It is Wednesday. Is the week over yet?
It us hard to imagine that I have only been teaching for 3 days. Literally everyday feels like two, and when you are planning in advance, the days just seem to blend together. This is not to say, though, that I have had a bad first few days of school. In fact, they have been quite enjoyable. Long, but enjoyable.
I will definitely need to post a picture of my classroom soon--and of course one of my class--but there has not been enough time yet to make it worth uploading the pictures. I will do this before the week is out.
The first couple days has just been a ton of repetition. I feel as though I am trying to start a tracktor-trailer without a spark plug. Every routine, every rule, every procedure has to be explained, and then explained again, and then explained again, and then you have to make an example out of someone. There is just so much to do before I can effectively teach my class that I constantly have to remember to teach how to learn. It is really easy to just breeze through material, but the kids won't understand it. For example, I have a banking system in my class. The students can earn money (or SMACKERS as I call them) when they perform exceptional work or make the classroom a better place for everyone. Using this money they can also buy treats and other rewards. I also use this money to "tax" them for behaving badly and if they forget their materials, I will charge them to use mine. They love Smackers. They think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But I had to teach them all how to use the bank and keep track of their personal funds. About half of my students can now tell you what the words deposit, transaction, and withdrawal mean.
I could go on forever with stories about school, and in time I will, but for now I have two I want to share; one short and one long.
I assigned my students to write me a letter telling me about themselves. I prompted them with a sheet of questions. They were required to answer 6 questions when writing me this letter. The best response I have gotten so far (authors note: my students refer to me as Don Josh): "I am really happy that I am in your class Don Josh. Sometimes I look up at you and think that you are so tall that you are somewhere in the sky. I wish I would be as tall as you."
That will be 2 smackers for complimenting the teacher.
Story two. This one is much better.
I have planning first period while the Social Studies teacher is with my class. I was in the office when a parent (Michael's mom) comes in to give me the rest of her son's school supplies. I talked with her for a moment and then she left. I returned to my classroom to find a gatorade bottle filled with small brown pellets. I quickly looked over it thinking the Social Studies teacher left something behind and I would just return it later. I did not think, "What is this strange gatorade bottle doing on my desk, and why is it filled with brown pellets?" Those were not my thoughts as any sane person might have wondered. Instead I went on moving into the next lesson and organizing my things to begin. I started teaching, glanced over at my lesson plan when I noticed a strange blue receptacle lying at the foot of my desk. It looked like an ovular bowl with a fake plastic palm tree in the middle and it appeared to be filled with water. Knowing that I did not put this blue thing there I looked closer when I realize that THERE WAS A TURTLE PLAYING INSDIE THE WATER.
Dear Class,
DID IT NOT OCCUR TO YOU TO TELL ME THAT THERE IS A TURTLE IN THE CLASSROOM!
Sincerely,
Don Josh
Why is there a turtle in the classroom? Why did nobody mention this? Who brought it here? What is going on right now?
These are all the questions I have now vocalized to my classroom as I pick up the "tank" and place it on the desk. In unison, my class responds, "oh, that is just Dribble, our turtle."
Oh yeah, by the way Don Josh, we have a class turtle that Michael has been taking care of, now you have to take care of him.
I don't know the first thing about caring for a turtle, nor had anyone up until that moment told me that we had a class pet, that this class pet was still alive, and that I was now the keeper of this class pet.
Dribble a red eared slider about the size of a flattened (ellipsoidal?) baseball. He constantly looks like he is trying to escape from his tank, which is breaking by the way, and he is pretty hungry all the time. I am still shell shocked about this whole thing.
The fact that the mother, who has been caring for this animal the entire summer and has come to school to drop the turtle off, fails to mention this to me in our 2 minute discussion absolutely boggles my mind. The fact that Mr. Tim, their former teacher, did not once mention it to me is unbelievable. The fact that the two returning teachers did not mention it astounds me.
Welcome to Honduras. Remember to look both ways when crossing the street. Be sure not to drink the tap water and always bring a bucket into the shower in case the water goes out. This is your classroom, and here is "How to be a teacher in 4 weeks." Good luck with the class turtle. He needs to be fed 3 times a day and his water changed weekly.
Is it Friday yet?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Reflections
I have been here over a month now. My perspectives have changed, Confradía has become more of a home to me, and I have had plenty of time to reflect about my experience so far. School is about to start on Monday, and before things get real crazy I thought it would be a good idea to clue you in on some thoughts I have about this experience and about Honduras in general. Much of my conclusion (which will surely change drastically over the next few months) come from a comparison to my previous Latin American travels and is important to take into account.
