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Travel Review: Roatán, Honduras

June 8, 2017 By Lucy

During spring break, my family and I decided to go to Roatán for the second time. The first time we went, we went with another family; we didn’t get the same experience that we would have had going on our own. So, about 3 weeks ago, we went again.

Roatán is an island off the mainland Honduras- we chose to go there instead of the mainland because it is less dangerous and the snorkeling is exceptional. It is known for its diver shops, which we didn’t have time to experience on our 1-week trip. However, we will definitely do it in the future. The island is only 32.5 square miles with a population of 50,000 people. I appreciated going to Roatán because we were fully immersed in Hondurian culture and we got to learn about the natives – and ourselves – better.

Even though most Hondurians would be considered to be “below” the poverty line of the United States, they live life to the fullest and work for everything that they have. In the United States, it’s not uncommon to see people begging on the streets instead of going to work. In Roatán, I didn’t see one person doing that; people were working, and more importantly, they were happy.

We stayed in a private home in Roatán to get more of the full experience of the island, but there are a few hotels that accommodate everyone, suggest travel locations, and help you plan your itinerary. The few main hotels are:

  1. Barefoot Cay in West Harbour: a boutique resort that features a private oceanside front. There is a PADI-certified dive center on site, so this hotel would be perfect for anyone who would spend a majority of their time diving.
  2. Infinity Bay Spa and Beach Resort: this is a larger hotel that is popular for travelers that want to snorkel. It is a upscale resort that helps you plan your itinerary: including fishing, snorkeling, and scuba diving.
  3. Grand Roatan Caribbean Resort: this is a hotel that is often mentioned in traveling books for Honduras and Roatan. It is a luxurious, laid-back hotel with many different rooms and rates.An example of a Hondurian classroom in Cayos Cochinos, Honduras

I would suggest going to Roatán rather than a more touristy location like Hawaii or Costa Rica:

  1. It is quite a lot cheaper- you can get a lot of food for a low price, there are lower rates in hotels, and overall, it is just less expensive.
  2. You get to experience the culture- in places like Costa Rica, the natives are focused more on tourists than their own traditions. In Roatán, the tourists merely complement the natives’ lives rather than completely taking them over.
  3. The reefs are amazing- it is bordering the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which is one of the biggest, most abundant reefs. However, one thing that I noticed is that the coral in some areas is starting to “white out,” or be exposed to global warming and too much sun.
  4. There are still many touristy things to do- Even though the locals focus on their own life, there are still an abundance of fun things for tourists to do in their free time. Some things that I did were zipline, meet sloths and monkeys, and go to a zoo.

Going to Roatán is one thing, but staying there is another. I have noticed that Roatán has a lot of bugs and sand flies, so I would suggest buying the following products.

  1. Cactus Juice Eco-spray, 6oz– this spray is not sticky or smelly, yet it deters bugs like no other. Also, there are no chemicals or things that are bad for your skin.
  2. Cactus Juice 20 SPF Sunscreen, 2.5oz– this is the same thing as the spray, it is just for when you are more in the sun because it has SPF. It’s also a lotion. We used the spray for the beach (sand flies!) because it’s hard to apply lotion over sandy legs.
  3. White Sierra Women’s Bug Free Jersey Long Sleeve Crew, Large, Lavender– these shirts are a little bit expensive, however, they can be used anywhere you go that has bugs. It is a great long term investment. When I wore this shirt, I did not get one bug bite for the duration of the trip.

I definitely would say that I spent my week in Roatán to the fullest. Some of the highlights of my trip were the constant snorkeling and kayaking trips, going on a giant canopy zipline, and meeting animals like monkeys and sloths. Overall, Roatán is a great tropical vacation spot for all families, couples, and children. I would definitely go there again. In fact, I am going to Roatán on a scuba diving summer camp trip this summer.

IMG_0925

How native garifunas on Cayos Cochinos cook
How the native garifunas on Cayos Cochinos cook!

