Thanksgiving and End of Classes!

Had a huge thanksgiving dinner here in Honduras with the other 30 Calvin students and our directors. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, the works! It was delicious and then for dessert lots of pie! We had so much fun and danced all of the food off. Now we are buckling down because it is our last week of classes and then Friday we are off to Guatemala. It is time for all the exams and Essays!!! I will keep it brief before I head off to Guatemala for 11 days or so because when I return Im sure I will have a lot to write about. Oh and taking my family to the movies today as a little treat, should be fun! Hope all is well with the rest of you!

Elena 

Reunion!

The Saturday after vacations I went to the concert of my favorite Christian group here in Tegucigalpa called Tercer Cielo!! I went with my Honduran sister and cousin and had so much fun. We danced, screamed, and laughed a lot. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Good company makes a concert great. This past week was the reuniting of the group after a week of amazing vacations. Full of projects and now time is winding down so we have a lot of final presentations, essays, and exams! So this weekend to remind myself of why I’m here for the experience and not my grades, I went to a rural community and then had a road trip day. I spent Friday and Saturday in a community called Nueva Suyapa it is one the poorest and most dangerous communities because of the gang violence, but ASJ a social justice group has been doing great things and has been making a great impact in the community. Spent the night with a wonderful family and meet their whole family which just happened to be all the neighbors. Then I went to a presentation in the reformed church there in Nueva Suyapa. Lots of talent! The best part of my weekend was Sunday when I was reunited with my old babysitter who lives here in Honduras. Phanie, Alison and I (with Phanie’s family) went to Paraíso and some other cities and in Paraíso I was reunited with Petrona Alvarado and her three kids and husband. She took care of my brothers and I when we were very young and the night before I left to Paraíso she called and I got her address so I could go visit. I think I spent a good hour just talking and catching up. She showed me pictures of us and spent a lot of time just staring at me in amazement. I couldn’t believe it either. She said everything has a purpose and there is no such thing as coincidence. I was so filled there talking with all of them, I was so happy. It was the Holy Spirit moving in me and in our relationship. Two of her kids live in Tegucigalpa and attend Universities here; they’re going to come visit me! Her daughter spends a lot of time in my colonia! Saying goodbye was hard and I received lots of hugs and kisses, even a beautiful gift of jewelry. Petro gave me huge hug that lasted practically 5 minutes. I know now that we’re in contact that it wasn’t goodbye like last time when we dropped her off at the airport. I will see her again and her family too! Also, this week we celebrate THANKSGIVING. Very excited to eat some turkey and stuffing. Looks like another great week ahead of me. I am just trying to enjoy and take advantage of the little time I have left. So thankful for everything this week and especially that I could reunite with Petrona. She still calls me “mena.” It was a very special moment for me. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. I think we all have a lot to be thankful for.    

The Unforgettable Vacation

The journey begins Saturday November 6th where I wake up at 5am to catch the 6 15 bus to Tela. Alison, Phanie and I arrive around 12 and we go on a search for our hotel caled Hotel Mango. When we arrive it is a really nice little hotel. It is simple but clean and is very cheap! We thought they had a cafe but they said it was closed which meant no complimentary breakfast for us. The hotel was very close to the local park so we went there for a while and sat and ate some ice cream. ALison got a hit on. twice haha. Then we decided to explore the city, we found the restaurant we stopped at on our way to cusuna, called luces del norte, ate some really good food!! Tried crossing ariver to get the other beach ended up soaked but very happy when we finally found a way across. Swimming.

Then Sunday the 7th we spent the day at the beach. The girls and I chatted a lot and slept a lot. Swam in the ocean with Alison with HUGE waves, might have been a little dangerous. For dinner went to Maya Vista which is this nice hotel and restaurant that has the best view of the city. It was magical.And we met a man named Roberto who told us about his brothers art gallery on the other side of town.

So then Monday the 8th we went and visited Robertos brother art gallery. It was a 25 minute walk or so and got to see a lot of Tela. Beautiful Beaches! We meet Cruz the brother and saw his incredible talent displayed all around us. Pictures of the Garifuna people and their daily life. Some pictures were of struggle and others of moments of pure joy. We talked with him about family, life, poverty, corruption, and justice. He says he fights his battles through his paintings. He was inspirational. We talked until we had to leave to catch our bus to La Ceiba. Arrive at Olas del Mar hotel and AGAIN find out there is no complimentary breakfast because the kitchen is under reconstruction! ugh. I really wanted free breakfast. It was raining out so we spent the night in the hotel watching Royal Pains, Alisons new favorite show, but she calls it Growing Pains haha.

