The Early Bird Doesn´t Get the Worm!

This is a new lesson that I have learned while here in Honduras...just because you have planned and are well prepared doesn´t actually increase your odds for success. In fact, it might even hinder them....

November 10-14 is exam week at our school (because it is the end of our first quarter). Each day the students have 3 exams, and following compeletion of the third class, they have a 20 minute recess then they are are dismissed for the day (they leave at 9:30am). Every grade (First through Eleventh) is required to take the end of the term tests. In preparation for exam week, the school´s administration asked teachers to turn in a copy of their test in advance (about a week before) so it could be approved. Then the administrators pass the tests on to the librarian to make the alloted copies and then we pick them up all ready to go in the library the morning of our sheduled exam. I get all nervous about deadlines, so I hurried up and got my test turned in early. Well Greg, on the other hand is totally a ´last mintuter.´ So last minute in fact, that he alarmingly jumped out of bed at 5am on Monday morning (November 10, the first day of our exams) remembering that he forgot to make his tests (let alone actually turn them in!) So he scrambled around and just in time was able to write his tests before school. Now the next challenge was to get them copied! Our librarian (who operates our school´s only copier) is usually swamped during exam week - especially on the first day! As soon as devotion ended, Greg rushed in to be the first to request copies. Well, lucky for him he beat the crowd and was able to get his tests all copied. He ended up only being a few minutes late to the first period class. I was happy it all worked out for him. Following his success, I lazily strolled into the library and ask our librarian for my tests (I was in no rush as I figured it would be a 30 second exchange at most). She walked back to a table covered with copies and began searching. Every minute or so she would hold up a pack of tests and say, ´Are these yours?´ I kept repeating ´No, nope, not those, still no....´ until I finally got the picture that she didn´t have my tests. By now it was 7:20am (my exam was to be administered from 7:10am to 7:50am) and I was getting a little irritated. The librarian asked me if I had another copy, but I told her no, that I had turned my only copy into administration the previous week. Well, it just so happened that my friend, Jenny, said that one of the administrators gave her the 5th grade language arts test. She wasn´t sure why, but she informed me that she had a copy if I needed it. Thank goodness for that because I was able to get it from her and have the copies made that I needed. I showed up for class at 7:35am, giving the students only 15 minutes to take my 4 page test. I was so upset! I told them to take their time and that I would be sure they would have as much time as they needed to complete the exam.

Fortunatley, in the end, it all worked out. Don´t get me wrong, I am glad that Greg was able to get his tests made and copied at the last minute. I was just a little bummed because even though I was actually prepared in advance somehow I ended up with the short end of the stick! I can laugh about it now, but I was pretty furious a couple days ago! I guess I should learn my lesson by now, as a similar thing happened to me a couple months ago when I ordered food from Pizza Hut for a classroom party. I met with the manager and confirmed our order 5 days in advance of the event. Well apparantly that was just too much time because on the day of the acutal event, they never showed up with the food! All the other classes received their food (even the other fifth grade classes´food came - that I ordered at the last minute) but the one that I actually prepared for, nothing! After multiple phone calls, they finally delivered half of the order! An hour later they returned with the other part. Yet another time preparation in advance came back to bite me! In fact, I can think of several other incidences when this has happened too! Oh well, I guess if it happens again it is my fault because by now I should learn my lesson!

Adventures in Costa Rica

Greg and I and our good friends Kyle and Crystal planned a trip to Costa Rica in October. We love that country and when we found extremely cheap plane tickets, we just couldn't resist! We were gone for 6 days and really enjoyed ourselves!

On our first day after we landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, we picked up our rental SUV then took off bound for the beach. It was a three hour trip winding through the mountains. The roads were all pretty good - paved and nearly pothole free (unlike here). We finally arrived at our final destination, Manuel Antonio and were very pleased at the sight of our hotel. It had a beautiful view of the beach, yet was surrounded by foliage. In fact many animals (especially monkeys and exotic birds) lived in the trees close by. The room was more like a studio apartment complete with a kitchenette and patio area. All of the furniture was handcrafted of wood and the windows had big screens for air to circulate through. We loved it (except the air - water combo made for the perfect recipe for mildew smelling sheets!) The hotel had a cute little cafe where we enjoyed appetizers and breakfast. Only a few miles away was the Manuel Antonio National Park where we hiked and enjoyed amazing scenery. We saw three-toed sloths, monkeys, deer, raccoons, iguanas, birds, butterflies, frogs and even some indigenous plants and animals too. After our hike, we had a picnic on the beach (there are three beaches inside the park) with some uninvited guest. We walked away from our backpacks for a brief minute, only to return and find a raccoon had busted into Greg´s backpack and was eating our loaf of bread! Good thing it was AFTER we were had already eaten. Later we went for swim in the ocean, then headed back to the hotel.

While we were in the area, we also spent a day at another beach. We rented sufboards and body boards and rode the waves. Fortunately no stiches were needed this time! The waves were pretty rough as a storm was rolling in. We had a great time anyway, and didn´t let the mist ruin our day. We pretty much relaxed in the evenings. We ate at a delicious pizzeria one night and had pasta at an Italian place too.

After three nights in Manuel Antonio, we set off for La Fortuna/Arenal. We left early in the morning as we had a 6 hour trip ahead. It ended up taking a little longer because we did not plan for all of the time that would be lost from being stopped by police officers! I belive the final count that day was three times (5 total for the trip!) Fortunately, only one time was our driver, Greg, breaking the law. He was speeding, so the officer issued him a ticket. However, before he finished writing it, he decided to offer us a deal. So we weren't inconvenienced by having to go to the bank to pay the ticket, the officer generously told us that we could just give him $20 (instead of paying the $40 ticket) We obliged and the officer ripped up the ticket. Definitely not legit, but at least everything was settled on the spot!

After a scenic and confusing drive (roads are not market - but thank God Kyle brough along a GPS) we finally made it to Arenal! We settled into our rooms and relaxed for a while. We then decided to hit the hot tub before dinner. Well, when we got there it was already full. So instead, we went frog hunting! There was a small pond and lots of shrubs and trees oustide of our rooms and we were told that many exotic frogs hang out there. (We could also hear them!) We had so much fun sleuthing around in our bathing suits and rain jackets (it was drizzling) photographing frogs! Kyle got some great shots and we even caught one - a red eye tree frog - for some closeups! It was a lot of blast!

Our hotel was located about 8 minutes (by car) up a steep mountain. It had a perfect view of the volcano nearby. Arenal Volcano is one of the main atractions in Northwest Costa Rica, and it definitely drew us to visit. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world (top ten), erupting everyday. The volcano also heats several natural hot springs located in the area. (We actually planned to visit them, but when we discovered the daily entrance fees at several different spots were between $45-90 dollars, we opted not to go inside!) Anyway, it was a beautiful site at night to see the red, orange, and yellow colors of the lava seeping out. The hotel's restaurant was positioned to clearly see the volcano through a large glass wall. It made for awesome scenery at dinner!

While in Arenal, we went horseback riding, did some more hiking and visited a butterfly garden. This place was very relaxing! On our last night there, a pretty bad storm passed through, and actually hit a lot of areas in Central America. So bad, in fact, that our path back to San Jose was blocked by a landslide. Even in our SUV, we couldn't pass. Again, we are so grateful Kyle had the GPS because he was able to navigate us through another direction (and trust me, this route was way off the beaten path! There is no way we could have found it on our own. There were even some really flooded areas on that path too, but Greg carefully got us through.) When we arrived back in San Jose we headed up another volcano, Poas. Greg and I had visited this volcano on a previous trip, but remembered that there was a coffee plantation there that we didn't get to see. We went and checked it out, but decided instead to just hit their coffee shop (with an overlook of their coffee fields) for a cup of joe. We indulged in strawberry and Irish cream lattes and hot chocolate then headed back down. At the foot of the mountain we stumbled on a "Denny's" diner. A chance to eat some greasy American food? Yes Please! We all went to town and stuffed ourselves. Fortunately a few hours later (and the next day) Denny's came back to haunt 3 of the 4 of us. We all ended up with some 'digestional complications' (I will spare you the details!) Anyway, we made it back to Teguc that evening that finally back to Comaygua - ready for school the next day! We had a wonderful trip, enjoyed our company, and were blessed to explore more of God's beautiful creation!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I just realized that it has been nearly three weeks since we have posted anything. Lots of things have been happenening so I will bring you up to speed!

First and most importantly (and all I have time to write about now), Honduras is having major flooding. They issued a red alert on several days ago due to all the rain and the overflowing river. On top of that, city officials in Comayagua have had to open the dam at least twice and release some water in order to keep it from breaking. There has has been mention of opening it another time as the heavy rains continue to pour down. Unfortunately, since Comayagua is basically built on many hills, there are parts of the town that are very low and back up to the river. As a result, several neighborhoods have completely flooded out, filling their houses with muddy water. The opening of the dam has also greatly contributed to water washing through homes, businesses, cars and over roads and bridges. In fact on Sunday the bridge through Comayagua on the main highway that goes from the two major cities in Honduras (Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula) was completely flooded out. Traffic was just sitting and piling up until they were able to reroute some of the vehicles. It was pretty crazy!  Unfortunately, the same situation occurred again today.

