Honduras Bound

VIERNES – Our Last Day!

2009-06-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hola, my name is Martini Frazier. I am going to be in the 12th grade at Greenville Weston High School. I am blogging about the entire Honduras Bound Trip. Today was a really laid back day. We did however go horseback riding again. I had a different horse than last time and I kind of wish I had the same horse. My horse liked to run fast, but he didn't like any other horse to run beside him. My horse has bitten everyone's horse and kicked one. It was really funny, but dangerous. This trip has really helped me to love to ride horses. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Riding the horse was really easy, but staying on the horse's back was a different story. I almost got thrown off my horse, but my crazy self was laughing about it. We went horseback riding today because everyone had fun doing this more than anything else. Everyone wanted to do this again and they loved it more this time than last time. This gave everyone a chance to ride their first horse. Again. I've also learned from this experience that you should never stop a hungry horse from eating. My favorite part of the trip so far has been nothing. I've LOVED everything about this trip and hope I come back with the group or on my own accord. This has been another wonderful experience in my life.

ME GUSTA HONDURAS, COMIDA DE HONDURAS, Y LAS CHULAS DE HONDURAS.
(I LIKE HONDURAS, THE FOOD OF HONDURAS, AND THE HOT GIRLS OF HONDURAS.)

JUEVES – Last Day of Volunteering

2009-06-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

June 4, 2009
My name is Denzel Parker and I just graduated this year. Today we volunteered at the primary school and we had a party for the kids learning a hundred English words. Our schedule for today was as follows: wake up was at 7:30, breakfast with host families was at 8: 15, we met at
the school at 9:00, we did volunteer work at school at 9:35 to 12:00. We ate as a group at a restaurant at
12:15. We had classes at the Guacamayan Spanish school at 1:30 to 3:30 then we went home to eat with our families at 5:00. We met back at school at 7:00 for salsa dance class and at 9:00 we watched movie. After the movie we had journal writing and debriefing. Once we were done with debriefing it would be time for us to go home and go to bed. At the primary school we had a graduation party for the kids and they were very excited. I really enjoyed seeing the kids so happy when we were having the party for them. I learned that most people can't afford to have a decent education so I advise everyone to take their school work very seriously. My favorite part of the trip so far was when we were horseback riding because I actually rode the horse fast and didn't fall off.

TODAY WAS A VERY INTERESTING DAY FOR ME AND THE REST OF THE HONDURAS BOUND TEAM.

THANKS FOR VISITING OUR SITE.

Photos

2009-06-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Check out photos of this awesome trip at

http://picasaweb.google.com/hondurasbound09/ByRuth#

MIERCOLES- Second day of volunteering

2009-06-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hola! My name is Maressa Gordon. I am 18 years old. Today is June 3, 2009. Today we volunteered at the primary school for the second day. We were all assigned to work with different groups. The students had their final exam so we reviwed in stations. We were given the task of teaching the students words in English! Words such as walk, stop, and so on. The students learned the colors, some numbers, directions, and how to play BINGO! It was a blast. After that we went back to our host families for lunch and shortly after eating we went back to the Guacamaya school for 2 hours for Spanish classes! Right befor leaving the school Tre sat in the cheir and broke it. That was the funniest thing that happened today. Then we were given the opportunity to go shopping and or walk around the city of Copán. After 2 and a half hours of shopping we returned to our host families to eat dinner! Unfortunately all the lights and water was off in the city! But this did not stop me because I enjoyed seeing my friends run around in the dark. The only thing I did not like was that we couldnt really use the bathroom because we couldnt flush the tolets. All of the students had to walk back to the school for our nightly meeting in the dark! In our meeting we planned for tomorrow and voted for VIAJERO DEL DIA (the traveler of the day), which was Denzel, then we returned to our family for bedtime! My favorit part of this trip so far was being able to go horseback ridding. It was fun going up the hill but hilarious going down because Quinterra yelled and screamed the hole way down!!!!! Very funny!

MARTES – First Volunteer Day

2009-06-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday/ June 2, 2009
I am going to discuss the voluteering at the primary school.
Today we woke up early and we all had breakfast with our host family. We met at the Guacamaya School for 8:20. Not to much longer we were at the primary school. We left there and had lunch with our host family. Return to the Guacamaya School at 5:40 so that we could have our two hour long Spanish classes. Later that evening we had group dinner at Jim's Pizza. We also had a debrief and a short meeting about everything that had went on in the course of the day. Going to the primary school was very exciting to me. I really like spending time with the kids because they are very happy and jolly about everything. They are very easy to talk to. Coming to the school was a very good experience for both of us (the group) and the students. It allows us as a whole to expand our Spanish and at the same time allow the children to learn English. Yet, coming to the school was a very sadful site. The school system is very poor. POR DIOS. Most kids don't make it to a 6th grade education, due to the lack of money. Imagine yourself walking into your school with only three classroom, two teachers, and a class full of students running every where. This life long lesson has truly taught me to appreciate so much more and learn to be content. REMEMBER THAT THE GRASS IS NOT ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE. The purpose of us coming to the school is to enhance the children knowledge with English speaking and grammar. Over the course of us teaching the students, we all ended up learning something new. I have enjoyed the trip and hope that one day I get the chance to do this experience again. My favorite part of the trip so far is meeting the different ratio of people in my house and learning more about them and their way of living. VERY INTERESTING!!!!!

