Skippy, And Not the Peanut Butter.

I mentioned quite a while back that I couldn't wait to tell you about our aerobics instructor. Well apparently that was a lie, but I sure waited. Haha. But here I am. We stopped going to dance class and switched to the aerobics class a couple months ago. At first we missed the fun aspect of dance class, especially Kadian, who is not such a big fan of things that feel like exercise. However, our instructor antics kept us smiling (especially me, because let's face it, I'm more of a giggler). Curious?

First of all, I'm not going to tell you his real name to, you know, protect his privacy. And because we never call him by it anyway. To us, he will always be "Skippy". I think we dubbed him this title even before we started going to his class. Since aerobics is right after dance class, sometimes we were there to see him gracefully skip across the room. Yes, he skips. He skips in a fashion that puts the daintiest nimblest nine year old girls to shame. It's amazing. It's especially amazing, because if you could see him you would agree that he does not look like the kind of man that would skip. I find it difficult to guess Hondurans ages, but I'd say he is probably in his 40s, slightly balding on top. He's 100% muscle, not a pinch of fat, and his face almost always has a focused serious expression. He's a difficult person to describe, you'd have to see him I guess. Although he does skip around some during class, he's not at all flamboyant or creepy. In fact, he's pretty much the perfect exercise instructor for the following reasons:

1. I would never dream of comparing my body to his body. He's a man, and I wouldn't even want that much muscle. Therefore, class is never a comparison contest. Girls, you understand what problems we have with comparing ourselves to other women. I try my best not to compare; still, having a male instructor just makes it that much easier.
2. I don't find him at all attractive.
3. He doesn't seem to be attracted any of the women in our class (our class is ALL women).
4. He pushes us but only by example. He doesn't yell at us to try harder or do more. Everyone feels free to go at their own pace.
5. He focuses on all areas of fitness-- aerobics, flexibility, balance, and strength.
6. He uses a wide variety of exercise techniques, from pilates to kick boxing, steps class, yoga, and free weights.
7. He is quite pleasant and gentlemanly, but he's not overly friendly.

So that's why we like Skippy. He's a good fellow, and I'll miss his class when I leave.

The Best Kind of Colorblind

 Since I haven't been blogging, I have been writing in my journal on occasion. Here's one from May 12th:

Kadian sent me one of her third grade students to stay with me in preschool as punishment. Unfortunately, he kind of liked it a lot. Even though I made him do all the actions to our songs, draw on the board (the kids laughed at his lion), and grade papers--he liked the little kids. Plus, his voice is kind of low and he's new, so they feared him a little.

My favorite moment was this, "Miss, what is Miss Kadian for you?"

"What?" I responded, puzzled by his phrasing.

"What is Miss Kadian for you?"

Taking a guess, I replied, "She's my friend. We live in the same house."

"Oh." he said like that wasn't the answer he was expecting. "I thought you were sisters."

As Kadian would say, "Bless!"

Our "twin-ness" is pretty obvious I guess.

Hey! I´m still here.

My posting may be a bit sparse since my computer has walked out of my life. The charger had been going for over a month, and it stopped working and smelled like burning plastic over a week ago, May 7th. Thus, I have a little time to check email and school, and I borrow Kadian´s computer every so often. But her charger is not working correctly either, so her computer is not allowed to move from her bedside table in her room. In a way, this is a blessing, because it gives me more time. The computer was always such a time trap. The lure of communicating always so tempting. But now here I am. Sorry if you don´t hear too much from me, but I am doing well, trying my best to finish strong, and looking forward to school being finished.

June Bugs, Gentlemen, and Other Happenings

May 6th: First Honduran baby shower for the school psychologist, Dina. It was interesting.

May 7th: Kadian and I went for a Sabbath afternoon walk to the park. I saw a few of my students, and then we hung out with the Brewsters for a while at La Princesita. We had great plans of cleaning when we got home, but we did a spa night instead. Funniest moment: We had both just put egg/oil/lime masks on our face and laid down on her bed with cucumbers on our eyes, relaxing and breathing deeply. Then all of a sudden we heard this "BUZZZZ!" A huge disgusting June bug had gotten in somehow. Thankfully, Kadian is brave so she killed it. It was a little more difficult to relax after that. haha.

