Improvements to the Apartment

 For the past few weekends, Ryan has been making our apartment more user-friendly and equipping us with a few more counter tops in the kitchen and a desk for our bedroom.  It might not seem like that difficult of a task, but down here, everything seems to take longer.  Not to mention the walls he has to use to drill into for support are all made of concrete.  Hanging up a photo is not an easy task (partly why we didn’t hang up very much!).  Here are some before and after photos of his handy work:

After

Before

Some Downs, Lots of Ups!

As Ryan and I were driving home from school a few days ago, I mentioned that I hadn't posted any updates to our blog in quite some time.  I think sometimes it is difficult for me to know what our "readers" really want to know about our time here in Honduras.  Being teachers here at AFE, more than anything, I feel like we don't always have those opportunities to experience something radical or at least to me, "blog worthy."  Another reason I haven’t written anything is because I felt I had more disappointing things to share than were celebratory.  For those of you who don’t know, we lost our 11^th graders (AFE’s senior class).  It was their decision to stop coming, and I don’t know much more than that.  I can only continue to pray for them and invest my time in those students who wake up every morning and choose to come to school.

I guess I will share a few little short stories about what happens in my classroom with my tenth grade students whom I have learned to love so much, Maoly and Douglas (to the left).  I have mostly given power point lectures where from that, I can start mini conversations to help with the concepts that might be a little more abstract or to discuss processes in biology and chemistry further.  The power point gives me a great prompt as to the verbs I am going to use in the discussion, too!  I have had the opportunity, thanks to a generous donation, to complete labs with my students with microscopes and DNA model kits.  It is incredible to me how much these activities aid in learning!

Project of Comparing a Cell to AFE

Everyone always asks how my Spanish is coming along…I would say I can get any concept across that I need to even if I have to explain it in a round-about way.  However, I have made a few mistakes!  One day I was trying to remember the prefixes for describing covalent compounds (mono, di, tri, etc).  It was the compound SF₆.  I couldn’t remember “6,” so I blurted out sexo fluoruro azufre.  Yep, I just said “sex” in class.

Another moment that made me smile.  Douglas came into my classroom and asked to borrow a whiteboard marker, I gave it to him a little suspiciously since I know most of the students just want to draw!  But when I walked into the classroom where Douglas went, he was teaching Maoly what she missed in my biology class the day before.

We have been having some fun lately in chemistry class because we are getting into balancing equations and the concept of moles.  We do a million problems a day and my students keep asking me to make up new problems.  Recently, Maoly has been putting things away after class and said to me, "I had so much fun today!"  Even though she says she wants to become a psychologist, I think we have a little chemist in the making!  There hasn't been one day where they haven't left my classroom saying "Gracias, Erika," leaving me with a huge smile.

Pool Day @ AFE

Last week was the first full week a team has been at AFE this year.  They played soccer with the kids during various hours throughout the day and also painted the nursery and helped out with the construction of the new AFE building. 

On Thursday of the week, another team showed up at AFE to plant some fruit trees with the students.  This took up the entire school day, but I wasn’t bugged since as I watched all the students helping to plant these trees (there was a tree for each grade) I remembered back to my days in school on Earth day where our class planted trees.  I am grateful that they will have a memory just like me.

What I remember most about the day is how incredibly hot it was!  We are into the hottest season of the year with not many clouds and temperatures in the 90’s.  Pastor Jeony and I were talking about the weather and he mentioned that he was going to go buy 4 pools to bring to AFE tomorrow to give the students a pool day.  I laughed with him, as I assumed he was joking since his wife Jesy had made a joke earlier in the week about how we needed to raise some funds to build a huge pool for AFE. However, when we showed up to school the next day (Friday), you can imagine my surprise to see Jeony emptying out the AFE van with 4 blow-up pools and pumps.  He was serious!  Thus, we enjoyed a pool day at AFE...

The students loved it since we had yet another day of no classes and the last day of school until their spring break during Semana Santa (Holy Week).  I guess my students can wait to learn about ionic and covalent bonding, other derivatives of hydrocarbons, and evolution until the week after break.

