Bye Em!

So I am really bummed. My best friend here, Emily is heading back to the great state of Washington. Yes, she too is from WA. Although I rarely saw her because she lived in the west, almost in El Salvadore and Guatemala and about 12 hours from me, I will miss her very much. On the plus side, It should be fairly easy to track her down and stalk her when I eventually make it back home myself. Initially, I was just sad that she was leaving. As I headed to Tegus today to say goodbye, I felt jealous. I am still appreciating my experience here but thinking of all the things she gets to return to is a little dishartening. She can hang out with friends and family. Soon she will enjoy hot showers, flushing toilet paper, real cheese, she will no longer have to bleach her fruits and vegetables or worry about getting parasites from brushing her teeth. There are so many things I have come to accept as a part of everyday life here. I suddenly realized how nice it will be to have some of those things again.

Em, I know going back is a tough mix of joy and sadness but thanks for everything. You will be great! I will miss you.

29 Mar

Considering that no one spays or neuters their animals and most wander free, I am always amazed at how few conflicts you see. Common “western/northern” knowledge tells us that 2 un-castrated bulls are likely to fight over territory, as are dogs, roosters, probably pigs included. I have seen a few scuffles between dogs. Not surprising since I have also seen two dogs stuck together, often with a third trying to get in on the action. Each time I see two bulls tied together pulling a cart or several bulls with the cows and calves being herded down the highway (yes, these are daily occurrences), I am surprised that I have not yet seen a bull fight. I know, just because they may fight occasionally doesn’t mean they will do it all the time. Today, I saw my first “wild” cock fight. I saw the organized type in Yuscarán: betting, blades, owners sucking the blood out of the roosters’ mouths, the works. As I ran through town with Bello this morning, I saw two cocks fighting along side the road. What months ago would have struck me as expected (in a strange reality) was odd and unusual. I didn’t stick around for the outcome since I was in the middle of a run with the day only growing hotter, but quite possibly someone is out a rooster. Maybe it’s just on injury reserve. I guess that is a chance you take when you allow your chickens to graze freely on the garbage in the gutter. I can’t imagine that sort of diet provides the best flavor in the eggs, but it seems quite common.
Why are we so adverse to keeping two males in a single area? Are territorial fights that common or are we overly concerned with the possibilities (as we are with so many other things). I have always considered Americans over concerned and overly worried in general. Living in this country has made me aware of the extent to which we take it. Granted, I still don’t think a four year old should be sent to the pulperia to buy Coca-cola (the consumption is an issue for me as well), but in this environment of complete opposite, were by US standards people do not show concern for safety or possible negative outcomes. [Unless of course, you are talking about me being outside the house after dark, I have seen plenty of concern in that department. Everything is peligroso, especially to me.] A few weeks ago, I met a 5 year old boy who broke his arm falling out of a mango tree. I saw him sitting quietly on a man’s lap for about 15 minutes before his mother arrived, almost hysterical. I don’t know if she was more worried about whether or how she would get medical care for the visibly broken arm or for the pain the boy must have been in. Either way, where was she when the accident occurred that another man brought him to the Alcaldia to wait for her? Our priorities for worry intrigue me. In the US, we are so overly concerned that something bad will happen or that someone will file suit we barely allow are kids to be kids. Here, parents seem so unconcerned with potential hazards that kids run wild in the streets. In a completely different way, the kids are left with so much freedom and responsibility (for themselves, siblings and sometimes jobs) that they too are hardly able to just be kids. Where does the bar tip and how do we find middle ground?
Much of the difference probably results from the general outlook on life. As a population, American are always thinking of the future (or trying/pretending to). How will this affect me in the future? Here, the future is rarely referred to and probably considered little. It is interesting how these different views clash with materialism. Americans want stuff. We work hard and save money so we can spend it later on vacations, clothes, electronics, all sorts of things. Here, people still want things. The walls may not go all the way to the roof, but there is a TV in the living room. Four kids may share a bedroom and the bathroom may be a dark concrete room with a bucket to bathe but there is a car parked out front or a nice stereo or fancy American products with instructions in English making is difficult to utilize. Again, how do we prioritize and find middle ground? I am as guilty of this odd prioritization as anyone. I still do not have a refrigerator, any sort of oven, a sofa or even a fan, yet I have speakers in which to plug my Ipod. If it weren’t for the generosity of my neighbor/landlady, I still would have nowhere to sit but the floor or bed. Life here is interesting…

