9x-7i>3(3x-7u), solve for i

Any takers?

=]

Stolen from my little's status in FB.

Teaching English

Oct. 13^th – 15^th, 2010

Since I will be teaching English and have no idea where to even begin, I requested project-related travel to another site to observe how another PCV is giving her classes, and to obtain some materials. I was gone for two nights, arriving on Wednesday and returning to my site Friday. Wednesday Janet and I made a delicious tuna fish salad with toast and melted cheese, and she showed me the plants she had been growing during her service here. She had oregano, cherry tomatoes, lemon grass, celery, coffee, basil, and sunflowers. Later in the afternoon we headed over to the school to prepare for class. She gives class from 3 – 5 pm Wednesdays and Thursdays to groups of about 20 adults who will teach their own groups of students, and has English game night also, once a week from 6 – 8 pm. What I learned most was to keep the class interactive and have fun because that keeps people interested and wanting to participate. Just standing in front of class lecturing or treating the students like children can create an uncomfortable boundary between the teacher and the students and doesn't seem to foster a successful learning environment. She had students come to the front of class to present to the rest a grammar activity they had prepared, other students presented to smaller groups around the class, they sang, they did dialogues, quizzes, and other fun activities.

Thursday morning we hiked about 2 and a half hours to an aldea up in a mountain to visit a Kindergarten class. The hike was beautiful. We passed corn fields, coffee plots, banana trees, rivers, parts of the trail that had been affected by mudslides, and we had to cross one river walking over some trunks of a tree.


 A couple ladies from the school came down the trail a ways to meet us and help carry our bags up the mountain. When we arrived, the children were already waiting, looking excited to have guests. We took a look at the small room that housed all their school materials and artwork, and also saw the small adorable chairs that were made out of wood and leather for the children to sit on.
 They didn't have chairs before and as plastic was too expensive, they used local resources to construct these chairs. It was suggested that in the future, the people of the aldea continue making chairs like these of whatever size as a business.
 We sat outside and the teachers gave us a generous helping of a banana and ciruelas. Ciruela is the word for plum, but it is completely different from what we have in the states. They taste like deliciously tart mangos.
 They then brought out plastic bags full of even more bananas and ciruelas - one bag for each of us! After snacking for a bit, we used felt hand puppets to tell the story of "The Three Little Pigs" then we switched it up and had the kids use the hand puppets to tell the story. There was a lot of blowing involved as we tried to blow all the houses down, and we asked several questions to see if they remembered what had happened in the story and which house was best to live in. They laughed a lot and seemed to really enjoy themselves :).
 We were only there for about an hour then left back down the hill, going down another way which saved us a lot of time, but which we would not have liked to climb up.


Janet and I had a lunch of banana pancakes and eggs, using the bananas we had just received. Then we headed back to school for another English class, then after that, prepared for English game night at her house. I baked banana cookies and she made popcorn.
 We had Scrabble, Scrabble Slam (in my opinion, a lot more fun than Scrabble), Boggle, and Monopoly set out on two tables. A good group of students showed up and started playing Scrabble Slam first, and then we switched to playing Monopoly. One guy had the misfortune of being sent to jail probably at least 4 times >_<. It was a fun night.
 After everyone left, I got to packing and Janet was extremely generous in giving things away! She is leaving site soon and thus is trying to get rid of stuff. She gave me several books, an external CD Drive since my Netbook doesn't have a disc drive, a big long plastic box filled with teaching English materials, another box with placemats, and other goodies, ground cinnamon (hard to find here! The most common form of cinnamon is the bark), Queen size fitted sheet and regular sheet, plastic containers, empty wine bottles to use for putting flour, sugar, whatever, and will give me her speakers when I go back to visit. It really was a great trip overall and her site, while small, is very beautiful and I enjoyed talking with her students and seeing that they were self-motivated and determined to learn.

ArcGIS Training and Karaoke!

Right now I'm working in the Catastro office (equivalent to Cadastre in the states?) because they need people to help get it organized by the end of the year. I'm not quite sure of the whole story, but I think they had an old office that was very disorganized and so wasn't recognized by the government as official. Now they're working to organize everything and have even brought in several high school students working sort of like interns, but I'm pretty sure they get school credit. Because I can type super fast and can pick up on things quickly, like how to use computer programs, they enlisted my help and are going to have me train other people. I'm also helping to input some information into ArcGIS, one of the computer databases.


