This is all so anti-climatic and strange to me. Today is Thanksgiving; and I sit in the teacher's lounge of Santa Clara typing this entry. We have school today. There is no celebration of Thanksgiving in Honduras. There will be no turkey tonight. There will be no sitting outside in bone-numbing cold watching a high school or college football game. There will be no post-feast nap or time spent with my family today. Even stranger to me (but I like this part) is that today I am wearing flip flops and a sundress. After school; I have tentative plans to go swimming in the pool of one of my new friends. Thanksgiving Day does not exist for me in my world this year. What I have come to realize; though, is that everyday is like Thanksgiving for these beautiful people who have welcomed me into their hearts and homes during my adventure here. It is these amazing people who are teaching me to be thankful for all that I have; and to realize that one can be happy with very little. This year; I am counting all of my blessings.
This week has been an amazing one for me. One of last year's volunteers; Colleen Devine has been in town and has introduced me to some wonderful new people. On Saturday night; we attended a surprise party in the home of one of her old students; a blind boy by the name of Michael. There; we were welcomed with open arms and fed more pupusas and sugary cake than our bodies could handle. I also attempted to dance Punta for the very first time. My attempts were met with a lot of laughter. If you have ever seen anyone dance Punta, you would know that there as some EXTREMELY hip-defying movements that go along with this tradition dance. Well, imagine a white girl with NO hips attempting these moves? Let's just say, I am quickly realizing that I have NO talent in the area of dance. Back home I thought I could "cut a rug" pretty good; but here I am realizing otherwise. Still though; it's fun. And being so submerged in the Latin American culture is equally fun.
I also wanted to mention in this blog the passing of a classmate of an old classmate of mine. I learned on Monday that Glenna Kohl, who attended Salve Regina University with me passed away this past weekend after a 3 1/2 year battle with cancer. For some reason; her death seems to be hitting me pretty hard although the two of us were never close friends. I think that this is because I have seen real suffering amongst these people here in Honduras, but I have also seen their faith and their belief in the afterlife. I have had several people here assure me of her being at peace and their belief that she is in a better place. So in this entry, I just want to send my love and prayers to the Kohl family (who I believe is now reading this blog!) Glenna was a beautiful person and a woman of such strength and compassion! She is in the thoughts and prayers of many and will always be in our hearts!
Happy Thanksgiving; everyone! I will being seeing you all in about 3 weeks and I can't wait! Think of me today as you eat your turkey and pumpkin pie. I think I'll be having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner (I can't help it....I have to make you all feel a LITTLE badly about my missing the holiday! haha) Besos!!!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Wanted: Decent Earplugs
Why, you ask? I woke up this morning relatively unhappy. The mini mart around the corner from us is having their "Annual Anniversary Sale". What does this consist of you might ask? Well, a live D.J that plays the SAME 10 or so songs REPEATEDLY for hours at an earpiercing volume that can be heard from probably a mile away. This started at 7a.m this morning. (On an alternative note; they are also giving away free Bacardi and Cokes to patrons to celebrate their Anniversary. So you can stop by; have some free drinks and have a "dance-off" in front of your local grocery joint) Needless to say I am not happy about it as I was hoping to "sleep in". "Sleeping in" is difficult here as I am usually woken up by 5:30am with a serenade of various farm animals. In any case; if anyone can send me a pair of decent earplugs that don't hurt my ears....
I.O.U: One armpit hair plucking. Preferably a public place; and only if we sell fruit or other food while we are doing this. If we are going to do this, we need to do it Honduran style!!!!!
I.O.U: One armpit hair plucking. Preferably a public place; and only if we sell fruit or other food while we are doing this. If we are going to do this, we need to do it Honduran style!!!!!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Never-ending Summer....
