Hi! So kinda a lot has happened in the last week. Besides the count down to being home, which is 13 days! I forgot in the last blog to mention Thanksgiving dinner from the school. It was last Wednesday night, before we left for Guatemala. It was a nice attempt for us, howeverrrrrr, it was more just like a dinner. I'm pretty sure I had pork instead of turkey, there was turkey, but I didn't get any. Then I missed the stuffing somehow, BUT they did try pumpkin pie, which made it all better! It was at one of the student's houses that overlooks Copan a little, so that was nice to see, it was a pretty view over the town. Everyone got dressed up, so it was a nice dinner with everyone, very relaxing. So now on to this week.
They have started Christmas celebrations. I should start with, here they shoot fireworks off for Christmas. Those they started right around Halloween. They love to shoot them off at like 5 in the morning for some reason. One night they were shooting them off at like 3am......not pleasant. So the fireworks now have increased and we hear them all day. However, they're just like noise ones, never any cool shoots in the air or anything like that. In class we've started our Christmas songs because the kids march in a parade and carol down the streets, similar to Independance Day Parade; only it's at night and they carry candles. However, I'll be on an airplane when they do this, so that's kinda a bummer that I won't get to see it. But I still need to get them ready for it. It's weird to not be bundled up and have it snow though. I think once people start putting up christmas lights and such, it'll feel more like the holidays.
Which brings me to my next story. So every Friday the school has some sort of Christmas thing, so this Friday was Bingo, then next Friday the kids have a play and the chorus sings, then the 16th is the parade. So last night was Bingo. We got out of school early to go set up the building it is held at. It took about 3 hours to set up, well for us, we got down to town a little late, shocking haha. We basically just blew up balloons (which now I know how they make those giant balloon sculpture things, with all the balloons in a line.) Then we had to unload the table & chairs from school and set those up. The only thing was, they were expecting about 300 people, and we ran out of chairs. So we had to walk around town to find some. We first went over to a church, but they only gave us 20 (we needed about 80 or so more). But they wouldn't give us more because Bingo is gambling and they didn't want the chairs to be part of it.....yes, there are crazy church people here too. So then we went over to a house a few blocks away, one of my students, come to find out, lives there. Luckily his mom had a ton of chairs, so we stopped a truck in the street and asked if they would drive the chairs over to the building. They did. So we unloaded and finished setting up. While we were setting up, one of my students and her mom saw me, and brought me a cup of coffee and a sweet roll. It was so sweet, I felt so lucky. (now I feel bad that she is going to get a progress report next week, eekkkk). Anyways after my snack we went home to change and shower and get ready. When we got back down in the evening it was pretty crowded, I would say there were probably about 300 like they expected. There was also food outside from each of the grades to help bring money in too, so we had delicious, homemade Honduran food and won some prizes!
The American teachers kinda cleaned up. I was the first winner. It was only the B,N,O rows, and I was getting close, then I needed one number, when I said that, the number was called and probably a look of sheer panic hit my face because Mandy's the one who yelled Bingo for me. I was a little embarrassed and don't like those huge groups of people focusing on me kinda thing, but the checker came over to check my card and it turns out I was a winner. I won a pink, plastic tool box and a free ride to school on the bus for a month.........I don't know how to use tools, and I walk to school haha.......so I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this prize, but it was exciting that I won. Then Mandy won a necklace. Another teacher won some pizza. Then we're getting to the animals. In Honduras, they go all out...rabbits, dogs, lamps, tables, and sheep! One of the other American teachers won a sheep! Second year in a row I guess. So she wants to make some lamb chops, which I'm all for, as long as I don't meet the sheep first.
So Bingo is dwindling down and only a few prizes are left. Mind you, we're getting into like the 5th hour of sitting, playing this game I thought I wouldn't even last an hour at. So Mandy's card is filling up, and filling up, then she screams Bingo. Not only is this her second win, but she won the same. exact. prize. Only her tool box was green. People already think we're married, and then we go and win the same prizes in Bingo. However, since we are both real handy with tools, we gave our prizes away. She kept her necklace, it was a $70 prize, almost a third of what we make in a month lol. But my tool box went to one of the 4th grade students and hers went to one of the teachers for her art supplies. Our free bus passes will go to a student in each of our classes who need the money. But overall it was a really fun night! It was definately an experience. So that's just the start of our Christmas celebrations, I'm sure there's more to come. As soon as I get pictures I'll try and get them up. Right now I'm just more focused on coming home, I'm like my students, I know break is right here, so I'm pretty much checked out, so hopefully I keep that in mind as I'm telling the kids to focus haha. See you all reaaalllll soon!
