Okay. I love my students. I just do. I am helping one of the girls with an application for doing an exchange program in the states next year and SHE IS SO FUNNY. Oh my goodness, I love her. Read this email I just received. Maybe it's not as funny to you, but I think it's hilarious....
Subject: heyyyy Miss Sarah whats up?? so sorry for sending this late.
You will not believe what happen to me!!! I HATE MY COMPUTER !! I dont know what the hell is going on with this thing....
half of my essay dissapear and I have no idea why?? I want to kill myself right know .
Yesterday I went to bed like until 12 30 and all my work apparently is gone !!!!!!!!!! . For my luck when I came to home there was no internet!!!!!!! and when I went to the alcaldia for my birth certificate they make me and my mother wait like 2 hours. They told us to go tomorrow again..... they should had say that since the beggining (assholes).This is definetly not my day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everything is so mess up!!!.......................
The only good thing is that yesterday before taping the essay I wrote it on a separate papers so I just have to copy it again!!!!!!!!!..
Right know im retyping everything so I just send you one page and I will sended to you the other part later but dont worry, you dont have to check if you can not, it's not your work ... jejeje so sorry......
So if you dont have time you can help me do it tomorrow!!!!!!! THANKS!!!!!!! MISS!! ahh and by the way my mom saids thanks too! jejeje
After I finished all this and receive an answer I owe you something!!!!!!! a donut or a granita !!! It's a deal!!!!!!!
ok miss Sarah see u tomorrow!!!!! I need to ask you something about the activities of the school they ask I think I need to change that because dia de la raza anda that stuff are more like events!!!
Anyway talk to you tomorrow !!! :D
say hi to miss Abby jejeje!!!!!!!!!!!
I promise she learned "what the hell" and "assholes" before I came along. ahahaha I'm loving this right now. Oh high school and the years of the millions of exclamation points. LOVING IT. This is when it's fun to be a teacher.
Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!! Adios for now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Taking a Year Off- Stuff White People Like
I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the blog- Stuff White People Like. This made me laugh...because it's exactly what I'm doing...wah wah?
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/01/11/120-taking-a-year-off/
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/01/11/120-taking-a-year-off/
Sunday, May 3, 2009
I Pretty Much Never Thought I'd Say This in My Entire Life...but...
The lions are keeping me awake. The lions or elephants...could be elephants. What are you talking about, Sarah? How could lions and elephants be keeping you up? You're in Honduras not on an African safari. Oh contrarie my fair friends. Well, no. I'm not on an African safari. Where I am, however, is in Santa Rosa de Copan and in Santa Rosa de Copan, why, the circus is in town! Yes, dear readers, the circus. Lucky me the big blue and white striped tent is located less than two blocks from my house. Also lucky for me, the animals enjoy roaring loudly at all hours of the night. The tent got here about a month ago and I really have no clue when it is leaving. Not that I mind...I just feel for those poor animals being kept in cages and probably being treated rather badly. If the way they treat their pets is any indication as to how they might treat some lowly circus lions, well let's just say it's probably not that great.
Sometimes this place just reminds me so much of the 1900's in the U.S. except with more technological advances. People still go to the market, people in the country eat their own animals, we have 2 stoplights, no one has a mailbox at their house, folks ride horses to town, you have to go to 5 separate stores if you want nails, Tylenol, bread, dog food, and a doughnut. And dog gone it! The circus comes to town! The last time I went to the circus I think I was around 4 years old. Time for another go? I'll let ya know...
Sometimes this place just reminds me so much of the 1900's in the U.S. except with more technological advances. People still go to the market, people in the country eat their own animals, we have 2 stoplights, no one has a mailbox at their house, folks ride horses to town, you have to go to 5 separate stores if you want nails, Tylenol, bread, dog food, and a doughnut. And dog gone it! The circus comes to town! The last time I went to the circus I think I was around 4 years old. Time for another go? I'll let ya know...
Friday, May 1, 2009
Mom and Pop in Honduras
Parents in Honduras. Where do I begin?
Well, it was so wonderful having Mom and Dad here. I was really itching for a break and to be able to spend it with them was perfect. Our trip itinerary was as such: Roatan, Copan Ruinas, and then Santa Rosa.
It was really interesting to see Honduras through the eyes of my parents. It showed me how much I've gotten used to the way of life down here. So much that got their panties in a twist really didn't phase me much. Transferring buses for no reason, people constantly cutting in line, not having power for hours on end...I've just begun to take the Honduran outlook on things I guess. At the beginning I'd constantly be thinking, "well why do they do this? or why don't you talk to someone? why don't you fix it? why? why? why?" I'm not sure when it happened, but there came a point in our time down here that Abby and I came up with a very important and sanity keeping philosophy. Similar to the U.S. Army, we just don't ask.
My dad, more than my mom was at points, beside himself with impatience. When we were waiting for our ferry ride to Roatan there were about a hundred million people trying to get through some double doors. Of course, only one of the doors was opened. Why? DON'T ASK. Have I taught you anything?? Dad was just watching that door as if the fate of humanity depended on it. He could not comprehend WHY no one was opening that second door. Lots of rolling eyes happened at this point. Sorry, Dad. Of course I was rolling my eyes at my mom, and she later informed me that she was also clenching her fists with impatience as well. Guess I was outnumbered.
Thank goodness Roatan was as amazing as it was, cause it sure wasn't pleasant getting there. Besides the double door madness, I failed to realize my apparent alergy to boats. Specifically ferry boats sans dramamine. I won't get into details, but it was most definitely not my "I'M ON A BOAT!" fantasy. In fact, I almost puked several times. (How's that for no details?) Adding insult to injury, about a third of the boat was puking. They had designated plastic-bag-and-paper-towel-hander-outter-bag-of-vomit-thrower-outters along all the sides of the boat. And yes, that was their official name. The translation is a little difficult, you understand. My parents were fine, but I'd definitely seen better days.
