And I'm out of here!

Firstly, let me appologize for the normal amount of spelling errors in my posts. Usually I don't have the energy to go back and fix my bad typing skills. Let it be known though, that i DO know the difference between too and too and all the theres[.. I promise! * plus, as a little added extra, this keyboard does not have any letters on it, they have completely rubbed off.. so my typing may be even worse than usual...:)

Classes are over, but the experience will last- my first teaching stint was a success! It opened my eyes to many things I would not have thought about, and at times made me gasp with horror
one example of an  "eye opening" experience was teaching the teachers. They have a pretty solid english    base, so we worked mostly on speaking and writing. but oh dear, was it hard. Like pulling teeth. The first   thing we did was draw and random picture, and later (I thought) we would write a story for it. My lesson    plan included 5 minutes for drawing. I gave them an example on the white board of something random and -crazy. I drew a shark and a waterfall and a castle.. all with my less than fantastic drawing skills in  30 or so -seconds. An hour later, THey were finally done theirs. What were they? All four of my teachers drew a flat roofed house, a cow, and some potato fields... thinking outside the box is just never done here!

Sad but true, they are taught from a young age not to explore beyond the familiar. I  looked after some kids in a nursury for a few days, and we colored.. with ONE color of crayon. (reason being aparently that the kids intentionally break them, so they just get one.)

Even more eye opening, I decided that we would colour on BLANK pages ( never done, you must color within  the lines of preprinted coloring pages.) They asked me what to draw, and when I said whatever they sat there, still as  minature statues for a lonnng time. Finally a little girl, thank goodness, started --------to draw a dog.. so all the kids copied her and drew a dog. Ahhhhh..

Still, the kids were great, very studious.  However Despite cackling at my spanish they still seemed to be unable to talk to me directly. The few that gathered up the courage to speak with the light haired flip flop wearing me( it is Winter, don[t you know? I was told.. winter, yet 27 degrees in the sun..) were very nice, and loved talking about their lives. I'll miss them, and my English classes. Spanish is so much easier when you know exactly what the equivalent is in English!

I went to the prison TWICE. because it was just so interesting.The first time I went there with a old missionary from Germany, and the second time by myself. The missionary teaches, has made a church available to the men, and has done some good work. It was plain to see that his presence was greeted happily by the inmates and the guards. It gave them something to do in their spare time * not to mention the food he brought in was greeted by cheers, haha). One of the guys spoke really good english, so i just cruised around, looked in barracks, and asked questions through my interpreter. The GUARD told me,  before I went in, that probably half of the guys are innocent, so it was wierd trying to view them as men serving their time for worngful acts, because who knows if they did something or not? In Honduras, often you get thrown in jail because someone said you did something, and you wait and wait and wait for your trial. More often you serve your whole sentence without getting to argue your case. 10, 15, I taked with guys who had been in there for 20 years, whose case had never been heard by a judge. Then again, I talked with guys who  said they killed their wifes lover in a drunken rage with a beer bottle..a little bit of everything.

The thing I found the most interesting was the saftey. The guards never go into the prison. They just stand on the roof looking into the open courtyard with machine guns. However, the store keeper (also an inmate) told me he has never been robbed. His cash box is an open basket full of crumpled bills. If someone  wrongs another, they "take care of it" and the gurads turn a blind eye. A few of the guys said 'trust' is all they have. They have to live, shit, and eat side by side, so they can't go stabbing eachother in the back.

Just like the hospitals here, if you want a blanket, juice, toilet paper, you have to buy it yourself. Beans and rice are provided twice a day but everything from shoes to shampoo and beds  are provided  by the inmates or their family.  The beds were crazy, four high, hanging from the ceiling, you have to jump and climb to get to the highest ones.If you don,t have money to buy a bed, you sleep on the concrete.

I spent two months living like a queen with a family. My breakfest was laid out for in the morning, and supper with the family was made for me at night. They refused to let me help, and it  took a few weeks to cojole them into letting me do my own laudry. Who wants another person hand scrubbing your undies?!

They constantly corrected my spanish and we had some interesting and lively conversations.The father in particular was interested in asking about my "foreign morals, and white girl thoughts". jaja. He was a super nice guy, but thought he was this liberal and  modern father and husband. He, who had no job, swept.. once a week.. and watered outside. He said he had no problems with Homosexuality, yet would not tolerate it with his daughters. He slept through the morning routine of getting his kids to school, and woke up with me to a breaky already made. The dishes stayed on the table, to wait  for Patty, his wife, to come home and do them. Sometimes it was hard to keep my mouth shut. Patty and the kids played games with me, and explained wierd festivals and cultural dances. Patty even taught me how to make pupusas, and we made them Kristin style with rosemerry and spinach one night for supper. I learned later that Patty had to go the a different town to get the spinach, because it is not normally eaten here.. oops!

Different, but a fantastic family. I am sad to have left  (especially the morning treat!), but I am on to different things!

A twelve hour chicken bus, and I am back up in Guatemala, which is by far my favorite place. I have two days to shop and get anything I want  ebfore I fly out of Guat city on Wednesday. I have a 17 day rafting trip waiting for me in Arizona, wish me luck!