More pictures

Top to bottom: 1. Little girls dancing at the World AIDS Day Event
2. The march at the beginning of World AIDS Day
3. Daughters of the motorcycle boys and myself at the Teleton (fundraiser for rehabilitation in Honduras)
4. The beginning of my new garden
5. Working in El Pate, reading nutrition info to campesina women
6. Bananas on MY plant in MY backyard!!!
7. My house!
8. My street
9. Thanksgiving at my Mommas house

World AIDS Day

December 5, 2008...one of the best days in Honduras...maybe in my life.

I had a trip to Tegus scheduled to take care of some medical stuff and to see Joel, which of course I was excited about. I was then informed that the HIV Committee had move the date of the celebration of World AIDS Day to December 5th, which was when I was due to be in Tegus. After some fake internal debate, I of course made the decision to postpone my trip and stay in town to assist with the event.

Something I have realized about this town and maybe this country is that nothing is really planned in advance. One of my goals has been to work the Committee to plan things a little more in advance and that way we won't be running around like crazy people on the day of the event. Well that clearly was not going to happen with this event. Naturally I found myself frustrated in the week leading up to Friday. However in the morning, I woke up and said to myself "You are -not- going to be stressed out today. Everything is going to be fine." And let me tell you...talk about working like a charm!! Despite the fact that it was raining on and off, the computer wouldn't print my questions, we didn't have any transportation and about a million other problems...the event went well. We had about 75 people show up for the march from the park to the event location. We had some words of welcome and some beautiful presentations from various youth groups...some had dances, others had poetry and others had dramas...all with the theme of VIH/AIDS. Then we hosted some games and sold baleadas to the sound of music provided by a local company.

I was walking around taking pictures when I paused to take in the view. The rain had stopped and the sun was peaking out from the clouds. I was surrounded by young people playing educational games, my group of peers from the Committee and the beautiful green lush mountains outside of El Negrito and the thick fog climbing off the top. I found myself with tears in my eyes...knowing that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and doing exactly what I was meant to do. So few do these moments pass in life...I felt overwhelmed with joy and happiness...attempting to soak in the moment and remember how amazing I felt in that moment.

As the afternoon was winding down and we were cleaning up the location, we began discussing having an end of the year holiday dinner the following week. The date is set for Wednesday...supposdly around 17 people will be feasting in my house. I am definitely looking forward to it.

That night I found myself at a fiesta in the Club with my good friend Leandro. A lot of my other friends were there and I got to spend the night dancing which of course was the perfect end to a practically perfect day.

To end this entry...I am actually going to refer to Britney Spears. I was watching her MTV interview (please, no jokes) and she was talking about being in the dance studio and that some people think that when you are going through something difficult that you need to go to therapy and talk through it. But she thinks that sometimes you need to just dance out the emotion and that is what helps you get through it best. That no amount of words or therapy could make one feel as good as dancing.

I never thought I would say this but I agree with Britney...110%

Gobble Gobble!

Well I am officially back from the States. I had a -wonderful- Thanksgiving that went by -way- too fast. I will post pics soon. It feels good to be back here...despite work being sloooooooooow right now. Boo on December!

11.19.08 Turkey Day!!

This week has been going by soooooooooooooooo slow. I know its because I am going to California on Saturday and I am sooooooooooo excited to see my family and have Thanksgiving. So yeah…if anyone wants to talk to me while I am in the States, let me know and I will give you the number you can reach me at.

Tick-tock…tick-tock…hurry up clock!!!

11.17.08 Whew...long time

I am sitting in my office in WorldVision with my counterpart Doris and we are listening to Bryan Adams…and it makes me giggle.

The Exposida (education HIV fair) was a huge success…despite me running around like a chicken with my head cut off most of the time…everyone told me it was the best Exposida they’ve ever been to. Yay!

Last week I had the pleasure of working with Rosa, a WorldVision employee from another branch, on a nutrition workshop for a group of women from El Pate, which is a barrio about 10 minutes outside El Negrito. There are no lights in the community and many of the children are malnourished which was the precise reason we went to give the workshop there. I think I had gotten so used to being recognized here in town that I forget that many people have never seen a gringo before. Needless to say I ended up in the community church with a group of 10 women staring at me as well as a large group of children outside who were straining to get a look at me. It was a definite reality check. The workshop went well…I got to present the portion on breastfeeding (aren’t you proud Mom??) and hopefully we made some kind of positive impact on the women. The best part however was how we arrived back in El Negrito.

Someone from WorldVision was supposed to come pick us up but their phone was off. So I told Rosa that we should just start walking and we would find a jalon (Honduran slang for a ride.) Low and behold, 5 minutes later we found a truck that was heading into town. We ended up waiting on their front porch for awhile and chatting with the grandma of the house, who was a total sweetheart. Eventually, another truck passed by so I flagged it down and asked the driver where he was headed and if we could catch a ride with him. He said that he was picking up a pig on his way into town but if we could fit into the cab, he would take us. Low and behold, he stopped his truck a few houses down and Rosa and I got to enjoy the noise of a huge black pig squeeling as the driver and 2 young men shoved him into the bed of the truck. At this point I completely lost it to a fit of giggles which of course I had to explain to Rosa and then we both were lost in laughter.

Later on in the trip the truck that was originally going to take us got stuck in the creek that has to be crossed to get into El Negrito and the truck we were in ended up towing it into town. Needless to say I could not stop laughing again.


Only in Honduras…

9.23.08 The beach and more…

Emelina kicked my butt this morning…well figuratively at least. I went running with her and oh man am I feeling it…but along with the soreness comes that runner’s high so I have no complaints.

