Honduras, Goodbye for now...until we meet again.

     H-O-N-D-U-R-A-S. Honduras...for many Honduras is a small country that people often hear on the news relating to gangs, drugs, and/or murder. However, Honduras, for me, is much more than the bad stuff you see on the news, it is a home. A beautiful home, country, and community to so many beautiful people; and for me it was my home, country, and community for the last year.

     I have been trying to find the words to write one of my very last blog posts from this journey but it is challenging. It's challenging to put all my emotions and feelings from the last year onto "paper". This time last year, I was sitting in Lawrence with some friends talking about how in just one short month I would be headed on a plane to start my dream. My dream of teaching children in Honduras, as if it was JUST yesterday. Yesterday, I sat with those same friends via skype and we talked about how I will be on a plane in route for the United State of America in just 3 short days! Three, Three days! Where did the time go? Where did the last year go? Time has gone by so quickly. Yes I am very excited to go home, to spend time with my family, to spend time with my friends, to see my brother graduate, and to live a "normal" life again. But I would be lying if I was to say I was not sad to leave this place. Leaving is such a bitter sweet feeling. When I get on that plane on Sunday, I know my heart will be heavy. Saying goodbye is never easy. For the past week, I have watched every teacher leave Honduras, and for the past week, I have been able to reflect on this past year and all that Honduras, the people, the students, my school, and the community has taught me.

