General Information

Here is some information about Honduras, Olancho Aid, and what exactly I will be doing during my time in Honduras:

Below are questions and answers I have been given throughout my application process:

What grade will I teach?
A: Your grade assignment will be 1st grade. You will be in charge of two sections of the same grade level. For example, each grade level has an English classroom and a Spanish classroom. In your English classroom, you will be with half of the second graders in the morning and the other half of the second graders in the afternoon. The half that is not in your classroom will be in the Spanish classroom with the Honduran Spanish-speaking teacher.

How many students will I have?
A: You will be in charge of teaching English to about 40-50 students in total, but you will have no more than 25 students in the classroom at a time. (Half in the morning session, half in the afternoon) Currently, most classrooms have between 17-25 students, with the average being 19 students.

How many classes will I be teaching? Which subjects?
A: As a teacher in one of the English classrooms, you will be in charge of teaching the following subjects: English (Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar), Math, and Science

You will teach English, Math, and Science to one group of students from 7:00-10:30 (with a half hour break for a “specials” class like Religion, and another half hour break for morning recess). Then, you will teach the same classes to another group of students from 10:30-2:00 (with another half hour break for a “specials” class like Computers, and another half hour break for afternoon recess). You will get to decide how you use your time blocks, always keeping in mind that students should receive at least 5 hours of English, 5 hours of Math, and 4 hours of Science a week.

How much English will the students speak? Do I need to know Spanish?
A: The amount of English your students speak depends greatly on the grade-level you are teaching. For example, first graders will speak very little English at the beginning of the school year while sixth graders will be able to hold an entire conversation in English. However, you do not need to know Spanish in order to teach in an English classroom at Santa Clara. Each grade will have an English classroom and a Spanish classroom. In the English classroom, we ask that no Spanish is spoken. If students need to get a drink of water, for example, they will ask in English. When you are explaining a concept, this often means that you will need to use more visuals and interactive activities than if you had a classroom full of English speakers. Though this is often difficult at the beginning of the school year, students become accustomed to the immersion and routine. In fact, it is most difficult for volunteers who do speak Spanish because, many times, you will simply want to use Spanish to help explain something. However, we ask that you try to please use only English in the classroom whenever possible. You will find that speaking Spanish comes in very helpful when talking to parents, or writing notes to parents, or when talking to Honduran teachers and staff who only speak Spanish.

What kinds of materials and textbooks will I have to use?
A: Textbooks: Santa Clara is still in the process of creating a school-wide curriculum. However, we do have teacher editions of all textbooks used in the school. All of the teacher editions for English teachers are from the Harcourt textbook company. The English curriculum is a combination of Reading, Writing, and Spelling and we currently have access to Harcourt “Moving Into English” textbooks for grades 1-5. For Math, we use a program called Math Steps and students have their own Math workbooks. For Science, a Harcourt teacher textbook is provided to each teacher, though students do not have their own textbooks.
Materials: Each teacher will be provided with access to construction paper, dry-erase markers, markers, crayons, white paper, pencils, pens, etc. Many of these materials are donated from churches in the United States. Students will have a list of school supplies they need to bring with them at the beginning of the school year.

What are the classrooms like?
A: The classrooms are large, even by North American standards. However, they are made of cement block and tin roofs, so they are not sound-proof! Each classroom has a wall of windows that look into the inner hallway as well as windows that look towards outside. By walking down the hallway, you can see what is happening in each classroom.

There are currently three classroom buildings with 6 classrooms in each building. The first building houses 1st through 3rd grade, the second building houses 4th through 6th grade, and the third building has Kindergarten and 7th grade. Right now, only the 1st through 3rd grade classrooms have electricity. They also have fans and lights. We are hoping the other buildings will have electricity by the time you arrive.

Each classroom has painted wooden desks and wooden chairs for each student. There are hooks for backpacks in one corner and shelves in another corner. Each classroom also has one teacher desk and chair and, usually, a medium-sized table for small group work. It is up to you to decorate the classroom so that it becomes an inviting and creative space. You will have the week before school starts to decorate as you wish.

What is the economic situation of the students?
A: Students come from a variety of backgrounds at Santa Clara. Some students are very poor and come to school on scholarship or have a sponsor in the United States who pays for their education. Other students have family members working and living in the United States who send money to the family here so that they can pay for a private education. In fact, the sad truth is that many students at Santa Clara are growing up in single-parent households or are being raised by an aunt or grandmother because either one or both of their parents have left for the United States. At the same time, we also have students whose parents are doctors, lawyers, and professors here in town.

