Eventful weekend!
All last week we worked on our rooms- getting them in order for school. My room was a disaster right up until the last day when it magically came together! I love when that happens ;) Friday night we had our Parent Orientation night and I had to speak to the 6th grade parents and then the parents of preschool-3rd grade about music classes. I had an interpreter with me, but I decided to try and just do everything in Spanish on my own- which I did :) I think it went pretty well; I was able to remember everything and the parents seemed to understand me. There was a little bit of 'indulgent smile syndrome' going around- as in, "Oh isn't she cute, trying to speak Spanish to us, let's indulge her' but... I just chalk it up to experience ;) Quite a few of the parents came up to me later and told me congrats on my improved language skills, and it was also really nice because I felt like by opening up the fact that I will try and speak their language, the parents felt like they could come to me with concerns/specific things I'd like to know about their child. I don't think the parents always like to speak through an interpreter so they just end up not telling me anything, but on Friday, a lot of the parents stayed and talked afterward which was great! I also had at least 6 parents tell me that their student really needs to be in the front row when I already had the 6 kids I really thought needed to be in the front lined up :) But we'll work out those kinks later. :)
Saturday morning Ana and I got up early and walked to town to the bus station where the other girls met us later with the mototaxis and we took our first group trip! We went to Santa Rosa (only about an hour away... we thought we'd take it easy the first time :)) and explored the town. There was a fair in Santa Rosa so in the afternoon we went and checked that out. They had a lot of stands with typical Honduran food and jewelry and stuff. I grabbed some elote (grilled/roasted corn with salt and lime. yummmmmm) and looked at some bracelets before it started downpouring. It's the rainy season here in Honduras so it rains like every day- and it rains hard. We stayed under the eating tent for awhile before the rain let up a little, and then decided to head home. There were basically rivers running down the street but we found some boards to cross so our pants wouldn't get so wet..... As I was walking across a board, I stepped right on a nail that went straight through my shoe into the arch of my foot. cute. I had a flashback to Fred Gering (my old busdriver) telling a story about how one time he stepped on a nail and when he took his boot off it was full of blood so I just braced myself for that.... then I remembered he was diabetic and had no feeling in his feet and that's why it bled so much. ANYWAY. so random thoughts, trying not to faint, acting like I was fine, but I let the other girls know I had to 'pull over' and take a look. It actually wasn't too bad, but I wanted to check out my tetanus shot update so I called home. Because of the rain, I had a really hard time hearing Olivia read me the numbers to our doctor's after-hours office, so sorry Olivia for my impatience! :) I called the number, explained my problem, asked if they could check my records and the lady on the other end was like, "uhh this is a dairy farm" hahaha. so. I just decided to wait til we got home ;) It actually didn't look infected and seems to be healing pretty well, but I did go get a tetanus shot just in case :)
Also today while getting my injection at the doctors' (where I also spoke Spanish completely by myself!) I got medicine for conjunctivitis (pink eye!!!) which I somehow got this morning -- YAY first day of school present! :) So I spent my whole first day with my kids thinking I was crying/trying not to touch anything. But other than that the day was pretty great. I really do get really excited to see everyone and I love that I already know the kids in my class. My students from last year were all excited to see me too, and kept creeping in my window during recess (I told them they could come back to my class and do some work if they really missed me that much and that got them to go away :)) Today we only went til noon so that was kind of nice for a good first day, but I'm pretty ready to get into real teaching tomorrow- I already did a Spelling lesson today so my kids better get their heads in the game! (hsm anyone? :))
Anyway, this is kind of a whirlwind blog but I wanted to get a semblance of an update out here. Thanks for reading! :) Pray for all my ailments ;)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
whats in a name
I love the beginning of the school year. I love the smell of new crayons in my art box, sharpening tons of pencils in preparation, testing all the new markers, seeing all the notebooks (this year I chose yellow, blue, gray green)waiting to be written in. Every year I'd get an anxious, butterfly feeling in my stomach the night before school- every year! Elementary, middle, high school, college... it wasn't ever a nervous feeling, it was always an "I'm-so-excited-I-can't-sleep-cuz-tomorrow's-Christmas!" feeling. And I get to have that feeling for the rest of my life!
