Agua Caliente

In celebration of our Director's birthday this coming week we all took a trip to the hot springs this weekend. It was a lot of the foreign staff along with one of the Hondurans, Ffarah (with her husband, uncle, and daughter). It's about an hour drive out to Agua Caliente from Copan on a dirt road and of course the best way to get there is in the back of a pick-up. So we all loaded up into two pick-ups and headed out there for the afternoon. It was sunny as we left Copan but on the road out there it started raining! It was cloudy almost the whole time at the hot spring, luckily the water is, well...hot.
There is a little statue of sorts that the waters comes out of (I'm not sure this is allowed...) and so we climbed up to the top of it to start jumping into the pool. Nelson (Ffarah's husband) did a back flip off of it and all I could muster to compete with that was a cannon ball. So he started to teach me by starting on the side of the pool and jumping backwards. A perfect back flop to start! Now with a red back I tried it again and landed upside down on my head...I had to practice it like 10 times but I finally did a back flip from the side of the pool. With enough confidence mustered up I climbed up on top of this statue about 6 feet tall and did a back flip! Woo! So next time you see me at a swimming pool and you want to see a back flip...just go ahead and ask.:)

Happiness in Seattle

At last my view of baseball in Seattle is repaired. For nine years I have suffered without my favorite player of all time in Seattle...I've been checking every time I get online to see if Junior has signed with anybody yet. Then I see the title I've been waiting for in an e-mail from my parents, "Griffey's back." My heart goes soaring through my chest and suddenly it seems like the last day of school before the summer. This is proof that not all baseball players are complete idiots...that there are still a few decent players in the game. Ok, he's just returning to Seattle for a last tour of his home-team and not curing cancer or anything, but for a person who likes the Seattle Mariners because of one player, this is like life coming full circle. From seeing Griffey Sr. and Jr. hit back-to-back home runs, watching Griffey slide into home beating the freaking Yankees in '95, and watching the entire infield stand between first and second I'll never grow tired of my Griffey memories. So here's to one of the few players with class in the game...who's stayed clean through all the steroid accusations...who inspired me to enjoy playing center field...and who made me proud to bat left-handed.:)

What's wrong with Catholicism?

I had another conversation today that drove me crazy about religion. I was at a medical brigade coordinated by Evangelical churches around here when I got into a conversation with a lady who was in line. She asked me if I went to La Iglesia Renovacion and I said no...she asked which one I went to and I said the Catholic Church. I got the usual treatment from people in this area...she asked me if my parents were both Christian and I said that my dad was actually a pastor, and my mom also is one...her next sentence made me want to punch her in the face! She proceeded to say, "Oh, so you're the only one in your family who doesn't love Jesus?" What am I supposed to say to that one? "Oh, you're right, that guy drives me crazy! Who did he think he was anyway?!" Or do I begin a circular conversation in which I say that I am Christian and do love Jesus (but because she is pre-dispositioned to my Hell-bound living as a "Catholic" she won't change her stance). So I just answered her with, "algo asi (something like that)." The rest of the conversation was short, awkward, and I left shortly there-after.
Now tell me something, is there something that I'm missing? I've grown up believing that the stance of one's Christianity is ultimately up to the individual and God...and we can't judge each other...especially when we just meet. There are of course standards to Christianity such as the early Church Creeds and Biblical standards...but that would be too much to think about for this lady, right?
Now I won't make this whole thing saying how great Catholicism is, of course there are problems that I have with the Church. What church have I ever gone to other than Bedside Baptist that I didn't have at least a small disagreement with? I'm still not too high on this whole asking Saints and the Virgin Mary to intercede for us, but I'm a big fan of the tradition and other things in the church. I don't say that I'm Catholic, but I do go to that church. No church is perfect, but what is the point? Do we go to church for the community? The preaching? The church creed? Personally I'd have to say that the point of church is to form a community of support for spiritual growth and encouragement. The church is a group of Christians that can have a shared experienced worshiping God...does God care if I worship Him in a Catholic, Baptist, Quaker, Reformed, Lutheran, etc. church? I submit that he does not!:) Disagree if you must...but please don't beat me down for it.:)

The Joys of First Grade

I was reading a book to the first graders the other day when I had to use all of my willpower to not just completely bust a gut laughing, yet at the same time cry my eyes out (not from laughing). We're reading a book about this duck on a farm that has to do all the work while the farmer just sits in bed eating candy, reading the newspaper, and growing fatter every day. When we read that part and showed the picture one of the first graders jumps up and points to the picture, "Mi papi es asi!" (My dad is just like that!). Of course Diana (who I work with in the library) is just sitting behind all the kids chuckling to herself...I was stuck in front of all of them trying to keep reading while trying to give the kid this look like, "it's not appropriate to say things like that inside the library."
That was about a week ago, then just yesterday the same class was in the library and I was reading a book called "Abuela" about a grandma who takes her granddaughter to the park. From the park they start to fly and they fly all over the city. At the start I ask the kids, "Do you have any grandmas?" The kids all start shouting and yelling, "Yo tengo uno! (I have one!)" or "Yo tengo dos! (I have two!)" or "Yo tambien! (me too!)"...and then the same kid pipes right up, "Yo tengo doce! (I have twelve!)" I tell you, this kid cracks me up....when we get done reading the story he kicks another kid in the class so I pull him aside to talk with him. I tell him that here at school we don't hit other people, we have to use our words. If somebody is bothering you move away from them, etc...but here at school we never hit anybody. his immediate response was, "Y si estoy lejos de aqui? (and if I'm far away from here?)" Good question I suppose....I told him that even there it was not nice to hit people, but he should talk to his parents about their rules at home. Speaking of children who could be their own blog with their crazy stories and actions....this first grader might be top of the list!:)

Enjoying the Shrink

Last week I had yet another privilege of working on a medical brigade. This one was a little bit different as they brought quite a few of their own translators. Also, there was a psychiatrist that didn't always want a middle schooler being the interpreter, so I got to work with him quite a bit. We got to talk with a lot of different people and cases and I realized for the first time....Copan really needs a psychiatrist!:) I thought that it was fascinating to work with somebody who knew a lot about interacting with people and getting them to open up and talk. It blew me away that this guy from the US was down here getting people to talk for a half hour or an hour about their various problems. I thought that being a psychiatrist would be a fun job....but I imagine that takes a special person to be able to do that. I know I know, we're all special...but I think I'm special for other things, not a psych.:)
I feel like I could start a whole separate blog to be about medical brigades. And guess what I was advised is coming next week and I need to go to at least one day to help out...a medical brigade!:)