23.

One of the reasons that I love working with kids so much – whether as a teacher or a camp counselor – is because they never make me feel a day older than 10 years old. I know that I am not one to say anything about “feeling old” but sometimes I just take a moment and wonder how I got to be 23. When did that happen? I still feel like I should be 19 and sitting in a college classroom. Instead, I’m the adult now and responsible for a group of young kids. Maybe since I do spend so much time with munchkins it’s easy for me to forget that I am actually the one in charge.

On April 14, 2013 I got to celebrate my 23^rd birthday with the bunch of wild animals that I call my students. It was actually more of a weekend of celebrating instead of just one day – but I’m certainly not complaining about more parties! Here’s a recap of my birthday weekend so you can feel like you were here to ring in my next year of life with me:

Friday: The last hour of the day every Friday is dedicated to letting our creative minds run free in Art class. Kara typically takes a break from the secondary students to help out with this class; this week she told me not to worry about planning anything because she had it all taken care of. My kiddos all filed out of the room and told me that I had to wait alone in there with my eyes closed. They aren’t very good at being sneaky but I loved their effort. They ‘tip-toed’ back in and burst into song singing me Happy Birthday! They threw all their cards into my lap and fought each other to give me a hug. Lori and Kara both made a delicious batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (my personal favorites) and we feasted like birthday kings and queens.

Afterwards we played a series of balloon games outside. We did a variety of balloon races: with a partner we had to run from one side of the patio to the other while holding the balloon between our sides, backs, bellies, etc. or you had to go by yourself either running, bouncing, jumping, or skipping. Laughter was heard everywhere in that school as my third graders and I made complete fools of ourselves with those balloons. I loved the partner races because they all fought each other to be my partner but quickly realized that being with me was a bigger challenge because of the size difference. I had no coordination trying to bend down to their height while trying to run. They all eventually lost interest in the races and just wanted to play with the balloons – don’t you just love the innocent joy kids find the simplest of things? They were amazed at high someone could punch the balloon and screamed as they all watched it float away to its death on the tin roof. All I have to say is that it was a crazy afternoon of balloons.

I received precious gifts from a few of my students. Most of them are quite tacky and you would probably find at a garage sale or a second-hand store back home, but each student was filled with pride and excitement to give me their present so I loved everything. Julio gave me pink earrings and a snow-globe-esque trinket with a flower inside of it and it flashes different color lights. Elman gave me gray earrings, a tiny hair tie (meant for a baby), and a little koosh ball (from my own prize box). Hegna gave me a little jewelry box that not holds all of my rings. Geovanny gave me a tube filled with water and these precious stones that you can find in a river nearby. Rolando gave me a bag of chocolate (exactly what every teacher wants and needs). And my favorite gift came from Wendy: a stick of deodorant and a tube of toothpaste (message received, Wendy!). I have eaten all the chocolates, worn the earrings on several occasions, lost the hair tie and koosh ball, lit up my little flower globe at night, marveled at the rocks, and used the deodorant twice daily since then.

Saturday: Saturday was nothing special because we had Parent-Teacher conferences and then a fundraising event in the evening. I did have the blessing of my wonderful roommate who made a birthday cake for me and the other teachers to indulge in after our long day of school-related activities. We all came home after the event and dove into the delicious cake Heather made. It was a very rich chocolate cake with the flavorful hint of banana and peanut butter. It was so rich that a sliver was all you needed to feel full, but it was a very happy full that my stomach was feeling.

Sunday (my actual birthday): How can you not spend the day in a constant state of feeling content and with a giant smile spread across your face, when that day is all about you? In this small town, I really did feel like the center of attention as Sunday was filled with never-ending fun! I started my day by going to church and receiving an endless amount of hugs from friends and students. Then Heather and I headed over to one of my students’ house for lunch. Marco ran home on Friday telling his mom that it was my birthday on Sunday and begged her to do something, so she invited me to lunch when I had my conference with her on Saturday. (Heather works with his dad in the Micro Finance group here.) She made a special lunch for us – pizza! It was amazing and I ate too much of it, but I couldn’t let any bit of this rarity go to waste! I thanked them over and over again for making such a special meal for us and taking care of me on my birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and food that afternoon!