After traveling for 10 days, it was so glorious to sleep in my own bed and be back in mi pueblo. Little did I know, only a few days later, I would be on a bus again, this time with members of the HIV Committees from El Negrito and Morazan, on our way to La Ceiba. Granted, one cannot complain about an all expenses trip to the beach, but really…I was perfectly content sweating my butt off at home sweet home. Nevertheless, I sucked it up and had a wonderful time. We spent 2 days talking about behavior change and planning the Exposida, not to mention soaking up the sun. We stayed at Palma Real, this super lujo resort that was –right- on the water, all included buffet and drinks, 5 swimming pools…it was amazing. I also had an epiphany while I was there…I was getting frustrated because we were talking about the general strengths and weaknesses of the Committee and I felt like I wasn’t being listened to so I sort of sat back and listened to everyone else when all of the sudden I realized that is what I need to do. I am not here to take over the drivers seat and lead everything for the next 2 years. I am here as a support to this committee and this town in general…to help them figure out how they can do these things on their own because in 2 years, I won’t be here anymore and they are going to have to do things without me. So from now on, I am trying to take a more backseat approach to things. And to just chill out…cuz I sort of freak out sometimes and Peace Corps is definitely not the place to be all stressed and weird. Haha. Plus, as Luis Estrada (the training director) said at swearing in… ‘’Don’t make heroes out of yourself, make heroes out of the people in your community’’

Exactly…

9.23.08 As promised for my mother...

Top to bottom:
1. The Obstretics Emergencies Workshop, look at my adorable midwife in the green skirt.
2. Yes, I made -all- those tortillas, by hand. And yes, I rock
3. Tom, Emelina, and myself at a gringo get-together in Yorito
4. My kitchen!
5. Women cooking at the nutrition class in Las Brisas
6. Myself before one of the fiestas during the feria, in July
7. A float during the parade for Independence Day
8. Stealing eggs from a chicken
9. My dining room!

9.14.08 Traveling galore...

I hosted a very successful housewarming party a few weeks ago, complete with homemade guacamole, special punch and lots of music. We danced, ate and drank and had a wonderful time. Next up…Christmas party?

The following week was filled with traveling…

-I spent the first week of September helping with the HIV ToT for the new group of PAM (Protected Areas Management) trainees. They were finishing up FBT in Monte Redondo, which is about 30 minutes outside of Tegus. There are no hotels in the area and I stayed with the sweetest host family. They gave me guava jelly when I left and made me promise that I would come back and visit. The ToT went well…some of the trainees said they would be interested in doing HIV work in their site so hopefully I can help some of them do that when they get settled.
-Myself and the other volunteers who were helping with the training spent Friday night in Tegus so Allison and I took the opportunity to go out. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday´s and then headed to Sabor Cubano, a Cuban restaurant with awesome mojitos and lots of salsa music. We ended the night getting down with 3 professional Honduran dancers at some random bar. Tons of fun…
-Then I headed to Santa Lucia for the weekend to see my host family. I had a great time catching up and eating delicious food. My sister Waleska and I went to watch the Honduras vs. Canada soccer game on Saturday and then shopping at the mall on Sunday. My mom told me that I was welcome there whenever I want and that my room is always open to me. Yay.
-Monday I jumped on a bus to Yarumela to spend the night with my FBT host family. It was so great to see my niece and nephew, I miss them so much. Josue and I went swimming in the river and then Karen and I cooked dinner and gossiped on the patio until bedtime. I got a jalon with my boss to Siguatepeque for Reconnect-Project Workshop the following day.
-I spent Tuesday-Friday with my fellow health volunteers, catching up on life and listening to some new info. I gave a presentation on sexuality during a round robin that we had which was a lot of fun and hopefully informative to some. It was really great to see everyone and find out how everyone has been doing. We also got to experience a mini Exposida put on by an NGO here in Honduras so it gave me some great ideas for ours, which is coming up quickly.
-I finally returned to home sweet home on Friday. I spent the weekend catching up with Emelina and just relaxing. Saturday night was the birthday party of the owner of the Club, Oscar, who is a good friend of mine. I had a great time…dancing and meeting people. BTW…my –entire- town knows that I –love- to dance…it cracks me up.


I need Halloween costume ideas!

09.02.08 Work Hard, Play Hard

Another month gone by…and suddenly its September. I know I haven’t been very vigilant about updating, so here goes nothing:

-The Obstetrics Emergencies workshop in Gracias went really well. It’s a cute town and it was really good to see some of my friends and meet some new PCV’s. The nurse and midwife from my town enjoyed themselves as well and we are going to replicate the training we received here in El Negrito. A group of us went to the Hot Springs the last night in town which was a nice way to end the trip.
-I spent last week with groups of campo women and their children in different communities in the area. Along with 2 other WorldVision employees, we showed the women how to make nutritious food using local products. We cooked together, side by side, and made delicious sopa de frijoles con arroz, junyapa guisado, and this really delicious desert of cooked bananas, milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon.
-Trudy, the Country Director for PC Honduras came to visit Emelina and I last Friday which was a plesant surprise. We had lunch together and we had a nice talk at my house. She offered some good insight on some of my recent frustrations. She also brought me the check with my PEPFAR funds so we can start making purchases for the Exposida.
-I finally threw my long awaited housewarming party on Friday which was a definite success. We ate, danced and drank and everyone seemed to have a really good time. I love being a host and having my house full of people. The following night I was invited to a quincenera (15th birthday party, big deal in Latin culture.) The birthday girl was the niece of my friend’s wife so I was completely flattered that they invited me. I wore my adorable new dress and got to practice my merengue and punta dance moves.

I have an incredibly next 10 days of traveling that I will fill you all in on when I return. Also, less than 3 months until I get to come home for Thanksgiving! Yay!

08.31.08 Some Food for Thought...

I would like to know why the government is interested in giving more benefits to the military and still none to the Peace Corps volunteers. A Peace Corps volunteers takes the same oath as all military personnel. Also, it is my opinion that both jobs are similar.
Where Peace Corps volunteers live, they live alone. They don’t have luxurious beds to sleep in; they don’t have access to cell phones, Internet, gyms, or good old fashioned American food. The Peace Corps thrives in places that the military would never send their personnel alone. Peace Corps volunteers are on the front lines promoting capitalism, democracy, and liberty.
Both job are equally important to the United States, yet one gets all the attention, and funding. The Peace Corps is essentially the equivalent to any Special Forces-Civil Affairs unit, minus the M-16 and camouflage. The conduct similar jobs, yet receive no recognition for their own duty or service. Peace Corps volunteers deserve the same benefits as the military, or something comparable.
Listed below are the benefits for both the Peace Corps and the military. Can you tell the difference?
Peace Corp Benefits: Peace Corps Volunteer Service Credit for Retirement, access to fellows program.
Military Benefits: GI Bill, signing bonuses, life insurance, memorials and burials, military education, military pay, space ‘A’ travel, survivor benefits, TRICARE-Military Health Care, VA home loans, veteran benefits, veteran benefits by states, veterans health care.
In conclusion, it is vitally important to the nation and the world to offer more benefits to Peace Corps volunteers. Without their courage and determination to change the world on the grass roots level, the world would be a much darker, and much less secure, environment.

