Ketchup!

Today is a picture ketchup day! I'm sorry I haven't posted any in awhile, it just takes sooooooo long for them to upload. We have done so much along with teaching. Yesterday I didnt share any of the funny questions I was asked. So here they are: When I told them I was from Texas, they asked if I was a cowgirl and if there are still stand-offs with cowboys! lol- NO! They asked if I watch the show Friends everyday- lol I told them that the show has already shown in the states and it is over. They told me no its not over because a new one comes on every night! There are so many more, mostly about TV that was shown when I was a kid. They thought Ninja Turtles was new, so I didn't burst their bubble on that one! Other than those, they mostly ask me about words. They have a very hard time with pronunciation. Like yes becomes- jes and flair becomes flur. That is actually what we are working on today- pronunciation of spelling words. 

Here are some fun differences in the schools that I have seen so far: Students can only use pen, never pencil! Students call me Mees (miss) instead of my Mrs. Elder because it is a sign of respect to just say Miss. Students never question the teacher and always respect what is said. Every morning when we come in the class, the students stand up and great us with a wonderful good morning! Female teachers have to wear aprons while teaching, im not sure the reasoning, but it is rule (they make you look fat).

So now to the pictures:

This is the class, no A/C but two big fans. I LOVE them!

Here is an inside look of the school. My class is on the second story to the left.

I dont know what the students said but it must have been funny! Ha, oh and I know I look fat, blame it on the apron.

Here is one of my students with skittle spray...

Here is a look at Tegucigalpa. It is so smoky because the farmers are burning their fields in the mountains right now.

This statue of Jesus looks down on the city of Tegucigalpa from the top of Picacho Mountain.

This is the only Mayan Ruin in Tegucigalpa, it was amazing. If you squint, you will see us at the top!

Streets are very steep because Tegucigalpa is in the middle of four mountains.

 Here is a look at central park with some of the police man guarding the statue.

One of the many beautiful cathedrals in Tegucigalpa!

This is my favorite sign that I have seen yet! Lol, parking for disabled, pregnant and old!

This is a market street in the City of Angels (dont ask me to spell that in Spanish!) It is beautiful there!

And last but not least... The only coke I have had so far and it was wonderful lol! They sell coke in glass bottles here so that they can refill them at the coke factory here. We were shopping in the City of Angels!

Buenos dias mi amores!

In Love

Yes, I am in LOVE with Tegucigalpa ((Sorry Issac)). Not only the city, but the people and the children! Today was my first day with the students and it was such an amazing experience. I wish that I could stay here forever! The school schedule is very different here. Homeroom teachers only teach science, reading, writing, and spelling. There is a huge emphasis (from what I have seen so far) on grammar. There are separate teachers for the MANY electives and math classes. The school I am at is a bilingual school, so we teach in English for all subjects except for when they have Spanish class once a day for 40 minutes. So the homeroom teachers really only teach four classes and then guess what.... After those four classes, they plan and hang around the teachers lounge! Can you imagine if we had days like that in the states? I was laughing at them because they were complaining about teaching the four classes in a row!!! They are only 40 minute classes... so that is only about two and a half hours of teaching and then they are done! I explained our "typical" schedule to the teachers and they were shocked! Lol I told them not to complain about how long they have to teach around me!!!

Since it is late I am going to end here today, but I promise to have lots of pictures and more about the city tomorrow! Buenos noches mis amores!

First Day of School

Today was wonderful! It was not quite a normal day because the students did not have to come to school, only teachers. At the end of every nine weeks, the school holds an open house for parents to come pick-up the report card and speak with the teachers. The school never gives the students the report cards, the parents have to come get it from the front office. From there the parents have a choice to speak with the teachers, and most do. I think we spoke with all of the parents today! Isn't that amazing? But holy moly, I am sooo tired after all of those conferences! I finally understand what an ELL (English Language Learner) goes through when they come to school for the first time. It is absolutely exhausting trying to translate and understand what is being said. I wanted to lay my head down too, in fact I think that is why I have a headache now. One thing that every parent knew to say in English was "Nice to meet you". Everyone has been so welcoming and I feel  very blessed! I am very excited for tomorrow because the students will be there. The directing teacher that I am working with is Mr. Ariel! He is a blast, and thank goodness he speaks fluent English! He told me that the students are very excited to meet me. In fact he did not make any plans for the morning reading class because the students are going to have a million questions for me. I cant wait to tell y'all what they ask! I'm sure it will be lots of fun!

Now lets get down to the nitty gritty, the serious stuff... FOOD! I don't think I can even begin to explain how amazing the food is! Last night we ate chorizo and it was the best chorizo I have ever had! We also had homemade tortillas with beans. I think I am going to gain 20 pounds in the three weeks I am here, if not more! This morning was amazing as well, we had quesadilla bread which is made from corn, and you dip it in your morning coffee (kind of like a scone, i think). When I told the nanny what a quesadilla was in USA she laughed and said that North Americans don't know the meaning of Latino food!! Lol she is so sweet and such an amazing cook! i can not wait until dinner time tonight, I know it is going to be amazing.