Lunes-Horseback riding and spanish class

2009-06-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Monday June 1,2009

Hola! My name is Jasmine and I am in the 12th grade.Today we went horseback riding through the Mayan village, today also was the beginning of our spanish classes. I began my day by eating pancakes for breakfast. Muy Bien! After breakfast it was straight to Gucamaya school. The moment I was waiting for, horseback riding. It took two hours to get up the mountain and two hours to come back down. I really enjoyed myself and so did the others. It was a calm, but slightly rocky trip.We stopped by the indigenous village, there we had a tour, and a brief description of how the children went to school, and how they made their living. Once back in town I really didn't want to stop riding the horse, but it was either get off or pay $15 to ride again. Then, it was lunch with our host families. I CAN'T BELIVE I ATE AMARDILLO!! but it was good. Once again it was a long and tiring walk back to the school for spanish classes. I was nervous at first, but excited at the same time. I really enjoyed the one on one time with my teacher. After speaking spanish for two hours it was again time to go back home, but first we went through town to do a little shopping. The day soon came to an end. The purpose for these activities: to relax, enjoy ourselves, and enhance our spanish skills. My favorite activities so far, it's so very hard but I enjoyed Hot springs, and most of all horseback riding, simply because I love horses! Chao!

DOMINGO – The Copán Ruins and Hot Springs

2009-06-01T05:32:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Ruins and Hot Springs

May 31,2009
Hola! My name is Shamita and I am in the 12th grade. The activity for the day was going to the Mayan Ruins and Hot Springs. The schedule for the day was very long and busy. We were to wake up, eat breakfast with our host familiy, meet at the Guacamayan school, visit the Mayan Ruins, return to Copan, eat lunch with host family, free time , meet at the school, hot springs/dinner at hot springs, return to host family, and last go to bed. The Mayan Ruins was fun, exciting, informative, interesting, and a new experience for all of us. We were so excited about the Ruins because we had a great opportunity to explore the Honduran culture. We also had a chance to see the Honduran president at the Ruins and that was also exciting. The Mayan Ruins were very fantastic and I know everyone enjoyed themselves. Hot Springs was very beautiful and different from the water that I'm use to seeing. We got a chance to get in hot tubs and take mud baths. Hot Springs is an excellent place to relax and enjoy the different things in the park. We went to the Ruins because it is always good to know some history about the place you are visiting. We went to Hot Springs to enjoy ourselves and relax from the hot long tour at the Ruins. Traveling to the Ruins and Hot Springs served as a good purpose for this trip because we got a chance to learn some things about Honduras history and we still had a chance to enjoy ourselves. I enjoyed both the Ruins and Hot Springs. The Ruins were very hot and long but it was worth it because I got a chance to learn some things that I didn't know about Honduras and at Hot Springs I got a chance to explore different things that were in the water park and enjoy my time there. The most exciting part at the Ruins was seeing the hieroglyphic stairway. The most exciting part at Hot Springs was me in the pool and my legs couldn't really reach the bottom of the pool. My favorite part of this trip was going to the Ruins. I didn't expect much from the Ruins but I ended up getting the best information there, which was about the Honduras history. Overall the trip is excellent and I am looking forward to the rest. All I am left now to say is WoW! Hopefully my feelings and thoughts will stay the same which I know they are. Adios!

Viernes - Traveling to Copán

2009-05-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY - MAY 29

Tyeisha Roberson
11th grade
I am blogging about the beginning of our great experience of traveling out of the county, but before we could do that we had to go through the exhausting experience of the actual travel. First we all met up at the Greenville-Weston High School to load up and headed to Memphis, Tennessee Airport. We then flew from Memphis to Miami on A VERY small plane. This was my actual first flight and I was kind of scared and nervous. I was actually so nervous that I held one of my chaperone's held my hand to keep me from overacting. After the plane landed and I actually started breathing normally again we went to the crazy and very crowd Miami airport. There we got to communicate with different Spanish speaking people as we waited for our last flight. This airplane was much bigger and more comfortable than the first one, but I still was a little bit afraid. Once we landed in San Pedro we got everything and went through customs where we experienced one of our first power outage while in Honduras. We then traveled by van from San Pedro to Copan. We then met our host families and got settled in. The thing that I enjoyed about this busy day was that we all got a better chance to know each other. I learned that if you conquer your fears, it will always work out for the best. My favorite part of the trip so far is being able to see my trip members daily for the next week and just enjoying each other company.

