Fiesta Week

Semana de Fiesta's! Cada dia, fue increible. Technically the party's began on Thursday, but Wednesday was full of preparation. School went well. I introduced a new game and everyone (parents included) got into it. Then I got an extra bonus for not giving homework. After lunch Cristy picked us up to go to the beach with the group from Vanderbilt. Soon after we began our thanksgiving shopping trip! There was no way that we were missing thanksgiving, so we picked up all the necessities. Thursday was our cooking day! The entire day we worked on our turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, and 3 pies. All from scratch. Granted, we had a lot of help from Eddy, but it was quite a process. I also managed, while peeling potatoes, to peel my finger. Don't worry, I got no blood in them. At five the group showed up. We had our adopted children over including Geni, Paco, Denia, and a new addition- Wilmer. Wilmer is so adorable and was so excited to be there. He never, ever stops smiling. Cristy and Meily both came as well as an old volunteer Carlos. Our last invitee was David. It was such a fun night and I ate more than I have in years. Everything turned out so well it was exciting! We loaded up food for the kids and then were excited to see that Geni has definitely made an improvement in his bulk. Everyone ate a ton and we still had leftovers, but that is what Thanksgiving is all about. All my worrying was for nothing. Later we played spoons and everything was just perfect.

Friday we began our day with our next party. It was graduation for the kinder kids and sixth graders. We got there at 9 am and watched as first the kinder kids and then the sixth graders walked down the little aisle. Everyone was dressed up so well! All of the graduates were in blue dresses and dress shirts, and the attendees were dressed up as well. Waldy was the cutest thing I have ever seen. She had her hair pulled back and a princess dress on and was absolutely glowing. Each of us was the madrina/ padrina of one of the kids. Natalie was madrina of Christian, one of the kinder kids, and Ethan and I were both Geni's padrino's. As a present we gave him a photo album with some pictures in it, as well as some spending money. When his name was called we presented it to him, took a photo, and then at the end Geni and I danced a waltz. It was a really fun experience. The last part was eating! I ate about a second thanksgiving meal worth of food. The entire ceremony was over at about 1, so the three of us went swimming with Cristy and Meily in the river. We went to a lodge area with an enormous rock to jump off of. It was extremely enjoyable as well. Next stop was back to the hogar to hang out with the kids. The Vanderbilt group set up some activities to do, including an ice cream station, bowling, and cookie decorating. Our last thing on the agenda was practicing Michael Jackson's Thriller dance until late hours of the night.

We finally went ziplining today! Well, the others did. They loved it. I just joined for the second part, since I've been ziplining before. We laid in the hotsprings for hours. It was extremely relaxing and just as pretty as I remembered. The company drove us back to La Ceiba in a zebra painted pick up truck. We were all in the back and just as we started leaving, it began to pour. We were drenched and the truck flew down the road. The rain pelted us but we couldn't stop laughing. One part however was absolutely horrifying. When we got into Ceiba, there was a dog walking down the side of the road. All of us were assuming that the driver was going to swerve around it, but instead he made an effort to swerve towards it. For a minute my heart stopped because I thought he hit it, and Natalie and I both gasped. Thankfully, right after we passed we saw that he was fine, and it was even a little funny because the dog ran after us barking. I still can't believe it, and I had no idea what I would have done if he had hit it. Hardly anyone treats animals well here. The dogs are all starving, get kicked and hit, and are targets for cars. Horrifying. Driving down the main street from Ceiba in our zepra painted pick up was also kind of amusing. I don't know a better way to scream 'tourist' than that right there. I definitely heard some laughs, but it was fun. We got back, did some last minute practice, and then headed over to the fiesta at the Hogar for the night. It was the monthly fiesta for all of the kids with Birthdays, which was Carlos and Carolina this month. We got Carlos some marbles and a soccer ball, and Carolina a pair of sandals. They were both thrilled. It was quite the noche de talento. Rosa hosted the entertainment. Some of the highlights included Joel's dance to Billy Jean, which was one of the funniest, cutest things I have seen. Sherlin sang to Shakira which I personally thought was pretty good. She was so sassy, and she sang perfectly most all of the words, even though they were extremely fast. Mercedes also sang, and my favorite part was simply to watch her face and see how happy she was to be up in front and performing. Santos, Lula, and Angelo all sang Barney's "happy family" song, which was precious as well. Our performance went well, all things considered. I mean, after Joel's Michael Jackson- there was no way we could compete. ;) The night ended really fun, with everyone there just dancing and jumping and laughing. I still can't Punta (the dance that the kids all do), but I was enjoying jumping up and down. I love to watch Rosa dance, because she lights up when she hears the music. She can move and get into it, and her smile is so big. I love seeing her like that, because many of the times she is more reserved. Some of the kids were really out of sorts because it was the Vanderbilt group's last day. Poor Patricia was crying the entire night, and Reina was close to tears much of the time as well. Even Rosa shed a few as the night ended. All that we can hope is that in some way, someone was changed for the better through the meeting, because you never what impact you can make.