I had a second odd encounter today. I ran into a neighbor on my street. Somewhat randomly, he asked where in the US I am from. Of course, I had to explain that Washington State is not the US capitol. He then asked me if my boyfriend was waiting for me in at home, another very common question. When I told him I do not have one, and don’t want one (how do you answer the “why don’t you have a boyfriend” questions?), I was informed that I need a man because it is “God’s law”. I have heard many times that I should have a boyfriend or husband. Usually, it’s followed by an offer and request to take them back to the States. Usually, I tell them I will take them and every other person in Talanga back to the US when I go. They don’t really like that response and usually say, “no, just me, no one else.” I try to entertain myself with the repetitive questions. “Needing” a man I have heard, that it is “God’s law” was a new one. How do you respond to that without insulting a person’s religion and/or culture? I prefer the “another person is too much responsibility for me” but I don’t think Hondurans are generally satisfied with that answer. Until I have a better one, that is my excuse for not having a man and/or kids. Either that or I saw I am too young but I am sure many people here think I have already missed my prime.

Favorite Bello moment yet: Yesterday, he ran into a glass door in the alcaldia. There is a logo on the door but apparently that is above his line of site. Poor guy! Generally he is quite smart but this was obviously not one of his brighter moments.

Sometimes, I forget how beautiful this country can be

I feel as if I am constantly apologizing for the long time periods between my updates. I guess that is a sign that I am integrating and becoming more comfortable in my life here. I don’t feel the constant need to either for comfort or to share the bizarre things I see. The weird things no longer seem abnormal. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or bad but I do still have occasional “Oh yeah, I am in Honduras” moments. This week, it was dealing with my ant infestation. I thought ants made nests in hills, not in my bedroom ceiling! I don’t battle one type of ant in and around my house, but at least three. There are the little black ones that look like the ones from home, but they bite! There are the tiny ones, almost invisible except for their movement and they are the big reddish-brown ones. These are the ones I had to use the Raid on. I started finding big winged ants around my house, mostly in my bedroom. After a day or two of killing the ones I encountered, I noticed them crawling from a crack in the ceiling. I itch just thinking about it. Following a quick fumigation, their numbers appear to be dwindling. I hope it is at least semi-permanent. I am not a big fan of spraying Raid in my tiny box of a house. Really, I shouldn’t complain because I don’t generally have major ant problems, just a few each day. Some people have major issues and can’t leave anything unsealed for more than 30 seconds. I am thankful I have not had to deal with that, YET.
Aside from insect mass murder, I am just returning to work again after a nice week long break. Easter is a much bigger deal here than in the States. Instead of having the Easter Bunny and a special Sunday dinner, the entire country shuts down Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Even the buses and taxis stop running. Schools close for the entire week so if functions as spring break for the entire country. The highly religious (generally Catholic) diligently go to church every day, avoid eating meat (especially pork) and enjoy soup made with dried fish all week. I think I have expressed my dislike for consuming hot soup in the heat of the day. Mix a little dried fish and you can count me out. I taste almost anything but passing the dried fish hanging in the streets the last several weeks didn’t exactly peak my appetite.
The not-so-religious who can afford it often take the opportunity to travel. Therefore, tourist destinations generally stay open except Friday, the holiest of days. The lack of transport does present a predicament so those wishing to leave town must do so early and most people return Sunday when the bus system resumes. Imagine traveling Thanksgiving weekend except the majority of traffic is made up of buses. That is when you pay the extra buck for a lujoso line which only sells as many tickets as there are seats. Otherwise, you may end up standing for a 10 hour journey. No thank you. Monday I experienced another, “what the heck is going on?” moment. Apparently, the day after Easter is celebrated by men dressing in women’s clothes and scary masks, running through the street playing music and trying to dance with/chasing down other men throughout town. One claim was that it is a celebration of the death of Judah, another said it is like dancing with the devil. Either, both or neither could be true. Supposedly the women dress like men and try to dance with other women the next day but I did not witness this one. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, I just didn’t stumble across it.
Now that Semana Santa (Holy Week) has passed, I can start some real work. I am currently busy preparing and waiting for materials. I am scheduled to start TEAM (Teaching English And Methodology) with the teachers from 3 schools in Talanga and aldeas. Frustratingly, we have not received the manuals from the Ministry of Education yet. I am also waiting for a donation of tooth brushes and toothpaste from Colgate Palmolive. The goal is to teach 1st and 2nd graders about dental hygiene. Maybe they will still have teeth by the time they should graduate from high school. I was also reminded that Earth Day (happy birthday Traci and Melissa) is creeping up very quickly. That means I need to come up with Earthy activities. It’s a good excuse to talk about deforestation and littering. In addition, I will give an HIV/AIDS workshop at the colegio around the same time. I am anxious to get these programs started and establish a routine. My schedule is pleasant in its freedom but frustrating an unmotivating at the moment. I need structure in my life. Poor Bello doesn’t know what’s going on or when I will come home. He is still growing ridiculously fast spends the hours either running tirelessly or sleeping. There is no middle ground. I spend significantly more on food for him than for myself. Good thing he is worth it. Maybe it’s my “sanity” that is worth it although “sanity” is relative. I consider running with my dog on a leash as I talk to him (and he responds) normal but most Hondurans probably think I am on something. (Don’t worry Mom, I am not on anything.)
Speaking of sanity… during training, several of us decided that by a year into service, every volunteer seemed to be a little off, many of them admit it. Whether the cause is experiencing a new level of boredom, frustration, loneliness and entertainment or a culmination of all the changes we go through, I don’t know but I think I have tipped the scale. Hopefully I can claw my way back to “normal” someday.

