Tomatoe, Tomato...

Words are a funny thing...especially when in another country.  The other day Lucy asked me if I wanted some jelly...I was slightly confused since clearly you don't just serve jelly, so I was expecting jelly on bread which we have as a snack sometimes.  Well, as she turned the corner, there was no bread...just a bowl...a bowl full of jello!  I love jello so it was a welcomed surprise.  So then I explained to her that it's called jello not jelly...I'm just glad it wasn't a bowl full of jelly!
Another word that sometimes I don't know what I'll be getting is cookie.  They use the word cookie for, well, cookies and also crackers.  So sometimes I get a package of cookies and other times a plate of saltines!

And today for breakfast...a tower of cookies (crackers) with jello (jelly)!  :)

15 de septiembre

Today at school we celebrated 15 de septiembre, which is the Honduran independence day. The students participated in a "parade"...I'll use that term lightly...we walked around the school yard. Each class was also responsible to bring in a traditional Honduran food. My class brought in ticucos and pineapple juice. Ticucos are some sort of corn mixture with beans, some sort of meat (today was chicken) and some variety of vegetables. and then covered in crema. Other foods that were brought in by other classes included tamales, enchiladas, tacos, carne asada and sopa de mondongo (lots of vegetables and cow stomach...yummmmmmmmmm! People tried to get me to eat it, I politely declined.). And for drinks of course all sorts of fruit juices, horchata, and fresco de nance. Horchata is a ricey milky cinnamony drink (how's that for a description?) and fresco de nance is a juice made from nance fruit...I don't really know how to explain it.

Tomorrow is when the towns actually celebrate it with real parades around town and festivities in the parque. Which means no school tomorrow! :)

I have some videos of the typical dances they did today during the acto civico, but they're taking forever to load. I'll try again later when the internet isn't so slow...

Ticucos wrapped in corn husks...

Inside of the ticuco

Lucy serving up some atol

Nothing quite like a bucket of pineapple juice!

Fresco de Nance...they like to serve things in bags...

Also we celebrated Alberto's birthday today!

Another picture...

Here's one of me and my students (this was before my class doubled in size)...

People in my life

A few pictures of the people I've been hanging out with...

This is the small group from the youth group..."Tropa Rescate"

And these are some other people from the church.  They had a ceremony last night for people going from one group to the next...there are 4 different levels in their youth/young adult program.

Dia del Niño

Yesterday in Honduras was Dia del Nino.  We did have school, but we didn't have classes...it was a day filled with games, pinatas, food, fire crackers and water pressure rocket things!

Pinata fun!

Richard and Wayne with the water pressure rockets!

Pollolandia Happy Meals

Felicidades Ninos!

My sweet decorations!

Soccer and relays...

The power is still on the fritz...I'm sorry for the lack of posting and the shortness of my posts!

However, I would just like you to paint a little picture in your head of this afternoons activities...

First of all we were supposed to go swimming, which I'm not really sure how that works since most of the people I've been hanging out with can't swim...so I'm pretty sure it was a blessing the pool down the road was closed!

Two of the small groups from the youth group met together today so the first part of the meeting William lead a devotional, then Yessenia lead some relay races...this is where you get to paint a picture in your mind!  So, of course I would have just loved to watch from the sidelines, but that wasn't an option.  So, the first relay we were split into two teams and had to run to mid-field of the soccer field and run back...amazingly my team won!  The next relay...the two teams stood in lines and the person had to hold the foot of the person infront of them.  Somehow I was the line leader....for a very short period of time!  After I failed my team the first two times I headed for the back of the line.  And then.....a soccer game!  Yep...soccer.  I wasn't expecting to play...jeans and flip-flops are not the ideal wardrobe to be running around a field in Honduras!  I did manage to kick the ball a few times...and of course ran away from the ball a few times as well (especially from the guys wearing cleats!).  Thankfully the thunder and lightening were getting extremely close and we had to call it quits early!  :)

Sorry for the lack of pictures...maybe next time they try to force me to play their games I'll use the excuse that I need to take pictures!  :)

Also....I don't think they know how to make light fluffy pancakes  :)

Pancakes?