Still sweating

These days, I spend most of my time sitting on the tile floor of our house with a fan blowing in my face. I've gotten used to sweating ever other moment of the day- while teaching, crammed on school buses, lugging groceries down the street- so I don't feel at all bad about vegging out in this spot, the coolest location I've found. It's the heart of summer here. If you can't imagine it, think about Georgia summer heat without air conditioning ANYWHERE. The good news about summer is- I'm a little bronceado (tanned) and my hair has lightened to be golden (but dry as straw). This part is kind of fun, since I'm usually the palest white lady that I know. I'm still quite pale for Honduras, but not by my own standards.

The weeks since Semana Santa have been flying by. A couple weekends ago, our group of volunteers created the "first annual Volunteer Olympics" complete with a game of VACA basketball, a three-legged race, and a mad soccer game. In the end, the country folks and city folks tied, so everyone won. Later, Mateo led us hiking through the canyon of El Boqueron, a natural monument here in Olancho. We never made it to the top of El Boqueron but ended up in the aldea of La Avispa. A group of North American hikers is quite a sight for those who live in the mountains of Honduras. Picture the scene: the Americanos put down their backpacks and sit down after hiking for three hours. They order Coca-Colas and some take out Snickers bars. Within five minutes, they are surrounded by a group of campo kids, barefoot and dirty, staring. Just staring. We are a spectacle.

This week, another church group of volunteers arrived from Boston, and a very talented artist- Keith Favazza- began painting a mural on the wall of the upper school building. The students have been helping throughout the week and I must say, it's one of the most incredible projects I've seen happen here. The kids are so happy to be able to contribute their brush strokes towards the creation of the mural. I plan to post pictures soon.

Recently, I made a big revelation that I'm excited to share: I plan to move back to Atlanta in July. I've thought through many possibilities since I've been down here, but home is where I want to be. So much of what has been pushing me away for so long is now drawing me back. I'm very excited about the decision and am currently job searching. I'll keep you posted! A todos: tengan una buena semana!