School's In......

So last night Julian and I, after a dinner of quesadillas, walked down to Jim's Pizza. We saw a bit of the game but only stayed for a couple of drinks before heading home. He had to be up early for his bus and once again I was tired. I think the travel day from before had caught up.

This morning’s (Monday) breakfast was at 7am. Pancakes with syrup and papaya. Sara and Ernesto grow much of their own fruit...bananas, papaya, lemons, oranges and more. Sara also buys tortillas from a little girl that comes every morning to the house. Her name is Concepcion and she told me that she gets up at 3am every day to make them so she can sell them in the village. She is adorable and her talent for carrying her basket on her head (like many of the Honduran women) astounds me.

Concepcion;

After breakfast Julian left for Santa Rosa. I was a little sorry to see him go....as he was also a student his Spanish was slower than the norm and we could converse well. I struggle to keep up with the conversation in the house as they talk so fast (normal speed for them). I find myself saying "otra vez, por favor"....again please.

 I was at Ellen’s house this morning by 8am as we were headed to the village of Carrisalon. Marel, Ellen and I squished in to Marel's toyota and we were off. It's only about 25 minutes from Copan but the road we went up once we left the main road was unreal. Marel put the four wheel drive on and we basically climbed a cliff face. I still can't believe we did and Ellen told me "just wait...this was another good road. Along the way we came across a little boy wearing a shirt and no pants or shoes....Not sure what the thought process is in giving him a shirt rather than shoes or pants. We stopped so Ellen could give him one marble (they are a prized possession here for the boys and there are some hard fought marble games)!

The look on his face says it all; 

As we were on the rough road we picked up three men who climbed in to the bed of the truck…a normal mode of transport. One of the men, Geronimo (for real), is the leader of the village. We spent about an hour at the school. It was the children’s first day so not all the kids were there. They were washing the furniture (what little they have) and getting the classrooms ready. Some of the students have to stand as there aren’t enough desks or chairs. Also, each classroom is a separate building and there isn’t enough space for all the children. Ellen was there to see if an expansion to two of the buildings was possible. She is struggling with this though. This school although poor does at least have some books and a well-used blackboard. She told me that tomorrow we will visit Boca del Monte and Sinai. These are two of her poorest communities and the children often go days without food. They don’t even have the most basic of school supplies. She also has five schools that are waiting for bathrooms. When a school doesn’t have a bathroom, the children just go in the fields or woods and have nowhere to wash their hands. Of course this spreads very unnecessary disease. So, she has to decide if she helps the community of Carrisalon with improving their buildings or, for the same amount of money, she can build bathrooms for five schools. Not a decision I would want to make. Some of the children happily posed for a photo and were all giggles when I showed them their picture on the camera;

 As we walked back to the truck, Geronimo brought over two widows. There are seven widows in their small village and I’m told their husbands were either murdered (common) or died of sickness (also common). Ellen gave them out notebooks and crayons for the children. By law every child is supposed to wear a uniform and have a notebook and pencil before they are allowed to attend school. The government doesn’t pay for this and for people who struggle to put food on the table, 50 cents (which is what a notebook costs here) is beyond their means. In the campesinos (rural communities) like Carrisalon there is nobody to enforce this so many kids don’t have either.  We were back in Copan by about 10:30am.  When I got home I found out I could switch rooms. I took the one that Julian had. It has a TV so I can try to watch some Spanish television at night. And, I actually prefer it. More shelves.  Lunch was a delicious soup of rice, potato, peppers, tomatoes and chicken. It was beyond good.

 Then it was time for school……My lessons this week are scheduled from 1:30pm to 5:30pm. I had just enough time to pick up a coffee (great coffee and stupid cheap) and head to class. It's about a ten minute walk from my homestay. I think I mentioned the tuk tuks. They are every where and I'm told never to pay more than 8 lempiras to get anywhere in town (that's about 50cents). I prefer to walk though. The steep hills keep me honest and you get to interact with the many people that are out and about.

Tuk Tuk;

or if you prefer.....

After a quick introduction at the school, I was asked to write an entrance exam to see what level I was and I then I my teacher Delmy. She is 60 years old and taught at the local college. Seems very nice and patient. We chatted for quite a while then she went through some oral questions. I must have done OK as I was given the workbook for advanced students!! We had a 25minute break in our four hour class which I really needed. It also gave me time to get back to the same coffee shop and buy my $1.20 latte. Our entire lesson was based around questions on the exam and led to various other conversations. While she is very nice she is quick to correct me. I have her as my teacher all week but beyond that I don’t know if they will switch teachers on us. From what I can tell there are about 8 other students who have classes in the afternoon. Can’t say how many for the morning. The school is located in a fairly modern building and the classrooms are all outside in small covered areas. My first impression was positive and the director Enrique seems very accommodating. I was especially happy to be able to borrow my favourite verb book (501 Spanish verbs) which I hadn’t brought as you can probably guess from its title, is big and heavy. Class ended with homework assigned from my workbook. Tonight I will get up close and personal with the Imperative…..

Guacamaya School;

I can tell you now (as I’ve just  done my homework) that the Imperative is not a tense but a “mood”. It is used to express a command and I‘m sure that you are now as happy as I am knowing that fact!! I don’t know that I will be able to keep up daily posts as my homework tonight took me a couple of hours. I have plans to go with Ellen tomorrow and Wednesday but then may have to sit out a couple of days to make sure I pay enough attention to my studies. It is the reason I came here and I want to make sure I take every opportunity.

Estoy cansada! Out….