1. Hondurans are not warm people. This was the biggest shock to me from the get go and still bothers me to some degree. Sure, there are the few families who are connected with the school who have welcomed us with open arms and invited us into their homes, but they are few and far between. On the street we are stared at to the point where I begin to question if I am actually in the right place. Everyone refers to each other as "usted," the formal 2nd person, and there is a large void of community apart from that of the church; and even then there are too many churches to form a substantial community. It is strange when compared to Argentina where everyone wanted to talk to you and practice their English, if not at least inquire a little bit about your reasons for being here. In Honduras I do not feel the same hospitality and warmth that is so prominent in Latin families.
2. Poverty is eye opening and also strange. I know I have talked about the relative cheapness of everything here but I truly feel that it underscores the concept that we in the States have of poverty. People here live off very, very little. The area in which I live is the most affluent part of town, and it does not extend very far. The majority of the residents of Cofradía do not have regular access to electricity or running water and live in overcrowded homes. Their means of earning a wage is often selling homemade tortillas or typical Honduran food for little profit, barely enough to feed their own families. Because poverty is the prevailing norm, it affects the "upper" classes as well. The super market lacks many of the luxuries you can find in the bigger cities and even the rich eat the same foods as the poor. They all come from poverty and allow it to pervade their society in every aspect. But even amidst it all, there are few who travel without cell phones or TV. I can't help but think, "why is your children are running around barefoot while you sit there and talk on the phone?" It is hard not to judge this occurrence, but what would you do?
3. CAFTA is not the saving grace of Central America. If you walked into the mall, the only way you would know you are not in the US is that everyone is speaking Spanish. Prices are written in Dollars, the brands are American, and the businesses are foreign owned. American brands are everywhere here and it is part of what cripples their economy. Pepsi and Coke are ubiquitous, Frito-Lay controls the snack foods industry, and the amount of used american clothing for sale is astounding. Yes they provide their own services, but everything that these people are using comes from the United States. Other than fruit, and it's derivatives, Hondurans have no industry to call their own. How can you increase your national wealth if you are constantly working for other countries. The profits from these companies leave the country instead of being reinvested in their own economy. They want to trade with us primarily because we want their fruits and veggies, a lot of them, too. The other thing this constant entrance of American brands does is create desire to want to be in the US, leading me to #4.
4. Emigration. There is a student in my class who barely knows his father. Johny is by far the nicest boy I have met so far. He lives with his grandmother, mother, aunt, younger brother, and his cousin in a small, green house on the way to school. His father first tried to go to the United states 6 years ago but was deported from the Mexican border of the Rio Grande. Johny's father made numerous attempts to enter the states and as far as Johny knows, his latest attempt was successful. Johny cannot afford new shoes for school and I have not yet met his mother, she is always working. Honduran families, almost half of them, depend on family remittances from the US. This money is often what puts food on the table, a roof over their heads, and clothes on their back. Adult children are responsible for of caring for their aging parents and their children with such a small wage. Poverty is difficult to escape, especially without access to education or skilled labor training. For many, the United states offers better wages, better lifestyle, and a better future for their families, but all at the expense of a father or mother's presence in the life of their child. Johny carries around American coins in his pocket because that is most of what he knows about his father. Johny would not be a student at SJBS if he did not receive the necessary remittances from his father in the US. Johny is not unique.
Yes, there are two sides to this story and I see both of them. A treacherous journey to the United States is often was saves these families from starvation, and who can blame someone for doing a job few others are willing to do to send over half of their monthly salary home to their children.
5. Life is simple when there is not much to do. I have definitely been on an emotional journey since arriving here, but boredom was never a stop. It can be frustrating when the lights go out and there is no internet; even more frustrating when the water is shut off. I can get hot as hell without any escape, but it never gets boring. In the absence of TV, internet, driving, concerts, sporting events, good food, and familiar company, I always find a way entertain myself here. I have already read 4 book since arriving here and began a 5th last night. There are always lesson plans to be written, travels to plan (found round trip flight to Cuba today for $250), or endings to be written to the prompt, "You know you're in Honduras when..." (Best response so far: ...you see a woman breast feeding on the back of a moving motorcycle.) I am not bored and enjoy the simple things that Cofradía has to offer. Getting up early on a weekend just to catch the market before it closes, for example.
