Parades and Tela

Hi everyone, lots to report.

So we went to the parades the Friday before last, and were amazed and astounded when we got there. The first parade was the one for the pre – school aged kids but just because they are so young no less effort was put into their costumes. We defiantly felt underdressed in our (compulsory) beige trousers and blue blouse. Each of the children were given a special part to play, from banner bearers and flag holders to the five girls representing each of the central American countries and the boys playing toy drums at the front of the high school band. My role was to get the four flag – bearing four – year – olds to march in a square, and the one boy with the Honduras flag to march in the middle. This was no easy task. The boys were immaculately behaved, however their ability to march in a square was seriously limited and as a result I basically ran about the supposed square pushing different children into place. It was good fun though, and we made Honduran TV!

The Sunday high – school parade was less fun, mostly because we had to wake up at 5.30 to get there for the 7.00 start. However, this being Honduras, we then had to wait on the hot road for THREE AND A HALF HOURS until anything happened. Not impressed we finally set off at 10.30. While there were some fantastic costumes and every school has a samba band, which are all so good, it was soooooo hot and soooo long I didn’t enjoy it half as much as the Friday one.

However, we had the trip to Tela to perk us up. We hopped on a bus after the parade and we were off! The journey was amazing, the coach was practically empty and the views were great. It was just so nice to get out of Sigua for the first time since we’ve been here and see somewhere else. You could tell as we were getting closer because the air was getting more and more damp, and you could start to smell that wet, green, plant - like musk of the rainforest.

We woke up on Monday to rain. In a slightly bad mood we set off to find the tour we were planning on going on which took you to a national park. Firstly. the hotel where it was based had changed addresses and when we finally found the correct place we were told we needed 5 people to go on the tour. Slightly disheartened, we decided to set off in search for the botanic gardens, which the guidebook had recommended, however when we finally got there it turned out to be shut. Third time lucky, we set off for the Garifuna (a Caribbean ethnic group who live around the Honduran coast and on the islands) Villages. We were greeted by a man in a tuk tuk who offered to show us round the community. We went out on a lake in a canoe, had the best seafood soup I have ever eaten in my life (and probably ever will), made by our guide’s aunt, walked along the beach, saw the local radio station, and saw how the Garifuna boys fish. Exhausted we went back to Tela and spent the rest of the day on the beach. It’s the first time I have ever seen the Caribbean sea, and it is so beautiful (and also very warm).

On Tuesday we decided to go and see fellow volunteers Meryl and Rosa, who live in Tela and had just gotten back from their holiday to the Mayan ruins in Copan. It was great to catch up with them and then we went to the botanic gardens (which were open this time) with them and the American volunteer they live with, Luis. Now, when I heard botanical garden, I envisaged Edinburgh botanic gardens, but hotter. It was quite different, was more like wandering through the rainforest than anything else, the trees and plants were so cool and we were the only ones there. Afterwards we sadly waved goodbye and hopped on the bus home.

Then yesterday we participated in a 6k fun run through town. It was extremely well organised (for Honduras): each runner got a number and every finisher got a piece of corn (yum!). It was really tough because it was so hot and quite hilly, and we haven’t managed to run since we’ve been here. It was good to do some proper exercise, however, and the views were absolutely stunning. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at the pool with Ione, Michaela and Katie.

Next weekend we have the Monday off, so guess what – Tela again! This time Ione, Michaela and Katie will be coming too, and it will be nice to have a group of us, and maybe this time we will manage that national park!

Our school's band

My flag boys

Our Garifuna guides: Jose and Marcos

Garifuna boys fishing

Fiestas, fishing and host family fun

Hi everyone!

Us at the pool with fellow volunteers Ione, Michaela and Katie

Like many countries Honduras has an Independence day, but Honduras being Honduras the celebrations go on for an entire month, the month of September. Flags are draped everywhere – in school, in the supermarket, over the phone wires in town – and everywhere you go you can´t escape the national anthem, and pictures of the national flower, national tree and the county´s founders.  At school we are preparing for the parades this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in which every school in Siguatepeque and the surrounding area is taking part. Preparations are in full swing and everyday there is band practice, baton twirling practice, flag carrying practice and marching practice. They even got a guy from the army into the school to help them with their marching technique. However my kids being four years old, marching practice mainly consists of the older kids trying to make them stand in one place, and running around the school after them when they don't. It’s nice to have someone else chase after them for a change. Then after the weekend of parading we get our first holiday! Unfortunately it´s only two days so we won´t manage to make it to the beautiful bay islands like some of the other volunteers, but we plan to go to the beach town of Tela. The only issue is that the busses might not be running, we have asked loads of people but no one seams to be very sure, but fingers crossed we´ll make it.

