Ally’s Predictons came true!

Well, on thursday night we managed to get some internet for about an hour or so, so we both checked our emails and facebook accounts and each wrote a little something to friends and family e.t.c, Ally even put a status on facebook saying ‘what’s that paulo? something about a hurricane?’ .....

This in fact came true last night/this morning, well not quite a hurricane but a pretty big storm! Thunder and lightning like I have never heard before, torrential downpours all day long, and violent winds all mashed together at about 3 in the morning and woke me up. It was my first experience of a proper tropical rainstorm and truth be told, I was a little worried. Here we are in a small little house on the top of a hill, (so it wasn’t the rain that scared me) being battered by some winds and thunder and lightning cracking all around us! It was still quite fun though, watching for the flash and counting until the thunder came (anyone still do that? or just me??) hahaha and listening to the sound of the rain and the wind! Anyway, I suppose you cant get a better start to the rainy season than a torrential storm, it was actually that bad that our country rep, Vegas, called us this morning to see if we were ok, and that we hadn’t been blown away! :O (jokingly of course!)

Well only a short post this one, please make sure to check previous ones as well, cos when I don’t have internet, I am still writing, so they may have backed up a bit! 

Till next time,

Ciao!

Such a great day!

Hey guys, well I promised you the second half of the teaching post, after I had begun my teaching experience, and well here it is!

It was great, I taught a year six class this morning, as was quite nervous about it! But all was well,  however, I seriously over estimated their english skills, so one of the activities I had set out for them, even after trying to explain it in spanish just fell on deaf ears, therefore I had to wing it for the next half an hour, in 40 minute lesson, and decided to (try) to explain the past tense. Wow, I seriously admire some language teachers, teaching tenses is a very hard thing to do! Anyway, I think they enjoyed it and they were very well behaved, which is always a bonus, but then that could have been because there was a teacher sitting at the back! I then had the rest of the day off until 4.50 when I had to teach a year 8 class. In this time we had off, Ally and I wrote out a couple of topic sheets for this ‘parcial’ (term) with loads of vocab and what we would teach them regarding this topic! This was so much help, as it gave us a clear direction of where we would be going with each thing, we also decided it would be best to teach the same topics at the same time, just change the difficulty for each year group, so that we could bounce off of each other and help each other out as well. This lead to my year 8 class being one of the best things ever! They were all well behaved, even without a teacher, and they even told me to teach them entirely in english, they were also a little older so I could have a bit of banter with them and enjoy teaching them. They seemed to grasp the topic of house and home very well and went on to describe ‘La casa de sus sueños’ (their house of dreams).

After that, as we were walking back, Ally and I heard drums and music coming from the courtyard and were told that they are practicing for their independence day march on the 15th of september, which we both have to take part in, all the drums and xylophones and other such instruments created a great sound and sight (check my facebook page for video!) and was thoroughly enjoyable to watch! 

So then came the time for dinner with Mary Lou, and she had cooked us BALEADAS! Which were incredible. Ever since Vegas had told us about them, Ally and I have been hunting them out, and having no such success! However, we were so excited and oh my days! Literally so tasty! Basically they are a homemade chapatti/tortilla pancake, spread with mushed up red beans (they themselves are epic, a very staple ingredient in any dish, as we have had them every day since arriving!)  and then topped with cheese and scrambled egg. Honestly, to die for!! :D

Well, once again, today has been great and I only have one lesson tomorrow as well, even better, but then I do have to wash some clothes, which is my afternoon task, as Ally is teaching!

Thanks for reading guys, till next time,

Ciao!

The looming fears of teaching, and what remains are left!

Well today this blog post is going to be a bit different, it is going to be in two parts really. Right now it is Monday evening (15/8) and we have been here for nearly 5 days now, tomorrow is when I will officially start teaching as today we were observing a few classes and got our timetables sorted. I have the pleasure of teaching 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade (classes B, not A) which I am so excited about, because it should be so much fun, being able to have loads of fun teaching children who actually want to be there! However, I also have to teach the 6th grade class A, and both A and B of the 8th grade. The 6th grade is only monday to wednesday at 8 in the morning, and 8th grade is the whole week in the afternoon, when I really never start again till 4 o clock, therefore I have from about 11 to 4 off every day, I am doing some work on this paradise island I promise, not just all beach and sun, beach and sun, beach and sun! :D  Ally is teaching 6th B, 7th A and B, and 9th A and B, but he was forced into a little lesson today by his pupils because it was their time for english and there was no teacher, so we were walking through school and they asked us if we would teach them, them being Ally’s class, I sat at the back as he recited some of his pre-prepared spanish instructions whilst a third of the class listened, half of it talked to others, and the last 1/6 ran in and out of the room for no reason at all, other than to chat with their friends in a different class. However, this was good as it gave us a great perspective of how they treated the new teachers, and it has made us more determined to rule .... i mean teach with more authority, hasn’t it Ally??