It has been awhile since I have really blogged. For some reason; I just feel as though sometimes I can't put into words all that I want to say. To say that the past couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions would be the understatment of the century. Let's just say in the past 2 weeks; I have seen the reaction of Honduran parents when their child fails English class, I have gone to a "Honduran Halloween Bash", gone on another relaxing weekend away in the mountains, and felt the stress of trying to do grades by myself for the first time ever. In any case, I feel as though lately I am having days that are either "super high" or "super low". I am feeling the stress of trying to test first graders on all that I have taught them thus far, and the frustration level when I realized many of them retained most of it was a bit upsetting to say the least. On a positive note; I gave my first REAL Spelling test today and 80% of the kids passed it. I feel like I am starting to make progress little by little, but this is surely the biggest challenge I have ever undertaken in my career thus far. I do love it though; and I am starting to imagine how difficult it will be to leave these children in July. Everyday I get on the bus; only to have them fight over who gets to sit with me. It never ceases to make me laugh that they will run up to me excitedly; rattling off an entire story in Spanish filled with all this body language and expression; still not realizing that I have no clue what they are saying. I have one student in particular (Andrea Lizeth) who I can't help but crack up laughing at everytime she comes up to me. She always has one hand on her hips, and she flails her arms around wildly with wide eyes as she fills me in on the latest "first grade gossip"...in Spanish, mind you. After she goes off on her rampage, she looks at me expecting an equally intense reaction, and I usually simply respond with "ohhhh, siiiiiiii!" She probably thinks I am insane! She is my leader too; and I would be lost without her. Everytime I speak to the class in English and they look at me as though I have lobsters crawling out of my ears; she marches to the front of the room and relays the message to the class in Spanish. Lately, I make an attempt to try to give my instructions out in Spanish. I have decided to dub my Spanish "caveman talk" because that is just what it is. In any case, my friend Edgar (the gym teacher) told me that I have the Spanish speaking level of a toddler. I suppose I can't blame him; seeing where I only talk in the present tense. For instance; if I say "Please put your books in your backpacks and come and sit down for storytime" it would probably translate into Spanish "Your backpacks put your books in and sit here for the book". I still find myself trying to add an "a" or an "o" to the end of English words; convincing myself that this is the solution for every situation in which I do not know what the correct word for something is. It is starting to register that I can't say "Do-o you-o want a drinko?" when I really want to say "Do you want a drink?" (For the record, I THINK it's something along the lines of "Quieres una bebida?", but I could be wrong. In any case, enough rambling about my lame attempts at speaking Spanish.
A couple of "big events" are coming up over the course of the next month; and I have much to be excited about. First of all; Colleen (one of last year's volunteers) is coming into town on Saturday for a week and I will be making the trek into town with Carlos to get her. It will be a week of dancing, partying (which here in Honduras means LOTS of food... most of which does NOT agree with my stomach still), and lots of visiting of different families. Also next week; I will celebrate my first-ever "Honduran Thanksgiving" which will supposedly include ALL the fixings. I wonder if they have cranberry sauce here in Honduras? And in four weeks; I will make the big trip back to the States to celebrate Christmas. I have to say that while it is an adventure here; I am actually super excited to be headed home for a couple of weeks. I am sure my opinion may be different though after I get off that plane and remember how miserable the weather is in New England for 4-5 months out of the year. It's going to be HARD for me to EVER want to live in such a cold place again after this year. I am at the point now where 70 degrees is "chilly". Right now, I am wearing socks because I have cold feet. It's probably 75 degrees out! Another reason I know I am becoming a tad bit Honduran? I ate nachos for breakfast at 8:00 this morning. With extra salsa! Who does that? This is my life now, and I do!
A couple of "big events" are coming up over the course of the next month; and I have much to be excited about. First of all; Colleen (one of last year's volunteers) is coming into town on Saturday for a week and I will be making the trek into town with Carlos to get her. It will be a week of dancing, partying (which here in Honduras means LOTS of food... most of which does NOT agree with my stomach still), and lots of visiting of different families. Also next week; I will celebrate my first-ever "Honduran Thanksgiving" which will supposedly include ALL the fixings. I wonder if they have cranberry sauce here in Honduras? And in four weeks; I will make the big trip back to the States to celebrate Christmas. I have to say that while it is an adventure here; I am actually super excited to be headed home for a couple of weeks. I am sure my opinion may be different though after I get off that plane and remember how miserable the weather is in New England for 4-5 months out of the year. It's going to be HARD for me to EVER want to live in such a cold place again after this year. I am at the point now where 70 degrees is "chilly". Right now, I am wearing socks because I have cold feet. It's probably 75 degrees out! Another reason I know I am becoming a tad bit Honduran? I ate nachos for breakfast at 8:00 this morning. With extra salsa! Who does that? This is my life now, and I do!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A bit lighthearted...
Some unusual sights and lessons learned thus far during my 2 1/2 months here in Honduras. Also included are some sights I don't find so strange anymore...
-Plucking one's armpit hairs with tweezers is not only acceptable, but doing so in a central location (like the town square) seems to be the preference. Additionally, it's not all that bizarre to engage in this habit while performing ones job as a food vendor (No, I don't buy fruit from these people!)
-One can take a full shower (including washing, shaving, and washing and conditioning ones hair) with a 5 gallon bucket of water. I know this first hand. We had no water delivered to us for 2 weeks so my water supply was SUPER limited.
-it IS humanly possible to live off of eggs, beans, cereal, and rice. I substitute this excellent diet with the occasional salva Vida (the local version of Bud Light) or better yet, a bag of Peanut M&M's or Cheetos. I have also learned that people over the age of 22 (college age) DO eat Top Ramen still. NOTE: I don't recommend you folks try this at home...but when everything else sends you running to the facilities at lightening speed, you have no other options!!!!!
-Know how Kiss 108 plays the same 20 or so songs REPEATEDLY in the States? Well here in Honduras, divide that by 5. They play the same four songs over and over again.
-The verb "Molestar" does NOT mean what one would automatically think that it does had they never studied Spanish. I'll leave this one alone.