Sábado - Tour of Copán and Bird Park

2009-05-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 30
Travaris Payne, Graduate
I am blogging about the Tour of Copan and the Bird Park.
1. I woke up and at breakfast with my fellow travelers and my host family.
2. Denzel, Martini, and I left the house to round up the rest of the group.
3. We arrived at the school and had a brief meeting.
4. The tour of Copan started and our guide walked us through this beautiful city.
5. We had lunch with our host family and returned back to the school.
6. Then we rode to the bird park in tuk-tuk's(taxi's in Copan), which was probably my favorite part of the day.
7. We returned to the stores our guide previously showed us and I got a chance to call home.
8. We went back to our house until our meeting where our instructors debriefed us.
9. We went back to our house.

The tour of Copan helped me realized the importance of everything the people in this intriguing city were doing and why they were doing it. It also clarified the reasons for some of the places and things I didn't understand about Copan. The Bird Park was a great experience that helped me learn about the wildlife in Copan. This tour helped me realize the importance of wildlife and why it is so highly appreciated here.

My favorite part of the trip is just making it to Honduras. It was like I was in a movie and nothing around me was actually real until I was able to interact with people and things in my surroundings. I love Honduras. I will definitely come back when I am able to.

Airnecia Mills- Preparation for Honduras Bound 2009

2009-05-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

May 28, 2009
Airnecia Mills
Upcoming Senior 2009-2010

Hola! Me llamo Airnecia Mills. I am very excited about Honduras Bound 2009. This is a great experience and I was chosen to attend. I have been preparing for this trip since my acceptance letter in November. Now the day has finally arrived. I am all packed up and ready to go. I consider myself well prepared with the help of my advisers. Planning for this trip hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it all: hard fundraisers, long meetings:), boring paperwork, and sponsors that are "STRICTLY BUSINESS". Overall, even the preparation for this trip has been awesome! I am very elated about it and I can't wait to get to Honduras!!
**The most important thing that I've learned during this preparation and getting ready for this trip is to be prompt and organized and ready for "whatever".

Getting Ready!

2009-05-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Stay tuned over the next week for posts from the students as we get ready to head to Honduras! We have less than a week before we leave and last minute preparations are well under way. Once we get to Honduras, each student will blog each day, so keep checking this link to hear firsthand about the students´ experiences!

We´re all really excited about the trip and would like to thank everyone who helped us get here!

¡Muchas gracias!

Profé

sAlSa PEoPle!!!11

2008-06-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hola. CoMO eStAS?.........hAVE u eVer BeeN 2 HonDUrAS.......AND lEARNed How to SAlSA....LET aLONe LearN How to SAlSA....BUT go to A hONdURAN fAmOuS dAncING sPot (VIA VIA).....AND pROve YoUr DanCiN sKIllS.......iM gLAD u ASkED mE a BrIlLiANT qUEstIon Because YES i HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wIT THe Honduras BOund 2008 crew......AND WE HAD A bLast....Learning how to salsa is a totally different vibe than learning how to do an American Dance.....we stepped into a different culture and grasp a touch of their inner style......in the American form of dancing u can go with the groove and do what ever comes to mind....but in the Honduran style....u have to know what your doing first.....and then have your way with the dance floor.....Let me tell you people about my experience with the Honduran Dance fLOOR.....iMAGINE.....iM DANCIN AND TURN AROUND AND SEE this bRillIanT mAN dANCING so BEutiful......i had to ASk for his Hands....."cAn I dANCE WiTH You?" i ASKED....hE PUlls OUt hiS hANDS and away he went with me......tURN ME ARound....Numerous of times.....tUCKED ME UNder his arms.....and to top it all oFF....hE Picked me up and i ALMSOT TOUCHED THE skY in HIs arMS......ImmediATELY i RAN TO cHAPEROn and toLD HER THese WoRDs........"i FEEL LIKE A WOMAN"......AND Had a Seat and Watched him wORK.....iF I could i would love to go back TO hONDUrAS and salSA aLL Night......not alone sALsa.....but extend my hAnds TO neEDED........WhiLE I was In Copan HondURas, i got aN eYE FUll....bUT NOT ONly will i hAVE AN eYE FULL IN THE fuTURE......BUT aLSO WILL hAVe a Hand FUll whEN i ExTEND My HandS wORKIN foR THEM..........gOODbyE!!!!!!!!!!!Tammie Litt

~HoT sPrInGs~

2008-06-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

HoLa!!...Have u ever been to Hot Springs in Copan, Honduras??....Well, Honduras Bound 2008 Participates went, and it was amazing!!...I couldn't believe my eyes!...The scenery was unbelieveable!!...We did numerous of things while there. We got in the jacuzzi, it was fun!!...We even took a mud bath!!...Although, I never took a mud bath, it was one of my best moments! Also, we took a steam bath! It was so relaxing! Even though, some parts we couldn't go in, because it was hot, we still enjoyed ourselves!!...We also went to the river-part, my friends and I were struggling trying to get across!..It was hilaroius!...The strong waves were knocking us over!...We took beautiful pictures infront of the gorgeous waterfall!..Last, but not least, we had delicious snacks afterwards!..The ham and cheese sandwiches were terrific!...They also had magnificent peanut-butter sandwiches!...The fruits were fresh, sweet, and good!!...Lets not forget the cookies, they were so good, i couldn't stop eating them!! Well, I, Kaila Roberson really enjoyed my trip to Copan, Honduras. It was the best once in a lifetime experience! I also enjoyed myself at Hot Springs! If you haven't been to Hot Springs, you have yet! I advise everyone to visit....I promise you wouldn't be disappointed!!

