Passing the 3rd Quarter

Stealing Babies

Ms. Cuty's Birthday

January, February, and March passed in a flurry of activity. One long weekend Keiko, Max, a Honduran friend (Sara), and I rafted in Rio Cangrejal. It is certainly one of my favorite spots in Honduras! I spent a few days in a little town named Ojojona, which is famous for its pottery with friends from the embassy. Keiko, Nikki (new teacher), and I spent a weekend in Gracias. I'm very glad to have made it to Gracias, despite the conditions of the roads, because it is a beautiful town surrounded by the natural beauty of cloud forests and the highest point in Honduras...no I did not climb it...

Celebrating a Birth (Pre-School Family)

Rafting on Rio Cangrejal

100 Days of Kindergarten!!!

It's Beginning to FEEL a Lot Like Christmas

Rough Roads to Copan

After my visit home in October, time flew by until Christmas was no longer over the horizon! November was extremely busy with preparations for the Choir Concert Benefit Dinner and the Christmas Concert including the whole school! For Thanksgiving we got a few days off, so Keiko (my roommate) Karishma and I drove north 7 hours to visit the Copan Ruins. These Mayan ruins are some of the most picturesque as they are covered in inscriptions and detail much history.

We can use powertools!

Baby for the Weekend!

December was not quite as crazy, but still busy as we wrapped up the year in preparation for vacations! Several parties went on as many people said farewell, going to their next post or jobs. Kindergarten sang in the Christmas program and we hosted one of our own!

Sayin' Farewell to the only other Missourian in Honduras...

Christmas Decor!

Jon and Walker (Birthday Cake)

Caminando por Tegucigalpa

Merry Christmas from Kinder A

And never forgetting to exercise

1st Quarter Report!

Kindergarten Teachers!

     So I realize that I am getting the blog started rather late this year....my apologies!

Despedida! Happy to Celebrate...Sad to say Goodbye!

     I returned to school and started working on August 1st. We had a week to prepare our classrooms before the students would arrive. Since the beginning, it has been crazy! I have quite the challenging class this year, especially with a couple boys who are constantly determined to try my patience. The month of September is really neat to experience with the Kindergarten because it is the month they celebrate independence. Watching the students learn their national anthem, national symbols, and memorize their heroes is a great thing to see!

Another kind of despedida...

     In addition to teaching Kindergarten, I am directing the High School Honor Choir along with the middle school band teacher, Mr. Jerezano. I think this will be a challenging task for the both of us, as he speaks little English and I speak little Spanish. Thankfully, I have improved enough to understand Spanish and he understands English, so we will make it work. I have begun planning the Holiday Benefit Dinner, that the choir hosts to raise funds...this event will give me grey hairs before the end!
      Began by saying goodbye to lots of wonderful people who were leaving on their next assignments through the embassy or NGOs. Justin, Abigail, Ballah, Daniel, and Mario all off to another country.

     Despite lots of working, I have had a few weekends to get away. I spent a great night in Zamorano with Sarah T., fellow teacher; Manuel, her husband; and Nico, their son. Zamorano is the agricultural valley closest to Tegucigalpa and a much needed respite from the city noise.  Another weekend, I went rock climbing in Parque La Tigra with Jerry and was finally able to rappel the waterfall! A couple friends and I attended the Salsa Congresso to watch the competitions and get to dance afterwards, which was pretty cool. And the start of the year would not be complete without another trip north to Lago de Yojoa. This time with some friends who had not yet experienced either the lake or the waterfall, Julie, Chelsea, Walker, Jon, and Malcom. They were also very patient with my driving...even though I ran over a median...and got talked to by the police for stopping on a "pedestrian walk"...but we survived!

Survived the waterfall again!

   
 Ms. Cuty is as wonderful as ever! She spent the summer between Tegus and Florida, where her 2 oldest children live. Her daughter gave her and her husband tickets to a week in Spain, which was a highlight I think!
     Highlights from Home: Lara got ENGAGED! Steffi got ENGAGED! Dallas turned 21! Nathan turned 18! Mom and the boys went to SCOTLAND! Dad fixed a lot of fence from the FLOODING.

To California?

