Amapala

If only every job could be like this...

We have been working really hard these last couple of weeks setting up our classrooms and preparing for the new school year. For those of you who are not teachers, it doesn't sound like a big deal. But for those of you who are or are married to a teacher can attest to the immense amount of work that is put into beginning of the year set-up. The younger the grade, the more the set-up as well. After all of the painting and repairs that are done during the summer in the classrooms, you basically start from scratch again, even if you are in the same grade and same classroom like I was. I was also nominated grade-level chairperson (not bad for a 2nd year teacher), which meant extra meetings that took away classroom set-up time. After working probably 55-60 hours the week before school started, I was able to finally let out a sigh of relief as my kids walked into the classroom on the first day of school. But oh yeah, they are super little, don't speak English, and puked on my beautiful beaded sandals all on the first week (no joke). I say all this to somewhat justify a small weekend vacation that was taken after two weeks of work. Yes, it was only 2 weeks, but it was a super-hard two weeks in which if a small break was not taken soon, burn-out would occur. This past Friday I was handed a slip of paper that stated there would be no school on Monday due to scheduled strikes within the country. I have mentioned the strikes before, and when groups demonstrate (doctors, teachers, public transportation, etc.) the country really is crippled. So, as to not spend our entire weekend in the house, Leah and I along with our housemate Elisa decided to drive to a small island in the Pacific Coast that proved to be one of the most relaxing weekends that I have ever experienced.

Truly a diamond in the rough, the island is inhabited by only about 2,000 people, and best of all, there are no tourists. Once a U.S. naval station and outlook tower during the contra wars in the 1980's (since its strategic position in the bay that allows it to see Honduras, Nicaragua, & El Salvador), after the U.S. pull-out it was left to sort of struggle and become more and more run-down due to the tropical ocean climate as well as the pull-out of money. (Hint: Click on the map, find the Golfo de Fonseca on the Pacific side, and look at the little islands. This is where we were...so small they aren't even labeled on the map!) However, recent attempts have been made though to restore the island, and even in its disrepair, it had a wonderful island charm that allowed us to relax to the fullest as well as swim in the Pacific Ocean once again. Enjoy the pictures!

Mmmmm......Delicious local seafood. This fish, like the island, is not completlely appealing by just looks alone, but as you take it in, you realize just how great it really is.

La Ceiba

After teaching my first week of Summer School, I had the best weekend of my life. Literally. This was the coolest weekend I have ever had, and I feel that if I were to die tomorrow and God were to ask me what the top 3 favorite life experiences, I feel like this would be in there. Since I finished Thursday at 11:30, Leah, Jen & I boarded a bus to the Caribbean coast to the town of La Ceiba, which is a great little beach town that has attractions, yet is not completely Disney-ized and over-run by tourists.

It pretty much took all of Thursday to travel to La Ceiba since it was about 6-7 hours in a bus. However, we have really come to enjoy the bus rides and use them as part of the relaxation of traveling so that from the moment we arrive to our destination until the moment we leave, we can live it up and absorb as much as we can, leaving the sleeping to the busses. Friday morning, after waking up at the beautiful Hotel Canadien

(which cost us each about $9), we had a wonderful breakfast of fresh tropical fruit, beans, eggs, tortillas, avocado, and unlimited orange juice and coffee, all for the whopping price of $2. Plus, the view from the second story deck of the hotel wasn't bad either. After breakfast, Leah, Jen, and I hit the beach for a little time in the sun and in the water. The view was amazing, with cloud covered tropical mountains literally stretching all the way to the coastline. Floating in the ocean and looking out over this sight, I couldn't help but just think of how good God is for giving us such a beautiful creation. Too often we fail to recognize that God is beauty and perfection, and this was just a small reminder of that.

After spending some time relaxing, the three of us made buddies with a taxi driver who offered to be our personal chauffeur for the weekend (for just the right price) and drove us out to the Pico Bonito National Park where we would go white water rafting on

the Rio Cangrejal. It has been a long, long time since I had been white water rafting, but with the water being the perfect temperature and with the coolest river guide ever (Juan Carlos) I knew we would be in good hands. Since we went rafting during the rainy season, the river was about 2-3 feet higher than normal, which made for the highest category for rapids that there is. We had an AMAZING time and felt like we completely got our money's worth on this one. I wish I could completely share just how beautiful it was there within the national park, but I suppose you will have to take my word for it and look at the pictures knowing that they are only more fantastic in real life.