The Orphanage

2008-06-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to an orphanage which was a nice distance from our houses. We walked from the school to the orphanage. The trip was long and slightly smelly because of the horses that had been through the area. The trip was worth it because we got to contribute to the lives of children who are a lot less fortunate than us. The children were extremely excited to see us all walk in with smiles, art kits, coloring books, and reading books. When I arrived in the room with the children, I noticed a crying baby girl by the name of Cecilia had fallen through the bed. I immediately became aware of her pain, and I picked her up. She seemed calm and I felt like a hero. When I first embraced her, I didn't realize that she had a bare bottom. At first, I felt a little weird because I thought that she was use me as a restroom. Once I encountered another child that needed attention, I tried to put Cecilia down, but she wouldn't let go. I found a way to work with both children, and I felt great inside. We all interacted well with the children, and even taught some of them to play cards. The overall feeling was overwhelming. I only wish that they were more fortunate enough to provide every child with what they need. Now I can honestly say how great it feels to help those that are lest fortunate than us.

Wow!

2008-06-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos! I`m excited to finally write something here! I don´t know if I can put into words how wonderful the trip has been so far. Sure, we´ve had our ups and downs (like scary instances on horses, trips to the medical clinics and some rumbling stomachs) but I have been so impressed with how the kids are handling most of those down points. And they´re taking everything else in with enthusiasm, positivity and an observant eye! Yesterday we headed to the Mayan ruins and got to walk around the land where the Mayans settled in Copán. It was really interesting, especially because our tour guide, Mauricio, was very enthusiastic about everything and answered all the kids´questions in a very clear way. And the kids were asking some great questions and making some pretty insightful comments about what they were learning!

It has been awesome to speak so much Spanish here but even more awesome to hear the kíds´ excitement and exhaustion when they get out of their one-on-one Spanish classes. They are learning a lot (some in a very different than myself or Thérése has taught them) and I think they´re really enjoying the one-on-one time with their teachers. They keep talking a lot about the different words they´re learning and who´s farthest along in the workbook, etc.

I think my high so far for the whole trip has been to hear the kids talk about their host family experiences. Almost all of them are having some great opportunities to speak Spanish with their host families (Dale and Rex got help with their homework from their father and Tylisha and Kayla Pam´s host mother has kept them up late into the night chatting in Spanish!) and it´s wonderful to hear the kids making cultural comparisons about their host family´s culture and see them stepping out of their comfort zone with things like traditional food, the language and learning how to live in someone else´s house!

Today we went to the orphanage for the first time and the kids got so involved with the children at the orphanage that some of them want to go back on Wednesday and bring undergarments, pampers and wipes for some of the younger kids that clearly did not have those things. It was cool to see the "taking care of others" culture that our students have been brought up with!

Ok, I´ve written too much probably, but I hope everyone´s enjoying the kids´ posts more than mine anyway!

¡Adios!

--Profé

2008-06-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

The past that should not be forgotten.

2008-06-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a great learning experience. We explored the Mayan Ruins at approximately 9:00am. At the entrance of our tour we were greeted by the Scarlet Macaw which is highly prided by Copan. As we walked farther I began to see the Mayan community come alive through the many facts and theories our tour guide revealed to us. Our path lead us into an amphitheatre known as the Plaza of the Statues and there we meet the most popular king of the Mayans, 18 Rabbit. We learned of animal and people sacrifices. When Mauricio( tour guide) explained the ball game I hung on to every word. The ball game was played with an even number of players on the field. The players could only use their shoulders, elbows, hips(used most) and knees to control the ball and the ball could not touch the ground. The object of the game was to hit 1 of 6 stone Macaw heads. At the end of the game the captain of the winning team was beheaded however, it was with great pride that they died because they would become a semi-god. It is no suprise that they believed they would become a semi-god because the were polythestics (had many gods). For example they had a wind god, a water god, and sky god. Not only were they polythestics but they were also poligamists (many lovers) and polylinguistics ( many dialects). The Mayan culture is a great example of the world today. They created drain systems that still work today and even had a temple to similar to NASA where they studied astrology and astronomy. The Mayan ruins are definitely a must see when exploring Copan. During the tour I was captivated because Mauricio was so passionate about the Mayan Ruins. I could see the passion in his eyes. History is Mauricio's heart beat. His pride of his culture reminded me of a quote by John Muir, it states " We love only what we know and we will perserve only what we love". Mauricio and the people of Copan love their culture because they know their history, want others to know it because they love it therfore, they perserve it. In Copan tradition is alive and well. The peope lead their lives like many people do. They survive to live by making the best of what they have. Copan itself is a very close knit community. Copan may be located in the second poorest country in the Carribbean but its people have a heart bigger than the sun. The Mayan ruins are the past but that doesn't mean that they should be forgotten.