Who is the typical volunteer? Where are they usually from?
OAF has had volunteers ranging from college students to older people, and married couples. Most of our volunteers are recent college graduates, both from education backgrounds and other areas of study. While we are a Catholic organization, we welcome non-Catholic volunteers. Most of our volunteers are from all over the U.S., though in the past there have been Canadian and Spanish volunteers. We continue to grow in our number of long-term volunteers; the 2008-2009 school saw 7 long term volunteers and 6 short-term volunteers. We also have several church groups visit to do mission visits of 7-10 days throughout the year.

Are there opportunities for service work outside of teaching?
OAF volunteers have a strong history of reaching out in the community in a variety of ways. Adult ESL classes have been taught the past 3 years. Other opportunities have included repairing homes damaged by flooding, coaching Special Olympics, and working on the weekends with visiting parish groups on medical or construction projects.

What do volunteers do in their free time?
Volunteers at Santa Clara typically work until 3 pm each day and get home on the bus around 3:30 pm. Past volunteers have done a lot of reading, movie watching, playing games, cooking, and exercising. In the evenings and weekends, you might explore the town, go out to grab food or drinks, go dancing, and go hiking. Other things past volunteers have participated in are English tutoring, teaching ESL classes to adults at night, participating in Special Olympics at Nazareth, and helping out with projects in the office. There is a weekly gathering of volunteers for a meal and a discussion on spirituality, to encourage community. Non-Catholic volunteers typically feel comfortable at this ecumenically-minded gathering.
Past volunteers have also traveled throughout Honduras and other parts of Central America, on the weekends and on school vacations. Traveling can be very cheap in Central America, possibly as low as $20 a day. Guidebooks such as Lonely Planet or Moon’s are very useful for getting around.

What kinds of food are eaten in Honduras?
Red beans, tortillas from corn, and rice with spices are comida tipica (typical food). The most common fruits and vegetables include bananas, mangoes (sour and sweet), oranges, watermelons, cantaloupe, plantains (plátanos), bell peppers and native yams (yucca.) The national snack is the baleada (a medium sized flour tortilla filled with refried beans, mantequilla, a dairy product resembling bland sour cream, and sprinkled with grated cheese). Baleadas are commonly sold in the parques or in public markets. Fried plantain chips called tajaditas accompany many meals as a substitute for French fries or vegetables. For the intense afternoon heat, vendors sell charamuscas, which is frozen fruit juice in bags. Other staples of the volunteer diet include pizza and pasta. There are several supermarkets in Juticalpa that carry a broader range of food more towards North American tastes (for example, peanut butter).

What types of clothing should I bring?
Hondurans overall tend to value dressing well. Honduran style closely resembles that of Western trends. Dress slacks and a button down shirt of light material are custom for men. Women are diligent about appearances and the latest clothing trends, especially at special occasions (religious ceremonies, parties and other social gatherings.) A typical female outfit is a shin to thigh length skirt, or jean pants, with decorative top and high heeled shoes. In more rural areas, second hand clothing imported from the United States is common and t-shirts with English slogans are popular. Surprising to most visitors is that despite the heat, shorts are rarely worn in public by either sex in Honduras. For volunteers, it is recommended that you bring fairly dressy clothes to teach in, albeit in comfortable, light fabrics, but keep in mind your clothes will be washed by hand in a well. For female volunteers, high heels are certainly not required, but dressy sandals or closed-toed shoes will fit in more. Also important for female volunteers, clothes that are more modest will most likely cut down on the number of catcalls made by male Olanchanos (higher-necked shirts, skirts to the knee or lower, etc).

What is the climate like in Juticalpa?
Juticalpa is located in central Honduras, in a valley of the Sierra de Agalta mountains. Central-southern Honduras is characteristically warmer and drier than the tropical north. The rainy season extends from May to November and is referred to as “winter” by the natives. March, April and May are the hottest months of year, with temperatures that can reach highs around 105F.

***For long-term volunteers, visa arrangements will need to be made for a stay longer than 90 days, or volunteers will need to travel to a non-bordering country for at least 5 days. -- This is why I will have to purchase three plane tickets. I'm coming home for two weeks in December and then I will have to leave the country again around Easter. Since I can't afford to come home a second time I will be flying into Guatemala for a week.

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou