Saturday, May 26, 2012

Our Last Day in Honduras

Last night at our meeting we discussed retuning to the US.  People assume that they will have some culture shift when they go to a foreign country and they do, but they don't realize that the change that occurs while they are away, means that they will oten experience some culture shift on their return. Even in a few weeks, changes can occur and these need to be fit into their lives at home.  Those at home can best help by realizing that culture shift is normal, by listening to stories about the trip and the changes that students have experienced and by being patient with the students as they reintegrate their 'new' selves into North America.  Father Chris and Sister Sean are always available to converse with students as shift back to North America.

Today, we visited Susanna in the dump community.  She is a sort of Mother Earth of the community, looking out for those who are sick, watching out for neglected children and running the recycling business which provides part of the income for the dump community.  She's such a special person that most of us were almost struck dumb in her presence.  She had promised to answer any of our questions to the best of her ability and,  as she did this, we could see clearly the passion she has for her faith, her family and her community.  She is indeed one of the most memorable people we have encountered in Honduras.

After this, we took the rest of the day at a wonderful spa like environment not too far from La Ceiba.  We started with a zip line experience, completing about 15 zips through the canopy, a really fun way to start the day.  Walking after all that flying seemed a little mundane.  Following a nice dinner at noon, we spent time in a series of pools which were progressiving warmer, ending in something like a natural hot tub.  A hot spring in the mountains flows into these pools and mixes with the cool water.  The scenery is stereotypically jungle... something that you would dream up if you were creating a jungle scene for a Hollywood movie with abundant growth in every direction and scenes of the ocean below.  During this time we could also have mud applied which made your skin really smooth and-or have a massage.  A really delightful day.

Tonight we have our good bye party.  It seems impossible that these two weeks have flown by so quickly.

Tomorrow we leave La Ceiba by bus at half past five in the morning to drive to San Pedro Sula where we will fly to Atlanta. After four hours in Atlanta, we will fly to New York.  If everything works right, we should be there about quarter after 12 in the morning.  Then we will board the Saint Rose bus for our trip to Albany, arriving in the La Salle Lot (with the entrance across Western Avenue from Albertus Hall.. a different parking lot from the one where we were dropped off) at about 3 AM.

We will be really glad to see you all.

Friday, May 25, 2012

A Day in the Country

Yesterday we spent the day in the camposina... with a small farming community.   We worked to clean up a field  which thee community  recently received through a grant and where they hope to plant banana trees.  They make a bread using bananas which they can sell and make a little money for the community.  Unfortunately, it will take about three years for the trees to produce, but the sooner they can start, the sooner they will have fruit.  Our work kept us busy and out in the sun much of the day.  First we had to walk to the field which is quite a distance from there village.  Though probably a walk of less than a mile, it seems longer in the heat of the day.  We cleared the ground of all the trees and limbs they had cut down earlier.  Some of us even got to use machetes!!  We saved some wood which they can use in the village and stacked the smaller sticks around the big old tree trunks. Later they will burn those stacked around the trees to try to burn the trees so that they will be easier to move.  Some of those trucks seem to be about two feet on the diameter and since they mostly use machetes for cutting, it would take too long to cut them down without another process to get them started.

We finished earlier than we thought we might so off we went to the beach.  Getting there on narrow country roads with a big bus was a bit of a challenge and we had a bit of a walk after we got off the bus, but a beautiful beach welcomed us at the end of the walk and the wonderfully delightful sea soothed our battered bodies and helped clear away a little of the dirt.  The perfect end to the work day.

We arrived home tired and still dirty, but some of us had the strength and energy to go to the fiesta, a sort of street fair complete with music and many booths where we could purchase food or jewelry and such.  It was fun to see how people in a different culture do this. 

Today we are going back to the country to help the community again.  More about that later. 

It seems impossible that we have only these two days before we are on our way back to the US on Sunday, so we will see you soon. 

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Good byes are difficult

We had a day filled with good byes because we will not return to our 'regular' places of work again.  So, both in the morning and in the afternoon we were saying good'bye to both the children we met and the teachers and caretakers who work with them all the time.  While we delight in the fact that we had a chance to meet these folks, our hearts weep at having to leave them.  Even though we have only known them for five days, they welcomed us into their lives in ways that made us love them so it's hard to leave them.  At the same time, they will always be with us in memory.

