School went well today but I've started to feel frustrated with our inconsistent school schedule and the effect it is having on my class. I have students of all abilities and it's been incredibly difficult trying to catch everyone up to the same page, given many manditory and voluntary student absences.
Anyway, today I processed with a friend, and it really helped me to give voice to my deeper thoughts. Then after my roommate and I caught each other up on the day, she got me a treat from our local panaderia (bakery) as a day-brightener. I also got a very sweet, encouraging email from the friend I processed with. Finally, I just got a call from the mother of our Honduran family who live below us. She excitedly asked if I was home and told me she had something for me. I went down to meet her and she handed me a warm and delicious surprise gift of yucca frita. She remembered it's one of my favorites.
This has been the BEST bad day ever. :o)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Suspension of Rights
An email I received today:
U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa
Avenida La Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
To: All American Citizens
From: American Citizens Services Unit, Consular
Section
Date: September 28, 2009
Subject: Warden Message - State of Exception Imposed
The Embassy advises citizens residing in and visiting Honduras that the
de facto regime issued a decree suspending certain rights under the
Honduran constitution on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This decree
affects all people in Honduras, including non-Hondurans. Specifically,
the following articles of the Honduran Constitution have been suspended
for the next 45 days (until November 11, 2009):
Article 69: The right to personal freedom
Article 72: Freedom of Speech
Article 78: Freedom of Association
Article 81: Freedom of Movement
Article 84: The right to due process _
For the next 45 days, the defacto regime has stated that the local and
national police, at times to be assisted by the military, will arrest
individuals for the following reasons:
* Disobeying announced curfew, or appearing to engage in
suspicious activities
* Gathering in public without prior approval from police and
military forces
* Carrying out media announcements violating the law or government
resolutions , or offending human dignity or any public official
The de facto regime has also stated the following:
* Individuals that are arrested for violating the above listed
restrictions will be detained
* All public installations which are occupied by demonstrators or
which are occupied by persons carrying out activities prohibited by law
will be cleared
The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that
American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras as these
new restrictions will be in effect throughout Honduras, and may be
extended beyond the 45 days originally announced.
The de facto regime has been imposing a curfew of varying time periods
affecting various cities throughout Honduras since Monday, September 21.
It is expected that this practice will continue for the foreseeable
future. The Embassy recommends American citizens monitor local
television and radio for
updates to constitutional and travel restrictions and other security
measures. The Embassy strongly recommends that American citizens abide
by these restrictions.
Barring a change in the security situation or the imposition of a
daytime curfew, the Embassy and the Consular Agency in San Pedro Sula
will remain open to the public. Non-immigrant visa services remain
suspended for all but emergency medical cases.
Honduran airports re-opened September 24 for domestic passenger flights
and international cargo and mail flights. Most International passenger
flights resumed on Friday, September 25. Those whose flights were
cancelled due to the curfew should contact their airlines for further
information.
U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa
Avenida La Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
To: All American Citizens
From: American Citizens Services Unit, Consular
Section
Date: September 28, 2009
Subject: Warden Message - State of Exception Imposed
The Embassy advises citizens residing in and visiting Honduras that the
de facto regime issued a decree suspending certain rights under the
Honduran constitution on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This decree
affects all people in Honduras, including non-Hondurans. Specifically,
the following articles of the Honduran Constitution have been suspended
for the next 45 days (until November 11, 2009):
Article 69: The right to personal freedom
Article 72: Freedom of Speech
Article 78: Freedom of Association
Article 81: Freedom of Movement
Article 84: The right to due process _
For the next 45 days, the defacto regime has stated that the local and
national police, at times to be assisted by the military, will arrest
individuals for the following reasons:
* Disobeying announced curfew, or appearing to engage in
suspicious activities
* Gathering in public without prior approval from police and
military forces
* Carrying out media announcements violating the law or government
resolutions , or offending human dignity or any public official
The de facto regime has also stated the following:
* Individuals that are arrested for violating the above listed
restrictions will be detained
* All public installations which are occupied by demonstrators or
which are occupied by persons carrying out activities prohibited by law
will be cleared
The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that
American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras as these
new restrictions will be in effect throughout Honduras, and may be
extended beyond the 45 days originally announced.