Thankfully, land finally appeared and I was saved. Then came our baggage claim. No rhyme or reason...I can't even go into details. It was totally Honduras, once again and completely unorganized, once again. Annnd, once again, I didn't really think anything of it, but the parents...well, I bet you can guess.
Now, I don't want to paint the picture that Mom and Dad are freaking out all over the place. They were great and wonderful sports when things weren't picture perfect. (Most of the time...DAAAAAD)
But now we were in paradise. Full-on paradise. I kept imagining that Corona commercial with the empty beach and the palm trees and the lime. That's where we were y'all. It was the most beautiful beach I'd ever seen, let alone been to. Turquoise water that was soooo clear with white sanded beaches. Not to mention, our house/apartment that we were renting was RIGHT ON THE BEACH.
Some highlights of Roatan-- awesome snorkeling every day, holding GIANT star fish, eating damn good sea food, pinacoladas, mom drinking just enough of her Roatan Makin' me Crazy, meeting a man who collects Chiquita Banana stickers, being treated to a Caribbean dance show, and watching Michigan State triumph and then get pounced. (They were the winners of my bracket--so contrary to popular belief, I wasn't happy about this. Though along with popular belief, I bounced back preeet-tyyy quickly. MS-WHO?)
Roatan really has to be described by pictures...so please take a look...for my words can't do it justice:
Drivin' me coconuts!
After 5ish days relaxing on Roatan we headed bright and early to Copan Ruinas. 4th times a charm! The parents loved Copan, as did I. I really like that town, my only gripe this time was how freakin hot it was. Man we were sweating buckets most of our time there. But thankfully we had hammocks and cold beverages right outside our room. We stayed at my friend Cid's uncle's place, Casa de Cafe...same place that housed us during my and Abby's Halloween jaunt to Copan. Cid was there takin care of us...you know, checking us in, getting us drinks, keeping Dad entertained by watching Talledega Nights with him.
Naturally we did the Ruins as well as the Macaw Mountain Bird Park. The Bird Park was so cool because a) my dad is oddly obsessed with birds and was an orinthologist in his past life. b) We met the owner of the park who is this guy from Tennessee who first came to Honduras in the 1970s. The stories he told were incredible. It was such a Bruce Miller thing to happen. My Dad, who makes friends everywhere he goes, started talking to this older gentleman who seemed to know his way around the place. Lo and behold, Mr. Owner extrodinaire. Lucky us we got to talk to him for about an hour...just shooting the bull if you will. He started here in the commercial fishing business on Roatan when Roatan was NOTHING. Swamp land and that's it. He was great...with a southern drawl to boot. GOOD TIMES.
Now, as I've stated, my Dad meets people everywhere he goes and will talk to everyone and anyone. I love that about him, but we definitely make fun of him for it too. Well, it finally caught up with Daddy-o. While staying at Casa de Cafe, we met a lot of people traveling, a lot of other bilingual school teachers actually. It was everyone's spring break, so everyone was taking advantage like we were. One day my parents start talking to these couples who looked older than them, but apparently they were around the same age. So one of the ladies starts talking about growing up in L.A. and my Dad says, "oh yeah me too, the Pacific Palisades..." or something and she goes, "Oh me too!" The Pacific Palisades is not that big of a place, but I suppose it's definitely possible that you wouldn't know everyone. But then! she claims that she went to Pali High AND graduated the same year as my Dad. "This is getting fishy" thinks my Dad. Anyone that knows Pops knows that he would definitely have been the king of his high school, aka people KNEW him. And if they didn't know him, they knew people he knew. So Dad starts raddleing off all of these people from Pali and her answer is always, "No...nope...nah...nope." He literally named 30 people. She didn't know any of them. Pali high was decently sized, but not so much that you wouldn't know ANNNYYONE....in the SAME class. By that time we had all determined this lady was crazy. My Dad will talk to anyone, and finally he finds a person who he REALLY could talk to, and he seriously was hiding from her for the rest of the trip. He'd go out to the hammock and appear back in the room pretty quickly...due to the crazy lady's comments about her alleged alma mater. At one point she was reading a book on the Mayans and said to my dad, "Ya know, I had a history teacher at Pali who really inspired me to learn about the Mayans...he was just really inspiring to me..." My Dad goes, "Oh, was it Mr. So and So? or Mr. Blah blah blah?" Crazy Lady, "Oh...I don't remember his name...but he was such an inspiration." Riiiiight. We just chalked it up to having done too many drugs in the 70's. (The lady, not my dad, to clarify.)
One really cool thing about Honduras is what they do for Easter weekend. Interestingly, their big day is not Easter, it's Good Friday. Everyone has the day off, nothing is open, no buses run, etc, etc. The town works all day and night creating this awesome street art made of sawdust and paint. Frist they coat the entire street with sawdust and then they create these intricate and incredibly vibrant paintings of all things God, Jesus, Mary, Thou Shalt, Thou Shalt Not, and other such things you'd relate to Catholicism. It was really cool...completely different than what we do up North. In fact I was telling my students the other day about the Easter Bunny. They thought it was so silly.
Had I listened to my American-living-in-Honduras gut, I would have known that we should just take this art display for what it is and not try and get anything out of it. Unfortunately, this did not happen. We happened to run into one of my students around 6:30pm and I asked good ol Eduardo Ernesto what time the festivities were happening tonight. I didn't really know what the festitvities were, but I knew something was supposed to happen involving the art and the church. He said that he thought it was starting around 7:30pm. So, Mom and I decided to do some souvenier shopping while we waited while smart Pops went back to the hotel. Well, we finish our shopping around 7:45ish and there is still no sign of anything happening. I'm sure it'll start soon...so we plop our selves down on the side of the street. A half hour passes and I start talking to some cute boys from Montana. They'd been there since about 5:30pm. Oh Americans, we're so stupid. At least they were fun to talk to. Unfortunately, a couple of people ended up sitting in between us and them and ended that convo pretty quick-like. Sooo...8:45, 9:00 come around. Still nothing. More people are beginning to gather, but NOTHING IS HAPPENING. It was one of those situations where you've already waited so long, you can't leave now. We should have. We definitely should have. Because finally, when something started, it was SO WAH WAH. It was 10 minutes maximum of 3 guys talking in Spanish about only God knows what....probably himself. One of those moments in my life where I thought...wow...what I could have done with those 3 hours of my life. Oh well. Mom got a little taste for and I was once again reminded how things work in Honduras. I need those reminders now and again to not trust Hondurans when it comes to time, directions, or general knowledge of what is going on.
