Waterfall Wonder

One Sunday, quite early in the morning, we decided to try to reach the Yamaranguila waterfall (again). As the first trip was rained off we picked a very sunny day to attempt this trip, which led us to the edge of Yamaranguila + the football field. With only one sign saying:

Cascada
1.5 Km

We didn’t know where to go. We had been told to follow the stream but found the way blocked by impassible barbed wire. We decided to try the road with the sign on, + after asking locals where it was with no luck, set off on a small path I discovered. This turned into a 2 hour trek through a pine forest!

If you’d have told 5 year old Charlotte she’d have been exploring random Honduran forests when she was 18 her eyes would have lit up + I assure you she’d probably have run + packed a backpack in preparation. This was the stuff of my childhood dreams.
We worked our way through the dense trees, clambering through barbed wire when needed, jumping over logs when they arose. We came to a clearing with trees on all sides, reaching high into the sky, the sun blaring down on us, our hearts set on one thing: to reach the waterfall. A pause + brief discussion over which way to go and we were off on our way again. Twigs snapped beneath our feet, I could smell the still warm tómales in my bag and we follow the occassional path (bit of flattened grass).

After a while we are conscious of the sound of flowing water, and curious, head in that direction. When I actually see the stream I sprint off, oblivious to the boggy marshland that lays between me + my destination. Although my shoes squelched in the mud as I ran it was worth it – the stream was there. Giselle was convienced the small fall we saw wasn’t the actual waterfall so, after some admiring, we wandered on.

It’s was an uphill battle but the ache in my legs wasn’t a match for my determination to see the waterfall. Again, I take a detour, after seeing a particularly cute section of the stream.

We spent some time here, I allowed my hand to fall into the gentle, cool stream and drank in the moment.

Once again we were up making our way through the pine forest. Suddenly the valley layed carved, forged before us. I felt like we’re were in a Disney film, something like Brother Bear, the scenery was beyond anything I’d ever seen + it certainly didn’t feel real. The waterfall cascaded down, sending out a rainbow over the deep valley. Multicoloured butterflies fluttered past, dragonflies hovered over the water + all around the sound of crickets was present. I know the formation of streams and waterfalls (thanks AS geography) but such a simple process was suddenly amplified before my eyes. The moment seemed unreal, yet, it seemed everlasting. I was stuck in this place, every part of me felt alive. I was transfixed on the water, gushing over the fall, as it joined and broke with the breeze hitting my face.
The minutes passed peacefully as we sat here, gazing at the wonders before us.

All too soon it’s time to go home. We trudge back through the forest, finding a path that leads directly to the barbed wire (which I struggle to crawl under) + we’re back in 7 minutes. Though those 2 hours were uncesseary I’m so so glad we went the long way. Thank you Honduras.

From a little pink house in Yamaranguila,

Charlotte

Honduran Habits?..

6:45am – Desayuno 

If you found yourself outside a little pink house on a weekday morning, this is what you’d experience: 

The gentle waves of upbeat music float to your ears, the sunshine warms the back of your neck + the smell of cooking in the air. You peek inside the house to find out what it is, and see two girls using what appears to be a camping stove. One pours cheap but cheerful oatmeal into a bowl, sprinkling it with cinnamon, whilst the other makes French toast. You watch this almost British scene unfold. If it wasn’t for the mountains that are visible from the front door and the sound of chickens and dogs going about their business, right outside the door, you may be able to kid yourself you were home. A glance at the clock and the girls hurriedly put on shoes and throw containers in their backpacks before heading outside. It’s a brisk but sunny walk up the road, where you avoid the barbed wire by jumping over a small stream to follow these girls. Up to this point they’ve been happily chatting in English about their day ahead but upon seeing a group of people dressed like themselves in a smart uniform they swap to some Spanish. Then there’s the challenge of squeezing 12 people into a car only designed for 7, but you realise there’s time for lots of chatter + laughs on the bumpy way to school. 

