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 

So there it is...

     I, Ms. Carly Adams, has officially finished her first semester teaching. For anyone who can kind of relate to surviving their first semester, I am sure we are feeling similar feelings. For me and all my other fellow educators out there, I finished my first semester teaching! The semester ended on Thursday and on Friday we closed it in with probably one of the most extravagant parades I have ever seen or been apart of. I like to pretend it is the Macy's Day Parade for Minerva Bilingual School. Like I am not even joking, all week we spent HOURS on HOURS decorating and preparing for this parade. It reminded me a lot of Homecoming week and Rock Chalk Revue week all in one. The kids had to have tailor made outfits all themed to Christmas, the floats had to be just right, and there HAD to be glitter on everything! So basically when I though I was done with the sorority life, I was wrong. Good thing I had four years of glitter training under my belt. So to end the school year and to celebrate Christmas, all of us teachers and students lined the streets of Gracias and paraded down to the school. After about an hour of walking we ended the parade with a nice and short Christmas show. Many different groups performed including: girl scouts, teachers, theater, black theater, and the band.
     After all the chaos had ended, I basically crawled myself into bed for some rest. Before I turned my brain off for the night, I started reflecting on the past 4 months. The past four months have been breathtakingly challenging, rewarding, beautiful, and so quick! These months have flown by faster than I could have EVER imagined. I remember as if it was just yesterday, I was terrified to teach my first day. However, I did it, I survived. I survived the first week, the first month, and even the first semester! In the past four months, I have learned more about myself than I think I have in the past 22 years of living. I have learned what works and what does not work in a classroom. I have learned how to work with administration. I have learned how to be resourceful when resources are limited. I have learned how to be flexible and boy am I not exaggerating that one! The list can go on and on and truthfully, I am excited to see what else is to be learned in the next six months living here.
     Living here has taught me two things and that is to enjoy the most simple things in life and to be flexible. As a North American, it is instilled in our lives to always have control over situations. However, like I have mentioned before, to live here you must be comfortable with flexibility. Being able to just go with whatever is being thrown at you is the way of life here. Sometimes yes, a little organization is helpful however sometimes you just have to sit back and ride it out because in the end it will all work out.
     So as my last week in Honduras for the year 2013 comes and goes, I am preparing myself for my journey back to the United States for a couple weeks. I started to pack my bags today because I was so excited! I miss my family and friends so much and the just the thought that in ONE WEEK at this exact time I will be in flight to Houston. I am beyond blessed to be able to spend Christmas with my family!

In the mean time, I have tests to give...
See you all in one week.

xoxo
-Carly

THANKSGIVING FROM EL SALVADOR!

So remember that one time, I spent Thanksgiving day on the glorious beach of El Tunco in El Salvador!? Well I do, here is a picture to prove it.

I mean look at it? I must admit, prior to this trip I was a little bummed on the idea of my first Thanksgiving in 21 years that I would have not spent it with my family. So the idea and thought of not watching the Macy's Day Parade and indulging myself in my grandmothers amazing food was a little disheartening. However after 6 hours on a bus and an hour in a cab, we finally made it to our hostel. Threw on our suits and headed for the beach. The weather was awesome and the water was perfect! Never had I spent Thanksgiving away from my family let alone on a beach in El Salvador. Do I regret it? NEVER! Best holiday yet! 

 The weekend was filled with awesome and cheap food, nights out, great people, and awesome memories! This vacation was truly the first vacation I have ever felt was really vacation. We went to bed late, slept in and woke up when we actually wanted to and to only go lay on the beach, where we read and napped. Nothing needed to be done, nothing got in our way, we just enjoyed life's simple beauty.

The weekend was also full lots of educational knowledge on how the earth works. I learned how the waves work and how low and high tide happen. I learned about the green flash (which I did not get to see, so I am still skeptical), and countless other mind blowing acts of life. If you have never watched the sunset over the ocean, stop what you are doing right now and re-prioritize your bucket list. It is a must do! The last night we had to spend on the beach, we sat and watched the sun go down over the water while an amazing and beautiful wedding was happening about 50 feet behind us.

Time and time again, I have to stop and remind myself to thank God. He has blessed me beyond belief and provided me with a lifetime of opportunities. So as Thanksgiving weekend came and went, I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my life, my family who supports me on this crazy adventure, for my job, for the kids in my life, and my wonderful friends. The list goes on and on, however most importantly I am thankful for the wonderful earth we live on. It sure is beautiful. 

xoxo,

One very sappy and thankful Carly.

ps. all these photos are stolen from my wonderful and amazing partner in crime Elizabeth Foreman. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

     So as I am told Thanksgiving is this Thursday! I personally don't feel like Thanksgiving is this week. I partially blame this on the fact that the weather is the same as when I arrived in Honduras 3.5 months ago: hot and sunny. So for me, it is really hard to get in this holiday spirit without the freezing temperatures. However, the American in me knows it is Thanksgiving and the human part of me is a little home sick when it comes to missing my first family Thanksgiving and even more sad that I will be missing the most epic day ever: BLACK FRIDAY. However, like I have mentioned before "I am not missing out on anything I haven't done before." So instead of sulking in homesickness, I decided to be thankful and grateful for the amazing opportunities I am given. This past weekend we were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving at one of the missionary families here in town. It was a potluck style thanksgiving dinner, in which my house brought the mashed potatoes (what is Thanksgiving with out mashed tators!?). We showed up and the amount of food and people there was awesome! It smelled, tasted, and felt like Thanksgiving. Over 50 people from 14 different states and 3 different countries were represented. It was a great day in Gracias.

