"...no matter how small"

Today was the first day of exams. I was so worried about my kiddos because I have some that can hardly understand English, let alone read and comprehend passages in stories.
I have not been with these kids all year so I'm still learning where each child is educationally. This is so hard for me because they have been following along in class so I think we're on the same page and then time for reviews comes along and about four of my kiddos cannot understand so they just rewrite the questions for each answer.
So we had my science and reading exams in my second grade class and I had to walk the kids through every question and my third grade reading exam went really well. :)
I need to keep reminding myself to have patience and take more time to help the ones that need me. These kiddos cannot move forward if they don't even know that negra is black and blanca is white. :-/

After school, a few of us went over to the orphanage. Immediately we walk onto their playground and all of the kids are out running around and playing. Some of the little ones were on the swings the others swinging on the jungle gym. I passed out some stickers to the kiddos and walked over to cuddle with the babies.

I lost my heart to one of the little boys, whom I understood to be named Flaco, which can be translated to skinny boy in Spanish, which made sense because he was the tiniest little boy I've ever seen. I didn't even think his tiny little legs would allow him to walk but it was his favorite thing! For the hour or so that we were there, he held onto my hands and we walked around the yard. It was then that I decided I may need to take him back home with me in June.

We will definitely be going back there weekly so I can watch him (and the others) grow up, even if I can't take them home with me.


"Even though you can't see or hear them at all, a person's a person, no matter how small" -Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who!

Looong week, short weekend

I was hoping for some sun last weekend, so much for that thought!
We ventured up to Taulabe caves near Siguatepeque.
It was nice to see and had some gorgeous stalagmite and stalactite formations.
Afterwards, we made a quick stop for mini blueberry pies, Ice cream and cafe at Chalet del Lago. The owner invited us to get a group together to go sailing next Saturday.
This week at school was a bit crazy, we made study guides and you would think we would be able to give them to our kids on Monday. Nope. We were told on Wednesday they ran out of ink and thankfully by Thursday we had them to give to our kids.

This was the most thankful I have been for a Friday in a long time.
Phillip and Faye cooked for English Night. They decorated the place so wonderfully and had delicious food.
Saturday morning I woke up ready for coffee. Our coffee machine broke earlier this week so we've been having to use a reusable cloth coffee filter. Well, we had no coffee so I had to venture out around 7:30. They're all a little late to do things around here so I walked into a mini super as a lady was setting up shop. I grabbed some coffee and went on my way!
We have to boil water to make coffee with this filter, so I put some water on the stove... As I was picking up the pot to pour the water into the filter, the handle broke off and boiling water went everywhere. An hour after waking up, I finally had my cup of coffee.
Kristina and I went to the D&D later to do yoga and eat, and we met some wonderful people. It's so nice to be able to hear stories about their travels and where they are coming from and headed to. Everyone seems to be so laid back and happy about what they were doing and where they were going.
Sunday morning, Kristina and I went over to the D&D to grab Bobby's kayak and go to the lake. We kayaked down a canal out to the lake and floated for about two hours while working on a six pack.
I waited a bit too long to put sunscreen on and got the sunburn of my life from my forehead to my ankles!
When we got home, we had to do yoga to keep up with our thirty days straight.. This was the longest 20 minutes of yoga I have ever done.
Monday starts our week of exams! Wish me and my kiddos luck!

We have been planning Semana Santa for awhile now and finally booked our rooms in Utila, one of the Bay Islands. Shepard is going to join us and some of us are definitely getting dive certified! I cannot wait to see him and be there for a whole week!

hace frío!

On Sunday, Kristina and I spent a couple hours planning for the next couple of weeks, then laid outside. The weather is so amazing.

Monday was rough getting up but it was much easier teaching once I had a plan of action!
Tuesday was another easy day of school even though my third grade Reading class was a bit of a pain. When we got home, Allison wanted to do Pilates so we put in a new DVD Kristina bought. Lol. Not even real. The funniest stretching workout I've ever seen. I don't have a clue how these ladies tricked anyone into buying their video.

Afterwards, we did yoga and it was great! I went to bed at 8 and felt amazing the next morning!

Wednesday I started to feel a bit ill and was so thankful to go home at noon! I laid down and watched some Mad Men (my new guilty pleasure) and the sun came out so I put my bathing suit on and laid out again. The roomies came home and took off for SPS and Kristina and I were supposed to start writing our exams, which turned into Kristina napping from 4-8 so I went to bed early!

Thursday after school, I found a big jar of Planters peanut butter (any PB is hard to come by in this town) and I don't think I've ever been more excited!
Phillip, Kristina and I decided to give the D&D some business and finalize a few plans for Semana Santa/ Spring Break
Most of us have decided to venture to Utila for the week and get our PADI certification. I cannot wait to scuba dive! (Even though I'm a bit terrified)

This morning was a bit chilly. i thought I was overreacting until I got to school and saw all the kiddos with hats and gloves on. It was 55 degrees. For art, I outlined each of my kids hands and had them color mittens and cut them out for me to hang around the room. I was surprised they even knew what they were, let alone owned a pair.