Casey B. Welch
Peace Corps Volunteer, Nicaragua 01-03
Phoenix, Arizona

(Taken from the Summer edition of Worldview, the magazine of the National Peace Corps Association.)

08.18.08 Yay free Internet!

I am currently sitting in the air conditioned WorldVision office, chatting with Paul, and writing this blog. Yes, life is pretty rough here in Honduras.

Hehe.

But really...I am totally stoked that we have Internet in all the offices now...that means there is no more fighting over the 1 computer we used to have. Seriously.

Anyway...everything is good. I realized how little I write in here now so I thought I would just say hello.

Life is good, work is good. I feel very at home here...had friends over on Saturday night at my place which was fun. Miel has officially eaten 3 pairs of jeans and 1 pair of sandals of mine...but hey, I wanted a dog right? RIGHT.

I am leaving tomorrow for Gracias, Lempira and the midwives workshop which I am excited about.

More to come as always...

08.07.08 Go PEPFAR

I have some very exciting news...I spoke with Trudy (the country director for PC Honduras) yesterday and after answering a few of her questions, I was informed that she approved my Pepfar (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) grant that I wrote for the Exposida! Woohoo! It all happened so quickly too…now I just have to wait for the administration gods to do their thing and we will have funds!

This week has been absolutely insane too…I can’t believe its only Thursday but I also can’t believe that its already August 7th. What a contradiction, I know. I just have so much going on right now…I barely spend any time at home (my poor puppy, I know) and when I am there, I feel like I have so much work to do still. Today I started cleaning out the 2nd bedroom so that I can turn it into an office and get all my work stuff out of my living room. I gave a ToT (Training of Trainers…what we call the standard 4 hour HIV charla that is ideally used to train the participants to give the charla to others) to 35 high school students yesterday –alone- which was exhausting. Plus I am a little under the weather so my voice was pretty much shot afterwards. I also had a meeting with Wilda (the librarian) and a woman who works with the youth groups in the Catholic Church. We talked about working with them on HIV prevention and whatnot which is really exciting. She and I were definitely on the same page about most things which was pleasantly surprising.

There is an obstetrics emergency workshop in a couple of weeks in Gracias, Lempira and I am taking a nurse from the health center and a local midwife. I am really excited because I don’t know much about ob-gyn stuff. :)

No wonder Emelina calls me super volunteer. Haha…

7.28.08 Can it get any hotter?

Seriously…when I came to site in May and was dying of heat everyone kept telling me ‘’Oh Andrea, no se preocupe…ya va a bajar la temperatura’’

LIES…I tell you…its almost August and it is perhaps hotter now than it was in May. Ugh. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is going to be this way the entire year (except maybe December and January) so I might as well just get used to it. I really need to go shopping for new clothes because my jeans and collared shirts aren’t really cutting it.

Donations happily accepted. J

Hummm…what else? Work is going well…definitely been having my fair share of frustrations but then again, Peace Corps is supposed to be the ‘’toughest job you’ll ever love’’ or something like that and I can definitely attest to it. I am frantically trying to finish a grant to solicit funds for an Exposida we are planning for September. (An Exposida is like an HIV fair where there are educational games, food for sale, HIV related art and poems, etc.) I am really looking forward to it, I think its going to be a great event, I am just a little worried about getting the funds on time and everything. We’ll see…I am working with La Red (the youth group) to train them to be the leaders of the educational games and activities.

I went to Valle de Angeles for a workshop on the Abstinence initiative last week which was very interesting. Normally, I am pretty against abstinence education but this program, which is called Yo Merezco (literally, I deserve) is designed for girls only between the ages of 10-14. It focuses on more than just abstinence; there are chapters on self-esteem, anatomy, domestic violence and much more. I think it is a great program to implement in such a machista country, it helps empower young girls to realize they do have the right to make decisions and say no until they are ready to be sexually active. I am looking forward to implementing the class with 6th grade at the girl’s school.

Also, I have a visitor this week…his name is Nathan. He just finished a 10 week study abroad program through Purdue University (where he studies in the States) at the agricultural school outside of Tegus. The last week included an option to spend a week with a PCV so my boss asked me if it was okay if he came with me. He is staying at my host family’s house and they love him. I feel bad because there is a strike this week so my work at the schools has been cancelled. But hopefully he is getting an idea of what the ‘real’ PC experience is like.

In other exciting news…I finally moved into my house a few weeks ago…it’s magnificent but also a lot of work. There is all the sweeping and washing clothes and cleaning and finding someone to cut my lawn and getting my lights turned off (long story) etc. etc. But overall I love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I went and retrieved my puppy on Sunday. Her name is Miel…she is the offspring of Reina’s dog. She is only 7 months old and is absolutely adorable...but she is being a bit of a pain in the ass right now…won’t eat her dog food…cries when I leave the house…etc. I know it is going to take some time for her to get adjusted to being at with me so I understand.

Well I hope that is a good enough update for now…I promise to post pics of my house soon…or you guys could just come visit and see it in person. ;)

7.1.08 July?

Another month has passed and suddenly, we are half way through 2008. How on earth did that happen? Sometimes it seems like just yesterday I was celebrating NYE with Paul at Downtown Disney, but other times it seems like staging in DC was a million years ago. How strange…

With each passing day, my English seems to be getting worse and worse so I apologize if this as well as future blogs are confusing and make no sense. Maybe I should start writing these in Spanish…

Given my linguistic difficulties, I believe I shall provide a brief list of current highlights:

• Stomach is a-ok…even after consuming lots of straight from the cow milk (which is delicious I must say) and huevo de toro (yes, that would be bull testicle.) Cultural experience right? :)
• The fundraiser for the Nutritional Center was a smashing success, I sold my tasty cookies and got totally sunburnt while trekking around town asking for money. We raised almost 80,000 limperas which is awesome.
• Attended a gringo get-together in Yorito, hosted by the 2 volunteers that live there. Got to meet the rest of the PCV’s in my department and eat pollo y tajadas. Yummy.
• Work is insanely busy as usual…I gave HIV charlas to 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th grade in San Jose, an aldea 30 minutes outside of Negrito. It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to go back
• Also work related…I started giving health charlas to 5^th and 6^th grade at the girls school which is more the fulfilling, the girls are absolutely adorable.
• I was a judge at the lip-syncing festival last Friday which, of course, was so fun. The 11 participants were from different schools in the area and all were decked out in costumes and had some pretty sweet dance moves.
• I am moving into my house this week, just in time for the beginning of the feria, which from what I have heard, is the best in the department. Woohoo!