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1. Be Patient.  Whenever working with children, you learn to be patient. However, this year has really taught me to be patient. From events not ever starting on time, to language barriers, to power outages, and to teaching 18 energetic children. 
2. Be Flexible. If there is one thing I can take away from this year, it would hands down be flexibility. The hardest part about adjusting here was understanding their reasoning's for doing things. For example, we had a huge Christmas show/parade that we ALL knew about from the first month of school (August). However, the Honduran way of things, is to decorate, make floats, make costumes, etc, I kid you not, is to start on the Thursday before the event. So here we are, All Hands on Deck, being Santa's Elves running and scrambling to put this parade together, all while the band is practicing during class time. So Flexibility was adapted very quickly and I must say, it will come in handy in the future. 
3. To really enjoy waking up early- In college I was never the one to pull an all-nighter instead you would find me waking up as early as possible and get my morning started that way. I have always had this weird fear of "sleeping my day away". Whenever, I was at sleepovers, I would want all my friends to wake up so we could get the most amount of time in before we had to go home. Being here in Honduras, has only made me appreciate daylight even more. I swear I wake up every single morning when the sun rises (just ask me what time it rose and I can tell you...today it rose about 5:22). Hondurans function on daylight. The dogs, the chickens, the old men working, and everything else...they all rise and fall according to the sun. So this year, I have really enjoyed waking up to the sun and knowing I have all morning to get my chores done; especially when you have clothes out on the line to dry...that sun time is crucial. 
4. Embrace the Beauty. The first time I got on the plane to Honduras back in 2011, I was reminded at how much beauty this earth holds. From small town Kansas, to the mountains of Gracias, Honduras, to the black beaches in El Salvador, or the hidden lime stone pools in Guatemala, there is SO much beauty on this earth. This year, I was constantly blessed with the opportunities to travel to 4 different countries and experience so much. Sometimes you just need to take a swim in the river instead of the pool. Sometimes you just need to go on a walk instead of your morning run at the gym. Sometimes you need to just go and appreciate what is outside. 
5. Simplicity can be bliss. Something Honduras does well is simplicity. Power outages. Water outages. No air conditioning. If you are lucky enough, you might just experience all three of those at once. My first night in Gracias was one of those lucky days. I had just been dropped off after a 4 hour hot and long bus ride to my new home. We did not know anything about Gracias. All we knew was it was officially dark (because it gets dark here about 5:30 pm). My roommate and I were welcomed the Honduran way...no power, no water, and as always no air con. Welcome to Honduras! More times than not they were more of an annoyance than anything, however, with time you grew to be grateful for them. They were a constant reminder of how blessed and privileged we are. No matter if we have an abundance of money in the bank account, if you have running water and electricity you are far better off than a lot of people in the world. I grew to appreciate the reminder that electricity, hot water, and air con is not everything. Often times when the power was out it brought my roommates and I closer. We would sit and enjoy each others company, something that can be such a foreign task these days. So my challenge to you, put your phones down, shut your computers, and turn off your TVs and maybe even lights and open a window and enjoy ones company for an hour. You'll be surprised. 
6. Family is everything and treating everyone like family is next to everything. The first time I saw a big, bad, and "cool" tenth grader walking hand in hand with his younger brother melted my heart. Every time I see a similar case my heart melts again. Family is everything here. I have loved seeing how much family means in Honduras. It is very heart warming and another great reminder to always love on your loved ones. The next best thing about the whole family thing here in Gracias is they will treat you as if you are family. You're at a paper store buying school supplies and the next thing you know you are now at dinner at the store owners house. You walk by your students house and the next thing you know, you're sitting on their couch and they are waiting on you hand and foot. This has probably been one of the coolest lessons I can take away from this experience. I love that no matter if they met you a minute ago or a year ago, they are always going to offer you a seat in their house and make sure you are happy. 
7. Slow down. 7:00 am for me means 7:00 am. 7:00 am in Honduras means 7:30 you show up and 8:00 am is when it starts. Hondurans run on their own time and I am not lying on this one. With that, over this past year I have learned to slow down and just enjoy life. When I went home for Christmas Break that was the first thing that was sort of a reverse "culture shock" to me, we and I am just as guilty of it, are always in a rush. We are in a rush to get to work, we are in a rush for the next big thing that is happening tomorrow, next week, etc. We are always going and going. Living here and running on their time, I have learned to slow down a little. It will always be in my nature to be punctual and to start things on time, however I have learned to relax and let things happen. 
8. Love unconditionally. Love, it is such a little word with such a strong and powerful meaning. If there is one thing my kids have taught me this year, it is to love unconditionally. They are prime examples of loving unconditionally. 
9. Life is precious. This lesson, is one I wish I could not say I learned. However, this year was the biggest reminder of how precious and how much we take life for granted. Being a teacher you will always deal with students losing loved ones. When one loses a loved one, it becomes your problem too...it is no longer he/she lost, it is now a we lost. We lost a grandpa to old age, we lost a father to cancer, we lost 3 family members and a pilot in a plane crash, the list is much longer than I want, however that is part of life. Not only did I experience the loss of community members here in Honduras, I too lost a couple people back home. With each loss, it's a celebration of their life, of how they impacted their world and the ones the loved. But with each loss, it was a great reminder that life is precious and that we need to constantly remind the ones we love, we love them. As I look back on the year those are not exactly the highlights however, reality or not it happened. The greatest thing I took away from all of this was to always love and to let it be known! 
10. Get out of your comfort zone. "There is no growth in your comfort zone and no comfort in your growth zone." This quote has stuck with me for years. Taking the leap of faith and going to an all Spanish speaking country not knowing hardly any Spanish was definitely getting out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, you have to take that adventure and sometimes you have to leave your family behind and go travel and follow your dreams. That was what I did. I knew that my family would not be all that pleased if I was to just up and leave for a year and go teach in Honduras. However, knowing I had to get out of my comfort zone if I wanted any growth was what drove me. My family eventually got over it and got on board with my weird obsession. Looking back on this whole experience I have learned so much and grown so much in away that I could not have done anywhere else. I have loved every single part of this journey and it pains me that it all is coming to an end. 

My Co-workers: How in the world did such an awesome group of people end up all living and teaching in Gracias, Lempira? The answer is beyond me but I am grateful for each and everyone of you. I have learned so much from all of you and you inspire me more than you even know. Thank you for keeping Minerva awesome, fun, loving, and exciting!

My students: When I first met all of them I was on the verge of puking I was so nervous. To look back on how nervous I was is silly. They have taught me so much about being a teacher, the ins and outs of your first year teaching, and probably have given me a few unwelcoming grey hairs. I will always cherish all 18 of you and I look forward to seeing how you all progress! What I will miss the most are my 18 running hugs every single morning.

