A weekend in Gracias

Yay! I survived the first week of working in Gracias. Actually, it wasn't all that difficult since we basically had the whole week to decorate and plan, and still have until Thursday when we meet our kiddos and their parents. I can't wait to start teaching, it's going to be such an awesome year!
After surviving such a strenuous week...we decided to have ourselves our own little happy hour at casa amarilla. We had a lovely chat and cocktails...just like back in the US ha ha ha. Saturday morning we decided to hike Celaque (the tallest mountain in Honduras) Words cannot even the 45 minute mototaxi ride up to Celaque. It was by far the bumpiest most ridiculous ride of my life. I have some video to share, but I fear that even the video will not do it justice. There were points where we actually had to get out of the taxi in order for him to make it over some hills and bumps. I can't forget to mention the moment in which our driver was stuck and we had to push him partially up the hill. We trekked as far as we could in our mototaxis until the they could no longer drive because it was too steep and bumpy. We then began walking up hill towards the visitor center, where you have to sign into a book, presumably in case you get lost and the jaguars eat you. The hike up the mountain can be explained by no other words than freaking intense. It is literally all up hill in switch back fashion for an hour and a half. You can only imagine our dismay to find that when we reached the top, drenched in sweat, the fog was so incredibly dense we could only hear the waterfall and not see it. We ate a quick lunch so as not to catch chill from our thoroughly drenched clothes. Then came the descent down the mountain where it promptly started raining to make our journey that much more difficult. We finally made it back to our mototaxis and the fantastic ride bike. I would like to note that upon taking off my shoes and socks, I found that my socks were stuck to nail polish on my toes..I can only assume from them being jammed while making our way down. We were all exhausted and napped away the raining afternoon.

Sunday usually tends to be my favorite and today started off much like any Sunday in the US. I did some cleaning and some laundry (which is actually quite a process here...you have to manually fill the washer with water: wash your clothes and then fill it again to rinse them: then you get to hang dry your clothes) then was startled by my roommate saying "Don't freak out but I think you need to see this" There were about 5 policia outside of our neighbors door with large guns aimed and I am assuming loaded. They began pounding on our neighbors and attempted to kick it down. Meanwhile our neighbors refuse to open their door, and the police continue pounding and pointing their weapons. You can only imagine what was going through these 4 gringas heads. I think we were all prepared to duck and cover in case things got a bit messy and I was hoping that I would not see my first dead body.Eventually our neighbor surrendered himself and he left in handcuffs...Ah what a day...

From drab to Fab

Monday commenced the beginning of work by holding a 3 hour meeting, 10 minutes of which were spent in prayer, and the rest was a combo of confusion in English and Spanish. After, a surprisingly yummy lunch we were left to begin decorating our classrooms. I will work on posting pictures but let me first try to explain what the classrooms look like. They are quite small in size with concrete floors and half finished wooden walls. We have a whiteboard and that is all. I have to say I am rather impressed with my colleagues and myself as well for setting up such nice looking classrooms with limited resources. You will have to see the before and after pictures. We still have tomorrow and 3 days next week to work on our classrooms. I should mention we haven't had a meeting since Monday, quite different from the US. As I begin preparing for my lil monsters to arrive, I have to take a minute to appreciate the simple things that make life teaching in the US much easier such as a printer, copier, paper slicer, and school resources in general. I also take a minute to prepare myself for the challenge that will come from being a teacher in Honduras, I find that I am looking forward to this challenge and the satisfaction I will have when this year is over and I realize my strength as a person and a teacher.  Ok enough of the mushy gushy...

This blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell you about the newest addition to the casa amarilla household, her name is Esperanza and she is the most adorable thing ever. She is a small neglected dog who wandered into our yard most likely looking for a place to die. When we first met her she could barely hold her head up much less wag her tail. After a day or two of trying to feed her and showing her some affection, there is a mutual love from Esperanza to all the ladies of the house. Yesterday she followed us all the way to school and sat at the school for most of the day until some of the roomies left, and decided to take her to a "vet" who promptly gave her a shot to kill basically everything in her body. She is already trying to constantly eat and has made herself quite at home and a lovely addition to our house.

