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.

Everything Changes...

Yup, things change here all the time. Just two days ago I was writing about the government decree that all schools must be finished next Friday, all grades submitted, and all students must pass, regardless of their grades. Well, the very next day, the government said, "Uh, you private schools don't have to do this. You can still continue as scheduled." So, we're back to our normal schedule. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

I went out for another bike ride this morning. It feels so good, even though my saddle needs to be raised a bit (no quick release parts on my bike). Maybe this afternoon I'll ask Antonio to help me with it, or at least borrow some tools from him.

I did three laps on the boulevard again. Tomorrow, I think I'll go out and do more laps, but maybe I'll start by riding to the old boulevard and having a baleada for breakfast. Who knows? That's tomorrow and there's no sense in me trying to decide or make those plans today.

While I was riding, I was looking around at the surrounding mountains. Beautiful. I also like to look at all the different things on the boulevard. I've been watching the progress of the people who are setting up for the feria (fair). I don't think the feria starts until December, but it looks like they're making good progress. Several rides are in place: the ferris wheel, the pulpo (octopus), some "go round and round" ride, etc.. Today I saw that they have several little eating booths going up, including one that will be selling pupusas. Hmmm, it should be fun.

Schools, Bikes, and the Like...

First the bike... On Monday I went for another bike ride out on the new boulevard. I ended up doing three full laps and it felt great. While I'm out there I get some interesting looks: I'm a gringa, on a bike, riding for exercise. That's not something they see every day around here. I figure that within a few weeks the people there will get used to seeing me riding back and forth, up and down the boulevard and say something like, "There's that gringa loca again."

The cool thing is that Monday must have been Wear an American Sports Team Ballcap Day. Shortly after starting out, I spotted a guy on a bike wearing a faded Michigan cap. Now, his cap wasn't nearly as faded as my brother's, but it was still a good effort. I think Bill would have been proud. A lap or so later, I saw a KC Royals cap. That's right, the Kansas City Royals are representing right here in Comayagua. OK, maybe you'll think it a bit strange, but seeing those caps made me smile and feel a bit closer to being in the States.

About the schools... Yesterday the government declared that all schools must be finished by next Friday (instead of the normal early-mid November), and grades submitted. Oh, and the real kicker? No student is allowed to be failed. If they are currently failing, or won't finish their school work on time, tough. They must pass anyway. I guess it's kind of like the failed No Child Left Behind. Sandi told me that something like this usually happens during an election year. Although, this is the first time that the "no fail" clause has been inserted. So, I'm thinking that if they know it's an election year and that they're going to shorten the school year anyway, why not just build that in to the school calendar on election years rather than scrambling at the end? I dunno; makes sense to me to plan ahead.

For me, it means that we have cancelled my Literature class with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades so that they can concentrate on getting their core work done. My class was something extra that was added when I got here. Since I won't be teaching those classes, they're asking me to spend my time in various classes, trying to help the students there finish their work. (Sorry, that first "they're" just kind of came out of nowhere, but I decided to use they're, there, and their all in one sentence.)

And the like... Well, I didn't really have anything in mind for the "like". I guess I just "liked" the sound of it when I was thinking of a catchy title for this post.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot...

...like Christmas.

At least it is here at the Center. Over the weekend, we decorated the Center for Christmas. Sandi decided that NOW is the perfect time to get the place decorated and get people's minds off of the stuff going on with the government.

The first step was to find all of the Christmas decorations. Some stuff was packed in with the wedding ministry things, other stuff was in the bodega (warehouse). Then to the task of untangling lights. That, in itself, was quite a feat.

There are now at least 8 different Christmas trees, of various sizes, lit and decorated, all around the Center. Stockings and garland line the railing across the top level. We even changed the lighting of the Center last night to highlight the trees and garland. It looks great. Plus, it really gives us an opportunity to talk with the kids about the REAL meaning of Christmas.

Most families here do not have Christmas trees for their homes. It's not that they don't want one, it's more that they can't afford one. So, we're going to be giving away most of the trees in the Center before Christmas -- lights, decorations and all. As word of the tree giveaway gets out, our attendance at the Center will continue to increase between now and December. And as word of that spreads, we'll be spreading the Word of God each hour that the Center is open.

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Gecko poop update: I still haven't seen any more gecko poop on the counter. I have geckos on the walls, but none of them seem to be venturing on to the counter at night. This morning, when I walked into the kitchen, with my eyes still somewhat shut, I saw something I thought might be gecko poop. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small spider. He's dead now...

Well, I'm off for another bike ride this morning. I think I'll go for three laps on the boulevard.

Bikes on the Boulevard...

First, a "gecko poop update" ~~ Nothing. It's been almost two weeks since I've had any gecko poop on the counter. I dunno, maybe it really is connected to the time that Mel has been hiding out in the Brazilian Embassy.

