Rewind....

I apologize to all because I have been terrible about keeping up to date with my blog....Let me see if I can review noteworthy events that have happened in the last month.  My dear friend Tiffany came to visit and we met in Copan where we were able to enjoy the ruins and catch up on what has been happening in the last few years. I hadn't seen Tiffany since we graduated with our Bachelor's in 2008. She came back with me to Gracias and was awesome, teaching my kiddos how to make snowflakes and reading stories to them. They adored her. We went to a futbol game but didn't stay long because there was absolutely nowhere to sit. Also, the crowd was a little strange because they were practically silent until a goal was almost made. Not quite what I had pictured for a soccer game in a Latin country. The next day we went to a nearby town called La Campa. Though the town was beautiful it felt like something much out of a horror movie because of the lack of the people. We saw maybe 5 people in the whole town. There was some very cool pottery and bought some fun things to take home back to the states. Bright and early Sunday morning Tiffany had to leave and we said our "see you laters" knowing that our paths will cross again someday.
Later that day, teachers from Minerva and the other bilingual school, plus a few missionaries all gathered together for a Thanksgiving meal. I have truly never been so grateful for so many things in my life. It was a gathering of awesome food and even more awesome food. It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember!
A story that I must include but can't remember when it actually happened was a few weeks ago when I was sitting on our patio, enjoying my usual breakfast of corn flakes and waiting to skype when I hear a very loud pop! pop! pop! and see sparks shooting out. My first thought was gun shots but quickly realized that it was one of the cables that runs ridiculously close to our house.  When I say close I mean  perhaps 3 feet from our railing. The internet goes out instantly as well as the lights. I continue eating and then 3 more pops! and more sparks. I continued to sit there eating until I hear our neighbor shouting "fuego! fuego! fuego!" I run to the railing and see 2 small fires on the wires. My first and only thought was to grab water....I know many of you are thinking water is a terrible idea because it was an electrical fire.....irregardless we had nothing else to put out the fire with and yes the water worked and I am clearly still alive to tell this tale. Never a dull moment in Gracias.

On to Jenna and Kristin take on El Salvador.... After leaving Wednesday after school and arriving to our final destination Thursday about 8 pm we were more than thrilled to be stationary for a bit. (We did stay the night at a border town) After setting our things doing and preparing ourselves to explore the town for some food we leave our room to find some English speaking people hanging out in the patio area. They offered us a beer and we knew we had made some immediate friends. We had perhaps one of the most memorable Thanksgiving dinners either of us will ever experience. Our make shift El Salvodorean family consisted of a couple from Australia, 2 men from LA, and a half El Salvodorean. We enjoyed our meal immensely and of course indulged in some pie, it was Thanksgiving after all. The next day we went on a waterfall tour where it was Jenna, myself, our tour guide Duglas, and his 5 dogs. We were out in pristine nature where it appeared that only few tend to travel. We were hiking in and out of the river and waterfalls, where we actually had to repel ourselves down the waterfall. It was such an incredible experience! We were then able to sunbathe in the base of a waterfall, yup couldn't imagine a better trip. We explored the town and even had a little lounge time before hitting the night market and rabbit tacos in a nearby town. Saturday, we spent hitting the market in Juajua and found some good steals. With our bags and goodies loaded we headed to La Palma, a super adorable town much closer to the border of Honduras. Sunday we were able to check the bright colorful murals painted all over the town and check out all the artisan shops. After one last zapote licuado, we headed back home to Gracias. We had a blast on our trip and are very much in love with El Salvador!

Rough Week at Casa Amarilla

Ah where to begin describing this week's events at Casa Amarilla. It must have started a few weeks, perhaps a month ago when I noticed things were not right with my belly. After each meal my stomach would feel icky and on the fritz, I of course with the help of WebMd and various other resources self diagnosed myself on Monday night with a parasite. According to numerous reports, though not easy, it is possible to rid yourself of a parasite in natural ways such as eating garlic, pineapple, carrots, and tomatoes. I decided to begin immediately and with the support of Sarah, ate a whole clove of garlic. At least I would keep the vampires away, if not kill the parasites. I am no doctor and can't prove any correlation, but I am 92% sure that Michael Bolton ( my parasite) revolted and began singing woeful love ballads all day and night on my intestines. Either way, I ended up terribly sick on Tuesday and actually had to leave school early to go to the doctor.

