Deep breaths. Central America Time.

First day of school and a whole weekend to recap and I cant seem to even know where to begin. I am quite discouraged at the moment.  Today was the first day of school. I am going to get some venting off my chest first before I begin to dive into all the goodness that occurred.

Francis Chan writes,  “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”

I have to be honest after a full day of parents wanting to meet me, asking a ton of questions,  I just stood there like a person that has just seen a ghost while still trying to maintain a smile. I explain to these parents that I do not speak Spanish. They sigh and then leave the room. I smile again and then chuckle. I dont know if I laugh because it is funny or more because I have no idea what else I am supposed to do.

All of this to say the kids are so excited. They were running in to give me hug, others were hiding behind their parents legs being shy , and did I mention they are some of the most beautiful children you could ever imagine. Their eyes are full of so much, big brown eyes, dark thick hair anyone could ever dream of. But there I am in the midst of it all, wondering how am I supposed to do this. How am I, to teach and to teach well. I want the kids to be smart, to know english but how do you teach about the oceans and lakes in science class when the kids are not able to answer in English what their favorite subject is. The truth of it is, is that none of that matters. I am afraid. I dont want to fail. You look at their sweet faces and want nothing more than to love them well, and loving them well means dedicated to teaching them well and at the moment I dont know where to begin. So I am discouraged and well thats that. It is what it is.

To switch to a more lighter side....I do have some rather funny things to share with you.  My roommates have asked to be mentioned, and those that have been mentioned wonder why they have not been mentioned yet. Two of my roommates are English. Which means I will probably come home speaking English with a British Accent more so than speaking Spanish but either way I will sound sophisticated and smarter than I am. (Thats how they sound).

They do say however the following funny things;

• Bathing Suit: You know the thing you wear to go in the pool or to a lake..... they call this SWIMMING COSTUME! (About fell on the floor laughing, not sure I will ever get over that one.
• Drinking with friends/ drinking to much: A Piss Up. Yes you read that correctly. They use the expression, "We are going to have a piss up"
• Cookies: Biscuits. Just plain weird.

A small recap of the last few days. Saturday I went to Pulpansak. (Amazing waterfall so close to where we live) The weather was beautiful and this waterfall is close and we were desperate to go swimming. So Matt and I very last minute changed our clothes and headed out to grab a taxi. We got in the taxi and he said "BOOSE, BOOSE (aka Bus)" Matt and I looked at each other and were very confused but the taxi driver told us to get in and he dropped us off at the bus. We stepped off the taxi and this man shuffled us onto the bus. We got on the public bus sat all the way in the back and waiting for it to be full. Full on a Honduras bus does not mean every seat is taken. It means that people are in the front seat with 3 kids, people are standing and then the bus is Full. The men stand outside and yell, "San Pedro, San Pedro, San Pedro" trying to get people to board so we could leave.  Our bus will take you all the way to San Pedro Sula but stops along the way, no particular stops but simply where people are standing on the side of the road. Matt and I sat, in the heat, sweating as we waited and laughed about the uncertainty about if this was the right bus to get on and if we would end up where we wanted to be. But before you know it off we went.  You do not buy a ticket for the bus but you simply pay the man standing at the door of the bus. We were nervous about knowing when we would need to get off but as if the whole bus knew where we were heading, (Bathing suits, totally American didn't give us away ;)) The bus stopped and everyone looked at us as we got off.

We walked and walked down this road and looked for the waterfall, unbeknownst to us we passed the entrance. For 40 minutes or so we walked in the scorching heat and totally lost. This nice couple stopped and I was ready to jump in the bed of their truck because I thought they would take us straight there. But instead they were kind enough to tell us we were way way way far from it, we walked to far. So they guided us back to the right place. We finally made it and the waterfall lived up to every expectation. The waterfall drops nearly 40 meters. We took a behind the waterfall tour, which means jumping in the pools, going behind the waterfall which meant we were holding hands as a group and swam underneath it all. I did not have my camera so I included the below pictures. Doesn't do it justice at all. Last part of the tour was a 35 foot or so jump into the pool. Insane but so awesome. (this would probably not be allowed in the US. It was a bit scary at times).

Does not show the magnitude of it al. 

Beautiful

Matt and I then started walking back to town, hoping that the bus that makes mystery stops would drive by and we could jump on because we had a futbol game to make in the town of Carnival.. and we were already 2 hours late. But the bus never drove by. So we kept walking and a lady stopped, speaking good English and offered a ride. We did not hesitate and got in her car. Perhaps next time we will think again but she was very nice. Her son was in the back and was watching a movie so I watched too. Funny. She had lived in New Jersey for 8 years so her English was quite good. She was heading to  visit family in our town, from San Pedro. We were so appreciative for the ride to the futbol game.

I just realized that it is already almost 7:00 and I have not gotten things ready for class tomorrow. Lots of activities in store to hopefully learn names and get an idea of where these kids are at in terms of their English skills. As well.. I will share of my Sunday trip with the group to San Pedro/ my first Church visit/ P90X in my room while it is 90 plus humidity and of course the first day of school!

Your prayers are so appreciated...