Fiesta de Pizza!

I have to tell you, this English class has been my favorite project here. My students are there because they really want to learn. They show up every Saturday, do their homework and really study for the quizzes and tests. Not only do I have a working relationship with this group of people, but we are truly friends too. Here are the dipolma earners on the last day of the first English class. I am like a proud mama.

Speaking of mamas, here is Iris accepting her diploma. Her daughter Isabel and son in law Oscar are also in the class. One day the class had an assignment to interview a classmate. Iris interviewed Isabel`s best friend, Alicia. Not only was her English terrific, but the way she talked about her daughter`s best friend brought me to tears. She said how she feels like Alicia is her very own daughter and how she has been special to her since she was a little girl and how watching her grow up with Isabel has been a joy. I thought of all of my best friends and how close I am to so many of their moms. I am so lucky to have so many people in life to love, and the list just keeps getting longer.
Ok, so this one is kind of random and off topic, but this is Alicia`s little boy Angel. I usually hold him and play while everyone is working on independent assignments or tests. I call him my little boyfriend and the class gets a kick out of it. The other cool thing about it is he is almost exactly the same age as my best friend`s son, who I have yet to meet since I had left for the Peace Corps before he was born. I try to imagine sometimes that it`s him I am hugging and snuggling. Can`t wait to meet you Pax!

9 of my students earned a diploma, obtaining a 70 percent or better. From the beginning of the class I had promised that the top 3 from each class would earn a trip to Pizza Hut. At the last minute, since there were only 3 more than I had planned, Susan told me to invite everyone. Well, it couldn`t have been better timing, it was a perfect time to remove ourselves from the earthquakes, H1N1 flu and political goings on for an afternoon of some serious pizza eating.

Here`s Idalia (one of only 2 kids from the basic class who earned a diploma) and Karen, one of the better students in the more advanced class. Both of them had the best attendance only missing one class each. Idalia lives in a community which is about a 45 minute walk to the place where English class is held. Through rain, earthquakes and 100 degree heat she has shown up. Remember when I talked about the good advice I received regarding focusing on "one"? If Idaliah is the only person to get something out of my being here, it will have been worth it.

Special thanks to Susan and my friend Mary from home for making this awesome outing possible.

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Coup

President Zelaya has been removed from the country and, in the eyes of the Honduran government, from office. This morning at 6 am the Honduran military went to his home, physically removed him and put him on a plane to Costa Rica pursuant to a court order issued by the Supreme Court. Today there was to be a vote of the Honduran people, a referendum, for an issue on November`s ballot pertaining to the extension of a President`s term limits, among other broadly termed changes to the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled that this vote was illegal prior to the vote, but Zelaya wanted to continue regardless. He asked for the help of his military in seeing the vote took place and General Velasquez, the top dog, refused siding with the Supreme Court. Zelaya fired him, he was reinstated after the Supreme Court ruled he had been released without reason. Honduras has sworn in a provisional President, Roberto Micheletti, the head of Congress.

For more information click on the following links.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/06/27/honduras.zelaya/index.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/06/28/honduras.president.arrested/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Please know that I am safe and Peace Corps has been in constant contact with me about what is happening. Lots of friends, neighbors and co-workers are watching over me and keeping me informed. I am in extremely good hands. I have not seen any sort of violence of protesting and there seems to be a general sense of calmness where I live as well as through the entire country. The days ahead will provide us with more answers and a clearer picture of how this will play out. I will keep you posted.

These are the days of my life.

Pheww! Time is just a rollin on by. It has been almost a year since I flew off to begin this crazy journey. Let me tell you about what has been going on lately.

Honduran Labor Day, what a great holiday here. We actually spent the day together, with the people we work with, what a concept! It was great, we packed some coolers and headed down to the river. We ate, drank, danced and swam all afternoon. Here is our mayor enjoying the BBQ. This really brought me closer to my co-workers, although one had a few too many cervezas and was growling like a wolf because we were at a place called Los Lobos (the wolves)! Just like the office parties I am used to.

I am still working hard with Oscar to get the high school library in order. Here he is showing off the tables we had a carpenter make for the room. We are also starting a project together to try to get funding for a sort of trade school at the high school. It would be like a technical training center for cooking, mechanics, woodshop, and other trades.

