One week left!-Ruins, Regrets?, Kisses, Fish heads and beautiful children and places:)

Kicking regrets to the curb
I tend to be a person who second guesses herself a lot. Therefore as I wrap up my time in Honduras I have questioned "have I done everything that I should have done and been everything I should have been while I was here?" The answer to this question is no. There have been many times that I have failed as a teacher, youth leader, band leader, family member and friend here in Honduras. And I am tempted to get down on myself for those failures. However, my failures are a result of me being an imperfect human being. When thinking of my failures I have two options: #1-I can dwell on them and mop about wishing I would have done things differently or #2-I can seek to learn from my failures to do better next time. I like option #2 better. So in my last week in Honduras I am seeking to reflect on and learn from my mistakes, rejoice in the victories, and take advantage of every moment that I have left here. Here are some bible verses that encourage me a lot about this topic...

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead," Philippians 3:12-13


"You don't kiss when you greet people in the USA? That's Awkward!"--One of my students
Getting Ready for Reverse culture shock--
Here in Honduras, as in many countries in Latin America and Europe it is custom to kiss each other on the cheek when you greet someone. In Honduras males do not kiss each other on the cheek, but females kiss other females, and males and females kiss when they greet also. When I explained to one of my students that people in the USA don't kiss each other on the cheek when they greet she said "That's awkward!" I thought that was halarious because that is exactly what people from the USA (myself included) usually say when they hear for the first time that people kiss when they greet each other in other countries. When I went back to the USA for my graduation there were 2 times when I almost practiced the custom of kissing poeple on the cheek on accident. This happened when I greeted women with a hug when our cheeks were touching anyway. I quickly remembered that I was no longer in Honduras and that kissing someone on the cheek (unless it was my grandma who always kisses me on the cheek when I see her) would be "awkward". As I get ready to go back to the USA in one week there will be some things that I will have to re-adjust to. One will be NOT kissing people on the cheek. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but in one of my cultural classes in college we were taught the helpful phrase "it's not right, it's not wrong, it's just different." This has been a good reminder to me when I have faced cultural differences that have frustrated me. Many times differences in culture are just a different way in life. Sometimes they're are cultural practices that are clearly wrong like child sacrifice, but many times the culture differences are "not right, not wrong, but just different". I am very glad that I have gotten to experience a different culture to remind me that the way I grew up doing things is not necessarily "the right way". This experience has been humbling and helped my patience to grow.

Here are some more pictures I thought you might enjoy seeing:)...


This first one is of Eva and I. Eva has been like a mom to me here in Honduras. Her and her family have a snack shop in the school. I visit them several times a week to say hello and buy a snack. In fact there whole family has become like my 2nd Honduran family. Eva is so sweet and always checks up on me to make sure that I am getting enough rest and not working too much. In the background you can see students sitting at picnic tables outside of a different snack shop.

I went to the Mayan Ruins!!! They were very cool! I enjoy history (particularly Latin American history as you might guess). It was awesome BEING in the same place that the Mayans were so long ago! I went there during a trip that I took to visit some friends. My friend Eduin who took me to see the Ruins is below:) My friend Eduin is a missionary in the mountains. I got to visit the place that he works which was an amazing experience! The poverty and need of the people there broke my heart. They didn't have electricity and they had to travel to get safe drinking water. At times the families there only eats tortillas and salt. I got to speak to the youth at the church which was a great experience! We played some games to which they loved. My visit there gave me even a greater desire to help those who are in great need. I wanted to take the beautiful sweet children that I met there home with me to give them a good education, better and more food to eat, activities to be involved in, and a home where there parents do not abuse them and there dad is not a drunk. Sadly, I realized I could not take the children home with me:( My friend Eduin is doing great work in the mountains however which is very encouraging. For example, the dad of one family he is working with used to be a drunk and would abuse his wife and children. The dad became a Christian and no longer drinks nor abuses his children, but instead he treats them with love! The mom in the family had tried to commit suicide 7 times, but she also has become a Christian and no longer wants to end her life. Eduin is working on many projects to help the community grow for example: building a playground for the kids, helping the women learn how to and have materials to bake break and sell it for extra income, putting indoor bathrooms in every house and more gravel on the roads (some are just dirt and are very dangerous when it rains). Go Eduin go! 

