Princesa

There is a new addition to our family. She is small and loud and she arrived last week.   Yes, we have a new pet—a chicken named Princesa.  She is not a particularly special or cute chicken…  she looks to me like any of the ones on the street.  Somebody apparently gave the chicken to Allison (who is 7 months old) as a gift.  I have never heard of someone giving a baby a pet chicken as a gift before, but then again there are a lot of things that happen here that I would never expect.  Like going a month without getting new water, eating cow intestine soup, or having kids come to the library begging for me to let them do math.  When we first got Princesa, I was not her biggest fan.  All she did was walk around the house, poop on the floor, and scare me periodically.  The other day I was walking upstairs to my room, in the dark, and she must have been perched on the railing of the stairs because she flew practically into my face.  Of course I screamed, which made my whole family run over and start laughing, and my little brother Paolo (who is 6) announced, “Women are like birds: they scare really easily.”  I still don’t know where he got that line.  I am slowly warming up to her though, and she seems to be making an effort to be nicer to me.  If there’s one thing I have come to expect here, it’s that my days will not be predictable. 

On a sadder note, two of my Danish friends are going home today.  Marie and Anne have lived here since around the time I got here, and I am thankful to have gotten to know them over the past few months.  I don’t have a whole lot of friends in Honduras, and now I will have two less.  I am happy for them to be able to go home to “the happiest people on earth” though. :)   And I know that more volunteers will always come, so I have that to look forward to. 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who has been sending me snail mail!!  It’s always such a good feeling to know that people are thinking of and praying for me, and to hear an update on your lives.   So THANK YOU, I really appreciate it!

Two weeks ago I was in Guatemala for a Central American MCC retreat.  I had an amazing time there, seeing old friends and making new ones, as well as learning a little about the Guatemalan culture.   At the end of the week we had a talent show, and our Honduras team sang two songs—one was a song about Honduras by Polache.  The other was a rendition of My Favorite Things, where we made the words fit to our lives in Honduras.   Here are the lyrics we came up with, if you are interested:

Mountains and beaches and Copan Ruinas

ceramica Lenca, aves y leechas

gente amable que nos da amor,

this is what I came to Honduras for.

Pineapple, mango and fresh avocados

frijoles, chuletas y ricos licuados

baleadas abundan a diez lempiras

estas son mis cosas favoritas

Se fue la luz-- no viene el agua

vienen ladrones ya!

I simply remember my favorite things

and they I don't feel "tan mal"

¿Que onda loco?  -- Todo masizo!

Que barbaridad que no tengo pisto.

Pucha, que basura, vaya pues, cheke leke,

these are a few things catrachos say.

MCM y Proyecto MAMA

donde trabajo cada mañana 

ASJ, CODESO, ACDIM…

partners are some of my favorite things.

Huracanes,  inundaciones

team Giardia,

I simply remember my favorite things 

and then I don't feel "tan mal"

 

 

A lot has happened since my last post, so I guess it's time for an update! 
I spent Christmas in La Paz with some extended family.  I won't go into a lot of details but you can look at my facebook pictures if you're interested.  It involved a lot of good food (including a GIANT pig leg that we carried on the bus with us), good company, and lots of fireworks at midnight.  

Then, Sam came to visit!  I tried to show him all the places I normally go like the Centro, Villa Olimpica, the campo where I run, the mall, the school where I work, etc.  We also took a little 3-day road trip to the beach in Tela, where it rained a lot but had the best views ever.  New Years took place during the time he was here, so we both got to ring in the new year Honduran style.  For my family this meant having the La Paz family over to our house, eating dinner at 11:00pm, eating plato tipicos (beans, dry cheese, chismol, avocodos, 2 kinds of meat and tortillas), and burning the "old man 2011" (basically a scarecrow stuffed with rockets and fireworks) to the ground at midnight.  Kids do this on just about every street corner, and I found it both entertaining and terrifying. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to Sam on the 5th, but all in all I don't think the week could have gone any better. 

 And finally, tomorrow I head to Guatemala for a week-long messo-america retreat! I can't wait to see my Honduras team again, as well as all the MCCers in Central America.   I don't really know what to expect, but I'm hoping it will be a fun and eye-opening experience.  Starting at 6am I have a 14 hour bus ride ahead of me... your prayers for safe travels and good health are appreciated. 

Again, thank you for all the support-- via email, facebook, and snail mail.  It means a lot. 
Feliz ano nuevo. :)

Solidaridad

Not long ago, two of my North American friends were talking about this word, solidaridad (solidarity), about how they didn’t hear the word much until they lived in Honduras.  At the time I couldn’t remember hearing that word, but since then I have heard it used several times.  And I’ve been thinking about what it means, and why it seems to be such an important concept in this culture.

The other night I went with my host mom to a prayer service at my neighbor’s house.  My neighbor, known best as Dona O, cleans at the elementary school and is one of the kindest and most down-to-earth people I’ve met here.  She’s around my parents’ age and she recently lost her mother and father within a couple weeks of each other.  Dona Juanita (my host mom) was on her way out the door when she asked if I wanted to come.  I went, even though I didn’t know what I was going to.  It turned out to be a group of women who filled Dona O’s living room.  I was the only one not wearing a skirt or head covering and not carrying a Bible, but that seemed to be ok because I was welcomed with open arms.  We first sang a few songs, then a couple women spoke for a while, and finally people took turns praying over Dona O (I just listened).  What I kept thinking about was how amazing it was that came together just for her, and clearly cared very deeply about her.  They cried together and laughed together.  They all gave her hugs and words of comfort.  It made me think about how the situation would have likely been different in the U.S.  Sure, good friends will go out of their way to comfort someone when they are suffering, but to me the big difference is that Dona O openly accepted it.  Surely this huge amount of support made her pain a little bit less.  In our American culture I feel like we are so private with our personal lives and with our feelings, and probably would not want to inconvenience people even if they did want to go out of their way to help us.  I don’t know if that’s good or bad, I just think it’s interesting.  These women also have such a deep love and trust for God, and they kept saying that even in the painful times we can’t turn away from Him, that He is ALWAYS good and will always help us through the pain.  I admire that. 

A couple of months ago my baby sister, Allison, was very close to death.  She was in the hospital for a month and spirits were very low in our house.  The doctor said he was going to try one last medication, and if that didn’t work there was no hope for her.  To make a long story short, it did work.  It felt like a miracle had happened.  People came from Marta’s church and packed into our living room for a service of thanksgiving to God.  It was really cool to experience.  Dona Juanita also told me that when she was sick with diabetes right before I came, a group came to her house every day for the week that she was sick to pray and be with the family.  I see other small examples of this kind of community almost every day.  It’s definitely not a private culture, which is one thing I am continually trying to adjust to.

It is so inspiring to me to see this kind of solidarity and hope and joy, especially in such an impoverished community.  Whenever I see this kind of thing, I have to think that I’m not at all surprised that people living in poverty can still have such joy.  They have joy because they truly love God and they love each other.  Isn’t there something about that in the Bible somewhere? :)  I am again reminded that wealth does not bring happiness.  It is solidaridad, loving and being with each other, is that brings happiness.  Maybe it’s easier to have that when you don’t have very much else.  

Ok, Christmas update:  I just found out that we will be spending Christmas with extended family in La Paz!  We (Dona Juanita, Paolo, Hector, and I) will leave on the bus around 5:30 tomorrow morning.  I’m excited about this because it’s the first time I have gone on any kind of outing with my family; I’m also a little nervous because I have been sick for the past few days, and am hoping that it’s finally passing.  I would appreciate your prayers for health and safety while we travel.   By the way, in Honduras Christmas is celebrated on the 24^th, when I have heard people celebrate into the wee hours of the morning with food and fireworks.  The 25^th is a day to rest/recover from the day before. 

Feliz Navidad a todos! 

