No lions, No tigers, No bears...OH MY

The CIRCUS is here! (and has been for about 5 weeks) Apparently when the one-ring circus comes to Copan, they set up shop for an extended stay. Not knowing this, we made plans to go as soon as we could in fear that it would leave, and we would have missed a unique cultural experience. The first available time was a Monday night after school. I'm not sure about in the U.S., but Monday night is not the preferred circus night for most Hondurans. Abby, our friend Chris, and I bought our tickets with giddy anticipation not knowing what to expect, and as we entered the circus tent, that anticipation turned into hilarious disbelief of people in the audience, which consisted of...NO ONE! Laughing, we took some time deciding which seats to pick since we had the entire stands (or gradería) to ourselves. The circus was supposed to start at 8PM, and it was already 10 after, and it didn't look like anyone else was showing up. Having time to contemplate the circus and the fact that these people were going on with the show (well, we assumed they were) even with an audience of 7 people, we decided upgrade our seats to the next level (equivalent to $4 instead of $3 for the "grand" stands). These seats were nicer, had backs, and were about 8 feet closer to the ring that our previous ones. We were excited to be able to see everything because no one was going to sit in front of us, and we were only about 10 feet back from the ring.

At 8:30, the show started after 8 more people trickled in. The first act consisted of a scantily clad cowgirl dance sequence to capture the male attention from the get go. Applause. The second act was a unicycle riding juggler who had a nearly flawless set. The only mis-haps were dropping a ball, hitting himself in the nose with a spinning bowling pin, and then falling off the unicycle. Tremendous applause from the gringo section. Next was a 5 minute clown dancing routine. Applause. Then, the magician came out (who also dubs as the door man) and performed an almost perfect show. He only accidentally showed one false bottom, but performed the pull-the-cloth-out-of-the-red-

bag-that-has-a-handle-and-a-zipper-on-the-bottom-and-a-switch-under-the-handle-that-hides-the-contents trick that we've all owned at one point. Still followed by roaring gringo applause though.

Skip ahead past more clown and cowgirl dancing, and we get to the monkey part. In short, the monkey was on a leash and was allowed to run back and forth while doing tricks like somersaults and holding a gun. Somewhat less noisy applause from the gringos. When the lights went out we could see the silhouette of a lion in a cage pacing back and forth in a crack in the curtains, but then a spotlight suddenly illuminated a man dressed in shiny, tight clothing in the middle of the ring. He raised the microphone to his mouth and proceeded to lip-sync and pantomime the entire song. The ridiculous part was that he actually started directing some of his actions...dirty, dirty gestures...to me (we know they were to me because we were the only ones in the section, and at 10 feet you know when someone is looking at you). Nothing like feeling extremely uncomfortable at the circus. It gives me chills to think about it. Confused and hesitant applause from the gringos. Next is the trampoline: the circus cast brings out a giant trampoline and starts taking turns jumping and doing flips on it. Remember, we are only about 15 feet from this rusty, rickety trampoline, and since having a very similar one at Merritt Mill, I've grown an apprecation for the dangers posed by trampolines, even for bystanders, like springs flying off at any moment. Chris gives me a funny look when he sees me crouched down and shielding my eyes, but after the grown-man-clown jumps, and a spring actually snaps loose and flies off, he is right with me, praying for the jumping to stop. Finally, after a little audience participation in which a young girl nearly breaks a leg jumping on the trampoline and after a baby of no more than 1.5 years old jumps too, we hear on the speakers, "Llegamos al final!" which means "That's the end!" The lights come on and people file out (to make sure they don't get stuck in the parking lot traffic :). Very confused and sparse gringo applause.

We stay seated asking ourselves: Are we missing something? What about the lion? I saw it! I know it's there! We call a worker over to ask him, and he tells us to come back tomorrow to see it. So we leave. Tired, entertained, confused, enlightened, saddened, disappointed, and satisfied. The Copan circus was the most bizarre and entertaining cultural experience to date and wouldn't have had nearly the same effect if it had been any other way. We've done some pretty sweet things with little money here (coke=$0.45, orange-$0.03, maid=$4), but this was one of the best. We were scared to take pictures (because of something we thought we heard in the opening announcements), so we only got a few, but we hope they help you understand what we're talking about a little better.

Here is a video we took waiting for the circus to start :) Enjoy!



and here is a video of the grand finale :) (yes, that is a baby)

Lets go on a Field trip!