Estaba enferma en Honduras!

2008-06-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone today was a very good day….well not really. I was actually sick…I got sick today because of the weather. I had an asthma attack and guess what??? The doctor of Copan diagnosed me with Asthma. I was so so sick. Plus, I had a hard time breathing. I didn’t know I had asthma. My teachers Mrs. Mc-W, and Profe’ were very scared and worried! They almost had me scared but I knew that It wasn’t as serious as they thought. they were really worried about me. I felt special. I am happy that it happened to me and no one else because I don’t think that anyone else would have took it the way I did. Getting sick was the high of my trip so far! I got to sleep the whole day after it happened. I honestly think that going to the doctor and actually getting sick in HONDURAS was good for me because I actually went to the doctor in a foreign country. No one else would have been comfortable with going to the doctor in another country but me so I am glad that I was the one it happened to. And after getting sick I was nominated the Traveler of The Day. They nominated me because they said I was very brave and I also laughed when I was sick even though I couldn’t breathe that well!

-Tylisha Jones

Horseback Riding!!!

2008-06-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today was awesome... we went horseback riding and i rode a horse... again... i swore i would never do that but it was cool i enjoyed it. We went to see the Shorti Mayan Village. It was cool and we saw huge mountains and big bulls. It started raining on us but it was a relief from all this hot air.The sight on top of the huge mountains were beautiful... I never seen anything like it. I learned a lot about the little kids in the village and there culture. We almost got attacked by the bulls but everybody made it out safe! We saw the store that is trying to survive in the middle of nowhere. It helps the whole Shorti community out and doesn`t just give to one family. As the day progressed, we talked with the children about their life,what foods they ate, what did they eat on that day, and asked questions about their family. The children that were their were either brothers and sisters or were closely related.Melissa Lockea, Whitney, and myself gave the children snacks even though we weren`t suppose to, but it felt good to give to the needy. I had fun today and the experience was great. I hope this will be able to happen to some of the people that are reading this.

A Challenging Day

2008-06-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back today was a very challenging day. So far the trip is just going wonderful and I'm not surprised anybody is not letting little things get to them. That's because Maestra and Profe picked the most mature kids for the trip. Today was fun and very crazy. While riding the horses a crazy bull went crazy and attacked some of our people. Luckily the bull only hit there horses instead of our people. Thank god. Well everything has been wonderful and that includes adjusting to the food which has been upsetting my stomach and I'm not about to complain. I want whats best for the trip and complaining is not it. Everybody is having fun and will continue in the morning and thats conclude for today.

P.S. Don't eat too many beans EVER.......lol.

Honduras Bound 2008 is the best ever.

2008-06-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hey! its me again.....Whitney. I didnt know that this blog had to be a page! But here it goes.....It seemed like it took forever to get here! We left the school( Leland High School) at about 1:40am. on our way to Memphis Tenneesee to catch our 7 o'clock flight. I was soooooooo nervous. people started to cheer me up along with other first time fliers. I got over it eventually. At about 10:30am, we made it to Atlanta, Georgia. Im sitting in the airport thinking ( can we get this over with??! Then came San Sedro Sula. We were in a long line waiting to be checked in......Awesome!!! We're in the country of Honduras! About three hours later we made it to our destination, which is Copan, Honduras. I slept the whole way. I can't believe we're in Copan. The experience is great and i'm enjoying my host family and their surroundings. I'm looking forward to more actvities and other exciting things to come. Adios!

Arrival to honduras June 5, 2008

2008-06-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Copan Honduras!

When i first got on the plane I thought i wasn`t going to make it! I finally got over the fear of flying. Im enjoying my host family so far. Ella es muy simpatica. Adios

Only a few hours!!!

2008-06-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

Hola! I am a freshman at Leland High School, and I will be traveling to Honduras in less than twenty four hours!!! I love spanish and every chance that i get to speak it. Every since I got the news that I would be going on this trip, I have been extremely excited. Today is the most exciting day for me because it's almost time for takeoff. I have been dreaming of my experience to Honduras, and within hours my dreams will come true. Although we are leaving extremely early, I think all the preparation is going to pay off. I am really thankful for being able to go. I am just ready to be in Copan and put my espanol to use!!! I can't really put my feelings in words, but I know I am going to enjoy this experience.