This morning I decided to go for a little bike ride. I really needed to stretch my legs and lungs. I threw on some clothes that need to be washed and headed for the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. I figured that baleadas would be good. They're quick, easy, good bike food and are actually a traditional Honduran breakfast. Baleadas are basically bean and cheese burritos. It's one of the few times that flour tortillas are used here. There's a new baleada place over by the Jumbo supermarket, so one of these days I'll check it out.

Back to the bike ride... After a couple of baleadas, I headed for the front gate. Then I rode the short distance to the new boulevard and maneuvered through traffic to get going. I had already planned to just do a couple of laps for my first time out. Within a short distance of starting, I stopped at a little shop. The guy had bicycle tires hanging up outside, so I stopped to see if I could get some air in my tires and ask about buying a bomba (pump). A hand pump, kind of like a frame pump, will set me back 36Lps (about $1.90US) and I can get a floor pump for 115Lps ($6US). I think I may get both. That way, when I eventually give away this bike, after my GT arrives from the States, I can give a pump with it.

I did two laps on the boulevard, riding it from the highway to the end, which is just past where the gym is. I'm not sure of the distance since the bike I have here doesn't have a computer on it, but I estimate it at about 4, maybe 4 1/2 miles total, back to the gate at Enlaces. Once my bike gets here, I'll be able to get a more accurate reading of the distance.

The concept of riding a bike for fun or exercise here is pretty well lost on most people, but now that we have at least two different gyms in town, some people are starting to understand a little bit about working out. When we were out last week, with the ladies who were visiting, we saw one person jogging in the opposite direction we were going. That really struck me as odd because it was a Honduran -- AND a woman. But slowly, things are starting to change here.

It didn't feel too warm while I was riding, but after I got back to my house and brought the bike inside, the sweat started pouring off me. The sun was much brighter and it was much hotter than I realized. I grabbed a few sips of water and then started to cool down a bit. Then, a shower and some more water.

Now, I'm getting ready for my next adventure today: a haircut. I'm afraid.

Tired of Writing About Curfews...

Yes, I'm tired of writing about curfews, and you're probably just as tired of reading about them. We're still under curfew, but for the past few days it's been 10p-5a, which really doesn't mean much to me. I'm not likely to be out after 10p or need to go anywhere before 5a. Besides, there's more than that going on.

We still don't know how things are going to shake out here, and we continue to pray. All the news outlets seem to have their opinions, and, frankly, it's a bit wearying to keep reading about what *might* happen if something else happens, which is predicated upon something entirely different. Know what I mean?

My friend, Jenny, has had her brother and two other friends from her church in AZ visiting. They've been here in Comayagua for almost two weeks. They are all an awesome bunch, but they're leaving tomorrow. So, I'm going to meet them all at La Casita for dinner in a bit. La Casita has always been one of my favorite restaurants here and it's apparently one of theirs, as well. It also doesn't hurt that the food is cheap!

Now, about that gecko poop...

For several mornings in a row, I would come out into the kitchen and find what I first thought was a single mouse turd on the counter. And, each morning I'd clean it up, wondering why there was only one turd. I didn't see any other signs of mice, and normally, mice leave much more than just one turd. OK, call me strange, but one morning I looked at the turd. I mean, really looked. It didn't really look like a mouse turd, either. It was pointed at one end. And white. The pointed end of the turd, or, the tip of the turd, if you prefer, was white, kind of like it was graying or a little ashy.

Hmmmm... So, what did I do? Google, of course. Yes, I did a Google search for "gecko poop". I had a suspicion, but needed to check it out. Although I didn't find any pictures, I did find enough descriptions to realize that, yes, I had gecko poop on my counter. The morning I came to this realization, I asked Sandi about it. Before I could even finish telling her what I thought it was, she laughed and said, "That's gecko poop."

It's amazing what you can find on Google, huh?

Interstingly, since the day that Zelaya sneaked back into the country, I haven't had any gecko poop on my counter. Coincidental or not?

On Again, Off Again, On Again...

Yup, our curfew is back on again. Around noon or so, we heard the announcement that our curfew was back on, effective 6pm tonight through 6am tomorrow. Oh well, I guess after a week of this, I'm getting somewhat used to it. Somewhat. Last night, our department was one of the few that WASN'T under a curfew. All the departments that have land borders with other countries were put under a curfew, as were areas with large seaports. During all of this, though, the Bay Islands (Roatan, Bahia, Trujillo, etc.) have been exempt from the curfew.

Right now, I'm sitting in Sandi's house. Currie and Samuel are up in San Pedro Sula, staying with the ladies that have been here for a week. Once Currie heard that the curfew was back on, he didn't want to leave them alone overnight to get to the airport tomorrow. So, they're all in a nice, safe, secure hotel suite 5 minutes from the airport.

Tonight, attendance at the Center was very low. No doubt it was because of the curfew and people not wanting to be out after 6pm. We opened, but only for a few hours. Right before closing, we got pretty silly... Rolyn starting "singing" karaoke, and several of us played air instruments. I'm actually pretty good as an air guitarist, and I think I totally rock as an air drummer!! There was some dancing, singing and just general silliness. It was a nice way to end the evening.

