Finally I get to the Caribbean!

Independence day in Honduras is a big deal! They have parades, set off fireworks in the middle of the day, sing the national anthem countless time and have speeches about the important figures in the struggle for Honduran independence. Our school was taking part in the local parade and me and Mali were in charge of the dancers. This involved teaching the girls how to move to the music, dancing and walking forward while moving a hula hoop in a certain manner. It was challenging but we prevailed after much practicing and encouraging.. The parade started early so to avoid the intense midday sun. We walked through the town with the other schools from the area, and the streets we're lined with parents and family. After the parade the children listened to speeches about important figures in the history. Mali and I struggled to understand what was going on but we concluded that it was about the values that Honduran people should have and how they should behave.

After the parade we jumped on a bus as we were off to la ceiba, a town on the coast to meet up with other volunteers. To get to la ceiba we had to got through San pedro sula. Which is a pretty dangerous place. Especially for westerners. We have been warned about buses being hijacked and the people being robbed. In preparation we donned our scruffiest clothes, got our fake wallets in place, hid our phones far into our bags, with money hidden in various places on our body and tried to look as relaxed and Honduran as possible. After all the preparation, we didn't even go into San pedro, the bus station was on the outskirts. We were very relieved. As soon as we got to the station we jumped on the bus for la ceiba. This bus was luxury compared to any other we had been on. It had foot rests and reclining seats. Heaven. It was a 4 hour journey to la ceiba so we settled down to watch the country pass us by.
I love travelling by the buses here, there's something very relaxing and fun about it. The music blaring, the windows all open and the views out the window. I love it!!

La ceiba was great! Meeting up with the other volunteers, getting to the beach. THE SEA AT LAST! It's only been 6 weeks since I've seen the sea. A long, long time for someone who has lived their whole life there. After initially being very disappointed with the beach in la ceiba. It was dirty, full of stray dogs. We consulted the guide book and found apparently the best beach in the area. Another bus journey (yes!) and we were there. It didn't disappoint! The beach was wonderful, the sea clear and very warm. The Caribbean at last! We had a great day. And we got to eat fish. Only the second time in 7 weeks!!

On monday we celebrated teachers day. This meant that all teachers in the area had the day off and were invited to a celebration night. Which involved celebrating the best teacher in the area, dinner and dancing. We went along and had a good time, although for an hour at the start we were the awkward people sitting alone with no friends. After a while the other teachers from the school arrived. An hour an a half after it was supposed to start. People in Honduras are always more than fashionably late.. The next day at school I was told by pupils I looked very happy on tv last night. And proceeded to say that the camera was always on me because I was white. Hmm. What?! I was on tv. This was news to me. Turns out it was a local channel broadcasting the event. And me and Mali were an added interest to the viewers at home.

Today we started teaching at the public school next door. As part of our year here, we have to set up what's called a secondary project. So we decided to start teaching English in the school next door which has no English teachers and the pupils know no English. This was a pretty daunting task. As I, having very little Spanish and them having no English, we have a slight language barrier. But I planned a lesson that introduced basic greetings by solely speaking in english. This is called tesol teaching (teaching English to speakers of other languages) an works very well! As I walked into the 6th grade class, slightly nervous at the fact I was teaching a class of 36 non English speakers, all my nerves vanished. The class was sitting attentively ready to learn. We worked through, introductions, names, asking how are you, and reached where do you live. By the end of the class the children were able to have conversations (admittedly very basic) with each other solely in English. It gave me a great feeling of satisfaction to have been able to teach them and for them to remember so much in such a short period of time. Bring on the next lesson!!

Dia de los niños.

On Monday we had the celebration of 'Dia de los niños' which is Children's day. On this day the children get to come into school in their own clothes, they play games listen to music, eat endless amounts of sweets, drink fizzy juice and bash a piñata. I have now found out the reason behind the violence here. It stems from a childhood of beating a micky mouse shaped piñata to a pulp..
It was good fun, and the children showed off their dance moves, the prepa and kinder kids were putting everyone else to shame. Even me and Mali joined in with the dancing!
We also decorated the doors of the classrooms for the children. Mali and I took the initiative, and instead of using the pre bought buzz light years and other Disney characters, drew our own. Mine being a spongebob and Patrick from a well loved tv show. I'm pretty proud of my artistic talent! And the kids loved it.

