students have problems too (& a few more circus pics)

Today was report card day.

Here in Honduras we handle grades differently. We cancel classes and invite (require) parents to come to school to pick up their child's grades.

I was fortunate to have only one parent mad at me. She wanted to know how I could say that her son was helpful in my class and then only give him a "GOOD" for conduct. Apparently to these parents "GOOD" doesn't really mean good. After she interrogated me the homeroom teacher lectured me and told to give out more "VERY GOODs" and "EXCELLENTs" next quarter.

Most of the parents were really nice though and I learned a lot about my students. Sometimes with all the challenges I'm dealing with I forget that my students are going through crap too. For instance, two of my students just found out that their dad, who's currently working in the U.S., is divorcing their mom and already engaged to another woman.

So many of my students have one or both parents in the States. One of my best students told me that he would trade everything to be with his mom. Another one of my students told me that women are really important to him and he wants to treat them really well, to be different from his dad.

I wish I could just be my students' friend. Being their teacher is too much responsibility. I'm better at just being a friend or mentor.

Anyway, after a morning with parents I went for a run and then delivered newspapers with my circus article to my friends at the circus. They loved it! I'm becoming a well known face aroudn the circus. Here are some photos that I took before leaving:








Brave or stupid? My circus friend grabs the tail of a tiger.

questions without answers

Today I was eating lunch and the randomness of me being in Honduras dawned on me like never before.

I mean, I have wondered why I'm here, but today was different. Today I didn't have an answer. At least not right away.

One question led to many more...

1. Why do I live where I can't speak the language? I don't even have a great desire to learn
Spanish.
2. Why am I in Latin America? My real love is Africa.
3. Why do I spend so many hours and so much energy at a job where it honestly doesn't matter?
4. Why did I voluntarily sign up to work with high school students?
5. Why did I commit to working at the most disorganized, dysfunctional and greedy school I've ever seen?
6. Why am I teaching? I have no training for this!

... You get the idea.

Interestingly, as the day progressed, the weirdest memories popped into my head, answering that initial question that started this whole nightmare of thought.

I haven't figured out what is going to get me out of bed tomorrow, but each day is new. I'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes. Hard times are unavoidable, no matter our location. The important thing in those times is choosing to remember better times. We cannot forget.

Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre

If you've got an extra $2 laying around consider using it to save a dance & drum studio from closing.

The Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre (DDDC) is looking for 50,000 people to donate $2 each to save their studio.

The DDDC is a non-profit that opened in New York City in 1992. It lost it's building facility at the end of 2008 due to financial problems associated with the national economic crisis. According to their website:

"Djoniba Dance & Drum KIDS is dedicated to crossing cultural, economic and racial boundaries by providing children with safe, fun classes in dance, drum and martial arts. Since its founding, more than 600 children have received full or partial scholarships to take part in the program. The Centre is committed to inspiring young people and helping them gain discipline, confidence and unity through the power of the arts."

To learn more about the Centre or to donate click HERE! It takes less than five minutes!

circus

The Circo de Renato has been in town for about a week now. I've been twice. I've even written an article about it and researched the treatment of animals in circuses. There's something about the circus that is so fascinating.

I can't get my head around the lifestyle: moving from city to city with a caravan of performers and exotic animals; performing twice a day every day for 12 months!

Many of the performers told me they were born in the circus. It's all they know. It's their family.

I learned that the Circo de Renato has a certified teacher travel with them so that the circus' kids will have an education.

The ringleader, Renato (pictured below backstage), took over this particular circus in 1975. His two young boys have a trampoline act and his beautiful wife is one of the opening acts.

Some call Renato the Best Clown in the World. He is amazing. He designed the show and plays a part in the most dangerous, exciting acts. He is a trapeze artist, animal trainer, comic, musician and brave enough to drive one of three motorcycles in the great, metal Cage of Death.

He said he was sad to see fewer animals in circuses today. He said this makes the circus a less magical experience.

Performing animals is a sensitive subject. Google it and you undoubtedly get page after page of PETA-like websites calling for the end of all animal use in circuses. I disagree.

Too often I think people jump to conclusions such as "whips is evil," "the tricks animals do are painful or unnatural" or "circus animals are unhealthy." These simply aren't fair observations for EVERY circus. To read more on this from an expert click HERE.

In conclusion, I love the circus. And in Latin America it provides a place for people who are interested in more than just soccer to explore and express their interests. It exposes people to exotic animals, a variety of music and alternatives to playing soccer and clubbing.

beauracracies

Got the sh#$ kicked out of me today at work. And not by my students, as you might suppose. Instead the deadly blows came from my short, quintessential-teacher-looking, Mormon boss.

It all happened around 8:45 a.m. I had managed to get my 10 B class quiet and reading. The lights were dim and sigu ros was lulling them into an unusual state of calm. Then, SWOOSH! My boss barges in the door. First it's to complain about mistakes with my grades. Then she notices that one of the students is wearing the wrong socks (we have uniforms). She proceeds to yell (in Spanish) and shake her head disapprovingly at both of us. Then she has the brilliant idea of inspecting EVERYONE in my class. She drags four boys and me outside the classroom and again yells and nods disapprovingly. All the while I'm trying to accomplish my first silent reading hour. It was going well before she came.

