It’s been a few weeks since I last wrote and they have been quite eventful. To start, Jen and I took a little trip to the butterfly farm outside of town. It was a total bust! Yes, we did manage to see a few beautiful exotic butterflies, but the day was a disaster! We unfortunately were two unprepared city girls that day. In order to get to the museum, we needed to hike up a 3 kilometer path. What we forgot…bug spray, proper clothes, and proper shoes! It was horrible but hilarious at the same time. At one point we were both simultaneously swinging our bags back and forth on our shoulders trying to protect our backs, while scratching profusely with the other hand. After almost every drop of my blood had been painfully drained from my body and after passing through a mud pit, we finally got to the farm. It was closed and then it began to pour. We were still able to get inside one part of the museum and we even managed to get a few shots of some beautiful butterflies before the rain made it impossible. The rain got worse and we decided to head back down the path again in our flip flops and dresses. Despite the disaster, we managed to get home after a lot of laughs. We did absolutely nothing the rest of that day.



Two weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to Tela. It’s a really laid back beach city two hours west of here. The atmosphere was very chill and the beaches were beautiful. Although La Ceiba is also on the coast, the beaches are pretty nasty and unsafe. After Tela we made our way to Tornabe, a small Garifuna village. The Garifuna people are of both African and American indigenous origin living in the north coast of Honduras. There was a festival that weekend in Tornabe with many local bands and djs. It was my first punta experience. Punta is a traditional Garifuna dance...it’s a shuffle combined with a pretty intense booty shake. My dance partner and coach was probably about ten years old and could dance circles around me, but finally my big butt gave me a slight advantage. The whole weekend was an unforgettable experience. AND, we were even photographed for the local paper!

The public buses here are recycled school buses from the U.S. Jen and I even spotted one that said Jefferson County Schools on it. Who knows, maybe I rode on it 15 year ago.

Punta!

Although I was pretty sad to miss my actual graduation ceremony in Groningen two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have graduated from the Central American Spanish School. They had a ceremony and I even had to give a speech in Spanish. I thanked them for how much I had learned and most importantly that I am now ready to find my Honduran husband…just kidding!

Last weekend was quite the event at our house. Jennifer and another friend celebrated their birthdays. It was so cool to actually be with Jennifer this year on her birthday. The best part was the piñata really. It was a great time and a great party.

Jen´s second cake out of ten I think, but she got her faced smashed into this one.

Last week I also began teaching in a bilingual school. I´m with the first graders and although it is a bit chaotic at times, it´s very rewarding and fun. On Friday night we had a United Nations night at the school. My class represented the United States so I taught them how to line dance to Achy Breaky Heart. In other words I´m officially a hick, but it was hilarious. I´ll add some pics of that soon.

Hola from Honduras!

Where do I start?! I made it to sunny/rainy Honduras safely and so far coming here has been an excellent decision. Not only am I with my best friend again, but fresh fruit and vegetables are on every corner; I already overdosed on grilled corn with lime and salt. I’m surrounded by sounds and colors I’ve never experienced before and it’s thrilling. For once in my life I feel tall too which is pretty strange, especially after living in Holland for a year. Other differences include taxis hailing you, water in plastic bags, gorgeous mountains, men telling you they will love you forever multiple times a day, ginormous spiders, and reggaeton. I have also learned how multi-functional a machete really is; you can cut your grass with it and later on peel your fruit. I definitely plan to buy one before I leave. I even got stung by a jelly fish already which is a first. Although Honduras is very different than home, to say the least, there are some shocking similarities, for example, occasional wireless, cable television, occasional air-conditioning, Burger king, Baskin Robins, Popeyes, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Dominos. All in all, it’s pretty trippy here and I’m loving every minute of it.

Life with my best friend could not be better. After more than a year apart, we are back to our old ways. I had the chance to help Jen out with a Habitat for Humanity project. I worked with her and a group from North Carolina building a house for a local family. It was a pretty moving experience for all involved and I’m officially hooked. Intensive Spanish is also going really well. I have a private tutor who rocks named Leslie. Yesterday I found out who my English students will be...the police! In a little over a week I will begin teaching English to the police in La Ceiba. I will definitely have to write more about that when the time comes, but for now all I can say is that I’m pretty pumped.


Playa de Peru just outside of La Ceiba. This beach is also known as the place where I got stung by a jellyfish for the first time.

It´s cheaper to buy your water in bags here.

Jen´s co-workers and I. Note: riding in the back of pickup trucks is my new fav thing.

Three amazing little helpers standing before their new home.

Jen learning how to make the perfect tortilla.

Storm cloud over Roatan.

I´m buying one

Great view in the mountains outside of La Ceiba.

Summer Fun

I can safely say that is has been one of the best summers of my life. It started by graduating from grad school, a visit from my family in the Netherlands, a wonderful return home, and a great visit from Marieke and Vanda, two friends of mine from Holland. Yes, it's been great to be a recent graduate with no stress and in no rush to get a job. Although I'm excited to start working, I'm taking advantage of a great opportunity to visit my best friend Jennifer in Honduras. Jennifer has been a Peace Corps volunteer in La Ceiba for over a year. Finally I will get to see her in just a few short days. I will volunteer as an English teacher and I also enrolled in an intensive Spanish program. After living such a comfortable life in the Netherlands I just wanted to do something tangibly useful for others for a while. On the selfish side, I just want to see my best friend too and the life she has now. It's perfect!

So to do a little catch-up before I start a new adventure, I included some great moments over the past few months.

Fellow American and friend Nicole after preparing the perfect 4th of July feast. Although it's outrageously expensive in Holland, you have to have corn for the 4th.

Fireworks are illegal in Holland, but they never said sparklers. Hans getting a little wild on the 4th.

My mom and sister came to visit me in the Netherlands. They really saw it all. From Groningen, to island life in Terschelling, as well Amsterdam.

At about 5am, this wall of food would be packed with drunken students. My sister and mom had the opportunity to try a Groningen Egg Ball. Yummy?

Mom and Stacie on the never-ending hike to the beach on the island of Terschelling.

Yes, they really saw many sides of Holland, from the beaches...

...to the Red Light District...

...and A LOT of biking.

Unfortunately coming home meant a lot of goodbyes:) Although I felt ready to come home when the time came, I never felt ready to say goodbye to all the great people I met this past year.

Anniversary love birds I'm going to miss.

Home sweet home.

Stacie and I enjoying sushi my first weekend home.

She finally got her kitty.

Dr. Evil

Rockin' graduation/birthday party!

Shortly after my return, Marieke and Vanda came to visit. It was perfect. Not only did I get to show them my home, but I got to enjoy home with them. Their reactions were priceless. The pic above is of Marieke and Vanda on the 'Fort.'

One place I missed a lot.

You can't come to Wisconsin without riding a four-wheeler.

Vanda and I enjoying some music at Jazz in the Park.

We even made it to a Twins Game.

Marieke and Vanda in very good hands.

KLAAR!

For those of you who don't know freaky deaky Dutch, 'klaar' means done. I'm officially done with my MA! Hurray! Some people experience a post-graduation dip, but to be honest, I feel euphoric! Life could not be any better really. I finished my thesis not too long ago and just received the grade; I'm happy to say it was exactly what I was hoping for! It was great news and a great feeling after four months of hard work. It's still hard to believe that it's over though.

The day after I handed in my thesis, I headed to Hamburg to visit my adopted family from Berlin - Ines, Volker, and Anton. The timing was perfect. I didn't think I would be able to go, but I finished my thesis earlier than expected. It all worked out great. I stayed there with them and Volker's parents. It was possibly one of the most relaxing weekends ever spent, and they completely spoiled me the whole time. Hamburg left quite an impression on me. The old harbor was fascinating as well as the diversity of the city. You can find everything there from posh to sex shops. The best part was watching the ships pass at the harbor on the sandy beach with Ines and Volker. I finally had the feeling that summer officially started.

Could they get any cuter?

Actually maybe if I mention that they're officially getting married in one month!

Could he be any more German?

Old harbor of Hamburg. Tea and oriental rugs are stored there.

Herbert and Anton playing board games on a sunny afternoon.

While I was in Hamburg last Sunday night, Germany played against Spain in the finals for the European Soccer Championships. It was really cool to be in Germany for that game but unfortunately the boys didn't pull through. It was clear though that Spain was the better team. I had some major flashbacks of Berlin during the World Cup. The atmosphere during tournaments is crazy! And, I would safely say that the Dutch have the craziest fans! Orange everywhere! They won all three of their first matches and everyone was in such a good mood. But then, they sadly lost to Russia. The mourning stage is officially over now for the Dutch but let's just say I'm glad I was at a Germany party the night they lost rather than a Dutch one.

Out of control Dutch fan

Huh?

Almost done!!!!

Since Berlin I've been glued to my thesis. Although it hasn't been nine months, I still feel like it's my baby. In fact, it has been quite the process and like pregnancy, involved many mood swings, cravings, and fatigue. Believe it or not, I've really enjoyed the process! I had a personal puzzle for four months. In case you are curious and don't know already, I'm writing about sex differences in foreign language comprehension performance and how it relates to subject familiarity, text content, and reading processing styles. If you even finished that last sentence and actually want a copy, please let me know. I collected data at a local school here which was a really fun experience as well. It was refreshing to be back in a high school full of confused teeny-boppers. The results from the experiment were so strange and unexpected that I had the pleasure of returning a second time to discuss the results with the participants. The unexpected results really gave me something interesting to write about. I'm pretty pleased with the finished product, although a few finishing touches are still to be made. Within a week I will be completely finished with my degree!!!

Last week my program had a symposium to present and defend our theses. I was pretty nervous but it went better than I could have imagined. I got lots of encouraging feedback and simply enjoyed telling everyone what I have been working on for the last four months. After the symposium we went to my adviser's home for a farewell party. I have to admit that I became slightly nostalgic. This year has been one of the best experiences of my life. Not only have I received a great education and quite the adventure, but I also got to experience some amazing people along the way. It's strange to say goodbyes and question whether you will see these people again in life. It's a pretty international group though so I have a feeling some of our paths will cross again which is refreshing. The celebration lasted well into the evening hours. It was the perfect end to a great year with a great group of people.


Joyce and I hiding our nerves before the big presentations

Gathering afterwards at my adviser's beautiful home

A few girls I am going to miss

Nienke and I after some yummy pizza

Marijn and I dancing the night away

No, actually Paul danced the night away