"Devil"- by M. Night Shamylan

Check this trailer out. This movie seems like it has the potential to kill! We'll see if its any good...

Hot for teacher!

As some of you may know, I am currently down in Roatan, Honduras attempting to find myself. I have found some semblance of what my life should be and due is due in part to my teaching experience.

The last time I left off I gave my last director a big "L" for loser, but it was simply because I truly felt the school was completely detrimental to the education of all of its students. This is only an opinion, but I do consider myself knowledgeable based on experience. So when I got to Roatan about one year ago, I chose to start all over in a school where i would feel most at liberty to create something more than just what was in the textbooks. And boy did I get the opportunity of a lifetime!

I met with the director of the school that I wanted to teach at. Two ladies introduce themselves (I will simply give a M and T for their privacy) and we began to talk about our "passion."

As I progressed, I began to give my disgruntled claims to my past experiences. I told them absolutely everything that happened to me in San Pedro Sula, sparing no detail. I wanted them to know that I was not looking for that kind of environment EVER again! I dealt with complete inadequacies of a bilingual school, so I wanted something different.

M discussed the different options with me and even mentioned her ordeals with the Honduran school s one going ystem, so I was pleased to know that I was not the only one going through such a difficult period. As I finished my disgruntled talk, we began to discuss possibilities. With the school, the possibilities seemed limitless. This was a brand new school attempting to find a niche that worked for the students and the teachers.

I began to explain that what I wanted was a working environment in which I was given an outline to perform my tasks and be allowed the opportunity for creativity. I was given the salary expectations, and was told that I would receive a call soon enough.

Well a month came by, and I received my phone call. I had gotten the first grade teaching position, which I must admit I was not too excited for. I went to school and accepted my position, even though I wanted high school, but was satisfied nonetheless. As I came in, I was told by M to read "The First Days of School" by Harry K.Wong; it would be a great way for me to be introduced to the idea of "and effective learning environment." I read the book and based my class on the principles taught by the book.

With this book, I new exactly what was expected of me as a teacher. I needed to be prepared. I needed to be prepared for every single minute of the day in the classroom. I took this extremely to heart because I had the first graders. To me, they are little kids who still want their mommas. But then I also remembered the importance of learning how to read the first chance you get. And I remembered being an ESL student, so I had to take this as my life goal, and that was to teach all of my students the fundamentals of first grade so that they were ready for second grade. This book gave me the key.

My philosophy went past preparation; it meant that I had to be ready to teach the first day of school. But it wasn't the material, such as math or reading, that I had to teach. My first days of school were focus on setting the classroom up fr the students to have an effective learning environment. So, I had to teach rules of the classroom, rewards for good behavior, and consequences for bad behavior. Everything HAD TO BE PREPARED!!!!!

My consequences were pocket cards that told you which color of behavior you were in for the day. Each color represented a consequence for behavior. It was wonderful because the students just love it and loved to get the "white card," which was always good behavior.


Rewards were treats, and surprises, but mostly the satisfaction of contributing to your class with good behavior by receiving a happy face.


With these two concepts, my class was almost ready to begin its course. All I needed were the procedures, or "management" plan for the classroom. It was simply having everything written down about every possible scenario in the classroom. From going to the bathroom to getting your lunch to beginning of the day; everything had to be planned and taught to the students in the first week of school. The reason is that first impressions are important in the classroom. The way in which a teacher chooses to introduce their classroom at the beginning of the year, then that is what the students take from it and will respond on to that setting. So if the teacher is lazy about preparation, had no rules, or consequences, and does not have procedures listed for every minute of the classroom, then it will remain so for the rest of the year.

So I picked to prepare and it turned out to be a gold mine! I will explain through my posts, but let's just say that the classroom was a success. It made me realize how possible this could be for me to be a teacher. I was very good at my job, and I must say I loved doing every moment of it! So there comes a point in time where everyone makes choices in their lives that will have a tremendous impact. I want to be a teacher.

It's funny how once I hated children, but now I am happy to work with them...it's easier to mold them...

Diving...the final frontier in Roatan!

