First impressions...

Honduras, you are a dream come true. In the scheme of things I have only just arrived, but I am already in love. For my year abroad with Project Trust, I have been placed in the Candelaria project where I teach English in the local Kindergarten and Primary School. Candelaria is the most wonderful remote little village in the southern part of the Lempira district, near the border of El Salvador - it is so small that on google maps only a handful of things pop up, including the hardware store 'Ferreteria Genesis' which is owned by my host dad Victor. After having visited different parts of the country now, I have learnt that Candelaria is a pretty typical Honduran village; it has its central park where people go to socialise and chat; a big and rather stunning white washed Catholic church; colourful pulperias and comedors which line the streets with friendly yet often toothless old women who sit on the front steps smiling; cobbled streets buzzing with mototaxis and motorbikes (more often driven by my school kids than their parents); the rainforest which seems to go on forever and mountains which enshroud the village like a protective shield, hiding Candelaria from the outside world. Now that I am starting to get used to it all, it has become the norm for me, but when describing the place I get to call home for the year and putting it into words, I realise how lucky I am.

One of the many backstreets in Candelaria lined by Kapok trees and brightly painted houses

The village has been beyond welcoming. I never expected to be so easily accepted and taken in with such kindness, but I have learnt that the Honduran people are some of the most generous and hospitable people in the world, so I really never had any reason to worry in the first place. Speaking of which, my students most definitely come out on top in terms of making me feel loved and appreciated. I can never go anywhere without being bombarded by them with hugs and affection, and always hearing their little frantic shrieks of 'hola miss lois!' as I walk by makes me so happy. They're sweet and adorable when outside of the classroom, but when trying to control a class of thirty easily distracted second graders, they suddenly become a lot less cute.

Let me explain the teaching set up I have going as that is the main reason I am here! In the mornings, I teach kindergarten for half an hour. I have the class of 4 year olds which sounds adorable, but it's relatively tough as they are so young that they are still learning how to read and write in Spanish, let alone in English so I find its easiest to spend my time with them singing songs and doing A LOT of repetition. We have just finished learning numbers 1-10 and they love when I bring in the speakers and the little soft ball I have and we sing as we pass the ball, although everything they hold ends up in their mouth at some point so lets not think about the state of the ball after one of our singing sessions...After kinder, my project partner Izzy (who is also a volunteer with Project Trust) head to the school which is a five minute walk down the road and across the bridge where we spend the rest of the day teaching our kids in grades 1-6. My project partner Izzy and I have separate classes and so we teach about 100 kids each! I won't sugar coat it, teaching can be very hard and some days the kids just aren't in the mood to listen or behave and it can be so frustrating, but on the whole it has been one of, if not the, most amazing experience I have ever had. Each kid is so different and as I get to know them individually, I love them more and more. There are so many things to consider when being their teacher as the range of abilities within one class varies more than you can imagine; for example in my first grade class I have some children who still don't know how to read or write, others who have learning difficulties, some who are autistic and as a result really struggle with getting to grips with English. However, I also have others who take to the topics I am teaching so fast and remember everything I have ever taught them which never fails to impress me. Yet, this makes it so difficult to judge how much content we will be getting through in one lesson as each child works at such different speeds, but I'm slowly but surely learning what works for each child.

Another thing that I always have in the back of my mind is that fact that many of the kids I teach come from very difficult backgrounds with a home-life that I can't even begin to imagine or attempt to understand. This means that my main priority is to make sure my kids enjoy our lessons and feel safe and secure, always knowing that my hour with them is a time where they can forget about everything that may be going on at home and focus on having fun. Some of the things I hear break my heart, but when I hear them screeching 'Miss! English please!' through the windows as I walk past, I know that what I am doing is the best thing I could be doing for them right now.

Honduran time is something else which I have had to acclimatise to; the only way to describe it is the fact that it basically doesn't exist! you usually need to add an hour or two to the time someone tells you, and even then you are most likely to be the first one to arrive. This has made school life and my timetable pretty unpredictable; I have lost count of the number of times when I turn up to teach a lesson only to find that the class isn't in school that day as the teacher is a way for some reason or another, or I will find out if there is no school one day only the day before. I have come to learn Honduran culture is extremely laid back, the same goes for school as we are only told things on a need to know basis. As a result, I am now no longer surprised if I turn up and my sixth grade class isn't! But in reality, I am having such an incredible time that I wouldn't change a single thing about my Candelarian life :)

Cesar, one of my first graders who is the sweetest boy you'll ever meet :)