Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Caribbean Life

Welcome to La Ceiba, Honduras. Where are we you might ask. Well weary traveler....we are in paradise! Welcome to the North Coast of Honduras where the Caribbean Sea meets you.

What do you suspect you do with what I am holding? It looks spikey. Well, you eat it! It's called a leechy. You eat the fruit inside of it.
La Ceiba is known for it's amazing baleadas. What are baleada's some of you ask? They are a tortilla folded in half with an assortment of eggs, cheese, beans, and additional toppings if desired. They are amazing and cheap.

Maybe two of the cutest kids to have to stare at for 8 hours. Roberto and Jimena are Bobby's children (a high school Honduran teacher). Bobby and his family took 12 of us Northamericans to Ceiba for the weekend!

So what, you ask, is there to do in La Ceiba. Oh lots! And here is a bit of what I did. :)
Can you tell that those dots are people? That's us. I'm in there! SO MUCH FUN!
So, we did a little bit of rafting!

Good times. :)

SNORKELING!!!!


A typical fish dinner. Yes, you get them served to you looking just like that. You must be talented to eat it sucessfully.
This is from the teacher's retreat this past weekend. It was so amazing. It was nice to go up to La Tigra National Forest and get to know my staff better, have a bonfire, worship God, be in a gorgeous place away from the city, play ultimate frisbee, and pretty much scale the side of a mountain climbing down to a waterfall! All in a short day and a half! Love it.

So, what else is going on in my life? I am finally falling more in love with this place again, and I can't begin to tell you how weight lifting that feels. My students also seem to capture my heart more everyday too. I'm striving so hard to love them the way Christ does and show them that far above anything else that I could teach them that their relationship with God is what truly matters. My students truly make me laugh lately. They speak a lot of Spanglish sometimes and when they Spanish words it's with this hillarious "gringo" accent. They just make me laugh soo hard and they know it. It is helpful that I speak Spanish as I am able to assist them in pulling out of their Spanglish ways into developing more of an English vocabulary; however, those that don't speak Spanish are surviving beautifully too. It just happens to be that the fact that these children are bilingual is something that I love about them the most. When they have their specials classes in Spanish, I love hearing them participate and talk in Spanish also. Teaching is a challenge, but one of the best investments ever. I'm working with lives here! It's a precious job.

I'm getting busier lately with lots of school preparations but also bible studies, hang out nights, church, and random traveling. It's great. Let's just say a month has come and gone and I'm adjusted more. Where has time gone?

Monday, September 8, 2008

Fun times

Life is starting to liven up a bit. Here's some proof!

Our adventures this past weekend:

Saturday: Santa Lucia and Valle de Angeles















What we like to call the family picture




















"What? Those are "chucks". That is not normal duck behavior. They are like a breed of chickens and ducks." (However, I think she means turkeys.)














Hitching a ride into Valle de Angeles





























A gorgeous violin!!

































Saturday:
Downtonwn Tegucigalpa and El Picacho (The Christ Statue that overlooks Tegucigalpa)
























































































































































This is us being crammed into a little bus. Normally a 12 passenger van. We fit 31. INSANE!
Funny but true



















Some of the crazy ways we get around...and we've fit more:)

































Now for school, where I spend my days:

View from the parking lot. View of the elementary building






























My classroom













Random pics:
Eating out as a group















The view from the back of the truck






























Yeah for pretty bugs.
Some Honduran Oddities:
This is at the end of my street. So what do you think, a warthog?















Hondurans know how to drive. See that space up front....yes, our bus fit through it. We could touch the next bus through the window!















More unpictured oddities to add:
-People ride dirtbikes as motorcycles
-milk comes in boxes
-i get all of my purified water out of a 10 gallon bottle on my counter


Prayer for:
-continued strength with my students
-continued safety in daily life
-to find ways to get involved down here
-for wisdom in my relationships