What actually prompted me to write this though (cuddled up in my bed with my school books next to me, writing in my yellow notebook ... which will then be transferred to typed blog...) was writing my name on everything. As a student, it's important to label all your things; as a teacher it's like 10 times as important- and even then, I usually find a student that's been using my crayons or a pencil of mine for a month- if they didn't lose them the first day :) But I digress! :)
Writing my name. I love it. I love my name. I love that I can write it out really fancy- Miss Vander Ploeg- and I love that I can write it quickly- Miss VP- and still find identity in those two letters. I love that the things in the classroom are mine and that I can take on a whole different personalitly as TEACHER and have this other secret, very effective name. :)
I think I've mentioned that I've always wanted to be a teacher, so when I was little I'd always daydream abotu when I was older and a real teacher with my own classroom. I'd decided at some point that in college I'd have to "change" my name to just Laura because it sounded more mature... sorry younger version, I couldn't do it! But I also assumed that when I was a teacher, I'd of course also have to be married and so I'd have a different last name. It's kind of an interesting thing to not know who you're going to be in the future. Of course I'd try on the occasional Mrs. McKinley and even less occasionally I might throw in a Mrs. Corlew but... I didn't really know. So I'd just settle with Mrs. Something. It cut out a lot of pretend school in my head. Your name is a VERY important part of your classroom. It gives authority- strikes fear into your students when needed (I'm going to have to tell Miss VP about your behavior at recess), but also gives a sense of belonging, comfort, and love (Who's your teacher? Miss Vander Ploeg!) -- Did you notice I used Miss VP in those examples? I'm not a Mrs. Something. :) And I'm happy for that. There are plenty of reasons for wanting to be married, but changing my name is not one of them. I love it. I have many great memories as LBVP or Miss VP. I don' tthink I'm ready to get rid of it yet (not that I really have any other options at the moment :)) But anyway, I'm excited for a new year and new students, new challenges and surprises, new friendships and experiences ... but I'm gonna do all the new things with an old, well-used, loved, comfortable name. :)
Have a great school year!
~ Miss Vander Ploeg :)
What actually prompted me to write this though (cuddled up in my bed with my school books next to me, writing in my yellow notebook ... which will then be transferred to typed blog...) was writing my name on everything. As a student, it's important to label all your things; as a teacher it's like 10 times as important- and even then, I usually find a student that's been using my crayons or a pencil of mine for a month- if they didn't lose them the first day :) But I digress! :)
Writing my name. I love it. I love my name. I love that I can write it out really fancy- Miss Vander Ploeg- and I love that I can write it quickly- Miss VP- and still find identity in those two letters. I love that the things in the classroom are mine and that I can take on a whole different personalitly as TEACHER and have this other secret, very effective name. :)
I think I've mentioned that I've always wanted to be a teacher, so when I was little I'd always daydream abotu when I was older and a real teacher with my own classroom. I'd decided at some point that in college I'd have to "change" my name to just Laura because it sounded more mature... sorry younger version, I couldn't do it! But I also assumed that when I was a teacher, I'd of course also have to be married and so I'd have a different last name. It's kind of an interesting thing to not know who you're going to be in the future. Of course I'd try on the occasional Mrs. McKinley and even less occasionally I might throw in a Mrs. Corlew but... I didn't really know. So I'd just settle with Mrs. Something. It cut out a lot of pretend school in my head. Your name is a VERY important part of your classroom. It gives authority- strikes fear into your students when needed (I'm going to have to tell Miss VP about your behavior at recess), but also gives a sense of belonging, comfort, and love (Who's your teacher? Miss Vander Ploeg!) -- Did you notice I used Miss VP in those examples? I'm not a Mrs. Something. :) And I'm happy for that. There are plenty of reasons for wanting to be married, but changing my name is not one of them. I love it. I have many great memories as LBVP or Miss VP. I don' tthink I'm ready to get rid of it yet (not that I really have any other options at the moment :)) But anyway, I'm excited for a new year and new students, new challenges and surprises, new friendships and experiences ... but I'm gonna do all the new things with an old, well-used, loved, comfortable name. :)
Have a great school year!