Hondurafied

Well, we are officially becoming Hondurafied. We now know how to make balleadas! Yesterday was quite the day. A large chunk of Geni's extended family came to visit us. This included two of his aunts, his sister, and about 6 cousins, plus his brother and Alan who were already with us. We made a mountain of tortillas, beans, and cheese but sure enough, once we sat down to eat they all disappeared. They were so delicious though! We can now make balleadas and tajadas! (fried plantains that are delicious and taste like potatoes but better). Denia, Geni's sister, is teaching me some spanish. I had homework and everything. I see why people get tired when they are hosting people in their houses. Oh! Eddy moved out so now it's just the three of us. In a house to ourselves. It's a little strange. Tonight we randomly decided to get some exercise and stretch. This decision was made at about 11 o clock at night- you know, some midnight exercise. Lots of fun.

Teaching is getting a little easier. I'm  coming up with lesson plans without too much problems. The difficult part is still having that "teacher" air about me, that says Hey! Listen to me!. But i'm working on it. I have some older kids from the high school coming as well and they are all pretty far ahead of the other kids. Everything that my teachers ever complained about - different level of kids, missing school, not listening, not doing homework, being late- I now understand why it is frustrating. I enjoy it though for the most part.

On sunday a new group of volunteers arrived and we went to the river. It was a laid back outing, and I had some fun splashing around with the kids. All of the new group are either college juniors or seniors. I walked past them this morning as they were hauling sand up the huge steps at the jungle school and it brought back plenty of memories.

We are preparing for a thanksgiving feast! So that should be delicious. It will be a little HHK get together. All in all, everything seems to be going good!

Surprises

I started this post off with "Tomorrow was extremely fun", well that obviously makes a lot of sense. My english is doing so well here. Yesterday though was quite good. Right when I got to the Hogar, David was loading up the car with the kids to make a trip up to the river. My policy is always to go with David because you never know what your going to do, and it turned out pretty well. Some of the kids and I were in the back of his pick up, which is so extremely fun to stand up and have the wind in your face. We got to the jungle school and began helping haul up brick from the bottom to the top. Brick after brick. It brought back memories of my trip in April. The little ones were cute, sharing a block between two of them to haul up. By the end I was sweating so much. Laura was with me, and after the bricks, she and the kids lobbied David to go swimming in the river. He at first said no, but a chant went up and we got a nod, so we all ran down to the river and jumped in fully clothed, me with jeans on and everything. It felt so nice. On the way back we air dried in the truck and then it was nap time and I fell asleep on the couch.

Geni and Paco came over last night and we took them to see Harry Potter! It was so much fun, and it was the first time they had been to the movies. Imagine never going to the movies until you were 10 and 13 years old. We bought some maroon and yellow fabric and made ties and scarves before. No one ever dresses up in Honduras, so we were the strange gringos with Harry Potter costumes walking around, with two little one's (also dressed up) in tow. The movie was pretty dark, but they really liked the experience. I absolutely loved it, sooo good! They were so excited. Paco is the cutest boy alive. He is so excited about everything. Natalie was talking to Ethan and she said how happy he looked and he stops and looks at her and responds in English "I am happy!". We have been feeding them so much, we are a little afraid they are going to explode from too much food.

Today we spent most of the entire day cleaning. I don't know if this house has ever been cleaned. We washed down the kitchen walls, cleaned sinks, bathrooms, swept floors and scrubbed off rust and bacteria. And then after hours of cleaning we found them. First outside, and then later in our house. Maggots. Oh my gosh. I don't think I have ever been more disgusted. I'm still horrified. Outside in the trash at least it was understandable, but inside. Ugh I can't even talk about it more.

Our family has grown by one more child tonight. Just when we had about finished cleaning, we look outside and two of Geny's aunts are there with one of his cousins. We were quite surprised, but quickly let them in. It is always an adventure communicating with our limited spanish. I offered them something to eat, and then checked to see what we had and realized we had no snacks. So we ended up making pasta and sauce. We talked (kind of) for quite awhile, and they told me how grateful they were for the volunteers and the school. I learned a little about the kids families. Their mom died 4 years ago, and there dad ran off. He lives in the states but doesn't keep in contact. In the end, Natalie, Ethan and I decided that they came because they wanted to bring Geny's cousin, Alan, over because he has an infection on his knee. They were hoping we could get him some medicine. So we invited him to stay the night and took him to the farmacia. So now we have three sons. I love it.  

Keeping Busy

Hey! Sorry for the break in writing. I've been busy helping out with sponsor work for HHK. I've decided to only write twice a week, so for those of you (probably just my mother ;) ) who are looking for my blogs, count on them on Saturday's and Tuesday's.