May 8th: We spent forever and a day grocery shopping! We also went to some thrift stores, and I think I found "the dress" that I want to wear home. Now to find a cardigan and shoes to match! :). My favorite memory of today was when two guys, Luis and Rodrigo, carried our big water jugs to our house for us! There was a big get together across the street from the pulperia, and they came over as soon as we paid and offered to help. The whole party clapped for them--we did too. It was SO refreshing to be treated like a lady. I appreciate gentlemen immensely. I can't wait until I'm back in the same place as my gentleman.

May 9th: Today for lunch we had vegetable pot pie, cauliflower, cucumber slices, and a slice of pumpkin bread. For supper tonight we cooked rice patties, garlic almond green beans, and savory creamy mashed potatoes. Needless to say, we've been enjoying our food. I am still eating a mango every day. Kady and I bought 14 for about $2 yesterday at the market. Sweet!

May 10th: If you were going to take one impression from my year in Honduras, I would not want this to be it. However, what I am about to tell you about is real and impacting lives of my students. Several times this year, families from the school have had their cars hijacked, been taken out to Siguatepeque (I have no idea why they always seem to take them there), robbed, and let go. Until this last weekend. When I walked into the kindergarten classroom  yesterday, Miss Ondina started asking Miss Ester (in Spanish), ´Does she know? Does she know about Maria?´  Well I didn´t, so I went to Miss Ester to ask what had happened. As she started telling me, it was the same bad story all over again. Maria´s mother and brother had been kidnapped, taken to Siquatepeque...But this time it didn´t end with, and thank the Lord, they were let go. No. Tragically, they were both murdered. Now my sweet little kindergartener has a big hole in her family, and pain that I cannot even imagine dealing with.

Pulhapanzak

May 2nd we headed off on an adventure to Pulhapanzak--a famous Honduran waterfall about two/three hours from where we live. Our first bus left late (no surprise), so I think we got out of town around 7:30am. After passing the lake that's about an hour and a half away, we caught a mini bus to La Guama, and then another mini bus from La Guama to Pena (just imagine the little symbol over the n there...) Blanca.

This is what greeted us when we got off our third and final bus on the journey there. We walked about 15 minutes down this dirt road until we reached the park. This was the only crowded moment we had. Mostly, the road was completely empty.

We were all glad to be done with the buses for a while!

So I didn't get a picture of it specifically...but right behind this sign, see the squirrel sign? Super funny. There is a small canopy area with lots of squirrels. Squirrels are apparently a BIG deal here :). These people need to visit Union College some time. Anyway, in case that isn't funny enough, they also mention that you can have group parties there too. Birthday party at the squirrel canopy anyone??

It didn't take long for us to change, find a guide, store our stuff, and head to the falls. Talk about picturesque!

We went down stairs for about 5 minutes until we reached this lookout point. Beyond this, you had to have a guide. We asked Rafael if it was dangerous. He said yes. Then we asked him if anyone had ever been seriously hurt. He said 20 people have died in the eleven years he has been giving tours. Then he told us he was joking, and that he was the best safest guide ever (well, that's my version of what he said, translated for your convenience). He also told us our lives were in his hands. Oh boy. Without any instructions, he unlocked the gate and let us start climbing up the "trail". There wasn't anything marked, but there was an obvious worn down path. The rocks were perfect for climbing. I would have more pictures, but for some reason Blogger doesn't like to load my pictures. That's why this blog is so late :P. I finally gave up. I wish I could have posted more pictures, but these will have to do. Oh, and I would like to take this time to clarify--yes, Rafael is 100% Honduran, and he only spoke a little English. Some Hondurans are as white as me!

