Soccer Fridays after school: I played soccer after school on Friday with some of the foreign hires and a bunch of the Honduran assistants from the elementary school (there is one for every class). While we were playing there was a torential downpoor. Things were flooding, including the elementary gym which is outside with just a roof on it. To hide from the lightning for a bit we went in there and played around in the several inches of water that covered the floor. It was fun but I missed having my cleats. It was also eventful because it is the first time I had been cold outside since we've been here.
Flip Cup: So, as most of you know, I'm not much of a drinker. But, I played flip cup for the first time and had so much fun! We went to a party on Friday night at one of the other places foreign hires live. They convinced us to bring Natalie so we could be go. She quickly went to bed in one of their rooms and we enjoyed the party for a few hours before heading home. Anyway, for those who don't know, flip cup is a game with 2 teams. Each person has a party cup with about a shot of a drink (anything you want but usually beer). Each team stands on opposite sides of the table. The first person in each line chugs their drink and then has to flip the cup over to land on the lip from the edge of the table. Then the next person goes. It's basically a relay race. But, it was fun to play with a bunch of people, plus my team (the women) won, which makes it even better.
Things I miss about home: These are not in any particular order, just some things I've been missing about home: my family, having a car, the 3 houses, Target, dryers, the ease of grocery shopping, being able to find the things I want (both inside the store and figuring out which store might have it), being able to communicate with strangers (i.e. taxi drivers, cashiers, waiters, etc.), wearing sweatshirts, my Dr. Martins for teaching, our comfy fouton, TV shows online (appearently they are only available in the US), my coworkers at Wood MS, playgrounds at the park, going places by myself, Albertson's on my way to work, being able to stop and pick up a few things at a store.
Things that are harder in Honduras: Figuring out which stores have what items. I walked through the entire mall by our house and could not find a matress cover. I think I have to go to Diunsa, which is kinda far away. Laundry: there are no dryer so I have to hang everything, wait for it to dry, bring it in, fold it, and iron a ton of stuff. Once we find a maid/cleaning lady, she will do it for us, which will be amazing. Grocery shopping: I can't figure out why though. I think it has to do withnot being able to find things because they don't look the same or have the brands I got at home. It is also hard because you have to load and unload groceries from the taxi and carry them up the stairs to our apartment. When we go, we get a lot so we don't have to go as often. Most things at work because I don't know the system yet and they have complicated (and often very dumb) requirements for simple things.
School: Overall, the students are great. They are very polite and always call me "Miss" as in, "But Miss, I didn't understand problem 33." There are a few annoying ones and one who is just a butt, but I really like them. I only have 16-17 students and I can't imagine my classes in the states that each had 30. It doesn't feel like there are a bunch fewer of them here. Maybe because my room is smaller? The kids travel in sections, like 7A, 7B, etc. There are 5 sections but the kids in each section are always in that section and travel everywhere together. It's an interesting concept since at my old school we tried to not keep them in bunches like that. Everything falls off the walls here. Every day when I go into my classroom I spent at least 10 minutes re-taping posters and papers on the wall. It's really annying. Each class is only 40 minutes, which flies by. Also, the schedules are super random. You don't always see the same section during the same period. Like on Monday I only teach 2 periods and on Thursday I teach 8. So I have block classes but they all fall on different days of the week so the classes are doing different things on the same day. It's confusing and I'm having trouble planning activities.
My feet hurt because everything here is tile or cement and all the women wear sandals all the time. I need to get some sandals that are more supportive.
It's very hot and I never realized I could love air conditioning so much. It is amazing.
Natalie: She still cries every morning when I drop her off at school. She always says she wants me to stay with her or go home. When I go to pick her up she gives the assistants who are with her big hugs and tells them "hasta manana" and tells me she had a good day. When I ask her what she did she always tells me "read book" and "play toys." Even when I ask her about specific things she doesn't answer.
Basketball: One of the women who lives downstairs who has lived here for 4 years but is from the States invited me to play on her basketball team. I went for the first time today and it was really fun. I haven't played basketball with women since high school. I'm planning to continue playing while we are here.
My hair: I'm seriously contemplating cutting my hair really short. I'm thinking something like one of the images below.
I think I like the 3rd one the best. I have several worries about doing this: (1) I will look too manly because I already don't dress very femininely and don't wear make up. (2) It won't work with my crazy curly/wavy hair. (3) It will be too much work to keep up with it. Like blow drying, gel, etc.
So, let me know what you think about the hair. If you can't post here, send me an email (lisavolke@yahoo.com) or message me on facebook.
Seriously, I need some advice about the hair.
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