Filed Under: Blog, Just For Fun, Uncategorized Tagged With: barrier reef, caribbean, diving, honduras, hondurians, mesoamerican barrier reef, monkeys, roatan, scuba, scuba diving, sloths, snorkel, snorkeling, tropical, tropical vacation, vacation, zipline

3 Apps to Make Your Own Video Games

December 30, 2015 By Lucy

Have your students ever played Minecraft, Fallout, or Halo and curious how the developers made it? I’m going to show you 3 video game apps to make your own video games. Also – GameSalad and Flowlab have teacher and classroom options.

Top 3 Apps To Create Your Own Video Games

  • GameSalad (https://gamesalad.com) lets you make the games on the computer and then transfer it to different platforms. They also have a student/teacher discount of 50% for the PRO package, so it would be $9.50 a month. Using GameSalad, you can also make money from your games using in-app purchases. You can load in art and sound effects and you can easily test the game at any time. This is a very well-known site – 3 games from this website have reached #1 in the United States app store. GameSalad also supports most-if not all- platforms: Apple, Android, HTML5, Windows, and Amazon.

    This is an example of someone making a game on the GameSalad app.
    This is an example of someone making a game on the GameSalad app.
  • Flowlab (http://flowlab.io) is a beta game software that can be accessible from home, needs no installation, and has a teacher dashboard. You can create games by signing up for free or you could get access to the teacher dashboard and unlimited students for $12 a month. Flowlab currently only supports playing games online or using an iPhone. A great feature of Flowlab is that there are no downloads needed- everything is right in your browser.

    This is an example of a Flowlab tutorial level using the Flowlab developing app.
    This is an example of a Flowlab tutorial level using the Flowlab developing app.
  • Sploder (http://www.sploder.com) is a completely free service which allows students to make games online, but you cannot transfer it to a mobile device. You can make your own games or play other people’s games. These games are more “low quality” or less advanced than GameSalad or Flowlab games. Using Sploder, you can share your games with everyone and vote on which games you think are the best. Currently, Sploder is only available for playing and developing on the computer.

    This is an example of a Sploder game creating using the Sploder developing app.
    This is an example of a Sploder game creating using the Sploder developing app.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Just For Fun, Portfolio

How To Care For Pixie Bob Kittens!

August 16, 2015 By Lucy

We are possibly going to get 2 pixie bob kittens- they don’t shed, they are great travelers, and they are good with children and dogs. We are getting them from a breeder called Forest Hunter Pixie Bobs. This breed costs around 750-1500 dollars each, depending on how close they are to the TICA breed. Pixie Bobs are very close to the Bobcat breed, but you can expect them to be really playful and fun to be around (especially kittens!) I made a slideshow about how to take care of new kittens, which can be shown here:

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Portfolio

4th Grade Extracurricular Activities

November 2, 2012 By Lucy

Here is a list of popular extra-curricular activities for fourth grade.

  • Robotics Club
  • Cartooning Club
  • Origami Class
  • Swimming
  • Soccer
  • Horseback Riding
  • Baseball
  • Football
  • Typing
  • Painting
  • 3D Sculptures

You might want to sign up for some of these activities. They are super fun!

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Portfolio

DISGUSTING LITTLE DEBBIE!

October 7, 2011 By Lucy

Here is what is in Little Debbie’s Swiss Rolls

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid, Water,Interesterified Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil with TBHQ to Preserve Flavor, (Contributes a Trivial Amount of Trans Fat), Dextrose, Soybean Oil, Toppers (Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed and Soybean Oils (Contributes a Trivial Amount of Trans Fat), Corn Starch, Dextrin, Soy Lecithin, Confectioner’s Glaze, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake,Carnauba Wax, Blue 1 Lake, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Yellow 6 Lake), Egg Whites,Whey (Milk), Emulsifiers (Mono- and Diglycerides, Sorbitan Monostearate, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, propylene Glycol Monostearate, polysorbate 60, Polysorbate 80, Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Salt, Corn Starch, Sorbic Acid (to Retain Freshness), Colors (Titanium Dioxide, Turmeric, Annatto Extract), Natural and Artificial Flavors.

Some are in bold because they are the worst ingredients in there. I tasted it today, and it tickles the top of your mouth and tastes like bleach. Long story… I tasted bleach.

Filed Under: Blog, Just For Fun

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