11 months and 10 days ago I moved my life to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I can hardly believe it's almost been an entire year. I have experienced days of pure gratitude to God because I have no idea how I made it this long without breaking down and moving back. And then there are days where I am full of gratitude to God for allowing me to live such an exciting adventure! I must say though - over the past year I have learned more than I could have hoped. Let me share with you...
#1 Lesson "Importance of Communication"
Communication has been a huge obstacle for me in this last year and I am not totally referring to the language barrier (although that has caused some headaches!) I owe so much of my growth in this area to my roommate, Jenn. Neither of us really knew how our relationship would play out once we started living together. I can't thank God enough for putting us in the same house - he definitely proved his omniscience in our lives with that arrangement. But that being said, it hasn't been a walk in the park for us either. Most of you know how it is to live with someone else. If you are not in an open communication zone at all times, then things can spiral downward fast! Unfortunately Jenn and I learned this the hard way - but we both came to our senses and were able to come to each other and really break down a barrier. We have learned how to read each other, how to respond to each other, and how to confront each other (in a loving way). Are we perfect? We'd like to think so! Haha...JUST KIDDING! No, we still have our quarrels and our 'silent' moments...but man have we come a long way! I am so thankful for her patience and understanding this last year - she played a huge role in my survival!
*(there are many other instances that have taught me about communication - but I'll save that for face to face talks if any of you care to listen!)
#2 Lesson "Culture - It is what it is"
I've had conversations with some of you, so you've heard my frustrations and complaints and stories about my life here in Honduras. I can confidently say that I have become waaaaaaaaay more tolerant of the culture here than in the beginning. Some of the 'traditions' of the people I've come to love and others still cause me to grit my teeth but I've learned to hold my tongue! Haha! One way I relate well with the Honduran people is that they are some of the most affectionate people I've met. I'm not sure that a day went by where I did not receive a hug from a student! This took me a while to adjust to since it is such a crime in the states due to child laws and what have you. But here, everyone is family and everyone loves everyone and it is wonderful. I'm going to miss those kids over the next few weeks of vacation! And be prepared that if you see me over the summer - I WILL definitely go in for the Honduran cheek kiss - it's become part of me! :) *I apologize for the awkwardness now! Ha! On the flip side, I can't stand the fact that when in the grocery store or in a restaurant or any place of business really, everyone takes their sweet precious time. No one is ever in a hurry to get things done...UNLESS you're driving. It's like getting behind the wheel of a car causes a bipolar personality to release and its like their hand is glued to the horn and foot is magnetically connected to the gas pedal. I literally fear for my life at least 5 times a week due to the driving technique in this country! (ask my mother how she felt when she was here!) And the crazy thing is, everyone is in a hurry while driving - but you still never get anywhere fast! It's such a mind blowing concept and it irritates my very core! AAaaaahhhhh - just thinking about it makes me crazy! WoW! Anyway...
#3 Lesson "I still have a lot to learn..."
Compromise - it is necessary in ones life if you want to love others. It's not always about me or what I want. Unfortunately this lesson is taking me a little longer to grasp but I'm moving forward with it.
Choices - life is full of choices and I've made some bad ones living here, but I'm learning little lessons from each one of those encounters...
Church - I need it! I need the people and it has been hard here. I have found a church that I like, but I was not fully commited to attending bc it was a drive (which was a taxi expense), it was in Spanish (which I felt was a lot of work to keep up with), and lets be honest - none of these are good excuses. So, my desire for next year is to try a bit harder to connect in church and really allow God to use me other ways here.
Commitment - as much as I miss my family and friends and it would be easy to come home and stay, I do feel like I owe it to my students and to myself to honor my commitment of two years and return in the fall. There were days where I started packing my bags but then I realized that was the easy way out. I didn't accept this job because I thought it would be easy - HA! I accepted it because I wanted a challenge, I wanted to grow as a person and discover new things. And i will continue doing that next year! Your prayers and support will still be needed and very much appreciated! I HATE that I won't be there for the birth of my niece, or to see some of my friends get married or have their own kids, and it crushes my heart to think I will go sooo long without one of my fathers' hugs - but I will do all I can to stay connected with everyone!