12:05pm – Almuerzo 

A bell sounds from a particularly tall tree in the distance and the once peaceful grounds become full of the chatter of children. From a classroom comes the rush of 36 children, and behind them, a girl clasping her bright blue backpack. She heads to the cafeteria and ensures her children have food whilst waiting for her project partner to reach the cafeteria too. Then the containers from earlier are produced and warmed in microwaves and they get to enjoy the food inside. 

One of our better attempts at tomato soup

7:00pm – Cena 

After some relaxation + chores, the girls begin to cook. First, by boiling vast amounts of water in a pot, then often cutting veggies and steaming these for the dish that is to be made. Some meals take longer (we once waited over 2 hours for chicken noodle soup!) but in around 1 hour they can begin tucking into some tasty food. 

Enjoying some potato curry

General Habits

Those are our general food habits, still quite British in nature because we cook for ourselves. As this is the first time we’re living independently we have to budget and this is taking some time to adjust to. If you want to know more about our daily routine then here’s one I made earlier: https://helpcharlottehelphonduras.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/typical-day-in-the-life/ 

One thing that hasn’t changed is my water habits. Anyone who knows me knew I was almost addicted to water in the UK + I must admit I’m keeping up the custom out here. 
Lunch tends to be leftover dinner (we just make double) which varies from: Spanish tortilla, pasta + veggie dishes, rice, tomato soup, curry and more. I absolutely love the access to fresh fruit + veg which makes for yummy (+ also healthy) snacks and dinners. 

 However, the weekend is a slightly different story. This is where we let our Honduran sides come to life!

Por ejemplo: if you were to look in our room at around 9am on Saturday you’d see two way more relaxed girls making avocado toast (yum). [Either that or me snacking on a banana before heading on a run.] We tend to check out a comedor on the weekends for lunch and get a flavour of more local food, such as: baleadas, tacos, pupusas, taquitos (to be avoided as they broke my brace) and more – for dessert we especially like chocobananos as they only cost 3L. 

Behold, the chocobanao

We’ve also witnessed charamuscas which is effectively mushed frozen fruit in a bag – when I sent pictures of it back home it was described as “blood in a bag” – which is super yummy + only 1L. Sunday we pop down to see some women in Yam who sell food and buy some tómales for the week. 

A tomale we munch for lunch

These are the most Honduran things we eat during the week as they only cost 6L (bargain!!). They are a corn outside encasing chicken and rice which we love to have as a quick, easy lunch. Whilst we purchase these we grab enchiladas: tortillas with hidden potato inside which is our Sunday breakfast.

For snacks we attempt to make baleadas: flour tortillas, refried beans, egg and Honduran cheese. These are actually super tasty! Another snack we make is fried plantains or them in chip form (sometimes with refried beans on the side). 

Although we aren’t being amazingly local with how we eat we really do try to experience as much as possible! This is especially easy when we go out + big shoutout to La Fuente for doing the best baleadas I’ve ever tasted 🙂 So I’m sure when we go back to England it’ll be coffee and bread everyday for breakfast, baleadas for lunch and tómales for dinner. In the meantime, we hang onto our British roots (with a bit of Spain thrown in). 

Our 1st attempt at a baleada

From a little pink house in Yamaranguila (where you can smell a baleada cooking),
Charlotte 

1 Month: the light, the dark + the pitch black

This weekend marks our first month in Yamaranguila (although we’ve now been in Honduras for 5 weeks). In some ways, it feels so much longer as we have adjusted to our different life here. I assure you it feels longer since I’ve seen my friends and family. However, the days + time also seems to pass quickly, and I hope the year doesn’t go by at this speed. In this month everything has been new and exciting, I’ve loved it! However doesn’t mean there hasn’t been the occasional annoying thing. 

Firstly, there has been so much light in this month: football, Bandera Day, food, Día del Niño, running + meet ups like Life Group + Girls Night! 

