Finally!

After another Spanish class this morning, I finally got to start volunteering at the local school. I really had no idea what to expect, so I brought a bunch of the flash cards I made. On the way there, Rafael explained to me that the school is one of the poorest in La Ceiba and is right down the hill from the city landfill. The kids don't have much and get really excited when they get visitors. 

The school has 3 classrooms (all with outdoor entrances), an office, and a play area with two soccer goals (just metal pipes). The kids leave for lunch and then come back from 1 until about 430. One of the three classrooms has air conditioning, and I think there may be a computer in each room. I only used the whiteboard today. There are between 15 and 20 kids in each class. 

When I first got there, I was introduced to the principal (who doesn't speak English) and told to enter a classroom (which ended up being a 4th grade class). The principal told the kids to greet me and then motioned for me to begin. Not quite what I expected.  I wasn't really planned to teach anything yet, but I introduced myself to them and told them why I was in Honduras. Then, I asked if any of them knew words or phrases in English. Typical responses were "thank you," "hello," "my name is," and "nice to meet you." They also knew some colors and numbers. One kid in the 5th grade class raised his hand and said "come on baby." He got a laugh out of that one.  I asked for each of their names and proceeded to teach them names of sports, family members, and colors. The kids spoke very quickly so I had trouble figuring out what they were saying most of the time. When they repeated words in English, many sounded like they had a speech impediment. I know now how I must sound to them! The teacher left right after I started teaching and was gone for most of the lesson. 

During recess, a few of the kids asked me if I wanted to play futbol (soccer), so I of course joined in. It was very hot today, so I grew tired and sweaty quite fast. There was one ball for the whole school, and it was in really rough shape. I will have to look around for a new soccer ball for them. One of the little girls offered me some of her snack of caña, which I believe to be sugar cane. I politely accepted, chewed on it for a bit, and then spit it out when she wasn't looking.  

We had a nice long recess, and then it was off to grade 6. I pretty much taught the same lesson, and this teacher (a man) sat at his computer doing something with the principal the whole time. Kids were leaving throughout my lesson, so I think they were doing some sort of testing. Following that, I moved onto the 4th grade classroom that was quite a lively bunch. I could tell right from the start who the troublemakers were. The teacher sat in the back of the room playing on her phone while I taught, but she did do some disciplining of those three boys and made them move their seats. Toward the end, I ran out of things to teach, so I asked the kids what they wanted to learn. One little boy said "una cancion, maestro" (a song, teacher). I started singing happy birthday in Spanish, and he said, "no, no, en español!"  I sang it to him in English as well, and then he asked me where his cake was. 

I had so much fun working with the kids despite the fact I was not ready at all nor could I understand most of what they said. The classrooms have very little, the kids have very little, yet they are so happy  and full of life. I am eager to return tomorrow with some supplies for them and an American football to teach them how to throw. I am sad that I will only have two weeks to work with them and need to figure out what are the most important things they should know in English. Below are pictures of me with the 4th and 5th grade classes. 

Spanish phrases of the day: "silencio" and "paga atencion" which mean "quiet" and "pay attention." I'm sure you can figure out why I chose those today!