We were informed on Tuesday (after the department of education cancelled school in all of Honduras) that two of my 5th grade student’s houses were in bad shape.  They both live in the same neighborhood at the bottom of a big hill in front of the river and sadly, both of their houses were took a big hit.  One of the student’s has a two story, so they were able to move most of the things upstairs to safety.  However, the other girl’s home only had one floor – and unfortunately, they pretty much lost everything.  Water completely filled their house (the water mark on the wall reached 8 feet high) saturating all of their belongings (furniture, beds, electronics, clothes, photos, school supplies, books, and so on.)  A crew of friends and family were there helping when we arrived and we stayed to help as well.  Unfortunately, most of their stuff was unsalvageable, and I am not sure of what the condition of the house will be, even after it all dries up.  Especially since it has rained a lot since Tuesday, and even more yet is expected. In fact, school was cancelled again (we went yesterday and had first period today, then they sent everyone home) so several of us walked down by the river to check its status.  The same neighborhood we were helping clean, once again had water just standing in the houses.  And that was just one!  We saw cars completely filled with water too, and the river was flooding out even more liquid.  What a shame!  Power has been off an on throughout town, and internet has been spotty.  We haven’t had it at our house in a week, and even Pizza Hut’s wireless (our go to when we are without it) wasn’t functioning when we went yesterday!  We were able to use it a little at the school today, until halfway through our session when the electricity went out, so no more internet!  They have already cancelled school for tomorrow too, as more storms are expected, and again, they may have to open to dam again to release some more water.  Fortunately, we haven’t been affected at our apartment, as we live right off the boulevard on higher ground.  It is so tough right now because essentially we just have to sit and wait until the rains come again until we can start helping clean up.  It is pretty tough – we feel so bad for everyone that are experiencing problems!  Its not just here in Honduras, I believe other countries in Central America are having a tough time too.  We heard that the last time they had flooding issues this bad was ten years ago when Hurricane Mitch devastated the country.

Classes are already canceled for tomorrow and several schools have plans to help out local residents.  Our school is collecting supplies and plans to deliver them to those in need on tomorrow and Saturday.  Please keep all of those affected in your prayers.  Since insurance pretty much doesn't exist here, for those that lost things will have to pay out of pocket to recover them.  Even for affluent families, this tragedy is a major financial setback.  Thanks for your support and prayers and I hope to report that things are getting better very soon! 

It's a Jungle Out There!

When I walk into the classroom each day I never know what to expect.  Somedays (usually Mondays mornings) the kids are sitting in their desks half asleep when I enter.  Other times they are running a muck - and the room is in complete shambles.  Then there are days like today, when I just don't know how to react!

As I approached my classroom this morning, I noticed a sort of

funky 'non-human' odor seeping out.  My suspicion served me correct when I opened the door to find a room full of furry creatures!  Dogs, birds, hampsters, turtles, and my personal least favorite - a pregnant rat - all filled the classroom.  So apparently it it 'bring your pet to school day' for the 5th grade classes!  All I kept thinking about as I attempted to teach was the liability of this whole situation.  All these pets in the room, all day - I could just envision a dog eating a paracete, or the rat biting a student! Fortunately for all of us, none of that happened under my watch, and I was actually quite impressed with how well behaved the dogs were.  The birds were a little chatty, but I managed to administer class anyway.  

I later found out that the kids were required to bring their 'mascotas' (pets) for none other than Spanish class.  Spanish class?!  I could understand Science - maybe - but Spanish class?  You lost me there.  Plus, 5A didn't have Spanish class until 11:30am and 5B until the last class of the day at 1:30pm.  It was crazy to have the pets at school all day long!  Well, what was I going to do?  We proceeded with class - even took tests - all with the student's animals.

It just keeps getting better...because as a reward for always speaking

 in English at school (It is a struggle to try keep the kids

 from speaking Spanish) the 5th graders were granted the priveledge to watch movie during class - on none other than today! This meant bringing the kids and their pets into the teacher's room to eat popcorn and watch The Chronicles of Narnia 2!  So we actally did watch the movie and had snacks as planned without too much trouble.  One dog was a little territorial, so we had to separate him from the rest of the bunch, but for the most part the other ones did okay.  I thought for sure they would go but when the snacks came out, but they did surprisingly well.  Speaking of grub, I told th ekids they could bring their own snacks.  They never cease to amaze me with their food selection.  One child brought 5 bags of popcorn (for himself!), another a 3 liter of soda (I did see her share it with one or 2 others) and another downed an entire bag of Munchies (doritos, pretzels, sunchips, cheetos combo) on his own!  I tried to set an example by eating an apple, but eventually caved and went for the popcorn  So it all turned out okay afterall.  The kids had a lot of fun, and the animals added an interesting twist to the eventful day!  I was nervous again at recess and lunch when a few of the dogs were getting a little fiesty, but I never heard of any injuries.  Thank the good Lord!  Now we get a long weekend to relax from all of the craziness!  Again, thank the good Lord!  Have a wonderful weekend...we sure plan to!

Fiesta Patria 2008

We celebrated Honduran Independence Day on Monday, September 15. Every year they have a parade through the streets of Comayagau. It begins at 7am (or should I say it is supposed to anyhow) and lasts for about 5-6 hours. There are numerous participants, including schools, social organizations, the military, businesses, etc., and Maranatha was lucky enough to be assigned number 3 in the parade order!

