Las vacaciones

I started the new year off with a bang (literally, as everyone sets off firecrackers at midnight). Christmas was also quite different, as it was celebrated on Christmas Eve with no church service (only a family devotional) and very little consumerism. We ate a TON, played amigo secreto within the family, and had friends over. All in all, a very nice Christmas except for the lack of snow. In order to re-create some semblance of home, I endeavored to bake Christmas sugar cookies with my host sisters. It was a lot of work, but totally worth the effort.

Our Christmas feast, Carol being a ham

Isieny and Cynthia by the Christmas tree

Making the Christmas cookies

The finished product

In early January, I did another week of language school, this time in La Ceiba. Adam went too, so it was nice to see him and Callie for a week. We also met some people through the school that we hung out with quite a bit.

Language school friends on the beach near La Ceiba

My best Christmas present came January 11, when my parents came! We went to Roatan, an island off the coast of La Ceiba, for the first week. Adam, Callie, and our new friends went too for the weekend. I tried scuba diving for the first time with my dad and I understand why he is so hooked! We also went to an iguana farm, where there were 3000+ iguanas running around. It was like being in a mini Jurassic park. Roatan, though expensive, was really beautiful and it was nice to have hot running showers for a full week. Unfortunately, both my parents came down with something that churned their stomachs for a few days. The next few days, we went to Tocoa, so they could see what my daily life was like. My families got along really well, and my host mom cooked us quite the welcoming feast with sopa marinera (seafood soup) and machuca (mashed plantains). We went with the morning walking group and visited the school. We then left to spend my dad's last few days here in Copan. My parents absolutely loved the quaint charm of Copan and it was nice to visit all of the friends I had made when I did language study in August. My mom then spent the next 2 weeks there studying Spanish with her sister-in-law and my dad returned to Colorado.

me and my mom

me and dad, after the dive

Roatan is beautiful!

The iguana farm

I returned to school, to find out I would get to keep the library that Kari had worked so hard to create. This was a big blessing and to celebrate, Maria, the director, the new sub-director, and I painted it. When my parents came, the place was a total mess, they hadn't hired anyone to direct the bilingual portion of the school, and teachers hadn't been assigned their grades for the year. Luckily, everything has fallen into place. With the new school supplies that my parents brought, we created new learning games for the teachers to use. I also am looking forward to teaching a conversational English class to the upper grades this year.

The improved biblioteca

I just put my mom in an airport shuttle this morning to return to Colorado, and while it was hard, I think it will be easier to talk to my parents on the phone now that they have some picture of my world here.