So my nickname among the teachers at school has been Nica (Nicaraguan) all year. Well the other day we found out that Nica means bed pan (for going to the bathroom in when you are sick). GREAT! We all laughed about it and then we were told that calling me Muca would be more appropriate, another name for Nicaraguan. Ok so Muca was the new name. Well, Muca sounds very similar to moco, meaning boogers, or snot, in Spanish. I have to laugh every time I hear it. So between the two, they decided that they are still going to call me Nica. Bed pan it is!

Yesterday, the women who work in the copy room at school were selling lingerie to the teachers...awkward.

The new dinner hit for the 7 of us? LENTIL BURGERS! That may sound a little odd, but since only 3 out of the 7 of us eat meat, we have to find alternatives to it. Look it up, it's great :)

We watched the ever anticipated soccer game between Honduras and Mexico. To say the least, soccer games are pretty boring....until a goal is made. Then the whole room explodes and people are red in the face from screaming so loud! Then, soccer is fun. After the long game, a bottle of banana pop, and a massive bowl of popcorn, Honduras won 1-0 and we then hit the boulevard. We walked down the street and there were hundreds, maybe thousands of people in cars and lining the street in celebration of the win. People were cheering and honking their horns and waving the Honduran flag in pride. We paraded around as well in a van and joined the hundreds of other cars driving down the boulevard. People were shaking cars and jumping into random trucks. It was the craziest, biggest, loudest, band wagon of fans I had ever seen. After screaming Hon-du-ras and Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole for more than an hour straight, I was exhausted and loosing my voice. The next day at school, one of my students said, "Miss! I saw you on TV on the Boulevard yelling 'Hon-du-ras! Hon-du-ras!'" For some reason, in many events we participate in, we end up on TV....I'm pretty sure it's because we're gringas ;)

One of my3rd grade girls, Jennifer, had a huge birthday party during school. The class turned into a dance floor and Hannah Montana was blaring in the background. The class ate fried rice and listened to Jennifer sing her favorite song. During her song, 2 boys wrote her name on 2 pieces of paper. One said 'Jenn' and the other 'ifer'. They held up the sign chanting her name while she sang. Jennifer looked like a star ;) She had the biggest Bell from Beauty and the Beast pinata I had ever seen and after it broke, billions of pieces of candy and confetti rained on everyone. She had a 2 tiered cake and and very proudly put her chair in the middle of the room and ate it. Ha HA. Teachers and students alike had a ball with all of the confetti. I of course got to sweep it all up when the party was over :)

Oh what a Sunday!

Where can you visit the Caribbean, a castle, and a mall all in the same day? Honduras of course! And this past Sunday, we did just that. We were lucky enough to get a ride with a friend who had a 15 passenger van which made the whole trip possible. We visited Castillo de Omoa. A castle right on the Caribbean coast in a little town called Omoa. The entrance fee to the castle was 10 Lempiras for Central Americans (50 cents) and 38 Lempiras for foreigners($2).... Puchica! The castle was beautiful of course with amazing views, and falling apart as well which made it all the more rustic :)
We encountered many close calls on the bus ride. Changing lanes onto oncoming traffic and stopping in the middle of the road dodging large canyons in the road ;) There were so many pot holes I don't understand how on earth the wheels stayed on. Some of girls came away with bruised knees and sore heads from such a bumpy ride. But the thought of the beach just made it all better :) We had been waiting 3 months to see the Caribbean and alas we finally made it! Although we couldn't swim and the sun wasn't out, it was well worth the wait.


It is so amazing how different every part of this country is. One minute we were driving through the jungle, the next we were driving through complete poverty, then we suddenly ended up in the middle of San Pedro Sula (the biggest city in Honduras) where there were huge buildings, Mcdonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, Quiznos....ok you get it. I felt like I was in the U.S....despite the fact that next to fast food joints there were banana vendors, outdoor meat shops, and falling apart buildings. It went from one extreme to another. We drove from raw jungle to a big city within minutes. We went to the city mall and I was blown away by how Americanized it was. They had a food court selection that was very comparable to the Mall of America. Leaving the mall and our amazing day, I had to laugh and wave goodbye to Versailles Coffee; the Honduras version of Starbucks

Fall Bash! Honduran Style

It's Saturday night and I'm indulging on a caramel frosted strawberry filled vanilla cake. (Yes, I have gained weight....) Ha ha. Anyway, Honduras has taken me on an emotional roller coaster. One day I'm loving life, and the next I just want to be AWAY from everything and everyone. I guess you could say I'm still adjusting to life here after 2 and half months. Time seems to fly, a little... This coming week we have a full week of school and the following week is partials week. It is like the end of the quarter and there are 2 hour tests a day. Thats it, so we get to go
home early. After that week it's Thanksgiving
and we are planning on going to the military base here in town for food! After that, it's December and it's cake from there.

The school put together a fabulous cultural dance competition night. The school yard was completely decorated with tents decorated to the T and filled with traditional food from different parts of Honduras. I ate just about everything in sight! My 3rd graders had been practicing their dance for weeks and it was their time to shine! When they started dancing, I felt like they were all my own kids and I couldn't have been more proud of them! It was priceless to see the boys
and girls holding hands and twirling all over the cancha. They may be out of control in the classroom, but when it came to dancing, there was no messing around! Ha ha. We had such a fun night and it was so cute to see my 3rd grade girls all dolled up for the dance with makeup and curls. There were corn husks decorated everywhere, music, food, dancing, and lots of socializing. It felt like a barn party in the states! Just like fall :) To add to that, it has been so cold here! Believe it or not! Well, it feels cold to us, although it maybe only 70 degrees... burr!