Many of the local schools participated in the festivities by including various student groups. For example, this year Maranatha included a percussion band, cheerleaders, color guard, the top 3 students from each class, and the 6th (last grade before high school), 10th (juniors) and 11th (seniors) graders in the march. Oh and of course we had a special section for the gringo teachers 

at our school! What a prime time to showcase all of Maranatha´s American teachers to the city of Comayagua. (Having native English speakers is a status symbol and definitely a plus for parents when selecting a biligual school for their children.) This is the first year since we have been here that Maranatha has participated in the festivities. Although we had to meet at the school at 6am on Monday morning it was great to be a part of the celebration. Greg and I were so proud of the kids! The band looked so sharp in their uniforms and did an excellent job playing and marching. Their beats helped keep us energized as we danced along behind them. Greg, Jenny, and I ended up being the official water distributors for the band and a couple other student groups. There was a wagon full of bags of water that we pulled along with us as we all walked around squirting it in the kids mouths - in attempt to keep them from getting dehydrated. It was so hot that day and the poor band kids were wearing heavy uniforms! We had a lot of fun helping them out! Several of my 5th graders were in the band, but the youngest member was an adorable 3rd grader, Jesus. I think he was the fan favorite! He was definitely a trooper - marching through the entire thing!

  

Participating in the parade this year really brought the student body together and helped build pride among them. They worked hard for weeks preparing for the big day and their dedication really paid off. All of the students regardless of the section they marched in, made a very good showing for our school and did an excellent job! Here is a brief video clip from the start of the march:

The entire time we marched Greg and I (and a couple other fellow Americans) felt a little uncomfortable. We heard a comment like ´why are theses Americans marching in our parade?´ and it confirmed our suspicious that there might be a few people against our participation. For the most part, the people here accept us and treat us great, but unfortunately, not everyone welcomes Americans here. Especially right now with the economy growing a little more hostile and relations with the Honduran president and Hugo Chavez strengthening, we are starting to feel a little uneasy. We know God wants us here though, and are assured that he will protect us.

So a few days after the parade, we found out that there actually was some violence during the parade. It was later in the parade (after our group passed by) one school that apparently has multiple members from one gang, was attacked by a group from a rival gang. Fortunately, no one was killed, but it caused quite a stir among the crowd. People apparently were trying to get away, trampling others and yelling for help. Luckily the police and military forces were close by and were able to break it up pretty quickly (as we heard). Pretty crazy stuff!  Overall, it was a great day for us....and we are glad we didn't find out about the fight until after the celebration!

Something Strange Going On...

Since we have been back in Honduras (going on 4 weeks now) Greg and I have noticed some significant differences, and by differences, I mean POSITIVE changes!

First, the streets seem to be cleaner.  We pretty much walk everywhere we go; to school, to the grocery, to our friend's houses, and during our treks, we always see so much litter!  Empty bottles, wrappers, cups, broken glass (to name a few) are scattered around the streets and sidewalks. This sight is always a little

 disheartening to Greg and I, as we always discuss ways to improve the waste system here.  Some of it is not the locals' fault, trash cans are few and far between here - but come on, have some pride in your beautiful country and put your waste where it belongs!  When in doubt, find a bathroom, there is sure to be a garbage receipticle next to the toilet!  Anyway, each morning on our way to school, we pass city workers sweeping up trash with a broom and dustpan.  Apparently it is helping because Greg and I sure have noticed a decrease in litter.  (We recently learned that this is part of Comayagua's new mayor's charge - to clean up all the trash!)  We nearly passed out when we passed a public trash can (bolted down of course so it isn't stolen) overflowing with garbage.  We were so impressed that it was full!  What a positive change - we hope it continues!

Another great thing - no taxi drivers have tried to rip us off yet!  Maybe it is just because we now have the taxi hailing process down: 1. Hail the cab (often this step is omitted because we are actually stalked by cabbies that want to pick us up). 2. When it pulls up, don't get in.  First ask the price per person to your destination.  It should be 20 Lempira each for anywhere in town.  3.  If the price is right, enter the cab and make nice with the driver.  So, we aren't sure why we keep getting fair quotes, but we are very pleased about it!  It used to be only 15 Lempira per person, but the price increased by 5 Lemps (about 25 cents) last spring because of the elevated gas prices.  At least that is what we heard!  Wait, maybe we are getting ripped off afterall...  Just kidding!

We are also happy to report that the school seems to be fun

ctioning better this year.  Although we still haven't received our official class rosters or our grade books, the administration is more organized.  They assigned each teacher a locker in the teacher's room (last year it was first come first served and there weren't enough), we now have 4 new functioning computers with internet also in the teacher's room (and no students are allowed to use them), and we can get our paychecks direct deposited (into our Honduran bank account of course).  In addition, Maranatha now has an official student body band, which marched in the Indepence Day parade (we didn't participate l

ast year), and we now have a detention hall!  Overall, things are just running smoother and the kids (well most of them) seem to be more calm.  We are really enjoying our experiences at the school this year!  