Cross country travels

Last Monday, a group of 9 of us headed of to Tela to enjoy the beach before the madness of teaching begins. We had a smooth ride and there and were able to see the beautiful scenery of Honduras. There were mountains after rolling green mountains throughout the entire bus ride. We made it to Tela without any problems and got to our hotel which was actually cute little cabins located right on the beach away. The only problem was the price and the fact that there was a tree above us which continually dropped seeds onto our tin roof all night long. I can't even count how many times I woke up in them middle thinking someone was breaking into our humble abode. While there we did eat some amazingly yummy food, good thing it was super yummy because we waited about 2 hours for them to cook it. Also, I should mention that restaurants there are really just little tables on the beach while people cook the food in their own personal kitchens. It was definitely probably the freshest food I have eaten.
Day 2 Though my mom would be proud of us trying to pinch pennies....the hotel/hostel or whatever you might call it was truly awful. I posted some of the pictures on facebook and unfortunately the zoom on my camera is not great enough to show all of the tiny ants that were crawling across the bed. Needless to say before we layed down there was a heavy dose of hand sanitizer and bug spray applied to the bed, and the pillows were absolutely out of the question. Lesson learned always pack extra clothes in case they are needed in the form of sheets or pillows. We did have a fantastic lunch with a spectacular view and spent the rest of the time lounging on the beach until it was late enough to muster up the liquid courage to sleep on those beds.
Day 3  Was by far the best day! We took a boat out to Punta Sal ( a national park) We hiked through some jungle-esque environment and saw both Howler Monkeys and White faced monkeys. In fact the guide said it was quite rare to see both monkeys at the same time....understandably so, they were having a stand off above our heads. We then took the boat back around the island and were dropped and left to snorkel back. Though I had occasional moments of panic and fear of drowning it was a lovely experience and were able to see a few interesting fish and an abundance of coral. Then we had another fabulous lunch with a paradise view. Life is rough, I know.
Day 4 Time to head home. The bus ride from Tela to San Pedro was...how can I put this? For lack of a better word I will say, interesting. It may perhaps have been the bumpiest ride I have ever had, busch gardens included. The driver was an utter maniac who spent more time picking his nose than watching the road. He also must have had Mario Andretti(sp) tendencies, and took turns at a higher speed then buses are supposed to. Then, after much confusion in San Pedro we were once again Gracias bound. This bus driver actually lost his side mirror due to driving too close to oncoming traffic. I might add, he stopped momentarily...the other driver kept going....then we were back on our way. Slightly different from the US lol. One more bus change and a few groceries later we made it back our casa amarilla. We were all glad to be home with our bronzed skin and fond memories.

Laws of Lempira

It doesn't take much to realize that things here in Gracias are much different than life back home. I will share with you what I now call the Laws of Lempira:


#1)  Your feet will forever be dirty...it does not matter if you just showered 30 seconds ago
#2) Raid does count as air freshener and has quite a hearty aroma
#3) Your face will have constant sheen of sweat, you know that really healthy glow look (Truth is you will look like crap and rarely ever want to look in the mirror)
#4) Even with above mentioned rule....men will stare, whistle, honk, cat call, and yell at you. Worst idea possible is to go running through town...
#5) Cars will not stop if you are in their way. They will came barreling at you until you run and jump out of the way. This rule is not limited to cars and mototaxis but includes buses as well
#6) Bonding occurs most often during encounters with large flying bugs and of course the usual...cervezas
#7) You can't throw toilet paper in the toilet.... I don't know really what else to say about that
#8) The plan is there is no plan, no time line, no time frame, nada. You live according to Honduran time which is basically whenever you feel like doing it.

Strangely enough these rules have been fairly easy to follow thus far. I can only imagine what the next few months will hold and what sort of experiences we will continue to have. 

Real World Gracias

So I have made it safely to the town of Gracias Lempira. There were definitely times during the 5 1/2 hour drive from San Pedro Sula to Gracias where I thought I was going to die. Imagine if you will very poorly paved 2 lane road with maniac drivers and pouring down rain with a thunder and lightening storm. Imagine your eyes closed attempting to rest when the driver slams on his breaks and then swerves to miss a pot hole. Mom and Dad I love you dearly but you will most likely not survive such a trip. The house we are living in is absolutely beautiful and also will include 8 girls living in it.... enough said. So far the girls have been great and we have been doing some major bonding. Food so far is great, loving those baleadas and cafe con leche yumm yumm. I would love to tell you about mototaxisn but no words can explain...you will have to wait for a video on that one. The men here love us american girls. We definitely get a lot of stares but everyone has been friendly (the kids are adorable!) We start work sort of on the 15th but for reals on the 29th....might be planning a beach trip with the roomies. There are a lot of bugs here...cockroaches, beetles, wasps, bees (got bit today :( so lucky I am not allergic!) Also, a lot of wildlife like wild dogs, horses, lizards, chickens, stray cats here and roaming the town. If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask.. I am really not sure what else to write.

On my way

The last few months have absolutely flown by...my car is sold...my bags are packed....I am sitting here at the Seattle airport waiting for the next leg of my journey. I truly have to give the warmest and most sincere thank you to all of my friends who have been so support and enthusiastic about my adventure. I will admit there have been times where I question my own sanity and ability to follow through with this craziness but I know that without a doubt I can call on any of my friends to reassure about my purpose in this mission. I have said it before and I will say it many more times, but I couldn't be doing this without my friends and family. You know who you are, and I THANK YOU! With that said...the last few weeks have been busy and have left little time for reflection and remembrance about why I thought that moving to a foreign country for an extended length of time would be a great idea. I am finally beginning to remember why I initiated this journey and the growth and amazement that will come from this experience. I will not come back the same person but as an even better version of me. I can't wait for all of you that know and love quirky me to watch me grow and become a stronger person than ever. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other....

First of the Goobyes

With my car up for sale and some goodbyes already taking place, it's starting to feel more real that I will actually be leaving. I am beginning to believe less in goodbyes and more in see you laters. Goodbyes feel so definite, and one thing I have learned is that life is unexpected and crazy-beautiful. Also, I am realizing that one chapter of my life may be ending but another one is just beginning. It's a crazy book my life has been writing and I can only imagine what future chapters might hold. Looking back over the last 2 years, I have learned, changed, and grown in ways I never thought possible. I have dealt with things that a younger and more naive me would have ran away from screaming. I have grown as a teacher, a leader, a friend, an aunt, a daughter and ultimately an important piece of my family. I look forward to what the next few years will bring, but first must focus on this next year. I do have to acknowledge those who have helped me become who I am, I couldn't have done without all of you fabulous people. I feel truly fortunate to have so many people who are support me on this crazy adventure I am about to embark on!