Shoot.
I kind of wish I could swear right now. Not in any kind of bad way just... in a way that sums up how overwhelming this day has been. It's ok though. 'shoot' will suffice :)
Well I left Honduras at 7 this morning (Tuesday morning) after quite a tearful goodbye. I'm definitely an emotional person- I really do cry when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm mad... so any emotion basically. But this morning, I really tried not to. Ever realized that when you've resolved that you're DEFINITELY not going to do something, that's the one thing you're guaranteed to do? So, of course I did. I bawled all through getting ready at the hotel, kept having to wipe away tears on the way to the airport, and then cried my way through the line. It was pretty cute. However, on a happy note, my suitcases only weighed 20 and 30 pounds (compared the the 70 each when I was heading toward Honduras) which meant I didn't have to pay any extra fees!
I got on the plane and watching Honduras fade away put me on the verge of starting up the waterfall again, but I think God decided to take it easy on me because He sat me down next to a very talkative guy who has done extensive traveling in Latin American countries. (Actually, he's done extensive traveling to lots of places and kind of made me want to if I ever have money :)) The flight from San Pedro Sula to Miami was pretty good because of that and I actually laughed quite a bit and enjoyed the conversation. Landing was a little difficult- I have a little head cold which made the pressure-difference-descent horrendous. My head felt like it was going to explode, I couldn't hear anything my new friend was saying, and I couldn't tell how loudly I was speaking (New Friend informed me-twice, cuz I didn't hear him the first time- that I was speaking at a normal volume, thank goodness!) We arrived in the US (woo!) and I went through customs. One of the questions on the 'getting back into the country' survey was if you had encountered any livestock during your trip. Uh, duh. This was an obvious health concern due to the many diseases I might be carrying in so... I had to go in a special line. The airport guys asked me if I had been to a farm and I said the place I lived was rural so I was frequently in contact with animals. They were like, "Ok, so you visited a farm... what kind of animals did you see on the farm? Cows? Chickens?" I wanted to respond by saying pretty much any farm animal you could name had stomped around my yard at some point but I resisted. :) They fixed the problem by taking my shoes and dunking them in a bucket of disinfectant. Easy!
Coming in from an international flight, you have to recheck your luggage, so our flight went down to wait at Baggage Claim 2.... which after about five minutes of waiting, got changed to number 7. We all shuffled down to 7 and waited for another 5 minutes before another announcement was made that our things would actually be delivered at baggage claim 5. People were pretty frustrtaed and I had to chase my suitcases around twice cuz people were pushed right up to the conveyor belt with their carts and I couldn't get through. When I finally did catch up to my suitcase, I grabbed ahold of it and it dragged me past three people because I couldn't get it off the belt. I kept alternating between saying 'perdon' and 'sorry' cuz I couldnt quite figure out what language I was supposed to be speaking yet. Ahhh... Always anb adventure. :)
Also while hanging out in Miami, I visited a bookstore- pretty sure I'm goin to make it mandatroy for myself that I buy a book every trip I take. While in the bookstore, I heard the following conversation between the workers:
Worker One(17-ish girl): OH MY GOSSSH. Guess what I heard. There was this girl, she was crazy beautiful and she was a beauty queen or something and made her whole living on that and she was going to be Miss Universe or something and someone threw acid on on her FACE!! She didn't even see who it was, it was just some random person that threw ACID on her FACE! I mean, how can you recover from something lie that? I mean it was her career! Her face is ruined!
Worker Two (23-ish guy): Oh yeah, that's crazy. It's kind of like Nancy Kerrigan when that guy smashed her leg in.
W1: ok, it's kind of like that but Nancy Kerrigan got fixed from that. This girl is scarred for life. What is she going to do now? I mean she can't be a beauty queen anymore. She's going to have to start her life all over and they're probably not even going to catch that guy....
Oh to be able to completely understand random people's conversations. AND I know the famous people they're talking about! haha anyway, I picked out "Same Kind of Different as Me". Pretty good- lasted me the day!