And finally, we have been amazed with the power company's ability to restore electricity in record time!  Since it is the rainy season now, we have pretty frequent storms.  In fact on Friday night we had a pretty violent one, and just as our friends were walking out to their car (they had come over for dinner) the transformer outside of our house started shooting out sparks, then the lights all went out!  Well, this left our friends in predicament because our electronic gate (pictured above) will not open without power!  They decided to hail a cab and pick up the car the next day, as we figured it would be hours - even days - before power was restored.  You can imagine our complete shock when only an hour later the electricity came back on!  The next day we lost power again, only for about 20 minutes though.  Kudos to the power company for a job well done! 

We are super impressed and way excited about all of the great changes happening.  It thrills us to write about positive happenings here - and hope to include more soon!  Have a wonderful weekend!  

Feistas and Futbol

Well, we survived another ¨Children´s Day¨ here in Honduras. The National Holiday is celebrated every September 10 in Honduras and it involves sugar, sugar, and more sugar. Needless to say, the kids were quite rambuncous! We had classes until noon yesterday, then spent the last two hours of the day partying. Since I am the homeroom teacher or ¨guide teacher¨ as they call it here for both of the 5th grade classes, I was responsible for helping them plan their parties. I let them vote for their restaraunt of choice for lunch, with several American fast food chains around, I was sure they would chose one of them. 5th B went for Pizza Hut - a popular choice among the kids here - but I was quite surprised when 5th A wanted to order Chinese food! Althought it was a strange one, I honored their request - it is their day after all. The portions at Mang Ying (the best Chinese place in Comayagua - whatever that means!) are insanely huge so when I placed the order for the 18 students I got 2 orders of sweet and sour chicken, 3 orders of fried rice, and 2 boxes of friend wontons. Well it turns out that half of that order fed my entire class - and several teachers! (The lady working at the restaraunt told me one order of friend rice would serve 5 - 6 people! Ha!) Needless to say, the kids got their fill....and then some with cake and brownies for dessert. One of the boys in 5A also brought a piñata for the class to celebrate. Well, he didn´t bring the palo, (stick) so we had to get creative to break it. So, between Greg and I, we came up with the bright idea to ¨beat it up!¨ Oh I wish you could have seen it! Each student got the chance the give poor Spiderman an uppercut, roundhouse kick, or jab right in the grill. We were all cracking up, it was quite a sight!  The kids mutliated poor Spidey until every last morsel of candy was literally knocked out of him!  Now to 5B....I placed my order with the manager at Pizza Hut the previous Saturday.  He gave me the total and assured met he food would be delivered promptly at 12 o'clock noon.  Well, on Wednesday we waited and waited, but got nothing!  Greg was on it pretty quick though and called the store to inquire.  Eventually the food made it to the school, however, they forgot the breadsticks!  Again, my wonderfully helpful husband took care of it and a half hour later they returned with the rest of the meal.  You would think they would have offered some sort of discount since they messed up...but no, they charged us full price!  (We didn't have the time or patience to argue!  Plus, we were just happy it worked out!)  Both classes really enjoyed themselves and I would say the parties were successful!  

Later that evening Greg, Jenny, and I (along with 3 other missionaries) went to another teacher's house to watch the futbol game.  The Honduran National Team was playing Jamaica in San Pedro Sula, HN, and everyone was fired up!  It was great watching the game at Julio's house (with his mom, 3 siblings, nephews, and cousins) because we got a true Honduran soccer viewing experience!  Everyone was so into it!  Honduras ended up scoring 2 goals in the second half (Suazo and Nunez) sweeping the Jamaicans.  The town went NUTS after that!  I swear they are still setting off fireworks in celebration (2 days later!)  As we walked back from Julio's, people were parading through the streets waving Honduran Flags, blasting music, and driving like maniacs as they honked their horns nonstop.  Of course we hooted and hollered along with them as we ventured back to our apartment.  My throat is still a little hoarse from the cheering!  We really enjoyed it though and look forward to the next game!  

Today was the last day of school until next Thursday.  We have Monday and Tuesday off for Fiesta Patria (Honduran Indepence Day) and Wednesday off for Dia del Maestro (Teacher's Day).  We don't really have any plans, but we have talked about taking a trip to Teguc or going hiking somewhere.  We would have traveled somewhere outside of Honduras, except we have to march in the parade on Monday at 6am with our school.  Bummer!  Oh well, we are thrilled for a long weekend of rest and relaxation. 

The Sunbeam...and Other New Goods!

We love BREAD!  We pretty much eat some kind of sandwich every day for lunch, be it veggie, BLT, ham, grilled cheese or the classic PB&J.  As you can tell, the Bice's enjoy a good sandwich. However, we decided while we were here last year that we had had enough of the mediocore, nutrient-free bread, and pledged to buy a breadmachine so we could make our own.  We made this happen while we were living in the states over the summer and are happy we did!  So far we have made 3 different loaves, and each one has turned out better than the last!  After we hounded - and befriended - the owners of one of the local supermarkets here, they began selling whole wheat flour at our request.  They also carry flax seed, oatmeal, and wheat germ (I was quite impressed) so we are able to bake up a pretty healthy and hearty loaf of bread.  And thanks to our handy, dandy new Subeam ($42.99 at Walmart - priceless to us) all we have to do is dump in the ingredients and she does the rest - including the baking!  Pictured above is our very first masterpiece.  I felt extremely accomplished today when my meat-loving husband commented that today's ham sandwich was amazing..........because of the phenomenal bread!