I'm Ready

2008-06-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well even though I'm still in Chicago and haven't seen everybody I'm ready lol....... But yeah its about that time for us to be on our way across the waters. I've missed the bbq and pancake breakfast MS. MCKINNY-WOOD had prepared and the meetings. (Mann I wanted some pancakes.). I've packed everything and I'm going to repack everything to make sure I have everything. It's going to be a long and tiring trip driving from up here and leaving almost the following day but still I'm ready. Oh I can't forget I'm a have a feast before i go over there.

Oh i forgot

2008-05-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

Espanol es mejor than frances!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D

geting ready

2008-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well today is friday, 6 more days to go. I'm just now starting to gather my things. I have the majority of the things i need, but still need some of the smaller things. Me and my mom are battling on the mp3 player issue, i refuse to go without my music, which is why i wanted a cheap battery opperated one and not the one i use regullarly. I need to get my money belt still and a teedy bear for my host family gift. Im currently stuck on projecting the prsent time into the future, u know like right now i'l be in class right now, so exciting class in the summer!!!!! Well just wanted to post a little something, hope to blog a few more time before we go. Untill next time...................

2008-05-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hola todos, yo soy Mr. VanderZanden. I teach French, not Spanish, so I'm struggling to speak such a hideous language. Yet despite its aesthetic failings, Spanish is an extremely useful language. I am looking forward to putting all of those un-pretty words to use this summer in Honduras.

7 days and counting

2008-05-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

Right, so we will be leaving for Honduras soon. I am beyond excited about the whole experience. We have a group bonding tomorrow. Oh yeah, I cannot wait to find out who my new international family will be. WOOHOO! Honduras is not ready.

excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody.....wats up......him very excited to be goin to HONDURAS in only a couple more days.....well like w week in ahalf....sooooooooooooooooo sooon huh?!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But it will be a very goood experience for me.....OR will it???hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Only 13 days to go . . .

2008-05-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I will be heading to Honduras again in less than two weeks. I am so excited to make year two of Honduras Bound a reality! We've expanded quite a bit this year from our little close-knit group of four students in 2007. This year we have eleven participants from two high schools, ranging from grades nine through twelve. Profé (Jessie McKenzie) and I have been getting all of the last minute details ready for our trip in the past couple of weeks. Passports are in, plane tickets have been purchased, homestays have been arranged, and the Honduras Bound students are itching for take off.

We do have a few fun events planned before we board that plane on June 5. In addition to fundraising enough money throughout the course of this year to completely cover the cost of their trip, participating students have been involved in a series of classes that I call Honduras 101. The curriculum is designed to help them prepare for everything from packing, to culture shock, and also to give them some background knowledge on the Honduras and Copan, the city we will be living. We only have two official student meetings left - a pancake breakfast here at my house next week and final pre-departure BBQ on June 3 (students - don't forget to bring your packed luggage to be checked!)

One of the students' responsibilities while in Honduras is to keep this blog updated. So expect to be entertained as they share their experiences with you. Think of them as your eyes and ears abroad. We also welcome you to share your thoughts with us by posting responses to our blogs. I know that our students will be thrilled to hear news from the States. Also, check out our website www.hondurasbound.org to learn more about our students and chaperones and our itinerary. We'll try to post photos throughout the trip as well. Check in again soon!

¡Adios!

Honduras

2008-05-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

CENTRAL AMERICA!...
I have never been out the country befor.......
and i sure didn't think that i would have been
honduras...lol but i know um going to have a BLAST....
me and two of mi best buddies...REX and KAYLA PAM.
hopefull we will have ah JOYFUL 10 DAYS!
and i know Mrs M-W and Prof3 will make sure we do..
oh yeah i for got about the KRUNK ONE....MZ! BOSMAN!..<<SORRY IF SPELLED WONG >>>>
THIS IS A BLOG!
but any who!! i wanna have this expericence to share with
the kids who might participate next year!!!...BUT FOR NOW
i gotta go! c u layta

ckecking out MZ....JONES!~

Testing

2008-05-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Testing a new post for 2008.

Profé

Trabajo voluntario . . .

2007-06-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hola Friends and Family!

We`ve been so busy with activities and volunteering that none of the kids have had a chance to sit down and write about what we`ve been up to the last few days. On Thursday the kids had Spanish class in the morning, but in the afternoon we did something a little bit different than the norm. Instead of going off on a fun and exciting adventure like riding horses in the rain or seeing scarlet macaws and toucans, we went to the local orphanage armed with coloring books, crayons, and playing cards to begin our volunteer work. The moment I opened my blue Northface backpack to start passing out the goodies (all collected and donated by Catherine Goodman, Teach for America Program Director extrodinaire) the kids swarmed around me, begging for attention and care. It was overwhelming and pretty depressing.

