Special Guest!: Camilla

Name: Camilla
Grade: 2 (Just finished 1st grade)
Age: 6
Favorite Animal: Cat
Favorite Flower: Rose
Favorite Movie: Tangled
Favorite Food: Rice and Beans
Favorite Subject: Math
Favorite Disney Princess: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Color: Pink
Wants to be: a grocery store cashier or a ballerina
Other info: She is the younger sister of Toby and Ben. She has tons of energy! She loves to swim and play on the hammock. She just recently lost her two front top teeth, bringing the total to 4 lost teeth. She came and hung out with us today and sat with the kitty, Mila.

Student Profile: Toby

Name: Toby
Grade: 7
Age: 12
Birthday: February 18
Soccer Position: Midfield
Favorite Musician: Rihanna
Favorite Movie: Hot Shot
Favorite Food: Lasagna
Favorite Soccer Team(s): Manchester United and Real Madrid
Favorite Player(s): Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo
Favorite Subject: Literature
Wants to be: Professional soccer player or a soccer coach
Other info: He is an avid fisherman and prankster. He enjoys playing XBox and soccer. He loves Churros and ice cream. He has his scuba diving certification. And he believes he is the funniest person in the world.

Student Profile: Ben

Name: Ben
Grade: 5
Age: 10
Birthday: May 8
Soccer position: Defense
Favorite Music: Reggae
Favorite Movie: Cowboys & Aliens
Favorite Food: Spaghetti
Favorite Soccer Team: Liverpool
Favorite Player: Luis Suarez
Favorite Subject: Science
Wants to be: a pilot or a soccer player
Other info: His hair doesn't normally look like that but he wishes it did. He is learning to play the guitar. He has lots of energy, loves to laugh, and likes to sleep in.

Lemuel

Lemuel is Peter's 5 year old cousin. He has tons of energy and lately we have been playing with each other more and more because his school is done until February. He also helps me work on my Spanish and I quiz him on English words - we did colors this morning. He has a fantastic laugh and always seems to be smiling. Yesterday he came over and watched a movie in my apartment and fell asleep sitting up so I had to carry him back to Peter's house and put him in his bed. This is a picture of us this morning after he jumped on my back as I was getting ready for school. And yes that is a headband I'm wearing because my hair is getting a little long.

"The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop." - Mark Twain

Giving Thanks

A week ago marked the three-month mark of my stay in Ahuas. It being Thanksgiving today, I felt that it would be a perfect time to mention those who have made my time here so great.

- Gerard and Norvelle: They hired me, feed me, and have made me feel welcome in a new place. They are also two amazing doctors who have helped countless of people at the clinic.
- Jarle, Yngvild and Camilla: Jarle is a great pilot and flies around Honduras on a daily basis. Yngvild is the main chef of the household and makes fantastic lunches and dinners. Camilla always keeps a smile on my face with her energy and joy.
- Peter, Tobi, and Ben: These three have worked so hard and have made my job much easier. They do their homework, study, and ask great questions. Class is a blast with them because they are always cracking jokes and having fun while they learn.
- Scott, Elga, and Nathan: Scott has walked with me down to Ribra many times and we have worked together making cement blocks. He also invites me over for a weekly game night and hosts a weekly movie night at his house. He and Elga, his wife, are two of the teachers at the Pre-K, Kindergarten and First grade school. They are excellent teachers and great parents to Nathan, who is a very funny almost-two year-old.
- Friends and Family back home: Everyone back home has been so supportive of my experience here in Ahuas. If it weren't for them, I don't think I would be here right now.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." - Henry van Dyke

Sorry 4 The Wait

It's been awhile since my last entry but I promise it's not (completely) because of laziness. Our internet connection comes from someone in La Ceiba, who gets it from someone in Wisconsin. We pay La Ceiba, he pays Wisconsin. However, last week our internet shut off because the person in La Ceiba stopped paying the bill and the folks in Wisconsin consequently shut off the internet. Makes teaching a little difficult when you use an online curriculum. Luckily we have a backup of sorts, an internet connection that runs through the phone tower. But because of the daily usage, it tends to work only during the early early morning. But everything is back up and running.

