Solo en Espanol los Domingos

Nuevo Regla: Sole en Espanol los Domingos.

Today I went to church with the Martinez family and we went out for breakfast and coffee afterwards, as usual.  I am really starting to love this tradition.  Not only is the company amazing, but I am hopefully going to be learning some more Spanish.  On the way home today, Rosela said, "Well if you guys are going to continue to come with us then we are only going to speak Spanish on Sundays." We joked about how quiet our Sundays would be from now on, but really I am very excited to learn.  It is pretty intimidating to try and speak a new language, but Mr. Martinez, Rosela, and MariaJose and are all very patient and super helpful. 

Tim came with us today, and as we sat in Dunkin Donuts finishing up our coffee the conversation turned to Tim's love life.  Apparently Rosela is quite the match maker and is very excited that Tim is single :-) I could not have been happier that I already have a boyfriend. Otherwise I have a good feeling she would have been on my case as well!  Don't worry Jeremy, I told her all about you!  However, she also is NEVER wrong when it comes to relationships and knowing whether or not they will work out.  I told her that she is going to have to meet Jeremy when he comes to visit so she can let us know how it's all going to work out :-) haha

What a great Sunday afternoon.

This past week at school was Spirit Week, where each day had a dress up theme.  They weren't really as exciting as our days when I was in high school, but fun to participate none the less.  Monday was crazy hair day and although I didn't go ALL OUT, I thought my buns on both sides of my head looked pretty crazy.  I was disappointed to find upon my arrival at school that I was among the minority of people who participated.  This was just not acceptable.  When I asked my 10th grade geometry class why none of them had crazy hair, they all said it was because they were too cool.  I just laughed and them and told them that I was the cool one.  Then I got the genius idea to see if I could get them to participate.  I told them that if every single student dressed up everyday for the rest of the week I would give everyone a FREE 100% QUIZ GRADE.  And do you know, those crazy kids actually did it.  Every single one of my 10th grade students dressed up everyday and walked into my classroom as proud as ever.  I was pleased:-)

10th grade on Hat Day (Esther made a hat that said "I love Geometry")

Seniors on Sports Day (I wore my Liberty University Softball shirt, everyone else had soccer jerseys)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Ceiba

Boat we rode out to Cayos Cochinos to go snorkeling

To do list:

1. Ride in a bus with no air-conditioning for 8+ hours
2. Drive through several Independence Day Parades and be the center of attention
3. Have to stop for a herd of cows crossing the road
4. See some of the most beautiful parts of Honduras
5. Apply 50 SPF sunscreen
6. Run and jump into the Caribbean Sea
7. Discover how warm and salty the sea is compared to the Atlantic Ocean
8. Swim really far out to get to the sandbar
9. Dive down to pick up sand dollars and watch them move in my hand
10. Walk along the beach
11. Share a room with Jen, Jen and Julienne
12. Watch disturbing music videos because it is the only channel in English
13. Turn on our air conditioning and enjoy a cold room
14. Fall asleep in a hammock on the beach
15. Apply 50 SPF sunscreen
16. Ride a tiny boat out to Cayos Cochinos to go snorkeling (see picture above)
17. Discover the beautiful coral reef and colorful fishies
18. Swim next to a swordfish
19. Get a headache from my goggles being so tight
20. Actually being able to float in the salty water without a life jacket
21. Meet the indigenous people who live on Cayos Cochinos
22. Apply 50 SPF sunscreen
23. Lay out on the white beaches on the Islands
24. Drink a Coke out of a glass bottle while laying on the beach
25. Eat a fish even though I could still see his eyes
26. Realize that water takes a long time to boil
27. Eat a community spaghetti dinner with everyone in our group
28. Apply 50 SPF sunscreen
29. Zip-line through the rainforest
30. Sit in a natural hot spring 
31. Get rubbed down with mud
32. Wait for 1 hour to get my food (definitely worth it though, see item # 32)
33. Eat steak for the first time since I've been in Honduras (much needed)
34. Get up early to go for a run on the beach but realize that its already to hot and just lay out instead
35. Get eaten by sand fleas
36. Oh yeah, Apply 50 SPF sunscreen
37. Stop on the side of the road and buy a coconut
38. Discover I don't like coconut water (or eating fresh coconut for that matter)
39. Have a long talk with Jen V. on the way home :-)
40. Realize I can survive without communication to Jeremy or my parents for 4 days! 

