Adios mi querido Honduras

June 30 – exactly 367 days ago I arrived in Cofradia ready to embark on a new adventure.  Now it’s hard to believe that it’s time to say good bye.  I will be leaving Cofradia tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.  I’ve spent the better part of the last month saying my good byes – here, in Tegucigalpa and (yes I did make it) in Olancho.  One thing that has surprised me this go around is that I am not the crier that I once was.  Maybe I’ve said good bye so many times in my life and know that change is inevitable that I’m more understanding.  Or maybe I’ll be in a fit of tears tomorrow as I leave.  I can say that I have learned so much this year and probably never gotten so many good hugs.  Kids have a way of entering your heart and making themselves at home there.  I hope to always carry them there with me.  I have developed great relationships with many of the students’ parents.  They have opened their homes and their hearts to us and for that I will always be grateful.  These last few days I have been savoring my walks around town hearing Miss Andrea (when ever will I be Miss Andrea again?) being shouted at me from houses and kids playing.  They have made Cofradia feel like home.

I’ll miss my walks with two brothers (the only two brave enough to walk for an hour with me several times).  Their conversations made me smile and I will miss them.  It makes me feel good to know that they will continue to be in good hands at San Jeronimo and just like they blossomed this year they will blossom again next year and the next time I see them their English will be even more amazing.

I’ll miss the two kids who basically live at school since their moms clean the school.  They have two of the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen and never fail to look at each day as an opportunity for greatness.

I’ll miss the kinder and prepa kids who from day one stole my heart.  Innocence and forgiveness at that age is something that I cherish and wish we as adults could partake in.  Kids love with all their heart and aren’t afraid to show it.  I will try to implement that into my life from here on out.

I’ll miss all things plantain, baleadas, fresh fruit grown in your backyard and kisses on the cheek when greeting friends.  I may even miss a cat call or two (definitely not three).  I won’t miss sweating 24/7 or the smell that goes with that.  I can do without loudspeakers announcing store specials and roosters outside my bedroom window. I will miss speaking Spanish and being told I speak Spanish like a German or Russian.

Anyway even though there were many hard times this year and even a few times where I doubted the decision I had made, I am glad to have spent this year here.  I have grown a lot, made many new friends and feel proud to be part of the BECA family.  San Jeronimo is changing students’ lives and it is nice to know that I’ve had a small part in that change.  I look forward to seeing what SJBS will grow to be in the next few years and I also look forward to hearing what great things our graduates are doing.

Now that I’ve got the nostalgic part out of the way I will fill you in on the last few weeks:

On June 18^th we had kindergarten, 6^th grade and 9^th grade graduation.  It was so cute to see our students in their caps and gowns.  I was honored to sit at the head table and help hand out diplomas; I was also surprised when called to the microphone to give my graduation speech.  No one had told me that I had to talk at graduation so I flubbed my way through an impromptu speech.  All things considered I don’t think it went too bad.  The school recognized each of the BECA volunteers with an SJBS polo shirt.  In the end Mother Nature got the best of us as a large storm moved in and the electricity went out twice while handing out diplomas.  Fortunately, the electricity came back relatively quickly each time. 

The day after graduation the teachers started to leave.  It was sad saying goodbye to those who I spent the year living and working with.  As the last two headed to the airport I boarded a bus and went to visit friends I had made while I was in the Peace Corps.  I was excited to be heading back to Olancho (where my whole Honduran adventure actually began) as I hadn’t been there in at least 4-5 years.  It was like going back home.  I was greeted as soon as I got off the bus.  People opened up their houses and homes to me.  I met new people and saw friends I hadn’t seen in over 11 years.  It was a quick trip but a much needed one for me.  I miss that town dearly.  It looked good and my friends were all doing well and I ate incredibly.  From there I ventured back to Teguc and spent the rest of my time with the usual crew – Mando, Luz’s family and Hector.  My friend Ana helped me shop in Valle de Angeles for gifts for friends.  I had to wear long sleeves in Teguc as it was probably 10 degrees cooler there than in San Pedro.  How will I survive Syracuse?  Good question and stay tuned to see if I do.

So as I head to bed on my last night here, I am happy, overwhelmed, sad and confused.  I spent the evening saying goodbyes and having dinner with the newly arrived summer camp counselors.  BECA does a great job of recruiting quality volunteers and it has been great to see their enthusiasm and work ethic.   I know they will do great things this summer.  Wishing them the best of luck….and hoping that the 2010-2011 teachers are doing well wherever they might be....

End of School Year

Friday, June 3rd was the last day of school at SJBS.  I can't believe that the year is over.  Work is still to be done but I wanted to take some time and recap the month of May....

SJBS had its annual Libros y Familia activity to promote literacy and encourge parents to read with their kids and talk about what they are learning.  Turn out was good.  We had about 30 families attend the event, where we split up the parents and kids.  Parents were in a structured discussion around the book Juan Verdades The Man Who Couldn't Lie.  Kids were in an art class making puppets to go along with the book we were reading.This event was later followed by end of the year performances by each grade, combined with great chicken pastelitos, fruit salad and Jamaica juice.  A great success!

Jamaica Juice!

The women who made the delicious pastelitos

7th graders before their performance

Pre-kinder class right before hitting the stage

Miss Glenda's awesome bulletin board skills.

Carlos from the group Montuca and his SJBS band....they are really good!

In May, I also finished my 62 home visits.  To celebrate and to say thank you to the Becado Reps we had an afternoon of pizza making.  Many wanted to learn how to make pizzas and I love eating pizza so we had some fun.  This also happened to fall on my birthday so began the cake eating train we've been on since then.

Pizza looks pretty good!

Hondurans love to cover your face in frosting

May 20th was middle school science fair.  The judging team took their jobs seriously.

The science fair was very successful as students had to present their projects to three judges and tell us about their hypothesis, the procedures they followed, the results of their data and their conclusions.  Some projects were very simple but others took a lot of time and preparation. 

I then ventured to Teguc to celebrate by bday with two of my best Honduran friends.  More cake and great times!

After my return from Teguc it was crunch time with the beca scholarship applications.  This process was definitely one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life.  I enjoyed visiting all of the families, learning more about their lives, etc. but when it came to the decision making process I definitely lost sleep.  There was a bright spot at the end of the week my cousin Joel came to visit.  We slow bussed it to Ceiba and spent a nice weekend on the beach, catching up and eating great food.  The view from our hotel wasn't too bad either.

He's tall right?  I also found out during those days that I have a job when I return to the states.  I will be moving to Syracuse, New York and working at the study abroad office at Syracuse.  It looks like trips to Spain and Chile may be in my near future.

Last week was exam week and filled with good bye parties and dinners.  Its hard to believe that I will be back in the states in less than one month.  In many ways time here has flown by and in other ways it had dragged on.  I am very happy with the decision that I made to take a year off and come back to Honduras.  Honduras is a beautiful country, has very warm and caring people and is my second home.  I will miss it dearly (especially while experiencing the Syracuse winters!)  The next few weeks will be busy in and of themselves.  We start entrance exams and recuperation exams this week.  Graduation (kindergarten, 6th and 9th grades) will be on June 18th.  I plan to visit Teguc again and venture all the way to Olancho (finally after a 5 year absence).  Then summer camp counselors will be here and I depart.  I hope to post a bit more on here but if not I hope you've enjoyed seeing a bit of what the past year has been like for me in Cofradia.