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Day 307 - Sunday, September 1, 2002
We drove back down to Concepción this morning. Luckily Matt was going to Concepción also, so we got a ride with him and didn't have to take the bus. Today was our 12 year anniversary of our first date and 3 year anniversary of our engagement.
Yesterday I gave Jennifer a big bunch of flowers at dinner for the occasion.
After we got home it rained and rained all afternoon. Jennifer was exhausted from our trip to Tegucigalpa and took a long nap. I made us steaks and fried potatoes for dinner.
Day 308 - Monday, September 2, 2002
We taught 2/5 English classes this morning due to rehearsals for the "civic action" practice scheduled for the Friday after next. It involved a long music practice, and a lecture on how important it was. All of the classes were cut short and some canceled.
In the afternoon I started working on our year one video that we would like to have done before my mom comes at the end of the month. Jennifer worked on her Creative Memories scrapbook.
Day 309 - Tuesday, September 3, 2002
We taught 4/4 classes today which was very exciting. They kids seem to respond really well to us and it was nice to have a day of uninterrupted teaching.
We went to the cooperative and talked to the president of the council that directs the business of the cooperative and told him we would assist them with the inventory control they were planning on doing.
In the late afternoon we had Spanish classes.
Day 310 - Wednesday, September 4, 2002
We had a treat of grilled steaks and corn on a new grill that someone in town built for us. We taught 2/4 classes due to the teachers not showing up for work. The director and her two assistants had a meeting today outside of town. Since all the teachers knew they were going to be gone all but one took the day off to go into the department capital. Two of them had permission the rest did not. We were pretty upset that they would just completely blow off work just because the director isn't there. As a result many of the students that did show up for classes left early as there were no teachers.
We went to the cooperative to assist and found that they were working on an impossible task of inventory pricing trying to match poorly named and categorized inventory items with their original sales slips which were just as non descriptive and cryptic in their descriptions. We have decided that they need a new system of inventory control.
Day 311 - Thursday, September 5, 2002
We taught 2/2 classes this morning. The director of the school has decided that there is nothing she can do if teacher decide not to come to work and is not going to say anything to those who skipped work yesterday. We have decided that the school is need of a new director. I've started toying with the idea of opening a charter school here for the kids and families who really want to learn. There are 4 teachers in the school who really seem to care and have their act together. They could easily open and support their own school.
In the after we organized the next few weeks of our life and found that we work really well with check lists to prioritize and get things done.
We went to cooperative to work on inventory system came up with new form for more detailed reporting. Over the next week I will be working on an outline for a Access database.
We had Spanish class with Ruth, who fed us tortillas with cheese. They were really yummy.
Day 312 - Friday, September 6, 2002
No classes today. When we set up our schedule we left Friday blank, knowing we would be burnt out by the end of the week. Which we are. I don't know what is more trying: teaching classes or dealing all the interruptions they have in their school day.
The day off also gave us an opportunity to work around the house. We did laundry and cleaned up. Jennifer worked on her Creative Memories scrap book and I worked on our Year One video.
Day 313 - Saturday, September 7, 2002
We went and visited Azucena this afternoon and had a pleasant chat with her.
In the afternoon we worked a little more on our Creative Memories and Video. In the late afternoon we hosted game night with the neighbor kids where we played UNO and dominos. While I kept the kids busy Jennifer went to visit Ruth and give her moral support for a test she was going to be taking the next day. When she was talking to Ruth she found out that the house we are renting as well as our landlords house has been posted for auction due to foreclosure and the sale is planned for the end of the month. We are not sure how this affects us or what is going to happen. There are no other housing options for us in this town, with out us having to live in tight quarters with another family.
Day 314 - Sunday, September 8, 2002
We went to church this morning, and afterwards took a family photo of the Galindos, but our efforts were cut short by two of the daughters deciding to stay at church to get candy for "Day of the Child", a holiday kind of like Halloween dedicated to children. They get candy, gifts and have little parties.
We grilled chicken in the afternoon and worked on Creative Memories and the video. We want to have these finished by the time my mom comes so she can take the creative memories stuff home and see the video while she is here.
Day 315 - Monday, September 9, 2002
Our classes started late today due to the Monday morning meeting, where the director talks to the kids for way too long. We did teach all of our classes today though which was nice.
In the afternoon we did Creative Memories and worked on the video.
We also worked on our Spanish tapes and studied Spanish.
Day 316 - Tuesday, September 10, 2002
While filling our "Pila" this morning (a large cement "sink" type thing used for storing our daily water supply), and while I was taking a shower, mud started spewing out of the spigot and contaminated our entire pila of water. It also made it kind of hard to finish my shower.
