Sunday, March 25, 2012

rio, rio, rio


This past week was by far the most work I’ve ever had to do just for school in my life: grades, final exams, and science fair all in ONE week. So Friday instead of having our usual 1 pm staff meeting, we decided to take a staff trip to the rio. So we all piled into our trusty Viktor bus and headed to the rio.

Sylvia and Arlihnton bought drinks, churros (chips), refried beans, chismol (pico de gallo), tortillas, carne asada, chicken, and chorizo to grill out. It was so rico.

Grilling with Bessy and Karol

We started our afternoon off by swimming. Fanny, Rosa, Flor, Sor Maglys ( our nun), Peggy, Deirdre, Laura and I swam. It was so fun just hanging out and chatting and swimming around. The current was relatively strong so we swam downstream a bit and then against the current to this large branch in the water. We all proceeded to climb it and hang out a bit in the water. Then we all jumped off.

Deirdre, Laura, and I found a spot down river where some boys were cliff jumping so we headed down to try it out. As we approached we received numerous catcalls from a group of men. They kept telling us to come over by them and we weren’t sure if it was because they wanted to lure us closer or if it was legit. It was legit, we had to swim over and around them to catch the current right. As we were swimming they kept asking us if we speak Spanish. Silly me and our Spanglish, I busted out a “No entiendo” when talking to Laura, to which they replied oh yes you understand Spanish. Jaja. But anyways we made it.

Then we had to climb up the clay bank to the top of the “cliff.” At this point 2 men on horseback now coming riding up on top of the cliff. So Honduras. Nowhere to escape. Men on horses watching from behind, men in the rio watching from below. I was a little scared, but it wasn’t that high and they all said it was real deep. So, I took a deep breath, said a little prayer and ran for it. And it was so exhilarating. Of course right after I resurfaced, I was again terrified as a Honduran man flipped off the cliff right next to me. Ha. Ha. So fun.

The cliff

After cliff jumping, we rode the current back down the rio to where everybody else was. We played some volleyball, danced some bachata, had a few drinks, and just chatted it up with our coworkers. Then we ate. SO RICO. Ah nothing like grilled out carne asada and beans and chismol and the list goes on. What a perfect way to relax and wind down after an incredibly difficult week at school. Plus I just love Honduran life and my friends here.

Fantastic Four: First Grade Team
Birthday girls dancing
Honduran lip point

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Science Fair

The third Parcial at Santa Clara is dedicated to the Science Fair. For all eight weeks or so we worked out booties off in first grade learning about matter and the scientific method for the Fair.

First grade did several experiments on changing states of matter and freezing/melting, before our grand finale Science Fair experiment. We looked at how liquids change to solids by making ice cream together. Pretty rico if you ask me.

After studying all of this for weeks, my kids were so excited to finally see how our experiment would work. We’d spent so long setting up the question, guess, and materials, it was time to experiment.

Unfortunately since I left for a week, we were quite a bit behind my intended schedule so I didn’t exactly have time for us to experiment altogether with ice cream making. So I intended to do a demonstration and then follow-up when we had time with a day to make and eat ice cream together.

So last Thursday, I brought in the materials and did a superb demonstration of our experiment. We walked through the steps and made ice cream. I’ve never seen such excited, enthralled, and joyful faces. They watched ice cream, every kids dream, being made before their eyes, and as I held it up to show them. PUCHICA. I dropped it. Their adorable, excited faces in a split second turned to looks of pure shock and horror, as did mine. All the ice cream, gone on the floor. Bwahaahahaha. Honestly, it was like out of a movie. It was there and then just gone…all of it.

Friday was the actual Science Fair though, and I discovered that we would be presenting early on in the day so I would have time to spend of the rest of the day making ice cream. They deserved it, after I dropped it.

For my kiddos first and only English presentation this year, they did a fabulous job. Most importantly, I think they got it too J The judges came by and I had kids present all the parts of the scientific method. They did a fabulous job putting together the board (well Miss Laura and I did the gluing, but they wrote and drew it all). And they were absolutely fabulous at their English speaking. I was so moved and impressed with them. They were talking and reading and pointing to pictures on the board. The judges answered questions and they raised their hands to answer them. It was so great. I just loved seeing them speaking English, participating, and being so excited about something.