I traveled from Miami to Chicago and sat next to an older lady and talked for the whole flight about life and its perks and problems. :) Once in Chicago I went on a hardcore American food binge. I mean not really. I have no money and 7 hours in the airport so I tried to pace myself for every couple of hours but my list of tasty treats ran as follows: Krispy Kreme custard and chocolate donut; McDonalds cheeseburger and fries; a Caramel Pecanbon from Cinnabon; and a banana. :) I will say Honduras definitely beats the Chicago airport on their banana but there is no comparison for those other tasty treats. :) I spent the afternoon reading and writing some of this blog and basically de...something. de-compressing maybe? :) As much as I hate sitting around in airports all day, I do think it does something for helping me transition back to something that is completely different from what I've been doing for six months.
I finally arrived in Des Moines at 11 pm and instantly cried when I hugged my mom (lame! I need to stop that!) It was so great to see everyone and even greater to see some of my friends when I got home. I can't wait to see everyone else in the next few weeks.
So.... thanks for reading! Maybe I'll see you around Iowa! :) I'm heading back August 8, so I won't be here too long but... I'm going to try and make the most of it!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
#21
21. I like to spend time alone now.
So, if you are a faithful follower, you'll know that upon my arrival to Honduras, I had quite a few obstacles. I had to stay in the Houston airport for like two days and then when I finally got here, I was sick for about three and had to stay locked up in a house all by myself. I almost lost it. I seriously almost did! Dorm life was so great for me in school because if my roommate wasn't home or if there was absolutely no one on my wing, I could choose from seven other wings and if that didn't work I could wander the whole campus for company. I never had to be lonely! So, that first week was very difficult for me to be alone for so long.
Now here I am in the last week of my year, and I am once again alone. Rachel and Julia left on Saturday (ish), Kirsty and Jacki left on Sunday, and Sarah left super early Wednesday morning. I spent all of Monday just hanging out and relaxing with Sarah, Tuesday I worked at the school for 6 hours organizing all the extra school materials the other girls left me (it was like Christmas! Paper clips, white boards, stickers, pencils and pens!!), and then came home and cleaned the house for a little bit. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked at the school all day/went to graduation. And now Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday I spent all day and part of the night cleaning and organizing the house. I don't think I'm going to live in this house next year so I'm packing up all my stuff to store at the comedor. I had round-the-clock trash burning yesterday and brought all my laundry down to be cleaned. I put all the baking materials that will keep for 6 weeks in tupperware containers so that the 3 mice that have decided to inhabit our house will have no access to it. The only thing left for today is to clean all the dishes and clean out the fridge.
But anyway, back to why I like being alone now. I still don't really love it. But I'm content. I can spend the whole day by myself working on something and feel productive. There were a couple times during the year where I wished I actually had a place to go and be alone- not because of the girls necessarily, but just because our way of living dictated that we spend every second together and I realized that there were times where I didn't need that. That it would have been nice to have a Starbucks to go to by myself and just read. I'm very curious to see how I adjust to having lots of people to see again. When I really can choose if I want to be alone or go out. Or to even be in big groups of people where everyone can understand everyone. I'm not really used to that. My world of people that understand me here has become so small (like smaller than my family! haha) that I think it will be a big shock to come back and realize that everyone can understand my conversation, or that I can go to church and have a conversation with anyone, or that I can go to a restaurant with a big group of friends. That I can go to a store or a library or the gas station and not have to practice the conversation I'm going to have with the person at the register in my head! Ah.... it will be different, but I am still excited to be home and see everyone. Until then, I have my internet (sometimes :)), some hot water on to boil for tea or hot chocolate (or both!), the beautiful, delicious Honduran outdoors, and a whole sink of dishes waiting for me! Pretty sweet huh? :)
So, if you are a faithful follower, you'll know that upon my arrival to Honduras, I had quite a few obstacles. I had to stay in the Houston airport for like two days and then when I finally got here, I was sick for about three and had to stay locked up in a house all by myself. I almost lost it. I seriously almost did! Dorm life was so great for me in school because if my roommate wasn't home or if there was absolutely no one on my wing, I could choose from seven other wings and if that didn't work I could wander the whole campus for company. I never had to be lonely! So, that first week was very difficult for me to be alone for so long.
