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Friday, November 26, 2010

Some, good ol' ruins, and some good ol' fun!

Me and Sor Yorlanda

THANK THE LORD! Sooo This past week without the other volunteer, and without the internas, I have pretty much been just helping the hijas de casa cook and clean for 30 directors of other Salesian schools who had come to visit.  Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and I am so thankful to have come here and to have spent this time here.  Today I went to the Copan ruinas for my last day in Santa Rosa de Copan, (until I return January 20th).   It has been wonderful, and emotional today.   These are some thing to be thankful for if you are still trying to find some. 

 Electricity!
     With the 30 visitorsplus the sisters here, there has been a lot of work to do for only four of the hijas de casa with cooking 3 meals a day, washing dishes, and cleaning.  However to add to the workload, Wednesday, in the middle of cooking the pizza for the dinner, the electricity went off and the pizzas had only been in the oven for five minutes!  We had do run over and prepare something for the dinner in half an hour without electricity.  The government decides sometimes that it is going to conserve energy, and turns off the electricity every once in a while, sometimes without warning...

Jovita an hija de casa
Zenaida making Baleadas
Linda making Baleadas too!

Running Water
     So yes we have running water, but it is very expensive, so to save money, the internas use rain water that collects in a whole by their lavanderia.  I usually don't have to use this because I have my own bathroom and use a different lavanderia, but this week with all the guests, I am living in the girls dorms, and using their facilities.  Let me tell you every girl here has to be very strong to be always pulling up bucketsful of water from the well! and let me tell you, it is not that fun to always have to lug water over to the toilet to flush it.   

Internet.
     One of the sisters who was visiting was crying because her cousin who grew up with her like a brother was taken in by ICE.  She didn't know anything about where or if he is safe only that they told her that he would probably be in a certain prison.  So I just got online and looked it up the records for her, so she could figure things out.  The internet can do sooo many things its crazy! 

Beauties of Antiquity,
    So I got to Go to the Copan ruinas today.  These are amazing! The sisters were just hilarious running about the ruins.  Seeing these immense temples was really cool, and marveling how over 2000 years ago did they have the technology to build them.  And wow there where some really amazing trees, so wide ten of us could not encircle it with our arms and uber tall!
  
Everyone on top of a temple
A temple

Sor Roselba under an awesome tree!
Sor Mirna being herself
Sor Mely!!


   
Being with loved ones. 
Tonight shoeing everyone the pictures from the Ruinas

     I have been daying goodbyes and this is hard, because  I really have grown to love the people here.  Yesterday, I said goodbye to the last interna that was here, then I left to say goodbye to the kids at the comedor.  They are way to cute! While one kid was hanging on my neck, and another was trying to undo my hair tie, I told them I was not going to be back and they asked me, if at least I would come back next week, another kid who likes to call me Bebecca to tease me, just didn't believe it and he ran away.  Aw.  Thats when I cried the first time.  So then I went straight to the mass at the school for some visiting sisters, and they offered it up in thanksgiving for me and my family, and friends, for all of you, and I am so glad for each one of you.   Then saying goodbye to the hijas de casa, half in tears, they are so sweet hearted, and gosh darn hard-working, I love them!  Finally, I said goodbye to the sisters, some of whom I don't know if/when I will see again because they are getting reassigned.  This was the hardest because they have been my family this past three months.  Thats when I cried again.  So, not that I like to cry, but I am glad I cried, because then I know that yes I really did give the people here a part of my heart, and that is why I cam here, and the only way, I think you can make any difference in the world.  I know that I really do love the people here, and thats the only reason it hurts to leave.   Adios! Hasta Tegucigalpa!
Exhausted after the long trek through the ruinas!
   
Right now pray for safe travels for me, and everyone else who is traveling back after the conference here, and pray for perseverance for all the people who are still working hard here, and are not going to leave Santa Rosa for this vacation time.  

 

Friday, November 19, 2010

Fiesta fiesta!

    Sooo I had been planning on having a bible camp type program for the kids who come to the comedor, but I needed help, and no one really was able to, so then I cut it down to a day program, and the helpers would only have to come for one day, but then the night before, I find out they can't come....

    Come the day of the fiesta, it was115 children,  and 5 volunteers (including me)!    
Luckily the moms of the littlest ones where there to keep the smallest ones under control! hehe
Playing Simon says, and I lost every time along with about half the kids!

    I was a little worried how we would get everything done, but it worked out. While me and the other volunteers sang some songs, and played with the kids, and tried to organize stuff, a few other people stepped up and saved the program, and my sanity.  The hijas de casa pitched in by adding to their daily chores, the task of making and popping 125 bags of popcorn, one of the moms stayed and helped Doña Samira prepare the 250 pastelitos for the lunch, a teacher gave up an hour of his busy schedule to help us control the hords of children fighting over the piñata candy and the desert we gave them, and some of the internas stopped their studying for finals and helped hand out the pbags of popcorn to the kids as they left. 
We had two huge circles of Animal, Animal, Vaca! ( like duck, duck, goose)
By a miracle made possible by all of your prayers, and the generosity of some unexpected help all the kids had a fun celebration of the end of the school year. 



Trying to make sure each kid got only one plate of food is pretty hard when they are all hungry!
Then comes the piñata!Don't let the pictures fool you, kids are crazy when it comes to candy!
One for the girls!

One for the Boys!
 Well besides all this, things this year are really coming to a close quickly.  The graduation ceremony is today; the girls who are here for recuperation finish Monday; Tracy leaves Monday; and I leave Friday for Tegucigalpa and then the next week for Costa Rica!  I can't believe its almost been three months, there is still so much to do!
¡Hasta luego!   y  ¡Dios les Bengiga!

    

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Final Words

Sor Mirna Presiding over the Farewell dinner


I thought I saw expereinced the last of worrying about final exams las may, but I was wrong.  The same fret over exams hit me again the past week as I've been helping the internas study for their finals, and then I have been proctoring final exams all week, very fun!  Well so this may not seem like that exciting of a post, but man it has been a stretching experience. 

Marinita Studying in another part of the back yard!
The girls in Third Basico, and Third year  Bachillerato between their studying have been in an emotional mess. There is 1st- 3rd of Basico which is 7-9th grade, after which they have to choose a specific area for Bachillerato, our10th-12th.  Our Bachillerato program is Business Admistration, and  only a handful of the girls in Third Basico are going to return, the rest will go to other schools for sciences or computers or other specialties.  Its crazy that the year is almost over.)  Hence they are all moving on to new horizons and leaving behind this one.  These goodbyes in the states mean a lot less then they do here.  In the states we all have facebook and email and internet and yes some girls here have Facebook, but then there are still a lot that will be going back to houses that don't even have electricity.  Some of you might say ohh then just send snail mail, but that really doesn't exist outside of the city either, a goodbye really might be forever, and they know it.  I am having a good time while they are still here, but as of today exams are finished, and as of Thursday, almost all of the girls will be gone, and I don't know who will return.   Its strange already saying goodbye and I feel like I just got here.  But have so many relationships that it is killing me to end.  Well goodbye and continue to pray for us!  Love yal!
  Becca

 Here are some pictures of our Farewell Dinner with all the girls and the sisters together!



Sor Yorlanda serving the Tamales for the special occasion!

The dance contest for the prizes!

Yenny studying in the backyard





Another cool fruit that is in season now.
Where I do Laundry