Our first visitors!

Ken and I have had quite the weekend with his friend Nate in town! Nate and his girlfriend Katherine arrived from Roatan on Thursday afternoon and ever since we have been playing host to our first visitors. It has really been a great weekend.

Thursday night we ventured out in the rain to the one and only Expatriates for some food and drinks. Some of our friends met us there for the live music and instrument jam-outs that anyone can partake in. Ken ended up taking a personal day on Friday so they were able to walk around La Ceiba in the gloomy weather and enjoy some "down time" while I worked all day. It was of course beautiful, sunny weather all week until our guests arrived so there wasn't too much they could do during the day. We decided that night that we would have people over and just relax with all of our friends after a long week of work. It was of course a great time and it ended up being a late night.

After a slow start yesterday, we made it to the trail head to hike to the waterfall in Pico Bonito National Park. The "easier, more beautiful" trail was open this time around so we decided to take it to see what it was all about. I can definitely say that it was easier, and very pretty, however it took us twice as long to make it to the waterfall!! All of the anticipation of getting there kept being drained out of us because it was never "just around the corner". There were some other beautiful waterfalls along the way that were nice to sit and rest at. Once at the waterfall we sat down to a spectacular view to eat our lunch. With all of the rain we had been getting, the waterfall was BIGGER and BADDER than it had ever been. The water was no longer spilling over the rocks but shooting the water as hard as it could. There was just so much water...nothing like I had ever seen before. I'm sure its probably a much much smaller version of Niagara Falls but to me it was just insane. We didn't go sit underneath the waterfall this time because of the waterfalls strength but Ken and Nate did go down for a "light shower". We headed back to meet the “spirit” of mother nature (see post below) and it was very insightful.

As the day wore on, we ended up going to the classico soccer game. The two home team rivals were playing (Vida vs. Victoria) and we just didn’t want to miss out on that action. Plus Nate really wanted to get to a futbol game in Central America. Our team, Vida, ended up winning the game 2-0 and they completely dominated. It was a rainy game so the field was a mess and elbows were flying everywhere and Ken was thoroughly disappointed that there were no bonfires or fireworks in the stands this time around. Security must have really been doing their job. To finish off the day, we ended up at Hibou night club, a place we had visited for the first time last weekend. It is full of reggaeton music and lots of women on the prowl. Don’t worry, I held my man close! Around 2 AM we decided we should head on home but not before stopping for baleadas in Parque Centrale (the best place to go for baleadas in La Ceiba!)

Nate and Katherine left this morning to head back to the states and our weekend with our guests was very successful. Ken and I have been relaxing and recooperating all day to prepare for the week head. Ken leaves for Tegucigalpa on Thursday for the high school Knowledge Bowl competition with his students. He is going to need all the rest he can get! It is a beautiful, sunny day (the first we have seen in 3 days) and we are enjoying it by relaxing in the hammock. There is no better way to spend a Sunday!

Shaman of the Mist

We came across an old Spirit of the Jungle yesterday. He was just sitting there on a bench in the middle of the jungle trail that we were hiking, admiring his surroundings. It was kind of a shock to see him there after seeing nothing but trees, rock and water for the last three hours. When you’re walking in the jungle there is so much to see. Your eyes are over stimulated by the blur of green that surrounds you in all directions. Your ears are under stimulated by the lack of any noise at all except the rare birdcall and occasional sound of water crashing on rock. Your concentration is focused on the trail and the continuous task of stepping over the rocks and limbs and being careful not to crush those amazing leaf-cutter ants. It is hypnotic.

I was knocked out of this trance by the site of the old man on the bench ahead of us. We could tell that he had wisdom to impart so we sat next to him. We also had to wait for Nate and Katherine to catch up to us. Our pace was a little faster than theirs; we had about twenty minutes to kill.

We started talking to the Spirit with the usual banter that you would use with people you meet on the trail. “The jungle is beautiful,” “Did you see the waterfall today? It is amazing.” “Do you live in Ceiba or just visiting?” We found that we were right, the old man was eager to speak with us.