Tomorrow we go to the campesino, a community that was washed out in 1997 when Hurricane Mitch came through Honduras.  They just received some land from the government about 4 or 5 years ago, so they are doing pretty well at building a town out of a field.   (Here in Honduras, a town is less a 'place' than it is a group of people, so they stayed together in hopes of finding a place to put their town.   Their waiting succeeded, but it took a lot of time.)  They hope to build another bathroom and work on putting gutters on their main street, street being a definite euphanism for a small 'track' through the little town of shacks. Some other organizations have come and built a church for them and built some of the houses, so right now the town is a combination of shacks made of collected materials, a church, a school which the government built and some cute little one or two room cinder block houses that this other organization has constructed.  Of course, even these more stable houses still have dirt floors and no screens or anything, but they are a big step up from houses made from the truncks of saplings put up like a stockade around a Revolutionary War fort.  They have some kitchen gardens in the back of the town and the Saint Rose group from last year was able to get a grant for $8000 to purchase a field for them last year because though they had room for their town, they had no room for farming.  As a farming community that really didn't make sense.  Now, at least, they have some room to farm, so we may be helping them to clear that field and get it ready for the banana trees they hope to grow.  Since bananas and plantains are a staple of the diet here, that gives them a good chance at a successful farm. 

When we left New York, two weeks seemed like  a long time.  Now, it seems impossible that we have only three more days before we leave early Sunday morning to return to the states.

More tomorrow after we visit the little rural town of La Bomba. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Senor MacDonald tiene un camposino....

Hola familias y amigos! Sorry you haven´t heard from us in a while, but we´ve been so busy enjoying our expeirence that we just haven´t had the chance to write!

Today was another fun day at the Dump school. Jess, Casey, Caitlyn and I decided to teach the students how to say different animals in English by using the song Old MacDonald...only that is a pretty difficult song for young Honduran children to understand. So we attempted to translate it for them on the spot and came up with a completley butchered version, but they did really like singing e-i-e-i-o and making all the animal sounds. They also taught us their hand games, similar to our patty-cake, and Jess discovered that she has no hand-eye coordination. The kids were great with us though and took time to teach us all the hand moves and even some of the words. The group that goes to the Orphanage got to hang out witht eh kids, who have made them tons of crafts and jewlery, and the new puppies that the kids just got as guard dogs for their soon-to-be new home. They named the puppies Max and Amber and they are adorable!

Every night we have a whole group meeting and we are asked different questions to reflect upon our experiences so far. Today was a really funny night because we were asked to share the best or funniest memories from our placements or from the whole trip. We spent nearly a half hour just laughing hysterically at everything that had happened so far, both with all the kids and with each other.

Tomorrow is our last day at our regular palcements and I´m sure it´s going to be very hard for everyone to say goodbye to all the kids we´ve bonded with. Thursday and Friday will be spend at the camposinos helping build a bathroom and dig drainage ditches. It´s hard to believe that our trip is quickly coming to an end and it´s definitely something we´re all trying to not think about for now!

AdiĆ³s amigos y familias!

-Kait and Jess G

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Cayos Cochinos is Amazing!

We went to Cayos Cochinos today which is a group of beautiful islands off of the Northern coast of Honduras. Marine biologists go there to study the wildlife and a tourists go there to put a smile on there face. We took about a forty five minute site seeing boat ride to the islands and were able to do some snorkeling around the coral reef once we got there. Anywhere you look there is beauty. The mountains in the distance look surreal, the sand on the beaches is the type of sand you see on The Travel Channel, and under water tops it all. The coral has brilliant purples and yellows, and the colors that the fish have make it look dull. While snorkeling I think we all got enough salt water in our noses to keep us healthy for the rest of the trip.

For lunch on one of the islands, we choose between pan fried snapper with rice and fried bananas, and a soup made with snapper, rice, and mashed bananas. In case you´re wondering, bananas are a staple food here. Its basically the potato of Honduras. They pick them when they are still green so sweetness isn´t there and they hold up better when you cook them.

Today was certainly a treat. Until next time.

Garrett and Mike

Friday, May 18, 2012

Dia Seis!

Today we found out that cheerleading is pretty much the same in every country! After visiting the Jungle School and learning about what it´s like to literally go to school in the jungle, jaguars, chickens, ducks included, we were able to watch the students from the Jungle School play in a futbol match. The young girls created their own pom-poms out of shredded newspaper and red plastic to cheer on the boys team. They shouted cheers from the sidelines, including the spanish version of ´Give me a (insert letter here)´which is ´Dame una (insert spanish letter here)´ We asked the girls to teach us their cheers so we could cheer along with them.