Recargas

I think it’s safe to say that I have unofficially become a part of the family business—selling recargas.  Recarga means something like “re-charge”, and here it means putting more money on your cell phone.  There are 3 phone companies in Honduras—Tigo (which I have), Claro, and Digicel.   There are two possible ways of putting money on your phone: one is with a tarjeta (card), which gives you a code you can punch into your phone at any time to get more minutes.  The other is a recarga, where you give your phone number and give them money, and they somehow transfer that amount of money to your phone, giving you minutes.  Also, every phone has it’s “bono dia” (bonus day), where you get triple saldo for what you pay.  Saldo is the amound of money/minutes you have left on your phone.  For example, my bono day is Sunday, so I always try to get recargas on Sundays because I get more for my money.  So it’s super convenient that all I have to do is walk into the living room to add saldo to my phone, instead of finding a house or pulperia where it is sold.

Anyway, this is what happens about every 5 minutes at out house:  someone will come to the door (it’s more like a gate with bars, so people can see inside) and yell “Recarga!”  Then Marta or whoever is closest yells back, “ya voy!” (I’m coming).  She then asks “de cual?” (which do you have), they respond with Tigo/Claro/Digicel, she asks for and writes down their number and how much money they want to put on, they  slide the money through the door, she gives them change if necessary, and she uses her phone to transfer saldo to their phone.  Since this scenario happens every few minutes, I had the process figured out not long after becoming part of the family.  One time when Marta was nursing the baby and no one else was around, I offered to help with a recarga… since then, it’s become kind of expected that I will help out if I can.  I don’t mind, and it’s helped me get really good at Spanish numbers—writing down phone numbers is harder than you might think, especially when they are talking crazy fast. 

I know I haven’t uptdated my blog in quite awhile, so I’ll give a quick update on my life.  In mid-November I started vacation reading programs, as school is out from November until February.  I have two groups of kids; one group comes Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other comes Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It has been a struggle to get kids to come, especially for my older group on Tues. and Thurs, but numbers have slowly been increasing.  I now have about 6 kids in one group and 10 in the other, which I am happy with.  I spend a lot of time planning for these club meetings… I try to make it fun, but sneakily (sometimes not sneakily) we are learning about reading, math, social studies, or writing.  I also try to incorporate themes of respect, cooperation, teamwork, etc. because kids here don’t seem to learn these skills anywhere else.  Sometimes that is the hardest part of my job, but I think it’s important.  This has been a challenge as I am completely in charge of these programs, and I am not used to leading things in Spanish… I think it has helped me a lot, but it’s not easy.  I have also been working a lot on organization in the library… something I don’t think I’ll ever be done with.  With help from Kathy Troyer, another MCCer in Tegus, I have made a lot of progress on the teacher books and resources… I just hope the teachers will take advantage of them now.  At this point there are very few teachers who do, and I don’t really understand why. 

Last weekend I went with Mike, Christa (our awesome new SALTer from Bolivia!), and Megan to visit Charissa in Santa Rosa de Copan.  Last year Charissa worked and lived here in Nueva Suyapa; this year she has her own apartment and works in Santa Rosa.  I had a great time!  The town is small and safe and very tranquilo.  She took us to some awesome restaurants, we spontaneously went to a Christian rock concert on Saturday, and on Sunday we took a short trip to the aguas thermales (hot springs) in Gracias.  On Sunday night we went to her church, and ate chicken with her awesome youth group afterwards. It was nice to get away from Suyapa for a little while and experience another part of the country. 

Other than that, I’m just looking forward to spending Christmas Honduran style on the 24^th… I have no idea what to expect, but it is sure to be filled with lots of food and family time.  We assembled and decorated our Christmas tree a few days ago, which was a fun experience.  It reminded me a little of being home, except with more yelling and confusion and kids running around.  Oh, and there’s another thing I’m looking forward to—I finally get to see my wonderful boyfriend on the 27^th!  Yes, Sam has bought his plane tickets and is coming to visit me for a little over a week… I couldn’t be happier! 

For anyone who hasn’t given up on my blog, thanks for reading. J  I hope you are all doing well and listening to lots of Christmas music as you prepare for the holidays! 