One Tuesday Honduras played the USA in selection for the World Cup, this meant the teachers could come in wearing their football “jerseys” (as the Americans say 😉 ). As we were told on Monday, we went into town after school in hunt of some of these tops. After most places not having any, we stumbled across a shop that sold them! Although they are the most expensive things we’ve bought (230L) that’s actually a really good price to pay for them, + I’m positive you’ll see them in lots of pictures this year. I’m now excited to take this top to uni for sport! The actual day was great, here’s some pictures of us getting in the spirit of it all: 

That evening we got together with our colleagues to watch the game 🙂 Although the power went out in the first minute and only came back 15 minutes later this is just typical Honduras. It ended 1-1 but we were very excited when Honduras scored their goal! We then played our teacher game of football, followed by baldeadas (essential). 

On the topic of days, we’ve also had Bandera Day (day of the flag) + Día del Niño (today!). Bandera Day involved an assembly, traditional dancing, singing + of course raising the flag. We celebrated Día del Niño on Friday with cake, piñatas, games + LOTS of sweets! I absolutely love how there’s always something going on or something to look forward to here, + both of these days were super fun:

Día del Niño even saw the teachers coming in our normal clothes + as students assume I’m American I wore my Cambridge top 😉 lots of my kids are absolutely fascinated with Snapchat which results in some very entertaining videos, so here’s some snaps of that day: 

Something that I’ve really loved is running in Honduras. We’ve been on two thus far but I anticipate many more in the future! I thought running in the UK was good but compared to here that’s not even worth mentioning. In Yamaranguila, you run surrounded by mountains, with greenery enclosing you at all times. There’s so much for your senses to take in that you forget you’re running as you pass little houses, animals + people you puff out “buenos días” to. I’ve wheezed my way up hills (the downside here is the altitude can irritate my lungs) which has been totally worth it for the view and honestly I think the best way to get out + see a new area is to run. 

Running is also helping me burn off the amazing food we are eating! As we’ve  been pretty good at sticking to our budget it’s meant we’ve been able to eat out. Don’t get too excited, our eating out is finding meals for 30L (£1) but some of these are so tasty. One of our new favourites is the baldeadas at a place called La Fuente – we were cautious about these due to Giselle’s dislike of refried beans but we quickly fell in love! Honduran food is so tasty such as: the enchiladas I’m sure we’ll be buying later for Sunday breakfast, the exotic fruits we get, or even the smoothies + crepes at Blue Berry (our new fave cafe). We are also loving trying out new food at home + taking it in for lunch, if not just to prove to the Americans we can cook! 

We’ve also made so many good friends here, both Honduran + American, so the 1st month has seen us having some lovely times with these people. I feel this month has shown me that people here are honestly so friendly, so willing to help + their kindness has shined through. We’ve enjoyed some amazing food + company at our little get togethers 🙂 Thanks to everyone in Yam whose made this month so good! 

So now I’ve gone on + on about how great this 1st month has been, which, don’t get me wrong, it has. But we’ve also hit some bumps in the road (literally, Honduran roads are full of pot holes) with things that have fustrated us. 

For me, although I absolutely love my students, I hate discipline + having to tell them off. I’m sure everyone wants to be the happy teacher but this isn’t possible 100% of the time – and was something I was really nervous about coming out here. The main thing I’ve learnt about teaching in this 1st month is each day is new + a chance not to make the same mistakes + that it gets easier as you get use to it. It’s been a month of finding out what works best with my pupils and how I can help them effectively. 

Something interesting that happened at home was a bug infestation one night, that saw us running to our neighbours to grab spray. Unfortunately, spraying into the many crooks + cranies of this house led to the bugs taking revenge by coming out in great numbers. There followed an evening of bleach, spray + screaming from one of us (joke Giselle 😉 ) + we awoke the next morning to be surrounded by carceses on the floor. We’ve now invested in Raid + a broom for daily sweeping which seems to have helped. However, in Honduras, you’ll always be sharing your home with a few small friends. 