Now here I am in the last week of my year, and I am once again alone. Rachel and Julia left on Saturday (ish), Kirsty and Jacki left on Sunday, and Sarah left super early Wednesday morning. I spent all of Monday just hanging out and relaxing with Sarah, Tuesday I worked at the school for 6 hours organizing all the extra school materials the other girls left me (it was like Christmas! Paper clips, white boards, stickers, pencils and pens!!), and then came home and cleaned the house for a little bit. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked at the school all day/went to graduation. And now Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday I spent all day and part of the night cleaning and organizing the house. I don't think I'm going to live in this house next year so I'm packing up all my stuff to store at the comedor. I had round-the-clock trash burning yesterday and brought all my laundry down to be cleaned. I put all the baking materials that will keep for 6 weeks in tupperware containers so that the 3 mice that have decided to inhabit our house will have no access to it. The only thing left for today is to clean all the dishes and clean out the fridge.
But anyway, back to why I like being alone now. I still don't really love it. But I'm content. I can spend the whole day by myself working on something and feel productive. There were a couple times during the year where I wished I actually had a place to go and be alone- not because of the girls necessarily, but just because our way of living dictated that we spend every second together and I realized that there were times where I didn't need that. That it would have been nice to have a Starbucks to go to by myself and just read. I'm very curious to see how I adjust to having lots of people to see again. When I really can choose if I want to be alone or go out. Or to even be in big groups of people where everyone can understand everyone. I'm not really used to that. My world of people that understand me here has become so small (like smaller than my family! haha) that I think it will be a big shock to come back and realize that everyone can understand my conversation, or that I can go to church and have a conversation with anyone, or that I can go to a restaurant with a big group of friends. That I can go to a store or a library or the gas station and not have to practice the conversation I'm going to have with the person at the register in my head! Ah.... it will be different, but I am still excited to be home and see everyone. Until then, I have my internet (sometimes :)), some hot water on to boil for tea or hot chocolate (or both!), the beautiful, delicious Honduran outdoors, and a whole sink of dishes waiting for me! Pretty sweet huh? :)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
top 20
how honduras has changed me
1. I now like vegetables.
2. Bugs crawling in my shower, bed, clothes, (basically anywhere) don't really bother me.
3. I enjoy watching soccer. (Honduras plays Spain on Monday... in the World CUPP!!)
. The number four on my computer no longer works because rain dripped down from my roof to the keyboard. whoops!
5. I can kind of cook.
6. I probably won't be able to drink water from the tap at home without seriously thinking about it for awhile.
7. Ditto on the throwing TP in the in toilet
8. I am used to the power going out (se fue la luz!)all the time
9. I write about my feelings a lot more- not necessarily because I want to, but because sometimes it is just impossible to get ahold of someone down here! :)
10. my body. I will probably have mosquito/spider/whatever scars on my legs until I'm 80.
11. I've been a real teacher for a year!
12. I can tell the difference between a moto taxi, car, and motorcycle coming up a mountain.
13. This isn't really a change cuz I've always known it, but Honduras has highly reaffirmed the benefits of having supportive and loving family and friends.
fourteen. I think I can call my Spanish competent now.
15. I can't pronounce my name in English anymore. I always say it in Spanish in my head!
16. I now know that wherever I end up, I want to have plants right outside my house that I can just go pick whatever right in the middle of cooking
17. I now know that wherever I end up I DO NOT WANT to have a kitchen sink outside. I need it in the house haha
18. I don't mind riding on buses stuffed full of people and animals and strange smells.
19. I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas is always going to have a special place in my heart.
20. I am more aware of the world and the people in it. I have learned that I want to be less judgmental , but I think in doing that I've become judgmental of everything that I am- white, American, rich, Christian. Not sure how to change that- maybe that can be next year's project :)
ALMOST HOME!!!
