Traveling Honduras

"Denguex: eliminate the symptoms of Dengue!"

At first, seeing this billboard on the side of the bumpy highway near El Paraiso, Honduras, I thought I was dreaming. I mean, I knew my chloroquine had some funny side effects, but Dengue dreams? That's just a little too strange. However, our quick stop for a landslide covered road reassured me that I was, indeed, awake. Oh, how I love traveling!

On Mace and Wedding Rings

Mace in hand, wedding ring firmly in place, I was ready to face another long walk to the academy.

On the way I passed three goats at the large, open air market, three guys who assumed I must be a prostitute (and offered me $70), and several street dogs.

I was lucky. I never had to use my mace. That's not to say I didn't have it firmly gripped and ready to fire before; one scary taxi experience brought me way too close to needing it. Never let a taxi driver take your bags to stow them before you have seen the vehicle and approve of it. This one was unmarked, even though the driver showed me the right official documentation inside the bus station. However, he let another man climb in the car at the last minute, so it was just me and two guys in an unmarked vehicle in the middle of a strange, large city in Costa Rica. Not a good place to be. My mace was in my hand (still concealed) and ready to use if necessary.

The moral of the story? Never travel to Central America without mace and a good (cheap), fake wedding band.

"For Your Safety, We Have Paid Off the Gangs."

I had never been to a staff meeting before. I had just joined a large, private language school in Guatemala. It was my very first day, and my very first encounter with my boss. She kicks off the staff meeting with this lovely declaration: "Because your safety is our number one priority, we have paid off the maras." At first I thought I had heard wrong. Maras---as in gangs?

However, her next words dispelled all illusions of a simple misunderstanding. Apparently, any business that does not pay a protection fee to the local gangs risks having their staff kidnapped and held for ransom, or their buildings vandalized.

I guess I should have realized what I was in for when I had to show my ID to the armed guard at the door, and pass another guy wielding a machete. I guess it should have been some sort of clue. However, I am a perennial optimist. I assumed that this was just a routine security measure. Maybe not.

Online Games

I have become addicted to Yahoo's Bejeweled 2. I am constantly playing the free web version while I work the computer. I prefer the classic, untimed version, where you need to link jewels to form chains that are three jewels or longer. Four jewel-long chains create a bomb, which explodes the next time you use that jewel to form a chain. Chains with five jewels form a hyper sphere, which eliminates all the jewels of the color of your choice.

When I get bored of this game, I turn to Super Text Twist. You have two minutes to form as many words as possible using the supplied letters. You need to find the longest word possible to proceed to the next level.

I also enjoy Bookworm. You link letters on books to form words. If you form too many three letter words, a burning book will appear on the screen. You will have to use the letter on this book to form a word before it reaches the bottom of the stack or the fire spreads to other books. If a burning book reaches the bottom of the stack, the library burns down.

What are your favorite online games?

Spanish Radio

Definitely check out Batanga Radio for free Spanish music while you surf the Net. You can even set up your own personalized radio station, featuring only the songs that you like. Alternatively, you may click on the A-Z artist index, to find your favorite artist and listen to their radio station. I am currently listening to Juanes, and Kalimba on occasion. To listen to Juanes Radio, click here, and then click the play button.

Happy listening!

Hauling Wood and Tornado Drills

I just got back in from hauling more firewood. We heat our house with wood, so we get a lot of exercise. First you have to stack the wood once it's delivered, then you need to haul it into your basement. Finally, you need to stack it again. It's a constant cycle, but the fresh fire smell is unbeatable.

Today we had a tornado drill at school---even with constant reassurances, my one little first grader was terrified. She huddled up by me, and held my hand the entire time. Poor kid!

I have just one more day left in my internship. I'm going to miss the kids so much! There are a couple little ones that I absolutely adore. There is one little boy who is just so creative. This doesn't come out in the classroom. He gets overwhelmed so easily, and he just shuts down. When I work with him one on one, though, he flourishes. He has written several short stories on whatever subject we studied that day (he's a second grader). He loves working the copier, and has a good grasp of the mechanics of the machine. I'm going to miss him.

Reading

I am a confirmed book addict. I go to the library, and come out with my backpack bulging and my arms full of books. I need variety. I'm very ADD, and love switching from book to book. I usually have three or four books going at the same time.