This week has been really great. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were classes at the jungle school in the morning. We got up at a nice and reasonable hour, 7:00, and headed over to the Hogar to get a ride from David with all the kids to the school. It is vacation school now, so the only class the kids have is English. After all my planning on Sunday, we ended up getting through only a quarter of the lesson, so I was extremely excited- it meant I had lessons for the rest of the days! I passed out the binders that Alexis had brought me, and they were all very excited to have it just for English. I also took pictures of them all and printed them out to glue in. I'm still teaching the second level class, and Natalie and Ethan are working with the first level. Unfortunately we can't use both classrooms until after the graduation so the first level is working out on the picnic tables below. I feel kind of bad but well.... I didn't want to do it. We have covered the alphabet and are working on pronunciation. I have determined that the silent "e" concept is extremely difficult for most of them to pick up (minus our class genius Daniel). Also, I have determined that English has no reason as to why we say certain words like we do, and therefore it is impossible to teach. But we're getting there. I worked out a system that every time they answer a question, volunteer, or win a game they get a star. When they have five stars they are allowed to choose a prize. I was so glad that it worked, because all of the kids are so proud of their stickers. When I got back wednesday I then proceeded to spend $30 on prizes, but its all for the cause.

Geny stayed the night on Tuesday again. We took him to take some pictures for his graduation after school and it was one of the funniest experiences. Me, Ethan and Natalie all went with him as the lady was taking them, and we stood behind her making funny faces to get him to smile. He was attempting to do the serious face that all of the kids do, but we weren't having any of it. We felt exactly like parents, coaching him on his smile and acting rediculous. It was fun. In the morning, on our way to school, we fit 30 people into the van built for 20. It was a miracle really that we all fit. I was extremely impressed.

Sherlin is no longer ignoring me. For about a two weeks she did not speak a word to me. Not one. Every time I would even look in her direction, she would leave the room. And then, yesterday she decided to be my friend again. She is the moodiest girl I have ever met. She gets attention in such strange ways. I'm really sad though. Britta was planning on coming down over winter break. Her and Sherlin were absolutely inseperable for the week that the group was here, and Sherlin has been looking forward to her visit since we got here. Now Britta is unsure if she can make it anymore- its always finances. I truly don't know if I have the heart to break the news to Sherlin. I don't want to add disappointment to this girl who I'm sure has had a lot of disappointment in her life. Hopefully things will work out.

Today there wasn't school at the Jungle School, but we taught a short English class at the Hogar. It went well more or less.  A little later David took us all to the SOS children's village, which is the orphanage he used to work at before breaking off and starting his own. There are 140 kids there but the facilities are very nice. There was a lot of open space and it is organized into houses. 8-10 kids live in a house, with a kitchen and living area, and a tia to watch over them. While we were there it was pouring rain, so we all congregated under a shelter, the Hogar kids and some of the SOS kids. David was there to drop off some rice and supplies. It was interesting seeing our kids interact with the others. They were very shy and timid, and seemed a little uncomfortable. I'm not sure why. The SOS kids were playing soccer in the rain, running through puddles (which looked more like lakes) and getting sopping wet. By the end I had joined them, fell several times, and was the only dripping one on the car ride back. So fun.

Piojo's!

Natalie officially has Piojo's!! It's kind of awesome. We have been joking about it the entire trip, and now she has them. Piojo's are lice by the way. She's been itching her head since wednesday. We had checked before that but didn't see anything, but Lara (the new volunteer) checked today and sure enough! We went on a piojo shampoo hunt at 9 30 tonight, and all that was open were Pulperia's (tiny snack stores) and liquer stores. We made a new friend at one of the Pulperia's, asking for piojo shampoo. Unfortunately he said no, so we went back and then returned later to look for some vinigar. At this point he was laughing at us and again the answer was no. So we went to find another Pulperia and success! Piojo shampoo! On our way back we showed our friend, and he was really excited for us. Natalie is now soaking her hair in some pretty terrible smelling stuff but soon, no more piojo's! Honestly, it's inevitable that one of us were going to get them. We probably all will eventually. The kids all have them and we are always close. The kids love natalie especially and give her lots of hugs, so...

Today was extremely laid back for me especially, though I think I managed to stress myself out more than I have all trip. Natalie, Ethan and the other volunteers went swimming with the kids and they said they had a good time. I stayed home to prepare a lesson plan because tomorrow English classes begin from 9-12 and I really want to be prepared and have a fun class and have the kids learn a lot. I now have a lesson that will hopefully last for a long enough time. Unfortunately it is just one lesson, so tomorrow I will have to do the same thing in about an eighth of the time. Should be fun. I'm sure I just overthink things, but its really more out of my desire for them to truly learn and for me to be a good teacher. Teaching can be as easy or difficult as you make it, but to be a good teacher I think is hard. I have no idea really what to expect tomorrow, how many kids will be there, or what ages. Should be interesting. Hope it goes well. 

Happy Birthday Natalie!