That's all I can think on right now. My brain hurts a little. I want Mellow Mushroom.
1. Hondurans are not warm people. This was the biggest shock to me from the get go and still bothers me to some degree. Sure, there are the few families who are connected with the school who have welcomed us with open arms and invited us into their homes, but they are few and far between. On the street we are stared at to the point where I begin to question if I am actually in the right place. Everyone refers to each other as "usted," the formal 2nd person, and there is a large void of community apart from that of the church; and even then there are too many churches to form a substantial community. It is strange when compared to Argentina where everyone wanted to talk to you and practice their English, if not at least inquire a little bit about your reasons for being here. In Honduras I do not feel the same hospitality and warmth that is so prominent in Latin families.
2. Poverty is eye opening and also strange. I know I have talked about the relative cheapness of everything here but I truly feel that it underscores the concept that we in the States have of poverty. People here live off very, very little. The area in which I live is the most affluent part of town, and it does not extend very far. The majority of the residents of Cofradía do not have regular access to electricity or running water and live in overcrowded homes. Their means of earning a wage is often selling homemade tortillas or typical Honduran food for little profit, barely enough to feed their own families. Because poverty is the prevailing norm, it affects the "upper" classes as well. The super market lacks many of the luxuries you can find in the bigger cities and even the rich eat the same foods as the poor. They all come from poverty and allow it to pervade their society in every aspect. But even amidst it all, there are few who travel without cell phones or TV. I can't help but think, "why is your children are running around barefoot while you sit there and talk on the phone?" It is hard not to judge this occurrence, but what would you do?
3. CAFTA is not the saving grace of Central America. If you walked into the mall, the only way you would know you are not in the US is that everyone is speaking Spanish. Prices are written in Dollars, the brands are American, and the businesses are foreign owned. American brands are everywhere here and it is part of what cripples their economy. Pepsi and Coke are ubiquitous, Frito-Lay controls the snack foods industry, and the amount of used american clothing for sale is astounding. Yes they provide their own services, but everything that these people are using comes from the United States. Other than fruit, and it's derivatives, Hondurans have no industry to call their own. How can you increase your national wealth if you are constantly working for other countries. The profits from these companies leave the country instead of being reinvested in their own economy. They want to trade with us primarily because we want their fruits and veggies, a lot of them, too. The other thing this constant entrance of American brands does is create desire to want to be in the US, leading me to #4.
4. Emigration. There is a student in my class who barely knows his father. Johny is by far the nicest boy I have met so far. He lives with his grandmother, mother, aunt, younger brother, and his cousin in a small, green house on the way to school. His father first tried to go to the United states 6 years ago but was deported from the Mexican border of the Rio Grande. Johny's father made numerous attempts to enter the states and as far as Johny knows, his latest attempt was successful. Johny cannot afford new shoes for school and I have not yet met his mother, she is always working. Honduran families, almost half of them, depend on family remittances from the US. This money is often what puts food on the table, a roof over their heads, and clothes on their back. Adult children are responsible for of caring for their aging parents and their children with such a small wage. Poverty is difficult to escape, especially without access to education or skilled labor training. For many, the United states offers better wages, better lifestyle, and a better future for their families, but all at the expense of a father or mother's presence in the life of their child. Johny carries around American coins in his pocket because that is most of what he knows about his father. Johny would not be a student at SJBS if he did not receive the necessary remittances from his father in the US. Johny is not unique.
Yes, there are two sides to this story and I see both of them. A treacherous journey to the United States is often was saves these families from starvation, and who can blame someone for doing a job few others are willing to do to send over half of their monthly salary home to their children.
5. Life is simple when there is not much to do. I have definitely been on an emotional journey since arriving here, but boredom was never a stop. It can be frustrating when the lights go out and there is no internet; even more frustrating when the water is shut off. I can get hot as hell without any escape, but it never gets boring. In the absence of TV, internet, driving, concerts, sporting events, good food, and familiar company, I always find a way entertain myself here. I have already read 4 book since arriving here and began a 5th last night. There are always lesson plans to be written, travels to plan (found round trip flight to Cuba today for $250), or endings to be written to the prompt, "You know you're in Honduras when..." (Best response so far: ...you see a woman breast feeding on the back of a moving motorcycle.) I am not bored and enjoy the simple things that Cofradía has to offer. Getting up early on a weekend just to catch the market before it closes, for example.
