Ocelot

Friday we had our second all school mass. This time the kinder and prepa kids joined us and they were absolutely adorable. We practiced some of the songs and responses on Thursday, right before school ended, so that the kids would participate more. The Honduran principal told us that participation was down because the teachers don't participate in the mass. As volunteers who don't know much Spanish it's very difficult for any of us to participate, but I hope to learn the mass parts and songs before I leave Honduras. Here are a few pictures from the mass...

Katherine loved my sunglasses :)!

Some of my boys....from left to right: Rolando, Hector Angel, Luis Guillermo, and Hector Abrahan

My coworkers -- Estefani (Spanish prepa aid), Oscar (Computer teacher), and Fanny (American prepa aid)

Anne and her aid Claudia (her son Luis Guillermo (pictured above) is in my class)

Musicians for the mass

Friday after school I played volleyball and fútbol with some of the teachers. I love hanging out with them outside of a school setting because they are all so much fun. I hope we do more things like that as the school year continues.

Friday evening we all got together to play bingo to help raise money for the Nazareth School (one of the few special needs schools in Olancho). All of the volunteers definitely saw my competitive side :). I was so into it and I just wanted to win one time. Bingo was suppose to start at 6:30, but in true Honduran fashion it didn't start until 7:30. When it did start it wasn't just a traditional game of bingo. They had acts preform between games. These acts included a little fashion show, dance, and mini play. All of the kids who performed had special needs so it was really awesome to see...

Kids performing a dance for us. Some of these kids were deaf and others had down syndrome or some other learning disability. They were great!

Welcome to bingo!!!

Since the night didn't get started until 7:30 and I realized at 9:30 there was no end in sight I decided I wanted to cut out early since I was so tired. But we ran into Oscar and he wanted to take us out dancing. I've been wanting to go dancing with the Hondurans since I got here, so even though I was exhausted I went. I'm glad I did because I had an absolute blast!

Karol and Sylvia...they are both incredible dancers!

Me, Oscar, and Lacey


Saturday morning I had to get up at 7a.m. to get ready to tutor my kids in town. After an hour of tutoring I grabbed some papas fritas (french fries) in the park and then headed to the Texaco to get some work done. Time flew because before I knew it I had been there for four hours. It was great to be able to get so much work done!

Saturday night a group of us went out to dinner with Jeff and his dad and ate some cheeseburgers! I didn't even know I could get a cheeseburger in Honduras until last Monday and now I've had three in the last week. Yum, yum, yum!

My road. Mi casa es el último de la derecha (my house is the last one on the right).

Waiting for everyone to swing by and pick me up.

Everyone loves their coke in Honduras

On my way to Anne and Carrie's house.

Sunday morning I got up and walked two miles to Anne and Carrie's to go to the "Nun Mass" with them.

Beautiful view!

Padre says mass at a parish called La Conception where there is a group of cloistered nuns. It's a beautiful church...

La Conception

Inside the church. To the right, behind the bars, is where the nuns sit.

Usually I walk to the Esso gas station and Padre picks me up there, but Jeff and his dad wanted to come and there is only room for four in the car -- so Anne and I road bikes to mass. It's only two miles away so it took us about 15 minutes to get there. It was a gorgeous ride and on the way we passed horses, cows, and pigs. I loved it!

After mass Padre took us to his house for coffee and then Jeff, his dad, Andrew, and I headed to Catacamas to visit our friend Fanny. We went back to the caves Oscar took us too about five weeks ago so Andrew and Jeff's dad could check them out. After visiting the caves we went to lunch at a restaurant close by. As we were waiting for our food I saw a man holding what I thought was a small cheetah cub. I didn't think twice as I jumped out of my seat to chase him down. I got his attention and asked if he was indeed carrying a cheetah cub. He told me he was and then I asked if I could pet him. The man was great and let me pet the little guy and hold him -- his name was Simba. Andrew and Jeff said they didn't think it was cheetah cub, but we couldn't figure it out. When I got home I googled it and thought it was a jaguar cub, but then Andrew found out today it's an Ocelot. I've never heard of one, but here are the pictures I took of it and some information....

I think it was teething, because it loved to bite.

Little Simba

I love him :)

Adorable

The Ocelot is similar in appearance to a domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a Clouded Leopard or Jaguar and was once regarded as particularly valuable. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ocelots were once killed for their fur. The feline was classified a "vulnerable"endangered species from 1972 until 1996, but is now rated "least concern" by the 2008. The Ocelot ranges from 68 to 100 centimetres (27 to 39 in) in length, plus 26 to 45 centimetres (10 to 18 in) tail length, and typically weighs 8 to 10 kilograms (18 to 22 lb), although much larger individuals have occasionally been recorded, making it the largest of the generally dainty Leopardus wild cat genus.The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. Almost all of the prey that the Ocelot hunts is far smaller than itself, with rodents, rabbits, and opposumsforming the largest part of the die

I can't believe he's actually going to try and keep that thing as a pet, but to each his own I guess.

Before leaving Catacamas for the day we went to one of the parks there and I saw the biggest tree I've seen in my life...

Check out the base of the this tree. It was HUGE!

It didn't only have a huge base, it was also super tall. Incredible!

Awesome weekend!

Hasta la próxima (Until next time)...

"You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings." -Elizabeth Gilbert