I'm not terrible picky about the subject of my books---right now I've gotten into a homeschooling jag. If I ever have kids, I want to homeschool them. I've worked in both public and private schools, and nothing can beat the individual attention and flexibility that homeschooling offers.

I also have travelogues, books on Attention Deficit Disorder, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. I have a couple of real light reads, just to balance it out. What are you reading right now?

Strep Throat

I just got back from an overnight babysitting job for two kids with strep throat. It wasn't until about midnight that I learned that one of the boys not only talks in his sleep, but also sits up and yells. Let me tell you, was I ever in that room fast.

We made pasta salad, ate a lot of fruit, and played with legos. It was a very low key day, which was good since the family's dog burst into my room repeatedly in the middle of the night and hopped up on my bed, tail wagging happily. Now, this is okay if it were, say, a poodle. However, an enormous lab is a whole different matter. Every time, I woke with a start, trying to figure out what in the world was going on. Each time, I wound up face to face with a huge dog. Not my choice of a wake-up call, but whatever works.

I am going to sleep well tonight.

Book Challenges

I have spent way too much of the time I should have put into my American Lit essays looking up book challenges. There are just so many interesting challenges out there---there's the Love Bites Reading Challenge (which entails reading the entire Twilight series), the Decade Challenge (where you read books from nine consecutive decades), the Juvenile Literature Challenge (which is a good one for me right now, as I work in a school with young readers), and even more.

Right now I'm trying to read one classic a month. So far I've read Like Water for Chocolate, Rip Van Winkle, and Murder on the Orient Express. This month I'm reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. Most of these aren't traditional classics by any means, but they are closest I'm going to get until my crazy school schedule clears up.

Check out these blogs for some more reading challenges:
The Reading Challenges
Lynda's Book Blog
1 More Chapter

LSU Independent Study Classes

I discovered Louisiana State University's Independent Study classes when I was a sophomore at a crazily expensive private school. Even with half my tuition paid for through an academic scholarship, I was still struggling to pay for school. However, I was able to graduate a semester early by taking these online classes. These classes saved me nearly $10,000.

There are so many different classes available, from French to Calculus to Women and Literature. Three credit classes are $250 each. This is cheaper than even state university courses on a per credit basis, and the courses can be completed anywhere you have Internet access.

I was able to complete three credits toward my English major while teaching English in Guatemala. I could access my course materials online, and submit lessons electronically. I usually got my lesson back within a week.

The courses usually consist of fifteen lessons and two tests. The tests are proctored at a local university if you are outside the New Orleans area. If you are abroad, you can take the tests at a nearby university, or at a US military base.

These courses are convenient, inexpensive, and interesting. Take a look! You won't be disappointed!

My Lovely, Lovely Resume

For some reason the blog was trying to post in Hindi. Strange, because I don't know Hindi.

Anyway, I have been working on my resume today, and debating whether to include the fast food restaurant job that I only held for a month. My reason for leaving was good enough, as almost all of my coworkers were either doing drugs on the job, or selling them. It wasn't a good work environment, to say the least. How in the world am I going to explain that on a job interview?

I then realized that a lot of my jobs only lasted a few months. I had to leave one of my English teaching jobs in Guatemala after my pastor student proposed to me (repeatedly.) My bosses were not backing me up on that issue, and I just could not continue working there. Also, they never wanted to pay me. They either conveniently didn't have change for a large bill when pay day came around, or they told me a sob story about how they are doing so many good works for the public, and couldn't I just accept partial payment for my work? I was an American after all. What American isn't just loaded with cash? Given that I was working three jobs at that time to pay for my room and board in a local home, I couldn't take a pay cut. I had $25,000 of loans coming due for college, and was pretty strapped for cash. I know how hard it is to make ends meet in Guatemala, and I don't begrudge their efforts to save some money. I just wish they could understand that not all Americans have a lot of money readily available.

Both of these jobs were infinitely interesting, and I wouldn't have missed the experiences for the world.

Travel Abroad

I recommend traveling abroad to anyone. The feeling of utter freedom, knowing that no one knows you there, is amazing. You can be the person that you just can't be at home.

I jumped off a bridge, I hitched in a semi, I broke several bones and experienced socialized medicine. I encountered tarantulas, and rode in the back of pickup trucks during a cattle drive. I swam in a cool pool beneath a hot waterfall. I lived with a Mayan priest and his family. I learned to dance Marimba, and participated in a Mayan ceremony.