We had the time of our lives on Friday – at least all the kids did!  No real fights broke out, no tears were shed as faces were kicked and hit (all by accident) man these kids are tough!  Each person had a huge smile on their face and I know that this is a day they will never forget.    

7 Weeks Completed

As of Friday, March 23, we have completed 7 weeks of teaching at AFE.  I have learned as much as I am teaching.  It’s the craziest experience teaching two subjects that I know so much about in Spanish!   I am learning new Spanish vocabulary every day, but most importantly as the weeks go by, I am also learning about my students.

Douglas & Maoly~10th grade

I have high expectations for my students and I know they have the capacity to learn and do well on the homework, quizzes, and tests that I give them, but they are not like children in the United States which is all I was accustomed before coming here.  The fact is that these students are different…they come from different backgrounds, family histories, different culture and they aren’t even the norm here in Honduras!  The high school students this year (7-11 grades) are within the lowest percentile of poverty here in Honduras and the world, and yet they are among the top percentile of individuals here in Honduras who continue on past 6^th grade.  

smoke from burning at the dump

The students here at AFE face many other obstacles related to their poverty.  Their homes are within walking distance from the garbage dump.  The proximity of their homes to the garbage dump forces the students and their families to breathe toxic fumes due to the burning of trash.  Because of this issue, most of the students have respiratory problems.  For example, one of my students comes to class with frequent headaches, and another is almost always sick with a cough.  One day, the smoke was so thick that we were forced to use masks while teaching because breathing without a filter was unbearable.

Aside from many obstacles, our students are progressing and doing as well as we could have hoped.  They will be taking their 2^nd prueba, or exam, for this trimester in 2 weeks and then we will begin the final 4 weeks to complete this first trimester.  Please keep the students at AFE in your prayers during these next weeks!

First Day of School

February 6, 2012 marked the day that we have been preparing for since we made the big move to Honduras last July 14.  2011: The FIRST day of school at AFE!

The week right before the first day was a busy time for all of us teachers to be assigned our classes (what subjects we were going to be teaching this trimester) and to start mapping out our curriculum for the trimester.

Teacher Planning at AFE

Ryan was assigned 7th, 8th, and 9th grade Math and 7th through 11th grade computers.  I  was assigned 10th and 11th grade Biology, 10th grade Inorganic Chemistry, 11th grade Organic Chemistry, and a sort of "How to Succeed in Secondary School" for the 7th graders.  It has now been a full two weeks of classes and I have already utilized our microscopes and completed a few different labs.

We also teach afternoon classes for the adult education; Ryan teaches 7th and 9th grade Math, and I teach 7th and 9th grade Natural Sciences.  In addition, we are keeping up with our English class twice a week in the evening for our community Linda Miller.

To say the least we are busy and loving it!  We are praying for strength and energy to get through this first trimester and we are so grateful for the patience and grace that our students have as we teach in their language.  I never thought I would be at the point where I would feel comfortable teaching a science class in Spanish, but it is going better than I thought - I truly CAN do all things through Him who gives me strength.  I like it better in the Spanish translation though - "Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortelece." Fili 4:13.

7th Grade Goals for the Trimester

My Classroom

Microscope Lab 10th Grade Douglas and Maoly

Scientific Method Lab 10th Grade Maoly and Douglas

Scientific Method Lab 10th Grade

Ryan teaching Math

An Unexpected Trip to Idaho

On New Year's Day, we received a phone call from my parents telling us that they had a "deal" for us.  So, as soon as I heard that, I decided to say that I am going to hang up and call them back regardless of what it is just so we had time to talk about it.  When they told us that they wanted to fly us up to Idaho for a couple weeks, I was speechless, but still hung up.  We discussed it to make sure we had all our "ducks in a row" before calling them back, and then yelled with a resounding, "YES!"  We were in Idaho the next night!

One of my biggest worries about going "home" or coming back "home" is that I would have a mix of emotions as most call "culture shock," so you can imagine my worries when we were heading home for the first time in over 6 months.  However, a dear friend of mine gave me the idea to consider that Honduras is Narnia and when I go home, I am simply stepping out of the wardrobe.  I really like this because I don't want to feel guilty about where I come from, but I don't want to lose the experience and perspective that I gain while I am in Honduras.  I have also added the thought that it is just like the Land of Oz and going back home to Kansas...thus why I have stuck a pair of ruby slippers on my fridge here in "Oz."

