La Union

Well I am finally in La Union and it is really beautiful. I also finished my first day of getting my classroom ready. It is nothing like a school in the states. We have very few materials and it is pretty much just a concrete room with a small window. I have been meeting some of the kids and they are really awesome and just seem thankful to get their uniforms and what not. I also moved in with a pastor and his family. They are quite poor and have a huge family but they are so kind and welcoming. I have been eating bananas and oranges right off the tree and the lady who cooks my food makes lemonade with real lemons so that is really wonderful and it tastes amazing. What I really do realize though is how much I miss having friends all over the place. A lot of the teachers here are quite a bit older and have families and this is their home so it is very different in that way. Other then that I have been surviving well and life is really good. I will hope to post pictures either here or facebook in the next few days once I can get my laptop hooked up to the internet. Well I hope life is going well for everyone and continue to keep in touch. God´s blessings

The Roads

Well since the last post I have now moved to a town called Gracias which is about 5 hours away from Tegucigalpa and in the middle of the mountains. The Abundant Life School here is at the base of the tallest peak in Honduras. The park is called Celaque National Park and it is beautiful. They say that up in the mountains are Ocelots, Jaguars, Tapirs and all sorts of birds. I guess they are pretty hard to actually get to see though. It is actually a cloud forest so most of the time it is really damp and cloudy at the top. Yesterday is poured there about all day. Right now I am just sitting in a real nice hotel room with wireless so I am pretty happy about that. The best part so far is that the school has paid for everything and I haven't had to pay a dime which makes being here more fun because I don't really have to worry about money. Today there is a big game between Honduras and Mexico so that has been all over the news and television so we are going to go to a restaurant tonight and watch the game it should be quite sweet. On Saturday morning I actually head to La Union to get everything ready for the school year like where I will be sleeping and my classroom and that jazz. Whats pretty sweet is that the other teachers for Gracias here are Americans so I can actually talk to them and I guess a couple is coming from Michigan and they thought they might even be from Holland. How crazy would that be if I actually knew them! Yesterday on the way here we took some of the craziest roads I have ever been on. They were dirt roads but it was more like dirt, mud, places were they mine rock and we just drove through while they were working. It was a crazy trip here to Gracias. Well I think that is about all for now. God Bless

A day in the life....

Well I must say this last weekend has been pretty crazy. We had a teachers orientation this weekend which sounds nice and all but it was different then expected. First of all I realized that I am the only teacher out of about 140 that is from anywhere other then Honduras. I also realized that very few speak English. Only about half the teachers on my staff speak some form of English. Then lastly every speaker this weekend spoke in Spanish so I could pick out hardly anything that was being said so it was kind of a culture shock. Other then that the weekend was fun I did get to meet the other teachers on my staff and they are real nice even if I couldn't understand what they were saying exactly. Here is a picture of me and most of the staff I will be working with for the year. Osuna the guy on the right will most likely the guy I will be living with for the year. He is from Nicaragua originally they he lived in New Jersey and now is working here. He's kind of a crazy guy so it should be fun.

As for other events from this weekend the power went out one night so we had to get around without electricity. Today driving down the road there was a big float driving around shooting confetti advertising some product holding up all sorts of traffic. Life is much different here then in the states to say the least.

A few statistics about Honduras that I learned through the orientation.
60% of the people in Honduras life in extreme poverty.
25% of the people can't read or write.
Half of the population is 18 or younger.

I think that is about all... As for next week I head out to La Union with textbooks that are about 10-20 years old and set up my classroom for the start of class which is September 1. Pray that I learn some more Spanish and become more comfortable with it so I can meet people easier. Wow I am going to miss wireless internet for the rest of the year....God Bless!

A Few Pictures and More Details

Well after sleeping for about 13 hours last night I think I am pretty much rested up. Today I went out for Lunch then ended up going to a movie and a mall with one of Barbara's friends Kweity Chan. It was a fun day. Then I got picked up by Vicente and he took me to his apartment which is where I will be for the rest of the week as far as I can tell. He wanted me to ask if anyone else would want to come teach in Honduras because they still really need more teachers including the same school I am at. So if you would like to or know anyone who might be interested let me know. I am meeting tomorrow now with some of the high ups at the school so that is something to look forward to. Here are some pictures from the day.
Here is a picture taken from the balcony of Barbara's apartment. In the foreground is a soccer field built by Fifa. In the back is part of the city. It is actually a decent part of the city. The inner part of the city is actually pretty nice with a lot of nicer houses with huge walls and razor wire. The outer parts of the city are made up of lots of poverty and pieces of wood put together pretty much so there is a lot of disparity.

This is a picture of a public high school. It is really small and kind of in shambles but a lot of students attend it every day. Some days teachers don't even show up to teach so students just wait outside then go home after a while. It is a pretty sad situation.
Here is a crepe. This was my lunch today. I just took a picture of it because I thought it looked cool. It was very tasty as well.

Well... Other then that I start actually teaching on September 1 and head out to La Union next Monday so I am really looking forward to that. I guess that is all for now. God Bless

An hour of sleep......

It has been a crazy last 24 hours. I have spent my time watching The Bucket List, then finishing Rent and then watching P.S I love you. After that we had a fun filled car ride of dancing in the car to the airport at 3 in the morning. I then boarded my plane and flew to Houston and an hour later was on my way to Tegucicalpa Honduras. After I arrived I met some other people from a Bible college who were going to teach in Honduras as well but unfortunatly not in my area or with my school. As I made it through customs I had both Barbara and Vicinte waiting for me. Then Barbara´s family took me home and treated me like a king. My first meal here in Honduras was Burger King so I don´t really have a good feel of what the food is really like. After that we met up with some of Barbara´s friends and went paintballing on the top of a mountain which was simply amazing. During our drive around town when they gave me a tour I saw someof the craziest driving I have ever seen and thought I was going to die multiple times but somehow we survived. The weather here in the mountains is actually quite pleasent. I would say on top of the mountains its about 70 and in the capital its around 80. There is a major disparity between the poor and the rich in the city. You see both huge hotels and pretty much shacks that people are living in. So far it has been a great experience but I have only had an hour of sleep in the past 36 hours so I am thinking I should really try and get some shut eye. Tomorrow I meet with a lot of the heads of Abundant Life School so I am really looking forward to that. I miss you all and hope to hear from some of you. Oh and by some crazy coincedence I met some youth who had been on a youthworks trip in Montana in the airport. I only knew it was them because they were wearing a one word shirt. It was crazy stuff. God´s Blessings

Honduras

Wow I leave for Honduras in like 5 hours. Kinda a weird feeling.... I will update this blog with the rest of my pictures from the summer later assuming my internet connection is capable of it. Keep me in your prayers... God Bless