We had classes in the morning, but my energy level was really low and I think I may be sick. In the afternoon we met with Efrien, one of the directors at the cooperative, and discussed our future involvement with the cooperative. It was nice to find out that we were all on the same page and are moving in the same direction. One of the most difficult things for us to deal with has been communicating effectively with the council of directors. We always seem to be the last to know about different things that are going on. We are working on getting more "in the loop".
Day 317 - Wednesday, September 11, 2002
We got up early and went for a morning walk with Ruth. Her and her husband want to have another child and the doctor told her she should lose some weight first, so she asked if she could exercise with us. She isn't really all that over weight, but has a few pounds left from the last child she had. We applauded her for going to the doctor before getting pregnant again since that is kind of a rare thing for women to do here.
We taught Spanish classes in the morning, and in the afternoon worked on Creative Memories and our year one video.
In the afternoon we went to Rafael and Azusana's house Roasted marshmallows with Ruth and her family and Sandra and her family. We had roasted marshmallows at their farm a few weeks ago and in a freak computer accident (I wasn't paying enough attention) the photos and videos were lost. So we roasted marshmallows again and took some more photos and videos.
Day 318 - Thursday, September 12, 2002
We got up at 5 AM this morning and did laundry. After which we went for a walk with Ruth. We have been trying to exercise at least 4 times a week.
In the morning we taught classes at the high school. Jen told me her happiest moment today was seeing some of the students actually understand what they were saying as we recited some of the English conversations we had been working on. Mine was giving Jennifer a flower I had grown in our garden for our month-a-versary and seeing how thrilled she was to get it knowing that I had grown it in the garden.
For our month-a-versary Jennifer made us stroganoff and we had a wonderful lunch.
In the afternoon we gave a talk at the cooperative on how to organize a store and put together a work plan for the next week to clean and organize who the store was put together and how products are stored and displayed.
In the evening we went to Spanish classes with Ruth and afterwards we played "UNO" with her and her husband Mario. We had a very fun night playing "UNO" and chatting with Ruth and Mario.
Day 319 - Friday, September 13, 2002
We got up early today and started off to El Peñon to deliver toothbrushes and give a talk on oral hygiene to the kids in the elementary school there. Jennifer started off ahead of me to walk with one of the teachers. I waited for a different teacher who has a horse and said he would help us out by taking the toothbrushes up on the back of the horse. About 15 minutes up the mountain he jumped off and told me I could ride up on the horse, as it is kind of boring for him to ride the horse all the time and today he preferred to walk. I commented that Jennifer would be jealous if she knew I was getting such a nice ride up the mountain. About 1/2 way up the mountain we ran into Jennifer and the other teacher as well as two other teachers from another community in the area. Jennifer was proudly sitting atop her own steed, which she had just mounted. So, the two of climbed the rest of the way up on the back of horses. Jen had to get off her horse about 15 minutes from the school as the other teachers had to take a different road to their school.
Once at the school we met with grades 1-6 and talked to them about the importance of brushing and flossing. Through a donation from Colgate we were able to give each child a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, and some materials to go over with their parents. For many of the children this was their first toothbrush, and first they had heard of the importance of brushing to keep their teeth. We also talked about flossing and how important that was, unfortunately we didn't have any floss to give them. Each child received a game sheet to keep track of how many time a day they brush and were encouraged to play the game with everyone in their family. The sad thing is that, for many children, after this toothbrush wares out they will not have enough money to buy a new one, and won't be able to brush anymore. We had several demonstrations and games that we played to show the children what was going on in their mouth when they ate sweets and food.
After talking to the 1-6 graders we went and talked to the kindergarteners. They were such cute little things and very precious. We talked to them about brushing their teeth and cutting down on the sweets they eat.
When we got home we worked on the Spanish tape and the year one video.
Day 320 - Saturday, September 14, 2002
We got and did sit ups this morning and quiet time to regroup our thoughts from the week. We also worked on the Spanish tapes, cleaned, sorted beans with the neighbor kids, and let the neighbor kids work on their puppets for a show they are going to put on when my mom arrives in a couple of weeks.
We went to Mass this morning in town, which was really nice. There was a visiting priest from San Marco de Colon, which is a neighboring community on the border. His homily was really good and he had lots of energy which kept the mass flowing nicely.
After mass we went to the Mayorga's and visited Matt who was in town visiting.
Day 321 - Sunday, September 15, 2002
Today was Honduran Independence Day. Actually it is the independence day of Central America as there were 5 countries, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica that declared independence from Spain at the same time.
To celebrate there was a ceremony in the town center that Jennifer and I went to see. We had planned on going for about a half hour or so. When we arrived we were spotted b y the coordinators of the event and were called up to the head table in front of the entire crowd. The ceremony consisted of folk dancing, singing, a presentation of flags, and 3 hours later they were done. There was also a parade and a reading of the declaration of independence for Central America. We decided that in the future we will be a little more discrete or prepared for such adventures when we go to the town center for large presentations.