So proud.
Section A
Section A.

The judges


The best part was afterwards, however, THE ICE CREAM MAKING. I got smart this time (after a very hectic, messy ice cream run w/my padres and 2nd grade last year) and I premade all the bags with ice/salt and milk/sugar/vanilla. I also did double recipes in a bag and partnered them up so that when they got tired/cold shaking, they could switch. MUCHO MEJOR. I got a little nervous because of course the day was sweltering hot, so it took awhile and the ice was melting real fast, but it worked! And the kids loved it. Almost all of them really loved the ice cream and ate it all. I had an absolute blast doing it with them. They were so well behaved too. I mean they were crazy, obvi they were eating ice cream, but they were so good too. They cleaned up and even wanted to help mop and sweep. Some even said thank you. My 2nd class began to chat my name at the end of the day. Jaja. It was so fun. After all the late nights (there were many this past week) and the hard work at school, it was awesome to have a day like this with the kiddos to celebrate our hard work.

Eating and loving life.

First grade's favorite step of the experiment: 3. Shake.

Feliz dia del padre

This past Monday (March 19th) was Father's day in Honduras. So to all the dads, uncles, cousins, grandpas, brothers, father figures our there, Feliz día del padre!

To celebrate we cancelled classes on Friday and held a school celebration for dads. It was more low key than other Honduran celebrations, but it was still very Honduran and put together and it was a great time.

I will stand by the fact that I love how hard all the teachers work here in Honduras. If we want to do something or make something happen for the kids, we do it. Some grumble and complain, but honestly, compared to what I’ve seen in other groups it’s pretty minimal. I just love the attitude and thought process that if we want to make it happen, we will. We’ll stay after school, come early, and we’ll work, and it will all pay off in the end.

When the dad’s arrived they each received a small sun pin stating “Happy Father’s Day” or “Feliz dia del padre.” The dads and families sat on one side and then the kids sat with their teachers. Each class put together a short “punto” to present to the dads. They all did a fantastic job.

Yes, the Father's Day celebration was called :Daddy's Carnaval. So Honduran.

Prepa, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade all sang songs to their dads. There was a play done by 6th grade that, in typical Honduran form was a very intense play about parents that didn’t give their kids much attention, they would hit their kids, and they didn’t end up learning their lesson until their kids were involved in drugs. Pretty intense for a school, family friendly event if you ask me, but that’s life here.


First grade with Rosita always has a lot to show. They started with an adorable set of poems for their dads. Then the girls did a dance and another group of kids did a cowboy dance.



Finally, Edward. Oh Edward, he’s SUCH a cutie. He sang a solo tribute to his dad. It was so precious. My kids sang a rendition of one of our favorite songs “Skinnamarink” with some of my boys dressed up to look like dads. If I do say so myself, they were adorable.

Here's the link to the video of my kids. On my youtube page there are a bunch more Father's day videos.

Interspersed between all the puntos were various competitions and activities for the dads. In one they each received a job and had to act and recite a short phrase about their job and then we voted on the best dad. In another competition 2 father-son duos came up and were given dry erase boards. Sor asked them a question and the kid wrote down how they would answer the question and the dad’s had to guess what their son would say. Finally, there was a dance-off between the dads that was absolutely hilarious to watch.


At the end, we served all the dad’s lunch and got to visit and talk with our students. It was a wonderful day. It made me so happy to see all the kiddos spending time with their families and to see how all of us can work to put together a great event to celebrate such important people. So to all dad’s out there, Feliz dia del padre.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

blizzards, SLOBS, laughs, and love


This post is in memory of my dear Aunt Jan who passed away on Friday, March 2nd.
Always a smilin'
At the beginning of February, my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. It's crazy to think about the short time period that all of this happened in. But, at least I can confidently say that she is no longer suffering or in pain.

As my cousin Amy so perfectly put it, Aunt Jan is definitely already floating above everyone, especially her beloved family. Aunt Jan was always a "floater," in fact all of my swimming memories with her involve floating contests. She ALWAYS won. (At least I could beat my other aunt in the butterfly so I didn't lose at all swimming contests, right Aunt Jo?)

