2 Months in Site!

Hola! I write this blog entry from my new home, a little nook in the corner of Gracias! I finally made it through five months of host families, and now I can sleep late on the weekends, mosey around and make coffee in my pajamas, and not be embarrassed about it. Little by little, I’m making my room into my home, adorning it with pictures, Christmas decorations, and awesome artificial fall leaves (thanks Mrs. Wooten!!).
Last week marked 2 months in site as an official Volunteer! They both flew by! My counterpart was saying how it feels like just yesterday we were in Teguz for the swearing in ceremony. People tend to say that life as a volunteer has its ups and downs, and sometimes time goes by like *that* but other times it crawls... I think keeping busy helps with making the time go by. Only on the weekends do I usually have hours at a time to do nothing, at which point I welcome the free time (with open arms!).

Things have been busy…. We’ve reached almost 600 high school kids with our campaign against teen pregnancy. With final exams coming up, I think we’re done with the schools until February, but we might expand to Church groups over the school vacation (the school year here starts in Feb, ends in Nov, and Dec/Jan is “summer vacation”). After the last section I did, almost have the group, about twenty 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds swarmed me for hugs… HUGS! FROM HIGHSCHOOLERS!!! I was SO happy, I know little kids hug all the time, but to earn a hug from a teenager is quite an honor.

A local youth group at a church here in Gracias solicited my help… they sent a letter to the youth center requesting the support of the “psychologist” from the Peace Corps (I've let that one go... so they all think I'm a psychologist, it could be worse). I went last weekend to talk to the older kids about setting goals and making decisions about their future. It was a lot of fun, and at the end one of the girls stood up to formally thank me on behalf of her classmates, and told me that a lot of people come talk to them, but this time, she thinks they will actually apply what I taught them to help themselves in their futures. It was a great bunch of kids, and they meet every Saturday at this church- some are from here in Gracias and others are from outlying aldeas (rural communities). Next weekend I am going back to talk about basically the same topic, just with a younger group.

I’ve been getting all my materials ready to start Yo Se Leer next week! Thinking about how these 6 year olds can’t write their name, or even identify the letter A, puts the lapse in the education system here into perspective. These kids go to school, they just don’t learn because they are not properly taught. I am not saying I know how to teach- far from it! But I do know that memorization and regurgitation won’t get them very far. This isn’t to stereotype all Honduran teachers, I am SURE there are some wonderful teachers, who teach with their hearts. But the reality here is that teenagers can graduate from high school at 17 and be certified to teach when they haven’t themselves had adequate preparation. I love the program I’m about to start because it’s all about early intervention. Even if I only reach a handful of kids, if they are successful in the program, they will go on in school with (hopefully) less difficulties (at least in reading), less frustration, and a higher chance of staying in school longer. The longer they stay in school, the better shot they have at a better future, and the less likely they are to hang out in the streets all day, get involved with gangs and drugs and the like.

My project director is coming next week for my first site visit! Every project has a director in country, and we get periodic visits to see how things are going. I get along well with mine so I’m not too worried, but I’m a bit nervous because it’s like my first Peace Corps test! Eek! It should be fine though, being the first visit, they just want to see that I’m integrating well, and have some sort of plan for the coming months. Please note the book featured in this photo- Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day! My mom sent me some children's books in Spanish! Thanks Mom! This one was one of my favorites growing up... I made the kids at IHNFA shout terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad each time those parts came up (in Spanish, of course). They loved it to pieces.

Oh!!! I want to thank everyone from home for all their support (again)… yesterday I got three packages, filled with awesome supplies that I can use in all my projects! Thank you to everyone whose thought of me, either with a package, letter, card, email, or even a simple facebook check-in- I really appreciate it! And yes, this is a goat, hanging outside the youth center... just... chillin'. No leash. I've seen him around the neighborhood though, I suppose he must live nearby!

That is all for now... miss and love you all! OH! And if you've sent me a card at any point, please know that it has been taped up to the back of my door! :)