Mom comments on the NON happenings...
Our next and final stop was my humble abode in good ol Santa Rosa. It was great to show the 'rents a bit of a day in the life. Of course, as I predicted we came home to about 20-30 dead cockroaches and 10+ live ones. Fun! See: Sarah Bug Huntin Video. The best part about Santa Rosa though was the climate. I seriously could not have picked a better place to live. The weather is very Northern Californian here. Hardly ever gets unbareably hot, and when it does, it's only for a week or so. For example, right now it is raining cats and dogs outside, and tomorrow it'll be a nice 75ish degrees. Definitely a nice change from the hot as balls rest of Honduras.
Our first full day in Santa Rosa we walked around a bit and went to tour the local cigar factory. And by tour I mean you knock on the big iron door and ask if you can be taken around. It's not the Jelly Belly tour I was used to, but it was SOOOOO cool. We started in the room where they were drying the tobacco and oh my goodness we could hardly breathe. They gave us those doctor masks (you know the ones everyone is wearing in Mexico) The fumes, I guess that's what they were, were outrageously strong. I don't know how people are working in that atmosphere. Well, I know how, but it certainly isn't healthy. This guy took us all around the factory and we saw every step in making a hand rolled cigar. I wish I could have taken pictures, but we weren't allowed. I did snag one though...muhaha. These workers were moving so quickly it was so incredible. Such an art I tell you. The place employees about 1,000 people in the town and I think makes something like 75,000 cigars a DAAAAAY! What??? Crazy, right? All hand done. I am not a cigar smoker, but for all of those of you who are, be sure to appreciate the work that went into it next time you light up. One of the coolest things I've seen while down here.
In the Flor de Copan cigar factory...dried tobacco
Tuesday I had to go back to school and the parents joined in on the fun. They told stories of my embarassing childhood and gave out homemade rice krispy treats...needless to say, the kids enjoyed it. My parents said I have authority in the classroom...so that's good to know. Though, I'm sure the kids were just being good because the parents were present.
*side note* We took a hike in the mountains around Santa Rosa last Saturday with the 11th and 10th graders for their P.E. class. Abby was talking to some of the 11th graders saying how she wishes she could have gotten to teach them this year. To which, one of my students replied, "No you don't. Miss Sarah wants to kill us sometimes." hahaha...ain't it the TRUTH! *end side note*
After that...well, it was time for Mom and Dad to leave. Abby, Chris, and I took them to Cherros, our favorite hole in the wall on their last night. Good times were had by all of course. It was hard to say goodbye, but I knew I'd be seeing them again soon. Seriously, them coming down here has given me such renewed energy that I can really finish this year out strong. I really can't wait to be back home though. And Joey is going to UCDAVIS! I'm so proud! The Miller fam all together again in good ol Nor Cal. PRECIOUS.
P.S. See all the pics from the trip....
My facebook album
Mom's Flicker Pics
Well, it was so wonderful having Mom and Dad here. I was really itching for a break and to be able to spend it with them was perfect. Our trip itinerary was as such: Roatan, Copan Ruinas, and then Santa Rosa.
It was really interesting to see Honduras through the eyes of my parents. It showed me how much I've gotten used to the way of life down here. So much that got their panties in a twist really didn't phase me much. Transferring buses for no reason, people constantly cutting in line, not having power for hours on end...I've just begun to take the Honduran outlook on things I guess. At the beginning I'd constantly be thinking, "well why do they do this? or why don't you talk to someone? why don't you fix it? why? why? why?" I'm not sure when it happened, but there came a point in our time down here that Abby and I came up with a very important and sanity keeping philosophy. Similar to the U.S. Army, we just don't ask.
My dad, more than my mom was at points, beside himself with impatience. When we were waiting for our ferry ride to Roatan there were about a hundred million people trying to get through some double doors. Of course, only one of the doors was opened. Why? DON'T ASK. Have I taught you anything?? Dad was just watching that door as if the fate of humanity depended on it. He could not comprehend WHY no one was opening that second door. Lots of rolling eyes happened at this point. Sorry, Dad. Of course I was rolling my eyes at my mom, and she later informed me that she was also clenching her fists with impatience as well. Guess I was outnumbered.
Thank goodness Roatan was as amazing as it was, cause it sure wasn't pleasant getting there. Besides the double door madness, I failed to realize my apparent alergy to boats. Specifically ferry boats sans dramamine. I won't get into details, but it was most definitely not my "I'M ON A BOAT!" fantasy. In fact, I almost puked several times. (How's that for no details?) Adding insult to injury, about a third of the boat was puking. They had designated plastic-bag-and-paper-towel-hander-outter-bag-of-vomit-thrower-outters along all the sides of the boat. And yes, that was their official name. The translation is a little difficult, you understand. My parents were fine, but I'd definitely seen better days.
Thankfully, land finally appeared and I was saved. Then came our baggage claim. No rhyme or reason...I can't even go into details. It was totally Honduras, once again and completely unorganized, once again. Annnd, once again, I didn't really think anything of it, but the parents...well, I bet you can guess.
