Georgina Graham, a Footprinter Grant recipient, shares her reflections at the half-way point in her year of volunteering with Project Trust in Honduras.
Okay, so a lot has happened since the last update.
I celebrated Christmas and New Year here in Honduras. For New Year, I went to Utila, which is an island here. It’s quite touristy, so everything was very expensive, but I stayed there for about four days with friends. We went snorkeling over a coral reef, and it was honestly amazing. We saw loads of fish and even a stingray. It was such a beautiful way to start the year. I also celebrated my birthday recently, quite quietly with friends, and I’m going out for dinner with some colleagues this week, which I’m really looking forward to. The people at the school have honestly become like family to me here, especially since I don’t have my own family in Honduras.
Before the holidays, I was teaching history to secondary school students, but that finished because a new history teacher joined, who I am good friends with. Now I’m mostly in the first-grade classroom every day, helping the teachers all day. Working with little kids is so cute, they always have great stories to tell or do something really silly, they have so much energy! But they’re also so sweet. They always want hugs, they always want to tell you something, and they say the funniest things. But I honestly do come home exhausted So yes, it’s tiring, but I really do love working with them.
I also teach a spelling class for second grade, and I’m helping 11th grade students prepare for their TOEFL exam. They need it because they want to study in the US, the UK, or other countries. Their English is soooo good. Like, really good. Sometimes when we practice questions, they already have strong answers ready, even before I do. As a native English speaker from Scotland, it’s impressive. I mostly just want to help them feel confident and not panic on exam day.
I am also starting a podcast with the school pastor and three 11th graders, which I’m really excited about. I think it’ll be so good for everyone’s confidence, including mine.
Spanish has honestly become one of my favourite parts of being here. I love the language. I genuinely enjoy speaking it. The issue isn’t really the language anymore, it’s confidence. I know I’m not fully fluent yet, but I feel like I’m close. I can hold conversations. I understand a lot more than I used to, especially when people are explaining something longer or when I’m reading.
The hardest thing is group conversations. When people talk fast, or when two or three people speak at once, it’s trickier. Sometimes I don’t even know if they’re talking to me or someone else. And when I speak in front of people who are listening, I get nervous. I also get nervous when speaking to someone new. I’ve realised I need about 10 or 20 minutes in a conversation before I properly relax. After that, I can talk and talk and talk. I can be quite the yapper! When I stop overthinking and just speak, it flows. When I think too much about being correct, I freeze.
Six months ago, I could barely say anything beyond short answers. Now I can talk properly. I don’t have to translate in my head all the time. Words just come. That’s honestly crazy to me and I’m really proud of that. I want to spend the next six months pushing myself more, speaking more confidently, and ideally being able to say I’m fluent by the end. That’s my goal.
Emotionally, these past months have been a bit difficult at times. I really miss my family, my friends, and the horses. There are horses around here, but they belong to other people, and I haven’t figured out how to spend time with them. I guess I have been a bit reluctant because it’s very unknown. That’s been hard.
But overall, I’m still growing a lot. I’m learning. I’m adapting. The school community has supported me so much, and that’s made a big difference.
So yes. That’s month six.
I have had a great time, and am looking forward to the second half!
