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The day after seeing the ruins in Copan, I was meant to go for a 3 hour hike in the nearby hills at 8am, but I was so exhausted, from the heat I imagine, that I didn't bother. The thing is that in Copan, there really is not a lot to do! I ended up just going to the internet when I finally woke up and having a good catch up with my long lost best friends!
That week, my third at the school, was a long one. The sun was absolutely scorching and I wasn't finding the school that much fun. Don't get me wrong, the kids are great and I've become pretty attached to quite a few of them now, but the lessons are 2 hours long with a half hour break in between, and it is just a bit boring! I work in the 2nd grade but the 4th grade share the same classroom. They are both great classes and there are some real characters in both. In the 2nd grade there is such a mix of abilities that it is really quite difficult to cater for them all. Some of the boys in the class are so intelligent and grasp every topic immediately, but then there are some who are only just above the level of the first grade. My favourite in the class is called Cristian, and he is absolutely hilarious. He came into school one day wearing cords and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar up and the top button undone, so Lauren (the other volunteer in the 2nd grade with me) and I started saying to each other "he's gonna be a ladies' man" and he was getting really frustrated because he didn't understand so we told him what it meant and he found it hilarious and got really embarassed. We proceeded to teach him in English how to say "I'm a ladies' man", which he now says all the time when we see him and it is soooo funny. There is also a girl in the class called Doris who is absolutely lovely and doesn't have a nasty bone in her body. I am going to miss them. In the 4th grade there is a lovely girl called Dilcia aswell who I absolutely adore, she comes and talks to me every day and said she isn't going to come to school anymore when I leave and that she would cry when I had to go. Also, there is a boy called Kevin who is a naughty little rascal in their lessons, but he is such a legend. He's a legend and we always hang out and have a laugh. That is just to name a few, there are loads of kids there who I will miss. I'm not nearly as attached to them as I was to my class in Guatemala, but they will be missed.
On the Friday we went to the "campo" to play football which was really fun, other than my flip flop breaking AGAIN on the walk up there. Luckily though the girls there, seeing my feeble attempt to mend it, are experts at having to mend their shoes over and over again as they don't have enough money to buy new ones, and they took it off me and using the tools of sticks and mud managed to mend it. Phew! I felt a bit stupid though that 7 year olds could fix my flip flop and I couldn't.
In the afternoon, when we normally teach 9th grade English, we did not, as they had a "tarde libre" or "free afternoon" meaning a sort of party thing, so we stayed there for a while and had a game of volleyball with the secondary school boys, it was really fun. That evening we went out for a few drinks and had a good night out. Lizzie, Lauren, Lisa and I were pretty merry and it was just a really enjoyable, hilarious evening! On the saturday morning, Lizzie, Lisa and I went to the macaw mountain bird park, and had a tour round seeing loads of parrots, guacamayas (the national bird of Honduras), tucans, owls and hawks. It was actually really interesting, and we got to hold some of them on our hands and shoulders and it was hilarious because they could all talk and the parrot on my shoulder was wolf whistling, we couldn't stop laughing. On the Sunday, Lisa and I decided to go and see the butterfly reserve. MASSIVE WASTE OF MY LIFE. It was a rip off, only reason I went was because it was already included in my trip. I think it was about $10 to enter or something, so I heard someone say at the desk, and all they did was show us a couple of lavae thingies, gave us a sheet with pictures of butterflies on it, and then let us wonder around this small enclosed tenty thing that had some butterflies in it. It was soooooooo boring, we stayed there the grand total of 20 minutes then decided to walk back to town which was about a half hour's walk, then go for a few cold beers to cool down and relax after the boredom of that place! There was a massive thunderstorm while we were at the bar so we had to stay there longer than planned as we didn't want to get drenched walking home. I have got used to the thunderstorms here now, and it actually comes as a massive relief when there is one as it cools it down so much, even if it usually means a power cut.
My last week is pretty sad, although I have to say I'm not distraught as I was in Guatemala when I had to leave. My plans have changed a bit now, I'm not sure that I'm going to go down to South America anymore, so it is likely that I will head back to Guatemala in the next couple of days (WOOP WOOP! would be the best) and maybe stay there a while, or maybe not, or talvez (maybe) I'll go and see my lovely family in California or my amazing brother in Canada.
So for now, I'll leave you all on that cliff hanger, and all will be revealed in my next blog!!!
Lots of love as ever,
Joelle
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