OK, I promise that eventually I'll tell you about the gecko poop, but, honestly, it seems a bit anticlimactic now.

Toque de queda...

Toque de queda... that's Spanish for 'curfew'. After the damage caused last night in Tegucigalpa by the Zelayistas, the government decided to lift the curfew during the day, and start it up again at 4pm today. At first we thought it was a partial lifting, so that people could get groceries, medicine and gas, but as we were out and about today, pretty much every business was open, except for schools.

We have two ladies visiting here from North Carolina, and let's just say that their visit has been less than ideal. They arrived on Saturday afternoon, to be greeted by -- no one. Currie and Sandi were stuck in traffic, causing them to arrive at the airport almost 3 hours after the ladies arrived. Then, it took another 6 hours to get them back here to Enlaces.

On Sunday morning, we were getting ready for church and found out that the power would be out all day. They weren't necessarily prepared for that, either.

Then, on Monday, Zelaya sneaks back into the country and because of that, we've been under this curfew. So, when we heard the announcement, we jumped on the opportunity to at least go to the grocery store. Wow! It was packed. Jam packed! I saw one of my students and met her mother and also saw another missionary and her two daughters there. I guess it was the place to see and be seen today. While we were driving there, we noticed that people actually seemed peaceful. There wasn't a sense of panic to get groceries and the shelves were very nicely stocked. I picked up a few things, including a bag of rice to throw in the freezer, but overall, my kitchen is pretty stocked with food. That's North American thinking because most Hondurans shop on a daily basis and rarely have much more than just what they need to get the next meal or two on the table.

We got back to Enlaces, had some lunch and went back out. We drove down to the Parque Central and cathedral. The cathedral was open, so we took the ladies in. Then, we were able to go up the clock tower and let them see the inner workings of the world's oldest working clock. The view from the top of the bell tower is incredible!

We stopped for ice cream and went into a few souvenir shops. That was pretty cool because the owner of one of the shops recognized me from being here before. When we went back to the truck, we drove through the mercado because Currie was looking for an inner tube for Samuel's bike. Mission accomplished. At some point, Sandi started driving. Then, she drove us out in the country to where she used to live when she first moved here. We also stopped at the gym so that Tammy, who owns a very successful gym in the US, could see it.

Before heading back to Enlaces, we ended up going to Del Corral again. We were going to buy a bunch of pineapples since Foxy likes them so much and it seems to be one of the few things she will eat here. Well, by now it was 3:40pm and the curfew was supposed to start back up at 4pm. If I thought the grocery store was packed before lunch, I hadn't seen anything. This time it was so packed you could barely move. By the time I got into the store, Sandi, Tammy and Foxy were no where to be found, so I just stayed put at the front of the store, knowing that they'd have to come by me to leave. Within a minute of us entering, the store started keeping more people from coming in so that they could close somewhat near 4pm, so I guess our timing was perfect. It was after 4pm when we left, but we made it back to Enlaces just fine.

At this point, I haven't heard what the deal is for tomorrow, with respect to the curfew. I also don't know if we'll have school.

Partial Lifting of the Curfew...

Just a few minutes ago I found out that there has been a partial lifting of the curfew. We can go to the store for food, medicine or gas. Although, the part about the gas makes little sense since we still shouldn't be driving around freely.

Well, the news made it out pretty quickly. I'm hearing A LOT of traffic coming and going down the side street outside my living room. A LOT!! We're going to head out to the store ourselves. I think we're going to try to stock up on some staples. I'll probably buy some rice and toss it in the freezer. I already have plenty of beans and I have a decent supply of chicken in the freezer, as well. Diet Coke. I probably need to get some Diet Coke. Although, would you believe that I only drink it once a week or less? Really. I drink so much water and té de jamaica (hibiscus tea) that I don't even miss it. This morning, though, I was craving Diet Coke instead of my normal coffee, so I opened one of the two bottles I have stashed in the fridge. I'm enjoying it now.

We've been spending a lot of time praying for the nation and for a peaceful resolution to the current political troubles. There has been a little bit of violence, but it's all in Tegucigalpa, the capital. Most of it seems to center around those who were blatantly defying the curfew.

Hmmm, something's happened... I was listening (not intently, mind you) to Khaddafi addressing the UN. Suddenly I heard nothing. I just checked the TV and many stations are scrambled. All of the Honduran stations are broadcasting the same thing: some kind of "travel to Honduras" promotion. I'm gonna go ahead and post this now, in case we lose internet. It happens.

Curfews and Carrateras...

Yesterday, Manuel Zelaya, the former president of Honduras, who was rightfully ousted from power in June, snuck back into the country and holed himself up in the Brazilian Embassy. His bold move caught the current president off-guard and also led to thousands of pro-Zelaya supporters flooding the streets of Tegucigalpa, converging upon the Brazilian Embassy. Roberto Micheletti, the current constitutional president initally called for a curfew from 4pm yesterday until 7am this morning, but later extended the ending time until 6pm this evening.

