Let there be LIGHT!

I left the "cave" and am officially in my new house! I moved almost an entire block. I am actually so close that it was easier to move my bed and table (my only furniture, still) by hand rather than load it in a truck. Actually, I recruited a couple of boys to do it for me since those things are bit awkward for one person. I am really excited about the move despite giving up several wonderful things in the old house. Of course, "wonderful" is a relative term. Here is the low down:

I Gave up... fruit trees (mangos, limes, oranges, I don't miss the nances and if you don't know what they are you aren't missing anything. I think the smell like vomit yet Hondurans love them.)

"tanque": aka running water in the bathroom

A land lady who would feed Bello if I left town for the night or a few and he didn't have to go anywhere and had 2 other dogs to play with in the shared backyard.

A porch in which my hammock hung.

An extremely awkward floorplan where you had to pass through the bedroom to go from the living room to the kitchen.

A nice bathroom but it was outside.

Built in closet/shelf thing.

Wood panneled ceiling which insulated but added to the darkness.

Virtually ZERO natrual light.

I now have... 0 trees or desireable plants, just a few weeds.

to bucket shower and bucket-flush the toilet. Except Monday and Friday mornings when water comes, usually.

My OWN space! I'm still on good terms with the old landlady so Bello can go visit. We now don't have untrained dogs interferring with our "rigorous training schedule" (or something like that).

No porch, just a slightly more central locale with MUCH more traffic (mostly foot, cow and horse, still a few pigs.)

Great floor plan that feels more like a normal home.

Bathroom inside! Although, privacy is limited since the "door" between the living room and bedroom is a curtain and the bathroom door (to the bedroom) is glass, clear glass! Good thing I live alone.

Wonderful neighbors who starting looking after me from day one. One of them even mopped the house for me before I moved in!

No where to put my clothes. As a result, I am completely unmotivated to unpack and am once again living out of a suitcase.

A metal roof which will NOT be plesant once dry season hits.

An eleven year old neighbor girl who likes to just come hang out and tell me how nice the house is.

NATURAL light!!!! I definitely prefer waking up to the light and dog than the old landlady's birds sqwaking.

I definitely miss a few things (a flushing toilet and cold shower) but am extremely pleased with the move. It is also good motivation to take Bello for walks/runs since he no longer has a lap dog to play with. It was like a stuffed animal that plays back.

Thanksgiving was good and I think it will continue to be. Instead of not celebrating, I am doing it twice. The Passionist volunteers, their boss and her husband, another PCV and I had a traditional turkey dinner last night and enjoyed some family games and speaking English. Saturday, I plan to celebrate again in Siguatepeque with some other PCVs and some bilingual school teachers. Thanksgiving day was good, despite not spending it with family. Playing "pass the phone" definitely helped as I was able to speak to several family members and was filled in on the goings-on. It's always hard spending holidays away from the family. It's never quite the same but as with all of life, we make do with what we have.

Work wise, I am still working on my world map kids and starting a few youth groups. School is out for the year so I am trying to stay busy during the vacation and am enjoying working with the girls who want to show up. I am posting a picture of WorldMap girls but every time I start working and forget to take pictures. Baseball continues with both teams. It is frustrating having a different group of kids every week and that increases the challenge to make progress. There is a small core group of kids who come almost every week but a large portion varies greatly. While consistency and progress can be difficult, it is wonderful being able to reach more kids and offer them something new. If they like it, they will come back.

Speaking of baseball, if anyone has a few old gloves they would like to donate, my sister is coming to visit just after Christmas (I am volunteering you, Marta) and equipment is always appreciated. While my team has enough equipment, Peace Corps is trying to start as many teams as possible and many of the other teams only have 9-11 gloves, or fewer for their entire group. Just let me know and we will get them distributed to expand the project.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Doorjambs are for Shelter

