Friday, December 14, 2007
Home again!
Posted by KB at 03:45 PMAfter our trip to Nicaragua we had a weekend to spend with our families. Some people also visited Nueva Suyapa or Valle de Angeles as we knew it was our last chance to do so. Monday night we had our goodbye party with the professors- the students gave a gift to every professor and we all had a goodtime laughing and hanging out together. Then Tuesday night we had our final party with the families. We had had a few practice before then and ended up pulling of a prettty good perfomance. We played gringo loco- were we asked what students did what stupid things- and threw in a few skits as well as a of couple dances- “We’re all in this together” from High School Musical was a big hit! Wednesday morning our families saw us off at the airport and after tearful goodbyes, we were on our way home. We didn’t have any major problems in the airports and arrived home in Grand Rapids at 11:40 p.m. to a huge crowd of our friends and families! Thanks to everyone for a wonderful semester! What a fun time we’ve had learning and traveling together! 
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Nicaragua
Posted by KB at 06:40 PM The last few weeks have been a mix of emotions. Although we’ve been busy, we’ve had time to note our feelings of excitement to go back home but also surprise and sadness to know our time here is almost over. After our relaxing vacation in Roatan (most of us hung out at the beaches when it wasn’t raining and just enjoyed time together without schoolwork, some of us spent time with family) we had a busy last two weeks of classes. Lots of presentations, exams, and papers! But we fit a Thanksgiving dinner in there- we went to a really nice restaurant and actually had turkey and pumpkin pie. Then we had a weekend of exams; most of us only had two. And then Monday morning we left at 6:00 for our trip to Nicaragua.
We were in the bus until about 1:00- we even ate lunch on the bus. In the afternoon we went and saw the ruins of old León and in the evening we had supper at our hotel. Tuesday we had breakfast at the hotel and then left with our guide, Gorge, to tour León. The highlight of the tour was a beautiful church. 
We then left for Managua and the Centro Nehemía. (Although we spent a lot of time in the bus, we enjoyed watching movies together while we traveled.) At the Nehemiah center we received a tour of Managua: we saw some beautiful scenery and learned some of the history of Nicaragua.
Then we had another lecture over the history of Nicaragua and a presentation about the Nehemiah center. That evening we had supper with Calvin grades living in the area and heard about the Christian school there.
Wednesday the real adventure began as we went to the Volcano at Masaya.
We first saw the view from above and smelled the smoke rising from this active volcano but then had the opportunity to climb through a cave that the lava had formed. We even saw bats! 
We had a late lunch and then some free time to explore Granada. We were all thankful for free Internet at our hostel but also enjoyed visiting a church there and watching a sunset from the bell tower. 
After some pizza, we watched a movie and swam in the pool. Thursday we had a great breakfast and then left for the market in Mayasa. We had fun buying our last gifts but were all excited for the afternoon canopy tour! We had a great time zip lining over a coffee plantation and enjoyed free coffee afterwards. Then it was back in the bus until arriving at Vida Joven (or Young Life) camp in Matagalpa. 
We had supper and hung out that evening. Friday morning we heard about the Vida Joven program in Nicaragua and talked about some of the things we’ve learned during the semester. After lunch, we were on our way back and arrived in Tegucigalpa at about 7:00. Another fun trip and great time of bonding for the group!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
10/31/07 update
Posted by kb at 04:28 AMClasses, usual schedule, then a weekend trip for our development class. We first visited an organization called Pancam and learned a little general information about how they are working to develop Honduras and then, throughout Friday and Saturday, we visited several different households and small businesses or organizations that they helped start . We saw how creativity can be used to do development work: this organization helped people by loaning them money to buy pigs, helping them get a fish farm started, supporting a women’s group for women who have been abused, brought medicine to rural communities and helped teach people how to administer it, and are currently starting a butterfly farm to attract tourists and help the economy of another rural community. Besides these interesting interviews and visits, we had a good time being all together as a group, hiking our around the conference center where we stayed Friday night (beautiful waterfalls and viewing points and many people enjoyed just hiking the trails as they went for night hikes), eating cookies, and talking with Jo Ann. We got back Saturday night and therefore had a little time to scramble up all our ########### and make more preparations for vacation. After a short week of classes, we are all getting ready for our first day of vacation tomorrow. All of us are going to Roatan at some point, with the exception of Professor Miller, but some are meeting up with their families first or spending a few days in the Ceiba. All of us are ready for a time to relax and enjoy the beauty of Honduras!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
10/22/07 update
Posted by kb at 10:43 PMAfter our exciting time in Guatemala, this week seemed pretty ordinary. Classes, essays, and the rest of our usual routines. Some of us having been enjoying aerobic dance classes and others are working at clinics and doing other things with in the community such as Bible studies. Many people have had health problems (see prayer request) and there is some “how am I suppose to find time to do all of this homework” stress but other than that I think we are all feeling pretty comfortable here (we are beginning to think how weird it will be to go back to the states). This weekend many stayed home but 7 of us went to Lago Yajoa. Others had taken this same trip in the first few weeks, so many of us have experienced the cute hotel there, the blueberry pancakes, beautiful scenery, and row boats but what makes this a unforgettable weekend trip is the waterfall. It would be worth the trip to simply see this roughly 4-story building high waterfall but we didn’t just see it- we experienced it. After finding a guide, we climbed/ swam underneath the waterfall. Although we were constantly being sprayed with water and sometimes found it difficult to breath because there was so much water rushing down on us, it was amazing to see the waterfall up close as well as the caves and smaller waterfalls behind the big waterfall. What adventures we are having here!