My wonderful future husband has given me a great opportunity to go diving. Now if anyone does not know what I mean by diving, I don't mean to jump into the water head first. I mean taking an oxygen filled tank and going underwater to find the most amazing creatures that we have never seen on land!

I am really nervous about it because I've began reading my textbook, and so far what scares me the most is having my lungs erupt as I come up because I am not breathing! Yeah, those are the kinds of risks you take while diving, but in the end, I have heard many people just say wonderful things about diving. I haven't heard anyone say that their lungs ruptured, but again, one can only thing of the worse and not find the thrill until completed.

As soon as it commences, I will give plenty of information along the way because it's quite exciting! In the meantime, check this video out of divers in Roatan with sharks! Enjoy!

Speaking of Personal Legends...

Lebron James continues to take a beating for making a choice that will definitely take him to the next phase of his life and career. Some people say that he is selfish. Some say that he is too selfless and doesn't want to "work" to win the title. Some people say that he is just taking the "easy road." And the best, he is a despicable coward with little value for integrity.

Lebron James takes care of Lebron James. He KNOWS what he wants because he is the only one that listens everyday to the thoughts going on in his head. He is the one responsible with dealing with all the consequences of making choice for himself. I do not blame him for leaving the Cavaliers. He has made the best choice for himself based on what he tells himself and what he wants out of his life.

Right now, we ALL know his goal: to be a NBA champion. He chose to leave the city he was born in because in seven years he did not win even ONE! The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Based on that fact, Lebron must have believed that if he stayed in Cleveland, he would not win a championship and was crazy. So he took a look at his options and saw what was the BEST scenario to win the championship, and so he made his choice.

Now I say choice and not decision because decision just seems like there is no choice. Lebron James had plenty of choices, but in the end it was the Heat that took him based on the fact that they have the players to assist Lebron in winning a championship. Now I know a lot out there claim that he will be second to Wade, but let's get something straight: the season has not started and nobody knows that. The only thing we do know is that based on the past, these three are superstars and together there is a great chance that GREATNESS will take place for all of us to see. Now that's why everyone should be excited!

Lebron James made the right choice because its his to make. He has nothing to give to anyone, including Cleveland. He spent seven years attempting to bring glory to a sad place. He spent seven years assisting the economy so that many would have great opportunities. But he is finished, and he is allowed to leave once the contract is OVER. And one person cannot control the economy of one place; that's not James' responsibility. For fuck sakes, he could go and live in Africa for the rest of his life if he wants to. It's his life and he chooses what he wants to do, whether everyone agrees or not.

To finish my entry, Lebron James has shown me how much heart he has for his purpose in life and how willing and open he is to following his dreams. He is even more of an inspiration to me because here is this guy that EVEYONE is looking at making a great choice for himself while listening to the world mock him and insult him, yet he really does not let it affect him and his path to self discovery. His faith and his loyalty is to himself and to his "personal legend." That is very admirable because he is doing something that many people hate, but in the end all that he needs to see is results. I think Lebron will win many championships because Lebron is destined for it, and he has taken another step towards that direction.

Congratulations Lebron James! I found this picture appropriate simply because that's why he does what he does: to follow his heart.

Back from Hiatus...

Hello everyone and welcome again to the Travel Companion...

I truly must say that I have not been inspired to write in my blog. I stopped because I started working at my craft, and I just lost interest in writing about my experiences in Honduras in conglomerate with the books that I read. I still want to write about books, but less about them and more about me. I guess the blog is the new way in which an ordinary person can write their feelings, as oppose to a journal, but now share it with the world. I am not sure I want to share such personal feelings, but then again, I could care less what anyone thinks of me. So lets continue on and see if we can reach a new level of fame...


As recently as yesterday, I finished reading the book "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. To give a brief summary, this is the story of a boy named Santiago, who lives on the plains of Andulusia in Spain and herds sheep for a living. He begins to have vivid dreams about a treasure awaiting him at the Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt. He soon begins the quest to find this treasure, and in essence, find himself. The book calls it his "Personal Legend" where every living being has one and must attain it in order to reach the true purpose of one's life. Through trials and tribulations, the boy finds the love of his life, and he finds out that the journey is in essence the personal legend finding itself. He also finds his treasure in a place that he least expected to find it, but you need to read the book to find that one out.

