To start with here I’m going to have to apologize, I’ve got
so much to tell you and write about that there’s no doubt this blog post will
get really muddled up in order and logic but I hope I can keep it making at
least a little sense. Also apologies in advance for the rambling length I’m
sure this will reach! I’m currently sitting in a bus station in La Ceiba where
we have 2 hours to wait before our journey back to Sigua starts. What better
way to kill 2 hours than rant about how amazing and incredible the last couple
weeks have been?! There have been loads of celebrations and parades, in fact
all of September seems to be pretty manic with Honduran pride for Independence
Day.
To start the month off we were introduced to the Honduran
obsession with football by a very important match, Mexico v Honduras. The hype
was building up days before the game and the blue and white strips were
becoming more than a common sight. On the Friday night of the game we were at a
bonfire (that was moved inside due to huge thunderstorms) with some of the
other English teachers from Siguatepeque. I have definitely become much more
interested in football since Katie and I started playing for a team so, for the
first time in a long time, I sat down and watched a full game and actually
enjoyed it! Honduras won 2-1 which made history…. I’m sure you can imagine the
atmosphere!! As we drove back to Katharine’s that night the celebrations were
in full swing, even the shopping mall seemed to have turned into a big party!
So I mentioned there something I realised I haven’t actually
spoken about in my blog yet (though you may have seen it on Facebook)… You
didn’t misread, yes, I have joined a Honduran football team!! Katie and I were
somewhat roped into it by one of the Grade 3 girls who’s mum plays for the
team, but I love it! There’s a pretty mixed level of ability and commitment but
that just makes it so much more fun and amusing. We train 3 times a week and
usually have a game on a Saturday, although in training the woman carrying
their kids on their back or babies on their hips isn’t too uncommon, so, as you
can imagine, it’s not particularly intense. The uniforms are killer though,
bright, almost luminous pink and very small for us (Katie in particular, she’s
about a head taller than the rest of the team!!)… Really not that flattering,
especially with the shade of red my face goes after 90 minutes in the Honduran
sun!
Last week we had ‘Dia del Niños’ which is Children’s Day. As
we’re starting to realise they love an excuse for a holiday here so instead of
school that day we took a day trip to a big park area for a bit of a party. All
the grades had a big cake and a piñata (first experience of the piñatas… I love
them!) and we just got to play games with the kids all day. It was so nice to
be able to step back from the role of a teacher for a little bit and just have
fun with them. They all have such amazing personalities and it was a really
nice reminder of how rewarding it is to have a good relationship with them.
Every morning this month we’ve spent half an hour (at least)
each morning raising the flag, singing the national anthem and learning about
one of the patriotic symbols. I told you they go a bit crazy over Honduran
Independence! It was fun and interesting, and still is to an extent, but it
means I have to miss Grade 3 science every day this month which will massively
affect them and the time we have to finish the course, which is pretty
frustrating for me. Last week we also spent about another half hour each day
practicing marching for the Independence Day parades that both pre-school and
primary take part in. There were children carrying flags, banners, a ‘Miss
Independent’, girls dressed in typical national dress and little cowboys and
cowgirls as well as some others. It really was impressive and there was a lot
of excitement for it by everyone involved, teachers and parents just as much as
the students! On the Friday was the pre-school parade (Prepa and Kinder) which
was just completely adorable. There were about 20 different schools that lined
up in the centre of Siguatepeque ready to march accompanied by High School
marching bands (on a whole new level of impressive!). As I said these parades
are a really big deal in Honduras and all the Honduran teachers were really
dressed up for it in their heels and full make up. Meanwhile the foreign
teachers (Katharine, Katie, Ione and I) were simply rocking the polo shirts we
wear to school and sandals. Funnily enough we foreigners were the ones who made
it onto TV. We missed it but all the kids were very excited to tell us about it
the next day!