About this time I started jumping around exclaiming, "THIS IS SO COOL!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE HERE! ISN'T THIS AWESOME?! FEEL SMALL!" Ah. Times like these when you know I'm the young one in the group :) lol. You maybe can't see them now, but there were little rainbows everywhere we looked.

The "mist" was not as light as it looks. Before we went into this Rafael told us to only look down and only breath through our mouths. And off we were!

Holding hands for dear life! We couldn't see a thing.

Before reaching this little cave, or as he called it the "home of the anaconda", we stopped in a little alcove right behind the falls. It was SO awesome. Throughout the trip, Rafael would let out these random "WOOOHOOO!" screams. About this time I started to follow suit, because it really did help me feel brave.

We took a slightly different pathway out of the falls, and it was a lot less scary than the way in. Although I was never too terrified since we were are all holding hands.

On the way back we jumped from a higher point. on the way in we jumped from the other side of this little water fall, but it was much shorter.

Just when we thought it was pretty much over, Rafael asked if we wanted to jump from here. I kind of thought he was joking. He said we would only hit the rocks "a little". But alas, he wasn't joking. So I said yes wondering what damage hitting the rocks "a little" could do, and Ashley and Emily agreed to jump too. Then he jumped. I went next. I counted "UNO, DOS, TRES!" and then hurled myself dramatically off the ledge with a scream. I remember having a brief moment on the fast trip downward where I wondered if I had managed to jump far enough away from the edge. Good news, I had. When I hit the water I kind of cut into it and went horizontal. I thankfully did not hit the rocks at all. When I came to the surface, Rafael was right there telling me to grab his hand. I was sputtering, had water up my nose, and a little shocked. He was asking me if I liked it, I think all I could do was smile and nod like a bobble-head. I think this was about 25 feet from the water.

And once again, when we thought the tour was over, Rafael went above (literally) and beyond :). He took us to the very top of the falls to look down. Being the gentleman that he is, he held our hands one at a time while we took turns looking over the falls. This was pretty much my favorite thing I've done in Honduras! Such an awesome one-of-a-kind experience. Rafael was the perfect guide. He took good care of us and really went all out on the tour. He told us normally the tours are only about 20 minutes long, especially in the busy tourist seasons. What a blessing! I will never forget this trip.

Mother's Day Program

May 5: Today we celebrated "El Dia de Madre" (Mother's Day) with an evening program at school. Programs are a lot different now that I'm a teacher. I used to really look forward to them as a elementary student. However, now most of us have the attitude of "Reallllly? I have to go back?" But here's my secret (although I know my face gives it away every time)--as soon as I see my first student, there is no place I would rather be. I just gush and exclaim over each one of their precious little faces. I love seeing them in their real clothes instead of uniforms. And outside of the "it's school and you need to sit down and learn" world. And seeing them just a couple at a time instead of being overwhelmed by how many small children are in my care. Oh, and as a side note, I also love the fact that I have a reason to get a little dolled up. My normal days go like this: unflattering school uniform most the day, come home and change into gym clothes, get home from gym, shower and change into pajamas. I miss dressing up.

The program started off (late, of course) with a bang--no light except two tiki torches in front of the stage with a live mariachi band and the tenth graders singing to their moms. Cute huh? Then they gave all their moms roses. The first graders sang a really sweet song which said something to the effect of "Everything is beautiful in home, when Mom is there". But nothing was as dear to my heart as my little prepa students singing "He's Got the Whole World". They were so adorable! I gave them a little pep talk before and walked around with the mic for each one to get their time in the spotlight. Miss Ester told me that their English pronunciation was great! I have to agree.

My dear Fernando. He's the sweetest.

The grand aforementioned opening.

Miss Effie and the first graders (this isn't nearly all of the them, but you know how attendance is when it's not required..)

Miss Ondina (kinder assistant) * me * Miss Rosita (pre-k assistant). These ladies are awesome!

Carolina, Emily, and Natalie Maria

The pep talk.

Soon I was in their faces with the mic, it wasn't doing any good from back there.

They were SO precious. You should have been there.