 Another picture of the Mayan Ruins!

 The most beautiful restaurant in the world! My friend and I went to what I think is the most beautiful restaurant in the world. This is a picture I took from the restaurant. The building didn't have any walls (which is a lot more common in Honduras because of the tropical climate) so you could watch this view the entire time while you are eating! Breath taking!

 Tilapia anyone? I eat tilapia a lot at applebee's but I have never had it like this before! Fried with the face still there! It was the best tilapia I have ever had! :) That was the dish I had at the beautiful restaurant. In the picture you can also see tajadas (the fried plantains that I mentioned are very common in Honduras in a previous post).

 Honduras-check. Guatemala- check! The Mayan ruins are very close to Guatemala so my friends took me to a boarding town in Guatemala so that I could see a little bit of another country!:) It was a cool trip. Lots of beautiful mountains and two volcanoes! (Don't worry mom--I was in the car and they are not active hehe).

 Normal trip to school:) This is a picture of my brother Eduardo and I. Eduardo drives my brother Georgie and I to school every day and we go in this car. Eduardo teaches at the school also.

My professor is coming to Honduras tomorrow to evaluate me. I am very excited for him to come! I will enjoy introducing him to people and the places that have been very special to me during my time here! I am also very excited because my professor is bringing me some positive affirmation CDs that my doctor donated for me to give to my students! They are filled with positive phrases for people to meditate on. This CD has helped me to gain more confidence, maintain a positive and healthy lifestyle and grow closer to God! I am so excited to give it to the girls!

This week will be full of goodbyes and last words of advice/encouragement/sermons.

That's all for now! I will be flying back to the USA on Friday 24th in the early early morning! My first stop will be in Florida to visit some friends, then to Indiana and then back to good-old Cedar Rapids, Iowa! I will be blogging one more time after I get back to the United States to share an overview of what I have learned from my experience and explain a little bit about what I will be doing next in life:) I hope you have a wonderful day!

Colors, comments, companions, clothes, culture, and closure:)

The many colors of Honduras...
Honduras, and from what I know pretty much all of Latin America is a very colorful place. For example, the houses often times are orange, yellow, blue, green, or a combination of various colors. They also have lots of wild flowers that are beautiful bright pinks and purples. I really like colors so the many colors of Honduras have been something that I have enjoyed very much!:) Last at school week we celebrated "Dia del indio" which is a day to celebrate a native Honduran who fought for the freedom of the natives against the Spanish. Students dressed up in typical honduran clothes (that people don't wear every day, but instead for special cultural events), students had different stands where they sold food and represented different the different states in Honduras, and there was a contest for the girl who was best dressed like a native Honduran and knew the most about Honduran history/culture. Here are some pictures of the day!:) They show just a little of the many colors of Honduras...

Some girls in typical dresses:) 

 Honduran pottery and some maracas that was at one of the stands representing a state in Honduras

 Sandra, one of my students who came dressed in some typical Honduran clothes:) 

 A Mayan clay mask

 On the left what looks like bananas are "plantains" which are similar to bananas but longer, they are often eaten cooked or fried with meals. They cannot be eaten without cooking them. In the center is a coconut (I believe), coconut is common here also. One of my taxi driver's has a coconut tree in his yard! I thought that was awesome! On the left are very green bananas that people here call "guineos". They slice them and fry them kind of like sweet french fries! Or should I say banana fries... This picture also shows some of the colorful flowers from Honduras. 

 One of the girls in the contest walking to the stage in the gym

 The girls in the contest on the stage

 Myself, my student Karla, and the winner of the contest who is from the bilingual secretary area of the school:)! All the girls were so excited that she won!