Here is a list of all the things that we enjoyed while we were in Idaho (not in any particular order):

3 full days of skiing * 1 day of powder skiing with my momma * Amazing mac and cheese at  Schweitzer's Outback * After a fun day skiing, a night out at TAPS listening to Eric E. * strolls through Target * girl movie nights * boys night golf league * Bistro on Spruce with my Grandpa & Grandma Dirks, and Tim * Bardenay's with the girls * sushi night * 6am Monopoly Deal challenges * morning coffee watching the sunrise * Charlie and Nikki!! (our dogs) * Lunch out with Grandpa & Grandma Thomas, and Great Grandma Mueller * cuddling up with a blanket by the fire * coffee date with Renee * ski day with Molly * dancing with Dad, Mom, Johnna, Molly, and the party with all the wigs * surprising Cambria at the airport * PF Changs * day trip to Moscow * Brazilian Steakhouse * dinner with my Uncle, Aunt, two cousins, and Joyce (The Thomas') * Applebees * dinner with my Uncle, Aunt, and three cousins (The Lybyer's) * Friday night church service at LCCC * getting some dark chocolate from a special friend, Wendy *ordering and bringing back 5 brand new compound microscopes for AFE's biology lab * Caddyshack's fish tacos *

It was so much fun to go and be re-energized and refreshed during those 2 weeks, and now we are anxious to begin the school year with our new classrooms. Thank you for your continued prayer support!

The Lewis' Family Vacation - Feliz Navidad!

The Lewis family came to Tegucigalpa during the week of Christmas, and busy doesn't begin to describe our time.  We cram-packed everything we could possibly have imagined into those 7 days, and we still missed a few fun tourist activities.

The Lewis Family

To begin the trip, we toured Ryan's parents and brother, Wendel, around our community and spent an afternoon in the garbage dump blessing the workers with water and cookies.  We really wanted Ryan's family to understand why we are here in Honduras and the beautiful people we serve.  It breaks my heart every time I go up there and see AFE students working hard in the dangers of the dump.  After going to the garbage dump, we showed them around AFE, the school.  There aren't any students there since they are on winter (like our summer) break.  We will start up again the first week of February.

We toured them around where we live, The Linda Miller Community, and shared with them the building project that Honduras Impact has been funding and working diligently on to start the Learning Center.  Next to the Learning Center is our church, so they got to see that, too :)

A walk in the Miller

We took a two day trip to Lago de Yojoa, Honduras' largest freshwater lake.  We stayed at the D & D Brewery and had the best blueberry pancakes any of us had ever tasted!  On the drive to the lake, we stopped on the side to see what the people were selling...turned out to be delicious honey!

Brad and his honey

Our hotel for two nights

We went to the Pulhapanzak Falls which is a 43 meter waterfall and the boys went behind it!  They had to jump in some pools behind the falls and get sopping wet - Pam and I were smart to opt out!  Us girls decided to do the canopy tour with one of the cables going directly over the waterfall!!  I screamed the entire way, but it was still a blast!

Ryan jumping into the pools.

Pam

Me, screaming across the falls

The second thing we did up at the lake was a tour around the Ecological Park Los Naranjas.  It was beautiful!

On our last day when we were driving home, we decided to stop at the Taulabe Caves and check them out.  They were discovered in 1969 and only recently they have been open to visitors.  No one knows how deep they go inside the mountain, but some estimate 11 km.

When we came back to Tegucigalpa just in time to start cooking our Christmas Eve. feast.  The boys went to the hospital to serve and prayer for the people who were without family this time of year.  Pam and I made the turkey and about 4 other side dishes.  We shared Christmas Eve. dinner with Rey, Elise and Elijah our neighbors and friends.  Fireworks went off throughout the night, but were most prevalent at midnight!  What a way to celebrate Jesus' birth!  It was truly a celebration in Honduras, and I hope to bring that home with us when we return to the States.

Christmas Day was such a fun and relaxing day.  We opened some presents and the boys played Wii all day :)

An AFE Christmas

It was hard to say good-bye, but we will see them this summer in Alaska!!