MEEEEESS MEEESSSS

We have completed our first day of school! and our second day of school! but today (our 3rd day of school) was and tomorrow (our 4th day of school) is canceled on the account of a lot of rain. Who ever heard of canceling school on the account of rain? But I'm not arguing! We think they may have canceled school due to mud. Where is the mud you might ask? The picture below is the street we walk on to get to school...now that's muddy! They are putting wells in underground. It has been a tough trip for cars/buses/moto-taxis to get by, causing a lot of kids to be late to school! Its kinda humorous though because its just so Honduras!


I had heard teaching was hard, but I think I refused to believe it. I was SO wrong. I got to school early so I could try to organize some things before kids showed up. Well, kids were waiting at my door when I got there. and parents. and then I couldn't get my classroom door open and I was sweating so much because I had walked up the hill to get to school. and then when I finally got into my classroom, all the students wanted to hand me ALL of their supplies one by one. MEEESS, MEEESSS (Miss, with a Honduran accent), toma, toma (take it, take it). So many supplies, multiplied by so many students. I just threw them into a big pile in the corner of my room. The day started out pretty good. I had another teacher who speaks fluent Spanish (Ms. Viki, a Spanish Literature professor from George Fox University in Oregon) in my room for most of the day and praise the Lord she was there! She was such a huge help...because my students DO NOT understand English right now! AH! It was not what I expected and a challenge to explain rules, procedures, really anything with them not having a clue what I was saying! The first day was a super big challenge. I did not stop sweating. Just trying to get the kids to stay in their seats and raise their hands and get in line and come to class after recess and to not touch each other and not to fight, etc. etc. etc. Three of my students lost recess time on the next day. I felt so mean, but I had to be firm! It was hard to do. It was the most extreme babysitting job I have ever done.

The second day, however, was much better. Not good, but better! The morning started off great. The few students whose seats I had to move obeyed quickly and without a fight. They all were paying attention to what I said and seemed ready for the day. Things quickly went down hill for a few of the students after recess. but luckily Viki could come back and help me a little bit. Its just such a challenge to figure out how to not let those special 3 or 4 little children disrupt the entire class.

The kids are super cute though. and hilarious! They just really cannot understand that they just need to raise their hand silently and I will come to their desk. They all raise their hands and say MEEESSS MEEEESSS. They all want to show me every little bit of work they do cause they are proud of it and want my approval. They want to tell me when they are done with their work (MEESS, I'm feenished, MEEESSS). They want to hold my hands. They just want me to tell them that the blue line they have drawn down their construction paper is "muy bonita." I love that part of teaching so much.

Allan's first day was chaos because the day started unorganized for everyone (we were supposed to have a morning assembly at 7, which we went to, only to be sent back to our classes to come to a later assembly at 8:30). This started his whole day in an organized fashion. He also spent a lot of the day realizing how little English his students knew and understood and even less how much they spoke. Although they were decently well behaved and responded well to his discipline system and rules, they still did not understand anything he was saying and stared blankly at him for most of the day. Like my students, Allan's would raise their hands with urgency saying "Meeeester, Meeester." Allan, thinking something was wrong, would hurry to their desks only to discover that they just wanted to show them they were done with their work. These kids like to show off their stuff.

His second day was a little better as well. He chose a MUCH easier book for "read-aloud" time and his students even recongnized the character in the book! Thats a huge step. Allan even has a student that asks for more work.

Although it has been hard, everyday when we are walking home from school , looking at the incredibly green mountains that surround Copan we realize that it is worth it. This is an experience of a lifetime and we are both thankful to the Lord to be here. Its super challenging, but its in the challenges we grow. Keep lifting up those prayers!




Allan walking his class to the bus stop at the end of the day!


Look at how straigh those lines are!





My lines are not so straight...

I am trying to get the kids to walk with their fingers on their mouths to remind them to be quiet in the halls...unsuccessful so far!

Where the streets become rivers!

It rained the other night...and the streets turned into rivers. Here is a short video of the street outside of the internet cafe we were in. It actually isn't raining at the time of the video, this is just the left-over rain rushing down the hills.

Of Mice and Mayatan

So we are a few days behind on our blog because things have really started to pick up and get busier here. I say "busier" because to say that anything or anyone's life in Copan is "busy" would seem to just go against the culture. We start teaching TOMORROW! Yes, at 7am we will have 16 little Honduran estudiantes (Allan) and 20 little Honduran estudiantes (Abby) looking up at us from their desks. Crazy!