Why did she disrupt my class and completely disregard any thought for MY classroom rules? Why did she decide, AT THAT MOMENT, to deal with a very important issue like uniform when I myself was finally having a good class?

When I have the answers to those questions (and hundreds others like it) hell might as well have frozen over.

i want to join the circus

Had an eventful weekend. Here are some highlights from Saturday night:

1. The night started with the Renato Circus. It was amazing. I asked the manager afterward if there was any room in the circus for me. He just laughed. So instead I'm thinking about writing a book entitled, "Behind the Makeup: Circus Stories". Would you buy it?

2. Next was a painting exhibition at Ki'Bok, my favorite cafe in La Ceiba (the only cool one). My new friend Sonia, a Brazillian painter, was featuring her work. It was a delightful occasion.

3. Last I went to a festival in Corozal. Essentially the festival is just a reason for people to dance and drink all weekend long. Here you see older women singing and dancing punta, the traditional dance of Garifuna communities. The ladies were really sweet and tried to teach me.

living alone = creative exploration?

Living in my own apartment in a foreign country is fun at times and lonely at others. This year I'm trying to be more productive in my times of boredom (i.e. I'm trying to watch less TV). To show you how this new year's resolution is going here's a pic of a poster I created a few days ago from an old calendar. I love it!

sometimes it's cool being a teacher...

Just wanted to share this essay with you. It was written by one of my 11th graders. It's so sweet and I promise I didn't pay her to write it!

In case you can't read the picture, here's what is says:

"I think Ms. Moberly has done an excellent job with us in English. No English teacher has ever been as enthusiastic to give a class like her. She stimulates our learning by playing and having fun. At first, most of us didn't like to write, and had a horrible way of writing and expressing in paper. Now, personally, writing is one of the easiest things for me. One of my favorite subjects has always been English, and now more. The way she has opened us to learn to talk and write in English will always be there to help us in the future. Writing essays is not always boring. It all depends on the theme. She always gives us a fun topic, or sometimes lets us choose. Some still don't like to write. Personally I always over-write the amount of words she assigns. She has inspired me to write. It makens that when I grab a pen and paper I feel free and let all my ideas flow through. I never thought I would write abotu Shakespeare or one of his novels. In fact, I was never interested. She has shown us that English is not boring. Instead, it can be mroe fun than what you may expect. I hoipe future generations get to meet her if she still teaches in teh future. I hope she keeps making a difference in others' lives as she has made in me."

Monday.

Hi!!! Here's what I look like today and an hour-by-hour look at what I've done so far. Enjoy!

Today:

8 a.m. Wake up. Turn on T.I.'s new cd. Get ready for the day.

9 a.m. Go to school. Try to print copies of my final exams only to find that the copier is not working. Typical.

9:30 a.m. Go to the mall with Micah to make copies. Decide to only copy what I will need for tomorrow because I don't want to pay for all those copies!

10 a.m. Get coffee at Espresso Americano with Micah in the mall. See our friend Eric. Have a business meeting about starting a publishing company in La Ceiba.

11 a.m. Leave the mall. Brainstorm about other business ideas. Try not to itch all of the bug bites on my feet. Be embarrassed by how gross they look.

11:30 Enroll in Spanish School! Yay! I get a special deal since the school is owned by the parents of one of my students. My one-on-one class starts tomorrow from 4 to 6 p.m.

Now (noon): Go home. Blog about my day. Talk to my landlord about finally paying my rent for last month. Tell him about my leaking sink. He promises to work on it. Make a Kanye/T.I. playlist. Think about how I should spend the rest of my day.

I'm BACK!

After about 18 hours in transit and various flights, buses and taxis I arrived back at my Honduran apartment last night.

I've never returned to a foreign destination after a few weeks of absence. It's definitely a weird experience, but good at the same time. I almost feel like I'm seeing Honduras with new eyes. The initial fear and nervousness I felt when I first moved here last August is gone. I know what I'm getting myself into now. I'm not exactly looking forward to school, but I'm excited about what the next six months will bring.

So far my time back has been rather uneventful. I've spent all day unpacking and grocery shopping, stopping now and then to play with my landlord's son and his friend Willy. I gave them each a fun dip candy and now we're best friends. It helps too that I have a guitar! Enjoy the photos:

My landlord's son ... I can't remember his name.

Willy


Rockstars

review of '08, goals for '09

Many people breathed sighs of relief when the clock struck midnight signifying the end of 2008 ... for many they were just happy to have made it to the new year. For me 2008 was mostly great. Here's a review:

1. My college newspaper won first place for general excellence beating out every other college newspaper in Arkansas.
2. Our newspaper also placed 5th in the nation at a conference in San Francisco.
4. I chaperoned a newspaper staff trip to San Fransisco. It was AMAZING!
4. I graduated!
5. I made new friends and had an awesome summer job working at a hotel in San Diego.
6. I moved to Honduras, became a teacher, got my own apartment for the first time and sort of started speaking Spanish.
7. I had my first international article published.

On a sadder note, my Grandma Vicky died last summer.

My goals for 2009:
1. To not get so mad at my students. They say, "Miss, you don't look as pretty when you're mad."
2. To write an in-depth piece about gold mining in Honduras (and get it published!)
3. After my contract is up in Honduras I want to support myself working as a journalist full-time.