‘I hate the buggers, nahh they’re alright, I would of done the same to a new foreign teacher back in Scotland so I can’t really blame ‘em. cheeky little scamps. however tomorrow i’m gonna bring the rain.... or try to, they might have umbrellas.’

Haha, thanks Ally, however in England we would have just said we had a teacher and run into town for the afternoon, but y’know, each to our own! (mum ... never happened! ....... much) So the next half of this blog will be written tomorrow night, after my first day of teaching, wish me luck guys! 

Well, I am sorry, today has been brilliant, so I believe it deserves a whole blog post of its own ...... read on folks!

Till next time (which is right now)

Ciao!

Flight troubles and other such adventures

Well sitting here in Miami airport writing this after a rather troublesome first leg of our journey! Well I say rather troublesome, but that probably strikes fear into some people heads (mum, dad and I am sure some other people!) but I can assure you that I and the rest of the Hondies are perfectly fine and ok.

This morning was so emotional, I cannot believe I am not going to see my closest family, well all of my family for that matter, for a year, but I will speak to them so all will be well and I pray that they are doing ok and being fed well enough when I am not there! :D

The 9 hour flight was great, went really well. Had our own screen to watch some really cool movies and TV shows on, including GLEE!! Now to those of you that know me, you will realize how much this made me smile, and to those of you that don’t, I am the BIGGEST GLEEK you will meet ....

.... however my seat was the only one where the screen wasn’t working, fan-bloody-tastic! luckily though, a few of the fellow Hondies let me switch with them every so often when they wanted a break, so I did get to have a sing-along and got the end the flight with the final fight scenes of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Soon we landed and as we were walking off the plane, and had got onto the sky train, our fellow Hondie, Cat, realizes she had left her passport on the plane!!! So all hell broke loose as she had to sort that out, and we were being forced to walk along the gangway to passport control. After getting through the finger print readings and trying to understand some strong american accents, there lay baggage claim (as we had to pick up our luggage  and then dump it off again so it could get to the plane), but of course, one of us was still up at passport control, so we had to pick up her bag and were then herded through yet another door! This is where we decided to wait a chill out for a bit and let Cat catch up. Me and Ali then decided to speak to a member of staff to find out if there is anything we could do, so she asked us out flight number and told us that she had to quickly check her cancelled list ... WHAT!! yeah, you ‘eard, her cancelled flight list, finally our luck had turned  and we were all good to go. So that brings us to here, sitting by our gate in Miami Airport, having a couple of hours to chill and relax, and perhaps to a bit of writing.

Just thought I would update you and let you know I am safe and well!

Till next time,

Ciao!! 

Flight troubles and other such adventures

Well sitting here in Miami airport writing this after a rather troublesome first leg of our journey! Well I say rather troublesome, but that probably strikes fear into some people heads (mum, dad and I am sure some other people!) but I can assure you that I and the rest of the Hondies are perfectly fine and ok.

This morning was so emotional, I cannot believe I am not going to see my closest family, well all of my family for that matter, for a year, but I will speak to them so all will be well and I pray that they are doing ok and being fed well enough when I am not there! :D

The 9 hour flight was great, went really well. Had our own screen to watch some really cool movies and TV shows on, including GLEE!! Now to those of you that know me, you will realize how much this made me smile, and to those of you that don’t, I am the BIGGEST GLEEK you will meet ....

.... however my seat was the only one where the screen wasn’t working, fan-bloody-tastic! luckily though, a few of the fellow Hondies let me switch with them every so often when they wanted a break, so I did get to have a sing-along and got the end the flight with the final fight scenes of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Soon we landed and as we were walking off the plane, and had got onto the sky train, our fellow Hondie, Cat, realizes she had left her passport on the plane!!! So all hell broke loose as she had to sort that out, and we were being forced to walk along the gangway to passport control. After getting through the finger print readings and trying to understand some strong american accents, there lay baggage claim (as we had to pick up our luggage  and then dump it off again so it could get to the plane), but of course, one of us was still up at passport control, so we had to pick up her bag and were then herded through yet another door! This is where we decided to wait a chill out for a bit and let Cat catch up. Me and Ali then decided to speak to a member of staff to find out if there is anything we could do, so she asked us out flight number and told us that she had to quickly check her cancelled list ... WHAT!! yeah, you ‘eard, her cancelled flight list, finally our luck had turned  and we were all good to go. So that brings us to here, sitting by our gate in Miami Airport, having a couple of hours to chill and relax, and perhaps to a bit of writing.

Just thought I would update you and let you know I am safe and well!

Till next time,

Ciao!! 

