Lively House...

I got up at 6am this morning because I wanted to get my laundry washed and on the line before Jenny even got up.  Well, that didn't quite work.  I had started my laundry and was back in my room about 6:20 and heard Jenny get up.  She went back to her room and I went out to the kitchen to put away the dry dishes.  A few minutes later Jenny was also in the kitchen.

It's a big day today: New Year's Eve.  There are eggs to boil. Corn casserole to prepare.  An old man to make.  Etc. Etc.  And, we've got the easy part.  Sandi is making the turkey and ham, plus lots more side dishes.  Char is making the cheesecake, but she did that last night.  And, Autumn made a batch of chocobananos.


Jenny's got the eggs already hard boiled and cooling so that she can make deviled eggs.  Plus, the old man is pretty well stuffed.  And it's only 7:30am.  My laundry was on the line by 7:00 and last night I got out most of the ingredients I'll need for the corn casserole.  I'm going to make two pans of it: one with salsa verde and a little kick of hot sauce and the other one plain.  I'm also going to make a batch of punch and need to walk down to the supe (grocery store, short for supermercado) to get a few more ingredients.

Poor Autumn!  I'm sure she's wishing we weren't up and around so early this morning.  But, actually, this is pretty much normal for us; the past two weeks have been the aberration where we didn't really get going until 7:00 or later.

Later this morning, we're all going to La Princesita for baleadas.  Yum.  I'll bet I could eat baleadas there every morning and not get sick of them.  The comical part will be loading 11 of us into the pickup truck.  We've been doing quite a bit of that the last week or so and we draw a bit of attention to ourselves since we're a T.L.O.G. ~~ Truck Load Of Gringos.  Heck, I even have a T-shirt to prove it.  (Thanks, Luda!)

Full Week...

We've had a full week of celebrating Christmas with friends and family.  Most of Sandi's children are able to be here this week, so Currie and Sandi definitely have a full house.  Last night, we celebrated our Christmas, opening the mountain of gifts that had accumulated under the tree in Currie and Sandi's house.  That took quite a while, but there were lots of laughs and lots of photos involved!!

Late in the evening, some friends called.  They had been planning to stop here at Enlaces and visit on their way through to Tegucigalpa.  Well, they got stuck in pretty much every one of the construction stops on the highway, for a total of about 4-5 hours.  By the time they (3 cars full) made it to Comayagua, they decided to stop at Pollo Campero, which is just "three houses away" from us.  So, we walked over there to see everyone.  We ended up standing around outside Pollo Campero for over an hour, just laughing, talking and taking more pictures. There must have been 25-30 of us, all speaking Spanish and English.  I'm sure it made for quite a sight to the employees inside.  Yes, a few people went in to get some food and drink for the rest of the drive (and construction stops) to Tegus.

This morning I got up early and, after having my quiet time, decided that I needed some tamales for breakfast.  Yum.  I ended up eating two since mine weren't nearly as large as the ones I bought at Fincas El Carmen.  Later this morning we're off to the pool for a few hours.  I'm bringing my bathing suit, but if it doesn't warm up substantially, I doubt I'll dive in.  However, just being out there, at Campo de Golf, is very relaxing.  I'm going to bring a book and some note cards. 

 

Now, we get to celebrate the New Year.  We're planning to have a party tomorrow.  First, we're starting with dinner for some members of the team and some close friends.  The menu is going to be a great mix if Honduran and North American food.  Then, we've decided to take the party to the streets.  We're going to build un hombre viejo -- an old man.  The old man is kind of like a scarecrow, except that you also stuff him with firecrackers... LOTS of firecrackers!  At midnight, as fireworks and firecrackers go off everywhere, you light up the old man and watch him explode, as well.  If, after all the fireworks in him go off, there's anything left of him, you douse him with gasoline or kerosene and add a match.  It's a way of totally letting go of the old year.  I've been told that some years there's even a theme to the old man.  For instance, one year everyone did Osama bin Laden.  I don't think there's a theme this year, but Sandi and I have joked that we should make the old man be Mel.  The problem with that, is that we want to reach out to our neighbors and don't want to offend them if they happen to be Mel supporters.  We're also planning on having lots of cookies available to share with our neighbors as we all bring in the New Year.

Ist Die Post Offen?...

Sorry for the German, but that's what came to mind as I saw that the post office is closed today.  Next door, a man was cleaning the wrought iron on his pharmacy gate, so I asked him if the post office would be open today.  Nope.  Oh, well.  I guess I'll wait until Monday.

Before heading back home, I walked to another store that someone told me might have the type of motorcycle I'm looking for.  They didn't, but I did find out that, in addition to free registration, they also give TWO free helmets when you buy a bike there.  Most of the other places that I've been to all give one helmet.  One place only does the free registration, but does not give helmets.  I've already scratched that place off my list.

Walking through the market today was such a pleasure.  I'm not sure if the lack of huge crowds was because it's the day after Christmas or that it was fairly early.  My guess is 'fairly early', since as I walked back toward home, it was much busier.  I stopped to say hello to my friend, Walter, at his fruit stand and ask him about his Christmas.  He told me it was not a good day because he was missing his mother, who recently passed away.  I felt bad for him, but appreciated the fact that he was so willing to share with me.

Then, when I was near the mall, I saw one of our teachers and talked to her for a few minutes.  I like being out and seeing people I know.  Sometimes when I'm walking by somewhere or riding in the back of the truck, I'll hear, "Hello, Miss Susan!" coming from somewhere.  Usually, I don't see who it is, but assume that it's a student, so I just call out, "Hello!"  Although, it was pretty cool the night I was riding on the back of Hector's moto, heading toward the cathedral and saw Omar and his family driving in their truck.  We waved and said hello to each other from the road.

It's only 10:30am, and it's already 80°, so it looks like it's going to be a pretty warm day!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot...

Yes, it looks like Christmas here in Comayagua, Honduras.  Of course, Christmas is celebrated differently here than in the States.  The biggest difference is that Christmas isn't so completely commercialized here (yet).  There is much more emphasis on family and friends, less on gifts and going into deeper debt trying to buy those gifts.

Food... Yes, much of the Christmas celebration centers around food ~~ both the making and the eating.  Two days ago, Sandi and Jenny made 60 or so tamales.  Since I missed out on that because of a dentist's appointment, I made some yesterday, under Sandi's tutelage.  My batch was another 39, so I think we're set on tamales.  Sandi also taught Jenny how to make torrejas.  There are two types of torrejas: the french toast type and the pancake type.  I've had both and they're both good.  Basically, the special bread or special pancake is soaked in a syrup of dulce and spices, then eaten.  I won't go into all the details of making the bread or the pancake, since it's pretty similar to making them anywhere.  It's just that different ingredients are used.

The majority of the Christmas celebration takes place on Christmas Eve.  Most families will have dinner together at 7:00 or 8:00pm.  Then, starting around 9:00 or 10:00pm, people will begin to 'pass from house to house', visiting each other.  You are usually offered food at each house you visit, especially tamales and torrejas.   At midnight, there will be a huge round of fireworks and firecrackers set off.  The firecrackers will last well into the early morning hours, but that's okay because you are still out visiting others.  Generally, you don't get home until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.  There are still lots of firecrackers going off, but that will continue for days anyway.  Yes, everyone sleeps in on Christmas day.  Christmas day itself is much more low key.

Another tradition here that I really like are the nativity scenes.  Putting up a nativity scene can be a really big deal for families.  Some families will even clear out their entire living room to convert it to a stable, suitable for the birth of Christ.  In addition to the usual nativity figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, wise men, shepherds, angels and assorted animals, nativities here also include a slice of daily life.  They're more like a huge diorama.  I've seen nativities that include the cathedral downtown, the mercado, schools, mountain villages, etc. It's very cool to see.

So, with all of that said, I hope that each of you reading this has an incredibly blessed Christmas!  May each of you celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, remembering His supreme sacrifice for each of us!