I woke up bright and early at 5:30 one Friday to get ready to head to an aldea about an hour and a half from here for training. My municipality is super large and extends even as far as that aldea, which surprises me. I walked to the Alcaldia only to find that it was locked and nobody had arrived yet, so the cleaning people let me in and I sat and read my book (The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, already done with it!) and listened to music for half an hour until the trainer called and said he was outside. Got into the truck with him and one of the other guys that works in the Catastro office and we headed off. We passed through one of the larger cities and they went through the drive-through at Burger King (which is like a treat here) and they got me coffee and a small croissant sandwich even though I had said I already ate breakfast, but they insisted! People here are really nice when they invite you to places =]. We finally arrived at the aldea, which also has a Catastro office that is smaller and in worse condition than ours. There were four guys there who were going to be trained. I sat in on the training and learned how to fill out a form called a ficha, which people use to collect information on residential buildings, empty lots, and other pieces of real estate to calculate taxes. The office already had forms filled out for certain areas but we were making new ones based off the old information because this needs to be done every 5 years. We filled several of the fichas out and I also received some training in ArcGIS. Even though the offices here have the program, it doesn't necessarily mean that they understand how to use it and even if they have a general idea, the areas they map out aren't accurate. They don't seem to care about the incorrect numbers anyway. The main thing I guess is to have the areas plotted and the information relating to each in the system.


The guys ended up treating me to lunch as well at Tio Dolmo, which is a pretty decent restaurant. The set up is kind of like you choose whatever you want to eat and they put it on your plate but every food item has its own cost. After being in the aldea all day, we headed back to my site and the two stopped by a gas station to buy beer. They drove back drinking and blasting music and singing and I was just like ohhhh great. Please don't let us get into an accident >_<. This one song called "Chupa tu Paleta" came on and it was pretty much the Spanish version of Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop". Translated, it means "suck your lollipop" (paleta could also mean popsicle or ice-cream). I thought that was pretty funny. Then I got a text from Amanda that she had just passed a pulperia called "Hung Wang". Anyway, the guys and I went to a karaoke bar/restaurant, had dinner, and I taught them how to play Texas Hold 'Em. They picked up pretty quickly but I think it's because they already had an idea of how to play a different kind of poker. They then taught me 31, which is pretty much exactly like Black Jack except you try to get 31 instead of 21. We headed upstairs to the large karaoke room and it was empty except for us, so we put on some songs and took turns singing. I didn't know any of the Spanish songs that they had, and the ones that I wanted were too new so I ended up only singing American songs. A couple other groups trickled in and started singing as well. I was surprised myself that I didn't mind singing in front of other people, because I am super shy when it comes to that, but I figured these are all people I don't know and they didn't know that I used to not sing in public sooooo why not, give it a shot. It was kind of fun too.

Training in the other Catastro office

That was the end of a good Friday and I got to know a couple people I work with better. The karaoke place is super nice too. It's free to sing as long as someone at your table orders something, be it a drink or whatever. I can't wait to have visitors!




 

Threadless!

Edit//  I received credit for purchases, so whoever bought, thank you!!!! =)


Completely unrelated to Peace Corps, but one of my favorite T-Shirt sites is having a sale!  This website is where anyone can submit their design for a t-shirt, and it gets voted on and scored.  The ones with the highest rankings become official t-shirt designs and are printed.  Most shirts use American Apparel tees, which are 100% cotton and oh so comfortable.  I have probably close to 20 t-shirts from Threadless!


The only reason I'm plugging the site is because I have a street team link.  If you buy through my link, I'll get a $3 credit for every purchase (ie, transaction. not every shirt that's bought).  Help a PCV out!  Hahaha =D


Thanks and happy shopping!
Link: http://www.threadless.com/?from=indulge_intc

The Most Dangerous Place In the World

My host dad collected a ton of coconuts to sell over the span of a few days – green ones, yellow ones, and the brown hairy ones that we all are used to seeing. I never knew there were different types of coconuts before I came here. The green and yellow ones have soft fruit inside and the brown ones are so hard and difficult to eat! The water doesn't taste like anything to me, and neither does the meat. I'm not really sure how anyone can enjoy such a flavorless fruit, and wonder how coconut-flavored things taste more like the fruit than the fruit itself.