After that we met up with the other teachers and headed off for an afternoon of play. Two of the 11^th grade students drove us out to a local river for us to relax and cool off in. It was quite the task to get there – we had to stop and ask for directions because the place is quite hidden, which resulted in us following a child on his bike on terrain that surpasses four-wheeling – but it was beyond worth it. It has been blistering hot here lately and the river felt amazing. Ignorance is bliss and we all chose to ignore whatever trash, bacteria, or other nauseating things were floating down that river. Instead we swam, splashed, laid down in the streams, and played in that river until our hearts were satisfied. We were a spectacle to the locals who were there but we all the same – just trying to escape the heat and have a little fun too. Besides retreating from the heat, it was a perfect activity to release some of the stress everyone had been feeling. We simply relaxed in that river!

That night everyone pitched in to make a birthday dinner that could compete with any restaurant I would have gone to if I were home. If I thought pizza was a treat earlier that day, I was in for an extraordinary meal later. Kara and Lenny made kebobs – shrimp ones just for me, vegetable ones, and chicken ones – that were devoured by everyone. Lori made mouth-watering hummus to dip crackers and tortillas into. Cassidy made another festive cake. And Beth carved out a mini-watermelon to pour a delicious cocktail into. All of my favorite things! I loved being surrounded by loving friends and homemade food. I treasure meals like this because it is a moment when we all seem to let our stresses and walls down to come alive around a table of great food.

I received a few gifts from my family here as well. Kara and Lenny gave me a beautiful blue bracelet from Roatan. Lori gave me a scarf that her mom knitted (which will come in handy once these blazing hot days disappear next November). Beth gave me some earrings so I can spice up my teaching uniform and feel more feminine. And Heather gave me a dark chocolate nut mix that I have refused to share with anyone else. Although I spent another birthday away from my parents and sister, and now this one away from my closest friends, I never felt sad or alone on my day. I am extremely blessed to be living here in La Unión with students and friends who do and give whatever they can to make someone feel on top of the world for their birthday. I had a spectacular day and could not have imagined spending the day that I turn 23 any other way.

We are nearing the end of our year together here. Just three more weeks of school, which means four more weeks until we part and move on to other things. Kara, Lenny, and I are staying for another year but we are losing Beth, Harriet, Cassidy, and Lori. It is a bittersweet time right now. Everyone is tired, nostalgic, and counting down the days until school is over. However, when we stop for just a moment we realize that these are our final days as a family here. Pray for this group of teachers that I have grown to love and have spent almost every single day with for the past 10 months. Pray for those who are going back home to find other jobs or go to school, may the Lord bless their path and may they settle down into a life that they love. Pray for those of us who are staying as we wrap up this year but are starting to prepare for and anticipate the next year. But most importantly, pray that we cherish our last days together. Our time is not over yet and we still have a month left to be together and enjoy every minute of it.

Nostalgia.

nos·tal·gia

  [no-stal-juh, -jee-uh, nuh-] 

noun    1.a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

For the smile that it brings to my face when I reminisce on memories of my family and friends and daydream about soon creating more, feeling nostalgic can be poisonous. Here I am, swimming in a sea of countdowns: 18 days until my mom is here, 3 more weeks of school, 4 weeks left in La Unión, and 5 weeks until I wake up in my bed in Colorado. Within minutes of talking to me you would know that I am dying of an eagerness to go home. Homesickness did not hit me like it did others within the first few weeks and months of moving here because my countdown for going home wasn’t going to end at Christmas. It didn’t hit me again when we started school back up in January because although I saw my sister, I didn’t get a taste of my normal life back in the States so I couldn’t realize what I was missing. It hit me a little when I got to spend Semana Santa with my dad and Susan because all my toughness was broken down in an instant and I couldn’t deny how much I really did miss my family. Now it is hitting me like a pile up of 32 semi trucks (the number of days until I am back).

I cannot pinpoint it to one particular thing that I miss. Certainly I miss my family the most. Ever since moving to Michigan for four years of college, I have always had a lingering feeling of missing waking up in my bed and walking downstairs to hug my mom or dad, of getting to sit across from them at the table and have a face-to-face conversation. Of getting to spend the day with my sister and snuggle into bed with her at night and fall asleep gossiping. But even when I was living in just another state, they were as close as a phone call away. I could pick up my phone and call or text them and talk to them in an instant. And my visits home were much more frequent with less time in between them. My family never really felt that far away.