Last Thursday Allan was cleaning out his classroom some more and trying to organize the monds of paper that had been left for him when he happened a little family of newborn mice. He said the momma scurried quickly out of the room leaving 5 brand new
babies (they couldn't even open their eyes yet!) alone in the corner of the classroom. We called our new friend Jose (4th grader, whose house we visited the other day. His mom is Eva and his little sister is in the picture with me from a previous blog) to come look at it. Jose one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen. He is just so sweet. and had NO fear of the little mice. He picked all 5 of them up in his hand and carried them outside to show off to his friends. After a little while, Allan and I knew they were going to die without their mom so we told Jose and his friends he should carry them to the edge of the school and set them free. Later Jose showed us a little house he made for the mice out of cardboard and grass. It was precious and we were glad we didn't have to touch them.


Friday afternoon was open house at Mayatan. There was a small turnout because of the mis-communication on when open house actually was, but I did get to meet 4 of my students and their parents. I have 2 students from the nearby Chorti villages called La Pintada who came to open house to meet me. Meeting some students made this seem even more unbelievable because when I would ask the kids something, all I got were blank stares! My lesson plans may all have to change if they can't understand me! Oh no!



We had another amazing experience on Saturday. Anne (my fellow 2nd grade teacher) and her family are missionaries down here. Her husband (who is a veternarian) mostly works with villages and their livestock, teaching the village people how to care for their animals. Anne invited us to go with them to a nearby village to help paint their newly constructed school. We were really excited about the invite and the chance to see a village. On the way to the village, we got to ride in the back of a pickup, standing up (real Honduran style) because the ride was so bumpy and up and down mountain paths. Our butts would have been so bruised if we tried to sit the whole time. Pulling up into the village, a little boy started sprinting after the truck to greet
us. Then 4 or 5 more little boys showed up wanting to help. And then a few more children and some older men. And then a woman with her 4 little girls. And then 3 women and their babies showed up wanting to feed us lunch when we were finsihed painting the school. By the time we were finsihed, it seemed like half of the village was there, but I think it is because they were so
excited about this new school. So excited about a 25 x 15 cement block school with a few desks and the smallest chalkboard I have seen in a school. I think they were so excited because the old school was mud and sticks, with a tin roof, with a dirt floor.

After we finished painting, watching the little boys play soccer for a while (and loving every minute of it!) and eating (we ate while all the villagers watched us! I felt so bad!), Allan and I got to walk up to where their houses are. The hill was so steep and I was sweating so much. I was so humbled by how these people live. Those women carried our food, plates, cups, drinks, silverware, etc. all the way down this hill, just to feed us. They probably carried the supplies to make the food and the drinks on a 3 hour walk from town around and up and down those same curvy, bumpy roads we drove on. Some of them may have horses to carry them to town and back, but a lot probably don't. I just cannot believe it! I hate running errands because they take so long by car in the states but I cannot imagine walking 2 hours to town down hill and then back up the hill with just a few supplies because its all that is able to be carried. Wow. And then they shared what they had with us.



Some of the little boys!


Allan and the kids painting!


Playing soccer!


The old school!

The new school and the old school!

We cannot believe that we are starting to teach on Monday! It seems like such a crazy, how-in-the-world-do-we-do-this type of thing. We have had time allotted in our orientation schedule everyday to work in our classrooms and it seems like my classroom is just getting more and more out-of-control! I finally swept out some of the little creatures that had made a home there during the summer and got the furniture basically where I want it! I am really excited about getting to decorate my room and my teacher's desk! Allan is excited because his teacher's desk is big and that man loves big desks! The first 2 pictures below are of Allan's classroom and the next 2 picures are of my classroom. I will take some pictures of the finished project to share with y'all too! Its going to come together, slowly
but surely!

After orientation today, Allan and I decided we should go on a hike since we are the only teachers that have not done this yet. Below is a video of the view from beautiful Hacienda San Lucas. It was so quaint up there. We were the only 2 around and it was nice to sit and have such amazing scenery. In the picture above you can see Copan Ruinas (where we are living) in the distance.

Allan’s blurb about laundry!

