The Lone Gringo

I want to begin by apologizing for not writing earlier, but no one ever told me how to use this CANFF blog until now. I’m going to try to sum up my experiences, but this could be a lengthy blog. Anyway, my name is Kyle Faucher. I’m from a small, rural town in New Hampshire and I am a recent graduate of St. Anselm College, also in NH. I ended up down here in Roatan because, although I graduated with a degree in business, I was not ready to join the working world. I was interested in doing some traveling and I knew that teaching English in Latin and South America was a cheap way to do that. CANFF really sparked my interest because I am a soccer player and I was intrigued by the organization’s use of soccer as a means of communication.

So I arrived in Roatan on a HOT Saturday afternoon. I was met at the airport by Ramon, Dariz and one of her friends. They had a nice handwritten sign for me and everything. We went straight to one of the fields in Coxen Hole to meet Luis because his U-14 team was playing. After the game we piled about 15 players in the back of a pickup, and me with all my luggage in the backseat, for the 45 minute drive to Oak Ridge. I wish I had known the saying TICA (This Is Central America) at that point because that was a perfect example. Once we got back to Oak Ridge I was brought to my new home and I got settled into my new living space. It was definitely a shock at first, but I quickly adjusted. I was thankful to have some English television channels to hear some familiarity in the confines of my room.

The first few weeks of being in Oak Ridge took some serious adjusting. It was tough being on my own because I had no one to talk to. My Spanish is decent and I know enough to get by, but the extent of my conversations was minimal. Needless to say, I definitely experienced some lonliness in the first few weeks. The month of September was kind of crazy in the classroom because September is a very civic month for Honduras. There was always something going on so there wouldn’t be class. September 15th is Honduran Independence Day and there was a big parade all through town. They spent about an entire week practicing for it, the band even more. It was awesome to experience though. It was such a huge event for everyone and it was cool to have that cultural experience first hand. So that week I didn’t do much teaching at all, and the first week I was getting acquainted. So the first 2 weeks didn’t entail much teaching on my part.

By the 3rd week of September I finally started to get into more of a groove. I had more of a regular schedule in the classroom and I was getting more used to my surroundings. For example, showering by dumping a bucket of water over my head was a bit of a shock at first, but I got used to it and now I’m a pro. The food took some adjusting too because it’s pretty repetitive. Just about every meal consists of rice, beans, and some type of meat. So whenever I get some other kind of variety it’s like Christmas dinner for me, but at least it gives me something to look forward to :p. My class schedule is relatively full, but not overwhelming. Since I have been the only volunteer I had to teach a few more classes, but it’s not like a had other things to do. Everyday I teach Kindergarden in the morning at 8am. After that I go to the school to teach 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade until about lunch, but it’s different everday. In the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday I teach 5th and 6th grade classes for about 2 hours, then head over to the field for practice. I’m actually registered with Luis’s oldest team to play in Honduras so I’ve had the opportunity to play in a few games, which are quite competitive. Every night I teach the adult classes at 7, which are usually pretty entertaining. For me those were the easiest classes because they were there because they wanted to be and they asked a lot of questions which I could usually answer. 

Overall my experience in the classroom has been a worthwhile experience to say the least. Like I said I graduated with a degree in business and this was my first time on the teaching side of a classroom. It definitely had it’s ups and downs, but that’s expected, especially in such a foreign place like Oak Ridge. The language barrier was obviously the hardest thing to overcome because I couldn’t always get my point across as clearly as I would have liked. However, there were always at least a few kids in class that were really interested in learning English, and they encouraged me to continue on. Once people started recognizing me around the community it made me feel much more welcome. Students would always say “Hi Teacher!” whenever they saw me walking. Many students and people around the community even started remembering my name which was comforting to hear, even if they couldn’t really pronounce it (I am officially KY around here because Kyle is tough to pronounce for a native Spanish-speaker). I really feel like part of the community now and people are already asking me when/if I’m going to return.