Side note: Going to the doctor here is quite an experience because if you weren't sick and nauseous before you left for the doctor's office, you will definitely be sick from the ride getting there. Then, at the doctor's office you are sitting knee to knee with other patients and then there are the frequent passer bys that drop in just to chat with another. The actual office has only one chair and barely enough room for 2 people. The exam table is definitely not large enough for a person above 5 feet and my legs were dangling off at the knee.

But, the doctor was nice but didn't believe my nausea, light headed, weakness, tummy cramps, to be a parasite but a colon issue which he prescribed 2 medicines for. I got home and promptly took the medicine as per docs order and then ate a little, then I realized the pills weren't going to stay down. In fact, after that moment nothing wanted to stay down, not even water. Another trip to the doctor and the lab for some exams was definitely in order. I can honestly say it was one of the most challenging experiences I have had since being here. I went to the doc feeling horribly ill and afraid that I would up chuck all over the doctor and my super sweet colleague who was there translating. He gave me a shot to help with the nausea, which wasn't helping, and they were afraid they would have to take me to the hospital. Then the most dreaded incident happened. Homeboy doctor decided he wanted to give me an IV to give me more medicine and rehydrate me, I would like to mention that I have never had an IV before and desperately didn't want my first one to be in Honduras. Perhaps my veins sensed this and retreated because try hard as he could and and after much poking and prodding, he could not find my vein and we had to call it quitsies on the IV. Instead he gave me another pill and when I was feeling well sent me home. After a ton of prescriptions, all of which need to be taken at different times, I am finally on the road to recovery! Yay!

Then, there is the matter of Esperanza....she was hit by a car on Tuesday afternoon and we thought for sure that her back left foot or hip was broken. We were prepared to take her to Santa Rosa because there is no vet in town but luckily, each day she is getting better and better and putting more weight on her foot. Esperanza and I were able to keep each other good company and get some nice bonding time while both of us were falling apart. We are both on the mend and she is returning to her puppy self. Ah, the life in Honduras...you just never to know what to expect!

Lessons on being humble

Another week of work completed, well mostly completely minus the ridiculous amount of hours I will spend this week working on preparing our own tests. To all my teacher friends, please never ever take having resources for granted! And when I say resources I  mean a copy machine and the ability to print without tallying the number of pages you have printed, let alone a paper slicer. I wish I could say that my artistic abilities have grown since the necessity for visuals is astounding but sadly, I still draw mis-shaped stick figures that only slightly resemble either male of female irregardless of the beautiful triangular dress I attempt to represent the ladies. Good thing I still have a few (8) months to perfect my drawing skills!
This week has been crazy busy but for the most part I truly enjoyed it and have helped me to grow as a teacher and a person.
Monday after school I went to the doctor to find out what my tummy was up to and turns out I had some amoebas in my belly causing slight mayhem. The doctor was an interesting experience for sure, he was very nice man but searched around poking and prodding my belly as it had never been poked or prodded before and asking if it hurts. If my fingers were digging into your innards you would probably think it hurts a bit as well. Conveniently though the pharmacy was located just down a little walkway from the doctor's office. Feeling much better these days! or perhaps its just fear of fingers digging into my intestines either way works for me!
Tuesday, after school the high school students had a dance competition in a nearby town, which I am ecstatic to say that they did a fabulous job and won first place, out of 3. I can't fail to mention the process in which Kate and I went through to actually arrive in Bellin. There was no room in the car of a colleague so Kate and I decided to hitchhike there, I mean porque no? everyone in Honduras does it. Eventually we found a man who take us a bit closer to where we were going but couldn't take us the whole way, so we hopped in the back and held on for dear life as tore down the streets of Gracias, never mind the potholes and speed bumps. At one point we definitely exchanged looks of Oh man what did we get ourselves into.... While clinging to life in the back of this truck we hear a series of honking and turn to realize it was some other colleagues who were on their way as well, unfortunately no room in their car either but they called the bus driver and told him to pick us up. A bag of Doritos, a Fanta, and about 30 minutes later yet another colleague drives by and we flail our arms and flag her down, finally a car with some room. We gladly hopped in and arrived safely at our destination.
Wednesday, Kate and I met with a nun living in Gracias to set up a tutoring session with a family who desperately wants their children to learn English. Then, had a meeting at work which I will attempt to explain the goings ons of such meeting. The meeting began at 6:00 and we walked in to see an agenda on the board which was actually quite surprising and we had high hopes for a short meeting that was efficient and right to the point. Ha ha ha we must have forgotten which country we are living in. The school was nice enough to bring in a guest speaker who is a pastor in Gracias. His coworker had some interesting games for us to play as he set up a power point presentation, quite impressive right? Well these games consisted of standing in a big circle giving each other back massages and tickling, yes I said tickling each other. I go back to beginning of year meetings in HS where a lawyer presents an hour long presentation on how it could be perceived as harassment to compliment each other, he may have had a heart attack if he saw us patting each others stomachs. After some discomfort amongst us gringos we go back to the meeting for some marriage counseling....Finally, we reach the most important parts of the meeting but are all so frustrated and tired by this point that the environment became slightly hostile. After 2 1/2 hours the meeting came to a close and we rushed home to finally relax a little.
Thursday, we met with sister Brenda and the family of the children we will be tutoring. They were the sweetest family and so appreciative of our help. This family has a house but was talking about how hard it is to live here but was even worse working in the US because he couldn't be with his family. This man has worked hard all of his life and it was evident from the lines on his face and the heaviness in his eyes. He wants the best for his children but can't afford to send them to a bilingual school. I had never realized before how much I enjoy giving and helping. I know opportunities to help are everywhere but have never been so in my face. Again I am so thankful for this experience and chance to grow. I am so humbled by living here.

