soccer and riddles

Today was one of the better days we've had at school.

This is not to say that everyday is horrible. Not at all.
It's just that this one was particularly enjoyable.


The class part, in the early part of the day, went as usual.
Then during lunch, some of the 6th graders, to whom I teach spelling, came up to me and Alex and asked "Where are you going to take us for PE, Mr. Alex?".

We both look at each other, remember that Marco had said something about PE but never really firmed things up, and think wtf?
Alex goes to talk to Marco about what PE here actually entails. Luckily, it's not too intensive; it's just to keep them active.

Once we get over the shock of having a PE class sprung on us (I say us because I will probably end up helping since I know these kids better than he does), we start thinking of games. Tag; red light, green light; freeze tag; wall ball; dodge ball; and the old favorite soccer. I totally suggested freeze tag, but he decided to go with soccer, a game that many of the boys here love.

At first, the girls were very hesitant to play. That's where I came in.
We decided that it would be the teachers and the girls against the boys. It was going pretty well, but some 8th grade boys came to help us out and that's when it got really competitive.

The girls still had a hard time joining in, but they got a couple of good plays.
I gave them sweet advice like "beat up the boys", "pick one boy and then follow him", "yell at them when they get close to you". And then I showed them how to do this. I was assertive and sometimes the boys fell to the ground. I followed one poor boy around and whenever he got the ball, I would get in his space and scream "AHHH!!!"
If nothing else, they all found it entertaining. My main hope is that the girls will learn to be more assertive, and that I showed them a good example of how to do this.


After the game, we were all super sweaty. It wasn't hot outside, but it was very sunny with a light breeze. We hadn't planned on playing an intense game of soccer, so we were dressed in our usual long sleeves.

Some of the 8th grade boys had started doing their homework and as we were leaving, Alex asked them if they had any questions. Thought it was pretty late (3pm) for us to be at school, we ended up staying and helping with homework.
Somehow, this study session turned into a riddle/joke telling session. It would go back and forth, with the kids telling one, and then Mr. Alex. Some they had heard, and some we had heard.

I think this was a really good interaction for us to have with the boys. Usually, we are very strict in class, and often times have them do things that they don't want (homework, seating arrangements, etc). But, outside of class, we're a little different. I think it's good for students to see their teachers more as humans, like them, and less like an authority figure, at some point.


We finally left the school around 4pm.
On a normal day, I would have complained about leaving so late. But, because the end of the day had gone so well, and because the power was still out all over town, I wasn't upset. Really, it's not like we had anything to rush home to... no computer and the water would be too cold to shower.

So, it was an enjoyable, productive, albeit unconventional, day.

taxis, buses, vans - part 3: Guatemala to Belize

Instead of taking a bus or a van to Punta Gorda, which I'm sure would have taken more than just a few hours, we opted to go for the more expensive and less time consuming water taxi/ferry/boat.

There are a couple companies that will provide this service for you at different times during the day. They leave from either Puerto Barrios or Livingston, Guatemala and range from 40 to 50 Belize dollars (approximately 150 to 200 quetzales) , depending on the company and if you buy a round trip ticket.

- Requena's leaves Puerto Barrios at 2pm and Punta Gorda at 9am daily.
- Transportes El Chato leaves Puerto Barrios at 10am and Punta Gorda at 2pm daily.
- Memo's Boat Service leaves Puerto Barrios at 3pm and Punta Gorda at 1pm daily.
- Marisol leaves Puerto Barrios at 1pm and Punta Gorda at 4pm daily.
- Ausugena leaves Livingston at 7am and Punta Gorda at 10am on Tuesdays and Fridays only.

There is no need to make a reservation, unless (from what I've read) you have a whole boat load of people.

If the water is calm, you can reach the other country in about an hour. If it is rough, it takes about two hours.

Guatemala bus schedules

Buses and vans, in general, don't give you a receipt or a schedule by which they run.

Therefore, the only sort of bus ticket that I received in Guatemala, during our trip from Honduras to Belize, was one from a company called "Vargas".

This bus, which is really a large van (approximately a 25 seater, but expect about 30 at any given time), goes from Chiquimula to Puerto Barrios.

