Commitments

As if getting married wasn't enough, Andrew and I have decided to make some other pretty big commitments in our lives.

1. We have committed to staying here in Zamorano, Honduras, for the next two years. During these two years, we are going to participate in an international Masters in Education program through the University of Alabama. The program is outrageously cheap (apparently the University of Alabama is taking on the social mission of furthering the education of teachers teaching abroad in bilingual schools), and we'll both go back to the States after two years with a Masters degree and no loans. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, yes it does, but there is a downside. The program won't get me a teaching license, which becomes problematic in terms of getting an actual teaching job if we move back to Minnesota. Apparently the people in Minnesota actually want their kids' teachers to have a teaching license. BUT, if we went back to New Orleans, I'd have more success with the job search (of course, we all know that the people in New Orleans don't really care who teaches their kids, as long as they learn how to play jazz trumpet and can design the best Mardi Gras costumes...). On the flip side, Andrew will have his Masters along with the teaching license he already has, so he will be well on his way to becoming the Secretary of Education.

(Okay, my secret's out- I'm terrible with photo editing...)

2. We are getting a dog. Yes, we've decided to take the plunge. We always said we'd have a dog before we ever made the crazy decision to actually raise kids one day, so here goes. We've already chosen our pup- she's a medium-sized stray with an absolutely lovable and calm personality. Right now she "lives" somewhere around the gasolinera and the nearby chicken restaurant (also known as "Chicken Drive"), where we see her every week scrounging for food and affection. This weekend we went to the gas station to investigate- I asked some folks if they thought anyone would be sad if we took the dog as our own. The response was quite entertaining- both women we asked started laughing hysterically when we mentioned that we wanted to have the dog as our pet. My summary of the responses would be: "Of COURSE nobody will care if you take that dog off the street, but we thing you're CRAZY for wanting it".

This weekend Andrew went into Tegucigalpa to get some dog supplies while I was teaching a Saturday computer class, so we're all set up with food, bowls, leashes, collars, and plenty of flea treatment. The plan is to bring the dog home from Chicken Drive this Friday, so we'll have the whole weekend to get it settled in (including house training- don't worry, we have plenty of cleaning solution...). We also have a local vet where we can get our new little lady checked out. For your entertainment, here she is:

Now, all we need is a name. We want the name to have a least a little bit of a Spanish twist- when we are out of town we will be leaving her with Spanish speakers, so we'll be training her in Spanish. Any ideas?! Please post them!

And that, my friends, pretty much covers our two biggest commitments. At this rate, we'll probably have a house in the suburbs with a picket fence and 2.5 kids before the year is over.