tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42430137917309162622024-02-06T23:47:47.225-08:00Sara's Year in HondurasWelcome to my blog! This is where you can keep track of everything to do with my year teaching English in Honduras with Project Trust.
This is a personal blog written by Sara Morrison. As such the views expressed in this blog are those of Sara Morrison and not those of Project Trust. Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-55807469290479123192019-07-28T08:22:00.001-07:002019-07-28T09:17:22.274-07:00Returning Home to Honduras<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’m back, back, back again! It’s been a long time since I’ve stretched these particular muscles but I have to say I have missed annoying everyone with complaints and dreary day to day movements… ahem I mean cultural insights and inner observations. But anyway, I’m back for one more blog post and one more only! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcomed back to Gracias in style</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As some of you will already be aware I recently returned to Honduras for a whistle stop visit. I was in New York with my family and in my head New York is pretty close to Honduras (news flash: it’s not, it’s still six hours and several flights away) so I thought I had better seize this opportunity lest I have to wait until after university as I had previously thought I would. I was prepared for going back to be an emotional experience in all kinds of ways and it was – it was a very reflective week and gave me a lot to think about which is why I’m back!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">One of the things I was most excited about was being back with my host family. In the past two year the girls, my host sisters, have grown up a lot, especially Antonella who has gone from a few-month-old baby to a walking, (almost) talking toddler! She obviously had no idea who I was but by the end of my first day back she was already calling me <i>tía</i>, which means aunt in Spanish, which I’ll happily take! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Jamie and Daniela had also grown up lots in the few years I’d been away. Jamie was my little shadow while I was there, never letting me go anywhere without her. She is a very nurturing girl and really loves looking after her little sister. Daniela, as ever, is the more independent of the two and this quality has really come out in the past two years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As great as it was to be back with family, there was a more mournful side to things. Less than two months before I visited, my host dad Jaime passed away after an extended illness. It has obviously been a very difficult time for everyone, especially my host mum Saida. She has had great support from her family and friends in Candelaria and elsewhere in Honduras, now and throughout his illness but it had been frustrating for me being so far away. There was obviously very little I could do other than tell her I love her and give her my support, but even that felt insufficient as I tried to convey it adequately in Spanish. At the end of the day being back, however briefly, was a little more poignant for me and for Saida after this hard time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice lollies at 9am... why not?</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">During my visit, however short, I was once again surprised by the generosity around me. This was not something new to me as when I first arrived in Honduras and throughout the whole year, everywhere I turned I was met with tremendous generosity and such a warm welcome. Now, back again, I couldn’t walk down the street without meeting a friend that wanted me to come round for coffee or go and get something to eat. An especially heartfelt thank you goes out to Saida, who fed me, put me up in my old room and wouldn’t accept anything from me all week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I also spent a lot of time with my friend Karen Yanina, who came running with me and Amy a few times. Her son Alejandro is also in Jamie’s class at school and good friends with the girls. She has just had a baby as well as having recently opened a clothes <i>tienda </i>and started taking beauty classes in El Salvador. She was kind enough to give me a tshirt so I could rep Honduras once I got home, do my nails for me and come over to Saida’s and make <i>baleadas</i>– my favourite!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With baby Luna Jazmín</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Of course, I also spent some time with my other family in Candelaria, Lety and Victor’s family, who in my year were the organisers of the project. From the year after me, they have also been the host family for the next generations of Project Trust volunteers. Unfortunately this year’s volunteer was on a visa run when I was visiting so I didn’t get to see her. One of the first nights I was in Candelaria, the evangelical church that Lety and Victor belong to was having a special service in the town square with some guest speakers and musician. While I’m not religious, I went along with Karen who is also a member, as church was always a good way to practice my Spanish and I especially enjoy the enthusiasm and music that accompanies any service in the evangelical church. I also obviously couldn’t leave Candelaria without procuring, as per my dad’s request, some specialty Honduran coffee from Victor’s dad’s coffee <i>finca</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Mi segunda familia</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I unfortunately arrived on the last day of school before the Easter holidays and after the end of the school day so I wasn’t able to go into the primary school and see all of my students again but I ran into many of them all across town, at church or while out playing with the girls. Even though I was occasionally faced with a kid who couldn’t remember exactly which <i>gringa </i>I was, most of them immediately knew who I was followed by a chorus of voices asking where Amy was! I assured them she’d be back as soon as possible, we've even talked about coming back together once we both graduate from university in another two years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It amazed me how quickly I fell back into the same habits once I arrived in Honduras. From the second I landed everything felt familiar, from the oppressive heat and humidity, to being surrounded by Spanish, to the smell of <i>frijoles </i>wafting through the air. Some things came back to me almost immediately – my Spanish for one. Unsurprising seeing as it had gotten to a high enough level during the year I spent speaking it every day that I can call it back very easily, even if I hadn’t spoken it in a while. What did surprise me though, was how quickly I fell back into the Honduran way of speaking, not just slang but also the way sentences are phrased and the gestures and body language that accompanied speaking. Eating using my hands and tortilla more than the actual utensils was also an easy enough habit to reclaim, though I have to say, getting used to putting toilet paper in the bin instead of flushing it took a little longer to get used to again!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In the time since I have left Honduras I have often been quite hard of myself, quite critical of my time there. I felt like I could have done more, had more of an impact, made more of the time I had. This visit was able to assuage a lot of those feelings. While I knew I had come away from Honduras with a new family or two, I sometimes questioned if I’d actually made any lasting friends. I said before that every time I was out of the house I would bump into someone I knew and have a chat if not a cup of <i>cafe, </i>proving these worries wrong.<i> </i>I visited my friend Enedina, who lives on the edge of town and who Amy and I made soup with in the early days of our year. I caught up with Eric, the boyfriend of a volunteer from the year before me over a cool bottle of <i>Fresca.</i>I got my hair cut (quite drastically!) by Edwin, the only fluent English speaker in the village, for the bargain price of 50 lempira (less than £2). I bumped into a number of teacher from the kinder, <i>escuela</i>, or <i>colegio </i>on the streets and chatted with friends in <i>comedores, </i>on the football pitch or even the town radio and had others messaging me, even if I wasn’t able to see them. It was incredibly heart-warming to return to a place I consider home with such a welcome. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Another thing I questioned was whether I had actually made a difference. I want to be careful here not to stray into any sense of saviourism, expecting to change and improve an entire town or culture in one year at 18 years old. That is never what I wanted or expected to do. But as a teacher I at the very least wanted to be able to pass on some new skills and knowledge to my students. There were definitely days while I was still in Honduras that it all felt futile - second grade just wouldn’t sit still, fifth grade wouldn’t stop talking, sixth grade were out of class for the second time that week and no one could remember the same thing we’d been learning for the past month! But there were not as many of these bad days as there were good ones. It was encouraging, two years down the line to see these kids more confident when I asked them about what they had been learning or quizzed them on some things that I had taught them. Language learning is, after all, an ongoing process and while the they may not remember every word I taught them while I was their English teacher, I might just have laid the foundation for lifelong learning, just as I’d hoped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In this same vein, it is so great to see the project in Candelaria transforming into something hopefully more long term, as it welcomes its fifth year of Project Trust volunteers after the summer. Amy and I were only the second year of volunteers and thus felt the burden and responsibility, mostly self-imposed, of ensuring the PT volunteers had a good reputation and presence so that this could become something sustainable as we so desperately hoped. At times this felt limiting as we were more reserved, less political, less involved at times than we might otherwise have been. However on returning and seeing the project still running, and hearing about the positive place volunteers now have in the community and how involved and assimilated they have become, I feel like it might just have been worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj5DBKEazDJncjrTtLmvqYNMXBghBsUKHN1Ota9KyXf4OZhGAyTUnreXmr8YnFXhp2qJas6qPKImN5gp-Ei-6c0k0J3KygXJMexdCUr4Pmxzq68xVNCLRKCLXTSq9uxlJHm3PWkXTohI/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj5DBKEazDJncjrTtLmvqYNMXBghBsUKHN1Ota9KyXf4OZhGAyTUnreXmr8YnFXhp2qJas6qPKImN5gp-Ei-6c0k0J3KygXJMexdCUr4Pmxzq68xVNCLRKCLXTSq9uxlJHm3PWkXTohI/s320/image.png" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">While some worries of mine have been put to rest after returning to Honduras and Candelaria, I have come to accept others. Sometimes I felt like I should have done more with my time in my town, gone out more, gotten more involved, and so on but after returning I found I had forgotten one very important thing – its bloody hot! I was drinking litres and litres of water every day and was still exhausted just from wandering around town. The sun beats down from about 8 in the morning until at least 3 or 4 in the afternoon, depending if it’s the wet or dry season. And I wasn’t just teaching in that heat during my year, I was doing it in jeans! I understand how most days I wanted to spend my afternoons having a nap until it was a little cooler or sheltering from the high temperatures by sitting in front of the fan. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I would never use the word regret when talking about any aspect of my year in Honduras, apart from the fact that it couldn’t have been longer, and I think I need to go a bit easier on myself with a lot of these things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There is a difference, however, in giving myself a break and looking back with rose tinted glasses. As much as I loved my time in Honduras and wouldn’t change it, I have always made sure to remember the bad with the good, not that there was much, just to make sure I am remembering things realistically. Being back did sharply remind me that I didn’t enjoy every single moment of the year. There were times when I was ill, times when I was homesick (usually the same time), times when me and Amy argued (we lived together for a year though, can you blame us?), times when I felt frustrated with the work we were doing and times when it all just felt a bit too overwhelming. However, you have to take the bad with the good and without it I wouldn’t have had the same experience, taken away the same things or appreciated the good times as much. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #353535; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I managed to achieve some tremendous things in the year I spent there. Not only did I gain a home and a family on the other side of the world, I made lifelong friends in the form of the other volunteers, some of whom are still my best friends. I lived away from home for a year, without seeing my family for most of that time, showing myself I can handle things on my own. I overcame challenges such as hospital trips and rowdy children. I became fluent in a language that I still love to speak. I curated a blog which provides a powerful look back on to so many aspects of my year, for me and for others. I became a teacher and experienced everything that comes along with it. I cherish all of these things and endlessly appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to achieve all of these things. If you are one of the many kind people who supported me in any way to get me there in the first place, thank you again. You’ve no idea what you helped me do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-35279255069321941452017-09-09T05:18:00.001-07:002017-09-09T05:28:07.005-07:00From One Person to the Another<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I feel like I’ve always struggled between being who the person I am, the person I think I should be and the person I want to be. I was never really happy with the person I was until returning from a volunteering trip in Costa Rica when I was 17. After that I felt not quite that I was who I wanted to be, but as if maybe that person was in sight, reachable. I had caught a glimpse of the kind of life that I wanted and the kind of me that I could be in that life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">On returning to school, I felt restless. All of a sudden I knew what I wanted to be doing and it wasn’t being stuck in a classroom in dreary Scotland. I struggled to keep myself settled throughout the year and keep my patience with those around me who, I felt anyway, didn’t understand what I was going through. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">At this point I had already applied and been selected for a year in Honduras with Project Trust and, quite honestly, just felt like I was wasting time until I could get away again. With the exam results I needed in my back pocket, I focused all my energies on fundraising. I jumped at the chance to go to any Project Trust event and whenever I was there, with other Project Trust people, I felt completely at ease. It was the most like myself I had felt since leaving Costa Rica. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Honduras drew closer and closer and eventually I was right on the verge of leaving. One last trip to Coll to Project Trust headquarters for our training and then I would be off. Meeting all of the volunteers for the first time felt like meeting up with a group of friends. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a phrase used so often but ‘like minded people’ really is the best way to describe the connection I felt with the rest of my group. It takes a certain calibre of person to decide to move across the world to embark on a year of teaching with very little preparation or training and at only 18 years old! It is this part of us that was attracted to the each other when we met, even if we were different in other ways. Around these people, I didn’t have to think about how I acted or care about what they thought of me. I was able to just be me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It goes without saying that I have gained an inordinate amount from my time spent in Honduras working as an English teacher. Some things are hard to measure, like the confidence I now have in myself and my abilities and the view I have of the world, but others, like the skills I have gained from being in the classroom and my language acquisition, are very tangible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As with any job, there are myriad skills to be gained from the experience and a year with Project Trust is no different. After a year of doing nothing else, I am obviously considerably more comfortable standing in front of a class and teaching and my ever present organisation has been put to good use but I have also developed others skills that have not been so strong in the past. Tolerance has definitely been key at various moments throughout the year, sometimes with my pupils if they won’t stay quiet or focus on the task at hand but also with myself, when the limits of my language or previous experience as a teacher restricted my ability to deliver an effective class. My people skills, while not necessarily lacking when I left for Honduras, have been enhanced by not only having to deal with people in a different language but also with different social cues and expectations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">One of the more unexpected but most significant areas I have developed has been in my adaptability. Before Honduras, I would let small issues stress me out and everything had to be on time, arranged in advance and I had to know everything that was going on. After living the chaotic lifestyle that is Honduran to the core, I have learnt to adapt a more <i>tranquila </i>attitude. Things happen when and how they happen and there’s not much you can do to change that so why worry about it? This has been somewhat hard to translate into life back in the UK but I’m trying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Spanish was a crucial part of my decision to spend my gap year in Latin America My aspirations to become near fluent had an effect on my university decision as well - I chose to study French with Chinese instead of Spanish - so it was important to me that I learnt as much as possible. Language is an integral part of any culture so not only have I improved an invaluable skill, it has also enhanced my understanding of the people and the way of thinking of a vibrant country and region of contrasts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There is so much more than this however. The understanding of Honduras that I have achieved after living there for a year is the the kind of understanding that can only be attained with this kind of total immersion in a place. This has exposed me to the thoughts and motivations behind a clearly different style of life to my own, which is something that most people, even those who have travelled widely, may not ever get to see. Understanding a culture means understanding its language, its history, its landscape, its people and so much more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Meeting so many people from across the globe while travelling has also shown me there are so many options in life. There is not one set path - life does not have to be school, university then work. I have seen the many paths you can take through life and working in the role I have has confirmed the path that I want to take. In my head, my future has always held travel. As this thought grew to become more realistic ideas for a career path, I expanded on that to three criteria; I wanted to travel; I wanted to learn foreign languages and use them; and I wanted to do something to help other people. My trip to Costa Rica introduced me to the idea of working for overseas organisations but it was still vague at best. I now know that I do want to work in this field with charities and NGOs, specifically with education, social development and women’s empowerment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As I have said, I have always felt caught between the different versions of me that there are and could be. If Costa Rica opened the doors for me to become the person I wanted to, Honduras had me stepping through those doors. It amazes me how much my self confidence has grown in just a year and with all the changes I have faced I feel more ‘me’ than someone else. It’s like I’ve always been this person but she just needed the right opportunity to come out. I used to feel very self conscious, something not a lot of people might have realised because I was quite good at pretending I didn’t care what anybody else actually thought of me. Now I actually don’t - I realise how many different types of people there are, either in appearance or personality, beliefs or ambitions, and that all of these should be celebrated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Coming home was the hardest part of the year by far. I can see the difference in myself after this year and leaving behind the place responsible for all this positive change pulled at something inside of me. The other volunteers that I had spent the year with had become my family and have been big influences on me. Saying goodbye to my Project Trust family was hard because I was worried that I would be saying goodbye to all the ways I’ve grown this year and I don’t want to. Moving backwards makes it very hard to move forwards. Fortunately this doesn’t seem to have happened, so far anyway, and I’m hanging on tight to make sure it never does!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Being back in Dunblane has been strange. It doesn’t make sense to my mind that I’m back where I was a year ago after having everything be new and exciting. I feel like I’m 17 again and still figuring out who I am and who I want to be. Now I feel like I have that at least partly figured out, being back in Dunblane is making it very hard to reconcile the two feelings. I know I don’t want to go back to how I was before but I feel like Dunblane sits on the new parts of me, the more outgoing, relaxed, adventurous parts and says ‘Sorry, there’s no room for that here’. It’s suffocating and I have been eagerly watching the clock counting me down until I move to Edinburgh for my next adventure. Dunblane will always be my home but I’m not sure I fit here anymore, or that I necessarily ever did.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">As I sit on the cusp of my next adventure, it may feel like my Project Trust adventure is over but that is definitely not true. I will not, and cannot, let go of something that has given me so much without giving at least a little in return. Project Trust has done so much for me that I will never be able to adequately put into words and I know that a large part of the what is to come will be a result of the experiences I have had throughout my year in Honduras. I want to thank them in a million ways for the effect they have had on me but nothing seems enough. Thank you for this opportunity, thank you for my life-long friends, thank you for giving me a family on the other side of the world, thank you for bringing me out of myself and into the world. Thank you. </span></div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-39767151830438769582017-08-30T10:45:00.001-07:002017-08-30T11:46:38.223-07:00¡Hasta Luego Project Trust!<div>
Don't worry I'm still here! I've have been back in Scotland for a month now and it seems like my time has been split between wishing I was back in Honduras and pretending I am by doing a PT road trip to see Amy in Surrey, Jesse in London and Lucy in Edinburgh. </div>
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The last step of the Project Trust journey, after the inevitable, crippling reverse culture shock, is Debriefing. It's our last chance to get up to Coll and spend a few days surrounded by the only people that are still willing to listen to gap year story after gap year story. It's not a compulsory course like Training but out of our 20 Honduras volunteers we managed to get 16 of us there - Hannah, Eve, Alice and Norome, you were missed. We were reunited with some of the volunteers we were on Training with who went to Zambia and also had Malawi, Japan and the Domincan Republic volunteers with us. Because we have such a large group, even with our missing members, we made up more than half of the total number!</div>
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I took the train up to Oban for the first time, having had a lift and then taken the bus for my previous journeys, and it was incredibly beautiful. There was a big group of us on the train and we were reunited with everyone else in the beloved Backpackers Plus hostel. </div>