I have made a few trips on the weekends to see different parts of the island, but getting around is not as easy as I had hoped. The first weekend I went to the West End to hear some English because I was a little overwhelmed after that first week. I met some really cool people over there and it was beautiful, especially West Bay Beach. I met some diving instructors and their lifestyle on Roatan seemed pretty awesome. They also made me really want to check out the under water world, which I have yet to do. However, the West End is a little more expensive as it is a prime tourist location. This past weekend I also took a trip to the mainland and went to La Ceiba. From there I went into the mountains of the rainforest and stayed at the Jungle River Lodge for a night. This place was awesome. It’s basically like a backpackers hostel for people traveling through Central America, or a cheap place to stay with your family. There I went rafting in the Rio Congrejal, which was a blast, and hiked up to La Cascada in Pico Bonito National Park, which is a 180 ft. waterfall in the jungle. It was incredible to see up close. I met some really interesting people there. This coming Friday I’m finally going diving at the Reef House Resort which is located right here in Oak Ridge.

My time here is dwindling down so I hope to make the most of my remaining days. I apologize for the length of this blog, but a lot has happened in the past month and a half, and this is only a glimpse. I hope this helps some of the future volunteers, even if I did skip over a few things. My one piece of advice would be to fully embrace the community because that’s the only way to get the full experience.

-Kyle

Ingrid & Lynette – July Volunteers Overall Experience

This blog entry is long overdue but will hopefully give future volunteers a bit of an idea of what our month in Roatan was like.  We only had consistent internet for the first few days of our time on the island, so I hope this entry will summarize the overall experience that we had.  Lynette will follow with an outline of the curriculum that we covered and how the students progressed in our classes.

We arrived in Roatan on a Sunday afternoon and were brought to Profe’s house in Oak Ridge where we would be living for the next four weeks.  I have to admit that I wasn’t entirely prepared for all that we faced in those first few hours.  It was a lot to take in and the fact that Lynette and I spoke almost no Spanish certainly added to the culture shock.  One thing we were happy to discover right away was that the family that we would be staying with was immediately welcoming and very friendly.  Their house is modest by our standards but one of the nicest in the area, and we quickly got used to our new home.  The children in the house were also friendly, inquisitive and made us feel a part of their family.

We met with Luis that first night and he filled us in on some of the logistics and arrangements that needed to be made.  He came by a few of our classes on our first day of teaching but after that our run-ins with him were few.  In hindsight it definitely would have been helpful to have an English speaking representative inOak Ridgewhile we were there.  We found that communicating was difficult so most of the time we ended up figuring things out for ourselves.

After a day spent working out our teaching schedule with the principal of the school and the other two July volunteers Lynette and I were excited about our first day of school.  Lynette had brought along tons of ESL teaching books and manuals, learning games (numbers, letters, shapes, colours and animals bingo just to name a few), pronunciation aids as well as plastic letters to make necklaces for the younger students.  We also had a whole bunch of fancy pencils, erasers and bracelets to reward the kids who made the most effort (which they loved).  One Friday night we had our whole home stay family playing animal bingo around the table which was a blast and the kids immediately got hooked on the educational game.

The teaching tools were incredibly useful and a constant source of inspiration for our lesson plans.  We spent a great deal of time planning our lessons and took our teaching role very seriously.  We had given up a lot to come down to Roatan, and we wanted the kids to get as much out of us being there as possible.  This meant teaching morning classes (kindergarten or grades 2-4), coming home and planning/preparing lessons, teaching afternoon classes (grade 5 on Mon & Tues), more planning, and then evening classes.  We’d have a late dinner and between the heat, the early morning starts and the endless energy of the kids we were fast asleep well before 10pm most nights.  The work load wasn’t too much but it kept us busy.

As for the students they very quickly found places in our hearts.  We learned many of their names in the first week and would say hello when we saw them in the streets and at recess.  They seemed to be equally taken by us and would call out to us on the street and pile us with hugs at school.  We were amused by their endless energy and the joy they found in even the smallest things.  Despite having so little these kids are full of such happiness and we found this constantly inspiring.

When we did have some free time we’d convince our guide Bryan to take us on walks around town.  We loved these walks as it gave us a chance to get outside of “The Bite” and see more of the surrounding area.  This included a walk into the forest where we hiked and swung on great big vines. Bryanwould try his best to answer our endless questions about life on the island.  We also made arrangements to leaveOak Ridgewhen we had a chance so we could see even more of the island’s diversity.  On the weekend of the big soccer tournament we were happy to be inOak Ridgeto take in the matches and help out with whatever needed to be done.

Overall Lynette and I truly loved our time working with CANFF in Roatan.  The experiences we had and the kids we taught will stay with us for many years to come and we’re both so glad that we took part in the program.