Photos, Honduran sunset and beach, School kids joining with the community to protest illegal logging (I don't think you can see the police in full riot gear), and Escuela Juan Lindo kids celebrating Dia del Padre

Back in the Swing

Sorry it has been a few weeks, again. Leaving my phone in the taxi from dropping Mom and Dad off at the airport turned out to start off a rough week. I bought a new phone the following Monday, it sucked to have to spend the 500 Lempiras but I got over it. Wednesday afternoon the new phone was stolen. Yes, less than 48 hours later, I was out a phone, again. It's been an unneccessarily long and complicated process obtaining another phone. Don't ask, but finally I have a phone and a way to communicate again! Trying to find transportation for my baseball team without a phone was difficult. Although I have a Honduran counterpart coach, I asked him to take care of the transportation while I was on vacation. Of course, I came back to the answer "no hay transporte". Luckily, after several trips to the mayor's office, many phone calls (the few days I had a phone) and more than one rejection, Friday afternoon, we found transportation big enough to take the baseball team and coaches to the Regional game on Saturday morning. I have no idea how my Dad coached my teams all those years. Coaching is stressful! Game day didn't start off as smoothly as I would have liked. We left late, forgot the uniforms, my two best players failed to tell me (or even know themselves) that they had turned 13 and were unable to play. In a way, it was a blessing because my Honduran coach saw the consequences. No, kids who are 13 or 14 cannot play! It is the rules, we have discussed this! No, the other team will not have any 13 year olds, I promise. We squeaked out a win against the newly developed but tough team from Juticalpa. They took the early lead but when 10-12 year olds playing baseball, the game can change at any moment. I was relieved when the game and the week were over.

This past week was much better. Back to school and organizing the projects I plan to start after Semana Santa (Holy Week). Although it takes 2 days to get a list of teachers and the number of kids in each class, things seem to be coming together and I should have a few regularly scheduled projects each week. Somewhat of a "regular" schedule, will be nice. I have a break from the school next week for Semana Santa but after that I hope to get up and running with all my projects. We'll see. Until next time... Here are few more photots from Mom and Dad's trip. And yes, Dad and I are at the top of the temple (Tikal). [First 3: Antigua, Tela in Chichicastenango, Tikal]

Guate and back

In a nutshell, I survived 2 and a half weeks with Mom and Dad, they survived Honduras, Guatemala and a little hitchhiking (out of necessity, of course). Bello's worms appear to be gone, he's gaining weight and growing rapidly and has plenty of new toys (thanks Mom and Traci)!