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We had two full days back in the Hebridean Centre. The first day was based primarily on looking back on the year we spent overseas. We worked in our country groups with our Overseas Coordinator to look back on our best bits and the challenges we overcame while away. We ended the day with a trip to the gorgeous beach (only gorgeous because it was so sunny!).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes. This is Scotland. </td></tr>
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Day two focused more on looking forward to how we, as returned volunteers, can stay involved in the PT community. The sense that you get as part of one of Project Trusts many groups of volunteers is very much one of family. These people that you have been sent away to the other side of the world with you quickly become your family but on coming home it's like meeting all the extended aunts and uncles and cousins that are all there for you. Just like in Honduras, everyone is related! There are Facebook groups and reunions and local meet ups and professional opportunities all to be found among the 7,700 and something returned volunteers, dating all the way back to 1967!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The legend that is Peter Wilson PT and the Honduras gals</td></tr>
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It has been almost a week since the 'official' end of my year overseas but definitely not the end of my involvement. Project Trust are always looking for people to go into schools and talk to pupils about their experiences, inspire the next generation of teachers and social care workers and adventurers for them to send all over the world. With Global Citizenship being such a large part of going overseas with Project Trust, returned volunteers also go out to schools and run workshops on this in primary and secondary schools. With the experience I have of this from my fundraising, I think if I hadn't signed up I would have been chased from Coll and told never to return! Finally, as part of a new scheme, you can become a mentor to a volunteer who is in the process of fundraising for their year abroad - you can share your top tips and secret strategies as well as all your best stories (probably best to keep the bad ones under wraps to begin with!).</div>
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As ever, no Project Trust course or visit to Coll would be complete without a ceilidh to finish things of in style! What with there being two Latin American countries in attendance, traditional Scottish dancing soon morphed into a reggaeton/bachata party!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project Trust tradition states that windows MUST be drawn on</td></tr>
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Leaving Coll the next morning was a sad affair though I hope to be back next year as summer staff. Once again, the train back down to Glasgow was filled with PT people. Amy stayed one more night at my house before flying back down to Surrey. This was our final goodbye for the summer, after having seen each other three or four times since getting home. I know it won't be that last goodbye however, as we already have plans for a trip to Prague at Christmas and Amy is coming up to Edinburgh for a rugby match in February.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best partner ever</td></tr>
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As for the rest of my Honduran lot, there were a few goodbyes in Oban and some more when we got off the train in Glasgow. A few people stuck around in Edinburgh for a few days and we had one last night out together before we all went our separate ways. However, apparently there's already a reunion in the works and I'll be at uni with Hannah and Eva in Edinburgh, with a lot of people not far away in the likes of Glasgow and Aberdeen.<br />
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Coll is such special place because of all it embodies. It is an integral part of any volunteer's Project Trust journey. It is there for you on Selection when everything is filled with excitement and you can't wait to get started. It is there on Training when you are are wondering what you've gotten yourself into. It is there to welcome you home on Debriefing, showing you that it's not all bad to be back. It encompasses the heart of Project Trust and all the people you meet along the way, from the staff to the other volunteers even to the people you meet in your Project. Coll is a place I love and will always love for I will forever associate it with the best year of my life. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project Trust Honduras volunteers 16/17</td></tr>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-31873072323003343912017-08-11T05:30:00.001-07:002017-08-11T09:56:52.130-07:00Worth the WaitWith our goodbyes all done, the only thing left to do was to actually leave but apparently Honduras was just as reluctant to say good bye to us as we were to it. Please fasten your seatbelts folks, we are now approaching some turbulence.<br>
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Our journey home was composed of at least two flights for everyone, from San Pedro Sula to Miami and then Miami to London Heathrow. For some of us there was one more, onwards to Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen and even Budapest. We arrived at the airport in SPS in plenty of time (none of us wanted a repeat of what happened at Christmas when we missed our boat to Utila - we weren't quite that desperate to stay) but were told that our flight was delayed by 45 minutes. Not so bad but as we waited our departure time kept getting later and our wait longer. We eventually left just over two hours late but because our layover in Miami was originally three hours long, the delay meant that we had very little time to get through the monster of an airport that is Miami International.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adios!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An accurate representation of our feelings about leaving Honduras</td></tr>
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We touched down at 8pm and our flight left at 8.40pm so as soon as we were off that plane, we were sprinting, bags flailing, flip flops flapping, cursing our lack of fitness. We managed to bag a flashy fluorescent orange pass that let us skip queues which worked until we got to security where there was a separate queue for others with the same flashy card so we couldn't skip it. Another issue was that we came through security at gate D26 and our gate was E23. It sounds worse when I say that the D gates go up to 60. And we had 15 minutes. We were told we weren't going to make it but we tried anyway. Amy and Sophie were sent ahead without their bags so they could sprint to the gate and maybe get them to wait for the sweaty, hopeful group of 16 other teenagers that were on their way.<br>
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It didn't work. Amy and Sophie got there two minutes after they had closed the gates/the plane had left so by the time the rest of us got there there was nothing we could do. We had to traverse our way back across the terminals we had crossed to the rebooking desk where we waited for an hour and half, witnessed a show of crazy that you can only see from someone who has missed multiple flights and thinks the world owes her and had to wake up various family members to tell them we wouldn't actually be home in the morning.<br>
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It turned out that the next flight to London wasn't until 5pm the next day and all the airline's hotel spaces were full so we had to just slum it in the airport for the next 19 hours. There was another option, to find, book and pay for a hotel ourselves and get reimbursed but none of us had enough money to pay for a last minute hotel near the airport in Miami. Instead we found a nice corridor behind TGI Fridays and bedded down for the night like a row of tacos.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18 hours to go...</td></tr>
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The next day was wasted by moving between our base camp and the charging sockets nearby, trying to stretch our fairly meagre food vouchers as far as possible and re-re-booking ourselves on the next flight because we just by chance happened to discover it hadn't been done properly the night before. Everything went right in the end though and we were sat by gate E23 again (what a coincidence, huh?) with plenty of time before our flight left.<br>
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8 hour flights being what they are, the first four hours flew by and the next four were excruciatingly slow. Almost 24 hours later than planned we arrived at Heathrow. After all that Lucy and I still had another flight to catch so we couldn't hang around for long. We said our goodbyes to everyone (not too painful because we'll see most of them in a few weeks at Debriefing) and a quick hello to everyone's families before hopping across to our terminal.<br>
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Two painless hours later, we were pulling into the gate at Edinburgh airport and not long after were faced with home for the first time in 363 days. I have to admit that it wasn't that emotional to see my family again - for me at least. It had been a few months since I had seen my dad and Kirsty but only two weeks since my mum and Amy left Honduras. For them though, it was the opposite. It didn't matter to them that not that much time had passed since they last saw me. I was home again and not leaving (at least not for a while). That idea was not one I wanted to dwell on at the time, what with not wanting to be home and everything, but for them it meant a lot.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My welcoming committee</td></tr>
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And so resumes 'normal' life. Once again, I don't want to overload you so if I can get my feelings about being home into any kind of order anytime soon, maybe there'll be a blog about it (ok, there will be, I'm not quite ready to stop annoying everyone with this just yet) but for now, yes, it is nice to be home.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worth the wait</td></tr>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-22820103992482157582017-08-07T10:26:00.001-07:002017-08-07T12:38:36.582-07:00No Se Vaya!It's been a week since I arrived back in sunny Scotland and it's as if nothing has changed. If it weren't for the residual crick in my neck and emotional scars from the journey home, I would think that maybe I've just been in a coma for the past year and have a very creative imagination. Before I get into what it's like being home again after so long, let me tell you about our goodbyes and the journey back.<span style="background-color: white;"> </span>(The journey will follow in the next post, I didn't want to overload everyone with too much to read!)<br />
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Our first official goodbye was with our Kinder classes. We were leaving Candelaria on a Friday and the last day we see them is a Wednesday. We walked in to find all of the tables in my classroom pushed to the side and all the kids bouncing around the room. We hadn't been expecting anything special and had just planned to mark our departure by spending the whole lesson playing games. Instead the teachers kicked things off by saying a few words, thanking us for our effort and our patience, and then invited a few of the kids up to speak too. A big part of our lessons in Kinder revolve around songs so both classes got up and sang Wind the Bobbin Up and my class also sang the Colours Song - I was so proud I thought my heart might burst out of my chest! To finish we had cake and fizzy juice, as is customary at any Honduran celebration, and were presented with a little gift each of a Candelaria t-shirt. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With all our little cuties!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the words of Amy Lynch - how sad can you be when your name is on a cake?</td></tr>
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My Kinder kids can drive me crazy sometimes but it was hard to say goodbye to them all the same. They are so adorable and for once I didn't mind when they mounted their daily <i>ataque (</i>they like to swarm me at the end of class and hug me so hard that it's not uncommon for me to have to brace myself against the wall so I don't fall over on top of them!). I'll miss their little faces and smiles and the fact that they only ever sing the 'oooooooooh' part of the Hokey Cokey. It's weird to think that by the time I'm back (because I will be back) they'll be proper little people in primary school. </div>
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Our next goodbye was a dinner that evening with Lety and Victor, our second host family. They had us over and we ate <i>cena típica</i> (a typical dinner including beans, eggs, avocado, cheese, mantequilla and tortillas) with them. They made a big deal out of giving us a present, making us stand in the middle of the room with our eyes closed and hands out. It turns out it was a hammock! I desperately wanted to take a hammock home but had convinced myself that they were too expensive, I wouldn't use it, where would I even put a hammock? It was perfect. This wasn't our final goodbye with Lety and Victor and the family, because we promised to come back the next day, our last day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samuel looks a little too happy about the fact that we're leaving...</td></tr>
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And then finally, the day that had been looming over us all year was here. We knew it was coming but that didn't make it any easier. We still had classes and our timetable on Thursdays is actually my favourite because we have 4th, 5th and 6th grade who are my favourite classes. It felt like most of my day was hugs, goodbyes, gift from kind hearted kids, telling myself not to cry and choruses of <i>'no se vaya!' (</i>don't go!) which broke my heart.</div>
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Somehow we made it through, with almost no tears on my part, and to our goodbye lunch with the teachers. We ate soup and chicken with tortillas and listened to the headteacher say a few words. They also presented us with these beautiful wooden plaques and mirrors, handmade in Candelaria, on behalf of the teachers, students and parents. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of our fellow teachers</td></tr>
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After that, all that was left was a few of our friends and both of our families. We did the rounds to see our friends throughout the afternoon and then had a special dinner of <i>tamales</i> with our host family. Later in the evening we went over to Lety and Victor's to say goodbye to them for the last time too. Again, I managed to make it through without any tears, even when little Samuel started screaming as we left.<br />
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Part of the reason for this is that it still didn't feel real that we were leaving. I felt like we would be back in school with the kids after the weekend or we were saying goodbye to our families for a week while we went on a visa run. Because we'd been there for so long, leaving and not coming back didn't make sense. This was my home. Why would I be leaving?<br />
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That lasted until the morning. When it was time to say goodbye to Saida and the girls, things got very real, very quickly. We promised everyone we would come back in 4 years, once we've graduated from uni but who knows, it may be longer before we can see them again. Daniela and Jamie are both desperate to come to the UK though so you never know!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mi familia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Las quiero, mis hermanitas</td></tr>
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We drove to San Pedro in a car that Victor organised for us, swinging by Tomala to pick up Jesse and Lucy. The whole group was back together again for our last night in Honduras, minus Norome and Eva, our 8 month volunteers, who are staying another few weeks to travel.<br />
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Leaving Honduras was not easy. Even after a year, I feel like I had just settled in properly and then it was time to go. I could easily have stayed another year which made it even more frustrating that we had to leave. I wouldn't change a single thing about this year though. The people I've met, the places I've been, the kids I've had the pleasure of teaching and the country that I've fallen in love with, I will be back. It may be in four years, it may be longer, but I will be back. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-74373606182159811102017-07-27T23:02:00.002-07:002017-07-27T23:35:42.550-07:00Welcome to Candelaria, Lempira!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Welcome to Candelaria Lempira! I'm writing this on my last day in this beautiful town and I thought it was probably about time that you got a look at the place I've called home for the last 12 months! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11zeeeutJC-NPR6MLxFXSIEF2g5GDHvsqVwzCSXhRvExH5BCbgqwUxMvuRIAnuu1OdiBlDwXNEei6Ggg-Rpvo_bnf2R93TtzE74l39TUBR2dPKv263E8U_5pQTMR6arWJpsqMLsrooeI/s640/blogger-image--727411248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11zeeeutJC-NPR6MLxFXSIEF2g5GDHvsqVwzCSXhRvExH5BCbgqwUxMvuRIAnuu1OdiBlDwXNEei6Ggg-Rpvo_bnf2R93TtzE74l39TUBR2dPKv263E8U_5pQTMR6arWJpsqMLsrooeI/s400/blogger-image--727411248.jpg" width="400"></a>This is the view of Candelaria from what is essentially a viewpoint (not sure if that is the intended purpose, It's basically just a layby, but doesn't the town look good?) called the circumbalacion. Candelaria has a population of roughly 800 people living in the town centre, pictured, with a further 200 or so in the surrounding <i>aldeas</i> of La Hacienda, Posada de Flor and El Regadillo. The mountain that's visible is called Cerique but is commonly known only as '<i>el cerro</i>' (the mountain). </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17103793_1873102982905467_1913284311519189593_n.jpg?oh=3f847aa5f2bcf519fb940c8de2192a0b&oe=59F3A4EF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: mountain, sky, tree, plant, outdoor and nature" border="0" height="298" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17103793_1873102982905467_1913284311519189593_n.jpg?oh=3f847aa5f2bcf519fb940c8de2192a0b&oe=59F3A4EF" width="400"></a>This is the view of Candelaria from the other side, from just below the summit of Cerrique. While it was very rewarding to climb the hill that looms over us wherever we are, it's not something I would ever do again. Do not attempt without an experienced hand that also carries a machete! Our 'experienced' guides, Alex and Jonni, can be seen in the photo. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8nH3i2LnzZylgH51KpO3N0GWQJH6oB4Zp03_XfQNLqUxFPwfJmGX4ayRsOvqYsaRLDB7kbUAZbIatgkXT-_Tq0vZixssIDx3gpIR5wycYDRs2dP06ldmj2_zU-CoImQUA_rftxGRkpg/s640/blogger-image--1422219127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8nH3i2LnzZylgH51KpO3N0GWQJH6oB4Zp03_XfQNLqUxFPwfJmGX4ayRsOvqYsaRLDB7kbUAZbIatgkXT-_Tq0vZixssIDx3gpIR5wycYDRs2dP06ldmj2_zU-CoImQUA_rftxGRkpg/s400/blogger-image--1422219127.jpg" width="400"></a>First stop on our tour is where our mornings start every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - J<i>ardín de Niños de Profe Marcelino Pineda Lopez</i> a.k.a. Kinder. There are around 50 kids here split between two classes, <i>pre-kinder/kinder</i> for the 3-4 year olds and <i>prepatorio</i> for the 5 year olds. Its more or less a minute's walk from our house. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSgffmVEMUDXsXcqIX9T9oUOZllmz5uiDbI0OplVQ9cVQXcRX9lqLQiDqwfMrtPvLmmCXAyox-wWyTa6eHZoQV5LdGAGQ7eMR79EihROiIvQO0INLCQdctYG8UN02_WqweS98O-lwmQg/s640/blogger-image--500344538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSgffmVEMUDXsXcqIX9T9oUOZllmz5uiDbI0OplVQ9cVQXcRX9lqLQiDqwfMrtPvLmmCXAyox-wWyTa6eHZoQV5LdGAGQ7eMR79EihROiIvQO0INLCQdctYG8UN02_WqweS98O-lwmQg/s400/blogger-image--500344538.jpg" width="299"></a>From Kinder we walk down this rather steep but thankfully paved road (at least we're not going up it though, right?). We go past our favourite <i>comedor </i>(a Honduran restaurant that is usually just the front room of someone's house), Comedor Delmy, or as we call it, Nayely's because our friend Nayely lives there. You can't actually see because of the angle of the photo but is a bright pink facade below the blue one two thirds of the way up the photo. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SkBqtJdt68zVnNQ9krICnYBMvujz-oZ2PDzMxGQyUN0CKxc71oNWd0byvTdXzXyjlE2BIgDHfUV0sPQcrI7YxGvWnaxgr3Kg_myLGIdgqOFj7GRnBvQXRbeXiIZqs4nPWhNaC2WwaBs/s640/blogger-image--262719295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SkBqtJdt68zVnNQ9krICnYBMvujz-oZ2PDzMxGQyUN0CKxc71oNWd0byvTdXzXyjlE2BIgDHfUV0sPQcrI7YxGvWnaxgr3Kg_myLGIdgqOFj7GRnBvQXRbeXiIZqs4nPWhNaC2WwaBs/s400/blogger-image--262719295.jpg" width="400"></a>The bottom half of the road above. When we swim in the river with our host sisters, we walk down past the pink house that is visible which leads to a nice swimming spot that has a natural slide the girls love!</div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/18422945_1574350772617256_3443622749659319691_o.jpg?oh=c3a10b06a2484904d6ad9ad0577338bb&oe=5A0062CF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: sky, house and outdoor" border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/18422945_1574350772617256_3443622749659319691_o.jpg?oh=c3a10b06a2484904d6ad9ad0577338bb&oe=5A0062CF" width="400"></a>We continue along this road to the primary school, passing by our friend Erik's mechanic's workshop. </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17103566_1488411534544514_3989270721518152369_n.jpg?oh=e293f75f7851abe9ab364d041a9d3734&oe=59FB6BAB" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: one or more people, people playing sport, basketball court and outdoor" border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17103566_1488411534544514_3989270721518152369_n.jpg?oh=e293f75f7851abe9ab364d041a9d3734&oe=59FB6BAB" width="400"></a>The <i>canchita</i> (playing court) where we used to play football all the time is below the road above on the left hand side. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknXxTX51dMMnHAvkbUU75lMbhQDmKEiLE6UNWze7ZctILTci0Kxn_jbQrhuo4GllOEpWJvQJ055bn7HlYrjhL2KVu8CQV6MflZ_9_RHPrABOH_1GUh1fwntDafWG4TQ5dS4XlcEa_0KI/s640/blogger-image--304269727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknXxTX51dMMnHAvkbUU75lMbhQDmKEiLE6UNWze7ZctILTci0Kxn_jbQrhuo4GllOEpWJvQJ055bn7HlYrjhL2KVu8CQV6MflZ_9_RHPrABOH_1GUh1fwntDafWG4TQ5dS4XlcEa_0KI/s400/blogger-image--304269727.jpg" width="300"></a>On the last stretch of the walk from Kinder to the primary school. In reality this walk only takes about five minutes. This road is always nice to walk down because it's frequented by a variety of very colourful and very beautiful butterflies!</div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18527900_1574351365950530_2289723992269349348_n.jpg?oh=63ae028fa36d978df094cbd83d1dbd85&oe=59ECFA5D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: plant, tree, mountain, sky, outdoor, nature and water" border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18527900_1574351365950530_2289723992269349348_n.jpg?oh=63ae028fa36d978df094cbd83d1dbd85&oe=59ECFA5D" width="300"></a>Crossing the bridge at the bottom of the steps up to the entrance of the <i>escuela</i>, you can see the formidable form of Cerrique very clearly. (It's not actually that high, it only took us 4 hours to go up and down and part of that was because there's no path so you have to scramble your way through scrubbery and up rock faces.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkZRVmKKVfMn3AYY9AOcxftLUG7ADTrWC4FzMFqhkNm6Ylmsnkr0tVJTYLrMQaEBXbWVXU1r7QVggVwRF8rHHWxwIp_3Kj0vM5sPR5F2QcWuzGMaA9t7N9dSrDvkZN7FjOD6TZacACTQ/s640/blogger-image--739996684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkZRVmKKVfMn3AYY9AOcxftLUG7ADTrWC4FzMFqhkNm6Ylmsnkr0tVJTYLrMQaEBXbWVXU1r7QVggVwRF8rHHWxwIp_3Kj0vM5sPR5F2QcWuzGMaA9t7N9dSrDvkZN7FjOD6TZacACTQ/s400/blogger-image--739996684.jpg" width="299"></a>This is the last step (haha, get it?) on our journey to school. The bridge from the previous picture is at the bottom and the gates are on the right. (The girls are our host sisters, Jamie and Daniela.)</div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20257994_808167612695273_7757796138005570257_n.jpg?oh=167917129123560626bf273c88f8e2a1&oe=59F30575" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: tree, sky, plant and outdoor" border="0" height="225" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20257994_808167612695273_7757796138005570257_n.jpg?oh=167917129123560626bf273c88f8e2a1&oe=59F30575" width="400"></a>Welcome to La Escuela Urbana Mixta de Jose Cecilio del Valle!