Happy Hallo-weekend from Honduras!

A lot has happened here in the past three weeks. My mom and Aunt Laure visited, we tripped it to Valle de Angeles for the 3-day weekend, my students celebrated Halloween for the first time ever, we volunteers threw a bang-up Halloween bash and had a frightful time even though no Hondurans showed, I received 2 huge care packages from Mom (only took 7 weeks by Rapido Cargo... haha, if that's not a misnomer, what is?), we finished the first parcial of the school year...

In less fortunate events, one of our three new bikes was stolen right out of our front yard, my bathroom sink was out of commission for two weeks, I made my first visit to a Honduran doctor to cure a curious heat rash and skin reaction to bug bites, and the boys in my classes are getting squirrlier by the minute.

There will be more news on Mom and Laure's visit, as soon as Mom sends me her photos... we used her camera most of the weekend. I think their most memorable quote of the trip was, "I just don't know how to explain what it's like here... you'd just have to tell people to go there and see it for yourself." To which I replied, "Well, that's why I said. So that's why you're here."

So while most of you are back home gearing up for cold wintery nights of snow storms (or at least, occasional sleet and maybe an ice day, for those of you in Texas), sit by the fire and drink a cup o cocoa or glass of wine, and enjoy a few moments' view into Autumn, Honduras-style. It was a cool 75 and sunny today, and the sleigh bells are jinglin' at my favorite closest-place-you-can-get-to-the U.S.-in-Olancho... the grocery store, La Colonia. The kids think it's Christmas already, and you hardly blame them, poor things, living in a culture with no Halloween or Thanksgiving break to get them through to Christmas. Now if we only didn't have 6 weeks of school left til the next holiday....

Just 42 days to go. Not that I'm counting. I figure if Jesus could walk the desert for 40 days, all the while avoiding the temptation of the Devil and not even eating, for gosh sakes... then living and working in Juticalpa for 42 days-aided by the fanastically enormous care packages sent a la Mom- will be a piece o cake... or, more like, a couple packages of Twizzlers, fresh sheets (and a pillow case!), a pot with a real lid!, a non-melt spatula, 3 lbs of almonds, 60 granola bars, and a ton of other goody treats from home! I love my Mom!