Some of the girls I teach and I:) 

 Some more of the girls that I teach! Silly picture!:) 

"Never let your heart harden..."
Have you ever been annoyed because someone or something interrupted your plans? Maybe you had laid everything out for the week, or day... who you were going to see, what tasks you were going to accomplish, and things looked like they were going work just great! Until... the monkey wrench ruined everything! If you have experienced this before you can relate somewhat to how I was feeling not too long ago. My monkey wrench entered into my life on Sunday when the Pastor asked me if I would be able to help him study for his English exam. I was already feeling a little too busy when he asked me for help. That week I wanted to set side time to meet with two of my students individually one who is pregnant and another who is having boy issues and wants advice. I also needed to prepare to give two different sermons, and start planning for a girls retreat/sleepover, while still maintaining the normal activities of helping with English and Christian formation class, going to band practice, going to Church and praying for, talking with and encouraging the youth. Since I am learning to take enough time to rest each week I had already accepted the fact that I wouldn't get everything done, however if I helped the pastor... even less of my plans would get accomplished. Nevertheless, one thing I value very much is having good relationships with people we work with and working at a team. I work with the Pastor and therefore I want to help him when I can so that we can have a better relationship and work better as a team. I also respect my Pastor very much, and thought that it might be culturally unacceptable if I said no... so I told him that I could help him and we set a time... 


After high school I waited for the Pastor to arrive so we could start tutoring at the church (which is right next to the high school). While I was waiting, a woman from the church sat down and began to talk to me. I am an extrovert, so I enjoy talking with people, but there are also times that I need to rest, reflect, and pray by myself. At this time.. I wanted to be by myself. The woman I was with stayed longer than I expected she would and proceeded to share with me some things that she has struggled with in her life. This caused me to feel bad/annoyed for two reasons: 1st I was annoyed with the situation/the woman because I really wanted to be alone, 2nd I was annoyed with myself for not being moved by or wanting to pay attention to what the woman was telling me. Most of the women's stories were about friends who have let her down and treated her badly. All her life she had been a person who had helped many people, but in many ways she had been mistreated. She told me that eventually she arrived to a place where she didn't want to help anyone... but then she said that one day she went to a place where there were some poor kids, and they came to her and started hugging her. She said that she could no longer say now to helping others. She said she could no longer say "It is not my problem that they are suffering." She said that we never know what it is that has brought the people to a place of poverty and suffering that they are in. She urged me "never let your heart harden, but to always seek to help others." And there I was... listening to her.. with a hardened heart. Not caring about what she was saying nor really having the desire to help the Pastor (who goes to college, is a Pastor and has 2 young kids). 


In Honduras there is a lot more poverty than there is in the United States. in 2009 the unemployment rate was 27%. Although I have come here to help the people it is easy for my heart to become hardened and to only go through the motions of helping others when I feel like it. There are many things that I can't do to help people in Honduras. I can't stop the injustice that is filled in the political, judicial, and police systems, I can't stop the drug dealers from killing, or bribing people. And I cannot feed all the hungry people. There are many times when I need to say "no" to people who ask me for a favor because I must take time to rest and be rejuvenated. But I can do something. And the more time that I spend worrying about my schedule, and what I have planned, and the less time I spend remembering and thinking of those who have less than I, the more my heart will become cold to those in need. The more annoyed I will become with those who ask for a listening ear, or help on an exam. In Honduras I see need a lot more than I do in the United States. If my heart can grow cold here, it will surely grow cold when I go back to the United States if I am not intentional about preventing that from happening. 