No Jayhawk Basketball Today...

I thought I might be able to watch the Jayhawks play Michigan in basketball today.  The game was on ESPN, and since we get ESPN, I was hopeful.  Alas, my hopes have been dashed.  Thankfully, I was able to follow the game on the Journal World website.  Even more thankfully, the Jayhawks beat the Wolverines!  I'm still hopeful that somehow there will be a programming glitch and I'll be able to catch one of the games.  Maybe against MU?  K-State?  A girl can dream, can't she?

Earlier today, I walked to the mercado with Sandi and Autumn.  Autumn was trying to find a pair of shoes to wear this evening to a wedding.  She found a pair in Carrion's, in the mall, but we still decided to check out the mercado to see if they had any that she liked better.  They didn't.

Since it's Saturday, the mercado is particularly packed.  This meant that we had to dodge cars and bikes, swim upstream through the sea of people, and just generally stay on our toes while walking -- lest our toes get trampled on.  But it was fun, at least for me.  I always enjoy being out in the mercado.  Sometimes I see someone (or several someones) I know; sometimes not.  Today was 'not', but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment.

After I got back home and after I realized that I wasn't going to get to watch the Jayhawks game, I made a makeshift practice mute from a kitchen towel and elastic band.  I've been practicing the cornet a bit since I'm going to play a few songs in church tomorrow.  Yes, all these years later, I still play trumpet!  Well, I'll play trumpet once mine gets here, but in the meantime, the cornet that was left behind by one of the interns does quite nicely.  The valve action is good, which is important.  Hopefully tomorrow will go well.  I'm even going to try to get some pics of me playing.

 

What a Day...

This morning started out with me, Currie, Sandi, Samuel and Autumn going to La Princesita for baleadas.  I ordered the baleada sencilla, which is basically a large homemade flour tortilla filled with refried beans, mantequilla (sour cream-like product), and grated queso (parmesan style cheese). You can also get them with scrambled eggs, chicken or sausage added.

After breakfast, we did a  little shopping at the hardware store.  When we parked at the hardware store, Sandi and I walked about two blocks away to try to book some dentist appointments.  On Monday I'll be getting my teeth cleaned, for 400 Lempiras ($21.17).  I'll let you know how it turns out.  We also stopped by the post office so that Autumn could mail some post cards.  I found out that post card stamps are 15 Lps (79¢) each.  Plus, at the post office, you affix the stamps with a little container of glue and a popsicle stick.  

We came back home and a few minutes later Sandi, Autumn and I went out to see if another friend was home.  She wasn't, so we came back, then Sandi & I started to walk down to the mercado.  We stopped in a few shops, looking around and checking some prices.  We weren't really looking for anything in particular, just window shopping.  We made it down to the parque central and stopped in a store for a couple bottles of water.  As we went to sit down on one of the benches, Sandi recognized a friend, so we talked to her for a few minutes.  

Back at Enlaces, we left again, this time headed to the 'zoo'.  Samuel's friend, Adán is spending a few days, so we loaded the truck up and zipped down the highway.  Well, to call it the zoo is such a misnomer.  Actually, it's a slice of Honduran culture.  It's a place to get corn food products: atol, elote, tamalitos, etc., etc.  They also have a small menagerie of caged animals out back.  The ASPCA would have a field day in that place: cages are way too small, there are too many animals in several of the cages, etc.  But, it's still fun.

After our time at the zoo, we drove the short distance to Fincas del Carmen, mainly to buy nacatamales.  Fincas del Carmen has 'borrowed' the Famous Dave's logo.  All of it: pig, ribs, font.  I think it's pretty funny.  I bought 12 tamales and even a half-pound of chicharonnes.  The tamales are in the fridge until they are cold enough to freeze, but the chicharonnes did not last long at all.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain...

Driving here is quite an adventure.  Always.  Yesterday I went with Sandi to the airport in San Pedro Sula to pick up her daughter, Autumn.  We left Comayagua about 7:15am or so because we wanted to stop at PriceSmart first.   Thankfully, we didn't get caught in construction traffic for nearly as long as Hermes did just two days earlier.  He was stopped and waiting for almost two hours in the one-way construction zone in between Siguatepeque and Taulabé.  Two hours, just sitting there.  Waiting.  In your car.  No thanks.  And that was just on the way there.


On our way up to San Pedro, we had to wait for maybe 10 minutes.  On the way back, it was more like 20 or 25 minutes, but we still considered ourselves lucky.

From Comayagua, no matter which direction you drive, you are shortly in the mountains, since we sit in a valley.  Driving in the mountains, here, is so much different than in the States.  First, there's no guard rail.  Well, almost never.  Then, there's passing other vehicles.  Here, you pass on blind curves, just because you can.  Never mind if you can't see and it's only a two-lane highway, and there are big trucks and buses on the road, or that when you can see, two cars are coming straight at you.  You pass.  Never mind that you're in a construction zone and you have an eight inch drop off on one side of you, with no guard rail and a long way down the mountain. You pass.  Never mind that on the other side of the lane you have re-bar spikes sticking out of the raised lane, kind of like the chariot in "Ben Hur", ready to tear your tire and car to shreds. You pass.  Never mind that if the re-bar isn't sticking straight out from the concrete slab, it's sticking straight up like a villainous stop stick.  You pass.

Two-lane highway?  No such thing.  We all know that if there happen to be any lane markings on the highway, they are merely a suggestion and if 5 vehicles can all fit in that space, then so be it.  It's all about proving the laws of physics obsolete!  Two solid objects CAN, indeed, occupy the same space at the same time.  At least until such a time as one of them goes 'crunch'.  Yes, that happens a lot here, too.


So, yesterday we got to trust God to get us to San Pedro Sula and back.  Today, I got to learn more about trust by going to Tegucigalpa with Hermes.  More mountains, more turns, more twists, more physics-defying car passing!  But, apparently it all had a happy ending, because here I am, sitting home and writing about it.


 

Fresh Fruit Rulz...

Currie and Sandi (Samuel, too, of course) returned to Honduras yesterday.  They got back home to Comayagua just before 6pm.  Jenny and I were just finishing up our dinner, so we went out to greet them, help them unload about a million suitcases and just sit and talk.  It's amazing; they left here 6 1/2 weeks ago, with suitcases loaded with coffee and other things for friends and family in the States.  They returned with one more suitcase than they left with, and their suitcases were filled with food, gifts, and requested items for people here.  I think they even packed some clothes, but I can't be sure.

This morning I went over there about 9am or so and talked with Sandi for a while.  I was getting ready to walk down to the post office and wanted to see if she needed me to pick up anything while I was in the mercado.  Well, she needs lots of groceries, so she decided not to load me down with stuff since I would be en pie (on foot).  Then I had a great idea: I asked Sandi if Samuel might want to go with me.  I thought that would have a double benefit: get Samuel out of the house for a while while Sandi continued to unpack and get the family settled, plus, it would get Samuel a little exercise and fresh(?) air.

Within less than 200 yards of our walking, Samuel said, "Wow!  I think we're going to be walking for miles and miles today."  I told him that it would probably be about 3 miles, round trip.  When I told him that the post office was behind the cathedral, he thought we should be driving instead of walking.  But, I convinced him that the walk would be fun. I learned today that while I love to do it, Samuel thinks walking through the mercado is boring.


We arrived at Parque Central and looked at the Christmas tree that's been put up, then we went to go get something cold to drink.  Even at 10am it was pretty warm (80° or more) and very, very sunny.  So, I got us some drinks and then we went outside to sit at a table in the shade for a bit.  When we started to walk behind the cathedral toward the post office, we decided to go into the cathedral for a few minutes.  Then we were on our way.


I'm so glad I went to the post office today.  I got THREE Christmas cards, from the ladies in the Monday night Bible study in Lawrence, AND a package from Sharon.  That was so cool!  Samuel and I sat on the step outside the post office so that I could open my cards.  I decided not to open the package until we were back home.


