July 5, 2013

This was actually supposed to be posted yesterday, but the wi-fi at my host family's house has mysteriously disappeared. :(

Happy Independence Day to all of you in or from the USA!  This has definitely been the most unique 4th of July I’ve ever experienced.  My gringo friends and I went to an open-air cafe and enjoyed some good company, food, and drink.  I’ve adjusted a little bit, and it’s not as overwhelming as it was at first.  My luggage arrived yesterday evening- phew!  The language barrier is still pretty trying, but I’m getting a little better each day.  Today, my teacher just kept giving me new vocabulary... for four hours.  My brain turned to mush I think.  I made her laugh when I tried to explain to her in broken Spanish and sign language that I was concerned that I had caused a power outage last night with my hairdryer.  She assured me that both power outages  and use of hair dryers occur frequently in this country and they are unrelated.  Oh well, live and learn, haha.  We took a little break in the middle of my classes and walked to a market to learn fruits and vegetables.  At the market, there was everything from athletic shoes to handwoven baskets to perfumes to avocados chaotically arranged in an open-air, 2-story building.  It was pretty amazing.

My School

Yesterday evening, my friend Tiffany and I hiked/took a mototaxi (3-wheeled taxi) up to Hacienda San Lucas, a hotel up in the mountains.  It was breathtaking.  The mountains are so beautiful here.  

Tonight I went to Mass at the local church.  I was the only gringa, and I understood very little, but it was awesome because I could follow right along as the Mass was structured just like Mass in Estados Unidos.  The beauty of the universal Church worldwide really struck me.

I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I’ve really started to enjoy life in Copan!  All of you in the US are constantly in my thoughts.  Wish I could ship each one of you here for a day so you could experience all of this for yourselves!