The primary school parade on Saturday morning was more of
the same but on a much bigger scale! I think I enjoyed this one more because I
know the primary students a lot better and really loved seeing them all dressed
up and smart! The girl who was ‘Miss Independent’ was up at 2am to get ready…
2am!!!! Granted she looked amazing but it just goes to show how important the
‘looking good’ part of their culture really is.
After the primary school parade on Saturday morning Ione and
I set off for our next travelling adventure… we were finally off to Roatán! We
paid a bit more for a nice bus this time, direct to La Ceiba which was about 5
hours. La Ceiba is the third biggest Honduran city right up on the North Coast,
known as one of the party towns and where you can catch a ferry over to the Bay
Islands. We arrived too late to catch the afternoon ferry so headed to a little
hostel called ‘El Estadio’, so named because it is right next to Ceiba’s large
football stadium. It was about 7pm and we were told there was a pretty big
football game taking place so we ditched our stuff and, of course, headed over
to check it out. (Yes, football is becoming a very common theme!!) They let us
‘gringas’ in for free and we grabbed a little space on a bench, noticing pretty
quickly not only were we the only white people, but also seemed to be 2 of the
only girls! Embracing this we ordered a couple beers and set about choosing a
team to cheer for. It wasn’t a bad game but the atmosphere was definitely what
made it for me, somewhat less scary than I’ve found football games in the UK to
be… Haha. After the football we went back to the hostel, ordered a pizza and
spent the rest of the night chatting on the balcony in hammocks with the
Jamaican owner. Very chilled and left Ione and I very excited for Roatán!
The ferry left at 9am and Ione fell asleep straight away… I
however was left panicking when the staff came round and handed everyone who
was awake a sick bag and tissues. I was dreading the worst and rightly so, the
ferry was only an hour and a half but I spent the majority outside focusing on
the horizon. It had been years since I had been travel sick and I can now
confirm, I definitely didn’t miss it. However, on my green faced adventures I
did make some pretty cool friends and had some really funny conversations with
randomers to take my mind off the queasiness.
Arriving in Roatán was incredibly exciting, especially when
we saw the other volunteers coming to meet us in the back of a pick-up. (Much
more convenient transport than buses or taxis!) The humidity was pretty intense
but it was so worth it knowing we were soon to be swimming in the Caribbean. We
stopped by at Vegas (our country rep’s) house which was right beside the port
for a quick catch up before a trip to the supermarket for a few supplies. We
got to the little wooden house we’d be staying in for the next few days and
immediately loved it, 3 bedrooms and a kitchen plus a really cool atmosphere in
Roatán’s tourist town, West End. We wasted no time in getting to the beach and
jumped on a 5 minute water taxi to get there. As we came around the corner I
was stunned at just how beautiful it was, this was the real Caribbean we’d been
waiting for. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the ocean
catching up and hearing everyone’s stories from the past couple months. Max
(Geordie), Moos (Dutch), Kate (from London) and Hope (from Essex) hadn’t been
able to make it to Copan so we had lots to fill each other in on. The majority
of the time was spent in hysterical laughter… It was nice to be away with such
an awesome and hilarious group of people!
That night was the night of celebrations for Independence
Day, what all the parades etc. had been leading up to. We had a really good
homemade fajitas dinner (complicated slightly by the lack of oven, 1 sharp
knife and 4 plates for 6 people) and Ione made drinks for everyone -we made
full use of our bartender! We then headed out into West End where a huge street
party was taking place… It was super exciting and the atmosphere was just
incredible. The street was filled with people dancing and there was a reggae
band just to top it all off. It was too hot to dance and we were dripping with
sweat but that didn’t stop us nor did it stop the Honduran men crowding around
us. I reckon that’s a night I won’t forget in a very long time and all in all
has me very excited for our Christmas celebrations on the island of Utila… Much
more of this fun stuff to come!
After another couple days on Roatán and a night in a luxury
hotel in Ceiba we are headed back to Aguas del Padre for a 2 day school week
before the weekend. I guess it’s not a bad life!!
PS. It’s not all as fun as this blog may seem, work is hard
and teaching is challenging… We were in need of a break!!