Ticket one says:
Leaving Chiquimula at 9am
Leaving Puerto Barrios at 3:30pm

Ticket two says:
Leaving Chiquimula at 5 - 5:30 - 6 - 9 - 10:00 - 1:30 - 2:45 - 3:30
Leaving Puerto Barrios at 3:45 - 4:30 - 6:30 - 2:00 - 3:30 - 16:00

I assume that the departure times start in the morning work their way into the afternoon. The 16:00 time is 4:00pm for those of you who don't often use military time.

From from Chiquimula to Puerto Barrios (which on many buses looks like Pto. Barrios), they stop at Zacapa, Rio Hondo, Mayuelas, Los Amates, Quirigua, Gran Cañon, Virginia, Bananera, Las Flores, Cayuga, Champona, Entre Rios and vice versa, according to ticket one.

Ticket two also adds Esquipulas, Doña Maria, Rio Blanco, and Tenedores.


I have no idea which ticket is the most up-to-date, but this will give you a rough estimate on when this van leaves and from where.

taxis, buses, vans - part 2: traveling through Guatemala

Though it was a long journey, traveling through Guatemala was easy enough.

It was quite strange using quetzales after using lempiras for such a long time; we got used to how much things ought to cost in lempiras.
At this point in time, the exchange rate was 0.4 quetzales for 1 lempira. So, for every 1000 lempiras we changed, we got 400 quetzales.

After we got our stamps on the Guatemala side of the border, we had to catch a taxi to get into Esquipulas. There were many options when we arrived at the border but, because we took so long trying to figure out how the border thing works, we were left with only one option when we were finished taking care of business. This option was the expensive car taxi.

***

The guy said that he could take us right away, just the two of us, for 30 quetzales each, or if the car was full (5 people total) then it'd be 20 quetzales each. We didn't want to pay that much, but nearly everyone had already taken the cheaper options and were on their way to Esquipulas. There was no one else around as we waited. We had no other options; we had to take the car taxi.

As we were leaving, there magically appeared a woman who needed a ride. Then, as we started driving, the driver decided to randomly turn around and we picked up two more. Our car was full. He turned back around, in the right direction, and started driving toward Esquipulas.

We only got stopped one time by the border patrol. We were a couple minutes up the road and we pulled over. Everyone rolled down their windows and the man asked to see our, just us two, passports. He looked at them quickly and then told us we could go.

Once we arrived in Esquipulas, the cab driver told us that we owed him the original 30 quetzales that he quoted us for a half empty car. I don't know why, but we did not argue. On the bright side, he helped us find a van that was leaving for Chiquimula immediately. We forgave him for overcharging us at this point, and then forked over 15 quetzales each for this one our van ride.

***

When we got to Chiquimula, we were greeted by a guy who offered, insisted on taking, to carry Alex's bag. Alex said that he would take it, but the man would not give his bag back to him. We told him that we were going to Puerto Barrios, and he led us to the large van headed for our destination. He handed our bag off to a guy who put our bags in the back of the van. We were uncertain about having our bags be unattended, but thought it was probably ok.

As we boarded the bus, the man who carried Alex's bag from van to van started saying something that we could not understand. Alex asked him several times to repeat, and told him that he could not understand him, but he kept saying the same words. Finally, the guy sitting next to us said "he wants a tip". We looked at each other with our wtf faces. We kept saying that we didn't understand, and sorry, until the van took off.

This van ride was quite difficult for us because it was very, very tight; there were hardly any seats available when we got on. I had to ride, for 2 of the 4 hours, on Alex's lap. It was quite uncomfortable, but we were finding that the over-filling buses or vans is commonplace.

We weren't sure how long the bus ride would take but, we figured about four hours, we were hoping that we'd arrive in Puerto Barrios in time to catch the boat, which we thought was the last, at 2pm. Due to many stops along the way, this did not happen, and we arrived at our destination at 2:15pm. This ride cost us 40 quetzales each.

***

Though we were sure that there would be no boats leaving Puerto Barrios in the late afternoon, we went down to the docks to just make sure; we did not want to spend the night in Puerto Barrios when we had a nice cottage in Punta Gorda waiting for us.