The community and friends of Gracias: Thank you. Thank you for opening your lives and allowing me to be apart of it. Thank you for teaching me and welcoming as one of you. You have taught me to love like no other. Thank you for leaving a mark on my heart.

And to Honduras. Yes it may be a small country in Central America and yes it may have some bad statistics attached to it but Honduras is far more than just that. Honduras is where a little big piece of my heart will always be. To Honduras: I want to thank you for changing my life in a way that I will never be the same. 3 years ago, I visited with a goal of volunteering. Never in my mind did I think I would have this dream to teach the children here. Thank you, thank you for your never ending beauty. And most of all thank you for always keeping us on our toes with all your odd and unexplainable reasoning's for things, for example, why your baleadas aren't stuffed with just a little bit more stuffing and rolled into a burrito...or why the water must go out in the middle of my shower. These things are beyond me, but I know you would not be the same without these odd unexplainable features. Thank you. Nos Vemos Pronto! 

Nos Vamos Pronto
Carly

This is the Final Countdown...

     I did it...almost. Tomorrow, I close the chapter I titled "my first year teaching full time". For all those teachers out there you know what that feels like...a big ol' sigh of relief. There were days I did not think I could go another day, there were mondays not enough coffee in the pot could make getting out of bed worth it, there were tears of joy and tears of frustration, and there were even days I came home covered in paint. However, as I look back on what a year it has been the adjective that come to mind is wonderful. I could not have pictured a better year, a better staff, and a better group of kids for my first year teaching.
     As I sit here thinking about how quickly this year has came and gone and that the fact tomorrow will be the very last day I will be greeted by 18 running children as I enter the school grounds, my heart is heavy. I think back to the first day I met these kiddos and the nerves that filled me are indescribable. What if they do not like me, what if they don't know english and/or visa versa, what if, what if, what if... So now that I look back on all those what ifs the answer to every one of those questions is yes. Yes, I am sure at some point in the year they did not like me, and yes at some point they did not know what I was saying, and yes everyday there are times when I am still figuring out this whole language barrier thing. But what I am most certainly sure about is the 18, 5 year olds the entered Prepa B as are no longer the same 18, 5 year olds. They are now my 18 beautiful word reading, basic english speaking, a foot taller, 6 year olds. Today, I sat down at my desk I just listened and observed my classroom for about 5 minutes. I could not help but to smile and think about how far these children have came. When they entered my classroom maybe 1 or 2 of them knew what the words, sit down meant, let alone understand anything else I was saying. Today, I can say that we can go almost a whole day with out the need of translating every minor detail (I mean come on, this is huge progress people) and all of them have a basic vocabulary of english. They may not be able to fully speak full sentences in english yet, but they can understand a lot more. They also know how to sound words out and read basic sentences. Never in my life have I been more grateful for whatever teacher taught me to read and write. Man that is such a basic life skill so many of us take for granite! It was definitely a task I did not think I would ever master in my class...but today I can proudly say that my kids can sound out words and read sentences! So if you are reading this, say a thank you to your pre-school or kindergarten teacher, they deserve it!
     So tomorrow when I enter the school and see those smiling faces who will without a doubt greet me  regardless of what happened the day before, I will smile one big smile back at them with open arms! I am still at a loss of words of how to describe the past year but I do know one thing and that is the children have touched my heart and I will miss them very much! But good thing tomorrow is not my final goodbye and that graduation is in 15 days, I am not ready for those goodbyes yet. Until then....on to First Grade my 18 little ones!


A quick year in review:

   