The orphanage has two main rooms constructed of gray cement. The first room had two double beds one of which held three crying babies who were clearly longing to be held, the other room was full of bunk beds where many of the children were sleeping - I got the impression that the kids slept in shifts, in order to guarantee enough bedspace for everyone. The orphanage was home to approximately 28 children. About half of those kids had families that would come pick them up at the end of the day, but the rest were there full time, either because their parents could no longer afford to care for them or because they quite simply no longer had parents. After a little while, the children settled down and Melissa, Alexia, Allen, and James all played with them. We all left at the end of the day feeling overwhelmed with the experience. What could we possibly do to really make a difference for these children? It was a question we were all asking ourselves as we drove away.

That evening, we had a cooking class at the Guacamaya School. All of us learned to make tortillas under the watchful eyes of our teachers Julia and Karla. Everyone did an excellent job and when we were done frying the tortillas we all feasted on balleadas. A balleada is a typical food consumed in Honduras and is consists of a tortilla filled with beans, crema (which is sort of like sour cream), cheese, chizmol (cut up onion & tomato), and egg, Que rico!

Friday we returned to the orphanage, only this time we came armed with fruit instead of coloring books. The kids inhaled what we had brought and then we all got down to the business of playing once again. Sanja and I read the Spanish version of The Giving Tree, which was a big hit. After the orphanage, we sent everyone home to get themselves freshened up, because Friday night we were all heading out to the discoteca.

That's right, Melissa, Allen, Alexia, James, Sanja, myself, and some of the teachers all went out to las piscinas to check out what a Honduran discotech would be like. They played a lot of reggaeton music and some other genres that we weren't too familiar with, but we had fun anyway. When an American song finally did come on, the kids danced up a storm. It was really fun. After about an hour and a half of dancing, we called it a night and went home. We needed to rest before our big day at El Jaral, the waterpark, on Saturday.

More to come later . . .

Miercoles

2007-06-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

On Wedensday we had a blast. We woke up as we do everyday and went to class. After we attended class we ate lunch with our host families. And we chilled before we continued our day. Finally we reached the fun part of the day horse back riding. We we`re so scared. Well aleast i know I was (Alexia). The horses were stinking and big. It felt like you would just fall off. Melissa even looked a little scared. When we took off on the horses they started to use the bathroom ever where. That was funny to Alan and I. Then we started on the long journey. I really didn`t like it at first. My butt was hurting and so was everyone elses. But it was pretty cool when our tour guide came. He it more fun. I really think he made it funner for James. James kepted wanting his horse to go fast and he got it. Our guide kept making his wish come true. But my horse didn`t get alone with Melissa horse. Her horse kept trying to kick my horse. And they both scared us. After a while of riding we saw the beauitful sites. I really think that was the area where the poor lived. We saw babies running in the underwear. We saw woman walking up the mountains carrying their babies on their backs. But hten we came to a small village. And thats when a million children ran towards us. They circled around James and begged him to buy something from them. Ms. McKinny Wood had to save him. So we all wanted to help so we brought something from them. We brought their dolls and Alan even donated money. But they kept asking us to buy something from them. We would say no thank you, but it seems the more we said it the more children came. It was really scary for all of us. Then we took pictures of the village and their schools. Their school is so different. It remineded us of the old sc days back in slavery time. Tehn we sat at a cafe were we drank sodas. Ms. McKinny Wood, Meliisa, and Ms. Bossman talk to the children. It was so sweet. But the fun was coming to an end. It started raining hard on us. And our tour guide said it was time to go. We all pleaded to stay, but we had to go. When we went to get on the horse Alan horse pass gas and so did he. That made all of us laugh. Then we were off back home in the pouring rain. I felt like crying, because I though I was gone get sick. But after a while we made it into a joke. We just started joking around which made time pass by so fast. Before I knew it we were back at the school. We had to take pictures to remember this moment. Then we went home and change clothes. I was so happy, but my happiness ended when we came back to the school and the lights went out. But that still didn`t stop our party. We ate and danced until we had to go home and prepare to go to sleep for the next day of a wild and cool adventure.

A Journey in the Mayan Ruins

2007-06-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

As usual we started class at 9:00 in the morning, but that does not describe the time we awoke. For breakfast we had fruits and juice and the fruits was very good it´s better than the fruit in the USA. After that we had our two hour class and i learned alot of more things about spanish. After class we went to eat with our host family and we ate some noodles with chicken and some vegetables. After that we went to our room and had a lil nap because in Honduras it is so hotttt! About 1:30 we all came to the school to began our journey to the mayan ruins. I was very tired and the sun was beaming as usual. we rode in a motor taxi because the trip there would have taken a long time if we would have walked. When we arrived we had our own personal tour guide name Mauricio, he was an excellent tour guide because he explained everything to us in English....! Not only was he a good tour guide but he also swore in Germany....lol....! The Mayan Ruins was very beautiful to me and I really liked it, the history was very amazing too. There were some ruins where we could climb and we took pictures climbing the ruins and havin fun.When the tour was over i was so hungry that i thought about hamburgers the rest of the way so one of our sponsers Sanja took us on a very good walk. We went to this excellent restarunt and the food so good.