On our way home, we stopped for some fruit at my friend Walter's stand.  I bought two sandias (watermelons) and some uvas (grapes).  Samuel started carrying one of the watermelons, but I knew that wouldn't last long.  It didn't.  Soon, I was carrying both sandias and the uvas, but I did have Samuel carry my package, since it wasn't too heavy.


Having such incredible fresh fruits and vegetables available is wonderful.  This afternoon, I devoured two mandarinas (tangerines).  Later tonight, fresh green beans are on the menu.  I don't know what's going with them, but I'll figure something out.  The sandias I bought?  I gave one to Sandi and have the other one here in the house.  I'm thinking, if it makes it that long, it might end up as jugo (juice).  That's if it doesn't get eaten before I get around to throwing it in the blender.  I had every intention of making licuados (smoothies) out of the cantelopes I've been buying.  Care to venture a guess as to how many cantelope licuados I've made?  That's right: exactly zero.  Somehow, the cantelope just doesn't seem to last that long.  Oh, I can hardly wait until mango season!!

I Wonder While I Walk...

OK, not really, but it kind of sounds like a Christmas Carol, right?

This morning, after my student didn't show up for our last day of class, I walked down to the post office.  I've been waiting for a letter from Mom.  It arrived sometime between my last visit on Friday and today.  It's amazing how exciting a letter can be.  Especially when it's got photos and even $5 in it.  Thanks, Mom!!

I always love walking through the mercado.  When the merchants see a gringa coming they seem to get more excitement and animation in their voices as they hawk their wares.  But, let's face it, just how exciting can they make cubitos (bullion cubes) or cinturóns (belts) sound?  After getting the mail, I stopped to buy some fruit.  I picked up a couple of mandarinas (tangerines) for 2 Lps each and then bought 3 minimos (bananas) for 1 Lp each.  From there I stopped by Walter's booth and bought 3 melones (cantelopes) for a total of 40 Lps.  So, for just less than $2.50 I have a nice pile of fruit for a day or two.

While walking back, I saw that one of my neighbors is doing some kind of addition to his house.  He had about 5 kids helping him.  I recognized one of them as a regular at the Center, so as I was walking by I stopped and commented that he had lots of assistants to help.  He said, "Yes, lots of help."  The boy who I recognized saw that I had a bag of melones and asked me for one.  Well, I decided I could part with a cantalope and asked him if he would share.  He said, "yes" and then started to take the melon.  The other kids started clamoring for one as well, and I told them that it was to share.  Then I cupped my hand to my ear, as if I was waiting to hear something.  The boy said, "thank you", and the man, who I think might be the boy's father, nodded approvingly at me for wanting a 'thank you'.  I think all the kids were pretty shocked that I would give them a melon.

Giving away the fruit may have been a mistake that will haunt me later.  It's entirely possible that every time I walk by with groceries the kids will ask me for something.  Still, I like to think that I was just being nice to the neighborhood kids.  Time will tell.

More Musings From the Road...

Out for another ride today... Ah, it really does feel good.  I saw more farm animals today than I have in a while.  On my first lap, toward the top of the boulevard, there was a cow in the road.  Some cars were honking at her and  I wondered if she was going to get hit.  Before I reached her, she made her way to the side of the road and was heading near some bags of what appeared to be trash.  So, a guy standing near the trash decided it would be best to keep her away from the trash.  He started waving her back out into the road.  Brilliant.  As I passed her, I thought she looked mighty uncomfortable.  She looked like her udders might burst at any second.  She was gone by my second lap.

Ah, the second lap.  It started out okay, but as I was returning, about halfway down the boulevard, I head a huge *BAM*.  Startled, I realized that I was the offender.  I had a rear blowout.  So, I started walking the bike because I knew that 'my mechanic' was a short way ahead.  I brought my bike in and when they started to work on it I saw that my back tire was completely torn apart.  OK, I guess I need to replace more than just the tube.  I picked out a tire, found out the cost of it and a tube, and then explained to the guy that I only had 60 Lps with me, but I could quickly return from Enlaces with the rest.  He seemed fine with that.  The total cost of repairs?  138 Lempiras, or $7.30.  So, with that, I came away with a new tire and tube.

I decided to keep on riding and I'm glad I did.  There were more farm animals to be seen.  On that third lap I looked up one side road and saw three horses, just standing there.  As I was on the backside of the loop, I had to slow down a bit to allow an oxen-drawn cart to cross the boulevard.  Yep, just an average day in Honduras.

Today I also realized why I had never noticed the old shack before:  at that point in each lap, I am usually looking up at a mountain ahead, mesmerized by the village that seemingly hangs on the side of it, hypnotized by the stark beauty of dirt roads that beg cars to defy gravity.  But today, I checked out the shack on three of my four laps.

In addition to garland around the door, there is an artificial tree on the porch.  Yes, it looks just barely better than Charlie Brown's tree, but it's out there with such pride, how can anyone not see how beautiful it is?  Today was also wash day for the woman of the house.  The laundry is all hung, inside out of course, on the line.  She even had four or five clothes pins available to hold some of the smaller items in place.  Yes, I like the shack.  Very much.

For the first time today, I noticed that there is a wooden cover over one of the sewer manholes.  I thought it was interesting that I hadn't seen it before.  So, then I started to look and see if there were any more.  Not that I've noticed so far, but let's see.

As I was riding, I saw beautiful coconut palms in front of dilapidated homes and thought of something Jenny told me this weekend.  She said that when her mom first visited Honduras, she said, "Um, this isn't quite the paradise that I pictured it would be from your description."  Yeah, I get it.  I'm sure it would be difficult for many to see the beauty through the trash, the richness through the poverty, the abundance through the need.  But, mark my words, it's there. 

Random Thoughts From a Bike Ride...

Today's post is a somewhat random collection of thoughts and musings that came to me while I was out riding this morning...  

Let me begin by saying that it's been a while (quite a while, if I'm totally honest) since I was out on my bike.  I was afraid that I would really suck wind today, but thankfully, I didn't.  In fact, the ride felt amazing and I fell in love with riding all over again!

On my very first lap I saw a dilapidated shack, someone's home, that was decorated with garland for Christmas.  How have I missed seeing that shack?  Yet, there it was, decorated and even the dirt in front of it was swept clean of trash.

I saw a group of about 8-10 vultures in the median and knew that they were gnawing on something.  That something turned out to be a dead dog.  My guess is that it got hit by a car.  It hadn't been there too long, but it was long enough for rigor to set in.  Is rigor a prerequisite for the vultures?

Fireworks stands are starting to appear.  This morning there were three of them set up in the lot that had the carnival about 6 or 7 weeks ago.  They'll be there until after the New Year, since Christmas and New Year's are two of the biggest nights for fireworks and firecrackers here.  Although, there are LOTS of lesser holidays and celebrations that call for firecrackers.  That also explains why I'm hearing so many more firecrackers being shot off by the neighborhood kids.

While riding I saw two ladies burning trash in front of their homes.  I guess they wanted to get it done early in the morning.

I was once again struck by the incredible beauty of this country.  The mountains are stark, harsh, unforgiving, but majestic.  And the people who eek out a living while living on those mountains are strong and proud.

Rules of the road are really just suggestions and mainly for sissies.  People on bikes ride wherever they want.  It doesn't really matter in which direction the cars are traveling, when you're on a bike, you ride: with traffic, against traffic, through traffic.  It's all good.

Cars are not much better.  Lane markings, if they exist, are followed optionally, as well.  Two lane roads often become three, sometimes four lanes. 

I noticed several Hondurans out jogging this morning, both men and women.  Perhaps that's because there's a gym at the end of the boulevard.

Then I saw a couple walking together, holding hands.  Not odd at all to see young people like that, but this couple was older, perhaps in their forties.  (Determining age is particularly difficult here because the hard lives they lead causes many to age prematurely.)