The worst thing that happens is the power cuts, which are almost daily at school (I think we once had 3 in one day) + also affect us at home. The saddest evening here, by far, was when the power was out until 7:30pm. Due to the way our house is, it’s completely pitch black inside from about 5:30. Yamaranguila falls silent, like someone’s placed a cloak over the town. We sat on the floor with a candle, ate cold fried chicken (still tastes absolutely amazing) + I definitely felt the most homesick that night. We ended up walking around a dark Yam and using a torch to get cookies in a pulpería without light as we couldn’t face being in the dark house. I can’t lie, I really wanted to be back in England with: lights, a way to cook food and a shower. I decided to go to bed extremely early + thankfully the power was back in the morning. Not having power is definitely annoying, especially when it means your fridge leaks all over your floor, but it’s something we are getting use to. When it happens now, it’s not quite as depressing as that first time!

Finally, yesterday, for our one month anniversary, I got to take a trip to the clinic + pick up some medication as I’ve been feeling a little rough for two weeks. Although this was incredibly fustrating as it cost over 800L for the pleasure, it meant I’m going to start taking much better care of myself as to not have to go again (huge thanks to Giselle for being my translator in there!!).  However, we went out for smoothies + watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, so I went to bed feeling very joyful that we’ve been in this place I love for a month.

I’ll be writing again soon, from a little pink house in Yamaranguila,

Charlotte 

Typical Day in the Life

6:00 am

You reach for the phone to silence the continuous buzzing and your weary eyes rest on the picture wall in front of you. It’s crooked, but you never did get round to fixing it, so it’s remained that way ever since it went up. “Morning Giselle” you call out to your project partner and as she goes into the bathroom you are allowed a few precious more moments in a warm bed. You savour these but soon it is your time to shower. The stream of luke warm water hits your body as you stand there, shampooing whilst waiting for it to get up to full capacity. 

6:30 am

A pile of clothes you folded the previous night sits on the floor next to your pre-packed backpack. With barely a thought, your legs slip into your smart trousers + the polo shirt is already over your head. An essential step you are reminded to do is take your daily medication (once you forget to take a hay fever tablet you don’t ever again). Next, it’s into the kitchen to making a bowl of comforting oatmeal. The huge + only pot you own is used for this morning ritual. This, along with your other cutlery, is washed up by one of you every morning, today you’ve done the task. Although upbeat tunes are already floating out of your phone, you pick it up to spend a precious few minutes speaking to loved ones in England (due to the time difference, the morning is the best time to do this) as you eat. 

6:55 am

There’s a minute of chaos in the house, as both of you try to simultaneously brush your teeth and throw on shoes. You just have time to register the bright morning on your brisk walk up the road.

7:00 am

What one might consider an interesting part of the morning: fitting 12 persons in a car designed to hold 7. Although, you’re so use to this by now that you all seem to find your place with ease. There’s talking + a prayer said for the day ahead but before you know it you hit the bumpy path up to school. Often Giselle hits her head on the roof or CD player so you watch out for this. Then, the security gaurd (constantly has a gun but is also the smiliest man on the campus) opens up the gate and you’re in. There’s just time to dump your backpack in the Grade 2 classroom before walking back up to the office for devotional time. 

7:15 am

All the teachers meet for devotions, a prayer and announcements for the upcoming day. It’s a chance to say good morning to your colleagues, fill up your water bottle and prepare for what is to come. Before long the buses are arriving and you make your way back to the classroom to meet your pupils for the day ahead. This time is full of hellos, how are yous and getting the lines ready so the kids can enter the classroom.

7:40 am

The bell rings over the campus from its position on one of the trees, signalling the beginning of the day. The children are welcomed into class + you get ready for devotional time. This always involves songs (with lots of hand movements you hurridly tried to pick up) and writing, today it is “I am thankful for”. Lots of the children suggest “family… friends” and you have a pained thought for all those you miss. 