Every time I talk to a friend and we get caught up, my heart aches to be with them too. I feel like I am missing out on their lives and their daily happenings. Our old inside jokes surface quickly and we laugh about times together. But it’s then that I realize that I don’t want to just be a memory to them; I want to snap my fingers and be next to them magically to continue creating stories. My closest friends have woven their ways into my heart like my family and I find myself missing them like crazy. Why is everyone so far away from me? Better yet, why the heck did I move so far away? Do not get me wrong, I am surrounded by friends here who I have grown to love deeply. We do everything together and I hate when we go more than 24hours without seeing someone. I will equally hate the day that they are no longer a constant presence in my life. I guess you will just always miss what you don’t have.

My diet is getting entirely mundane and I have caught myself drooling over the food I daydream about. “Cravings” would not do justice to what I actually feel about food. The list goes on and on with all the foods that I miss: steak, mashed potatoes, Chinese food, cheerios, turkey sandwiches, any kind of salad, raspberries, blueberries, milk, fresh bread, asparagus, juicy cheeseburgers, smoothies, yogurt... I have begun to contemplate and plan out what I would like my first meal to be when I get home. I have discovered that I would be happy with literally anything as long as it does include beans, rice, eggs, tortillas, or a weird chicken part. Sometimes I am afraid that I have forgotten what all that delicious food tastes like since it has been so long! I think my friends and family should start battling it out to see who will take me to the grocery store first. My eyes will be big and jaw permanently wide open as I move through each isle trying to absorb the glory of it all, although whoever it is will need to clear their afternoon for a few hours because we will definitely be there for a while. I have to physically stop myself from thinking about those foods because my stomach starts to grumble and my mouth waters. Instead, for now, I will stick my fork into the same pasta dish, peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, or tipica platter and be thankful that I have food to put in my belly.

There is no need to take me shopping when I get back. A) A mall will be absolutely overwhelming with the amount of shops there are to choose from and the unlimited items they all offer, the steep prices, and the crowds that will pass me. B) I have a big closet to go home to filled with clothes that have been untouched since August. It will be like all those clothes are brand new to me and the best part is, I already know that I will like what I see! I long for the morning that I do not have to routinely put on navy-blue bottoms and a white button-down shirt – when my choices far exceed whether I should wear pants or a skirt, or a long-sleeved versus a short-sleeved shirt for the day. Even on the weekends, when I have more ‘liberty’ in what I wear, I have been putting on the same shirts and pants for 10 months. I am so bored with it all! And I am starting to look rather ratty since everything I own has been through the pila a few times. Being scrubbed on a cement slab is no joy ride for my clothes: they are all stretched out (shirts have turned into dresses, as if I have shrunk 4 inches) and new holes pop up every week. We all joke about asking our parents to bring clothes to the airport when they pick us up so we can change immediately because we are that desperate, or changing our outfits at least three times a day just because we can and we will by dying to wear it all.

Just this morning, when talking on the phone with Kara, she moaned about not being able to wait until she is back home. We miss those daily comforts that we have learned to live without. Our water has been off all day making it impossible to shower, wash dishes, or flush the toilet. (A struggle that I have already thoroughly describe in a previous post.) Won’t it be great to wake up and not worry about whether or not there is water running through the pipes? To not instinctively run into the kitchen as soon as we hear it come back on to wash all the dishes, then run and flush and the toilets, and quickly take a shower before it gets turned off again? The no-water-at-school epidemic has become a permanent thing. We realized this when they bought colorful hand-buckets to put in the water barrels. We “bucket our business” daily now and it has become part of our normal routine. At least the administration was kind enough to give us buckets that are easier to use and prettier to look at! We even lost our guaranteed water supplier: previously we could always count on Lori and Cassidy’s house to have water even when no one else did. If we were out, we knew that we could at least escape down to their house to still take a shower. This luxury is gone. Their water has not worked for days and the roles have reversed as now they bolt up to my house whenever the water is on to shower.

