Half of this week I have been without internet, and the other half I have been avoiding reflection because it's seems much easier than facing the reality of the hardships people face here everyday. I should do better though. It's hard to remember an entire week in one night, but I have been looking forward to this time of reflection as much as I have been avoiding it, so I think this time will be beneficial for us both. Now if I could find a quiet place to reflect that would be better, but I will make do with the sound of a man sawing wood outside my window, maybe it will help me zone out everything else and focus. This week we finished conducting surveys with the help of our UVA commanding chief and executive officer (aka people we work with). The majority of our time this week has been spent on "infiltrating new sectors" of the community and "neutralizing the premises" as our fearless leader would state it. We've found that extreme exaggeration of our tasks helps minimize the pressure that is really on us to spend 20-30 minutes at each house hearing stories of loss, heartache, and struggle to survive. I am unable to disclose the stories I've heard, but let me simply say that in the U.S. we have absolutely no idea what hardship is; we have running, clean water; our sewage doesn't flow into the streets; we don't have family members leaving us to go to another country just so they can send home enough money to buy the weeks grocery...The craziest part of all of this is that while many of these people make less than $20 a week or even a month, they are the most friendly, caring people I've met. While some deny us the opportunity to get to know them, others welcome us in with open arms and look up to us as a source of hope for a better living condition in the future. We're only college students, but just the fact that we come from the U.S. puts us on a pedestal that I'm not comfortable with being on. I feel so humbled by this opportunity because honestly I don't know how I can help, but if just getting to know these people is making a difference I'm glad I can be a part. Throughout the majority of the time surveying, I have walked around with a sort of masked view of life here because I was to scared to face the reality and allow myself to be empathetic with the people here. So yesterday I decided it was time to be truly genuine and allow myself to be enveloped in every conversation. It was as if I put on a new pair of glasses to look at the community. I wonder what the community's children would be doing if we were not there to play "bate" or "ron macaron tin tero (sp)." I wonder what my new friends would do without us to accompany hand in hand around the community; I wonder how much food and water they would receive, and it worries me sick. We've had a wonderful absolutely fabulous time walking around and getting yelled at as "gringos" in which we respond "where?" By making friends with the children of the community we have been more accepted by the families living there. Like someone once told me "just by making a connection with people you are showing them that you care, and that alone can make a difference."
We have continued with our English classes by introducing parts of the body and phrases such as "my head/back/etc hurts." I believe we have humored them the past couple of classes by attempting to teach "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" and today with the "hockey pokey." The songs are beneficial because they are way for them to learn, but it is quite hilarious to watch a small group of grown men/women sing children's song. We hope to find a happy medium soon :)
On Wednesday we visited a children's home in Puerto Cortez; we were about 15 minutes from the Guatemalan border and we could've crossed and come back if we would have had our passports with us. The children's home was called Heart to Heart ministries and it is a Christian based organization. It was interesting to see their set-up and learn about things that have/haven't worked for them as SHH is in the process of designing a children's home to be built in VS in the near future. After touring the children's home, we were driving down the road and saw a castle, more/less a fortress, so we thought we'd stop and take advantage of a chance to learn more about Honduras. The fortress was from the time of the Spanish conquest of Honduras. It has many cracks from the recent earthquakes; therefore, it's under rennovation to keep as much intact as possible. We saw storage rooms with thousands of cannon balls; a torture room for captives; a room used for holding slaves; many eating rooms; as well as a church room with incredible acoustics. (our tour guide even sang for us) After the tour we decided to have lunch on the beach. It's so funny for me to say this because at home we have no beaches unless you go to the Mississippi or Lake Michigan, but in Honduras the beach is so close. Well, we sat down, got bombarded by people selling jewelry, ordered our food, and then came the rain...It began as a light drizzle, quite refreshing actually, and then it began to pour. We moved from our cozy beachside table to under a sheltered roof just in time because the rain began to come down so hard and so fast that the nearby mountains were invisible. It felt as though we were in the midst of a hurricane, which would make the second type of natural disaster I have survived here, but it was so awesome. I couldn't have possibly been in a better mood. I got to sit near the ocean; eat chicken, tajadas, and rice; enjoy the company of our teammates; and most of all experience the terrential rains of Honduras. What a day!
Next topic...soccer. It's soo intensely played here. We played amongst the SHH and UVA crew on Tuesday night and as I was playing goaly I got pelted with the ball, no joking 5 times! I have some "recuerdos" of the game on my knees and even my nose as I tried to be "super-soccer-girl" and ended up on the ground. Oh well, if you're going to be in Honduras, you have to play soccer. Needless to say I sat out on the next day we played.
Finally....Nutrition Center & Kid's Camp. The nutrition center is my favorite place to go in Honduras. While it's not a written in part of our schedule, I make it a point to go as much as possible. This morning 6 of us went and spent the morning chasing around the little ones and caring for as many as possible. It's hard to explain what it's like there, other than you have to go. You have to face the reality of the malnourishment that the majority of children in this country face, and you have to care for them while you are there. All it would take to minimize the malnourishment is teaching parents how to properly feed and nourish their children, and right now I feel that is something I would like to pursue in the future. After working only a short time with an early intervention program back home, I find myself yearning to share what little it takes to ensure a babies proper development. By no means do I know everything that it takes, but I'm interested in learning and teaching just like the staff at the Nutrition Center do for many families in Honduras.
Kid's Camp today was incredible! Each week Sam, Christian, and I have one hour to do our own mini-lesson, and so we've been trying to teach values. Today we decided to teach about the importance of honesty so we had the kids put on a skit: the little boy who cried wolf. Lucky for us, many of the children were familiar with the story. It was so much fun teaching each group about the role they were going to play in the drama. We had the youngest children be sheep, then the middle children be the townspeople, and the oldest boys be the wolves. I was so impressed by their participation and cooperation during the lesson; we all thought it went very well! I did take a video of it so I will put it online asap, granted our internet works. Oh, we also help do mini-lessons and worksheets with various grade levels. I have worked with the third graders the past two weeks and it has been great practice of my Spanish "school" vocabulary and teacher skills.
This week has been full of highs and lows, but I love it. I love being here and working here. The time is flying by so quickly, and we only have less than two weeks left. I hope to continue to keep my eyes open with a clear view of the people here, and an open mind and heart as continue on this adventure.
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