in·spi·ra·tion

in·spi·ra·tion
     1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

To the teacher who is my inspiration,
     Whenever I was younger, I always forced my cousins, friends, brother or whoever was closest to play 'school' with me. I always wanted to be the teacher and I needed a class to teach too, so of course who better to teach than your younger brother. He would get angry and be defiant (boy did I not know he was only preparing me for the later real world, like today...) and eventually he would beg me to "end class early". Even though, it took me a few semesters in college to come to the realization that I wanted to teach, I had always known somewhere that I needed to be a teacher.
     Here I am today, reflecting on you, one of the most influential and inspiring teachers that I had the pleasure of having. This week, one of Sedgwick's greatest teachers will leave the heart and halls of SHS. I say heart because everyone all knows your classroom is inevitably the center of school. Smack dab in the middle of school. For many years, SHS, the facility, and more importantly the students have been blessed with a wonderful art teacher. Luckily, I am able to say I was one of those many students.
     I transferred to Sedgwick when I was in seventh grade, absolutely dreaded it might I add (sorry but I am just telling the truth). However, one thing, I definitely looked forward to was the fact I was enrolled in art. Art was always a class I looked forward too and was my escape in a way. I was free to do what I wanted, be creative, and just have fun. So having art on my schedule was the only thing I looked forward to when starting a new school. So let me set up the scene here just in case you "don't remember"...   Here I was this shy, scared, and awkward seventh grader going in to some brand new school that I did NOT want to be at. I walk into art with Andrea Brown, who was showing me around, I was greeted by this women. She welcomed me and we sat down at the first table by the door. I do not remember what the art project was exactly but all I know was that we had to cut something out. So here I am cutting stuff out just minding my own business when I hear, "what is this? You cut like a kindergartener!" I look up and my art teacher is holding what I had just cut out...Ouch okay, sorry guess I already made a bad first impression here. (Even though you do not believe me when I say this happened, I promise you it did. It scarred this left handed person... what you did not realize is life in a right handed world is sometimes hard). However, little did I know that someday I would look back on this and laugh. Little did I know that at every lunch, get together, or just simple conversation post graduation, this would still come up in conversation and WE would laugh at this.
     Middle school finished and it was time to go to high school. I started to warm up to this place called Sedgwick a little more and I actually started to enjoy it. Like always I enrolled in art. I was excited to actually start high school art because this meant that we could make bigger and better projects like jewelry, pottery, and print making. Freshmen year, I kind of laid low and just observed. Art class sophomore year: Lacy, Brittany, Dustin, and Kirstie. Need I say more? That was the year I give a lot of my credit to you. That year was full of a LOT of laughs, a lot of gum popping, and a lot of singing and dancing. Anywhere in the world with Dustin is to be followed with some singing and dancing. This was the year, I started to realize how awesome of a teacher you were. That year, my personal life was a little of a struggle and you were there for me. I never asked you for anything but you being the definition of a great teacher, you knew something was off. I will always remember you pulling me aside and asking me what is going on. That was the moment, I knew you were more than just my teacher. You were someone who believed in me when I did not even believe in myself. You made me believe that all things are possible if you "think you can do it". What you think expands right? I know I tell you this ALL the time and I am sure it looses its validity after awhile but you are such an amazing person, educator, artist, and friend. You truly helped make me the person, I am today.
     So here I am still reflecting on my high school years, I cannot help but to think about all the lessons you have taught me. Not only did you teach me how to cast jewelry, make that PERFECT print (God only knows there is only about one or two of those perfect prints), keep your pottery just the right amount of wet, the list can go on but you also taught me basic life lessons. You have taught me to go after my dreams. My dreams of wanting to go to the University of Kansas, the dream of actually graduating college, and my most recent dream of teaching in Honduras. If there was one person who definitely pushed me to actually teach here, it would be you. So thank you, thank you for that. Thank you for being such a great role model and teacher.
     I just wanted to say thank you, thank you for everything you have ever done for me, for the students of Sedgwick, and for anything and everything else. You have truly enriched the lives of many. Here is a small list of things I know I will miss and I am sure others will too:

-coming back to Sedgwick and seeing the latest addition of ceiling tiles
-the senior bricks in the back room
-knowing you will always make me spit my gum out even if it still had flavor because I had JUST put it into my mouth
-not closing your door
-your space heater, even though it's August and its 97 degrees outside
-the beginning of the year art project with the 9 squares and random lines (always a fun way to begin a semester)
-hearing "what you think expands" at least once a day
-You

Congratulations, Nancy Jo! Congratulations for being such an amazing educator all these years but more importantly congratulations on your retirement! You deserve it! Best of luck to the next big thing you do! It will probably be going viral for drawing on shoes or something... I hear you're pretty good at that!

With love,
From just another student but this student just so happens to cut like a kindergartner.

