First Week at AFE

Trip to Teguc

We had an amazing 2 months in Copan, however, Erika and I were anxious and happy to make the 8 hour bus ride from Copan to Tegucigalpa (plus an extra 5 hours sitting at the bus station because the bus was held up due to protesters in Guatemala blocking the street traffic).  On occasions like this, Erika and I always remind each other to be flexible and remember that this is Honduras.  Pastor Joeny and his son Brian graciously volunteered to pick us up at 11:45 pm from the bus station in Teguc and even patiently waited while Erika and I ordered and ate food at Denny’s.  Both of our Spanish teachers and our host family Mom in Copan called and sent text messages to our phones to ensure we safely made it to Teguc… we both felt loved :)

Teaching observations

Joeny and Rey both warned us that when we got to Teguc, we would be immediately plugged into the loop at AFE, and thankfully they were right.  The first two days here in Teguc, Erika and I sat in on classes taught by North American and Honduran teachers for a wide range of grade levels (7^th through 11^th grade).  We observed a variety of teaching styles, many aspects of which we can implement into our class when we begin teaching in February.  Additionally, two of the volunteers at AFE (Adam and Hollie) are going to the U.S. for a few weeks, and Erika and I will be covering their classes during that time period.

Connecting with the community

On Thursday night, Erika and I went to women’s and men’s bible studies.  This was a great way to plug ourselves into the Linda Miller Community, make new friends, experience Honduran culture, and practice our Spanish.  While at the men’s bible study, I conversed with a friendly Honduran teenager and invited him to come over to our house to say hello.  On Friday night, a group of 5 came to our house, visited with us for a half hour, and invited us to join them at the church for a workout known as “Insanity”.  The workout was really intense, and it was a great bonding experience for us with the Honduras; I feel like we are quickly becoming connected with the community.

Also on Friday, a team of North Americans from Oregon flew into Teguc and Erika and I went to the airport with Joeny, Rene (1^st student at AFE that is graduating this year), and Henry (designated driver for AFE, married to a teacher at AFE) to pick them up.  It was a group of 8 volunteers here to work on building a home for a trash dump family without one, and I will be going to the jobsite to help translate when needed.

Community English classes

The leaders of AFE encourage the volunteers at AFE to be apart of something outside of the school to become connected with Honduras.  Some examples of this include overseeing the progress of the learning center and overseeing the construction of homes for the trash dump people (what the team of 8 will be working on).  Erika and I have decided to teach English to the adults living in the Linda Miller Community.  Details are pending, but we hope to teach 2-3 days a week for a total of 3 hours a week (or more).  The people of Honduras are eager to learn English, so we anticipate a large group.

Can’t wait to (have Erika) share more stories and photos with you, thanks for reading!

-Ryan