Adios

We did it! We've had a very productive and enriching month here in Honduras. We really enjoyed our classes and feel like we've got a good base for continuing to use Spanish in the future...and also for making Cow Patties!

Our last day was very nice, from dawn to dusk. Literally. We got up bright and early for our trek up the mountain. See that Coca-Cola sign in the distance? That was our target.

Coke is a really big thing in Honduras (which makes Robin quite happy). Just how big, you ask? This big!

We started our walk at about 6:15am, and made it to the sign around 7...no speed records were broken this morning...although Ariel tried, he kept saying we should run...and Loren kept glaring at him as well as she could while gasping for breath. It was good that we went so early, the sun was already beginning to beat down as we made our way back down the mountainside. Here is a picture of us at the top!


After the mountain we headed back here for some more sleep (5:30am is really early!) We were awakened by people coming into our apartment...again. This time there were 4 of them...Loren sleepily walked out to see what was going on and found 3 men and a woman looking in our fuse box...no one said a word to her, in either Spanish or English. Apparently our magic toilet also causes invisibility! They chatted to one another for awhile (while Loren looked on in confusion, wondering if maybe she was having a malaria medicine induced dream) and then they just walked out. And locked the door behind them. Loren could only muster a quiet "que?" We tried to find out from the office what was going on, but no one could give us an answer. It was surreal.

This afternoon we packed our bags (hooray, we're coming home!) and then just lazed around watching Elizabethtown. Hunter came by and chatted for a bit, and then we headed out to a cookout the Christ Church, Alexandria group was throwing for the girls. We helped the group blow up some balloons, and we were rewarded with yummy pork chops and roasted potatoes...best meal we've had here by far. No tortillas! No beans! And no yucky, salty cheese! (Have we mentioned that we're ready to come home...we're already planning what we're going to eat this week). We had a fun time hanging out with the girls...we haven't gotten to see a whole lot of them this month because of groups being here, so it was nice to spend a little time just having fun together.

So, that's it. Thank you for coming on our journey with us...we really enjoyed all of your comments...we had a lot of fun with this blog!

We can't wait to see everyone soon!

Adios!

Wedding vows, cow patties, a bishop, his wife and pepperoni...a week in our life

Yes, we lead quite an interesting life down here in Honduras. You know you wish you were with us!

Last week we asked our teacher if we could practice reading aloud, and we suggested using the Eucharist. After "Blessed be..." our teacher knew he was in for a long morning. Robin and Loren took turns saying parts of (read: butchering) Holy Communion while Ariel and Hunter played the part of the congregation. Once that was over, Loren and Robin decided we needed more practice and felt that Hunter and Ariel should have a more active role in the process.

WEDDING!

We started going through the service of Holy Matrimony, and then things just started to get silly...think Practica in Spanish...good times. We were quite resourceful. Ariel transformed his shirt into a tuxedo by buttoning the top buttons, and we found a lovely (white) veil for Hunter...she was gorgeous. We did not have a ring, but the Lord will provide...we found a hairband to use in a pinch. And then, the best idea yet...

Robin: Hey, we should get pictures of this, but my camera is upstairs.
Loren: Hunter, do you have your camera with you?
Hunter:...no...
Loren: Are you lying to me?
Hunter:...yes... *blushes furiously*
Ariel: Oh geez, her boyfriend is gonna kill me.

The blessing of the rings

We're hitched!

The marriage was annulled shortly thereafter. Which was fine, since Loren can't actually marry people anyway.


This past Tuesday was Brian's last day here. Sad! We already miss him. After class we all went to the Hospitality House to go swimming and spend one last afternoon all together. The house actually belongs to Bishop Leo Frade and his wife Diana...Diana is the person who began Our Little Roses. They are in Honduras for the next 2 weeks. Loren was a little wary about just showing up at their house unannounced, but Robin thought it was fine, as she feels quite comfortable in bishops houses. They were nice and we enjoyed getting to meet them.