The Sunbeam isn't the only thing that is new around here!  Last Thursday, Greg and I went shopping with one of our school administrators in hunt of some appliances and furniture for our apartme

nt.  After

 hitting 6 different stores throughout town, we concluded that the best prices were at M & M (no clue what it stands for).  We finally selected an oven/stove, refridgerator, dining room table and chairs, and a bed after our 3 hour excursion.  They were delivered after school on Friday, so our place is finally starting to feel like home!  (You can see the items in our kitchen in the  photos, the stove and fridge are about 3/4 of the size of 'American applainces.'  Everthing here is just made a little smaller!)  We had friends over on Saturday night (I cooked using our new appliances) to celebrate!  

Greg and I are really enjoying our comfy new bed (we spent our first week and a half here on an airmattress - although it was a really nice one, nothing compares to a mattress)!  Greg and I determined that this is the first new bed that we have had!  For our first 2 years of marraige we slept on a hand me down from my sister, then had an old one in our apartment here last year.  We are really enjoying it, in fact, Greg is passed out on it now as I write this (it is 8:05 pm).

It is raining a ton right now in Honduras, at least once every day.  The rainy season will last until about December, when it will really heat up and things will dry out.  Although we are getting a lot of showers, all the lively green foilage makes for some beautiful scenery.  Needless to say, we are really enjoying ourselves and know that we are extremely blessed!  Gracias a Dios!

Settling In

I am glad it is the weekend! We pretty much got thrown right into the ring when we set foot into Comayagua. We had to report to school on Thursday to meet with administration and the other teachers, to prepare our classrooms, write lesson plans, and practice our schedule. Once again, we were given our limited school supplies - one pencil, one notebook, one red pen, one black pen, white out, tape, a stapler, a ruler, scissors, and an eraser - however, instead of the typical one dry erase marker, we were given two (one red, one black) this year! I guess they had to replace so many so often last year that they went ahead and handed out two. The way it goes for replacing broken, empty, or disfuncional supplies is that you take the old one to our librarian, Michi, she inspects it, then exchanges the faulty product for another one. This can be a bit tricky at times because it is habit just to through a pen with no ink in the trash as soon as it stops working. In that case, you just have to do your best to sweet talk Michi, in hopes for a replacement. (This has happened to both Greg and I in the past!)

We had a half day of school yesterday (although it doesn't officially start until September 1). Yeah, we don't really understand that either....only about half of the kids showed up so the school day (only from 7:10am - 11:00am) was relatively calm. Teachers were free to leave around 12:30pm, however, there was a surprise party for our principal planned to begin at 1:30pm. A few of us walked down to Wendy's then promptly returned to catch the beginning of the fiesta. Well, once again we were fooled by 'Honduran time' and showed up a whole hour before the thing kicked off! The principal was pleasantly surprised and all the teachers serenaded him with Honduran classics (accompanied by our new music teacher's keyboarding skills). They passed around cake, ice cream, of course soda for all to partake in the celebration. We finally headed home exhausted around 3:30pm. We hung out around the apartment for a while (unsuccessfully attempted a nap) then headed over to our friends' house for dinner. Earlier in the day we were able to get our hands on the remote control for the A/C unit in our bedroom! (We live in a two story town home now....there are two bedrooms upstairs and each one has an air conditioner.) It feels awesome, and I am actually wearing long pants and a hoody right now because I am so chilled!

We have many things to do this weekend, and hopefully we will get them all done (or at least most of them!) We´ll give you an update next week....

Greg´s New/Old Hairdo!

Okay so I realized that I uploaded all these photos last spring when we were here, but never actually posted this entry. Although it is from May, I found it too entertaining to just delete. I hope you do too! Let me walk you through the pictures....the first three are a group of teenage girls from the orphanage having the time of their life putting braids (trenzas) in Greg's locks. They cracked up when they put in the 80's 'side pony' to separate his hair! Next, Greg poses with his stylist then wants a close up to show the detail! And finally, my personal favorites, what Greg's hair looked like - closely resembling the finished product of a krimper- after we took the braids out (He had them for about a week and a half and even wore them to school!)

We're Back!

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY MAMA FARST!!!