Also, we are working with the women at Grandma's house on a home garden project. Here are the kids. Hopefully this garden project can get some nutritious vegetables in their bellies as well as some money from selling some to pay for other necessities. An organization called PeaceWork in conjunction with Virginia Tech University, a technical training organization called INFOP and members of the community are all playing a part in this project. My part... I like to play and talk with the kids and give lots of hugs and kisses. I have the best job in the whole world.

We gave some HIV talks at the factory at Standard Fruit Company. I asked 2 health volunteers to come and do it, I just set it up. They did such a great job. The factory workers asked us to come back to give a demonstration how to use a condom. We showed them and handed out condoms. It was a great success. Right now we are working with the administrative offices of Standard Fruit to get a team of employess together to have them trained by Peace Corps volunteers on all of the HIV information so that they can give the talks. Sustainability, sustainability, sustainability.

Then it was time for my suntanned toes to tickle some sand. My dear friend Sandy from the states came for a week of fun. We started by staying at the Intercontinental Hotel, it was luxurious, especially having been removed from such joys for so long. We cranked the air and slept on the most comfortable beds in the whole world, I am serious. We spent a couple of days on Utila, one of the islands off the coast of Honduras. We stayed in a great hotel, the Mango Inn. It was in the middle of a bunch of trees and tropical plants. We swam in the pool, explored the island, snorkeled in the Caribbean, found a mattress that Sandy really wanted to take home, ate serious amounts of food (including the most delicious cinnamon roll in the world, seriously, the outside is even more delicious than the inside, how can it be?) and I even found time for a pedicure, and yes, that is a ping pong paddle. We took a hike to a waterfall and another at the Pico Bonito lodge followed by a nice lunch. It was so great to have one of my peeps here with me to see exactly what I am doing, where I live and meet the people that have become what my life is all about. Plus, she brought me a bunch of goodies including Cranberry Chutney Yankee candles, hair gel (dont judge me, you try to have curly hair and live in the tropics), vegetable and herb seeds (although I may have to come up with a better plan than planting them in my yard, I recently discovered I have some coconut thieves) and dried apricots. Sandy went way outside of her comfort zone to be here, just ask her about her first encounter with a port-a-potty. Thanks for an amazing week Sandy! You will have to come back so we can find Utopia, for real this time. Oh, and to give your Honduran dog a day in the life of an American, maybe we can make a reality show.

Right after Sandy left (sniffle sniffle) it was Carnival in the La Ceiba, the biggest party in Honduras (smile smile). Along with Carnival there are little carnivalitos all throughout the area. Oscar took me to the carnival and it was surprisingly similar to one of our fairs. There was livestock, live music, cotton candy and even cheesy games to win your loved one an equally cheesy prize. We ate pupusas (think cheese, dough and fried) and listened to a live band. There was also a rodeo, yee haww!

English classes are going great! Recently the kids received an assignment to make a book of all the lessons they had learned including an activity for each lesson such as a word search. Thanks to Mary for offering the resources to buy all the materials they could have ever wanted to make their books. The final is this Saturday, eeeek! Some of the adults also made a book. I was more than impressed, they obviously took a huge amount of time to complete these. Don`t worry, they were handsomely rewarded in the form of bonus points. Also, again thanks to Mary, the top 3 students from each class will be joining me for a lavish Pizza Hut lunch!

Ever zipped through the rainforest on wire cables and a harness? If not, you totally need to try it. My friends Susan and Scott host mission teams and one of their teams invited me along on their ziplining trip. We went to a nearby town called Sambo Creek where you drive up a steep mountain and arrive at the first tree stand. You have a harness with a hook that they hook onto the pulley thingy that takes you down the wire. The longest run is about a kilometer. You zip from tree stand to tree stand and are able to look out into the rainforest and the ocean. There were 18 zips in all. Amongst the rainforest are pockets of hot springs, some are even at boiling temperature. After the zipping we had a picnic at one of the cooler hot springs where there was a bowl of mud available for skin masks. Who needs Mario`s?!

Part of our program in the schools is checking eye acuity and for any obvious problems so that we can send them to an eye clinic for assistance. Recently I organized a bus to take 9 people to the clinic for glasses and other consultations. Two kids received eyeglasses, two kids will go back with their parents in August to talk to a specialist about surgery (both are cross-eyed) and one little girl with a cataract was informed that it was tiny tiny and that surgery wouldn`t be required at this time but we should keep checking it every couple of years. Here are my new little buddies David and Elvin.