      As much as I will miss spending time with my family, I am beyond excited to do something new on Thanksgiving for once. This year my roommates, Elizabeth and I are going to explore El Salvador and hit up a surfing beach! I am excited to spend Thanksgiving laying beach side reading a great book. We get 4 days off for Thanksgiving, so it will be a nice and much needed break! So there are many things I am to be grateful for! 

The Lawrence, Kansas of Central America

     Antigua. When I told my friends and family that I was headed to Antigua this past weekend, many of them instantly thought I was headed to the tropical island shown on so many shows and movies and probably the most famous, The Bachelor/Bachelorette. So to answer you question, no I did not go to the romantic and tropical island. Instead this weekend, I went to Antigua, Guatemala. Although, it was not the Antigua many people are already aware of, it did not disappoint! Antigua, Guatemala is hands down the coolest, prettiest, historic, and romantic places I have ever visited.

     After waking up at 3:30 am on Thursday and about 14 hours in a bus, we had arrived (fashionably late, of course, like all Hondurans do) to our conference. The whole reason for traveling to Antigua was for an educational leadership conference. The director of our school had extended the invitation to attend this leadership conference hosted by ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). I thought to myself, "hey why not attend this leadership conference, not only could I learn something but I will travel and even better miss school!" I had little expectations (living in Honduras, you learn real quick to not have many expectations). So when we arrived about an 1.5 hours late, I was not surprised. In about the first 5 minutes of sitting in our our first workshop, I concluded a few things. One, we were the youngest people BY FAR. Two, these people were not playing around, this conference was NICE. Three, I was about to learn so much more than I had expected. After 2.5 days of seminars and some amazing food, I was reminded so much of what I want to do with my life. I was reminded in so many ways throughout the conference that I do want to teach and I do want to become the best educator possible. It was a very interesting atmosphere due to the fact that we were the youngest of the teaching world. All the teachers from my school who attended are first year teachers, straight out of college. So we are the youngest set of teachers, teaching this year. At first, I was a little intimidated by the amount of experienced teachers in the room and begin to ask myself if they would even take us seriously. However, the conference taught me a lot and gave me the confidence to become a better educator. Once again, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes...

"There is no COMFORT in your growth zone, but there is no GROWTH in your comfort zone." 

After the conference was over we decided to take an extra day and leave on Sunday. Best decision ever made! We got to explore the amazing and beautiful town of Antigua. I am not joking when I said the most beautiful and cool places on this planet. After spending about half a day in Antigua, I have decided that it is the Lawrence, Kansas of Central America. The town is so welcoming, fun, cool, colorful, down-to-earth, and the list can go on and on. Basically, if you have never been there and you are planning on traveling somewhere unique. Go to Antigua. It will be well worth you time and money! After eating some awesome food, meeting some awesome people, playing in the cobble stone streets, and traveling hours upon hours through Guatemala, I have came to a few conclusions. 

--You know you are no longer in Honduras when...they you see more Pepsi than Coke. 

--when you can drive faster than 60 mph for longer than 20 yards without having to stop/swerve for a pothole. 

--Gracias, Lempira, Honduras is the country. I did not realize how country I was living. Antigua is not a big town however, the food options were awesome. 

--Central America decorates so early for Christmas AND I LOVE IT! I believe this is because they do not wait for "after Thanksgiving" to decorate. 

--Guatemala is beautiful. (DUH!)

--Guatemalans are even more beautiful. They take pride in their culture so much. Their bright colored traditional dresses are an everyday wear. The people are also so much more indigenous than here in Honduras and I love it. 

--Guatemala seems to have it a little more put together than Honduras does...or ever will. 

--Traveling by bus is exhausting but never a dull moment. 

--I have a hidden talent that all my co-workers are now very well aware of and that is BARTERING. 

--The reason why some people might think Central America has some work to do is because they sell 40 cent shots of Tequila on Friday nights. (Blame it on that)

--Antigua embraces their love for art. It was awesome seeing all the different types of art work around the city. So much talent and so much work is put into so much whether it is the tiled Stop Signs on every street corner or the hand painted and sewn headbands. 

Basically that is what I took away from this mini vacation. I had such an amazing time and learned so much! I am beyond excited to go back someday but in the mean time, I am so thrilled to be back in the small, peaceful (for the most part, minus the barking dogs), and beautiful town of Gracias, Honduras. 

Goodnight loves!

xoxo,

Carly Adams 

GOALLL!! HONDURAS WINS....