As for new things that happened during that communications blackout, there are a couple. Two weeks ago a bunch of us went to Ribra again and this time Jarle came. When we were just about done with swimming, Jarle told us that he brought his pistol with. He let each of us shoot three rounds at a plastic bottle up against a sand pit. Another first for me.

The second update is that I am now the "coach" of Team Clinica, Peter's soccer team. I say "coach" because it's not like I'm running practices and drills or anything. These boys just want to play. All I do is tell them what position they're playing and make substitutions. But it's fun because I'm getting to know more of the kids and they're forcing me to use my Spanish. So far we are 2-0 in this new league. Wish us luck!

"Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is." - Vince Lombardi

Roomies!

This week I have some company up above the operating room. Four doctors from the States - Bud and Tina from Arizona, Julie from Idaho, and Bob from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota - have come to volunteer for a week. All them are very nice people and I’ve really enjoyed talking with them, even Bob, who is an avid Packers fan. It’s great to see successful professionals donate their time and efforts to give to those in need. All to often you see people move up in the world and forget what and who is behind them. If there are any doctors or nurses who are looking for an adventure and want to really challenge themselves, the clinic is always looking for volunteers. If you or anyone you know might be interested, send me an email at kbejarin@gmail.com and I can give you Dr. Rudy’s contact information.

“My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.” - Jane Austen

Los Bandidos: Part II

There I was, lying on this beautiful beach, listening to the waves and seagulls, and soaking up the sun while sipping an ice cold Pina Colada served in a coconut, when all of a sudden -

BEEPBEEPBEEP! BEEPBEEPBEEP! BEEPBEEPBEEP!

"mfngmfnhello?

"Hey Kristian. It's Scott. Someone is trying to steal boards again. Grab Jarle and come down here."

"mgnfmgmmmkay."

So, at 11:30pm while still half asleep, I stumbled around my room grabbing whatever shirt, shorts, and shoes was closest to me (I went sans socks because I figured, in my half-sleepwalking state, it would have taken ten minutes to put them on). I woke up Jarle at his house and hopped on one of his bikes (an adult bike this time) and we headed down to the base. Luckily this time the moon was out so it was bright enough to see a ways ahead. Unfortunately, we missed the thieves again but we've started to brainstorm some other ways to find out who keeps trying to take the boards. I have a good feeling about next time, whenever that may be.

"The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal." - Jimmy Breslin

Shoveling Ahuas Style

One of the first things I listed on the Pro-Ahuas chart when making my decision was that I wouldn’t have to go through a Minnesota winter of shoveling snow. Unfortunately, here in Ahuas, I have had to shovel endless piles of another four-letter word that starts with S but is brown:

Sand

The main ingredient, or solvent (Peter just finished a science unit on chemistry so I had to throw out some of the vocab), in the cement mix is sand - about eighty large shovel-fuls of sand per bag of cement. The sand is found in marshy areas that are about a half-mile from the base and has to be dug out from under a layer of dirt. Then, we have to load it onto a trailer, bring it back to the base, and unload it. Pretty tiring stuff.

And with sand, if you get thirsty you can’t eat a mouthful of it; you can’t make sweet forts out of the piles; it’s not as fun throwing it at unsuspecting friends; and I’ve never heard of someone successfully creating a “sandman”.

I never thought I’d say it, but I miss shoveling snow.

Mom & Steve - No, you cannot save that statement and bank it for a later date.

“Even castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.” - Jimi Hendrix

Hurricane Rina

Some of you may occasionally look at the weather in Honduras. Currently Hurricane Rina is just off of the northern coast of Honduras. It is a Category 2 hurricane (1 being the calmest and 5 being the fastest winds) that looks like it will be heading towards the Yucatan in the next few days. I just want everybody - coughMomcough - to know that we're going to be well out of harm's way here in Ahuas because we are far enough inland. The only bad weather we've had was the last five days have been rainy. Today is actually so nice that I took a 2.5 mile run at 5:30am, got to watch a beautiful sunrise, AND got some laundry done.

Please pray for those in the way of the storm, but know that I am/will be just fine.

One last quick note. I've gotten some questions regarding where I get my quotes. I get most of them from brainyquote.com


"For the man sound of body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously." - George Gissing

About Last Weekend...