8:00 am

You take to your stool as it’s time for the first lesson of the day: spelling. This involves practicing words for a test on Friday (featuring: bike, a, lake and duck). You tend to be situated next to a very sweet boy with autism so you can help him as much as he needs. However, there are also 34 other students in your class who call out “Missssss” “Miss Charlotteeee” and demand your attention too. This means you spend much of the lesson travelling around the room: assisting, keeping kids on task and receiving hugs from many of the students. 

8:45 am

Time for math, a subject you dreaded teaching but you’re quickly realising Grade 2 level is perfectly manageable for you. This is where you strain your imagination to think of different ways to explain the same concept to student. It’s hit you that there are many ways different people like to learn and it’s through experimenting with explanations you figure out what works best for certain students. You hit a huge achievement today as you get a student to stop counting your fingers for addition + use their own. This makes you smile as you begin to feel worth as a teaching assistant. 

9:30 am

The bell rings and you breath a sigh of relief: recess. This means a much needed brain break and a snack! You head over to the cafeteria, your duty spot, with your students and ensure they all get snacks. There’s also the opportunity to check in with other teachers and have some light hearted laughs. 

9:50 am

All too soon the bells rings again so you prepare yourself for more hours teaching. First: reading. This often involves the teacher reading a story to the children with activities after. Again you float around, assisting where needed and, for the kids who finish quicker, supervising “free time”. 

10:35 am

Phonics always makes you laugh as whenever the letter “K” comes up it’s your time to stand up, take a bow + say “queen”. There’s now a running joke that you are a queen because you are from England. At some point in the morning there’s sometimes a power cut, which gets the kids screaming when the lights go off + you thinking “again?..” 

11:20 am

Some days your kids have a lesson like music now, which would make you free for a period, but today there is science. This is always a fun lesson and today the kids go outside to run a race to see whose the fastest. 

12:05 pm

“Finally” your stomach thinks as the bell rings for lunch. Again, it’s back the cafeteria and waiting for Giselle so you can grab the food you made the night before (this day Spanish tortilla). You do a mixture of walking around, supervising and also sitting with others teachers whilst you eat.  

12:45 pm

Luckily, you always get the period after lunch free as your students have Spanish. You head back up to the office and when there’s power this is a chance to become acquainted with the copier machine. However, today with no power you pull out your book and settle down for a reading session. It’s The Mosquito Coast and you enjoy reading about the country you currently reside in. 

1:30 pm

Another bell and another time to head back to class. If it’s a Friday, like today, you get to have an art class which the kids love. As there is an ocean theme in the classroom your kids make sailboats that get hung on the wall. 

2:15 pm

The bell signals you to go back to the office. You hug your kids goodbye and leave to the sound of “Bye Miss Charlotte” from those inside. This period for you is much the same as the one earlier. 

3:00 pm

Another day completed!! It’s a short wait for Giselle before you cram on a big, yellow bus with many of your students. To not take away seats from students you make your way to your usual place: a railing. The holes in the road are impossible to avoid and it’s a bumpy ride home as you share stories from the day. 

3:30 pm

A quick walk sees you safely back home. You collapse on your now familiar bed and spend some time relaxing: often reading or FaceTiming a loved one. 

The evenings always look different: Tuesdays see you playing football with the teachers, one night you try take a free school bus into La Esperanza to shop or do washing at home. However, there’s always the necessary chores such as cooking, preparing lunch for the next day and laying out clothes + your bag. 

9:00 pm

It’s at this point you tend to be in bed. The water will have been turned off so you’ll have had to brush your teeth earlier + honestly you’re shattered and already use to the Honduran habit of early nights and early mornings. You either chat to Giselle or read a book but pretty quickly you’re settling down to do the whole thing again the next day.

From a little pink house in Yamaranguila,

“Miss” Charlotte 

My ace 2nd grade class💙

^some snaps of the little rays of sunshine I feel so lucky I get to work with + help☺️☺️