I have been trained to do things differently that I am sure will take me a while to get used to going back to normal again. (I am confessing to all this with an air of shame.)For instance, the door handle on our house has to be turned upwards to open the door, not downwards like any other normal handle. Recently when I was at a hotel with a handle like that, I automatically turned it up to open the door like a weirdo. This next part may sound bizarre and even bordering on gross, but I simply cannot wait to flush my toilet paper again! Throwing it in the trash bin next to me is losing its appeal. I am ready to stop looking at or smelling someone else’s trip to the bathroom, but rather to just flush it all away thus erasing any evidence that anyone was in there. Someone will probably have to remind me to stay clean. It is socially unacceptable, I am sure, how dirty I let myself get here. It’s no big deal to see me (or anyone for that matter) covered in dirt or sweating through my shirt. In fact, I will re-wear those clothes later in the week! Things are not considered dirty here until they completely change into a different color. I also have lost all concern for using utensils while I eat.  My fingers and hands have proven to be easier to use anyways. Sometimes there just aren’t utensils to use in the first place, and other times my fork won’t get all the meat off my weird chicken part like my fingers could or the knife will not be able to cut through the tough piece of meat that is my meal so I just gnaw at it instead. My habits and manners have drastically changed and although I have grown comfortable with them, I do miss the ‘old’ me. (Of course there are certain habits that I have not let Hondurans engrain in me like throwing rocks at animals or throwing my trash on the ground.)

I apologize if this post makes me sounds like I am throwing myself a pity party, or am spoiled, or am complaining to no end. These are my honest feelings and what has been bombarding my mind lately. Putting all these feelings aside and moving forward is hard to do every day. I cannot make time move any faster or make the days come sooner. I wish I could, but I cannot and coming to terms with that is difficult. I often find myself very lethargic and unanimated to do anything. I am slowly losing my enthusiasm to teach and might even be less motivate to work than the students. How terrible, right? It is a battle and currently the nostalgia is winning. I CANNOT QUIT NOW! I have come this far already surviving and even finding a comfortable routine for myself. I am asking you to pray with me for the daily strength to just keeping going. I ask God daily to keep me focused and to finish out the year just as strong as I started it. I cannot let my missing-home attitude affect my daily life. I would be giving up on myself and my students, and they certainly do not deserve that. I am almost there! Pray that I will return to living here, not in my daydreams of home. I know that soon enough, I will be missing this place and these people very very much. 

Roatan

Spring Break – one of the perks to being a teacher. A whole week off without having to ask for it or lose pay for going, yes please! Rather than the week of vacation varying state-by-state as it does back home, in Central and South American countries everyone gets the same week off. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is the week leading up to Easter and no one has to work so it makes for one crowded vacation. I had been anticipating this week since August because it would be the first time seeing my dad, since January since Lori had a daily countdown going, and since February since I was losing steam and needed a break from school.

Almost all of us teachers – Kara, Lenny, Lori, Cassidy, and Beth – were going so it was sure to be a fantastic trip! We left at 3 in the morning from La Unión because we all decided it was worth the money to fly to Roatan instead of spending all day traveling there by bus and ferry. (Our flight left at 8 in the morning and since we live in the middle of nowhere, it takes a while to get to the airport.) I didn’t mind waking up that early because I could hardly sleep anyways out of anticipation. We had no traveling problems (God obviously was just as excited as we were to send us off on a week’s vacation) and made it to Roatan before breakfast!

The thrill of seeing my dad was inexplicable. His embrace is what I had been longing for ever since I left the country back in August. He wasn’t just a voice over the phone or a picture on the computer screen. I got to hold his hand and hug him every hour. I didn’t have to wait for an email, I could just sit down across from him and have a genuine conversation with him. There is no greater joy that I could possibly describe or think of than getting to spend a week with my Dad after being away from him for too long.

We spent the week in a beautiful vacation home, Casa de Paradise, right on the beach. There are two major tourist spots on the island: West End attracts a younger crowd of backpackers and partiers, and West Bay has a stunning beach lined with resorts. We stayed in West Bay but not at one of the major resorts; instead the house was tucked in between two resorts so we did not have to share our beach with anyone. The owner even roped off the beach at one point to ensure that we maintained our privacy. The security guard for one of the resorts next to us was very friendly and would watch over my things or give me advice on what to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the private beach – no tourists from the cruise ships (there was only enough room for one glowing white person on that beach) and no obnoxious locals walking around like they owned the place. Some special features of the house included a life-sized fridge, a tv with cable and channels streaming in English, air conditioning, hammocks, free coffee from the owner’s farm on the mainland, and a double shower. I was more than comfortable all week, whether on the beach or cozy inside.