~ Ingrid

 

One Volunteer’s Experience

Peter Bigelow, 19, of Lakeland, FL was one of our summer volunteers this past month.

Bigelow came with his brother, Luke, 22, for five weeks working in the classroom teaching English and doing various community service projects.

Taking Spanish at Southeastern University, Bigelow wanted to do more than practice his Spanish this summer.

“I was interested in spending time in another country during the summer to practice my Spanish, and experience another culture so different from mine,” said Bigelow.

He set his goals and achieved them!

“My main personal goal was to improve my conversational Spanish fluency.  After my time in Roatán I found myself more comfortable in conversation and I was able to listen and speak Spanish more smoothly while not having to translate mentally what I wanted to say before saying it.”

Growing up in Lakeland, FL, Bigelow wanted to experience another culture.

“It was an amazing experience to be able to spend a month being part of another culture and spending time with the community in Roatán.  I loved staying with a host family in the middle of Oak Ridge. It let us live inside the same community that we were teaching and playing soccer in, rather than coming into the community to teach and then leaving each evening to go back to a hotel. Living amongst people many of whom spoke only Spanish also forced me to practice my Spanish, which was a great thing,” explained Bigelow.

The young man also had much to say about working with CANFF, “I think it was well organized as far as CANFF has control. Some of the days classes were canceled at the last minute or our schedules were changed, but that was a result of the school and their much more relaxed culture and I did not have a problem with it.”

Besides improving his bilingual skills, Bigelow learned to appreciate what he has been blessed with.

“This trip has given me a greater appreciation for some of the everyday comforts of home, such as potable water and clean streets, but it has also showed me that just because people do not have some of these things does not mean that they are not as happy as people that do have such things. Most of the people in Oak Ridge were happy and enjoyed their lives as much or more than many Americans do even though they lived below what we would consider “comfortable.’ They enjoyed spending time with their family and friends.”

He enjoyed spending time with his brother this summer, as both were the only fluent English speakers. However, sibling bonding was not the best part of the trip.

“The best part of the experience for me was being part of the community and spending time with the people and experiencing the differences in culture. I loved teaching the children and playing soccer with the other guys as well as getting to know the people from Oak Ridge during our time there.  The community is a very friendly place and a place that is easy to feel a part of after only a week or so of being there.”

If possible, Bigelow plans on returning, but he is grateful for at least walking away with the experience and plans on encouraging friends and more family to take on the adventure.

At the beginning of the trip, Bigelow’s computer broke leaving the blog inactive for bit, but he promised to update it soon.

 

-Stephanie Schroepfer

Picture Album

Profe, Profe!

After our second week, we’re beginning to feel right at home here in Oak Ridge.  During the week we’ve been teaching grade school and kindergarten in the morning, middle school in the afternoon, and high school or adult classes at night.  There’s 8-10 classes each day, but between the four of us, it’s just the right amount to keep us busy without overwhelming us.  The classes are fun and most of the kids pick up the English pretty quickly and are excited to learn.  There’s a Seventh-Day Adventist revival in Oak Ridge this week and their tent is set up on the soccer field which means no soccer this week.  That didn’t keep us from working on cleaning up the field Friday morning; Luke and I and the kids from Luis’ teams worked all day moving tires and benches for the upcoming tournament and taking the rocks and clay chunks out of the playing field to make it easier on the cleats.  It was hard work, especially under the hot sun, but it was satisfying to see our work when we finished.

When we are walking around the community, all of the kids are excited to see us and always say “Hi teacher!”  Everyone knows who the “gringos” are…

All four of us spent the weekend relaxing at Club Natale Bay Villas: A nice resort in Brick Bay run by Joseph Natale, one of the guys who works with CANFF down here in Roatán. It was great to spend the weekend relaxing on the beach.

Recharged from our weekend, we’re ready to take on another week of teaching this week.

First Week

Well, Luke’s and my first week is gone, and it’s been a great experience so far. The first few days were tough, especially because our Spanish was a little rusty and only a few people down here speak English. After the first few days though, we got used to communicating solely in Spanish (and Bryan helps us out with any problems we have). We’ve done a lot in the week that we’ve been here: we’ve taught classes at Dionisio and the Kindergarten classes, taught English classes at night to adults in the community that want to learn English, played and watched some great soccer, and attended a seminar that taught the teachers here how to teach P.E. The first week is the toughest because we’re still learning what to do. Yesterday Lynette and Ingrid got here from Toronto to share the workload with Luke and I, so we’ll only have to teach half as many classes as last week.