We arrived safely last night in San Pedro Sula at about midnight. Once we got in, things went surprisingly smooth! All of luggage was there (and in one piece), we made it through customs in a snap, and the men driving the shuttle from the Hilton were waiting just outside of the baggage claim area, sign in hand! We got into the hotel just fine and were in bed probably by about 1:30am. We had a great night's sleep, a nice hot shower, and tasty breakfast all at the hotel. After we ate, we walked down to the mall to pick up a couple pair of black pants for me. Last year, the school gave us material (probably the heaviest, most uncomfortable they could find) and we had to hire someone to make us homemade slacks. Needless to say, they were less than flattering, so when I got the word that this year we were on our own to get our uniform bottoms, I ran straight to the mall in San Pedro in hopes for a semi decent selection. (I can't ever seem to find clothes to fit me here since I am tall, and just plain bigger than most of the people here.) I lucked out and found 2 pair at Carrion, and plan to have a couple skirts made for me somewhere in Comayagua. We headed out bound for Comayagua around 2:30pm. One of the school's administrators, Loyda, picked us up in her truck. We loaded it down good with all our baggage, and while she was in the big city, Loyda picked up some necessities for the school as well (filing cabinets, bulk paper products, etc.) that we had to squeeze in. Somehow, we managed to fit it all in the bed and on top of the truck cab. We secured a tarp over it all too, in case of rain. Good thing we did too, because we passed through a couple of showers while we were en route. (It is the rainy season!) We reached our apartment at about 6:00pm and were greeted by our good friends Kyle and Crystal Little. Thankfully they brought us an air mattress, sheets, and pillows, as right now our place is pretty bare! (We need to get so much stuff - shower curtains, a fridge, kitchen table, trash cans, food, a broom, etc.) We went to dinner with the Little's at La Casita (they picked up us in their new ride, they bought a SUV this summer while we were gone) and now we are back at the apartment, getting ready to crash. Somehow we have wireless internet, so that is how we writing this blog! Sweet! Although it is only 9:00pm we are feeling sleepy, since Honduras is two hours behind the east coast. I think we are going to turn in now since we have to be at school at 7:45am. (As you can see, Greg is already in bed!) Have a great night - God Bless You!

On note of sadness....we just plugged in Coby (our trusty little 13 inch TV that gave us hours of Spanish TV last year) and he has officially bitten the dust. His picture and clarity were definitely declining toward the end of the year, but I think we have finally lost him for good now. Bummer!

Goodbye USA, Hello Honduras!

Greg cheesing in the airport!

We are writing this blog from high above the earth! We boarded our plane in Boston and now are bound for Honduras (by way of Florida). We arrive in San Pedro Sula, Honduras tonight, just before midnight. We will stay at a hotel there this evening, then someone from the school will pick us up tomorrow to head to Comayagua (about a 3 hour trip one way).

Things didn't quite turn out as we had hoped in the Major League Lacrosse finals in Boston (Los Angeles lost to Denver in the semi finals on Saturday) but we still had a great time! We got to visit some historic sites, eat some delicious food, and spend time with friends and family (my parents and brother came along, as well as Greg's dad). Since we went to Boston last Thursday, we had to get everything all packed and ready for Honduras about a week ago. That actually made things nice because with all of that taken care of in advance, we were really able to relax during our last few days in the USA. In fact, we even treated ourselves to some spa services! I got a manicure and pedicure and Greg got a full body massage. It was fun to get pamped one last time before heading back. We have been running around a little trying to pick up loose odds and ends (sinus medicine, vitamins, deoderant, stamps) things that are easier and cheaper to buy here. We spent a couple hours at Panera Bread last night using their free WiFi to download Skype (an internet phone service). We plan to get the internet at our apartment this year, so Skype will allow us to make calls and stay in touch better! (We hope!) We tested it last night - headset and all - and it seems to work. Now in Honduras it could be a completely different story, but we are keeping our fingers crossed!

We are looking forward to reuniting with our friends, students, and everyone at the orphanage. Apparently we will see our students sooner than we thought! We were told that school starts on Monday, September 1. However, we just got word that we will actually have a half day on Friday, August 29! Let the fun begin already! I almost forgot how they just switch thing up on us at the last minute - and you just gotta hope you find out one way or another! (Our friend, Jenny, gave us the heads up this time!)

So here we go! Round 2 in Honduras! Thanks for your continued prayers, support, and encouragement! Give us a shout in our guest book (right side of the screen) if you want, we love hearing from you! Next time we write, we will be in Honduras! Adios a los Estados Unidos!

Houston, We have a BABY!

Alyson Joy Hamilton made her debut on Saturday morning 8/9/08 at 9:50am. Fortunately, I stayed overnight with my sister and brother-and-law on Friday night so I was there on Saturday morning for all the action! It was a wonderful blessing to be in with my sister as she delivered the little miracle. She barely made it to the hospital in time and in less than 45 minutes of our arrival, little Aly came into the world. Today they got to go home and now we are all just hanging out enjoying the new addition to our family.

Oh, and her big brother, Drew, is pretty excited too!

Summertime Fun!

So, I just noticed that it has been two months since our last post - not to mention, we have only written once since arriving back in the United States! The blog was such a big part of our lives while in Honduras, such a great way to keep everyone updated on our lives, but now that we are back, I guess it has fallen by the wayside a little. Well today, I can finally mark "write a new blog" off of my ever growing to do list!

