I moved into my apartment last night. I’ve put some photos up here which arent very flattering. The apartment is actually quite nice, but I think the photos make it feel a little weird. I have moved a few things around (in the kitchen you couldnt open the oven door all the way because it was blocked by the sink), so I think I will take some more photos later on today.
Its been exciting doing the food shopping and buying a few things to cook with etc. I had been looking forward to grocery shopping since I arrived in the country!
March 3, 2009
My apartment
February 23, 2009
February 17, 2009
Carol and Christianne
Carol and Christianne left on the bus this morning. Its very sad to have them leave. They were able to do so much for the kids while they were here, but besides that it was very nice for me to have them around, and they will be missed. Carol is much better at keeping a blog than I am, so its worth reading hers to see what we have been up to the past week.
We found out yesterday that the Rice Foundation has a medical brigade in town this week with Physicians, Dentists, basic Optometry (unfortunately only for long-sightedness) and more. I will talk to them today and see if there is a chance they could visit the kids home. It was a surprise to find out they were here in town as we had been in touch with them to see where exactly they were going to be in Copan (the name of the region is Copan, and the name of this town is Copan Ruinas), but we had difficulty getting responses, and the last we heard was that they would be in a town about 30mins from here (which without our own vehicles is a major obstacle when there are 40+ kids).
Cold sore = almost completely gone!
Weather = fantastic.
February 11, 2009
Luggage
My missing bag arrived on Monday. When i saw it sitting on the table waiting for me i knew there was something wrong with it – it looked about half the size i remembered it being. It turns out, somewhere along the way, about half the stuff was taken out of the bag and not put back in. Some of the stuff i can just buy here like jeans, but some things i cant (like my teapot! – this is probably the one thing im most disappointed to lose as i cant find them anywhere here). The padlock was still on the bag so some sneakery went on!
Its been great to have Carol and her daughter here. They are both staying at the same place as me and have been visiting the kids with me. Yesterday they did some dental hygiene teaching with a song, Señor Dientes (a large set of teeth you would find in a dentists waiting room), and sticker charts for when they brush their teeth. The kids loved it. Merlin (a boy of 11 years) was helping Carol with the presentation and translation (he doesnt speak English), and Carol told me later that he was an amazing help and such a good leader.
I have found an apartment and will move in in the next few weeks. I need to talk to the guy again to find out exactly when he is moving out. Its the apartment i wanted last year, so i am very glad to be able to live there. Its located just across the road and down 40m from where i live at the moment.
Ive never had a coldsore before, but one sprung up a couple of days ago. I’ve had a little bit of a cold too, which is probably why the coldsore came.
The weather has been much warmer this week thankfully (high twenties to low thirties).
February 10, 2009
Carol in Honduras
Carol from Canada arrived on Sunday. Today i set up her blog which you can read at: http://carol.hogarangelitosfelices.com/
February 6, 2009
Two people
Two people arrived yesterday and are going to stay at the orphanage until July helping out with the kids. As hard as it is to believe, they are from NZ! Apparently there is a new exchange program that has just started (they are the first) to volunteer in the orphanage. I cant remember the name of the organisation that organises it. They are going to be an amazing help.
My missing luggage arrived in the country a couple of days ago, but they sent it using a courier company that only comes to this town each Monday… so hopefully I will have it on Monday!
Has been a great week with the kids. Most of them start school on Monday. The rain let up a bit today so we were able to go outside and play around again. Still quite cool and drizzly though.
February 5, 2009
Salvation Army
Yesterday afternoon I had just walked back from the orphanage with Massimo when a teacher from the bilingual school came up to me and told me about a medical brigade who were here in town until the next day. They had visited the kids about 4 years ago, and were interested in visiting them again.
We went back to the kids home and they went over all the kids to check for their general health condition and prescribed medicine to those who needed it. Some of the younger kids were afraid they were going to get injections. One of the younger girls clung to me like a leech crying her eyes out whenever a doctor came near.
The kids were generally in pretty good health, but i had noticed a small bald patch on the back of Brayans head that same day, and thought it might have been ringworm, and i was going to bring him to the doctor today (turned out it wasn’t ringworm and wasn’t worth worrying about).
It was amazing to have the medical team come and see the kids. I am very grateful.
Its been overcast and drizzly the last few days and quite cool (low to mid twenties). The road up to the orphanage is just dirt so at the moment is all mud – its very steep and slippery! So we have been stuck playing inside rather than up on the hill.
American Airlines says my bag arrived in the country yesterday afternoon so should be here today. I ran out of fresh undies yesterday (the rest are in my other bag)…
February 2, 2009
Made it to Copán
I finally made it to Copán mid-afternoon yesterday. It felt like a very long trip this time. I had a couple of flight delays, and one of my bags went missing, so while I was filling in the paperwork for that, I missed my bus to Copán Ruinas.
I stayed the night in the city, and got up early at 5.45am to get to the bus depot to catch that 7am to Copán. Their website said on Sunday’s and Monday’s there is a 7am bus, but i found out thats not true. The first bus is at 10.40am, so i waited in the waiting room until just after 11am for the bus to come. Arrived in Copán around 2.30pm.
It was a relief to arrive in Copán and to sit down in my room (the same room I had last year). Telma had a bowl of hot vegetable soup for me when I arrived!
It was amazing to see the kids again yesterday afternoon. They were very excited when I walked in, and we spent most of the time having bear hugs. A few of the kids werent there yesterday, but some of the older ones (who werent at the home when i visited) gave me a surprise visit last night at my place and we played cards for a while.
Its good to be back.