In the more-than-a-month since I updated my blog, a whole lot has happened. For starters, my ninth graders graduated! Next year, I'm happy to say, many of them will be going on to solid bilingual schools in San Pedro Sula, and with some of your support, we should be able to award a needy and very deserving student a partial scholarship to make it possible for him to continue his bilingual studies.
Right after the Saturday graduation--at 3 am on Sunday morning--some fellow teachers and I whisked the kids away on a trip to Roatan. The kids have been fundraising for it since the start of the new year, and their efforts, combined with some key donations and some really amazing support from a hotel on West Bay, made it possible. It was so wonderful to see kids who barely know how to swim starting to feel comfortable in the water, playing around in kayaks, and learning to snorkel. I loved the glass bottom boat, even though it made me seasick, because we got to see 2 sea turtles swimming around! It was a really special trip for me to be there with them and also to be experiencing that kind of natural beauty for the first time with them.
The other happening of note on that trip was that I got my hair cut: layered and (ever so slightly) highlighted--for the first time ever! I'm so happy.
The day after I got back from Roatan, my brother arrived in Honduras! We immediately embarked on a whirlwind 'highlights of Honduras' tour. On Friday we went on an awesome visit to the Pulhapanzak waterfall near Lago de Yajoa, during which we walked under the 45 m high falls. The only word for an experience like that is EXHILARATING. You can't see anything at all and it's hard to move forward because the water is pounding down so hard....and then you get to a part when you can look up and you're sort of behind the falls--not totally sheltered, but enough to at least grab a few quick glances up. When we got back from the waterfall (after eating the homemade cookies mom and dad sent down with the bro and rocking out a little in the parking lot), we went to the feria de san pedro to check out the wiiide variety of products available. I got a Golden Delicious Apple, which I have not had since Christmas, I think. It was great. We also, of course, went out to Klein and had a very chill evening.
Saturday was recouperation day....Sunday we went to Copan Ruinas and enjoyed checking out the Mayan ruins and eating a very good meal. My bro managed to polish off everybody's leftovers, which made quite an impression. His height is surprising enough in Honduras. Now that we're hanging out with the 'backpacker crowd,' though, I suppose it's not as novel. I packed up my stuff on Monday and on Tuesday at 5 am we embarked on the bus ride to Managua. Managua was terrible, like everybody says it is...I wish we had tried to go straight on to Granada. The best thing that can be said for it was that we got the chance to catch up on sleep.
Now we're here in Granada at a cool hostel with free internet...(yay!) This afternoon we swam in the Laguna de Apoyo, a lake formed in a volcano crater. The water was gorgeous, and the green mountains around it were perfectly picturesque. Tomorrow I think we'll head to a volcano and then we're thinking we'll try to get out to Isla de Ometepe, which is the island in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua. It's funny just to be traveling and chilling after so much time in Honduras teaching. Living the life of leisure is cool, but also kind of stressful in its own way. I'm trying my best just to relax and enjoy the ride. I'm really missing my boring, dirty little hometown in Honduras right now, actually, and the friends I made there and in SPS. But we're going to mantener al tanto, so no worries!
