When I got to Honduras I was placed in a house with Michelle and Jackie. The two of them did not get along. There were fights and tears and ultimately Jackie decided to move out and live in some dorms by herself. Leaving Michelle and I in the house. Well about four or five weeks after Jackie moved out Michelle left to go back to the United States. She was having some issues with anxiety and it wasn't something that could be effectively treated in Honduras. So her dad flew down on a Wednesday and they flew back to the U.S. the following day. It all happened very quickly. Now I am currently living in my house alone. Peggy did hire a new long-term volunteer, named Candice. She will be flying into Honduras on December 2nd. She is going to stay during Christmas and until next June. She will be taking over Michelle's third grade class and be my new roommate. So I'm excited for that!
Since Michelle left there is no one to teach third grade currently. They need an English speaker in the classroom and we only have 5 Hondurans on our staff that are bilingual. Wendy ( my aid), Fanny (Jackie's aid), Claudia (Anne's aid), Oscar (computer teacher), and Olban (the Religion teacher). Peggy did hire a full-time sub to come until Candice can take over but the guy she hired is also a farmer and has a lot of crops coming in right now, so he can't come everyday -- leaving Peggy with no other choice than to pull Wendy, Fanny, or Claudia from our classrooms. Since the third graders need a consistent teacher it has been decided that Wendy will teach them until January 14th. That will give Candice four weeks of observation before she is just thrown into teaching in Honduras. That means I will be teaching solo for the next six weeks. It'll definitely be a challenge, as everything has been here. But I'm going to take it as a time to grow and become an even better educator. It will teach me more patience and how to effectively teach my class in new and innovative ways without having a full-time translator present. Just like living alone has taught me more independence, and has given me a lot of time for reflection.
Keep me in your prayers as always! It's going to be a challenging six weeks...but I know I'll come out on top!
As some of my students say to me : Te Quiero Mucho (I love you a lot!)
“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”
- Christopher Columbus
1 comment:
I'm glad you're getting a roommate! I've been worrying about you and feeling bad that you're along in the evenings.
Hopefully Candice will be a good addition!
Love you!
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