That's all I can think on right now. My brain hurts a little. I want Mellow Mushroom.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I Have to Visit Spain
After just over a month of training and preparation, it was time to take a quick vacation to the beach. I promise that sometime early this week I will include a "reflections" post, but since I just returned from the beach, I figured I would write about that first.
The vacation was partly sponsored by BECA as part of a team bonding and final preparations before the school year starts in JUST ONE WEEK. We elected to go to a Garifuna town outside of the more populous Tela, a beach city on the northern coast. This was a good idea as far as transportation and accommodations were concerned, but a bad choice when talking about food and what to do.
The first day was nice. We hung around the beach all day, had a pretty decent dinner and just relaxed away from Cofradía. I was also able to get some good spanish practice in by talking to some of the locals. I know I have not mentioned this aspect of my year so far (and there is much more to come in this blog post), but we have not had the opportunity yet to really speak spanish. We spend most of our time at school, speaking english, or with each other, speaking English. We have tried to institute Spanish-only time, but the truth is it is much more inconvenient and people end up not talking. So the new rule is that whenever we are with a non-English speaker, we have to speak in Spanish. This has worked out well as we often times have just one Honduran with us, but if forces everyone to speak in Spanish. Any way, back to the vacation.
After a pretty lazy day and limited, expensive food options, we decided to go into Tela the next day and see what that city had to offer. We ended up separating a lot that day which was a nice change of pace. We also had a local tour agency approach us about a snorkeling trip that we ended up taking. I spent most of the day in Tela with Matt. We enjoyed the beach, walked around, contemplated buying soccer jerseys and bought some fresh fruit and such to bring back as an alternative to fried fish (and I mean the WHOLE fish). We came back to Triunfo and ended up showering and turning right back around and going into town for dinner and drinks.
But day 3 was really the kicker. Up until this point, the vacation had been a bit of a let down. It was not that I didn't enjoy the beach, rather the food was expensive and fried and i was hoping for a bit more luxury that we have had in Cofradía. None of these things were true and I was a little irked by that. But deciding to take the snorkeling trip was the saving grace. We basically spent the entire day traveling around by boat, stopping occasionally to swim on clear beaches and eat. What made this day awesome was that we ran into a group of Spanish dentists who were doing the same tour through a different company. You may be thinking, "dentists? really? that is what made you day awesome?" Let me explain.
This group of dentists were all between the age of 23-26 and they were all women, very attractive women, except for the one man, Jose, who they, and I liked to call "El Suerte/The Lucky One". They were in Honduras finishing up a month of volunteer work in the area. They had finished their stay and were doing some final traveling before heading back to Spain. We chatted with them where we stopped for lunch, and it was the best spanish practice I have had yet. Hondurans do not speak very clearly and their Spanish is not very grammatically proper or fluid. The Spaniards had very clear diction, a nice change of pace, and used the grammar I learned while taking Spanish classes. Needless to say this was a positive experience. Beautiful, spanish-speaking women on the beach. We invited them to grab a beer when we all got back to Tela and they actually showed up. They had to leave that night for their next destination, so we couldn't keep the conversation going too long, but all in all it was great practice. The only thing is now I have to go to Spain to verify if all Spanish dentists look like this.
But alas, I am back in Cofradía, sunburnt, sweaty, and it's raining outside. I posted pictures from the vacation, so click the link at the top of the page or go here to see the latest.
¡Viva España!
The vacation was partly sponsored by BECA as part of a team bonding and final preparations before the school year starts in JUST ONE WEEK. We elected to go to a Garifuna town outside of the more populous Tela, a beach city on the northern coast. This was a good idea as far as transportation and accommodations were concerned, but a bad choice when talking about food and what to do.
The first day was nice. We hung around the beach all day, had a pretty decent dinner and just relaxed away from Cofradía. I was also able to get some good spanish practice in by talking to some of the locals. I know I have not mentioned this aspect of my year so far (and there is much more to come in this blog post), but we have not had the opportunity yet to really speak spanish. We spend most of our time at school, speaking english, or with each other, speaking English. We have tried to institute Spanish-only time, but the truth is it is much more inconvenient and people end up not talking. So the new rule is that whenever we are with a non-English speaker, we have to speak in Spanish. This has worked out well as we often times have just one Honduran with us, but if forces everyone to speak in Spanish. Any way, back to the vacation.