Now, I don't want to paint the picture that Mom and Dad are freaking out all over the place. They were great and wonderful sports when things weren't picture perfect. (Most of the time...DAAAAAD)
But now we were in paradise. Full-on paradise. I kept imagining that Corona commercial with the empty beach and the palm trees and the lime. That's where we were y'all. It was the most beautiful beach I'd ever seen, let alone been to. Turquoise water that was soooo clear with white sanded beaches. Not to mention, our house/apartment that we were renting was RIGHT ON THE BEACH.
Some highlights of Roatan-- awesome snorkeling every day, holding GIANT star fish, eating damn good sea food, pinacoladas, mom drinking just enough of her Roatan Makin' me Crazy, meeting a man who collects Chiquita Banana stickers, being treated to a Caribbean dance show, and watching Michigan State triumph and then get pounced. (They were the winners of my bracket--so contrary to popular belief, I wasn't happy about this. Though along with popular belief, I bounced back preeet-tyyy quickly. MS-WHO?)
Roatan really has to be described by pictures...so please take a look...for my words can't do it justice:
View from our window of our apartment.
Drivin' me coconuts!
Yeah, I'd go back.
Last night on Roatan!
Last night on Roatan!
After 5ish days relaxing on Roatan we headed bright and early to Copan Ruinas. 4th times a charm! The parents loved Copan, as did I. I really like that town, my only gripe this time was how freakin hot it was. Man we were sweating buckets most of our time there. But thankfully we had hammocks and cold beverages right outside our room. We stayed at my friend Cid's uncle's place, Casa de Cafe...same place that housed us during my and Abby's Halloween jaunt to Copan. Cid was there takin care of us...you know, checking us in, getting us drinks, keeping Dad entertained by watching Talledega Nights with him.
Naturally we did the Ruins as well as the Macaw Mountain Bird Park. The Bird Park was so cool because a) my dad is oddly obsessed with birds and was an orinthologist in his past life. b) We met the owner of the park who is this guy from Tennessee who first came to Honduras in the 1970s. The stories he told were incredible. It was such a Bruce Miller thing to happen. My Dad, who makes friends everywhere he goes, started talking to this older gentleman who seemed to know his way around the place. Lo and behold, Mr. Owner extrodinaire. Lucky us we got to talk to him for about an hour...just shooting the bull if you will. He started here in the commercial fishing business on Roatan when Roatan was NOTHING. Swamp land and that's it. He was great...with a southern drawl to boot. GOOD TIMES.
At the Ruins...sweating, a lot.
Dad and his besties
Now, as I've stated, my Dad meets people everywhere he goes and will talk to everyone and anyone. I love that about him, but we definitely make fun of him for it too. Well, it finally caught up with Daddy-o. While staying at Casa de Cafe, we met a lot of people traveling, a lot of other bilingual school teachers actually. It was everyone's spring break, so everyone was taking advantage like we were. One day my parents start talking to these couples who looked older than them, but apparently they were around the same age. So one of the ladies starts talking about growing up in L.A. and my Dad says, "oh yeah me too, the Pacific Palisades..." or something and she goes, "Oh me too!" The Pacific Palisades is not that big of a place, but I suppose it's definitely possible that you wouldn't know everyone. But then! she claims that she went to Pali High AND graduated the same year as my Dad. "This is getting fishy" thinks my Dad. Anyone that knows Pops knows that he would definitely have been the king of his high school, aka people KNEW him. And if they didn't know him, they knew people he knew. So Dad starts raddleing off all of these people from Pali and her answer is always, "No...nope...nah...nope." He literally named 30 people. She didn't know any of them. Pali high was decently sized, but not so much that you wouldn't know ANNNYYONE....in the SAME class. By that time we had all determined this lady was crazy. My Dad will talk to anyone, and finally he finds a person who he REALLY could talk to, and he seriously was hiding from her for the rest of the trip. He'd go out to the hammock and appear back in the room pretty quickly...due to the crazy lady's comments about her alleged alma mater. At one point she was reading a book on the Mayans and said to my dad, "Ya know, I had a history teacher at Pali who really inspired me to learn about the Mayans...he was just really inspiring to me..." My Dad goes, "Oh, was it Mr. So and So? or Mr. Blah blah blah?" Crazy Lady, "Oh...I don't remember his name...but he was such an inspiration." Riiiiight. We just chalked it up to having done too many drugs in the 70's. (The lady, not my dad, to clarify.)
One really cool thing about Honduras is what they do for Easter weekend. Interestingly, their big day is not Easter, it's Good Friday. Everyone has the day off, nothing is open, no buses run, etc, etc. The town works all day and night creating this awesome street art made of sawdust and paint. Frist they coat the entire street with sawdust and then they create these intricate and incredibly vibrant paintings of all things God, Jesus, Mary, Thou Shalt, Thou Shalt Not, and other such things you'd relate to Catholicism. It was really cool...completely different than what we do up North. In fact I was telling my students the other day about the Easter Bunny. They thought it was so silly.
The street art...
Had I listened to my American-living-in-Honduras gut, I would have known that we should just take this art display for what it is and not try and get anything out of it. Unfortunately, this did not happen. We happened to run into one of my students around 6:30pm and I asked good ol Eduardo Ernesto what time the festivities were happening tonight. I didn't really know what the festitvities were, but I knew something was supposed to happen involving the art and the church. He said that he thought it was starting around 7:30pm. So, Mom and I decided to do some souvenier shopping while we waited while smart Pops went back to the hotel. Well, we finish our shopping around 7:45ish and there is still no sign of anything happening. I'm sure it'll start soon...so we plop our selves down on the side of the street. A half hour passes and I start talking to some cute boys from Montana. They'd been there since about 5:30pm. Oh Americans, we're so stupid. At least they were fun to talk to. Unfortunately, a couple of people ended up sitting in between us and them and ended that convo pretty quick-like. Sooo...8:45, 9:00 come around. Still nothing. More people are beginning to gather, but NOTHING IS HAPPENING. It was one of those situations where you've already waited so long, you can't leave now. We should have. We definitely should have. Because finally, when something started, it was SO WAH WAH. It was 10 minutes maximum of 3 guys talking in Spanish about only God knows what....probably himself. One of those moments in my life where I thought...wow...what I could have done with those 3 hours of my life. Oh well. Mom got a little taste for and I was once again reminded how things work in Honduras. I need those reminders now and again to not trust Hondurans when it comes to time, directions, or general knowledge of what is going on.