3 Days Left!

Ok, so it is getting ever so close to departure date now and my level of excitement is growing, but recently a few things have come up and made me realise how much I am going to miss people and things.

My cousin and his wife, have just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, called Amber, and this huge occasion on our family really hit home at the amount I am going to miss my family, and all our huge get togethers. When my family (aunts, uncles, cousins e.t.c) get together, it is honestly so much fun! Lots of food, laughter and most of all, drink, but it is not just that, it is the small conversations you have with people about any old thing, like your last cake making expedition, or their last trip playing golf, this things that may seem so trivial to a lot of you, mean so much to me and it is something I am going to miss hugely, especially as over there, I won't be able to speak naturally for a couple of months, having to think about my every word in spanish is going to be a drain on energy and emotions. But hopefully, after those first few months, things will start to settle and hopefully look up!

Also, I had to say goodbye to two of my best friends, I haven't known them long, but they mean the world to me! They make me smile every day and are always there for me, always there to offer advice and pick me up again! They are everything to me and without these two, I don't think I would be who I am today!

Sorry for the bit of a meaningful post this time, but I felt it was needed as I am feeling a little ill and wanted to say I miss people as won't be seeing them again!

Good luck to everyone in everything they do, and will speak to you soon!

Here are just a few pics that show my love,

So much love!!

Missed like crazy

So beautiful and charming! (the dog, not sister! LOL JOKES!)

Love these 3!

Till next time,

Ciao!

Problems from the start!

Ok so just doing a few things to prepare me for the year abroad, and so far it is not going to well, and my mum is adamant that when I land, all hell will break loose and I will be on the news and everything! I am loving the sense of pride she has!!

So there I was planning on getting some currency for when I am out there, may be useful, so went into Tesco's (which has just been refurbished) and went up to there new Travel Money kiosk, there was this boy (yes boy, not man) sitting behind the desk,

'Can I help you sir?'
'Yeah, I was just wondering if you exchanged Lempira here?'
' ....... (Blankest expression ever!) Sorry what?'

Exactly!  Didn't even know what one was and he is supposed to be the bloody travel money advisor!!

So he goes 'Bear with me a sec ...'  types something into his computer and then goes to talk to his supervisor , this old scottish lady comes over and he looks at her with the most confused expression I have ever seen and so then she nods, glances at the screen and says to me, 'So where is it you are going?' to which I reply 'Honduras, it is just below Mexico in Central America'

To which she then begins an argument with me over the fact that it is actually in South America! I am literally struggling to keep myself from laughing at this point at the hilarity of it all, and then hear her say through the microphone thingy 'Probs best to get dollars then ma'love'

Right so that went off to a great start didn't it? brilliant! Can't wait for the adventures that await me in the country where I can't actually spend any money because I can't get any!

Till next time,

Ciao!

The Journey Begins

Ok so here I go, hopefully the first blog post of many.

My Journey Begins

Very shortly (just over 2 weeks now) I will be getting on a plane with seven other volunteers to go and spend a year abroad with Project Trust in Honduras, teaching small under privileged children the skills needed in conversational english. This is such a huge thing for me, as it means having to move away from those home comforts we have all come to enjoy. I think the small things will get me soon, like not hearing the sound of laughter coming from the other room, not being welcomed by a loud session of barking every time I walk in the door, the smell of someone baking in the kitchen, all of these things may sound ever so trivial to you, but to me, these are the things that I think make a home, and are things I wish to take with me (ok maybe not my dogs, I am only allowed 20 kgs!!) just being able to have a laugh in tough situations and to make myself and others feel at home as much as possible, otherwise this year is never going to happen!

I will soon be having to pack my suitcase with all of the teaching supplies I have been buying on eBay, like bulk packets of blutac and board pens, things that are hard to get overseas, this alone seems weird as I am packing for a career in teaching, when I really don't have a clue what I am doing, but still, this is what makes adventure I suppose. I have never been one to sit idly by, I always jump in and especially work well under pressure, so I know things will get done, even if it takes me a while. I just have to thank those closest to me now, for all of the help they have given and will give me in the next few weeks and months. I couldn't have done it without a few of you and you will be eternally thanked for all of your help!

Well it was my leaving party last night, and while I did have a bit to drink, I still managed to see the reason behind the evening, saying goodbye to those I may not be able to see again. I will honestly miss you all so much and I will think of everyone who has helped me get to Honduras and who has helped me get to where I am today. Without any of you, I would have never even chosen to go travelling, or even been inspired to teach, I have to say that the people around me have influenced my character greatly, without them even realising it, making me more tolerant of certain things and people, more wary of certain situations, and more wary of how to treat people in all different kinds of situations.

Thank you to everyone, honestly from the bottom of my heart, I will miss you all.

Hopefully next blog to come soon, before I depart (be prepared to read some panicked text!)

Ciao!!