Spelling Bee 2011 in the Estancia

This year marked the first ever Spelling Bee in the Estancia Santa Gertrudis. Spelling bees in Honduras are typically only found in bilingual schools, but thanks to newly-created spelling bees in Spanish -found in New Mexico and New York- as well as thanks to H15 Youth Volunteer Erik, spelling bees are becoming more widely known in public schools.

The kids who participated were from 3rd to 6th grade. They were all very excited to be participating in a spelling bee and studied for weeks with their teacher Ruth, who has been taking them deeper into the amazing world of reading. At the judges table we had myself as the decider - I decided if the word had been spelled correctly. Alexander Nunez (who I work with in the Comvida office) looked up words if anyone asked for a definition. Berta Maria, the director of the Estancia, pronounced the words for the children.

As for the winners! Willian (center, left) came in 3rd place, and while there was no prize for 3rd he did win prize for Best Effort. He spent the most time studying. Also Willian is in third grade and remained in the competition longer than several fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Very impressive I think!

Pamela (top, right), a fifth grader, placed 2nd and took home a lovely prize of pencils, flip flops, and a cerfticate.

Josiel (bottom, right), a sixth grader, was our winner this year. He took home a nice prize of flip flops, pencils, a notebook, and a certificate.

Everyone worked hard for this spelling bee and the kids definitely have a higher interest in reading and writing. They are anticipating the next bee.

Theatre Workshop at Montana de Luz

At the end of May I went with my counterparts in the Comvida office and the Grupo de Teatro Maizales to an ophanage in Moreceli, El Paraiso - which is about 40 minutes from Danli. The director of this orphanage, Erika, is a buckeye herself, from my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. I found out about this orhanage because her husband Sergio, works at an elementary school that I volunteered at in Columbus Sergio told me about the orphange, and asked if I wanted to come and check it out. Also as it turns out there is a different group of volunteers that come from Columbus to the orphanage every three months, which I think is really cool.

Montana de Luz is an ophanage for orphaned or abandoned children, the majority living with HIV. For more information on the orphanage, you can visit the website. www.montanadeluz.org

For the theatre workshop, we divided them into two groups: children and adolescents. We taught them about theatre, using space, becoming a character, and finding and portraying different emotions. We put them into grous and helped them create and perform skits. Then we performed one of our own. The feedback afterward was good. The kids enjoyed the workshop.

*pictures to come later :)

Donkey Polo 2011

This year the 16th competition of Donkey Polo was hosted by new volunteer Ryan (second guy from the left). Donkey Polo has been a long standing competition in Peace Corps Honduras history, with Peace Corps volunteers on one team and the city of Yuscaran on the other team. Donkey Polo is like soccer except that the players are on donkeys and can only use mallots to hit the ball into their goal. Several volunteers came out to show their support for the event. I was one of the few that did not get in the game and ride a donkey, but I did play the role of cheerleader for my team.

While our team had strength in numbers, we were no match for the team of Yuscaran. Their team was full of players with years of experience playing donkey polo, while team Cuerpo de Paz was all novice. The game ended with a score of 4-0, a win for the home team. Our team lost but everyone had fun. Afterwards we were able to see all of Yuscaran and the show they had for the feria that evening. Yuscaran is a nice city with a beautiful park, if you ever find yourself in eastern Honduras.

My Experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras

This blog is about my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). The views expressed here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Peace Corps.

I arrived to Honduras in June of 2010 with 56 other volunteers in my training class: Honduras-17 (H-17). H-17 is comprised of three projects: Youth Development, Municipal Development and Protected Areas Management (PAM). I am an H17 Youth Development.  I was sworn in after three months of training with my fellow trainees.

I arrived to Danli in September of 2010, and have kept myself busy with several projects. (This is one of the reasons I am just now beginning a blog). So I work with three different counterparts: the school district, an elementary school for kids at social risk and COMVIDA - the office for youth and children. Besides training primary teachers in English and methodology weekly, I also work on projects at the Estancia Santa Gertrudis (elementary school for kids at social risk), and facilitate various trainings with the COMVIDA office.

I will write about the different work I am doing here, as well as write about my life as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Peace Corps service isn't just about the tecnical skills one brings to a developing country. It is also includes getting to know a new culture, integration, exploring new land, culinary adventures, and making new life-long friendships.

I will write about my different adventures as often as possible, so look out for upcoming entries!