18 Days

As some of you have noted, I've been able to do quite a bit of traveling and vacationing this past year.  I figure that I might as well go as many places as I can and see as many things as I can while I'm in Central America.  Otherwise, I'll probably never get the chance again.  With that said, I just got back from a weekend trip to Amapala, an Island off of the west coast of Honduras.  I have been there before, but just for a day trip.  I got to actually see the whole Island and do a little more than just lay on the beach for a few hours.

We left Friday after school (which was a half day) and made the two hour drive to Amapala.  It was really nice because Matt has a car and was able to comfortably take Meredith, Dan and I.  We packed up and were out of Tegus by 1:00pm.  Once we arrived at the coast we had to park the car and catch a water taxi (tiny boat) over to Amapala.  It only took about 10-15 minutes, but the ride was quite enjoyable.  The island isn't very big, so as soon as we walked off of the boat we could see our hotel.  We unpacked our things and basically headed straight out to the beach.  We opted to go to Playa Negra (Black Beach, because of the black sand) because everyone except for Matt hadn't been to that beach yet.  It was really nice, but we only had about an hour and a half left of daylight so we enjoyed it while we could.  I was pretty hesitant to get into the ocean because I knew, with the sun going down, that I would be freezing.  However, once I decided to just feel the water, I couldn't help but go in because it was like getting into a warm bathtub.  The water felt amazing and Dan, Meredith and I played frisbee until the thunder started rolling in. 

On the way back to the hotel, we got poured on but it didn't really matter at that point.  We were on vacation.

The Mantings (Ben and Lauren) were at the hotel when we got back.  They left a little later than us from school, but stayed in the room right next to ours.  The Mantings weren't the only surprise we found when we got back though, because of the storm the power had gone out on the island.  We took showers in the dark (no hot water whether there was power or not) and then went down for dinner at the hotel.  They were able to make dinner because the kitchen was gas powered, but then the power came back on and we were able to enjoy dinner with lights and then played cards for the rest of the night.  I learned 2 new games: Up and Down the River; and Stupid (both very fun)

Mere and I retreated to our room, read a little and then went to bed.  The air conditioning felt great to fall asleep to, but I was awakened around 2:00am because I was so hot.  Power had gone out again and didn't come back on until the next day. 

Saturday we woke up early to go for a hike up the volcano (very old volcano and you couldn't see in at the top) which was just like a big mountain.  We started at 7:30 and finally reached the top at almost 10:00.  It was a pretty strenuous hike, but felt great to finally get to the top! I don't think I've every sweated that much before!  We stayed and relaxed for about an hour and then headed back down.  Since nothing was open for breakfast, we were starving at this point and immediately went into town for a delicious pizza lunch!

Back to the hotel, then off to the beach.  This time we went to Playa Grande (you can figure that one out) because Lauren knew of a private little cove that she had found on a previous trip.  It was really nice, no one else around and we could enjoy laying out without Hondurans looking at us like we were crazy.  The cove was surrounded by rocks, like you would see in a movie, and had a little beach.  The only bad thing was that there was no breeze, so it was incredibly hot! 

Back to the hotel for showers, but just after we finished, storm came up and no power once again.  This time it lasted all night, and we never got it back.  It poured and poured so we had to stay at the hotel and have dinner again.  The bad news was that our rooms were ridiculously hot, and so falling asleep was a little more difficult.  Wasn't the best night sleep and I'll be looking forward to my own bed and fan tonight!

The island is small, but not small enough to walk everywhere.  You may be wondering how we got around everywhere, from beach to beach and into the city?  Well, instead of taxis everywhere, Amapala has Tuk-tuks.  These are great for carrying 3 or 4 people anywhere on the Island.  Tuk-Tuks are little, open doored scooters with one wheel in the front and two in the back.  They drive with handle bars like a motorcycle and are quite enjoyable (as long as it's not raining). 

It was a great weekend getaway!  Now I only have two weekends left until Jeremy comes.  Bittersweet. (But definitely a little more sweet.)

22 Days

Oh, Rafael!

One of my ninth graders had an epiphany this week.  His name is Rafael and he is going to fail math for the year, which means that he has to take a Recuperation Exam.  Basically students have the opportunity to take a week long class and then an exam at the end over all of the material we covered all year and if they pass that exam then they get to pass the class for the year.

So back to Rafael....before class started on Monday he asked me, "Mees, can I come after school for tutoring for the Recups?"