~ Miss Vander Ploeg :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
highs n lows
Coming back from the summer one school year, my friend asked if there were highlights and lowlights... one of my friends immediately said, "Oh yeah! I got both!" as she waved her head around showing us the highlights and lowlights .... in her hair. So, highlights and lowlights of ... Honduras :)
Highlights:
Definitely the staff so far. I am living with three other girls (Shelly, Catelin, and Jennifer); there is a married couple that are living in a house right by the school (Maggie and Tyler); two girls living in town (Raquel and Tabitha) and two girls that we met that are planning to go to La Union and teach (Andrea and Amelia). Everyone seems really nice and eager to jump into things. We've had two days of orientation and some moving around, but everyone seems to have really great attitudes.
My house- I'm in a new house this year and all four of us girls are able to have our OWN ROOM! There's also two bathrooms and a big open area for hanging out. And a kitchen sink inside. !!!! I'll put up pictures soon-ish but right now it's just full of things that we're trying to organize.
The welcome I received- when we were driving up the mountain to start moving into our house, I heard the kids in my neighborhood yell, "MISS VP!!" and they came running up and played in our house :) I love those kids :) It's also been really nice at school with the staff and around town with parents/shopkeepers to see everyone and catch up which leads me to my next highlight....
My Spanish!- Oh man, my Spanish is great! haha. but seriously, I've been doing a lot of arranging and translating and I've been able to do pretty much everything I want. I can have conversations with the people I see and actually understand most of what's being said. Granted, I still stumble over most of my words/tenses or have to ask for repeats but I feel so much more confidence than I did last year so that's been really nice
Lowlights:
The house- so despite this being a new house, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be without problems. The outside doors let in water so when it rains, that water seeps into our house :/ Today we got home from school and the toilet wouldn't flush. We have a sink in our kitchen but no real stove (just camping burners). There aren't really any shelves.... but hopefully these things can get worked out or we'll learn to deal with them :)
The Laureles Family- This is actually a pretty low lowlight. The Laureles family is a couple that work at our school and have a 5 year old boy named Nao. Right before I left the States, I found out that Nao had died from the Dengue Fever. He was sick for five days and since his parents don't believe in medicine of any kind, he died pretty quickly. Obviously it was really sad and hard to hear, but then we went to visit and the parents were acting so happy that I didn't know how to react. They have his ashes in a bag that they carry around with them and kept telling me that it was ok because it wouldn't be long before Nao got up again and started running around and playing with the other kids... :( I definitely didn't know how to react to that. Anyway, it was really hard for our little community and the parents are leaving which means we also need to fill two teacher spots pretty quickly before school begins on the 23rd. So pray for all of that- peace for the family, calmness for the students and friends of the family, and good teachers for our school.
I'll be working on my classroom, plans for the year, and organizing my house this next week. Should be busy, but fun!!
also, happy birthday zach :)
Highlights:
Definitely the staff so far. I am living with three other girls (Shelly, Catelin, and Jennifer); there is a married couple that are living in a house right by the school (Maggie and Tyler); two girls living in town (Raquel and Tabitha) and two girls that we met that are planning to go to La Union and teach (Andrea and Amelia). Everyone seems really nice and eager to jump into things. We've had two days of orientation and some moving around, but everyone seems to have really great attitudes.
My house- I'm in a new house this year and all four of us girls are able to have our OWN ROOM! There's also two bathrooms and a big open area for hanging out. And a kitchen sink inside. !!!! I'll put up pictures soon-ish but right now it's just full of things that we're trying to organize.
The welcome I received- when we were driving up the mountain to start moving into our house, I heard the kids in my neighborhood yell, "MISS VP!!" and they came running up and played in our house :) I love those kids :) It's also been really nice at school with the staff and around town with parents/shopkeepers to see everyone and catch up which leads me to my next highlight....