1. I now like vegetables.
2. Bugs crawling in my shower, bed, clothes, (basically anywhere) don't really bother me.
3. I enjoy watching soccer. (Honduras plays Spain on Monday... in the World CUPP!!)
. The number four on my computer no longer works because rain dripped down from my roof to the keyboard. whoops!
5. I can kind of cook.
6. I probably won't be able to drink water from the tap at home without seriously thinking about it for awhile.
7. Ditto on the throwing TP in the in toilet
8. I am used to the power going out (se fue la luz!)all the time
9. I write about my feelings a lot more- not necessarily because I want to, but because sometimes it is just impossible to get ahold of someone down here! :)
10. my body. I will probably have mosquito/spider/whatever scars on my legs until I'm 80.
11. I've been a real teacher for a year!
12. I can tell the difference between a moto taxi, car, and motorcycle coming up a mountain.
13. This isn't really a change cuz I've always known it, but Honduras has highly reaffirmed the benefits of having supportive and loving family and friends.
fourteen. I think I can call my Spanish competent now.
15. I can't pronounce my name in English anymore. I always say it in Spanish in my head!
16. I now know that wherever I end up, I want to have plants right outside my house that I can just go pick whatever right in the middle of cooking
17. I now know that wherever I end up I DO NOT WANT to have a kitchen sink outside. I need it in the house haha
18. I don't mind riding on buses stuffed full of people and animals and strange smells.
19. I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas is always going to have a special place in my heart.
20. I am more aware of the world and the people in it. I have learned that I want to be less judgmental , but I think in doing that I've become judgmental of everything that I am- white, American, rich, Christian. Not sure how to change that- maybe that can be next year's project :)
ALMOST HOME!!!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Beginning of the End.... (year one)
I had to say my first goodbyes today. At 4:45 this morning. Rachel, Tad and I visited La Union this weekend, which where the other Vida Abudante school of our municipal is. We have some friends that are teachers there and we've spent some time with them over the year. There's Jake, who recruited me, Renske from the Netherlands, and Laura from Scotland. I've blogged about them before and I'm pretty sure I always talk about what a great time I have with them. This weekend was no exception! (Thank goodness!:))
We got permission to leave school early on Friday so we left on the noon bus and drove for about three and a half hours on windy, rocky roads.... I never get car sick, but this trip... I was pretty close. I even had to stop reading my book! (never happens haha)But, we made it safe and sound just as the girls were finishing teaching. We headed to their home and got settled in. The girls took us around to meet some of the families that they've gotten close to and then we had supper at the home of one of their families. After supper the kids wanted us to play marbles so we did that for probably an hour... or more :) I won ten marbles!! (I didn't really, the kids gave them to me, I think because my ridiculously poor playing ability made them feel sorry for me :)) We visited Jake's house and made some choco-bananos (this one's pretty easy- bananas dipped in chocolate :)) We were all pretty tired so we went to bed around 9:30 but it was a great first day!
On Saturday morning, I was woken up by several things. First (at 5 am of course) the bus went by and woke me up. Then, people started singing at the Catholic church right next door. Into microphones. That seemed to have speakers pointed right at our house. Third, people started setting off firecrackers. At 6 in the morning! It was a little ridiculous. But, I forced myself back to sleep until about 8 when I was good and ready to get out of bed. The four of us girls (rach, renske, laura, me) went on a tour of La Union. It is a beautiful little town. It is much smaller than Gracias and is very agriculturally based (everyone grows coffee) so there are LOTS and lots of men in cowboy hats and boots walking around town. :) We hiked part of the mountain and ended up at a spot that the girls visit all the time called La Campa de Serro (Hillside Field)- and that is what it is. It's a big open field in the middle of the mountain and it is beautiful. There were some horses grazing there when we got there and we just sat under a tree and talked and watched all the butterflies flying... oh it was lovely. :)
We came home and chilled for the rest of the afternoon and then Saturday night we celebrated Tad's birthday. We ate another home of a family and then had everyone over to the girls' home for cake and games. The boys (Tad stayed with some of his friends that actually live in La Union working for a microfinancing business)left but we girls stayed up and talked until about 2:30. And then. We had to say goodbye.