Normally when I am on vacation, I am busy figuring out what all the activities are to do and then organizing my schedule to fit them all in. However, on this trip, my only wish was to relax. I have never been more relaxed or lazy on any sort of vacation like I was in Roatan. I spent the vast majority of each day on a beach chair with my feet buried in the sand or splashing in the water while reading a book or magazine. Did I care one bit? Not at all. I literally thought or worried about nothing all week. School, what’s school? I have students? What are their names? I was not concerned in the slightest bit about my reality back in La Unión. The only thoughts I was occupying myself was with were when was the last time I put on sunscreen and what has happened back in the States ever since I’ve been away? I felt so carefree! I did not entirely transform into a beach bum, I did get my butt out of the sand to experience life on the island. It was just the perfect mixture of fun and rest to make my week in Roatan the most relaxing vacation I could plan for myself.

Scuba Diving: You cannot put me that close to the ocean without me inquiring if there is diving. It is my favorite hobby and I am addicted. Dad was equally as eager and excited to explore the ocean-life of Roatan so we did not hesitate to book our dives. This was probably some of the best scuba I have ever done – the water was absolutely beautiful which made the clarity amazing, and we got to experience some cool dives. We were able to see so many things under the waves: fish of every color and size, turtles, squid, eels popping out their heads to say hello or even swimming around, brightly colored coral, and lobster. We had the opportunity to go on some unique dives as well: one day we did a wall dive that dropped down to about 100feet as we just drifted along the cliffs and found ourselves eye-to-eye with all the critters tucked into the coral; we also did a wreck dive (my first one!) that dropped us down even further to 115ft while we floated around the ship’s ruins and then swam through a cave on our way back to the top. Every dive was incredible and I was never disappointed!

An odd thing did happen to us on our very first dive. Of course, even on this paradise island, we were still in Honduras and the country’s dysfunctionality found us. While we were down on our first tank, bees suddenly swarmed the boat. Apparently in that kind of heat they seek refuge out on the ocean and land on whatever they can (who knew?). We could not get back on the boat as soon as we surfaced because of these little guys and our dive master was allergic which would have been disastrous if he had been stung. The captain decided to try to ditch the bees and drive in circles until it was safe to quickly load us on, but… the boat wouldn’t start. The engine was broken. So there we were, in the middle of the ocean with a broken down boat that was covered with bees (but still not too far from the shore if we were desperate and needed to swim back). I know what you’re thinking... Brooke must have gotten toasted. I was already very concerned for my face and my pale skin being prone to burn. I did get burnt since there was just, unfortunately, nothing I could do about it. But eventually another boat from the diving company came out to rescue our poor souls and towed us back into shore!

Canopy Tour: This just seems to be the thing to do in Honduras – go zip lining! I went in La Ceiba with my sister, in La Campa with my coworkers, and now in Roatan. This time was my favorite of them all because our guides were huge goofballs just hamming it up with us. It was just Dad, Susan, and I so we didn’t have to fight anyone for attention or wait long in between lines. We zipped, flipped, flew, screamed, and laughed the whole time. My favorite parts were getting to zip upside down and then ending the journey by zipping on to the beach. What fun!

Afterwards we went into the nature park on the grounds and met a few critters. They had a Macaw sanctuary. Have you ever heard that bird screech? It is a terrible, ear-shattering sound! They are not peaceful or calming birds. Lucky for them they are beautiful so we found it in ourselves to tolerate them long enough to marvel at their stunning colors, snap pictures, and let a few crawl on our shoulders and heads. Further into the park we found monkeys! They were also just roaming around and we could get very close to them for more pictures and letting them crawl around our bodies. We all have a little Steve Irwin in us and we were just embracing ours to the fullest in this park! I liked getting to actually interact with the animals instead of staring at them from behind the bars of their cages.

Fun with Friends: Don’t get me wrong, I loved being on vacation with my parents and enjoyed every minute with them. However, my vacation was that much better because all my friends were there. Lori was also staying in West Bay with her family at the Infinity Bay Resort so I frequently found myself wandering down there and soaking in her beautiful pool. Beth was traveling alone – no family or friends visiting her – so we offered our hotels for her to couch surf between. She bounced between Lori and me for most of the week so all three of us spent a lot of time together. We went on a few adventures together…

Banana boats. We fell in love with them when we all went to Tela and when we saw them here, we could hear them calling our names and begging us to go for another ride. We climbed on and were ready to be dazzled. We were concerned once we started going because we thought they were taking us for just a normal water taxi ride; the boat driver just moseyed over to West End to get gas before the real fun started. Our boat flew over the waves and whipped back and forth. Unfortunately, banana boating is not like tubing where it’s survival of the fittest, if one person falls off, well the rest of the boat is going down too. We wiped out hard twice. The first time someone’s knee drilled into my back as I skidded across the water. The second time my whole chest cavity was drowned in salt water as I rolled over two other people. Despite getting the wind completely knocked out of us, we were thrilled and ready to get back on for another ride.