"I teach because I am still inspired by a great teacher I had when I was a kid. So, I get that what we do every single day truly matters." --unknown. 

And here I am, actually teaching...I look back on the teachers who influenced and inspired me in high school and I hope to be a fraction of them someday. You, you also taught me a lot about who I am right now, about being an educator. You taught me that being a teacher is important but caring for your students is the most important. 

life is a blessing.

One way ticket booked. FAFSA filed. Enrolled into 13 credit hours. All three of these things have been done in the past 24 hours. Yep, you read all of that right, I will be returning to the good ol' state of Kansas and attending school in the fall. It took a lot of pros and cons lists but after about a good month long debate, I settled on going back to school. Starting in the fall, I will be attending Wichita State University and finishing their Elementary Education Program.
     During Christmas break, I had myself convinced I wanted to stay and teach here in Honduras for one more year. While yes, this is still a very strong urge that I want to do, it simply came down to reality. The cold hard reality was that I could not afford traveling back and forth another year all while paying student loans (those things are inevitable, people!). So once, I came back to reality, I finally decided I wanted to go back to school to become a "real" teacher (you know that piece of paper that I have to prove to the State of Kansas.) So for the next two years I will be taking classes and officially getting licensed to teach! While this is super exciting opportunity and privilege of getting to go back to school, I cannot help but to wish these next two months could just slow down a tad. Time here goes by so fast...and I know everyone tells you the older you get the faster the years go, however, I am not accepting that because I am not getting old...yet. I just simply believe that time here goes by 4 times faster than anywhere else. No exceptions, just the truth folks.
      So today as I bought my plane ticket...my one way plane ticket home I would be lying if I said I did not shed a tear or two. But I had to remind myself to smile. Smile because I have been beyond blessed. Blessed with this amazing opportunity to fall in love. Fall in love with such a wonderful country, community and beautiful set of people. This opportunity has opened my heart and made itself a home that will forever be apart of my life. So here's to 2 more months and living in the moment!

P.S. People, do not forget to live in the moment. We, and I am just as guilty, are often so caught up in what is happening next or a few months down the road that we forget to look around and appreciate what we are doing and who we are with. Live in the moment :)

xoxo,
Carly

Semana Santa

I haven't been the best blogger of 2014. I will admit that, however, I like to think that it's due to the fact I have been at such a loss for words lately due to my many mixed emotions. I cannot believe that it is already the fourth partial. I cannot believe it is already going on the end of April. I cannot believe that Semana Santa has come and gone. I cannot believe how QUICKLY time has gone. Anyways, this blog post is not about how much of an emotional wreck I have become thinking about how little time there is left. This post is about my latest adventures during Semana Santa.

Semana Santa is also referred to as Holy Week here in Central America. It is the week prior to Easter and down here, it is a big deal! A lot of places will shut down, schools will get off, and many people just get to enjoy a week full of family and friends. As for me, school did close and myself and 4 other teachers took the adventure to Guatemala. I had been to Guatemala before and was even more excited to go back. Guatemala is such a beautiful country full of bright colors, culture, and friendly people.

Day 1: Travel to Copan Ruinas.
-Because traveling in Central America takes 4 times as long as it would by car, we had to break our journey up into segments. Right after school ended on Friday, we set off for Copan Ruinas. Copan Ruinas is super cute, touristy boarder town. Our first part of the trip started out awesome when we ran into a friend who was already going that way. So casually, we hitchhiked and hopped in the back of his truck and off we went.

Day 2-4: Antigua, Guatemala
-Like mentioned before, I had been to Antigua, Guatemala prior to this trip so to say I was excited to go back was an understatement. Antigua is such a cool, chill, and beautiful city. After about 8 hours in a bus we finally had arrived to Antigua. The next couple of days, were spent exploring the city of Antigua. We shopped, we wondered from church to church, we took naps, we ate (lots and lots of wonderful food), and we witnessed the real Holy Week. During Holy Week, so many towns in Central America celebrate with parades, purple, and lots and lots of people. Experiencing Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala is definitely bucket list worthy. It's such a strong tradition and a beautiful one at that. On Sunday we were on our way to the market to do some shopping when we got stopped by the parade. This parade was breathe taking. Thousands and thousands of people gather to watch and participate in this parade. A sea of purple people were walking in the parade. However, the coolest part of the whole thing was seeing this HUGE and I mean huge Jesus being crusified on the cross, float being carried by the sea of purple men. We read in the newspaper the next day it brought together around 7000 people and they averaged 6 blocks an hour. I kid you not, this parade was no joke. They started early morning and did not end until 11:30 pm. It was definitely a sight to see and a sight to be remembered.

