Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

First, let me explain the title. I never really gave the name of this play a second thought (nor have I seen it), but I have firsthand experience of it now. I was awoken at around 5 o'clock this morning to a sound that can only be compared to "a cat on a hot tin roof." The roof of my dwelling is made of aluminum, and there is nothing beneath it. A few energetic pajarones (birds) decided they wanted to dance around searching for breakfast and chose my roof as their location. Sharp claws on metal was certainly a better alarm clock than my phone because there was no snooze button!

Anyway, after a refreshingly cold shower and some Corn Flakes, I left for my first Spanish lesson. Five of us (two other students and two teachers) crammed into a small taxi for a crazy ride to the Central American Spanish School. The ride was complete with being passed by a rather brave boy on a caballo (horse), a general disregard for lanes, and a security checkpoint where the taxi driver finally decided to wear his seatbelt. However, because there is a lot of traffic and no fast highways like we have in the US, it actually seems pretty safe. 

We arrived at the Spanish school, which is an abandoned hotel that Rafael and his brother are working on. It is a beautiful building with several private rooms, a small waterfall, and an amazing view of the ocean. (See pictures below). I have a one-on-one teacher who is working with me to improve my Spanish reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. I seem to be doing much better with the reading and writing than with the listening and speaking so far! My maestro (teacher) is Melissa, and she is very kind and patient. I had just under 4 hours of instruction with a nice long break in the middle.  There was coffee and melon provided for us - both very good!  The other two students are a couple who recently moved to Tegucigalpa from Kansas to open a school. They are taking classes around the country this summer in hopes of improving their own language skills. 

I returned home for lunch to find out that the teachers at the school I'm supposed to volunteer at are on strike because they aren't getting paid - at least that's what I understood from Rafael. He is working on finding another school for me this week until the other one resumes. Needless to say, I had the afternoon off, so I took a relaxing nap and then a walk around the neighborhood. There is a Dunkin' Donuts nearby as well as a Burger King. The bank was closed so I still haven't gotten a chance to exchange more money, but I can use my credit card most places. After another delicious meal with a hot drink called "pinol" - which is made from corn and has cocoa in it (tastes like chocolate soup), I shared the photos and postcards I brought with Fania (my host mother's daughter). She loved looking at pictures of my family, friends, school, and town. She had lots of questions, and we spoke a mix of Spanish and English. The goal is to only speak Spanish by next week! Fania is a high school teacher in a nearby town and is on vacation this week. She and her mother are both very kind and hospitable. 

Almost forgot... I had several pages of tarea (homework) to do tonight to practice my Spanish. I spent an hour or so on it during a torrential downpour we had today (which by the way is extremely loud under a tin roof). I'm secretly hoping it rains a bit each day because it cools things down a bit and I don't feel like I'm missing out on any great weather!

I will leave you all with a Spanish phrase I learned today: buen provecho!

which is equivalent to the French "Bon apetit!" I think we need a better English phrase than "enjoy your meal."

One of two critters I found exploring my room (the other was a gecko).