Trust, transitions, typing, trees, and more:)

Hello from Honduras:) I am now back in Honduras. On the 24th of June I will just have two more months until I will be heading back to the states. Here are some stories of what is happening with me in Honduras these days...

Picture 1: The female teachers that teach the girls studying to he Bilingual secretaries and two of the administration staff members. 

 Picture 2) One of the senior classes of the girls who are studying to be bilingual secretaries (I teach them on occasion). On there desks are the type writers that they bring to school to practice typing. The school does have nice computers, but not enough to give them daily access to them. The girls also learn short hand in addition to typing which is a very complicated way to take fast notes.

 Picture 3) This is Justin and I! Justin comes to my house every about ever 3 weeks with his mom who is our maid's daughter. Justin and I both LOVE mangos! They are great! I joke with people in Honduras and tell them that "encontre mi media naranja" which means "I found my soul mate" Then I tell them that his name is Mango;)

 Picture 4) Justin again! We like to play peek-a-boo together:)

Picture 5) Some of the girls I teach during a special celebration at school! We celebrated "secretaries day" since they are studying to be secretaries. They all got to dress up like secretaries and we had some special events. They had a great time. The one in front is name Mirian. Mirian often writes letters back and forth with me so she can practice her English more:) I really enjoy reading and replying to her letters. 

 Picture 6) Cesia and I. Cesia is one of my English students:)

Crossing the bridges of trust... 
One thing that I really focused on when I first came to Honduras was showing the people I am working with that I care for them and that they can trust me. I think that building trust and solid relationships when working with people is a necessary, without trust and relationships, a leader is kind of like a person stuck on one side of a river with no bridge, you really can't go anywhere (let's pretend the person can't swim across). I have been told before that leading is influence, and I would tend to agree. Without good relationships and trust, there is no influence, and therefore no leading. Now that I have developed good relationships with people, and gained their trust, I have influence in their lives and can start to lead them. One of the youth from my church sent me a message last week that said more or less "Haley, in the little time I have known you have earned my trust and I would like to tell you about some things that I am struggling with in my life". I have had the pleasure of talking with this young lady once already and look forward to talking with her again. She has been sexually abused and is currently dealing with some issues with a boy she likes. I mostly listen, and share in her suffering, but when at all possible I seek to ask her questions that comfort and challenge her, and lead her in the right direction. I know I am not a professional counselor, and I don't try to be, but there are not many counselor's available here, so I do the best that I can. 


Can I have my piece of chocolate?
Before I left for the United States there were people who asked me to bring them something back for them and they all wanted.... chocolate. My honduran brother explained that people in Honduras think that people in the USA eat chocolate all the time and that it is really cheap. This is more or less true in comparison to what chocolate costs in Honduras and how often people eat it here. So I decided to bring chocolate for my English class. It just so happened that the day that I brought the chocolate the students were learning about how to give directions to people in English. For example "turn right on 1st Ave, go straight, etc." So instead of just giving my students their chocolate... I did the following.. let's say that I gave Sandra's chocolate to Milanka. Sandra had to tell Milanka to stand up and give Milanka directions (in English) on how to arrive to Sandra's desk. Milanka would have to listen to the directions and do exactly what Sandra said. We named the rows different street names so they could say things like "Go straight on 1st ave, turn left on Main street. Walk down 5th Ave." The last thing they said was "Can I have my piece of chocolate?" I wanted to do this so they would have motivation to learn their directions well.. and boy did it work! :) It was a lot of fun too! I am learning a lot about how important motivation is in teaching. I already knew it was important... but I am learning that it is REALLY REALLY important. I seek to motivate my students through my good relationships with them, reminding them of the importance of learning English, and making class interesting. I am also getting better at managing a classroom! One important thing that I have been applying recently is that the punishment must fit the crime. I have been learning different punishments I can use for different crimes which has been a lot of help! My mother also gave me a great piece of advice that has helped a lot "Just be yourself". I think the idea of "just being myself" took away a lot of the pressure I was putting on myself to teach a certain way.


Clockin' in and clockin' out...
I've started keeping track of the hours that I work and how I spend my time in general. This has already helped me to not overwork myself, and to balance how I spend my free time. I've been spending more time playing games with my little honduran sister, praying, reading the Bible and other books, and communicating with friends and family. One of the books that I am reading is talking about how the best leadership development is simply developing WHO the leader is. So as I grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, I lead better. Therefore, the rest of my time in Honduras, and the rest of my life I want to spend more time seeking to grow who I am. If I am always trying to help others grow, and not growing myself.. I will burn out and no longer be able to influence others. 


For such a time as this... transitions.
The teacher I am teaching English with can longer to teach at the school because she has to start her internship for the University. She is actually the second teacher that I have taught with because the first one had to leave because she is a single mom and she got a better job offer. I am hoping to be a source of stability for the girls as they go through another transition. However I am said that I will have to cause them to transition again when I leave in August. The new teacher is not as strong of an English teacher as the last two teachers, so I am looking forward to helping bridge the gap for her while I am still here! 


The biggest tree I ever saw & a cultural experience:)
The city that I am living in "La Ceiba" is named after a kind of tree "Ceiba" that are found throughout the city. A couple of weeks ago I realized why the city was named after the Ceiba tree. I was at a friend's house, and he asked me if I saw the big tree the background. I thought he was talking about a tree right in front of his house, which wasn't so big so I was a little confused... then I saw the MASSIVE tree in the distance which he told me takes 20 people to wrap their arms around the trunk! He said the tree is over 300 years old! Wow! it was really cool touching and being close to something so big and so old! My friend (who is a family member of a friend of mine from Cedar Rapids) also played the guitar for me while I was at his house with his family AND he let me lay down in his hammock:) It was a good culture experience as guitars and hammocks are very popular in Honduras:) I think I want a hammock in my house one day...:) 


I hope that you are all doing well!:) Thanks again for you interest in what's going on with me in Honduras:)