All in all, it was a good morning.  I'm glad I didn't succumb to the call of the snooze alarm (too much).  At noon, I'm meeting Hermes, Eunice, and a few others for lunch.  We're going to a Chinese restaurant that is right on the boulevard.  I'll walk over there and then after lunch, go talk to the folks in the shop next door.  I've been seriously thinking about buying a motorcycle, but just yesterday added a motor scooter to the mix.  There's a shop next to where we're having lunch that sells scooters and 4-wheelers.  I'll go check into the prices.

No Caves for Us...

Jenny, Mariel, her two boys and I tried to go to las cuevas de Taulabé yesterday.  I guess it wasn't meant to be, but we had a good day, anyway.  I told Mariel that we would be at her house at 8:30am to pick them up.  They were all waiting for us because Mariel said "They are North Americans and they will be on time."  HA!  I guess I'm becoming a good Honduran.  It was closer to 9:00am by the time we got there.  I had been on the phone, and the call took a little longer than I thought it would.  Oh well.  We weren't on any type of tight schedule.  We just needed to be back in Comayagua around 2:00pm so that Mariel could teach at 3:00.

After getting some gas, we were on our way.  The construction on the highway is really making good progress.  Shortly outside of Siguatepeque we ran into our first time to sit and wait while cars went through in the opposite direction.  That didn't really bother us.  Jenny had brought a Christmas CD and by that time we were rocking out to "Feliz Navidad".  It was a lot of fun. 

When we got to the caves, there was no one there and the place was all locked up.  We kept yelling for someone, but the only person who heard us was an old man who had been across the highway selling his wares.  He came over and told us that there was no one there.  That they "were voting".  Um, hello?  The elections were on Sunday, not Monday.  Anyway, we thanked the guy and continued to talk about breaking in.  None of us were serious, but it did make for some fun.

Back in the truck, Kevin (Mariel's 10-year-old son) said that we needed a sad song.  It just so happens that the CD Jenny had brought had Barbra Streisand's version of "My Favorite Things".  It's pretty sad in its own rite, but with my crying along with it, well, it was an absolute tearjerker.

Before reaching Siguat again, we stopped and bought a big sack of oranges.  The guy said there were 90 in each sack and the cost was 80 Lps., which is about  $4.25US.  We also stopped and had lunch at Wendy's in Siguat, which was a huge hit with Saul (3-years-old) and Kevin.  After lunch, on our way back to Comayagua, we played "I spy" with Kevin, in English.  It was a great chance for him to have fun and practice his English at the same time.

So, even though we didn't actually get IN to the caves, here are two pics NEAR the caves... 

Is my sad face convincing?  Next time, we're going to bring a ladder in case we need to jump the fence.

Elections...

Honduras held its elections today.  The day has been peaceful and violence-free, which is a tremendous answer to prayer.  Mel Zelaya, the former (ousted) president, had been trying to stir up his supporters, to boycott the elections and inciting them to violence.  It looks like his efforts failed.  According to early results, Pepe Lobo, the guy from the Nationalist party, is leading so far.  Final results won't be in until Wednesday -- or so I'm told.

This afternoon I needed to go over to the Esso for some Coca Cola.  The highway was quite empty.  Not as completely empty as during the toque de queda, though.  I was very aware of the peaceful feeling of the nation.  It was palpable as I walked back across the street to Enlaces.

Because of the elections, groups were not allowed to meet.  That meant churches as well as university classes that are usually held on Sundays.  So, instead of church, the pastor and his family came over here for lunch after they voted.  Antonio and Esperanza are Jenny's future in-laws, too.  We all had a great time, and a great meal of fish, baked potatoes, and green beans.  Brownies and ice cream for dessert rounded out the meal.

Jenny doesn't have school tomorrow, because of today's elections, so we're going to visit las cuevas de Taulabe (the caves of Taulabe). Mariel and her boys are going to join us.  It should be a lot of fun.  It's been about 13 years since I've been to the caves.  I'm also going to show them the mission there where I first came, back in 1995.  Yes, I'll have the camera with me.

Christmas. Celebrate Different©...

First, for all of you grammar buffs, you and I both know that it should be 'celebrate differently', but that's my wink and nod to Apple and their brilliant marketing campaign of several years ago.  Hence, the copyright symbol.

Now, the Christmas season is upon us.  It never ceases to amaze me how Christmas items make their way to store shelves earlier and earlier each year.  When I was very young, Christmas didn't arrive in the stores until the day after Thanksgiving, and that day wasn't yet called Black Friday.  Then a few years later, Christmas was on the shelves a week or two before Thanksgiving.  Fast forward a few years and Christmas made its entrance immediately after Halloween.  Now, Christmas arrives before Halloween.  I'm sure that, soon, we'll be able to do our Back to School and Christmas shopping all in one trip.  I mean, surely that will save time, no?  

This will be the second Christmas that I've spent in Honduras.  I love the way Honduras celebrate the holiday because it focuses so much more on family and friends than gifts and overspending.  And, frankly, since I no longer have a job that would allow me to overspend, I'm grateful!  I'm already looking forward to finding ways that I can bless my friends here.  Perhaps invite them over for a meal.  Maybe some homemade bread or a pot of soup?  I'm praying for creativity, that's for sure!

One of my Facebook friends posted this link...  http://tiny.cc/wearepregnant  Watch it and be challenged to perhaps change some (or even just one) of the ways that you celebrate Christmas.  Really, the HolyDay is all about Jesus, anyway. Right?

So, with that, I say Celebrate Different©

Julio...

Tonight I met Julio.  He works with Jenny and drove her home after a meeting at their school.  Nice guy!  He speaks English quite well.  I'm glad he does because, boy, did he tell us quite a story.  It seems that about 4 years ago, Julio decided that he would go to the United States to get a job.  Nope, he didn't plan on going there legally.  He figured he'd do what so many others have done: go wetback.

As Julio continued his story, Jenny and I were both intrigued.  He told us how he left a note in his room, knowing that his friends would find it long before his mother would know he was missing.  Julio told us about walking through the mountains, across the Honduras/Guatemala and then the Guatemala/Mexico borders.  They walked through torrential downpours so hard that you had to hold on to the person in front of you or you'd quickly get lost.  Julio told us about walking day after day for 20 hours each day, just to make progress.

Jenny and I sat at the table in rapt attention as Julio told us the story of a young girl from San Pedro Sula who joined them on their journey.  The girl was 17 years old and 6+ months pregnant when they started out.  It turns out that this girl's baby was fathered by a gang member who told her to get an abortion and that if she had the baby, he'd kill her.  So she did the only thing she thought she could: leave the country.  Julio told us that once they were in Mexico, they had been walking for several of their 20-hour days with no breaks.  They came upon a small village and found an abandoned shack where they decided to get some sleep for a while.  Julio said that most of the others fell asleep right away, but he couldn't, because of the thickness of the mosquitoes.

After a while, he heard that the girl was crying and rubbing her belly.  Julio knew that wasn't good, so he sat next to her and started to talk to her to try to help take her mind off of the pain.  When it was light enough, Julio and the girl's brother, who was also traveling with her, went out to look for someone who might be able to help.  They happened upon an old woman, living with "many animals; many, many animals", as Julio said.  They told the old woman what was happening to the girl and were instructed to bring her to the old woman's home, which they did.

Yes, you probably guessed it: the girl had gone into premature labor.  Julio and the girl's brother got to assist in the baby boy's delivery, which freaked out Julio so much that he bolted during the delivery.  When he finally went back inside, after the screaming subsided and he decided that it was safe, Julio was soundly insulted by the old woman for "being such a wuss".  (That's my paraphrase, as I don't want to write the truly colorful words that Julio used.)  Since the baby arrived roughly two months early, the old woman rigged up a type of incubator and told the girl and her brother that "her work was done, and now they needed to find someone who could take care of the baby."