Now, these girls haven't been with us the whole time. But, we have spent a decent amount of time with them and have always really enjoyed their company. (PS Renske is 18/19 and Laura is 17- isn't that crazy??)So. To say goodbye was hard. I kind of forget that just because I'm coming back next year doesn't mean I'm not going to have to say goodbye to people cuz... like everyone else is leaving :) Since these girls live in Europe, the chances of me seeing them are quite a bit slimmer than most of the other teachers. (although I do have free places to stay in both countries should I ever choose to visit :)) We talked about it a little bit yesterday how we probably won't ever see each other again and how we can't just be sad and depressed about that, but that we can be really happy about a year of great friendships. coooooool. Makes me REALLY happy :) but, I think that's what happens when you go to other countries. You build relationships that you won't be able to keep up. But, it doesn't mean you shouldn't form those relationships. I have learned so much about the world and other people and life working here- obviously the Honduran life, but these great girls have been able to share with me a little bit of their view of the world. So, I'm a little sad. But I'm happy that I had such a beautiful year with those girls!
We got permission to leave school early on Friday so we left on the noon bus and drove for about three and a half hours on windy, rocky roads.... I never get car sick, but this trip... I was pretty close. I even had to stop reading my book! (never happens haha)But, we made it safe and sound just as the girls were finishing teaching. We headed to their home and got settled in. The girls took us around to meet some of the families that they've gotten close to and then we had supper at the home of one of their families. After supper the kids wanted us to play marbles so we did that for probably an hour... or more :) I won ten marbles!! (I didn't really, the kids gave them to me, I think because my ridiculously poor playing ability made them feel sorry for me :)) We visited Jake's house and made some choco-bananos (this one's pretty easy- bananas dipped in chocolate :)) We were all pretty tired so we went to bed around 9:30 but it was a great first day!
On Saturday morning, I was woken up by several things. First (at 5 am of course) the bus went by and woke me up. Then, people started singing at the Catholic church right next door. Into microphones. That seemed to have speakers pointed right at our house. Third, people started setting off firecrackers. At 6 in the morning! It was a little ridiculous. But, I forced myself back to sleep until about 8 when I was good and ready to get out of bed. The four of us girls (rach, renske, laura, me) went on a tour of La Union. It is a beautiful little town. It is much smaller than Gracias and is very agriculturally based (everyone grows coffee) so there are LOTS and lots of men in cowboy hats and boots walking around town. :) We hiked part of the mountain and ended up at a spot that the girls visit all the time called La Campa de Serro (Hillside Field)- and that is what it is. It's a big open field in the middle of the mountain and it is beautiful. There were some horses grazing there when we got there and we just sat under a tree and talked and watched all the butterflies flying... oh it was lovely. :)
We came home and chilled for the rest of the afternoon and then Saturday night we celebrated Tad's birthday. We ate another home of a family and then had everyone over to the girls' home for cake and games. The boys (Tad stayed with some of his friends that actually live in La Union working for a microfinancing business)left but we girls stayed up and talked until about 2:30. And then. We had to say goodbye.
Now, these girls haven't been with us the whole time. But, we have spent a decent amount of time with them and have always really enjoyed their company. (PS Renske is 18/19 and Laura is 17- isn't that crazy??)So. To say goodbye was hard. I kind of forget that just because I'm coming back next year doesn't mean I'm not going to have to say goodbye to people cuz... like everyone else is leaving :) Since these girls live in Europe, the chances of me seeing them are quite a bit slimmer than most of the other teachers. (although I do have free places to stay in both countries should I ever choose to visit :)) We talked about it a little bit yesterday how we probably won't ever see each other again and how we can't just be sad and depressed about that, but that we can be really happy about a year of great friendships. coooooool. Makes me REALLY happy :) but, I think that's what happens when you go to other countries. You build relationships that you won't be able to keep up. But, it doesn't mean you shouldn't form those relationships. I have learned so much about the world and other people and life working here- obviously the Honduran life, but these great girls have been able to share with me a little bit of their view of the world. So, I'm a little sad. But I'm happy that I had such a beautiful year with those girls!
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