-Having a flushing toilet is a hot commodity. A hot commodity that I do not have. After living 2 1/2 months without one, it is not unusual for me to hunt down places in town that DO have them. I make sure to frequent these places on my daily errands. If I'm REALLY lucky, the same "bano" will also have their own toilet paper and running water too. I definitely can't hold my breath for all 3 though. (As a sidebar; a friend from home told me about her new condo and the "aggressively flushing toilet" it has...and it was then that I realized that jealousy is a human flaw that I definitely possess!)
-Keeping the sense of humor light is key here in keeping one's sanity. For instance, I suggested to my roommates tonight that we make each other coupons as compensation for us giving one another a bad time when we are not in a good mood. For instance a couple could read "I owe you....one bathroom cockroach disposal" or "I owe you...one night of warming up your pila water on the stove for your bucket bath on a cold night". Everything really IS hilarious when you make a joke out of it...you have to have fun under these conditions!
-Opening your door in the morning at 6am to be greeted by Porky Pig or Domenic the Donkey is as common here as opening up your door in the morning at home to find your neighbor's dog or cat. I barely bat an eyelash at these random animals these days. Similarly, I don't flinch when I am in the middle of teaching and I hear a "MOOOOOO!" bellow loudly through my classroom.
-On the subject of animals, I have never been one for National Geographic. However; my love for this magazine is starting to grow as I realize that I could submit a lot of my own material now. Every venture into the shower is like opening a fresh monthly copy of the magazine. One never knows what they might encounter. Four inch grasshoppers? Red Ants the size of your thumbnail? 3 inch Cucarachas crawling out of the drain? Doesn't matter how bad the economy is when I leave here...I have enough material to offer that they could NEVER turn me down for a job!
That's all for now! I'm sure the list will continue to grow! I hope I am able to get a few good laughs out of this post! Hope you are all doing well! MISS YOU ALL! I'll be home in 6 weeks for Christmas break...a time where I don't want to see a single grain of rice OR a bean! :-)
-Plucking one's armpit hairs with tweezers is not only acceptable, but doing so in a central location (like the town square) seems to be the preference. Additionally, it's not all that bizarre to engage in this habit while performing ones job as a food vendor (No, I don't buy fruit from these people!)
-One can take a full shower (including washing, shaving, and washing and conditioning ones hair) with a 5 gallon bucket of water. I know this first hand. We had no water delivered to us for 2 weeks so my water supply was SUPER limited.
-it IS humanly possible to live off of eggs, beans, cereal, and rice. I substitute this excellent diet with the occasional salva Vida (the local version of Bud Light) or better yet, a bag of Peanut M&M's or Cheetos. I have also learned that people over the age of 22 (college age) DO eat Top Ramen still. NOTE: I don't recommend you folks try this at home...but when everything else sends you running to the facilities at lightening speed, you have no other options!!!!!
-Know how Kiss 108 plays the same 20 or so songs REPEATEDLY in the States? Well here in Honduras, divide that by 5. They play the same four songs over and over again.
-The verb "Molestar" does NOT mean what one would automatically think that it does had they never studied Spanish. I'll leave this one alone.
-Having a flushing toilet is a hot commodity. A hot commodity that I do not have. After living 2 1/2 months without one, it is not unusual for me to hunt down places in town that DO have them. I make sure to frequent these places on my daily errands. If I'm REALLY lucky, the same "bano" will also have their own toilet paper and running water too. I definitely can't hold my breath for all 3 though. (As a sidebar; a friend from home told me about her new condo and the "aggressively flushing toilet" it has...and it was then that I realized that jealousy is a human flaw that I definitely possess!)
-Keeping the sense of humor light is key here in keeping one's sanity. For instance, I suggested to my roommates tonight that we make each other coupons as compensation for us giving one another a bad time when we are not in a good mood. For instance a couple could read "I owe you....one bathroom cockroach disposal" or "I owe you...one night of warming up your pila water on the stove for your bucket bath on a cold night". Everything really IS hilarious when you make a joke out of it...you have to have fun under these conditions!
-Opening your door in the morning at 6am to be greeted by Porky Pig or Domenic the Donkey is as common here as opening up your door in the morning at home to find your neighbor's dog or cat. I barely bat an eyelash at these random animals these days. Similarly, I don't flinch when I am in the middle of teaching and I hear a "MOOOOOO!" bellow loudly through my classroom.
-On the subject of animals, I have never been one for National Geographic. However; my love for this magazine is starting to grow as I realize that I could submit a lot of my own material now. Every venture into the shower is like opening a fresh monthly copy of the magazine. One never knows what they might encounter. Four inch grasshoppers? Red Ants the size of your thumbnail? 3 inch Cucarachas crawling out of the drain? Doesn't matter how bad the economy is when I leave here...I have enough material to offer that they could NEVER turn me down for a job!
That's all for now! I'm sure the list will continue to grow! I hope I am able to get a few good laughs out of this post! Hope you are all doing well! MISS YOU ALL! I'll be home in 6 weeks for Christmas break...a time where I don't want to see a single grain of rice OR a bean! :-)
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