I would like my parents to take a moment to appreciate my newfound cooking skills which have been on exhibit the past few days. I have almost single-handedly made a complete pizza from scratch, pancakes and eggs, and a cake. Add to that the chicken from before and I feel like I'm almost a chef. Ok, moment over. These past three days have been very busy and very good. On Thursday we woke up late and spent some time at the hogar. Geny and his brother Paco spent the night again, and Anna and Clara took them out to go shopping for supplies for the family. I went with them to Wendy's in the night and we just relaxed. The kids love to watch tv because its a special treat for them. On Friday I went with Geny, Anna, and Clara again to Geny's house to bring up some of the supplies. We couldn't take everything because there was a lot of stuff. But we hiked up there again through the mud and spent some good time talking with Geny's grandmother. She is a remarkable woman. She is the matriarch of her family and caretaker of dozens of children while their parents are working. She is extremely generous and gracious, and extremely respected. Several of Geny's cousins live with them, and many of the others live in houses very close to their own. Everyone is an uncle, aunt, cousin, brother and sister to someone else, but it is impossible to remember all the relationships because age doesn't really determine it. Just because two kids are the same age doesn't mean they're cousins, they could easily by an aunt or uncle or something else. It was a short visit because we needed to be back at the jungle school so that Anna and Clara could say their goodbye's. Goodbye's are so difficult. Anna and Clara were so sad, you could see that they didn't want to leave. The kids steal your heart and take it away so easily. They brought some drinks and chips and candy to throw a mini going away party, and a few tears were shed. Seeing how they felt after three weeks made me think about what it's going to be like saying goodbye after 6 months. I can't even imagine.

            We got back at about 1 30, and I grabbed some balleadas and went back to the house to work on the profiles for the hogar. I also decided to attempt to get some exercise in doing basic things like lunges and sit ups and pushups. Well, I am currently extremely sore, thus showing me how out of shape I really am. During this time I also made the pizzas- crust, sauce and all. When everyone got back we ate them as out goodbye dinner and they turned out pretty well. It was a sad goodbye. They invited all of us to Spain to visit this summer. I wish I could.

            This morning at about 7 30 I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name from outside. Confused, I got up and peeked out the window and Geny and his older sister Denya waiting outside the gate with their bikes. They came to try to say goodbye to Anna and Clara but they missed them by about an hour. I let them in and we decided to make some pancakes and eggs. A trip to the store for some eggs, syrup, and milk, and the pancakes turned out pretty well. After that they just relaxed in the chairs watching some TV. The others were all sleeping for awhile still. When they finally got up we decided to go to the Hogar to see what the plans were. It was Natalie's birthday today! We were hoping to go ziplining, but because of ride issues and weather we decided to postpone that adventure. We instead brought up the rest of the supplies to Geny's house. It was the first time Natalie, Ethan and Korey had been there, and i think the enjoyed themselves. The path up was even more slippery than before because of the rain this morning, and all of us were in Sandals. I had my tenis shoes in my backpack but for some reason decided not to use them which resluted in several close calls. A little later, David brought all of the younger kids up to say hi as well. The older kids were at a class for music for the day. Paola's madrina and a friend of hers arrived today to visit Paola and see the HHK programs. They are both very nice and it is obvious that they are quickly falling under the kids spell as well. Laura (madrina) said that as soon as  Paola saw her, without ever meeting her before, she just enveloped her into the biggest hug. It was quite a crowd at the tiny house. The kids were running and slipping in the mud, climbing the trees, and running around the forest. The animals were in and out, trying to steal any food they could. It was so sad because the poor dogs, including a month old puppy, were constantly being stepped on and yelping, and no one paid them the least bit of attention. But that's how it is. Nothing has a name because theses animals are not pets (although they do have a pet pigeon that they keep, kind of like a parrot). After a few hours we headed back down, I slipped a few more times, and then we made a pit stop at with the kids at Burger King for ice cream cones. When we got back to the house we went out to dinner for Natalie's B-day and then made a delicious cake to celebrate. It sounds like so little but we were kept busy and it was good.

A Wonderful Day

Everyone was kicked out of the Hogar today due to a scheduled rat fumigation, so David loaded up the van and we went on a full day outing. Ethan and Korey stayed behind, but Natalie and I had so much fun with the kids. Even riding in the van is an adventure. HHK has a four row van that is supposed to fit 20. We managed to squeeze in 27, on top of bags for everyone with beachwear, and an enormous cooler with food. Luckily the kids are small. Our first stop was the beach. Not the beach close to us, which is iffy, but one that was very nice and secluded. We were the only one's there, which was definitely a crowd, but it was fun. I spent much of my time being hung on by a mixture of Paola, Lula, Joel and Santos. This was especially perilous because of the hundreds of sand dollars that we were constantly stepping on. It was kind of incredible the amount of them. They weren't just here or there, but there were sections where you couldn't feel the sand, only sand dollars under you. The kids love to swim. We spent hours in the water. I paid for it later, as evidenced by the beautiful, even, redness spread around my body. We buried several kids in the sand, including me, and then sat down for lunch. About an hour later we heard the call "Vamanos", and everyone piled into the van again. We went to El Cacao to check in on some programs, including a daycare that is set up, and another childrens home where there are 20 kids all under 6 years old. After those quick stops we piled out at Rachel's house, to see how she is doing. Rachel is one of the girls who used to be at the Hogar. She ran away several times, and finally they had to let her begin her own life. Now she is married and has a baby at 18 years old. I think it is tough for David to be there with Rachel, because he sees how she is living now ;in a tiny one room house, with a kitchen separate outside. It's not much, though everyone was very excited because they just bought a tv. Right next to her "house" is a pig farm that we walked through. I didn't realize that pigs get so BIG! There were so many of them of all ages, including adorable tiny baby piglets. They must have been not over a week old because one still had an umbilical cord. After buying some cheese that they make in the community, we said our goodbyes and again squeezed in. Every time we got in the van I really think it got smaller and smaller.  

