Week 2 - Some visitors

I’m going to try and post every Saturday or Sunday from here on out…so those should be the better days to check.  Saturdays we only teach in the morning, so the afternoons I have a little more time to process my thoughts and go over the week.  On Sundays we only have meals and church planned, so they are our rest days to just relax or get caught up on what we didn’t do during the week. 

This last week a short term volunteer team came in and helped around the farm and also taught a couple classes.  It was nice having some new, English-speaking faces, protein bars and some powdered drink mix.  They were able to get a lot accomplished on the farm and working with the girls.  Olivia really liked one of the female volunteers and hung out with her mostly, but at the end of the trip also enjoyed hanging with a couple of the guys that came down.

Once a week our students go to an elementary school and teach English to the students there.  It’s a good way for them to practice English, while also giving back to the community.  We decided that we would join for a change of scenery.  It took us 1hr and 30 min to walk there, including a diaper change or 2, a couple scraped knees and 3 crossed streams.  It was an adventure that we’ll probably make most weeks since there are a lot of kids gathered…Olivia’s new play date.  I was also able to play soccer with some of the students, so that was fun.  Probably, the most exercise I’ve had since arriving in Honduras. 

After soccer we walked back to Profesora’s (a well-respected woman in the community who taught at the elementary school) house.  I bought a bag of chips and coke from her for about $0.50 and it hit the spot.  She also cooked us some eggs and tortillas.  Before we left we also noticed she had some bread and cookies for sale, so Sarah purchased a couple small bags, which have turned out to be a very nice morning snack.  Later, we went to the local church with the short term volunteer team to pass out some items that they brought from the states.  On the way back from the church I got a wet ride in the back of a pickup.  Fortunately when it rains here, it’s still usually 65+ degrees and even warmer leading up to the rain!  It’s more refreshing than cold (or even wet).  Much different from Pac NW, I’m used to. 

I’m not sure when, but it must have been Tuesday, we decided to walk to a viewpoint to check out the huge waterfall.  It puts Multnomah Falls to shame, for those of you familiar with the falls.  The viewpoint is approximately at the same height of the top of the waterfall, with cliffs more or less cutting straight down to the bottom of the canyon.  It’s difficult to describe in words, but to try: a natural beauty formed over several hundred if not thousands of years and still untouched by man.  It looks like the back drop for a movie scene.  The pictures (and my description for that matter) don’t do it justice.  It’s shear awesomeness.  

The short term team also started on the brick/mosquito net wall that is being built around the eating area.  It will be a nice deterrent for the dogs, chickens, mosquitos and flies.  Meals sans insects and animals and a good place to study in the afternoon and evening, will be a huge blessing for all.