Iglesia

Besides my home and work life, another area that has experienced a big change since coming to Honduras is my church life.  I grew up going to a fairly liberal Mennonite church in California.  I then moved with my family an hour away and attended the contemporary service of a Presbyterian church for another almost ten years.  While in college I attended church most Sundays, although I usually didn’t decide which one I would go to until the night before.  Now that I have been settled in Nueva Suyapa for 2 months, I definitely consider myself a “regular attender” of the church my host mom attends—La Sala Evangelica.  This church is different from any that I have ever attended before, mainly because it’s more conservative than any church I have been a part of before.  It is required for women to wear a head covering of some kind, and to wear a skirt that falls below the knees.  People that have not been baptized have to sit in a separate section on the side of the church, and cannot take communion (thank goodness I was baptized this past summer so I don’t have to sit by myself).  There are also other restrictions put on women that I find difficult to understand, like women can’t pray out loud and women can’t start a song (they can whisper a song to a man, who can then start the song).  On Sundays, we sing a lot of hymns, which I really like.  Most people have been singing these songs since they were born so they know them all by heart; if I’m lucky someone will have a hymn book for me to use.  Communion is taken every Sunday at my church.  During this time the bread (sweet bread!  It’s delicious) is passed around.  Once everyone has eaten a big bite of bread, the wine (yes, wine) is passed around in a big goblet.  At first all I could think of was how many germs were being spread around when everyone drinks out of the same cup, but thankfully the goblet-passer wipes the rim with a cloth at the end of each row.  I then do my best to understand what is being said during the 45 minute sermon.  I try not to zone out, but sometimes it’s so easy to get distracted by roosters crowing or kids yelling outside.  Sometimes vehicles honk their horns so loud and for so long that the pastor has to stop and wait awhile.  After church I am encouraged to go to a jovenes (youth) Sunday school thing for another hour.  I am usually exhausted after this, but I know it’s good to go.

Although I have a hard time understanding and accepting certain practices in the church and it is much different from what I am used to, there are a lot of things I like about it.  The speakers I have listened to seem to really want to make the world (first, this community) a better place.  They acknowledge problems and seek solutions.  I also really like the people and am starting to recognize more people each week.  A lot of the members also work at Genesis (the school where I work) so it’s a good way to build relationships there too. 

Oh, also there are church services of some kind every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  So I have plenty to choose from.  I usually just go Sundays, maybe another day during the week with my host mom, and Saturdays.  Saturdays are grupo de jovenes (youth group), and have become another normal part of my week… not always the most enjoyable (definitely not the most comfortable) part of my week, but always interesting.  I have learned to come at least 15 or 20 minutes late each time.  Otherwise, either no one will be there or people will be sitting around not really doing anything… I’m trying to avoid awkward situations like this and coming “late” seems to be perfect.  Am I right in thinking that in the States, youth group is usually for jr. high or high school students?   That’s what I always considered it to be, but here youth group is basically for anyone not married.  Our group generally has a few kids from the school (5^th grade), some high school students, a couple my age, and a few who are definitely older.  To illustrate the idea that there is no set age range, let’s look at last Saturday.  Shortly after the group started, a mom came with her tiny baby who was immediately passed around to every female.  About a half hour later, a woman who had to be at least 85 walked in with her cane and giant bible (it was really the biggest bible I have ever seen, which I thought was hilarious because Hondurans tend to have the tiniest bibles I have ever seen).  We then had an age range from a few months to possibly 90 at our youth group.  No one except me seemed to find this funny. 

Anyway, during youth group they always start by singing a ton of fast-paced songs, so again if someone doesn’t happen to have a song book I just sit there and try to figure out a few of the words.  Sometimes the songs involved standing up and sitting down randomly, or clapping, stomping, etc.  I probably look awesome during this time.  It never ceases to amaze me how many humbling experiences I can have every day.  We then listen to a guy speak for awhile, and I (being the only gringa), inevitably get picked on at some point during the speech.  Sometimes before going home we play an interactive game of some kind—for example, racing to find bible verses that relate to a Spanish song we know (I don’t know Spanish bible verses or Spanish songs, which is a problem).  These can be kind of fun sometimes, but it’s usually my least favorite part because I often have no idea what’s going on.  After the whole thing is over I try to chat with a couple people, and by this time it’s dark so I have to find someone to walk me home. 