The de facto regime has been imposing a curfew of varying time periods
affecting various cities throughout Honduras since Monday, September 21.
It is expected that this practice will continue for the foreseeable
future. The Embassy recommends American citizens monitor local
television and radio for
updates to constitutional and travel restrictions and other security
measures. The Embassy strongly recommends that American citizens abide
by these restrictions.
Barring a change in the security situation or the imposition of a
daytime curfew, the Embassy and the Consular Agency in San Pedro Sula
will remain open to the public. Non-immigrant visa services remain
suspended for all but emergency medical cases.
Honduran airports re-opened September 24 for domestic passenger flights
and international cargo and mail flights. Most International passenger
flights resumed on Friday, September 25. Those whose flights were
cancelled due to the curfew should contact their airlines for further
information.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Honduras Mess
After 60+ hours of curfew, which has now (thankfully) been restricted to afternoon/evenings, this is the best article I have found on the situation here. (The rest all seem to be heavily biased in favor of Mel and are seriously inaccurate.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574427403985118892.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
School was canceled for a couple days because of the curfew, and yesterday I only had 15 out of my 26 students. I asked them if when we prayed together any of them would want to add anything, or if they would rather I pray for us all. They smiled and (awkwardly) looked around at each other for a moment, nobody saying anything. I explained that either way was fine as long as they prayed along in their hearts and asked them again if any of them, given the chance, might possibly want to add to my prayer out loud. One of my boys asked if they could pray in Spanish ("YES!") and then a bunch of hands went up, most of them volunteering to pray. It was so good and sweet and encouraging. Thank you guys, too, because I know Honduras has been in your thoughts and prayers and you are joining with us in seeking peace for the people here.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574427403985118892.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
School was canceled for a couple days because of the curfew, and yesterday I only had 15 out of my 26 students. I asked them if when we prayed together any of them would want to add anything, or if they would rather I pray for us all. They smiled and (awkwardly) looked around at each other for a moment, nobody saying anything. I explained that either way was fine as long as they prayed along in their hearts and asked them again if any of them, given the chance, might possibly want to add to my prayer out loud. One of my boys asked if they could pray in Spanish ("YES!") and then a bunch of hands went up, most of them volunteering to pray. It was so good and sweet and encouraging. Thank you guys, too, because I know Honduras has been in your thoughts and prayers and you are joining with us in seeking peace for the people here.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
38 hour lockdown
We're on hour 27 of 38 and we're all going a little crazy by now. The teachers have a list going around and I thought you might enjoy it.
Some ideas for staying in:
sleep
count the number of drip spots in your ceiling
do some plyometrics
pilates anyone?
bake something delicious and share it with your watchyman
Speed Read
sleep
do some jumping jacks
color a picture
write a card to all new North American teachers
bake something else and hoard it cause who knows what food we might have to save (kidding)
knit a quilt for those cold nights.
use the bathroom while the water still works.
play hide and seek.
play body body.
extreme dance party (with candles.)
write a novel about being under a curfew.
run in circles.
plant a garden.
clean your house because lela will probably never actually come back.
start naming insects in your house.
make bottlecap magnets for your fridge.
lay out in your courtyard without sunscreen.
wax the ceiling
drop a cat from a high place.
catch a cockroach and make it to a pet. and give it a leash.
sharpen your teeth.
braid your roommate's hair.
research the holy roman empire.
clean and polish your belly button
wash a tree (but only if it's inside).
mow the grass with scissors.
weave a carpet out of insect legs.
whine.
listen to a painting.
sweat.