Here`s what`s shakin

There was an earthquake in Honduras. It registered 7.1 on the Richter scale with the epicenter around one of the islands right off the coast of my town, El Porvenir. I woke up right before it happened, about 2:30 a.m. The the whole house started to shake and the windows rattled like I was in between two sets of railroad tracks, at one point I thought for sure something was going to bust through the wall. Anyone who knows me knows of my in between sleep and consciousness escapades so just imagine me sitting there half in and half out of what is happening around me saying the whole time, Is this seriously happening? I sometimes hallucinate right as I am waking up and so at one point I was convinced that a wrecking ball was going to come through the wall, I still hadn`t realized it was an earthquke. This was probably lucky for me, I sat there calm as could be, hypnotized by the deafening hum of the earth. It lasted for what seemed like a solid couple of minutes, I didn`t know when or if it was going to stop. Some small aftershocks followed and I came fully to. I felt so alone. I wasn`t quite sure what to do or who to call. The phones were jammed up immediately so I just sat in my bed and listened to the crowds come together in the street. I don`t think many went back to sleep after that, I managed to doze a bit (for those of you who know me well, not a surprise). At sunrise I went through the house to inspect the damage. No damage, just some tousled objects, things fallen off the shelf. At 5:30 a friend from the states texted me to see if I was Ok. When I called him back he told me it was a 7.1! We were without power until a couple hours ago so I had no access to the news to know the extent the earthquake or it`s damage. Luckily, considering the magnitude there was little substantial damages and casualties have been reported as only being a few. Lots of you have called, texted, emailed and such to inquire as to my well being. Thank you for caring that much. I am alive and well and thankful that this natural disaster didn`t cause more damage.

All work and no play....no way!

We cleaned 250 kids´ teeth, sent 30 to the dentist, did a health review with fun games, performed skits with puppets teaching how to brush and other health related themes to 600 kids, performed 600 eye acuity exams, gave HIV education to 40 employees at Dole, went to Trujillo (one of the most beautiful beaches in Honduras), took a train to a boat for a river tour of the jungle where we saw howler monkeys and a baby crocodile, laid in a hammock and caught some zzz´s, helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity, had a surprise birthday party given by my Intermediate English class and got bit by a monkey. And that is just the last two weeks!

Ok, so of course while I like to think I could, I didn’t do all of this single handedly. We had a team from Toronto that did the cleaning and dentistry. Needless to say I´ve been saying ”eh” without even realizing it. While the three hygienists cleaned teeth that have never been exposed to a scraper, or whatever the technical word for that thingy is, I entertained them with a fun review playing musical chairs and “hot potato”. My role was also logistics, my forte, although I am rethinking proclaiming this after this experience. This was a success on so many levels. First, the kids who really needed fillings and root canals either got them this week or are on a list to be seen. Second, the kids were amazing. Some were scared at first, but only because in the land of Honduras all they do is pull teeth, not fix them, so that is what the kids are used to. After I assured them the hygienists certainly weren’t going to pull, and if they were sent to the dentist he would only pull if absolutely necessary, they were very willing and so well behaved. One kid, Alex, had to go to the dentist 3 days in a row for various treatments, all in all valuing over $4,000. He showed up every day with a smile on his face. Even if that was the only kid that was helped during my entire service it would be worth it, but the great thing is that there are so many more being helped. One of the women with the team asked me a question that had been keeping her up at night one evening over a well-deserved cocktail, “Is it worth it? I know we are here teaching them how to take care of their teeth and that’s great, but are our efforts for naught; do you really think they will continue what we have been showing them?” My response, “If one child does it, it’s worth it”. This is the philosophy that has been keeping me going, advice given to me by my dear friend Susan, a missionary here in El Porvenir.

Speaking of Susan, animal lover and proud owner of Cha Cha the white-faced monkey, I now come to the “got bit by a monkey” part of my intro. So, it was a peaceful day, the breeze was blowing, the sun was shining and I decided it was the perfect day to introduce myself to Cha Cha. She loved me….at first. She climbed up my arm and snuggled my neck and petted my arm, and then, she turned. Teeth sunk into my arm as if I were a prime cut of meat. Susan did what she could but Cha Cha stood strong. As I contemplated my escape it was an eternity before Susan got a hold of her long enough for me to flee for the door. So I didn’t make a new friend that day, but the good news is I didn’t contract rabies either. How many of you can say you got bit by a monkey, pretty cool, eh?