After the swim, Loren, Robin and Hunter said goodbye to Brian (sad!) and decided they could not handle one more meal that included beans or tortillas. So, their solution?

PIZZA HUT!!

We grabbed a taxi and just said "Pizza Hut por favor"...we really had no idea where one was...but, since Robin was practically gnawing on the back of the seat, we decided to skip any attempt at conversation and conjugation and just get there ASAP.

It was awesome. We each ordered a pizza, so that we'd have leftovers in the event of more beans and tortillas at dinner. *shudder* The waiter was quite concerned that we ordered so much pizza, and tried to talk us out of it. We think we told him we wanted to take some to go (seriously, our Spanish isn't that great)...whatever we said got the point across, because he brought us big ol' pizzas and to-go boxes. Mmm...pizza. And what goes with pizza? Oreo shakes, of course!

Loren and Robin have both lost a good amount of weight since being here...until the pizza...

...and the Cow Patties. In class this week we learned the command form, and used it by describing to Ariel how to make some of our favorite dishes (Loren, of course, explained "No se"). Hunter introduced us all to Cow Patties, yummy, no-bake cookies with chocolate, oatmeal and lots of other not good for you stuff. It was quite amusing to describe to Ariel what a cow pattie actually is...especially with our broken Spanish. When he said "oh...poopy?" we knew he'd caught on. He was so excited about the idea of this delicacy that the next day we had a class project. We all went to the grocery store for ingredients, and then headed to Hunter's apartment to make Cow Patties. They were quite good. Pictures to come tomorrow.

Last night we were invited out to dinner by the Frades (TGIF indeed!). We were excited about a night out (Loren, the party animal, had been out the night before too, to see Harry Potter!) We went to a restaurant which has a Spanish name that we can't remember. But we do remember that it was very good. Loren had enchiladas and Robin had fajitas. Mmm.

In an attempt to undo all of what we've gotten from the pizza, Cow Patties and dinner out, our class is going for a hike tomorrow morning...at 5:30. 5:30am. In the morning. Por la manana. (We have go to so early because it's really, really hot here...109 degree heat index today...we should be back by 8:30). Well, in theory we are going...apparently Ariel was going to take a student a few months ago but he slept in instead. We made it clear that if we wake up at 5:30, for no reason, he will have a student uprising on his hands. We're quite scary.

Below are pictures from Brian's last day.

Hasta manana!

Belkis and Ariel

The graduating class of 2007

Tela

Last weekend our class took a trip to the beach town of Tela, on the North Coast of Honduras. It was Robin's first trip to a Caribbean beach...Loren had been once before, and was returning in hopes of meeting Johnny or Orlando (who, sadly, were nowhere to be found).

We left San Pedro Sula on Friday afternoon and had an interesting bus ride. We went to the airport on the way out of town, which actually turns out to be nowhere near the way out of town and added an extra 45 minutes to the trip. It's ok though, because the bus had a lovely bathroomcoveredupwithairfreshener aroma. Ahhhh. Also, there were 6 employees on the bus, and we were the only 4 passengers. It was pretty funny.

We got to our hotel and headed to our rooms, only to be told that we only had 2 double beds in total. As there were 3 women staying in the same room, this was problematic. So, we waited for the manager. Turns out he'd actually put a single bed in our room as well, which we thought was just fine...until Robin and Loren saw the "double" bed they were to sleep in...let's just say, we are now even closer than ever.

Friday evening we went into town, took a look at the beach and had some yummy pizza. We came back to the hotel for some chocolate cake and drinks, and then headed to bed.

Saturday was beach day! Literally...we got to the beach around 10am and stayed until 5pm. It was great...very relaxing. We rented chairs and umbrellas (for about $2 per person for the whole day, awesome) and just laid around, rested, read and played in the water. The water was so very warm and clear. We like the Caribbean...well, at least the part where we were sitting. Robin and Hunter walked a ways and saw lots of trash, and a dead dog...we learned that it's good to choose beach spots carefully.