Tonight I did my day 2 of yoga. I'm going to try to do 30 days straight but anyone who knows me should know how difficult that will be!
Afterwards we had our second family dinner of the year! Allison and Molly cooked us some delicious African dishes. Nomnomnom :) then we came home and went straight to bed. This is my second night sleeping without my fan on. It's nice because my fan literally has a screw loose and shakes so hard it bangs into the wall and floor, but I would probably take that noise over the feisty dogs outside my window. Which reminds me how much I'm missing my own pup today. :( wish she was here to cuddle tonight!

Not sure what I'll be doing this weekend but hopefully it involves some relaxing in the sun!

"the best things"

January 5-12

Saturday was a day to get settled into a new routine. We went to the D&D Brewery again and Phillip and Thomas, two more of the teachers from our school joined us.
Bobby, the owner of the brewery, started a couple games of beer pong. We played with little plastic cups and birdies. Felt just like home.


Sunday was another lazy day. We all were trying to get settled into/back into a routine. My roommate Kristina arrived and we all decided we wanted to go back to the D&D


The next morning was our first day of school. I was super nervous to meet the kiddos. I was even more nervous to how they would react to me and my teaching.

My kids turned out to be wonderful. I'm obsessed with Josafat.
We spent most of the day getting to know each other. By Tuesday I knew every kid in my 2b class' names.
Halfway through the school week, the owner of our school Berta offered to take us out on the boat at Las Glorias. Below are some of the views of the stunning mountains and lake.
On Friday night we cooked family dinner. By we, I mean Kristina and Rose made us a stir fry with veggies rice and chicken from Rico's #2.
It was super delicious. We drank during dinner and ended up going to the Biker bar to get a drink after dinner. Very interesting to say the least.
We woke up on Saturday morning and Kristina and I went to D&D to meet up with Matt, Bobby and Phillip.
We left around 10 to see the Lencan Ruins about two hours away.
The ruins were super cool. We were walking on top of mounds and finding pottery that was over 3000 years old. We met up with the president of an association that worked with Harvard to excavate the ruins. he told us to meet him at his house when we were done exploring.
We drove around for about 40 minutes looking for this mans house and finally found him so we could buy a few guides from him and be on our way!
On our way home, we stopped in Copayagua for some lunch, it was such a cute little square and we went to a cafe to eat. I got some wicked tanlines on my back from my sports bra.

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut" -Dr. Seuss

what a wonderful life

January 4, 2013

Today I woke up around 8 am and got in the shower, brrrrr! Our hot water heater is broken. Which I thought I was prepared for.. Not. At. All. You would think the water would be lukewarm. Nope. Freezing.

Matt came over and found a bat in our kitchen sink. A nice little housewarming present from Honduras. We set him outside to reunite with his friends and family. Then we walked around Peña Blanca, went to his house for Internet and, Nick, another teacher at the school, offered us his truck. We picked up his truck and headed over to the school.

The school is larger than I had imagined, with a very open setup and surrounded by the mountains. I will be teaching second grade and received my lesson plan book from the principal, Magdelena.

We drove to a hotel near our school, Las Glorias, which is right on the lake with some absolutely breath taking views.
Drove to the resort and saw the lake, the views are so amazing.
This is where I fell in love. With the coffee. Holy moly. I could drink this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We were pretty worn out from traveling the day before so we ventured back to Matt's place to take naps on his hammocks.

Went to D&D brewery for dinner and a couple beers, which turned out to be the best idea so far! The dinner was amazing, we all got a chicken burrito with crem (a garlic butter/ sour cream sauce) which was so wonderful accompanied with my blueberry beer, made from the pale ale and flavored with berries from the mountains in Santa Barbara. I think I'm getting a distorted view of what my meals will be like, but I'm not complaining.

We returned to our place and the other girls had arrived, we met Faye, Molly and Allison. We chatted for a bit in the kitchen and got ready for bed.

Our shower should be getting fixed soon!

"your mountain is waiting"

The first day.... January 3, 2013.
I woke up at 4. Caught my plane at 6:30. Realized I am not a fan of the Houston airport around 8:30 am. Arrived in San Pedro Sula around noon. I slept the entire way from Houston to SAP only to wake up to the two Honduran men next to me, staring me down and handing me my papers to fill out for my visa. (If you have ever been around me in the mornings when I am just waking up you will understand how rough the was for me. I was so discombobulated and exhausted and now I had to fill out this form that for some reason was so hard for me to understand at the time)
The man handing me my sheet and pen soon introduced himself as Napoleon and I think he fixes automobiles somewhere in between San Pedro Sula and Peña Blanca (my new home). I'm also pretty sure he told me to call him so he could take my friends and I out on jet skis on Lake Yojoa. 😬
I got my bags by 1pm and found three people ( Chele, Emely and Ms. Ochoa) with a sign that read "Bienvenidos Kylie! Lake Yojoa Bilingual School" I am home.

We got some food and waited for Rose to arrive. The five of us piled into the van and made our way to the mall in the city of San Pedro Sula. Wow. The mountains were absolutely gorgeous. We walked around the mall until it was time to pick Matt up from the airport. We finally arrived home around 11 or so and all I could think was that I was so ready to get up the next morning and see my new town!


"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting... So get on your way!"