Some things I can't forget to write about:
Remember when....
....I tried playing kickball with my kids and they didn't understand the rules but ran around for 30 minutes having a blast
.....Kate made a comment about a room smelling nice when I then pointed out that the lovely fragrance was in fact Raid
......school meetings encouraged sexual harassment lol
.......when a bat sized moth flew into my classroom and the kiddos ( and myself included) went a little bit crazy
.......the water isn't even safe enough to brush your teeth with
........when our English daily digresses and we have begun speaking Spanglish
......my kids are seriously awesome and I dearly love them even when they lose a tooth and I throw up in my mouth a little bit

Lagos y Ladrones

After 4 hours of marching practice, 2 weeks ago, and a parade marching through the streets of Gracias, the gringas were free to begin our 4 day weekend with much enthusiasm. Honduras' Independence gave us the freedom to explore a little bit of the country. Due to the fact that our traveling is by bus and usually quite lengthy trips, we decided to leave bright and early Thursday morning, 4:30 am bright and early. You know us crazy gringas! After somewhere between 6 and 7 hours of traveling and encountering one very old, very sweet, and very cooky elderly lady we made it our hostel and found out that we had quite a nice cabin with the bonus of a jacuzzi tub! After settling in we ventured out to the canal and had a peaceful rest sitting by the canal. That night we had the most amazing hamburgers and beer, our hostel was also a brewery :)   Friday we went to Pulhapanzak Falls where we paid a much need tour guide to walk into the base of the waterfall, and climb into a small cave behind the falls. There are few words to describe the experience other than intense. The water was spraying into our faces so much that we could barely open your eyes much less breathe. Our tour guide told us to hold hands and breathe through our mouths. Kate and I had to remove our shoes for fear that we would have yet another adventure of losing a flip flop but this time without hope of recuperating it. After some serious panicking we all made it through the waterfall and back and were exhilarated that we had survived such a treacherous plight. We had another relaxing night of delicious food and yummy beer. Sunday is was time to head back to Gracias and what an adventure that was. Our first bus was smooth sailing and went without a hitch but the next bus, oh boy I am not even sure how to explain it. First we had to wait for about an hour as they filled up the 15 passenger van. There were finally enough people to begin our voyage when much to our dismay another 8 people jumped on to the bus. There were now 23 people in the van and some were standing crouched over other passengers (ie Kate and myself). The van begin the twisty turny trek back and I took myself to my happy place. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only 45 minutes a small child in the back of the van began throwing up.....we all begin shouting for A) bolsa- bag (for the child to throw up in) and B) to open the windows to air out the smell. We finally made it back home and I found that the door to my room was locked and I had absolutely no key.....
Side note: Thursday night our house was broken into, which we found out Friday morning. Thank goodness for our amazing neighbor and finally some prompt action by our land lord who finally fixed all of our windows and doors.
Unfortunately, the landlord had decided to lock 2 doors inside the house, mine and Colleen's. Well Colleen was able to break in through an inside window. I on the other hand, first attempted to break the door handle, truly an epic failure. Finally, we had to break in through the window and I was able to get into my room. Needless to say it was quite a day. Eventually I realized homeboy thief had stole my camera, my blackberry, and 300 lemps ($15). Good thing he was not really the most brilliant thief because it turns out he is our neighbor boy, whose mom we bought tortillas from all the time. Well, his mom actually attempted to sell my camera to our neighbor lady who had been watching our house and little Esperanza. As luck would have it I did get my camera and my cell phone back but my money has not returned.....still need to have a chat with little neighbor boy. Ah, I tell you life should be so dull here but it has proven to be anything but...let the good times roll.