Performing at Santa Monica

   The past week has been an adventure of a different type. Ms. Kendra, the music teacher, and I took the High School Honor Choir to Las Angeles for a musical/cultural exchange.
   We flew from Tegucigalpa to San Salvador then on to LAX. We arrived at 1am where there was a shuttle that met us to take us to the Marriot Hotel. We sent everyone to bed for a few hours before getting back up and dressed for the day. Our first visit was to Santa Monica High School. This school was a great experience for the students to see sight reading, advanced choral techniques, and different methods of teaching. It was amazing to watch the Santa Monica students perform! After lunch, we went to the Santa Monica Pier though it was cold!! We walked the 3rd Street Promenade in the evening.

Chapman University Choir

   Friday morning, we held an exchange with Stanford Middle School. The exchanges were arranged because these teacher had been colleagues of Ms. Kendra's during her years at University. The students here loved having Hondurans visit, and begged the girls to show them how to dance. Next, we drove to Chapman University in Orange, CA to watch a rehearsal of their University Choir. We spent the afternoon at Huntington Beach and it was still freeing! For the evening, we were able to return to Chapman University to experience the concert. It was wonderful to listen to their performance!

Longbeach 

   For a day of freedom, the students chose Knott's Berry Farm. We survived the rides. The afternoon was wiled away at the board walk along Longbeach.
    Sunday, we flew back to Tegus. None the worse for wear and having left a lasting impression of music in the minds of our high school students.

  P.S. This was my first time back in the States for nine months! Being in a foreign city, I kept trying to talk to the service people in Spanish....oops!

Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pier

Longbeach Boardwalk

Cuevas de Talgua (Olancho)

    Another weekend packed with adventure! It has been a crazy busy month for these things!

    This weekend I headed out with a group of 11 people that work at the embassy (/government) on an exploration of the caves in Olancho. As our guide, Jerry arranged the accommodations and equipment. Saturday, we drove the three hours out past Catacamas to the lodge where we would stay. That day we hiked up to a dry volcanic cave to do a little exploring. There is a river close by that we took a dip in afterwards. Sunday was the main event! An amazing cave, we took most of the day inside. We waded through moving water, crawled through mud, swam through the deep parts, and climbed up a small waterfall. It was intense! It was a blast with a great group of people!

All Photos Courtesy of Noel Lopez!

Return to Lago

Lago De Yojoa

      This past weekend a group of us teachers drove out for a short weekend at Lago de Yojoa. This is only the second time since I have been, but it already feels familiar. We drove up to Lago after school on Friday determined to have a relaxing weekend.
      Saturday I wanted to explore PANACAM (National Park). No one else was available to join me so I hiked this path alone. I am so glad that I did, the paths are well marked and maintained. It was peaceful and lovely! In the afternoon I walked Los Naranjos, an archaeological park that has not yet been excavated. I ate dinner with the teachers, but everyone was here to do their own thing. Reading, eating chocolate cake, and relaxing were the plans for the evening.

Los Naranjos

     After a short walk Sunday morning, it was back to work!

Rio Congrejal

      This weekend we had Friday off, so that means it was time for another adventure!
      Friday morning we flew out of Tegucigalpa headed to La Ceiba. From there, it was another 30 minute ride into the forest. We stayed at Omega Tours, an outfit run by a German couple. The afternoon was spent winding our way through the path of beautiful Pico Bonito National Park. We swam in little pools, hiked up to El Bejuco cascades, and walked across Rio Cangrejal on a suspension bridge.
      Saturday morning I had a delicious cup of coffee and typical breakfast as we prepared for a day on the river. We had two amazing guides from New Zealand and one Honduran who took us swimming, climbing over/jumping off of boulders, and rafting! Even though the river is very low during this part of the dry season, I still wouldn't want to be swept away down the rapids. The second half of the day was through class III rapids, they weren't super scary but a good first experience. It also gave me time to look around at the beautiful scenery. We did, however, manage to flip the raft on one little rock... It was such a lovely time! I went back in the evening to scramble around on the boulders and take pictures of the river at sunset.
      Today I woke up early to climb up behind the lodge for some sunrise pictures of Pico Bonito. After two cups of coffee, I relaxed in a hammock and went for one last dip in the river before our flight back into the city.