Here in Comayagua, we were watching the news on TV as much as we could. Things here were calm all day yesterday and from 4pm on, things got quieter and quieter as people went home in obedience to the curfew. About 6pm last night, I walked up to the front gate to look at the highway. It was pretty much empty. There were a few cars and trucks still passing, but at 6pm, it should be non-stop traffic in both directions. The Esso across the street was completely dark, with only a few security guards standing around outside it. They had also put up some yellow police tape to keep any people still driving from pulling in to the lot.

Last night before I went to bed, I noticed how quiet everything was. No cars. No neighbors sitting outside my living room window talking and laughing. Even the dogs were strangely silent. The overall quietness was almost eery, but also somewhat soothing.

This morning, things here in Comayagua are still abnormally quiet, although, the roosters have been busy for more than a few hours now. Sitting at my dining room table, I can hear the sounds of nearby children playing in the street. I can also hear the very occasional car go by my window -- it's a side street. A few minutes ago, I walked to the front gate and took a few pictures of a mostly carless carratera (highway). Although, a taxi was passing, saw me with my camera and yelled out for me to take his picture as he mugged for the camera. The Esso is still closed and dark, but I did see a few of the street children over there talking to the guards.

Everything is very calm here in Comayagua and we're all safe.

We're hearing reports of a few skirmishes in Tegucigalpa early this morning, centering around pro-Zelaya supporters and the Brazilian Embassy. Keep in mind that pro-Zelaya supporters are actually a huge minority here, but a very vocal one. Also, many of those demonstrating are being paid to do so. In her blog, La Gringa has posts and links from more news sources, which tell so much more of what's going on here. http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/

Without me going into a huge discourse of the happenings here, please realize that the ousting of Mel Zelaya was done within the power and authority of the Honduran Constitution. At NO TIME during this has the military been in control of the nation. Regardless of what you may hear from US news sources, it WAS NOT a military coup.

If you're interested in more information, just get in touch with me via email or Facebook. The biggest thing we need right now is PRAYER!!! Prayer that Zelaya would do the right thing and renounce his claim to the presidency. Prayer that the elections would continue in November as scheduled. Prayer that GOD will reign and rain HIS peace and power over this nation.

I guess the gecko poop will still have to wait.

No Power Today...

Well, I just found out that we're going to lose power today. All day. Yup, the power will be out from 8am-4pm, and what am I doing? Quickly updating my blog, of course.

Yesterday, Currie and Sandi went to the airport to pick up two people who are spending a week here. The normally 2 1/2 hour trip, one way, to the airport took them FIVE AND A HALF HOURS!!! The return trip was just as bad, maybe worse. They were gone yesterday for over 12 hours, just to pick someone up. The main problem is all the construction going on out on the highway. There is one area where 2/3 of the road has been blasted away and you can tell that they are going to put those huge concrete water-containment-thingies under the road. Well, it seems that an oil tanker fell into the huge hole created, and that brought everything crashing down. Literally.

OK, I've only got about 20 more minutes of power today, so I'd best make sure that I get a few things done around here to prepare. And I was so looking forward to telling you about gecko poop. I guess that will have to wait for another day. How's that for a teaser?

Miles Away From Ordinary...

Four awesome days in Tela. Currie, Sandi, Samuel and I left at 5am Monday morning and made the 4-hour drive to Tela with little difficulty. It would have been a shorter drive, but the bridge to El Progresso is still out from the earthquake in May, so you have to go all the way up to San Pedro Sula. But we made it and got a great deal on a room at Hotel Cesar Mariscos. Our room was on the third floor, overlooking the pool and jacuzzi on the second floor. We could sit on our little balcony watching both the pool and the beach. The pool was pretty cool in its own rite: you could hang on the edge, overlooking the sidewalk below. Yeah, I spent hours in the pool, just hanging on the edge, people watching and beach watching.

We also spent a lot of time at the beach. It was warm and the waves were pretty low key. One day we went for a 'banana boat ride'. The banana boat is a long tube, that has a small outrigger on each side for a little extra stability and a place to put your feet, and handles enough for eight people. Originally, Sandi & I thought we would be the only 2 on the boat, then two more young guys joined in, followed by Currie & Samuel, and finally two more blue jean-clad Honduran girls wanted in. We went from pretty empty to completely full in a matter of minutes.

The first thing you do is put on a life vest, the kind that you use for water skiing. The guys working make sure it fits very snugly and is the right size. They put the banana boat in the water and all 8 of us found our places on it. Then, the boat that pulls you heads out. The tow rope is pretty long, so it takes a while for the banana boat to react to the direction of the motor boat. Basically, it's like innertubing -- for a crowd. You have to hold on for dear life. After the first couple of minutes and BIG bounces, Samuel fell off. He popped up in the water just laughing and laughing. He was back on the banana pretty quickly. Then our guide started driving the boat pretty fast, making several twists and turns. All of a sudden, we were in the water -- all 8 of us. It happened so fast, I didn't even see it coming. Well, I must have been laughing when we flipped, because I came to the surface with a mouth full of seawater. Not good. Despite how much I kept coughing out, I think I must have drank about a pint -- or at least it felt that way. Nasty! Anyway, we all got on the main boat and then people started getting back on the banana from the boat. By this time, I decided that I was done. Drinking seawater had already started to turn my stomach. I probably should have gotten back on the banana. From that point on, our guide didn't do any more abrupt twists and turns. Oh well, even being in the boat for the last few minutes was enjoyable. The cost for this adventure: 50 Lps per person, or about $2.50 USD.