Then the BIG DAY!! Tuesday in Cayos Cochinos! Talk about a perfect day. We left at 7 in the morning and get into a bus where we meet two other men from the US, Bud and Groover. They are a hoooot! Very funny. Bud is a world traveler and leads people up mountains in Africa, I believe in Kenya and in the Congo. Groover sells garage doors but industrial size. We talk the whole car ride to Sambo creek. They telll us all about Cayos Cochinos and their house and their life stories. As we get in the boat that will take us to the island they invite us to lunch at their place. We accept and off we go to paradise. We snorkled in Mesoamerican reefs which are supposibly the 2nd best in the world. The colors were amazing, the water was warm and the sun was shinning bright. The sand was sooo white and clean. We went to various keys around the island. They were little floating islands with palm trees and little huts. very surreal. We learned about the NGO running the place and how they protect the reefs and animals. They had strict policies on leaving things where you found them and throwing trash away. Good principles. We went into a forrset to see the red boas which are only found on the island.Then had lunch with Groover and Bud who made us laugh the whole meal with them feeding off on another in their storytelling about life on the island. They told ua about Survivrçor Italy that had been on one of the keys and how they went and mooned the cameras. They may appear to be old but they are truley young at heart. We finished by visiting a Garifuna community that lived on one of the keys called chachauate. there was a little linking sandway in between the two keys. The warm ocean would splash against the small pathway. incredible. Went back and slept. I had very sweet dreams.

Wednesday comes and we go to visit an NGO as a project for one of our clases. We visit a local Garifuna organization that fights for Grifuna representation and rights. They work for the Garifuna communities that are left without power, education, and their basic necessities. We mmet the president of the organization and left with books and posters. They had pictures of their ispirations...Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Barrack Obama. I was very proud when I saw the photos. Had to go to the bank because the numbers in my account were not right. Found out I had been charged twice sometimes and I have bad credit! only here in HN though, thank goodness. That night we went to the stadium to see my favorite Honduran team play, Victoria!! Victoria vs Vida, they are the two teams from La Ceiba so it was a big deal game. Stadium was full and lots of rockets going off. and chanting. Sadly they lost, I couldnt believe it they are the number one team! but its okay, the atmosphere was great and I bought a jersey!! FUN.

Thursday, Alison and Phanie begin facebook status wars...yeahhh. haha We walk the beach in the morning and the boardwalk and at 12 check into the best hotel ever. The Quinta Real! SPend the day in the pool, in the beach, in the ocean, relaxing. Its our last night in La Ceiba. SO we do it right by going to a seafood restaurant and getting dessert! Eat some real good fish. Oh and on our way to the hotel a car pulls up beside us and its BUD!!! He tells there on their way back to the US and he just saw us walking and decided to say hi. What are the chances! He cracks some jokes and we sy our goodbyes. I slept very well in my nice big bed with the ocean view window, listening to the sounds outside.

Friday is departure day, thats today. Woke up, finally got my FREE BREAKFAST! yumm. had fresh squeezed OJ and hot chocolate with eggs, tortillas, ham, and beans. so worth it. Played ping pong with Alison, she beat me 3 times!! ah well. Sat on the beach, collected shells, rocks, and sea glass. I watched crabd making their homes until I decided to go up to the internet room and write my blog. We return to Teguc around 9 pm, bus leaves at 1pm. Had a great vacation. Have lots of memories. Laughed a lot, ate a lot and loved a lot. truley unforgettable.

Elena

Recuperation

Well last week was the recuperation week from coming back from Nicaragua. It was getting back into the swing of things like SCHOOL. But it was smooth sailing. We received grades and I seem to be keeping up well enough. The big event was Thursday when some Calvin people came. One of them is a friend; he is the boyfriend of my RA from last year. So it was really nice to see her so happy! The sad news is that our director Pablo couldn’t be there Thursday because his mother was being operated on. She is fine now. Also, on Thursday night I started getting sick and all last weekend I had been sick. I went to the doctor and I had dysentery. Took lots of meds and had 5 shots. But I am recuperating. This weekend we went to a beautiful place called los pinos and stayed a nature preserve place that was beautiful. It was nice to get away from the hussle and bussle of the city. And I did all my regustration! Things are looking good. Other than that I am enjoying this adventure. I love the weather, the heat and the sun. My family takes great care of me and I learn new things every day. This weekend we start our 10 day break where I will be taking a road trip around Honduras visiting many beaches and relaxing! Hope all is well wherever you are. 