The first few days my parents were here were hectic due to work related activities. Yes, sometimes, I really do work. After one night with Mom and Dad, I had to leave them alone in Talanga for 2 nights while I ventured south for a program training. It was supposed to be one night but we didn't get back to Tegus in time to catch the last bus back to Talanga. Therefore, I caught the San Luis, Comayagua bus at 6:00 am and my baseball team joined me as we passed the school. We easily won our first game against Charlie's team but I have to give him credit for pulling his team together himself and rounding up more than enough kids during coffee-picking season to field a team. We realized just how quickly a one hour game goes. We played a little longer and still only completed 2 innings and a few at bats. I was very proud of my kids. Only one person was hit with a pitch and my girls rocked (including a solid double, not bad for a first at bat)! After the baseball game, we met Emily and Kyler for lunch in Santa Rosa de Copán before heading to the Mayan Ruins.

We eventually made it to Antigua, Guatemala, then to Flores and Tikal (more Mayan ruins). Guatemala was beautiful but significantly more expensive than Honduras. Granted, we spent our time in rather touristy areas, that never helps prices. It was interesting seeing the Mayan ruins in Copán and Tikal so close together. The Tikal ruins are massive structures hidden by jungle while the Copán ruins have been more thoroughly cleared but you can see significantly more detail in the carvings and hieroglyphics. We woke at 4:00am for a day-break hike in Tikal. It sounds better than it turned out. You are only permitted in the park before 8:00am if you have a guide. We were told the group would be 10-15 people, in reality it was closer to 50. Also unfortunate, the cloud cover was so thick that it prevented any visible sunrise. From our perch at the top of Temple 4 you could see the tops of other temples rising above the jungle. We also saw macaws in Copán, toucans and other birds as well as both spider and howler monkeys in Tikal. We eventually made it back to Talanga to visit the cloud forest of La Tigra and Valle de Angeles. We got plenty of exercise walking and hiking to balance out the long bus rides. I am sure my parents are home resting from their vacation before resuming work on the house.

Sorry for the lack of details but I thought you would all prefer pictures. Here are a few... [Talanga; Carla vs. San Luis; Copán Ruina (4); Macaws at Copán Ruinas; Chichicastanengo, Guatemala; Snow cone cart in Flores, Guate; Tikal Ruins (3); Mom and I in La Tigra]

See you tomorrow...

Funny story. My parents are on their way to visit me. I am very excited to see them and just recently realized just how much time I will be spending with them, in rather close quarters. There two and a half weeks will probably be the most time I have spent with them (consecutively) in several years. Although I used to see them regularly, they were generally just weekend visits. ¡Vamos a Ver! Anyway, I called Monday morning to find out if any last minute details needed to be ironed out. Luckily, I added a, "See you tomorrow!" before hanging up the phone. Dad's response, "No, not tomorrow, the next day." I have been expecting them on the 12th for about a month. My fault completely. Their arrival was on both my calendars for the 12th and that date stuck in my mind for the last month or so. They left WA on the 12th. They arrive today. Whoops, good one Laura!

I don't have much other news other than my puppy has (or had, not sure if they are gone or reproducing) worms. Otherwise, he's doing great. His sister is almost twice his size, mostly in girth. She's gordita, a fatty. The female has always been bigger but I think Bello's worms and exercise to her being tied up inside to eat and sleep may be the root of the difference.