On Thursday, the 4th grade had their first field trip of the year! With 2 weeks of good behavior, I told them they could go to the Bird Park (which is right down the road from the school)! What a great incentive to behave well, right? They all were excited to go swimming and brought their suits to school. When we arrived (with 32 4th graders- which is no small feat), we saw that the little dam was opened because of the rain the night before. The water was moving too fast and would have spilled over. The kids just saw this as meaning: NO POOL. They started to get upset and frustrated, but then the most resourceful/swim-hungry ones just jumped in the river. Everyone followed suit and actually ended up finding a little swimming hole just deep enough to jump into and splash around. Catastrophe avoided. They all had lot's of fun and no one got hurt! A blessing in itself. So next week we can make it educational by giving some writing assignments about their experience and tie in science lessons with it too.

belated birthday blog

Although my students recorded this for you on your birthday, I am just now getting to blog about it :) I am so sorry for the delay, pops, but I hope you had a great birthday. You are very loved by me and many, many people in this world. Thanks for being you.

P.S. My favorite thing is how they pronounce your name :)

not so unBELIZABLE

Since we are just "volunteers" here in Honduras, all of the teachers have to leave the country every 90 days to renew our visas. Mayatan organized a trip for all of the teachers to go to Belize to renew our visas (because you have to be outside of any of the C-4 countries which includes Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua to renew your visa).

This was our first trip to the Guatemalan border...even though it is only 12 miles away. It was pretty exciting. After we went through the border check there, we drove through Guatemala to catch a ferry to take over to Punta Gorda (fat point), Belize. The ferry is pictured below. It was just a smalllll boat that sped through the water and made you feel like your face was going to get blown off. We made it to Punta Gorda to discover that probably about 50 years ago, it was a booming port town with lots going on, but now it is a ghost town. Lots of the buildings are boarded up, there are not many people, and its just empty. It was nice to have a weekend to do ABSOLUTELY nothing, because there was nothing to do. We rented a boat with the other teachers one day and went to some desserted keys off of Belize. It was fun to do that (and I held a starfish!) The rest of the time was just straight chillin. :) The hotel had T.V.'s so we did get to watch some sports and movies :) and Punta Gorda has an icecream shop and it tastes like real icecream :) That was fun too :)



The teachers waiting for the boat to set sail :)


Where is everyone? Oh yea...there is NO one in Punta Gorda!


In case you were looking for the Chocolate Center of the Universe...its in Punta Gorda, Belize.


We were trying to go out to eat and saw this place...lots of beef choices, and pork...but NO fish :)


Allan's Mini Market in Punta Gorda :) Pretty cool.

Donde vive Allan?

Finally......pictures of Allan's house :) We will take you through a virtual tour with pictures :)

This is the view from the front door :) That is Allan's room with the open door :)


From the living room, the kitchen is on the left...


Here it is in all its grandeur :) The door leads to an outdoor patio type thing :)


This is Allan's room! :)


And his very own bathroom :)


Thats about it! To get the full effect, you should come visit :)

WORLD CUP!

Unknown to most people around the world, October 14 was probably the most anticipated day of the year every Honduran who's old enough to kick a soccer ball. It was the World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador, and it was Honduras' last run at getting in the tournament, which they have only played in one other time in Honduran history. The first being back in Spain in 1982. Amid internal and political strife and a 30-year wait, it suffices to say that they were very excited.

A group of Mayatan teachers and some of our friends/teachers from La Escuela Guacamaya (the Spanish-language school in town) went to a bar to watch the game. Honduras maintained a 0-0 tie for most of the game up until the end when they finally scored a goal, and the whole bar erupted with ear-drum rupturing screams. However, I noticed that my friend Luis still didn't look reassured after the goal. He told me the catch was that not only did Honduras have to win, but the U.S. had to tie or beat Costa Rica (because of something with the point systems for qualifying). I then noticed that everyone had turned from watching the Honduran game (which was still going on) on one wall to watching the U.S.- Costa Rica game on the opposite wall. We were losing on our own turf! We had beaten Honduras in Honduras a few weeks earlier (which is fine-let the best team win), but when they needed us to do well we were down 0-2!

The games had both started at approximately the same time, so they were both at the last minutes of the 2nd half. It was so nerve racking. The U.S. apparently is super fit, and although we weren't the best skill-wise, we kept the ball around their goal and kept shooting it: long-shots, corner-kicks, penalty kicks. Nothing was going in. Everyone was getting tense, frustrated, and disappointed. Then at the end of regulation, the U.S. scored! Everyone lost it. There was screaming and dancing. Then, minutes went by in the penalty time, but nothing seemed to go in the goal. We kept shooting, but it wouldn't go in. The Honduran team had already clenched it's 1-0 victory, so every Honduran soccer fan was watching the U.S. Talk about being in control of a country! We were holding their hearts in our hand and didn't know what to do with them. Then, with about 5 seconds left (they had played so long in extra time) a corner kick was deflected by a head and went IN!!! I've never seen anything like it. People hugging each other. Girls screaming. Men crying. (Well, nearly crying). The roar was deafening, like being at a Nickelback concert. The bar started giving away drinks (which are they're most prized and overpriced possessions), and people started pouring out into the street.