Our last stop for the day was up to the jungle school. Not for school though! We went swimming in the rio, and it was absolutely lovely! There was a spot that was pretty deep and secluded, so we could jump off rocks and basically relax. The kids thought the water was so cold, but Natalie and I were loving it because it was about normal for us. Minor was shivering as much as a person can. There was also a spot that you could go into the main current and drift down the river until you ended up in another pool. That was so much fun as well. I love how you can go from the Caribbean to a tropical jungle river in about 20 minutes. It's amazing. Our day however was not over as we again loaded into the van. When we got home, we showered and then went to a futbol game! The two big teams from La Ceiba were playing today- Vida and Victoria. Everyone from La Ceiba has to choose one or the other. I am officially for Victoria ( with the help of Geni). Natalie and Ethan are Vida, so it's no good there. I won't say who won because I'd be betraying my team. Geni and his brother Jose (Paco) are staying with us again tonight, and we took them to the game. It was their first one ever and I think they really enjoyed themselves. They are both so quiet but you could tell they were just taking it in. Jose is only 10 and perhaps the quietest boy I've ever seen. He is tiny, like Paola, but also like Paola he is very sweet. The entire family is truly amazing. Finally we are home, and I must admit that today was quite amazing. 

Lots of Laughs

Hallelujah, my first warm shower in two weeks! Hot water is officially fixed and I love it. Right now one of the boys, Geni, is staying at our house. We are helping him with studying, though I admit, there is minimal studying going on tonight. We are having fun showing him friends and family on facebook, as well as the joys of photobooth on the mac computers. More importantly, he helped us cook a chicken today. Well not cook, but cut. When he came here, we wanted to cook him a good meal, so we decided to go get some chicken to cook. Natalie and Ethan came back with a whole chicken, in a bag. We were hoping that someone would know what to do with it, but one by one we passed it around and shook our heads. This included me, Natalie, Ethan, Korey, as well as the Spanish volunteers Anna and Clara. So all of our heads turned to Geni for direction. At this point he was laughing extremely hard. It must have looked so sad. So he took the chicken out and began to cut it up for us into good sized pieces. We all watched as he pulled apart legs and the middle, and cut through the bones etc. Ugh. Once we had the pieces, I pulled out the cookbook and figured out how to bake it. It turned out surprisingly well! I put in some onions, garlic and olive oil and then cooked it. We made rice and baked carrots and I consider it the best meal we've made! Genie has also been laughing at our attempts to speak spanish. Natalie came up to him and meant to ask him if he wanted some chips, so she pointed and said "te quiero". He gave her a very strange look and she just handed him the bag and walked away. I sat there for like a minute thinking about it and then started cracking up, realizing that she had just said "I love you". So now, every time we ask him if he wants something we tell him that we love him. Ah so funny. So many laughs here, at the moment I cant stop. Anna is perhaps the funniest person I have met. 

Anna and I were the only one's to get up early to go to the jungle school this morning. School this week is only for those who need extra help, and I was in charge of three kids in third grade. We spent time practicing our times tables. Anna went with the sixth graders to take their graduation pictures, and when she got back we both hiked to Geni's house to speak with his grandmother. It was a twenty minute walk up a muddy, slippery slope. We eventually arrived without falling (success) and were welcomed into Geni's house. Seeing the kids at the school every day in their uniforms, it's so easy to forget where exactly they life. We were greeted by several enormous pigs laying outside the house, and clothes strung around the house. Inside there was only the dirt floor and single room, with a stove in one corner and the beds in another. The roof is only tin, and looking up I wonder what they do when it rains. While we were sitting inside, I looked to my right and a tiny little puppy emerged. Later there were hens with baby chicks coming in and out of the house, and the pigs kept entering and being shooed out. They gave us some water with lemon juice in it, and Anna and I looked at each other and prayed for cleanliness before drinking. It was quite good, but we shall know soon if any Montezuma's revenge was contained within it. In a situation like that, you don't refuse anything that is offered. Nothing bad so far :). 