To which I replied, "Of course, I'm here on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays after school.  However, I have one stipulation.  In order to get extra help you have to first pay attention during class."

"But Mees, if I pay attention in class then I won't have to come for extra help."

"You got it!"

Too bad he didn't realize this early, or he probably would have passed my class!

23 Days

In case you were wondering how I get to school every morning...

This bus (or one similar) comes to our house at 6:33am.  We usually can hear the engine roaring as it makes its way up our steep hill.  Once Laura or I hear it coming (Jess is usually still getting ready), we yell "Bus!".  Some mornings we are all ready and waiting outside before the bus arrives, but a typical morning goes a little something like this...

Laura makes her lunch and heads outside before the bus arrives.  I pour my coffee, eat my breakfast and usually have everything all together (but for some reason I can always find one more thing to do instead of going and waiting outside, like take out the trash or wash the dishes).  Jess, however, usually comes out of her room at 6:30, if we're lucky, and gets her lunch and breakfast ready as we yell "Bus!".  Sometimes she gets a little flustered, but for the most part we all make it work and somehow get out to the bus on time.  The bus drivers have graciously learned that it may be a few minutes for all of us to make it out, but they never complain (at least not in English!)

25 Days

Back home today.....I miss the girls already.

Me singing "Ain't no Mountain High..." and then Andrea taking it away with "Ain't no Valley Low"

Nice Bikini Gaby

Homework time...kinda

We set aside an hour for reading everyday....yeah right!

26 Days

For the past 10 days Jess and I have been staying with Andrea, Sofi and Gabby.  I've been trying to convince Andrea to write my next blog for me. So, finally, here are some thoughts from her...

So you may think you have been to an amazing slumber party, but you have never been to one with the Crook girls. First we watched Cheaper By The Dozen. After that we ate chillakiles, (by the way it is fried tortilla bits with cheese and meat). It was all going smooth until we noticed that the meat had a bunch of white fat balls in it. Needless to say, the rest of the night stomachs were churning. But that did not stop us from partying in Hondo (short for Honduras, that's were she is at right now).

Next we played football, but not outside, it was more of a catch and then jump and tackle on the sofa or bed. I thought they were all being a bit exaggerated when they caught it. I was the quarterback (obviously) until the fun ceased because my running back fumbled and knocked the lamp, spilling water that was on the table on the floor. Then they made me clean it up, when it wasn't my fault (it was Jess'). We then made cupcakes and cake (Jess' idea once again), but we got bored waiting for them to cook.

Then we headed abajo, (downstairs) to hear me sing. Ms. Pittman went first and had to dance all over the stage to make up for her lack of stage presence, (by the way I don't need to do that). She sang the song "If We Were a Movie"by Miley Cyrus. Her singing was average and her dancing was average as well. Then it was Sof who went, sang "Your Not Sorry" by my homey Tay-Tay (Taylor Swift). Sofi, who I personally think is a really good singer, probably the best of all of us by far, gave a great performance (which wasn't hard after Ms. Pittman's). Then Jessica Molstre sang Sara Bareilles' song "Love Song". I wonder who she was singing it to? Next up was Gaby, who rocked the house with not only her voice but with her dance moves as well. She sang "I Do" by Colbie Calliat (It is a good song, you should listen to it if you haven't). Then it was the superstars chance to shine (me). I sang "Goodbye" by Miley as well. She was the popular choice for the night. I did not dance around because I did not need to distract the crowd from my voice. The song I sang is a slower paced one so Gaby did an interpretive dance in the background. Naturally, everyone thought my performance was, by far, the best of the night. (After Sofi...and Gaby)

Jess and Gaby headed off to bed (their field trip to the Children's museum tired them out).  Sofi and I wanted to watch "The Prince and Me"(great movie, by the way) and sleepyhead Ms. Pittman said she would watch it with us.  We piled up the cushions from the couch and cuddled on the floor (except Ms. Pittman who quickly fell asleep on the couch).  She looked weird all curled up (don't tell her I said that).  Then as soon as the movie was over we all quickly piled into bed.  I had to sleep next to Ms. Pittman who kicked and snored all night (I think she thought we were still playing football).

Nice talking to you guys, I've gotta go hang out with the coolest teacher ever (I didn't write that).

31 Days, (A.K.A. 1 month)

Today was like Christmas for me.  I was sitting in chapel when one of the elementary teachers came in and told me that I had "a bajillion" packages and letters waiting down in the office for me.  I was a little uncertain of what that exactly meant, but I was definitely excited!  After school, I headed down to the office and found 2 letters and 3 big envelopes all for me! I haven't gotten so much stuff in one day in a long time. 

