First Week on the Job

It is hard to believe we have already been here for one week. Time is flying by and we have already accomplished so much. Since Monday, the volunteers have taught at four different schools and a community center, as well as gotten a taste of the local culture and volunteered (er.. played with really cute kids) at a Garifuna nursery.

Yeah, we live here

Monday and Tuesday were double days, which we have quickly realized are exhausting but leave us with a big feeling of accomplishment on that last bus ride back home. Monday and Tuesday morning we taught at bilingual schools, and being able to communicate in English with the students was a great way to start off the program. In the afternoon of both days we traveled to the rural community of Lombardia, and discovered just how wonderful our translators are. We found the children at this school to be particularly engaging and eager to learn. One group got to hold class outside!

At the school in Lombardia

On Wednesday and Thursday morning we left the house at the bright and early hour of 6:00 am, and traveled to the community of Mezapa to teach at the Celestino school. The bus ride there took us over dusty gravel roads with speed bumps every 20 feet - to make us slow down and enjoy the beautiful Honduran countryside (..or to try to minimize the amount of dust that is raised). Needless to say, we have had more enjoyable car rides. However, the travel tribulations were totally worth it, as the students at Celestino were very welcoming and interested. Each teaching pair was teaching around 40 students, but more students crowded outside the classroom to listen in.

The group with translators at Celestino

Wednesday afternoon brought free time for some and more teaching for others. Half the group explored town and went to the beach, while the other half went to a community center and taught to city officials. It was an interesting change to work with adults as opposed to children, but overall the experience offered several new insights and was a rewarding one.

On Thursday afternoon, we got our first chance to wear our snazzy World Camp t-shirts when we went to a Garifuna nursery for a few hours. It brightened everyone's day to see the smiles on the kids' faces that came simply from us being there... and the smiles turned to shouts of joy as we broke out the big parachute to play with. We were touched to see how children can be so happy amongst such rough conditions - and you should see them dance.

Our first week in Honduras has been memorable, to say the least. We have had dinners of quesadillas, baleadas, panqueques, and stir-fry rice (an impressive variety that will likely progress to that good ol' stand-by rice and beans as the month wears on). We have wandered through town, relaxed at the beach, folded more journals and safety-pinned more AIDS ribbons than we care to count, and sweated more than any of us thought possible. We have practiced our Spanish, discovered licuadas, seen a solar eclipse, and befriended Canadians. Friday and the weekend bring with them teaching at a prison, cleaning up a beach, and the Honduras vs. United States soccer game. Stay tuned for more updates!

Ciao for now,

Ana