Day 322 - Monday, September 16, 2002
We met with the employees at the cooperative this afternoon. There were no classes in the high school as it is "Teacher's Day" so they don't have to work. In the cooperative we worked on organizing the store and working on a plan for the next week. We spent about 3 hours arranging and cleaning up the products and displays.
Before going to the cooperative Jennifer went to the soup kitchen run by the local Baptist church and delivered the remainder of the toothbrushes we had to the children who eat lunch there every day.
Day 323 - Tuesday, September 17, 2002
No school again today, so I worked on the video in the morning. In the afternoon we went to the cooperative for more cleaning and organizing. It is a challenge keeping the employees on task and working.
In the evening we met our new neighbor who will be living next to us for the next few months. His name is Robert and we invited him to eat with us by candle light as the rain had knocked the electricity out. Robert is very interesting. He grew up in a poor family and his father is father to more than 60 children. His father didn't live with them and didn't support him. He worked his way through high school selling fruit. He now works for a non governmental organization that works for the government (interesting twist) that does assessments of different communities in the country to note the details of what organizations are supporting the communities and where there are needs in the community. He also gives talks to farmers in communities about farming techniques to help prevent soil burn out (like don't burn the land, and rotate your crops).
Roberto also played guitar for us and taught me a couple of new songs. Earlier in the day Jennifer made us home made Hawaiian bread.
Day 324 - Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Today we had our first test in the English classes. It was amazing the amount of cheating that was taking place. Even after we stressed how strict we were going to be and how we were planning on giving people 0's on their tests if there was any cheating at all. There were many kids who were talking and one who took out a full page of notes to use on the test.
In the afternoon we worked in the cooperative again organizing and cleaning.
Jennifer worked with the neighbor kids on a puppet show that she is planning on putting on for my mom when we comes in a week.
We had tomato soup for dinner and we are on our last cup of soup. We haven't been grocery shopping in about 4 weeks and are waiting until my mom comes to buy groceries.
Day 325 - Thursday, September 19, 2002
We had more tests today and more cheating (see previous day) the most creative was two girls throwing an eraser across with the excuse that "she needed an eraser" with one of our vocabulary words written on it. It might have been hard to figure out if they hadn't looked so guilty and if they hadn't both spelled the word "time" "tiem".
In the afternoon we worked at the cooperative cleaning and arranging. It is looking really good.
Day 326 - Friday, September 20, 2002
We spent the day cleaning up the house and preparing for mom's visit. It rained most of the day which made it hard to get most of our work done.
Day 327 - Saturday, September 21, 2002
We had a partly sunny day so we decided to be productive and finish cleaning the house. The plan was to finish cleaning and getting ready by noon. We were done at 6:30 PM. I don't know where the time went, but were have a very clean house now.
We were in bed by 10 PM to get enough sleep for our trip to Tegucigalpa in the morning.
Day 328 - Sunday, September 22, 2002
We left for Tegucigalpa on the 6:30 AM bus and arrived around 11:30AM. We made pretty good time. From there we headed to Valle de Angeles to check on some wood products that we ordered. Everything went pretty well, except that the carpenter we contracted a month ago to build us a large chest told us he hasn't started yet as the wood isn't dry yet. This wouldn't be a big deal since we have another year to go, but we were hoping to send it home with my mom. We'll see if it is done in three weeks when she leaves.
We then went back to Teguz and went to mass, which was an adventure in it self as we had to go to three different Catholic churches before finding a mass to attend.
On our way to church we had a little extra time and went to McDonalds and bought ice cream cones. We also bought hamburgers for street kids with no shoes who were cold in the rain, and begging for money outside of McDonalds.
In the late afternoon we went grocery shopping and bough the non-perishable half of the groceries that we would need for the next month.
For dinner we went to Pizza Hutt and afterwards we went to Matt's house to stay the night.
Day 329 - Monday, September 23, 2002
We went to the Peace Corps office in the morning and took care of some errands. I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon so we ran errands, bought a Peace Corps t-shirt for my mom.
In the afternoon I went to the dentist and Jennifer dropped the t-shirt off at Alondra, the restaurant we would be taking my mom to the next day.
In the evening we BBQed at Matt's house and Jennifer worked on a display for photos that won the photo contest. The photo contest was put on by Peace Corps several months ago to get photos for a Peace Corps welcome book. One of the photos I had taken for another volunteer couple had won 1st place and made it into the book. We were asked to put the photos from the contest together into a nice presentation.
