Life in Tegus...

---

Time in Honduras works in two zones, Honduran time and English time! (English being on time, Honduran mas o menos! More or less) The two weeks i have been here have certainly tested my perception of time.. the early morning starts, and then the sloww hazy afternoons are something im getting to like. Time at school 630-1 can be fast paced in the class, then you can sit and chat with the teachers, very useful for picking up Spanish. The timetables i eventually received have changed multiple times over the week and turning up at the wrong class has been a regular occurance! Its all taken in good humour though, the teachers are all very gracious and understanding to the new teachers.

School life is sinking in now, the daily trip on the bus with all the school kids is always fun, receiving a "Buenos dias Miss Melanie" is a common start to the day. The lessons are pretty laidback, teach- student relations is fairly mutual, the kids here are probably much more interactive than in England and more than happy to get involved with lessons when games are involved! (However making grammar exciting is proving a challenge) The students i teach (15-17yrs) have good conversational English, but even from first weeks homework you can see what needs improving. The 5th grade (9-10) are really fun to teach, and soo cute. I am teaching them about mammals, so i am planning to get them to do a presentation to decorate the classroom too. The teachers here basically leave you to make your classes as good as you want them to be. Almost everything is left unsaid... you make of it what you will! The school system is based on North Americas, so they use all the same linguistic school terms, partials, grades 7, 8 ,9, (years in England) getting used to the terminology and how they operate is vastly different to England. Its all new to me, so i find i can absorb it all quite easily, having not worked in English schools.

Some of the time i have at the weekends i have spent experiencing the night life in Tegus, the club i have been to was very modern, the divide between the rich and poor is quite stark here in the city, you have the socialites with mobile phones and the nice clothes, and of course the less fortunate. Last sunday we went to Statue Picachu (christ monument) there were some beautiful views of the vast city sunk into the bowl shaped valley. It was refreshing to take a trip out of the city! I am planning to visit other areas soon, and i have a school holiday (week off) in March. We are getting used to the bus rides here, and the waiting.. for the whole bus to fill up before we set off!

Since being here i have gotten into a routine extremley quickly.. in 6 months i will have forged my own little life here, what with my mobile phone (bling!) I certainly wasnt expecting to buy one (safety issues annd.. a phone being somethin i can prob do without) However its useful to keep in touch with my teacher friends, and we stay safer that way! My friends and i have already got a regular eatery here (Taco Loco!) we often go for a taco or Sopa de Tortilla (yum) as i may have mentioned, the city is LITTERED with fast food restaurants, i have so far not sucummbed to eating in any fast food chains!

I feel a siesta coming on... and perhaps a Granita fruta!

---

Photos

Tuk tuk!
A Tuk Tuk! in Ville de Angeles

In one of the many eateries
Out on the town with a few of the teachers

Empty road...
A very rare sight in Tegus!