Copan, Honduras!

So another month...another long weekend!

This time, as I promised after our resort trip...I was going to go and do something educational! So I did. We went to Copan, Honduras to see the Mayan ruins there.

So Thursday morning at 4:20 am I dragged myself out of bed and went to Zone 10 to get on a shuttle bus. The bus arrived we hopped on and I promptly fell asleep.

After a long and bumpy ride we arrived at the border and then 20 minutes later arroved in the cute little town of Copan. Right when we got off the bus we met Jesus Ramirez. He would, from that moment on, be part of our daily lives (for 3 days). He took us to the hotel and promised to come back to get us in a couple of hours to go horse back riding!

(Jacqui and Brett on the horses, they are new teachers at the school this year from BC)

We rode up to an Hacienda and saw some cocoa plants, coffee plants (both firsts for Jacqui) and a lime tree. At the Hacienda we stopped for a glass of wine. Walter, Jesus' friend who owns the horses, was with us and had some lemonade. He was great and chitchatted with us. Well with me, as the other 2 speak no spanish...so I got to use TONS this weekend :)

The following day Jesus took us up the mountain to some hot springs. The TukTuk ride was ridiculously long and bumpy! When we got there we walked up the jungle like path to see the 11 different baths. The top was the "source" , where the hot water emerges. Jesus was trying to explain how hot it was and as he was telling me this, Brett stuck his whole foot in and burned himself. Aparently, we could have boiled an egg in it , had we wanted to:)

One of the baths.

We also found a GIANT leaf...which we all took turns wearing.

Don't worry..I have a bathing suit on!

Ok. So next day we went to the ruins! (which was kind of the point of the trip!)

We walked to the site...but halfway there, guess who drove by us? JESUS! He picked us up and drove us the rest of the way:)

Once we got to the ruins, we climbed them, read the plagues and climbed some more. I met 2 men vacationing from Bordeaux and chitchatted with them for a while.

On our walk out of the national park type place we found a bunch of Macaws. They are wonderfully colourful parrots which they breed in captivity at the park and then slowly release into the wild (from what I understand).

back to life...back to reality

Happy Saturday everyone!

This weekend seems extremely anticlimatic and extremely short compared to the adventures we have had of late.

Last weekend was a 4 day weekend due to Independence day (Guate, San Salvador and Mexico signed their independence on Sept. 15th, 1821) and they threw in the Friday for good measure. So off to El Salvador to the beach we went! Now... maybe you sense a theme in my get aways...the hotter the better! El Salvador definitely kept up its end of the deal!

A group of us from the school went in a mini school bus... but more like a huge van. We got to San Salvador at aroun 1230 (we only went into town because we can't check into the hotel until 3) and I had lunch with the Acostas. For those who do not know them, Esther is the social events coordinator at the church in San Salvador and she and her family are good friends. I stayed with them for a weekend last year.

Fernando, Esthercita and I at lunch

Anyway, I had lunch with them...it was wonderful! Fernando was very pleased that i could speak more spanish and understand what on earth he was saying! (the fact that he is almost 4 now and uses real words helped a little! ) We had lunch..then went for little walk and then i had to be on my way. The visit was much to short, but I will try to make it back before the end of the calendar year.. we shall see. there is SO much to visit in Central America before I leave...more on that later, perhaps.

So from the city we took the 40 minute (hour and half) drive to the beach. We were definitely ready to get out of the bus and onto the beach! We checked in and rendez-voused at the pool. From there the usual beach type things ensued. Won't bore you with the details.

My balancing act on the edge of the salt water pool (when the tide is low there is NO water around it...when it is high the ocean water flows in and out...)

Lindsey and I surfing a turtle!

Sunset

Brian and I - thats the most exercise we got in all weekend :(

We left Sunday, more people sunburnt (not me), everyone happy, noone ready for school the next day.

On Monday we had a prefessional development day (so, for those counting, the kids had a 5 day weekend and took full advantage: one of my students went to NYC to see Mary Poppins). As I mentioned in my quick blog earlier this week...the day was interrupted by 6 earthquakes...well 1 real one (5.8) and 5 tremors (4.6-4.8). During the first tremor I was alone in my classroom and was kind of paralyzed by it..but it was over before I knew it and everyone was like: did you feel that? did that really happen? it was my first Guatemalan earthquake...well that I actually felt! The second one, I was in a meeting and we did leave the classroom, as it did last a good minute, I would say. But we were all fine... after the third one we were told to go home as some disaster had struck outside of the city. woo hoo short day!

The last one I felt was around 10:30, while I was lying in bed. That one freaked me out the most, since I worried there would be more over night and I would be trapped in my bedroom! Luckily non of that ensued...and the kids were thrilled to tell me where they were during the quakes the following day at school.

That about sums up my life. Next week is finals...and then report card writing hits... enhance the title of this blog! But it can't be all fun and games... or can it???