These past few weeks have been crazy busy, so busy that I have forgotten about this whole blogging thing. So update on my life here in Gracias, Lempira...my life has been crazy, fun, exciting, busy and beyond blessed! It is safe to say I am never bored! First things first, I can NOT even begin to believe that October is HALF over already! I swear I just moved here yet in reality my 90 tourist visa is about up. CRAZINESS! I wake up ever single day thinking "omg, today is already Wednesday, Thursday, etc." Every single morning I am in awe of how quick my days go by here. My weeks fly by and then before I know it it's the Middle of October! However, I am not complaining, I like to believe that it is a good sign. A good sign and reminder of how much I am thoroughly enjoying every thing here. I love my life, i love my job, I love my co-workers, I love my school,  I love Gracias, and most importantly I love my kiddos. So through all of the craziness and time-flying days of school a lot has been happening here in Gracias, Honduras.

-Girl Scouts. One of the teachers here on staff thought it would be a great idea to start a Girl Scouts Troop. Being a girl scout myself for about 7 years, I loved the idea. I am now a troop leader for the "Bees" (Kindergarten to 3rd Graders). We had our first meeting last Friday and had about 25 girls show up. They were so excited to start their journey of being a Girl Scout! They are excited to start "helping others" and to get "patches". This whole Girl Scout thing is still a very new idea, but a very fun and exciting one at that. I think it is a great idea for these girls to have a group of women that they can identify with and look up to. A lot of the children here lack confidence in so many ways. Whether it be self confidence or even school work, I think being in Girl Scouts will help better their confidence.

-HONDURAS WINS!!! If you know anything about Central America, you know one thing and that one thing is soccer! They love their soccer. So over the past couple weeks we have had the awesome opportunity to watch the road to the world cup become tangible. It started last Friday, when after school we watched Honduras win their match which advanced them into the next game. This game was last night (Tuesday). We went to a local restaurant to watch the game. It was a really neat experience eating, drinking, and watching their team play for their spot to the world cup along side 40 other Hondurans. All Honduras had to do was win the game or tie and they had sealed a seat in the world cup. So 90 minutes later game was over and the town was going crazy! Honduras had tied the game and they were on their way to Brazil! The town was nuts until sun up the next morning. We have a local beer stand near one of the teachers house's and karaoke was going on until 4 am! (No exaggeration) Coming from a school where we take college basketball very seriously and we know how to celebrate a win, I felt very similar feelings last night. Seeing the town so spirited the days before the game and seeing the town go in a instant uproar was so awesome! The town had a constant parade of cars, trucks, and motos fitting as many people as possible, for about 2 hours straight! Safe to say, Honduras is very excited at the fact they are going to the World Cup for the 3rd time!

-Birthdays! Birthdays here are so fun!  I have now experienced a few birthdays being here. All ages are so fun to celebrate! One of my kiddos birthday's was last week and we celebrated by having cake and soda (ya i know just want children need is more sugar, but hey they loved it). This morning we also celebrated a very special birthday. Our director and founder of our school (aka my boss) turned the big 5-0 today. Well here in Honduras it is very very common to get a serenade for birthdays. So we decided to surprise Doctora Sandra with just that. Little did I know that these serenades happen about 4 in the morning. So this morning we crawled out of bed, welcomed the still celebrating partyers, and stood outside our boss' house as the Mariachi band serenaded her. About 15 minutes later one very tired Doctora opened her door and welcomed us in. We had coffee and ate some danishes. It was really neat to see the Honduran teachers and the international teachers come together in a time of celebration (even at the crack of dawn).

4 am Happy Birthday to Doctora Sandra.

-Travels! Next month, I get the pleasure to travel to not one, but two countries. First I will be traveling to Antigua, Guatemala for a educational leadership conference. Nine teachers from Minerva School are going. I am super excited to learn more about education and leadership, bond with other Honduran teachers who are going on the trip, and to see Antigua. I have only heard awesome things about Antigua. Secondly, for Thanksgiving (so bizarre to even think that Thanksgiving is in one month!) myself and some other teachers will be making a very long bus ride to El Salvador. We are going to the beach! Never in my life have I ever been able to say I was laying on the beach for Thanksgiving!!! I think being at the beach will help take away the thought and pain of not being with my family for my favorite holiday! However, I was given some great advice today. I was told by an amazing teacher I work with that not to worry about what you are missing back home because you are only missing things you have done before. Here we are doing brand new stuff every single day. That was the truest statement I think I have heard so far. It's true, often times when you are abroad or away from your family for long periods of time it is so easy to get homesick. It is so easy to dwell on the things you are missing out on back home, however, it is only stuff you have done before. So life in the moment and absorb every single opportunity that comes your way.

So there it is, just a little update on my life. My life as a kindergarten teacher in Honduras. I am still in awe and at a loss for words with my life right now. I honestly don't think I can say I have had a bad day thus far because the good out ways the bad in so many ways, shapes, and forms. My days here are so awesome and eye opening. I continue to learn so much every single day. The country I live in is so pretty and the people here are even prettier. God sure made on beautiful world. Take some time out of your day to enjoy it!

(Photo Cred to Alice.)  This is the breathtaking view I get to see every single day. This is just a fraction of the beauty. 

xoxo,
Carly