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkOoK9M1bYK_QZAklISdr4s8f-ffu8THVmieuJwgENdl4IYGFEG4cPHzr3YYY0Nucy6vDfafs-y_5SiUzyPTWI39HOLUH_CuDiHC-wEchPXs1rBPhZGVZ_weQc391kFkMZicJ59QDpGA/s640/blogger-image-1377874804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkOoK9M1bYK_QZAklISdr4s8f-ffu8THVmieuJwgENdl4IYGFEG4cPHzr3YYY0Nucy6vDfafs-y_5SiUzyPTWI39HOLUH_CuDiHC-wEchPXs1rBPhZGVZ_weQc391kFkMZicJ59QDpGA/s400/blogger-image-1377874804.jpg" width="400"></a>These are what our classrooms are like. The buildings are over three different levels but I haven't included many photos of the school here. If you want to see more have a look at my blog post <a href="http://sarasyearinhonduras.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/introducing-la-escuela-jose-cecilio-del.html" target="_blank">Introducing: La Escuela Jose Cecilio del Valle</a>. In total there are about 230 students. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3vKlQZMURJ8laKjscHGqjGr0S8TJKP03dboHe4p1HZko90YWv9DvWl2-3gM8aMaAvub71fmSgfSF1pcWXCElCAQYBm6NnRw2LzgkHwMYtkZ39ekmGn8Tu7tAiY6_ISCmovUZXp2khi8/s640/blogger-image--1699403832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3vKlQZMURJ8laKjscHGqjGr0S8TJKP03dboHe4p1HZko90YWv9DvWl2-3gM8aMaAvub71fmSgfSF1pcWXCElCAQYBm6NnRw2LzgkHwMYtkZ39ekmGn8Tu7tAiY6_ISCmovUZXp2khi8/s400/blogger-image--1699403832.jpg" width="400"></a>One of the many gorgeous views from the school. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N_zVNSpeVYWDW99neXLZvgmqTHlnsNQy1ESyid7fvsCT3GzBjS8HwE1OVKenFdr-f0iUQ7p9mLEEi2C2JnGGZN_eFW2SJqYt7aSzsub3Npzde6oMedl9pZX1fnJCu_yE1VDhB85kVUs/s640/blogger-image-221740352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N_zVNSpeVYWDW99neXLZvgmqTHlnsNQy1ESyid7fvsCT3GzBjS8HwE1OVKenFdr-f0iUQ7p9mLEEi2C2JnGGZN_eFW2SJqYt7aSzsub3Npzde6oMedl9pZX1fnJCu_yE1VDhB85kVUs/s400/blogger-image-221740352.jpg" width="298"></a>On the way home now, this is at the top of the butterfly street looking the other way. Many of the houses here in Honduras are painted bright colours, like you can see here. It's one of the things that you first notice as being different to home when you arrive. </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17991029_1895575347324897_6322168323937796391_n.jpg?oh=f3ceaa8dd50fa1160a4e461dcaf715b4&oe=5A02740A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, standing, cloud, sky and outdoor" border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17991029_1895575347324897_6322168323937796391_n.jpg?oh=f3ceaa8dd50fa1160a4e461dcaf715b4&oe=5A02740A" width="300"></a>This hill is the bane of my life. It is every bit as steep as it looks and incredibly bumpy. I'm smiling through the pain. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GGpBNVxJIRyBrMS4ahyphenhyphenoZ7e3hPbP0mFgDYfzp2WHWF_d52OtjHnH3XV3DU8Z7lpR8V-Xms_waBu3BW9W1MJI8nfToieAkTYXyhtjPgJ7VwoRMrC9e9UqapW6yfpdbJgeEZNpKBLHbxg/s640/blogger-image--2051000413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GGpBNVxJIRyBrMS4ahyphenhyphenoZ7e3hPbP0mFgDYfzp2WHWF_d52OtjHnH3XV3DU8Z7lpR8V-Xms_waBu3BW9W1MJI8nfToieAkTYXyhtjPgJ7VwoRMrC9e9UqapW6yfpdbJgeEZNpKBLHbxg/s400/blogger-image--2051000413.jpg" width="400"></a>After the steep road we come out onto the square from the gap on the left hand side of the photo. Our house is straight ahead on the left from this angle. On the right is the central park and as always, Cerrique is watching. </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17796061_1651725051801173_719921562570501984_n.jpg?oh=4db6213ace44ec7da07da97a7804d65b&oe=59F3F9E4" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: sky and outdoor" border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17796061_1651725051801173_719921562570501984_n.jpg?oh=4db6213ace44ec7da07da97a7804d65b&oe=59F3F9E4" width="400"></a>Our house! The windows looks into our bedroom and the door is into the living room. </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14051636_1782528811962885_841445229968188986_n.jpg?oh=1da8bb1507cd176e6e411ca5b8ad8c73&oe=5A0891F6" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: outdoor" border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14051636_1782528811962885_841445229968188986_n.jpg?oh=1da8bb1507cd176e6e411ca5b8ad8c73&oe=5A0891F6" width="298"></a>If you go the end of our block and turn left, this is the road you are faced with. It is steep, slippery and not properly paved, all the things you want from a road and all the things you can expect from many roads in Candelaria. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKJegix6Km392_qyA86WzPNqnqwkdhhw904ZagXsKbA1dmJwx25Cl9RU4OgQjHlwEoiyRap50RoZGpOECDTiwG9c9NSJQyQ8PQpDKOKLGmnzCuizKHprsmjByPMasxSVxiDsz1drvZ1Q/s640/blogger-image-2146084408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKJegix6Km392_qyA86WzPNqnqwkdhhw904ZagXsKbA1dmJwx25Cl9RU4OgQjHlwEoiyRap50RoZGpOECDTiwG9c9NSJQyQ8PQpDKOKLGmnzCuizKHprsmjByPMasxSVxiDsz1drvZ1Q/s400/blogger-image-2146084408.jpg" width="299"></a>The road behind our house, which is the green door behind the flowers on the left. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtd4aNwmV8Pjm6ZZYUZRoOnTjNDiEPapoV72Ow60WQK-Ut_Y1NFUQpZFD0FD9hLzjD2UQU1MRbzsS9VGmxVz9pvd4F0kML-cwmY93Vf8fuGRKzCO6NDrJaNjZSEDx708hbxnqkjULAec/s640/blogger-image--204263268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtd4aNwmV8Pjm6ZZYUZRoOnTjNDiEPapoV72Ow60WQK-Ut_Y1NFUQpZFD0FD9hLzjD2UQU1MRbzsS9VGmxVz9pvd4F0kML-cwmY93Vf8fuGRKzCO6NDrJaNjZSEDx708hbxnqkjULAec/s400/blogger-image--204263268.jpg" width="299"></a>The street outside our house again. It forms one of the sides of the <i>parque central. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpqZ13KhIaEVmw5GluAZP1A1ktsGJs6lQS3bf647ZXKBDQlNqQ8N9SR0q8-tr-d-aaAmwel7DD8Tge74g2wH8izGkvMe6vJIQYCkGym3H5ltgzhi2HoDx0S1ZoF5Ggj4xNck1sMhxfRE/s640/blogger-image-1419258826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpqZ13KhIaEVmw5GluAZP1A1ktsGJs6lQS3bf647ZXKBDQlNqQ8N9SR0q8-tr-d-aaAmwel7DD8Tge74g2wH8izGkvMe6vJIQYCkGym3H5ltgzhi2HoDx0S1ZoF5Ggj4xNck1sMhxfRE/s400/blogger-image-1419258826.jpg" width="400"></a>If you go anti-clockwise from our side, you'll come to the side that has the Catholic church and is the unofficial mototaxi station. This is also where they set up the stage for the big celebrations like Independence Day or Lempira Day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WlPYWHC5z1syedlceFXzWGVwIcln6NR5iIE50nSmoQwjokFTTA1jNGwvZgS2KOJZsJQzKvrDesACw4le3e5L2IQhdLKCjTkkmoM7Or31hT2gMOnEf2V6lSzSozvYDcHHD_xfGIXG8q4/s640/blogger-image-1363004493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WlPYWHC5z1syedlceFXzWGVwIcln6NR5iIE50nSmoQwjokFTTA1jNGwvZgS2KOJZsJQzKvrDesACw4le3e5L2IQhdLKCjTkkmoM7Or31hT2gMOnEf2V6lSzSozvYDcHHD_xfGIXG8q4/s400/blogger-image-1363004493.jpg" width="299"></a>The iconic (at least to us) Catholic church that sits on one side of the square. We have attended mass here once, on my birthday after some of my sixth grade girls invited me. We've also gone to the Evangelical church a lot with Lety and Victor which is a very different experience from the Catholic services. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxEwp3hapewbViyWOyZlRai3LnW4mZT2hUhxsc0WqHx765_K238M7FBSUvZm1YxYsGbyZGiRJXDiE_KrQOHkoHyr_MOh0i8NK3y98QEYrTI6QEpODiLbGxwSKe4ITGP-bV46vWaPvz6I/s640/blogger-image--668282233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxEwp3hapewbViyWOyZlRai3LnW4mZT2hUhxsc0WqHx765_K238M7FBSUvZm1YxYsGbyZGiRJXDiE_KrQOHkoHyr_MOh0i8NK3y98QEYrTI6QEpODiLbGxwSKe4ITGP-bV46vWaPvz6I/s400/blogger-image--668282233.jpg" width="400"></a>If you go down the street at the end of this side of the park you come to our favourite place in the whole of Candelaria - the post office! Even the worst of days could be turned around with a text from the post office saying that we had mail! Unfortunately we could be waiting a long time for our packages, I think the longest was six months! Everything we've been sent has arrived though, eventually!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCY1Mk6z_iwh9CPXWIESmqWyAcGDr0waPUXYmwl__oobZpmKVBkR_ystAO1Fj8vUq1mQpo-JVx2aY2y1hE_cmC-M2GbiqZFBmZMjBUtA-qC9IltTS9jM0Sg9UNwf6Ywqk9GprPr6z1hMM/s640/blogger-image-87361674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCY1Mk6z_iwh9CPXWIESmqWyAcGDr0waPUXYmwl__oobZpmKVBkR_ystAO1Fj8vUq1mQpo-JVx2aY2y1hE_cmC-M2GbiqZFBmZMjBUtA-qC9IltTS9jM0Sg9UNwf6Ywqk9GprPr6z1hMM/s400/blogger-image-87361674.jpg" width="299"></a>Continuing around, this side of the square house the <i>municipalidad </i>(the equivalent of council buildings) and the <i>alcaldía </i>(the mayor's office).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQM1kISEluMjBWqiweLzGEvalrKijvIzz6xbsjNy83CeMMizIzy8gHhxgoNIP8fMmtIOuxq3-QtcFSJatnGmGAz-KN7aSBWWya-0eupCIch53OrVb2AuxEZT0sWm8kbu3BpslfT2H3lo/s1600/blogger-image-1472586574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQM1kISEluMjBWqiweLzGEvalrKijvIzz6xbsjNy83CeMMizIzy8gHhxgoNIP8fMmtIOuxq3-QtcFSJatnGmGAz-KN7aSBWWya-0eupCIch53OrVb2AuxEZT0sWm8kbu3BpslfT2H3lo/s400/blogger-image-1472586574.jpg" width="400"></a>The mayor's office and the council buildings. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYs_QbEYOaeBXVtbpQkAhwdRJPYPI-2Qlcvf-iL27S1hCY5LV5U687v7zXMNnoles5XNNODn79bImnMGhyaE91GHpCTtBfD1BpOP0QbsjlFWSvL9szHEayyQXiafHE6JWD-qF83pXUc9o/s1600/blogger-image--1821795095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYs_QbEYOaeBXVtbpQkAhwdRJPYPI-2Qlcvf-iL27S1hCY5LV5U687v7zXMNnoles5XNNODn79bImnMGhyaE91GHpCTtBfD1BpOP0QbsjlFWSvL9szHEayyQXiafHE6JWD-qF83pXUc9o/s400/blogger-image--1821795095.jpg" width="400"></a>A beautiful mural on the side of the <i>palacio municipal </i>(council building). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoTwDj6hKWGLg_rUi5OAdXVwm97qLuzPhpZyEe-g7DrWt1TMSEcHJNFdrGdYkBalBsj_1vrkIJJQag8ZnWFTrb0vZwwYsBIWqOyyx8c-m0-UsMsIv_y9KJVeONeHmliOdQb47yXl5vCI/s640/blogger-image--1844420488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoTwDj6hKWGLg_rUi5OAdXVwm97qLuzPhpZyEe-g7DrWt1TMSEcHJNFdrGdYkBalBsj_1vrkIJJQag8ZnWFTrb0vZwwYsBIWqOyyx8c-m0-UsMsIv_y9KJVeONeHmliOdQb47yXl5vCI/s400/blogger-image--1844420488.jpg" width="400"></a> The park in the middle is very pretty and a lovely place to sit for a bit in the afternoon, as long as it's not too hot. Whenever there are celebrations there are usually a lot of things set up here and it's very full. Apart from that, it's actually pretty empty, even though there's free wifi!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMgf6tHt8jMxX3g-DjO8Yqqo-Ir5AFcMFgGnIfX9th63fD8JQFJmfPQeVDfYGRYURgumzr6IPMNxd0OgI1Wpnp7iOcC1FZ0RiwgtvdQtJ7ln-NPjYuH6sbIuv3wEjzDtiYMZvXYgjfYU/s640/blogger-image--2098021461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMgf6tHt8jMxX3g-DjO8Yqqo-Ir5AFcMFgGnIfX9th63fD8JQFJmfPQeVDfYGRYURgumzr6IPMNxd0OgI1Wpnp7iOcC1FZ0RiwgtvdQtJ7ln-NPjYuH6sbIuv3wEjzDtiYMZvXYgjfYU/s400/blogger-image--2098021461.jpg" width="400"></a>This is what the bit of the square outside our house looks like on a Sunday morning when the market comes to Candelaria. The market is a great thing for the town because it brings people fresh meat, fresh vegetables, clothes, shoes, homeware, everything they could need!It's great, but not when they start setting up at 4am right outside our bedroom window!<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi031srI47LPg6bCIMWbfdhyzTMYQeEy8wpLb0GB5fdg2EizJXF8DbLM_BjwPC_NkqdQNu3BtzhZeAHaR3Srq9OQSaSivbNZHyr8knpSR1352lGa-Sr_WtJWwrzY9am9Mk1gh24qQexasc/s640/blogger-image--1962838754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi031srI47LPg6bCIMWbfdhyzTMYQeEy8wpLb0GB5fdg2EizJXF8DbLM_BjwPC_NkqdQNu3BtzhZeAHaR3Srq9OQSaSivbNZHyr8knpSR1352lGa-Sr_WtJWwrzY9am9Mk1gh24qQexasc/s400/blogger-image--1962838754.jpg" width="300"></a>Enjoying some (free) fried chicken and tajadas in the comedor area of the market. (It's all about who you know!)<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUr6sEU8fDQ5PECLTbK10_gNfvzDcox9HiHnnh_IZG8uUJDle1kF6yImvGoNhD7fTBgty5uzpK-CPtKdoLITs-ojpPuFTWQvgWLlT6YWJr40kI09CRzkh4htVDIs7ULI_l7UVMsyp7fA4/s640/blogger-image-6432454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUr6sEU8fDQ5PECLTbK10_gNfvzDcox9HiHnnh_IZG8uUJDle1kF6yImvGoNhD7fTBgty5uzpK-CPtKdoLITs-ojpPuFTWQvgWLlT6YWJr40kI09CRzkh4htVDIs7ULI_l7UVMsyp7fA4/s640/blogger-image-6432454.jpg"></a>Moving away from the square, this road continues from the side of the park that we live on, with the church being on the left. Our favourite <i>pulperería </i>(a corner shop)<i>,</i>Irma's, is just visible further down on the right.<br>
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If you keep going straight, you'll arrive at <i>Ferreteria Genesis, </i>our second host family's hardware shop.<br>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16995988_1869856856563413_4004755164318405795_n.jpg?oh=b361c9c615387b80536ae32526a35cd1&oe=5A09FA76" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: mountain, plant, sky, outdoor and nature" border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16995988_1869856856563413_4004755164318405795_n.jpg?oh=b361c9c615387b80536ae32526a35cd1&oe=5A09FA76" width="400"></a>Going right and then left brings you upon this stunning view which you can see from the entrance to the <i>colegio</i> (the high school).<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspjIY5zHAhAzLjqS1ZqAm3kkHNa3XQ5qQVlVy28hEX6R9sgQGTP8mENd0FybCJ_hF7dwj6lR1RXEPEayKHR2s-vBUGcmxfS7vC0E5UkkHM1f8FQ9uZASdjOd4rZlAkQ741fJzGtwxpSE/s640/blogger-image-1242452855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspjIY5zHAhAzLjqS1ZqAm3kkHNa3XQ5qQVlVy28hEX6R9sgQGTP8mENd0FybCJ_hF7dwj6lR1RXEPEayKHR2s-vBUGcmxfS7vC0E5UkkHM1f8FQ9uZASdjOd4rZlAkQ741fJzGtwxpSE/s400/blogger-image-1242452855.jpg" width="400"></a>The <i>colegio</i> is much bigger than the <i>escuela</i> because students come in from the other aldeas once they leave primary school.<br>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19225809_1925416411007457_2388482718191320575_n.jpg?oh=e0ed0961ca0d4479bfa69b4a1f65701e&oe=59F25E2D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: one or more people, crowd and outdoor" border="0" height="298" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19225809_1925416411007457_2388482718191320575_n.jpg?oh=e0ed0961ca0d4479bfa69b4a1f65701e&oe=59F25E2D" width="400"></a>At one end of the high school there is the <i>cancha </i>(the court). Here there are a lot of people gathered for a dance competition that we judged.<br>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19145798_1925416461007452_1238546072466363619_n.jpg?oh=0110ceeedd90aaa4a79fa4d75c5f3785&oe=5A038A16" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: sky, cloud and outdoor" border="0" height="298" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19145798_1925416461007452_1238546072466363619_n.jpg?oh=0110ceeedd90aaa4a79fa4d75c5f3785&oe=5A038A16" width="400"></a>Set up for the dance competition but usually this is where the football, basketball and volleyball teams practise.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3Mc3Uh9hUjY0I-CpfT1PjgtZj3kpox2G-VB_7n2gNshyphenhyphenOtPbldME5DNesh-UjYavRWBtDKGTgHfa1XtsJ0xUjj_6dNRdvu-83MnG9GbEdvyU_x1zj-dKHoz0-mn4LSnMOV3j45Gw7VM/s640/blogger-image-1102020233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3Mc3Uh9hUjY0I-CpfT1PjgtZj3kpox2G-VB_7n2gNshyphenhyphenOtPbldME5DNesh-UjYavRWBtDKGTgHfa1XtsJ0xUjj_6dNRdvu-83MnG9GbEdvyU_x1zj-dKHoz0-mn4LSnMOV3j45Gw7VM/s400/blogger-image-1102020233.jpg" width="400"></a>This photo was taken down the road from Kinder. It features the public bathrooms I have never seen anyone use and would never dream of using. Seriously, hold your nose as you go past. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BoPhnaYWmsq2MlmgSXgfMPal_eo20rLncZKpPPyCKj8C6ZIRVySg0ZXE0ZPBaNI7Lx6IQVEuLfHCoCBdMRJUeQWMAx3Nw9u_lQKuxjmw9fHDOscCBLOHVfbt_O-Yix3Z6iNESFGpmW8/s640/blogger-image-626183843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BoPhnaYWmsq2MlmgSXgfMPal_eo20rLncZKpPPyCKj8C6ZIRVySg0ZXE0ZPBaNI7Lx6IQVEuLfHCoCBdMRJUeQWMAx3Nw9u_lQKuxjmw9fHDOscCBLOHVfbt_O-Yix3Z6iNESFGpmW8/s400/blogger-image-626183843.jpg" width="299"></a>Keep going and you get to, in my opinion, the worst road in Candelaria. Luckily we never really have any reason to be on this side of town so we can avoid it pretty easily. </div>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14263989_1792407787641654_3185796367918222217_n.jpg?oh=a41e069bc19d6801401184791e2e2669&oe=5A3954CD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, mountain, outdoor and nature" border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14263989_1792407787641654_3185796367918222217_n.jpg?oh=a41e069bc19d6801401184791e2e2669&oe=5A3954CD" width="400"></a>The only thing we´re ever on this side of town for is to go to the <i>campo</i>, the big football pitch. This is where we came with the <i>escuela</i> to practise marching for the Independence Day parade. </div>
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The <i>rio pichigal </i>runs through Candelaria and there is nothing more refreshing on a hot day than going for a swim. Sometimes it's not necessarily the cleanest but sometimes you're just too hot to care!<i> </i><br>
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We would often take our host sisters, Daniela and Jamie, to the river to play and to try and teach them how to swim. Unfortunately it's a skill that many of the children here lack.<br>
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There is one 'main' road that runs through Candelaria. At one end it goes to Gracias, 100km that takes four hours on the bad roads.<br>
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Way back when we first came and Amy and I still ran, we wouldrun along the Gracias road until we reached this bridge where I would die for a few minutes while Amy waited patiently and then we would turn around.<br>
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At the other end, the road runs to Mapulaca, a border town with El Salvador.<br>
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<a href="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16865074_1869856609896771_995496792206002401_n.jpg?oh=84cfb76accaeee4eda3a589f04ab7d69&oe=59FB7EA5" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: sky, cloud, tree, outdoor and nature" border="0" height="298" src="https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16865074_1869856609896771_995496792206002401_n.jpg?oh=84cfb76accaeee4eda3a589f04ab7d69&oe=59FB7EA5" width="400"></a>The road goes uphill steeply but if you time it right, it is absolutely worth. You get rewarded with a breathtaking sunset over the hills of El Salvador. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vcfYIRW-X57UPNrm86t_zsDE0Q3rW0_meAONXm25SJOZdjfcblWMP3SEKlQWQKdwUISSpC4xYBfZw5qQQdUh9vevEmK5tQI_JJfIU8Apdy1wDIGdU8-RsQ_rYXuGklGugROzJ5VGqBM/s640/blogger-image--1531583819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vcfYIRW-X57UPNrm86t_zsDE0Q3rW0_meAONXm25SJOZdjfcblWMP3SEKlQWQKdwUISSpC4xYBfZw5qQQdUh9vevEmK5tQI_JJfIU8Apdy1wDIGdU8-RsQ_rYXuGklGugROzJ5VGqBM/s400/blogger-image--1531583819.jpg" width="299"></a>And that's it! That is basically all there is to Candelaria. I hope you've enjoyed having a look around my little Honduran town. Over the past year these streets have become my home and the people that walk them have become my family. It breaks my heart that I have to leave them tomorrow but I know one day I will return to walk them again. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-19243169361780135602017-07-25T13:35:00.001-07:002017-07-25T15:43:13.171-07:00A Day in the Life<div>
<b>A Day in the Life - Monday 25th July </b><br>
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<b>6am - </b>My alarm goes off and I promptly silence it and roll over.<br>
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<b>6.30am - </b>I wake up in a panic that I've massively overslept! (It's ok, I've still got plenty of time!)<br>
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<b>6.35am -</b> We didn't get a wash done at the weekend because of a water cut which means we have to try and fit one in before school today.<br>
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<b>6.40am -</b> Time for a shower! (actually pretty warm for once!) </div>
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<b>6.50am - </b> I get dressed, today in cut-off jeans and my Project Trust polo shirt.<br>
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<b>7.05am -</b> Breakfast today is cabbage and tomatoes, beans, avocado, plantain, mantequilla and a tortilla.<br>
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<b>7.35am -</b> I brush my teeth, put makeup on, and then realise the water has gone off so our washing has stopped. We'll have to wait until later to start it up again, the water usually comes back in the afternoon.<br>
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<b>7.57am - </b> Before I leave to walk the minute and a half to Kinder (by myself beacuse Amy's not feeling well today), I fill up my water bottle. Got to keep hydrated!<br>
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<b>8am -</b> Kinder starts. I teach the 5 year olds. It takes me 10 minutes to get them all into a circle to start singing If You're Happy and You Know It. They won't settle to it because the are overflowing with energy this morning so I try and get rid of some of it by playing the Bean Game. (It doesn't work.) I give it one more attempt to do something productive, practising numbers, before giving in and singing Wind the Bobbin Up to finish. A lot of days are something like this - it can be quite hard to keep this many small children on track!<br>
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<b>8.30am -</b> I leave slightly early in despair. We finish anywhere between 8.30 and 8.40.<br>
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<b>8.40am -</b> I start walking to the primary school.<br>
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<b>8.45am -</b> Exactly on time, I arrive at school and start 1st grade's lesson. We're working on phonics with them at the minute so we recap long and short vowel sounds. Then we learn the rule that one vowel in a word means it's a short sound. We have a workbook that we work through with this class so we fill in the appropriate page.<br>
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<b>9.30am - </b>Recreo a.k.a. breaktime. I sit around talking to some kids, most of whom just keep telling me not to go! Stop, you're breaking my heart!<br>
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<b>9.45am -</b> Time for 4th grade where we are learning about body parts. I draw a monster on the board that has extra arms, legs, two heads, basically a very weird looking guy and they have to write down a list of all of Mr Monster's body parts. When they finish they get to draw their own monster. Towards the end of the class I pass around a notebook that I want them all to sign before we leave. </div>
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<b>10.35am -</b> I'm a little late to my 6th grade class because signing the book took longer than expected. 6th grade are also doing body parts so I do the same lesson as with 4th grade but more streamlined. I limit the amount of things they have to write about Mr Monster so they don't get overwhelmed. I also pass the book around from the start so it isn't a mad rush at the end.<br>
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<b>11.15am - </b>That's me finished with my classes for the morning. At this time the kids get their merienda (snack, but it's more like an actual meal).<br>
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<b>11.20am -</b> I go back to my 4th grade class as promised so they can decorate their names a bit more in my book.<br>
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<b>11.28am -</b> I leave to go home for lunch.<br>
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<b>11.29am -</b> I remember I have forgotten to get homework from Amy's 4th grade so she can still mark it so I turn around.<br>
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<b>11.40am -</b> Second time lucky right? Homework in hand I trek up the looming hill to the house.<br>
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<b>11.45am -</b> Dying from the heat and the extra weight of a pile of jotters, I arrive home.<br>
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<b>12.10pm -</b> Lunch is rice, pasta, cheese, salad and a tortilla.<br>
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<b>12.45pm -</b> I have a bit of time before my class in the high school so I watch some Netflix.<br>
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<b>1.28pm -</b> Another minute and a half walk takes me to the colegio.<br>
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<b>1.30pm -</b> My only class this afternoon is 7th grade. I taught some of the students in this class when they were in 6th grade. They are practising a dance for a competition next Monday when I arrive but only take a few minutes to finish up. This class like listening to a lot of English music so one of their favourtie things to do is to translate songs. Because this is our last class, we're doing one they've been asking for for a while - Closer by The Chainsmokers. At the end I have them all sign my book too.<br>
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<b>2.25pm -</b> I walk back the way I came to the house.<br>
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<b>2.35pm -</b> Even though it's only six days until I see her again I FaceTime Amy at home and we chat for a while.<br>
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<b>4.00pm -</b> I read for a bit and play with our baby host sister, Antonella. She's just learned to roll over but isn't feeling like putting on a show for me just now.<br>