It was exhilarating and terrifying. It was an experience. I was able to do things that I never would have had the courage to do at home. And I would recommend this experience to anyone.

Coming Out

I am slowly but surely coming out to my friends and family as gay.

This weekend I came out to my cousin. He was supportive, and as a fringe benefit, my little sister no longer uses the expression "That's so gay."

So far that brings the grand total of people who know up to fifteen, plus the members of the gay/straight alliance at college and my writing class.

I actually came out first to my three roommates. I had been dating a guy for a couple of weeks, and I was starting to realize how incredibly uncomfortable I felt. Hand holding was fine, but kissing? The best comparison I can make is it is like a straight man trying to kiss a man. It was awkward, and just didn't feel right. It wasn't planned, but I ended up asking my roommates how you could possibly break up with a guy if you're gay. It's just something that advice columnists never cover. They were surprised, but they helped me figure it out. I was honest with him.

The guy was so sweet, and told me how brave I was to tell him. I expected him to be shocked, or angry, or in denial. He was so great, though. We're still friends.

I told my parents next, on my birthday weekend. I had my van packed up and ready to go before I said anything. I didn't know how they'd react. I figured that since it was my birthday, they couldn't get too angry. They took it surprisingly well, though my mom still wonders if I'm going to hell. I come from a very conservative church.

My sisters were very supportive. One told me that if any of us turned out gay, her bets were on me. That made me laugh.

My parents still fluctuate from day to day over who they're willing I tell. First they say that I can be as open as I want (except for with my grandpa---they say he'll have a nervous breakdown and never recover if I tell him), then the next day they tell me that I shouldn't even tell my therapist, because then it's in my permanent records. I haven't told anyone in my tiny town yet---they freaked out when I turned vegan, who knows what would happen if they knew I was gay. I don't have to live here much longer, but my family does. I can keep quiet for them. It just feels like I'm denying who I am.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Education

I'm sorry I haven't written in so long! I've been bogged down in papers for my two credit Education Immersion class, lessons for my online Louisiana State University American Literature class, and my Readings in Education course. I finally got my five two page papers out, which is a huge relief, but I have four more to go.

One issue that has come up repeatedly throughout my internship is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Over half of the kids in the school I work in suffer from prenatal exposure to alcohol. They have impulse and attention control issues, which makes class real interesting. There is one second grader who deals with anger management issues, and has repeatedly thrown his chair. It's sad to see how much trouble these little kids have in school, just because their mothers drank while they were pregnant.

According to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, when a mother drinks, that alcohol passes straight through the placenta to her child. If her blood alcohol level is 0.08, so is the baby's. This harms the baby's brain development, in particular the areas devoted to memory, attention span, and impulse control.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of overly pessimistic information out there. I ran into one source that claimed that half of FAS-affected adolescents have spent time in jail. It went on to claim that seventy percent of adults with FAS could not live on their own. I have not seen this in the community that I work in, and was surprised to see it in a mainstream city newspaper.

While the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are frustrating, especially considering that they are completely preventable, they do not prevent FAS-affected children from succeeding in life. They just need a little help.

I have seen one little boy make huge strides in impulse control over the course of the last three months. At the beginning of the quarter, he could hardly go two minutes without some sort of outburst. He'd get frustrated in math, and steal a classmate's worksheet. A classmate would say something to him, and he would jump over his desk and threaten to punch the kid. His teacher came up with the idea of a sticker chart to motivate him to change his behavior. When he gets five stickers, he gets two suckers. He earns stickers by staying focused during class, being nice to his classmates, and completing his work. Just three days after his teacher instituted this chart, he shocked me by politely asking for my help, instead of stealing another kid's worksheet! He even used the word please!

I'm not giving up hope. I can see how hard these kids are working. They've already overcome huge obstacles in their short lives, and they will overcome more.

Worrying for the Little Ones

Sigh. I love the kids at my elementary school, I really do, but sometimes I worry for them. When they come in with dried blood on their noses, wearing torn and dirty clothes, I wonder who takes care of them. When I see little seven year olds hoard their snacks because it is the end of the month, and their family's food stamps have run out, I wonder what happened to all of that food. When a little boy comes to school with bloody, wind-blistered hands, I wonder who watches over him, and makes him put on his gloves. I wonder. And I worry.