I thought I would love coconut milk, I was wrong!

There is bound to be things that I have forgotten.  The week was so amazing and everything we did was relaxing and incredibly fun.  At first I thought that I just wanted to go and sit on the beach for the whole trip: 1. Because I love to sit on the beach and 2. Because I am a bit of a cheap skate.  However, Snorkeling and  Zip-lining were great decisions!

Also, as you may have noticed, I kept of with my sunscreen application and hardly got burnt at all.  My back got a little red the day we went snorkeling (self explanatory) but other than that, my 50 SPF was true to its word.  The sun is so much hotter here, and even more in Ceiba than in Tegus, but I can hardly tell that I have been out in the sun.  Thank you Banana Boat!

Yes I actually took a bite of this guy.

Now, back to the grind.  Time for some Rosetta Stone (thank you Jeremy) and Journal writing (thank you Hubers) and then begins another week in my new, exciting life.  Can't wait to see what's in store!

Also, I'm going to try and get a list of all of my students that I teach and send them to my mom. (Sorry I haven't actually mentioned this to you yet mom!) There are probably around 100 high schoolers, but one of my friends was telling me that she was going to have people at home commit to praying for each on of her students (which is only 21 because she teaches 2nd grade), but I thought that it was a great idea.  If you would like to commit to praying for one of my students, please let me or my mom know so that we can give you a name.  I know it would only help out my classroom and it would be an encouragement to me and to my students.  Maybe I'll even be able to send pictures and I can update you on your specific student and let you know special needs once we get it all figured out!  But let others know because I need about 100 people to commit to this task! 

Thanks to all of you for your already continual prayer for me!

Good Food

Since I reported that I would keep searching for good food, I only thought it appropriate to let you know that I have found it!  Last night we went out to a restaurant called Las Tejitas, which is a nicer Honduran style restaurant.  The atmosphere is almost as good as the food.  It is pretty much outside, but there is a roof (which was good because it was raining) and then there is orange material that hangs on the sides to serve as walls.  The ambiance of the whole restaurant is very soothing and warm.  We ended up having a pretty big group go which was really fun, and even though we all arrived in different modes of transportation, we all got there around the same time (which is kind of unusual here in Honduras where time is not quite as important).  I got a combo plate with two tacos and one gringa.  You know what a taco is and a gringa is just a folded tortilla with chicken in it and it is grilled.  Then there is a bar in the center of the restaurant with all sorts of sauces and veggie mixes to put on top.  Very delicious!

I would be amiss to not tell you about our cab ride home.  Don't worry, I'm still alive, but our cab driver was a bit crazy.  He was chomping on some chicken wings and once we got in the car he put on "Stand by Me" and started singing at the top of his lungs.  Apparently this is one of his favorite songs because he played it over and over on the way home.  We sang along and he thought it was hilarious.  He had to slam on the breaks a couple times, and kept looking back at us and smiling and saying something that we couldn't understand.  We got out at the bottom of our hill and decided to walk the rest of the way home since we couldn't tell if he was completely all there. :-/

Today I went to the early service at church with my friends Leslie and Jen V.  One of my students, Maria Jose and her family, picked us up at my house and took us to church.  It was so nice to have a ride and get to spend some time with a Honduran family.  However, this is not just any Honduran family, this is probably the most loving and amazing family in all of Tegucigalpa.  The Martinez family offered to pick us up every Sunday and take us to church, which is so much better than taking a taxi or the bus.  I enjoyed being able to worship and interact with people who didn't need to hear the translation at church and are also so passionate about the Lord.  After church, they took us all out to breakfast at GG's, which was best food #2.  They had great coffee (which Mrs. Martinez insisted that we try) and I got an omelet all the way, which was probably the best omelet I have ever had!  Mr. Martinez thought it was funny when I ordered and said "Omelet of your choice" (it was in spanish on the menu) and the waiter quickly said back to my "No, of YOUR choice."   I was just reading the name off of the menu and apparently it was an Omelet with whatever "I" wanted, not whatever the waiter wanted. We got a chuckle when it was all cleared up.