Well! Last weekend was quite eventful! Thursday afternoon I flew to La Ceiba to get my residency all figured out. However, once we got there, we found out that we had to go all the way to Tegucigalpa to turn in our paper work. We bought tickets that day and took the 35 minute flight to Teguc at 7:30am Friday morning (side note: the flight attendants still somehow managed to pass out drinks and snacks and collect garbage before we landed). When we got to the immigration office, we were bumped from line to line. We finally got to the right place, but then we were told that we needed two 5cm by 6cm photos. So, Uda (the Norwegian girl staying at the base) and I took a cab to the mall to get our pictures taken at a photo studio. But, when we got there the guy said they can’t do 5x6s, only 5x5s, but maybe the place downtown could do it. Unfortunately we were starting to run low on cash and time. We spent the next ten minutes trying to communicate to the man if he could put a 5x6 on to a bigger page and then cut it. Eventually, he said he could but he had to make four of them which is why he didn’t offer it in the first place but why wouldn’t you be nice person and just ask that in the first place!!!

Deep breaths, Kristian. Deeeeep breaths.

Anywho, we got the photos turned them in and everything turned out just peachy with our residency. We just have to wait a few weeks until our residency cards are ready. We headed to the airport to catch our 2:30pm flight back to Ceiba. But, I’m sure you can guess what happened next. Ding! Ding! Ding! That’s right - our plane was two hours late.

Well we finally made it back and flew back to Ahuas Saturday morning. Sunday night, normally a restful, relaxing evening, ended up being the conclusion of the eventful weekend. As we were wrapping up dinner at the Hofstad’s Yngvild got a phone call from one of the girls at the base. Remember when I mentioned that if something isn’t bolted down or locked up it tends to disappear? Well there are a couple hundred boards for the new house that are kept under the base that has no fencing. The girls called because apparently someone was trying to steal some boards - something which had previously happened a few nights earlier. Hearing the news Jarle, Scott and I grabbed bicycles and headed down to the base. Unfortunately I was stuck with Benjamin the 5th grader’s bike which was too small so I had to stand up and bike the entire time. To add on to that, to be sneaky, we turned off our flashlights, but with this being Ahuas, I couldn’t see a darn thing. I’m amazed I didn’t run into a cow or just wipeout on the dirt. When we got near the base, Jarle flipped on his flash light and twenty feet in front of us were two guys, each walking away with a 10-foot long board on their shoulder. They didn’t even flinch until Jarle yelled and chased after them. We didn’t catch them but we did recover the two boards. The next hour was spent nailing boards to other boards to make them secure. Well, Jarle did the nailing. I held the flashlight.

Needless to say, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. Toooo much excitement.

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” - Helen Keller

The Whiteboard Schedule

The Whiteboard

 

Here's my whiteboard. Each block is a day. The black letters are the subjects: History, Composition, Literature, Grammar, Science, Math, and SPelling. The red writing is the in-class work. Green is for review and test days. Blue is for homework due the following day. Purple is for science labs.

And I do realize the OCD-like nature of the color-coding but it keeps me organized.

Ah, who am I kidding, I just like the way it looks.

Official Teacher Stuff

I feel like I’m probably a bit overdue to talk about my how my class with the three boys is going. Some of my Gustavus professors read this so I figure if I don’t talk about the aspects of my teaching soon, they wouldn’t be too happy (this one’s for you, Jane Schuck). Although there are many different parts of teaching here that are challenging and/or exciting, today I will just focus on one concept which all teachers have to deal with: motivation.

From research and experience, I’ve found that motivation can be developed in the following ways: make a positive connection with the students; let students’ interests and prior learning guide planning to give lessons relevancy; and give students some control - a sense of autonomy - in what they learn. Some of these I do better than others, but I want to show all of them so you can get a sense of my teaching.

It might not come as a surprise to those who know me that developing a relationship with my students comes relatively easy for me - probably because I still feel like a kid most days. With Ben, Tobi, and Peter it was even easier because I eat meals, play games, watch movies, and generally interact with them more than any regular classroom teacher can. Being their friend as well as their teacher, sometimes they do get a bit too relaxed but they do understand that I know what I’m talking about and respect me as a teacher (and they know that if they screw around too much I can just tell their parents at lunch). Because they trust me as a friend and a teacher, they are more willing to complete tasks that may not interest them as much and work hard almost every single day.