The letters from Jeremy and Courtney (Will and Reese) were absolutely amazing.  I couldn't wait to open them so I (slowly) walked back to my classroom and read/laughed/cried. When you only get mail every now and then, it makes the experience so much more exciting!

Once I got back to my classroom (with Sofi) I tore into my packages and found all sorts of my favorite things: Mike and Ike, Chapstick, pens, pencils, stationary and very sweet letters from the kids back at church!  What a fabulous way to end a tiring Monday!

Just to catch you up: 
Saturday my students did GREAT at Math Olympics!  Both of the teams I teach got a "Superior" score. 
Sunday was baccalaureate. It ended up being nice and short, but incredibly hot.  Not too bad though. The girls were dressed up in pretty dresses and guys were looking sharp.  (Seniors begin their exams tomorrow so I am pretty happy to be done teaching one class!)
The weekend wasn't very relaxing, but getting to go home each day and see the girls and sit on a nice, comfy couch was definitely a perk!  Hopefully next weekend I'll actually get to enjoy a little bit more.

34 Days

Jess and I have been staying with Andrea, Sofi and Gabby for the past couple of days.  It's been fun so far and hopefully the weekend will prove to be a good time.  I'm pretty sure it will be.

Staying at a hotel + 5 girls - school work = Amazing Weekend

The Seniors take their final exams next week, so I am pretty much done teaching their class, with the exception of a review on Monday and then grading the exams.  I am so glad to have one less prep and now even more planning periods in my day!

I've been coaching Math Olympics this semester.  It's been fun because I am coaching the Juniors in Trigonometry and Precalculus.  I've enjoyed the challenge of trying to remember how to do some of the really tough problems.  I have also found that most of the students in Math Olympics are smarter than me, but thankfully, I still know more than them:)  We had a local competition last Saturday and the Conference Competition is tomorrow.

After this weekend, that will be one less thing in my schedule as well. Things are really wrapping up. I'm getting very excited to come home!  I'll miss it here though: My students, my roommates and friends, and the Crooks.  It's been a good year!

39 Days

Happy Mother's Day! 

A few things I love about my mom...
1. She gives great advice
2. She's a fun/practical shopping partner
3. We have the same taste in movies and both love to lay in bed and watch them together
4. She supports me even when I want to move to another country
5. She gets really excited when I tell her anything about my life (even the boring things)
6. She has a knack for seeing what is going to happen before it does
7. She loves laying out by the pool/ beach with me
8. She cares more about my well-being than her own
9. She is an example of a Godly wife and mother
10. She usually knows what I'm thinking, and how I'm thinking it

42 Days

Look closely...we almost didn't see this guy!

I'm going to summarize the last few days of vaca in this blog because, honestly, I'm getting kinda tired of writing about the trip and I'd rather write about what is going on now.

Thursday:  We went for a hike through a National Park.  It was right on the beach, so we walked through the rainforest and got to see Howler Monkeys, Sloths, some kind of raccoon looking animal, a snake, crabs, spiders, lizards and birds.  It was a cool and flat walk, and if you looked to out to your left the ocean was sparking blue.  Very beautiful!

Kristi and I taking a break

Howler Monkey

There were a lot of Howler Monkeys!

 

 

Just one of the many lizards we saw!

View of the beach from the walking path

Cheese!

We were super excited to be hiking!

There were random stumps along the path...so of course we used them as stepping stones

And then posed on them!

Everyone taking pictures when we first spotted the monkeys.

Dan walking along the beautiful path

This little guy was sticking his tongue out at me!

Another Howler Monkey

Crab...these were everywhere

Not sure what this is, but I thought it was cool.

I took this for Jeremy!

Some kind of lizard.

Friday: We took a picture at breakfast to remember our wonderful, relaxing mornings at the Blue Conga, and then hit the road. 

Pure Deliciousness

We drove back to San Jose, with one pit-stop, Zip-lining!  We had seen a zip-lining place when we were on our way to the beach and decided that it would be fun to stop on the way back.  It was a great decision, because we ended up having a super fun guide, "J", who liked me, but not Dan ha!  She was really funny.  Zip-lining through the rain forest was pretty great too!

That's "J" in the middle...rocking the Peace Sign

I'm pumped!

