Chicken buses + nausea= trouble!
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2008
1
23
59
Trip End
Jul 16, 2008
Cofradia,
Honduras
Sunday, February 24, 2008
I decided that my kids were ready to start PE this week. I can finally take them outside and have the majority of them stick with me rather than wandering off. It was so much fun! We did group stretching and some silly songs that are high energy. Then, we played "chase me" and I basically just ran, skipped, and galloped all around the school with 20 kids chasing behind me. They loved it! We also played with sidewalk chalk, another big hit.
Anne (yes, rumors are true, she is Howard Dean´s daughter) and Genevieve had to go to Belize this week to renew their visas so we were short a 2nd grade, 5th grade, and 3rd grade (Lauren left) teacher. We managed to cover them all and I took 5th grade every afternoon. Teaching them made me appreciate my little guys. They are at such an annoying age and they treated me like a typical "substitute teacher" like you would see on a TV show or something. It is definitely a whole other game in comparison to kindergarten. I taught science, English, and PE. So after 7 weeks I have now taught K, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th and been involved with Prep and 1st.
On Tuesday night I went to Katherine´s 9th birthday party. She is the little girl that I work with once a week. I spent the whole afternoon helping them set up and the party lasted all night. It was a lot of fun! Their whole, huge family was there and we made some awesome chicken, rice, bread, and potatoes for dinner. Stephanie brought a homemade birthday cake and lots of fun games for the kids to play. She had a Strawberry Shortcake piñata. I had a lot of fun playing with all of her cousins and practicing my Spanish on the kids. They are nonjudgmental so it is easier than practicing with adults. They have a very nice family.
The gringos have invaded futbol (soccer) two nights a week at the local Mormon Church. A few of the collegio kids invited us and it has been a lot of fun. They play on concrete and use a small, denser ball. We play to one point and then switch out teams. I have never been athletic or coordinated, but I still have fun getting out there and getting in people´s way. The Mormon Church looks like a prison, which is kind of humorous. There is tall razor wire around the whole courtyard.
On Wednesday night, my roommates and I watched the lunar eclipse from our balcony. It was really neat. The Earth´s shadow crept up the moon and turned it a reddish color. Only here would I have the time to sit and watch the moon for an hour and half.
As usual, we have all been swimming a lot after school. Ben is starting to really grow on me. I have been talking to him a lot more and he is pretty interesting in small doses. We had a conversation recently about how America is known for "freedom" when in practice it seems like we have so much more freedom here in Honduras. Hondurans are much more into personal responsibility than stringent laws and regulations. You don´t have to wear a seatbelt, you can smoke anywhere you want, you don´t need building permits, you can sell deodorant out of your pickup truck, etc. You can really do anything you want as long as you are ready to take responsibility for your actions. It is interesting to think about the differences.
On Friday after school I went to San Pedro with Adrienne, Alex, and Nathan. We went to the mall and it was like going to America! They had an Applebee´s, Tony Roma´s, Sabarro´s, Quizzno´s, etc. The stores were equally as nice as any that I have seen in the states and their prices were about the same! I cannot imagine what kind of career Honduran´s would have to afford a mall like this. I definitely cannot afford to spend over $100 on a pair of Nike´s. I had a Wendy´s frostee and then we went to see, "Gone Baby, Gone". It was great! It was really well done and the ethical dilemma presented is still on my mind. Afterwards I was all excited about eating Quizzno´s and I thought that I was starving, explaining my uneasy stomach. However, when I started eating I realized that I was actually really nauseous. Chad has been nauseous for 3 or 4 days now so I started getting really worried. I wrapped up my sandwich and decided that I would be fine to get home, the sooner the better. We waited for about 30 minutes to catch a chicken bus and I was still feeling really sick. In the evenings the chicken buses are packed full of people but I had a bag in hand in case I had to puke. I got on and realized the impossible strategies of puking into a bag on a bus so crammed. As soon as the bus started moving I knew that I had to get off- QUICK! I told my friends, "I HAVE TO GET OFF THIS BUS NOW!" and we pushed our way through and had the driver stop. I ran off the bus and puked my guts out. Luckily, it was the type of puke that made me feel better, rather than worse. I also happened to puke right in front of a bar so we were able to go in and kill some time before trying again (water for me, Salva Vida´s for everyone else!). We ended up getting a taxi home instead of trying another chicken bus. I went straight to bed and had a pretty rough night.
Today, I am feeling much better but still not up to par. I have been trying to rehydrate and keep some food in me. I have been getting lots of rest too. My friends are all really great but no one can take the place of Mom & Dad when I´m sick! J