After a pretty lazy day and limited, expensive food options, we decided to go into Tela the next day and see what that city had to offer. We ended up separating a lot that day which was a nice change of pace. We also had a local tour agency approach us about a snorkeling trip that we ended up taking. I spent most of the day in Tela with Matt. We enjoyed the beach, walked around, contemplated buying soccer jerseys and bought some fresh fruit and such to bring back as an alternative to fried fish (and I mean the WHOLE fish). We came back to Triunfo and ended up showering and turning right back around and going into town for dinner and drinks.
But day 3 was really the kicker. Up until this point, the vacation had been a bit of a let down. It was not that I didn't enjoy the beach, rather the food was expensive and fried and i was hoping for a bit more luxury that we have had in Cofradía. None of these things were true and I was a little irked by that. But deciding to take the snorkeling trip was the saving grace. We basically spent the entire day traveling around by boat, stopping occasionally to swim on clear beaches and eat. What made this day awesome was that we ran into a group of Spanish dentists who were doing the same tour through a different company. You may be thinking, "dentists? really? that is what made you day awesome?" Let me explain.
This group of dentists were all between the age of 23-26 and they were all women, very attractive women, except for the one man, Jose, who they, and I liked to call "El Suerte/The Lucky One". They were in Honduras finishing up a month of volunteer work in the area. They had finished their stay and were doing some final traveling before heading back to Spain. We chatted with them where we stopped for lunch, and it was the best spanish practice I have had yet. Hondurans do not speak very clearly and their Spanish is not very grammatically proper or fluid. The Spaniards had very clear diction, a nice change of pace, and used the grammar I learned while taking Spanish classes. Needless to say this was a positive experience. Beautiful, spanish-speaking women on the beach. We invited them to grab a beer when we all got back to Tela and they actually showed up. They had to leave that night for their next destination, so we couldn't keep the conversation going too long, but all in all it was great practice. The only thing is now I have to go to Spain to verify if all Spanish dentists look like this.
But alas, I am back in Cofradía, sunburnt, sweaty, and it's raining outside. I posted pictures from the vacation, so click the link at the top of the page or go here to see the latest.
¡Viva España!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
My Classroom Needs You
At the end of this blog post I am going to ask you to donate to my classroom. But before I do, I want to explain to you why it is that I need this donation. I have explained what I am doing in Honduras in many capacities, but I want to tell you more about how things work at my new school.
San Jeronimo Bilingual School was founded in 2004 with the help of some Americans (the founders of BECA) to provide low-cost bilingual education to some of the poorest parts of Honduras. With the help of some local leaders and land owners the school was built about a 20 minute walk from the main square in a town called Cofradía. SJBS in conjunction with BECA wishes to provide a high-quality, low-cost education to Hondurans in hopes that they will continue their education and become contributing professionals in a country desperately in need of highly skilled citizens.
San Jeronimo Bilingual School is a separate organization from BECA (Bilingual Education for Central America). SJBS is directed by a parents association, elected from the families who attend SJBS. Many of these families are part of the wealthier population in Cofradía and are in charge of making any decision related to the finances of the school. They approve new construction efforts (they are currently building more classrooms and just finished a new amphitheater), they determine the salaries of full time Honduran faculty and staff, and liaise between BECA and the Honduran Ministry of Education. Additionally, this board of directors, or La Junta as they are called here, determine the tuition per year and monthly payment schedules of all students.
BECA contributes the teachers and provides scholarships to students who cannot otherwise afford to attend a bilingual school. This is what separates SJBS from other bilingual school sin Honduras. In most bilingual schools fewer than 10% of the students are admitted on scholarship and tuition is close to $2400 a year. Considering the average salary of a Honduran is $300 a month, this is a near impossible feat for poor families. This cost does not include the transportation necessary to even attend these schools. The flip-side to all of this is that SJBS has over 35% of students here on scholarship, most of whom pay absolutely nothing to attend (they earn tuition is other ways) and SJBS's annual tuition is only about $300 a year. With BECA's help, SJBS can continue to function in this manner, and function successfully.
However, we are still in Honduras and money is still tight regardless of the financial support of private donors, the parents association and BECA. This is where you come in.
SJBS needs over 50 desks for the upcoming school year, which starts in 2 weeks. SJBS cannot afford all of these desks so I have stepped in to help with this matter. My classroom is one of those classrooms that needs new desks, but I have a better idea: I want tables. Tables are better for group learning, cheaper than desks, and generally last longer. But you may be saying, "Josh, there is no way you have 50 students in your class, who else needs desks?" The 6th grade class also needs desks, but is opting for tables. This would allow us to use the available desks for the middle school classes and not need to replace anything.