I’m really thankful to be a part of a church that is so loving and welcoming, and one that stretches me.  I could have chosen to go to one that is closer to what I am used to, but what’s the fun in that?  I’m not sure that I could go to this church for the rest of my life, but for this year I think it’s perfect. 

Teguc Transportation

Something I have been working on lately is being more independent.   I like the idea of being able to get around by myself, and one way I can have the freedom to do that is to learn the public transportation system in Teguc.   I still have a lot to learn but I want to share some things that I have learned.  

There are basically four types of public transportation in this city.  The first is the bus.  These are old, yellow school buses sent here from the States.  For me, these are frustrating to ride because they’re extremely slow.  When they go up the slightest hill I’m pretty sure I could jog faster than it is going, and they often seem like they are about to break down.  I’ve been on several that have broken down.  They also have an unlimited capacity for passengers.  They squeeze as many people as possible, and then somehow they still fit more.  As a result, they are not the safest option.  It’s pretty easy to get robbed in this kind of situation.  For me it’s also too close for comfort at times.  The upside to taking a bus, and reason most people use them, is that it’s the cheapest type of transportation— only 3 lempiras (there are about 20 lmps in a US dollar). 

The second type, and my favorite, is the rapidito.  They were introduced to Suyapa only about a year ago, and I’m so glad they were.   I know I sound like an American, but they are so much faster and more efficient than buses and I love it.  They also have a limited number of passengers they’re allowed to hold, so when the seats are full they’re not supposed to pick up anyone else.  That means it’s also safer.  Because of all these luxuries, it’s 10 lmps but for me it’s usually worth it.  Luckily,  my house is right by the bus/rapidito terminal.  By “terminal”, I mean the place where the buses line up on the side of the road.  If I want a rapidito, I hop on the one closest to the front and they leave every 5 minutes.  If I want a bus I get on the one with its tires turned out toward the street the most, or the one that looks least likely to break down.   If I am in a different part of town and want to catch a bus or rapidito back home, I wait in a designated area which is not marked or obvious at all… you just have to memorize where they are and make sure to get on the right one.  Rapiditos all have certain routes, so depending where you go you also have to remember which rapidito to get on (same goes for buses). 

The third type of transportation is the colectivo taxi.  These are taxis stationed at different places around the city that have set routes.  They always will try to fill up the car before leaving.  It is also a set rate at 12 lmps.  I think colectivos are great, the tough thing is that you have to figure out where “yours” are (for me, the ones going to Nueva Suyapa) so that you don’t end up going to the wrong place.  Again, there is no way to figure this out except to ask people and then memorize. 

The last type is the taxis directo.  These are basically like taxis in the States, where you flag one down on the street and set a price with the driver before leaving.  These are a lot more expensive— depending where you’re going they can be around 100 lmps.  If you’re trying to get back to Nueva Suyapa at night, it’s probably more expensive because the colonia has a reputation for being so dangerous.  Sometimes drivers won’t even drive to Suyapa at night, and if they do they often won’t go past a certain point.  This is a problem because it’s not safe to walk around outside at night, so it’s important to get a driver who will take you right to your door.  Luckily, I have some phone numbers of drivers who are trustworthy and who I can call if I need to be picked up.  This hasn’t really been an issue for me yet though because I never really go out at night. 

Unfortunately, my independence is being limited because of the situation in Honduras, and specifically in Suyapa.  My host mom, Doña Juanita, has been more protective of me than usual lately because crime has been increasing.  I am frustrated with the violence in the colonia because it gives us even more of a reputation than we already had.  This is a topic for another time though. 

I’m still learning so much every day, and public transportation is just one of those things.  The school year is coming to a close (school ends this Friday, and starts back up in February), so I am busy planning for my vacation reading programs.  I’ll talk more about that when I have more answers.  I’m getting excited about it though! 

You may know that the Bolivian government is not extending the visas of MCC workers in Bolivia… that means that six SALTers are getting kicked out of the country within a couple weeks, after just getting settled with families and jobs.  I don’t know where all they will be going, but pray that the transition goes smoothly.  I can’t imagine that would be easy. 

Thanks to everyone for reading!