She also was a very dedicated, devoted, caretaker in our family. As the oldest sibling in my mom's family, she took care of all of us. She was there for all of us. She loved and cared for each of us. I once heard her say, that she promised my grandma asked her to promise to take on the maternal roll for her. And she did. She was a rock for many people. I've never met a more devoted person to their work (neck and neck in the running with my mother). She always had nice things to say about everybody. She knew how to bring the right amount of joy and laughter to fulfill any crowd.

It was those gifts, her joy, laughter, and the fact that I knew she was always present/would have been there for somebody else in the family, that I decided to take a mini-leave of absence from Honduran life to go home for her funeral. I've always been close to my family and my family matters more to me than anything. This year has been full of challenges (chock full) and coping with my aunt's sickness and death so far away from my family was definitely difficult for me. I'm glad I had the opportunity to be present with my family during this time.

The week was a whirlwind of flights, driving, and quality family time. Boy, am I glad I went. The week at home, was sad, difficult, and emotional for my family and I. But, more than that, it was consoling and joyful as we relived memories with her and watched my little cousin Ryan entertain us all with his Aunt Jan like energy, joy, and laughter.

I'll never forget the times I spent with my Aunt road tripping to Texas, going to the Sox game, walking around downtown, camping and tubing. Nor, the time when we were stranded in a blizzard in Iowa with 1 sandwich, a fun-sized Snickers bar, and a hotel sunrise to comfort the 7 of us. Or the time when I stayed up late bugging my aunts and pretending to "sleep" while they plotted their new initiative for healthy lifestyles and sister bonding, a group with my aunt wanted to call the SLOBS. I'll also never forget her 50th brithday and our cousin rendition of "Do your boobs sang low?"


Yep, its me.
All of my aunts. All amazing.

Aunt Jan, you are loved and you are missed. Thanks for the joy. Thanks for teaching me to always carry a smile, to work hard, and to be there for your family. Thanks for the laughter. Thanks for always making everything a little better with a smile, game of war, cherry pie, and a hug. Love you forever, prayers always. Keep on floating by Honduras.

100th Day of School


Hard to believe it, crazy I know, but first grade has survived to 100 days of school. I don't know if my kids realize how big of a day it was for me as well, to survive 100 days with them, just kidding. But, in all reality, its 100 days of some of the most rewarding but challenging teaching I have faced.

All year long we've been counting the days of school and the kiddos were getting super excited as our numbers got increasingly closer to the big 100. It was a pretty exciting day, and deserved a first grade style celebration.

It just so happened that it also coincided with our study of place value...yipppeee a teacher's dream. So, each kid brought in 100 things from home, pretty crazy I know. But they did it, 100 stickers, 100 toothpicks, 100 noodles, 100 pieces of rice (sooo small), lots of 100 beans, etc. We spent a majority of the day counting out groups of ten, making groups of ten, and gluing them to our 100 day craft paper. Messy, yes, but hey! math and 100 day combined.

We also practiced our counting by taking 100 steps for the 100th day of school.


And, we practiced counting by 5s to find 100 fingers and 100 toes (much to my dislike, I succumbed and we did do the feet).



They were all impressed to discover that they knew 100 English words too which we listed on the board.


That means there's like only 60 days left with my kiddos in 1st grade. We better get moving, haha.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

San Fran Soccer Sundays

The past few Sundays have been spent in soccer, San Fran, and sky church bliss. My neighbor and friend Mario plays in a soccer league in San Francisco de la Paz. Recently the team has been participating in a tournament. So I had the pleasure of going to San Fran for the semifinal and championship game.

The first Sunday we went was for the semifinal. We started off at church and it was one of the strangest church experiences I've ever had. The microphones weren't the best and the priest spoke some pretty tricky Spanish to understand. That and the group of giggling Honduran girls behind us, made for an incredibly unfocused church experience. The girls kept on "scratching" my back. Then they started gifting us things: Lacey got a ward off evil spirits necklace, Laura a cell phone charm, and I a Christmas, French horn pin. Random.

After church we walked with Milton (Mario's nephew) and Blackie (Mario's brother) to the stadium. Blackie's real name is Edwin, but they used to call him Negrito and then that switched to Blackie in English. It's been so nice to get to know Mario's family and friends more as they are all such wonderful, genuine, caring, and welcoming people.

