November 3-December 12: Field work and interviewing at La Estanzuela.
My research has been taking a lot turns and detours over the past few months, but I've primarily been working in a local village and interviewing parents, teachers, and students about their personal experiences with the school system and education in general.
November & December: Graduate School Applications: Round 3!
I applied to nine graduate programs in Public Policy and Administration and shelled out a painful amount of money in application fees. Happily, the process is now over and now I can devote my time to figuring out how the hell I'm going to pay my tuition.
November 20-23: Tegucigalpa Trip.
Graham and I traveled to Tegucigalpa with Nick & Nikki, Tyler & Paige, Megan, and Mario (Graham's co-workers at Mayatan Bilingual School) for the Discovery School Conference. I chilled out in the lobby of the swanky Teguc Marriott Hotel and analyzed my field notes while they hit up workshops on classroom strategies with teachers from the most elite schools of Honduras. The Honduran Secretary of Education, Marlon Brevé Reyes, whose children attend The Discovery School, opened the conference by informing the audience of educators that "Honduras has a very low-quality education system." I can't help but wonder if that would change if some of the people in power started sending their children to public school . . .
November 27: Thanksgiving!
We hosted a Thanksgiving potluck at our house. Graham and I were committed to having the Thanksgivingy-est Thanksgiving ever. So, we adorned the house with historical information about the holiday (in English and Spanish, of course), paper Turkeys, Thanksgiving comics, we tracked down A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and we cooked a ton of food. We ended up with a ton of food and a good chunk of the local ex-pat crowd at our place.
November 28-29: Border Crossings Bicycle Style.
Graham participated in the Travesia Montecristo, a three day bike ride through Honduras and Guatemala. Graham and our friend Nick quickly became notorious among the Honduran bikers for their use of locally purchased $75 Bacini bikes. Check out Graham's blog for more info.
December 5-6: Un Año!
To celebrate one year of dating bliss, Graham and I decided to splurge and stay the night at Hacienda San Lucas, an awesome locale just outside of Copan Ruinas. Though the prices are a bit steep (at $120 a night Hacienda San Lucas provides the most expensive night's lodging in Copan) our experience was well worth it. Our five course dinner was made of all local food and prepared using traditional cooking methods. It was delicious.
After I woke up and did some early morning yoga at the outdoor meditation space, Graham and I took some time to explore the extensive grounds surrounding Hacienda San Lucas. We had to check out Los Sapos (the toads), an area thought to be an ancient fertility spot for the Mayans. All that remains is a carving of a toad, a man's face, and something that is undeniably phallic in appearance. The experience made me think twice about touching any toads in the near future.
December 16: Return to the USA!
Graham and I woke up painfully at 3:20AM to the incessant howling of a cat in heat outside our window. By 4:45AM we were on our way to the bus station, Graham hauling my suitcase packed with Christmas gifts over his shoulder and me dragging Graham's 55 lb suitcase over the cobblestones. The 2km walk was pretty unpleasant, but we caught our bus and were at the airport by 10:00AM. We parted ways at the airport and I finally arrived home in Sodus at 1:30AM EST, a mere 21 hours after my day of travel began. Then, it started snowing!
December 17-January 1: Home sweet home.
After four months in Honduras, I got to return home to spend some quality time with my family. It went by way too quickly and I can't wait until everyone comes to visit in May!
We hosted a Thanksgiving potluck at our house. Graham and I were committed to having the Thanksgivingy-est Thanksgiving ever. So, we adorned the house with historical information about the holiday (in English and Spanish, of course), paper Turkeys, Thanksgiving comics, we tracked down A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and we cooked a ton of food. We ended up with a ton of food and a good chunk of the local ex-pat crowd at our place.
November 28-29: Border Crossings Bicycle Style.
Graham participated in the Travesia Montecristo, a three day bike ride through Honduras and Guatemala. Graham and our friend Nick quickly became notorious among the Honduran bikers for their use of locally purchased $75 Bacini bikes. Check out Graham's blog for more info.
December 5-6: Un Año!
To celebrate one year of dating bliss, Graham and I decided to splurge and stay the night at Hacienda San Lucas, an awesome locale just outside of Copan Ruinas. Though the prices are a bit steep (at $120 a night Hacienda San Lucas provides the most expensive night's lodging in Copan) our experience was well worth it. Our five course dinner was made of all local food and prepared using traditional cooking methods. It was delicious.
After I woke up and did some early morning yoga at the outdoor meditation space, Graham and I took some time to explore the extensive grounds surrounding Hacienda San Lucas. We had to check out Los Sapos (the toads), an area thought to be an ancient fertility spot for the Mayans. All that remains is a carving of a toad, a man's face, and something that is undeniably phallic in appearance. The experience made me think twice about touching any toads in the near future.
December 16: Return to the USA!
Graham and I woke up painfully at 3:20AM to the incessant howling of a cat in heat outside our window. By 4:45AM we were on our way to the bus station, Graham hauling my suitcase packed with Christmas gifts over his shoulder and me dragging Graham's 55 lb suitcase over the cobblestones. The 2km walk was pretty unpleasant, but we caught our bus and were at the airport by 10:00AM. We parted ways at the airport and I finally arrived home in Sodus at 1:30AM EST, a mere 21 hours after my day of travel began. Then, it started snowing!
December 17-January 1: Home sweet home.
After four months in Honduras, I got to return home to spend some quality time with my family. It went by way too quickly and I can't wait until everyone comes to visit in May!
hmmm. apparently i have a new identity! no longer amyvdzd, i have become - supergirl!
ReplyDeleteTherese! That was the best abridged-two-months-story I've ever read. I commend you. :-)
ReplyDeletehey, you. i know i have no right to demand blog updates from you, since i will spend 10 days with you next month, but i would really like to know what you're up to out there!
ReplyDelete