The last month has been pretty full, but with some needed downtime as well. A lot of weekends I stayed in Columbus and drove to my parents and grandparents on Sunday afternoon to visit, which I think is a pattern I'll keep up in the future. More "me time" and quality time with the family without having too much time together! hehe.
As soon as I returned from Honduras I literally left 8 hours later to go to Indianapolis for the weekend. I had the fanciest hotel room (well, it was only one level, but still fancy!) and a great time at convention. I got to visit with prospective students, current students, alumni, and coworkers. Lots of fun and giggles. I even embarrassed myself (and got hurt!) on some of these inflatable games. One you had to jump off of a platform. From the ground you don't think it looks high, but then you get to the ledge!!! But I did it. Then I tried to run across these inflatable balls like on wipe out. Well, I wiped out! Video below. :)
My annual picture with the razorback. A tradition I've kept up for five years.
I've been talking with these girls at conventions for five years and now they're finally old enough to apply to college!
Pizza at Giordano's!!!! (And I got a selfie stick that day at convention, so I was pumped!)
The entire group the last day.
You can laugh. I did. :)
Cara came to town the following weekend and we celebrated Halloween and also went to the Ohio State/Northwestern game. It was so warm outside that day and the Buckeyes won, so it was a fantastic day!
A ninja turtle (Leonardo) and a mime.
Go Bucks!
The next weekend, I traveled home to celebrate my grandma's birthday and Layton's 4th birthday! I can't believe he's 4! I don't like to give toys as gifts - kids have too many - so I do experiences. I got him a movie gift card, so yeah it was just a gift card, but in a few weeks we're going to go to the movies and get popcorn and have a whole day of fun of Layton and Emily.
After Layton's party I went to Mam's to celebrate her birthday! Because it was the weekend before the election, we all showed up with our political attire on. I had on my buttons and socks, and so did my mom, aunt and cousin! Before we left, we took a group photo outside with my grandpa's yard sign. Unfortunately, a few days later the election did not go how we had hoped. BUT, I'm hopeful that everything will go just fine.
Mam with her favorite granddaughters......:)
Ferguson gals for Clinton.
I even had Hillary socks! :)
A few other highlights of the last few weeks, I met up with Amber and Alicia to watch the Nebraska game at Pint House. We pounded the Cornhuskers and I went home to bed before it was over! :) #old
Another night we went to the Blue Jacket's game for a little GNO + Thom. He agreed to take the picture for us, but was creeped out by the fact we were comparing feet instead of watching the game!
My cousin Jon got married and I got to visit with some of my cousins and aunts. The reception ended pretty quickly after the Buckeyes game came on! ha. But we did get a little bit of dancing in before that happened.
My fraternity had their semesterly Pearls Ceremony, which is for the new members to be officially inducted. Their parents attend, its a big shebang.
Somebody has to keep them in line.
And my favorite event of all....the Chase Rice concert! I really love a lot of his music, and I also really love to look at him! He played at the LC, so I got tickets and met Lindsay and Joyce there. I probably would have gone by myself. Before the end of the concert we were about three rows back. #iwasnotmadaboutit Then later as we were walking to our car, we passed the parking lot with his bus and got our picture taken with him. You can't tell from the picture, but I was shaking. haha.
He's a big Ohio State fan. And he's cute.
Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Black Friday (I am NOT out shopping!) and Go Bucks! I won't be at the game this year because I stupidly did not get season tickets this year, just a single game. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
Yep, I went back to Honduras in October for a second trip. When I left in May I had this feeling that I knew I would be back. I just loved being there so much.
Dr. Cano and Tyler were being honored by the city of Choluteca for the work they have been doing there over the past five years. I jokingly asked if they needed a photographer to get their picture with the mayor and a few days later I'd purchased a plane ticket to head back.
We left on Wednesday bright and early at 3:30am in order to get to the airport and ready to fly out at 5:55am. With the layover in Atlanta and the time difference, we arrived in Tegucigalpa around 1pm Central Time. On this flight from Atlanta to Honduras, we did the traditional landing that I had heard about, but didn't get to experience in May. There is only one runway at this airport, so if a plane is landing and taking off at the same time, the landing plane has to circle the airport and wait. In May, we were able to land. This time, we had to circle and land. At one point when we get ready to land, the plane is so close to the houses next to the airport that someone could not stand on top of these houses. It's a dangerous landing, but the same pilots make this landing every day, so I'm not really worried at all.
Kelly and I chatting with Bri at the Columbus airport.
We flew over Cancun!
A pretty rainbow greeted us at our hotel.