try to draw a map of where everything is in Tegucigalpa
imitate the vendors that yell in your neighborhood (we miss their voices)
decorate your room
start digging a tunnel to the other houses (naranja, im half way there, any progress on your side?)
declare war on the ants in your kitchen
talk to the watchyman
update all the worried family memebers in the states.
invent something
play cards
make pancakes in the shapes of your roommates initials
write a letter
craft something, anything
drink way too much coffee and see if that helps your cabin fever
read for fun
quote movies
actually memorize your cell phone number
clean out your fridge
make up new recipes with the random food you have left in your house
learn spanish
decorate using Francisco Morazan
speak without using the letter e
make a liquado without milk or yogurt or juice
wash your hands in the pila because you don't have running water
polish your engagement ring
try 6 times to upload pictures to a facebook album... and still fail
sneak out of your house to go to a closed pulperia
enjoy the silence
watch cows walk up your road
fill your toilet with water from the pila in order to flush it because you still don't have water
form a girl band and make a music video
read in the hammock
plan all vacations for the rest of the year with your Lonely Planet Guidebook
bake bread
verbally encourage your tomatoes to grow in your garden
finish Gilmore Girls Season 1
plan a wedding
base your worth on how many people comment on your facebook status
look up uglydresses.com and try not to throw up in your mouth
kill a chincha
talk to your housemates on gchat even though you are within speaking distance
argue with pulperia man to make him give you his last 3 bottles of agua azul
have an in-depth conversation about which country the Little Mermaid takes place in
come up with witty quotes for your newly-added quote board
watch R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet
follow minute-by-minute updates on Honduran politics
attempt to watch all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls before curfew is over (WE are starting season 4)
take a shower using a saucepan
wage an epic battle against a honduran hornet
make a design using thousands of colored tally marks
count the number of cracks in your styrofoam ceiling
play hide and seek with your houserat
update your blog and read other blogs obsessively
see who can kill more red ants in a day
then see who can count more different kinds of ants you having living with you
build a fort in your living room
sit on your balcony and watch the lightning
seriously contemplate hardcore parkour routes on your neighbors' roofs
look up song lyrics in Spanish
play indoor soccer
try to do EVERYTHING that EVERYONE has recommended
make a list of suggestions to pass along
Defrag. computer before 11pm.
Develop an evacuation plan titled, "Get the white people out of here"
Write a Christmas list.
Boil extra water. And then some.
Put extra floor wax on the floor and have a skating party.
Email last love letters b/c you don't know when you'll have electricity again. (Marnie)
Write a love letter by candle light. Que romantico!
Make a castle with a deck of cards- just remember that all fans must be turned off. Unless you want to designate someone as the blocker.
Find and or make your Halloween costume, its only a month away.
Instruct a Chepes class.
Count out your Honduran change to find out how many Choco. bananas you can purchase when we escape.
Develop a trap for geckos just in case we run out of food.
Have a massage train with your house mates and guests.
Have a slumber party where ever you end up falling asleep.
Reminiscence of snow days but frown when you realize that at least during snow days you can have fun outside.
Some ideas for staying in:
sleep
count the number of drip spots in your ceiling
do some plyometrics
pilates anyone?
bake something delicious and share it with your watchyman
Speed Read
sleep
do some jumping jacks
color a picture
write a card to all new North American teachers
bake something else and hoard it cause who knows what food we might have to save (kidding)
knit a quilt for those cold nights.
use the bathroom while the water still works.
play hide and seek.
play body body.
extreme dance party (with candles.)
write a novel about being under a curfew.
run in circles.
plant a garden.
clean your house because lela will probably never actually come back.
start naming insects in your house.
make bottlecap magnets for your fridge.
lay out in your courtyard without sunscreen.
wax the ceiling
drop a cat from a high place.
catch a cockroach and make it to a pet. and give it a leash.
sharpen your teeth.
braid your roommate's hair.
research the holy roman empire.
clean and polish your belly button
wash a tree (but only if it's inside).