My Spanish!- Oh man, my Spanish is great! haha. but seriously, I've been doing a lot of arranging and translating and I've been able to do pretty much everything I want. I can have conversations with the people I see and actually understand most of what's being said. Granted, I still stumble over most of my words/tenses or have to ask for repeats but I feel so much more confidence than I did last year so that's been really nice
Lowlights:
The house- so despite this being a new house, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be without problems. The outside doors let in water so when it rains, that water seeps into our house :/ Today we got home from school and the toilet wouldn't flush. We have a sink in our kitchen but no real stove (just camping burners). There aren't really any shelves.... but hopefully these things can get worked out or we'll learn to deal with them :)
The Laureles Family- This is actually a pretty low lowlight. The Laureles family is a couple that work at our school and have a 5 year old boy named Nao. Right before I left the States, I found out that Nao had died from the Dengue Fever. He was sick for five days and since his parents don't believe in medicine of any kind, he died pretty quickly. Obviously it was really sad and hard to hear, but then we went to visit and the parents were acting so happy that I didn't know how to react. They have his ashes in a bag that they carry around with them and kept telling me that it was ok because it wouldn't be long before Nao got up again and started running around and playing with the other kids... :( I definitely didn't know how to react to that. Anyway, it was really hard for our little community and the parents are leaving which means we also need to fill two teacher spots pretty quickly before school begins on the 23rd. So pray for all of that- peace for the family, calmness for the students and friends of the family, and good teachers for our school.
I'll be working on my classroom, plans for the year, and organizing my house this next week. Should be busy, but fun!!
also, happy birthday zach :)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Second year starting! ..... almost.
Original schedule for flying from Des Moines to Honduras:
Des Moines to Chicago- 10:40-11:50
Chicago to Cinncinati- 12:25-2:35
Cinncinati to Miami- 3-5:35
Miami to Honduras- 7:15-8:30
What ACTUALLY happened:
Des Moines flight was late.... left about 11:05
which meant I got to Chicago at 12:30. Which meant I missed my flight to Cinncinati.
A guy at the ticket counter found me a ticket that went straight from Chicago to Miami and I would still get there in time to take my original flight to Honduras.
until.... that plane had some problems and didn't leave until 5. Which meant I got to Miami at 7:20.... 5 minutes too late. :)
One thing that really irritates me about airports is the 18 billion signs that tell you where your gate is. When I got off the plane both times and thought, "Maybe I have a chance at making it to the gate..." I had to walk past all these signs. I was looking for D38 so there'd be a sign that said D1-80. Perfect. walk .... walk.... walk another sign D1-D60. more walking... D20-D60..... D25-D60.... Gall I wanted to scream!! But I didn't. I stayed calm. :) I talked to the people at the counter and got a ticket to leave tomorrow at 12:45. Sighhhhh. I just want to be there! But, I am staying in a nice, nice hotel room and the airline gave me free meal tickets. Tonight I sat at the bar, ate buffalo wings, and watched football ;) Thought I'd try to make my last night in America SUPER American :)
ANYWAY. Hopefully this is the last detour and I will be seeing Honduras tomorrow!
Des Moines to Chicago- 10:40-11:50
Chicago to Cinncinati- 12:25-2:35
Cinncinati to Miami- 3-5:35
Miami to Honduras- 7:15-8:30
What ACTUALLY happened:
Des Moines flight was late.... left about 11:05
which meant I got to Chicago at 12:30. Which meant I missed my flight to Cinncinati.
A guy at the ticket counter found me a ticket that went straight from Chicago to Miami and I would still get there in time to take my original flight to Honduras.
until.... that plane had some problems and didn't leave until 5. Which meant I got to Miami at 7:20.... 5 minutes too late. :)
One thing that really irritates me about airports is the 18 billion signs that tell you where your gate is. When I got off the plane both times and thought, "Maybe I have a chance at making it to the gate..." I had to walk past all these signs. I was looking for D38 so there'd be a sign that said D1-80. Perfect. walk .... walk.... walk another sign D1-D60. more walking... D20-D60..... D25-D60.... Gall I wanted to scream!! But I didn't. I stayed calm. :) I talked to the people at the counter and got a ticket to leave tomorrow at 12:45. Sighhhhh. I just want to be there! But, I am staying in a nice, nice hotel room and the airline gave me free meal tickets. Tonight I sat at the bar, ate buffalo wings, and watched football ;) Thought I'd try to make my last night in America SUPER American :)
ANYWAY. Hopefully this is the last detour and I will be seeing Honduras tomorrow!
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