We went down to catch the bus, but the bus decided to be 2 hours late. It was quite nice. We walked with Geni, the school director, and three of the kids half way down the jungle school road. I enjoyed the walk. It is so pretty, and the three little boys were so funny, clinging to us and racing ahead. I didn't enjoy being bitten by tiny red ants, but that was the only unenjoyable part. Finally the bus picked us up which was about time. We took Geni to burger king, went shopping for some food, and then our night adventures began. Very fun day, and I'm so glad I went. They invited me back to visit any time. Geni is such a good, nice kid. If he can't go to the high school, he will repeat sixth grade again or help out at the jungle school, which would be a bummer because he would loose a year. There is some hope though. 

School's Out!

Official last day of school! Today was the fiesta at the Jungle School, and the kids (and me) had tons of fun. There was some work finishing up exams in the morning, and then David brought up all the equipment from the Hogar to watch a movie. That movie captivated all of the kids immediately, which was perfect for us to serve the food. We had bought the food for the fiesta the day before as a donation, and then passed plates out. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough plates or silverware so with no other option we had to reuse them without washing as kids finished, and pass them back out with new food. But that is how a lot of things are over here. We do the best we can with what we have, though it is rarely ideal. Later, there were some nice sized pieces of cake for all of the kids. I spent Sunday night helping Eddy bake three enormous cakes for the party. It took about 3 hours but it was so much fun and they turned out deliciously. We even got to make a mini cake for us- chocolate banana. Mmmmm. A mini talent show followed the movie, and some time for dancing. It was a little bit crazy in the one room with about 90 kids, plus more parents and siblings. Kids were dancing and running into each other, falling down and tripping others. It especially didn't help that some of the boys would not stop fighting, and every time we broke them up they claimed they were "playing". But no one got hurt. I think it is so funny the difference between kids here and in the states. Its incredible. Here, there is so little supervision of what kids do or where they are. You see them playing in the street, hanging off of fences, and doing all manner of things that would stop a mothers heart. At the fiesta today there was a little baby a few months old that her older sister (about 7?) was carrying around, and none to carefully. Also, my heart just about stopped when the piñatas came out. There was hardly any room for the kids to swing the bat (excuse me, piece of wood), and when Santos had it, he took a back swing that must have come within three inches of Carolinas face. She didn't even flinch. I kind of gave a mini yelp. Then, when the candy started coming out, it was literally, in every manner of the word, a dog pile. Kids jumped on it, ignoring the bat swinging above, and then fought each other for it. I looked down and it looked more like fish in a net when they are pulled up. It was kind of funny, and I thought how different it is in the states where the parents carefully monitor all safety rules. Haha, it works out somehow. 

Mom- a special not for you. Remember how I signed us up for sponsoring a kid? Well, we are sponsoring Daniel. He is so smart and sweet. Anyways, when you are a sponsor, you are considered the kids "Madrina" or "Padrino" which is Godmother of Godfather. I told him that you were his "Madrina" today and you should have seen the enormous smile that lit his face. He gave a small whoop and then did a back flip right there. I laughed so much. You should be getting a letter from him pretty soon :) A chance to practice your Spanish? Haha, miss you. 

Sponsoring a kid is such a big deal here at the Hogar. The kids really love talking to and keeping in touch with their Madrina's and Padrino's. When we pull up pictures they spend so long looking at them. A sponsorship is their way of knowing that they have someone special that cares about them. They are important to the Hogar and School as well, because sponsorships are almost the only way that money gets to go to the general programs that HHK runs. They pay for food, for salaries, and for the things that keep the kids healthy and happy. Many times groups or individuals raise money for construction or other specific projects because it is nice to see a finished project that they contribute to, which is awesome, but it is more difficult to raise funds for general upkeep. That is where sponsors come in, but at the moment we are severely lacking in the number needed to pay for the monthly upkeep at the Hogar. We are working to expand our sponsor base as best we can, so hopefully some new publicity will bring us a little bit of help.

Change of Plans

Trip to Roatan for the weekend was cancelled on account of rain. A lot of it. It rained for about 12 hours strait, and this isn't drizzle rain, this is pouring rain. The entire city was flooded. We took a taxi on Thursday morning, though at certain points a boat would have seemed more appropriate. There were some streets that had maybe 2 feet of water in them. I know this seems like an exaggeration but it isn't at all. We got to the Hogar only to find out that school was cancelled. The kids were ecstatic of course, and even I was a little relieved. I had some time to relax. We helped the kids do some studying because exams got moved to Friday, and the party that was scheduled was moved to Monday. Friday's classes went well. The first day without any major meltdowns in the Kinder. I had 9 kids and maintained order. It helped that Kevin didn't come until half way through. Though I was worried when I didn't see him. Even though he's a pain, I'm used to having him there. In English I gave a pop quiz. Something easy, just 20 words that they knew in English. Well they all groaned and it was just like I thought, they weren't actually absorbing all that much of what I have taught them. But I knew that, and was kind of waiting until Summer sessions start so that I can pass out binders and really start grammar. When I said to write 20 words, one of the Kids, Daniel whom I absolutely love, went and wrote 20 sentences. This kid is so smart and intelligent and sweet. He made me a bracelet today that you could tell he spent a lot of time on. He is one of the older boys and because of that hugs are not allowed ;), though I squeezed one out of him today for my bracelet. He is also the one that keeps bugging me about my shirt. On Thursday I made the mistake of wearing my Duke t-shirt. I didn't think anything of it and completely forgot what was on the back. Duke's mascot is the blue devils, so the back has a figure of a devil on top of the world. Well once I got to the Hogar all of the kids gasped and told me that I was bad. Whoops haha I kind of had a difficult time explaining that one away. That shirt is now relegated to pajama shirt I think. 