mow the grass with scissors.
weave a carpet out of insect legs.
whine.
listen to a painting.
sweat.
try to draw a map of where everything is in Tegucigalpa
imitate the vendors that yell in your neighborhood (we miss their voices)
decorate your room
start digging a tunnel to the other houses (naranja, im half way there, any progress on your side?)
declare war on the ants in your kitchen
talk to the watchyman
update all the worried family memebers in the states.
invent something
play cards
make pancakes in the shapes of your roommates initials
write a letter
craft something, anything
drink way too much coffee and see if that helps your cabin fever
read for fun
quote movies
actually memorize your cell phone number
clean out your fridge
make up new recipes with the random food you have left in your house
learn spanish
decorate using Francisco Morazan
speak without using the letter e
make a liquado without milk or yogurt or juice
wash your hands in the pila because you don't have running water
polish your engagement ring
try 6 times to upload pictures to a facebook album... and still fail
sneak out of your house to go to a closed pulperia
enjoy the silence
watch cows walk up your road
fill your toilet with water from the pila in order to flush it because you still don't have water
form a girl band and make a music video
read in the hammock
plan all vacations for the rest of the year with your Lonely Planet Guidebook
bake bread
verbally encourage your tomatoes to grow in your garden
finish Gilmore Girls Season 1
plan a wedding
base your worth on how many people comment on your facebook status
look up uglydresses.com and try not to throw up in your mouth
kill a chincha
talk to your housemates on gchat even though you are within speaking distance
argue with pulperia man to make him give you his last 3 bottles of agua azul
have an in-depth conversation about which country the Little Mermaid takes place in
come up with witty quotes for your newly-added quote board
watch R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet
follow minute-by-minute updates on Honduran politics
attempt to watch all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls before curfew is over (WE are starting season 4)
take a shower using a saucepan
wage an epic battle against a honduran hornet
make a design using thousands of colored tally marks
count the number of cracks in your styrofoam ceiling
play hide and seek with your houserat
update your blog and read other blogs obsessively
see who can kill more red ants in a day
then see who can count more different kinds of ants you having living with you
build a fort in your living room
sit on your balcony and watch the lightning
seriously contemplate hardcore parkour routes on your neighbors' roofs
look up song lyrics in Spanish
play indoor soccer
try to do EVERYTHING that EVERYONE has recommended
make a list of suggestions to pass along
Defrag. computer before 11pm.
Develop an evacuation plan titled, "Get the white people out of here"
Write a Christmas list.
Boil extra water. And then some.
Put extra floor wax on the floor and have a skating party.
Email last love letters b/c you don't know when you'll have electricity again. (Marnie)
Write a love letter by candle light. Que romantico!
Make a castle with a deck of cards- just remember that all fans must be turned off. Unless you want to designate someone as the blocker.
Find and or make your Halloween costume, its only a month away.
Instruct a Chepes class.
Count out your Honduran change to find out how many Choco. bananas you can purchase when we escape.
Develop a trap for geckos just in case we run out of food.
Have a massage train with your house mates and guests.
Have a slumber party where ever you end up falling asleep.
Reminiscence of snow days but frown when you realize that at least during snow days you can have fun outside.
Mel's Back
I love how we're all on a first-name basis with Mel Zelaya here.
Throughout the day yesterday, the principal's assistant kept coming to my class to pull my students to go home. It wasn't until the third or fourth kid left that I asked him what was going on. He explained Mel had re-entered the country and parents were concerned that roads might be closed later in the day.
As it turns out, they were right. Tegus is now under 26 hours of house lockdown (as of 4 pm yesterday), and school is canceled again. (My kids who didn't do their homework over our last break got super lucky with this additional unexpected extra time off!)
