Performances

 There are several “opportunities” for performances on the ranch and our Volunteer Coordinator let us know that the volunteers are expected to take part in the performances. I am open to singing and dancing with a group, but pretty insecure if it means a solo performance. I think Allen feels the same way. Luckily, we are part of a very talented group of volunteers who can sing, dance, and come up with a lot of fun and creative ideas.

Last night the ranch held a Festival de Cantos Navideños (Christmas Song Festival). We knew about this a few weeks ahead and I had suggested singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town in Spanish (Santa Claus Llego’ a la Ciudad) with Allen wearing the Santa Suit that he brought back from our trip home. I also thought that we could probably easily learn the 12 Days of Christmas in Spanish since it has so many repeat phrases and I really like the Spanish version of Mary Did You Know? (Maria Sabes Que) and thought we might have time to learn the words in Spanish. I think everyone liked the idea, but we were too busy to follow up. I wondered if the contest would be similar to normal karaoke where we could just give our selection at the Festival. As it turns out, we needed to select and turn in the music to our selections the morning of the Festival. By that time, some of the Tias had requested the Santa Suit for their performance so we decided not to do Santa Claus is Coming to Town, but to go ahead with the other two.

Three NPH Girls Ready for their Song/Dance Performance

Since we had not practiced either in Spanish, our last minute decision meant that we would do both in English. We had minimal practice, but both performances came off pretty well. The 12 Days of Christmas was pretty funny and I will try to post a video of that here. Mary Did You Know? Is always lovely, but especially with the beautiful voices of the volunteers that sang the solos.

Volunteers Singing 12 Days of Christmas at NPH Honduras

We were notified months ago that the volunteers are expected to do a 20 minute dance routine on New Year’s Eve. We started putting that together last week and are dedicating 2 hours per day for the next week to dance practice. Each volunteer is supposed to come up with a suggestion for a 2 minute routine. I suggested Thriller since my sisters and I have been talking about learning that for a while now. At this point in time we have 7 minutes that includes parts of the following: Thriller, Cotton-Eyed Joe, Calm Down, and Footloose. I think we are going to add Dancing Queen and several selections from Central America.

Allen and I were also asked to play Mary and Joseph in the “Posada” today which is a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph looking for lodging on Christmas Eve. We will lead a procession around the ranch asking for lodging and being denied until we get to the church. The Posada starts at 5PM, Mass is at 6PM, and following mass is a ranch-wide Christmas Eve Dinner, bonfire, and fireworks. The party goes on until midnight. After the kids are asleep (~2AM), the volunteers deliver gifts so it will be a late night! As I am normally early-to-bed, early-to-rise, the last few days have been short on sleep. Hopefully after Christmas, I can recover – at least until New Year’s Eve!

Allen Hosted a Breakfast for the Maintenance Crew

A Pig was Roasted for a Christmas Dinner that we Attended


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Background on Our Adventure

Dear Family & Friends – Allen & I are volunteering at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH) in Honduras for over a year. This blog is set up to keep you informed of our activities and welfare so you can explore with us the adventures that await. As a background, we became aware of the NPH orphanage ( www.nph.org ) through St Louise Catholic Church which was our parish when we lived in Bellevue, Washington. Our pastor, Father Tom Belleque, brought his love of this wonderful organization to our parish many years ago. At first we became sponsors to a child in Haiti. Later we had an opportunity to visit the NPH orphanage in Miacatlan, Mexico during a retreat with fellow parishioners. This was the first NPH established (in 1955) and we were impressed with the safe and loving environment of the over 400 children housed and cared for in a converted sugar plantation. After the retreat, we became more involved in NPH, attending local fundraising auctions and providing housing for NPH staff
Read more

Lake Yojoa (October 4 - 8, 2023)

Image
Written before we left:   We made arrangements to come to Lake Yojoa for a 5 day/ 4 night adventure. We are staying at the recommended D&D Brewery Lodge and Restaurant. Not only do they have inexpensive lodging and freshly brewed beer, they also are the center of things to do at Lake Yojoa with many guided services and lots of ways to make a stay enjoyable. With 4 days, we had the following list: -           Hike or guided tour to Pulhapanzak Waterfall -           Guided birding tour -           Kayak & swim on the lake -           Drink a free beer (perk of being a volunteer) -           Coffee tour -           Meet some interesting people -           Couples massage (with Allen) We were able to take the NPH bus into Tegucigalpa and arranged private transport through D&D for the rest of the trip (3.5 hrs each way) which cost more than we are used to paying ($160 each way), but was worth it for the peace of mind. Written Sunday after return:  Here is wha
Read more

Drinking From a Fire Hose (Saturday 6/3/23)

Image
  After our first week of Spanish Immersion classes, we are just starting to appreciate how much we have to learn. I thought I knew parts of the body, but found I only had words (palabras) for a small fraction. The good news is that we have very patient teachers (maestros) who make learning fun, but we wish that we had spent more time learning Spanish at home. We are both praying for a miracle (ombus orando por un milagro), but it will likely just take a lot of hard work. We have also taken time to explore the town of Copas Ruinas, especially the many coffee shops that have air conditioning, wifi, and some excellent Honduran coffee!   All greatly appreciated when we are working on our homework (tarea). Cafe Con Leche from Cafe San Rafael We bought yoga mats and have been doing daily yoga in the large salon at our homestay. Our host family, the Perazas, have an ideal setup for students with ensuite bedrooms and a spacious home. Abu
Read more