If you know me well at all, you know that I, like King Arthur, King of the Briton, have been given a quest. The only difference is that my sought after grail is more womanly shaped and is made of green-tinted glass. So, one day while buying bread at a convenience store next door to my house, I overheard a local copaneco ask for a Coca-Cola, and the boy behind the counter said "ocho lempiras"!! 8 lempiras=<$0.50!!!!!! I was ecstatic because I now knew what a local paid for a full, GLASS bottle of fresh, crisp Coke. So I decided to make it a routine that after I come back from school, when it's hot outside and I need a break, I would come by this store and purchase a Coke. (the story could end here and I would have been perfectly content- Copan, I love you) But, when I went in the next day for a Coke and was hanging out drinking it (because I had to give the bottle back anyways), I decided to shoot the breeze/practice some Spanish with the owner. Her name is Reina (Queen), and I asked her if she knew where a laundromat was. She paused, looked at me, then asked how much laundry did I have. I told her not much. Silence. She looked at me (I was wondering what she was thinking and was she understanding me?) , and then asked where do I live? Well, I might have been thrown off by this, but the truth is I live literally next door to this store (there's not much hiding that), so I told her, and I mentioned I'm a teacher at Mayatan (celeb status). She then said: "Bring it to me." So I went (with my Coke) and got my clothes and left them with her (as well as my Coke bottle). The next day, I go by, and she comes out the back with my clothes all cleaned, folded, and smelling good! I know they had to be handwashed and that would have taken me over an hour! Guess how much it cost...$1.40!!!! Amazing! She was so excited too, and she said bring more over whenever. You can't even pay for a machine where you wash it yourself for that much in the USA. If you're not amazed by all of these fortunate events, then you haven't hand washed and line-dried all of your clothes using buckets and a pila (big concrete sink with ribbed surfaces to scrub). The moral of this story is that Coke brings good things, and Copan brings cheap Coke. (Did I mention it was a glass bottle? :) I think the similarities between Coke and the Cup of Life are stark. I love this place!

now back to abby....

We decided to go crazy tonight and try to cook some meat for dinner. My co-teacher told me about this great place where she buys frozen meat (instead of the free-standing meat they sell at the market...we're just not so sure about that meat yet!) I found the store she was talking about and I feel like I have discovered the Target of Copan Ruinas! They have almost everything...school supplies, meat, cooking supplues, storage supplies, groceries, shoes, hates, fabric, picture frames, yard furniture, eggs (not in the fridge), paper products, etc. It's great! I bought some "pechugas" (frozen chicken breasts) from tham and we cook them up tonight! Check it out below...and rice is quickly becoming a staple...along with green pepper and onionsin everything!

We think of you y'all often and miss you much!

We have officially been in Copan Ruinas for one week! It has taken some time to get used to throwing our toilet tissue in the trashcan rather than flushing it and using bottled water to brush our teeth, but being here in this midst of this beauty and being able to blog from a patio surrounded by this (see the picture above for the view I have right now!) makes everything well worth it.

We have had orientation the past two days. Nothing like a crash course on how to teach...and how to teach students who probably are not going to be able to understand a lot of what we are saying at first. We are learning a lot! Our classrooms also need a lot of work. I killed a few cockroaches in my classroom today and did some rearranging and sorting of books. Allan worked on making rules and decided he is going to teach English and Reading while the other 4th grade teacher is going to teach Science and Math. We are blessed to have such a patient and knowledgable staff working with us!

So the rumors of the infamous power outages are true. For 18 hours, Allan's house did not have power...or running water, despite the large water tank that was installed a few days ago. We don't think the man installed it correctly because even since its been on the roof, water has been POURING off his roof incescently. He came to fix it yesterday and the water stopped working all over town! Luckily, I had power at my house so we hung out and fixed dinner there (see below for pictures of the past few meals...they are getting better!). Allan decided to leave around 10 only to walk back in complete, absolute, pitch black darkness...on cobblestone. Although he had a headlamp, he used an additional flashlight to make it seem like there was more than one person walking alone. He admitted to being a little scared, especially when a dog woofed at him through an iron window 6 inches from his ear. Getting ready for bed and brushing your teeth in complete darkness is quite entertaining. You should try it sometime. My power continued throughout the night until right before I was going to take a nice, hot shower and get ready for the day...Atleast I could take a cold shower...everyone from Allan's house was a bit greasier than usual! :)


We loved reading your comments! So please leave some! Keep praying for us as we are learning more and more everyday!


Rice (again, but less grit-like!), broccli and black beans!

Green beans, broccli, and Mac and Cheese!

Lawry's Seasoning Salt has been a savior! :)

Video Honduras

Here are some video's from the first week here in Honduras! Hopefully it will help you be able to visualize some of the things we have talked about in our blog!



The celebration that took place in the restaurant where we watched the game! They were so excited!


The parade in the streets after the game!