I've had a few really, really good conversations with Honduran friends about the political history of the country and its current situation. Then as I was reading the news last night, I found one friend (the leader of our Bible study) quoted on BBC!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8267775.stm
For the record, I think the article is a little pro-Mel. It doesn't represent my opinion of the situation; I'm just sharing that my friend was quoted in the international news. :o) Due to my association with IST, I can't really discuss politics out of concern for my students and their intensely politically involved families. Just know my roommate and I are safe enough in our warm and bug-friendly home, writing lesson plans and watching Gilmore Girls. (At this point, I'm seriously considering drinking vinegar to keep the mosquitoes away...)
Throughout the day yesterday, the principal's assistant kept coming to my class to pull my students to go home. It wasn't until the third or fourth kid left that I asked him what was going on. He explained Mel had re-entered the country and parents were concerned that roads might be closed later in the day.
As it turns out, they were right. Tegus is now under 26 hours of house lockdown (as of 4 pm yesterday), and school is canceled again. (My kids who didn't do their homework over our last break got super lucky with this additional unexpected extra time off!)
I've had a few really, really good conversations with Honduran friends about the political history of the country and its current situation. Then as I was reading the news last night, I found one friend (the leader of our Bible study) quoted on BBC!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8267775.stm
For the record, I think the article is a little pro-Mel. It doesn't represent my opinion of the situation; I'm just sharing that my friend was quoted in the international news. :o) Due to my association with IST, I can't really discuss politics out of concern for my students and their intensely politically involved families. Just know my roommate and I are safe enough in our warm and bug-friendly home, writing lesson plans and watching Gilmore Girls. (At this point, I'm seriously considering drinking vinegar to keep the mosquitoes away...)
Friday, September 18, 2009
Roatan
Thursday, September 10, 2009
oink oink
Due to the infamous Gripe Porcina (Swine Flu) our school has been shut down for two weeks. Even better, we're getting paid for it. :o) Aaaaand thanks to scheduling rearrangements, we're really only going have to make up for 4 days! This is such a HUGE blessing (for those of us who aren't sick and miserable, I mean) because we finally have time to get caught up on grading and get life organized again.
...Yeah, we're also going to take advantage of this and travel. :o) We're almost all going on a group trip to Roatan, one of the Bay Islands in the Caribbean, and then afterward a smaller group of us are going to head over to Utila (another one of the Bay Islands). They lie along the southern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-longest coral reef in the world (LonelyPlanet.com), so I'm basically expecting to happily float on my stomach for the next week and a half.
Later today, some of us are going downtown to explore the city of Tegus. I'd like to bring a camera, but since we're taking public transportation everywhere, I might not. We'll see.
Enjoy this beautiful Thursday/Saturday!!!!!
...Yeah, we're also going to take advantage of this and travel. :o) We're almost all going on a group trip to Roatan, one of the Bay Islands in the Caribbean, and then afterward a smaller group of us are going to head over to Utila (another one of the Bay Islands). They lie along the southern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-longest coral reef in the world (LonelyPlanet.com), so I'm basically expecting to happily float on my stomach for the next week and a half.
Later today, some of us are going downtown to explore the city of Tegus. I'd like to bring a camera, but since we're taking public transportation everywhere, I might not. We'll see.
Enjoy this beautiful Thursday/Saturday!!!!!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Reggaeton y Hip Hop
I'll be completely honest with you guys: my new favorite musical genre is reggaeton/hip-hop. My friends who live in Chinita (TOTALLY un-PC, we know, but that's the nickname their house adopted courtesy of its owner) get this Latin American MTV-type channel and the music is just too catchy to resist. Go buy some on iTunes, I just did.
Currently listening to:
"Dime Si Te Vas Con El" by Flex
"Te Amo" by Makano
"Baby Come Back" by Magic Juan
Also trying to ignore the fact that I'm missing out on the family reunion right now...
Currently listening to:
"Dime Si Te Vas Con El" by Flex
"Te Amo" by Makano
"Baby Come Back" by Magic Juan
Also trying to ignore the fact that I'm missing out on the family reunion right now...
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