To our surprise, we met Memo, who owns a business transporting people from Puerto Barrios and Livingston to Punta Gorda, and he told us that the last boat, his boat, would be leaving at 3:30pm.

Because we were so relieved, we bought tickets without thinking about the cost. He told us it would be 200 quetzales per person, but he would give us a discount of 50 quetzales each if we bought a round trip that day. We wanted to save money, so we did it.

After our business transaction, he pointed us in the direction of immigration and told us that we could wait on the boat when we got back. The process of having our passports checked and stamped was as easy as the others. The only difference was that we had to pay an exit fee of 80 quetzales ($10 US dollars).



Return trip
Memo's boat leaves Punta Gorda at 12:30pm, which actually means a little after 1pm. Lunch at the immigration office is from noon to 1pm, so you can't get your stamp until about 5 minutes before. But they will take your money, 37.50 Belize dollars as an exit fee, at any time.

Because the boat left so late in the afternoon, and we encountered a bit of rough water, we got back into Guatemala at 3pm. We checked back into immigration and caught a cab to the area where the buses all congregate. This van did not leave immediately, which was all right with us because we really had to pee after that long boat ride. Read: I totally suggest going to the bathroom before the boat left so late in the afternoon, and we encountered a bit of rough water, we got back into Guatemala at 3pm. We checked back into immigration and caught a cab to the area where the buses all congregate. This van did not leave immediately, which was all right with us because we really had to pee after that long boat ride. Read: I totally suggest going to the bathroom before you head to Chiquimula from Puerto Barrios, or vice versa, because it is quite a long ride and they almost never stop for any substantial length of time.

This van got into Chiquimula at about 7:30pm. We asked the guy who takes all the money that we needed to get a hotel, and he pointed us the right direction. He suggested that we stay at the Hotel Victoria, but it was full. We ended up staying another place, though the name escapes me now, about a block down the street. It was very cheap, 80 quetzales, and simple. Though the rooms did not look bad, and there were private bathrooms and TVs in each room, I ended up walking away with a bunch of bedbug bites. So, I can't say that I exactly recommend this place.

In the morning we stopped at a pastry shop, right next door to the pizza place on the same street, and got some delicious goodies for 8 quetzales. We walked around until we found the area where all the buses congregate and found a bus leaving for Esquipulas for 15 quetzales each.

While in Esquipulas, after we found a van to take us to the border for 20 quetzales, we changed our quetzales for lempiras.

taxis, buses, vans - part 1: Honduras to Guatemala

Starting over on Saturday, we had a much easier time getting to our destination.

We tried to catch the earliest bus out of San Marcos, which we were told was at 5 am. They said to make it down to the gas station, where the buses generally depart, with plenty of time to spare. So, we make it down there at about ten to five.

Needless to say, that wasn't enough time. The man with a giant gun told us that the bus left at 4:40am and the next one would leave at 6:30 am.

We thought we would just wait until the bus left at 6am, but there was a very pushy taxi driver who said that he would take us to the bus stop on the main road where we could catch a bus easily.
There were a bunch of other people who got into his cab, an old station wagon, so we decided to follow the crowd and hoped that we might save some time, though it'd more expensive.

The guy charged us 20 lempiras each and we waited for us bus.
Then we watched the sun rise.
Then I watched some chickens in a tree.
Then it got late and light enough for the chickens to come out of the tree. So, I actually learned something that morning. The answer is: they just jump out.

Needless to say we did not save time or money that morning.

The Sultana bus came and picked us up right around 6:30am, nearly an hour and a half after the cabbie dropped us off. The hour bus ride cost us 40 lempiras each, but it was a comfortable ride and perfect for a  quick sleep.

In Ocotepeque, we caught a school bus that was headed to Agua Caliente. We literally found our bus and then it took off, which is pretty lucky in the world of bus travel. This quick 30 minute trip cost 20 lempiras each.

Agua Caliente is the last town in Honduras before the border. Your business here is to get your money changed and have your passports checked. Leaving Honduras, you don't have to pay anything (at least not in our experience). Though, you must have your little paper that you received when you entered the country. For us, that meant our little yellow piece of paper we got from the airlines.