Mom comments on the NON happenings...
Our next and final stop was my humble abode in good ol Santa Rosa. It was great to show the 'rents a bit of a day in the life. Of course, as I predicted we came home to about 20-30 dead cockroaches and 10+ live ones. Fun! See: Sarah Bug Huntin Video. The best part about Santa Rosa though was the climate. I seriously could not have picked a better place to live. The weather is very Northern Californian here. Hardly ever gets unbareably hot, and when it does, it's only for a week or so. For example, right now it is raining cats and dogs outside, and tomorrow it'll be a nice 75ish degrees. Definitely a nice change from the hot as balls rest of Honduras.
Our first full day in Santa Rosa we walked around a bit and went to tour the local cigar factory. And by tour I mean you knock on the big iron door and ask if you can be taken around. It's not the Jelly Belly tour I was used to, but it was SOOOOO cool. We started in the room where they were drying the tobacco and oh my goodness we could hardly breathe. They gave us those doctor masks (you know the ones everyone is wearing in Mexico) The fumes, I guess that's what they were, were outrageously strong. I don't know how people are working in that atmosphere. Well, I know how, but it certainly isn't healthy. This guy took us all around the factory and we saw every step in making a hand rolled cigar. I wish I could have taken pictures, but we weren't allowed. I did snag one though...muhaha. These workers were moving so quickly it was so incredible. Such an art I tell you. The place employees about 1,000 people in the town and I think makes something like 75,000 cigars a DAAAAAY! What??? Crazy, right? All hand done. I am not a cigar smoker, but for all of those of you who are, be sure to appreciate the work that went into it next time you light up. One of the coolest things I've seen while down here.
In the Flor de Copan cigar factory...dried tobacco
Tuesday I had to go back to school and the parents joined in on the fun. They told stories of my embarassing childhood and gave out homemade rice krispy treats...needless to say, the kids enjoyed it. My parents said I have authority in the classroom...so that's good to know. Though, I'm sure the kids were just being good because the parents were present.
*side note* We took a hike in the mountains around Santa Rosa last Saturday with the 11th and 10th graders for their P.E. class. Abby was talking to some of the 11th graders saying how she wishes she could have gotten to teach them this year. To which, one of my students replied, "No you don't. Miss Sarah wants to kill us sometimes." hahaha...ain't it the TRUTH! *end side note*
After that...well, it was time for Mom and Dad to leave. Abby, Chris, and I took them to Cherros, our favorite hole in the wall on their last night. Good times were had by all of course. It was hard to say goodbye, but I knew I'd be seeing them again soon. Seriously, them coming down here has given me such renewed energy that I can really finish this year out strong. I really can't wait to be back home though. And Joey is going to UCDAVIS! I'm so proud! The Miller fam all together again in good ol Nor Cal. PRECIOUS.
P.S. See all the pics from the trip....
My facebook album
Mom's Flicker Pics
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Laughing Parrot
I completely forgot about this video up until I started writing about my time in Costa Rica over Christmas vacation. Let me set the scene....
We were staying in this motel type thing that was attached to a family's home. Right next to our room lived a crazy, senile parrot who would sporadically go on talking/chirping/squawking fits. We decided to go talk to it, and my friends, it did not disappoint. As you all know, parrots can repeat what human voices say. Though they don't always do it on command, they definitely have the ability. Well as I began to laugh at this absurd creature, it began to imitate my laugh. Phil Brazell in Hampton's English class has nothing on this parrot! (That was for you Caroline.)
It was too dark to actually seeee anything, but the sound is all you need. There are times you can't even figure out which one of us was laughing. Obviously his imitation spawned even more laughter from me, resulting in laughter mayhem. Make sure your volume is up and enjoy!
P.S. The Laughing Parrot will TOTALLY be the name of my Central American hostel!! YES! (Confused? see two posts ago.)
We were staying in this motel type thing that was attached to a family's home. Right next to our room lived a crazy, senile parrot who would sporadically go on talking/chirping/squawking fits. We decided to go talk to it, and my friends, it did not disappoint. As you all know, parrots can repeat what human voices say. Though they don't always do it on command, they definitely have the ability. Well as I began to laugh at this absurd creature, it began to imitate my laugh. Phil Brazell in Hampton's English class has nothing on this parrot! (That was for you Caroline.)
It was too dark to actually seeee anything, but the sound is all you need. There are times you can't even figure out which one of us was laughing. Obviously his imitation spawned even more laughter from me, resulting in laughter mayhem. Make sure your volume is up and enjoy!
P.S. The Laughing Parrot will TOTALLY be the name of my Central American hostel!! YES! (Confused? see two posts ago.)
Prostitutes and Sushi!
As you will probably recall my last passport visa renewal session was not that enjoyable. In fact, it was probably the worst experience I have had during my time here. To refresh your memory I’ll just say- El Salvador, border guards, falsifying documents, bribing, yelling, sweat and tears.
Fortunately, the second time around provided us with a much better adventure. The school paid for us to fly to Costa Rica and stay in the capital, San Jose, for three days at a fine establishment with a very Central American name and aire…The Best Western. (Sarcasm) It was the first time in a long time that I had been in such an American hotel. When I look back at the range of places Abby and I have stayed on our travels it is quite humorous. The last time we were in Costa Rica we stayed in this “motel” whose mattresses felt like a wooden board and had cockroaches in the bathroom. We're just movin on up!! (Think Jeffersons theme song…to the east side!) But my favorite was the highly typical bed quilts at The Best Western. You know what I’m talking about…and even though they aren’t normally thought of as anything special, they gave me such a feeling of home and comfort and convenience…the latter two being much harder to come by down here than in the good ol U.S.