The old woman, it turns out, was 98 years old, and well known in her small village as being the only one who could have helped in this situation.  Wow!  Talk about God's mercy!  After that, the brother found some sort of social service agency that was going to help with the baby and his care.  Julio didn't see them again, as he continued on with the group while the girl, her baby, and her brother stayed behind in Mexico.

While they were in Mexico, they jumped trains several times.  Julio told us of the banditos who would rob them, or try to rob them.  He also told of one village which, as the train was passing through, people from the village would come out and give food to the people who had jumped the train, encouraging them on in their journey to the U.S.

For the sake of brevity, I'll jump to the end:  Yes, Julio was caught.  He was in Texas and had been without food or water for almost a full day.  Most of his traveling companions had been caught the day before, but somehow Julio had managed to outrun his pursuers.  When he came out of hiding, he was turned in by someone who had seemingly befriended him.

To hear Julio tell it, he was treated quite well by the police and INS. He tried to pass himself off as Mexican, so that he would only be sent back to the town he was claiming to be from.  He had even spent quite a bit of time while still in Honduras doing his homework: he knew many of the Mexican presidents, knew about the various Mexican states, learned regional words and phrases, and even learned to sing the Mexican national anthem.

During his time in custody, Julio was interviewed by a Mexican to determine if he was really from Mexico.  The guy told Julio that he had all the right answers, but he still didn't believe that Julio was from Mexico. It was only while they were searching through his backpack that the officials found a piece of clothing that linked him to Honduras.  Looks like it's "game over".  So, Julio was eventually flown back to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  He once again lives here in Comayagua with his family.  Julio has a good job as a teacher, has a small side business repairing computers and has even been able to buy a car for himself.  It looks like even without getting to the U.S., Julio is doing alright.

But, wow, it was a crazy story to hear.  I suspect that Julio will come for dinner again.  In fact, we'll probably make sure of it.

Sunday, Again...

Wow!  Has it really been a whole week since I've written?  I've GOT to do a better job at updating this or no one will read it... not that I know how many are actually reading it now.  But, I like to write, so I'll continue.

Friday was graduation for the school.  It was incredible!  We had it at the Campo de Golf (golf course), so they took care of most of the decorations and such.  I'm sure that was a huge help to so many of the teachers!  Graduation was for prepa (kindergarten) and 6th grade.  For graduation, everyone dresses to the nines.  I mean, really, really dresses up.  Seeing formal gowns on both parents and students is not at all unusual -- for the females, at least.  Many of the men are in suits and ties.  It's really a big deal here.

Here's one proud family...

See what I mean?  All dressed up!!

The prepa children sang "I Am a Promise" in English, and here they are while they're getting ready to sing...

After the ceremony, we had a wonderful dinner.  It was fantastic to see all the proud parents, and all the smiles!

I left the Campo a little before 9pm and all was going well until I got stopped by the police on the boulevard.  I was only about 1/2 mile from home.  Road blocks and routine checks are, well, pretty routine here.  Although, with the election being a week away, it seems that there are a lot more of them set up lately.  I asked Hermes about that, and he confirmed that there are defnitely more right now.  I think the government is really stepping up to make sure that things stay on the up and up for the election. 

Anyway, I got pulled over... So, the guy who stepped up to my window wasn't a policeman, but Honduran military.  "Documentos, por favor," he said.  I reached into my purse, got out my wallet and gave the guy my Kansas driver's license.  I've learned that during these stops it's important to not show how much Spanish you know, so I struggled through saying, "This is my driver's license."  Then I apologized, slowly, and with some purposeful mistakes, that I don't speak Spanish very well.  Yeah, I know... Weak.  But, it's seemed to alleviate problems in the past, and I so no reason to discontinue the practice now.

Then the guy asked for my registro, and I looked in the glove box, but only found some cables for phones or something.  I told the guy that I live at "Enlaces, enfrente de Pizza Hut."  But he said he needed my documents.  I told him that the car wasn't mine, but belonged to the ministry.  About that time, Hector & Sandra went by me, slowed down when they saw me talking to the military guy, and pulled a bit further in front of me.  It was then that they got pulled over for a check as well.  As Hector & Sandra passed, I said, "I work with them  at Enlaces."

Well, I guess the guy realized that I'm not much of a threat to national security, because he gave me my license back, to which I replied, "¿Todo está bien? (Is everything okay?)"  "Sí.  Todo está bien.  (Yes.  Everything's fine.)"  Sometimes it's a good thing to not let on how much of the language you know or understand!!

As I passed Hector & Sandra, I gave them a 'thumbs up' and then I pulled a little bit ahead of them, to wait and make sure they were fine.

While driving the last little way home, it dawned on me how natural the whole transaction seemed.  No, I don't necessarily like being pulled over, but it's just something that happens here.  A lot.  Heck, I've even learned how to bribe police, I mean, "pay the ticket today, to you, so that I don't have to come back later."

Thank you, Lord, for your continued, ongoing protection!!

It's Been a Long Day...

It's after 10pm while I'm starting to write this, and it's been a long day.  Really long.  I left the house about 7:30 this morning to open up classrooms for the nursing students who are meeting here on Sundays during November.  Then, I opened up the Center and got things read.  y for the church that meets here.  Rosie got here a few minutes before 8am and immediately started getting some sandwiches ready.  That was a good thing, because by 8:10, a few people were already asking to buy food. 

Church was good this morning.  But, the guy who taught was inconsistent with his microphone placement, so I had to really stay on top of it at the sound board.  That made it difficult for me to actually listen to what he was saying.  Sometimes I feel like my Spanish skills are "one step forward, two steps back".

It seemed that no sooner had the final "Amen" been said than we had teens arriving for the break dance competition being held at the Center today.  They were actually quiet and respectful, and waited for us to mop the floor before they started setting up for their contest.  We had a ton of people here for the contest.  It was great.  Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and I took about 150 photos.  Some of these kids are incredible dancers, or I guess I should say, they've got mad skilz.

Tonight, after most of the break dancers left, the Center was still super busy.  Everyone knew that we were giving away the final Christmas tree tonight.  In order to get a ticket, they needed to buy 15 Lempira's worth of food.  Drinks don't count.  We had some really awesome food on offer today: tajaditas, nachos, and fried chicken.  And Rolyn was really pushing the food.  He made it lots of fun.  The family that won the Christmas tree tonight is from Tegucigalpa.  I asked the mom if she had tree at home.  She said, "No."  I'm really happy for them and their tree.

Tomorrow will probably be another long day.  I'm going to Tegucigalpa, to Immigrations, to try to get an extension on my visa since my carnet de residencia is not available yet.  On our way to Immigrations, we're going to pick up Jenny.  She left for Teguc today because she needs to go to the US Embassy tomorrow to get more pages for her passport.  I guess they only do that from 8:00 -- 11:30am.  I imagine we'll also go to PriceSmart and Hiper Pais.  It would hardly be a trip to Teguc without going to PriceSmart!!!

Good Intentions...

Yes, I really do mean to update my blog more often, like every 2 or 3 days, but somehow it seems that the best of intentions just don't work out according to my plans.  Sometimes, though, that's a good thing!

Take yesterday, for example:  I'm still waiting to get my residency carnet, but in the meantime, it looks like I will need to get a 30-day extension of my visa.  I was going to do that yesterday.  Daya said she'd go with me to the local immigrations office, so I got the truck (Sandi & Currie's truck) and brought it around to the front of the school.  I went back into the school to see if Daya was ready, and she asked if I knew exactly where the office was.  Well, I know approximately, but not exactly.  No one else seemed to know exactly where it was either.  Then I had a great idea ~~ we could just ask a taxista.  If anyone will know, a guy driving a taxi will.  Just then one of the mom's came in and I asked her.  She told me that we don't have an immigrations office anymore.  She said there was one at the base.  OK, guess I'm not taking care of that today.  So, I got back in the truck and brought it inside the back gate.  I ended up asking Charley and he said that 'yes' we still had an office and 'yes' asking a taxista is the best thing.