We wanted to do something unique on our trip and originally were planning on renting scooters to explore the island. However, multiple locals warned us against getting those because the roads were dangerous from pot holes and traffic from people coming to and from the beach. We were disappointed but found something else to do – paddle boards! I had done some wimpy, child paddle boards at summer camp on a current-less and wave-less lake, so naturally I considered myself a seasoned pro. I was not fully prepared for paddle boarding on the ocean, but I took on the challenge with grace! I can proudly say that I never fell off and I started to get the hang of it by the end. The hardest part us turning around against the current and keeping my balance when other boats drove sending direct waves in my direction. Everyone else got tired and pooped out early so we didn’t do it for long but I fully enjoyed it and wish I lived on the ocean to do it more!

I made friends with a local guy (just friends, I promise), Maikol, and he showed me around that side of the island a little bit. We took me to one of the docks for jumping off the pier. That was a blast! We spent a few hours just climbing up to the top, standing on the railing, and then braving a jump into the ocean, and then doing it all over again. I felt like such a kid doing it and I just did not want to stop! Of course my dad played his role as a father quite well and showed up unexpectedly to take pictures, but Maikol had a good humor and just laughed it off with me. We also did the walk between West Bay and West End (which tourists are discouraged from doing alone or after dark) to go play volleyball. It turned into me watching him and some guys place two-on-two beach volleyball, but I liked getting to see the really fancy, hidden resorts along the way.

FOOD!: A common theme in my blogs is the delicious food that I eat on my trips. Well, here I am again to brag about the amazing food that filled my belly all week. Maybe it’s because I have been deprived for so long, or maybe it’s because the food was actually that good, but this trip included some of the most mouth-watering, delectable meals of my entire life! If you ever go to Roatan I strongly suggest dining at the Argentinean Grill because their food was by far the best and we ate there at least once every day. I cannot remember each individual meal because they all just start to blend together and I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with those details. But, I ate an abundance of shrimp, fresh veggies and fruit, homemade bread, amazing desserts (one night Beth and I did a dessert crawl from restaurant to restaurant satisfying our sweet tooth), juicy steaks and burgers, and tropical cocktails galore. I was on cloud nine in every single restaurant and could have never stopped eating. We had been drooling through day dreams for weeks up to our spring break about the restaurants that we read about in brochures and on travel websites and we were certainly not disappointed in any way.

I consider any day to be excellent if I get to spend it entirely in my swimsuit. So considering my time in Roatan, I would say that it was the most fantastic week possible. As I said, I spent every day sitting on the beach reading in between snorkeling or diving and playing in the sun. Sometimes I feel like I am made for the Caribbean under the sun and in the ocean every day, and I would be lying if I said I did not consider leaving my job in La Unión and moving to this beautiful island to become a teacher during the week and a diver master on weekends. If I’m going to live in Honduras, it might as well be on the beach, right? I loved every aspect of the trip and I am so thankful for Dad and Susan for coming to enjoy it with me. It was so nice to just be with my dad for the whole week; I would have gladly spent it with him anywhere, but being in Roatan made it exceptional. I am already planning spring break back in Roatan for next year!

Coming back to La Unión was a weird transition – probably the biggest reverse culture shock I have experienced so far. I did not realize how desperately I missed my family until I finally got to see them; it’s easy to ignore missing them when I do not get to see them or talk to them frequently – their absence just becomes normal – but all the emotional strength I had built up instantly collapsed as soon as I saw my dad. It was hard to be back and to find myself comfortable in my life here again. So please be praying for me that I stay strong enough to the end. I am now getting closer and closer to seeing my mom and that anticipation is killing me daily. The end is so close that some days I find myself very impatient because I just want the end of school to be here! Pray that the Lord continues to give me the daily strength to keep teaching for the next 5 weeks. It has been an incredible year and I want to finish it with as much energy and joy as possible. With God guiding me and at my side, surely I can do it!

