Never a dull moment...

I have so much to tell you about these last 2 weeks. Fashion Week Honduras was a few weeks ago and my friend John invited me to go with him. I was so excited because it's something I've always wanted to go to. Well, we saw many different types of fashion, from hair accessories, couture, and formal wear. It was a fun-filled night.

The Group: Melissa, Devon, John, and I


This designer was pretty out there:


This past weekend, one of my students' family invited me to go to Amapala with them. Amapala is a small island south of Honduras. There are black sand beaches, lots of fishing, mototaxis, and kids playing on the street. It is a poverty stricken area, but it was very enjoyable. I went with another teacher (his former 3rd grade teacher) and the 5 family members. What a blessing this family is. It was so nice to spend time with family and get to know their many cousins who live on the island. The sunsets were so beautiful and the food was delicious.

Sunset in Amapala


The family



The fish


I thank God for everything He has given me. He always provides. I also thank God for the Munguia family, who cared for me and shared this experience with me.

Once in a Lifetime!

10/10/10 at 10:10 PM. This only happens once in a lifetime! What a wonderful day it was... one to surely remember.

It all started with meeting up with 2 girls from Calvin College, where I attended university: Marie and Kim. I didn't know them very well, but it was so fun spending time with them and getting to know them better. It was an adventurous day.

We went to Valle de Angeles, which is a touristy town with lots of artisan shops. It was a special day because it was the celebration of the city. We saw parades and ate good Honduran food, such as pupusas. There was great music and the sun was shining down on us the whole day.





After Valle de Angeles, we went to a small town called Santa Lucia. In order to get there you are suppose to take 2 buses. Well, the 3 of us didn't know this and went on one bus and got off. We asked a local if it was close enough to walk and he said yes. So, here we were... 3 gringas and winding uphill roads. After a few turns, we decided we wanted to hitchhike on the back of a truck. Unfortunately, everytime we were about to look to see if there were any coming up behind us, the trucks would just be passing us. To our content, a firetruck pulled over next to us and offered us a drive into the city and that's how we got there.



Santa Lucia is a very cute town and a great date spot. There is a pond where you can rent boats to paddle on the water, coffee shops, and hiking trails. To our surprise, there was another festival which involved motorcycles. There were hundreds of them parked and you could take pictures and talk to the riders. Well, if you know me, I am not a spectator, rather someone who wants to do something. So, I went up to a random biker and asked if he could take me for a short ride. He was happy to do so, but when we mounted the bike, the battery had died. He felt awful because I was so excited about it, that he found a friend to take me. So, I went on his motorcycle and road up and down the hills and around all the curves. On the way back into town, he stops the bike and says, "Now, it's your turn." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He said, "You're going to drive. It's easy, just like a bicycle." I laughed, but he was dead serious. So, I got to steer and control the speed of the bike while he did the gears. It was a blast!!





No, the day doesn't end there. Our 2 firefighter friends found us again and offered to give us rides back to the city. It's a good half hour drive and not only did they drive us back to the city, they drove us to our homes. I live far away from everything because I live on a mountain. It took them 45 minutes from one of the girls houses to the top of my mountain. It was hilarious and so much fun.



Who would have known that I would befriend firefighters and get a personal ride back to my apartment. It was great! I love those unexpected days and the kindness of strangers. I couldn't have asked for a better day. God is good!

I'm a local.

This weekend was full of fun events. After school on Fridays I help out in the highschool with a youth group ministry. It's fun because I don't know these students and it's a way to be a witness to our young adults. After the program, Devon, John, and I rode the bus down to the city and met up with our friend Alfredo and went to a concert: Sol Caracol (check them out on youtube). It was really fun and I love the carribean sound in the music.



On Saturday, we went to the open market by the soccer stadium at 6:30 AM. I love shopping there to get the fresh fruit, especially the pineapple. After that, I met up with Erika Matute who is the resource teacher for the 4th-6th grade. She is a sweet lady who has a passion for Japan. We went swimming with her and Jenny Sanderson. It was a lovely sunny day! I could do that everyday :) After swimming we went out to sushi for lunch. It was delicious. I've been craving Japanese food since I've been here, so that was a wonderful treat.





Another week of school and today, there was a lot of rain down in the city of Tegucigalpa. One of the soccer stadium walls collapsed and one man was killed. Please pray for the safety with all the rain here. Thanks for your friendship, love, and support. Miss you all, An

Dia del Independencia de Honduras

Did you know that many Central American countries celebrate today for their independence? Well, it was an amazing 2 days full of activities and fun. Yesterday, my class had a celebration and did a beautiful presentation for the first grade class.

The kindergarten class dancing in Honduras dress:


My kids were patriotic and wore blue and white.


This morning started out at 9 am when my friend, Jorge, picked me and 2 of my friends up. We drove past the Resistencia, which is the group of people against the current government. They were planning a demonstration march today to downtown. Lots of roads were closed and we finally got to Expresso Americano, a nice coffee shop and dropped my friends off. Then, Jorge and I dropped the car off at his house and walked 4 blocks to the parades. The sun was out, the marching bands were playing, the cheerleaders were dancing, the smell of food was in the air... (I think you get the picture) it was a beautiful day. In Tegucigalpa and other parts of Honduras, this parade involves high schoolers from public and private schools. There were over 40 of them!! They all marched down the main street and ended up at the soccer stadium. There were thousands of people lined along the roads and in the stadium. We saw parachuters and planes fly over us.