At the moment I am almost completely covered with an enormous rash. I have no idea what it is and discovered it on my arms this morning. It is simply a collage of little red dots, everywhere. They don't hurt or itch, but when I went to change into my bathing suit I found my stomach and back were three times worse. It isn't pretty and I'm hoping it just kind of disappears? We shall see about this one. I seem to be contracting the strangest things down here. We finally have internet in the house! Well kind of. It only works on half of our computers, but at least we can access the outside world. Once something breaks down here, it generally is out for good. First the Internet broke, then the hot water, now the toilet doesn't always flush, and the washing machine is on it's way out. But hey, we make do. Cristy brought in a TV unexpectedly so that is now a possibility. We are slowly settling in. 

Today was very fun. We took the kids out to the beach to run around. I didn't plan on going swimming because of my beautiful rash, but all the girls immediately ran up to me and gave me big, wet hugs. I did avoid being pushed in though. Natalie and Korey were not so lucky. We buried some of the boys in the sand and began a game of volleyball. When that failed, we changed to soccer and I got the most exercise I've had in awhile. Although I don't really know if it was exercise. I was simply completely out of breath. I'm not as terrible as I expected so it was kind of exciting. I'm also working on a few projects for the school; making profiles for all the Jungle School kids. No plans for tomorrow so probably will just hang out with the kids :)

For once there was order

For the first time, I felt like the Kinder class was almost under control. It was quite nice. Only two meltdowns; Kevin was one of course, and Danielito the other. We began the morning with practicing numbers and coloring. Later, when I felt that was all the practice they could take, I pulled out some craft supplies to make pictures. I felt so prepared because the night before I made an example of how to cut out a flower, glue it on some paper and draw a sun. Add to that a few stickers and the kids couldn't be happier. We had a nice break in the middle while the kids went to drink their milk and when they returned we went on a hunt for some leaves in the forest to glue on some paper and make bracelets. Unfortunately the second craft finished a bit earlier than I wanted, so I had to improvise and let them the play. Well I did learn to never just let the play. They need some direction. So after five minutes of chaos, playtime was over and I read them several stories, which fortunately is something they enjoy. I let them out 15 minutes early and then freedom for one day. Oh I forgot to tell you the other day about the abundance of lice everywhere around me. Yes, it is quite disgusting at times. We could actually stare at Keyla's head at wait about a minute, and sure enough an enormous lice would surface and then bury back in. It was fascinating, but I am quite terrified because I have a bad premonition that I might be sharing her fate soon. Goodness I hope not. We drew some family trees today in English, learning relationships between mother, father, brother, sister etc. It wasn't my best class but they were kept busy. Tomorrow is the last day of classes before vacation. No more kinder for 2 months! Tomorrow is also my last day of Spanish class. I'm a little bummed because class is the only time I really get to practice, besides with the kids. When I'm at the volunteer house, everyone speaks English so I'm not surrounded as much as I would like. I'm so impatient with myself and want to know everything now. But I'm realizing that it is possible to stay here and never learn Spanish, and I don't want that to happen to me at all. I want to be able to speak well and semi- naturally. I'll have to find some Honduran friends that I can hang around.

Every day I am here, I hear another story of another child that breaks my heart. Today was Genie. Genie is the brother of Paola, one of the girls at the Hogar, and he is graduating this year from the Jungle School. Their mother died years ago, and his father (different than Paola's) has never been part of his life. He lives with his grandmother and often has to work to make money. He is only 13 years old. Right now we aren't sure if he is going to be able to continue to study, even though he wants nothing more than that. He didn't pass the entrance exam for the school that some of the other kids have gone to in the past. Anna was talking with his teachers, and they said that he is one of the quicker kids and more intelligent than some of the kids who did pass. His teacher thinks it was out of sheer nervousness that he did poorly. Anna and I are both concerned; she is going to try to raise enough funds when she goes back to spain to pay for him to go to school, but isn't sure if that solution will work with the school. He came to the Hogar today to talk and try to figure out something to do, and you could tell he was very dejected and nervous. She is going to start tutoring him next week, but she is only here for one week more. I promised that I would help and do what I can, keep an eye on him and tutor him in the subjects I know. Even if he can't go to the school, he still wants to study, so if need be I'll teach him myself or find someone who can, or something...

