Blogs from Central, Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Well, I decided it was about time to talk more about what it is I am doing while I am here in Honduras... TEACHING! ...plus I was getting requests from Nana to hear more about school and less about the parties :) We are now into our 2nd quarter of school. After missing much time between H1N1 scares and political unrest, we have finally had some FULL weeks of school and were able to complete the first quarter. It was a rough start and it took me forever to learn the students' names, but after about 6 weeks, I FINALLY learned all of the names of my 4th graders AND 2nd graders. The following names are examples of why it's been so hard for me to remember: 4th grade: Sofia, Andrea Sofia, Andrea Nicole, Maria Jose, ... read more

Mike, Mavis, and I were very excited when our American friends here in Honduras decided that they wanted to celebrate our Canadian Thanksgiving. During happy hour on Friday after school, we decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday evening at Jimmy and Sarah's house before the big soccer game that night between Honduras and USA. Of course we were all cheering for Honduras, but we did get strange looks from people all day while we were out in the city wearing our Honduran jerseys. Everyone agreed on what they would bring. I claimed the mashed potatoes and so I went over to Pam and Libby's place (they live with a Mexican family just down the street from me) to use their hand mixer. Jimmy and Sarah had the chicken (instead of turkey) and gravy covered. ... read more

I'm not sure if it's in the news at home, but it's definitely all over the news here: Ousted president Zelaya is back in Honduras... back in Tegucigalpa. Monday was meant to be the start of our first full week back at school. Monday, just before lunch, there were rumours going around the school that Mel had returned. Interim President Micheletti said this was false and only rumours. Later though, it was confirmed that Mel has indeed back in the country and that he had taken refuge at the Brazilian embassy. We had many parents rushing in a panic to the school and pulling their children out of school early. By the end of the day, I had lost almost 1/3 of my 2nd grade students. Monday night it was announced that there would be a ... read more

This weekend I went to visit Walter in Comayagua. After he came to visit me two weekends in a row, I figured it was my turn. The taxi ride from my apartment to the bus station was about 20 minutes long and I have to admit that I felt a little nervous. It's been a big adjustment trying to get used to life in Tegucigalpa, as ýou always have to be more aware of what is happening around you and of any potential danger as well. The bus ride to Comayagua was surreal. It was a route I had done many times before but usually this particular route was when I was heading "home" from a weekend visit to Tegus. This was different, but it felt SO good to be back in Comayagua. I feel so ... read more

The first days of school have been interesting ones. This past Monday and Tuesday classes were canceled in thoughts that buses and students coming through town may be affected by the manifestations in the city, as the 6 day peace march was to end that day in Tegucigalpa. Tuesday, the staff were all called together for a meeting to tell us of the safety precautions that the school was taking. We had an evacuation plan in case our school is taken over by a mob. We talked about the "mob drill" that would take place Thursday as a practice. We talked about people who were watching over our school to keep us posted, as the school in en route from the President's residence and some kind of ministry of something downtown. We don't anticipate any attacks ... read more