Growing up on a faltline in the Northwest, I clearly remember earthquake drills and learning about the safest places in the case of an earthquake. If you cannot get outside, away from buildings or other tall objects, a doorjamb is supposed to be one of the sturdiest places. Wednesday night, I discovered that doorjambs also serve as a suitable shelter from firework shells.
The past week Talanga has been celebrating the town’s patron saint San Diego. Wednesday was the big night including mass and a fireworks show! Although firecrackers are extremely popular, (especially between the hours of 4:00 and 5:00am) fireworks, you know, with pretty colors, are not common. I have now seen them twice in my 16 months in this country; last time was for Independence Day during training. My first Honduran firework experience was one of shock and awe. Not because of the number of fireworks, or how big they were but because of the proximity. Explosives were set up in the street between the Catholic church and the cancha (cement court) in Parque Central. The distance between the two is the width of a two lane street, without a shoulder. The entire town crowded to the edge of the street. The fireworks literally went off above our heads. Until this second show, I forgot about the one thing that made people back up a bit. The first firework finally went up in Talanga, “Oooh!” Expression of awe and beauty from the crowd. Immediately followed by, “Ooh!” Expression of surprise and fear as a shell landed within two feet of me. My three host siblings and I took quick cover in the only thing available, a closed doorway. The house we stood against didn't even have overhanging eves. The four of us hudled close for shelter as we watched the lights in the sky and the shells falling in front of us, some still attached to 2-3 foot sticks. Needless to say, safety standards here just wouldn't hold up in the States. Sometimes, this can be appreciated, even enjoyed (think climbing ridiculously steep stairs/ladders to un obstructed views at the top of Mayan ruins). The utter lack of people waiting to file a law suit is beautiful. At the same time, I don't dare climb aboard a carnival ride here. Well, I may consider a man powered ferris wheel as Kyler did. Seriously, man-powered, as in, a guy reaching up and pulling the rungs to make it move. Oh, I love Honduras.

Other than ferria, I have been BUSY! hooray! I am working on a World Map project with 6th graders. We spent all week painting the wall and drawing the world on it. We are almost done and should start painting the countries tomorrow. This project has provided an excellent opportunity to get to know the kids a little better and I am having fun but it is extremely frustrating as well. Most of the frustration is my fault and I am now motivated to do the project again with a different group of skills so I can put my hindsight to use. First, never try to draw a grid on an uneven brick wall, especially with sixth graders who are unfamiliar with the process. Second, check their work constantly. It looks like the get it, and are doing well, only to find out after a good start, they proceeded to cram three squares worth of map into one, TWICE! Also, work in small blocks of time with small groups of kids. Their attention goes so quickly. In the end, I did a lot more of the work than I would have liked. Now I know.

Photos include the frequent siting of cattle herding down the highway, my 6th grade world map kids working away, the same kids playing in the school yard (they have no toys so a few abandonded 4x4s became teeter-totters) and photos from the Copan to Cabañas (Rachel's site) hike. That was a great time and it was good to see friends again. I will try to update more frequently but my communication skills have been lacking lately.

PS: I HAVE A REFRIGERATOR! I know, that sounds strange but yes, I have been living with out one for the last year and bring a little baby one home today. I finally caved.

I am still here

Looks like it has been awhile...

It was pointed out to me that from my blog, it appears I travel a lot. That isn't really true, it's just the most interesting things to write about. That is probably a major reason I have not updated the blog recently, I haven't been out and about much.

Work wise, things have been hit and miss, as always. I just finished a teamwork and creative thinking project with 5th graders at one of my schools. Once a week I met with the class to do different activities teaching them how to work in groups, share ideas and have fun. We started with the "human knot" and failed miserably. We had 6 teams of 6 and not a single group was even close to figuring it out. After several minutes of trying to explain, demonstrate and attempt, they were still trying to pull against each other. I tried hinting that some people may need to turn around. They all turned around and twisted themselves even more! I let them try several times and decided to use it as a pre/post test. At the sixth and final session, every group figured it out! I was so proud to see the improvement. It is a little thing, but a big step. Any task outside the norm can be very difficult. The norm is copy and memorize. I did none of that. During the 6 sessions we had a longest object competition, made "Puff mobils" (a vehicle powered by a group member blowing on the object), made skits utilizing props, amoung other things. The kids really seemed to enjoy it and were even prepared after holidays and another teacher strike postponed our fifth session for 2 weeks! I am starting a "world map" project with 6th graders at another school as well. We have only had a few preporatory session so far. I am leaning how little they know about geography and they are learning how to enlarge a map using a grid. Final exams start in a few weeks and I hope to work with the kids who don't fail their exams and paint a giant world map on the side of the school while the kids who did fail their exams are in review session and retakes. Ojala we can get it all done before school is officially out.

I am still trying to implenent a water filter project to distribute water filters throughout the homes of the aldea where these two schools are. It hasn't been going anywhere. In addition to teachers striking, the nurses have their own fight. That means the small health center I am trying to work with was closed for almost 3 weeks. I am also having trouble getting word out that these filters are available and cheap. I wanted to work with the community to find ways of fundraising but the response I received was not positive, "but Laura, people in this community don't want to work." If people don't want to work, how am I supposed to help? This is a constant battle for all of us. There are people who work but in many communities, the people who are willing to work hard for things, volunteer and put forth time and effort are already involved in so much they have no time for anything else. I don't think this is a trait unique to Honduras or even developing communities but it's still frustrating.