(Abuelito Encillas) Grandpa Gums is the star of our puppet show, a skit teaching kids about the importance of dental care, protection from the sun, washing hands, etc. Along with that we give out toothbrushes and do fluoride treatments. The great thing is we go back every year for a review, so hopefully something sticks, and I don’t mean the plaque on their teeth! An adjunct to our eye acuity exams is discovering problems that have nothing to do with dental or optical health. Ana, a six year old sweetie pie was up for her eye exam when someone from our team asked about what looked like a burn on her neck. Well, a burn it was not, but a horrible skin disease that the girl has lived with since she was four months old. We sent for her father who permitted us to take some photos to show a dermatologist. Ana lifted her shirt and skirt and, to my dismay, uncovered sores all over her body, the worst of which we were informed was in places not suitable to be shown in public. Remember what I said about just one child? What a testament to that philosophy!

Now the fun stuff! Trujillo, aka heaven, is a beautiful coastal town with a bay bound beach. The water is clean and clear and there are no tourists! Picture 80 degrees, sun shining, waves lapping at our feet on the shore, cold drink in hand, and a view of the mountains on either side of the bay, man o man, it just doesn’t get better than that.

One of our volunteers works with Habitat for Humanity in La Ceiba and invited us along to help build a house for a family. It was great fun, a good workout and now I know a little more about mixing concrete and making walls out of concrete blocks. If anyone needs a house built, I`m your girl, well not really, but I can help!

There is a wildlife reserve called Cuero y Salado in a nearby town which we visited recently. You drive to a little train, just one car really, which takes you to a little motor boat. From there you go up a river into a series of channels to find wildlife. We saw howler monkeys, bats and a baby crocodile. Sometimes manatees are spotted. It’s a peaceful place with mangroves, birds and vines all over the place. Just to be out on the water was a treat. Our guide apparently spoke monkey because he would hoo hoo hoo and the monkeys would reply. One of the women from the Canadian team tried and they didn’t respond. I told her they must not have understood her Canadian accent.

By the way, that`s Dr. Bill Kerr the dentist and I in the photo, not the monkeys.

My Proverbial Peace Corps Glass

So, do I see it as time here being one-third gone, or two-thirds remaining? It depends on the day. Let me take you through some of my days here and you can see how the rollercoaster I call my life in Honduras works. Here, more it seems than anywhere I have ever been, there definitely is an equal and opposite reaction to every action, I repeat, opposite reaction. That is to say, it seems for every positive there is inevitably a negative.