The stadium was packed when we arrived as the first semifinal match was underway. The game was dead even the whole time. Back and forth. Back and forth. Finally one team scored and the other team quickly followed that up. So the game headed into overtime and eventually penalty kicks. Unfortunately, one of the teams just really blew it during the PKs. They goalie missed saving all 3 of their shots and the goalie of the other team saved all 3. Side note, pretty impressive goalie-ing as I don't believe I've ever seen three saved in a row. waaah waaah.

Then it was time for Mario's team to play, Delicas FBC. The real entertainment began during this game. The men were having a great time during this game, throwing back drinks and hassling one another. It was great. I was just bummed I couldn't partake due to different social norms :-P Delicas FBC has an awesome "cheerleader" or sorts. We found out his name is Roger or as I dubbed him C. Ronaldo/ The Avs. He has a friendly rivalry with Joche (sp?) who is the "cheerleader" for the other team. It was a tricky game to watch because it was such a fast moving soccer game and the banter between C. Ronaldo and Joche was equally as interesting so it proved to be a challenge to constantly monitor both forms of entertainment.

Within ten minutes of playing, Mario scored the first goal. Now, Mario is a fantastic person. He works so hard and for so many people. He does amazing things and is incredibly humble, calm, caring, and laid back, so much so that I knew each time I asked him about soccer and how he would just brush it off as "Oh, yeah soccer's fun. I'm okay at it" that he was an amazing soccer player. I was right. He had injured his ankle and wasn't even sure he was going to get to play. The coach was like I need you Mario, so he played. And, he didn't just play, he was the striker, now you don't play striker on an injured ankle unless you are GOOD. Mario went on to score two more goals in the game and Delicas won! Each time they scored, C. Ronaldo would turn around and high five us and say "You for yellow! Yay yellow! I like it!"

When the team one, we all rushed the field. Delicas had never made it into the finals before. It was thrilling to be apart of such pure joy and excitement with the players and fans. So much heart and love. As we were getting ready to leave, C. Ronaldo says, "You go to my party? Party in streee?" hahaah. We told him we would probably just see him at the next game. But, it was Mario's party too and Mario was the MVP, so we decided to go for a little bit.

What happens when a bunch of gringas show up to a soccer after-party? Well, it's quite the experience let me tell you. Suddenly there's this strange battle for attention, one second lifting Mario up and celebrating the soccer victory and then you catch a glimpse of the gringa's red hair and the gringas get swarmed with adoring men, offers of beers, dances, and "Te amo"'s. Definitely made space for lots of creepy moments, hilarious memories, and good times.

The next Sunday we returned for the championship game. Again we started off our Sunday at church. This time Fr. Dan was saying mass, so I could understand and follow him much better. Unfortunately, this time we had to leave mid-homily because the soccer game was starting. I have to admit I was a little bummed because I was really enjoying his messages about following rainbows.

When we arrived at the soccer game, we immediately came across good ole C. Ronaldo. We all practically ran to each other and greeted each other with big hugs. He's from New Jersey, silent J of course, so he spoke to us in his broken English and we told him we were ready for the big game. Of course Joche was back as well and the bantering was off to a rapid and rampant fashion. Laura even dared to enter into the bantering, which made for more hilarity on our part.

Delicas was facing Lempira. Lempira is a team from a small town just out side SF de La Paz. This team is notorious for bringing in illegal players and for cheating. Our friend Lalo whose house dad is the sweeper for Delicas said that he was fighting off offers all week to lose the game. Within about 5 minutes of playing, it certainly at least appeared to me that a couple of the refs had been bought, but maybe I'm mistaken.

The game was hard fought by both sides all along. It was much more of a battle than a soccer game, in my opinion however. There were lots of yellow cards thrown and tough battles for balls. Neither team could really seem to capitalize on many opportunities either, although Lempira definitely had more close calls than Delicias. Unfortunately, Delicas committed a foul inside the penalty box, leading to a goal score for Lempira. A few minutes later a Delicas player received a second yellow card and was thus ejected from the game, leaving Delicas a man down and unable to score a tying goal the rest of the game.