Orginally, we were going to come back to Comayagua on Wednesday, after staying at the beach for two nights. But, we decided to stay for an extra day and the hotel extended their pricing deal to us: 1295 Lps ($68.53 USD), which also included a nice breakfast of juice, coffee, fruit, toast and eggs. The juice options were fresh pineapple and fresh watermelon. ¡Qué rico!

It seemed that we just basically went back and forth from the beach to the pool, occasionally taking breaks for a meal. What a wonderful way to pass the days.

On Wednesday morning, after breakfast, I asked at the front desk about renting a hammock. Well, they just took a hammock down from one of the balconies and put it up on the beach between two palm trees. Ah, my "office" for the day! It was so peaceful there. I watched the water, the boats coming and going, a few people playing in the water. Then I would inspect my eyelids for a while. I listened to the sounds of the surf crashing on the beach, the wind making the palm fronds "clap their hands", the voices of the Garifuna hawking their wares and even the occasional, mostly harmless, drunk asking me for some of my pan de coco (coconut bread) or water. I steadfastly denied the requests of the two drunks, knowing that giving them anything would only make me a magnet for more people to come begging.

I took a break from my morning of intense hammock relaxtion for lunch on the beach with Currie, Sandi and Samuel. We enjoyed some fresh limonada and munched on some of the several varieties of pan de coco we had purchased and even some elote (roasted corn on the cob) I bought from a young boy. And, then, after about an hour of sitting, eating and talking, it was back to the "office" for me. Currie, Sandi and Samuel decided to move their attention from the beach to the pool. Yes, it was a rough life, but, really, someone had to do it!

By about 2:30, I decided to leave the "office" and go up to the pool and be sociable. I mean, for the past 5 1/2 hours, I had been living something right out of a Corona commercial, albeit sin Corona (without the Corona). Yes... Miles away from ordinary. That describes it perfectly.

Día del Niño, and Extra Protein...

Día del Niño (Day of the Child) was officially on Thursday, but we celebrated it pretty much all week long! On Monday, our 6th -- 8th graders loaded up piñatas, pasteles, bolsitas, y refrescos (piñatas, cupcakes, goodie bags, & drinks) and headed to Ajuterique, about a 45 minute drive, to celebrate with the children there. We have a feeding program there, and the kids who attend school also get lunch, which, in that incredibly poor village, is a great incentive to get the kids in school. School is held in the church, which still has a dirt floor and no door, but now has a roof. It was a lot of fun to celebrate with kids who have so little, to see them so genuinely thankful for the things that we brought. I think it was also good for our school kids to see and hopefully help them appreciate what they have.

On Thursday, we celebrated with some of the team at Enlaces. Our celebration consisted of a piñata, cena, bolsitas, y regalos (piñata, dinner, goodie bags & gifts). All of the boys got huge water guns which were, and still are, a huge hit. The boys have been playing with them every day since.

After dinner and cleanup, we continued to fill 1000 bags with candy and popcorn for Friday's celebration here at the Center. We were making pretty good progress when we lost power. Darn! It's pretty tough to pop corn with no power. Then the power came back on and we made more popcorn. Oops, there goes the power again. Now, it's back. Nope, false alarm; it's out again. You get the idea. After the power went out the first time, Sandi and I both went and got some candles and flashlights from our houses. At least we'd be prepared. We actually finished filling bags by candle light. Is that dedication, or what?

Friday, during the day, the school celebrated. All of the classes had piñatas. I was invited by Ena to celebrate with her 2nd grade class. We walked across the street to Pizza Hut. The kids loved playing in their playroom. Lunch was pizza and either Pepsi or horchata. I really wanted the horchata, but was given a Pepsi. Back in the classroom, we had pastel de tres leches (three milks cake). Yum! School was over for everyone by noon. And, now, we have a week off from school.

The celebration at the Center didn't start until 4pm, but by 2:30pm we had people lined up outside in the hot sun! And the line just kept growing. We estimate the final crowd at over 1000 people. It was pretty darn huge. I found it amazing that parents would stand in line for so long just so that their children would get a bag of popcorn and a small cup of pop. And, of course, we had piñatas! We had lots of other games and giveaways during the evening, including more piñatas, toys, shoes and even a few prepaid cell phones. By the time we went home a little after 9pm, everyone was totally wiped. But, it had been a good evening!!