Day 328 - Tuesday, September 24, 2002
We picked mom up from the airport in the afternoon and checked into the Maya Hotel. For dinner we ate at Alondra, which is a little hidden treasure we found just down the street from the Peace Corps office. One of the reasons we like Alondra is that the servers are very attentive, and the service is great.
Day 329 - Wednesday, September 25, 2002
We got up this morning at the local bagel shop, and in the afternoon we took a bus to Choluteca where we checked into the Gualacheme hotel. In the afternoon we went to local orphanage and did an art project with about 20 kids. We made bookmarks that the kids decorated.
Mom and I went back to the hotel and Jennifer went to the store to buy the second half of our groceries, which we would later store in the freezer at the hotel. For dinner we went to "Pizza Capri" in town and had a nice pizza for dinner.
Day 330 - Thursday, September 26, 2002
We got up at 5 AM to catch first bus to Concepción which leaves at 6 AM. We were home by 9 AM and took a short tour of town before lunch. Mom got to meet the neighbor kids, walk on the hammock bridge, and visit the high school.
After a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches, Jen and mom looked at scrapbooks while I read and napped in a hammock on the patio.
In the late afternoon mom relaxed in hammock, Jen cleaned and arranged stuff in the house and we had Tuna fish sandwiches for lunch.
In the evening we gave gifts for the neighbor kids and Gloria.
For dinner we made homemade salsa, beans, tortillas, and had a semi-traditional Honduran meal.
Day 331 - Friday, September 27, 2002
We went for a walk this morning for our exercise. I made breakfast for Mom and Jennifer with apples and banana. After breakfast mom and Jennifer worked on washing laundry and afterwards we went to the library. At the library my mom gave the library a dozen books in Spanish for different age groups.
For lunch we had BBQ'ed chicken, corn, and potatoes. In the afternoon we watched a play that was put on by the neighbor kids. Jennifer has been working with them for the last two weeks making puppets and rehearsing so that they could put on a play for my mom.
After the play we had some down time and at 7 PM we went to the Mayorga's for dinner and when we went home we chatted for a while and then went to bed.
Day 332 - Saturday, September 28, 2002
We got up and packed for our trip to Roatan and La Tigre (the national park). In the late morning we went to the library where we did another bookmark project with some of the kids from town.
We had egg salad sandwiches for lunch, said our long good byes to neighbors, and got on a bus to Choluteca. Once in Choluteca we transferred from a school bus to a greyhound type bus and went to Teguz. We arrived in Teguz around 8:30 PM and checked into the Maya hotel again. It was a long trip and traveling is really taking a lot out of everyone. We are looking forward to laying on the beach in Roatan.
Day 333 - Sunday, September 29, 2002
Jen and I got up early this morning and went to Mass. We picked up bagels and went back to the hotel room. We left for the airport and for lunch had lunch at Church's Chicken, kind of like KFC, only better. They have some really good fried chicken places here and they must be doing well because they are always packed when I have gone before. We flew to Roatan, which took about 2 hours with the flight transfer in La Cieba. Our perfect trip ran into a snag when we landed in Roatan as we were missing my mom's bag. Since we were one of only 15 people on the plane I told the baggage guy that there was still a piece of luggage on the plane and he should go out and get it before the plane left for another island. He went out to the plane, chatted with some people, but never made any effort to look for our bag. Then the plane took off again and our bag with it. We went through the process for reporting it lost and they assured us it would be back with us by tomorrow.
We checked into Posada Arco Iris (The Rainbow Inn). Which was recommended by another volunteer and turned out to be a beautiful find. We had a suite with two bedrooms, a nice bathroom, and a kitchen. It was very clean and well decorated and right across the street from the beach and some really beautiful sunsets. Jen and i went for a walk while mom took a nap, her stomach needing some time to adjust to being in Honduras. While on our walk Jen and I scouted out dive shops to check out. We all decided that we would give S.C.U.B.A. diving a chance, and try to get certified while we were here in Honduras. For dinner we ate at the "Argentinean Grill" which is a restaurant attached to our hotel. I loved the Coconut fried shrimp!
Day 334 - Monday, September 30, 2002
Mom and ventured down the shore a ways in a cab to look for the local clinic to find some antibiotics for a nasty little something that seemed to be residing in her stomach. The doctors were very friendly and we even got to peek inside the local Hyperbaric chamber used for decompressing divers who have "the bends".
We started our S.C.U.B.A. lessons and spent the morning in a classroom watching P.A.D.I. (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) videos on the joys of diving. In the afternoon we took it easy and for dinner we went to a restaurant called "Eagle Ray" (a brother to the Sting Ray), and watched a beautiful sun set from the deck the overlooked the ocean. The restaurant was pretty nice as it was built at the end of dock and sits entirely over the water. Mom enjoyed one of the 5 piña coladas she had our trip and we ate chips and salsa while watching the sunset.
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