Youth Group...Talent Show

I am trying to get more involved in church and Youth Group, making friends and getting to know people. To raise money for the Mission Project (weekend away) our youth group hosted a Talent Show for all the churches in the area. They went all out and hired the Bible Seminary auditorium, filled it with chairs and spent the day setting up sound etc. I was in charge of drawing (tracing) and cutting out the letters for the big blue sign - look out for it in the photos!! Amanda and I were both very sceptical and thought noone would come - how wrong we were!! It was full and was a great success. People were charged to come in and there was food on sale etc etc. We raised the money we needed and had a great time. These guys have vision and belief!

Here is a link to all the photos!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163085&l=06768&id=876635272

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163096&l=04c23&id=876635272

2 months in 2 minutes

OK, so finally I am sitting down to give you a super quick update on the last 2 months! It helps that finally I can sit on the sofa in front of a tv to write this! A lot has happened in the last 8 weeks...

Back at Ken and Sue's house the trap laid for the burglar worked and he was caught in the act by Kike. We haven't been able to get any of the stuff back and the police weren't involved as there is not much they can do. A long story there! Anyway, as the weeks after that then we discovered more and more stuff that he had taken from us - mainly from Amanda and I. Turned out to be about £1000 worth of stuff. But that is life!!

Amanda returned from Canada and so we celebrated our last days in the big house with parties! First a BBQ and the next week a dessert party (my kind of thing!)

BBQ (Roberto and Deb) Dessert Party

We moved into our house pretty much the same time school started which was beyond stressful!! It is a gorgeous house, a brand new build. I had to buy ALL the furniture - including kitchen cabinets! We borrowed beds from the school house, which I appreciated a lot. We have some of Dave and Esthers kitchen stuff for now too - saucepans, plates etc. So, I have bought a dining table and chairs, fridge/freezer, sofas, kitchen cabinet thing, washing machine. You name it! The best thing is the fact I now have tv. We got internet in the house and it turned out that to have tv was only £6 a month! Well worth it, so got a tv. It now means we can relax in the evenings and just veg out - mostly English speaking channels from the states!! I LOVE our house I really do. It feels just like home - more so now the curtains were put up today! It has taken over a month, but we now finally have everything! (though now it is rainy season I may resort to buying a drier!) I will put photos of the house and it's process up tomorrow once I have taken the finished photos - I need to tidy first for that!

Shopping for all the furniture was an experience - which I loved. I got most stuff in Tegucigalpa (the capital) and am very grateful to Jorge for helping me.

School started at the end of August. My Grade 2's are lovely (I had them last year) and they have remembered all their English. Then there are my GRade 1's - not so lovely. 4 weeks in and they are starting to understand me!! They have major discipline issues, came up with a reputation for this...and didn't speak an English! Oh my word!! It has been very very hard with them, but today was delightful and I think we have turned a corner - hurray!! We've had the usual September madness Independence Day marches, parties etc. Very exciting to say that we actually marched this year instead of ambling! Kids did us proud.

Children's Day Party - Grade 1 boys

The float in our Independece Day March

(no idea how it came to be so good!)

My feet are hanging in there! I broke my little toe in town about 4 weeks ago - walked into a rock hidden in the grass on the pavement - if you can call it that! am quite sure nobody's toe should move at that angle! I dind't go to hospital - what can they do for a little toe? It is still swollen and hurts, but not as much. I am hoping it will heal soon. My other foot is getting worse again and my dr says I should wear the cast again for another 3 weeks. I'll get around to doing that soon!

The dogs are growing fast and are very cute! The training thing hasn't gone so well as we aren't around enough, but they are getting there! Enoc and Jorge built us a fence across the bak of the garden (hard to describe) so we can put hem behind it when we go out. They were getting used to sitting by the gate and were too friendly with people - not good when we need them as guard dogs!! So hopefully this will help! Pictures of them to follow!

Our house is not in the safest area apparently! Who knew?? Everyone who visits comments on it's location and how dangerous it is! We are sensible and only use the car when we go out at night. It's behind the cemetary and apparently up until 6 years ago used to be the Red Light District!!!! Not any more. Now it has just kept the reputation for unsavoury people, but is getting better. I don't have a problem with it really - and is cheaper!! Gos is definitely looking after us here. Only twice have I had things thrown at me over the fence by the guys over the road. They've not done it again thankfully.

We have been getting more involved in church- but that is a whole other entry!! But we have made more friends and gotten to know our friends a whole lot better.

Now we have furniture life is definitely calming down again and turning to normality -is there such a thing? My social life is far busier than it was in UK. I think I am busy almost every night and we have to book things in! The best part is that now we have our house people invite themselves over. When we were in the teachers house people didn't like to visit - I guess the stigma and status attached to it, the formality. Now it is just us here people want to come round - it's great!!