After having 17 PC trainees in my site for 5 weeks, I did take a short vacation to the beach town of Tela. When I say short, I mean I had a day and a half at the beach. Like a weekend, if I remember what those are like. My schedule is so erratic it's hard to envision a 9-5, Monday through Friday type schedule. Tela was great, the beach was beautiful and I took a whole 2 pictures. It was just nice to vacation for a few days and see my good friend Rachel.

I will try to update this a little more frequently but the laptop broke again and I get flustered and stressed out in the internet cafes just trying to check my email.

Pictures: Tela (2); Teamwork kids preparing "Vuelo de los Huevos": Flight of the Eggs; Teams after their egg survived being dropped from about 12 feet; Dia del Nino: Kids, teachers putting on skits, etc.

Bad to Bathe

So we all know that strange rumors fly around medical issues. I heard two this week… The first was from my host sister. I help her study English a few times a week, whenever I have time in the afternoon/evening. She could not come to my house to study one day. No big deal. The next day, I went to her house. She informed me that she could not come over because she had cramps. (About once a month she doesn’t come because she is sick due to menstruation. Side note: menstruation is a fairly regular excuse for women to not show up to various things like studying or soccer games.) This time, she had gone to the doctor and was told that since her stomach cramps feel worse after she drinks hot or cold beverages, she should therefore not bathe for 2 days. What?! What the hell does bathing have to do with it? I have enough confianza with her to tell her that I think it is ridiculous and that I don’t see the connection between her menstrual pain and bathing. She couldn’t explain the connection.
Numero dos: I heard about soap cancer from the Passionists but yesterday, in the back of a pick-up on our way home from a soccer tournament, I heard a local guy talking to one of the players about it being “malo” to bathe with soap after exercise. Another guy chimed in and asked if it was due to chemicals because your pores are open from sweating (the closest thing to a pliable explanation I have heard) but everyone just said “no” or “I don’t know why, it’s just bad”. Apparently, it is ok to bathe with water after you exercise but don’t use soap! It will give you soap cancer and is bad! I have been doing that my life so if I suddenly get sick with soap cancer you will know why. When you hear things like this, what do you say? If it is someone I know well, I will tell them that I don’t believe it and try to explain why some claims are unrealistic. But when I am surrounded by people I don’t know that well, how do you tell them something they believe seems ridiculous to me and that I don’t believe it? The best I have found is to show subtly that I don’t believe it but try not to negate them. Some outlandish beliefs very well may be true but some, I just don’t see the logic. I have also been told not to bathe when you have a fever. I did it anyway. When I talked to the doctor, the first thing she told me to do was shower. When is it bad to bathe? I can’t think of a situation where you shouldn’t bathe for health reasons but if you can, let me know. I guess taking a freezing cold shower if the weather were cold and you are sick may not be the most comfortable thing but you can always heat a bucket of water.

Oh, yes, I found a women’s soccer team to play with on Sundays. The “team” has an interesting dynamic. I am appreciative of the chance to play and the experience is great for my self-esteem. It can be a little frustrating seeing 5 people from the same team within 5 feet of the ball but I see it as a great opportunity for a little exercise and a way to get to know some women (even though the majority of them are under 18).

Photos: I took another trip to La Tigra with Lauren, one of the new Passionists.  It is always nice to get out in unspoiled nature.