The other days spent in Antigua, were the true definition of vacation. We wondered around when we wanted, slept in, took naps, ate when we were hungry, and just enjoyed being on vacation.

Day  5-7: Semuc Champey
We left Antigua and headed about 8 hours north to a place called Semuc Champey. For those of you who don't know what that is. Stop what you are doing right now and go google it. Look at the pictures and put it on your bucket list. Semuc Champey had been on one of the girls I was traveling with's bucket list. Needless to say, it is now on mine and officially checked off my list as well. Semuc Champey is literally a hidden pocket of the world. It is in the middle of a mountain, down in a valley. It took us about an hour just to drive down the mountain to get to the little town we stayed at. We arrived at our hostel to only be blown away by the view. We stayed in these beautiful cabanas looking out on every side to nothing but mountain! Woke up: mountains. Showered: mountains. Ate breakfast: mountains. Brushed my teeth: mountains. It was wonderful. The next full day we had, we took a tour of Semuc Champey. We started the morning off with a 2 hour cave tour. With candle in one hand and nothing but excitement in the other we climbed into the cave. For two hours we climbed up and down, in and out of the water, slide down and jumped off cliffs all inside this bat cave. It was incredible. By the time our candles were just about burnt out it was time to move on to the next part of the day. After eating lunch, we hiked up the mountain to the look out point of the one and only Semuc Champey. The hike, in my opinion, was rough and challenging. SO. many. stairs. However, I made it to the top, barely, and I did thoroughly enjoy the view from the top. It was breathe taking once again. We then climbed back down the mountain to what I think was the best part of the day. We got to swim in the all natural made lime stone pools. There were a series of pools and waterfalls that we were able to swim from one to another. Swimming in these pools has been one of my favorite memories thus far. Imagine swimming in an all natural lime stone pool, fish nibbling at your feet, crystal clear water, mountains and monkeys howling in background. It was such an incredible moment that I keep watching over and over again in my head. After a long day of adventure and lots of water we climbed in the back of a truck yet again and headed back to our hostel. The day was wonderful, however hitchiking in the back of a truck driving through the mountains is icing on the cake. The next day and last full day of true vacation we had the definition of a relaxing day. We woke up with the sunrise, had lunch, read our books outside, went to the river, and had fun with our new friends we met. Semuc Champey was such a wonderful experience I advise anyone to check out!

Day 6: Rio Dulce
-The next day we had to catch our shuttle to our layover town because once again traveling is always a long process. We stopped in Rio Dulce which is a really cute and fun lake town. It is one of the main stops when going to Livingston (another new bucket list item). In Rio Dulce there was a big fair happening in celebration of Semana Santa. There was a ferris wheel, live music, food, games, and lots of people. I was beyond exhausted which resulted in pretty much staying in our hotel the whole night. If I had another opportunity, I would for sure go back to Rio Dulce and spend a night or two there and then head out to Livingston.

So there you have it, Semana Santa 2014. Definitely a trip to remember! Now back to reality full of students, tests, and Honduras. I still cannot believe we only have 6 weeks left!

xoxo,
Carly

Small Things in Life.

One of my new years resolutions was to blog/journal more...needless to say that has failed. Good thing it is only February and I still have time to change that. As always, I am still in shock how fast time goes. How, by the end of this week, February will be HALF over! Where in the world does time go? The more time I spend here, the more I am reminded of how amazing life, people, different cultures, and the world really is. Also I am constantly reminded of things I often take for granted. 