Later that night we were to watch a movie at the school, but it was raining very hard so we were to walk to the boys house to watch a movie at 7:30, before we left the lights went off everywhere in the town and we had to light our candle in our room for light. The rain was coming down hard and me and alexia had to walk up to the store to eat dinner for the night, we was so tickled by how hard it rained because we had to get really wet and our host mom was with us also. When we went to watch the movie we met my teacher (karla) son who is very cute and active. He hit us with pillows all night but we had fun playing with him. Afterwards it was time for us to go home because we had to do our homework. The boys walked us home and they got wet too becuase the rain was pouring down really hard.

well let me just say that everyday is a challenging day for me because i have never experienced much and i really enjoy the things we do even when im scared and screaming!

¡Adios!
Melissa Ruffins

El Jardin de Mariposas

2007-06-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hola! Today was our second full day here in Copan, Honduras. This morning, the kids started their classes at La Escuela Guacamaya. They are taking classes for two hours each day, studying Spanish with their own personal teacher. Melissa has my teacher from last summer, Karla (yay!). The kids seemed pretty nervous before school and they had alot of questions about the way classes would run. Thankfully, when Therese and I returned to the school at 11 to meet them, they were all smiling and laughing. They really seemed to enjoy their first class AND they had learned some new phrases to communicate with their host family- which is AWESOME.

After class, the kids went back to their host families and Therese and I went back to our hotel to eat. We had mac and cheese:) It's a little tough for our host mom to feed us vegetarianas. After lunch, we indulged in one of my favorite traditions from Copan- the afternoon siesta (who says naps are just for kindergartners!). At 2:00, we all met at the school for a trip to the Jardin de Mariposas, where we saw some truly beautiful butterflies. There are thousands of butterfly species here in Honduras. I felt like a little kid walking around the garden and trying to match up the butterflies with the pictures they had given us and it was GREAT:)

When we grew tired of walking around the garden, we all walked up to a little store/cafe outside. We talked about some of the differences and similarities we found between Leland and Copan. In some ways, the towns are very similar...The kids really noticed how people sort of mill around outside houses and just sit and talk. That's one of of my favorite things about Leland...and also about Copan. Life is just a little bit slower...and, after a loooooong school year, a slower lifestyle seems just about perfect.

More later...

Adios!
Sanja:)

We made it!

2007-06-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Friends and family,

We finallt made it to Honduras! The final passport was received midday on Friday (yes, the day before we flew out) and we then headed up to Memphis where we stayed the night so we could catch our incredibly early flight to Miami (we had to be at the airport at 4:30AM - yikes!) Everything went smoothly and we arrived in Miami with no problems, but about an hour before our flight was scheduled to leave for San Pedro Sula, the setbacks began.

We were hanging out, waiting for our flight, when James and Allen announced that they had just read that the flight to San Pedro Sula had been cancelled - not delayed - cancelled. Of course I headed up to the ticket counter, only to be told that the next flight to SAP was full and that we would have to stay the night in Miami . . . not news I waned to hear. I kept talking to the agent and eventually he was able to ook us on a flight to Honduras later in the afternoon, the only problem was that five of the remaining six seats on the plane were in FIRST CLASS. That´s right, Sanja and all of the students got to fly in first class while I was stuck back in coach and let me tell you, first class is a prett swanky place to be, at least it looked that way from where I was sitting . . .

We arrived in San Pedro Sula around 5pm only to discover that our luggage had been left in Miami - not news we wanted to hear, but so far we´ve been dealing the best we can. We arrived in Copan after a long bumpy van ride, took the kids to their host families, and all crashed with exhaustion.

Yesterday morning, we got the kids up, they ate breakfast with their host families (Sanja and I had empanadas - they were heavenly!) and Enrique Carrillo (aka Kike), the school director, gave them a tour of La Escuela Guacamaya (The Guacamaya School) and of the town of Copan. After lunch, we went to El Parque de Pajarros (The Bird Park) and got to see some really amazing birds like Scarlet Macaws, Toucans, Owls, Parakeets, etc. At the end of the tour the students even got to hold some of them. I will try to post pictures later this evening. We spend a good portion of the evening buying clothes, as the thought of spending a third day in the outfts we wore on the plane was more than any of us could handle (plus American Airlines has to give us $25 each for each day that we go without luggage).

This morning the students met their private Spanish instructors, and each of them is currently in class improving their Spanish. They are doing an awesome job, and they have really impressed me with their ability to deal with challenging situations like flights being cancelled, luggage being delayed, eating new foods, holding enormous birds, etc. They are SO AWESOME!!!!

I´ll have one of the students post later, but for now I´m signing off.

Adios!

Therese (aka Ms. McKinny-Wood)

P.S. If you need to reach me, I now have a cell phone that can be used here in Honduras, the number is 011-504-9818-8845. Keep in mind that without a phone card, it is really expensive to call Honduras, so I recommend buying one before you call - you may be able to get one online.