Pictures as requested...

Top to bottom

1. Me and Reina

2. My kids at the bilingual school

3. The beach in Tela

4. Me and my friend Lidis at the beach

5. Me in all my glory, giving a chara

6 & 7 . The Rodeo in Morazan

8. My puppy, Miel

Details to come!

:

6.16.08 Parasites Attack

Yesterday was definitely the worst day I have had in country by far.

My weekend started out really good…Friday night I gave a 2 hour HIV charla to a class of students of various ages that are studying to complete 6th grade. They have recess during July but in August I am going to go give them weekly health talks which I am excited about. They are a lot of fun. The education promoter for the classes, Sayda, is a friend of mine and we sat outside of her house just chatting afterwards which was the perfect way to unwind after a crazy week.

I slept in on Saturday and then spent the morning baking a cake for Reina’s birthday as well as completely cleaning my room. I took Reina her cake and a pineapple in the afternoon and got invited to a wedding reception with the rest of her family. I ran home and changed and we all headed to the reception, ate good food and danced. Then some of us headed to the fiesta at El Club, which was in full force. I saw a lot of people that I know…I felt like such a part of the town. I danced a lot and drank a few beers, had a really great time over all. And then the terror came…

At six in the morning on Sunday, I woke up with the most excruciating stomach pain I have ever felt. I couldn’t breathe; I was in so much pain. I staggered to my bathroom in attempt to vomit or something, anything really, but to no avail. I spent the next 20 minutes lying on my bathroom floor, sweating and literally feeling like I was going to die. I managed to crawl over to my phone and called my sitemate Emelina. She rushed over and my family called our doctor, who also happens to be my host mom’s son.

After throwing up and some meds from the doctor, I felt a little better. I spent the rest of the day sleeping, feeling nauseous and being generally miserable. Dr. Julio gave me antibiotics, stating he was fairly sure that I had parasites (after just having amoebas 2 weeks ago…yay) I got about 12 hours of sleep last night and woke up this morning feeling much better. I ate some tortillas and cheese a few hours ago and have managed to keep that down which is definitely a good sign.

I have to say…despite this being a terrible past 24 hours, I feel very well taken care of. My entire family has stopped in to check on me, bring me something to drink, etc. Dr. Julio has come back 4 times after his initial visit to see me (talk about good healthcare.) Emelina spent a good portion of the day with me and I’ve received several phone calls from Hondurans after finding out that I was ill.

So even thousands of miles away…I have still managed to find a place to call home :)

6.6.08 Chaos...begin now!

In a matter of one week (but really, more like one specific hour) my life here went from ‘I have enough work to feel busy and fulfilled but also time to relax’ to ‘OMG, how the heck am I going to do all that!’

Granted, most of you know that I thrive on being busy and an element of chaos in my life…but it sort of came as a surprise to me. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, but mostly excited about the next few months…I am going to recount how this realization came about.

I went to Progreso yesterday with a group of about 15 or so Hondurans, for a workshop on the Special Law for People living with HIV-AIDS that they have here. I had learned about the law during training but it was nonetheless an interesting and informative workshop. I got to share my experiences and thoughts with others as well as listen and learn…plus I got to go swimming which is always a plus! At the close of the workshop earlier today, we got together in groups based on our communities to talk about our plans in terms of HIV education etc.

Sidenote: When I first got to site, I met with the HIV promoter from Morazan who have me a copy of an Excel spreadsheet that has all the HIV education and prevention activities that were happening for basically the whole year…focusing more on the upcoming months. He said whatever I wanted to get involved in, let him know.

Well today when those of us from El Negrito sit down to talk about the plan…guess what? NONE of the activities have been executed. The plan was made in February…its now JUNE. I make a funny face, not really understanding but a bit excited at the potential to assist and support the committee. Then I ask who exactly is capacitated to teach HIV education in Negrito…which is when they all turn, look at me, and say…’well, you right?’

I quickly begin scanning the Excel spreadsheet, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have now been named responsible for carrying out all the events on the calendar. I suddenly felt faint and imagine that my already pale skin looked even whiter than normal. I took a deep breather and remembered why I joined the Peace Corps, smiled and replied that I would love to get involved and help in whatever way I can. We have a meeting planned for Tuesday with all the community leaders to make a new calendar.

So this is on top of me assisting with monitoring and weighing children under 5 in –all- the barrios of El Negrito, teaching health classes at the Girls School, planning the fundraiser for the Nutritional Center and helping the library get on its feet.

Grant me serenity…

5.24.08 Body Issues Part II…but I heart frijoles

I was feeling pretty excited, and quite frankly a bit of pride at the fact that I had not had any serious stomach issues since arriving in country. Especially considering the ill fate of some of my fellow PCV’s and my willingness to eat pretty much anything here. That luck ran out about 2 weeks ago.

I won’t go into the gory details but lets just say many days passed without anything ‘solid’ and an awful lot of ‘knives in my gut’ stomach pains. It was shitty [pun intended, sorry Mom!] I talked to the Doctor at the health center and she informed me that I had amoebas crawling around in my stomach. She gave me some pills and things have been calm every since…-knocks on wood-

Surprisingly, my body is pretty happy. Fungus, bug bites and diarrhea are all at bay for the moment. Let’s hope it stays that way!

Somehow the weekend managed to creep up on me again. This must be a sign that time is going by quickly here. It reminds me that I must absorb and appreciate every moment that I have here because I am sure that with a blink of my eyes, these 2 years are going to be over, sadly. There are many mornings still where I wake up and think to myself ‘Wow…I am living in Honduras as a PCV…’ almost like it’s a dream.

