About the Holy Family Bilingual School

I thought you might like to see a little more of the Our Little Roses compound. Here's a photo of the front gate. As you can see there are two signs - Holy Family Bilingual School (preschool thru 8th Grade) and Our Little Roses Home - Ministerios Nuestras Pequenas Rosas.

The Bilingual School is pictured here. This building houses the School, the OLR Administration offices, the apartment and guest suites (which can accomodate large groups of people), the Spanish Language Program's classroom (where I spend 4 hours a day) and the group dining room & kitchen (for service groups like the Palm Beach, FL group).

In the center of the Bilingual School building is an open area which seems to be used for recess. The bedroom of the apartment where I am staying has a sliding glass door to the balcony above this open area and the noise carries - of course, the noise is screaming and laughing and yelling!! In addition to this indoor area, there is a large outdoor playground area. That is where the Grand Party was held and where the nightly movies were shown.

The students for the Bilingual School begin to arrive around 6:40AM. Usually I'm up and showered by then! It seems that school starts for some at 7AM and for others at 8AM and ends between 1PM and 3PM. Maybe they provide before & after school care.

The School is very well regarded and provides income for Our Little Roses Home. Some of the girls at the Home attend the bilingual school.

3 Days Off

Well, I discovered that 3 days off was not the best thing for retaining Spanish! I enjoyed the 3-day weekend and want to thank the nice people from Bethesda by the Sea for a great time!

Now I am back at work studying and learning more Spanish. I spent most of the afternoon and evening yesterday refreshing my memory of vocabulary and memorizing various irregular verbs. Just when I think I have them they slip my mind! I even did extra homework so that more would stick!

Today we spent most of the class on "to be" and when you use "ser" or "estar". Lots of homework tonight, too! My teacher tells me my pronounciation is good and that I am doing well. So that's good. I also have been having more conversations with the women on campus in Spanish. I am making progress. Still, I wonder if I were 20 years younger would this be so challenging?

Spanish aside, here is a photo (on the left) of one of the two puppies that live at OLR. Next to him is a photo of my dog, Potter, when he was a puppy 6 years ago.

Do you think they look alike?

A Grand Party

The folks from Bethesda by the Sea in Palm Beach, FL hosted a grand party last night in the large pavillion which they had beautifully decorated with balloon, flowers and colorful paper chains. The girls thanked the group by sharing several of their gifts including a beautiful wooden cross made here by one of the girls, a poem, songs and dances. The funniest part of the night was when the girls taught the group a new dance - something like the chicken dance in the states; however, this one had more moves, like wiggle your bottom! See photo.









After dinner, which was delicious and included meat (chicken and beef) and a half of an avocado and limes, it was time for the pinata!! Rick, the leader of the PB group, certainly got a workout pulling the rope up and down while the girls took turns swinging at the pinata. It was fun to watch from the sidelines. The girls whose birthdays are in January received presents and everyone sang "Happy Birthday." There were many pictures, smiles and a few tears.

The Episcopal Cathedral in San Pedro Sula

Today everyone went to church at The Episcopal Cathedral. Our Little Roses girls, staff and volunteers made up 1/3 of the congregation. The celebrant was the Dean of the Cathedral, Muy Revda. P. Rosa Angelica Gamez and the preacher was LP. Jackeline de Ruiz. On the front of the bulletin is a picture of the Holy Spirit as a dove descending on Jesus as he walks out of the water having just been baptised by John the Baptist. The caption reads "He aqui el Cordero de Dios, que quita el pecado del mundo." "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

During the service we renewed our Baptismal Covenant and prayers were said for a baby as he was named - Oscar. I understood maybe 1/2 of what was being said during the service, and was able to follow along in the bulletin and prayer book. The Dean made a very long announcement that included information about their annual meeting in four weeks and the important activities going on in the Communion. She encouraged everyone to become involved, to see, to hear and to work.

Here are some photos of the church and of Oscar with Belkis and some of the girls.

El Mercado

The Palm Beach group invited me to join them on their excursion to the Mercado. There were two shopping areas on opposite sides of the road. We were warned not to cross the street without the OLR guard. He's pictured standing in front of the artisan market.

I saw many beautiful Honduran crafts: pottery, wood carvings, weavings, etc. Most of the vendors spoke English, or they had their calculators at the ready to convert lempiras to dollars. Several would lower their prices if you were the least bit hesitant to buy. I'm not really a shopper, but I found and bought some great things!

About Pulhapanzak Falls

Pulhapanzak Falls is a magnificent 43m (approx. 140 feet) waterfall on the Rio Amapa surrounded by a lush and well-kept park. This is a popular swimming spot, and there are also guides who will take visitors to a small cave behind the falls. A few of the older girls went to the cave with the leader of the Palm Beach group. They got soaked!!

The park has a snack bar that serves sodas, beer and snacks. I did enjoy a cerveza - beer after zip-lining!

Here are the girls, Nicole and Jackie (they are sisters), who sat with/on me during the bus ride. They took each others' pictures with my camera while we rode to the Falls. Jackie liked my sunglasses!! Nicole was also my hair stylist at the movie.

Pulhapanzak Falls

What a great day for a field trip! I was ready at 8:50 AM, as I was told to be, and we finally left OLR at 9:20AM. A two hour, mostly bumpy and uphill ride in a school bus with at least two, more often three, little girls climbing, sitting and sleeping on me! We arrived at the Falls and soon the girls were getting wet, collecting shells and swimming up river.

I decided to take a look at the Falls. This nice gentleman took my picture.
Did you notice the wire behind my head and in the photo of the Falls? It is for something called zip-lining! I didn't notice the wire until Allison from the Palm Beach group was looking for someone to join her for her second trip zip-lining across the Falls! I know, I can't believe it myself....the locals would say "I've gone loco!" but zip-line I did and I have the video (albeit sideways) to prove it!!! It was a blast, and I got a great view of the Falls and the river below. Enjoy!