Funny part about our hotel though was its central location in what would be known as the Red Light District anywhere else. Druggies, prostitutes, and brothels were on every street and corner. An entertaining and cringe worthy walk during the day, a purely terrifying walk at night. (I never walked at night, don’t worry.)
Though we did some cool stuff while in Costa Rica, the best part was definitely the “all expenses paid” detail. And we missed 3 days of school. Yeah, I’ll take that. Our first full day there we opted for a tour of Volcano Arenal which, unbeknownst to me was really really far away.
I won’t go into detail because I was sort of annoyed with our guide and our tour but all you have to know is I saw a Volcano and it was pretty sweet looking. Though, I have to say, there was no lava to be seen…of which, and Abby can vouch, I was quite upset about. Volcano. Lava. You’d think the two would go hand in hand. No such luck. Funny enough, the best part of our little Volcano tour had nothing to do with the Volcano but rather this little town in which we stopped for a little bit. It had the most random Parque Central in the history of Central America. The entire park was full of those shrub/bush/tree things that people cut into different shapes, you know? See pictures, they will explain…
Our driver dropped us off here for as long as we wanted, and Abby and I sure made the most of it. We were LOVING this place. We took a picture with pretty much every tree-plant shrub in the park. Prompts galore my friends. If you know what that means, you win a cookie. Not to mention had our attempt at about 20 “jumping” shots each. You know the kind, where you try to get a picture with you jumping in the air...High School Musical style. And if you have ever done this you know it never happens the first, second, third, or fourth time. My all time favorite was when Abby did a running start to her jumping and she definitely definitely fell flat on her face. I was cracking up. HI-LAR-IOUS. Two 20-something year olds acting like 5 year olds. Definite highlight of the trip.
The other highlight however came our last night in San Jose. One of the missionary families in Santa Rosa used to live in SJ and told us some of the stuff we should check out, one attraction being the VIP Movie Theatre. Imagine this: big screen, normal theatre, BUT with leather recliners at every seat, a table, and a waiter to take your order at your beck and call, oh and wait for it- SUSHI! Sushi!? Susshhiiii!?!?! If I had to guess, I would say Organizational Studies is more present in Honduras than sushi is, and we all know that’s not saying much. See what sacrifices I have been making these past 8 months!? The sushi-movie-leather recliner experience was amazing. Abby and I were actually, 100% in heaven. Oh, not to mention, our ticket cost us the equivalent of 8 bucks. Riiiight? Ridic. My only wish was that we had gone earlier during the trip so we could have gone back another time.
Gotta say though, it was nice to be back in our little Santa Rosa town. Every time I go somewhere I feel happy to be back “home.” I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like in 7 weeks when I am really really reallllllyyy back home. Eeeeee!
Fortunately, the second time around provided us with a much better adventure. The school paid for us to fly to Costa Rica and stay in the capital, San Jose, for three days at a fine establishment with a very Central American name and aire…The Best Western. (Sarcasm) It was the first time in a long time that I had been in such an American hotel. When I look back at the range of places Abby and I have stayed on our travels it is quite humorous. The last time we were in Costa Rica we stayed in this “motel” whose mattresses felt like a wooden board and had cockroaches in the bathroom. We're just movin on up!! (Think Jeffersons theme song…to the east side!) But my favorite was the highly typical bed quilts at The Best Western. You know what I’m talking about…and even though they aren’t normally thought of as anything special, they gave me such a feeling of home and comfort and convenience…the latter two being much harder to come by down here than in the good ol U.S.
Funny part about our hotel though was its central location in what would be known as the Red Light District anywhere else. Druggies, prostitutes, and brothels were on every street and corner. An entertaining and cringe worthy walk during the day, a purely terrifying walk at night. (I never walked at night, don’t worry.)
Though we did some cool stuff while in Costa Rica, the best part was definitely the “all expenses paid” detail. And we missed 3 days of school. Yeah, I’ll take that. Our first full day there we opted for a tour of Volcano Arenal which, unbeknownst to me was really really far away.
Arenal around sunset.
I won’t go into detail because I was sort of annoyed with our guide and our tour but all you have to know is I saw a Volcano and it was pretty sweet looking. Though, I have to say, there was no lava to be seen…of which, and Abby can vouch, I was quite upset about. Volcano. Lava. You’d think the two would go hand in hand. No such luck. Funny enough, the best part of our little Volcano tour had nothing to do with the Volcano but rather this little town in which we stopped for a little bit. It had the most random Parque Central in the history of Central America. The entire park was full of those shrub/bush/tree things that people cut into different shapes, you know? See pictures, they will explain…
Me and Mr. Dino
WTF is thaaat?
Our driver dropped us off here for as long as we wanted, and Abby and I sure made the most of it. We were LOVING this place. We took a picture with pretty much every tree-plant shrub in the park. Prompts galore my friends. If you know what that means, you win a cookie. Not to mention had our attempt at about 20 “jumping” shots each. You know the kind, where you try to get a picture with you jumping in the air...High School Musical style. And if you have ever done this you know it never happens the first, second, third, or fourth time. My all time favorite was when Abby did a running start to her jumping and she definitely definitely fell flat on her face. I was cracking up. HI-LAR-IOUS. Two 20-something year olds acting like 5 year olds. Definite highlight of the trip.
Abby jumping!
Sarah jumping!
Abby FALLING. Hahaaaaa.