After we got our stamps, we walked a couple meters, past a metal barrier and into a sea of cabs offering to take us to the border. We took a van that cost us 15 lempiras.

The cab dropped us off right before the border and we walked into the immigration office once more to get another stamp from the Guatemala side. This again was very simple and fast for us. We did not have to pay anything to enter Guatemala.

Time it took us to get to the border: 3 hours
How much it cost us to get to the border: 95 lempiras each

Time needed to get to the border: approximately 2 hours
Money needed to get to the border: 88 lempiras

We could have waited for the bus to leave San Marcos, which would have cost 50 lempiras, and it would have taken us all the way to Ocotepeque. Or there is a small van that will take you to the main road/highway for 13 lempiras each, and then you can catch a bus from there. Either way is cheaper than taking a car taxi.

*****

We were really unsure with the borders how everything worked. We knew that the immigration offices were there, but we were under the impression that we were able to pass freely between the 4-Central American countries since we had come into Honduras legally. This would have meant that we wouldn't have even needed our passports to get into Guatemala. Apparently this is not the case, at least at the boarder crossing in Agua Caliente.

I read a little article right before we left that said something about how the borders are checking passports to make sure people aren't overstaying their visas, or don't have warrants out for their arrest. 

So, even if won't be leaving one of the 4-Central American countries, I definitely suggest taking your passport, or you run the risk of having to return home to retrieve it.

Honduras bus schedules

The only ticket I received with any sort of bus schedule was the one from Congolon. The other option for this kind of bus is Sultana.

This is one of those nice, giant buses. You almost never feel cramped. The seats recline, or are permanently reclined in some cases.

These buses:
- usually leave on time
- stop at many places along the route
- are really not that expensive

We took a Sultana from the main road by San Marcos to Ocotepeque for 40 lempiras each.

We took a Congalon bus from Agua Caliente to main road by San Marcos. It cost 60 lempiras each.
I estimate that from Agua Calient to San Pedro, or vice versa, would cost about 190 lempiras per person.

San Pedro Sula to Agua Caliente:
12 midnight
5:30am
6:00 am
7:30 am
9:00 am
11:00 am
1:30 pm
3:00 pm

Agua Caliente to San Pedro Sula:
12 midnight
5:30 am
6:00 am
7:30 am
9:30 am
11:00 am
11:50 am
12:30 pm
3:00 pm
4:00 pm

Tegucigalpa to San Pedro Sula:
4:00 am

Agua Caliente to Tegucigalpa:
11 am

Guatemala to San Pedro Sula, viceversa: 
5:45 am


The other bus options you have are school buses, sometimes called chicken buses. I have no idea about their bus schedules and they usually don't go as far as the bigger buses.

We have taken a school bus from San Marcos to Ocotepeque and also from Ocotepeque to Agua Caliente. Depending on how far they go, you will pay between 20 to 50 lempiras per person.

I usually plan for about 40 lempiras for an hour bus ride, whether by yellow school bus or long-distance bus.

packing list, part three - boy stuff & essentials

Boys are more simple than girls. I mean, at least as far as their desires and needs.

Alex brought:
- 3 pairs of shorts
- 4 pairs of jeans
- 1 pair of long johns
- 1 sweater
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 11 pairs of socks (5 of which were wool)
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 regular jacket
- 3 long sleeve button down shirts
- 4 polo shirts
- 4 t-shirts
- 6 undershirts
- 1 pair of Keens
- 1 pair of monochrome Converse (very popular in San Marcos, actually)
- 1 reversible belt
- 1 bathing suit

Other things that we brought:
- 4 bottles of Cactus Juice (has SPF and bug repellent)
- 1 bottle of Excedrin Migraine
- 1 Neosporin
- 1 inhaler
- 1 thing of floss (the one with a lot in it)
- 6 toothbrushes
- 2 tubes of toothpaste
- lint rollers (never know!)
- books
- soapy cloths (like makeup remover cloths; good for taking a sponge bath when you have little/cold water)
- travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion
- sewing kit
- computer and hard drive with movies (life saver!!)
- money belt
- Pepto Bismol
- Tums
- hair clippers and scissors
- Spanish dictionary and verb book
- camera with memory cards
- sleeping bags (life saver!! especially for the first month)
- umbrella
- camping/solar shower (especially good when you only have cold water)
- sunglasses

packing list, part two - girl stuff

How is a girl to decide what things she ought to bring, and how much, and which things aren't "necessary" for a year in Honduras?
I am the girl who brings a large suitcase for a weekend trip. I am your classic overpacker. I think of all of the "what ifs" and I have to make sure I'm prepared. For this, I had to do be prepared with less packing space.