Within a few minutes of me being back in the house, Daya came over telling me that there were some North Americans looking for me.  Hmmm, I've been expecting a group to come by for a tour, but they were supposed to call first.  It was the group.  We had a great visit together, even if most of them were from Missouri!  Or maybe that's WHY we had a great visit.  They wanted to see the ministry here and hear about all the things we do.  I started by telling them that if things had gone according to MY plans, I would have left for the immigrations office 15 minutes earlier, so their visit was definitely a "God thing".  It really was a great visit.

Today, since I was reconvinced that there is an immigrations office in Comayagua, I asked Daya if she thought my Spanish was good enough to go there by myself.  She said, 'yes' but then told me she would go with me since she lives in that general area.  OK.  Cool!  From there, I went over to Mrs. Juanita's 5th grade class to see if I could help her, since she has such a large class.  I helped for a while until recess.

Then, during recess, Mrs. Juanita's son, Juan Francisco, fell while playing fútbol.  It turns out that he broke his elbow and needs surgery to have screws put in it  ~~ just like what happened to Isaac two weeks ago.

So, after recess and after lunch I was in the 5th grade class.  School was supposed to be over at 2pm, but one of the girls wanted to take a math test.  I told her I would stay.  While Nahomy was taking her test, I saw Daya leave for the day.  Darn!  I waited while Nahomy finished her test, then graded it and gave her her next PACE.  Then I went over to the school to see if anyone else was there.  Hermes was in his office.  He also thinks my Spanish is just fine to go to immigrations by myself, but said that he'd be glad to go with me.  So, once again, I got out the truck and brought it around to the front.

Then, I saw that Luis, from Siguatepeque, was in the bodega (warehouse).  He was picking up some supplies that he is going to take to El Salvador for the people who have lost everything in the floods and mudslides.  I went in to talk to him for a while.  Hermes came out looking for me, saw Luis, and also ended up talking to him.  After a bit, the conversation turned to my trip to immigrations.  Luis told me that 'no', there is no office in Comayagua anymore and that I'll need to go to Tegucigalpa.  It looks like Hermes and I will do that on Monday.  Luis also gave me several names and phone numbers in case we have any difficulties Monday.  We shouldn't, but this is Honduras, and good intentions...

Iguanas, Iguanas, and More Iguanas...

OK, before I start with the iguanas, I need to tell you about something that happened today...  I was outside, checking some laundry on the line, and I heard something thud on the ground behind me.  I turned around in time to see something come to a rest.  It was a diaper.  A disposable diaper. Used.  And all wrapped up in a neat little bundle.  It caught me totally off guard, so I went over, picked it up and threw it back over the wall.  Yeah, that may not have been the right thing to do, but it was my first response.  I mean, someone tossed a dirty diaper wad over our wall as they were walking by.  I'm sure it was not aimed at us as gringos, or anything like that, but, still...  It was pretty strange.

Now, about the iguanas.  I've caused quite a stir on Facebook today, posting several iguana pictures. 

Here's a pic of one of the many iguanas who live on our property and come out during the heat of the day...

And here is a pic of what they look like when cooked...

No, that's not a meal that I prepared.  I found it while doing a search on iguanas.  The pic actually comes from El Salvador.  But, for the record, if I ever have the option, yes, I will try iguana.

So, then I started looking a bit more.  It seems that you can buy canned iguana consommé...

And even canned iguana soup...

Did you notice that the canned products claim that the iguana product is an aphrodisiac? Natural energy... Yes, folks, just a bit of iguana and the Little Blue Pill is obsolete.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

It rained yesterday morning until about 9am. It rained (hard!) last night, starting at about 9pm. It started raining again this morning and didn't quit until about 8am. Then, it started raining about 4pm today, and is still raining. Yes, it's definitely the rainy season here. I'm just hoping it will quit long enough tomorrow, and that the sun will come out with intensity, so that I can get few loads of laundry washed and, more importantly, dried.

Church this morning was a totally cool experience for me. We had our normal time of praise and worship, then the offering, and then Esperanza started to preach. After a few minutes, she divided us into three different groups to discuss the Scriptures and questions she had prepared. The very cool part is that I was completely engaged in the discussion. I mean, I understood around 90% or more of what our group was discussing. Not only that, but I could actually contribute -- in Spanish. Wow! That felt really good. I welcome more times like that.

Last night I was talking to a few people from the team who were working at the Center. We were talking about the possibility of starting some English classes for them. Several of them told me how much they can hear my Spanish improving all the time. I don't hear it. I don't see it. And, so many times, I certainly don't feel like it. But, I will graciously accept their compliments!

The Problem With Dirt Roads...

...is that during rain they become mud roads. Quickly. Although it's sunny right now, we've had a lot of rain lately. It's actually our rainy season right now. Normally that means that it rains at night. Sometimes we can even watch the rain descend from the mountains. It's pretty cool.

Yesterday it rained most of the day, and last night I found out why: Hurricane Ida. Ida hit Nicarauga and started heading up toward the Honduran border. Thankfully, she hit in the extreme eastern part of the country. Even more thankfully, Ida was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm.

But the mud! Yesterday morning when I walked across the street to the Esso station, I had to dodge all the mud and mud ridges right in front of our property. Because parents, taxis and busitos drop off kids in front of the school, when the ground is soft due to rain, we get lots and lots of mud ridges. That's what we have right now. When the sun comes out, those ridges get dried out and hardened, pretty much like cement. That makes driving fairly tedious. We've got a lot of that going on right now. All over town. You can't drive too fast because of all the mud ridges and pot holes.

Here at Enlaces, we apparently got a truckload of rock to put down in front. Wow, what a difference that makes. It was so much easier when I needed to walk across the highway today. A big "thank you" to whoever made that happen!

Oh, and, this morning, when I was walking over to the Esso, I think I may have seen my first Honduran transvestite. I tried not to be rude and stare, but that really caught my eye, probably because I was caught off guard. That's not something I particularly expected to see here in Comayagua.

It's Thursday...

It's Thursday, the penultimate (I love that word) day of the regular school year for us. Most of the kids are absolutely bouncing off the walls. Many of them still have a lot of PACEs to finish, but no one seems to care. There's definitely a party atmosphere around here. So, I think I'm going to do my part and contribute to the organized mayhem. I found out yesterday, that my 7th graders are expecting a pizza party from me today. I told them, "No, but you can expect a quiz."

Well, I decided to dump the quiz idea -- they're not getting a grade from me this year, anyway -- and give them a little party. LITTLE. My class with them is at 8:30am, so even if I wanted to, pizza is out. I have some pop in the fridge, and earlier this morning I went over to the Esso to get some chips. I know at least two of them will complain that there's no pizza, but they'll drink the pop and eat the chips anyway.

I'm sure I'll do something similar tomorrow for my 6th graders. When word of this gets out, my 8th graders will feel slighted: they had a quiz! I'll find a way to make it up to them.

Next week is their 'recuperation week'. The students will have one final week to finish all their school work. If they don't finish within that time, they will need to attend summer school (though, it's not summer here), for which there is a fee. That alone should motivate the students, or their parents, to make sure the work gets done in a timely manner. We'll see.

So Much for Milestones...

Hmmm... After being so proud of the progress of my Spanish skills early last week, it didn't take long for me take a tumble down Pride Hill. On Thursday, I found out that Hector and Sandra's youngest son, Isaac, had broken his elbow and needed surgery. Another teacher went with me to the hospital, where Hector, Sandra, and several others were gathered. It was there that I found my Spanish to be woefully lacking. Yes, I know the Spanish word for elbow: codo. (A special shout out to my JCCC Spanish teacher, Martha, and her weekly trabalenguas [tongue twisters])

But, my speaking skills were woefully inadequate. Yes, both Erica and Hermes were there and could translate for me, but I want to be able to speak, well, for myself.