The small things...

Week 2 of teaching completed and I am feeling more inspired to become the best teacher I can be.I have been researching methods for teaching ELL and creating a toolbox for myself that I will be able to use back in the US as well. I am also bound and determined to incorporate more modern ways of learning other than worksheet after worksheet. I will figure out a way to get it all done...or I at least  I hope so! I should also mention the Latin American holiday of dia del nino (day of the child). It's a rather interesting holiday in that the children get loaded up on sugar (I am talking 2 cakes, 7 pinatas, 3 liters of coke, 5 bags of chips, and unlimited supply of candy). Mind you this activity took place in the middle of the day and the students were to resume normal classes in the afternoon. It was one of those experiences in life where you simply throw up your hands in defeat of the madness and decide if you can't beat them, join them, of course you know I joined them. Luckily enough for me I didn't actually have to teach their afternoon classes because they are taught in Spanish and I was able to crash off my own sugar high working on lesson plans in the breeze way. Thank goodness this day only happens once a year.
 Saturday was by far one of the best days in Honduras yet. We joined an amazing missionary family in their efforts to provide food to the less fortunate children of the Lempira area, one of the poorest in Honduras. This family sold their belongings and packed up the rest to move to Gracias to change the lives of poor and neglected children here. Their story is absolutely remarkable seeing as they have 4 children, the youngest just turned 1 and the eldest is a 1st grader. Their courage and willingness to change lives is truly inspirational and I hope that I will still be around to see their dreams of a children's center for neglected or abused children come true. While helping, some of us were in the kitchen helping prepare the meal while they rest of us (myself included) were playing games with the children. Let me tell you duck, duck, goose is much more difficult to explain in Spanish! I don't know who loved our interactions more, us or the children. We had a great time trying to teach them English and you could tell on their faces that they were equally, if not more happy than we were. It was a truly moving experience and I cannot wait to go back and help again. Words cannot express how inspiring Betty, the lady in charge of all the cooking which took place at her house, and the Goodwin Family are.
After a day of helping needy children we came home and found that our helping skills were still needed by our roommate Colleen, who had been sick for days and found out she has an infection, which of course needs to be treated  with antibiotics. Well, the only catch is here in Honduras they give antibiotics in shot form, so they literally sent her home with a pack of needles and medicine to inject. Brings a whole new definition to teamwork. We had nurse practitioner Sarah and Doctor Kate who prepared the shot, while I played the roll of nurse and had to hold a chunk of her butt to make the shot go easier. Kate was totally professional and I am even more thankful she is my friend, just in case the need ever arises.  The rest of the evening was filled with laughs due to a froggy friend living in our bathroom which caused a tinkle accident by one of the roommates. There was also the soup brownies which happens when you try to "bake" brownies in a microwave that doesn't actually work all that well. In such a tranquil town there is rarely a dull moment at the casa amarilla, I guess that's what happens you put 8 gringas in one house.

Sobreviviendo

I have officially completed a full week of teaching here in Gracias. I would be lying if I said that it went smoothly, because it was a week full of glitches and unexpected cultural norms. I was more prepared for the differences of day to day life than the differences teaching a class of all ELL but the more I get to know my students, I enjoy them more and more. Though my students are getting better I haven't quite gotten used to the frequent chorus of "Meez! Meez! Meez!" when a student needs my attention. Nor the fact that they don't take turns when they talk so raising their hand without shouting has been one of our biggest challenges. The most frustrating part of working here is the fact that we are bound by worksheets in workbooks for every subject, which are boring for me and the kids, but don't you all worry I attempt to put my creativity to work here.
My favorite part of the first day may have been the end of the day when the kids tell me they are going to the bus. My eyes quickly scan the road for big yellow buses but I then see my kiddos run to 3 minivans where they pile in about 20 per van. Maybe not the safest but it works for the Hondurans.
Not only has teaching been quite an adjustment but I can't fail to mention the fact that we lost water for over a day and then also lost electricity for a day as well, with a forecast of many power outages to happen in the future. It's imperative to also mention the ridiculous rodent and insect infestation that occurs at the casa amarilla on a daily basis. There was an epic battle between mouse and man in which the poor mouse was defeated by the almighty bucket of death (not something I am proud of, but little mousie friend had to go) We have encountered many cockroaches, which I am actually quite proud of my growing ability to smash them though I may make comments like "I need a bigger shoe!" Today marked a brand new edition to the bug conundrum here where we had a swarm of flying ants rapidly building a nest by our front door. We didn't know what to do so we asked our kind neighbors for assistance. They promptly doused the nest with raid and we could only run and scream in horror as flying ants came dropping out of the sky like raindrops.
After a grueling week of teaching and mortal kombat insect version I have had one of the nicest weekends since being here. Friday night was spent by candlelight potluck with drinks, live guitar, and great conversation. Saturday was for relaxing and hanging out. Sunday, I played soccer for the first time ever, and I literally mean the first time ever. There was a group of us gringos and some Spanish teachers as well. I had a lot of fun and was actually proud that I made small contributions to the team (very small contributions but contributions nonetheless) . We then topped off the evening by going to our neighbors house who cooks tortillas over a flame in her backyard, and she attempted to teach us how to make tortillas. She made it look so easy while we struggled and she just laughed at us.  I am definitely content living here in Honduras and appreciate the small things in life much more!