Being Scottish and all, I have a love for irn bru. I have to say I've missed it a bit but good news! I have found a replacement. Sort of. It's called tropical banana. It looks like irn bru, it even tastes like it. Right up until it hits you with a very, very strong banana flavour. I suppose it's better than nothing!

We've gotten pretty creative in the apartment over the past few weeks. We started by making birthday cards, moved onto using milk cartons for various storage pots, started making threaded bracelets and our latest burst has been to decorate the apartment with superhero logos. It's a great way to brighten up the place, and superheroes are cool. No matter what anyone says. So far we have spiderman, the hulk, superman, iron man, wonder woman, captain America, cat woman and of course batman.

Clothes here can be pretty expensive when you're a volunteer. But, we've found some fantastic second hand shops in Trinidad. If you're prepared to rummage you can find almost anything you need! Yesterday I managed to get two shirts, shorts, a black dress, a skirt and two tees for only £7. Bargain. And with a little sewing and a good wash they're pretty much brand new. Mali and I have decided that rummaging is the way forward.

Had my first Honduran haircut today. It was well due, having not cut my hair for a year, it was seriously needing it. Mali offered to give it a shot. At first I thought that she was hacking away at my hair, turns out it was the noise of the scissors. Panic over. Halfway through I asked if she'd ever done this before. The answer,being no did not fill me with great confidence. But actually, after much hilarity, I have a perfectly normal haircut. Safe to say Mali will be cutting my hair again!

We went to visit our hosts to catch up and see how try were. They're always very generous and give us bananas or beans when we visit. And always offer us coffee. As a coffee lover I always say yes. And this time I was extremely glad I did! The coffee was perhaps the best coffee I've had in my life! And that's no exaggeration. Conchita explained that when the coffee was ground pepper is added to give it extra flavour. It was amazing. I was so impressed with the coffee they gave me some of that aswell.

"What happened to your face?! I mean, why has it changed colour?!"

So this weekend we headed off on our first proper trip. After 4 buses, which were going through varying stages of decay and all blasting out honduran dubstep at extreme decibels, we arrived at a beautiful lakeside hotel, with cabins, canoes and plenty of character. The place was pretty much deserted which at first seemed a bad omen. But once we had checked in, the rooms were spotless, the place had wifi, canoe hire and fantastic food! Heading off to explore the area we decided to head to one of the 30 wonders of Honduras. A waterfall called Pulhapanzak, this involved even more buses and a walk of about 2km in the midday sun. We were well rewarded when we got there. A cold beer (my first since arriving here!) in a paper cup and tacos for lunch. Then the waterfall. It was fantastic, the cold spray was extremely refreshing, and the swimming was amazing!! It was the first time we didn't look the most touristy people in a 50km radius. The American tourists with name badges and a guide took that award.
After our trek back to the hotel we had the most amazing fish, after not eating fish for a month, me and Ashley devoured one rather large tilapia (specialty fish farmed on the lake) each.

After waking up at 6am, (early beds and early mornings here!) I was in desperate need of going canoeing. Having lived beside the sea for my whole life, 4 weeks is the longest I've spent away from water! I needed my fix. Taking a canoe out for the morning and spending a good 3 hours on the lake, I was definitely satisfied. To top it off the place was astoundingly beautiful, with a huge amount of wildlife, and locals out fishing in their boats. We all enjoyed it so much we've booked a weekend at the lake for my birthday!!

Starting cooking for ourselves yesterday has been something I've been looking forward to for a long time ( no more eggs for me!) The fact that every time we touched the cooking hob we got an electric shock put something of a downer on this.. Remembering a long ago science lesson, wearing shoes, particularly rubber ones should solve the problem. And it did! We managed to finish the meal. Pancakes and banana for dinner just hit the spot! From now on, cook with shoes. Always.