Afterwards, we went to Rio Congrejal, which is near the Jungle School, and were able to enjoy the refeshing waters. Some of us even felt extra-adventurous and decided to do some cliff jumping, while others chose to catch some rays on the rocks. It was a great and relaxing morning before we headed off to our afternoon placements.

Tomorrow is another day of fun in the sun at Cayos Cochinos, a small island about an hour away, where we will snorkel and have a grand ole time. We will also eat lunch and meet some local island people. Our day starts promptly at 7am, so it´s buenos noches para nostros!

Amor,
Kait and Casey

Thursday, May 17, 2012

You know you´re in Honduras when...

In a total of five days traveling and living with our wonderful, wonderful host families in La Ceiba, some of las mujeres {the women =)) have compiled a list of universal truths in regards to our stay so far. Some of these things make us laugh, some of them make us anxious, but all are a part of the experience in this beautiful country!

You know you're in Honduras when...
1. You're sweating out every ounce of liquid in your body.
2. You're sitting next to a machete in the daycare, or the stores and banks are guarded with security and machine guns
*This is for the security of everyone there, and for mowing the lawn...no worries parents!
3. You have a better chance of finding a gecko in your room than a spider...because they eat them.
4. Ice cream costs approximately 60 cents.
5. There are more taxis on the road than regular vehicles, and the soundtrack to the trip is...'BEEP BEEP'
6. When flash flooding stops any plans you had made...because after all, as a new friend has told us, 'Honduras only has two seasons...Winter, and Rain!'
7. You think the dogs are stray...but they're not. Dogs here are treated very differently than in the United States...They are given free reign of the neighborhood! No leashes!
8. When there is entire street dedicated to American fast food restaurants...por ejemplo::Pizza hut, popeyes, dominos, wendy's, KFC....Everything, except McDonalds
9. When youre always waiting on Garrett and Michael....Even though they swear they're never late. =)
10. When you can't describe how loving and welcoming the people of Honduras are...They open their hearts and their homes, and are just about as warm as the weather! =)

We're all safe, happy, and looking forward to day six. We're headed to the Jungle School in the morning, and we'll swim in the river in the mountains. Then it's off to our volunteer placements in the afternoon! Stay tuned!
-Las Mujeres


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hola Americanas! Today was yet another day of fun in the sun. After enjoying a bowl of corn flakies we embarked on a full day of volunteering. We had to dodge the man eating beasts that have been proweling the neighborhood (Two Pitbulls). We saw them get into a fight the night prior. Anyway, the dump school was closed so we spread out at our other locations and dodged the rain until the evening time. In fact, it is pooring out right now which is making it impossible to get back home. Serveral inches of rain in the road! So you can thank the rain for this post that is going to be longer than it otherwise would be. A highlight of the day was when Casey got the young girl at INFA to smile!! After many failed attempts by the rest of us. Stay tuned for posts from the rest of the group and better posts from us!

Garrett and Mike

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

This morning we had the first part of our Orientation and then went to the bank to exchange money and pick up essentials like water and sports drink which we drink because it is so warm here that we sweat a lot!!
Later we visited the four places that we can work so that tonight we can choose two of those places where we will have an opportunity to serve in the next few weeks.  We visited a school for those with handicapping conditions, a daycare center, a school in the community that scavenges on the dump for a living and an orphanage.  Tomight we will have an opportunity to choose among those among those possibilities.

This afternoon it rained for a while and that really helped with the heat.  It is much cooler this evening. 

Tomorrow we start at our various work places so by tomorrow night we will have a lot of stories to report. 
May 15, 2012

After a mechanical delay in Atlanta which threatened to delay us for many hours, we arrived in San Pedro Sula, weary but happy to be in Honduras and only 3 hours late.  Our bus was there to collect us and as soon as we loaded the luggage, we started out immediately for La Ceiba.  After stopping for a snack at a fun and touristy restaurant, we arrived in La Ceiba a little after 6 and went right to our host families who greeted us warmly.

Now it is about 9 on Tuesday and we are gathering for our Orientation meeting.  Much laughter is heard outside the window as I write this, so it sounds like it was a good night for all.

We have a day of Orientation, going to the bank, visiting our possible work sites and such.  We will write more later in the day.

Sr. Sean

Friday, May 11, 2012

We leave for our 2012 trip in just a few days.  Everyone is getting excited.  We'll keep you posted once we are in the country.