We then went to go "see" the caravan in the Parque Central, which is always exciting because the cars, dirtbikes, trucks, mototaxis, 4x4s, etc, go as fast as they can (if they get any room) and then have to slam on brakes to not plow into the vehicle in front. On our way there though were greeted about every block with "Thank you!" and "U-S-A...U-S-A!!" chants. I could only laugh. Could I have said you're welcome? It was a nice feeling, however, to finally not only be welcomed down here (for something other than my money) but to have your country cheered for. If you still don't understand the weight and excitement of this win, then know that the "President" Micheletti declared the next day a national holiday. A holiday because the soccer team qualified! Carolina didn't cancel classes when we WON the National Championship! I couldn't believe it that Honduras was completely united for a night and that we got to experience it in a such a dramatic way.

Well, the cars started honking and flying by, forming the beginning of the caravan that loops around the town. We saw one truck coming with only one guy in it and realized that it was Luis, the guy who was beside me during the game! He signaled us all to climb in the truck and join the caravan. Hilarious and absurd. A truck full of gringos, waving Honduran soccer jerseys, circling around the city in the caravan after Honduras was qualified for the World Cup, and everyone chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A." Unreal. Did I mention we got school off the next day?



Cut out of cardboard, taped to the side of a house...they realized they forgot the "R" after they had used up all of other cardboard apparently :)



In the back of the truck!





Here is a video of us in the caravan! :)

do you ever feel like your just stuck in the mud?

Well, the Mayatan School bus that was in front of us that day certainly did. They had to bring another bus to come pick up the kids to take them to school. Pretty silly. :) Our bus turned around to go another way, so I don't know how they ever got it out :)

I have the best mom in the world. I promise.

Happy Birthday Momma!

I am so thankful for you and love you a lot. I don't have a real child like Dratalie, but my 20 children also wanted to say something to you :) Sorry its a little shaky...you might need some Dramamine :) Hope you had a great birthday :) You are thought of often :)

una boda en los estados!

The happy couple! :)


Who's next??

d
My friends can dance :)

n


The girls with Mrs. Rich! :)



We had such a great time at home visiting with family and friends! It was FANTASTIC! Chapel Hill is such an amazing place and has such a HUGE part of my heart. I seriously teared up driving there. I'm so glad Chris and Missy wanted to get married there. The rehearsal was great, the words shared at the rehearsal dinner were true and inspiring. Their wedding was beautiful and I still cannot believe we have friends that are MARRIED! WOW. I continue to pray blessings on y'all. and can't wait to hear abut married life :)

We also got to spend a little (very little) time with family, eating at suttons and YoPo (Praise the Lord). That was a great way to end our visit to the land of cool weather (comparatively) and sweet tea. We are so thankful fr our families and that we got to see them :)

We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends that we got to hang out with again for a little bit! I am learning how truly special our friends are, especially this year! It was so fun to be with you guys! :) Can't wait until the next one! YAY!

A day in the Aldeas

Allan and I had an awesome opportunity to accompany Bill and Mary Collins this past Friday to their Agriculture Project in one of the nearby mountain villages. Their agriculture project is incredible. They have planted lots of different types of trees and plants and also have a farm of goats (for milk, cheese, fertilizer, etc.). The goal of the ag project is to teach the locals how to farm and maintain crops on their own so that they can have food all year round. It is so cool what they are doing. At the site of their ag project, they have built a building where groups of people from the villages can come and stay overnight to learn how to grow, take care, and maintain their crops. They use their land with the plants and goats to teach the men and women how to care for their OWN crops and goats.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Bill and Mary invited some of the youth from the villages to come and learn about a Silo project (how to dry corn and store it in a silo so they can have corn all year long to eat!). They asked Allan if he could come and teach some guitar lessons for a little bit of entertainment :) He did such a great job teaching guitar in Spanish! and the guys really loved it. It was also really cool just to get to see what they are doing out there with the people and teaching them how to sustain themselves. The Lord is fulfilling His promises through Bill and Mary and it was neat to see that! :)


Psalm 146:7
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.



ALSOOOOOOOOOO.........


We are totally pumped to be coming home this Wednesday for our good friends Chris and Missy's wedding. We are praying for you guys last "single" week and praying blessings for this weekend. What a gift it is to watch the Lord bring people together in love. We can't wait to be there to celebrate with you and see our friends and family and see the amazingly beautiful campus of Chapel THRILLA. I miss that sweet sweet blue color :) HOLLLLA.