Friday, July 3, 2009

4:30 a.m. I rolled out of bed after hardly sleeping the night before. I’m always nervous I won’t hear my alarm clock and I’ll miss my plane so I gathered any energy I had and a flashlight and began to double check that I had everything.
4:55 a.m. I gently woke up everyone in the house, at the request of course, to tell them a final farewell and wish them the best.
5:00 a.m. On the road to San Pedro Sula. It’s good that the curfew ends at 5 a.m. so we didn’t have to deal with any police trouble along the way. I purchased the morning newspaper so I could have the most up to date stories of the ongoing political crisis. I stared out the window as we drove through the empty streets of Progreso one last time. Everything was at peace, everything was tranquil. It was hard to imagine that later on in the day the city would be packed with busses shuttling workers to and fro, vendors selling their fruits and veggies, and maybe even protestors speaking out for their rights. But right now all is calm and quiet, right now I’m watching the sun begin to rise over the mountains and take in as much as I can of Honduras.
7:00 a.m. On board the plane, and overwhelmed with emotions. This time I can’t hold back the tears. I am going to miss Honduras. Saying goodbye never gets easier. The more I’m here in Honduras, the more family I have, and the deeper love I have for the country, the people, and the work of SHH. I have spent the past five weeks with the most awesome team ever! The three of us fellows combined are a force not to be reckoned with. We have put forth our greatest strengths and talents, and we have shown that together anything is possible. We have faced everything from natural disasters (earthquakes, aftershocks, hurricane-like rains in Puerto Cortes, tornado-like damage on the way to La Ceiba) to military coups. We’ve neutralized surveys at Las Brisas (with the guidance of our commander and chief) and the battle grounds of Nueva Esperanza. At times we teamed up with the UVA techies and proved that work can also be fun, like when we taught the children of Brisas that there are four bases not five in baseball, and ron macaron tin tero. Not only did I get to work with an awesome team, but we also had numerous adventures as we explored the terrain of Honduras. We walked over the bridge of Progreso; mopped up buckets of water in our flooded apartment; experienced numerous aftershocks; braved calle de ojos; conquered the mountains of Copan via horseback and saw the most breathtaking scenery every; stood in awe at the foot of the Mayan ruins at Copan; enjoyed the beaches at Tela; neutralized all seven survey sectors of Brisas; experienced the nightlife at 504; escaped to Utila for four days to avoid political unrest on the mainland; drenched ourselves in the culture of Honduran futbol; but most of all, we made friendships that will last a lifetime and memories that will never fade.

SUMMER FELLOWSHIP 1 = MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
May 28—July 3, 2009