This was a very difficult week for me, the packing week. I had to sort through all of my clothing, decide which items I loved the most, and if it was practical for our destination, and if it was actually necessary. I wanted to take all 100 pairs of undies, 50 tank tops (one in each color), 7 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of shorts, 10 shirts of both long and short, and 3 sweaters. Not to mention all of my hair and makeup products and tools.
Then Alex laughed at me, and told me to be serious.

I was...

Too bad it wouldn't all fit in my pack.

I made piles. I categorized my clothing by type. Then each day I weeded out something that I could live without, or that I knew was a duplicate. Having two different shades of pink tank tops isn't necessary, I had to conclude.

And I did this until the night we packed all of our clothing up. I had this feeling like I was missing something.

Here's what I brought:
- 1 pair of lightweight long johns (I bought these especially for the trip; they're patagonia)
- 2 sweaters (both Beavers gear)
- 8 tank tops
- 4 t-shirts
- 5 long sleeve shirts
- 1 long sleeve button down
- 2 short sleeve polos
- 3 dressy/professional tops
- 2 capris
- 3 pairs of pants
- 5 skirts (all different colors; all about knee length)
- 10 undies
- 5 pairs of socks (some wool ones included)
- 2 bras
- 3 swim suits (mostly for diving purposes)
- 3 pairs of pj pants (but I share!)
- 2 belts
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 pair of Chacos
- 1 pair of tennis shoes

Besides clothes I brought:
- dive fins, mask (left the snorkel cause I hate it!), and booties
-dive log and certification card
- 2 bottles of mouse
- 2 bottles of Aveeno (one big one, one little one with SPF)
- 2 full things of deodorant
- a bunch of cotton rounds
- a bunch of cotton swabs
- bobby pins
- hair bands
- nail kit (clippers, files, etc)
- make up remover
- hair dryer
- hair straightener
- sewing kit
- 5 tubes of mascara
- various makeup necessities (powder, eye liner, blush)
- travel makeup tool kit
- tampons (I could only shove about 3 boxes into our luggage; not actually in their boxes, though)

We also brought all of our credit and debit cards, though we don't carry them on us most of the time. I also brought my wallet, which has my costco card (just in case!), CPR and First Aid certifications (which might come in handy if I decide to get my Rescue Diver cert), etc. I also brought two purses, one of which I used as a personal item to carry various bs on our flights to Honduras. It did come in handy.


The idea was to bring enough clothes for a week or two. Also, we used our travel size things for over a month while we got settled into life here.


There are some other essentials that we brought, but I'm going to leave that for Alex's post since his will be pretty short anyway.

And yes, 5 tubes of mascara is necessary. I think.

for as much traveling as we did today, we didn't get very far....

We were on track.
Well, we were late for school, but at least we had our clothes, toiletries, and some food.
We got more minutes for our phone, our schedules planned out for the days we were gone, and money on our person.

We left with Marco after school. Though he was going to San Pedro, to the east, and we were headed west, we all had to start at the same place.

We boarded a packed van/bus, that I'm pretty sure was meant for about 10 people, that was over capacity by at least 33 percent. It made it fun at first though. We were on our way to Guatemala, a new country, where we'd face new challenges. The excitement and anxiety was all bubbling to the surface, making even the simplest things fun (i.e. I saw cows in the road and started laughing... I see cows in the road almost everyday.)

When we got to the main road, a bus was waiting. Marco said, oh, that is your bus! A boy ran up to our incoming bus and started yelling "Ocotepeque". He was in a hurry, but we were stuck behind the elderly people climbing out. We retrieved our bags from the top of the van/bus and ran across the street to catch our bus.
Part one complete.