This is the first time I have come across a book of spirituality that I have been able to read. I am not a big fan of religion, and have no real concept of spirituality. I will say here and now that my religion is the freedom of the human being, written in the US Constitution, and my spirituality is based on the ideas of possibilities. My mind is open to endless ideas about the world, but I choose to embrace them as theories, and not concrete facts.

To begin my discussion of this book, I must say that I really liked it. Coelho has a very interesting take on the world and his surroundings. Everything is one, and everything in essence can speak in one language, the language of the heart in the soul of the world. Because we can all speak this one true language of "life," we all function in a similar way. Some living thing, like a single-cell organism, has a purpose to live as a single-cell organism. That is its "Personal Legend." The bees that travel many different planes to find pollen for their nest and cultivate their honey is their "Personal Legend." Every SINGLE living organism in this universe is connected in the fact that we have a purpose to fulfill in our lifetime.

As human beings, we are truly complex creatures with millions of thoughts and feelings that allow us clarity or mist through our paths of self-discovery. Because of the fact that we have created our world based on what we need, we have alienated the surrounding creatures that give us the answers so many of us are desperately trying to find. Coelho uses the term "omen" to describe these signs we seek to guide us. An omen is anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent. An omen is also a sign of the language of the heart guiding you on your path to your "Personal Legend." I call them a gut feeling, but there is definitely more to it.

When reading the story, I found it very curious that most of the omens came from other living things, like butterflies or hawks, and it made me wonder how many signs I've been missing while on my path to self discovery. What we often forget is that our lives are all connected by the simple fact that we are alive. Everything on this planet has that one thing in common, and it always the most difficult thing to understand between one another. We see ourselves as different, but the energy that is "life" is in all of us, and it that sense, we are capable of finding our way through life by looking at the life surrounding us and know that although we are one individually, WE ARE ONE COLLECTIVELY. That means that searching for your true path means searching with every other living thing that is searching for theirs. We are not alone, and we can use the symbols and living things around us to find out a little about ourselves and about life.

In order to find one's "personal legend," one must know what that personal legend is. How do I find that out? By looking into your dreams and wondering about yourself and the world around you. Why is it so easy for the bees to find their purpose, but yet so many people all over the world live in complete depression without realizing their true potential? I don't know. I was like that for a period of time where I felt completely lost. I did not know who I was nor did I know what I wanted to do. I forgot about myself and it took me 8 years to realize that I was on the right path to my self discovery, and this was a trial and tribulation for it. When we realize what our path is to discover who we are, we realize that every single problem in our lives has been sent there to test the fact that you will become your personal legend. You see, I've always wanted to be a lawyer. Every since I can remember I wanted to be right all of the time. For a while though, I thought of myself as completely lost and useless. I felt I was a joke and an inconvenience, so I chose to leave my surroundings to find something different. I took the journey of a lifetime to Honduras, thinking that I would find a new home in this country. What I ended up doing is testing myself on the complete limits of my capabilities. I also extended my capabilities to endless possibilities. I now FIRMLY believe that I can do anything that I set my mind to because all of the trials that I have gone through brought me back to my personal legend of becoming a lawyer, well more specifically law professor for I have found an AMAZING passion for teaching. So again, I think I was just able to see, and so many people see while others get lost in the trap of suffering and complaint, which could be the reason they never find themselves.

It's pretty fascinating to me to have this mentality because I am truly grateful now to all of those great ones and assholes (won't mention any names) who made life possible and impossible for me at times. Thank you for your genius and idiocy and I hope you find your own personal legend.

Surf the Channel- Another Companion

One of my other companions on this trip is "surfthechannel.com." If anyone knows anything about me, the one thing they would know is how much I love television and media. Growing up and watching The Simpsons, I grew fascinated and obsessed with media. I would literally watch 5-8 hours of television a day, sometimes to the wee hours of the morning. Since it's important to me, I have found a way to keep it in my life.

When moving to Honduras, one of my many concerns was, "What the hell am I going to about television and movies?" Then came the wonderful world of surfthehannel.com. I had heard it from a friend, don't remember who, and so I took it upon myself to find this website where the magic happened. I was not disappointed!