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<b>5.00pm -</b> Amy's feeling better so we both go to the river with our other host sisters, Daniela and Jamie. The water is freezing but some splashing gets me accustomed pretty quickly!<br>
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<b>6.10pm -</b> Tacos for dinner! I requested this as they are one of my favourite Honduran meals and I wanted to have them at least once more before we leave.<br>
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<b>6.30pm -</b> Because we've only got a few days left I start taking down letters and drawings from kids from the walls.<br>
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<b>7.10pm -</b> Amy and I went to a BBQ at the weekend and had some leftover biscuits and marshmallows so Jamie and I make use of them by making smores (or as I call them in Spanish, the marshmallow sandwiches)!<br>
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<b>7.30pm -</b> More taking things down and actual packing! Ordered piles of clothes! Clothes in the backpack! It's now half full but there's still a whole lot left!<br>
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<b>8.45pm -</b> I sit (or rather lie) down on my bed to write my journal. I am proud to say I have written in it for every day I have been out here!<br>
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<b>10.00pm -</b> I relax a little bit, watch some Netflix, read a little more.<br>
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<b>11.00pm -</b> Bedtime!</div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-6137957222042466722017-07-23T09:22:00.002-07:002017-07-23T11:37:44.917-07:00¡Viva Lempira!¡Viva Lempira! Second only to Independence Day in terms of celebrations, it feels like we've been waiting for Lempira Day since we got here! The celebrations were very similar to those of Independence Day back in September. Amy and I marched with the primary school through the town and up to the central park and then hung around watching the traditional dances, the songs, the exhibition of all the beautiful costumes until the big finale, the re-enactment of the death of Lempira! We also sampled some of the food and drink our classes in the high school had prepared and were selling from booths they had constructed around the square.<br>
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Lempira (<i>lem-peer-ah</i>) was the war chieftain of the Lencas in the 1530's, at the time of the Spanish conquistadores. The Lencas inhabited the western regions of Honduras and there are still 100,000 in the Honduran departments of La Paz, Intibuca, Lempira and Ocotepeque with a further 37,000 in El Salvador. The name Lempira comes from the Lencan words '<i>lempa</i>' (lord), '<i>i</i>' (of) and '<i>era</i>' (hill or mountain). It was under the leadership of Lempira that the Lencan tribes united to fight the Spanish, with a reported 30,000 men from over 200 towns under his command.<br>
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The 20th of July commemorates the death of Lempira. There are two different accounts of his death, the more widely recognised account which is the one taught in Honduran schools, and another that was not discovered until the 1980s and tells a very different story. According to the popular version of events, Lempira was lured by the Spaniards to negotiate when a concealed soldier shot him. The other version contests this by claiming that Lempira died not in an ambush but in combat, by having his head cut off.<br>
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Nowadays Lempira is remembered though the celebrations on 20th July. In 1931 the Honduran currency was renamed in his honour and 1943 the Gracias Department, where Lempira was from, was renamed the Lempira department.<br>
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We absolutely loved being part of this day, I think it was my favourite of the many celebrations we've had the honour of participating in this year. The costumes were absolutley beautiful. Amy and I were just going to wear jeans a Lempira tshirt but at the last minute our host mum Saida managed to find us some traditional outfits! Among the usual gorgeous dance dresses and traditional outfits, many of the girls had used grains of rice, pinto beans, frijoles and corn kernels to decorate their dresses in various patterns, with flowers, even with outline of Lempira, the man or department, and the word Candelaria! They were incredible! Many of the boys also dressed up as Indians, which involved covering their bodies in black paint (completley unacceptable at home but just how they do things here) and wearing a skirt made of strips of material or sometimes bin bags and a bow and arrow.<br>
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For me, this was the perfect way to start what I'm sure will be a very emotional week of goodbyes, to our friends and family here, to our students, to our home and to this beautiful country.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheers!</td></tr>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-42559258000720051722017-07-17T13:00:00.001-07:002017-07-17T14:19:27.645-07:0011 Months in the MakingOnce again I've been quiet over the past few weeks but prepare yourself for the new wave of blogs as I get all my remaining ideas out of my system in the two weeks that I have left!<br />
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The start of this month has been very busy because I've had a few more visitors - guess who? No, sadly the queen couldn't make it out but Amy and my mum did manage to make the day long trip over the ocean just see their favourite sister/daughter (delete as appropriate). It was a very tearful reunion at the airport after 11 months of messages and FaceTimes having to make up for actually seeing each other. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a long time coming</td></tr>
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Amy (Lynch) and I (the two Amys thing gets very confusing) had just finished a week of exams meaning that we had a week of holidays. Seeing as (twin) Amy is slightly obsessed with fish and coral we took her to Utila to do some diving. We met Jesse and Lucy there who also had a week off and (twin) Amy, Lucy and I embarked on our PADI Advanced diver course. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse, me, Amy (Lynch), Lucy (twin) Amy and Lauren on our fun dive</td></tr>
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I had a a great week - we dived at a wreck, did what was basically an underwater assault course and got to do another night dive. My mum also got to celebrate her graduation from uni with the largest smoothie known to man on a tropical island while everyone else was stuck in cold and gray Edinburgh. (Twin) Amy had a slightly harder time of it. After four out of seven dives were done she became quite ill, probably from a mixture of jet lag and severe dehydration so missed out on doing one of her remaining dives. </div>
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We left Utila on the Friday after Amy and my mum had arrived to head to Gracias, an 8 hour bus ride away. Once we arrived we just about had enough energy left to eat some food, shower and collapse into bed! </div>
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Number one on the list of things to do while in Gracias was head out to do the zipline at La Campa. Amy (Lynch) wasn't feeling great and decided to skip it so it was just the Morrison gals that traveled for an hour along a 16km stretch of road to confront the highest zipline in Central America. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">K, gracias, bye</td></tr>
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I'm an old pro at it by now, with this being my third time, but I must say there weren't many nerves from the other two either. Lots of other people had had the same idea as us so it was very busy meaning we missed our bus back but that just gavethe two newest '<i>gringas</i>' the chance to hitch home in the back of a truck! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basically Honduran</td></tr>
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The other activities of Gracias, namely the hot springs and Fuerte San Cristobal, were all ticked off before hopping onto the dreaded chicken bus back to Candelaria. Seeing our project was highly anticipated so it had a lot to live up too. </div>
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Over the course of two full days in Candelaria, my mum and (twin) Amy got to meet all of my classes in the primary school as well as Kinder and my 7th grade class in the high school. 5th grade were a favourite for Amy because they latched on to the fact she's studying marine biology and asked a ton of questions about sea animals. My mum liked seeing 2nd grade because they are roughly the age her P3 class will be next year.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Wait, you're not Sara!'</td></tr>
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Outside of school they met our two families. Jamie and Daniela, the girls we live with, worked their charms as did little Samuel over at Lety and Victor's. I think everyone in Candelaria enjoyed there being two Saras (and two Amys!) in town and the phrase of the week was <i>'¡Sí, se parecen mucho!' </i>(You look so alike!). The best way to tell us apart was because (twin) Amy is '<i>tan blanquita'</i> (so pale)! That didn't stop Walter from 6th grade from asking me how I managed to find a clone of my body!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mi familia Hondureña</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mi otra familia Hondureña</td></tr>
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The last stop on the two week tour of Honduras was Copan Ruinas. We looked around the main archeological site, which even the second time was incredibly interesting and popped out to Macaw Mountain for the mandatory guacamaya (scarlet macaw) photo and even went back to the ruins to have a look around the museum there the morning we left. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our guide Virgilio next to the part of the ruins that he discovered</td></tr>
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We said goodbye in San Pedro Sula on Saturday morning but to be honest, it wasn't that big of a deal. It's only two weeks until it'll be Amy (Lynch) and me at the airport!</div>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-20142140039439805632017-06-27T19:14:00.002-07:002017-06-27T19:14:35.104-07:00FIVE. WEEKS. LEFT. FIVE. WEEKS. LEFT. Excuse me while I subdue the multitude of mixed emotions flying around my head right now... Ok that's better.<br />
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Two big updates from the last few weeks or so, starting with Amy celebrating World Health Day. The focus this year was mental health but Amy decided to tackle the much more pressing issue we face here of dental health. Back towards the start of the year Amy emailed out to a number of dental health charities, asking for a donation so that we could buy enough toothbrushes and toothpaste to give one to every pupil in kindergarten and the primary school. Luckily enough Dentaid emailed back and have given us enough to do this for six months, so two lots of toothbrushes. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zdLkrllLIrxj2gJSwPBHIOczTMlTVyf2k8mdLJfZgBl48UFxzPtULRjsFX7OIB3wbm6KIb_pQp94xXJaT6Qvzy4-W6zRIcquFsUjgS5puryRitsTZfqUg-m2iOQLqpHjegrjH1Wcyc0/s1600/17991952_1551693224883011_5592404297673004773_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zdLkrllLIrxj2gJSwPBHIOczTMlTVyf2k8mdLJfZgBl48UFxzPtULRjsFX7OIB3wbm6KIb_pQp94xXJaT6Qvzy4-W6zRIcquFsUjgS5puryRitsTZfqUg-m2iOQLqpHjegrjH1Wcyc0/s320/17991952_1551693224883011_5592404297673004773_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy days!</td></tr>
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To celebrate the day itself we gave each class a lesson explaining, how to brush your teeth properly, what is good and bad for them and how we can look after them better. We also set up and interesting experiment using three eggs and three cups, two of Coca Cola and one of water. You leave the one in water and one of the ones in coke alone but brush the other egg in coke. The shell of an egg is very like the enamel on your teeth making it a great way to demonstrate the damage that sugary drinks can do. </div>
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The plan now is for the kids to keep their toothbrushes in school and use them every day after merienda, their lunchtime. We're aware that this one extra brushing session will not change everything but hopefully we've made more of a change to their attitude towards sugar and their teeth.<br />
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Next up was our last visa run to Belize that we just got back from. There was supposed to be 10 of us travelling together but after an incident involving (or rather lacking) a passport and another one where a bus top was missed by five hours, our number dropped to 8. </div>
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We were staying in a beautiful Air B&B house just outside of Spanish Lookout, a Mennonite town 45 minutes away from the more touristy San Ignacio. We spent one day just lounging around the house and ventured into San Ignacio another, coming back with a few spontaneous tattoos (not me this time!). We were also invited to spend one evening with some of the owners of the house at a church youth group which was an interesting experience. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murals on the streets of San Ignacio</td></tr>
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On leaving Spanish Lookout, the plan was to get down to Livingston in Guatemala in a day but a slow start meant we had to stop halfway, in Hopkins, where we went for our last visa run. We stayed a night there and eventually made it to Livingston. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at the Funky Dodo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitchhiking 150km does great things for your hair</td></tr>
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We're now back in Candelaria, dealing with our last ever set of exams (one thing I'm not going to miss!) while I count down the agonisingly slow seconds until Saturday morning when twin Amy and my mum arrive! I've decided to focus on that at the minute rather than the fact we've only got FIVE WEEKS LEFT!</div>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-91332124895867439392017-05-31T18:59:00.002-07:002017-06-01T13:46:55.241-07:00Trips Here, Trips There, Trips EverywhereEven though I've written four blogs already this month, there's still a lot I haven't told you about! Hard to believe but we've been busy, busy, busy! Out of the past six weekends, we have spent five of them outside of Candelaria so I'm going to a little round up of our trips.<br />
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<b>Trip 1 - Utila</b><br />
This was back in April, the weekend after my dad and sister had returned home. It was a pretty spontaneous idea - we were told we had no school on Thursday because of a funeral and exams started on Friday so no English classes. We decided to take advantage, despite having just come back from a holiday. Our original plan was to go and visit Jesse and Lucy in Tomala but they were in the same situation as us and wanted to get away.<br />
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So instead we decided to go back to one of our favourite places in Honduras - the glorious island of Utila! It took us a whole day of travel to get to La Ceiba where we caught the ferry the next morning. Unfortunately we had neither the time or the money (but mostly not the money) to dive while on the island but we spent a heavenly two days swimming, reading and relaxing and two nights partying like you only can on Utila.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice to see you again too Utila</td></tr>
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There was also an ulterior motive to the trip - way back in November my dad sent four packages to Utila that were supposed to arrive in plenty of time for our ten days there over Christmas and New Year. They unfortunately did not arrive for then and were MIA until March when I got an email saying they had arrived in Utila. I picked them up this time around and got to revive the Christmas spirit by sharing a box of christmas crackers around! There was also a couple of books, lots of chocolate and sweets, some jammies, balloons, glow sticks and my personal favourite, plastic glasses adorned with tropical fruit!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing's better than Christmas in April, right?</td></tr>
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On the way back to Candelaria we made several stops, one in San Juan Pueblo to visit Eve, Alice and Peter's project, another in Tela for a free night of accommodation and in Gracias, because we could.<br />
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<b>Trip 2 - Lago de Yojoa </b><br />
<b> </b>The following weekend we were off again! Monday 1st May was Day of the worker in Honduras which meant a day off, so of course we had to make use of it. We had the Friday off too because of student elections<b> </b>so stopped in on Beth and Ellie in Siguetapeque, furthering our mission to see everybody's projects before we go home. Their school is insane! Not only is it bilingual but the classrooms look like they could have been taken straight out of the UK. After school ended we walked around Sigua for a while, trying some delicious ice cream and amazing chorizo before heading back to their cute little house.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siguaaaaaa</td></tr>
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It only took us a couple of hours to get from Sigua to the lake the next morning. We were joined by Lucy and Jesse from Tomala, Grace and Hannah from Yamaranguila, and Norome and Eva from San Francisco de Valle. We spent Saturday chilling around our hostel, the tranquil D&D Brewery and walking down to the river that leads to the lake.<br />
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Sunday was a much busier day! We started by riding out to Pulhapanzak Falls, where you can take a tour around the back of the waterfall. In reality it's more like a trip underneath the falls! At some points it was hard to stay upright and I came away with more than a few bruises. On the way back to the hostel we stopped at a kayak shop and rented some to paddle out onto the actual lake, having so far only seen it from the road. It was a good half hour journey to get there but the aching arms were well worth it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only way to travel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very intimidating</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This took a loooooong time to get right!</td></tr>
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<b>Trip 3 - Tomalá</b><br />
After a weekend in Candelaria we finally got around to visiting Tomalá, technically our closest neighbouring project. Despite it being a quick four hour journey away, it actually takes two days to get there. To get to Tomalá you have to first go to Mapulaca, the border town with El Salvador about an hour away from here, and then stay the night so you're ready for the 3am bus to Tomalá. Fortunately for us we managed to bag a lift with someone Lety knows who was heading there anyway.<br />
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We actually bumped into Jesse and Lucy on the road outside of Tomalá, so we hopped out and walked back up to the famous Las Piñonas, basically a big rock with a great view. On our way back into town we got to have a tour of the high school and met the director, the director of the primary school and their host Mertza. We had dinner that evening at a restaurant called Bamboo and got stuck there for an hour in torrential rain! Eventually we had to just make a run for it through the rivers that had replaced the roads!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally made it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Las Peñonas</td></tr>
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On Saturday we had a tour around the primary school, visited their newly refurbished town park, their mind blowing kids play park, and a viewpoint that overlooks Tomalá. Tomalá is an even smaller town than Candelaria, nestled high into the mountains, making it a much fresher temperature. Norome and Eva got the bus down from their project and we spent the night with them and a few of Jesse and Lucy's friends.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's pretty much it. Not kidding. </td></tr>
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We had breakfast on Sunday with Miriam, Lety's sister, and then got the bus to San Marcos so we could spend an hour visiting their project in San Francisco. They have a great school and we also got to meet the family that they hope to move in with soon. Our journey back to Candelaria was long but we once again managed to keep it to one day by catching a lift with someone heading that way from Mapulaca.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norome clearly has an admirer!</td></tr>
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<b>Trip 4 - Gracias</b><br />
Another big meet up like one we had in November - almost everyone came apart from the three boys. We had a very relaxed time, not doing much through the day and then visited a mojito bar in the evening. It was the first time in Gracias for Kitty and Liv and only the second time for a few others so I think they really enjoyed the chance to come back to such a beautiful place. It was also the last time we will have this many of us in one place as those volunteers who have yet to travel leave in a few weeks. Possibly the most exciting part of the weekend for me was the three cockroaches I had to kill when spending Friday night in a different hotel from usual!<br />
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<b>Trip 5 - La Unión</b><br />
And finally, last week end we embarked on a silly amount of travelling to spend roughly 16 hours in Siobhan's project. To get to La Unión, we first spent Friday night in Yamaranguila with Grace and Hannah and then got the bus to Gracias with them the next day. From Gracias it's a three hour bus ride to La Unión but it is breathtaking. It feels like you're nestled in mountains.<br />
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In our short time there we managed to fit in a lot. Our first stop was Cafe Zazzo to try the famous ice cream but it was closed so we headed up to visit Siobhan's friend, Miss Turcios. We had some coffee there during which time the rain started which spoiled our plan to walk up to Kiosco, a big wooden treehouse with brilliant views over the town.<br />
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Instead we headed down to Aviva, a restaurant set up by an American called Heather who worked in the Vida Abundante school a few years ago but didn't take to teaching. And I'm glad she didn't because the pastelitos, chocolate licuado and coffee that I had there were all delicious! Once again we had to make a break for it through torrential rain but this time we managed to do it in a moto taxi!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole crew, plus teacher Sarah in the front and Heather next to me</td></tr>
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In other news, as well as celebrating Mother's Day and the UNICEF Day for Change, the other day was Día del Arból (Day of the Tree). The whole school went on a school trip (trip, get how it fits in?!?) up to mini-Victors grandad's house and do some presentations and then got to enjoy some paddling pools! It was a lovely place and I think everybody enjoyed the day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how we travel in Honduras!</td></tr>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-4656955507760451032017-05-29T15:27:00.000-07:002017-05-29T15:54:41.350-07:00Introducing: La Escuela Jose Cecilio del Valle<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Almost ten months in and just as I'm about to say goodbye, I thought it was time for you all to get to know my school and my students! I imagine everyone says this but the kids really are the best part of the year, they make all the hard days worth it (even when they're the reason why it's a hard day in the first place) and never fail to put a smile on my face.</span></div>
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<b>Kinder (Prepa) </b></div>
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Prepa is the year of Kinder before they start primary school. Sometimes they can be tough. There are some very strong spirits in this class and often come in very restless and as I see them first thing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays I have the challenge of settling them. I use games, channeling their energy into running from flashcard to flashcard, we sing songs all day long and occasioanlly we just sit on the floor and practice our numbers. I have sung If You're Happy and You Know It so many times this year that I ever want to hear it again. We also Wind the Bobbin up a lot and put our right arm in, our right arm out, our right arm in and shake it all about. <br>
