First day of school!

Since being in Honduras, I have gone to three different church services. First church service- we took a bus/taxi up this crazy steep mountain and then walked across this field to an abandoned bunker overlooking an amazing mountain view. Obviously, the church service was in Spanish, but there were no written words for the songs, so I felt very lost. Second week, we were in Cusuna and went to the Garifuna church in Spanish and Garifuna. There was dancing and singing and jumping around- completely opposite of the first church. This week, I went to Gran Comision, a type of mega-church (similar to Mars Hill). I really liked it because I knew some of the songs and there was a bulletin to follow. Good news- I have a church now!

On Saturday, we went shopping at a megamall near the town center. There was a payless shoe store, but in comparison to the rest of the prices, it was more like pay-more shoe store. While we were walking in, we saw a group of gringas and we ended up talking to them for a while. They are teachers at the bilingual school so we may get a chance to see how that school is run.

Monday, was the first day of classes. I am taking things like Spanish phonetics, Culture/ Language classes, Poverty and Development, and Cultural Contact. I only have class four days a week (Hallelujah!), but it seems like we are still getting just as much homework. The classes are obviously all in Spanish, meaning that if I zone out at all, I am completely lost. But, I am sure that it will get better.

Strangest food that I have eaten so far: tortillas with beans, cheese, and ketchup. I also had pink mashed potatoes. They tasted good, but pink?

Most delicious: fried bananas with salt

One of my many language blunders: I told my family that I was going to go to my notebook to go to bed, when I meant my room (Cuarto vs. Cuaderno) Christina tried telling them she was going to her four (cuatro).

Movies: I have a tv in my room with cable and since I am up at 5 everyday, there are a bunch of strange things that I have seen. There is this belt you can wear that jiggles your tummy fat and shocks you so you can pretend you exercised. It is pretty funny to watch the actors pretend to be happy while they are being zapped by this belt. There is a pretty good selection of movies as well, so I have seen Cars, Enchanted, Toy Story 2, Sweet Home Alabama, Paranormal Activity (which is still scary, even if you don’t know what they are saying), and many more. Of course, they are all in Spanish with voices that sound so funny to me.

My closet: My “closet” is a metal structure with four shelves and a bar to hang my clothes. My problem is that the shelves are just four metal rods running lengthwise, so the things I have on my shelves keep falling through to the floor. The whole contraption is covered by a sheet.

My bed: The sheets on my bed get changed every three or four days. But, if you have ever shared a bed with me, you know that I don’t ever stay in one place. My bottom sheet is too big for my bed, so I always end up having to put it back on in the mornings. Who knows where my comforter ends up! Well, this time around, I came up to my room to find I have a fitted comforter. If you hate making your bed, a fitted comforter is the way to go. Just flip it over the top of the bed, and there ya go.

Malaria Dreams: If you’ve ever taken Malaria pills, you know that they give you super crazy dreams. My dream last night was that I was part of a sleeping experiment, so I was watching myself sleep and taking notes on how I slept. But, I was sleeping in the bed, and I was standing in my metal closet-y thing at the same time. I woke up in my dream and talked to myself in the closet, only to realize that I actually had gotten up and was talking to my closet.

Those seem to be the adventures of my last week. I have classes for a whole six more days, and then we get a break for Independence Day! I am really looking forward to going to the fair and eating cotton candy (“sugar something” in Spanish), checking out a bunch of Honduras trinkets, and spending a day with my family.