Unfortunately we couldn’t get pictures of the falls because we didn’t have waterproof cameras but here is a picture of our hotel (the same hotel used by the other students a few weeks earlier.)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
10/17/07 - Guatemala
Posted by kb at 01:14 AMWow, so much has happened since I last wrote! A quick week of classes- lots of exams and then we left at around 5:20 Friday morning, Oct. 5, for our weeklong trip/vacation to Guatemala. Although we spend many hours in the bus, thankfully we had a good driver and quite a bit of luxury (we were able to watch some movies, and it was so nice to not have to use the crowed, hot, stop and go public transportation). Our first stop was the Chiquita farm where we saw bananas coming in from the fields, washed, and boxed.
(banannas being washed before packed into boxes)
Next we had lunch and piled back in the bus for the trip to Copan. Once we got there we did a little shopping and ate dinner.
(Ben and Aaron sharing a licuado) 
The next morning after another meal out to eat, (we ate really good during this trip) we made our way across the border 
and arrived in Chichicastenango around 5. Again we shopped and ate diner. –This sounds kind of boring so far but really we were having a good time getting to know each other, eating a really nice restaurants every meal, and walking around the cities each night.
Sunday the real cultural experience began as we went to church in Chichicastenango, a city with a large Mayan influence. The clothing in Guatemala was much more traditional and many of the people look much more native than the people in Honduras (shorter and darker skinned). Even if we hadn’t arrived late, we stood out, but in some respects this Catholic church was a place that we fit right in; when we read the Apostle’s Creed together I was clearly reminded of the fact that churches around the world together make up the body of Christ. After this beautiful picture of the Church, we felt the emotions of the “already but not yet” theology as we then saw first hand syncretism in the church. We went to Pascual Abaj (a Mayan ceremonial cite on the top of a small mountain) and learned about the Mayan religion and how many people in Chichicastenango practice both Catholicism and Mayan rituals.
We then had some free time for shopping- the whole town was basically one big market- and lunch. That afternoon, after a short bus ride, we arrived in Panajachel. Again we shopped and had dinner (this time on our own). Many of us had a good time dinning in small groups and there were many fun restaurants.
The next morning took a boat over to Manuel where we watched how material is made
and then to Ramón Sajbin where we saw the statue of Maximón, the saint of this city. 
Ramón Sajbin was especially interesting as we learned more about the syncretism of Mayan religion and Catholicism. Also, the boat ride to and from these towns was absolutely beautiful!
We again had the evening free to find supper and shop in our own and though we were a little bit hindered in our wanderings by a downpour and river in the street, we still had a good time visiting the shops and restaurants. That evening we met as a group to debrief some of what we saw and have devotions.
Tuesday, we arrived in Antigua in the morning and made our first stop at the “el cerro de la Cruz.”
After this we still had enough time to wander around and have lunch before our guided tour. In the tour we saw various ruins and learned some of the history of the area.
Although a few of us missed the last two cites because we were left behind at the Cathedral, the tour was still a fun way to see the most beautiful and important parts of the city. That evening we ate a really nice restaurant. Also, a large group of us got free salsa lessons at a local club.
Wednesday we spent a lot of time in the bus; we crossed back into Honduras and arrived in Copan in the afternoon. We did a little shopping, had dinner, and devotions/conversation in the evening. Again we found a place that offered free salsa classes and this time Eduardo joined us on the dance floor.
Thursday was a busy day; breakfast at a nice restaurant, tour of the Copan ruins, Macaw Park (including lunch), horse back riding, and dinner. Also so of us returned to the salsa club of the night before for 80’s and 90’s music- we had a fun time dancing to the Backstreet boys with people from more than 6 different countries and of a variety of ages.
Friday, we had breakfast and then traveled back to Tegus, stopping only for lunch and few potty breaks. We were back at our homes by 5:30 and had still had the weekend to do homework and relax.