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<b>First grade - Profe Norma</b></div>
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These little guys used to be Amy's prepa class in Kinder but are now all grown up and have joined us in the big school. While their attention span isn't brilliant (but then whose was at age 5?), we have some very bright kids in this class, very keen and quick to pick things up. They are big fans of drawing and singing, with their favourite songs being our months of the year macarena and the days of the week song set to the tune of Chris Evan's Breakfast show!<br>
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<b>Second grade - Profe Aminta</b></div>
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We have seen a lot of changes in this class over the past year. Those that were cheeky monkeys last year and struggled to focus are now very attentive students. They participate more, their writing has improved and so has their ability to retain what we teach them. They are a very kindhearted bunch too, always ready to ambush us at the door when we arrive to smother us in hugs and our walls and their jotters are full of drawings and notes saying thank you to us and that they love us. A lot of the little girls take a great deal of pride in their jotter work, drawing lovely borders, using their best handwriting and making sure everything is perfect. <br>
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<b>Third grade - Profe Marina</b></div>
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Once again, we have seen some big changes in this class. When we arrived in August they were a young and wildly immature second grade class that we had to fight to control and even had me on the brink of tears once. Now they are a stellar example of how we wish all our classes would be! They listen, follow instructions, are climbing over each other to participate but will settle down when we need them to. Not that they don't have their bad days, when chatting is rife and concentration is hard to find. I have a lot of love for this class, partly because of how far we've seen them come but also because of their continued hard work and effort. Their favourite game is a mix of chinese whispers and splat the board
where they pass a word down their line and then have to touch the right
flashcard on the board.<br>
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<b>Fourth grade - Profe Rosaura</b></div>
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This a very lively class - they can be very loud and energetic which makes them a lot of fun to be around but difficult to reign in. They like to play games but at times their energy overflows the space that we have available in the classroom. Progress is slow going but whenever we revisit a topic, I usually have a smile on my face because they are good at remembering. They are at an interesting age in their education - a kind of make it or break it point. If they're interested in English now, I believe it's an interest they will carry with them. All I can do is try and light the spark and I'm doing my best!<br>
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<b>Fifth grade - Profe Doris</b></div>
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The opposite has happened with this class than has happened with many other classes. As we've spent more time together, the noise levels have slowly increased as have some of the cheeky comments but it's all well natured. I feel very comfortable with this class, they are all great kids and I get on well with all of them. As with most classes there are some students who have a natural knack for English and others that struggle but the common denominator in this class is the hard work. The absolute favourite in this class is without a doubt X y O (a.k.a. noughts and crosses) with hangman a close second. <br>
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<b>Sixth grade - Profe Lucia</b></div>
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How do I describe sixth grade? A brilliant class, brilliant behaviour, brilliant work. I have never had any problems with this class and that is not an exaggeration. They are bright and eager, always do their best and are truly a joy to teach. What's helpful too is that their teaches appreciates the value of learning English for them and is a big help to me in class and very encouraging to them. They have a new favourite game that I introduced them to recently, Heads Down, Thumbs Up. <br>
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And now for the grand tour!</div>
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This is our Kinder, it is approximately a 45 second walk from our house. We work here every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8-8.45am. There are two classes - Pre-K which is the younger class that Amy teaches this year, full of 3 and 4 year olds, and Prepatorio who will be next year's first grade. </div>
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The grand entrance to La Escuela Urbana Mixta de Jose Cecilio de Valle! </div>
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The school buildings are spread over three levels - this is the top level that houses the director's office, 1st-3rd grade, both 5th grade classes and my 6th grade as well as the bathrooms down at the end. </div>
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The middle level of the school has the salon (basically the assembly hall), a spare classroom, the library and my 4th grade class. At breaktime they have a someone selling crips and sweets through the bars of the salon.<br>
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The salon during a school meeting</div>
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Next to the middle level is this construction. I think it used to be a kind of lunchroom but isn't really used it anymore. We've seen it used once to make tamales at the start of the year. </div>
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The lower level has Amy's 4th and 6th grade classes.</div>
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A football pitch next to the classrooms - mostly used by 6th grade boys</div>
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On the other side of the lower classrooms is this little play area. The seesaw and monkey bars are new but the swing set is deadly! I'm surprised that no one has ever gone flying off and into the river!</div>
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These tables line the playground on the top level of school and is where the kids get their provided snacks at breaktime.</div>
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And this is an example of a classroom, specifically my 6th grade. All the classrooms have tin roofs which can make them extremely hot at times but they also have fans which helps. We use the whiteboards to teach but don't use any technology. </div>
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And there you have it, a little insight to my everyday life in Candelaria. The kids here are so special to me, even when they're driving me crazy! Leaving in two months will be heart wrenching but I know I'll be back one day. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-24292425096469668362017-05-18T11:45:00.001-07:002017-05-18T13:30:41.660-07:00UNICEF Day for ChangeSome of you may remember that as part of my fundraising I celebrated the UNICEF Day for Change by with working with my old school, Newton Primary, and Belle, a returned Honduras volunteer. As part of a Global Citizenship award that volunteers can receive as part of a year abroad with Project Trust, you have to celebrate an international day and I've known from the start that I wanted to take the UNICEF Day for Change with me all the way to Honduras.<br>
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And last week, that's exactly what I did! With only 45 minutes with each class at a time, I decided to take a whole week. Each class had two lessons - one looked at differences between Scotland and Honduras and another that concentrated on ways we can look after the world - with the overall focus being on the concept and ideals of Global Citizenship.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching first grade about the Scottish flag</td></tr>
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With 1st-3rd grade we used an inflatable globe to figure out where Scotland is and just how far away it is from Honduras. Next we learnt about all of Scotland's emblems, like the flag, national animal, bird, flower and tree. We were able to use our knowledge of colours in English to help us describe the flag but the kids were shocked when none of the animals they know in English were right and even more shocked when I told them that the national animal of Scotland is a unicorn! I bet there's a few people reading this that didn't know that either!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZESuG2-fYLn9ET0vNHH3uW1p6JQ5VyYXA9n7fyCNqyM3x9qn1p2Gv_3uLDwuyNiwZ9cZpnCGkg39ln0d5XaYjduXO4kmvaN0OBjHIlw58g_j5K2bxb1nscJ6GBis2nI2_jVJF7vfgWZA/s640/blogger-image--1046229063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZESuG2-fYLn9ET0vNHH3uW1p6JQ5VyYXA9n7fyCNqyM3x9qn1p2Gv_3uLDwuyNiwZ9cZpnCGkg39ln0d5XaYjduXO4kmvaN0OBjHIlw58g_j5K2bxb1nscJ6GBis2nI2_jVJF7vfgWZA/s320/blogger-image--1046229063.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First grade working hard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juan colouring his Honduran flag</td></tr>
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Each 1st and 2nd grader then got two little bits of paper each, one for the Scottish flag and one for the Honduran flag so we could make some bunting out of our flags! With 3rd grade, we did something a little different. I had brought with me some packs of cut outs of little girls and little boys. With a little modification, the girls were ready to be drawn into the traditional Honduran dresses and the boys were ready to wear some kilts. It was great to see the care and creativity that went into the design of the dresses and especially the kilts. There were no cries of outrage from the boys in the class about the fact that they had to draw boys in skirts either - in fact they were all clamoring to get one!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very proud</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkB2HOxKRAZOagF3Qe6ShFDdoHv6XML4plrq7OnYLKasNV54vkDkox8ZDG4ykQN3RRUd5qnbAivD9HyXnqvPdtpbG8Sc9sBZeFIZA96aJDjmeEfBb18usAVBHooIvLvjera8T2Tr3sh8/s640/blogger-image-1346808595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkB2HOxKRAZOagF3Qe6ShFDdoHv6XML4plrq7OnYLKasNV54vkDkox8ZDG4ykQN3RRUd5qnbAivD9HyXnqvPdtpbG8Sc9sBZeFIZA96aJDjmeEfBb18usAVBHooIvLvjera8T2Tr3sh8/s320/blogger-image-1346808595.jpg" width="239"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamie from 1st grade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMIVHiHpb0sS1kDYp1OfT-3e6g_Ry79yyAzlJ9GgaVbWsJppqy8oaPdm6k0cnB7yd-Fx7bNNM3mkkPuo7BosDnZkhdbq9pYObfRuBm6jvDw1natOIgnO1wnzibcGL85cHtM5hi_UzTuA/s640/blogger-image-615280249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMIVHiHpb0sS1kDYp1OfT-3e6g_Ry79yyAzlJ9GgaVbWsJppqy8oaPdm6k0cnB7yd-Fx7bNNM3mkkPuo7BosDnZkhdbq9pYObfRuBm6jvDw1natOIgnO1wnzibcGL85cHtM5hi_UzTuA/s320/blogger-image-615280249.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="239"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen from 2nd grade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwlndIbPhVlGeg5oVvnIS-nSDfjfm9cYcXlPMGvUS4jrg4gHJAk2MLRFkkBUndjt6W3JSJQ8ssYi4PNZAGH402XxIxWaj5dHS6S3wchBiOzNYtmB_TjmL79xVaBilEjAXQJUaAS-ZUgM/s640/blogger-image--1346849770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwlndIbPhVlGeg5oVvnIS-nSDfjfm9cYcXlPMGvUS4jrg4gHJAk2MLRFkkBUndjt6W3JSJQ8ssYi4PNZAGH402XxIxWaj5dHS6S3wchBiOzNYtmB_TjmL79xVaBilEjAXQJUaAS-ZUgM/s320/blogger-image--1346849770.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Third grade with their amazing drawings</td></tr>
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With 4th-6th grade we ramped it up a bit. As well as looking at the flag and emblems, we talked about school and hobbies and homes and even threw in a bit of ceilidh dancing! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gay Gordon-ing it out</td></tr>
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For their second lesson we looked at the problems that our planet faces. Together we came up with superheroes that could combat these issues and we had some great ideas! My favourite was hypnosis that could make everyone friends so there were no more wars but we also had laser eyes to destroy any rubbish and the power to breathe in dirty air and breathe out clean air to deal with air pollution. But unfortunately these superheroes don't exist so instead we had a think about all the ways we can save the planet instead.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SUPERHEROES!!!</td></tr>
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Sharing this day with the kids was so much fun - it gave me a chance to talk about home to every single class, break into even more of a sweat than usual while ceilidh dancing and pretend to be a superhero (at least for 45 minutes!). We covered some very important topics that the students showed some brilliant consciousness of. They are aware that they have to be part of the worldwide effort to save this planet and I hope they will take that with them into their futures and try and share what they know to be true. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-17027086823350507492017-05-12T11:42:00.002-07:002017-05-12T11:42:24.876-07:00Seize the Day(s)It often feels like a week doesn't go by without there being some kind of celebration in Honduras. With Hondurans being a mostly Christian, many of these are religious holidays, though there are also a large number recognising social issues.<br />
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While they can sometimes be extremely frustrating, especially in September when it feels like you never get to see your classes, but it's also a great insight into the country I'm living in. I have compiled below a list of the many celebrations and holidays that have been observed in our time here and that we will experience before we leave.<br />
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<b>Día de la Bandera (Day of the Flag) - 1st September</b><br />
This is when things all kicked off for us after arriving in Honduras. Independence Day is in September so the month is laden with celebrations leading up to the big day. I honestly don't remember too much happening on this day apart from a parade to the central park and singing the national anthem. </div>
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<b>Día del Niño (Day of the Child) - 10th September</b><br />
This was a really fun day! It actually started the day before for us, with a visit to the school from some clowns to entertain the kids. More clowns for the main event (Honduras is not the place to come if you've got a phobia) and then a big lunch in their grades with games, dancing and a piñata!</div>
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<b>Día de Independencia (Independence Flag) - 15th September </b><br />
The big one! The build up to this was huge, marching practices, drumming rehearsals, poster making, everything! All the primary schools and high schools from the municipalidad of Candelaria paraded through the town, with us proudly waving the Scottish and British flags (they couldn't find an English one) and marching with Escuela Urbana Mixta de Jose Cecilio de Valle. The rest of the day inlcuded performances from various war bands, traditional dancing, singing and speeches. <b> </b><br />
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<b>Día de los Maestros (Day of the Teacher) - 17th September</b><br />
I enjoyed this one and felt very deserving after just over a month of being on the job. We joined all the other teachers living in Candelaria at a dinner hosted by the mayor where there was a performance from and El Salvadorian singer, party favours and cake! There were also a few party games like a mini pageant and a balloon relay race (we played, we lost).</div>
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<b>Día de la Biblia (Day of the Bible) - Last Sunday in September</b><br />
We were invited to these celebrations by some of our friends from the Evangelical church. The night before the main celebration which was, of course, a parade and speeches, we went to a church service. The one service we had been to previously was hard work as we didn't understand much but this one was more enjoyable, both because of our improved Spanish and the amazing family band that was performing.</div>
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<b>Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) - 2nd November</b><br />
A day known for it's celebrations full of sugar skulls and dancing in nearby Mexico is a much tamer affair in Honduras. Amy and I headed down to Erandique, a town about two hours away from Candelaria where Jaime, our host dad, is from. This day is all about family, above all else. It's a day to spend with them, a day to remember them, a day to honour them. In Erandique we went to the cemetery where Jaime's parents and some of his siblings are buried where we cleaned the graves and left some flowers.<br />
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<b>Navidad (Christmas) - 25th December</b><br />
With Honduras being a religious, Christian country, Christmas is kind of a big deal. Some traditions vary from home and some are the same. Instead of a turkey on the dinner table you will find <i>tamales</i>, corn parcels filled with rice, vegetables and sometimes chicken or beef though you will still see Christmas trees filled with ornaments and lights strung everywhere. Most celebrations happen on the 24th, though the official holiday is on the 25th. Many people will attend church on Christmas Eve and spend the rest of the night with their families, leading up to the insane fireworks that take place at midnight. <br />
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<b>Nuevo Año (New Year) - 31st December</b><br />
New Year is celebrated in Honduras much like in Britain, with parties on New Year's Eve, lots of food, time spent with family but also with some interesting traditions. As the clock strikes 12am, you must eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of the hour, to make sure you have a sweet year. If you're looking for luck, love or success, wear your best pink, red or yellow underwear, respectively. <br />
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<b>Día del Padre (Father's Day) - 19th March </b><br />
Not as big a deal as Mother's Day (see below) but there were cards made, presents given, hugs passed out. <br />
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<b>Día del Amor y la Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship) - 14th February</b><br />
Honduras' version of Valetine's Day celebrates platonic relationships as much as romantic ones was marked with a show at the high school that had singing, dancing and a hilarious drag fashion show! </div>
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<b>Día del Agua (World Water Day) - 22nd March</b><br />
Unfortunately I recovering from being ill so we didn't take part in the (you guessed it) parade but we did watch a few speeches from the shade, which included one from a representative of Water First, an American organisation that supports our water treatment plant, Cocepradil, who organised the parade. </div>
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<b>Día de la Garifuna (Garifuna Day) - 12th April</b><br />
This is the day the Garifuna people arrived on Roatan from St. Vincent. The biggest and best celebrations are in Punta Gorda on the island of Roatan and we were lucky enough to be able to attend. A large group of volunteers and their families were on holiday on Roatan that week anyway and PT have a project there too. There was a lot of Punta music and dancing and we got to hear the story of how an American man discovered he was Garifunan. <br />
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<b>Semana Santa (Easter) </b><br />
Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter weekend which is when the whole country of Honduras goes simultaneously crazy and silent. Want a last minute booking in one of Honduras' tourist spots, like Roatan or Copan, for this weekend? Think again. At the same time though, don't try and go anywhere on Good Friday. You won't find a bus or ferry going anywhere, trust me, I tried. Celebration wise, painted wooden carvings of religious images walk through the town and in some places the streets are carpeted with dyed sawdust designs and illustrations, the most famous being in Comayagua. <br />
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<b>Día de la Tierra (Earth Day) - 22nd April</b><br />
We were out of Candelaria this weekend but we heard there was a photo competition and a screening of <i>The Lorax</i> in the park and when we got back there were signs all around Candelaria encouraging us to take better care of the planet. <br />
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<b>Día del Trabajador (Labour Day) - 1st May</b><br />
Coinciding with the May Bank holiday, this is basically just a day off. No big celebrations, nothing fancy, just a day of rest for the many hardworking people around the country. <br />
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<b>Día de la Madre (Mother's Day) - Second Sunday in May</b><br />
And that's today! Or at least the celebrations at the primary school were today. Each class presented something from poems, singing, traditional dancing, dramas and my favourite, a faux boy band performance! </div>
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<b>Día del Arbol (Day of the Tree) - 30th May </b><br />
This is primarily an educative holiday, to educate schoolchildren on the importance of looking after the forest. There are special tributes to Honduras' national tree, the Mexican yellow pine. I've heard there are plans for a school trip to somewhere near Gualcinse for the day with the primary school. </div>
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<b>Día de Lempira (Day of Lempira) - 20th July</b><br />
The Lempira referred to here is not the currency but the Lencan hero who fought against the Spanish in the 1530's. Hondurans, and especially those in the Lempira department, where I live, are extremely proud of Lempira ans this day is very important to them. <br />
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<b>Ferías (Fairs)</b><br />
At various points during the year, different in every town, there is a fair, almost like a bigger, more vibrant and bustling version of our weekly Sunday market. There are the usual food, clothes and homeware stores, there are carnival-like games and if you're (un)lucky the rickety, diesel-smelling Ferris wheel. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-12439881078790396182017-05-02T15:16:00.001-07:002017-05-02T15:18:27.602-07:00Survival Guide: Teaching<div>
The past three months have sped by and I can't believe it's already time for another one of these! The idea that the next three months might go at the same time pace terrifies me. At the same time there are things I'm am looking forward to about going home but I'm not ready to say goodbye to Honduras just yet. </div>
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With the next three months mostly taken up by teaching and that being the purpose of the year (despite what my Facebook photos make it look like!) this anniversary blog post contains some top tips for making it through teaching in general and especially in Honduras.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Survival Guide: Teaching</span> </b></u></div>
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<li><b>Take every opportunity for a day off -</b> the kids aren't the only ones that get homework in this job so it can take its toll at times </li>
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<li><b>Be prepared to learn from them - </b>this can be by them teaching you knew everyday phrases in Spanish to the games they like to how they learn best. Whatever it is, take note. </li>
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<li><b>Sometime no matter how hard you try no learning is</b> <b>happening today - </b>kids are fickle beings and have short attention spans and sometimes they are just not in the mood so on these days there's no use in running yourself ragged trying to force it to happen. <b><br /></b></li>
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<li><b>Wear outfits that go with an inordinate amount of stickers - </b>if I don't come away from a day of classes without at least a couple of stickers, something's wrong. </li>
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<li><b>Don't be ashamed to wing it -</b> it's something we've all done. If you didn't have time to plan a lesson, if the lesson you did plan isn't working, if your class needs some unexpected revision, all are perfectly good reasons to just go with it. </li>