Once we arrive in Ocotepeque, we are instantly asked where we're going. We say Esquipulas, but they know we mean Agua Caliente (the last town in Honduras on your way to Guatemala). We get on the bus, and nearly an hour later, we are at the border.

When we get off the bus, we are bombarded by about 5 guys. We didn't know if we were just supposed to change buses or what, and they wanted to change us money. We had stashed our money in various places (money belt, pocket, wallet, socks) and we knew that we needed to get all of it out in order to change it. It felt awkward revealing all of our hiding spots. But, I knew that the exchange rate was fare (1000 lempiras = 400 quetzales), so I didn't feel too bad.

Then this guy started speaking English to us. He asked us where we were from, and if we knew a lot of Spanish. Then he told us he was going to help us out. We didn't really know what that meant because we can really handle our own, but he insisted and took us over to the border patrol.
He asked for our passports. Then he asked us if we had the little yellow pieces of paper that we got when we arrived in Honduras.
Turns out, we didn't have them.

The English speaking fellow tells us that he's going to try to help us out. He said that we might be able to work out a deal to get us in for a price. Well, of course there is a price!

At first, he tells us that it's going to be about 2,500 lempiras each (about $130 each). Then he said he might be able to get it down. The next offer was 2,500 lempiras for both of us. Well, that was better, and we definitely did not want to go all the way back home, but we didn't bring enough.
We tell him that it's too much. He tells us to give him a number. I tell him the most we could do is 200 lempiras ($10). He said, oh, well the guy is going to want at least $50 usd from each of you. We tell him that we can't, and that we'll just go home.

All this time, the guy is trying to convince us that our papers at home might be missing, or thrown away. I assure him that we know where they are, that we have an apartment and no one has moved into it or thrown it away. In between negotiations, he would go talk to his posse of fellas while smoking a cigarette.

We finally decide that it's too much and that we will just go back to San Marcos to get our papers. They didn't seem too happy, but relented. Then we asked to exchange some of our money back, and the kid who helped us in the first place was trying to be difficult. He was speaking fast, and mumbling, and wasn't too helpful when we asked him to talk slower.
Finally, we got were able to exchange our quetzales for lempiras, enough for the bus back home and then back to Agua Caliente, and then left.


We are happy that we did not get scammed, though a little irritated that our travel plans were set back a couple hours. Tomorrow, we are leaving between 5 and 6am to try to make it to Puerto Barrios as early as possible. Hopefully there will be no problems then.

Belize it is

We have decided, after much persuasion, to go to Belize in order to renew our 90 day tourist visas. We are still quite unsure how long we must go in order to renew (we've heard as little as a couple of hours to as much as three days), but we've decided to play it safe and go for three days.

We will be leaving Friday after school and will return Tuesday afternoon/evening.

We are very uncertain about how to get where we want to go, as there aren't bus schedules online. We just have to wing it and hopefully we'll find our destination on time.


We've decided to just stay in (beautiful?.. I hope!) Punta Gorda, Belize at a bed and breakfast run by a British couple. It's called Hickatee Cottages. We wanted to go on a specific date, and the room we wanted was already booked, so they upgraded us for free! It's pretty sweet.

While we're there, we will be able to see a butterfly farm and we're (hopefully if we booked it in time) going to go on a tour that involves a trek through the forest, swimming by waterfalls, and seeing how they make chocolate! It was a little expensive, but I think it will be awesome and worth it.


Like I said before, we're a little anxious about being able to navigate the buses and getting where we need to be on time (we have a ferry to catch Saturday morning, with a second chance in the afternoon). But, we've decided already that it's just going to have to be an adventure, and we might get lost, and we might have a difficult time, but we have to do it.

Luckily, if worse comes to worst, we have one more week after this to renew our visas. We might be able to just catch a flight to Florida and hang out there. That's only if we don't, for some reason, make it to Belize.


We're not taking our computer, so if no one hears from us by Wednesday then probably someone ought to call the embassy. I don't think anything will happen, but just in case!

