Hi Friends! We apologize that it has been so long since we wrote, plus we apologize for how long winded this is because we are packing 2.5 weeks in. But it has been another busy and fun-filled 2.5 weeks and we�ve got lots to say, so here we go:
On Thanksgiving, we had dinner with Mary Jo�s family. She is one of our bosses and her husband works at the U.S. embassy in Guatemala City, and every year they invite fellow Americans to their house for the big day. Since it isn�t a holiday here we had to work that day, and again on Friday, but Thursday after work we were able to share in the Thanksgiving feast with a bunch of friends from Camino Seguro.
On Friday we stayed in Guatemala City at the house of Corinne & Aaron in Guatemala City. They are also both 24 years old and are married, so it was fun to hang out with them and see their place. Some other friends from the project met us for dinner, drinks, and dancing, and we had a good time. One of the highlights of the evening was when four of the group, including Pat, decided to do a sambuca shot, which involved swishing it around in your mouth and then lighting it on fire with a cigarette lighter.
One of the motivations for staying in Guate Friday night was because Saturday morning we had to be at Camino Seguro by 7:30 for the Kellogg�s Christmas party. Kellogg�s (the cereal company) invited 2,000 kids (about 500 from Camino Seguro) to partake in a big fair, complete with games, clowns, and inflatable castles & slides. Then, each child was given a Christmas gift. Our kids were SOOOOO excited and had a great time.
Kellogg�s Christmas Party
Sunday we left for our vacation. We hopped a shuttle at 4:00AM from Antigua to Copan, which is just across the Honduras border. The original plan was to keep heading on to Roatan, but when we got to Copan we found out that no busses were leaving Copan that day because it was Honduras� national elections. The town was full of excitement as everyone was outside chatting or listening to their radios to hear the results. The people of Copan were happy with the election because their candidate won. During the day we went and saw the Mayan ruins just outside of town:
Alyssa with her new Mayan ruin friend
This is what the Copan ruins are famous for. It is a stairway of one of the temples in which every single step has been carved with pictures. As you go up the stairway, it tells the history of Copan.
Macaws
So bright and early Monday morning (5:00AM) we left for Roatan Island, specifically to the touristy town of West End. It was a little further than we expected . . . we took two busses (7 hours in total), 3 short taxi rides, and a 2 hour boat ride. Honduras had been hit recently with tropical storm Gamma which caused some flooding and mudslides, as well as taking out a bridge on the highway. Thus, we spent about an hour each way on a dirt/mud road with only one-way bridges that was now acting as the highway. Needless to say, it was chaos.
Once we arrived on the island we spent the next four days snorkeling, laying on the beach, exploring the island, and watching movies. Yup, it was rough. :-) The snorkeling was awesome . . . we saw tons of fish and tons of coral. Unfortunately we don�t have pictures of that right now because we used an underwater camera and haven�t got it developed yet, but remind us to show them to you later. Here�s some pictures that we took with the digital camera:
It happened to be the rainy season, so we watched movies when it rained like this
Our neighbors had newborn kittens that we fed and played with
Sunset
Getting some grub
A walk along the beach/rocks
On the way back to Guatemala we stopped for another night in Copan. In the morning we got a tour of the surrounding area on horseback:
YEEEEHAW!!!
This week at Camino Seguro we have been wrapping up clubs and classes. Only one more week left! We�ve still been enjoying teaching English . . . everyday we compared notes about what worked well and what didn�t. Unfortunately this was our last week, so we will miss those kids.
The first graders
The Kindergarteners
Alyssa�s cooking class is over (thank goodness!!) and she finished up her girls� club with a Quince�era party for the girls, none of which had a party to celebrate her 15th birthday, which is usually a big coming-of-age event in Latin America. We ate cake and finished up the girls club, and the girls even made Alyssa a huge card with approximately 1 bottle of glitter on it. Yeah, that�ll be a fun one to try and get home!
The girls with their Quince�era cake
Alyssa�s 4th, 5th, and 6th graders
This last Friday we climbed up Pacaya volcano with the kids from Camino Seguro who graduated from 6th grade or basico (middle school). It was their reward for graduating, and many of the kids had never been so far home or on such an exciting hike so they really loved it. There were 21 kids in total. It is a 2 hour journey up: the first half through a foresty area with a dirt trail, and the second half up volcanic rock where you slid down 1/2 a step for every step you take. At the bottom we were in t-shirts and generally fairly warm. Once we got up near the top, the wind started howling and it got cold. . . everyone had sweatshirts and coats on and were still cold. Unfortunately they didn�t let us go up the last 50 feet because it was too dangerous.
Pacaya volcano
Just kidding, that was a picture of a picture. It was too dangerous because of the wind, not flying lava. :-) We took some videos which show just how strong the wind was, plus some of us skiing down the rock hill, so we�ll have to show you later.
Us on top (almost) of the volcano
The group
Skiing down
Next week Alyssa has a field trip with her class to a swimming pool, and we�ve got graduation and closing ceremonies for the year. We�ve gotten to know the kids really well, and they always run up to us to say hi and give us hugs, so it will be hard to leave them. Only 4 more school days with the kids, and we�ll be back in Portland in 11 days!!! Crazy!