Also I have heard that my posts have been appearing in spanish. I am not sure why that is and I assure you I am writting in English haha.

Elena

It's all down hill from here

IHAD un gran últimas dos semanas! La semana pasada celebré mi cumpleaños y había una fiesta en la casa con toda la gente que he llegado a conocer. Todo el mundo lo hizo un día tan especial, muchas gracias. Teníamos exámenes la semana pasada y se dirigió esta semana a Nicaragua! Lunes empezamos el día a las cinco y media y llegó a una ciudad llamada León, donde nos hospedamos en un hotelito limpio y visitamos la famosa catedral y se enteró de la guía de todo sobre la ciudad universitaria. Sigue siendo muy fuerte Sandinista. Muy interesante. Luego fuimos a la capital Managua, donde hemos aprendido más historia de Nicaragua. También conocimos a los cristianos en este grupo llamado centro de Jeremías y su trabajo con la comunidad parecía un buen grupo de personas con una buena causa. Ayer era tan tan grande que fue a un pueblo hermoso llamado Granada. Fuimos a las cuevas e hizo algunas excursiones y vio un volcán activo, uno de los muchos aquí en Honduras. Llevamos recorridos por la ciudad en el caballo y la calesa y se enteró de la historia de la ciudad. Se reunió con algunos extranjeros procedentes de Inglaterra y Suiza, ya que nos quedamos en un hostal muy fresco. Entonces hoy lo hicimos canopy tours que eran tan emocionante y me hizo muy, muy asustado! Fue definitivamente vale la pena sin embargo. Estamos en una ciudad llamada Matagalpa. Fue a través de los mercados y vio popular argentina jaja danzas en Nicaragua. Ha sido un viaje maravilloso y estoy triste de dejar este maravilloso país, pero lamentablemente mañana nos vamos de regreso a Tegucigalpa. Se ha de pasar tiempo con el gran grupo y estar con Alison y phanny! Esa es la actualización. Todo está bien y voy a actualizar pronto! Gracias de nuevo por todos los borthday deseos!


Also this Sunday is the 2 month marker! Its all down hill from here =)
Elena

The Niece! Adriana

Han pasado dos semanas desde mi último post, lo siento. Nada enorme que ha sucedido, pero ha habido un montón de pequeñas aventuras. La primera semana cuando tenía que ir a Nueva Suyapa que fue cancelado debido al huracán Mateo próximos pulg llovido mucho. De hecho, la lluvia este año ha causado un montón de problemas. Hay una gran cantidad de deslizamientos de tierra, edificio en ruinas, y las carreteras están en malas condiciones. La lluvia que realmente afecta a este país y lamentablemente este año han recibido una gran cantidad de ella. Luego, la semana pasada comenzó la American National Standard clase de cerámica en la actualidad trabajando en la fabricación de chips de la Bella y la Bestia! Las clases han sido buenas, estoy finalmente en la rutina, aunque es difícil mantenerse en la rutina porque las cosas inesperadas para muchos parecen suceder. Estoy aprendiendo a si les gustan las sorpresas. En la literatura de clase hemos trabajado en Don Quijote, en la clase de cultura que hemos aprendido acerca de las revoluciones en el continente americano, muy interesante! Mi historial de la clase Honduras estamos trabajando en una presentación de uno de los 18 departamentos aquí en Honduras. Tenemos del Valle por lo que hemos estado investigando y haciendo trajes y la cocina. Lamentablemente, aunque voy a estar en Nicaragua para la presentación, estaba con muchas ganas de estar en la feria, porque he oído que es un momento increíble, con mucha comida y la cultura de Honduras! Estoy seguro de Nicaragua será grande, aunque también. En la clase de desarrollo hablamos de la deuda externa y cómo eso afecta a los países. En la clase de Pablos que hemos escuchado de los grupos indígenas de Honduras y de sus vidas. Acabé con el fin de semana con una gran noticia. Recibí una llamada de mi madre alrededor de 12 o aquí, diciendo que yo era una tía con una sobrina hermosa. Tengo que admitir que me gritó un poco =) yo estaba y todavía estoy muy emocionado de conocerla. Esta semana ha sido buena hasta ahora, básicamente, que ar que tomaron los exámenes antes de que nos dirigimos a Nicaagua durante una semana. De una cosa estoy con muchas ganas de visitar es una maquila, las empresas de EE.UU. traerlos a Honduras y hay un montón de explotación de los trabajadores, para nuestra clase de desarrollo. También mi cumpleaños es la planificación octavo y estoy teniendo en mi familia a comer y tengo algunos regalos, porque el 7 es su aniversario! Así que tengo un gran fin de semana por delante de mí. A continuación, el próximo lunes vamos a Nicaragua! Muchas cosas nuevas sucediendo aquí y estoy muy contenta de haber llegar a compartir con todos ustedes. Hasta la próxima semana ...