Learning and teaching in the impossible

I got back to a normal routine today with a 5 o'clock wake up call and work in the kinder. It was Korey's first full day and she got to experience the entire school experience, including the line up in the morning where the kids all sing their national anthem. If we in the US ever thought saying the pledge in school was a nuisance, we have it so easy compared to their anthem. It is sooo long and repetative, and the kids sing it without any enthusiasm. It is so funny to watch as they repeat over and over, "tu banderrrrraaaaa". This week is exam week, the last week before the two month vacation. Since the teachers don't need to much help as the kids take their exams, we had 4 of the volunteers helping in the Kinder; Ethan, Korey, Anna (A volunteer from Spain) and me. Even with the four of us and only six kids it was still a project keeping them engaged. Every kid is at a different level, so while some have finished their work, others are just starting. We were successful in keeping them busy in the beginning, but as soon as they we ran out of papers for them to draw letters, we couldn't really keep them occupied. It is dificult to grab kids attention because there are always so many other things going on. The kinder room is smashed between the other two classrooms, which are both very noisy. In reality, it is almost impossible for any grade to truly concentrate. The school is desperately in need of the third classroom, which is in progress.It would be ideal if it could be finished by the time classes start again in January, but I don't think there will be enough funds to complete it. Something else the kids need, and David has plans to buy as soon as money comes in (which could be awhile), is a bus run by HHK. Right now HHK pays for a bus to take the Hogar kids to school, but the bus isn't obligated to stop for others who attend the Jungle school. Sometimes it stops and sometimes it doesn't, depending on how full it is. I didn't realize this until today when we were driving up the dirt road to the school and on the side were a group of the Jungle School kids in their uniforms waiting, but the bus kept on going. If the bus doesn't stop, the kids either walk to school, or don't go. It is so difficult to teach when the kids aren't there every day. So many things need fixing but at least there is something for now. Not to mention the hope of building a new Hogar soon because the rented house the kids are in is far to small for their needs, but that is another problem. 

So many things that happen here I am amazed at. Today while taking her exams, one of the girls had to take care of her one year old sister, so she was holding her with her arm while taking her exam with her other. When the baby started crying she had to stop and quiet her. Clara was working with the second grade today and she asked another of the girls why she would never do her homework. She responded that she couldn't because in the afternoon she has to help her mother work and wash clothing. Second grade. Others aren't able to complete it because they don't have light in their houses. These kids also need so much more than just school knowledge. They need to be taught manners and social skills. Today Lissy, one of the Kinders, asked to use the bathroom. I said yes of course, so she went around back to where the outhouse was. I went to check on her right after and was slightly perturbed to find her just squating in the dirt and using the bathroom, like it was no big deal which I suppose it isn't. I find this slightly worrisome though because right there is where all the kids play during their break, always rolling in the dirt and falling down. Nothing is exactly sanitary here. Kevin was so extremely frustrating today. We honestly all dread what each day will bring when he is around, but I suppose it is an exercise in patience? He has no manners and is difficult to discipline. He is seven years old and still in kinder, though he looks as if he is only 4 or 5. The majority of the kids look at least 2 or 3 years younger than they are because of such poor nutrition. Their growth is stunted, which contrasts with their emotional growth, which is exponentially higher than most kids should be because the kids have so much responsibilitly. All I can do is help in my own small way, let the kids know they are loved, and try to leave a tiny mark in the paths of their lives. 

It is Beautiful

I am always amazed at how beautiful this country is. It has so much natural beauty, the caribbean paired with the jungle is simply breathtaking. I spent the morning hiking through the jungle in the Pico Bonito reserve. We took a tour and hiked an hour and a half to a waterfall. I was so glad to get out and do something active, especially since hiking is one of my favorite activities. Plus, it's hard to beat the location we were at. The waterfall was of course stunning. The director before we left had told us we shouldn't try to go swimming because the rocks are slippery, so as soon as we got there we took our shoes off and carefully made our way into the spray. There wasn't anywhere to swim, but it was amazing and exhilarating to just sit under the water as it poured down on you from 160 feet up. The water was nice and refreshing after the hike, and I could not stop giggling. So pretty. As we walked back, butterfly's were fluttering around and we found a few lizards. I was quite happy. 

Nothing too exciting this afternoon. I am constantly making lists of things to do and things I need to buy. It's strange being here, because I am so much neater and cleaner than I ever am at home. I have been on a cleaning frenzy, and can't stop organizing things. I'm planning on tackling the floors and kitchen again but need to buy some cleaning materials. I cooked my first official meal today! Nothing fancy, just potatoes and onions and peppers, but still- I was proud of my initiative. I'm also being responsible and making a budget which I'm sure I will go over, and I'm busy planning lessons for english. On top of that I promised to help out with some sponsor projects so we shall see where my time goes. This is what I love though, having more things to do than I can ever finish!