My Address

So I finally found out what my address is. If you want to make my day by sending me a letter, a post card or a package with yummy things like cookies in it, send it to Joy Grabiner, Escuela Bilingual Maranatha, PO Box 322,  Comayagua, Honduras.

The past week

It’s been awhile since I posted. We had a nice break because of Honduras’s Independence Day celebrations. We only had two days of teaching last week. Unfortunately we did have to march in the parade with the students on Monday so we couldn’t take off and go chill at the beach.

Other then marching at the parade, I spent my free days finishing my yearly program, catching up on sleep, and just being lazy. It was nice.

On Friday we had teachers day. So the classes between recess and lunch were canceled. I wasn’t that lucky since I only have one class during that time. Despite having so many days off, I was so glad for the weekend!!!

The Student Missionaries (SM), Paul (he works at the school in the office) and I sent of on an adventure. It was a little amusing and frustrating to go with the girls, as most of them haven’t taken a bus in a foreign country. We got at the bus station before Paul and some of the girls were starting to get a little anxious about him not showing up and going without him. While they were discussing what they were going to do, I went and bought my ticket I was going!

The bus ride was uneventful and we arrived in La Gauma with no problems. There we took a bus to the National Parque Visitors Center. According to the Lonely Planet, you could rent camping gear and camp or stay in cabins. I was planning on camping. Unfortunately, they didn’t have camping gear and all their cabins were full. Lucky us. ☺ They did have lodge for 20 people and agreed to let us stay there for 120 lempira, (a little more then $6) per person. The place was well set up with blankets, towels, soap and even hot water. Since some of the girls didn’t have money, they decided to only stay one night, much to my dismay. I thought about staying by myself but decided since I did have schoolwork to do on Sunday I’d come back.

Saturday morning, bright and early, Candace and I went for a quick to a near by waterfall. I took my bath there. For breakfast most the girls went to the café, but Kayla and I stayed and we had a very nice Bible study. I think that was the best part of the trip.

At 8 our guide came and got us for our hike. I really didn’t think we needed a guide, but the girls asked him. We hiked up the mountain stopping at two waterfalls to swim in. We hiked up into the cloud forest and stopped where there was a nice view for lunch. This is where I got really annoyed. Candace had left her sunglasses by one of the waterfalls and wanted to go back and get them. I wanted to continue hiking the trail up the mountain and then back down the other side. All the trails were in a loop, so it didn’t matter if we split up, as we would end up in the same place. However, we had the guide and he refused to let us split. I tried to explain that the path was very easy to follow and I know how to hike and would be fine. He wouldn’t let me go though. To make my point clear to him, I left the group when we got to the waterfall and walked back fast! When we got back to the lodge, we packed up and came back home.

A new week has begun. I hope that this week will go well. I pray that I will become a better teacher and inspire my students to learn!!!!

So far....

this week has been worse! I found out Tuesday that all my lesson plans for the year and next two weeks where due Thursday. Talk about stress. I'm sure I'm going to come back from Honduras with gray hair. The weekend can't come quick enough!!!!!!!!!!

My first week

Monday was easy. All we did was getting to know each other activities and what the rules were. If only every day was so easy. The rest of the week I was just trying to survive. I didn't really have the week planned out since I didn't know what I was teaching when and how much. I have 9 classes that I'm teaching and that equals to about 32 hours. eleventh and ninth grade are my worst classes. They don't behave!!!! 

Thursday afternoon, Claudia and I took the day off from lesson planning and explored the city a bit more. We got hair cuts and then walked through the market to the mall. On the way, I bought some roasted corn from a lady selling on the street corner. When claudia saw what I was doing, she was surprised that eat food from the street. It tasted delicious and I didn't get sick at all. 

Saturday, I went to siyatipeque to Claudia's house. Its about half an hour away in the mountains. It was so much cooler that when the clouds rolled in, I had to wear a sweatshirt. While on our walk, it started to pour down. Luckily there was a shelter, but since the rain didn't show signs of stopping, we ran back to the car. We spent the evening watching the soccer match between Canada and Honduras. Honduras won!!!

Today I had the opportunity to go to a soccer game. Unfortunately Comayague's team lost. The most exciting part of the game was walking home. There were three big cows with horns that were walking our direction. I tried to get out of the way, but they seemed to want to be where I was. I basically plastered myself against the wall, hoping they wouldn't get mad and gore me. Thankfully they just kept walking by. 

My second week of teaching is about to begin. I feel much more prepared and ready! I hope it goes well!