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