Things are macanudo as always…this week was filled with finishing the vaccine campaign [yay!], playing with the kids at the Nutritional Center, seeing my future house [one word: amazing!], and a visit from my project manager, Helmuth. It was good for him to see me in my environment and he had great things to say about me integrating and the work I am doing.

I got to catch up with Joel last night which was awesome. Today I learned how to cook beans Honduran style and ate delicious baleadas with guacamole for dinner. Yes, be jealous because that’s right, my life rocks. =)

5.16.08 Friday Already?!?!

Peace Corps seems to spend a decent amount of time reminding all the future volunteers how difficult it is when you first get to site. They talk about how you need to be patient and integrate into your community and that things will probably be pretty slow and quite possibly boring at first. You need to just stick it out and realize that it takes time to integrate and get projects started. I had mentally prepared myself to spend a lot of time reading, journaling and integrating.

Well maybe it’s a fluke, but I have been so busy these past 2 weeks. The days have gone by so fast, I can’t believe that it is Friday. A run down of the week included:

-A trip to the Bilingual school and the Nutritional Center on Tuesday. I got to help teach kids English in the morning and then play with babies in the afternoon. It was a wonderful day. (Since when do I love kids so much? Creepy!) By the time I left the school in the morning, all the kids were yelling my name and giving me hugs. And I absolutely fell in love with one of the boys at the Nutritional Center, I call him mi principe. It was definitely my favorite day this week.

-I spent Wednesday morning in the back of a pick up truck as we climbed up into the mountains to the village of La Laguna to vaccinate kids. I also ate the –most delicious- eggs, beans, rice and tortillas ever. Every day I am amazed at the hospitality of the people here, it is so beautiful. Then we went to Las Minitas to relax in the water. I got in for free because I went there so much last week. That –is- a good thing, right? Haha. I also ate a total of 9 tortillas that day. A new record for me.

-Thursday I was at WorldVision all day helping the librarian, Wilda. I translated some suggestions about how to start and run a library for her. And then I started on an inventory of the books. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met and I am so blessed to call her not only my co-worker, but also my friend. We are supposed to plan some charlas for the beauty school in town. I want to take her with me to the Abstinence Workshop we have in June. Then last night I had a meeting with the committee that is planning the marathon (fundraiser) for the nutritional center, which is going to be June 22nd. I am really excited to be a part of the planning, it makes me feel like I am really helping. I also made friends with some more locals, which is always awesome.

-That all brings me to today, where somehow it is already noon (I actually got to sleep in today, it was wonderful.) I am going to do some yoga, go eat lunch at my favorite comedor, stop by and Internet, and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the hammock. I think I deserve it. :)

5.12.08 Skin Attacks

So, I love Honduras…but my body certainly does not. My legs are covered in interesting red bumps and bites, some from mosquitoes, the rest have unknown origins. I have also developed this strange rash like bumps on my feets…again, origin unknown. And of course, I sweat constantly.

At least I am getting a good tan :)

I am supposed to go see the house I get to move into in 2 months tonight, I am excited!!

5.11.08 Turning Catracha

I think I am starting to morph into a true Honduran (or Catracha as they are called here.) Some examples include:

-craving tortillas with every meal and being disappointed if there aren’t any
-falling asleep in the hammock multiple times
-riding in the back of a pick-up truck
-going to the bañeros (outdoor swimming pool) every day for the past 4 days
-pointing at things using my lips
-dancing merengue and punta until 2 in the morning

Emelina mentioned to me the other day that I adapt to new situations and take on local customs easily. I would definitely agree with that…and my actions seem to prove it even more. Haha.

I can’t believe that it is Sunday night already…the weekend went by way too fast. I think I forgot to mention in my entry about my visit here that I was basically adopted by Reina, a nurse who works as the health center, and her entire family. They are so incredibly sweet and I am so blessed to have them take such good care of me. They took me to these outdoor swimming pools that are in the mountains outside of Negrito during my visit and we ate carne asada, frijoles, tortillas and swam. It was so much fun. I felt so loved and a part of the family, it was wonderful.

So Friday afternoon after spending all day melting in the heat and vaccinating kids, Reina, her daughter Karla and some other friends went to the bañeros again. That night, La Gran Banda from San Pedro was in town to play at El Club in town. (Note: given the fact that both mine and Emelina’s counterparts were there, I would say that it was more than appropriate that she and I went.) The band was really awesome, they played a mix of reggaeton, bachata, merengue, salsa, and punta (the Honduran national dance that involves shaking your hips furiously.) I got to dance a lot and meet some people, overall it was a great night.

Saturday, Emelina, Karla and I took a trip to El Progreso which last almost all day. Swimming again in the afternoon knocked me out for the rest of the night. I have some lovely phone calls, which included talking to Grandpa Catalano at his 80th birthday celebration, Nikki, and my dad. Paul and I have a very lengthy convo too, which was great.

Today is Mother’s Day which I was a bit sad about, given that I didn’t get to spend it with my mom. However, Reina and her family invited me over and we spent the day together, eating, swimming and just relaxing. I had a wonderful time as always. There were so many kids there, they were all calling my name and wanted me to play with them. Also, one of Reina’s nieces lives in Tela and invited me up there for a weekend sometime. Woohoo!

Oh yeah…so I swear I am working too. Life as a PCV isn’t all fun and games…this week should be busy. More vaccines, meeting school directors, planning a curriculum for the girls school, as well as trips to the nutritional center and the bilingual school. All good things.
Also, here are the pictures I promised

1. My house in Yarumela
2. My niece, Karen and I
3. The river in Yarumela
4. The Melones at Swearing In
5. Matt and myself rockstar style pre Swearing In
6. Anna, Victor, myself and Sarah at Swearing In

.

5.7.08 Official PCV

First of all, I want to start this entry by saying

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Mama!

Its my Mom’s 37th birthday today so everyone should wish her a good one! Hehe.

