And Now I Feel Complete.

My heart has been so happy since arriving in Honduras. I hear more Spanish than I know what to do with, my students call me "Mees", the food is good for your soul, the people (Honduran and North American) are so friendly, and I get to see Miss Vilma every single week. It'd be enough for me to just see her, but I actually get to hug her and talk to her and just be with her.

 

Her TENTH birthday was on Monday. TEN. She was five when I saw her last and now she is double digits. She's just as precious and as wonderful as she is when I left her four years ago. Sindy, Yessenia, Lorena, and I went to the grocery store on Tuesday to buy her some cupcakes and to buy fod to cook dinner for Bible study. We grabbed a taxi up to the pastor's house and my chef skills were put to the test. (Let's just say that I still have a lot to learn.)

 

While cooking dinner, the pastor's wife and I stood on the balcony and shouted down to Vilma's house. She was doing so much better this week than last week. I mean, anything would have been an improvement, but she was actually walking around and smiling and talking. We told her that we would be down after cooking, so to stay around the house.

 

I was mentally rushing these people to cook faster. Did I say that I was cooking? I was mostly just offering moral support. After what seemed like ages, our spaghetti was done cooking and we made the walk down to Vilma's house. I was smiling the ENTIRE time. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that just the idea of seeing her again puts the hugest smile on my face.

 

We got to her house and lit the candles on her cupcakes. Lorena, Sindy, and Yessenia were shouting at her to come out of the house, her mom was shouting at her to get out of the house. I was mentally telling her to get outside because I didn't actually know how to say that in Spanish. Come on, sunshine, your house isn't that big. You can hear us shouting, you know I'm here, let's move it.

 

And then she came outside.
 

She had changed into her nicest dress to show us for her birthday. She had been washing her face and doing her hair. I took back everything I had mentally scolded her for. We sang to her and she blew out her candles. She and I never broke eye contact. Our expressions mirrored each other's-- smiles that covered our whole faces while never breaking eye contact.

 

 

As soon as we were done singing, she ran into my arms. We hugged for such a long time, but it wasn't long enough. She told me that she loves me and then we had a brief conversation where both of us teared up from sheer happiness.  She ran into her house and brought out a framed picture off of her entertainment center-- a picture of her and I with Traci from the last time I was in Honduras. I couldn't wipe the silly smile off of my face.
 



Sorry for being so sweaty.


Our communication is hindered due to the language barrier and the fact that I absolutely freeze when I have to use Spanish, but we don't really need to talk too much. Just being together is enough. She and I both know that. She and I both accept that.

 

Happy Birthday, beautiful. I'm so blessed to have spent this wonderful milestone with you.

The Reunion Of A Lifetime.

Drumroll, please.

If there is one moment in my life that I have thought about and dreamt about for many years, this moment would be it. The moment that I would see sweet Vilma again.

It seems silly. Having your life drastically altered by someone you only knew for five days. Especially when that person was only four years old at the time. But it was. I thought about her every single day. That little girl impacted my life more in five days than some people have done in years.
And I finally got to see her again.

I tried not to get my hopes up when thinking about our reunion. (And yes, she was a big part of why I came down to Siguatepeque.) If I dreamt big and the reunion didn't live up to my standards, I would be devastated. I spent a long time trying to convince myself that she wouldn't remember me or that she wouldn't want to see me.

I was wrong, of course. She did remember me. And she did want to see me. But the reunion was nothing like I had imagined it.

I was riding in the back of the pastor's car, slowly beginning to recognize my surroundings as I realized that we were approaching her house. I turned around in my seat and I saw her sitting on her front step with her mom. I had to choke back tears. I would recognize her anywhere and it made me so happy to just see her. We got up to the pastor's house and Lorena, Yessenia, and I walked down to Vilma's house. I was SO nervous. I had butterflies, I wanted to cry, I almost vomited, I couldn't stop smiling. I was a trainwreck.

We got to her house and saw that she was holding her head in her hands with blood on her shirt. It was a terribly inappropriate time to not be able to stop smiling, but I was just so happy to see her. As it turns out, someone had thrown a rock at her and it cut her head, hence the blood and tears. It took her a few seconds to recognize me, but as soon as she did, she had the biggest smile on her face. As big as it can be when you are crying in pain, I suppose. Lorena asked if she remembered me and she smiled and nodded. I just kept smiling at her-- THAT happy.

Her mom was tending to her wounds and not really paying attention to us standing there. She finally looked up, stared at me, and her hand flew to her chest. She kept saying "Ay Dios Mio, ay Dios Mio." She said that she was shocked to see me and couldn't stop smiling when I said that I was going to be here for a whole year. A neighbor lady was at the house and said something about "the girl from the picture". Vilma's mom said that she looks at our pictures every day and talks about me all the time. She and I could not stop smiling at each other.