Suicidal Spider

The last group of Passionist volunteers are gone, leaving room for a new group to settle in to life in Talanga and the next group of PC youth development volunteers getting to know life in Talanga for the next few weeks as they continue the “Field Based Training” portion of their training. While it is great having new people around and the opportunity to drop in on training sessions whenever I have free time, all these gringos are proving to be a challenge to my Spanish. I have been speaking so much English; it is sometimes difficult to spit the words out in Spanish. I catch myself interjecting English words in the middle of sentences with Hondurans. I guess that is the price I pay for socialization with my fellow countrymen.
Aside from feeling tongue-tied, things are going really well. I am finally experiencing the busyness I anticipated for months. This isn’t even “PC Honduras busyness” but real, legitimate—I have something to do all day everyday—busyness. It’s great, I love it! I showed up at the colegio Wednesday, prepared for a self-esteem talk which I was invited to give on Tuesday. The administrators informed me that the students to whom I gave the HIV workshop to a month or two ago, were giving the talk to other students! I was so excited that the plan was being actualized but annoyed at the administrators for not telling me ahead of time. I requested 3 days to work with the students, prep time the first day and two days to give the charla. I also told them 6 people was the maximum number of people per group to give the talk. The kids didn’t get prep time at school, just one night to prepare, broken into 2 groups of about 16 (yes, 16 people GIVING one talk, a bit ridiculous but whatever). Wednesday they gave day two of the talk. I just wish I could have been there for both days. As I ran back and forth between the two classes, one group really impressed me. They were so prepared with visual charla papers and condom-balloons, each containing a question for an activity! They other group did alright as well but spent most of the time I observed reading off individual papers. They didn’t seem to have the other students’ full attention but they did include a few activities (activities are NOT in the normal teaching method here). After the talks, I met with the kids who gave the charlas. The purpose was to do a little self-evaluation, find out how they felt about giving the talks to other kids and see how we can improve the session. I don’t know why I expected this plan to be lucrative. We sat in a circle as the rain poured on the tin roof of a classroom. “Which part of your charla was most successful, what did you feel worked the best?” Response, “All of it. The activities went well but all of it was good.” Ok… “Which parts were difficult?.... Which were the worst parts or what challenges did you have?” Response, “None of it, it all went well.” “How can we improve this?” Response, “No, it’s all good.” SERIOUSLY?! I asked a few other questions and tried to re-word things but was unsuccessful at any constructive feedback. I even asked how many of them were truly interested in the information and how many did it because they had to. Not a single person admitted to doing it because it was required. Maybe they are just nice, maybe they are full of shit. I think they are so accustomed to giving the right answer and agreeing with everything that they no longer consider the possibility of disagreeing. Sad reality: creative thinking (including forming individual opinions) is not a widely encouraged or taught skill here. Despite my feedback challenges, I am ecstatic that the kids gave the HIV prevention info to their younger counterparts.
Also moving forward, my water filter project! We are still at early stages in the process but a filter sits in the Centro de Salud in La Ermita (one of the aldeas where I work in the schools and the colegio) as an example of the filter anyone in the community could have in their house. I no longer buy 5 gallon jugs of purified water but add pila water (the supposedly potable-bacteria-filled water that comes through the tap outside into a concrete holding tank: a pila) to my clay and colloid silver filter. They first few batches tasted like clay but that issue is resolving itself. The plan is to leave the example filter in the health center for a few weeks then start taking orders… we’ll see.
Thursday, I spent almost the entire school day mixing soil and creating a raised bed with 2nd and 6th graders (two separate beds) at one of my schools. Friday we planted basil (that is what I had on hand) and flowers in each bed and talked about composting, replacing nutrients and not littering (an issue I think I raise everyday at the schools). Most of it they will probably forget or didn’t listen to but hopefully something will stay with a few of them. If nothing else, it was a good morning of manual labor side-by-side with young Honduran kids.

Changing gears… I have been getting up early to run with one of the new Passionist volunteers. I rose just after 5 one morning and as I stumbled to put my contacts in and clean the pila (water only comes twice a week). I moved my cleaning brush to find a huge tarantula hanging out on the back ledge of the pila. I don’t like spiders, especially big, hairy ones. I went to the bathroom as I considered my options. I am afraid to kill the big ones because it’s creepy and I don’t want to clean up the mess afterwards. When I returned a few minutes later, the spider was inside the pila, towards the top of the concrete side. I walked away again, still considering my options. When I looked again, the beast had moved to the waters’ edge. Still unsure of what to do with it, I decided to start the cleaning process as normal: I dumped detergent and bleach in the water. The next thing I know, the tarantula is IN the water. It was still, then swam… sort of. It did this dead-man float, sink, swim to the top routine a few times. It finally moved far enough from the drain that I was willing to brave it. I reached in and pulled the drain on the pila. My biggest fear was that the spider would stick in the drain and I would have to pull it out in order to re-plug the drain and fill the pila. Luckily, that didn’t happen. Since the tarantula was curled up in a ball, I assumed it was dead and cleaned around it. I went for my run. When I came back, the water was on and when I dumped clean water on it, it ran to the front corner of the pila (still on the bottom). How was this thing not dead? I watched it for a few minutes, it must have been a reflex, the thing looked pretty dead. Maybe this is gross, but I re-plugged the drain and let the pila fill enough for me to scoop the spider out in the bowl with some water. I then threw the seemingly dead spider in the street in front of my house for the neighborhood chickens. I didn’t know tarantulas could be suicidal but I am thankful to this spider from relieving me of the decision regarding whether to smash it and deal with the mess or find a way to get it out front for the chickens without touching it or letting it fall on the way, which by the way is through my house. Hopefully I the geckos will continue to fill that niche in the food-chain and I won’t have to deal with anymore giant arachnids. Just to note, I consider it my fault I found it because the day before, the new Passionists found a similar tarantula in their house and I mentioned that I had only seen one large spider in or near my house here. The first one, my landlady’s son picked it up on a stick and fed it to the chickens so I didn’t actually have to deal with it.

