so we won't see each other much.) She has been a good friend, traveling companion, and the perfect roommate.To celebrate my birthday, we got a few friends together for dinner. A new baleada/pizza/barbecue restaurant just opened across the street from our house (right when we are leaving, of course) so we decided to gather there. The food was great and we all had a lot of fun. Of course I talked to my sister too, as it was her birthday also. Even though I didn't get to share the day with her it was comforting knowing I would see her in about 2 weeks.

Tela's Carnival (a.k.a. La Feria) Commences
From June 6- 15, Tela celebrates it's carnival or feria – “Fiesta de San Antonio”. As noted in a local online English newspaper, Honduras This Week, "The week-long, riotous party begins at four in the morning, with people setting off firecrackers and shouting to ensure that it begins with a bang. Later, [in the week] the celebration turns to a solemn mass led by the firemen’s corps and the newly-crowned Queen of the Festival. The main carnival [in the center of town] is on [Saturday,] June 14." Throughout the week each barrio has it's own small carnival.

As tradition dictated, on Thursday June 5th, at 4:27am, the initiation began. Some citizens gathered in their vehicles to form a convoy and cruise all over town honking, shouting, and shooting off firecrackers. It was even led by a siren screaming police car. This was at 4:27am in the middle of the night! They clearly didn't want anyone to sleep through the opening ceremony. Click on the link to hear (you need speakers) the celebration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXv31jKN9b0
I was a little disappointed that I didn't get an invitation to join in the revelry.

La Ensenada
I decided to spend my last Saturday enjoying the beach (surprise, surprise). In Jan. (see that post for more details and photos), Christina and I visited La Ensenada and discovered it is the prettiest beach on the coast so I wanted to return. The cloudy sky was not going to stop me.

The 20 minute bus ride from Tela first passes through the puddle-filled dirt streets of the Garifuna village of Triunfo where I witnessed a girls soccer match. This is the first time I have seen girls playing soccer in Honduras. I haven't even seen girls playing casually before. The teams even had real uniforms and it seemed the whole village was standing around watching. Go girls!

I disembarked in the Garifuna village of Ensenada and chose a shady spot under a champa (aka palapa). The water was completely clear and almost flat with only small rolling ripples. Some leftover water from high tide had formed a pool just behind my champa. Looking left down the shore towards Tela were white sand beaches with more champas, palm trees, and families enjoying the sea. Towards the right was the large, jungle covered, rocky point around which leads to Triunfo de la Cruz. While strolling down the shore, I even ran into one of my students and her family. I was happy to see that my kids get to enjoy the beach occasionally also. At about 3:00pm I walked up the dirt path to wait for the bus back to Tela. The last one comes around 3:30pm but the bus sometimes doesn't make the trek all the way to Ensenada if no passengers are going there.

At about 3:50pm, with still no sign of the bus, a taxi drove past and I took my opportunity. It is hard to get a taxi from here so I was happy to see one. Unfortunately, it was only going to Trinufo. I took the ride there anyway as it is much easier to get a taxi to Tela from there. We rode through the bumpy muddy roads and just my luck, as soon as I stepped out of the taxi in Triunfo another drove past within a minute to take me to Tela.

On Sunday, Christina and I are scheduled to go on a day trip to Cayos Cochinos (hog cays) where we will enjoy snorkeling, swimming, and hiking around the tiny islands (hopefully anyway... because you never know with the weather; We just had a 10 min. torrential downpour.).

Storms, a Dinner, a Library, and Recuperation

First (almost) Hurricane of 2008!
So much for sunny days... just after I posted the last blog entry we encountered tropical storm Alma. Hurricane warnings had even been issued but then were discontinued. The deluge of rain began Thursday afternoon immediately flooding all the streets. Friday morning Alma had been downgraded to a tropical depression but it wasn't gone yet. Alma's center was then only about 2 hours from Tela.

Then on Saturday, tropical storm Arthur was right next to us. The rain has continued off and on since then but now mostly only at night. It was a bit disappointing because, although there was big booming thunder, there was only a little lightening and hardly any wind. I mean, if we're gonna have a storm...bring it on. Happily the temperature stayed in the high 70'sF and low 80's making the storm much more enjoyable and the idea of getting soaked not too unpleasant. For amusement, I rode my bike awhile in the rain and puddles and then went into town for a few drinks by the ocean to enjoy the storm and rocky sea. I love the beach even in the rain.

Just for comparison, the average annual rainfall in Tela is about 110 inches while in San Diego it rains less than 12 inches a year. So on average, it rains more here in one month than it rains all year in San Diego.