Summary:  Great food, great people and I can't wait to get to know and spend more time with the Martinez family!

Futbol

Living in Honduras, you would think that by now I would have been playing futbol (soccer) all the time.  But today after school was the first time that I have actually played since I've been here.  I went with some of the teachers downtown to a little turf soccer field to play with some of the street kids.  It's a ministry put on by Micah Project, a house and school for boys who can't afford to otherwise get an education or even have a place to live.  There are about 12 boys who live at the Micah House and its really cool to see how they have turned their lives around from living on the streets and sniffing glue, to being able to get an education and experience a relationship with the Lord.  So anyways, Micah Project also does Friday afternoon soccer with some of the street kids (who don't live at the Micah House).  We get to just go and love on the boys and play with them for a while.  Then they present the Gospel and we feed all of the guys.  Usually I think they wash each boys feet, but we didn't do that today.  It really is a great ministry and it was a good way for me to really see some of what Honduras is really like. Most of the guys that come are high the whole time so the soccer game is a bunch of kicking it as hard as you can and just going from one end of the field to the other.  But while the guys are there, they have to give up their "sniffing glue" in order to play and eat.  Some of the kids were so great.  One little boy, Jorge, was simply adorable.  He looked like he was about 12 or 13 years old.  He was on my team and even though I am not very good at soccer he kept smiling at me and telling me "bien"! 

When you picture where we played soccer, you should really picture a fenced in area that is only a little bigger than a basketball court.  Not a huge soccer field like we are used to playing on at all.  Like I said earlier, these guys are pretty high when they get there and so they are playing full force, and absolutely killing the ball.  Well, while we were playing today I gained quite a bit of respect from all of the street kids because of my "toughness". Here's what happened; I was standing right behind another guy while our goalie had the ball and was about to kick it down the field.  Well, I couldn't see the goalie so as I turn around to face him,  the guy in front of me suddenly ducks and WHAM!  I had about .01 seconds to think to myself, "This is going to hurt!" and before I knew it the ball slammed into my face.  Of course everyone stopped (for about 10 seconds) to make sure I was okay, and when I successfully stood up and said "Muy Bien" the game continued.  Of course, it really did hurt, but it's not like I haven't been hit in the face with a ball a time or two.  Apparently, they all kept talking about it even after the game was over and several of the guys came up to me afterwards with huge grins on their faces and they would just put their hand up and hit their face.  I guess since there isn't usually a ton of girls who play, I proved myself by getting nailed in the face and not crying.  I guess if that's what it takes to "get in" then I'm okay with it.

After soccer, we went to the market downtown by the futbol stadium.  It was pouring the whole time as we walked and Laura B. couldn't have said it any better, "Doesn't get better than this!" Welcome to Honduras! 

So by the time we got to the market we were drenched, but that was okay because apparently the baleadas (which I had never had) were definitely worth it.  Basically it was a tortilla (which really was delicious) and you could put beans, eggs, cheese, some kind of meat, and avocado in it.  I'm not going to lie,  it wasn't my favorite food.  I'll keep searching until I find something I really love.  But after we ate we walked around the market a little bit and I bought a fresh pineapple (which made me think of you Jeremy)! 

Overall, it was a wonderful, soggy, tiring and beautiful Friday afternoon!

Oh wait I forgot to tell you about the pigs.  You know how you always hear about pigs living in the mud and eating the garbage, but you never actually see it.  Well today, after we played soccer, I looked behind the field where we played and sure enough there was a dump.  There must have been 12-15 pigs just walking around and eating the garbage.  It really did open my eyes to how different things are here.

Cuantos flores?