Now that my daughterly obligations have been fulfilled…my 2nd order of business is to announce that I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer! See look…

That is me at the swearing in ceremony, posing with the US flag and the Honduran flag in the background. Pretty cool eh? So last Friday we all got gussied up and went to the US Embassy in Tegus for the ceremony. All the staff was there as we promised to protect the US Constitution against enemies and to fulfill our duties and whatnot. It was a really amazing experience, it made me realize what an important task and service it is that we are all taking on. I mean, before we were just trainees, but 44 of us made it through and now we are volunteers. I am so proud of all of us! We had some delicious tacos for lunch and the next thing I knew, it was time to bid farewell to our wonderful staff. I kept it together as I gave bunches of abrazos and besitos to the amazing team that I have befriended and learned so much from over the past 11 weeks. Then I had to say goodbye to Victor, our logistician, and I had tears running down my face. However PC Honduras finds and selects their staff, I commend them. I was continually blown away at how supportive, caring, and helpful every single staff member is. The beautiful thing is that I still have 2 years in this country to see all these people that I now call my friends as well as my colleagues.

After the ceremony we went to the Ambassador’s house and swam which was fantastic. Then we all spent one last night together before having to head our separate ways. Naturally this caused me to cry again…I am such a wimp.

Which leads me to now…sitting on my bed in El Negrito typing this blog. Emelina (my sitemate, who is wat-san) and I just got back from a sanitation conference in Santa Barbara which was definitely a learning experience. I am helping nurse Reina vaccinate tomorrow (which I love doing) and I am getting an official tour of the town, including the schools, on Friday from Mario (who works at WorldVision.) We went and met the director of the all girls school on Monday and he is totally excited and ready for us to come in and work with the students. Things just keep getting better…

More pictures to come when I have the patience!!

4.29.08 ¡El Negrito!

Wow...time must really be flying considering I have not written a blog since the beginning of the month. I apologize to all my loyal readers (aka my mother) I will try to make more frequent updates.

So to summarize the past month…went swimming in the river every weekend, awesome goodbye party in La Paz, finished FBT, tearful goodbye with my family in Yarumela and a happy reunion with my family in Santa Lucia, moved up to Advanced-Low Spanish level, 2 people in the health group went home, got site announcements and went on visits…and here we are, less than a week away from Swearing In!!

Honestly, sometimes I thought this week would never come. I remember when our project went over the COTE (Calendar of Training Events) and I thought how long it was and that swearing in seemed a lifetime away. But it went by so fast. This Friday we will all be trekking to the US Embassy to swear in as –official- Peace Corps Volunteers!

As I mentioned, we got site announcements…and I will be in El Negrito, Yoro! It is a town of about 12,000 (about 35,000 in the whole municipality) so it’s a medium sized site. It is about 5 hours north of Tegucigalpa and only 2 hours from the beach!! My main counterparts (organizations I am paired to work with that are already in the town) are WorldVision and the local Health Center. I am only the 2nd Health PCV to be placed there so while I have some big shoes to fill, there is a lot of work to be done which is really exciting. Emelina, a Water-Sanitation PCV is going to the same site which is pretty cool. We are close, but we both want to be independent and do our own thing so I think she will be a great sitemate. Last week, one of my counterparts, Doris, came to Santa Lucia to meet me and take me back to El Negrito with her for a visit. I spent 3 days in my new home, getting to know the town and the people a little bit. I loved every minute of it. I stayed with new host family who are all very nice. The last volunteer left her house for me, so in 2 months I will be moving in there. The prospect of having my very own house is incredibly exciting! I saw the outside and it looks wonderful (more reasons to visit!) Everybody that I met was so welcoming and friendly, they are all so excited to have me there and ready to put me to work! Some future projects include: nutrition education and monitoring the weight of babies, hygiene education and charlas, HIV-AIDS charlas to local high schools, forming a support group and micro-businesses for people who are HIV+, creating HIV testing at the health center, meeting and educating local midwives, working at the nutrition center with malnourished children, helping out at the bilingual school, and much more I am sure. There are also a decent amount of projects that Emelina and I can collaborate on which is exciting too. I am in Santa Lucia this week finishing up training and will be in El Negrito permanently May 3rd.

All in all, I am really happy with my site.

4.7.08 ¿No hay agua?

On Saturday, I woke up early to do some yoga before Karen and I took off for our fieldtrip to Comayagua. I was a bit sweaty and looking forward to my cold shower. I stepped in, disrobed and turned the faucet on. I looked up at the hose that sticks out of the wall and nothing came out. Feeling confused, I turned the faucet off and tried again. Suddenly, a light bulb flashed on in my head…”there’s no water.” I know it sounds naïve, but I was genuinely amazed at what was happening. Never during my 23 years in the U.S. and even my time in Chile did I feel truly thankful and privileged to have running water. I mean, yes, I’ve said it before but until you don’t have it…you never really appreciate it. Luckily, my mom went across the street to the church and brought back a nice big bucket of water, which I used to bathe.

What I had failed to realize until that very moment is how different life is here…how different =my= life is now. So as everyone sits in their comfy computer chairs and reads my blog and giggles at my stories of having no running water and riding in the back of pick-up trucks…this is my reality, this is the reality of this country. We are so privileged in the United States yet so many of us fail to realize that. The thought of a life without Internet in our house, a plasma tv and dreams of a new Benz never crosses our minds so why would a life without electricity, running water or basic healthcare?

I read in the newspaper that 69% of indigenous children in Guatemala are malnourished…and overall, almost half the children in country don’t get enough food either. Sixty-nine percent…that number is overwhelming to me. Yet our government is spending trillions of dollars on a useless war and the citizens of my home country consume and waste more food in one day than the people here could ever imagine. It makes my heart hurt so much to see and hear about these things…yet most people turn their heads and ignore the injustices that are going on all around us. Even worse, they don’t take the time to be grateful that they never have to worry about where their next meal will come from, simply for luck of birth.

I’m not trying to preach to anyone and I’m not saying that I am suddenly enlightened or high and mighty. But we are all humans and we are all living together in this world and I think we all need to take a minute and think about what we can do to become global citizens and make a positive impact on this world.

4.1.08 Cockfights and enchiladas

Sunday was an interesting day. A group of us went to La Paz to see a cockfight. I figured I wouldn’t be too entertained by the whole thing but that it would be a good cultural experience. Well it was definitely an experience…I was probably 1 of 5 women in the whole place which I expected but it was still weird. And the cockfights are really gruesome…more so than I expected. It was really hot that day and all the sudden, I started feeling dizzy and seeing white spots so I went outside and sat down, pretty close to fainting. Whew…a bit scary but all is well. Eventually I came home and made delicious beef enchiladas for my family, which they loved!

