Honduras – Sydney Schavietello

Little Ones

Posted on June 11, 2013June 11, 2013 by schavski

As my days here wind down and I prepare to leave Gracias behind, I can’t help but think of all the things in this wonderful little town that will leave me with the sting of missing. The first of many is the sheer joy these little guys brought with them into each and every day.

Children are amazing. They’re imaginative, honest, unashamed by their emotions, and excited to share their wild little worlds with you. They dream of impossible things, creating whole universes with wide eyes and unbridled laughter. They learn quickly, eat slowly, and say exactly what they mean. I could never have guessed that I’d learn so much about how to carry myself in the world from 2 and 3 year olds. Not only did they teach me to speak Spanish, they taught how important it is to see the world for the fascinating, and awe inspiring place that it truly is. It has been such a gift to see the world through their unspoiled eyes, a gift I hope to carry with me forever.

Celaque

Posted on May 23, 2013 by schavski

Mountains have always been my sanctuary. When things don’t make sense, and I need to sort through my thoughts I’ve always turned to mountains. They provide an escape, and a perspective that causes my stresses and worries to melt away as trivialities. Their size and intricacy remind me that I am small–just one tiny piece of an enormously elaborate puzzle. They remind me that there are greater forces at work. That the pieces will all, eventually, fall together.

I’m lucky to have had so many incredible mountains in my life. Each one has challenged me and made me better. Celaque was no different. Honduras’s highest peak gave me the same familiar feeling that I get from the mountains back home; the feeling that everything is falling together just as it is meant to–that it will all work out so long as I just keep climbing.

With The End In Sight

Posted on April 22, 2013April 22, 2013 by schavski

My time in Gracias is dwindling and as I feel the days slipping past I can’t help but think how difficult it will be to leave to this place. While I’m excited to travel, and go home to my friends, and move forward with my whirlwind life, thinking about saying goodbye to Gracias nearly brings me to tears. But my friend recently reminded me that goodbyes should not be easy, and that we shouldn’t want them to be. My goodbye with Gracias will be one of my hardest to date; it has been such a wonderful home, and I’ve found so much to love here. I suppose my only choice is to bite my lip, soak in every detail, and breathe in each moment knowing that goodbye is just around the corner.

Toddlers and Tiaras…

Posted on March 10, 2013 by schavski

Life in the Minerva Preschool has been a dizzying whirlwind of preparations for the 2013 Summer Fashion Show the last few weeks. The little ones have been studying their colors and practicing their model walks in order to make the big event as perfect as it can be. As such, my day-to-day life has been filled to the brim with sheer cuteness–check these kiddos out:

I certainly have a long list of complaints about this absurd, though adorable, little activity. Why are we instilling the “importance” of being attractive into toddlers? What are we teaching them by having a fashion show be the most important activity of an entire partial? Aren’t there more important things we could be doing with the 20+ minutes a day we spend preparing for this modeling extravaganza? Shouldn’t we be teaching them that they’re all smart and beautiful exactly as they are? In spite of my objections and aggravation (we’ve been forced to do weekend and after school practices…it’s gotten a bit ridiculous and I’m ready for it to be over) I recognize that it’s fairly important to the administration for whatever reason, and the kids really seem to enjoy it. So, I bite my tongue and laugh… it’s hard to be angry when you see these excited little faces smiling back at you.

…and for all you lovers out there…

Posted on February 14, 2013 by schavski

People always have a lot to say about Valentines Day. The cynics will tell you it’s overly commercial; an ordinary day turned into a marketing ploy for all things pink, heart shaped, or chocolate. Maybe they’re right, but all I can say is what’s not to love about a day where we focus on love in its many beautiful forms? In this crazy, often hate-filled world of ours, isn’t it nice to take even just one day to tell your people that you care about them, to do something unexpected for someone special to you, to soak in all the good feelings that loving and being loved bring with them?

I have been blessed with so much love from so many places in my life that I spend each day wondering what I could possibly have done to earn it. So, these roses are for you, you countless beautiful souls who have given me all the love your hearts could muster, even when I least deserved it. You mean a million and one beautiful and fabulous things to me today and every day. I love you, I love you, I love you!

Infinite x’s and o’s

–Sydney

Possibilities

Posted on February 9, 2013February 10, 2013 by schavski

Today has been fresh squeezed orange juice, short meanderings, and dreams of places I haven’t yet known. It has been gradual, gentle, and full to the brim with possibilities. When anything could happen, something phenomenal usually does.

El Guancasco

Posted on February 3, 2013February 3, 2013 by schavski

Traditions continually bring new life to the beliefs and practices of the past. They are a tribute to the noble roots that tie a vast many people together, an invitation to celebrate where we are now because of where we’ve come from.

Saturdays at the Pink House

Posted on January 26, 2013January 26, 2013 by schavski

Saturdays are for moving slowly, drinking tea, and forgetting time

Centered and Full

Posted on January 13, 2013January 13, 2013 by schavski

When your only goal in the day is to soak in the lights of the sunset it’s hard to feel anything but balanced and grateful. Sunsets feel like a thank you for the blessings of that day, a reminder that each day is a fleeting but wonderful gift to be savored and soaked in.

2013 and I have certainly started out on the right foot. Cheers to drinking in each day, and filling ourselves with the beauty of every moment.

Copan Ruinas

Posted on November 2, 2012December 10, 2012 by schavski

It’s amazing to be able to slip out of time and into a preserved past that is worlds different from the things we know and believe now. Imagining thousands of year ago, while still no small task, is made far simpler when you can surround yourself by ancient engravings tucked deep away in the jungle.

Slipping away from time brings unique and challenging perspectives about how we lead our lives, and where our wild world has come in such a relatively short time. I can’t help but wonder what our ruins of today will look like to those dreaming of the past in a few thousand years.