Jorge's birthday at Enoc's house

(Back row...Kike, Jorge and Enoc...Front...Amanda, Enoc's parents and me)

My Spanish is improving but I definitely need to use it more. I still hate talking to people! It is so frustrating cos I can do it and to some people can chat for hours no problems. But when I am pressurised my brain goes to pot!! It's coming though...

Here are some links to all my photos of these things!

BBQ - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147839&l=1f7d6&id=876635272

Dessert Party - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156113&l=84efe&id=876635272

Independence Day March - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=157647&l=00a31&id=876635272

It's coming soon.....

I am SO sorry I haven't kept this updated! I finally have internet at home now. I also finally have all my furniture - the sofas were delivered today and so the house is looking almost normal now!! Amanda is sewing the curtains this week and then we're pretty much there - just little bits to do.

I am alive still and my feet are still attached! As I write I am preparing the photos to add in a mammoth update.

Watch this space over the next few days...I haven't forgotten you! Life has just been insane.....

K

Long time....

Sorry I haven't kept this updated. Life has been manic recently to say the least, with moving, puppies, starting work....it goes on. I have no internet in my house right now and so internet time is limited. Hopefully I will get to update this at the weekend!

But I am alive still (though I did break my little toe yesterday!!)

Good plan Stan!

Well, today all seems to be quiet around the house. I stayed on my own in the house last night and survived - so all is well! I have tied up the bolts on the doors and put a padlock on the roof bars!

I have emailed Ken who wants me to set a trap for Franklin (who I think is taking the things). So next week I will enlist the help of Enoc, Kike and Adony and one - or more- of them will stay in the house and I will tell Franklin I'm going out for a few hours and could he look after the house! They will then just sit and wait for him. Finer details to be arranged! It is easier if we can catch him in the act. I will keep you informed. It really is all go here! Miss Marple eat your heart out - here comes Miss Katharine!

I have spent today with Enoc looking for furniture for my new house and generally just hanging out relaxing after my trauma last night! So life is as normal as it gets again!

I have been missing all my friends in England - and I guess this at least keeps my mind of it!!

Back to reality!

So maybe I haven’t beaten the jetlag - was up at 4am today and at 5am was sorting all my photos!! Hopefully I will get back to normal soon. So I pottered around the house this morning and then when the electricity went out I went into town. I started the car, put down the electric windows and then noticed a funny smell that was getting stronger....there was huge amounts of smoke coming from the electric window buttons on my door – right next to me!! So I quickly stopped the engine and opened the door and let it all cool down. I had to get to the mechanic so I got my fire extinguisher from the boot of my car and started driving with the extinguisher next to me!! At the bottom of the hill the car started smoking again and the car was smelling foul! I let it cool and in the meantime called Enoc to ask what I should do! I let it cool and then made it to school – where I was heading! I met up with Silvia and the other Elementary teachers, and it was lovely to see them again.

I finally headed to the mechanic who sorted out the wires for me – even changed the fuse so the dashboard lights would work again!! I went off to the shops...and the window wouldn’t open and the smell was back....so back to Tito the mechanic! All sorted now I hope!

I got back here to the Vissers house around 3pm and somebody has broken in AGAIN. This is the 4th time now. What is horrible is that it didn’t happen when Kike was staying here – only when it’s me here! Kike, Becky and Ana (my neighbours) are in Guatemala for a few days, but Josue is staying next door so I’m waiting for him to turn up! The weirdest part is all the door were locked – how did they get in? I locked the main front door (which I don’t use) and triple checked it – yet when I got back not all of the locks were done up (there are 3). Also, Amanda’s pencil case has been emptied all over the floor. All v random. It logistically doesn’t make sense! I am going to see if I can convince someone to stay here for a few days with me as I don’t fancy staying by myself right now!!

At least I know I have arrived back in Honduras!!!

Back in Honduras

Well, I'm back in Honduras again. After a crazy busy 3 weeks in England visiting friends and family I am back again and it feels like I have never been away - weird! My 17 hours of travelling wasn't too bad and Taca airways upgraded me to Business class without me having to ask. Again, I had the wheelchair service, but I was glad of it as my foot is fairly bad again. This time, as I had 2 hours to kill in Heathrow they gave me a push-yourself wheelchair so I could go around the shops! The Olympic GB team were at the airport too - but poor things had their flight delayed by about 5 hours!

Anyway, I made it safely and on time. Enoc met me at the airport in my car - my suitcases wouldn't have fit in his car. Thanks Enoc for getting up so early to meet me - I was v grateful!
I then made myself stay awake so I could go to bed at the normal time and hopefully beat the jetlag (which I think worked). I was invited next door to dinner with Becky, Josue, Ana and Kike in the evening, and by the end I was so tired I just couldn't speak. After 44 hours of being awake I finally fell into bed!!!

All is well here and nice to be back in the sunshine. Jezabel and Delilah (my puppies) have grown so much - they're huge!! Still cute though..and the puppy training has begun....!

That's it really for now. It was so lovely to see some of you in UK - and to know you are reading this!! Sorry to those I didn't get a chance to meet up with!

I'll keep this updated as much as I can.