Page 2 of akatzspanish Travel Blog Posts



Since I was a little girl, I would travel often to the beach with my family. I most frequented the Jersey Shore, the Atlantic City area. As much as I love the beach, the ocean in those parts is often cloudy, dirty, not to mention COLD. So when I learned we would be spending our last full day in Honduras, I was psyched to get to go Tela, located on the Caribbean Sea. From past experiences, I recall the water in the Caribbean being much warmer, cleaner, and bluer. My only concern was the additional sunlight my body would be consuming, as I had already been burned enough this trip. But since I was so tired, when we arrived in Tela, I hung out in the shade with Marco, AnaLucia, and a few others for about ... read more
Live music everyday!
Luis and Fran just chillin
Ray gettin' his hair did


Hola! I can’t believe it is almost the end of my stay here in beautiful Honduras. I have had so many amazing experiences and met so many incredible people. I will be bringing home lots of stories, memories, and stuff I bought today… Did I mention today was our trip to the market and last day of work? So the trip I have been looking forward to all week- El Mercado! One of my favorite stops during all of my travels, where I can buy things for friends and family, but most importantly add to my classroom museum where I display cool things from foreign countries. And did I make out well! Fortunately I had my new buddy Hector with me; to let me know if the final price I was given was truly the best ... read more
Enjoying my mocha frozie drink thingy
All dressed up for a night of dancing!
El Mercado


Feliz Día de Independencia! I am all the way down in Central America and I still got to see fireworks tonight! I couldn’t believe it; Ana Lucia went out and bought them, along with a cake for all of us Gringos who were missing the celebrations in the States. It was very cool! The boys from the Children’s Home celebrated with us as we sang the Star Spangled Banner, ate cake, and set off fireworks and firecrackers. This was in-between the power going out and coming back on sporadically. But back to today. Regular wake-up time and a long day of working at the trench. We had to fill in the trench surrounding the property with concrete and rocks, to build the foundation for the wall which will be built in the near future. So today ... read more
4th of July cake
My buddy Jeffrey
3rd graders hard at work


Am I sore! I have never worked so hard in my life! I don’t think I am cut out for this manual labor. Mixing cement, sifting dirt, laying brick, filling in cement walls, etc. And this is all in over 100 degree heat! So I am sunburned, and had to forgo the tank top this afternoon. I gave in and cut the sleeves off of one of my t-shirts. Not as good as a tank top but my back can’t take any more sun! And the mosquitos love me! Almost as much as the kids do! Especially the ones I bought ice cream today, from the ice cream truck! Aside from the heat, bites, sunburn, and sore muscles, today was still a great day. The highlight for me was sitting in on one of the classes ... read more
El Centro Educativo
Working on their responses
Mi amiga Yoselin


OMG longest day EVER! Have mentioned our wake up time is 6:30 every day? Except tomorrow, tomorrow breakfast is at 6:30. Yay! Long days but good days. As much as I hurt right now (sunburn, bugbites, and muscles, I feel really good. Working here in Villa Soleada and helping the community with their schools is amazing. All of the Hondurans with whom we work are awesome. The kids are adorable. So friendly and loving. And the student volunteers are great as well. Even though I am the second oldest person on the trip (yikes), I have been making friends with everyone (not surprising) and having fun getting to know people. As I write this blog, all of the volunteers (close to 50) are hanging out in the volunteer lodge, playing games, singing, dancing, and just having ... read more
Support Columns
Mi amigo Leo
Josh and Jeffrey


What a day!! Aside from being awakened at 5:30am by barking dogs and roosters, I slept great! It did take me a little while to fall asleep, as tired as I was, but it is pretty hot here. Our day started off with breakfast: cocoa krispies and a banana, and then we were off to the supermercado to take out some Lempiras (Honduran currency) and buy some snacks. As I am one of just a few Spanish speakers here, I was the ATM chaperone. As many of you know, I am not very good at math so I had a little trouble figuring out how many Lempiras to take out based on the amount of American dollars they wanted. $1.00 American = 18.5 Lempiras. I think I kind of got it. Our next stop was to ... read more
Honduran meal of baleadas and pastelitos de pina
La Familia de Yolanda
Enjoying our meal!


I have been awake for 36 hours, and as much as I want to sleep, I’ve gotta get in an entry for today. Oh, and it’s unbearably hot! As we were leaving for the airport at 2am, there was no point in trying to sleep last night. 6am flight means I needed to get there 3 hours in advance, right? So when Robert dropped me off at Newark International around 3:15, I was all set to check my bags and head to the terminal. Right? WRONG!! Check-in doesn’t begin until 4:30am! So I finally finished my book and “patiently” awaited for 4:30 to arrive. While I was thrilled to have a bag full of donated school supplies to bring to Honduras, I was not too happy about lugging it around and paying the 40$ extra bag ... read more
My room at the volunteer lodge
My first Honduran meal!
Getting a ride on daddy's bike


Two days from now I will be arriving in Honduras. I can't believe the time is almost here! I have everything I need (I think) and my clothing is being pre-treated for protection against skeeters and buggies. Vaccinations are up-to-date, preventive medication picked up, and I have my travellers insurance. I would also like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to the following people who have helped to support my effort in raising money for Villa Soleada Elementary School and those who contributed to my trip. I have raised close to $600! Michelle and David Rothstein Art and Janyce Katz Randy and Cris Katz Bridget and Mike Baill Eileen and Mark Cramer Emily and Jeff Levi Priscilla Taylor Kim Stackhouse Laura North Alec Alterman Dino Gatsoulas Meghan Walter Andrea and Don Glasgow Donna Porwancher Rhona and ... read more


Things are finally starting to come together! I have almost everything I need for my trip, now just need to pack it all! My donation bag of school supplies is bursting at the seams, but I can't wait to give all of the markers, colored pencils, crayons, folders, etc to the kiddos in El Progreso. I also have a stack of letters that my 7th graders wrote to the children in Honduras. I have posted some pictures below.... read more
Carta de mis estudiantes
Carta de mis estudiantes
Cartas de mis estudiantes


Wow, only 6 days until I leave for Honduras! I am very excited and looking forward to reading all of the letters my students have written for the children in El Progreso. Still so much to do....... read more




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