Yesterday I decided to do dinner on the cheap: Beans, rice and chicken. I started my beans about 2pm, hoping that would be enough time for me to eat around 6pm. It wasn't, but I wasn't off by a lot; I was able to eat at 7pm. When I got out my container of rice to measure and start cooking, I noticed something moving on the wall of the container. Hmmm, a little worm. Ugh! I think the beans and chicken will be plenty of protein, thank you. I scooped out the worm and tossed him in the trash. Then, I looked for more but didn't see any. I figured that if there were any more worms that I missed in my rice, the steam and cooking would kill and sanitize them. It looks like I should probably eat my rice faster or switch brands. Today, Sandi told me that she often keeps her rice in the freezer to prevent that problem since it's hard to know how long the rice was sitting in the warehouse before being shipped to the grocery store. So much for FIFO -- First In, First Out.

Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork...

On Tuesday, Sandi and I left Enlaces before 8am, headed toward Tegucigalpa. Our goals for the day were pretty simple: renew Sandi's carnet, turn in paperwork for my carnet, and shop at HiperPaiz for things for Día del Niño. And, of course, a trip to PriceSmart.

We made it to the outskirts of Tegucigalpa quite quickly. Even the road construction was easy to navigate. But then we reached a traffic jam. You know the kind: we could have walked faster than the progress we made for the next mile or so. Once through the traffic jam, we stopped at Immigrations, which is in a new and better location. Amazingly, we were in and out of there in 15 minutes. That's pretty much unheard of, but we weren't complaining.

Next stop was IOM. Don't ask me what it stands for because neither one of us could figure it out. We know that they work with the United Nations and one of their services is to help people working with Honduran schools get residency carnets. We had all the paperwork we thought we needed -- and more. However, keeping in line with all things Honduran, we were told that the letters we brought weren't correct. Ugh! Sandi asked if it would be possible for us to call Enlaces, have them retyped and faxed to IOM, and she would sign and stamp them there in the office. Yes, that's fine. I mean, no, that's not good enough.

Ultimately, we called Hermes, had him rewrite the letters and email them to my gmail account. Then, Sandi and I went to an internet café, downloaded and printed. In an effort to keep this short, I've skipped lots of details, like our server being down at Enlaces, so no internet. Or, the first internet café we went to not having ink for the printer. But, you probably get the idea.

Back at IOM, they told us that the paperwork we now had was good. So, now we wait. Eventually we'll get a call telling us that I can come in and go to Immigrations and pay my money ($640USD), have my picture taken, get my provisional carnet, then wait until we have to go back again. But, at least we're making progess in all of this.

It was after 2pm by the time we arrived at HiperPaiz. HiperPaiz is actually WalMart. Yup. Really. Google it. I was hungry. So, we went to the food counter in the back of the store. "Plato típico, por favor." Nope. "Sandwich de pollo, por favor." Nope. They didn't have most of the items on the menu. So, disgusted, I told Sandi, "Let's just shop and I'll get something to eat later."

Well, it was about 6pm when we pulled in to a Chinese restaurant on the highway back toward Comayagua. We had a nice meal there and even found out they have rooms. So, after dinner, we were shown one of the rooms. Clean, bright, no air conditioning, but nice. And, the price is right: 800Lps, which is about $40USD. They have a pool and other things for the kids, so it might end up being a place to take the team for a retreat.

Back in Comayagua, we had the truck unloaded by 8:15pm. Yes, it had been a long day, but we got a lot accomplished. Our trip to PriceSmart? That was one of the details I left out. We went there in between the two different internet cafés.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... I got to see my first tarantula. He was walking outside the room we were being shown at the Chinese restaurant. Pretty cool, in a totally creepy kind of way!

Power/No Power... Internet/No Internet...

I actually wrote this yesterday afternoon, during a storm, and had planned to post it last night, but our internet has been down pretty much since then. It was back up for about 30 minutes this afternoon, then down again... Typical.
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It’s raining outside. I mean, really raining. Dogs, cats, and maybe a few iguanas. So I thought this would be a perfect time to write for a while. The internet is down right now, so I’ll upload this later. And… there goes the power. I figured that might happen so I just spent a few minutes chopping vegetables so that I can make some rice later. Once again, I’m thankful that I cook with propane; even when the power is out, I can still cook. Yesterday’s power outage was four hours long, but that was a planned one and we got a little bit of notice for it.

This morning, Currie, Sandi, Samuel, and I went to church over at the military base. It was my first time there since being back in Honduras. Because the Americans stationed there rotate through on 6 or 12 month tours, there was only one familiar face: Carlos, the Honduran guitar player. Even all the civilians were new. Oh well, now it’s a chance to develop new relationships. After church we went to the dining facility with a couple who work at Hogar de Niños Nazaret, the Nazarene Children’s Home, which is actually a Catholic home. (Huh?) Sandi & Currie know them. The chaplain and another soldier joined us, as well. Joshua leaves for the States and his next assignment on Tuesday and the chaplain leaves at the end of this month. This is something I’ll need to get used to.