Every movie and television show I can think of can be found in this website. Any documentary, funny item, anything (except "The Devil Wears Prada") can be found. And for every item I see, there is always something interesting to say.

On that note, this marks the first item about surfthechannel.com section. There will be many more commentaries about the website, and what's on it. Check it out and see if you can find your long lost brother!

"english speaking zone"- part one

"The reason I'm going into everything that happened in San Francisco is because it ties up with everything else all the way down the line." -Sal Paradise

My first day of school and the rest of my tenure was something worth celebrating. I had arrived at my destination, and unlike Kerouac, I had my reason for travel with me. I was able to obtain a decent job with medical benefits, and a place to stay. I thought it was something worth celebrating, but the circumstances of my job soon unraveled in ways unexpected and down right crazy!

Coming in to the outdoor auditorium/gym, I could hear the loud buzzing of the students chanting their daily mantra of gossip prior to their daily prayer. It was mandatory that everyone join in and share their faith with others. Of course, I would prefer to get on with the daily activities, but that is another blog all together.

After the prayer, the national anthem is sung by all of the students. Again, this is going on during the first period of the classroom, roughly about 15-20 minutes total time. The rumbling of the students takes about five minutes to subside, and we begin, "Tu bandera...." It's a beautiful anthem, but it's quite unnecessary to ramble it every single day, as most of the students did. Once finished, the lovely director, which will be named a "miracle," comes to the stage and introduces the new teacher: Mrs. Melgar! Now, I am not married, so how do I come up with this fabrication of the "Mrs"? I have to keep up appearances at school, and to avoid any misunderstandings, I am married with Mr. Melgar. So very antiquated...

Now that I am introduced, I am given my books (yes, the same day I start) and sent my way to my first classroom. I taught a combination of different classrooms in various grades. To begin writing about my tenure, I can only say that I truly wanted the best for my students. I was ready and willing to devote my time and make sure my students were successful. Unfortunately for me, nobody told my principal of this, nor my students, so I was in for the ride of my life.

A key component to successful teaching is classroom management. I had absolutely none! Imagine a typical day in a class, say Sociology,

"The noise of the students continues in an uproar as the teacher attempts to write the notes on the board and have the students write it down prior to having the lesson start. All of the students are sitting with their faces against the board, speaking in a Spanish that the teacher has never heard. As the teacher asks the students to begin writing their notes, 85% of the students get up to get their notebooks, not even ready and five minutes have passed. Another ten minutes are used to have everyone obtain their materials for "learning." Once they have their notebooks, they begin to ask for pencils, pens, anything they can get their hands on for writing. Two or three students get up and walk around for another two minutes asking everyone for a pencil; and anything else they can think of, only finding one on the desk they left. And the lesson begins, about 15 minutes into the period. Throughout the hour, reprimanding students for speaking without permission is constant. Cell phones are passed around, and notes are thrown. Some students get up and use the restroom, without permission; and some fall asleep, only being 8:30am. As the classroom time finishes, many of the students did not write their notes, and the teacher leaves feeling hopeless and desolate."

This would be a daily occurrence in the classroom and throughout the school. Students, especially in a particular grade, had absolutely no sense of respect for an educational institution, and it was because of the principal. I have taken the blame for all of the faults I had while teaching at the school. Yet I will not take responsibility for that's school's failure. This chaos has been run that way prior to my arrival and it remains the same today.

I say this with the utmost respect, but the principal of the school set up her school so that the students had very little opportunity for success. There are no rules in the school. Children do as they please with very little consequence. An example of this would be the time that two of my thirteen year old students were caught ditching in school property. They chose to not attend my classroom and hung out in the building that was being constructed. As a responsible teacher, or so I thought, I found the students and sent them to the office. These two particular students had already been causing problems at the school, so I asked the principal to contact their parents and possibly even have them suspended for the day. I certainly did not want them in my classroom. The next day, not only did they come back into my classroom, but they taunted me with the fact that they got away with it and continued to fail in their classes and in their lives.