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<li><b>No one is too old for If You're Happy and You Know It or Sara Says - </b>personal favourites of mine they are perfect fillers for the last five minutes of class when </li>
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<li><b>Give up all concept of personal space -</b> between the mountain of hugs at the start and end of every lesson and their favourite game (a version of peekaboo mixed with guess who) there are always little sticky hands grabbing at you. </li>
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<li><b>Don't let exam results get you down -</b> you can be the best teacher Project Trust has ever had but at the end of the day some kids are not made for exams. Especially in the primary school, it's easy to forget how young they are and at this age, as at any age, test results are not the end of the world. </li>
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<li><b>Don't be alarmed when a kid brings a machete to school - </b>machetes are something that you get used to quickly in Honduras but the first time you come into a class where every student has one under their chair, that's still a bit of a shock.</li>
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<li><b>A full week of teaching is a rare thing -</b> classes are cancelled, teachers are off, there's a holiday, the list goes on and on but in the whole 9 months we've been here there has not been a week when we have taught every single lesson we are supposed to. </li>
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<li><b>Take pride in the small victories - </b>sometimes the fact that your class can sing the alphabet without any help from you or that they answer the question 'how are you' without repeating it or that they are excited to see you when you walk into class is enough to make your day.</li>
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<li><b>Have fun with it - </b>sometimes a lesson full of games is what everyone needs. </li>
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<li><b>Reduce, reuse, recycle - </b>Reduce your workload by reusing old lesson and recycling ideas. Also beg, borrow and steal from other teachers, volunteers, anything you can get your hands on. </li>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-65790575105648320562017-04-18T15:37:00.004-07:002017-04-18T15:46:28.034-07:00When Home Came to Honduras<div style="text-align: right;">
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Thank goodness that's over! The last two weeks have been the hardest yet in Honduras. I have had to translate everything into English, endure complaints about eternal bus rides from hell, find food that doesn't include refried beans or tortillas and worst of all, put up with being parented again! Jokes aside, it has been quite the experience having my dad and Kirsty here for the last two weeks, as I'm sure it was for them.<br />
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It started with picking them up from the airport in San Pedro Sula (thankfully with all their bags, Lucy's family weren't so lucky). Kirsty was understandably on edge, being in the murder capital of the world, even though that is technically now Caracas in Venezuela, but we were only there for one night and then started the all day journey to Candelaria.<br />
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With Amy's mum, Penny, and gran, Sue, in tow, I eased the newbies into Honduran bus rides with a nice minibus ride from SPS to Gracias, only to turn around and take them on the four hour chicken bus ride along bumpy, unpaved roads. In my dad's words - "It was four hours of us torture. I shouldn't have to sit there and try to convince myself that it doesn't hurt!"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heaven in the form of a bus</td></tr>
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Moving quickly onward, we spent the next two days in Candelaria where they got to see all of my classes, experience their first taste of traditional food (they weren't big fans) and get over their jet lag in 35 degree heat. It was definitely a tough start to their time but I think they enjoyed meeting my kids and seeing me in action.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying breaktime</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feat. fried chicken</td></tr>
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On the Wednesday, we took Candelaria's only mini bus out to San Juan where we changed buses to go to Gracias. The luxuriousness of Guancascos was welcomed after an early start, especially the fresh passion fruit juice (my dad) and the strong wifi (Kirsty). It took a while for me to be able to drag them away but eventually I got them out to Fuerte San Cristobal, home of the best views of Gracias you can get without climbing a mountain. To end our first day we headed out to the Aguas Thermales, where my dad got to enjoy his first ice cold Honduran beer.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was not candid, Kirsty was hiding</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirsty blending into the fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Los Aguas Thermales</td></tr>
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Day 2 in Gracias saw us head to La Campa to do the highest zipline in Central America. Kirsty very bravely got through some nerves to do the first two ziplines accompanied by one of the guides and the rest by herself and my dad even more bravely offered to step back and take pictures. My hero.</div>
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Our next stop was the Copan Ruinas, a first for me too. We only had one night here so had to make the most of it. After we had some delicious lunch in Casa de Cafe, next to our awesome hostel, La Iguana Azul, we went to Macaw Mountain, a scarlet macaw sanctuary. It was brilliant place with an amazing array of birds and you even get to hold some of them!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes we can!</td></tr>
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The main attraction at Copan, as the name may suggest, are the ruins. Alongside our excellent tour guide Virgilio, we wandered around the remains of an ancient Mayan civilisation. I have seen a fair few Mayan ruins recently and I have to say that Copan might possibly be my favourite. Not only is it in Honduras making me a bit biased, it is incredibly well preserved and a very compact site, making it easier to imagine what the city would have been like back in the day.<br />
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No rest for the wicked as we were off to San Pedro again for a night before hopping down to La Ceiba for the boat to Roatan. Let the holiday really begin! I know this was the bit Kirsty was really looking forward to and I have to admit some R&R sounded good to me too.<br />
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It seemed like half of the PT volunteers were on Roatan that week which meant that wherever we went, there was usually a lot of us! Over our four days in Roatan we sunbathed, swam, snorkeled and went for a ride on a catamaran, among other things. We also went out to visit Calum and Tom´s project in Punta Gorda and to celebrate Garifuna Day with them. Garifunans are the people that live in Punta Gorda and arrived in Roatan from St Vincent.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stay cool Roatan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before you ask Amy, I don't know what fish they are!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just cruising</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole crew in Punta Gorda</td></tr>
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My two favourite parts of the week were visiting the sloth sanctuary and our night dive. How many people can say they have been clambered on by a monkey, dive bombed by a macaw and hugged and kissed by Sid the sloth all within half an hour?! And then seeing as we were back at Honduras' reef we decided that we might as well make the most of it. But why not mix it up? And that´s how we ended up doing a night dive and seeing bio-luminescence and strings of pearls. It was the most magical experience, like swimming through the night sky, even when we got lost in the dark!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monkey wasn't my best friend...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoyJHlYWEnlLK1a1Cv-UPYU-MCNRsNwq6MiWhSUDTWnefU2h-VF_7RMJ6A3dSMuXaLGf4Wo5uM6zNhfFAT2o4bFoG2Z1lbvFNTO9Ck-4gwPe5liPXj8h4WIfteEywN1JG49xUAPWl1S8/s640/blogger-image-1958919542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoyJHlYWEnlLK1a1Cv-UPYU-MCNRsNwq6MiWhSUDTWnefU2h-VF_7RMJ6A3dSMuXaLGf4Wo5uM6zNhfFAT2o4bFoG2Z1lbvFNTO9Ck-4gwPe5liPXj8h4WIfteEywN1JG49xUAPWl1S8/s320/blogger-image-1958919542.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But I loved Sid!</td></tr>
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We had to fly back from Roatan to San Pedro as we were leaving on Good Friday and there was no public transportation. One more night in San Pedro Sula before heading back to the airport, two weeks after they arrived. I would like to say that it was a tearless goodbye but I'm afraid I can't. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCR5AF2R4F5cSuTJ6Aa5BxzDEpUJHXPt1mmjGTowF1rEo2OLaV_zydG9K7CGbjsCng10xv-qjUhYZxWvccy2kJDWZ4DWD3q8M7icQo6kCm8NYFm4kjuLbRPOJFOFQAC7emznkJrvSVYlI/s640/blogger-image--1246513998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCR5AF2R4F5cSuTJ6Aa5BxzDEpUJHXPt1mmjGTowF1rEo2OLaV_zydG9K7CGbjsCng10xv-qjUhYZxWvccy2kJDWZ4DWD3q8M7icQo6kCm8NYFm4kjuLbRPOJFOFQAC7emznkJrvSVYlI/s400/blogger-image--1246513998.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof of my dad in Honduras seeing as he was behind the camera most of the time!</td></tr>
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After this visit I really feel like I'm on the homeward stretch, a feeling that excites me and terrifies me at the same time. Having part of home come here has made me realise just how much I've missed it but the thought of leaving Honduras makes me want to cry at the same time. I guess I've still got a few months to come to terms with it!</div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-7928625508011760442017-04-03T13:18:00.001-07:002017-04-03T13:27:46.059-07:00Guat's Up Belize<div>
I know I've been a bit quiet over the past month but that's because the last month has been a bit quiet too. Saying that there have been a few interesting things. </div>
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A few weeks after my birthday we went to Santa Rosa with a small group of other volunteers for some celebrations followed the next weekend by a trip to Gracias. This one was quite interesting because we were trying to get back to Candelaria the same day as the primary elections. This meant there were less buses running or in the case of Candelaria, none.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy birthday to me!</td></tr>
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Seeing as we couldn't get back on Sunday we decided to take an impromptu trip back to Yamaranguila with Grace and Hannah (free accommodation, what can I say?) and because our bus to Candelaria from La Esperanza wasn't until 12 on Monday, we got to visit their school.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classrooms at Vida Abundante</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMaLF-L6WfY2WAou0QzQN976IaCZpq7yLZLpq90BBeew4sVS3IxtLKoVa3PQzxvehSHIOq8k6cYG2PPEaCsLs_J7oTTxj9krw5DHq3PM1XRVcwbtqQfFEtv6BR9EklsXKIh2JLv3E3W4/s640/blogger-image-1081564098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMaLF-L6WfY2WAou0QzQN976IaCZpq7yLZLpq90BBeew4sVS3IxtLKoVa3PQzxvehSHIOq8k6cYG2PPEaCsLs_J7oTTxj9krw5DHq3PM1XRVcwbtqQfFEtv6BR9EklsXKIh2JLv3E3W4/s320/blogger-image-1081564098.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nivelacion class - an intense English course for the kids starting in August</td></tr>
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Abundant Life Christian School is a big contrast to Escuela Urbana Mixta de José Cecilio del Valle. It's a bilingual school which we hadn't actually seen before and blew us away. The school is also in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains and pine trees and in cool air. </div>
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We did eventually get ourselves back to Candelaria and in the next two weeks we finally started some adult classes with a small group including our host mum Saida; celebrated World Water Day with a parade through Candelaria; been laid up in bed for a week (that one's just me); and had our visit from Vegas and Fra. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRgs5fzofc6g3HFXX4_HenFP90-HDucDYnyfPp0PVoZm-2ygMJgqW2BPLGyGUwCjQaTpIE4vIeBl0Unte8UjP_dZeZoOXjJYJ3WDjFo0nZZn-9ZI-MSVHMgAG-bLdpvrOpBx7KgJVHHc/s640/blogger-image-1353875630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRgs5fzofc6g3HFXX4_HenFP90-HDucDYnyfPp0PVoZm-2ygMJgqW2BPLGyGUwCjQaTpIE4vIeBl0Unte8UjP_dZeZoOXjJYJ3WDjFo0nZZn-9ZI-MSVHMgAG-bLdpvrOpBx7KgJVHHc/s320/blogger-image-1353875630.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parading for World Water Day</td></tr>
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Vegas is our in country rep who lives on Roatan and visited us back in October to see how we were settling in and Fra is our country coordinator from Coll. Thankfully I was just about better from my bout of sickness in time for their arrival. We had lunch together and Fra came to see us teach in the colegio in the afternoon and then we had a meeting with the people involved in our project in the evening. </div>
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Amy and I plus the girls from Tomala and the 6 month project San Francisco have just gotten back from Belize where we have been to renew our visa. We stopped for a few nights on the way in Livingston in Guatemala. Livingston is only accessible by boat but it's the same boat that takes it across to Belize so it was kind of perfect. </div>
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We stayed in Casa de la Iguana, a hostel highly recommended by Calum and Tom who have stayed here before, and used our few days to do a few boat tours in the area, one of which was to Rio Dulce where part of Jurassic Park was filmed and another where we had dolphins swimming around our boat! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8p815CmU5Alk19QKxI3pbX17rcNfJrtj6TJMt_uemfVWwcVc_gIAKmbjtRJQGTLm4emqlzq3glN8HymDscCSAhBtILzI_HosoA595ulA8f_B4QROve_9iUov_o21S88rGrpNH0InsWw/s640/blogger-image-1180241922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8p815CmU5Alk19QKxI3pbX17rcNfJrtj6TJMt_uemfVWwcVc_gIAKmbjtRJQGTLm4emqlzq3glN8HymDscCSAhBtILzI_HosoA595ulA8f_B4QROve_9iUov_o21S88rGrpNH0InsWw/s320/blogger-image-1180241922.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Casa de la Iguana</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCyZSihp3UgrsiEcZ10sqoLHDjPAtSlHLii4J83B_beBmxw970E2CsUSqVpK-cNk4QbhKLQu7avevYf7QJY8jgq8W_fQKmiJTOn-b00LlF8o7xVciNyakagmHjyFMmRNu2yr2H43CGIQ/s640/blogger-image-61275389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCyZSihp3UgrsiEcZ10sqoLHDjPAtSlHLii4J83B_beBmxw970E2CsUSqVpK-cNk4QbhKLQu7avevYf7QJY8jgq8W_fQKmiJTOn-b00LlF8o7xVciNyakagmHjyFMmRNu2yr2H43CGIQ/s640/blogger-image-61275389.jpg" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Livingston was covered in gorgeous street art</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With our man Edmar on a river tour</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just what we needed!</td></tr>
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We moved onto Hopkins in Belize because as nice as it is, Guatemala does nothing for our visa. I'm not sure if I've explained this before but it's because there's something called the C4 in place here. It basically means your 90 day tourist visa is valid for Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua do a visa run involves a quick hop into Belize or going all the way to Mexico or Costa Rica. </div>
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Hopkins is one of the most chilled places we've been. That's maybe because most of our time was split between the beach and the hammocks in our hostel, The Funky Dodo (what a name, I know!). </div>
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We wrapped up our visa run by heading back to San Pedro Sula to pick up our families at the airport! I now have my dad and Kirsty visiting for the next two weeks which should be interesting! </div>
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(Also I apologise for the title to those people who find puns offensive but I really just can't help myself, there's just too many good ones!)</div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-86017020023174594932017-02-28T16:36:00.001-08:002017-03-01T12:18:25.263-08:00Food Glorious Food<div style="text-align: center;">
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Something I often forget is that all the things I now find normal after seven months in Honduras are probably still at least a little strange to a lot of people at home. To help with this, I have a series of blogs planned to so you can understand some everyday parts of my life a bit better. First up is a food diary from the 13th to the 19th of February. It just so happened to cover my birthday weekend so there's a bit more cake involved than my average week but I'm not complaining! </div>
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<u><b>MONDAY</b></u></h2>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklT9uytCvO9v7Zqs28EbVnQLEWO-1c3B9a9WcSlkCEMC_OT8WFGgWVT3W9dcTk5bjLQlsqNpXwgDc9mj1LXW_dhQudxV-OXZsMURqt26TFYgCb_N9F4-KMwBmbLSXZ3iOz6LdkRLPGFE/s640/blogger-image--1266660614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklT9uytCvO9v7Zqs28EbVnQLEWO-1c3B9a9WcSlkCEMC_OT8WFGgWVT3W9dcTk5bjLQlsqNpXwgDc9mj1LXW_dhQudxV-OXZsMURqt26TFYgCb_N9F4-KMwBmbLSXZ3iOz6LdkRLPGFE/s200/blogger-image--1266660614.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">* Frijoles, ricissimo, green beans and egg, plantain and tortilla </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">* Banana licuado</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">* Mora juice</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Frijoles and torillas are a very important part of any meal. We eat frijoles at least twice a day, with breakfast and dinner, and a torilla with every meal. Frijoles come in many different ways such entero (the whole bean) or revueltos, meaning refried (as shown in the picture).</span></div>
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<b>Merienda</b></div>
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* Tamal de frijol</div>
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* Coffee<br />
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Merienda is basically when the kids get a snack at school, although sometimes it's more like a meal. We uesd to eat it every day but because of timetable changes since the holidays they have it later, just as we're heading home for lunch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPfCHBiZz4ZKGStIKk1GqdxlQiov2WwmpvA_TrLIkLaBKCVI7jS0feyodGOIXECfRVpNBJhmNrHtxWeMGa6624hAb5jpr1JMekcLf5P3tR3suG3jHNdh3WQdf8SHRCZPNo9ZisEeavyg/s640/blogger-image-1365832353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPfCHBiZz4ZKGStIKk1GqdxlQiov2WwmpvA_TrLIkLaBKCVI7jS0feyodGOIXECfRVpNBJhmNrHtxWeMGa6624hAb5jpr1JMekcLf5P3tR3suG3jHNdh3WQdf8SHRCZPNo9ZisEeavyg/s200/blogger-image-1365832353.jpg" width="149" /></a><b> Lunch</b> </div>
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* Frijoles, rice, chimichurri, beef and tortilla</div>
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* Mora juice<br />
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Lunch is our most standard meal of the day. It is usually composed of chicken, rice, salad and a tortilla. Once a week we get beef, as we did today, once or twice a week it's spaghetti (the best days) and occasionally fish or soup.</div>
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Chimichurri is a salad of tomato onion and coriander.</div>
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<b>Snack</b> </div>
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* Pan de piña<br />
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<i>Pan</i> is a very loose term in Honduras. In Spanish it literally means bread but it encompasses so much more. Pan is usually eaten with coffee and can be a sweet bread kind of like brioche, more cakey, or basically a biscuit.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUGCk1GMAcG6fA2H0C4pfLAQ9b_XKhTUn9pIh0oMIeagzlf6ZapZ1KamRYt-rbeGlPrhdNYrfRrflgyD_mgZIytVe7iVfdyE0NRKQBYNCw-Ualmm38uIYiP5LmLIyYdJzyJ30j8FpckY/s640/blogger-image--1001229580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUGCk1GMAcG6fA2H0C4pfLAQ9b_XKhTUn9pIh0oMIeagzlf6ZapZ1KamRYt-rbeGlPrhdNYrfRrflgyD_mgZIytVe7iVfdyE0NRKQBYNCw-Ualmm38uIYiP5LmLIyYdJzyJ30j8FpckY/s200/blogger-image--1001229580.jpg" width="149" /></a> <b>Dinner</b> </div>
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* Frijoles, ricissimo, green beans and egg, courgette and tortilla<br />
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I have to admit here that I'm not actually sure if ricissimo is actually called ricissimo. It is kind of like cottage cheese but softer and smoother. We also have something called cuajada which is very similar cottage cheese too. The actual cheese that we eat here is very different from back home, not a bit of cheddar in sight. It is very hard and tastes a little bit like parmesan. I really like it but Amy's not a fan. </div>
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<b><u>TUESDAY</u></b> </h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDy2UHhEbEmiHl5BKoXXDYTYgKzs1P31fMXJI9kg-ZFCFitRLlwpmQEBcIYJ2hNB46ohthvXWpCjaMyoxsZcqqxtlSGYlptyItYJhzHA7Cev_0eFXeNuxPvcJjxtLbyNi5L8-qXBSKdQ/s640/blogger-image--623431717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDy2UHhEbEmiHl5BKoXXDYTYgKzs1P31fMXJI9kg-ZFCFitRLlwpmQEBcIYJ2hNB46ohthvXWpCjaMyoxsZcqqxtlSGYlptyItYJhzHA7Cev_0eFXeNuxPvcJjxtLbyNi5L8-qXBSKdQ/s200/blogger-image--623431717.jpg" width="149" /></a><b>Breakfast</b></div>
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* Frijoles, plantain, egg and ham, tortilla </div>
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* Black coffee and sugar </div>
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* Banana licuado <br />
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Licuados are basically milkshakes but so much better (for no specific reason). The most popular is banana followed by strawberry but I have to say I'm a banana fan. Very refreshing. </div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFdQWfUUi40dzkGP_cwqSs61WghPJdzBoYR_ax9JQQfDZcbkGbYpe3caCuh2W9uybtjKospX6UjOtCfZRx_lpPNVMM4O39epTXIVjNBgVE2g1Le5XC1mqCzQXEHeJF8-H4bSAN29d-ug/s640/blogger-image--1973100539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFdQWfUUi40dzkGP_cwqSs61WghPJdzBoYR_ax9JQQfDZcbkGbYpe3caCuh2W9uybtjKospX6UjOtCfZRx_lpPNVMM4O39epTXIVjNBgVE2g1Le5XC1mqCzQXEHeJF8-H4bSAN29d-ug/s200/blogger-image--1973100539.jpg" width="149" /></a> Lunch</b> </div>
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* Chicken, rice, cucumber, tomato, tortilla </div>
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* Mora juice<br />
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We are very lucky that we have fresh juice to drink every day. <i>Mora </i>means blackberry and is surprisingly nice. Other flavours include orange, melon, lemon with chia seeds, passion fruit, a green one (not sure what it is but has to be healthy, right?), and mango. </div>
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<b>Snack</b> </div>
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* Pan de piña</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB2AhaCJVoiH0hYCLRkFcCQwfFJfayN17ghxhO1ifjarrPW8YpSCO4wZ_ve-jXzlyeH2jnGDwzcpz76GSqIkKK_kz-3Gj9JKSfuvB-SJ1dKWGJBhs-_pQJRDVKkCoeTdJYMHn4S1t9Bo/s640/blogger-image-83537989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB2AhaCJVoiH0hYCLRkFcCQwfFJfayN17ghxhO1ifjarrPW8YpSCO4wZ_ve-jXzlyeH2jnGDwzcpz76GSqIkKK_kz-3Gj9JKSfuvB-SJ1dKWGJBhs-_pQJRDVKkCoeTdJYMHn4S1t9Bo/s200/blogger-image-83537989.jpg" width="149" /></a><b>Dinner</b> </div>
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* Green beans and frijoles enteros, cuajada, beetroot, avocado and tortilla</div>
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* Water</div>
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* Kit Kat </div>
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We usually have a stash of sweets that have either been sent over by kind friends and family or that we've brought back from weekend trips. Especially with chocolate, you've got to get it when you can.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFwoG9JR1Pbe2O4XDOLWnpgrZFQKaV7valZSQHtiashBKiNBqZ6zREbaf638h0_ZwC3VziUZpcMtBn0oQhXGsW0_lrn1X_Mh4V2jQpjdkXkXe80rFR1Ad8N1naruvmtCGdcHiGTwhqks/s640/blogger-image-732701576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFwoG9JR1Pbe2O4XDOLWnpgrZFQKaV7valZSQHtiashBKiNBqZ6zREbaf638h0_ZwC3VziUZpcMtBn0oQhXGsW0_lrn1X_Mh4V2jQpjdkXkXe80rFR1Ad8N1naruvmtCGdcHiGTwhqks/s200/blogger-image-732701576.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