When we were getting ready to go back up to the pastor's house, Vilma stood up and hugged and kissed me despite all of her tears. She told me that she loved me and I told her that I would see her again soon.

It was so far from the reunion that I had imagined I would have with her. I actually couldn't have imagined this being the reunion that she and I would have with each other. But somehow, it was just what my heart needed. I felt so happy after seeing her. I remembered why she means so much to me. I cannot put into words what it means to me that I am able to see her every week for the next year.

Bienvenidos a Comunidad Educativa Evangelica!

Wow, this week has been such a whirlwind of people and emotions. We've had training/ orientation each day along with time to work in our classrooms and it's been a little overwhelming. It's been awesome, but it's a lot. It's crazy to think that less than a week ago I was hanging out in Ohio and here I am now setting up a classroom in HONDURAS.

I've met so many new and wonderful people this past week. I think that our team of English teachers is incredible and so enthusiastic-- if the rest of the year is anything like this past week, it's going to be nothing short of amazing. Not only have I met a lot of Americans, but I have met (or reunited with) many Hondurans. I'm so excited for the opportunity to immerse myself into another culture and to build relationships with all of these people.

My Spanish skills are not where I left them and I am slightly disappointed by this. I felt confident in my abilities while I was in the States, but actually having to use them is a completely different story. Thankfully, I have many people to practice with while I am here. Many patient people.

Not only have things been rockin' and rollin' here at the school and in my classroom (which has had to get worse before it could get better), I've also been able to meet up with some of the girls I had met when I was down here in 2008. Sindy and Yessenia picked me up at my house on Tuesday and we went downtown for ice cream at Kobs. Sindy pointed out the hotel that we stayed at when I was here before, so I finally recognized something. We walked to the church where the pastor picked us up for Bible Study. Oh my gosh, the house looks so different now than it did when I was here before! It has a second story. And walls and a roof and a real bathroom. My jaw dropped when I saw it.

Coming down here to has been a major adjustment as well as a huge adventure. There are a lot of things that are different as well as a little bit scary, but I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that there will be difficult days and times ahead, but I also know that the good times will outweigh the bad. What an adventure it's about to be.

Getting Settled.

I made it to Honduras and am having a great time so far. We toured Siguatepeque a little bit yesterday and I recognized the plaza and the parque. Other than that, nothing looked even remotely familiar to me. Clearly I need to work on paying more attention to my surroundings.

The school is wonderful, I really love how it's set up. My classroom is about 15 giant steps away from my front porch. So there's really no excuse to be late.

We start orientation tomorrow. I think that's when things really start to pick up, but oh my gosh, I am so excited for it!

Adios, Ohio. Hello, Honduras.

Well today is the day! The day that I leave my comfy little town of Chardon, Ohio to embark on my newest adventure to Honduras. I cannot believe all of the different emotions that I am experiencing right now-- nervous, excited, scared, anxious, elated.

I cannot WAIT to see my friends and my dear, sweet Vilma again, but goodness gracious, am I actually old enough to be a teacher!?!

Besos, Ohio.  I can't wait to see you and all your wonderful people again in December.

Meet Your Teacher: Miss Casavecchia

Throughout the past school year and summer, I have acquired many different ideas for things that I just had to have in my classroom. Thanks a lot, Pinterest. One of these things that I absolutely couldn't live without was a "Meet Your Teacher" book. I got the idea from a first year teacher who had posted on Pinterest, but then tailored it to fit my needs and personality. I highlighted each of my years in elementary school, then briefly talked about middle school, high school, and college. The last couple pages are pictures of my family, my travels, my favorite things, and some books that I just adore. I haven't exactly decided what to do with it yet, but I'm toying with the idea of reading it on the first day of school and then doing some get to know you activity. We'll see.

And there you have it. Mees Casa summed up in a three ring big book.

One Week.

One week from today I will be getting settled in Siguatepeque. I have no idea what my calendar includes for my first couples of hours/ days/ weeks there, but I'm excited to find out. I've been chit-chatting with some of the friends I made when I was down there in 2008 and cannot believe that I will actually be seeing them again. Not only will I be seeing them again, I will be with them for an entire year. I am blessed, so blessed.

Throughout the summer I've created a long list of things that I need to do/ buy/ pack before leaving. I've had all summer to do it, yet I'm just now making a dent in that list. This includes saying good-bye to people which is not, nor has it ever been, one of my strong points.

I had a small little get-together at Mentor Headlands last weekend to say good-bye to some of my friends from school and from church. It was so, so wonderful.

It's so easy to get caught up in everything that that has to be done before I leave instead of focusing on the people I want to see. These are the people who have been with me throughout so many different changes in my life and who have supported me throughout everything. These relationships are the ones that are going to withstand time-- despite that fact that I am thousands of miles away. Again.

While leaving the beach on Sunday, I found myself thinking (again) of how lucky I am to have so many people in my life that I have such a hard time saying good-bye to.