It was impossible to have the students complete their assignments, but more impossible was failing a student, even if they did NOTHING. Paying for the tuition meant that students were guaranteed a diploma at the end of their run. Grades, participation, and behavior were all additional circumstances to the grade, but the MAIN component is money. Students knew this, and took full advantage of the situation. I have one specific example where one of my students, no name mention, received a 54% in my Reading class. He did not turn in his final project, an essay on your favorite book, and so he failed in my eyes. He begged me to change his grade, and gave me excuses, but I said no. It wasn't about the essay only, his overall performance was beyond a failure. So to conclude my example, the next day I see the assistant director changing his grade in front of my face, so that his grade was in the 70% percentile. To make matters worse, the student is dictating to the assistant what he wants for his grade. I was shocked, appalled, embarrassed, undermined, humiliated, and disturbed, among many other things. I asked and continue to ask myself, "How can someone live with themselves knowing that a student is learning how to avoid consequences from the person that's suppose to enforce them?"



Kerouac also had his first travel job in Mill City, CA. His friend, Remi, got Sal (Kerouac) a job as a special policeman. It seems appropriate that both of our job had something to do with dealing with other people, and children at that. His responsibilities began with his, "...flashlight to illuminate my way; I climbed the steep walls of the south Canyon, got up on the highway...scrambled down the other side, almost falling, and came to the bottom of the ravine." This passage way led to barracks filled with "overseas construction workers." As his main job, he had to make sure that, "They didn't tear the barracks down." Most of these men were running away, as he puts it, probably from the law, so one can assume them to be trouble makers.

And soon we come to find out the making of their trouble the night Sal is working alone. The construction workers decide on that great night to get drunk, and so began the tumultuous chaos. As Kerouac explains, "Men were shouting, bottles were breaking. It was do or die for me. I took my flashlight and went to the noisiest door and knocked." The conversation that ensued reminds me of the conversations I would have with my students.

"What do you want?"
I said, "I'm guarding these barracks tonight and you boys are supposed to be quiet as much as you can.
They slammed the door in my face. I knocked again. "Listen, I don't want to come around bothering you fellows, but I'll lose my job if you make too much noise."
"Who are you?"
"I'm the guard here."
"Never seen you before."
"Well here's my badge."
"What are you doing with the pistol cracker in your ass?"
"It isn't mine. I borrowed it."
"Have a drink for christ sakes."

My comparisons are pretty obvious, but I will explain how I came to the conclusion that Kerouac and I had similar experiences with our first travel job. First, there was NO respect. With a few exceptions, there was no respect given to the teacher/special policeman. When I had to enforce anything, like a suspension, it was met with complete shutdown and mockery. When Sal attempts to bring down the noise level, the door is slammed on his face. Once he finally gets in, instead of following orders, they ask him to get a drink, as to say "If you can't beat them, join them." It's as if there is no authority to bring this group to a place of respect. Both of us dealt with the fact that the only way people will get respect is by joining them, and not beating them.

Another item that I took from this was that there is NO authority to bring this group down; which is one of the many reasons why there is no respect. Neither the sheriff nor the principal can honestly bring these kids down, so there is no reason for them to behave. To add to this argument, specifically, the only person that will get in trouble, on both fronts, regardless of the outcome, is the teacher/special policeman. They take the responsibility and they get paid, so they can also get F**KED in the ass.

Although we felt different about our responsibilities, our outcome was the same regardless. I would work long hours and fight everyday with my students, feeling exhausted and hopeless. Kerouac got drunk and posted the US flag up side down, feeling exhausted and hopeless.

To bring everything together, my only concern was the fact that we were failing these kids every single day, and not in their grades. I was unable to give my best because that would conflict with the true philosophy of the school, which can be described simply as the "english speaking zone." It is an inside joke between the people that experienced this horror unfold before them and myself, but we can't help but feel the sadness that occurred daily at that school.

The system was completely broken, and the living situation turned out to be completely disastrous. Because I lived at my school, my landlord was my principal. I blame my departure of San Pedro Sula on her, and this would be the reason. My principal did not like me. My principal hated Carlos. This is the kind of hate that can only be described as pure. I mean no empathy whatsoever; the way you see a friend whose stabbed you in the back.

Kerouac also encounters problems at his home while he deals with extenuating circumstance. Stay tuned!