There are many ways to "help people" that doesn't really help them... people take advantage of things. but there are ways to help that can change someone's life! One quote that I really like from Mother Teresa is "“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Another quote I like goes something like this... "I may not be able to change the world, but I can change the world of one person" 

Teaching about good relationships...
Here is a picture of me and some of the youth from the church at a retreat. A pastor from Costa Rica came to talk about dating relationships/sex. He was a great speaker and did a great job! I am talking with my Christian Formation classes about similar topics... in Honduras there are even more repercussions for girls having sex young because girls who are pregnant are usually not aloud to go to private schools. In my classes we talk about different reasons why it is good to wait to have sex until after marriage. We also talk about forming a "plan" of how to accomplish the goal of not having sex until after marriage if that is their goal. I am currently planning a girls only retreat for girls from my church. We will talk a lot about having good relationships. We will cover having good relationship with oneself (self-esteem), with friends, with parents, with boyfriends, and with God. 

 Practice on the beach? I'm not complaining;)

 Man's best friend... or Haley's best running partner...
Below is a picture of Beethoven and me:) We very much enjoy running together on the beach!:) At first I had to slow down so Beethoven could keep up with me, but now he is gaining endurance and ends up pulling me at times! Beethoven was lost for about a week and a half (we think someone stole him while he was playing on the beach without a collar) but he is back now, Yay!:) 

The end is coming near... 
Four weeks from tonight I will be boarding a plane back to the United States. I feel like I have so much I want to do before I leave. I will do what I can, and what I don't get done, I will leave that to the people here and to God. The main reason that I will be sad to leave, is the main reason I will be excited to go back home: people. I have some many friends and family that I will be excited to see back home, but I will miss the people here greatly also. I thought for a second about trying to get all the people who hold a special place in my life to live in the same place... but I quickly realized that will not happen. Instead I am going to try to find a way that I can travel to different places in the blink of an eye... I know it might be difficult but it's worth a shot right;)

Trust, transitions, typing, trees, and more:)

Hello from Honduras:) I am now back in Honduras. On the 24th of June I will just have two more months until I will be heading back to the states. Here are some stories of what is happening with me in Honduras these days...

Picture 1: The female teachers that teach the girls studying to he Bilingual secretaries and two of the administration staff members. 

 Picture 2) One of the senior classes of the girls who are studying to be bilingual secretaries (I teach them on occasion). On there desks are the type writers that they bring to school to practice typing. The school does have nice computers, but not enough to give them daily access to them. The girls also learn short hand in addition to typing which is a very complicated way to take fast notes.

 Picture 3) This is Justin and I! Justin comes to my house every about ever 3 weeks with his mom who is our maid's daughter. Justin and I both LOVE mangos! They are great! I joke with people in Honduras and tell them that "encontre mi media naranja" which means "I found my soul mate" Then I tell them that his name is Mango;)

 Picture 4) Justin again! We like to play peek-a-boo together:)

Picture 5) Some of the girls I teach during a special celebration at school! We celebrated "secretaries day" since they are studying to be secretaries. They all got to dress up like secretaries and we had some special events. They had a great time. The one in front is name Mirian. Mirian often writes letters back and forth with me so she can practice her English more:) I really enjoy reading and replying to her letters. 

 Picture 6) Cesia and I. Cesia is one of my English students:)

Crossing the bridges of trust... 
One thing that I really focused on when I first came to Honduras was showing the people I am working with that I care for them and that they can trust me. I think that building trust and solid relationships when working with people is a necessary, without trust and relationships, a leader is kind of like a person stuck on one side of a river with no bridge, you really can't go anywhere (let's pretend the person can't swim across). I have been told before that leading is influence, and I would tend to agree. Without good relationships and trust, there is no influence, and therefore no leading. Now that I have developed good relationships with people, and gained their trust, I have influence in their lives and can start to lead them. One of the youth from my church sent me a message last week that said more or less "Haley, in the little time I have known you have earned my trust and I would like to tell you about some things that I am struggling with in my life". I have had the pleasure of talking with this young lady once already and look forward to talking with her again. She has been sexually abused and is currently dealing with some issues with a boy she likes. I mostly listen, and share in her suffering, but when at all possible I seek to ask her questions that comfort and challenge her, and lead her in the right direction. I know I am not a professional counselor, and I don't try to be, but there are not many counselor's available here, so I do the best that I can. 