Saturday evening we had a really nice dinner at the hotel (compliments of Brian...hooray Brian again!) Loren and Brian had lobster and Robin and Hunter had shrimp. It was all very good, especially when paired with pina coladas, margaritas and Coronas.

Sunday Robin, Loren and Brian walked to the Episcopal Church in Tela for the 8:30am service (but the sign said 8, so we were there a half an hour early). The service was very nice and we enjoyed the sermon...the preacher was very energetic and we actually got the gist of the message (listen to Jesus...the end). We spent the rest of the day packing, hanging out at a beachside restaurant for lunch, and waiting for our bus. The ride home was nice and uneventful, and we got to spread out as there were a whopping 8 people on this ride.

We'll update more tomorrow! We're looking forward to being home soon!

Our spot on the beach

View of the sunset from our hotel

For more Tela pictures click here

Copan: Part 2

Can you imagine Loren trotting around on a horse...for 3 hours...up and down a mountain...in the pouring rain?

Robin really wanted to go horseback riding while we were in Copan. Hunter and Brian thought this was a great idea. *crickets chirping* Loren went too, after being assured that all would be comfy and happy and fine. Really. *crickets chirping*


We joined up with a large family from Miami and headed out, led by Mario from the hotel and another guide. The first half of the ride was very beautiful. We went along the banks of the Rio Copan and up a mountainside to a bed and breakfast called Hacienda San Lucas. There we saw one of the best views we've ever seen. Beautiful.

For more pictures of horseback riding click here

After Hacienda San Lucas we headed down the mountain back toward town. Or, so we thought. In actuality we headed up another, steeper mountainside. Very steep. With rocks and mud. And tasty grass...Robin's horse wanted to stop and eat every 2 minutes. Loren's horse was not at all interested in grass. He liked trees. A lot. So much so that he wanted to be sure that Loren shared in the glory that is the tree. So, he rode riiiiiight on the edge of the road the whole time...which meant that Loren got up close and personal (really close...like straight through the middle) with pretty much every tree on the 3 hour ride.

When we got to the top of the steep mountain it started to rain. And rain. And rain harder. For the second hour and a half of the ride. Which made it nice and easy to get down the slippery, sloshy, steep mountain. Really. Easy.

Needless to say, we were SOAKED by the time we got back to town. And Loren had the added bonus of her saddle being all wonky, which meant that she got to ride hunched over to the right the whole way back. Which made trotting through the rain quite interesting. The whole experience made the next day's Tuk-tuk ride quite painful for all 4 of us...let's just say we were injured in places we didn't know it was possible to injure! Everything else was just muddy.

We made our way back to the hotel and then treated ourselves to a very nice, cozy dinner at a restaurant called Twisted Tanya's. It was very very yummy. We had grilled shrimp and vegetables (vegetables! how we've missed you so!), rolls with real butter (and butter! you're back!) and amazing carrot cake (which we'd tried the night before, which convinced us to come back for dinner). Robin warmed up with a margarita and Loren got a big ol' glass of white wine. It was great times had by all...if you ever go to Copan be sure to stop by Twisted Tanya's!


So, that's our Copan adventure! This coming weekend we're heading to Tela, on the North Coast of Honduras, and staying at a neat little place called Maya Vista. We're excited to see what this journey brings! (There will be no horses involved...but there will be margaritas).

Hasta luego!

Copan: Part 1

We haven't posted about this before now because we've been too busy trying to remember Spanish after our weekend away from class! :) So, settle in for a couple of nice, long entries, complete with plenty of pictures.

We arrived in Copan after a twisty turny bus ride, complete with several sheer drops beside the road...with no guardrails...that was Robin's favorite part of the drive. (Don't worry, we took a very nice, safe bus with a nice, safe driver who knew the road well, and all was fine).

When we arrived at our fancy hotel (fancy here = $20 each per night for our triple room, sweet) we were greeted by Bismark, our phone friend who's fond of giving fun new names. Our rooms were very nice and comfortable, and the hotel was beautiful, especially the views.