Eventually, you just have to give up the worry. That doesn't mean that you don't give out extra snacks on Fridays, so that the little kids will have a little more food over the weekend, or that you don't hit up Goodwill and clearance sales for spare gloves and coats. It means that you realize that worrying won't solve any problems. There's prayer, and referrals to food banks. There are mandated reports over suspected cases of abuse and neglect (no, not every time---kids can be boisterous and fall and wreck their clothing and get plenty of bumps and bruises. It's only when it happens day after day and week after week. It's only when their excuses don't make any sense, and there's a new boyfriend at home, or their mother runs out food stamps way too early in the month for it really to have been spent on food and not traded for alcohol or drugs).

If you just keep worrying, you'll go crazy, and everyone knows that a crazy teacher is no good for the kids. Sometimes it's just time to remember that you're doing all you can, and pray for the rest of it. Send some prayers this way.

It's My Birthday!

Since today's my birthday, I've decided to take it easy. Instead of the six papers I should finish today, I'm calling it good with three. Rather than endless studying, I'm taking a break to cuddle with my little cat and watch some Gilmore Girls. I'm not going to stress about the huge mound of laundry I need to wash. I'm going to shower, read a little of Uncle Tom's Cabin (for my online Louisiana State course), and plop down with my laptop to write a little bit. Stress can wait for tomorrow.

Procrastinating

It is just a little bit possible that I am procrastinating. Horribly. About completing a college class that ends in just five days. What do I have left to do, you may ask? Just five two page papers and a few surveys. Oh, and an informal interview with a student, where I go to class with a child all day and note their interactions with their classmates, their reactions to how the room is laid out, any particular learning issues, and their background. Nothing much.

Yikes.

Italian? German? French?

I am a travel addict. In the past year, I have traveled by bus from Guatemala to Panama and back again, and have also gone by car from my home state to Washington and Missouri. I get restless when I'm in one place for too long.

This has caused me to relentlessly acquire new languages. I worked at a language academy for awhile. They taught English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Chinese. Teachers could sit in on group classes for free. I learned a little French and Italian there. I picked up a bit more from fellow travelers.

I also studied books out of the library once I returned home, and borrowed language tapes. However, the most effective source I found was LiveMocha.

This website offers free Rosetta Stone style classes, with the advantage of an online language community. There are native speakers of nine different languages available to correct your accent as you participate in optional online chats. You can start out in the beginner's class, or the more advanced class if you have a background in the language. Right now, they have classes in Italian, French, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, English, German, Hindi, Icelandic, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Take the chance to fulfill one of your lifelong dreams of learning another language! I'm trying three different courses right now (French, Italian, and Mandarin). What will you try?

My Dreams

I keep seeing great lists around the internet about things we wish to do in life. Here are a few of mine (in no particular order):

1) Visit Hawaii

2) Adopt a child

3) Find beach glass from a lightning storm

4) Climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty

5) Run a half-marathon

6) Go paragliding

7) Seen the Mona Lisa in France

8) Ride in a gondola in Venice

9) See the Sistine Chapel

10) Travel to Spain

11) Visit Alaska

12) Go snorkeling

13) Visit the Great Wall of China

14) Get a Master's degree in Elementary Education

15) Work in a library

16) Donate blood four times a year

17) Visit the Palestinian Territories and Israel

18) See the Changing of the Guards in London

19) Visit the Lincoln Memorial

20) Go to Washington, D.C.

21) Publish a book

22) Sit on a jury

23) Donate an organ

24) Learn to knit

Crazy Times in Education

Life at my internship is never dull. Whether it's being hit on by eighth-grade boys, dealing with a sprained ankle, or having a second-grader jump over his desk to threaten to punch the boy who I told I'd sit by, life is interesting. I wonder if I'm getting a skewed view of the educational system. I went to a choir concert last night in a town less than an hour away, and the kids all looked so much younger. They didn't look as world-weary as my internship kids. The kids in my town are more sheltered---they're actually allowed to be children. I wish my kids had that.

