Vaya pues vamos a ver...

Well it's been months since contact with some of you and believe it or not the months have been flying by. It seems like it was just fall when I was anticipating the arrival of my mom and brothers, who were here visiting in November. Or December when I was impatiently counting down the weeks until winter vacation, but the months have passed and spring is here and I have lots to tell.
The rainy season has ended and we now have succumb to the long hot days. While I have been quite neglectful of my blog, this is only because I have been extremely busy. I knew when I arrived to Comayagua that while I was going to be teaching fifth grade, I wanted to get more out of this experience. My roommate and I finally surmounted this task of finding a place to volunteer when we arrived back from Christmas vacation-- so for the past month or so I've been teaching english to adolescent boys at a nearby orphanage every Tuesday and Thursday after the school day ends. Although most days, I find it a time that really allows me to reflect on life here, there are other days where I can't seem to look at it in an introspective fashion. Like today for instance. My energy seemed quite low and frustration rose easily with the boys that constantly sneak markers out of my bag or hit their peers for not knowing that the number 9 is pronounced NINE not NIN-EH -- though this is the case, I can't help but smile when I have twelve could be, used to be and still are sometimes, street kids reciting the ABC's with the zealous enthusiasm that is usually reserved for soccer, violent American movies and candy. Yes... it all seems to make perfect sense after the requests for hugs and kisses upon exiting and dragging myself home after long days.

While some of my reasons are selfish for being here, when the little light bulbs go off and you see something in a different light-- like the kid who was failing the first partial, but ta-dah has a brand new attitude and work ethic the second-- or the handwritten message on the back of a homemade valentine saying that you are the best teacher a kid has ever had... these things are what keep me going.

The top ten list of life in Honduras so far...

10. Morning baleadas (homemade tortillas with eggs, chorizo, beans and cheese)
09. Going to the hospital for a kidney infection and thinking... wow I should contact Michael Moore, I have never been in and out of an emergency room with labs, injections and prescriptions given in the same day!
08. Receiving not one, but two bouquets of adulterous flowers in one month... (adulterous because the assumed sender has a girlfriend!)
07. Discovering my inner cook in baking cream cheese brownies, stuffed mushrooms, m&m cookies and various other gourmet culinary dishes
06. Wearing the same pair of Teva flip flops nearly every day
05. Visiting the bay island Utila, backpackers' and divers' paradise, not once but twice!
04. Watching my mother jump onto a moving bus with duffle bags in tow- reminded me of the ferry incident in Morocco
03. Singing "total eclipse of the heart" (and every other cheesy eighties song) on nearly every bus ride I have taken-- oh and seeing more than one machismo taxi driver sing in accented english "girls just wanna have fun"
02. Learning that the answer "No..." is really just a code word for saying, "Ask again in five minutes..."
01. For finally figuring out that what i thought was "Vamos haber" was actually "Vamos A VER" (We will see...)

I promise to keep you all more updated than I have been... By the way, I'm expecting thousands of emails to pour in after clicking "Publish"... love and miss you all.

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