Computer

My charger for my computer stopped working about six weeks ago. So when Michelle's dad came to visit he brought me a new one from the states and I just gave him the cash for it when he got here. Now that charger has stopped working as of this evening. I don't know if something was spilled on it or what happened, but it doesn't work. At this point I have about an hour of battery left on my computer. So, I will probably be without a computer for two to three weeks. I'll try to use the school computer during my prep periods but I may not be able to update the blog for awhile. Don't be worried if you don't here from me since I will have limited computer access.

Other than the computer issues I am happy and healthy :)...

“May you always be blessed with walls for the wind. A roof for the rain. A warm cup of tea by the fire. Laughter to cheer you. Those you love near you. And all that your heart might desire.” –Irish Blessing

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

All Soul's Day

All Soul's Day (Dia de los Muertos), which is usually celebrated on November 2nd is a big deal in Spain and the Central American countries. In Honduras most people celebrate by going to their family members graves for the day to share stories and meals with one another. It's like a picnic set up for the day.

The last few years Santa Clara has had the day off, but this year we have already missed so much school that Peggy just gave everyone a half day. I think most of the North American volunteers were happy with that, so we wouldn't lose as much instruction time. The Hondurans on the other hand were anything but happy. They really wanted their day off! It's hard, because I can understand why they want the whole day off but it's also tough to miss so many days of school. I guess that's part of the challenges of teaching in a bilingual school with American and Honduran teachers.

I was really interested in learning more about "Dia de los Muertos" and the different traditions people have, so I asked Rosita what she would be doing after school. She told me she was going to "visitar a los muertos" -- "visit the dead". I told her I knew that but wanted to know where she was going. She is from a town called Catacamas. I wasn't sure if all of her deceased family members were there or elsewhere. She told me she would be visiting the grave of Valeria's father. I thought she was talking about another staff member, but I didn't recognize the name. When I asked who it was she said "You know, Valeria Michelle who is in our class". When she saw the shocked look on my face she preceded to tell me that he had been gunned down the night before in Catacamas. I had just met Valeria's dad last week when he came to school to see how she was doing -- I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Apparently Rosita had witnessed the whole thing on her walk home, so she was positive. I can't even explain in words how heart broken I am for this little girl. People are murdered here pretty frequently. It's usually over some illegal activity going on. It's sad, because most of the parents at our school involved in this kind of stuff do it to send their kids to a nice school in hopes that they can make a better life for themselves. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just fact! But regardless of why, there is now a six year old who will never get her dad back. I wish I could wrap her in my arms and take every ounce of her pain away!

It's been a hard day...

Please say lots of prayers for Valeria, her family, and an end to corruption in Honduras and all of the other countries around the world experiencing similar issues.

Life is so precious!

"I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now" -Mercyme

What Kids Say About Love

Reading what kids have to say about love ALWAYS makes my day better:

ON WHAT FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE

"Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life." (Roger, 9)

HOW TO MAKE LOVE ENDURE
"Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work." (Tom, 7)

CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS ABOUT LOVE

"Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I have been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me." (Bobby, 8)

ON THE ROLE OF GOOD LOOKS IN LOVE
"If you want to be loved by somebody who isn't already in your family, it doesn't hurt to be beautiful." (Jeanne, 8)


WHAT IS THE PROPER AGE TO GET MARRIED??
"Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife!" (Tom, 5)

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca - age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen,"
Bobby - age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6

"There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them."
Jenny - age 8

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine -age 5


Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

I hope these made you smile, laugh, and if you're like me -- shed a few joyful tears!

Life is so INSANELY beautiful!

La medida del amor es amar sin medida.
(San Agustín)

The measure of love is to love without measure.

(St. Augustine)

Halloween in Honduras

Since coming to Honduras in August I have been talking about hosting a Halloween party. I was so excited for everyone to dress up and for the Hondurans to experience an American holiday. Everyone at school seemed really excited about coming and some people even said they would dress up, so I was stocked! Here is the invite I sent out:

Follow the witch this Halloween, for the ghost and wraith may not be seen.
To a party at a house on a dark lonely street, good food you will have, good friends you will meet. In costume you'll come, do not be late, we commence at the witching hour of eight.
Until this dark and fateful night, be ready to make haste when witches take flight.

Eight o'clock rolled around on Saturday evening and the party began. At nine o'clock no Hondurans had shown up yet. Since Hondurans are typically late to everything we thought we would give them another hour or so. Once ten o'clock hit I knew no one was going to show. I was a little bummed at first that none of the Hondurans came, but we had an absolute blast without them...

Figuring out where the balloons should go

Awesome decorations

Treat bags

The taquitos Peggy made...yum!

Medusa cake that Andrew made, complete with spider cupcake made by Carrie. We have some crafty people living down here!

Since we didn't have pumpkins to carve we carved watermelons instead. This one was carved by Andrew.

Dancing

Having a great time :)

I was originally going to be a gypsy for Halloween, but all of the shops in town wanted $15 for a dress. So, I decided last minute that I wanted to be a sunflower. Andrew and Lacey helped make that happen. Lacey let me borrow her belt to wear with my green sheet and Andrew made me this awesome sunflower necklace. I was so excited...

Lacey (80's aerobics instructor) and Me (sunflower)

I guess I really know how to accessorize a sheet because one of the volunteers thought I was wearing a dress I had bought in town!

Roommates (Andrew, Lacey, and Jeff)

I had to get in on Andrew's cool costume

All of us (from left to right: Dan, Andrew, Anne, Lacey, Angela, Peggy, Maki, Me, Carrie, and Jeff). Amazing group of people!

I gave out prizes at the end of the night for best costumes. Third place won a pair of halloween socks, Second place also won a pair of socks as well, and then First place won a halloween bandana, movie, and bag of dark chocolate! Without further ado, here are the prize winners of the evening...

Third place goes to Carrie! She was Glenda the good witch from the "Wizard of Oz". The costume she has on was one she wore for a dance recital when she was thirteen years old. Pretty impressive!

Second place goes to Chuck Noland..err, I mean Jeff! He was Tom Hanks in "Castaway" complete with Wilson. He kept his costume a secret from me, so I was cracking up when I saw him!

Drum roll............

First place goes to Andrew for this incredible Chupacabra costume. He made that mask out of paper mache, paint, plastic sprite bottles, and paper. He made the goat himself as well. Very creative and well done!

Photo with Jeff and Wilson

Lacey, Maki, and Me in the doorway

Our only guests for the night were Eyal and Heather. They are both working for the Peace Corps down here. Eyal is eight months in I believe and Heather just arrived four weeks ago.

Jeff loved to take random pictures of us

This is my favorite one of the night. We were all cracking up! Fun times!!

Jumping pictures...

Awesome party with great friends!

I loved my Halloween in Honduras :)

"Life is made up of years that mean nothing and moments that mean it all"