The other highlight however came our last night in San Jose. One of the missionary families in Santa Rosa used to live in SJ and told us some of the stuff we should check out, one attraction being the VIP Movie Theatre. Imagine this: big screen, normal theatre, BUT with leather recliners at every seat, a table, and a waiter to take your order at your beck and call, oh and wait for it- SUSHI! Sushi!? Susshhiiii!?!?! If I had to guess, I would say Organizational Studies is more present in Honduras than sushi is, and we all know that’s not saying much. See what sacrifices I have been making these past 8 months!? The sushi-movie-leather recliner experience was amazing. Abby and I were actually, 100% in heaven. Oh, not to mention, our ticket cost us the equivalent of 8 bucks. Riiiight? Ridic. My only wish was that we had gone earlier during the trip so we could have gone back another time.
Gotta say though, it was nice to be back in our little Santa Rosa town. Every time I go somewhere I feel happy to be back “home.” I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like in 7 weeks when I am really really reallllllyyy back home. Eeeeee!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Copan Ruinas Sin Las Ruinas
It was my third time going to Copan Ruinas but this time I opted out of actually visiting the ruins. They are cool and all, but they don’t really change. Not to mention my parents were coming a couple of weeks later, and my parents would definitely be having that on their itinerary.
A friend of Dani’s was visiting from Minnesoooooota so, of course, anytime there is a vistitor, we go to the ruins. I never fail at having a good time while in Copan Ruinas. In fact, I almost always excel wonderfully. This time was no exception. Abby, our friend Molly, and I bused it to Copan Friday after school, definitely catching a pretty typical Honduras bus there. We were standing about half of the time during our trip, and then- and this ALWAYS happens- some random person always pulls out a random stool or chair thing from God knows where. They may not be safe or organized, but they always seem to be prepared with extra seating. I don't even begin to second guess it anymore. These buses are so funny. I know I’ve explained them before, but I don’t even think about the ridiculousness of them now. Same with riding in the back of a pick up truck- doesn’t even phase me. Abby always talks about how she loves riding in pickup trucks. I gotta agree. I wasn’t really a fan prior to living in Central America, probably because I’d never really done it. But it’s just the wind in your hair, fresh air, and I’m without a care. (At first I put ‘and good times’ but clearly I had to make it rhyme. Ah! I did it again!) It’s also especially nice in Santa Rosa. We have cobble stone streets as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, so people really can’t drive too fast. Eases this safety nut’s mind a little.
Annnnnyyyywwwaaaayyy…there I go, tangenting… So, us three girls met up with Dani and her friend, Brenna. We stayed at Manzana Verde hostel.
Side note: The names of Central American hostels are taaannn predictable. They usually involve a color and or animal and are always two words. See below:
Manzana Verde -- Green Apple, Copan Ruinas
Iguana Azul – Blue Iguana, Copan Ruinas
Gato Negro – Black Cat, Antigua, Guatemala
Mono Barbado – Bearded Monkey, Granada, Nicaragua
Funny.
Manzana Verde was lovely, though it only had 3 bathrooms…for like 25 people. Wah wah. That night we had dinner and indulged in some fabulous and much needed girl talk. 5 American Girls in Par- I mean Copan. Naturally, after our dinner we headed over to our regular spot- The Red Frog. Owner Dan and his partner in crime, Rob greeted us happily, helping us start out our night with some beers and some pong. As the other foreigners shuffled in throughout the night, we met some nice folks from Denmark, New Zealand, Holland, and the U.S. Once again- the coolest thing about traveling is meeting people from all over the world and hearing their stories...of which mine are quite tame in comparison. I really hope I can come back down here one day and just travel with no sense of responsibility. We’re always on these weekend trips with school coming up on us in a couple of days. These folks are just living life, going wherever the wind takes them.
Our beer pong games were a hit, though I just observed most of the time. Foreigners learning to play beer pong is classic, there was definitely a 6-8 person game going on at one point. Balls were sunk, beer was drank, and the night was merry. Next came our favorite walk to Papa Changos. When all the bars are closed, Papa Changos is the place to be. If you will recall, the last time we were at PC’s was for the crazy Peace Corps Halloween party. Not only was it a crazy fun time, but there were SWINGS as bar stools. I am sure I made a very big deal of this in my blog post of that weekend, because it was so cool. Well, I think it is safe to say that Papa Changos has committed business suicide as they have gotten rid of their bar stool swings. Disappointment is an understatement. Lame dumb lame lame dumb. Regardless though, there was music, and I was dancing, so the night definitely came to a fun close. After we left the bar, we returned to the pitch black hostel. Abby gave me her headlamp to brush my teeth. It was ridiculously amusing...but probably only to us, so I'll spare you the details.
The next day we awoke and had an excellent tipica breakfast. I am really going to miss that tipica food. Mmmhmmm. It sure is yummy. Over that same Halloween weekend, Dani and some friends ventured to this very out of the way waterfall outside of Copan. Usually people go with a guide, but it’s not really necessary if you know where you are going. However, knowing where you are going isn’t like finding Toon Town in Disneyland. No maps, no signs, no people to ask on the way. In fact, these are the directions that Cid gave Dani the first time…
"Get off the bus at the gas station, across the street there is a dirt road, hike the road for about 20ish minutes, then you'll see some pillars and a pasture, walk through the pasture a little ways, then look for some rocks with a bridge nearby, cross the bridge, climb over some rocks, swim in the river, and there's your waterfall!"
Somehow, she found it. Twice in fact. The hike wasn’t too bad and once we got to the pasture we just had to search for a rickety bridge to cross. We finally found it and went over one at a time…seemed (and was) a smart idea. After the bridge the sound of the waterfall was very close and we knew we were almost there.
At this point, we stripped down to our bathing suits and very apprehensively got into the FREEZING water. It was so cold and unfortunately the day was not that hot. Had it been a few weeks later when I was dying from the heat in Copan with my parents, it would have been really refreshing. So we get into the water and climb over some rocks and low and behold we are legitimately in the waterfall. What was especially cool is that Dani said the first time she went, the water was so high that they couldn’t get very close. This time, we were all up in that waterfall’s business, I tell you what. Abby, being the stud she was, even waded the entire time with her hands above her head in order to take some awesome pictures of us. Her skills were quite impressive.