Next long weekend...after much debate, we are thinking of going to the Ruins in COpan Honduras. It's about 5 hours by shuttle and supposed to be super nice and educational (also did I mention it's in the jungle= heat= suitable destination for Camille!)

the day Guatemala shook...and shook...and shook some more

Good afternoon friends,
This is a quick entry and not about my AWESOME long weekend in El Salvador...but rather just to let everyone know that I am a-ok after the 6 tremors/quakes yesterday here in Guate. The first was minor and I was excited to feel it... the second was much bigger and made me and my team (we had a pro-d day and were in grade level meetings) take cover... the others were all minor and kind of felt. The last one was around 10:30 at night and made me nervous..I had trouble sleeping due to the fear that I would not wake up if things started to shatter around me (you know it's true...I love to sleep!). But got a few hours in.

The kids were excited to tell me where they were during the shakes and I was just relieved that they were NOT at school...Americano had 4 evacuations in one day...talk about disturbances!

More to follow about El Salvador!
Thanks for the emails, bbms and texts about my safety!

elections elections elections!

Wow, I have been a busy bee of late!
Aubrey (another 2nd grade teacher at Inter) and I had a big hand in organizing an mock presidential election for the elementary school. (Guatemala goes to the polls tomorrow). The kids all made ID cards and had to register them last week over their lunch time. On Friday , the Highschool students in Political Science came and made presentations to the kids on 8 of the 9 candidates (there were 3 groups of presenters). Then later that day the kids, in elementary, all wen to the polls.

Wow, typing it in a few sentences here makes it seem very simple... but it was quite the ordeal. Totally worth it, as the kids were thrilled, but consumes my life for the past 3 weeks. We had parents (moms) run the registration stations last week and run the election booths on Friday. I thought I had made the whole thing idiot proof, with labels, written instructions etc. Apparently not. It took alot of explaining and standing my ground to convince these ladies that it would work the way I planned it and that their way would not. (ok, that sounds arrogant, but hey, it's true!) Anyway the day was HECTIC yesterday! But you know me, I love a well organized event, even more so when I organized it! Definitely something I am good at :)

That has been my life in a nutshell for the past 3 weeks. This weekend, we are hanging around Guatemala city, staying close to home due to the potential of road blocks tomorrow on election day...maybe a riot or two as well!

Next week is a 3 day week, as the country celebrates their independence day on the 15th! (as do many central american countries). A group of us are headed to the Beach in El Salvador. I hope to meet up with Esther and her family on Thursday afternoon in the city (we are stopping there for lunch).

I took some pictures of the whole election process, but have to find my camera cord etc. Will do at some point. ALso need to see about blurring people's faces... not sure about putting kids photos on here...illegal and stuff.

All in all its been a great first month of school! We are already starting to put together first reports!!!!! Our new principal is slowly getting the hang of things...kind of. but, he did compliment me...in his twisted non complimentary way about the elections: he said i think that went well. I don't think it could have gone better. what do you think. and then walked away. but hey...i take what I can get...and really the kids smiles and excitement was MORE than enough thanks! THough I did need a long nap when I get home from it all!

buses, sailboat and lanchas!

Our first long weekend has come and gone (this is just the beginning folks…we are blesses with a load of long weekends this year!).

Brian, Maggie and I decided to go to Rio Dulce this weekend, as it was Maggie's last weekend in Guatemala and she hadn't been and neither had I! We were all to take the bus Friday afternoon and arrive late on Friday...around noon, Maggie messages me: see you in Rio...my friend is going by helicopter...and invited me. haha, so we were down to 2 for our bus adventure.

After some phone calls and lots of help from Hilda, Brian and I were on the world's oldest Greyhound type bus, bound for Rio Dulce. We were both open to this being our final hours of life... but made it through alive and well!

Once there we got to our hotel for the night, a cute little floating hotel called Backpackers. It's actually quite a neat place and sponsors something called Casa Guatemala. From what I gather, it is an orphanage of sorts.

Saturday morning we called our parent's to let them know that we were indeed still alive and then set out on our Sailboat adventure. Maggie had decided she wanted to sleep on a sailboat…so we did. Mike..our best friend for the following 36hours, picked us up at the grocery store and took us to his boat...we sailed around, swam, went to Livingston- a Caribbean style town, played cards read etc. Mike's secret: he LOVES romantic comedies! haha so we settled in to watch Ever After (I made it about 20 minutes in).

The next day we went to some hot springs and to visit some nearby caves.

Then we stopped at Texan Bay...a marina owned by this Texan man...hilarious! His accent... his everything was just so out of the blue...he was perfectly crude yet charming...not really. Anyway, we had lunch and waited out a storm. From there we went to a hotel called Hacienda Tijax where we had a little cabana dna said goodbye to our friend Mike (after we ordered pizza and ate it by the pool, of course). We also met this mother/daughter duo. Amber, who is nine, was born in Zimbabwe, lived in England and is now travelling... she was glad to whisk Brian away and be entertained. Finally I joined them in the pool and saved Polly pocket from an untimely death!

Monday morning we hung around the hotel then boated into town to buy our bus tickets home...we took a much better, less sketchy bus and had air-conditioning and a movie for our 6hour ride... yet still only paid 60Q- about 7.50$. Oh Guatemala, how I love thee!

Anyway, back at school now, must go plan some stuff and, you know...do my job. Enjoy the pictures!

Beach Weekend!!!

photos of my class!