For example, as of Friday night, the Honduran government decided to shut off all cell phone services for what was suppose to be "24 hours". Well if any of you know, Honduras runs on their own time and 24 hours has now turned into 4 days. And we still have no cell phone services. Rumor behind all this is so the government can get a better handle on the drug trafficking, by tapping into peoples phone lines when needed. Another recent event has reminded me to not take things in life for granted is basic practiced health care. Yes, health care is such a debated topic in America. It always has been and always will be. However, I was informed tonight that one of my students broke her arm and will be out of the classroom for a few days. As I was talking about this incident, I was informed that she needed to be taken to the nearest town (about an hour away) to get her arm reset and cast put on. Wait for it, here is the catch, she has to wait at the local hospital for the ambulance to take her to the neighboring town. The ambulance is coming from San Pedro Sula which is 4 hours from Gracias. It is times like this that I am reminded to not complain about the health care I receive in America. Lastly, one other concept that has really got me counting my blessings these past weeks is running water. Water, such a basic and simple concept that the world runs on. As we go into dry season here in Honduras apparently dry has more than one meaning. Meaning, yes it will no be raining but also the scheduled water outages are more frequent. Why these happens, beats me. All I know is I will never take running water for granted ever again. Basic communication and running water such simple and common concepts that we are so conditioned to revolve around. All I know is am fortunate enough to have been born and raise in a country where these are not issues. However, I am even more fortunate enough to have gained these experiences that remind me not to take life for granted and to be reminded of how the small things in life are what really make the world go round. 

Just a few of the small things in my life that keep me going: 

• Waking up to the dogs barking and chickens clucking--such a fantastic reminder of how much life there really is in this world.
• Getting to walk to school every morning
• Seeing the amazing yet still very breathe taking mountains on my walk to school
• Greetings from my kiddos every morning-- every morning, it never fails, I get the biggest hug from one of my kiddos as if he hasn't seen me in almost a year. Never fails, always puts a smile on my face
• Baby animals--Honduras is full of animals and the best ones are the tiniest. 
• Texts from your best friend--even though I am countries away, having continuous communication with my best friends always put me in a great mood. 

On of the amazing teachers here, drew this for me. Words to live by and even better...in the shape of such an amazing country. 

Goodnight Y'all. 

xoxox,

C

The 5 F's

Christmas Break...I could describe my last two weeks in 5 words...

Fast: I had the amazing opportunity to spend the holiday season with my family and friends. However, my Christmas break went so fast!! And I use the term fast figuratively and literally. Not only did my two weeks feel like two days, I also was reminded of how fast paced America is. I was often taken aback by how quickly people are moving and how eager we are to get on to the next event. And in doing so, we sometimes forget to enjoy the moment we are in. Live in the moment, slow down a little and enjoy everything for what it is worth. 

Family: I am so blessed to have spent time with my family and friends. Nothing was more needed than spending some quality time with the ones I love the most. This Christmas I was beyond blessed. I got to spend multiple Christmases with my family and my best friends' family! Never take for granite spending time with the ones you love. They are the only medicine in life that truly heals the soul. 

Food: One word: food. Man I think if I had to sum up my trip home in one word it would be food. I feel like all I did while I was home was eat. (Not complaining) I ate some of the best food I have had in a very long time. So if you are reading this, drop what you are doing and go buy a bagel, put some cream cheese on it and eat one (two, three, or four) for me. K thanks. 

Freezing: If you are breathing right now then you know what I am talking about. Literally the fact that it was close to 20 below a few nights is not okay. Like come on Mother Nature, I get it you wanted me to experience the snow and the cold as much as possible while I was home, but seriously 15 below? So I think I got my share of the cold and I am ready to move on. 

Furious: Furious is a good adjective to use for when United Airlines cancelled my flight to Honduras and rerouted me 5 days later. However, after 5 hours on hold, some awesome friends, and a few flights later that is in the past and I am now safe and sound back in the little town of Gracias, Honduras. 

Today was the first day back with the students. Words could not even begin to explain how excited I was to see my little minions! I am so grateful to be back and so thankful for the time I spent in America. America was awesome and I had so much fun but one last observation made while I was there was that we Americans waste a lot of electricity. So as I say goodnight I leave you with a few words. Go unplug something, something you aren't using and save a little electricity (and money). :)  

Happy New Year!

xoxo,

Carly