Welcome Home To Copan!

It seems we've come to the part of August when newly-hired foreign teachers leave their home in the U.S. or Canada or other country that's not Honduras to embark on a very special journey here in Copan.

It's a fact that makes me feel inspired to return to the written account of my own experience as a new arrival in these mountains last summer.

And as I write these lines, it occurs to me that the one-year anniversary of this here blog already arrived (August 3rd). I never had a blog or any type of journal survive this amount of time. Feels like I should pause a moment and smile to myself in satisfied celebration of the milestone.

Because of my decision to move down three weeks early, enroll in language school, and live with a host family last summer, my circumstances were unlike most new foreign teachers. Most teachers arrive within one week of the start of teacher orientation and move directly into their assigned housing.

They may pass a handful of days somewhat isolated since orientation is where new staffers get their first chance at really connecting with all the other new folks as well as the returners and Honduran staff.

Whereas I had the host family husband and wife and their kids for human contact every day, I guess the first days in town could feel lonely for those settling in prior to meeting other English-speaking foreigners who they can easily relate to.

After all, those teachers don't necessarily land here possessing the confidence and language skills to trot down into town and strike up conversations with local strangers in Spanish.

Since I stuck around here most of the summer this year, I was in a position to help soften the landing for the school's employees setting foot on these cobblestone roads for the first time. Greeting and welcoming are natural roles for me, so I have been pleased to walk down to the bus station and receive some of my new co-workers.

Last year, the foreign staff principal took the new group to dinner. I still remember being unable to understand what the server said and asked. Someone at the table had to translate for me.

This year, we have a different foreign staff principal - someone who is herself new to town. I guess that's at least part of the reason the Honduran administrators have enlisted me for a couple of welcome dinners (more than one dinner has been hosted since some of the new teachers this summer are trickling in at different times instead of arriving in a larger cluster right around the same day).

When it comes to the "Other duties as assigned" part of my job description, I guess going to dinner for free with my peers is a better one of them.

"God Help Us"

Laying in my comfortable little bed in a Latin country whose native sons and daughters have been nothing but welcoming and respectful hosts to me for 12 months...

This was my location when I saw the video footage of this blunder by a celebrity in the states who was addressing controversial comments made by Donald Trump:

A clip like this would sadden me whether I saw it in the states or anywhere else on the planet, but I was instantly aware of being hit by it in a more complex manner due to the perspective I have after the past year of being hosted by the hospitable Honduran men and women I live among.

Whenever I think about the teens I teach at the bilingual school, somewhere close to my mind is my wish for their future:
I wish them all the good fortune and true happiness in the world.

And for the students in that group who feel they'd like to find their blessings and happiness right here in their home country, it's kind of a shame that I have very little to say for building a case that a life in North America could be desirable as an alternative.

If You Can't Take The Heat...

Living my whole life in the south, I always heard people explain that the fantasy of perfectly warm weather year round would actually bore everyone.

The idea was we'd miss the variety...we would long to have winter again if we lost it, even though we only complain about it now. This reasoning made sense but never kept me from wanting to say, "Yes...but I wish we could try it just to be sure!"

Before I left the south to move south of the border, I of course read about the weather in Copan. That helped me with having a clue about what to expect and how to pack.

But for me, there was no way to predict the degree to which I would enjoy or dislike living in a place where every day, you can hear people remark about how hot it is outside.

Among other benefits, my favorite cafe in town is one of a small
number of businesses offering the creature comfort known as an
air conditioning unit. For the most part, ceiling and oscillating fans
are what people live by.

Time has revealed this answer to the question about tropical Honduras weather:
the presence of mostly sunshine - and my emotional need for just that - keep my climate complaints to a minimum!

I Want You Back!

Don't get me wrong:
I freakin' LOVE summer vacation...

I also miss my kids at least a little bit.

A few of last year's 9th grade boys during Fun Day.

Official countdown says 20 days til school starts...

You've Changed

I always stop and read when I see one of those "How Living Abroad Improves You" articles.

Today I saw a piece that listed four ways people are changed by the experience. I only liked the first part of the list. Here it is. 

You're not the same person you were.

Living abroad is one of the most profound undertakings a person can make.

You don't change job or move house, you do that and more. The scenery changes outside your window along with everything and everyone you once knew. The impact on you is huge.

You might not realize it immediately but one day you'll see it for what it is. You grew, evolved and moved on. You faced setbacks and dealt with them on your own. You overcame obstacles, beat back the naysayers and you have the scars to prove it.

Some scars are good, some are bad, but nothing can ever be the same.

Things that were once important no longer matter. Things that didn't seem important before now matter more. The value of friendship is paramount. Familiarity is a forgotten concept and you don't take anything for granted.

The act of moving abroad made you realize that "things" don't equal happiness. In fact, you start to redefine your original idea of success.

On this international journey, you learned more than just differences - people, places, language, culture.

You learned about you.

You faced challenges, got to know parts of you that you never knew existed and you're amazed at what you've become. You're amazed at the world.

You are different now. You changed.

From: The 4 Ways Living Abroad Changes You

Are You Listening?

In the states, high school and college foreign language classes are beneficial for helping students learn things (for example - verbs, nouns & adjectives, and common expressions).

When I was preparing to leave undergrad, I was very aware of things my foreign language classes left me still needing to learn. Specifically, after four years of formal high school and college classes, I remained unable to actually communicate in Spanish!

With all the foreign language teachers and other tools I encountered while trying to learn Spanish stateside, it seems no one ever emphasize the importance of listening practice. That is, filling one's ears with sounds of native speakers using the phrases and words I had experienced only on textbook pages or verbally from the mouths of fellow Americans who don't come close to producing the sound of a native speaker's speech.

Without learning how to hear speech from native speakers, a person will never reach the goal of communicating in the language.

As a new resident of Central America last summer, speech I heard in Honduras was so unintelligible to my ears that it made me question whether Hondurans spoke the same language I had studied for four years!

But now, I know the ear needs to develop familiarity with the way the language sounds in real life verbal conversations and communications.

And I have learned that this requires a lot of exposure and time. And patience. And faith.

My Fellow Addicts

Know who I like?

All those afflicted with addiction to travel.

I notice a bond particularly with people who go to a foreign place for the purpose of living there a while (as opposed to vacation or tourism).

I love conversations with travelers. Their perspectives are so interesting.

And a lot of times, travelers echo truths that have emerged for me during my journey...truths about life and mankind. I always get a kick out of that, and so do they.

In some of those conversations, I hear people describe what I realize is some type of travel phenomenon I have yet to experience but probably will down the road. Simply put, travelers have various ways of providing a sense of connectedness that I appreciate.

When they also have long blonde hair, a soft German accent, and eyes like the deep blue sea, I’d say this only heightens my appreciation.