Alem is the granddaughter of my house-mother and is living in the main house also. When I came back from school today she made me a little card with a poem about me. It says: Amie has brown ise (eyes), yellow hair, and beash (beige) body, the end! LOL she is so sweet! She is in the second grade and is learning English so she tries to talk with me and also translates for her grandmother and nanny. She is a blessing since they barely speak English and I barley speak Spanish.

Buenos noches my friends! I hope that y'all have a blessed evening! Thank you for following me :0)

Sunset!

Sunset in Tegucigalpa!

I made it!

Well after two flight cancellations, I finally made it to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The flight from Miami was interesting to say the least... There was a roach that was crawling around in the seat pocket in front of me. We kept seeing it but the flight attendant didnt believe me. He finally saw it, but we couldnt catch it. I am a little afraid that it ended up in my carry-on and is now staying with me! EWWWW

The family that I am staying with is wonderful! Yall would not believe their house!!! It is absolutely beautiful. Here is what you see when going through the gates-

 Once inside, it only gets better. The whole family lives here. To the left is the main house and the right are two smaller stacked apartments where the son and daughter live. I am very lucky because all I have to do is walk out of the gates and I am practically at the school, see-

The shorter buildings are the school and the taller building is some kind of mall I think. Overall (besides the roach) everything is great. I have a wonderful host family with a beautiful house. There is even a bannana tree outside of my window. There is no A/C, but the mountains provide a nice breeze that cools the house. I am going to try and catch a picture of the sunset tonight, it is supposed to be so beautiful over the mountains. 

I start at the Dowal School tomorrow in the 5th grade. Wish me luck. I already toured the school and it looks amazing! I cant wait to tell y'all how it goes. But for now I am going to relax and enjoy a delicious Mango from the backyard :0)

Still waiting...losing patience

Well my flight was scheduled for Friday morning at 9:35 am, but as soon as I got to the airport they cancelled the flight. The flight was rescheduled for today at 9:35 am and again as soon as I got to the airport, the flight was canceled. We are scheduled for tomorrow at 9:35 am once again, please send out prayers that this time it doesn't get canceled! Evidently there was a fire in one of the fuel reserves at the Miami airport on Wednesday night. This is causing all of the cancellations because they don't have enough fuel now for all of the flights. So I guess I should be thankful that I am not stuck in Miami waiting... or on a plane without enough fuel!

So for now keep your fingers crossed and hopefully tomorrow I will be leaving!

Patiently Waiting

Before I even begin this blog, I want to thank Mr. Probyn Inniss once again for his generosity. He chose me out of all the students at UNF to receive a scholarship that helped pay for this trip. Also, thank you Maris Brien for being so informative and helpful. As requested by Maris, I am going to blog about my experiences while in Honduras to keep UNF, family, and friends up-to-date on my adventure.

I guess I should begin by explaining why I am going to Honduras. Last semester I received an email from one of my professors suggesting that I apply for a study abroad program in Honduras. In the program, you go with a group of other Elementary Education students to Honduras and teach in a class for three weeks. At first I was hesitant, I mean I had no idea about Honduras, and ((yes I am a teacher and yes I am admitting this)) I didn't even know where Honduras was. But I took it into consideration. First I talked with Isaac (my husband) about everything. I wanted to make sure that before I even began the application that he was ok with me taking on this adventure. Of course, he was supportive and told me that if he can leave me for 6 months at a time, then I can leave him for 3 weeks! Now the parents.... that’s another story! But hey a girl's gotta live her life right?? Love you Mom & Dad! So I applied (Thank you Chad for your help) and the process began. I was chosen and here we are... four days away!!! As I begin packing I am feeling all kinds of emotions. 

• Sad- to be leaving my students at West Jacksonville Elementary School, I am going to miss those amazing kids! They have definitely gotten to my heart!
• Excited- why not? This is huge!
• Nervous- I have never been this far away from any and everyone that I love! Even when Isaac deployed, I had friends nearby who gave me support.
• Hungry- I LOVE hispanic food so I am hoping that Honduras has some amazing food! I am sure yall will be hearing lots about that!

Overall I am excited and ready to go ((well besides the packing part)). We are going to be having a little fun outside of teaching. But teaching is always fun. I am excited to see how different the teaching styles are and I am excited to meet my students there. I am ready to teach them all that I can in three weeks! So for now I am going to get back to my list and anxiously wait for Friday morning.

I am not going to post again until Friday night hopefully after I have met the family that I am staying with and I am all settled in. I promise to keep everyone up-to-date on everything that I experience. I hope that you join me on this adventure in my life.