Lago de Yojoa

So, I realize that it has been a month since my last post, and you have to believe me when I say that I have sat down a couple of times to write and update everyone about my life. Looking back over my previous posts, however, my recent life has not seemed to produce anything nearly as exciting or exotic as what you are accustomed to. After this weekend, I think that has changed...but before I tell you about that, I need to take a couple of minutes to give you a recap of events over the past few weeks of things that I feel you need to know, but didn't necessarily merit its own post.

We have had a couple of fun days at school, one being the 100th day of school and Valentine's Day. Since August 21st, my class and I have been counting up to the 100th day of school, in which we celebrated by dressing like old people (myself included) and did various school activities revolving around the number 100. My kids were so cute, and it really made me look back to see how much my students have grown and developed in a relatively short time together. When they entered my class on Day 1, they could not understand or speak English, tie their shoes, read, or write words. Now they are doing all with amazing ease (thank goodness they can tie their shoes now), and I feel so blessed and privileged to be a part of the development of these kids. Sometimes I wake up and I think to myself, "Am I really a teacher now? Do they really trust me with these kids, a recent college grad, and think me worthy of imparting knowledge?" Before I began teaching, my biggest fear was not my living situation, my safety, the language, or any of the hardships that come with living in an extremely impoverished nation, but rather that I would be a terrible teacher, my students would not learn anything, drop out of school in frustration for never having learned to read or write, and join gangs since they did not have an education. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I really was scared to ruin these children, so seeing their development has eased my fears about the aforementioned situation. I adore my children so much more now on Day 100-and something than I did on Day 1 or Day 50, and if nothing else, I have full confidence that my children know that I love them and for so many of them, that is just what they need. So, for me life is still great and I just have peace about my life because I know that I have just found my little niche in the universe.

So onto more recent matters. As many of you know, I have had a friend join me in my little niche about a week ago, and tomorrow will be her first day teaching by herself here. My friend Leah, who I figured out I've known for about 9 years now (which makes me feel old) has recently taken a position at the Academia Los Pinares to take over a 4th grade class for a teacher who is going on maternity leave. Lucky for me but unlucky for both sets of parents, we are pretty adventurous and probably bring it out of each other more than normal. I'm just glad to have someone here who enjoys leaving their apartment and exploring as much as I do, and I've gotten a kick out of transitioning from the one needing the translation to the one giving the translation.

Now that we are up to speed, this past weekend was ALP's annual teacher retreat at the country's only lake, Lago de Yojoa. Even though the whole weekend was drizzling and cold, I had a fantastic time. The topography of the area was a nice change from Tegucigalpa, which has mostly rugged mountains and pine forests to the lake where the surrounding area looked like a tropical postcard with the banana trees, mountains, and jungle birds flying about. The lake is situated inside a collapsed volcano and sits at about 1/2 a mile up, so the mountains surrounding the lake were especially beautiful with the clouds covering the tops. I also wish that I could explain the sounds of the birds and frogs which filled the air, and since it was sort of rainy all weekend long they seemed to be even more alive and vocal.

Even though it was cold and rainy, there was no way that Leah and I were going to stay in our cabin all weekend...especially when there is a new area to explore. We went with a group from ALP to this national park and took a boat ride way out into the lake. In our boat there were 13 people and the top of the boat barely hovered about the water, and while some people might be miserable being cold and wet in a boat, I was just amazed at my surroundings and had one of those "I need to commit this to memory" sort of experiences. After being on the water for 25-30 minutes, and were dropped off at this rickety bridge (See: Video Clip http://www.zippyvideos.com/8093081706682756/macayla_005/) where we walked back through Lenca ruins and sugar cane fields to the front of the park. We then met up with the rest of the group at this little cabana-type restaurant to eat boiled corn on the cob dipped in mantequilla and rolled in quesillo. Nearby the lake were supposed to be these fantastic waterfalls that you could jump off of into this swimming hole, but alas I was not quite that adventurous because it was definitely cold and as it was, I did not have enough warm clothes for this trip and I definitely wore the same jeans and jacket for the entire 3 day retreat. We were warned by everyone that this trip is usually really hot and were told to bring plenty of tank tops and shorts, so at least we were in good company in our cold, wet states and repeat outfits.

Besides the lake adventure, I also had a great time just hanging out with my new "family" here, as diverse as they may be. I played a few games of Spanish pictionary (which by the way is difficult enough to draw and guess these words in English), hung out with lots of people I normally wouldn't be able to, and had lots of time to relax just soak in the weekend...literally and figuratively.