One of the scholarship fathers is someone who does a lot of manual labor for the school and has built tables and chairs for SJBS in the past. He has quoted us at $30 a table (including labor). We need 12 tables in all bringing the total to $360. 360 DOLLARS! That's all it will cost to provide a necessary item for our school. SJBS has agreed to purchase the chairs so all I need to do is find the money for tables.
BECA is currently running their back-to-school fundraiser and I am asking you to help my classroom get tables by donating in this drive. Yes, $360 will purchase tables for my classroom, but $500 can help send a student to school. By donating to my classroom or to the 6th grade classroom (Ms. Laurel Deeter) you will be helping my students succeed. So please take just a few minutes to help my class purchase tables. You can sponsor a table for just $30 or half a table for $15 and make all the difference in the lives of 25 students who can speak English better than most 10 year olds I know. Follow this link and click on the 2010 BECA Classroom Sponsors icon that takes up the whole screen. I only have 2 weeks to raise the money, please help me out.
Thanks,
Josh
San Jeronimo Bilingual School was founded in 2004 with the help of some Americans (the founders of BECA) to provide low-cost bilingual education to some of the poorest parts of Honduras. With the help of some local leaders and land owners the school was built about a 20 minute walk from the main square in a town called Cofradía. SJBS in conjunction with BECA wishes to provide a high-quality, low-cost education to Hondurans in hopes that they will continue their education and become contributing professionals in a country desperately in need of highly skilled citizens.
San Jeronimo Bilingual School is a separate organization from BECA (Bilingual Education for Central America). SJBS is directed by a parents association, elected from the families who attend SJBS. Many of these families are part of the wealthier population in Cofradía and are in charge of making any decision related to the finances of the school. They approve new construction efforts (they are currently building more classrooms and just finished a new amphitheater), they determine the salaries of full time Honduran faculty and staff, and liaise between BECA and the Honduran Ministry of Education. Additionally, this board of directors, or La Junta as they are called here, determine the tuition per year and monthly payment schedules of all students.
BECA contributes the teachers and provides scholarships to students who cannot otherwise afford to attend a bilingual school. This is what separates SJBS from other bilingual school sin Honduras. In most bilingual schools fewer than 10% of the students are admitted on scholarship and tuition is close to $2400 a year. Considering the average salary of a Honduran is $300 a month, this is a near impossible feat for poor families. This cost does not include the transportation necessary to even attend these schools. The flip-side to all of this is that SJBS has over 35% of students here on scholarship, most of whom pay absolutely nothing to attend (they earn tuition is other ways) and SJBS's annual tuition is only about $300 a year. With BECA's help, SJBS can continue to function in this manner, and function successfully.
However, we are still in Honduras and money is still tight regardless of the financial support of private donors, the parents association and BECA. This is where you come in.
SJBS needs over 50 desks for the upcoming school year, which starts in 2 weeks. SJBS cannot afford all of these desks so I have stepped in to help with this matter. My classroom is one of those classrooms that needs new desks, but I have a better idea: I want tables. Tables are better for group learning, cheaper than desks, and generally last longer. But you may be saying, "Josh, there is no way you have 50 students in your class, who else needs desks?" The 6th grade class also needs desks, but is opting for tables. This would allow us to use the available desks for the middle school classes and not need to replace anything.
One of the scholarship fathers is someone who does a lot of manual labor for the school and has built tables and chairs for SJBS in the past. He has quoted us at $30 a table (including labor). We need 12 tables in all bringing the total to $360. 360 DOLLARS! That's all it will cost to provide a necessary item for our school. SJBS has agreed to purchase the chairs so all I need to do is find the money for tables.
BECA is currently running their back-to-school fundraiser and I am asking you to help my classroom get tables by donating in this drive. Yes, $360 will purchase tables for my classroom, but $500 can help send a student to school. By donating to my classroom or to the 6th grade classroom (Ms. Laurel Deeter) you will be helping my students succeed. So please take just a few minutes to help my class purchase tables. You can sponsor a table for just $30 or half a table for $15 and make all the difference in the lives of 25 students who can speak English better than most 10 year olds I know. Follow this link and click on the 2010 BECA Classroom Sponsors icon that takes up the whole screen. I only have 2 weeks to raise the money, please help me out.