Yesterday, Sandi and I went to go get some prepaid cell phones for the Center. They’ll be given out on Friday, during our día del niño celebration (day of the child). We also went to Sahara, the closest thing Comayagua has to a dollar store. I was looking for a super cheap dish drain to use until my stuff gets here. I ended up buying one for a little over $2 at Del Corral, the grocery store.

Well, the rain has pretty much ended, but the power is still out. I’m listening to dogs bark, roosters crow and thunder rumble in the distance – it’s actually quite a pleasant sound.

Now I've Seen Everything... Literally!!!

Sandi, Samuel and I left for San Pedro Sula yesterday morning, around 10:30. We were just pulling out of the gate in back when Sandi got a call that our Digicel rep had showed up. He was supposed to be here at 8am, so I guess he was right on time for a Honduran. He was here so that I could sign up for cell phone service. Well, I think we have that all taken care of and my phone should arrive tomorrow afternoon. We'll see if it actually does.

So, anyway, then we were back on the road, headed for SPS. We stopped in Siquatepeque to buy some coffee. Not just any ol' coffee, but Luis' coffee. It's fantastic. I bought 3 lbs., so I'll be set for a while. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll bring some back when I visit the States!!

We arrived in SPS, checked into Villa Nuria, an Apart Hotel -- pretty much an efficiency hotel with 2 bedrooms, kitchen/dining area, fridge, pots, pans, plates, etc.. We spent some time swimming in their beautiful pool, then back to the room for showers and a trip to PriceSmart. I told you before: most trips to the big cities include a trip to PriceSmart. Then it was back to our place for dinner. Samuel went to bed and while Sandi and I were sitting there talking, Currie called and said that he was stuck overnight in Ft. Lauderdale because Spirit had cancelled his night flight in to SPS because of the curfew. THERE IS NO CURFEW!!! At least not anymore. Now, Currie would be arriving at 12 noon on Wednesday. Oh well, life in Honduras... So, Sandi made some popcorn and we turned on the TV and watched Terminator 2.

This morning was breakfast, pool and then airport. We got there and then found out that the Spirit flight wasn't coming in until 1:30pm. Yup, typical. Well, Currie arrived and was quickly through immigrations and even faster through customs since he only had his carryon and his laptop. (As an aside, I have no idea how Currie was in the States for a month with only a carryon's worth of stuff!! Ladies, you know that we couldn't do that.)

Now, here's the part you've been waiting for. The thing that threw me for a loop. As we were leaving SPS, we all, except for Samuel, thankfully, got an eyeful. We were stopped at a light, several cars back, when we saw someone cross the street. Well, we didn't actually see them until they were on our side, walking away from us. But, this person was buck naked. No clothes. Nothing. Not in a hurry, just walking, cars and people everywhere. As we got closer, we all realized it wasn't a guy as we first suspected, but a woman. Yup. A woman. She was walking as if she hadn't a care in the world. I mentioned that I had NEVER seen that in Honduras (or anywhere else, for that matter) before. Sandi and Currie then told me that there are at least two guys here in Comayagua who walk around like that. I'm hoping I don't run into them!

Looks like there's never a dull moment.

And a Cockroach, to Boot...

Vinegar did NOT do anything for the ants. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I cleaned off the counters with hot soapy water, then dried them. Next, I sprayed them down with full-strength vinegar and let that air dry on the counter. Within minutes the ants were walking all over it. I was frustrated, but at least my kitchen smelled like a salad for a little while. All I would have needed was to add some olive oil.

This morning, though, I met my kryptonite: Mr. Cockroach!! Few people realize how much I hate them. Did I say, "hate"? Perhaps loathe and despise would be more appropriate. Roaches are to me almost what snakes are to Glenda. That should put it in perspective for some. After my shower, I was back in the bathroom and went to squeegee out the shower floor, to keep it free of standing water. Well, there he was, swimming around in the corner, mocking me with his antennae, daring me to do something about it. So I did. I squished the entire 2 1/2 inch length of his ugly little body. He squirmed. I squished some more. Finally, the fight went out of him and he surrendered to death. I picked him up, with the squeegee of course, and gave him his proper burial. FLUSH!

I'm better now. In fact, I'm ready to head out the door to go to church. We're going to visit the Vineyard church here in Comayagua. It will be awesome!

Ugh! Ants!

I have ants in my kitchen. Lots of them. Unlike when I was here before and identified at least 4 or so different varieties, so far I've only seen two types. But it's the smaller ones that are driving me nuts. They're on my counters and all around my sink. The first day or so I was just wiping them off with hot soapy water. Then, Sandi suggested making a paste out of boric acid, sugar, and a little water. The idea is that the sugar is sweet and they'll eat that, taking some of it and the boric acid back to the nest, eventually killing it. I've been doing that for about a week and I'm not seeing any real improvement. Plus, it's been hard not to just annihilate them when I see them.