This was taken in the bird park! The bird wanted to talk to us really bad...and then started whistling at us cause we are so good looking. :)


Allan was scared of the spiders that took over the paths so he decided to use a water bottle to clear the path before we walked on it! So funny!

Coffee on a hot day

Today we had another awesome opportunity to visit the home of one of the 4th grade students, Jose, at Mayatan to take him some school supplies with another teacher. Jose's mother , Eva, works as a house-keeper at Mayatan as well. Pictured here with me is his little sister, Diana, who is just as cute as she can be. Eva, Jose and Diana live in one of the poorer neighborhoods in Copan. It was such a sight to see. Eva was so inviting to us, despite her 2 room (a kitchen and a bedroom), concrete floored, cinderblock walled, extremely hot, and cramped home. She greeted us at the door and had even fixed coffee and had cookies for us. She served it to us on a stool, which they use for a table. There is no bathroom in the home, and everyone sleeps in the same 8x10 bedroom. Jose showed us his photo album where he has pictures of his past teachers at Mayatan and pictures of the family from North America that sponsers him so he can attend Mayatan. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing how much this young boy loves his education and his teachers. I am so thankful for those people in the picture enabling and allowing Jose to have a chance at this education. It really showed me the importance of giving even more and made me excited to be able to be a part of kids lives like Jose.

Last night, Allan and I attempted to make our first dinner with limited supplies and since we both normally just eat frozen vegetables, cheez-its, and grilled chicken, we knew we had a small adventure. After finally getting the stove to light with matches, we made some grit-like rice with a few vegetables. Over all I would say it was a success! We are trying again tonight :)

Sunday morning is the big market day in Copan because people from the surrounding areas bring the fresh fruits and vegetables they have been growing all week. We went shopping and got 4 ears of corn, a large stalk of broccli, green beans, black beans, and 3 cloves of garlic for $2.50. Now thats a good deal. We decided we needed eggs as well, so we went to buy some...little did we know they don't come in egg cartons here! I walked home very carefully needless to say!

Our first home-made dinner!



The market on the street!


Our baggie of 6 eggs :)

Got Milk?

Everyone here (as in the other teachers) likes to get up at 6:30 am to go on adventures/runs...Allan and I, not so much. So we decided to have our own adventures at a slightly more reasonable time (until we have to get up to be at school at 6:30!). Yesterday we decided to venture up the mountain to "el parque de aves" or the bird park. It was an amazing place. We were able to get in for free because we are Mayatan teachers and we were practically the only people in the park. Walking on the trails and seeing exotic birds (toucans, parrots, macaws) was perfectly enjoyable until we started getting caught in the webs of spiders (which Allan loved...). There was even a part of the park where you could hold the macaws! (pictures below!)

On the way down the mountain, we met up with some cows and were walking down together when a baby cow ran up from the opposite direction about to die of thirst. Like nature intended, the baby cow proceeded to drink milk from its mother. but this was drinking milk like I have never seen before. This baby cow would SLAM its head up against its mom's utters, nearly knocking her over. Maybe he was trying to increase flowage?

Today was one of the coolest days we have had since being here. A few nights ago a missionary couple (the Collins!) from the states invited all the Mayatan teachers over for a good ole cookout, complete with sweet-tea (although not like my momma's!). They have been missionaries to the Chorti villages surrounding Copan Ruinas for the past 6 years. It was so awesome to hear their stories and just learn about their lives here in Copan. They felt called to the mission field when they were in their early 50's and left everything to move here to share Jesus with these people. Did I mention they knew NO Spanish when they got here? Incredible. After dinner, they invited anyone to stop by anytime and say hello. Well today Allan and I decided to take them up on that invitation, and it was AWESOME. We stopped by after breakfast today and since there are gates around every house in Copan meaning you can't ring doorbells or knock on doors, we figured the best way to see if they were home was to yell their names! After talking with them (and another couple who is here leading a mission trip from the states) for a while, they invited us to ride with them to their farm near the villages up in the mountains. They use this farmland as a place to teach the Chorti people (the Chorti natives as opposed to Latino natives) how to grow their own food (corn, cacoa, and lots of other types of food). They also raise goats on this farm land. They do this with the intent of teaching these people how to be able to get food on the table 365 days a year. The Chorti people have nothing. Literally nothing. They live in houses made of mud, not even adobe, with dirt floors. If they go to school at all, its usually only the boys and only to the 3rd grade. 85% of the people are illiterate and the chief of one of the villages just recently learned how to write his name. I take doodling my name so for granted! In addition to the farms, the missionaries also have a stove project (to make stoves to put in each house for cooking), water project (to get water to each village), seed project, and lots more I cannot remember right now because there are so many amazing things. It's incredible how these people have just given their lives away to serve these Chorti people with nothing in return. I could talk a while about how many huge things they are doing for the sake of Jesus in the villages around. There are 56 villages in the mountains and they have built farms and the other projects for 13 of those villages enabling these people to grow their own food! They have built 6 schools in villages where there were NO schools and they have also helped put a village girl through college. They know everyone around and just genuinely desire to serve and give their lives away 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The visiting couple told us their house has revolving doors because people are always coming and going from there. Mr. Collins told us that although he is 61 already, he hopes he can stay in Copan until he is at least 70 because there is so much he wants to be seen done here. Their love for this country and for the Lord is contagious and inspiring. What a HUGE blessing from the Lord to have them here! I can't wait to get to spend more time with them!