When we return, I will post about which buses we caught and at what times, about the ferry in Puerto Barrios,  our accommodations, our chocolate tour, and the food. We'll be sure to take as many pictures as we can and we'll share those as well.


Until Wednesday....

the contract

Because we didn't actually didn't get our contracts until the very end of the 1st partial, 9 weeks into school, I thought that maybe we wouldn't have one. Not that I minded, really. But, to make things "official", we were asked to sign a contract. Some of the things were obvious, and some just related to business. Really, we have been told, this is just a formality.


I think that this is kind of interesting to look at. I'm not going to copy the contract word for word, just give the general idea. The contract was broken down by points, so I will do the same.

1. Position (For us, it's math/English and health/science teacher.)

2. We are expected to attend school 5 days a week, with a normal work day starting at 6:45am and ending at 3pm. Attendance will reflect strongly upon the teachers conduct. (We arrive most days at 6:55am and leave between 2 and 2:30pm. We are trying to stay the whole day, but classes for us usually end at noon, and we get bored. They have not said anything about our attendance thus far.)

3. Any absence longer than one class period requires notice

4. Employee must be in the institution, even for recess and lunch

5. Any requests for time off longer than one day must be submitted in writing at least 2 weeks before departure. (We did not do this for the trip we're taking to renew our visa, probably because we have been talking about it for over a month with them.)

6. Employee is entitled to 6 consecutive days of paid sick leave.

7. Five days or more of absence without forewarning may result in termination.

8. Employee is entitled to 12 days off in the month of December in addition to the national holidays

9. If the employee does not fulfill the entire period of employment, employer may debt the employee the remainder of the year's salary

10. Must abide by all school rules and national laws

11. Salary is for 10 months, not 12 months, because that's how many months we work

12. Pay is on the last day of the month; if the last day of the month is on a weekend, you get it on the last Friday of the month

13. Bonuses: you get two bonuses, one in December and one in June. These are calculated by taking your salary to date, dividing it by 12 then multiplying that number by the number of months worked

14. Employer shall provide all necessary school materials (books, notebooks, markers, pens, etc)

15. Employee shall not engage in other activities or work that interferes with school

16. After signing the contract, you are legally bound to not start another school within 100 km for 5 years

17. Contract may be canceled or changed for the above reasons or for another reason beyond the school's control (natural disaster, financial problems, etc).


I'm not sure, but it sounds like a pretty standard contract. On number 12, it gave us the amount we would receive each month as salary. This number is calculated from a formula of which grades your teaching and how many hours/classes you teach. Primary teachers get more money than secondary. Not sure why.

If my math is correct, this is the break down:
Primary teachers get about 98 lempiras per class
Secondary teachers get about 65 lempiras per class
And I honestly don't know how much the teachers in preschool, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten make.


Hope that was informational, if not a bit interesting.
If not, I completely understand. It's just a contract.

packing list, part one - the luggage

We did not know what to expect really when we first started packing for our year in Honduras. We knew that it would be warm, and sometimes rainy.
I was told that it was not acceptable for girls to wear shorts, and that one ought to wear skirts instead.
I didn't know what kind of electrical outlets they would have there.
We didn't know what we would be able to, or wouldn't be able to, find here.

The plan is to tell you what we decided to bring. At the end of the year, I will write another post about the things I wish we would have brought, the things we could have done with out, and of what items I would have brought more or less.


The luggage


To start, Alex and I brought all of our things in 4 bags: one 80 liter backpack, one 65 liter backpack, one carry-on size luggage, and one regular size backpack. We flew Spirit Air, so we didn't want to bring too many bags because they charge for that.

Plus, we were told to pack less, not more.

Alex had the 80 liter JanSport from his pack packing trip to Europe in 2004. It is a little older, but definitely functional. It had a lot of pockets, and we definitely stuffed them full. The only thing we had a problem with was it fitting properly. You want your pack to fit correctly, especially when it's just about 50 lbs.

I purchased a Gregory 65 liter from Steep and Cheap for under $100. They definitely have packs designed for women, but I didn't not have a problem with this one fitting. I wished it was a little bigger, but it was such a good deal, and we were running out of time, that I had to just get it.