Can I have my piece of chocolate?
Before I left for the United States there were people who asked me to bring them something back for them and they all wanted.... chocolate. My honduran brother explained that people in Honduras think that people in the USA eat chocolate all the time and that it is really cheap. This is more or less true in comparison to what chocolate costs in Honduras and how often people eat it here. So I decided to bring chocolate for my English class. It just so happened that the day that I brought the chocolate the students were learning about how to give directions to people in English. For example "turn right on 1st Ave, go straight, etc." So instead of just giving my students their chocolate... I did the following.. let's say that I gave Sandra's chocolate to Milanka. Sandra had to tell Milanka to stand up and give Milanka directions (in English) on how to arrive to Sandra's desk. Milanka would have to listen to the directions and do exactly what Sandra said. We named the rows different street names so they could say things like "Go straight on 1st ave, turn left on Main street. Walk down 5th Ave." The last thing they said was "Can I have my piece of chocolate?" I wanted to do this so they would have motivation to learn their directions well.. and boy did it work! :) It was a lot of fun too! I am learning a lot about how important motivation is in teaching. I already knew it was important... but I am learning that it is REALLY REALLY important. I seek to motivate my students through my good relationships with them, reminding them of the importance of learning English, and making class interesting. I am also getting better at managing a classroom! One important thing that I have been applying recently is that the punishment must fit the crime. I have been learning different punishments I can use for different crimes which has been a lot of help! My mother also gave me a great piece of advice that has helped a lot "Just be yourself". I think the idea of "just being myself" took away a lot of the pressure I was putting on myself to teach a certain way.


Clockin' in and clockin' out...
I've started keeping track of the hours that I work and how I spend my time in general. This has already helped me to not overwork myself, and to balance how I spend my free time. I've been spending more time playing games with my little honduran sister, praying, reading the Bible and other books, and communicating with friends and family. One of the books that I am reading is talking about how the best leadership development is simply developing WHO the leader is. So as I grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, I lead better. Therefore, the rest of my time in Honduras, and the rest of my life I want to spend more time seeking to grow who I am. If I am always trying to help others grow, and not growing myself.. I will burn out and no longer be able to influence others. 


For such a time as this... transitions.
The teacher I am teaching English with can longer to teach at the school because she has to start her internship for the University. She is actually the second teacher that I have taught with because the first one had to leave because she is a single mom and she got a better job offer. I am hoping to be a source of stability for the girls as they go through another transition. However I am said that I will have to cause them to transition again when I leave in August. The new teacher is not as strong of an English teacher as the last two teachers, so I am looking forward to helping bridge the gap for her while I am still here! 


The biggest tree I ever saw & a cultural experience:)
The city that I am living in "La Ceiba" is named after a kind of tree "Ceiba" that are found throughout the city. A couple of weeks ago I realized why the city was named after the Ceiba tree. I was at a friend's house, and he asked me if I saw the big tree the background. I thought he was talking about a tree right in front of his house, which wasn't so big so I was a little confused... then I saw the MASSIVE tree in the distance which he told me takes 20 people to wrap their arms around the trunk! He said the tree is over 300 years old! Wow! it was really cool touching and being close to something so big and so old! My friend (who is a family member of a friend of mine from Cedar Rapids) also played the guitar for me while I was at his house with his family AND he let me lay down in his hammock:) It was a good culture experience as guitars and hammocks are very popular in Honduras:) I think I want a hammock in my house one day...:) 


I hope that you are all doing well!:) Thanks again for you interest in what's going on with me in Honduras:) 

Videos!!! Lots and lots of them:)