We met the Minister of Education, as well as the curriculum department that is working on the curriculum for the nursing high school. After a very long drive from Teguc to Choluteca, we arrived at the hotel. Vanesa and Joel were outside when we pulled in and were excited to see me. I was greeted with a big hug, followed by "Amanda?". Haha. Thanks Vanesa. I only flew thousands of miles and you ask for Amanda!! haha. We did dinner that evening at the steak house and then later I gave the kids the bags we had made up for them. It was cute to watch them open their gifts. Joel immediately snapped all of his glow sticks and Vanesa painted her nails. We played Jenga, which was a huge hit.
Vanessa was excited to see me!
Opening gifts that evening.
On Thursday we headed to the school in Apacilagua. This is where we had served one of the lunches in May. A church in Upper Sandusky had raised more than $30,000 to put water wells in this village. At the current time, they don't have wells, therefore they can't have gardens, water their livestock, etc. The school and mayor had a little ceremony. That afternoon, after we had Pizza Hut for lunch, we went to the vocational school. We walked around and visited with some of the staff. Luvine was there, but I don't think he remembered me, as he didn't speak or do his little 'beep beep beep' thing that he did when we were there in May. We also stopped at a house to make a visit to a family that they Byrd's have sponsored. Esmelda bakes the most delicious bread. We could smell it when the van door opened. She bakes these loafs, then her older boys walk the villages and sell it. The church purchased an oven and deep freezer for her to help with the baking so she can earn money for her family. That night we went to the mall and ate at the food court. I went for traditional honduran food.....Subway. ;) I also got TCBY ice cream. That evening I played a little soccer with the little ones and their neighbor, and then we ended with a few games of Jenga.
A pretty rooster that is probably someones dinner now.
Cute little piggies.
The mama pig. Her name is "Princessa".
Esmelda's kitchen with the new stove and deep freezer.
The bathroom at Esmelda's.
I found kittens.
In their USU soccer jerseys.
Playing soccer in the street.
Vanesa got all of the letters and photos I have sent and she has saved.
Friday morning we went back to the vocational school for the advisory committee meeting. During the meeting, I helped get things set up for lunch. After lunch, we went to Siete de Mayo and visited with Don Veronica and other people we had seen in May. It was great to see people again that I had met in May and see how different the landscape was after a rainy season. There was so much more green! I didn't realize how many trees and plants were in this community until I was walking around and ducking so I didn't run into these huge leaves.
This slab of concrete was one of our projects from May. It's now a weight room.
That afternoon when we got back to the hotel and rested a little bit before dinner. My boss had flown in that day, so he arrived to the hotel shortly after we did. That evening we all went to an Italian restaurant at the mall. It was a really nice dinner and were joined by several friends from Honduras, a few that were very fluent in English, which is always nice for me since I speak no espanol! :)
When I got back to the hotel that evening, I headed back out to visit with the Gomez family. Joel had on his baseball uniform and we ended up playing baseball for an hour or so, followed by a few games of Jenga. I wasn't sure if the kids knew how to play baseball, but they ran in and got a large tree limb that we used as a bat and they had four bricks that they used as bases. Because I speak no Spanish and they speak no English, we have to communicate thru body language. So of course I really over exaggerated my baseball playing. I tapped the bat on the ground and really swung it around my head before trying to hit the pitch. Then when it was my turn to pitch I really wound it up. I even attempted to teach them how to do a softball pitch, because that seemed to be a more controlled pitch for all of us. If either one of them end up playing baseball or softball, I get some credit for their skills! Especially if it's pitching in softball. And of course in the rare occurrence I hit the ball, I would scream and yell as I ran. They thought it was hilarious. Of course they're probably saying "Why does this lunatic act this way! She's nuts!"
An adorable little beisball player.
Grandma/Mama sat outside with us while we played in the dark. This family is so thoughtful and kind. I was sitting on the sidewalk while Grandma/Mom was in a chair. Vanessa ran into the house to get me a chair as well. I was fine on the ground, so I offered it to one of the kids, Joel took it. Then they went into the house to get me a pillow to sit on so I wasn't sitting on the ground. And when I was downing my water (because at 9pm at night it was still hot as could be, plus I had just played a solid hour of baseball), I got choked on the water and couldn't quit coughing. Grandma/Mom was putting my hands above my head and the kids were patting me on the back. I was coughing more because I was also laughing from embarrassment and, and also because I was choking on my water. It was funny and I can just imagine what they were saying about this silly American girl.
Saturday morning we got up and went to the mercado (market). We had been there three times in May, so I knew what to expect, but we also got to visit a few areas that we had not been before. First we got our donut, which I was so excited about! I have never been a huge donut person. I just started eating Tim Horton's Honey Dip donuts in the past few years and they're the only ones I like. But then I had one of these sugar donuts at the mercado and oh my lanta they are the best! We visited the basket lady where I bought a huge basket for $7 and then my favorite part....we went to a fabric shop! I was going to get fabric to use in a quilt, but they didn't really have any that I loved. But I did find cute Christmas fabric that I bought to make a tablecloth and pillows for Christmas. I'm going to get some red pom for around the pillow. We walked past the meat and my favorite cheese booth (sarcasm), overall it was a great visit.