This summer has been so amazing! From cross country traveling and new hair cuts to visiting loved ones and delicious American cuisine, we have nothing to complain about! Life is good! We have done our best to make the most of our time here and our days have been filled with shopping, cooking (with an oven!), lacrosse, sleeping in, boating, grilling out, playing Wii, napping, spending time outdoors, hanging out with our nephew and Godson, and much more! We also have been working (by we, I mostly mean Greg) and traveling a ton! We spent some time in Texas visiting the Bice clan, and while we were there took a road trip 6 hours northwest to visit Greg's twin brothers at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. I have been fortunate to watch Greg play lacrosse for the Los Angeles Riptide 3 times this year (twice in Chicago and once in LA). I am going to get one more opportunity to see him live at during the Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend in Boston at the end of the month. You can too - the games will be broadcast live on ESPN 2. The top 4 teams in the league get invited, and LA is one of them! (Make sure you vote in our new poll - upper right hand corner of the page.) Looks like we will be heading back to Honduras directly following that weekend. School starts on September 1, so we will be back just in time to start round 2 in Comayagua! We miss our friends there - especially the kids - and look forward to getting back and seeing everyone! I am sure Greg looks forward to actually settling down and staying in one place for more than just a few days! He travels twice, sometimes three times each week to play lacrosse games or work at camps. I know he really enjoys what he is doing, but the travel really wears on him after a while! He officially finishes on August 15 then will return to Ohio for one week before heading to Boston for the finals. We plan to leave straight from there to go back to Honduras.

We have already begun gathering essentials and have started to pack, but we have something even more exciting on the horizon. My sister, Stephanie, is due with baby #2 anytime! Her official due date in August 13, but last week after seeing her doctor, she assured us that it could happen any day now! We are anxiously awaiting the new baby's arrival!

One thing I can definitely say of our trip back to the USA, is that we have really learned to take pleasure in the simple things. I know that sounds so cliche and cheesy, but it is so true! It is funny because all of these sayings, prayers, and quotes that I have heard for years are finally started to make sense! I never realized how fitting the "Serenity Prayer" is and why it is so important to stop and smell the roses! I have determined that true happiness is really a state of mind and positive attitude really makes life so much more enjoyable. Greg and I also have realized how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family and amazing friends! So many that it is impossible to visit them all in our short time home. We have found ourselves getting frustrated because we just can't get out to see everyone, but have to realize what a blessing it is to have so many great people in our lives! That being said, we love you all, thank you for your continued encouragement and support, and apologize that we haven't had the chance to visit with you all personally! Remember, you can always come down and visit us in Honduras - we will even have a spare bedroom in our new apartment! Anyways, thanks to all of you that you have contributed to a wonderful summer and fabulous year! May God continue to bless you richly - just as He does with us!

Home Sweet Home!

We are officially on North American soil! We have been here for about 12 hours now, and every second so far has been AMAZING! We arrived in San Antonio this morning at about 9:00am. We left from San Pedro Sula, Honduras last night at 1am (after waiting for 8 hours at the airport! Trust me, I am not complaining!) We visited with a couple of mission groups arriving to work for the week, and just hung out and reflected over our past year in Honduras. We landed in Miami this morning around 4:45am where we went through customs and re-entered the country for the first time since December (well, for me anyway!) We are still in a little bit of a daze, since we didn't get much sleep last night, but nonetheless, it is glorious to be back!

After we landed in Texas, we hit of Taco Cabana for some highly anticipated breakfast tacos. When we got back to the house, we slept for about 2 hours (from 11:30-1:3o), then Greg's mom and brother, Tommy, picked us up for lunch. We went to our favorite burger place, Chester's (which we have been dreaming about for months) then went to Marble Slab Creamery for dessert. Delish! Next we went to the movies and watched the new Indian Jones flick (it was good) then followed it up with a trip to Target and Starbuck's Coffee. All of our travel around town was in a big Texas truck....doesn't get more American than that! I figured we could pace ourselves a little better in the future, but today was fabulous! Packing in so many awesome things! And let me just say, the USA rocks! I mean, the access we have to anything and everything at out hearts desire! The safety and security that we have here is something I have so often taken for granted, but now realize how privileged we are to have that! I was able to carry a purse today for the first time in 2008! (A big no-no in Honduras....an obvious target for muggers.) Oh, and I actually got behind the wheel of a car today too! I'll admit, I was quite cautious at first, but it felt so good to drive again....and to actually have order on the highways and roads! I'll admit, I haven't showered in good, clean North American water yet, but there is a 99% chance when I finish this blog I am going to go soak in a hot tub! That being said, I think I will go ahead and wrap up. And if you haven't figured this out already:
Oh, by the way, tomorrow the hunt is on to purchase our Nintendo Wii (we saved up for it all yeah!) After a lot of store hopping and calling around today, we had no such luck. We have planned a 2-station stake out tomorrow (at 2 different Game Stop locations) as they are hoping to receive a shipment of 1-3 Wii's at each of the locations sometime between the hours of 11:00am and 12:00pm(however, not cofirmed). We thought we had one located today about 55 miles outside of the city, and by the time we decided to make the road trip (about 20 minutes after hearing of the availablilty) it was already sold! Wish us luck.....and please let us know if you have any insider information!