After my weekend away, I've most definitely got more of a suntan. This fact was clarified when a boy at school said to me 'WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?! I mean WHY HAS IT CHANGED COLOUR?!' with a look of extreme astonishment. Being the only gringa in school, I'm going to have to get used to the pupils interest in the changing colour of my skin.

I never thought I'd be glad for a wooly jumper in the tropics..

So four weeks in and I'm still alive and most definitely kicking. I've survived overflowing toilets (I now have no aversion to poo), intense heat, disobedient kids, eggs, cockroaches in the classroom (see later on in the blog), a lack of cold water, car journeys on the roads and I'm loving it! The hours are long and the work is pretty hard, but it's not without it's rewards. Bring on the next 11 months!

Last night we caught the tail end of (what I think) was hurricane Isaac, the hurricane that's just passed New Orleans, the weather was crazy. In just under 15 minutes the roads were like rivers, the school was pretty much flooded, the thunder was deafening with lightening lighting up the sky as if it was day. We weren't allowed to walk the 400m home as we would've been washed away. And I'm not joking. I've never seen rain like it, and that's saying something having lived in Scotland for nearly 18 years. When we were finally allowed to leave, the rain had calmed down, the streets were more like gentle streams than raging rivers, we made a mad dash home. Arriving in record time but still looking as if we'd been swimming. It's safe to say last night I was glad for my wooly jumper. Thanks mum!

Cockroaches in the classroom! I'm not a fan of cockroaches. I think they're disgusting and vile. While teaching 6th grade, one decided to make an appearance. It scuttled out from behind a bookshelf and made a beeline for my desk. The only girl in 6th grade spotted it and jumped up onto her chair. I'm not ashamed to say I joined her, jumping swiftly onto my chair. Having only flip flops on, which aren't exactly prime cockroach killing material, I think this was the best option. The boys of the class took great delight in killing (sorry decapitating) and disposing of this particular cockroach. Next time, for I'm sure there will be many more cockroaches to see this year, I'll be ready!

I'm finding myself check the kitchen every now and then, just to make sure the fridge is still there. It always is. And I love it!

We're gonna make ice cubes. Why? Because we can!!

THE FRIDGE HAS ARRIVED!! This is the best day so far. It's beautiful. And has a freezer part. I have never appreciated a household appliance so much in my life. It's amazing. We no longer have to drink warm water. And can eat fruit all the time. Starting cooking for ourselves this weekend coming. So no more egg!! Just makes things even better. In our excitement, we filled all our water bottles from our lukewarm water container and into the fridge they went. We even made ice even though we have nothing to put it in... Can't wait to make some iced coffee. The coffee out here is FANTASTIC. And Trinidad has many coffee plantations surrounding it, so it's cheap!

This weekend we spent more time with our hosts. Conchita (principle of the school and our surrogate mother for the year, as she told us), her husband (Dr Allan) and two sons (Juan and Rodriguez). After lunch on sunday, they asked us if we enjoyed football, as Barcelona were playing. Of course I said yes. And we headed to the living room to watch the game. Here I bonded with, particularly, the men of the household, with our joint hate of Real Madrid (mostly Cristiano Ronaldo) and our love of Messi. Barcelona won the game, and they asked if we wanted to watch Real Madrid lose.. Naturally we said yes! We seemed to get on much better, things were more relaxed, we joked and they invited us to go with them on day trips if we wanted. Which we agreed to! This was all done in broken Spanish on our part and much gesturing on their part. Giving us a small sense of achievement that they actually understood us! I'm feeling more and more at home the more I get to know people here. They're very welcoming. And considerate of our lack of Spanish. We can only improve!

A challenging week.

This week has most definitely been the hardest so far. On top of teaching from 1 to 6.30 each day, our daily planning, writing exams, and preparing revision sheets, we have been given extra morning two hour classes, from 9 to 11 each day. Tired doesn't even cover it. To top it all off I have been feeling a little under the weather. Consisting of a headache and not being able to eat without wanting to be sick. Challenging when you're teaching in 35 degree heat for 8 hours each day.
But I'm coping. I knew this year would have its ups and downs. And the first month would be one of the hardest. Onwards and upwards as they say. Irma (Conchita's cook) seemed unconcerned to my illness. Unlike the treatment Mali received when she uttered the words 'estoy enferma' (I am ill). This might have been due to the fact that the only other words in Spanish Mali had said until that point were 'Hola' and 'gracias'. Alerting them to the fact that she might actually be ill.