Thanks,
Josh
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The Gourmet Honduras
I am sitting here in the apartments on a semi-lazy Saturday after making my final move to the apartment I am going to live in for the duration of my stay in Cofradía. To make a long story short, the teachers who were training us were living in The Guy's Apartment (I call it that because all of the men will be living there as of tonight) and so for a week we were spread out amongst the extra beds on the floor, not the actual floor, rather floor 3 of the building. But now the trainers are gone and we have spent the better half of today cleaning up the apartment to make it sanitary before we move in. I defrosted a freezer for the first time--now we have a clean fridge. I swept the same floor about 13 times, and there is still dirt lingering--this is Hondo. Now we have the cleanest rooms in BECA...for about 2 more days. After a days worth of scrubbing, mopping, and the occasional pineapple break, I am writing this blog just before I go hop in the pool.
However, the title of this post is not "Dirty Apartment," it is "The Gourmet Honduras" and so I will be talking about food, gasp! As is tradition for any Balser expedition, the local cuisine must be addressed in full detail. So I want everyone to brainstorm as many ways as you can think of to combine tortillas (both corn and flour), beans, rice, cheese, and avocado. Are you thinking hard? How many edible combinations did you think of? I assure you that you have yet to think of them all. Even I am surprised when I see these same ingredients miraculously appear on my plate in a slightly different arrangement and most always with a different name. I mean, come on, who are these people trying to fool? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Only these roses usually cause digestive problems. I am afraid to report that Honduras lacks in the culinary variety that I may have hoped for. I am, however, now addicted to fried plantains and have started to make them myself, and I am able to have a fulfilling dinner of one of the aforementioned combinations for only $1.30. The real gourmet Honduras happens 5 nights a week, alternating between the volunteer house and the apartments.
The first week in the apartments was also the first week of communal cooking and I am pleased to report that I have not been disappointed. It has actually been quite a relief to have some semblance on American style food with the limited resources we have had. We are still in the team trial phase of figuring out the final cooking teams, but every meal has been fulfilling. One night we had a mediterranean theme, the next night stir-fry, my night we served a southwest style bean, corn salad on top of tortillas with melted cheese, the closest thing we could find to mozzarella, and another night we had breakfast for dinner when a team successfully attempted pancakes. Needless to say I have been happy to have a variety of food styles and a variety of vegetables.
So far my diet has been strictly vegetarian in the house/apartment. We are given a food/house needs stipend every two weeks. This stipend adds up to about $22 a person for two weeks. Part of this stipend in automatically taken out and given to the communal dinner fund. Every night we eat together our food budget is about $10-11 for the whole group. That works out less than $1 a person per night to eat. This budget is tight, but entirely do-able, assuming you do not buy any meat. Fruits and vegetable are very cheap here and pooling our money together for many expenses goes much further than buying individually. Most nights we have enough money to have a good dinner and some type of fruit for dessert.
I had a feeling I would become somewhat of a vegetarian while I was here so the no meat policy has not bothered me in the slightest. Besides, I end up getting some type of meat for lunch 3-4 days a week (this will also change once school starts). For now though, I will continue to experiment with my ability to make typical Honduran foods and will report back any successes, or failures, I may have on the way.
I think my stomach is starting to grumble. I'm going to go make some tajadas (fried plantains).
However, the title of this post is not "Dirty Apartment," it is "The Gourmet Honduras" and so I will be talking about food, gasp! As is tradition for any Balser expedition, the local cuisine must be addressed in full detail. So I want everyone to brainstorm as many ways as you can think of to combine tortillas (both corn and flour), beans, rice, cheese, and avocado. Are you thinking hard? How many edible combinations did you think of? I assure you that you have yet to think of them all. Even I am surprised when I see these same ingredients miraculously appear on my plate in a slightly different arrangement and most always with a different name. I mean, come on, who are these people trying to fool? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Only these roses usually cause digestive problems. I am afraid to report that Honduras lacks in the culinary variety that I may have hoped for. I am, however, now addicted to fried plantains and have started to make them myself, and I am able to have a fulfilling dinner of one of the aforementioned combinations for only $1.30. The real gourmet Honduras happens 5 nights a week, alternating between the volunteer house and the apartments.
The first week in the apartments was also the first week of communal cooking and I am pleased to report that I have not been disappointed. It has actually been quite a relief to have some semblance on American style food with the limited resources we have had. We are still in the team trial phase of figuring out the final cooking teams, but every meal has been fulfilling. One night we had a mediterranean theme, the next night stir-fry, my night we served a southwest style bean, corn salad on top of tortillas with melted cheese, the closest thing we could find to mozzarella, and another night we had breakfast for dinner when a team successfully attempted pancakes. Needless to say I have been happy to have a variety of food styles and a variety of vegetables.
