Teaching change!

After all this switching there has been one last switch as of yesterday (Tuesday). I’m no longer going to teach first grade! I’m so happy about this! I’m not going into the library, but I have the second best possible job. I’m teaching 7th and 8th grade math, 7th-9th grade science, and then 7th-9th grade computer courses. We only have about 7 computers and so far I’ve only gotten about 3 to work. We only have connections for 3, tomorrow I’ll try to mess around with the cables and power to move things around and be able to work all 7 computers at once. There’s only once class each for 7th, 8th, and 9th. Which means that I will see the same students in several classes throughout the week. This is excited, but it also means that I have a lot of work! Ty is switching to teaching 7th-9th grade English/literature, 9th grade math, and then 7th-9th grade art. It’s perfect for him! Perfect for me! And perfect for the two of us to work with the same students. We are the only English speaking, foreign born secondary school teachers. Students have a variety of other classes which I can address in a later blog when I have more time. I’ve spent quite a while on this computer already and I need to get out and talk to some people as well as eat dinner! I’m darn hungry! Just thought I should update ya’ll about this latest change, which should be for the better, and should also be for good! WOO! Apparently the 8th grade class is also a little behind, as well as the 9th, or something like that, so I’m excited to challenge these students and encourage them to learn and expand their brain power as well as their self-esteem, self-confidence, world-view, etc! This is going to be a great year!=)

My Way or the Not Correct Way

I’ve discovered that many times down here in Honduras there is one way to do things correctly. It’s not unfounded, there really is a best way when it comes to a lot of things down here. For example, washing clothes…Tyler and I decided to get some laundry done by hand this afternoon. We went out to the “pila” as it’s called and tried to figure it out. I had to ask the little girl next door to show me how to wash my clothes. Let me tell you, there are few things in life more humbling than asking help from a small child on something so simple as washing your clothes. I’m sure she’s thinking, “who in the world doesn’t know how to do this?!” She’s probably been working with the pila for the better part of her life.

Anyways, I get it figured out more or less. Fill one part with water, then there’s a place to scrub the clothes on the “ribs” of the pila with soap. Then take a pitcher and pour water over the clothes, washing it off, then hanging it up on the line to dry. So I start filling it with water and out pops the other neighbor. He asks if we have soap and I tell him, “yes.” So naturally he tells us to hold on a second and runs back in to grab us some soap. The soap here is “better” apparently than ours. As it turns out, the soap smells really good, gets dirt out amazingly well, and even gives our clothes super powers! Ok, that last part is a lie, but the soap is amazing. We cleaned our dirty clothes with dirty water and amazing soap and the result was really good smelling and clean clothes, who knew?

I wonder how many more things we will run into down here that we don’t do correctly. I used to get frustrated by their ignorance to think that a Honduran could possibly know a better way to wash clothes by hand than me, the smart college educated American. Ha, isn’t that a funny mindset? At least I find it to be now that I’ve learned better than to act like I know what I’m doing when I’ve never in my entire life washed clothes in a “pila.”

Copan At Last

Couple days down….lot of days to go. That’s how I’m viewing my time here thus far. It’s not because I’m loathing the days and counting down, it’s because I’ve been having such a good time and seeing all these great possibilities that could pan out that I’m excited to have a lot of days left.

I came down here to work in the library, but apparently this never works out. Emory talked to me the first night and said, “Zach, we need you to teach first grade.” Of course, why not!? I haven’t been preparing for this or anything. I haven’t been talking to librarians, or buying books for the library, or thinking about library projects. Instead I’ve been sitting around thinking, “what if I teach first grade this year? I should prepare.” Ok, that was my slightly bitter side at the change of plans. But really, I’m going with the flow and this is the way that it’s going to happen. How much good would I do refusing to teach this class and saying that I’m only going to work in the library? Apparently this will be at the very worst a one month stint. Emory has a friend coming down the start of October and then I’m off the hook and into the library. I’m excited about this change though, really, I am. Don’t believe me? Trust me, I’m very excited. The other first grade teacher, in the other class, is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon and was an education major. She’s going to be a great resource to help with lesson planning.

Tyler and I are planning on using this weekend to explore the city. Find out some church service times in the area, check out the library, get some random stuff for the house, and relax. Oh to relax…it’s going to be a good thing.:) For now I’m writing this on Friday night and it’s really late. And by really late I mean 11:20. Everything in town closes at 9pm and people get up between 6 and 7 every day. So…to bed I go! Good night!

Address

Do to popular demand...so to speak...Here's my address for the year. Believe it or not, this is really where they say to send it. No numbers, no street name...just as this is.

Zachary Assink
c/o Escuela Mayatan
Copan Ruinas, Copan
Honduras, Central America

And that's it...pretty nifty, eh?! I promise that I will even write back to people.:)

Another Visitor?

I leave on Thursday at 12:55am! Oh my gosh! I need to start packing! Actually, I did start packing today. I'm going to be so prepared for this. I've got my intro to TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) textbook, gauze bandages, fingernail clippers...what else do I need? Oh, one change of clothes, three left shoes, air soft gun, pocket knife...yah...I'm going to be so prepared for anything.:)

I'm looking forward to my living situation. I'll be rooming with my old roomate from Fox, Tyler, with a gentleman that lives down there named Jorge. Here's the Jorge connection: I went to Honduras with my Spanish prof last year and found out about Mayatan School. I then applied to Mayatan school and my Spanish prof (Viki) introduced me to Megan who taught down there for 2 years. Megan then introduced me (via e-mail) to Jorge, a friend of hers that she met while teaching down there. I don't know many details but I'm definitely getting more and more excited with each passing hour as my flight gets closer to leaving.

The not so exciting thing is that Tyler and I will be leaving Seattle at 12:55am or something like that...boo! We fly straight to Houston, then from there to San Pedro Sula, Honduras around 11:30am or so. Not bad, it's less than a 12 hour trip to there, but then we have about a four hour bus ride to Copan where we'll be living.

Well, this "another visitor?" business...I was at two of my best friends' wedding last night and met two of their friends from college who are planning a biking trip from El Salvador to Costa Rica. They have plane tickets already leaving in October and getting back the end of November. I told them they should probably come through Copan and stay with us, or at least visit. That'd be pretty sweet. Tyler and I (I'm putting words in his mouth) are super excited about any visitors since we will be able to share our lives with some people and they can see and experience what we'll be going through every day. So if you want to visit Honduras, take a number and send me an e-mail.:)