This was such a proud teacher moment for me. The boy singing into the mic is normally so quiet and a little shy, but he sang clearly, loudly, and with enthusiasm. I was beaming!

Awwww

Emily found me during the program with her mom's camera to take a picture with me. I had to get one on my camera too.

Estephania, one of the girls from the Hogar, sat with me for some of the program.

Emily and Ale--aren't my students just the most beautiful ones you've ever seen? I'm sure all teachers must feel this way.

Half-way Through the Week Memories

 So the plan was to just record short little memories through the week, but some of them got really long. I didn't want to overwhelm anyone with a ridiculously long page, so here are my half-way through the first week of May memories...I decided to do this to catch all the little details that often don't get recorded. Now that my weeks are winding down, I want to be sure to remember this.

May 1st: Today I decided that I am going to eat mango every single day I have left in Honduras. Unless I get sick of them. Kind of doubt it.

May 2nd: I stood at the foot of a giant waterfall and felt small. I stood under a waterfall and felt resilient. I jumped 25 feet from the rocks to the water and felt alive. I stood over the waterfall and thought about how big God is.

May 3rd: I contemplated having a meltdown in school today. I think the last time I cried was when I thought the tsunami was going to wipe out Steven's island back in March--that was not a fun way to start the day. Anyway, I'm getting a little stressed about my kids' final, because I have missed a ton of days with them due to all the subbing I always have to do. Today I had to teach all of Miss Joline's classes (and two of mine). Which would have been okay except for the fact that I have a sinus infection (again) and feel miserable. By the end of the day, I was about to snap. The tears were about to brim. But then I didn't. Both the offices were closed and Miss Norma is gone, so there wasn't even anywhere good to run to. I've never had a meltdown here before. I actually haven't even cried that many times in Honduras.

Thankfully Pastor Trundle let me come home right after school was out. On my way home I felt needy. All I wanted was for a friend to notice I wasn't feeling well, give me a hug, and see if there was anything I needed. Someone to care. Shoot, well Miss Jonline was in the room for a minute, and she told the kids to be quiet and extra good because I was sick--just the fact she noticed I didn't feel well--I felt like hugging her! haha. The students were the only other ones that seemed to notice and care that I was not myself. I guess before this year I was always surrounded by empathetic and supportive people, and I'm missing that. This year I just have a different kind of support. It's not that it's bad or not enough, it's just an adjustment.

I thought I'd let myself cry once I was safely alone, but the tears just didn't feel like coming. So I made some cantaloupe juice, and called Mrs. J. Talking to her completely turned my day around. Now I feel affirmed, encouraged, and loved. And not all crazy! One of the best thing about Mrs. J and me is the fact that we have so many similarities. She understands me, and I can relate to her. Ah. So while I am still sick physically, mentally and emotionally, I feel 100% better.

On a side note, the one time I went to a doctor here a few months back, he told me to avoid AC and fans since I was sick. If someone in the US told a patient that in 85-100F weather, I'm pretty sure everyone would laugh. However, as I am very tired, actually quite literally exhausted, of being sick, I am trying to sleep and live without my fan on now. Currently: quite sweaty. I had to use a spray bottle to mist myself to sleep last night.

May 4th: I'll spare you the details, but let's just say mother nature slapped me in the face today with "The Female Curse". Aha. Yes, so that explains my emotional burst yesterday. So with the added pains plus being ill, I did well just making it through school today. I was constantly blowing my nose and almost coughed myself to the point of nausea.

However, after school Kady and I walked to the post office. I got a package and three letters from Steven! Those will be the last ones I get, because he is going to be in Majuro three weeks from now. He's going to hand deliver the remaining letters in June when I come home. I can't even imagine being able to talk to him on a regular basis let alone have my anxiously awaited letters "hand-delivered"! Beyond amazing. Right now I am doing everything I can to get better, because I want to be able to make the most of my few remaining weeks! It's hard to enjoy life when I feel like this. But praise the Lord for comfort, a plethora of mangoes and good food, lots of little hugs from my kids, and laughs with Kadian.