My sugar donut!
Fish in the mercado.
Meat, just hanging up for purchase.
We met Pati's mama.
Fabric store!!!!
We had a little time to rest at the hotel before it was time to head over to the WGM house for the award ceremony. The mayor of Choluteca presented Jamie and Tyler with "Citizens of the Year" awards for all of the work they do for the citizens of the city. It was a nice informal, but formal presentation.
Talking with the mayor.
The Ohio State group.
Before we had walked over to the church, I talked to Vanessa outside of their house. She shared that they would not be home that evening or able to play because they were going to a music show. This made me a little sad because it was our last evening in town. When we came back from the award ceremony she had notes to give me. She had written thank you notes to everyone she remembered from our trip, thanking them for the gifts that I had delivered. To be just 9 years old, she's very mature. In a good way. Very motherly towards Joel. She's just the sweetest.
Chatting with my littles. (They were locked inside the fence while Mom was at work.)
Vanesa sharing the letters with me.
With the letter she wrote me.
Saturday evening Ohio State was playing Wisconsin. A big game! We couldn't miss it! We had plans to go to Pizza Hut and watch it, but they didn't get ESPN. So instead we went to Larry's and everyone crammed into their room. We all joked that it was like our days in the dorms. Eight people crammed into one small room. About 5 minutes before the halftime it started to storm outside and then the power went out. It eventually came back on, but the cable did not. We spent the rest of the game getting texts from my sister. She sent play by play. And the game went into overtime! Do you know how stressful it is to follow a game via text message when you're in another country? Aaahhhhh! But we won!
Cramped in a small room watching the Buckeyes.
Sunday morning we headed to the island. This is my favorite village to visit. This village is an island when the tide is in, but you can walk to it when the tide is out. When we got there the tide was out. I could not believe the difference compared to when we were there in May! We got to see some of the same people and that made me so happy! We visited this family that we met. The baby that is 9 months old is smaller now that she was back in May. That made me so sad. The mother also offered her to me to bring back to the United States. If only that was possible. Can you even imagine handing your child over to someone else because you knew that person could give them a better life just because of where they live? I was heartbroken for that lady.
Group picture before they headed to church and I went to the island.
This was all water in the spring.
Little Samulito with Dr. Cano.
Passing out hugs.
The baby that could have been mine.
We also went down to the ocean, which was out so far compared to May. We probably walked a half mile to get to the surf. Then we got to see the baby sea turtles! This was so interesting. These men from the island do this just for conservation efforts. No money, just love. They dig up the eggs and move them to an area where they are protected by a fence from other animals. Then when they hatch, they move them to another container so they can loose their umbilical cords (who knew turtles had those?) so large fish don't think they're worms and eat them in the water!! I got to hold one and they were so soft and leathery. Very, very cool!
A baby turtle.
The sea turtle farm.
We had just a few minutes to shower and get ready to head back to the Teguc after returning to the hotel. I hurried and packed and then visited with Vanessa and Joel and little bit. I tried my best not to cry, but I shed a few tears. I know I won't be back to visit in the near future, but I know I will go back one day and hope to see them then! I tried to share my username with Vanessa for WhatsApp because she had shown me that she had it on her mom's phone a few nights earlier, but I think the language barrier hit and I haven't heard from her. But it was so good to visit with her and Joel and meet Mom/Grandma.
One last photo! (Joel got a haircut that day!)
The trip to Teguc was long and it rained a lot! When we arrived we had a dinner with all of the WGM missionaries and the WGM president. I also played a little with Max and Lucas, who funny enough of are the great-grandsons of my grandparents neighbors. Tim grew up just down the road from my grandparents in Chillicothe and our grandparents knew each other well. Tim moved to Honduras as a missionary when he was 30 and met his wife. They now live there with their two boys. Such a small world, right?
Monday morning we listed to Larry present to the WGM group about the programs he and Angie have been working on, especially the nursing high school which will begin in February. It was really wonderful to see all of these missionaries at work and how their work is helping the country and its residents.
Before long it was time to head back to the airport and begin our day of travel back to Columbus. We had a long layover in Atlanta, but first I had to get searched in customs because of the underwire in my bra (embarrassing). And at dinner my coworker told me I was single because I wanted to be, because there is no reason why I should be. Thanks, I think. ha.
Overall it was a great trip. I was so sad to leave, but happy to be home. Such a conflicting feeling. But I was also excited to come back and head to Indianapolis for National FFA Convention. Until next time Honduras!
Here is a short highlight video that I put together from all of the video footage I took on the trip.