Photos: Last night with my first group of Passionists. The new group is fun but I still miss the others. They will always be my first. (If I finish out my service, the next group will arrive a few months before I leave.) Volcan San Cristobal; the Cathedral in Leon, Nicaragua; The cross above Talanga; and some Baseball pics.  They wouldn't move, I will try to fix that another day

Bello to the Rescue

My font porch can be a “dangerous” place. As I lay in my hammock on in my enclosed porch, the dog napping on and off, head resting at the gate, two evangelists approached. Both older Honduran men, not Bello’s favorite populations in general. People can and should have their own faith but I prefer not to be preached at in my own home. When the Mormon missionaries passed by several months ago, I also happened to be reading on my porch. The porch can be a dangerous place because I am exposed. I cannot pretend to be busy or not home as I lie with a book in a hammock in plain site. Bello to the rescue. As the men approached, one wearing a “Jesucristo vive” (Jesus Christ lives) shirt, zipper-cased Bible in hand, he gave them a few seconds as we both surveyed the men. They stopped within inches of the gate, obviously a little unsure of themselves. Whether this uncertainty was a result of the dog or due to their own convictions, I do not know. Bello gave a growl, then let out a full round of barking. The man in the Jesuscrito shirt tried to talk through the barking. I didn’t hear a thing other than “las palabras”, “the words”. Bello tends to get excited when dogs, pigs and some people pass the house. Although I don’t normally like when he jumps up, paws on the sill, to bark out the bar windows, in this case, I tried to hide my smile. He put his paws on the sill and barked, face-to-face with the other man. (Hondurans in general are not tall people and there is a single step up to the porch.) As the hair on the back of Bello’s back stood on end and he growled off anything but a welcome, I eased out the, “this isn’t a good time” excuse as I watched my baby.
Normally, I don’t really like his “bravo,” as it is called here. I don’t appreciate when he randomly lunges or barks at an innocent passerby as I walk him on his leash. Instances like this, I can’t help but appreciate it. Who Bello reacts negatively towards is sometimes unpredictable but a few traits tend to set him off: 1 Bolos (drunks). 2 People who are obviously afraid of him. 3 Frequently, people on bikes, I am not sure why, 4. The others are mostly men, though not always. I think he is a pretty good judge of character although once in awhile he reacts to people to whom he didn’t just a few minutes previously. I will never full understand it but sometimes I appreciate my personal “vigilante”. I love that he barks at bolos and “me cuide.”
Side note: the tick situation is improving though not completely resolved.

Completely unrelated...
One strange reality of living in another culture and living in another language is trying to express your personality. At least for me, it isn’t the same. Maybe it is the language, maybe it is the culture, maybe it is the rest of the situation and my role in my community. I don’t feel like I am the same person in Spanish as I am in English. Partially, it is difficult to pop off random comments in another language. Also, many things don’t translate. When around other Americans, you can translate things directly and often they pick up on the intention. For example, at one point I said “si solamente,” translated directly means “if only” but I am pretty sure that doesn’t work quite right in Spanish. I said it in the presence of other Peace Corps volunteers, at least one of whom caught my meaning immediately and laughed at the direct translation (which was the point). Months ago, I mentioned to one of my sisters that I don’t feel like I portray the same personality in my community. She told me that probably wasn’t the case but I think it might be true. My evidence, is that I was told by one of the younger colegio teachers that he initially thought me to be “enojada” which means serious. Maybe I don’t see myself as others do, but serious is probably one of the last words I would use to describe myself. Luckily, I think that impression has worn off and was mostly a result of my lack of ability to speak and not knowing what the hell I was doing the first few months in site.
Another incident occurred a few weeks after the encounter with the teacher. I was hanging out at my host family’s when come high school boys stopped by to help move chairs from their house (I’m not sure why but they have TONS of plastic chairs stacked in the backyard, why they have never offered to lend me a few, I don’t know.) My host sister commented that one of the boys was very outgoing. In learning a new word, I asked if I was outgoing. The response was a pretty definitive no. I either have a skewed perspective of myself, or I portray myself differently here. Who knows, maybe I am serious and not outgoing. Anyway, random rant but you aren’t a captive audience so I am not culpable.

FYI

I just found a draft from the first of June that was never posted. I am sure I tried and the "freaking Central American internet" tweaked again and wouldn't post it. Take a look, it even has pictures!