View from Hotel Posada Real de Copan

View from the outdoor patio at the hotel restaurant

After we got settled in we took the hotel shuttle van into the town of Copan Ruinas (about a 5 minute drive). On the way Loren was chatted up by young Honduran who invited her to several parties. She casually mentioned that she was going to become a priest and he got a little wary...then Robin said we both had husbands, and he stopped talking to Loren completely. Robin meant to say that we COULD have husbands someday, but, as we'd only had 2 weeks of Spanish, she missed something in the translation...but in the end got the right point across anyway...we went on to dinner. We ate at a restaurant called The Blue Light Grille, which was recommended by 2 of the volunteers at Our Little Roses. There we had pizza and beer. Mmm, cerveza. We also talked to a well-intentioned but slightly lost American ex-pat who moved from the island of Roatan to Copan because he was tired of being around so many gringos. We didn't have the heart to tell him that he actually fell into that category himself. The food and beer (did we mention the beer?) were excellent.

After a good night's rest we headed out to see the 3000 year old Mayan Ruins located just outside of the town of Copan Ruinas. We were met by a great guide named Juan, who was all decked out in jeans, a studded black belt, red bandana, white cowboy hat, a diamond stud in one ear and a bottle of Gatorade in his back pocket. Awesome. He took us on an all access backstage tour...which meant that we got to go through the woods and see some neat side items instead of waiting in long lines behind school groups. We really liked Juan...he knew tons about the ruins, was funny and recommended a restaurant to us for our lunch on Sunday. One of the neat things we did was to sit in a cedar seed shower (say that 5 times fast!) When you sit under a grove of cedar trees the seeds fall all around and sound like a gentle rain...and they smell SO good, kind of a mixture of onions and garlic (which we found surprising given what cedar wood smells like). Below are some pictures from our great tour of the ruins...we really enjoyed our morning there. (If you want the scholarly account of the lives of Smoke Monkey and 18 Rabbit, google Copan Ruins).

To see more pictures of the Ruins click here

On Saturday afternoon we rested at the hotel, enjoying siestas and time at the pool. The rest of Saturday afternooon and evening was an event in and of itself, and will be receiving its own post in a moment. Stay tuned.

On Sunday we got ready, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, packed and headed for Macaw Mountain, a bird sanctuary on the other side of town...sort of easily reached by Tuk-tuk (small, 3 wheeled taxis which are quite plentiful in Copan...and which are not quite comfortable on the quaint cobblestone streets)...(Loren likes alliteration). Macaw Mountain was really wonderful. We had a very nice guide who sings happy birthday very well...even though he couldn't Ronnie the parrot to join in...Ronnie was shy. In addition to macaws and parrots we saw owls, hawks and toucans (we were disappointed at the lack of Fruit Loops in the gift shop).

To see more pictures from Macaw Mountain click here

After Macaw Mountain we headed to a much recommended restaurant called Carnitas. We were expecting something pretty spectacular. We were presented with your basic dive bar, complete with old license plates, Harley-Davidson memorobilia, and Guns n' Roses on the radio. We had melted cheddar cheese on toast with french fries. The waitresses are famous for carrying orders to tables on their heads. Ours dropped Loren's on the floor. It was like college!

We had a 3 hour bus ride back, complete with a movie in Spanish with teeeeny English subtitles, which kind of lent itself to bus-sickness on the curvy road. We slept.

When we got to San Pedro Sula, Loren, Robin and Hunter took a taxi to Our Little Roses. And what a taxi it was...it seemed to have been built before cars were invented. After SHE flagged it down and realized what it was like, all Robin could muster was a defeated "wow..." As we rode to OLR we took a sharp turn at a relatively reasonable speed...and Loren's door flew open. The driver simply stuck his hand out his window and slammed it shut and kept driving. Loren held the door closed for the rest of the drive while Hunter almost passed out from an intense case of the giggles. It was a great ending to our trip.