Because my curriculum is so mapped out and dense, it is hard to plan individualized lessons. However, I do make a conscious effort to connect their new learning to prior lessons. I also try to relate the subjects to their lives. Even doing little things, like using one of their names in a sentence explaining participle phrases or using a movie we just watched to explain themes, goes a long ways to keep their attention and keep them interested in the subject matter. That’s half the battle right there!

Even with the curriculum, I’ve found that giving the boys autonomy has been tricky but easier than I expected. First of all, I put their entire weekly plan on a white board and divide up the days so they can see what they have to accomplish. Every morning the boys take a look at what they need to get done and pick what they want to work on. They know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone so I figure they should be able to plan their days. Giving them control within the curriculum has been more difficult but composition has been a great creative outlet. They often get to choose the subjects, characters, or themes to write about. Peter has wrote a short memoir about his first time to camp, Tobi just finished an autobiographical piece on his trip to Denmark, and Ben is currently working on a research paper on Concorde, the first supersonic passenger airplane. Ben got his subject a couple weeks before because the history channel had an hour-long piece on the Concorde, which really piqued his interest.

Obviously, Ahuas is very different from most teaching jobs. However, the philosophies that I use in my classroom are similar to those of “regular” classroom teachers.

Sorry for the length of this. I just had to make sure people didn’t think my job was all soccer games and swimming the river. I’ve got a rep to protect, knowwhatimsayin?


“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” - Raymond Chandler

Carpentry 101

My project for last week was a bit of carpentry. Just about every house in Ahuas is raised about nine feet off of the ground by posts. The area underneath the house is large enough to walk underneath and is often used for storage. However, in Ahuas, if items are not bolted down or locked up, they tend to disappear. So, people that would like to have a storage space must fence it in and include a door with a heavy lock.

Anyways, Scott - a fellow Minnesotan - asked if I would lend him a hand in replacing the fencing around his basement. I willingly agreed to help because I figured How long could it really take? A few hours, tops? We only needed to do three sides because the forth was securely covered with wood. And I was right - it only took us a few hours... per side. The project ended up spanning three days. It took so long because it was so darn tedious having to pull off boards, pull out a ton of tiny cramps that held the fencing to the wood, cutting the fence, attaching boards at the top and bottom to seal it, and finally putting new cramps back on.

After we were done and had a tall glass of cold water, I turned to Scott and said, “I better make this whole teacher thing work because I have got to be the worst carpenter ever.” Looking at the fence you can track my path of destruction by following the cramps and nails that are bent and mashed to all hell. I don’t think my hands (and especially thumbs) have been this sore in quite some time. Fortunately, there is a new house being built at the base so hopefully I redeem myself. We are also starting to hand-make cement bricks for the new school house as well. We have 54 done. We need 5,000. That is my after-school project for the foreseeable future.

"I'm waiting for the time when I fail - because we all fail - and I'm ready, I'll take up carpentry." - Adrian Edmondson

Soccer Game Pictures

The row of spectators, a.k.a. the out-of-bounds markers.

Team Clinica (in orange) vs Team Rosa

The wooden goal posts with the Clinica goalie (yellow) and two spectators.

The ball got kicked up into the top of the tree directly above the man in white in the center of the picture. The tree is a good 25 feet tall and very skinny. What you can't see in this picture is the kid all the way at the top, getting the ball out.

Ahuas: A Whole New World

I’ve been going to church most Sundays. Unfortunately I can’t really understand anything because my Spanish is quite limited still and the speakers switch back and forth from Spanish to Mosquito, losing all hope for me to follow along. I keep going mostly to reflect and listen to the music, because they do a multitudinous amount of singing. They have drums and the occasional guitarist but they always have someone playing the keyboard, which is hooked up to a speaker system. Like most keyboards, it has some sample songs programmed in where you can just press a button and let it go.

Well, this past Sunday, the service ended and as I was walking out, someone turned on one of the songs and wouldn’t you know it, “A Whole New World” from the Disney movie Aladdin started blaring through the speakers. I figured someone might turn it off, but nope, I heard it resounding through the church as I made my way back to the house. I’m still not sure if it was on accident, someone being funny, or what it was.