So, if this was all that we did when we were in La Ceiba, it still would have been a fantastic weekend. However, we had one more day and we managed to also ride horses from our hotel up this gigantic mountain and took zip-lines down through the jungle canopy. I have NEVER done anything like this before (both horse-riding as well as attaching myself by a cable around my waist to fly through the air at 35 miles per hour through a jungle), and just thinking about this, writing about this adventure a couple of months afterwards, I still cannot help but smiling. We went down on a total of 13 cables, and after each one we had to unhook ourselves, walk out on the platform, and jump up to hook ourselves onto the next one, and zip through to the next platform. In addition to seeing the beautiful Cayos Cochinos Islands in the Caribbean from our mountain-top perch, we were also able to see natural hotsprings and waterfalls inside the jungle, as well as a variety of plant and animal life that only belongs to this part of the world.

We were also sure to partake in the famous seafood of the area for nearly every meal, and definitely made the most out of our whirl-wind weekend trip.


While I was in Florida during this summer visiting family and friends, the million dollar question was "Macayla, when are you coming back??" Look at these pictures my friends...they will speak for themselves.

What I Did This Summer...

I will give a quick run-down as to what I was so consumed with this summer that I did not post anything for a small lifetime...

1. Kindergarten graduation. I know that I put on a big post with pictures and videos from the grand event, but it really did take a lot out of me. That, combined with just ending a school year, made me feel like I was in need of a break.

2. Summer School. When one feels overwhelmed and needs a good break from school for awhile, what do you do? Teach summer school. Okay, that did not make much sense in that context, but it really was a nice way to have something to occupy my days (Mon-Thurs. from 8:00-11:30 for 3 weeks) as well as put a little extra money in the bank. So, while summer school kept me busy during the mornings, I was kept busy in the afternoons by...

3. Moving. Moving is always a mixed feeling for me. On one hand, it is always fun because I have something fresh & new in store for me in the near future. On the other hand, its horrible because it is moving. This move was kept entertaining though because I had to do it riding public transportation, taking one suitcase and one back-pack full of things at a time down from El Hatillo to my new neighborhood in the city. I would spend half of my time in El Hatillo and the other half of my time in the new house, and yet I was having a great time living this sort of half life with half of my stuff.

4. Working with Manos Extendidas. The main reason that I felt like I needed to stay for a good portion of the summer is that I feel like my free time with pay is something that God has blessed me with, so I want to use it in serving others. I just couldn't see myself hanging around the U.S. with all of its malls and shopping for more than two weeks, and my friends are rather scattered now since college so I really couldn't travel to one area (like St. Augustine) and see a ton of my friends. But anyways, with my free time I did a lot of volunteering with the feeding centers as well as get to know the staff much better, which was really great.

5. Manos Extendidas Benefit Night. One would think that with only two weeks in the states that I would be relaxing the whole time with nothing to do but read, spend time with friends, and become a bronzed beach goddess. While all of these things are great, I cannot keep still and cannot be without something to do for more than 3 or 4 days. Leah and I planned a HUGE benefit night for the organization, and we were able to raise $1,400 as well as acquire some sponsors for the children there at the feeding centers. We had one week to plan it, and somehow it came together and was an amazing blessing for us as well as for the ministry. Starting out, I remembered thinking that if I could come back to Honduras with a check for $400 to hand the ministry, I would be thrilled. But good thing that God is so much bigger because even with being a self-proclaimed dreamer, my goal was more than 2/3 short of what God wanted to bless us with. For everyone who was there and able to participate, I cannot say thank you enough for what you did.

6. Visiting people. I was able to see some friends from high school (Tracy & Rob...although Rob is more high school friend by proxy), college friends (Tara, Rachel, & Marilyn) as well as family members that sadly enough I have not seen in years (my Pompano crew). It also goes without saying that I was able to visit my church family as well as my real family, and the reception I received was wonderful.

7. La Ceiba: Please see above post for more details.

So, I feel like that is about it. I'll let you know if I can think of anything else in the meanwhile. Keep on checking (I promise that now with internet in my house that I will be much better about keeping everyone posted) and keep on commenting!