The waterfall was beautiful and so strong. We tried to swim underneath it but the current was way too fuerte. Afterwards we just sat on a big rock and sort of talked, sort of didn’t. I think we were all kind of thinking, wow, our lives are pretty damn cool. Of course I have my hard days where I just want to go home, but then I do something like that and I know I've made the right decision.
A friend of Dani’s was visiting from Minnesoooooota so, of course, anytime there is a vistitor, we go to the ruins. I never fail at having a good time while in Copan Ruinas. In fact, I almost always excel wonderfully. This time was no exception. Abby, our friend Molly, and I bused it to Copan Friday after school, definitely catching a pretty typical Honduras bus there. We were standing about half of the time during our trip, and then- and this ALWAYS happens- some random person always pulls out a random stool or chair thing from God knows where. They may not be safe or organized, but they always seem to be prepared with extra seating. I don't even begin to second guess it anymore. These buses are so funny. I know I’ve explained them before, but I don’t even think about the ridiculousness of them now. Same with riding in the back of a pick up truck- doesn’t even phase me. Abby always talks about how she loves riding in pickup trucks. I gotta agree. I wasn’t really a fan prior to living in Central America, probably because I’d never really done it. But it’s just the wind in your hair, fresh air, and I’m without a care. (At first I put ‘and good times’ but clearly I had to make it rhyme. Ah! I did it again!) It’s also especially nice in Santa Rosa. We have cobble stone streets as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, so people really can’t drive too fast. Eases this safety nut’s mind a little.
Annnnnyyyywwwaaaayyy…there I go, tangenting… So, us three girls met up with Dani and her friend, Brenna. We stayed at Manzana Verde hostel.
Side note: The names of Central American hostels are taaannn predictable. They usually involve a color and or animal and are always two words. See below:
Manzana Verde -- Green Apple, Copan Ruinas
Iguana Azul – Blue Iguana, Copan Ruinas
Gato Negro – Black Cat, Antigua, Guatemala
Mono Barbado – Bearded Monkey, Granada, Nicaragua
Funny.
Manzana Verde was lovely, though it only had 3 bathrooms…for like 25 people. Wah wah. That night we had dinner and indulged in some fabulous and much needed girl talk. 5 American Girls in Par- I mean Copan. Naturally, after our dinner we headed over to our regular spot- The Red Frog. Owner Dan and his partner in crime, Rob greeted us happily, helping us start out our night with some beers and some pong. As the other foreigners shuffled in throughout the night, we met some nice folks from Denmark, New Zealand, Holland, and the U.S. Once again- the coolest thing about traveling is meeting people from all over the world and hearing their stories...of which mine are quite tame in comparison. I really hope I can come back down here one day and just travel with no sense of responsibility. We’re always on these weekend trips with school coming up on us in a couple of days. These folks are just living life, going wherever the wind takes them.
Our beer pong games were a hit, though I just observed most of the time. Foreigners learning to play beer pong is classic, there was definitely a 6-8 person game going on at one point. Balls were sunk, beer was drank, and the night was merry. Next came our favorite walk to Papa Changos. When all the bars are closed, Papa Changos is the place to be. If you will recall, the last time we were at PC’s was for the crazy Peace Corps Halloween party. Not only was it a crazy fun time, but there were SWINGS as bar stools. I am sure I made a very big deal of this in my blog post of that weekend, because it was so cool. Well, I think it is safe to say that Papa Changos has committed business suicide as they have gotten rid of their bar stool swings. Disappointment is an understatement. Lame dumb lame lame dumb. Regardless though, there was music, and I was dancing, so the night definitely came to a fun close. After we left the bar, we returned to the pitch black hostel. Abby gave me her headlamp to brush my teeth. It was ridiculously amusing...but probably only to us, so I'll spare you the details.
4-person team beer pong...this is a great picture.
Outside of Papa Changos rubbin the monkey for good luck?
The next day we awoke and had an excellent tipica breakfast. I am really going to miss that tipica food. Mmmhmmm. It sure is yummy. Over that same Halloween weekend, Dani and some friends ventured to this very out of the way waterfall outside of Copan. Usually people go with a guide, but it’s not really necessary if you know where you are going. However, knowing where you are going isn’t like finding Toon Town in Disneyland. No maps, no signs, no people to ask on the way. In fact, these are the directions that Cid gave Dani the first time…
"Get off the bus at the gas station, across the street there is a dirt road, hike the road for about 20ish minutes, then you'll see some pillars and a pasture, walk through the pasture a little ways, then look for some rocks with a bridge nearby, cross the bridge, climb over some rocks, swim in the river, and there's your waterfall!"
Somehow, she found it. Twice in fact. The hike wasn’t too bad and once we got to the pasture we just had to search for a rickety bridge to cross. We finally found it and went over one at a time…seemed (and was) a smart idea. After the bridge the sound of the waterfall was very close and we knew we were almost there.
Scary bridge...it just screams Central America.
At this point, we stripped down to our bathing suits and very apprehensively got into the FREEZING water. It was so cold and unfortunately the day was not that hot. Had it been a few weeks later when I was dying from the heat in Copan with my parents, it would have been really refreshing. So we get into the water and climb over some rocks and low and behold we are legitimately in the waterfall. What was especially cool is that Dani said the first time she went, the water was so high that they couldn’t get very close. This time, we were all up in that waterfall’s business, I tell you what. Abby, being the stud she was, even waded the entire time with her hands above her head in order to take some awesome pictures of us. Her skills were quite impressive.
The girls at the base of the waterfall!
La Cascada
The waterfall was beautiful and so strong. We tried to swim underneath it but the current was way too fuerte. Afterwards we just sat on a big rock and sort of talked, sort of didn’t. I think we were all kind of thinking, wow, our lives are pretty damn cool. Of course I have my hard days where I just want to go home, but then I do something like that and I know I've made the right decision.
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