Here are some more pictures of my adventures…

Bottom to top (sorry, they got pasted funny)

1. My town, Yarumela
2. Awesome family planning sign at the Health Center in Yarumela
3. Elementary girls surrounding gringos at the Cero Basura presentation
4. The truck we rode in the back of to go swimming with Sarah’s family
5. The organizers of El Dia Cultural
6. Karen & Josue playing A Pescar
7. One of the alfombras in Comayagua
8. The cockfight

3.30.08 Abstinence, Wendy’s & Swimming

Sunday marked my half way point of FBT which I am pretty surprised about. These past 3 weeks have flown by, especially compared to the weeks spent in Santa Lucia! I had a good weekend…hung out with my sobrinos a lot…I really adore them and am determined to steal them for a weekend when I am living at my site so they can come stay with me. So last week ended quickly, we spent Thursday and Friday talking about the Abstinence initiative and doing some practiums surrounding it. Now, I definitely had a preconceived [negative] notion of abstinence education. Having received abstinence education in school and also my experience as a health educator has taught me that it is not only ineffective, but also unrealistic. However, I can honestly say that my mind has been changed after listening to the A-Team [as they call themselves] talk about the initiative. It is geared towards girls who are 10-14 and doesn’t exclude girls that have already had sex but wish to be abstinent. There are a total of 13 lessons that can be given once a week and while the first one focuses on abstinence, the rest are about empowerment and self-esteem. It’s a really positive program and I even think I might want to do it at my site. I was very impressed with the work they have done and the new spin they have put on abstinence education. In a country that is so machismo at times and where a lot of girls only look for a husband so they can start having kids, there need to be more programs like this one to led young girls know that they have other options.
Saturday all of us plied into a van and took the short trip to Tegucigalpa to do immigration paperwork. We got to be reunited with the other 2 projects, which was nice. I spent the majority of the time talking with Luis, the training site director in Santa Lucia and we had a really nice conversation. So I will have a national ID card and be officially Honduran sometime this week! Yay! Then we got to eat at Wendy’s which was completely glorious. When I got home, I immediately changed and went to the river to swim with my niece and nephew. We had such a good time, the water felt so good because it was =so= hot that day. I am trying to teach Karen how to swim so that is fun. At one point, I was listening to music on Josue’s cell phone and this song I love [el cielo esta llorando] came on and Karen and I were dancing and singing and I realized in that moment how beautiful and precious the little things in life are. I am happy and every day that I spend here is such a blessing.

3.26.08 First Charla!!

I have 2 exciting things to mention…one is my project for Spanish class and the other is that today, we gave our first charla at the high school in La Paz about HIV/AIDS!

So first, my project. Everyone in the advanced class gets to do a project instead of having formal Spanish classes for the rest of FBT. I guess they have more advanced speakers than they originally planned so they didn’t have a project for me and Jorge told me that they would come up with something because I’m too advanced to be with the intermediate class, despite me being with them during Santa Lucia. Anyway, I suggested that I could give health classes at the elementary school in Yarumela and Jorge told me he liked my idea! So I’m going to get the resources for the llavarse las manos y cero basura and I will get to give those classes at the elementary school here! I’m so excited about it! And depending on how old the highest grade is, I might even do an HIV/AIDS class. Plus the rest of this week we are spending getting more training that is definitely material I could use with that age group. Yay!

Second…today we had our first charla! We have spent the past 2 days in an HIV/AIDS ToT [training of trainers] to prepare us to give a charla to a group of high school students in La Paz. The training went really well...the majority of the time we spent just doing the activities ourselves so we knew what to do. I was actually really surprised that I was already familiar with a lot of the activities and that they are very similar to the training that I gave to my volunteers at the Condom Co-op. And while it was a good refresher for me, I can’t even imagine how I would feel if I didn’t have a health background…so I’m sure my peers who are in that category were feeling pretty overwhelmed. The training is good…but I feel like there are a lot of things that could be covered more in depth so I would definitely like to get involved with the editing of manuals and training and that type of thing. I mean, I know a lot of facilitating and presenting workshops is just practice but there are also some important things that I think should be included.

Anyway, yesterday after the training was over, they divided us into groups of 4 and each group gave the same presentation to a group of 25 high school students today. I was a little bit nervous the night before, not necessarily about the themes but more my ability to facilitate a workshop in Spanish because I’ve never really done it before. But 10 minutes into the charla, I felt really comfortable and energetic. I got to facilitate 4 sections of the charla…including lenguaje de la calle, where they had to write all the slang they could think of for biological terms which is probably my favorite icebreaker ever that we always did in the Condom Co-op trainings. I felt really good about everything, including my ability to just sort of go with the flow despite everything being in Spanish. I was really flattered because afterwards, the PCV who had been watching our charla told me that I speak really strong and clearly and that I have this unique laidback way of facilitating but that I still get my point across and make sure everyone understands. She also asked me if I had done this kind of work before and when I told her yes, she told me it shows. :) I just feel so good doing this kind of work…I know its what I am supposed to do and what I love.

3.23.08 Semana Santa

As if I didn’t already have enough things to love about living in Latin America, I now have another one: Semana Santa. Basically the entire country shuts down for 5 days [usually 7 actually] and everyone just rests, hangs out, goes swimming and participates in cultural activities leading up to Easter Sunday.

Wednesday we had our aforementioned Dia Cultural which was a lot of fun, despite a bit of technical difficulties and the lack of a dance group that we thought was going to come. We got to eat yummy Honduran food and spend time with our families, sharing a bit of US Culture with them and for that I was grateful. The group living in Yarumela watched “Juno” that afternoon which I highly recommend, it was adorable!

Thursday morning I spent at home, practicing yoga and relaxing. Then that afternoon Sarah and her host brothers [Alexander, Ariel y Edwin] took some of us to the ‘ruinas’ that are on the other side of the highway from Yarumela. It is basically just a stone hill that nobody has really taken care of so while it wasn’t Machu Picchu, it was still interesting to see. They are actually Lenca ruins which is an indigenous group from Honduras so that was cool. We goofed around on the top and the others took silly pictures and then we had a dance party on Sarah’s family’s bus…it was fun. We played volleyball/basketball/futbol that night which is always a good time.