The coconuts!

My host dad, my host uncle and I went to San Pedro Sula so he could sell the coconuts. We stopped on the outskirts of the city to sell a few of them to a guy who kind of ripped us off, but we didn't say anything because I guess my host dad just wanted to lighten the load of the truck.

Selling the coconuts to a street vendor

Then we visited some relatives and wished happy birthday to one of the girls, who just turned my age! We also sat down to enjoy a delicious chicken soup made by her sister that contained green bananas, potato, cilantro, and spices. After that, my host dad and I went to the urban center of SPS, passing a waterpark along the way, and the city is amazing! Better than Tegucigalpa. The streets were wider, it appeared cleaner and more organized, and there was less pollution (maybe it depends on the day). A lot of hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants. There is also a beautiful area of the city with mansions and gates, and this tree with vines crawling on it that I could just stare at forever. I was upset I didn't have my real camera on me, just my phone camera =(.

Doing construction on one of the houses

It was hard to believe that this was one of the most dangerous places in the world. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Honduras is home to the highest crime and murder rate in the world (at least that's what PC told us) with 66.8 murders per 100,000 people, as compared to the U.S.'s rate of 5.4 murders and the world's 8.8. The number of homicides here has jumped significantly from 2005, where it was 2416 victims, to 5265 in 2009.

We visited one of the houses in the rich neighborhood because my host dad is good friends with one of the guys who lives there. The man is apparently the owner of one of the meat factories down here, called Carne El Corral or something. He bought several coconuts and we chatted for a bit. His daughter came out to join us and she is 20, and speaks English and is learning French and Italian and invited me to join her in her Italian classes if I'm ever in town because I expressed interest in learning Italian. I had tried to teach myself when I was in college but I got too busy eventually. I also have an open invitation to stay with them whenever I have time. Super nice, tranquilo people!

The rest of the day was uneventful, but I would definitely love to go back someday soon and do my house shopping there.  Just need to find someone with a truck who’s willing to help me out!  I’ll keep my fingers crossed that my host family will =)

Host mom cutting a coconut with a machete

Using some of the cut off shell as a spoon!

Completely unrelated, but cute - Dusty teasing Mancha

Matthew?!

Sept. 24^th – 26^th, 2010

As you may or may not know, Honduras was one of the countries where Hurricane Matthew passed over. Those of us in the North Coast were consolidated to a point away from the potential danger. This meant that all PCVs of that region met up at a hotel and stayed there for a couple nights. It was nice to meet other people that I probably never would have met if it hadn't been for the storm. I made friends with my roommate, who did her service in the Dominican Republic first and then extended another year here. She turned out to be a great resource and I plan on visiting her within the next month to observe her English classes, because I also have to teach English to teachers who have volunteered their time to learn and teach students here.


During our brief "vacation" from our sites, a group of us went to a Mennonite community that specialized in dairy products. We probably walked a total of two or three hours there and back, with a short little bus ride too. We went because one PCV has been and said the ice-cream was amazing, and they sold other things cheese (they actually had cheddar!), yogurt, and banana bread. We all got ice-cream - I got chocolate/coffee, and then raspberry for the trip back, and a loaf of banana bread for my host family. The community was located on a fenced compound which housed living quarters, a school, a large common/kitchen area, and probably a church. The women inside were dressed conservatively and most were American who had learned Spanish. I spoke with one of them about what the community is exactly and she said that they are all Christian and follow the Bible literally. There are church groups organized in the states and whoever is interested in living overseas in such a community can do so for however long they wish. The adults on the compound were mostly American, but there were several Honduran children as well. I was happy to see a large trampoline out back, and the woman inside told me it gets used a lot :).

I went shopping at a large department store called Carrion (dead animal carcass anyone?) and bought a pair of genuine Havaianas flip-flops for about $8, and some nice sunglasses as well. It was super nice to be in a store like that but the enormous shoe department made me feel overwhelmed so I left that area for a minute then returned.

Yeah, I'm weird, but seriously…when you are just not used to seeing something for months, upon seeing it the mind kind of freaks out. I really wonder if it's true what a Returned PCV said about his return to the states after his service. I went to an RPCV forum at the Huntington Library/Gardens in San Marino, CA before I came here and one guy said that after he got done in Ghana, when he first stepped into an American grocery store, he felt so overwhelmed by the selection of cereal that I think he had to leave. At that moment I thought that could never happen to me, but it's only been 4 months and already I'm feeling that way!

