it's tough being a gringa

So I've now been here for 9 days. It's slowly getting better and better each day... started out pretty rough but I'm starting to get into the groove.

The other girls who live in this big house with me finally arrived on Saturday. They couldn't believe I had been here all week alone... you're telling me! But they are all very nice and helpful with everything. There are 2 girls who live downstairs (which is a whole other living quarters...their own kitchen and bathrooms and living room)... and 2 new guys just moved in down there today as well. There are 4 of us girls upstairs... so there are plenty of people to hang out with and walk to town with.

School started yesterday (Monday) which was pretty much just a get to know you/have fun kind of day. So today was my first real teaching day. The kids are SUPER cute and are such a good class. While we are having lessons they are attentive it's kinda scary. The only frustrating thing is that I have high and low students. So the high students are all about learning and love participating in lessons because they speak english well, while the lower students look bored out of their minds and I know they have no clue what I'm saying most of the time. It's just going to be hard to balance out my time between the two groups, but hopefully they will improve before I leave. But needless to say, they are all really sweet and they LOVE Justin Bieber so I think we'll get along just fine.

We no longer have Esperanza. Good thing we had our photo shoot when we did. Apparently the girls who left Honduras for good were the ones who took the dog in. So when they left, the other girls gave her away but she ran away from the new owner and came back to her "home". So when I arrived she was here and I had figured the girls had just left her here while the neighbors fed her. So since the girls have been back, they gave her to a young guy who owns a chicken store. They have 2 other dogs so hopefully she is having fun. I'm sure we'll see her around.

I'm getting used to:

-cleaning my feet with baby wipes before I get in bed, even if I've just showered, they are always dirty no matter what

-walking uphill for 15 minutes to school with blisters on my feet

-the power going out almost every night

-not knowing what is going on half the time because I don't speak spanish

-the smell of rotting animals around town

-getting bitten by bugs while wearing bug spray

-brushing my teeth using bottled water

-sweating ALL day

-being called a "gringa" (an American woman). people will literally announce it to the people in their homes as we walk by that the grangas are passing

-a sweet farmers tan in the making

-waking up to roosters at 2am EVERY night

-soaking my vegetables in clorox water before eating them

-always watching my back, ready to pull out my ninja moves at any moment while walking down the road alone

And good news, the sweetheart angel neighbor who let me use his internet and email the first night.. ending up looking in his "sent" email box of the email I sent to my mom and sister, finding my sister Ashley's name, then facebooking her, then finding my name on facebook thru her so facebooking me (a little creepy, but so thankful for creepiness)... long story short, we are facebook friends and he gave me his netflix account so I can now watch TV! WOO HOO. my account wouldn't work here so now I have it! What a sweet dude. I'm going to have to make him microwave cookies because nothing says thanks like microwaved honduran cookies!

Here are 2 pictures of my fancy room...

And here are my precious students being super precious...