Friday morning I got up at 5 am and went to Comayagua with all the PCT’s and Sarah’s brothers in the family bus. So in Comayagua and other larger cities in Honduras [and Latin America] people stay up all night making alfombras [rugs is the literal translation] on the streets. They are basically iconic art made out of colored sand, but really big. And they are amazing. Then around 10 am, the procession walks over the alfombras and they get destroyed and most people think of it as their sacrifice to God/Jesus. It was such a fascinating experience being there, there were lots of gringos and other foreigners there which was pretty crazy. I even pretended to not speak English when some guy asked me a question. Haha. I spent a lot of the day talking with our 3 Honduran escorts, all of who are super buena onda. I’m really looking forward to having more Honduran friends and feeling really integrated…I had such a wonderful time doing that in Chile and I’m anxious to do it again. We finally headed back to Yarumela after lunch at Pizza Hut of all places to watch I Am Legend, which was pretty entertaining.

Saturday a group of us went to La Paz to Internet and ended up hanging out at the house of 2 PCV’s that live in La Paz, which was fun. Then that night my brother Samuel and I went to Comayagua to have a drink and hang out. Because it was Semana Santa, a lot of places were closed so we ended up drinking a beer while sitting on the trunk of his car in a StarMart parking lot. [Note: this is –definitely- legal, there were even tables and chairs outside where lots of other Hondurans were sitting drinking and there were cops everywhere as always] We had a great time, my brother is super cool and laid back, he told me that I –must- come spend a weekend with him at his house in Santa Cruz which is about 2 hours away from here, I’m looking forward to it!

Sunday was pretty laid back. Samuel and I headed back to Comayagua to see a marching band procession which was interesting. I spent the rest of the day at my house, having visitors over and finally in the afternoon Josue and Karen came back from Tegus which I was ecstatic about. I missed them so much! We played Go Fish and danced to music and they told me all about their week.

All in all, an awesome week. I vote for Semana Santa as an official holiday in the US.

3.17.08 Pool Party

Yesterday was quite possibly the best Sunday ever. I woke up feeling lazy but convinced myself to get up and go with PCT Sarah and her family to this orchard and ‘pool.’ I convinced Joel to come and we all climbed into the back of this huge delivery truck and were on our way. It was a pretty short trip and when we got there, all the kids jumped into the ‘pool’ which was basically a huge pila, probably about 3-4 feet deep. Sarah’s host brother Edwin gave us a tour of the grounds, there were mangos, avocados, squash, coffee, and even some goats. We sat in the shade and ate fresh sandia [watermelon] and then finally decided to get in the water. It felt so good to swim around and the kids were so fun to play with. We ended up playing ‘keep away’ in teams and I totally got thrown around in the pool by all the guys but it was great fun. I forgot how much I love that kind of stuff. Pool play lasted for several hours until we were all bruised and exhausted so we headed home. I took a shower and helped Karen with her English homework…then I taught her, Josuye and Keren [my other niece] how to play A Pescar [Go Fish.] which was a lot of fun. [Sidenote: does anyone have any other easy card games that I can teach them? All I know how to play is Texas Hold’em and Gin.] All in all, a great Sunday. :]

3.15.08 Family Initiation

Last night I think I become a member of my family. J

I got home from a long [but good] first week of FBT around 5:30 feeling exhausted. We spent the last 2 afternoons talking about support groups for PLWHA [People Living With HIV/AIDS or PVVS in espanol.] Both of the sessions were led by current PCV’s who were both really knowledgeable and fun. A large majority of the activities were interactive so it made the time go by faster and I think it helped us bound as a group. I was surprised that I am only 1 of 2 people who have facilitated support groups in the past. It actual made me realize that I completely left out my experience with the Women’s Center in Santa Cruz from my resume I gave Jorge and Helmuth [the health project managers] I’m such a blonde sometimes…anyway. [sidenote: the rooster that lives literally outside my window just crowed for about a minute straight. Yay country living. Haha] We talked a lot about confidentiality which I was really happy about because its –so- important when it comes to a support group and dealing with PLWHA. Everyone here calls me la chismosa, which means the gossiper which I think its funny because when it comes to this kind of topic, I’m really serious about confidentiality. I know that I am pretty different in groups than I am one on one so sometimes I feel like a lot of my peers just see the goofy, outgoing side of me because a lot of them only know me in a group setting. That’s fine I guess…I just sometimes think that I’ve made this ‘image’ of myself and that is the personality that people will always have for me. Oh well…I guess if people aren’t willing to get to know me better, I can’t really let that get me down.

Okay, that was a complete tangent. I guess its something that has been bothering me lately. Glad I got it out. Another PCV who lives in La Paz came to visit us for a little bit and mentioned that for those of us who have a health background, the training might seem a bit repetitive and simple but to just stick it out because everyone is at different levels. I’m glad she said that because I have been feeling a bit like that. I know that is what happens when you bring together a group of individuals with such diverse backgrounds. I was really worried when I came here that I have a lot of field experience but not any formal health education but I’m realizing that its not an issue at all.

So I arrived home with the intention of eating dinner and then heading over to another PCT’s house for a ‘gringo get together.’ But my niece Karen invited me to go to the cancha de basketball and play with her, her brother and cousin and their uncle. I got excited at the idea of hanging out with them so of course I tagged along. We played for awhile which totally wore me out, but it was so fun. I’m super tall compared to all the kids so I had a definite advantage. My nephew told me that I play well which made me smile. Then Karen asked me if I had been to Comayagua, this city that is about 20 minutes away [also where the military base is.] I told her no and she asked her uncle if we could go after the game and he said yes. So I ran by my friend’s house to tell them I wasn’t going to come hang out after all. I felt bad, but I knew I had to capitalize on being to spend time with my family, especially because we hadn’t really done anything like that yet. So all 6 of us piled into my brother’s car [including my mom] and drove to this restaurant off the highway that sells Atol, which is this typical Honduran drink made of blended corn, water and sugar [I think…] and is served hot. It definitely has a distinct taste, it was tasty though. J I also had agua de mora [berry juice basically] which I love.

We all came home and played a little futbol and then Karen, Josuye and I had a dance party with my iPod, which they think is the coolest thing ever. Then I got to talk to Paul for a long time and tell him all about my good day. Every day when I wake up and I have to pinch myself and think ‘Wow…I’m living in Honduras…I’m doing something that people write books about’ which is a pretty amazing feeling.