Water Woes

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” - Jacques Cousteau

Water is a necessity of life. This should not be news to you and shouldn’t be the first time you’ve heard someone say that or contemplated the statement. However, I personally did not realize how vital water is to my everyday life, in every facet, until I started living here. It’s easy to take notice of how often you use water throughout your day but it’s when you do not have any that you truly realize the serious relationship you are in with water. I quickly learned that water would be different here: we are seriously discouraged from drinking water from the tap because of the dangerous bacteria that lurk in the tubes, and when it rains brown water/mud comes out of the faucets (the dark brown color should not be confused with a mocha machine). But both of those facts are about the water when it’s on. Lately, we have been having a different series of problems.

We are in the DRY season. I might as well be living in the desert. Each river has turned into a little trickle of a stream (which is bad news for all the trash that people throw in there because there is no powerful current carrying it all away). Dust clouds are more common than white puffy clouds in the sky. All the plants along the road look like they are completely dead or someone came around and painted them brown over night because they are caked with the dirt that cars stir up when they drive past. I cannot take more than five steps outside of my house without getting dirt on my clothes (everything has a pretty brown hue to it now). I wash my feet the instant I get home every day because the dirt is deceiving me into thinking that I have a nice tan from being in the sun so often.

When it’s this dry out the town has to desperately conserve the little amount of water they have. They don’t impose restrictions like “only water your lawn every other day” or “wash your car on the odd days of this month,” and they certainly don’t give you a convenient warning to let you know when the restrictions will be enforced. Frequently the water is completely turned off in the middle of the day since most people are out and about and aren’t using too much water; then it’s turned back on in the afternoon or evening when everyone comes home and needs to use it. Usually this doesn’t actually affect me because I’m at school and the school runs on a different water supply line that rarely gets turned off. However, one day last week, I became victim to the nuisance of the water being shut off. We didn’t have water in our home for almost 24 hours. This means: no water to wash the dishes so we are forced to leave a mountain of dirty plates and pans on the counter that attract critters; no water to shower but thankfully Cassidy’s house had water so I wandered down there to clean myself up; and no water to flush the toilets which is probably the worst side effect because you are now afraid to drink water since you’ll have to pee frequently and you certainly wouldn’t dare poop because there is nowhere for that precious bomb to go. The smells that accumulated in our house were socially unacceptable.

Remember how I mentioned that the school’s water supply comes from a different source so we rarely have to worry about or deal with the water being turned off? We lost our luck last week. The school is hooked up to the water that the clinic uses so that is why there is hardly ever a problem with it because it is desperately needed and used in both places. Sadly, all good things must come to an end (a common theme in Honduras). One of the pipes or pumps broke in that particular water system which has ruined our (running) water supply for almost two weeks. We had to cancel the afternoon of classes on Tuesday because we didn’t have water and the town didn’t either so it would have been unsanitary for us to keep having school (aka using the restrooms). We were told the problem would be fixed immediately but it is still a work in progress. The solution? Bring giant barrels and tanks of water to the school, fill those up (from where? I have no idea), and use buckets. We call it “bucketing our business.” After you go to the bathroom you have to fill up the bucket and dump water into the bowl until it all gets flushed away. There are two things I hate about this system:  1) water splashes everywhere turning the seat into a twisted form of a slip-n-slide, and 2) sometimes when the barrels get low on water, the little kids can’t reach in there to get water out so they just don’t take care of what they just did in that toilet (I’ve decided I should get paid an extra 10 lemps for every toilet I have to bucket that isn’t mine). This just wasn’t in the job description when I decided to sign on.

The heat has been so unbearable that Lori and I decided to do something about it. We are sweating CONSTANTLY. My new style is dirt and sweat. Sounds yummy huh? I am sweating by the time I get to school every morning, I sweat all day at school and am often rolling up my pants or taking off my shirt (don’t worry, I have a tank top on underneath) every chance I get, I sweat just standing still, and I am drenched in that same sweat by the time I get home. Cold showers happen more than once a day for me and they have become my best friend. However, Lori and I wanted something new and exciting: an inflatable pool. We had been flirting with the idea for a while after we first saw some pools in San Pedro and Gracias, but when we saw one in a store in town, we knew what we had to do. We commandeered a student and his friend to come blow it up with an air compressor and then fill it using a hose (both things we did not own so that’s why we solicited help). The best location for our new investment is her back porch because it has the most privacy – it will keep people from gawking at our pale bodies wearing very little clothes and it will keep little kids from trashing it or leaving surprises for us in it. So far it has been the best purchase of our lives in La Unión.