Oh, and with storms seems to inevitably correlate that the electricity and water will be shut off. Sunday we had no water until 8:00pm. When water once again flowed... of course it was brown and murky. Just as I was hoping the sun would return soon, I awoke Tuesday morning to gorgeous blues skies... and, of course, hopped on my bike for the beach. (I am also very happy because Thursday is my birthday and I found out we finally got to book our day trip to an amazing, tiny group of islands, Cayos Cochinos, for a day of swimming and snorkeling on Sunday. Hopefully it won't get rained out as this is our last chance to go.)Dinner with a Family
On Sunday night Christina invited Genesis and her family over for dinner. (Genesis is the girl who taught us how to make the bracelets. re: post in March.) Christina made spaghetti, garlic bread, and pupusas with only a little help from Genesis and me. The family was very hilarious and we all had a great time. We haven't even left yet and everyone keeps asking when we are coming back. On Leaving Honduras
I've come to realize one hesitation I have in leaving Honduras...
In Honduras, when doing anything, the journey is just as absorbing and important as the destination, sometimes more so. While in the states, the journey is a hassle that has to be suffered through to get to the destination.

Maybe this is true because the backdrop here is so magnificent. Maybe it's because my journeys here are relatively fresh while in the states they are are well worn routes where I don't stop to smell the flowers anymore. Maybe it's because my destinations here don't include meeting my friends and family. Maybe it's because my journeys and destinations here are motivated and initiated by me while in the states they may be dictated by many other factors. Maybe it's because my free time there is much more limited. Maybe...

Just a thought. But it is something I would like to work on when I return as it would make life much more enjoyable. I want to maintain this laid-back feeling as long as possible and avoid the hectic, hurried life I felt when living in the states.

School Library
The school finally cleared out a space for us and gave us book cases to build a proper, whole school, library. Prior to this, Christina and I just had small libraries in our classrooms and the high school books were gathering dust stuffed in unorganized shelves upstairs. We now have a room upstairs with 5 book shelves and a table for magazines.

Christina and I spent all exam week, during prep and after the kids went home, sorting the books into general levels: K-2nd, 3rd-6th, and junior high-high school. Then we sorted each level into categories like sports, science, animals, people, history, fiction, poetry, folk tales, etc. We even got a few students to help out. Now the books are much more accessible to the students. They can easily find books more appropriate for their grade level and on various topics of interest. Each book is labeled so the student will have a reminder for where the book should be returned.
We also created a poster explaining the library rules: how many books they can take, how to check them out, how to return them, etc. and a poster assigning library helpers (two students per month) to help make sure the library doesn't become a big chaotic mess once we leave. I just hope the teachers next year, take students to the library to check out books, read them books from the library, and encourage them to respect it and visit it on their own. (Thank you, thank you, thank you again to all of you who donated books and money for shipping.)

We finally finished the library on Friday of exam week... the last day of regular school. I am always sad saying goodbye to kids on the last day of the school. I just spent 10 months getting to know everything about these people and now it's over. It's like breaking up with your friends every year. I took one last photo of us all. Recuperation
After final exams, each teacher calculated the students average grade for each subject over the whole year. Any subject in which their average was below 70%, they had to come for recuperation. The teachers then made up a study guide for each subject and gave it to the appropriate students to practice over the weekend. Monday and Tuesday the students came for extra tutoring in their respective subjects of need from 12:00pm until 3:00pm. Wednesday and Thursday the students take another final exam in those subjects. If they get 70% or above, they pass; If they get below 70%, they have to do another recuperation in August before school starts.

I teach math, science, reading, writing, and spelling/phonics. I have no idea how a student who struggled with one of these all year long is going to pass it after a weekend and two days of studying, especially something like reading which you can't really cram for.

I feel sorry for the students. This is too much pressure on them. The students shouldn't be made to feel like they failed, the teachers and parents should. Even though my group of students coming for recuperation were exceptionally low, I still feel that is just an excuse and I failed them in my inability to raise them up higher. It is really hard to reach every student when there is such a wide range in current levels. I am sure every teacher can relate to this constant struggle of trying to move the majority along while somehow not abandoning the lower kids and not boring the high ones. I even used my own time after school to give them free tutoring but I can only do so much, especially when they don't show up. Recuperation week is frustrating and depressing.

The one benefit of feeling this discontentment is that it keeps me motivated to constantly reflect on my teaching: stepping back to try to get a fuller (objective) picture, pulling in to make sure I focus on each students as an individual, trying new things, reading, going to workshops, talking to other teachers, etc. If there is ever a day when I begin blaming the students or feeling complacent in my teaching, I will know that is the day I need to find a new career.

We also have to turn in final grades. Since the Honduras school system is not yet computer friendly, we have to do everything in long hand. The school has these thick notebooks with hand- and ruler-made tables and huge forms we have to fill out in ink for every student. Yuck!

Next week we have graduations and the week after we go to Utila for our scuba diving course and relaxing on the cays. It still doesn't seem real that this is all nearly over. Have I really been here 10 months already?