This week marks the start of my "busy season". Classes started at the colegio (high school) on Tuesday and start the 18th in the elementary schools. That means I need to plan and prioritize as I attend program trainings and set up baseball games. Saturday will be my first chance to see how my kids stand up against another team. Granted, Charlie's team in San Luis, Comayagua is new and mine was "established" when I arrived. Still, I haven't seen any other kids play baseball in years. I don't know how many errors, missed grounders, flyballs and wild pitches are normal for 8-12 year old Honduran kids. I am very excited, but nervous about the game. The purpose is to teach kids about teamwork, leadership, etc, and to have fun. I've always had a slight competative edge that I am seriously trying to curb, or at lease hide. Sometimes it is difficult not to get frustrated when I see the play clearly and it's so easy to move your foot to touch the base but the kids tries to throw to first and generally either the throw or catch is less than accurate. This entire experience is a wonderful test of my patience. Between teaching kids how to throw a baseball (which is very different from throwing a soccer ball or rocks), adjusting to "La hora Hondureña" (everything starting 30-90 minutes late), and learning to entertain myself I should come out the most patient person on the planet. We'll see.

Sorry, no photos this time, I forgot to bring my camera.

Sorry, I know it has been quite awhile. I don't know whether to say that I have been busy or that I haven't done anything new to post about but neither is really true.

Bello has been keeping me busy (sorry, I haven't taken any photos recently). He makes sure I get up in the morning and encourages me to go running a few times a week. Getting up early helps that cause as well since if I don't leave by about 7:30, it gets too hot. The raining season is ending. Early mornings are cool and the shade is refreshing but it often reaches sweltering in the sun by 8:30 or 9. I spent most afternoons for about two weeks traveling around Talanga with one of my counterparts. He is a teacher in one of the schools but is working with the Alcaldia as well. The purpose of visiting each aldea around Talanga was to check on funding and progress for on-going projects. Many of the projects have been started but not finished. Of course the problems arise when the project isn't done but the money is almost gone. Worse yet, in a few cases, they couldn't tell us where the money went or who would know. I rode along to learn about all the villages of Talanga. Little communities hiding in the mountains and up dirt roads which I highly doubt are passable during the height of the rainy season.

Sometimes I feel like I suddenly, and briefly travel back to parts of the Pacific Northwest, usually, the north Cascades. There are places in this country that look exactly like familiar places in Washington. Other times, I feel as if I could be in the middle of an Asian jungle (how I imagine it). The vegitation varies greatly depending on the slope, sun exposure and most improtantly, altitude. One major difference between the mountains here and the mountains at home (besides the presence of snow) is the absence of a tree line. Up north, as the mountains rise into the clouds, the trees disappear. Here the top of each hill is think with trees but lack old growth or natural vegitation at the base. Much of this is probably due to deforestation and clearing land for farming.

Lately I have been keeping myself busy but not doing much to talk about besides traveling around my municipality. All the volunteers in the Youth Development project spent the last week of January at a "reconnect" training in Santa Lucia. The was some useful information but the days were long and at times quite boring. I deeply appreciated being around friends and socializing for a few days. I don't socialize much in my site and when I do, it usually means playing with 8-12 year olds in the park and letting them give treats to Bello. After the training, a few friends stuck around an we went out for a fun night in Tegus, partially because friends from the west were in town and partly to celebrate my birthday a few days early. We had a great time and each made it back to our sites safely. I can't begin to explain how nice it was to just hango ut with friends. That is definitely one of the things I miss most.

I returned to Talanga to attend a frist birthday party. The little girl in red, Sofia, was the day's VIP. She is the daughter of the counterpart listed above. I was amazed at the number of people present for a first birthday but many of the guests were family. We had a "Dora la Exploradora" pinata, cake and presents were left to be opened later. Parties of all types require food and beverages for everyone. Although an entire meal is not required, a few appetizers doesn't cut it. I actually spent my own birthday teaching Sofia's mom and sister how to make bread. I know it's silly, but I LOVE to bake here. Since I don't have an oven I have to find appropriate ways to borrow one.

Kids are enjoying the last few days of vacation before the new school year starts. That means I will be very busy quite soon. I have projects to plan and coordinate with each school and prioritize what to do where first. There are so many needs it is difficult to decide where to start. On top of that, I am preparing for a visit from my parents. I will try to update this again soon but at times it is difficult to find time to write.

PS: Thank you for all the birthday messages. I know I didn't respond to all of you but I really appreciated each one! Love from Honduras...