I'm excited to get our fridge though. That's brightened up my week. Cold water how I long for you!!

Discovered a while ago that I have managed to lose one brown sandal en route to Honduras. How I have done this I cannot imagine but it's happened. And Mum, Dad before you ask it's not in my tip of a room, because my room is spotless (if you can believe that!!). Said shoe definitely did not make it into Honduras. The other one of the pair is now hanging on my wall, in memory of the disappearing sandal.

I think I've eaten more egg here than I have in my lifetime.

Don't get me wrong, the food here is great, but almost every single meal has some form of egg in it. Scrambled, fried, boiled, omelette, eggs and beans, eggs and chicken, eggs in tortilla with mince, eggs on the enchiladas, eggs and rice. Worst thing is, I hate eggs. I eat the meals because it's what we're given but I can't wait til next week when we are able to cook our own food! Mali can eat all the eggs she wants, I will avoid them like the plague.

Food wise, today for breakfast we had tortilla with scrambled egg, beans and mantiquilla (almost like sour cream but cheesier) orange juice, coffee and two biscuits. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, and we had chicken marinated in spices, rice and peas, and a green vegetable (that we have yet to find out its name) covered in mantiquilla. Usually we have fruit but today we had a banana custard/mousse. For dinner we had beans, eggs again (this time in the form of an omelette), fried plantain (A banana that's green before you cook it) and a singular slice of white bread. Photos below!

Last night we had an amazing thunderstorm. The lightening lit up the sky as if it was day but with a purple tint. The thunder was deafening shook the house. Then came the rain. Incredibly heavy, the noise it made on the roof made having a conversation with Mali near impossible. The storm continued late into the night. It was by far the most spectacular we've witnessed since arriving.

Accompanying the frequent storms are even more sporadic power cuts. They can happen any time of day. But usually in the afternoon and they're much more likely to happen before or during a storm. When this happens, we lose the function of our fan. This may not seem like such a big deal. But it's SO hot in our apartment, we literally cook without it! Thankfully our power cuts haven't lasted more than 3 hours, yet...

We headed to Santa Barbara this weekend to meet up with Ashley and Emily, two other project trust volunteers teaching in the one of the barrios of Santa Barbara called Gualjoco. The bus journey over was spectacular. We jumped on a packed american style yellow bus, found seats and spent the whole journey staring out the window. The scenery was fantastic! Luscious green mountains, swollen rivers, and then all the villages we passed on the way. Houses lined up along the road side, all painted bright and colourful but very poor. Driving past a gas station I was astonished to see a security guard standing casually on the forecourt with a shotgun resting over his shoulder, a belt filled with cartridges and a handgun in his belt. This is the norm for banks but I'd never seen it before at a gas station!

After we met the girls, went for ice cream and bought supplies we headed to Gualjoco on another yellow American schoolbus. There was confusion from Emily and Ashley about where to get off, so once we did they didn't know where their house was. Cue trekking about Gualjoco in the intense midday sun with lots of shopping. Finally, after half an hour they finally worked out that the house was 2 minutes from where we got off the bus. The watermelon was well deserved when we eventually arrived!

WE'RE GETTING A FRIDGE!! I don't think anyone can understand our excitement at this development, unless they've lived in a tropical country for nearly 3 weeks drinking lukewarm (sometimes extremely warm) water. B This is an exciting day, it also means we will be starting to cook for ourselves very soon. Which adds to the excitement as I will not have to eat eggs. Ever again. Well not quite but much less frequently than now. The wonderful invention, that is the fridge, should be arriving at our little apartment by Friday. This gives us plenty time to work out where on earth we will put it. We're pretty pushed for space, already having the wardrobe in the kitchen due to lack of space in the bedroom....