What? NO SCHOOL?

______Everyday here is full of the unknown. Today, my roommates and I got picked up by Don Mundo to go to school just like any other day. However, partly up the mountain we see a truck...stuck. Of course, the dirt road to school is a one lane road and if one person gets stuck we all must get stuck. Before we know it, there are many busses behind us ready to go to school... but also cannot move.

So, instead of saying NO SCHOOL, we do things Honduran Style... we take our time. After an hour or two, the principal decided that instead of taking the road... LET's try the field. So we take our bus through the field hitting every cow pie in sight!

And of course... we couldnt make it out of the field to school. So, after great planning the principal runs through the field to inform us that there will be NO SCHOOL TODAY!

The children went CRAZY! And of course all the teachers were very sad. So, being the dedicated teacher I am I decided to hike the mountain by foot to get to my classroom, so that I could get things prepared for tomorrow.

 Thus far it has not started raining today, so it lookes like we will be going to school tomorrow. What a day it will be! God bless.

Living the Honduran Life....

Wow, I cannot believe that another week has gone since I've been in Honduras. I am officially a teacher now of 28 little first graders and 28 big eight graders. It is difficult to transition your attitude between the different age groups, but  I am hoping I will catch on soon! I love both grades and the kids here are wonderful, but like anyone starting a a new job, it is never easy.

Being in Honduras=being laid back. Back to two and a half weeks ago the school came with us to the bank to line up a bank account...after waiting for 1 1/2 hours the bank informs us that we need a signed paper from our bank at home because they want to make sure we are able to hold a bank account...of course we were like that is ridiculus, but no big deal we dont really need an account yet. Yesterday, we rush home from school to get to the bank as early as possible before it closed at 4. We had our passportes ready and all the copies we needed. We sat at the bank and waited again for 1 1/2 hours. So, 2 1/2 weeks later, we are sitting here with no bank accounts. Luckly, we have been able to go to Santa Rosa to use an ATM to get money out. We will continue to be patient that the bank will allow us to have an account one of these days....Oh the laid back life of Honduras.

Today is going to be a day of plan, plan, planning. The school requires us to hand in our plans a week in advanced, so I am hoping to get two weeks planned this week. I will definitally be busy! Pray for me to be laid back and to stay focused in my planning sessions. Hope all is well!

You can Dance...

Well, I would have to say each day here is never boring. Yesterday we decided to go to Santa Rosa (1 hours away) to get groceries and storage units. Of course we would have to go through the mountians of Honduras and we could take the chicken bus or we could have our own personal chauffer to get to our destination.

We spent the whole day shopping leaving at 8 in the morning and stopping at Weekend's Pizza for some declicious pizza. We were all exhausted and wanting to get back but driving with 7 of us girls there is always a need to go to the bathroom. We stopped at a gas station on our way home where people with Lipton icetea shirts lined the lot. Free Tea? It couldn't be. These people can speak English too? So we got our free tea and before we know it they were offering us free tea-shirts if we learn a dance. So here we are... seven white girls shaking it in the parking lot of a gas station. All for a free tshirt. Even though we were not great dancers we still had a great time learning the lipton tea dance. Our free tea and free tshirts were well worth the long day shopping. Check out our dance we learned in our video!!!

Anyways, today I went for a beautiful run with Sarah on a 3 mile trail. I dont think I've ever been on a more beautiful run. All the green lush grasses, the rushing rivers, and the rolling mountians. God is good.

We just got internet in our house yesterday, so I will try to keep updated on my blog more so.

Miss you all!

MONO (Monkey)

While looking for resources for my classroom I decided to take a break and write on my blog. All the teachers have been writing scope and sequences and decorating their classroom. I am blessed with an assistant who has most of my decorations planned so I can focus more on the content of my class. The only problem with my assistant is that she speaks Spanish and I dont. I look like a fool trying to point and communicate with my hands. I guess it is good for me to understand what the students feel like in the classroom when their main language is Spanish.

Anyways, today Kendall and I ran a few errands and went to the market to get some banannas and and a few teaching supplies. Any ways, we heard there is a monkey in town so we wanted to go find the house where this monkey lives. We get to the pulperia (a store people have out of their homes) and we see a monkey chained to the building playing on the ground. So, of course we thought well a monkey would love a bananna. Kendall kindly gave the monkey a bananna as we admired how he opened up the peel and I took a picture. "Kendall I said, could you take a picture of me with the monkey (holding the bag of the rest of banannas in my hand). Before I the picture could be taken all I could see was a monkey lundging for me ready to steal all my banannas (that was the close call). However, we plan on going back to visit Monoaka.

I cannot believe I have been here for a week and that school will start here soon. Next Monday I am suppose to talk to all the parents about my upcoming school year and why I am qualified to teach their students (nervous). And then on Wednesday we start classes for the first time. Please pray for me as I teach all 29 students in my class and as I communicate with the parents.

Hope all is well in the United States!!

Pictures

 At my new school La Vida Abundante

My Fellow Teachers

 M

Many Beautiful Catholic Churches

My New Home (court yard)

Lush Green Mountains and Grasses