Regardless, the atmosphere, excitement, and joy were plenty. Good times were had. AND, Delicas still made it to the next round of soccer play. Now they go on to play teams from other parts of Honduras. So, no worries, Mario and Delicas, I'll be back to cheer you on, cause there's nothing I like more than San Fran Soccer Sundays.

Que Rico

My first grade assistant, Fanny, and the first grade Spanish teacher, Rosita, both live in Catacamas. Catacamas is another city just 45 minutes or so outside Juticalpa. So Laura and I decided to go and visit them for a weekend.

After school on Friday we hopped on the chicken bus with Rosita and Fanny. I think it was quite the chicken bus experience for them. I'm pretty sure they're used to a pretty tranquil bus ride Friday afternoons. Little did they know that traveling with 2 gringas would change the scene pretty quick. We were magnets for all the creepy men on the bus and in typical Hondi fashion, spent the entire bus ride listening to men chatter about how beautiful and special we are.

When we got to Catacamas, we went to Rosita's house to put our things down and to take a quick post-school siesta. Rosita lives alone in a house that used to be a carneceria or butcher shop in front and a house in back. It's quite a large home for one person, with a really nice outdoor/pila area...I was dreaming of a hammock.

Post siesta, Rosita and Fanny took Laura on a little paseo around town to get to know Catacamas. In town there is a beautiful central park with the biggest and bestest looking trees. I just wanted to climb them all. The park was so pretty with lots of trees, flowers, walk ways, and benches. Then we went to see the Cathedral and area by the church. While we were in the church's park, Fanny found 100 lempira, so we decided to buy ourselves dessert with the money. We went to a local repostería and bought some cake, cinnamon rolls, tres leches cake, and flan. As we were walking to dinner, we passed a bar called Quuuuueee Riiiiiiicooooo, which we adopted as our mantra for the weekend.

Dinner was one of the best eating experiences I've had in Honduras. We went to this small cafeteria. The cafeteria was nice because it was like a patio style restaurant. We each got a baleada and taco. I don't know how I ate all that food, but it was by far the best taco I've ever had in Honduras. And the baleada, quuuuueeee riiiiicooooo.

After dinner, we ran home in the rain screaming que ricooooooo! We were being so silly, but it was good times. Back at Rosita's house we shared desserts and chatted for a bit. We tried to start a dance party, but we all entered into a pretty deep food coma and just ended up talking for the rest of the night. Rosita told some really powerful stories to Laura and I. Man, that Rosita, I just love her, admire her, and hope to someday have the same faith she has.

The next day we woke up to Rosita cooking us breakfast: sandwich, eggs, avocado, refried beans, plantains, and cheese. A perfect, traditional breakfast to start off the day. Then we headed out to go and see where Fanny's mom lives. Their house is so nice and in the back they have hammocks and parrots. It was so tropical. Then we went to this place called el Sembrador. It turns out El Sembrador is a Christian reformatory school run by American volunteers. The school is for boys throughout Honduras in need of emotional, behavioral, academic, financial, or spiritual aid. The school and area is absolutely beautiful. We hiked up to this little pond/lake area. The pond with the clouds, que rice. Behind the pond the water dropped off into like a chute that went down into a whirlpool of a stream. I wanted so bad to find a tube and to slide down, it looked like so much fun. I just couldn't tell about the bottom of the slide to risk doing it, but if I had a tube, I would have gone for it. The rest of the grounds were just covered in beautiful flowers and trees and best part.....RECYCLING! I literally jumped for joy and took a picture I was so happy to see recycling in Honduras. Then we went to the University for Agriculture and walked around there for a bit. Another beautiful Honduran spot.

From here we went to Fanny's house. Fanny lives with her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. They were the nicest people. Her brother-in-law was so friendly, kind, and willing to share life stories. I love hearing people's stories. So we enjoyed some quality conversation over chocolate chip banana smoothies. Again, que rico.

Then we returned to Rosita's house where we were able to relax for a little bit before Rosita made us lunch: fried chicken, salad, plantains, and rice. She also made refresco natural. It's like a natural blackberry juice, woah. Ahhhhhmazing. Unfortunately, it was time to get going after that because Laura and I needed to meet up with the rest of the Juti crew for dinner.

It was wonderful to adventure outside Juti to see another city and to get to know some wonderful Honduran friends even more. Man, I love those women.