Hi Everyone:) I am currently in Iowa getting ready to go back to Honduras. I had to come back for a short time to renew my Visa. I got to see some friends and family which was great and do some time reflecting and refreshing for the rest of my time in Honduras. However, I wish I would have gotten to see more friends and family... but that will have to wait for another time. I have lots of videos to share with you! I am not able to upload videos to the internet in Honduras, so I had to wait to share these with you now.. I hope you enjoy them!:) 

Video #1) The first video is of band practice!:) There are two girls whose back we can see that are holding up a little metal xylophone. They are my girls:) I help them play the Lira (which is the metal xylophone) and teach them to play the marimba:)

Video #2) This is a video of the band practicing from the back:) 

Video #3) Another video of band practice!:) 

Video #4) Two girls in my english class doing an English cheer/chant that I taught them:) They like learning english this way, and I like teaching it to them this way too!

Video #5) One of my English classes saying hello to you and showing you some cheers we do when they do a good job:) I taught them the english "Whatever" cheer. They do one that is similar in spanish but say "O Sea!" which means "whatever" in English

Video #6) This is a video of my other English class doing some more cheers they do!:) I will try to explain what they say in the last cheers in my next post

Video #7) My little brother Jorge doing a typical Honduran drum show! Jorge plays the snar drum in the high school band that I work in!

Video #8) This is at a Quincenera, which is a 15th birthday party for girls in Latin America. It is kind of like a celebration of a girl becoming a woman and is a big deal in the Latin American culture. Sometimes it is almost as big as a wedding celebration. The birthday girl is on the left and the other girl was one of the girls that was part of the birthday celebration. Both of the girls attend the church and the school that I work at and the one on the right is in one of my English classes:) In the video I say that they are "dando vueltas" which means turning around. They got dizzy so they stopped:) 

More pictures, more stories:)

 Hello everyone:) I hope you are doing well! I am very excited to introduce you to more people and places that are a part of my life here in Honduras:) The first picture is of the part of the high school that I work in. The school's name is Bethel. Like many schools in Latin America (from what I've heard), the students stay in the same classroom the whole day, and the teachers more from classroom to classroom which is opposite of my high school where students moved from class to class and teachers stayed in one room. I work on the second and third floor of this section with girls who are in a grade equivalent to 10th grade. I get good exercise every day walking up and down the stairs:) 

 This is alejandra:) She is one of the students studying to be a bilingual secretary. She is in 11th grade so I don't normally teach her, but I helped her with her pronunciation for one of her English assignments. She is a sweet girl. In this picture she is enjoying a chicken taco that she bought at school during one of her breaks. I got to hang out with Alejandra and some of her friends during a time that they didn't have class and they made an awesome video for me to show you all, but it is not uploading well on my blog:( I am planning to try to upload all my videos in May because I have to come back to the USA for a short period of time to renew my visa. Then I'll be going back to Honduras after that. Alejandra is wearing the uniform that every student wears at school. 

Now I am going to introduce you to Vicky:) She is also a 11th grader at the high school studying to be a bilingual secretary. I have gotten to help her with her English outside of class also. She is holding up part of the bulletin board that said "welcome" that fell down. I told her to hold it up for a silly picture:) Vicky invited me to go to a special service that her church had for youth two weeks ago. I really enjoyed it! :) They had a very good band that led the songs we sang as a part of our worship that played a lot songs that I really like. Another one of Vicky's friends came also and I learned that she moved to Honduras after her home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. She came to Honduras because she has family here. I have met many many people here who have family members living in the United States. Both of the parents and the brother of one of my students have been living in the United States for over 8 years. This same student has to get up at 5 in the morning to drive an hour to get to school on time. One of the teachers at the high school has not seen her mother for 20 years because her mother lives in the USA. Regardless of one's opinions on immigration into the USA I think everyone can agree that it is sad that there are many children and parents, and other family members who live so far away and have little chance of going to visit each other because of the cost and difficulty in getting visas to visit. I hope that while I am here I can give extra support to the youth and children who are far away from their family. 