One night while there, I thought I had lost my luggage keys at the restaurant we ate dinner at. I had locked my bag that I left at the hotel so no one would break into it, and thought I put them in my pants pocket. Brad and I walked back to the restaurant, and the guy who had been piropo'ing him earlier called out again so Brad went over to talk to him. The first time, the guy called out, "Hey Eminem, what you doing in Honduras!" and we just ignored it, but that had to be the funniest piropo I've heard. I didn't even get it at first. I was thinking M&M's >_<. That's what being away from American pop culture does to you! Turns out the guy lived in the states for a long time and is Muslim and actually speaks English fairly well. Anyway, my keys weren't at the restaurant so my roommate Janet helped me open my bag without destroying the lock or the zipper, and lo and behold my keys were inside! Silly absent-minded me. We fixed my bag up exactly as it had been and I made sure I was pendiente as to where my keys were the rest of the trip.

All in all it was a fun trip, but I was sick the entire time so I ended up going to bed earlier than I wanted and probably was made even more sick by the traveling, but oh well. Oh yeah! I ordered pancakes for breakfast and look how they came! I was very pleasantly surprised by the bananas and maple syrup instead of honey (although honey isn't too bad)!

 

What I Like About My Site

• When I take a stroll around the soccer field at night, the fireflies light it up with red, yellow, and green lights. It's magical. Sometimes they even light up my room too.
• We have two dogs that stay at the house and bark like crazy at night whenever a stranger comes by, effectively preventing any sort of break-in.
  
  
  
• It's only an hour away from a large city with a mall, movie theater, American fast food restaurants, street vendors of every imaginable item, and very large superstores that have everything a house would need, for cheap prices.
  
• It's about two hours away from the beach.
  
• There's an airport nearby so whenever anyone wants to visit, we won't have to travel too far!
  
• Right now, the weather is insanely fresco. It's actually quite strange because when I first got here, it was so hot I had to sleep with a fan on at night and would still sweat. Now my bed has a sheet AND a comforter, and I wear socks and long pajama pants and I sleep very, very well.
  
• It's near the third largest mountain in Honduras.
  
  
  
• I know I complained that we don't have paletas, but we DO have these things called topogigos (known as charramuscas in other parts). They're just plastic bags filled with some sort of liquid and frozen. Like banana and milk smoothie, nance juice, whatever.
  
• My host family has all sorts of animals – hens, roosters, chickens, chicks, ducks, ducklings, dogs, cats. Well, cat. Unfortunately this adorable little kitten died one morning all of a sudden :(. 
• I really love seeing how caring the animals are of their babies. The hen follows its chicks around all day and at night fits herself into the kitchen corner with her three babies under her wing. Whenever there's food given out, she always makes sure they eat first before she gets her share. The duck follows its ducklings around, even when they duck under the fence (duck, get it? Haha, terrible pun, I know =P) to feed elsewhere and she can't follow because she has this rope tied perpetually around one of her legs so she doesn't run away. It's sad. It's also quite amusing to see chickens and hens and roosters in trees, and even sometimes on the roof! I've got to get a picture, it really makes my day seeing that.
  
  
  
• There's a lady that sells "cocteles", or frozen fruit cocktails made with real cut up fruit. They're delicious! But at 20 Lempiras each, kind of too expensive for me to afford everyday (that's a little over $1). I've only ever tried it once and it's definitely a savory treat for a hot day.
  
• Roads around the urban center are paved, or empedrada'd. I'm not sure how to translate that – they have stones instead of pavement. But nice flat stones.
  
• The municipality building seems to be, for the most part, in order. They have computers with internet, database programs, and personnel that know how to use the programs and who actually work. This means I can do more than just teach people how to use a computer and the programs on it. Yay!
  
• Hammocks are abundant and everywhere. Very comfortable to rest in and read a book. Probably one of the reasons I've already finished almost 3 books in 3 weeks.
  
• Karate class – Hi-Ya! Ok other than me being a dork, this is awesome because now I can maybe work with the instructor in creating my own self-defense/Tae Kwon Do classes.
  
• Internet works!