The version of the story that I like to think is true, is that someone felt that the song could be interpreted to mean that God can “show you the world” and all its “shining, shimmering splendor” and that the “Princess” represents the people and that we must “let our heart decide.”



Yeah, probably not.

"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit." - Khalil Gibran

Read All About It!

I have been filling much of my free time with reading, something that I have not done in quite some time. I've already read a few books and have a few more on my list. If you have any recommendations of books or authors please send me an email at kbejarin@gmail.com or leave me a comment. Any book at all - any author, any genre.

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the person who'll get me a book I haven't read." - Abraham Lincoln

'Tis The Season To Be Rainy

From now until the new year, it is officially rainy season in Ahuas. For the first few weeks, the rain came in dumps where it would rain hard for about 15 minutes and then pass. Now a storm will last for entire days. This latest storm started Friday afternoon and lasted until Saturday night. And now it comes in sheets accompanied by crashes of thunder and lightning. Last night I watched a movie at the mission base and was walking back at about 10pm. It was pitch black but then every few seconds lightning would light up the sky like it was noon and I could see for miles!

The best part of the rain was Saturday afternoon. If you remember from my previous post, Saturday afternoons is when the soccer games are played. It must have rained the hardest of the entire storm for the four hours that there were games. But as normal, not one game was missed. And when it would start to rain harder, I would hear screams... immediately followed by laughter. After the game, Peter told me that the water on the field was ankle deep in some spots. Team Clinica won regardless, 5-2, with Peter scoring another goal. For those of you keeping track at home, Clinica is still unbeaten and is in first place out of six teams in the standings.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." - Gilbert K. Chesterton

All's Well

It's been a while since my last post and I just want to let you know that everything is just peachy. As I mentioned before, I've settled in quite nicely here in Ahuas. Less "new things" have been happening so the time in between posts might be a bit longer.

I've had a few emails from friends and family wondering how I'm doing and I realized that I haven't really covered that yet. I'm doing great but the first week was the hardest. After being spoiled by Air Conditioning, the heat sapped all of my energy.  I missed my friends, girlfriend, family and my puppy. I missed being able to watch TV and use high-speed internet.

After a month, I feel very comfortable living in Ahuas. I still miss the things that I mentioned but everyone here has been great. One of the first days I was able to talk with Gerard after dinner and he told me the story of the young traveler and the old farmer. One night a young traveler comes to a farm. The old farmer answers the door. "Do you have anywhere I can spend the night?", asked the young traveler. The old farmer nods and leads the young traveler out to the barn and puts the young man up in the loft. Right before leaving the barn the, old farmer turns and says to the young traveler, "If there's anything you need, just come get me, and I'll show you how to live without it."

Helped me put things in perspective.

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." - Dalai Lama

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!

Every Saturday, from 1pm-5pm, the kids from the area come and play soccer at the field at the clinic. The great thing is that the games aren't even pick-up games. Peter and his mother, Norvelle, created a soccer league for kids to play in. There are six teams, each playing one game every Saturday. Peter is the captain for undefeated Team Clinica. They just played their six and final game of group play, finishing with a record of four wins, no losses, and two ties. Today, Clinica played the only other undefeated team, so a matter of pride was at stake. Peter ended up scoring the game's only two goals, one in the first half and one in the second to seal it.

You really have to see these kids play to truly understand how hard they play. Sure, kids in the states play hard, but let me try to paint a picture of the futbol games in Ahuas.

First, the field. One side looks fine and mostly covered in grass. The other half bottlenecks towards the goal (A short throw-in can land in front of the goal) and is primarily dirt. There are no lines. There is however, a road that cuts the field in half. The out-of-bounds are barbwire fences on one side and the crowd of observers on the other (The barbwire used to tear up the balls so they lean sheets of scrap metal against them.) If they're lucky, the pilots will let them have some oil to paint the lines. The goals have been made from logs; two standing up and one nailed across the top. Clearly, none of this screams "regulation size".

Then come the players. In the states, every player has to have shin guards, socks, and cleats to play. I would say that of the 22 kids on the field, only four had all three. The majority of kids play with bare feet. Some are lucky enough to be able to share a pair of cleats with a teammate. And by share I don't mean they switch at halftime. I mean one kid wears the left and his friend wears the right. But not even that can slow them down.