Our room is pretty comfortable, especially with the cold AC. The food that Profe is making us every day is fantastic; I’m going to be spoiled when I get back home and don’t get this treatment…

I’m growing to like the community more every time I’m out and about as the people here are very friendly and easy to talk to. The soccer is really fun and competitive.

Luke and I and the girls are looking forward to this next week of teaching capped off with a weekend on the beach at Club Natale or taking a tour and snorkeling.

Salud!

More review

Today was my first day with the other 2nd grade class, as well as a 3rd grade class and two 4th grade classes. I was surprised to see that although students were divided into grades, alot of the younger students were more advanced in English than the older ones. Also some students already knew a good bit of English, especially the English-speaking islanders. Here is what we did in each class today.

2nd grade A- reviewed colors (red, blue, yellow, green, brown, pink, purple), numbers 1-20, and played number game, reviewed alphabet and body parts and students were very receptive and remembered alot; may be ready for greetings on Thursday

4th grade A- reviewed same things as 2nd grade A but had trouble with more advanced colors; may be ready for greetings on Thursday after a brief review

3rd grade A- need more practice with body parts and alphabet (mainly R, J, and Y), enjoyed “Head, shoulders, knees, and toes” but didn’t quite nail pronunciation today, need brief review before going into greetings

4th grade C- students are on different levels, some already know English and other don’t know much and are having trouble with numbers 1-30, need more review but it will be tricky to keep the more knowledgable ones focused and not bored while helping along the ones who are struggling.

Overall, it was a good day and it is fun learning where all of my students are in their learning. I enjoy the hugs I get from them while walking to the next class, and the little remember me from yesterday which is very encouraging. So far, they are positively responding to our presence and I am enjoying the time I get to spend at the school.

-Emily

First Day for Elementary Students

This week we began teaching the regular elementary classes. On Mondays and Wednesdays I teach 1st and 2nd grades, and Tuesday and Thursday I teach one 2nd grade class, as well as 3rd and 4th grades. Today with the 1st and second graders, I had every intention of going in and teaching the materials given me by the CANFF staff. However, the students actually needed a review of what the May volunteers did with them, which were primary colors, numbers 1 through 10, the English alphabet, and body parts. It was important to recognize that although we had a set of lessons to follow, there was always the chance that we would need to be flexible, work with what we had, and meet the student’s needs, regardless of whether or not we accomplished what we had already spent so much time planning. At the end of the day, we are here for the students, and it is our job to make sure they fully understand their English lessons, even if they are cut and dry. It’s not about us, it’s about the kids.

-Emily

First class

This past Tuesday, we taught our first evening class. It was the only class of the week due to the rain. However, it went very well! I had the level 1 class and Sarah taught level 2. My class was very enthusiastic about learning. I went in thinking they would need help on basic words, numbers, colors, and pronunciation, but towards the end they were really wanting to learn more on conversation and dialogue. I honored their requests, but I saw that they really needed to go back to some of the basics, like vocabulary, before they could master conversational language. It would be great to make sure the students are assessed before they go into a certain class. That way they are not falling behind, sitting in their seats staring off in confusion, or bored silly. But one thing Jason told us was that in the end it is our decision. If students want to touch on a certain topic but have not yet mastered the basics needed to comprehend the desired topic, it could be detrimental to their understanding. We will begin teaching the elementary students on a regular basis on Monday, and the evening classes will start regularly, as well. We will see how these classes go, but overall the enthusiasm and curiosity of the students is very encouraging and makes teaching them even more enjoyable.

 

-Emily

First Day In Honduras

Today me and Emily arrived in Roatan safe and sound! It is absolutely beautiful here! The island is breath-taking! Luis and Milton picked us up from the airport and later they drove us to our hotel, with air conditioning and food waiting for us! We were starving after our flight and the food was delicious! After we ate and changed clothes, we headed over to the soccer field where we got to watch and root on the CANFF team. It was so much fun and my favorite part of the day! Plus they won the game!
Although I am intimidated to speak the language, I am trying. We have a week to get situated and then start teaching English next week.

Sarah Ann