Thanks for praying! We appreciate your emails and comments! Love y'all!


This is a view from the bridge we cross over on the way to school.

A moto-taxi! :)

This is the entrance to Mayatan!


I so badly wanted to take a picture of the horses walking with sticks
that we saw walking up to school, but I was afraid. I saw these 2 boys
looking at us, so I asked and they were really excited to be able to see
their picture with their horse!

Our new friends that we walked down the mountain with!


Hungry calf!


The red bird tried to eat Allan's hair and would not stop talking to Allan!


I was a little scared but it was so cool!


God is REALLY creative! Look at that nose!

From Honda to Honduras!

It is impossible to portray Copan Ruinas in a blog! We (Allan and I) arrived safely from ATL around lunch time to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Our new friend, Tito, was waiting for us at the airport with "allan and abby" scribbled on a piece of computer paper! It was so nice to be greeted by such a welcoming face. Tito (and 2 other men) proceeded to help us carry our 340 pounds of luggage, carry-ons, and pillows to the autobus. The ride to Copan was amazingly beautiful. We were lucky enough to get to see a protest happening in the streets of San Pedro Sula. Hundreds of people were walking up and down the street in a peaceful protest in favor of Mel Zelaya. I felt like a mini-movie star because people kept looking in our car, waving, and a tipping their hats to us. Once we made it past the protests, we stopped for an authentic Honduran meal...at the local texaco gas station :). It was so cool to get to see part of the city, the protests and the poverty that exists in the outskirts of the city. We passed rows and rows of mud houses with stray dogs and lots of trash as decoration on the way. Arriving in Copan was breathtaking. The streets are made of cobblestone, the women carry baskets on their heads, the mountains paint the background of the town, and everyone was so friendly! (we are constantly greeted with smiles and Holas!) We spent the next day and a half getting aquainted with the town. Its so nice to run errands here because you can compare prices at 3 different stores in less than 15 minutes because everything is so close! Our houses are also very cool. I live with 2 other girls and Allan shares a house with 3 other guys. We each have our own room, complete with roosters/chickens/dogs and cats in the backyard :) Its awesome.

Last night, Honduras played Costa Rica in soccer! What an experience! We got to watch the game in the midst of Hondurans, who LOVE their soccer team. Each goal was a party for the Hondurans. Even after Honduras was ensured a win (by being up 3-0 with about one minute to go), the 4th goal caused an uproar of excitement from the fans (actually, the biggest one of all the goals!). After the game, the streets turned into a parade. The people ran to their cars, moto-taxos, and dirt bikes and started driving in circles around the town. The cars were LOADED with people. Backs of trucks had no less than 15 people hanging off of them. They honked the horns, they screamed Honduras, they waved flags...all for about 45 minutes driving in a big loop. Imagine everyone getting on their bike or in their truck and driving around a cobblestone street a fourth of the size of Franklin Street after UNC beats Dook. CRAZY!

Right now, we are at the school where we are going to be teaching this year. It is a good 30 minute UP hill hike from our houses, but it is so gorgeous. Our classrooms are open air and the cafeteria is outside! We have a lot of work to do on our classrooms to make them "kid-like" but we are both so excited! The Honduran teachers and the administration are so nice and helpful! Please keep praying for us as we continue to get to know people and prepare for school! We met a few kids today and its going to be such an adventure! I can't get over how cute they are! We are thankful for each of you and will update soon!





Allan and I before the soccer game with our new jerseys!


Dinner on our first night! Enpanadas!


A truck loaded with people celebrating the win!


My classroom! :) Second grade A! (with Megan, the director!)