So, this morning I'm trying vinegar. When Sandi and I were at La Colonia yesterday I bought a bottle of vinegar. It had a smaller bonus bottle taped to it. Cool! Free vinegar. I win! I found the spray bottle that I bought three years ago, rinsed it out and then filled it with the small bottle. Then, I washed one side of the counter, getting rid of ants and boric acid paste alike. I dried the counter, then proceeded to spray it down with vinegar. I got the splashguard, the corners, all of it. Now, I'm just letting it dry on there. Supposedly, since ants are dependent on smell for finding their way home, this will help.

Time will tell!

It's All About Power...

... Or, rather, not losing power. I think today is the first day all week in which we have not had one or more power failures. We had at least three yesterday. So far, most of them have been very brief. The longest power failure so far was the third one yesterday, but even then, it only last 20-25 minutes. I was cooking dinner when it happened, but since I cook with gas, I just kept on cookin'. I do wonder if the government is going to impose rolling blackouts like they did three years ago. Those last much longer and usually happen in the hottest part of the day -- when you really need the fans in the classrooms to circulate the air.

Now that the week is over, I've met with all three grades I will initially be working with the most. The 6th graders today were an absolute blast. I hope they had at least a little fun, because I sure did.

Earlier tonight, I started hearing what I thought were firecrackers. Then, I was in my kitchen and looked out the window. I saw that it was actually fireworks. The real kind. The big kind. So I stood there for a few minutes and watched. I have no idea what they were for. I thought that they may have been somehow related to the government, but I don't know which side they would be for. I also thought that they may have been to celebrate the opening of La Colonia, a new grocery store that just opened last night. Sandi and I went there this morning. Wow! It was clean and shiny, and their prices on many items were lower than at Del Corral. They also have a lot of imported items. At first I was pretty excited when I saw Heinz ketchup there. Then, when I saw that the price was almost $3 for a small bottle, I opted for the $1 bottle of Campofresco ketchup. I know it's a lot sweeter than Heinz, but I'll get used to it.

One Week Later...

Having arrived last Thursday, I've been here for right at one week now. So many things are familiar to me: the house, the school, the youth center, and especially many of the people. But there are a lot of changes, too: new stores, new roads, new political uncertainties, and even new people. I'm settling in, but of course that takes time.

Yesterday, I started spending time in some of the classes at the school. Initially, and probably for the rest of the school year, which ends in November, I'll be working with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I'm going to teach a Literature class, but it will cover reading, writing and conversational skills. Since there are only 9 weeks or so remaining in the school year, I've decided not to try to dive into a novel with any of the classes. Short stories, it is. I found some good resources on the Enlaces library shelves and even have a basic skeleton of lesson plans for my first two weeks with each class. That's a start, at least. The rest should flow pretty easily. I hope.

In addition to all the new classes that have been built, we now have a computer lab on site. There are 20 computers in it and each is running Windows XP and has Microsoft Office installed. I haven't checked to see which version of Office, yet, but the whole lab is pretty darned nice! I spent two class periods in there yesterday, just to get a feel of what's being taught. The curriculum being used is actually provided by Microsoft and seems to be geared to having the children achieve a high level of computer proficiency. Impressive.

I need to get back to the grocery store and start replenishing my shelves. Although many highly processed foods are available here, they're pretty expensive and I've been sticking, so far, to mostly basic items: beans, rice, tortillas, chicken, veggies and fruit. I did find Sriracha sauce among the hot sauce selections, so I had to grab that. I'm sure the time will come when I have an urge to walk across the street to Pizza Hut or head to Wendy's, but for right now, my cooking is satisfying me just fine.

(New) Life at Enlaces

That's right; I'm here in Honduras, at Enlaces, beginning the next phase of my life. When I moved to Lawrence, KS in 1980 to go to school, I thought I'd be there for 4 1/2 years -- just long enough to study for 4 years and do the 6-month internship required of my degree. So, here it is, 29 years later, to the month, that I packed up all my stuff and moved.

I'm in Comayagua, Honduras, answering God's call to me to go to the nation of Honduras. It hasn't always been an easy process, nor have I always had a clear view, but this is where I'm supposed to be right now. And in that, I can rest easy.

Well, I got here on Thursday. I flew in to San Pedro Sula, and after going through immigrations and customs, Sandi and her son, Samuel, were waiting for me. We loaded my things into the back of the pickup truck and then headed to PriceSmart. PriceSmart is a warehouse club, like Costco or Sam's, and pretty much every trip to the city includes a trip there. It doesn't matter if we need to go to Tegucigalpa or SPS, because they both have a PriceSmart.

After PriceSmart we began to make our way back toward Comayagua. It had been quite a few years since I've flown in to San Pedro and I was amazed by how much the area has grown. There is a lot of road construction happening right now, so our progress was a bit slower than we had hoped.

We made it here to Enlaces shortly before 9:00pm. We dragged my stuff over to the mission house and Sandi tried to open the door. Nope. The security pin on the door had somehow been released and so now the only way in was through the window, after first removing some slats. I stayed at Sandi's house that night and the next day we had Fredi help us get in.

All of my suitcases are now unpacked and I'm settling in. More of my stuff will arrive in a container from the US, but for now, I'm quite comfortable!

That's it for today. Look for more to follow...