* Cake! </div>
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We were invited over to a friends house to celebrate <i>El Día del Amor y Amistad </i>(Valentine's Day) and there was cake! I know what Valentine's Day needs at home now.</div>
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<u><b>WEDNESDAY</b></u> </h2>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6C-fYGBiwOCjd-Ezn8i6xU37uzdlDnvNKZ_k83SluVm3DR2Yhh2MXvl69PncdRzsRCNfOekMS-LCxPDivBurH2UEpBHaGu5ncWPTyGGh8IrIVSxIz47cXDy5BBvHpnyqyspIZ2UEVBQ/s640/blogger-image-1152613037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6C-fYGBiwOCjd-Ezn8i6xU37uzdlDnvNKZ_k83SluVm3DR2Yhh2MXvl69PncdRzsRCNfOekMS-LCxPDivBurH2UEpBHaGu5ncWPTyGGh8IrIVSxIz47cXDy5BBvHpnyqyspIZ2UEVBQ/s200/blogger-image-1152613037.jpg" width="149" /></a>Breakfast</b> </div>
<div>
* Green beans and frijoles enteros, cuajada, avocado, plantain and tortilla</div>
<div>
* Coffee<br />
<br />
Plantain is like a sweet banana you can only eat when it's cooked. This is my least favourite way to have though the softer it it, the nicer. It can also be cut into strips and pan fried, which is delicious. When the strips are deep fried they become kind of like chips and are called <i>tajadas</i> and if you deep fry thin slices they are like crisps!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vULdozC-jaO2XAXTn0_bSATKC5n8ZBMT3Be8TKuvD9LtkAR0HfffG7FCVWtJdgN2XtoEqLpPgfpuHqlp4Unt4GzV0Oy19hKHPHVkBaPfUARs5qPySfMzUUN4Aqj6I4IwxY9dZCvwZ1A/s640/blogger-image--576958867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vULdozC-jaO2XAXTn0_bSATKC5n8ZBMT3Be8TKuvD9LtkAR0HfffG7FCVWtJdgN2XtoEqLpPgfpuHqlp4Unt4GzV0Oy19hKHPHVkBaPfUARs5qPySfMzUUN4Aqj6I4IwxY9dZCvwZ1A/s200/blogger-image--576958867.jpg" width="149" /></a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Lunch</b></div>
<div>
* Spaghetti in a tomato sauce, frijoles, ricissimo, tortilla</div>
<div>
* Mora juice<br />
<br />
Today was a good day - spaghetti for lunch! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-mAeAAJjucuJ9sdVOwMwkiZPx5uZMe7a6CWnqDaKHsBtocN2TBoEgLXNVKzUEzK9cNrl-Z7ZAn52_MiTXrsVGOnDMkCNH5uij5m6rFGsflL_vi7JWXC8hOs5LuUkGhyphenhyphennL8uWU1YAcAc/s640/blogger-image--1715506263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-mAeAAJjucuJ9sdVOwMwkiZPx5uZMe7a6CWnqDaKHsBtocN2TBoEgLXNVKzUEzK9cNrl-Z7ZAn52_MiTXrsVGOnDMkCNH5uij5m6rFGsflL_vi7JWXC8hOs5LuUkGhyphenhyphennL8uWU1YAcAc/s200/blogger-image--1715506263.jpg" width="149" /></a> </b><br />
<b>Dinner</b> </div>
<div>
* Frijoles, cuajada, avocado and tortilla </div>
<div>
* Mora juice </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Avocados are a blessing of Central American cuisine. I don't eat them much avocado back in Scotland but I don't think it will stay that way once I return. Sometimes they're a bit hit and miss but more often than not it's a home run.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>THURSDAY</b></u></h2>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DN24FlJua4bkSBI6g-utsSF2vBBBcWQHU6oq1VE2h4qY0zbPDsRgStAVvDvHyYFy0GrdgLMO2hF8191NxWY__6PCI360ChRgiCvrzsYqq0-9qxBl0Fws3sHKIzHPE3rTm6gqnggTFZc/s640/blogger-image--175960200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DN24FlJua4bkSBI6g-utsSF2vBBBcWQHU6oq1VE2h4qY0zbPDsRgStAVvDvHyYFy0GrdgLMO2hF8191NxWY__6PCI360ChRgiCvrzsYqq0-9qxBl0Fws3sHKIzHPE3rTm6gqnggTFZc/s200/blogger-image--175960200.jpg" width="149" /></a>Breakfast</b> </div>
<div>
* Frijoles, ricissimo, scrambled eggs </div>
<div>
* Mora juice<br />
* Coffee with sugar</div>
<div>
<br />
People who know me at home know the closest I get to drinking coffee is
getting a nice big whiff of the smell. I don't really like coffee but
here it's a different story. I do need a lot of sugar with it but seeing
as we don't have milk to go with it I think that's allowed.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKISauPkBeeyTypBPinRFMxR7qKT9SxSVY6D80u-5tlElvVPLjwJogm0I3c7L6Lidv8tgCuMeAWfKcO6K0K5zSbvEypDW21bPxhOvNzHbme9RtdkczsupgRQIEcvXYXCAnvpIX9akbMso/s640/blogger-image--246098786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKISauPkBeeyTypBPinRFMxR7qKT9SxSVY6D80u-5tlElvVPLjwJogm0I3c7L6Lidv8tgCuMeAWfKcO6K0K5zSbvEypDW21bPxhOvNzHbme9RtdkczsupgRQIEcvXYXCAnvpIX9akbMso/s200/blogger-image--246098786.jpg" width="149" /></a> </b><br />
<b>Lunch</b></div>
<div>
* Chicken, rice, tomato, cucumber, tortilla</div>
<div>
* Mora juice </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQJzsO-YGv5uAFrLarQ9RfLRXNvlOrxXsWG2N18_b7pw22nXxi5_npvTn5MBoUtKNvLps1OZfNl7ngmyEcShweRf69c3Sjim-z8e1njr2Azjq2VpPLGODj8ljM1z9hV4x39ZVLqJ-rPs/s640/blogger-image-645584308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQJzsO-YGv5uAFrLarQ9RfLRXNvlOrxXsWG2N18_b7pw22nXxi5_npvTn5MBoUtKNvLps1OZfNl7ngmyEcShweRf69c3Sjim-z8e1njr2Azjq2VpPLGODj8ljM1z9hV4x39ZVLqJ-rPs/s200/blogger-image-645584308.jpg" width="149" /></a> </b><br />
<b>Dinner</b></div>
<div>
* Frijoles enteros, ricissimo, scrambled egg with tomato and tortilla </div>
<div>
* Fresh orange juice<br />
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<u><b>FRIDAY</b></u> </h2>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhJ4YB29issypGkweQ4xhtRjTCucGYUl0PnWhIThD6uknShZiS4A552MDYemDSyCyoUQXHaoQ0-gP-WgEtvNAVb3GKjGOZJqDnau96qdbU3Tg1hJCv9N5j3kcieOhYRolpbZTpity1l8/s640/blogger-image-1111807590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhJ4YB29issypGkweQ4xhtRjTCucGYUl0PnWhIThD6uknShZiS4A552MDYemDSyCyoUQXHaoQ0-gP-WgEtvNAVb3GKjGOZJqDnau96qdbU3Tg1hJCv9N5j3kcieOhYRolpbZTpity1l8/s200/blogger-image-1111807590.jpg" width="149" /></a>Breakfast</b> </div>
<div>
* Frijoles, cuajada, scrambled egg and ham, fried plantain, tortilla </div>
<div>
* Fresh orange juice<br />
<br />
This is my favourite type of plantain to have! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGCBWkioV2_MFKL7CgMahlWGpoPsicHGN_5tRgOconfPd7HMsJbMl0-2KZhCAV9DT7XlRjhunVyuraGBvHUwVHXA4Ik9f2oBUpBcwTv284PrCfgiNN5r8Ci8COVGzP5autnY9f4rWS-o/s640/blogger-image-140471281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGCBWkioV2_MFKL7CgMahlWGpoPsicHGN_5tRgOconfPd7HMsJbMl0-2KZhCAV9DT7XlRjhunVyuraGBvHUwVHXA4Ik9f2oBUpBcwTv284PrCfgiNN5r8Ci8COVGzP5autnY9f4rWS-o/s200/blogger-image-140471281.jpg" width="149" /></a><b>Lunch</b> </div>
<div>
* Chicken, rice, tomato, cucumber and tortilla</div>
<div>
* Fresh orange juice<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o8_hfriH4CG-pg6C0EaisASwjTubA3M0z7O_PTx_EVNK95IhWC0b5GaGJvWncLrgybytPfn5QGVWXphAxfSFYHAlJVFdiF7dLGvUa8N6vAIzm-A_509WrByTDww2kqo9y11Pm7Lnl8o/s640/blogger-image-2014294912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o8_hfriH4CG-pg6C0EaisASwjTubA3M0z7O_PTx_EVNK95IhWC0b5GaGJvWncLrgybytPfn5QGVWXphAxfSFYHAlJVFdiF7dLGvUa8N6vAIzm-A_509WrByTDww2kqo9y11Pm7Lnl8o/s200/blogger-image-2014294912.jpg" width="149" /></a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Dinner</b> </div>
<div>
* Baleadas (with frijoles, cheese and egg) </div>
<div>
* Plum</div>
<div>
* Mora juice<br />
<br />
Ah, <i>baleadas</i>. By far my favourite food in Honduras, baleadas are made of a different type of tortilla to our usual, filled with refried beans, Honduran cheese and mantequilla (kind of like a mix between mayonnaise and sour cream) and then folded in half. This is called a <i>baleada sencilla </i>or you can have <i>con huevos</i> (with scrambled eggs). The king of Honduran food.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<u><b>SATURDAY</b></u></h2>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyIVnPnHQQXygN4T7vJrfz-iyDIBqXGU5nGYYiPjKnhIqG9oVrbsPq4movGgKrbqpFqy2DiAUqeLFA3Hs2JLjPSX2yyKyrVZjhupF44osqh1hXZYlkToFR2OSgFB3NWOM99snTv6G6PA/s640/blogger-image-1951367299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyIVnPnHQQXygN4T7vJrfz-iyDIBqXGU5nGYYiPjKnhIqG9oVrbsPq4movGgKrbqpFqy2DiAUqeLFA3Hs2JLjPSX2yyKyrVZjhupF44osqh1hXZYlkToFR2OSgFB3NWOM99snTv6G6PA/s200/blogger-image-1951367299.jpg" width="149" /></a>Breakfast</b></div>
<div>
* Frijoles, spinach and egg, plantain, cuajada and tortilla </div>
<div>
* Mora juice<br />
<br />
Ever since I got a touch of anemia in October (coupled with the flu which made it look worse than it was), our host mum loves stuffing me full of spinach and I must say I have a new found taste for it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCJKoHrQIdV89cOslTpCY9WwUg_q2V4w_uLdiAUyQ0Mx0tDxGelvjCIIbrtPB3dXOL1ueq6M_jrX1-Tl61WqMDB8NFkpP0kQs4_hsvifOFtb3laaoncF1mpGj21waypcrnrSolxAAB_U/s640/blogger-image-1477677003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCJKoHrQIdV89cOslTpCY9WwUg_q2V4w_uLdiAUyQ0Mx0tDxGelvjCIIbrtPB3dXOL1ueq6M_jrX1-Tl61WqMDB8NFkpP0kQs4_hsvifOFtb3laaoncF1mpGj21waypcrnrSolxAAB_U/s200/blogger-image-1477677003.jpg" width="149" /></a><br />
<b>Lunch</b></div>
<div>
* Chicken enchilada (crispy tortilla, chicken, potato, tomato and shredded cabbage) </div>
<div>
* Banana licuado<br />
<br />
If you've read my previous blog about my birthday weekend, you'll know we climbed a mountain next to Candelaria so thought we were well deserved a treat. We went to a local cafe and got some enchiladas, which are thin, deep fried tortillas with toppings. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pzSp9YIlKuwGlbOdH3Y5_LVQJ5PsdMlSeMZ8xUyrtqj3Efc6JsU1BVqhKPdtHE4uYQjj-ZN7ljZQ0E148XDsAsrKHtWCiQoBFCjDVy4U-_nsua9efGcp4GdxDESeNXK1XSoz9m52u10/s640/blogger-image--1680117482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pzSp9YIlKuwGlbOdH3Y5_LVQJ5PsdMlSeMZ8xUyrtqj3Efc6JsU1BVqhKPdtHE4uYQjj-ZN7ljZQ0E148XDsAsrKHtWCiQoBFCjDVy4U-_nsua9efGcp4GdxDESeNXK1XSoz9m52u10/s200/blogger-image--1680117482.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Dinner</b> </div>
<div>
* Cena tipica from a comedor (frijoles, scrambled eggs with onion, chicken, cheese, plantain, avocado and tortillas) </div>
<div>
* Coca-Cola<br />
<br />
I actually forgot to take a picture when we were out with Jesse and Lucy at a comedor (a restaurant that kind of looks like it's in someone's front room!) on their last night with us so this is from another day but just imagine this plus a slice of avocado!<br />
<br />
An interesting thing about drinks in restaurants is that as well as buying cans and plastic bottles of juice they also come in glass bottles that you return at the end of your meal. It's obviously much more eco-friendly and I personally think that Fresca (a grapefruit flavoured fizzy drink) is never more refreshing than out of glass.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0tELRw9YFSLhJwGkg65drKdt9xWQ6zpTLxRnagBhOV0dl1pG8FsbjwnewGRI1I6yH_QCuMHUFj9nqTTNqWb80gTxufcqnDtp4kCv1JjQPu96AEFWLm_7SMc20Pc1TiFEEI6olSsvqjM/s640/blogger-image-456830197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0tELRw9YFSLhJwGkg65drKdt9xWQ6zpTLxRnagBhOV0dl1pG8FsbjwnewGRI1I6yH_QCuMHUFj9nqTTNqWb80gTxufcqnDtp4kCv1JjQPu96AEFWLm_7SMc20Pc1TiFEEI6olSsvqjM/s200/blogger-image-456830197.jpg" width="149" /></a><br />
<br />
* Cake!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was my birthday weekend and we decided to have the cake a bit early. Cake in Honduras is another weird one. After baking the cake, it is usually soaked in milk to keep it moist (more like sodden). At first we were repulsed by this but over time have come round. I did still opt for a milkless cake for my birthday though. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>SUNDAY</b></u></h2>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0h9gItatEQ46mCGfgCq-7MdeHYL3o7FTwrg2MFUamBv195AZS3oeEHALtJTutjo5zHUGs1SrtHxpxJ1VAHxM_MC_Uo1wbdxIsDMQw_Jk3gZh2zp6veZMCZxTUQXDWzPUZRWKyq4hAIA/s640/blogger-image--738601258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0h9gItatEQ46mCGfgCq-7MdeHYL3o7FTwrg2MFUamBv195AZS3oeEHALtJTutjo5zHUGs1SrtHxpxJ1VAHxM_MC_Uo1wbdxIsDMQw_Jk3gZh2zp6veZMCZxTUQXDWzPUZRWKyq4hAIA/s200/blogger-image--738601258.jpg" width="149" /></a>Breakfast</b> </div>
<div>
* Frijoles, cauliflower and broccoli, plantain, cuajada, tortilla</div>
<div>
* Water</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
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<div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15zMZH2pm9miDp4rKaTDm1K0ewnsiUGL4nHPg_YCKQ43ZFhvEOXH_NP2jyyMa5OdL9NSPkQ4pz4Ddv34k6YMmiCXyHStYHBjIle1_fj60ppMCKncf-0eq_XL5bn0KFbkhGdaXfZ35KHA/s640/blogger-image--1380528925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15zMZH2pm9miDp4rKaTDm1K0ewnsiUGL4nHPg_YCKQ43ZFhvEOXH_NP2jyyMa5OdL9NSPkQ4pz4Ddv34k6YMmiCXyHStYHBjIle1_fj60ppMCKncf-0eq_XL5bn0KFbkhGdaXfZ35KHA/s200/blogger-image--1380528925.jpg" width="149" /></a>Lunch</b></div>
<div>
* Fried chicken and tajadas with salsa</div>
<div>
* Pineapple juice (in a bag)<br />
<br />
We went out into our weekly market and were treated to a free lunch by our friend's parents as a birthday present. An interesting thing with this meal was that our juice came tied up in a small freezer bag. You bite the corner off and suck it out through the hole. This is not uncommon and bags of water are seen in most shops which actually saves on money and plastic if you already have a bottle. </div>
<div>
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<div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbhjcSupAx4qr1TTdgu4nOPN9NWnz4DU6vPAsD5SUylEEUMP6aFd3aQvl4MVjdWYXQsGd0Gfhz5kwK_YSGzdCDQt1UVfTyhYIWjUMYOfsavvz-ZsPYtqjm6mWvFBJJIgiJMPHXRchrEg/s640/blogger-image--1998104053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbhjcSupAx4qr1TTdgu4nOPN9NWnz4DU6vPAsD5SUylEEUMP6aFd3aQvl4MVjdWYXQsGd0Gfhz5kwK_YSGzdCDQt1UVfTyhYIWjUMYOfsavvz-ZsPYtqjm6mWvFBJJIgiJMPHXRchrEg/s200/blogger-image--1998104053.jpg" width="149" /></a> </b><br />
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<b>Dinner</b> </div>
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* Frijoles, mantequilla, avocado and tortilla </div>
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* Orange juice </div>
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<u>Bonus!</u></h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4sQZsemInS0Sd78qKWaJ7J1_N7fPPPo4ACzkiLR8GygFlg00ATsT_sZ9Vodf8GuRDVYCOyDdGNYnvHdAf_lDM5hLsEji1PbslM_p6mUJoGK1UdLu_UOeoo-aFNLf6PHkf5k0-oC82uA/s640/blogger-image-90761306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4sQZsemInS0Sd78qKWaJ7J1_N7fPPPo4ACzkiLR8GygFlg00ATsT_sZ9Vodf8GuRDVYCOyDdGNYnvHdAf_lDM5hLsEji1PbslM_p6mUJoGK1UdLu_UOeoo-aFNLf6PHkf5k0-oC82uA/s200/blogger-image-90761306.jpg" width="149" /></a>This food diary was supposed to be a week long but I knew our dinner from the Monday after I finished it had to be featured because it's one of my favourite meals.<br />
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<b>Dinner</b><br />
* Tacos flautas (topped with a tomato sauce, shredded cabbage and grated cheese).<br />
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These tacos are unlike any I had had before coming to Honduras. Instead of typical taco shells or soft tortillas, it is a tortilla curled into a flute shape and stuffed with, for us, chicken. The best way to eat tacos, in my humble opinion. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-12364189612454043202017-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:002017-02-26T11:21:58.685-08:00¡Queremos Pastel!As most of you probably already know last weekend saw me celebrating my birthday here in Honduras. I had decided I wanted to spend my birthday weekend in Candelaria and then go to Santa Rosa this weekend to celebrate with some of the other volunteers (though has been postponed until next weekend now). Unfortunately Jesse and Lucy, our buds from Tomala, had said they couldn't afford to go to Santa Rosa which was disappointing but after three months on the road understandable.<br />
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So what a surprise it was when, on the Friday before my birthday, who got off the bus from La Esperanza to Candelaria but Jesse and Lucy! Apparently they had been planning a surprise visit since Christmas! I thought Amy had been acting a bit suspicious... We showed them around, to the schools and our favourite spots, introduced them to some of our friends and then took them home for some baleadas! They were tired as they had come quite a long way that day so we had an early night, all curled up with two single beds between us.<br />
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The next day, Amy and I had plans to climb Cerro Cerique with our friend Alex so we took Jesse and Lucy along with us. We had thought it would be an easy wee climb but it was several hours of scrambling up and then down treacherous slopes covered in dust and loose gravel that caused a few cuts and scrapes, one tumble and almost concussion and worst of all a ripped pair of leggings. It was very hard but satisfying to have done considering you can see it from basically anywhere in Candelaria.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfR08I36uN8SCT4WVksVIqcdOjr3lv4x01O0oLTAqlpMCrK_5bMvOF_VcsxGx1pRbb9Flj_iEtskq11BqSWvxKuuGKcack0GPKj501DIyn6oVziXb0fhXuqLoBswo2klluNbvSvT-oxk/s640/blogger-image--70945792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfR08I36uN8SCT4WVksVIqcdOjr3lv4x01O0oLTAqlpMCrK_5bMvOF_VcsxGx1pRbb9Flj_iEtskq11BqSWvxKuuGKcack0GPKj501DIyn6oVziXb0fhXuqLoBswo2klluNbvSvT-oxk/s320/blogger-image--70945792.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We thought this was the top...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvsdVp5cHsJ9PurQQnXzCsQfbgpd7zHanbajS_cPK7maxjSB21CknhmIJayUScsyFrC8dbSRzH7PArLQLXTnwCxtL7GC1UI0UuDscRwn5nsUKftTzH1KGuU6bAhAcqn9fYWp8oOZ5az8/s640/blogger-image-1399505051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvsdVp5cHsJ9PurQQnXzCsQfbgpd7zHanbajS_cPK7maxjSB21CknhmIJayUScsyFrC8dbSRzH7PArLQLXTnwCxtL7GC1UI0UuDscRwn5nsUKftTzH1KGuU6bAhAcqn9fYWp8oOZ5az8/s320/blogger-image-1399505051.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, how wrong we were!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VeobgVPfDIXh8wVuO76OsaD0MtXZ5DfFKZYZKmGVFdHAeLzejT_fYIzBEiHL-3b1Kqho1tvStRi7ASq5nk_H-jEvCVOgX74YjtUZyN4GRrI2yFsYSGEB3-QvWA25s5ERSYIwWsruYOY/s640/blogger-image-321449949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VeobgVPfDIXh8wVuO76OsaD0MtXZ5DfFKZYZKmGVFdHAeLzejT_fYIzBEiHL-3b1Kqho1tvStRi7ASq5nk_H-jEvCVOgX74YjtUZyN4GRrI2yFsYSGEB3-QvWA25s5ERSYIwWsruYOY/s320/blogger-image-321449949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view back to Candelaria</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME4YWZVe7nJWtlRwKhY4it0b6l1cruaXDxo9LG2YiYvdwd_wTzHTg1UqbuJqOPIebtjZHH3iRRaxuOvqNpe4BBxS8cCHd7J8NxhqlnofcC7nQZGU2cyA907-4VEmxAMRbTwWB0pjjqpY/s640/blogger-image--1637253750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME4YWZVe7nJWtlRwKhY4it0b6l1cruaXDxo9LG2YiYvdwd_wTzHTg1UqbuJqOPIebtjZHH3iRRaxuOvqNpe4BBxS8cCHd7J8NxhqlnofcC7nQZGU2cyA907-4VEmxAMRbTwWB0pjjqpY/s320/blogger-image--1637253750.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the VERY top</td></tr>
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Because our morning was filled with more physical exertion than any of the four of us are used to we were pretty dead for the rest of the day but did manage to rouse ourselves to go and get dinner and then pick up a cake! Seeing as Jesse and Lucy had to leave very early the next morning so they unfortunately wouldn't be able to be here for much of my actual birthday but that doesn't mean we couldn't still eat cake!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGPyvN4xYg7M5kC2aaoYjb-4FU8VjB7SZGnkuicZzJ8bLQnLcDjqW-oJzSqMEdHOnoCy5XAw0wz4eRewkhQAxL4f63ppbh3cbpZebqux00KZD0HOQEAkGH1dT_BnAofSFXTM3PRmKBlY/s640/blogger-image-108190926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGPyvN4xYg7M5kC2aaoYjb-4FU8VjB7SZGnkuicZzJ8bLQnLcDjqW-oJzSqMEdHOnoCy5XAw0wz4eRewkhQAxL4f63ppbh3cbpZebqux00KZD0HOQEAkGH1dT_BnAofSFXTM3PRmKBlY/s640/blogger-image-108190926.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A smile as big as the cake on my lap</td></tr>
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Even after our draining morning we all managed to make it to midnight and see the 19th of February come in. Only a few hours later we were dropping Jesse and Lucy off at the bus and waving goodbye. Because we'd spent yesterday doing nothing it did mean that I had some work to do on my birthday but it wasn't so bad. We did get free fried chicken and tajadas in the market and of course there was plenty of cake to eat.<br />
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To end the day we went to mass at the Catholic church, which we had never been to before. Some girls from my sixth grade class had invited me and even had it announced that it was my birthday during the service. It was a very different experience to when we've been to the Evangelical church but nice to see the other side of religion in Candelaria.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Honduran birthday tradition (I'm just glad I avoided the eggs in my hair!)</td></tr>
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Overall, it was a very different birthday to my previous 18, not least because it was spent in Honduras! It was also the first time I've spent my birthday away from Amy (that would be twin Amy) and I think that was weird for me and her but also for my mum. We all managed though and hopefully next year we'll all be back together eating more cake!</div>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-88004609539245288412017-02-17T10:48:00.002-08:002017-02-17T19:05:48.592-08:00Back to the Day JobTwo weeks have passed since we arrived back to our home in Honduras and I was extremely happy to find it truly did feel like a homecoming. It wasn't until we left and came back that I realised how comfortable I've grown here, how much a part of our host family we are and how many friends we actually have. These were all things I wanted out of being immersed in a community and Candelaria managed to deliver that without me noticing.<br>
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Another thing that happened without me noticing is that we are now six months in. These past six months have undoubtedly been some of the best of my life and I wouldn't change them for the world. A lot of this time has been taken up by traveling during our holidays but now that we're back in our project I'm looking forward to doing as much as we can and using the time we have left to make as a big a difference as possible.</div>
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In the three months or so that we have been outside of Candelaria it has seen some significant changes. It's summer here which means that instead of afternoon rainstorms we just get more sun. The river now consists of various pools of still water and the roads are basically made of dust meaning an approaching car now signals a coughing fit and the need for a shower. It should start to cool down and, more importantly, rain again in May but until then it's mid-day siestas and dust blown hair for us. </div>
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We were thrown right back into things when we arrived back, and were making torillas for <i>baleadas</i> barely half an hour after getting off the bus. Candelaria was also in the midst of a <i>fería </i>which meant for the next few days we had concerts in the park, stalls lining the streets, the coronation of the Queen of the <i>Fería</i> and a singing competition held literally right outside our door.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowning the Queen of the <i>Fería</i></td></tr>
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I'm not going to lie, our first week back, before our lessons started, was spent not doing very much. We did manage to for ourselves to unpack (which wasn't actually that hard seeing as it's a luxury we haven't had for a few months) and do some planning for classes and the rest of the year but that was about it.</div>
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Once school started it was easy to get back into the swing of things, the hardest part being remembering that all the classes are now a year older so when I say 4th grade I probably mean the new 5th grade. Or do I? Very confusing. We had some changes to our timetable, the biggest being that we know have 4-6th grade for three lessons a week instead of four which is disappointing but despite our efforts there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working hard?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or hardly working?</td></tr>
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What we have managed to do however, is finally organise teaching some classes in the <i>colegio. </i>We went to a teachers meeting to introduce ourselves to everyone that works at the high school and then the next day we sat down with the depute head to make a timetable - easy as that! Instead of watching our afternoons drag by as we try and amuse ourselves, they will now be filled with an hour and a half each of English classes with students in the last year of their studies. The way it works means we still have some spare time so we're going to see how this goes and then possibly try and fit a few more classes in. They might as well make full use of us!<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the new workplace!</td></tr>