A few days ago I asked Ben and Tobi who was better at soccer: kids in Norway or Ahuas. They hesitantly said that kids in Norway might be a little better, but Ben was quick to point out, "But kids here play way harder." He's not kidding. The motto for these boys might as well be "No socks, no shoes, no problem".

I hope to get some pictures and maybe a video in the coming weeks so you can see for yourself.

"Futbol is a matter of life and death, except more important." - Bill Shankly

Fuimos a Ribra!

One of two muddy sections on the way to Ribra

The path to Ribra.

In the jungle! Almost there...

Made it!

A week and a half ago I got the chance to walk to and swim in Ribra. Scott - a teacher at the K-2 school on the mission base - led me on our journey, which is a little less than four miles one-way. The path was pretty good, "only" having two muddy sections; the first is about 2.5 miles from Ahuas. When trying to cross one of these sections, there was nothing to do but take off our shoes and socks and squish through the shin deep mud. Since our feet were so dirty and with the knowledge that we were going to encounter another mud pit soon, we didn't want to put our shoes back on. So, Scott and I ended up walking the rest of the way to the river in our bare feet. The water was a perfect temperature to cool off and relax in. Parts of the river are shallow enough to sit in while just a little upstream was deep enough to completely submerge. Scott and I stayed for about an hour, skipping stones, swimming, and chatting. Scott tells me that the boys know of another, better swimming spot on the river. Hopefully I can get them to take me, maybe for extra credit on their next test.

The Daily Routine

The parrots: Lilia and Ripichip. They walk around, squawk, and generally tend to be pests during school.

The livingroom a.k.a. the classroom and 2/3 of the class - Ben and Peter.

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post; been a bit busy. But now in my fourth week in Ahuas, third week teaching, I’ve gotten into a pretty solid daily routine. Here’s what my days usually look like.

6:00am - Wake up and get ready for the day
6:20am - Bring my laptop and lesson plans to the Rudy-Goff house. Then I get the key for the airplane hangar, which is where the internet modem is located, which I have to connect and turn on each morning before class. (A while back they hadn’t disconnected it and lightening hit the cell tower and destroyed the modem. A few thousand dollars to replace.)
6:30am - Breakfast and bible study with Peter and his parents, Gerard and Norvelle.
8:00am - Tobi and Ben arrive at the house and we start class. Each of the boys has 5-6 subjects to complete each day. The curriculum comes from K12, an online homeschool program that comes with textbooks and teacher and student guides.
12:00pm - School ends. I grade as much as I can before...
12:30pm - Lunch at the Hofstads with Jarle, Yngvild, Tobi, Ben, and Camilla. Yngvild makes bread often so it smells delicious when I walk into their home.
1:30-6:30pm - This time I have open. I tend to lesson plan for a good chunk of it, but then I can read, excercise, watch a movie, or do my laundry. Often the boys will be playing soccer so it’s fun to watch them go at it. I’ve played a few times and kids 8, 9, 10 years younger than me absolutely take me to school. Tobi and Ben have spent some time in Norway, and according to them kids in Ahuas play much harder than in Norway.
6:30pm - Dinner at the Rudy-Goff house. Dinner - and lunch for that matter - tends to consist of the same three things: rice, beans, and beef. A very standard meal for much of Ahuas.
7:30pm - Finish up plans, read, Skype, shower.
9:30pm - Bedtime. The blackness outside really makes me sleepy. That, and the darkness and creaks in the rest of the apartment creep me out more the later I stay up.

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” - Unknown

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated. I received the list of the people who gave and was moved by how many people there were.

For those of you who don't know, I have been raising money to help cover my expenses, such as my plane tickets and stipend. If you have not donated yet but would like to, please go to https://rca.org/volunteersupport and select my name under designation.

Thank you and God Bless

"If everyone in town donates one thread, the poor man has a shirt." - African Proverb

Week One in the Books

I finished my first week of teaching today and I have to say it went rather swimmingly. Next week I will be teaching Tobi and Ben along with Peter, but to start, it was nice only having the one student to concentrate on and to get the teacher juices flowing. This weekend will include lots of prep (much more than last weekend) but I am up for the challenge and am excited to get to know the boys.

