One Year in Honduras

1 Year In-Country

It's so hard to believe that I've been in Honduras for a year now and in Danli for almost 10 months. The time has flown by. Instead of thinking about what I should have done differently—that I should have done more, for example, in my first year, I am trying to look at my time optimistically. I still have a year and two months to accomplish all that I hoped to accomplish here, including another school year. In a few months I will have to write a one-year report detailing my accomplishments so for now I'll save listing them.

Here are some of the things I hope to accomplish at the Estancia in my second year:
-A library of donated books has been constructed and organized. Students have started to check-out books during recess but I would like to start an after-school story hour in order to promote a love of reading and encourage the students to check-out books.
-Continue my English class with the upper grades and instill in the students a love of language learning; promote higher education.
-Conduct tutoring sessions as needed and have an after-school homework club.
-Read with students one-on-one and have some start journal writing.

Aside from the Estancia I would still like to start the English class for teachers in Danli. I have put a lot of work into developing the 2^nd manual for the program and hope to be involved in a conference for teachers and volunteers participating in the program. I could be more effective, however, if I were actually teaching the course and could use that experience to improve the manuals and the program.

In my personal life I would like to read more and watch less TV. I have been a little better about reading the news online and reading the international Newsweeks that I receive every few months. I still feel somewhat disconnected, however, to things that are going on in the US. A lot of my peers are talking about how hard it will be to get a job when we go back, but I am hoping that my degrees and my experience here will help me. Right now I'm reading a book on communication in the classrroom, and I hope that I can learn strategies to improve my interaction with the students at the Estancia and prepare me for situations I might encounter later in my teaching caree.