Jess and I

I think Matt was a little nervous

Matt, Me and Dan up on one of the canopy platforms

I am actually going backwards in this picture.  I managed to flip around so Matt could take my picture from behind!

We stayed the night at the "pot-smoking" hostel again in San Jose, enjoyed Subway for dinner, and then headed out early the next morning for another 2 days of traveling on a bus.  The borders weren't as bad on the way home,  we made pretty good timing, and even got to go see a movie when we stopped in Managua, Nicaragua on Saturday.  Yes, I've been to Nicaragua :)

Finally, made it home Sunday afternoon (even before schedule), and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of swapping stories with Laura and of course talking to everyone back home! 

p.s. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

46 Days

The Most Beautiful Beach: Manzanillo!

Everyone was sitting under the shade!

My Favorite Day! 

Wednesday: Another good nights sleep and relaxing morning.  I went out on the balcony and read for a while and then went down for breakfast.  It was shaping up to be a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and the air was crisp.

We got ready for the beach, but Jess and I had the "great idea" of not putting on sunscreen before we went.  We thought we would get a "little" sun and then put it on after an hour or two at the beach.  Instead of getting in the car to go to the beach, we walked down the road a bit and rented bikes for the day: Beach cruisers with baskets and all!  We loaded up our bags and towels in the baskets and headed out.  The road that goes along the beach is partly paved, partly dirt and rock, and mostly flat.  It was a wonderful ride as we cruised along in the warm morning sun.  We were headed to the farthest beach, Manzanillo, which ended up being about a 45 minute bike ride.  Once we arrived in the quaint little town, we immediately spotted an ice-cream shop that served gelatos!  Definitely a treat for later!

We made it to Manzanillo!

Parked our bikes by a palm tree and locked them up while we were at the beach.

We kept biking a few minutes to get past the hustle and bustle in the little town and the road turned to sand.  We eventually had to get off of our bikes and push them up on the beach.  Manzanillo was a beautiful, calm beach that gave you the feel of laying on the Caribbean Beach before tourists came and made everything commercialized.  There were hardly any waves, and the water was clear blue.  We just sat in the shallow water and soaked in the hot sun for a while.  Kristi had a couple of snorkles so we took turns swimming out to the coral reef a little ways off shore and saw a bunch of cool fish and other creatures.  My favorite was a fish that was bright orange on one half and bright blue on the other.  It was pretty wild.

When Jess and I went out snorkeling, the others decided to ride back into town and grab lunch.  They took all of our stuff, including sunscreen with them so that it wouldn't get stolen since no one was on the beach to watch it.  When Jess and I got in, we thought it was definitely time to lather up with the sunscreen.....only we couldn't because we no longer had anything.  So, we sat in the ocean for another hour and waited for the others to return.  We both knew we were burning, but we didn't know what else to do.  Once they got back, we immediately took our stuff and headed into town to get in a shaded area.  We found a cute little soda to eat lunch and dry off.  After we ate, we both put tons of lotion on.  I could feel my skin already getting warm, but I couldn't tell how burnt I was yet.

This is where we ate lunch

We headed back out to the beach, but once the sun hit my skin, I knew it wasn't good so I found a palm tree and sat underneath the rest of the afternoon and read.  We decided to head back around 3pm, so we packed up our bikes and started on our way back.  We didn't make it far without stopping....of course when we got to the ice-cream shop we couldn't resist.  I had a delicious vanilla with chocolate chunks gelato in a cone.  I love ice-cream!

The ride back was just as pleasant as the way there.  We stopped at another beach before we got home because we had heard that the waves were really big.  (Actually, we heard that the under-toe was deadly....but we thought we would at least check it out)  Dan, Jess and I had the most amazing time riding those waves.  They turned out to be great and we didn't feel any under-toe.  Dad, I know you would be proud of me, because I was riding those waves like a pro.  Start swimming, hands out, head down, and straight body....just like you taught me:)  I wish you could have been there. (We'll ride some together this summer!)

After about an hour, the sun was starting to set so we packed up again and  made our way back to the bike rental place.  We returned the bikes, walked home and showered up.  The guys were exhausted so Krist, Jess and I went out to dinner by ourselves.  We found a cool restaurant down the road that was under a big hut and had a sand floor.  The food was delicious.  I had a veggie sandwich, which had every vegetable I could think of on it....super delicious!

We found the boys still asleep when we got back home, so we followed suit.  Read a bit, tried to lay still on my sheets so I wouldn't rub my burn, and then fell asleep!