One week down...

I’ve now been out of the states for a full week, and, as of midnight tonight, I will have been in Honduras one week. It seems like an eternity. So much has happened in so little time. But, as I said before I left, once I get through these first weeks it should be pretty smooth sailing, and that seems to be the case. Now that I’m getting used to the area, the people, the school, and everything that comes along with those, a routine is beginning to develop and I’m growing comfortable with where I am.
We cleaned up our house, which is referred to as “Casa Grande” by those in the program simply because it’s so much bigger than the other volunteer house (don’t confuse big with nice – that it’s not – but it’s a free house and I’m glad to have it). I'm starting to be a regular around town, which is certainly a welcome change. My first day here I went to the supermarket where everyone stared at me as though I had some awful birth defect: “oh my gosh, she’s Caucasian…” That, too, is beginning to change. People recognize me and say hello. It’s not a large town, but it’s not too small either. Actually, I don’t think they have any idea what size it is nor where the borders of the town lie. Two recent consensuses were taken: one stated that Cofradίa has 40,000 citizens while the other claimed 90,000. So, naturally, when I asked Ben he simply stated, “There are between 40,000 and 90,000 people that live here.” Uh huh…
My favorite is when I see one of our students around town. Granted, in a city of 40,000 to 90,000 people, it’s not the most frequent occurrence, but it’s always fun to hear “Miss! Miss! How are you?” Every now and then we’ll get a ride in the back of someone’s truck to or from school, which is really nice with all the rain we’ve gotten lately. In fact, there’s been so much rain these past few days that the town is flooding and school has been cancelled for the day. Crossing the road in front of our house is like wading through an ankle-deep, muddy river. It’s quite the experience.
I’m starting to get used to the food, too. It’s not quite what I expected. Apparently even rice and black beans is a little to classy for this town. Meals include refried beans, yuca, macheted chicken (bones and all), plaintain chips (they don’t even have corn chips)… not the most appetizing selection. They’re most common dish, however, is quickly growing on me: the baleada. An elegant compilation of refried beans, matequilla, and goat cheese inside a warm tortilla... yum! There’s a local restaurant called Iguanas about a block away that makes them to order with eggs, tomatoes, onions, avocadoes, the works… and all for about a dollar a piece. A visit to Iguanas has become a daily routine… and the addiction begins…
Lastly, I’m beginning to get used to the school as well… though not quite as quickly as the baleada. The middle schoolers are a breeze. There are only about 10 of them, they stay in their seats, and they speak English moderately well. I had them each write me a paragraph about their weekends in class yesterday so that I could get a feel for their writing skills, and I’m definitely working with a range of abilities. It should be interesting, but I’ll take it over the insanity of the first grade classroom, which is where I’ve been the rest of the day lately. Wow… I had no idea first graders were so much work! Likewise, we’re dealing with a range of abilities in there too… only instead of 10 students we’ve got 20 hyperactive, screaming children. Jeremy has put me in charge of their English lesson since I can help them in Spanish, but getting them to sit quietly for an entire lesson and actually do what I’m asking is a story in itself. I’ll need more time to complete this adaptation.
Overall, things are looking pretty good. Am I homesick? Yes. I miss you all like crazy! But, I’m happy where I am and looking forward to this final adaptation… I so hope that I can have a lasting influence on these kids and their education.

P.S. I know some of you had expressed an interest in donating to the school. I’ll come up with a more formal list of things that are needed, but here’s what I’ve come up with so far: dry erase markers, paper (lined, white, colored, all of the above), pencils, pencil sharpeners, markers, crayons, etc. What we need more than anything right now is a copier that is designed for humid conditions… either that or a new air conditioner. The air conditioner in our office broke, and the humidity is causing the papers in the copier to stick together… which has left us copier-less… a pretty crippling state to be in. :p
I’ll keep you posted on anything else I think of. Love you guys!