I must tell you about our cleaning lady.  It's different here because everyone has someone who comes and cleans their house (or at least I think it's a pretty common thing).  I guess it provides jobs for more people, and who doesn't want to have a clean house? So, our cleaning lady came Monday while we were at school.  When we got home we knew she had been here because as soon as Jess opened the door we could smell the cleaning supplies (I love that smell)!  She always does such a great job making everything spotless and look really nice. However, I was completely floored when I walked in my room and all of my laundry had been washed, dried and folded! I felt so grateful.  Of course, I really didn't think about the fact that my mom did just that for me for 22 years (THANKS MOM!).  I guess I should have been more appreciative.  Also, everything in my room was straightened up, my shoes were all lined up nice and neat and she had moved all of my things (hairdryer, straightener, softball glove, etc.) so that nothing was on the floor (in case of flooding).  It's amazing how hard of a worker she is, and I'm sure how little appreciation she gets.  Don't worry we are going to show her quite a bit of appreciation:-)

 Last night we went out for Thai food at a great restaurant (upon Erik and Danielle's suggestion).  It was kind of far away, so I wasn't sure if I still wanted to go after we spent 2 1/2 hours at the bank trying to get our new bank cards to work.  However, Thai food just sounded so delicious and so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  We ended up having 9 people go and so we shoved 5 people into a little taxi and headed on our way.  It took a little longer than expected to get there because apparently nobody knows where "Sobu" is.  The driver was great though, and kept stopping to ask everyone that we saw (yes ladies he was a male driver) if they knew where the restaurant was.  We eventually got there and it was completely worth it.  The food was delicious and the view was great; you could see the Jesus Statue out of the window from the table we sat at.  I also love sushi and was glad to get to try several different Thai dishes. 

Then it was so great when I woke up this morning at 7a.m. and was ready to grade papers and make the Precalculus test for this upcoming week.  I don't know why, but sometimes I get in these moods where I want to do things that I usually don't enjoy doing.  Basically the way my brain works is that I will lay in bed and think about doing something so much that I might as well just get up and do it because I'm definitely not falling back asleep.  So I took advantage of my "go-get-um" mood and started my day!  I was able to get quite a bit done as I sat in bed, watched "The Holiday" (it's always been one of Apartment 1015's favs) and sipped my coffee.  By 9:30a.m. I had all of my Calculus quizzes graded, and the test made.  Most of my other planning I was able to get done on Friday since I only teach for the first 3 periods!  Really its a wonderful start to my weekend:-)  By 10:30a.m. I was outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather.  We have a gated area in front of our house so I took my towel and laid outside under the warm sun for a while!  It was so relaxing and enjoyable (especially knowing that I didn't have a ton of work hanging over my head)!

There is a place in front of our window to plant flowers, but so far its just been bare.  We got some little green plants and some purple and pink flowers to beautify our house a bit.  We were having trouble trying to decide how many flowers we needed to buy to fill the area. So I told the guy who was helping us how big of an area we were trying to fill (that was done successfully with hand motions), however, I then asked him (in Spanish) "Cuantos flores?" a.k.a "How many flowers?" Yes, I know this is grammatically incorrect, but he knew exactly what I meant and then told me that he thought about 10 plants would do the trick.  (I don't think he said "do the trick" but I knew that's what he meant.) You may be thinking, "You've been in Honduras for 3 weeks now and that's all you can say!", and I will confirm that yes that is about the extent of my Spanish.  I'm working on it really, but its  going to take much longer than I thought.  Hopefully, I'll dive into the culture more before too long!

I'll keep you posted!

MAIL!!!!

Today I was sitting in another math department meeting after a long day of work.  Not my favorite thing to do after school, but it comes with the job.  So anyways, I was more that overjoyed to see two students come to my classroom door holding none other than 2 pieces of mail.  Since there were about 5 teachers sitting in my room, I waited to get too excited since the mail could have been for any of us.  But I was thrilled to hear them say, "Ms. Pittman?" and of course I jumped to my feet and ran to the door to get my first letters from home.  All of the other teachers were a bit jealous I would imagine ( I would be if someone else got TWO letters and I didn't get any).  I could hardly wait to tear into them, but of course I had to wait until the meeting was over. 
After everyone finally left my room, I read my 2 letters, which actually turned out to be 3 because Lindsay sent me the sweetest note (it was inside my parents card). You can probably guess who sent the third letter (all the way from St. Louis). 

First mail from home:  Mom and Dad (plus Linds:-)  and Jeremy!

Both made me smile (and tear up a little), yes I'm still a little emotional when it comes to feeling homesick. 

Moral of the story: Getting mail is AMAZING!