A couple updates on new experiences. Jarle the pilot was bringing a patient back to her home and said that there was room for me to come along. I enjoy riding in the small plane so I went along. Long story short, on our way back to Ahuas, he let me fly the plane for a while! A little scary when we went near a cloud and had some turbulence, but other than that it went great.

One other new experience: doing laundry by hand. I have a couple scraped up knuckles and some not-so-white whites to prove it. Not nearly exciting as flying a plane but still a new experience.

"After enlightenment, the laundry." - Zen Proverb

1st Day: Success!

Today was my first day teaching Peter and it went surprisingly terrific. Peter has ADD and I have watched how he behaves with his family when told to do certain tasks. I was prepared to try to keep him on task and get him back on track for most of the morning. Instead he was a perfect student. He worked hard for three and a half hours straight! I kept asking if he wanted a break but he just kept trucking through. We even got through two days worth of History and Grammar! I realize that setting today as my expectation of him every single day is too much, but I'm glad I was able to see what he is capable of. Besides, if we kept going at this rate, I'd probably be home in March!

Two quotes today!

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." - David Frost

"Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success" - Dale Carnegie

Darkness!

One of the most fascinating things about Ahuas is how day turns to night. In MN, during the summer, the sun doesn’t go down until 8 or 9 and then there’s an hour or more of dusk. Because Ahuas is so close to the equator, the sun sets at 6 and disappears from the heavens at 6:30. No twilight, no “we can still play futbol for an hour”, I mean, one minute you’re walking along, watching the colors of the sunset and the next thing you know - WHAM! - you just smashed your face on a tree because you can’t see six inches in front of your face.
Three words of advice: Grab a flashlight.

“No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away.” - David Matthew

Sweatin' & Preppin'

And now I am in Ahuas! At this point I am not teaching yet. That will come next week. My goal for this week is to memorize names and faces, practicing my Spanish, and looking over the curriculum for my students and prepping. A quick update about the students: it turns out that Hazel (the 9th grader) will be leaving Ahuas to go to high school in Tegucigalpa. That means I will be teaching Peter (8th grade), Tobi (7th grade), and Benjamin (5th grade). Tobi and Ben are the sons of Jarle the pilot. I also found out the the “classroom” is actually the living room/dining room in the Rudy’s home. One last thing: it’s really, REALLY warm.

“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.” - George Carlin

The Flight In

This is the plane that I took from La Ceiba to Ahuas on Tuesday. It can hold a total of 6 people but because of how much stuff needed to be packed in, the rear seats were filled with cargo. I got to sit up next to the pilot, Jarle (YAR-ley), and wear the headset. It turns out that he is the father of Ben and Tobi, the Norwegian boys. He is one of three pilots for Ahuas. Along with us was Scott, who is a teacher at the Christian school in town. The forth passenger was a patient at the clinic. The flight was not as scary as I thought it would be. It was actually very peaceful looking at the forest and jungle and the ocean. I had hoped to add a video and more pictures on here but because of the slow internet connection it is nearly impossible.

"Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates

Whew!

Well, I made it. I am now sitting in a hotel room in La Ceiba, Honduras. I will get on a very small plane tomorrow morning and make my final flight and arrive in Ahuas.

I have to be honest about one thing. When I took this job, I realized that being in a rural setting where I don't know anyone or speak the language for ten months was going to be difficult. But the half day that I have spent in this hustle and bustle city has me absolutely exhausted! I can hardly catch my breath!

Pictures to come soon.

"I've chosen to treat my life more like a party than something to stress about." - Martin Short

Butterflies

As I finish packing my bags (and weighing and re-weighing them to make sure they are less than 50 pounds) I start to have the same thought that many of you might have: Kristian, what in the world have you gotten yourself into? To be perfectly honest, I'm not 100% on the answer to that question yet. However, that uncertainty, that feeling of nervousness creeping into my stomach, is exactly why I want to, or rather have to do this. I strongly believe that in order to be the best ME I can be, I have to go beyond what's easy. It's times like this when I feel myself stepping outside of my comfort level that absolutely gets my blood pumping. As I am writing this I am less than 6 hours away from boarding my flight so I'm going to try and catch some shut-eye with a racing heart and a stomach full of butterflies.

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha