Normal Is Interesting

I was productive today. And by productive, I mean I didn't spend all 8 hours before class on my computer "doing research" on the Internet. I slept in until almost 7:30 and attempted to do some strength training with my exercise band. My body screamed, "Noooooo!" and so I complied. Rest day!

I read some of "The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo" (so good!) and started lesson planning, which took all of 10 minutes since I'm doing the same thing I did in yesterday's class. I also got a head start (by 2 days) on my monthly assessment and goals. And to completely bore you with the mundane details of my day: For breakfast I had a leftover, homemade vegetarian empanada from last night. You heard correctly, I made empanadas last night - dough, filling, the works. (Beats Ants on a Raft.) Aside from the three that I burned, they turned out surprisingly well. I think I'm giving my sister, the touted family chef, a run for her money. Amy 1, Honduras 0.

Here's the recipe:

Dough: 3 c flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 c warm water

1/2 c vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together, knead, and let sit for 15 minutes. Break into twelve pieces and roll out to hand-sized circles.

Filling: 2 c cooked rice

2 small diced tomatoes

1 diced green pepper

1 small diced onion

Combine ingredients and cook until tender. Season to taste. (We used a chili powder and hot sauce.) Once cooked, place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a dough circle, fold in half, and squish (seal) the edges together. Fry on the stove in a little oil over medium heat and serve with even more hot sauce! My mouth is watering already.

Back to my responsibilities. The assessment I'm doing is all in Spanish and has turned out to be a helpful exercise. I decided that starting August 1, I am going to beg and plead with Karolina and Sandra to not speak English unless absolutely necessary (e.g. "Oh my god, my pants are on fire, there's a man-eating tarantula in my room, and we've run out of toilet paper!"). In addition to my self-enforced immersion, I am also crawling through 501 Spanish Verbs, which couldn't be more boring. I wonder if, at any point, I will choose to read that over Texts From Last Night. I'll let you know.

No thanks to Scully (happy belated!), I managed to entertain a rowdy class of 15 year olds boys. How to you ask? (That question does NOT warrant a perverted response.) We played a version of musical chairs where I offered a description (e.g. I ate dinner last night) and those that fit the description needed to stand up and switch chairs. After a little bit, I kept removing chairs until there was one student remaining. Success! Here is one of my students, Alejandro. (Alejandro, Alejando. Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro says Lady Gaga.) I told him to pose like a soccer star. I don't know why they listen to me, but thank god they do! Amy 2, Honduras 0.

Before bed last night, I streamed The Bachelorette: The Bachelors Tell All. Great decision! High five to Casey for taking his ridiculosity (not a word) to yet another, self-humiliating level. No matter how you may defend yourselves, men are just as caddy as women. So fratastic and judgy. One last profound observation: I didn't learn anything new. The episode is pointless. The show is pointless. What better reason to love it?

Neil told me that "normal" things for me would be interesting for you (weirdos!), so below are photos of an activity that one of the volunteers is doing this week. Fabrizio (the Italian guy with the mohawk pictured below) is working with the students to paint signs for the Sendero trail. The signs will mark native Honduran trees and plants for tourists traveling through.

Tonight, the plan is to learn a new verb (unlikely), paint my toenails, and get to bed early so I'm rested for yoga. I'm currently hiding in my bedroom hoping that when I emerge, dinner will have magically appeared on the table. Chances are slim to none, but a lazy girl can dream!

A correction for Shannon: "Ants on a Log" is made of raisins (ants), celery (log), and peanut butter (the delicious glue that holds it all together). No, I didn't not eat actual ants off an actual log, although I did eat termites the other day... Sad to say I am not (yet) that badass! Amy 2, Honduras 0, Shannon 1.

As I explained to Shannon and will now explain to you, I am living each day for a good story to blog about. Slightly pathetic but what better motivation is there? Amy 2, Honduras 0, Shannon 1, Blog 1.

Mosquito Bites: 0! Yay Amy!

Final Score: Amy 2, Honduras 0, Shannon 1, Blog 1.