Recently I had one of those Peace Corps moments, a moment where all of the trouble, training, cold showers, being away from friends and family were so worth it. A group of 12 women approached me when I first arrived here, when I didn’t know much of anything about anything. They had formed an organization with a name, purpose and list of members and filed it with the equivalent of our Secretary of State. Wow, very organized and determined, of course I would try to help such a group. As I found out more about them and about the municipality I work with, the puzzle began fitting together, at least in my mind, I hoped the other involved parties would agree. The women essentially want to start a business to earn money as mostly single mothers. Great, what kind of business I ask, a seemingly simple question right? Visualize large flood gates opening; Sewing, water purification, childcare, tilapia farms, baking, tourism, you name it, and they probably did too. Ok, problem #1, focus. Whittling down these ideas has, to this day not been completely done away with, but we are getting there and they finally decided sewing is what they wanted to pursue. Great, now where do they get the seed capital to start it up? They naturally assumed I, being the one with the white skin, had it in my back pocket, or better yet, I could call my rich uncle who owns the Fortune 500 in the states and it would just be a matter of filling in the amount on the check. One of the biggest obstacles I have here as a Peace Corps volunteer, rebutting the money tree that everyone seems to think exists. My job is developing people, not spitting out money like an ATM. Luckily, being a Municipal Development volunteer, I am well aware of a pocket of funds called ERP funds (Early Reduction of Poverty) with, what do you know, a specific line item for micro-enterprises for single mothers (a mini Peace Corps moment). Naturally I explain the undeniable connection and, to my chagrin, am refuted and informed that they have been trying to get help from the municipality for years to no avail. Firm, but understanding, I laid it out, if they wanted my help we were going have to start on the inside and work our way out seeking funds. First the municipality, then local non-profit organizations, then, if we had to, further to other countries. Begrudgingly, they agreed. Acting as a liaison between the people and the municipality is a natural fit for me, and, lucky for me, part of my job. We all sat down together with the Community Development person in the municipality, Kelly, who agreed to allow the women to put on a presentation to the municipality. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the presentation due to a prior commitment, but they certainly didn’t need me, (Ok, this is it, the big Peace Corps moment), it was a hit and the municipality loved it and agreed to fund them!! And, then, in true Peace Corps fashion, just as quickly as it had come, it went, well kind of. A week later Kelly casually asked, what happened to your girls, they were supposed to get me their solicitation outlining the project with a budget, etc. Ugghhh! All of that and so much more to go and already the follow through is crashing and burning. Ok, they just need a little pick me up, again part of my job. Just in case they were stuck, I scour my resources the whole day and print out some forms on how to write a project, budgeting, etc. I knew the president of the group would be up at the high school selling fruit to the kids at their break time, so I went there. Just as I had suspected, they didn’t know where to go from here, no problem, that’s why I am here. We scheduled a meeting for the following Monday. Six of the twelve women showed up because it was raining, never mind I had the furthest to walk. It’s a good thing that I am a decent facilitator because they were back to discussing other ideas for projects rather than ironing out the details for the sewing gig. Seriously, let’s focus. Back on track we went through the forms I had pulled answering questions about how their sewing project would help the community, the people involved, etc. Then we slid with a screeching halt into the budget portion. They had no idea how much a sewing machine would cost, how much material they would need to sew one purse, how many zippers and buttons they might need. No, problem, I am good at this stuff, that’s why I am here. I suggested they make a list of the things they would need, equipment, material to last a year until they were self-sustaining and anything else they may need. Diligently the list was made and, while we may have hit up Google for such research, they assigned one of the younger members the task of going into La Ceiba (a larger nearby city) the next day to fill in the blanks on their budget. Perfect! They were scheduled to meet with Kelly in two days to turn in the final solicitation. Of course, after attempting to confirm the turn-in date with Kelly she moved the date to the following week, which was actually an advantage; it gave them more time to work. I called the president to relay the new date and told her I wouldn’t be able to make it, but if they had any questions in the meantime to not hesitate to contact me. D day and I was so proud of the women, and of me for doing exactly what a Peace Corps volunteer should be doing, without too much frustration. I went to the high school for some other business and saw the president of the group selling her fruit. Como le fue? (How did it go?) I ask almost giddily. Fijese que (I believe I have explained this expression, but in case some of you missed it, this phrase is almost always followed by some sort of excuse for not having done something) it was raining this morning and I got up late and had to go to town….. (the list goes on, but I will not bore you). Now, take the exact opposite of the beautiful Peace Corps moment I had experienced before and plug that in here as I let out an exasperated sigh. Certainly the disappointment showed on my face; good, it should I thought. I worked really hard and felt extremely let down and I wasn’t shy about letting them know that. She asked me if turning it in tomorrow was Ok and since the municipality also functions on the same mindset I’m sure it was fine but I told her I didn’t know, today was the day and that’s all I know, as I literally threw my hands up in despair..

As you can see, positive and negative effects neatly woven together represent my work here as a Peace Corps volunteer, and this is just one instance. I have similar stories in my artillery, all comprised of both small and significant accomplishments and disappointments alike. Is that how I approached challenges in my past life? I don’t know, the contrast just seems more pronounced here. For now I will concentrate on the positive things amongst some of the angst filled parts like playing in the sand on the beach with some of my favorite kids, teaching my English class, working hard to finally have a functioning high school-community library and playing in the bamboo ridden Lancetilla botanical gardens. In the meantime, I can’t help but wonder,

is the road ahead of me a long one, or not long enough?

I am Grateful

I am grateful for the blister on my foot from where my old shoe rubs, because it means I have shoes to wear.
I am grateful for the few extra pounds around my waist, because it means I have enough to eat.
I am grateful for the rats that crawl around in my roof all night keeping me awake, because it means I have a roof over my head.
I am grateful for the scratches on my knuckles from scrubbing my clothes clean, because it means I have a place to wash my clothes.
I am grateful for all of the armpit stains on every single one of my tank tops, because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am grateful for my aching legs after walking all day long, because it means I am able to walk.
I am grateful for making silly mistakes in Spanish, because it means I am able to speak.
I am grateful for eating beans, rice and tortillas everyday, because it means I am eating, everyday.
I am grateful for my cold shower because it means I am able to bathe when I want and in the privacy of my own home.
I am grateful for the buses that leave me coughing as the exhaust fills my path, because it means I am breathing.
I am grateful for the roosters, dogs, donkeys, birds and kids that wake me up at 5 in the morning, because it means I am waking up that morning.