Tuesday was Children´s day in Honduras, which pretty much means a day where there are no classes but instead fun and games. We celebrated it on Friday, which was so much fun! We had a bouncy castle (and yes, I did have a go myself), musical chairs, a pass the parcel and best of all the Piñata. It was a little scary handing some of my kids a big wooden stick, however there were only a few injuries and after about 20 minutes they managed to crack it open. They them proceeded to stampede and all rush and grab as many sweets as they could. Quite a frightening sight. They then got chicken nuggets, chips and cupcakes and it was hilarious watching them all get the icing EVERYWHERE (some examples: in their hair, on their feet, behind their ears). All in all it was a great day, most of all it was just nice to have a chance to just play with my kids and be nice to them instead of shouting at them or trying to get them to sit down all the time.   I do feel that I have gotten to know my kids by now and although they try my patience all the time, I do genuinely love each of them. Day to day it is a real struggle and I can´t wait until 3 o´clock when we can go home, but there are some great moments like when I have the whole class giggling and singing wheels on the bus with me, when one of my slower kids manages to do a whole piece of work right, when someone learns to write their name or when my special needs kid learnt his first word in: banana.

The first time we got soaked

As for the weekends we have decided to try and do some more interesting things instead of just lazing around in our house all day. Last weekend we decided we would try and do some horse riding. We texted the head teacher to ask if she had any recommendations and she text back two hours later telling us she had everything arranged and we should go into the school at 10 tomorrow and someone would pick us up. But this being Honduras no one showed up until 12, when some distant relative of someone at the school turned up to take us. We went  to his farm and while we waited for them to get the horse ready we were handed a piece of wood with a fishing line wound round it and a hook on the end and told we could fish for a bit while we were waiting. I´ve never been fishing before but it was so much fun and I managed to catch nine Tilapia fish! After about 2 hours of fishing the horse appeared and we went off into the forest for our ride. It was so beautiful and misty but after about 30 minutes it started raining. And in Honduras when it rains, it rains. After about a minute in the tropical downpour we were soaked but the thing is you get so unbelievably wet you just stop caring. The ride back was amazing; we were drenched but riding a horse through the forest where all I could see was trees mist and rain, is something I will never forget. We them went home  with the family we  gutted and cooked the fish we had caught and we all ate Tilapia for tea. It was great to have some fish because you can´t buy it here. All in all a great day.

 

Then on Monday we came home to find there was no power in the whole of Sigua. At first we were a bit annoyed because it meant we couldn't cook and we had no light at all but we soon perked up when we realised it also meant we couldn't possibly do any of our lesson planning.  So we went for pizza with the family and then came back and had an Adele sing a long (as it seams to be the only British music they have heard of). By about 7 it was pitch black and we only had two wind up torches. That's when the fun begun. We invited Nicole and David (the 12 and 15 year olds who live with us) to play a bit of hunt the torch which is where you hide the only source of light and all fumble about in the dark looking for it, which was hilarious (and miraculously we managed not to beak anything).  We then played a bit of hide and seek which is also much more fun when you can see nothing at all and then played a game where you have to sneak up and hit each other with pillows. However, the best game of all we played at the end. We didn't really understand at first when they were explaining it to us, but the aim was for me and Erin as a team to try and scare David and Nicole more than they could scare us, and whoever managed to scare the other the most would win. The first round they won as Erin and I didn't really understand what was going on until they ran at us with Piñatas over their heads. The second round turned out oddly as David and Nicole ran around the room with sheets over their heads while me and Erin creepily sat in the rocking chairs murmuring hubble, bubble, boil and trouble and the like. I actually got quite into the role, but it ended in a stalemate. The final round was the most dramatic with Nicole and David wearing zombie makeup however, they could only stand there stunned as me and Erin came out in our sunglasses, flashing our torches and singing Greece Lightning at the top of our voices. The whole night ended with us all dancing about, and then, at 11.30 the lights came back on. A fantastic, if a little crazy night but it made me so glad that I am living with a host family, and one with kids that are so up for a laugh.

That's all for now, tomorrow and Sunday we will be marching and hopefully I'll get some pictures of that (and of our holiday in Tela too!) Meanwhile here are some pictures of my kids at our party on Friday.

Erin's pic

Erin's pic