The parade


The parachuters


The stadium


Please pray for the country and for peace and wisdom for the government. Happy birthday Honduras!

It's been a month!

I can't believe it's only been one month since I have been here in Honduras. It seems like a lot more time has passed since then. I'm sorry it's been awhile since I have written on my blog. (I will try to do a better job of that)

Well, to catch you all up on my happening here... where should I start? The first day of school was great and has been going well for the last 2 weeks. I have 22 students now: 11 boys, 11 girls. I play soccer with the boys on Monday and Wednesdays; and I jumprope with the girls on Tuesdays and Thursday. The kids really enjoy me spending time outside of the classroom with them. They are a good group of students. I've only had problems with having perfect lines (so we're working on that!)

These are my housemates and I on the first day of school.


We had a school wide open house last week Friday and I got to meet most of my students' parents. It was really neat to meet them and be able to communicate with them in Spanish. All the families are so generous and loving and offered to help me in any way they can. Here they say "a la orden", which means "at your service."


At Pinares, lesson plans are due the Friday before the week begins which is really great because then you have the weekend almost all to yourself. I've gone to Valle de Angeles with some old family friends. It's a cute touristy city with lots of good food and artisan and Honduran souvenirs. I'm actually going there again this weekend and will be sure to take pictures for you all. I laid out on my porch this past weekend and actually got a tanline ;) I went swimming in a pool today and went to my old church that I use to go to as a little girl.

Yesterday was really fun. Gina, Julie, Devon, and I decided to walk down the mountain, about 4 km through the winding road to El Picacho. El Picacho is a national park and hosts the Jesus statue which you can see from pretty much anywhere in Tegucigalpa, the national zoo, and replicas of Mayan ruins. It was fun because it started out as a beautiful sunny day, then, we had torrential rains and the park closed, but we were all determined to see the statue which we walked 45 minutes to see... so, we decided to climb the wall made of rocks to capture a few photos. It was a fun adventure with some wonderful friends.


The people here are really amazing. I live with 3 other girls: Julie, Elisa, and Charith. Most of the teachers live in the apartment complex or the houses across the street which is very convenient. We have game night, potlucks, movie night, dinner parties, and unannounced visitors. It's a loving Christian community which I am truly blessed to be a part of. I have seen myself grow in many areas: physically (thanks to Rachel DeJong and her aerobics classes AND soccer on Tuesday nights), spiritually (through small groups, Bible study every morning, chapel at school, church, and fellowship), mentally (learning how to effectively teach these students through research and trial and error), and emotionally (not necessarily in culture shock, but being away from people you love and cherish).


To close, my prayer requests are for my students and their continual growth in all areas of life; as well as for me and my ability to teach them to be like Christ and to learn and do well in everything. Thanks for your support and friendships. Love always.

Day 11, but who's counting

Yesterday I went to a festival across the street at the Catholic church. They had many traditional foods of Honduras: enchiladas, tacos fritos, pupusas, etc. There was also a small soccer competition as well. It's great to be immersed in a new culture once again.

This past week, the teachers have been busy setting up their classroom and settling into their apartments. We went to a huge store called Price Smart which is equivalent to a Costco. I ended up spending more than I wanted to, but everything came in bulk, even the chocolate chips.

My flatmates and I hired a maid. Her name is Ana and she comes to our apartment 3 times a week. She washes our clothes and dishes, mops the floors, cleans the bathroom, and cooks for us. It's hard for me letting someone do those things for me, but at the same time, it allows me to do other things with my time, like going for hikes.

I live in El Hatillo which is the mountain in Tegucigalpa with the giant statue of Jesus and the Coca Cola sign. It takes 20 minutes to drive down the mountain because there are a lot of turns and potholes too.

Here are pictures of my apartment:







Here are pictures of my unfinished classroom:




Please pray for the students in my 4th grade class. There are 21 of them. Pray for their safety, their attitude, and their spirtitual growth this year. Also pray for me as I plan and prepare for our first day of school on Thursday. I feel pretty calm now and pray that this year will be great one.

May God bless you today and always. Miss you. Hugs and un besito, An

Viva Honduras!

I'm finally here and I feel right at home. People here are so wonderful! The school and city has changed ALOT since I've been here: new library, new gymnasium, new offices, and I'm even in a new building to teach 4th grade.

I've been going running (or I should say attempting too) but the high altitude is killing my lungs. We learned how to clean our fruits and vegetables by soaking them into bleach water... I know, it sounds like a health hazard to me too. But that's life in a third world country.

My apartment is huge and there are 4 of us living there. I'm really excited to get to know them better as well as the other staff member. There are 4 other graduates from Calvin here so that's been really nice.

I will post pictures soon, but off to cooking my first dinner. Wish me luck.

What's your word?

Currently, I am reading a book called Eat, Pray, Love. In one of the chapters I read, it talks about every city having ONE word that sums it up as a whole. Well, I thought about this... what's my word? I came up with "relational" because that is who I am. I love people and care about each individual. I invest my time, my thoughts, and my heart into them. Looking back at my life, I have made amazing relationships with people. I hold them all dear to my heart and cannot imagine who I would be without them today. This goes out to you (you know who you are)! Thank you for shaping me into who I am. So, today, take a moment and think about what your word is. Are you willing to share it with me?