On a completely unrelated note, my college just overcharged me by $7,000. This has got to be a joke, but I'm not laughing. Somehow the part-time credit load did not compute. I met with three different people at the beginning of the semester to explain how I was only taking six credits, and completing the others elsewhere. They cut my scholarship in half. I can understand this (maybe). Yet I have to ask: do they have liability insurance, in case they give an overworked student a heart attack? I can deal with one $6,500 bill a semester, but two? I wish for once they would undercharge me.

It's time to have some fun with the Financial Aid Office!

Whooping Cough Exposure

It seems like I just can't find a sane place to be. If I'm not being shot at in Guatemala, I'm being exposed to whooping cough at the elementary school I'm interning at in the States.

According to the CDC, Pertussis (or Whooping Cough) "causes severe coughing spells, vomiting, and disturbed sleep. It can also "lead to weight loss, incontinence, rib fractures and passing out from violent coughing." Rib fractures? Are you kidding me?

Anyway, one child was pulled from my room yesterday and positively diagnosed. Another person tested positive a week or so ago.

The pertussis bacteria is spread through droplets in the air when an infected person coughs. In an elementary school, the air is rife with little cough droplets. Time for a little cover your mouth health presentation!

As I cannot have the Tdap (I've had a tetanus shot in the last two years), I am stuck washing my hands incessantly, avoiding sneezing and coughing kids, and breaking out the face masks as a last resort. Life is never boring here!

Return from Guatemala

So, I'm back from Guatemala. My posts have been really erratic, which, unfortunately, I can't just blame on being gone. I could try to blame them on a horrible case of food poisoning on the small island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, or the frantic rush to get my few remaining belongings and I through the protests and riots in Managua in time for my flight, but that wouldn't be totally honest. Instead, I'll just chalk it up to the crazy fun of everyday life, and typical procrastination.

Aside from an intestinal worm picked up from some bad juice on Ometepe and some lingering after effects from being shot at, I'm happy and healthy. I'm enjoying the cold, fresh water that can actually be drunk straight from the tap, and the lack of bedbugs and fleas. It's amazing how one case of bedbugs can really mess up a trip! You have to wash all of your clothes, break out the flea powder and bug spray, and avoid the classic cheek kiss used for greeting until you are bedbug and flea free. There is nothing like coming home to your own bed!

I really miss my host family and the baby. They were so incredibly sweet and kind to me. They made sure I always felt comfortable, and included me in all of the family events. I got to learn how to dance Marimba, and the grandma taught me how to wash my clothes by hand and grind rice for tamales. I will be forever grateful to them for keeping me sane and healthy.

Crazy things I've done (and have yet to regret)

I keep seeing this list circling around the Internet, and thought I would finally join in. Italicized items are the ones that I've done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (while sleeping on my front lawn)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (and a volcano)
9. Held a praying mantis (and, unfortunately, a tarantula)
10. Sang a solo (in Chinese, for my church youth Christmas service)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I'm going to call vegan cooking an art)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Twice, in Central America)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Only an overnight bus---trains were too expensive)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (on a semi and in the back of a pickup truck)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (at the Panamanian border while waiting for it to open)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person*
39. Gone rock climbing (only on rock walls)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (I sang deaf karaoke on the bus going to San Cristobal, Mexico)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (and then slept on the beach)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (Karate and Judo)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I've donated blood and sold plasma)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades (and then jogged through the swampy woods)
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (Five, actually)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (The motorcycle couldn't go fast on the cobblestone roads in Guatemala, but it was still too fast with the rain and unkempt roads)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (does fish count? then, yes)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (Well, a tracfone)
99. Been stung by a bee (no, only a jelly fish)

Giving while still in debt

As I am currently $50,000 in debt, I have little money to actually donate to charity. However, I have found some other options to monetary donations. For the Internet lovers among us, there is http://www.thehungersite.com/, where every click generates food for the hungry (the advertisers pay for the ad space, and the money is then given to charitable organizations). You can click once per day on each computer you have. There is also http://www.freerice.com/, where twenty grains of rice is donated for each correct answer you give. You can be quizzed on vocabulary, multiplication tables, geography, art, French, Spanish, German, or grammar.

Alternatively, you can declutter and donate excess clothes and school supplies to a wide variety of organizations. The local school is always happy for donations of crayons, writing paper, and glue. They are also more than happy to take all of the excess tape and scissors off of our hands. Not only is the house a little cleaner, but someone else gets the benefit of all of the unused clutter.