Rainstorms, rivers, and robbers

I realize that I have neglected to post about the recently exciting events of the past week. I must begin with last Thursday's rainstorm/river incident: Kate, Sarah, and I were casually walking down the street after our usual coffee and/or ice cream stop when it began to absolutely pour. I mean the sky literally opened up and began dumping water on the poor town of Gracias. We sought quick refuge in a nearby bank but realized that the rain was not likely to stop any time..mind you at this point we were already drenched, so we decided to grin and bear and take on the rain storm. Plus, we were bound and determined to stop by the oh so delicious bakery where we also often stop for a pastry. I should also mention that the streets had begun flooding and on either side of the road were mini rivers which we actually had to cross a few times. As we were slowly trudging to the bakery (our shoes were wet and slippery) we were passed by a truck driving at rather rapid speed. I will let you imagine what that might look like, 3 sopping wet Americans slipping and sliding down the street, when a truck barrels through the mini river. The spray must have been a 5 foot wall of water. We all promptly turned 90 degrees and of course screamed as if that would help. If we weren't drenched before we were now soaked to the bone. Even after debating about catching a mototaxi we decided the bakery was much more important. After guarding our precious pastries we continued our journey home. At one point treking on a downhill slope we had to cross one of the street rivers. Kate steps in and the current wins a desperate battle with her and her shoe. She promptly begins yelling "Mi zapato! Mi Zapato!" Sarah and I attempt to run after her shoe (our shoes are still wet and slimy, hindering greatly our ability to run after the zapato) We continued walking and searching for the shoe until we reached the drain. We looked in despair at the water rushing rapidly down. We turn around to see Kate waving her arms frantically (We had left her halfway up the hill to hobble down with one shoe) We scurried back to Kate to find her flip flop stuck on a rock. Que suerte!
Fast forward to Saturday where we went to visit the nearby town of Santa Rosa, a 45 minute bus ride away. We got there expecting to find an art fair but found a parade instead. We watched as they shot fireworks out of trucks passing through the mobs of people. They were some cute floats and some truly awesome marching bands. They have so much more sass in their bands. After a while we decided we had had enough of the parade and swarms of people so we went on search of food and the elusive chocobanana. We went to a pulperia to grab some water when our friend Jenna realized that her wallet had been taken. It must have happened during the parade.  Jenna was a total trooper and remained super calm and immediately got her cards canceled. Even with the robbery we had a really nice day and finally found chocobananas (frozen banana covered in chocolate and sprinkles!) We could finally head back to home to Gracias, and of course we got caught in yet another rainstorm. Rainy season takes on a whole new meaning these days. We get to the bus station where we chose the mostly empty, short, luxurious looking bus with cozy seats. We were told the bus wouldn't leave for 50 minutes but we decided that was ok as we examined the other bus heading to Gracias which was jam packed full of people. Little did we know that our super luxurious bus would soon become a sardine tin and that they had special seats made so that people can sit in the aisles of the bus. I literally was sitting next to a lady who had another lady sitting in her lap and digging her elbows into my ribs. Jenna and I were forced to snuggle most of the trip home. On a side note I couldn't help but think that if some emergency happened on the bus we would be goners for certain as I am sure they were breaking many safety regulations. We finished off the night with some boxed wine because you know we stay classy in Gracias!