An Introduction

DFW
May 4, 2010

My name is David Whitaker. I’m an artist, writer, photographer, educator, and humanitarian.

I’ve lived in Honduras for nine months. In that amount of time I have developed a personal approach to thriving that relies on observation and practice as well as experimentation and flexibility. My adventures here go unnumbered and begin to exist as an amalgamated experience in my mind. In my writing here, I will seek to sift out certain details and events in order to learn from them. By reading what I write, I hope that you will do the same.

Let’s continue by becoming acquainted.

I was born in Lajolla, CA in 1986 and lived in Encinitas until the age of 4 at which point my parents and I packed and moved to Palmdale, also in CA. I missed the accordion playing neighbor at the top of the hill behind our house and was disappointed not to move to a two story house; a better environment for a slinky. As a child I memorized all of the birds and dinosaurs in the books that I had. I played alone and with friends who were like brothers and sisters. I am an only child. School was easy academically but difficult socially. I graduated from Highland High School in 2004 – go bulldogs. I attended UC Berkeley for the following 4.5 years and achieved bachelor’s degrees in art and anthropology – go bears. During college I worked as a barista, an archaeologist, an educator, and a concert promoter.

I am now 24. I work for a US based non-profit called Bilingual Education for Central America (BECA). The school where I teach is called San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS). The word “beca” means scholarship in Spanish. BECA (becaschools.org) partners with schools in Central America in order to provide international teacher volunteers. We do a great job and because BECA provides volunteers and not paid employees, the school is able to function at a low cost, allowing it to provide becas to the poorest families. My job is called “lower elementary resource teacher.” Each day, I am in contact with more than 100 students from ages 4 to 10. I work to make classrooms better, more flexible places where every student has the skills s/he needs to participate and learn.

The best part about being in Honduras is the kids but I also enjoy traveling and have had ample time to do so on weekends and during special government cancelled school-days called toque de quedas. I’d like to share about various Honduran adventures and how to get around and what to do here that’s beautiful. I’d like to share about my experiences and my life. Follow if you please.