It's funny how much different life in Honduras has been from what I read in the news before coming down here. Ever since June 28th, when Honduran president Manuel (Mel) Zelaya was removed by force from power. They called it a "military coup" but the truth is, the military never did take control. The order came from the Supreme Court and a de facto government took over. Everything I read in the news made me scared to come down here. Once I was here, I couldn't believe how DIFFERENT it was from what I was reading. I never felt scared in [View Full Entry]

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I'm not sure if it's in the news at home, but it's definitely all over the news here: Ousted president Zelaya is back in Honduras... back in Tegucigalpa. Monday was meant to be the start of our first full week back at school. Monday, just before lunch, there were rumours going around the school that Mel had returned. Interim President Micheletti said this was false and only rumours. Later though, it was confirmed that Mel has indeed back in the country and that he had taken refuge at the Brazilian embassy. We had many parents rushing in a panic to the [View Full Entry]

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A few people have posted comments about having problems getting in to see my private blogs. Here is what you have to do: - Request an invite from me. If you have already done this, I have already sent you the invite. - Open the e-mail that has the subject: Travelblog - private invite from Swills. Please note this may have gone to your junkmail folder so check there. - Click on the link under the words "accept this invitation" - Complete the information in the section "just fill in this form" by entering your nickname, full name, and e-mail address [View Full Entry]

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2 private blogs have gone out now, so if you asked to be receiving them, you should have. If you have not received them, and asked me to, then you should have accepted an invitation and registered with a nickname and such. Let me know if you need me to send the invite again. Happy reading! Thanks for following! [View Full Entry]

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For those who commented on my last blog, saying that they wanted to receive the private blogs as well, I have added you to my private list and apparently invites have gone out. I'm assuming you have to confirm or accept the invite so please do. Also, check your junkmail as it may have been sent there. I am overwhelmed by the support. Thank you SOOOO much to all those who are sharing in my journey. It means a lot! [View Full Entry]

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With the crazy world of blogging and the internet the way it is now, I may be moving to making my posts private entries instead of public entries. Only those people on the list that I allow will be able to see those posts. I would do this for entries about the school or something that I wouldn't want parents of my students to read (personal stories, etc.) For this reason, some of my entries (unless strictly about travel) may be moved to private. If you are someone who reads this blog often and would like to be included in those [View Full Entry]

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Just spent 2 days with Alma and 16 of her closest family members. I rented a solid, red Mazda 4x4 for $40-day. The town has no running water which complicates the whole bathing and doodying thing. Not that I´m averse to taking care of business outside but everyone lives so close and its hard to find an appropriate place. Luckily, my stomach was holding up and holding in nicely. This year I came prepared with TP just in case... Fortunately on day 2 we visited a family member in another community and they allowed me to realize my delicate functions So [View Full Entry]

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So I arrived in Honduras! I started off in Colonial Santa Rita which is a little outskirt of Zarabanda which is outside Tegucigalpa. The weather was so unbelievably cooler than in D.R. and so much more foresty than I would have thought. There were pine trees and mountains basically all around us. I was living with a really great family for a couple of days but now I´m in Talanga. I´m in the same Department of Francisco Morazan that I was in, but maybe about 30 minutes away from Zarabanda. It´s hotter here and a little bit more rural, but still [View Full Entry]

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I went around today and took a bunch of pictures of the school so that you could see where I am working. Tomorrow I move into my apartment so pics of that to come too! [View Full Entry]

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Well, I survived my first day at school! Actually, I am feeling great. It's like night and day between the school in Comayagua and this one. We started the day with a LONG introduction of ALL the staff at the school. There are FAR too many names for me to remember (especially because we call all teachers by their last names in front of the students but first names informally)! We had to introduce ourselves and then tell something fun. I mentioned how I would be directing the musical, and already I've had about 4 other teachers approach and offer to [View Full Entry]

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