He told us about the jungle and how this was his home. He came here to this bench often to think about the nature of all the life he was seeing around him. He began to talk about the large waterfall that is the end destination of this particular trail. Specifically, he talked about how when you look at the waterfall you notice all these little plants that have attached themselves to the sides of the cliff underneath the falling water. He had come to the realization that these tiny plants, being beaten and drowned day in and day out for their entire existence, had a purpose. They were there as a part of the larger cycle of the world. That they would work at the rock, break it apart, and over thousands of generations the cliff would break apart and crumble, therefore, changing the mountain and the future of the Earth.

This realization had caused an epiphany in him. As he put it, what he realized was that, “there is an interconnected harmony that is beyond our understanding.” God, Allah, Nirvana, Nature, whatever you want to call it, is that harmony. To him, you didn’t need to name it to know about it, you just had to recognize it and to not disturb it. What was important to him was that you needed to realize that you shouldn’t disturb that balance because you could risk destroying the harmony of the world.

We left the old Spirit on that bench. And as we walked away a little more aware of the jungle, and the world, the Spirit faded into the mist of the cloud forest. I’d like to think that I will meet him again, but no matter how much I hope and search I know that it’s the harmony of the jungle that will decide if we meet again.

Is this what I meant when I said a matching activity?

I just had to show you this picture of a student of mine who took a matching activity to a whole new level! We were working with antonyms in class this week and the directions said to match each word to its antonym. This particular student decided that he would make things a little more interesting. Take a look...

Long time no see

I guess I should start off by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Ken and I haven't really taken the time to write since before we left for the states back in December, 2010. It was such a whirlwind to be home for two weeks, but an amazing whirlwind at that. I don't think we realized how much we missed our family and friends (due to being able to skype so often) until we were actually at home with them in the flesh. We were however ready to come back to our honduran home and get back into the swing of things as our break winded down.

The past 2 weeks have truly flown by for us. Ken has been back to work for 3 weeks now and I just finished my 2nd week. Work for both of us has been really good and there really aren't any complaints on either end. I have been trying very hard to not bring any work home with me at the end of the day (a new years resolution) and it has been turning out great so far. I actually am excited to leave at 3:30-4:00 and be able to come home, work out, cook dinner, and just relax. By 7:00 I don't know what to do with myself! Ken and I have started to study Spanish each night for 30-45 minutes practicing our verbs and vocabulary words and I have also been reading more for pleasure which has been amazing! We started the "Lake Superior Rock Puzzle" in our living room too so every now and then Ken and I will add pieces to it. Don't worry dad and Kasia, we'll send you a picture when its complete!

Ken has made an effort to start working out more too and this week we worked out twice together...or should I say in the same place. We went across the street to the DOLE research facility where there is a wooded path (about 1/4 mile long) and where it is safe to run. It's nice to be able to come home from work and at least start our work out together. I'm trying to convince Ken to go to the aerobics class with me at the gym at my school but he's NOT having it right now.

Today was my teacher aide, Carla's birthday so we are heading to her house tonight for a dinner party. We celebrated it today in school too with a small party. My kids made her cards throughout the day and I brought in a homemade Iowa Chocolate cake! I had to ride my bike this morning with it so it was sitting vertical for about 5 minutes. I was trying so hard to "hunch" over my handles bars to keep it as horizontal as possible! I'm sure I looked like a dork. Tonight should be a good time and a way for us to possibly practice our Spanish...we'll see how that goes! We're planning on heading to the river tomorrow in the mountains to spend the afternoon with some friends which should be relaxing before cleaning the house on Sunday in preparation for Ken's friend Nate who's arriving on Thursday next week with his girlfriend. We are so pumped for our first visitors! Hopefully this will inspire more of you to come.

We hope all is well back home in the states and hopefully it will warm up soon. It's been 85-90 and sunny all week compared to your -2 weather. There is a guest bedroom here...HINT HINT!