The Liristas! If I haven't already explained it, liristas are the girls who I am helping to play the xylophone in addition to the lira, which is similar to a xylophone:) This is one of my favorite photos:) These are the girls that I am working with in the band! There were some others that I was working with also but they had to stop coming for various reasons. The girl poking her head from the back is Daira. Gabby is on the far left, then Astrid, Jesse, Pamela, myself, and Dorcas. Jesse, Dorcas and Pamela are already in the band, and Gabby and Astrid are practicing to pass a music exam so that they can join the band. I hope they pass!:) These girls are a lot of fun, but many of them face very real problems. I have been able to continue to build good relationships with the girls which has been good! One of them has already come to me to talk about her struggle with depression, one of her parents passed away recently and since then she has been battling depression on and off. Another girl is being abused by her parents. One of the horrible things here in Honduras is that if a police officer asks a parent if they are abusing their children and the parents say that they aren't the police take their word for it. I was advised to try to have a meeting with the girls parents and the pastor at the school who also knows about the situation. I am thankful for the many wise adults who care about youth who can give me wisdom about how to best help this young girl. 

The band! This is a picture of the band of the back of the band while they were practicing one saturday afternoon:) They are practicing in the middle of the high school. In front of them and to their right are two story-columns of classrooms. 

Here is a closer picture of the saxophones! The clarinets are behind them. 

Now you can see the trumpets and part of a tuba is on the far right. The trumpet player that is in between the two saxophone players also goes to the church I am working at. His name is Mauricio. He was one of the narrators in the drama that I directed that the youth did for fathers day. Mauricio did a great job and was a super leader during the practices. He plays trumpet and the drum set for church also. The drama went very well and many people commented on how meaningful it was for them. I have a video of part of the drama so I will wait to say more about the drama until I put the video up. 

Welcome to Bethel church! This is a picture of the inside sanctuary of the church that I am working at:) 

Meet Maria! Maria is one of the youth that goes to Bethel Church. She is studying at a bilingual school so she likes to talk english with me. I taught her the phrase "Just chillin" which she likes:) She is interested in going to college in the United States to learn more English. If someone knows English here they have many many more job opportunities than those who don't know English. She still has a couple more years until she goes to college, but I am excited to do what I can to help her in that process. 

Another Birthday party!!!!!This is riek (I don't think I spelled his name right). Riek is the younger brother of Alondra, and Alondra is the girlfriend of my Honduran brother, Eduardo. Riek in this picture is opening a present at his birthday party:) 

Here is a picture of the pinata at Riek's birthday party. 

Get the candy!!! All the kids going crazy over the candy. 

This is another picture of Bethel church. This is on the side of the pews. They have the names and maps of countries on the wall of places where there are Honduran missionaries working, which I think is super cool! However the maps of the countries keep falling down which is no good. 

"Hi my name is Justin, and I am the cutest little boy ever!" Well, Justin didn't actually say that, but I would if I were him! Justin is the son of my other Honduran sister, Nancy. Justin was in one of the pictures of Cenia's birthday party in my last post. I love it when Justin says "Buenas Noches Haley!" (good night haley). It is too cute! He also has told me good night in the afternoon, and then we had to tell him to say "Buenas tardes" (good afternoon) instead:) 

I went to an Island! Last week was our spring break and one of my friends from college, Raquel, who is from Honduras invited me to go with her and her friends to and Island for two days. Roberto (the guy in the picture) is Raquel's good friend works at the Island so he showed us around. He is pointing to the place that we stayed on the island. 

On the ocean:) This is a picture of stacy (one of raquel's friends) and I when we were on a boat. 

Beautiful horizon on the ocean:) This is the front of the boat that we were on. My favorite part of the ocean is the horizon. It reminds me of how big the world is, and how beautiful it is! I also like looking across the ocean and thinking of family and friends who are on the other side of the ocean. :)

Hello fish and coral!!! I got to go snorkeling;) It was super fun! The Island that we were on has the second larges coral reefs in the world! A couple times when I was snorkeling I noticed that there was a school of fish swimming with me! That was fun! At first it was hard for me to breath, but then my friend reminded me to breath out of my mouth and not my nose....after that it was fine:) Haha...