Elena

Happy First Month!

Well it has officially been one month!! My family gave me a painted ceramic E and a stuffed animal flower thing. They were beautiful gifts. Today we celebrated and I bought a cake for my family! I can't believe I still have three more. It has been a long first month and I feel like I have already learned so much, its incredible. I have experienced so much in just month. I have had my life changed and eyes opened in just one month. This week was good. I had my first exam today in my history class and I think I did really well! I was very nervous and studied very hard but I feel confident. Nothing very eventful happened this week. Monday was typical, Tuesday went to a cafe and watched a famous Nicaraguan film. Very good film! Wednesday, school and studying for exam then today took an exam, received a PACKAGE! Huge thanks to the Coffey's! It made my day. Then tomorrow no classes and this weekend we return to Nueva Suyapa, a poor area of Tegucigalpa and we stay with a family and attend church. There are no bathrooms (only outhouses) and no running water. It will be a growing experience for sure. Overall, normal week. Not feeling too homesick, not feeling too much culture shock. Trying to stay in touch with friends at Calvin and back home and of course family. I will be sure to keep updating the blog. Keep emailing and sending love : )

Elena

Amapala y El dia de Independencia

         Ay what a wonderful weekend and week so far! Since I last wrote, I talked about the history class that I am taking in the Pedagogica. Well I love the class. I am getting to know lots of new people in the University. There is a fair amount of homework but nothing too overwhelming. The professor is very very funny, even if she is speaking a hundred miles an hour and I am not catching all of it. She has strong opinions about US relations and Honduras and enjoys sharing those opinions but always looks at me and the other Calvin girl in the class and says  in a thick accent ¨no offense.¨ We dont mind, its nice to hear a different perspective. She loves throwing in random english words throughout the class to liven things up haha. Well last weekend I went to amapala, which is a volcanic island on the west coast. It is beautiful and I love the WARM ocean! A group of ten of us arrived 12 30 on Friday and by 1 30 we were out on the beach seeing an underwater cave, very cool but way too many bats for me to enter. I swam even though the water was a bit murky and dirty. It was still the ocean. Then I spent the rest of the day lying in a hammock watching kids playing and napping. It was surreal. Welcome to the life of studying abroad haha. Next day we climbed the volcano which in total took 7 hours. The guide who wanted to take us was around 80 so we went at a slower pace. It was all worth it at the top. WHen we returned we all napped!! Then ate dinner and went out for ice cream and danced a little.
         I returned Sunday to a load of homework! I had two oral presentations this week. One Monday about the Incas which went well I thought. I had a great group to work with. Then Tuesday had a speech about a man named Cabeza de Vaca (Cow head) pleasant name huh... that went well my partner and I performed a drama which got a lot of laughs and I am more sure than ever I am to be an actress haha. But yes I have been very very busy and have not had access to internet but I guess that is a part of the experience. Well today is a day of festivals because it the Honduran Independance day!! and tomorrow is Mexico!! So we are going to have a great day! I will be sure to write later. Love and miss you all!!

Elena

Dios es bueno: todo el tiempo

Last week was a great week. We finished up summer classes with a final exam Friday and then one more final today. Over the weekend we celebrated a birthday of one of the students on the trip. We went salsa dancing! Very fun and we were safe. I went shopping with the females in my family, which was different because Im not used to having a sister and mother who "enjoy" shopping. haha Then Sunday was church. We had a wonderful service. Then, we watched the big game of Olimpia vs Motagua. Not at the stadium because we blew a tire and the pick up isnt working. I played soccer on the field next to my house anyways with some amazing kids in my neighborhood. Joselyn is 10  and loves soccer and javi is 10 he loves being keeper and is quite funny when he dives!! Jese is 12 and plays very well. Although they all think I am the best haha. They tell me I dance around them with the ball when really they are beating me!! but thats why I like hanging out with them haha Well, I started my spanish 308/309 class. I love the professor she is very flexible with the schedule and she likes working with the students to see what they want out of class. We are starting to learn about the aztecs and mayans and incas. Its very very interesting and I know my mom would love it because we are reading about archaeology. We do have oral presentations next week already! mine is on the Incas and we have to come to class prepared to talk about anything for the oral presentation. The teacher is just going to say "you go first, then you, then you." We have to everything about our topic, but she seems to be very nice and will hopefully be a kind grader : ) I start my class in the University tomorrow with the other university students. Im nervous but it should be alright. I am looking a taking a history of the americas class because the other communication/education class is on thursday and fridays and on fridays we are often traveling. So this history class will be mon-thurs 8am to 9am. One other girl is taking the class with me which is nice. We shall see how it goes! Food is good, school is good, and God is always good. I am very blessed and I realize it more and more everyday. I thank God for all the people in my life and for my everything. I cannot wait to see how much better this trip will get if it can get any better : )