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Outside of school we've made a few trips to the river, if it can really be called that right now, gone on a few walks up to a point on the road where you can see El Salvador and played football with Candelaria's girls team. While we may have more friends than we realised, it's not really an even split so we're on a mission to find some <i>amigas</i>!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgki_OMla9Xu81IOpCrAfgUe9rr7fRk3B5ym69LSY9G-3Q3H2cJUkUxtilQScf5yFaFtHxrNT1D7HlClu5Oq_3AuDJq6Fx0t9dLjQddDWyh9zSludFEWjpUY6nANvg0KcAbLyhYvxY2bMA/s640/blogger-image-1439875706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgki_OMla9Xu81IOpCrAfgUe9rr7fRk3B5ym69LSY9G-3Q3H2cJUkUxtilQScf5yFaFtHxrNT1D7HlClu5Oq_3AuDJq6Fx0t9dLjQddDWyh9zSludFEWjpUY6nANvg0KcAbLyhYvxY2bMA/s320/blogger-image-1439875706.jpg" width="240"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amigos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiB7wDe0IJFWan-JKEeFAu2XOwOdSRRqWyUA9dgSLK2aw_-cJ_FAj0HsjAWnbqM3XITWZaz6LST6Mw4s8eNGlw4m7cHVx4hCgkSqs57SbcLvFosNlJy4pqOmVvK5kwZAjvmRw9w9HItA/s640/blogger-image--1363042485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiB7wDe0IJFWan-JKEeFAu2XOwOdSRRqWyUA9dgSLK2aw_-cJ_FAj0HsjAWnbqM3XITWZaz6LST6Mw4s8eNGlw4m7cHVx4hCgkSqs57SbcLvFosNlJy4pqOmVvK5kwZAjvmRw9w9HItA/s320/blogger-image--1363042485.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That right there would be El Salvador, off in the distance</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td></tr>
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Since being back we've also celebrated everybody's favourite holiday, Valentine's Day. In Honduras it's called <i>El Día del Amor y Amistad</i> which translates to the day of Love and Friendship. Much more inclusive and it makes me feel better about the fact that the only interested party I had to fight off was Amy wanting a selfie and the only gift I received was a highlighter from a 2nd grader. I did get cake though!<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFVB_56r6JAIpBOLqYeJctRh9d9HlgViOEH7cVzf7yCTpafRJAMCPCawJ51QXCMvaH9HMI1Ok7kU6MJMN10w1UHuA2UAcTrQEoTvFrR72kxtraaezFq-ScWM2ge3VOwqHxoYDMJuMqGU/s640/blogger-image-874093004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFVB_56r6JAIpBOLqYeJctRh9d9HlgViOEH7cVzf7yCTpafRJAMCPCawJ51QXCMvaH9HMI1Ok7kU6MJMN10w1UHuA2UAcTrQEoTvFrR72kxtraaezFq-ScWM2ge3VOwqHxoYDMJuMqGU/s320/blogger-image-874093004.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's always a <i>felíz día</i> when there's cake!</td></tr>
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Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-81023536919032554032017-02-02T14:20:00.001-08:002017-02-02T14:20:18.789-08:00Survival Guide: Travelling<div>
It's that time again. Another big milestone has passed and we now have as much time left in Honduras as we have spent here. That sparks a whole range of feeling, from anticipation for what's still to come to excitement at going home and sadness at the thought of leaving a place that has become home too.<br />
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I'm trying not think about that yet so in the meantime, to mark this anniversary I am continuing what I started three months ago. I have gathered all the lessons I've learned from a hard three months on the road, ready to help any more intrepid adventurers on their way.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Survival Guide: Travelling</b></u></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Cheap food, street food, never gonna eat food - </b>the mantra of a traveller on a budget. Whatever is cheapest, that's what you're eating, street food is a necessary but also delicious risk that must be taken and when times are tough, two meals a day will have to do. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li> <b>Take free water wherever you can -</b> the bane of my existence was having to buy water everywhere we went (apart from Costa Rica where tap water is safe), especially when the rest of Central America doesn't sell bags of water as widely as Honduras does. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>You can't beat a chicken bus -</b> don't be enticed by the offer of a direct shuttle even if it has air conditioning. A/C's not all its cracked up to be and you'll have to pay an arm and a leg for it.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> <b>Missing your bus is not the end of the world - </b>there's
always another or at least another option and worst comes to the worst
you spend one more night where you are. No use getting your panties in a
twist, as I've learned. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>Approach borders with care -</b> don't make any sudden movements and never show any signs of fear. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>A portable charger is mans best friend, not your dog -</b> a seven hour bus ride is a lonely thing with a dead phone. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b> Nothing is truly your own -</b> when travelling in group all resources are
communal. This ranges from food to headphones to socks. Be prepared to
share. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>Pack your bag and then take out a third of the clothes you have -</b> I can promise your shoulders and your wallet will thank you when you neither have to carry it all or wash it all. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>1 bag, I repeat, 1 bag - </b>4 bags is never a good idea no
matter how essential they seem before you leave. 2 bags at most BUT
NEVER 4 (not looking at anyone in particular, Lynch).</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>No daredevil stunts without medical insurance -</b> that is unless you've got your own private plane to fly you to the nearest hospital. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>The unexpected adventures are sometimes the best - </b>case in point, we had a hitchhiking competition to a cheese factory in Costa Rica because we're lazy and it ended up being one of my favourite things we've done. </li>
</ul>
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<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Say yes to everything - </b>ok, maybe not everything because that's how you end up taking part in a Mayan human sacrifice ritual but in general good things happen when you take a chance. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li> <b>Use whatever Spanish you have whenever you can -</b> people
will be pleased and possibly surprised but also much more likely to be
friendly and help you out, even if you're butchering their language. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Talk to people -</b> whether that be locals to make sure you're
not being ripped off when you go to buy your traditional Guatemalan
poncho, the people who work in your hostel who might be able to help you
with the next step of your trip or other travellers to share war
stories. Remember, it's the people that make the place. </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li> <b>Be ready for the time of your life -</b> I couldn't have imagined how much I would love travelling when we started. I had hopes but thought they were almost too good to be true. And I never knew how much it would change me. I get less stressed, am more likely to go with the flow, say yes to the chances I get given, I'm more outgoing, more social, more adventurous. I mean, I got a tattoo, old Sara would never have done that but I have no regrets, about anything. I will always remember the amazing, crazy, surprising, unbelievable three months I spent backpacking around Central America. </li>
</ul>
</div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-13588157642780458492017-01-31T07:02:00.001-08:002017-01-31T07:03:57.934-08:00Life's A BeachAs I write, there is officially less than 24 hours until travelling is over, Amy and I are back in Candelaria and life returns not to normal but as close as it gets.<br />
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Our last week has been spent resting up before getting back to work. From Lake Atitlan we returned to Antigua for one night before getting a 2am shuttle down to El Tunco in El Salvador. El Salvador wasn't on our original plans but we decided to skip Semuc Champey in Guatemala (a controversial decision among other travellers) to give us time to tick off another country. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It was only the four girls that headed down to Honduras' neighbour as the boys decided they wanted to visit some of the other projects instead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We arrived in the lazy, two street beach town of El Tunco at 8am and began as we meant to go on. It was a gruelling three days of sleeping, reading and not much else, either by the pool or on the beach. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUf4BEk4RurPos3yEhfevAXu4_c6hRsyHAb9hjQCalOEZ8FLTBC4i4Lvv7rTqvoQhAbzQpSkuPIz8f30Z2chGPIgEZAsHDY2tAi3mdjhrZIBgnbfnrNIAJx7u9o1Y1umDiAaM-hfRjhU/s640/blogger-image-272140656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUf4BEk4RurPos3yEhfevAXu4_c6hRsyHAb9hjQCalOEZ8FLTBC4i4Lvv7rTqvoQhAbzQpSkuPIz8f30Z2chGPIgEZAsHDY2tAi3mdjhrZIBgnbfnrNIAJx7u9o1Y1umDiAaM-hfRjhU/s320/blogger-image-272140656.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdCUZ3tNVcrX6EqxK1kuHW3PNJf_hoKCvCQ3k_NfKmwCSfeJjewyiYuDiIM7Bv_J9m-k_LwvzTn0SvwXmCiGLL0djSewpltejfNZOuwBmjTodFWFixiwqMahVKk2r20D5RWMAIuCn2Qg/s640/blogger-image-2105194197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdCUZ3tNVcrX6EqxK1kuHW3PNJf_hoKCvCQ3k_NfKmwCSfeJjewyiYuDiIM7Bv_J9m-k_LwvzTn0SvwXmCiGLL0djSewpltejfNZOuwBmjTodFWFixiwqMahVKk2r20D5RWMAIuCn2Qg/s320/blogger-image-2105194197.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzj_Qf9UWjcjDJSb3gloSoUZFtsZ1MvPul6TosDQXT5QNSMH1zZCQT-YBogJmtinAcjnrhQxyrBg1Ji4Rbof63aMBWSFnq3fFPQviqnFbTsB0zgsvjzpbxyyS4qwR14UGpQC9-UyW_1o/s640/blogger-image-1462172025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzj_Qf9UWjcjDJSb3gloSoUZFtsZ1MvPul6TosDQXT5QNSMH1zZCQT-YBogJmtinAcjnrhQxyrBg1Ji4Rbof63aMBWSFnq3fFPQviqnFbTsB0zgsvjzpbxyyS4qwR14UGpQC9-UyW_1o/s320/blogger-image-1462172025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Amy and I did manage to pull ourselves off the sun loungers one morning to get a surf lesson though I might have been better staying where I was. With one previous two hour lesson under my belt from Costa Rica last year, I thought it would all come back to me. I was wrong. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Along with lacking the natural rhythm to be a salsa dancer, I do<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> not possess <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">the bala<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">nce to be a surfer. Amy however was a natural!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvG2-elPJIJoSCJ4-EGKLbBHHmYKuUrIExhmejZWvc3xjj-cVGYuejiwrqeAMkJdHuXNb_xx02mgcCp3PJcdgScE0vyBVa-x_jcPYp2M8Zd2B9R3AWhpAVEvT9IWPo-MV_QoSnZ_NBQI4/s640/blogger-image--1116001209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvG2-elPJIJoSCJ4-EGKLbBHHmYKuUrIExhmejZWvc3xjj-cVGYuejiwrqeAMkJdHuXNb_xx02mgcCp3PJcdgScE0vyBVa-x_jcPYp2M8Zd2B9R3AWhpAVEvT9IWPo-MV_QoSnZ_NBQI4/s320/blogger-image--1116001209.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lasted approximately 0.25 seconds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YTXtvBMxz_CtweMf9gpRngxTQmh8zotWH0zDsDXxsL0GHutalmYJZRVlRBLUvhb0qpQpwmA017wup075ctcCmg2DyHXulcXIyBPyS7ANp6H3qv_rTbXOuDL1EhbFtEHF_37orM6grfA/s640/blogger-image--1313199251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YTXtvBMxz_CtweMf9gpRngxTQmh8zotWH0zDsDXxsL0GHutalmYJZRVlRBLUvhb0qpQpwmA017wup075ctcCmg2DyHXulcXIyBPyS7ANp6H3qv_rTbXOuDL1EhbFtEHF_37orM6grfA/s320/blogger-image--1313199251.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at her go!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We were sent off with one of the best sunsets we've seen as we prepared for leaving at 4am. Our aim was to get all the way from El Tunco on the Pacific coast of El Salvador to Tela on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. It was a long day that lasted 17 hours and took 5 buses and a border crossing but we did it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There was a massive meet up planned of 15 out of our now 21 volunteers (our 8 month volunteers arrived last week and made the trek over) for Saturday night. As it was Tomala and Candelaria's first time in Tela we got to experience the gorgeous beach and interesting nightlife of Tela while being amazed at how Eilidh and Sophie get anything done here in the heat! Thanks to Amy we even had a bit of excitement when we got back in the early hours of the morning when the kitchen tap/pipe came off the wall and we had to deal with a rapidly flooding house! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And then it was over. Amy and I travelled back to San Pedro on Sunday with Jesse and Lucy as well as our 8 monthers, Norome and Eva whose project is on our side, close to Tomala. Our last night is being spent back in Gracias, our home away from home, relaxing and getting ready to return to Candelaria tomorrow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It has been the perfect way to end our travels, relaxing and easing ourselves back into Honduras so we can go back with lots of energy to throw into our work. And we hope to have lots of it when we return! </span></div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-2991050467707510692017-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:002017-01-28T08:48:57.153-08:00Since When Was 18°C Cold?<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Stepping out of the bus into the city of Antigua, we experienced something we haven't really felt for the past five and a half months - cold (even though it was <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">18°C!<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">)</span></span>. Jumpers went on, shorts were regretted and we <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">marveled</span> at how good it felt. </span></div>
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To be fair it was still early in the morning, and as we would learn over the three days that we stayed in Antigua, the middle of the day could actually get quite warm. Nights were colder than we are used to which lead to a welcome discovery in our hostel. They actually give you duvets! It's the little things. </div>
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Antigua is such a lovely city that we were quite happy spending our time wondering around and taking it all in. Antigua is filled with cobblestone streets and even more colourful buildings and is filled with the perfect balance of tourists and travellers and the people that actually live there. It's not a city made especially for tourists but it welcomes them with open arms. Antigua is also ringed by mountains and a few volcanoes, some of which are active, and this just adds to the charm. </div>
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I did manage a walk up to a cross on a hillside that overlooks Antigua and gives you the most incredible views and also took part in a free salsa class. Let's just say that my parents gifted me neither the natural rhythm or the coordination of limbs to allow me to take it to a professional level. </div>
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After Antigua we had a bit of a split. Five of us left for Lake Atitlan while Amy left for Guatemala City to retake the chemistry exam she needs to get into her uni course for next year. I think I suffered from more separation anxiety during those few days than I ever have with twin Amy! It's going to be a long month of waiting for the results but everyone keep your fingers and toes crossed! </div>
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Atitlan is a lake with multiple personalities. For example, there's Panajachel, the tourist town, where coaches unload their passengers to buy souvenirs by the armful; San Marcos, the hippie town, with yoga retreats and spiritual workshops galore; and San Pedro, the backpackers town, split pretty much in half and shared between locals and travellers. </div>
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Our relaxed approach (or laziness depending on your viewpoint) continued into our stay at Atitlan. Our first day solely consisted of looking around the little town we had chosen to stay in, San Pedro de la Laguna. We ventured across the lake to visit Panajachel too, with plans to kayak but we backed out because Atitlan, being a mile high lake was even colder than Antigua. </div>
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I really enjoyed the time we spent in both of these places and even though it sounds like we didn't do much (which we didn't) it was just what we felt like. We have been travelling for almost three months now and going form place to place every couple of days takes its toll so that by now, sometimes all we want to do is nothing. And our next stop would cater to this perfectly. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-91303424904973692462017-01-25T12:24:00.002-08:002017-01-25T18:55:29.978-08:00Flores Tikal-ed My FancyIt seems like every blog post I write starts in the same way - with a long bus journey - and this one is no different. To get from Mexico to Guatemala, our last country before returning home to Honduras, we had to cross back into Belize first and change buses twice despite having paid for a direct shuttle. Apart from that, and the surprise exit fee from Mexico that left us penniless, the journey actually went quite smoothly and we arrived in Flores in the early evening.<br>
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Flores is a little island in Lake Petén Itza in the Petén region of Guatemala which was celebrating it's anniversary while we were there meaning there was a feria on during our stay that involved a lot of parties, presentations and pageants. Flores is the most common base for tourists and travellers that want to go and visit the Mayan site of Tikal, which was on our agenda for our stay.<br>
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We decided to save Tikal for our second day and took the first day on Flores easy. The town is very cute, full of cobblestoned streets and colourful facades. In the afternoon we grabbed one of the local boats and got it to take us across the lake to a rope swing. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon, with a cold beer and a pack of cards, and provided a good deal of embarrassing moments to as we overestimated our strength and elegance! The view of the sunset was unparalleled too.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking about 100x more graceful than I actually was!</td></tr>
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Day 2 meant off to Tikal. Tikal is famed for it's sunrise tours but being 18 and lazy none of us really fancied getting up at 3am to get there in time do we opted for the less popular, much quieter sunset tour. The transport we bought from our hostel included a guide so we were led around the many impressive temples of Tikal before arriving in the Central Plaza in time to watch the sun set... behind a tree.</div>
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Despite the slightly disappointing end to the tour, Tikal was definitely my favourite of the ruins we have visited. With many of the buildings still standing and in good condition, and with a defined Central Plaza, it's easy to imagine Tikal as the bustling city it was until it's decline in the 9th Century. Tikal was a major economic and political centre during the Mayan era and features tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas, Temple IV.<br>
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To break what is becoming a habit, I'll finish this post with a bus so I can dive right into the next one. Our next destination was supposed to be Semuc Champey but after some discussion we decided to skip to give us the chance to fit in one more country - El Salvador! We were warned that to get from Flores to Antigua, where we decided to go next, night buses were the fastest options but having not been prepared for this, it meant a day hanging around in our hostel before embarking on the single most uncomfortable bus journey we've had. And before anyone says anything it wasn't even a chicken bus! Anyway we eventually got to Guatemala City where it was a quick ride over to Antigua, getting us there bright and early to find breakfast and explore the city before we could crash out and catch up on some sleep.</div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243013791730916262.post-37761330170785819692017-01-23T15:09:00.002-08:002017-01-23T15:09:40.402-08:00Marvelling at MexicoAfter eventually making it out of Utila our next stop was Mexico. With not much time left we had decided to spend our time in Mexico exploring the Quintana Roo region. Our first stop was Tulum but to get there we had to go through four countries, cross three borders and take an unexpected night bus. It took us a full two days and one night of travelling but we eventually arrived in Tulum in the early hours of the morning.<br />
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We had arrived earlier than planned after deciding to take the night bus from Belize City so hadn't found any accommodation so ended up walking around Tulum at 6.30 in the morning being turned away from hostel after hostel because they were full. We did eventually find some hostels that had space for us but as they were over $20, more than double what we usually pay for a bed, we decided that we couldn't afford to stay in Tulum for more than night.<br />
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While we were too exhausted after all of our travelling to do much the day we arrived we made plans to visit the Mayan ruins before taking a bus to Cancun the next day. These were the first ruins I had visited and while they were impressive, there was something even more breathtaking. The ruins at Tulum are right on the coast and it was hands down the most beautiful water I've ever seen.<br />
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Cancun was our next stop and after the disaster that was trying to find somewhere to stay in Tulum we booked ahead this time. Our stay involved even more beautiful water, another visit to the Mayans and the most expensive night out ever. Do you know it costs $60 to get into a club in Cancun???</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I swear it's impossible to get a photo where all of us are smiling</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdFq6htLApcad6dv2XV-hCFPaaeK_ZLVsotrKhpVNmlxTnSInDFotrKY_YOAx42Y3gQP3tKNMCVJnsX5mSeEhihvdltAkrMIMFeN2_UD_AH4jz6iAvn21mgFGSNskk4nPm_39t4ABNNY/s640/blogger-image-1962270682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdFq6htLApcad6dv2XV-hCFPaaeK_ZLVsotrKhpVNmlxTnSInDFotrKY_YOAx42Y3gQP3tKNMCVJnsX5mSeEhihvdltAkrMIMFeN2_UD_AH4jz6iAvn21mgFGSNskk4nPm_39t4ABNNY/s320/blogger-image-1962270682.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A major Central American attraction is the Mayan site of Chichen Itza near Cancun. The main temple is on postcards, magnets and souvenirs everywhere you look and despite all the hype, it didn't actually disappoint. It did take us five hours on a bus to get there just to spend a few hours looking around before enduring the same journey on the way back but it was worth it to see such a well known historical landmark.</div>
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A little history about the Mayans seeing as they're featuring so heavily in this blog. The Maya civilisation spread all the way from the southeastern regions of Mexico, down through Guatemala and Belize to the north of Honduras and El Salvador. The Mayans were around from 2000 BC until the mysterious collapse of Mayan civilistation toward the end of the ninth century that led to the abandonment of their great cities. <br />
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After a few days hanging around in Cancun, we weren't quite ready to leave Mexico so we decided to make a stop on our way back down to the border. We chose Laguna de Bacalar, also known as the lake of seven colours. I thought the water in Tulum and then Cancun couldn't get any better but Mexico just kept it coming. Bacalar has the clearest, most crystalline water you could imagine and is hard to look away from. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep, this is actually what it looks like</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the beautiful yet freezing water</td></tr>
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Overall we only spent a week in Mexico, partly to try and avoid the departure tax for stays longer than seven days (which we still had to pay by a day), partly out of a desire to get to Guatemala and partly because despite what everyone had told us Mexico was much more expensive than we were prepared for. This may be because we were there in the high season, right over the Christmas holidays, or maybe because we mostly just visited the notoriously touristy places.</div>
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Anyway, whatever it was, I feel like I owe Mexico another chance to bowl me over like has most of the travellers we've met but that means giving it much longer than a week - I mean have you seen the size of it? - and visiting places that show off the true Mexican culture. I have a feeling that once I dig past the Cancuns and Tulums, Mexico could be a place that I could love. </div>
Sara Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121440455891985510noreply@blogger.com0