On Thursday and Friday, I filled in as best as I could for Sandra, helping in the pulperia at the school. I also somewhat helped with some of the banking on Friday afternoon. Hermes really did the bulk of that, again, because of my Spanish deficiency. I'm sure I'll get there, eventually. But, I'd really like to be fluent now.

On the positive side, just this morning I sucessfully talked to Sandra, using the subjunctive. I thought through my words in advance, and realized that I needed to use the subjunctive form of the verb in order to be correct. So I did. Successfully.

Progress, it seems, really does come poco a poco (little by little).

Housework...

Housework takes a lot longer here. First, there's laundry. Sheets are easy: throw them in the washer, throw them on the line. The rest of my clothes take a bit longer. They still go in the washer, which I am VERY happy to have, but it takes longer to hang them on the clothesline. While hanging them, I turn all of my clothes inside out on the line. This helps keep them from fading under the intense sunshine. When they're dry, I take them off the line, shake out any dust that has accumulated, turn them rightside out, and then bring them inside to fold and put away.

Next up is dusting. You have to (or at least should) dust every day. That means dining table and kitchen counters, too. The windows are open all the time and since we have a dirt road outside... Well, I'm sure you get the picture.

Finally, there's washing the floor. Yes, that should also be done daily, but I often go 3 or 4 days between moppings. All of my floors are tile. There is a small area rug in each bathroom, but that's it. So, before you mop the floor, you must first sweep. By the time I'm done sweeping, I'm usually sweating so much I'm ready for a shower. The mop is kept outside by the pila, the outdoor utility sink. First you grab a bowl of water from the already filled pila and pour it over the mop. I usually apply soap into the mop and scrub it out a little. Then, more water and hand wringing. Once I bring the mop inside, I pour a bit of bleach on the mophead, then head to my bedroom and bathroom. After they're done, it's back out to the pila to rinse out the mop and start the process over again. It can take 5 or 6 trips to the pila for me to get the floor done. After it's done, I spend more time at the pila washing out the mop, then more hand wringing and, finally, leaving it leaning against the wall.

I'm thankful for the washing machine, otherwise, I'd have to wash my clothes, by hand, in the pila. Believe me, that's not fun. It might be cultural, but it's not fun!!

Tomorrow, I have to empty the pila, clean it, then fill it up again. Because there's a tamarindo tree right outside the door, the leaves drop into the pila. I tried to do it today, but need to borrow a pair of pliers so that I can remove the plug from the bottom of the pila.

Long Day...

Whew! It's been a long day and I still have to work on my lesson plan for tomorrow. This morning I went over to Sandi & Currie's house to make a few calls. While I was there, one of the ladies from the school came over and told me that Sandi needed me to call her in the States. So, I called Sandi and found out that Hector's son, Isaac, had broken his collar bone the night before and was headed for surgery. It turns out that it is Isaac's elbow that's broken, not his collar bone.

Well, I went over to the school and talked to Erica for a few minutes. She said that she would go over to the hospital with me. I drove. After today, I'm convinced that I can dive with the best of the Hondurans! I'm a quick study. We got to the hospital and found Hector & Sandra. Hermes was there, too. We all talked for a while. Then, Erica and I left to go run a few errands.

Our final stop was at Hector & Sandra's house, to pick up Danny and Leandra, their other two kids, and to bring them back to Enlaces. I told Sandra that I'd get them lunch and take care of them. Danny had PACEs to work on and I think he did pretty well on them. Lunch went well. But, it was difficult to keep Danny on task on his work and to also work with Jonathan, another boy I'm currently tutoring.

When it came time for dinner, both Danny and Leandra said that they wanted the same thing they had for lunch. That was pretty cool, since it was leftovers from last night's dinner: carne asada, arroz, frijoles and tortillas. But, I had already decided that I would take them across the street to Pizza Hut for a special treat. When we started walking up front, I saw Adan. Adan is a 2nd grader and is in Danny's class. I'm not sure why Adan was here. He's supposed to be at fútbol on Thursdays after school. We had Adan join us, anyway. After dinner, we put Adan in a taxi and sent him home.

Then it was back home. Jenny needed to make a cake for Josue's birthday tomorrow. She got that started. I turned on the TV for the kids. Yeah, I know... bad Susan! But I also told them that at 7pm Jenny and I were going to watch a TV show and they'd have to be very quiet. Hey, come on, it's Thursday. Grey's Anatomy!!!

Hector got here somewhere in the middle of Grey's, so I had to bring the kids to him and find out how Isaac's surgery went. It went well. And, now, it looks like I'll turn around and get to do all of this again tomorrow. Plus a few more things.

Milestones...

Although I really don't have much time to study Spanish outright, I am finding more opportunities to use the Spanish I already know. (Note to self: Susan, you MUST schedule time to study Spanish if you want to really improve.) This week I've been more encouraged than frustrated in my language skills.

Monday was Esperanza's birthday. Antonio and Esperanza are pastors of the Vineyard church here. We've been attending that church. So, Jenny made some brownies for us to take over that afternoon. We drove out to Tres Caminos and visited with them for several hours. Pastor Antonio was asking me about my church in the US, what type of church, how large, etc. Esperanza asked me if I play any instruments and was immensely pleased when I mentioned guitar and trumpet. I didn't mention that I can play others; I thought listing two was plenty!! Antonio loved it when I told him that the Mustard Seed is very similar to Vineyard churches. I think they both almost fell out of their chairs when they heard that I spent 9 months teaching on spiritual gifts to our ladies' group. That's exactly what they have been wanting to teach on here. They told me that they'd love to have me help teach that, and that Mariel, their daughter, could interpret for me. Both of their children, Mariel and Josue, speak very good English. Well, I told them that they should pray for my things to arrive quickly from the States since all of my teaching notes are packed away in boxes, just waiting for the US to start Denton shipments here again. By the way, all of this transpired in Spanish, with relatively little help from Jenny or Mariel.

Last night we went back to Tres Caminos for small group. We were having a much larger celebration of Esperanza's birthday. At one point, Esperanza invited me to sit near her and one of the other ladies. Well, I was able to pretty much stay a part of the conversation. I even understood several of the jokes. It was a good night!

Then, this morning in Chapel, Hector was sharing and I actually understood about 70-80% of what he said. 70 to 80 percent!!! That's huge. To me, at least. Aftewards, I told him. I was pretty excited on two levels: my understanding today AND that he shared a great message from the Bible!

I know that not all days or weeks go like this one, so I'm going to revel in the fact that it's only Wednesday and I've already had a very good week language-wise.

Aloe, Mariachis, and Other Random Thoughts...

Earlier this week, Jenny and I were making some tacos. Honduran tacos are more like what we would call taquitos, although they can be quite large. Anyway, they're rolled up and deep fried, or at least, pan fried. So, I went to put one in the pan and it splattered all over my hand. Ouch! Wow! That really hurts. I put it under some running water for a bit. Then, I remembered that I have a huge aloe plant in the ground right by my clothes line. I went out and cut off some. Ah, relief in the form of yellowish-greenish goo. I left the aloe on for a few minutes and then I remembered something else: I have an ice maker in my fridge now; I have ice cubes. So, I put some ice cubes into a plastic bag and put that on my hand, as well. By morning, there was no sign that I had even burned my hand.

Last night, Jenny and I were sitting at the table, working on our computers, while dinner was finishing cooking. I thought I heard a trumpet, which Jenny confirmed. I opened up one of the windows which face out onto the road and, sure enough, a small mariachi band was across the way: accordian, guitar, big bass-type guitar, and trumpet. They were actually quite good; one of the better mariachi bands I have heard here. In fact, the trumpet player was really, really good. He reminded me of... me! It was so nice to have live music playing while we ate dinner. All was well until they played a song that included some live firecrackers. That was probably as close as I've come to pooping my pants out of fright. It happened so fast, then it was over. Thankfully, none of their other songs required firecrackers.