"You shouldn't eat feet at all" - Loren

Our teacher has warned us on several occasions that the kitchen at Our Little Roses has sometimes served chicken feet for meals. Yes, feet. Which is one of the grosser things we've ever heard. Apparently you don't really chew them up, you just suck on them for the flavor. Right...like that makes it better. When we got to dinner tonight we were presented with little fried things that looked suspiciously claw like...thankfully, they were just strangely shaped chicken nuggets. Chicken feet...ew.

On a much nicer note, we are leaving for Copan tomorrow after class. One of the Our Little Roses drivers was kind enough to go get bus tickets for all 4 of us today (which is good...because we probably would have ended up in Guatemala if we'd tried to buy them ourselves). We leave San Pedro Sula at 2:30pm and it's about a 3 hour ride. We'll find somewhere neat to have dinner on Friday, and on Saturday we'll visit the Mayan Ruins. In the afternoon we may go for a horseback ride or a hike (yes, Loren wants to hike to a waterfall...we'll give you a moment to recover). We are going to try to find somewhere to go to church on Sunday...we think the nearest Episcopal church might be too hard to get to, so we may go to the Roman Catholic church on the town square. We come back to San Pedro Sula on Sunday evening.

We hope y'all have a great weekend! See you Sunday...and don't worry, we'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

HelloAppleGatoradeUniversityEnjoy

Yesterday, while we waited for our teacher we got to do our first Spanish worksheet. While it was quite interesting busy work, we were more interested in how cute we looked sitting at our little table.


Class is much more involved this week. Yesterday and today we started working on verbs in the present tense, reflexives, and phrases about time. Our homework is also getting more involved. Tonight we had to write an interview with questions that used what we've learned this week. Brian suggested that we do 15 of each...which took us about an hour...Brian owes us another lunch. :) (kidding!) We really need to study more...but instead...we're blogging...

And making hotel reservations!! We are really getting excited about our upcoming trip to Copan. Today we made reservations at the Hotel Posada Real de Copan. We are indebted to St. Alban's Church for telling us about this hotel. They stayed there this past weekend and suggested that we mention them and Our Little Roses when we called to make reservations...and they saved us about $75 a night on the triple room we booked. Score!!

Before we actually made reservations at Posada Real we contacted 4 other hotels. Loren made the calls...and even spoke Spanish! It was empowering.

The best part about the phone calls was when Loren was actually making the reservation at Posada Real. The man on the phone was very nice and spoke English very well...except when Loren was messing him up with her attempts at Spanglish (she couldn't remember what language she should be speaking...a casualty of an immersion...Robin has almost forgotten English altogether...she needs to be more better at it). An example:

Loren: "My email address is l-h-a-g-u-e@v-t-s.e-d-u"
Nice hotel guy: "Ok, I'm going to spell it back to you. L as in lake, H as in hello, A as in Apple, G as in Gatorade, U as in university, E as in enjoy. Is that part right?"
Loren: "Yes" *as she giggles about the very inventive new name he has come up with for her*
Nice hotel guy: "Ok. The next part is V C S"
Loren: "No, V T S"
Nice hotel guy: "Oh, ok, T?"
Loren: "Si"
Nice hotel guy: "Ah..V C S"
Loren: "No, no, T"
Nice hotel guy: "...T?"
Loren: "Si."
Nice hotel guy: "What??"
Loren: "OH! no...not C...I mean Si, as in yes...it's the letter T"
Nice hotel guy: "Um...sure...T"

The best part was, after all that trouble with names and such, his name was Bismark. We love it. We also think the fact that he came up with Gatorade as the G in Loren's last name is a rather auspicious sign.

Anyway, while Loren was making the reservation, Robin was so excited at her triumph that she jumped around the room like a maniac. She needs to get out more.

We're about to have a thunderstorm here...let's hope we don't have to make use of the magic toilet again.

Hasta luego!