I love the new Wendy's menu!

Exchange rate: USD to Honduras Lempira: $1 to 18.9 lempiras.

earthquake -- 7.1

This morning at about 2:20 a.m. an earthquake hit La Ceiba --- rumor has it that this was the first earthquake in La Ceiba history. It was a 7.1 on the richter scale. My second floor apartment was swaying back and forth and I kept hearing the sounds of glass breaking in my neighbors' apartments. It was bigger than any earthquake I've felt in California.

Fortunately the epicenter was in the ocean, so very little damage was done. Part of a bridge collapsed, but I don't think there were any fatalities. There may have been one death in the whole country as a result of the quake, but I'm not sure about that (my translation skills while watching local news still aren't super reliable).

School got cancelled today though. I think most people were awake all night so schools were cancelled nationally. Crazy! Imagine if that's what people did in California!

my students' magazine

Here are some of the pages of the magazine that I made with my tenth grade students. It includes their original poems, essays, reviews and creative stories as well as some of their favorite quotes!

"it's a bittersweet symphony ... "

It's almost time for me to leave Honduras. June 4th I'll be moving out of my apartment and into my friend Tyler's apartment, along with Micah. By June 16 I'll be on my way to El Salvador where I'll meet up with Brittany Hoover for about 10 days of adventure and beach fun!

It sounds cliche, but my time here really has gone by quickly. I'm excited to be going home, but sad to be leaving. The past few weeks here have been great. Micah and I have more friends now! When we have parties it's not just the two of us! haha There's constantly stuff going on, and yet never before in my life have I had so much free time. I think I will miss a lot about Honduras.

This past weekend was the Carnival ... La Ceiba's claim to fame. It was a ton of fun! Thursday, Friday and Saturday night the streets were full of thousands of people. The streets were lined with colorful tables full of crap that, for some reason, everyone felt compelled to buy. Entertainment consisted of everything from punta peformed by the great Aurelio Martinez (La Ceiba local) and Honduras' pride Guillermo Anderson to a rock duet by two women wearing silver bodysuits. It was awesome ... I'll try to find time tomorrow to tell more stories about it!

t-shirts

JBU in La Ceiba
I just got back from a run down to the beach. On my way back I saw a middle-aged man wearing a blue JBU Volleyball shirt. Weird.

Heart of Clouds
Outside the sky is a mess of blue-gray clouds. It's been raining off and on the past few days-- a nice break from the heat we've been having. From my balcony you can see the mountains. They're gorgeous right now. It almost looks as though the mountain has a cloud heart that is seeping out through every valley and crevice. The clouds are menacing and angry looking, but also so wispy and mystical. It's hard to decide how to feel about them. (see photo)


Random Stuff
Current Favorite Chill Song: "Radio Ballet" by Eluvium
Current Favorite Power Song: "Shine On" by R.I.O.
Current Afternoon Snack: Dr. Pepper and Snyder's Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces
Current Annoyance: bug bites
Current Apartment Status: dirty & with a busted light bulb in my kitchen
Last Lost Thing That I've Found: a jar of peanuts that had rolled under my bed; lost Sunday, found today.
Last 3 Calls Received: Matt, Hiromi, Hiromi
Time I Woke Up Today: 7:30 a.m.

for david

David is a seventh grade student at my school. His older brother was killed Saturday night. They found his body, but not his head. He was 17.

If you're a person of faith (or even if you're not) please say a prayer for David and his family.

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
~Henry David Thoreau

winding down

One month. That's the amount of time I have left in Honduras. Thursday was the last day of school, tomorrow I'm going on a field trip with the seniors and then it's final exam week!

It's been a tough year, but I'll be sad to leave Central America. As I am turning the last pages of this chapter of my life story I've started to search pretty hard for the content of my next chapter. The fact that I'm not 23 seems to put more pressure on actually finding a career. But the truth is I'm more confused about what I should do with my life now than ever.

Here are some people and stories that have been inspiring my career musings:

Aung San Suu Kyi : Burma's pro-democracy leader who was recently moved from house arrest to prison when a confusing American man swam across a lake/river to visit her. She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and has been called the modern day Ghandi. She has been on house arrest for 13 years.

Shannon Galpin: A single-mom who started a non-profit organization in 2007 to bring education to women and children in Afghanistan. She says that she works so that no one has to feel powerless.

"Slumdog Millionair": Tonight Dateline had a special about Rubina Ali and Azhar Ismail, two child stars from the film "Slumdog Millionaire" who are actually from the slums of Mumbai.The Dateline special took a look at where those kids are now ... months after the film won Best Film of the Year at the Oscars. It turns out their both back in the slums. It makes me want to visit India.


To close, I want to share a quote that I wrote in my journal months ago. It's not specifically related to anything else in this post, but I feel like it's still relevant.

"As the glow of a coal depends upon its remaining in teh fire, so the vitality, the psychic security, the very humanity of man depends on his integration into a family." -- John V. Taylor

mother's day

i painted my guitar!

May 6, 2009:

I've always wanted to paint a guitar but never had to guts to ... I was always afraid I'd ruin it with my mediocre art skills. But on Monday I decided that it was time to do it. "I'm Not There" was playing on TV, and something about Bob Dylan's story and music made me get up, walk to the mall and buy some paint. Here's what I've got so far! The gray shapes are supposed to be a lion! (lion drawing tutorial).


In other news, I was eating lunch at Quiznos and watching my favorite soccer team (Arsenal) get beat by Manchester United when I realized that Cristiano Ronaldo is as immature and childish as my male students. All I've ever heard about Ronaldo is what an awesome player he is and how hot he is (the latter comment coming mostly from my female students). I want to know how such a talented, well-known athlete gets away with acting like a cocky 13-year-old?


LASTLY, no one says it better than Bob: "Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights... Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight." The school is trying to screw Micah and I over again ... details aren't important but you should know that there will be a battle tomorrow and I'm prepared to fight. Some people say they don't believe in fighting. I think those people are either cowardly or apathetic. I don't support violence, but I am all for fighting because there are things definitely worth fighting for.

--paz y amor--

this week-in-a-half in pictures:

APRIL 24: FUN DAY! Class was canceled and the entire school (from pre-k to my seniors) came to school to play games and eat lunch. My students called it "boring day" ... but that was to be expected. Micah and I shared a bunch of great ideas in the planning meeting, but none were used ... but that too was to be expected.

APRIL 28: I got my hair cut and highlighted. It doesn't look exactly like this, but it's close. :)

APRIL 29: I discovered that Mega (my supermarket) is carrying Dr. Pepper again!

APRIL 29-30: The administration tells all the students to wear masks at school to protect against the swine flu, which at this point has killed about 153 people in Mexico and one in the U.S.

APRIL 30: The Last day of class for seniors! After classes, 11B invited all the teachers to have lunch with them at Pizza Hut. It was really fun to hang out with them outside of class!

MAY 1: All of Honduras took the day off to celebrate Labor Day so Micah, Tyler (a Canadian friend who works for an NGO) and I went to Utila! I snorkeled, again. It was amazing, again. It's crazy to think that there's an entire world going on under water ... a world I know so little about.

MAY 3: I bought a kite! It cost 40.14 lempiras ... or about $2. As soon as it cools down a little, I'm going to put on my boots (to protect against bugs) and go out to the field in front of my apartment and fly it! It'll probably reinforce my neighbors' beliefs that I'm a little crazy.