Cusuna y Clases

I was able to use internet today! Lets see last week was the week we went to Nueva Suyapa and Cusuna. Nueva Suyapa is a pooor barrio in Honduras with no electricity or running water. The woman there have joined together and they grow crops and harvest them and sell some and keep some to provide for their families. It was amazing to see these woman come together while their husbands are away working in the city. The woman are proud of their work and love their comunity. It was ablessing to be a part of their lives for one day. Even if it meant climbing a mountain to see them ;) We went to their houses and they showed us their crops and we ate a delicious lunch prepared by the woman!! They are an example to woman everywhere. Afterwards we took an 11 hour bus trip to Cusuna to see the african honurans (Garifunas). they are a racially mixed community and experience a lot of discrimanation because of it. There we learned about their culture and they performed traditional dances which were beautiful. The hardezt trhing there was to sit down at every meal and have children and other people watching us eat from the windows while we ate like kings and half of the time people did not finish their food and it would go to the trash. It was painful for me to see this. We had tons of water and food, while others would watch us. Also tons of people were getting sick because of the heat! fainting and vomiting occured regularly : ( I think it was hard for people to adjust to te living conditions, it was hot no electricity or running water and very little resources and bathrooms. I had a cold but overall I was fine. But in my room there were 2 scorpians and 1 tarantula!! ahhh anyways We swam in the Caribean Ocean! ohhh the water was wonderful, only when there werent a lot of jellyfish. Sunday we went to a garifuna church and sang and danced and we did a presentation of some English church songs we sing. The people loved it!! Together we all sang Lord I lift your name on HIgh in English and Spanish. it was wonderful. Oh and we went to church in a boat a very small canoe like boat with a motor. It was very fun! The best moment was when I was playing soccer on the beach with the garifunas and we had to take a pen alty kick and I took it and  I scored!!! everyone surounded me and there was clapping and cheering, ah it was a glorious moment.Now we are back in classes in the University because the teachers have reached an agreement with the government. We have exams friday for our summer classes and then we start University classes! Im very excited. Alright well life is good and God is good. Until the next time!

Elena

Internet Finally

Well I finally made it to an internet cafe, which is good news! My house does not have internet. I have a family who is on the lower middle class scale. We have water though! and tv, we watch it a lot! I am enjoying myself here. I love the food, even if it isn´t spicy! my family is so kind and I have a ton of fun withmy briother Carlos (12) we play soccer a lot and videogames. My sister Stefany and i talk a lot about the US and Honduras and scghool and her boy troubles : ) School is a bit sary at times. We were caught in the middle of a demostration our third day here! lots of teargas and running but we all made it out safe. We had our first day of summer classes today and it was very interesting...we had to leave the University half way though class for safety reasons and went to another classroom that was safer where we continued our learning. Today was all about the history of Honduras, I felt better about being in this country after learning the history. We learn a lot from our history. So far I love it. The thing I like the least is that I walk 40 minutes to class everyday but hey its exercise! and I have four friend who make the journey with me. I cannot wait for this weekend when we go see los garifunas who live in Honduras and have a whole other culture of their own! there will be beach tooooo. Miss you all very much

Elena

Letters and Packages

Well I now have technically three days left and I am very excited. I found some useful information that I thought I would share with all of you:

If any of you were interested in sending letters or packages the address you can send it to is

Apdo 30676
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Central America

Also, I wouldn't recommend sending packages because they can be very expensive and are often delayed for months, my leader said  manila envelopes are better.

And the last thing I wanted to mention was the time difference ( for all those skype-lovers out there), when Michigan is on daylight savings Honduras is 2 hours behind. After October there is only a one hour time difference, which isn't so bad!
with love love love
Elena

Just Testing

This is me making sure the blog works and the comments look alright. 21 days and counting!!!