All said and done - it's been a great year! I wouldn't trade it or change it! Thanks for stickin with me through it all!
Now - on to the fun side of this blog! This last week has been CRAZY!!! Friday was graduation for Seniors. I was excited to see those kids graduate and hear of all the cool places they are going to study. Friday night, Jenn and I threw a "We Survived" party to celebrate the end of our first year! Best part of the party was definitely the pinata!!!! We had it custom colored with our favorite colors and filled that sucker as much as we could without it breaking from being too heavy! We were able to celebrate with the people that have seen us through all year! We are grateful to our honduran family! Saturday was the senior prom - which is where I will spend the rest of this blog.
DCIS Prom is unlike any other prom I've ever been too or heard of. First of all, it is not a school sponsored event. The entire evening is planned, prepared, and paid by senior parents. Now, each senior (or parent) must purchase tickets for their guests. Guests primarily consist of family members - ALL OF THEM! Haha. You can only come if you received an invite and I belive tkts were around $50. Well, one of my seniors used his "family" tickets to invite Lindsey and I to attend. He said it was 'definitely something I need to experience' while I'm here. :) I was flattered. Now, I wasn't about to go buy a prom dress so I began asking around to see if I could borrow one. I wasn't having much luck, but I wasn't too worried about it...until I found out that going to DCIS prom was like walking down the red carpet in Hollywood...magazines and TV broadcasters would be there...and you had to look the part. I lucked out when a student brought me some of her motehrs' old dresses! PERFECT! Long story short, got my hair done and when the time came to leave...I felt like I might fit in! hehe. Well, after arriving I realized I fit in as a guest...there was a signifcant difference in the dress of the guests vs the 'honored guests - SENIORS.' The dresses were outstanding...absolutely beautiful! Each senior got their time in the limelight as they one by one descended down a set of stairs where a group of about 7 camera men were snapping away. At the bottom of the stairs, they met their parent and 'paraded' into the ball room. Here they danced with their parent for a while and then exited the floor to be with family until all 99 seniors had been announced. Then the dancing began...with a toast...for everyone! Remember that this is not a school sponsored event - and the legal drinking age here is 18 (no that anyone cards anyone anyway) - so it could go without saying that these seniors had the real deal in their champagne glasses. And that was only the beginning! Each family had their own table(s) with their own server and basically their own bar. So, it didn't take long for people to get crazy! It was such a foreign thought for me...hard to take in...hard to not yell at the kids to stop. Weird. Anyway, the whole night consisted of dancing and drinking. Oh, and LOTS of picture taking! I kept a fairly low profile...just taking it all in really...I danced off and on. I genuinely had a good time - but it was definitely a new experience. The most shocking part of it all is that we were there til the end...4:00 am!!! We went home after that...but the tradition for kids is that they all get hotel rooms and continue partying until breakfast really! Quite unreal! I've posted a few pics on facebook. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable memory!
That pretty much sums up the excitement so far. My last official day of work is tomorrow! My next stop (before heading home to see all of you) is Costa Rica. I'm heading there to a language school for two weeks. I know what you're thinking...why do I need language school if I've been living in Central America for the last 11 months...well unfortunately my Spanish has not excelled as much as I would have liked...so i'm going to try and squeeze a bit more in so I can impress you when I'm home! haha! And I really wanna visit Costa Rica! :) So, I'll be back in KC on July 9th and will have 3 short weeks to cram as many of you into my schedule as possible! Can't wait!
Thank you for readin til the end...and thank you for all your support and prayers over this last 12 months. I hope you enjoyed the stories as much as I enjoyed the experience!
I may try and blog while I'm in Costa Rica...but don't hold your breath! Haha! :)
I have a hard time believing YOU were able to keep a low profile ANYWHERE, and I find it almost inconceivable since dancing and alcohol were involved! :)
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