This afternoon I was taking my laundry off the line. As I walked back toward my door, something squished between my foot and flip flop. Eww. It was a small frog or toad. The poor little guy apparently hopped while I was walking. So, I'm standing there on one foot, looking at this apparently dead frog stuck to my flip flop, and then I started shaking my foot to get the thing off my shoe. As I shook it onto the grass, it actually started to hop away. I guess they make frogs or toads pretty sturdy here!

New Roommate...

Yup, I have a new roommate. No, I hadn't planned on having one, but it just sort of happened and is going to be a good thing. I've known Jenny since I was here in 2006. Despite our age differences (she's 25 years younger than I am), she and I clicked and became good friends. Anyway, Jenny's had a few things happen here, like being robbed at gunpoint, that have understandably been sources of stress and distress. Interestingly, Jenny had been praying about wanting to move in with someone, but the options open to her were with people with whom she knew it wouldn't work.

So, recently, Sandi and I were talking about Jenny's situation and I said, "what do you think about her moving here, into my house?" Well, Sandi had already been thinking of that as an option, or of having Jenny move into one of the apartments here on site. When presented with the possibility, Jenny jumped at the opportunity. Her future in-laws, Antonio and Esperanza, are also immensely pleased with the arrangement. Jenny will be getting married to their son, Josue, in July, so the arrangement is temporary. Plus, if either of us feels that the roommate situation isn't working, there's always the apartment as an option.

But I don't think that's going to happen. Like I said, Jenny and I clicked when we first met. In fact, I met her on a Saturday and 3 or 4 days later I was staying with her in Tegucigalpa the night before taking the bus to Costa Rica.

Another cool thing is that Jenny doesn't know a lot about cooking, so this is an opportunity for us to prepare meals together and have her learn a bit. We've already started. Tonight we made rice, pataste and fish. It's simple, but it tastes good, and that's a great hallmark of meal preparation: keep it simple! Jenny's said that Josue is glad she's going to learn to cook. Yeah, that's just like a guy!

La Piscina...

Thursday morning I still got up pretty much at my normal time of 6am. Even though we had the day off, I wanted to go for a bike ride. So, I got dressed, ate a little breakfast and then headed out. I ended up doing 4 laps instead of my now normal three. One of these days I'll figure out what the mileage is for each lap, but for now, who cares?

Shortly after I got back to the house, Sandi called me and asked if I wanted to go to the pool. Um, yeah. So, we spent several hours at the pool at Campo de Golf, including having our lunch there. It was nice. I hadn't been to the golf course yet, so it was nice to see someplace new. My friend, Jenny, is getting married out there in July.

The pool was great. I just kind of lounged around in the pool for a while. When I needed a break, I got out and laid on one of the lounge chairs and then back to the pool. I also spent time writing out postcards. Sandi & Currie are heading back to the States tomorrow, so they're going to mail them for me.

The break was nice, but when we were back in school on Friday, the kids were so totally wired they were barely manageable. At least, that's the way my 6th graders were. I guess it's also not much help that I have them on Friday afternoons, AFTER lunch. At that point, all they can think about is either playing fútbol or just going home for the weekend.

Yesterday, Saturday, Jenny called me and we ended up meeting for lunch. Baleadas. Yum! Then, in the evening, Jenny and Josue brought their youth group to the Center to hang out. It was a bit of a disappoint since it was raining so hard yesterday. Oh well. Otra vez.

Cape Town, Here We Come...

¡Viva Honduras! We're going to Cape Town, South Africa for World Cup Soccer! We, being Honduras, that is. And, we got a little help from the US. Honduras played El Salvador tonight, and won, 1-0. But, we also needed the United States to win against Costa Rica to secure our entrance to Cape Town. Well, the US tied Costa Rica, which was enough for Honduras to make it on points! So, come next year, Honduras will be represented in World Cup Soccer.

After the game, things got really crazy around here. Fireworks going off, horns blaring, people screaming, etc. Currie, Sandi, and I decided to get in on the celebration so we went up to the front gate and went outside. There were tons of people over at the Esso. In trucks, cars, on foot, you name it. Cars and trucks full of people were driving by, waving Honduran flags, shouting, celebrating. What a blast! We yelled and hooped and hollered, all decked out in our Honduras jerseys. Of course, it reminded me of times when the Jayhawks have won the NCAA championship. Finally, we went back inside. A few minutes later, Sandi got a phone call and she quickly ran to the TV. We heard the last few moments of Roberto Micheletti, the Honduran president, thanking God for the victory, and declaring tomorrow as a federal holiday.

Then, the phone really began ringing. Off. the. hook. Everyone wanted to know if the school would be closed since we're a private school. Sandi said something like, "Who are we to argue with what the president has just declared?" So, it looks like we don't have school tomorrow. Woot!

Buying Contraband...

Currie, Sandi and Samuel are heading back to the States next week, so I took the opportunity today to buy something my brother wants. Sandi said she'd bring the gift to the States for my brother. There's a great souvenir shop close to the cathedral and the lady in there seems to give me good prices since I buy a lot of stuff in there and because I've brought others in to do the same. Today was no different.

I went out for my now normal bike ride, but got out there a bit later than usual. That one hour made a huge difference. Although it was only 8:30a when I started, the sun was up higher and it was much hotter than it's been. So, I sweated through three laps and then came back to the house. After relaxing, drinking water and taking a shower, I decided to head down toward the cathedral. Originally I had planned to ride my bike there, but thought I might enjoy walking instead. So, I walked.

I made it down to the cathedral and around the corner in no time. I knew exactly where "they" were. Actually, "they" are right on the counter, in view of everyone. I picked up a few different boxes, looking for just the country of origin I was seeking. I found a box of ten from that country with which the US has no trade relations. A military base and a prison, yes, but trade relations, no. In addition to the box of 10, I also bought a box of 25 Honduran-made ones. They're also good quality, but I suspect that for my brother and his friends there's just something special about lighting one up if it's also illegal. Yeah, I think you all know what I'm talking about. I bought my brother a gift from the country that gave us the Cuba Libre.

Fútbol...

I'm glad I was out on my bike early this morning. I did my riding and was back at Enlaces before 8am. Even while I was out, the traffic was getting really crazy on the new boulevard. Pretty much every taxi is flying a Honduras or Honduras fútbol flag. Many other cars are, also.

After cooling off and taking my shower, I grabbed a taxi and headed for La Princesita. Baleadas were my target. Baleadas are basically a bean burrito, and are one of the few times that flour tortillas are used here, rather than the more traditional corn. La Princesita is actually a bakery, down near the center of town, but they've opened up an additional location and are bringing in the cakes from the bakery. But, more than that, they are making awesome baleadas at the new location. The fresh flour tortilla is made after you place your order. Today, I had the baleada mixta, which includes frijoles (beans), queso (a parmesan cheese-like product), mantequilla (like sour cream, but more tart) and huevos (eggs). The baleadas there are huge and one was plenty for a meal. Including a bottle of Pepsi Light (Diet Pepsi), I spent 29Lps ($1.53USD) for my meal. The baleada was only 15Lps!!!

Before grabbing a taxi back to Enlaces, I walked across the street to check out one of the many, many, MANY street vendors who are out today, selling Honduran fútbol shirts, flags, and hats in preparation for tonight's soccer game in San Pedro Sula against the US. So many people are already wearing Honduras shirts, including me, but it doesn't seem that there is any lack of customers for all of the vendors who are out. There's a guy hawking his wares not too far from our front gate, so I may go over there a little bit later to check out his prices.

Tonight's game is critical for both teams, as it brings the winner closer to being in the finals of World Cup Soccer in South Africa. We'll be watching the game here at the Center. My friend, Jenny, will be watching it in person at the stadium.