So far my diet has been strictly vegetarian in the house/apartment. We are given a food/house needs stipend every two weeks. This stipend adds up to about $22 a person for two weeks. Part of this stipend in automatically taken out and given to the communal dinner fund. Every night we eat together our food budget is about $10-11 for the whole group. That works out less than $1 a person per night to eat. This budget is tight, but entirely do-able, assuming you do not buy any meat. Fruits and vegetable are very cheap here and pooling our money together for many expenses goes much further than buying individually. Most nights we have enough money to have a good dinner and some type of fruit for dessert.
I had a feeling I would become somewhat of a vegetarian while I was here so the no meat policy has not bothered me in the slightest. Besides, I end up getting some type of meat for lunch 3-4 days a week (this will also change once school starts). For now though, I will continue to experiment with my ability to make typical Honduran foods and will report back any successes, or failures, I may have on the way.
I think my stomach is starting to grumble. I'm going to go make some tajadas (fried plantains).
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Independence Day
The cool breeze is unbelievably incredible this Sunday, much better than other afternoons on the porch of the apartments. Today marks a great day in my BECA experience, Independence Day. I have moved out of my homestay and forever more will be living in my permanent residence--the apartments. I really do feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Moving out of that homestay has been the light at the end tunnel for the past two weeks. Many of you have wondered about my homestay and I am not sure I have painted much of a picture of it.
All of us volunteers have been living with parents of San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS) students. Needless to say, each of our experiences has been different in so many ways. One girl has the awesome homestay with flat screen, swimming pool, and movie nights in San Pedro. Others have the community chef who sells her "fixins" to the neighborhood around the dinner hour. The men on the teaching team have not been so lucky.
It is not that our hosts were not friendly, rather they were not great hosts. Dinner was, at best, an afterthought and usually the same most nights. During this final week, I have run into my host mother while with some other volunteers and she begins to brag that I have been given pizza hut and KFC for dinner, while others receive typical Honduran cuisine. While I appreciate her effort, I wish I would have gotten more typical Honduran cuisine. It can be hard sometimes not being judgmental, but when you are being compensated for service and you have done it before, I expect a little more.
But that is all behind me now. I am now living in my apartment and could not be happier to not be living out of a suitcase, not have to rely of a fan the size of my face for air circulation, and not to have a bathroom that leaks a putrid smell, and water for that matter, into my living quarters. I will sleep easy tonight knowing my shower will be a slight improvement and my clothes are dry.
In other news, one of the BECA board members is here visiting this week. Anna (that is here name) was one of the people who interviewed during the process, and we did so in a Starbucks on Capitol Hill. That's right, she lives in DC and I plan on catching up quite a bit. I am going to try and take some more pictures this week of the general condition here in Cofradía. Have a Happy Independence Day everyone.
All of us volunteers have been living with parents of San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS) students. Needless to say, each of our experiences has been different in so many ways. One girl has the awesome homestay with flat screen, swimming pool, and movie nights in San Pedro. Others have the community chef who sells her "fixins" to the neighborhood around the dinner hour. The men on the teaching team have not been so lucky.
It is not that our hosts were not friendly, rather they were not great hosts. Dinner was, at best, an afterthought and usually the same most nights. During this final week, I have run into my host mother while with some other volunteers and she begins to brag that I have been given pizza hut and KFC for dinner, while others receive typical Honduran cuisine. While I appreciate her effort, I wish I would have gotten more typical Honduran cuisine. It can be hard sometimes not being judgmental, but when you are being compensated for service and you have done it before, I expect a little more.
But that is all behind me now. I am now living in my apartment and could not be happier to not be living out of a suitcase, not have to rely of a fan the size of my face for air circulation, and not to have a bathroom that leaks a putrid smell, and water for that matter, into my living quarters. I will sleep easy tonight knowing my shower will be a slight improvement and my clothes are dry.
In other news, one of the BECA board members is here visiting this week. Anna (that is here name) was one of the people who interviewed during the process, and we did so in a Starbucks on Capitol Hill. That's right, she lives in DC and I plan on catching up quite a bit. I am going to try and take some more pictures this week of the general condition here in Cofradía. Have a Happy Independence Day everyone.
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