 Si hombre! (one of my favorite new spanish phrases which means "ya man!" This picture is of Raquel and I on the ferry going to the Island! Raquel is currently teaching at a bilingual school in Honduras. Raquel has a passion for making a difference in the lives of the students she is working with and it was so encouraging to talk with her! She said the best advice she got about teaching was to not let the lesson planning and grading burden her, but to instead seek to focus on her relationships with her students. This encouraged me a lot. Being prepared for class and working hard is important, but if I get too distracted by my work and forget to ask my students how they are doing, and if I forget to support them when they're going through hard times, then I am probably focusing too much on the legistics of teaching. 

Swings+ocean=amazing! Swings are one of my favorite things, the ocean is another one of my favorite things... so the two combined is amazing! I was so excited when I found out that the place we were staying at had swings on the doc to the ocean!

Swings+Ocean+Haley=a very happy haley! Here I am on one of the swings! I spent a lot of time relaxing, reflecting, and enjoying the beauty of the ocean from that swing:) I am learning more about the importance of getting enough rest. I usually tend to overwork myself, which is not good. The trip to the Island was another good step in the direction to choosing to get enough rest-physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

Thanks once again for your interesting in seeing what's going on with me in Honduras! As always let me know if you have any additional questions or want to hear about anything else!:) Have a wonderful day! 

Picture time:)

Here is the beginning of my photos of my time in Honduras! For those of you who have wanted to see pictures earlier I am sorry that it took me so long to put them up! The first one is a picture of me and my little sister Cenia<3

We decided to make funny faces in a picture:) 

Another silly picture:) 

This is a picture of the director of the area of the high school for the students studying to be bilingual secretaries. He is standing in front of the trophies that the bilingual secretary area of the high school has won. Some of the trophies were given by the high school, and some were competitions between other schools in the area and perhaps in the state and country... but I can't remember exactly. The point is they do a good job:) 

This is a picture of my room in Honduras:) 

Another picture of my room!:) I wanted to put this one up to show the sign (on the left) that some of my friends from Huntington made for me that I took with me!:) 

Celebrating Cenia's birthday at my house in Honduras!:) 

Cenia's mom, Olga (lighting the candles), is the maid for the family I am staying with. She started working with for the family when she was pregnant withe Cenia (12 years ago) and they have been part of the family ever since. Olga teaches me lots of Honduran sayings. We love to sing together, even when we are just saying each others' name:) I sing "Ollllga, como estaaaas?" (Olga, how are you?) and she sings back to me the answer:)

Cenia with friends and her little nephew Justin on the far right. Justin and his mom come and stay with us every once in awhile. They are wonderful also! Justin is so cute! He smiles all the time except for when he is crying. And he smiles more often than he cries:) 

Singing happy birthday to cenia!!! At the end we say "Ya queremos pastel, ya queremos pastel, aunque  sea un pedacito, pero queremos pastel, y coca-cola tambien" which is "Now we want cake, now we want cake, even if it is a little piece, now we want cake, and coca-cola also:)" they say something else but I didn't understand what it was. 

Another picture of my room!

A valentines day card that my student gave to me!!!!:) 

I had my students write me letters to practice their English and this is a picture of one of them:) I told them to write about themselves and I got to know a lot more about many of them! It was also encouraging to read many of the letters that said that they said that they liked me, liked the way I teach, and thought I was friendly and happy. I want to make sure that they know that I care about them, that I am excited to teach them and I want them to have fun learning English:)

this was the first picture I took with my web camera on my computer in Honduras. 

Once again, sorry for the delay! Have a wonderful day! I will put up more pictures at another time and hope to post again soon!:) Thanks again for your interest in knowing what's going on with me in Honduras:)