For Whom the Bell Tolls

A block away from the big church in the square, my tree house is regularly filled with the music of church bells: 7am and 5pm bells to go to mass have created sense of routine in mylife, but the ones that always leave me thinking are the 3pm bells- rung only when a death has occurred in the community. Living in a country where poverty induced malnutrition and violence abound, death somehow becomes more common, maybe even more acceptable for assumed lack of alternative... but for myself, who has been privileged to live in a politically stable, infrastructurally sound country, untimely death is just that... untimely.

While I have luckily only been to a couple of funerals during my time here, many of the deaths I hear of are preventable- young men taken by gang or substance fueled violence, children taken by malnutrition and lack of health care access, and parents taken by increasily common chronic diseases due to consumption of processed foods, coca cola, and not enough exercise. Not often enough does the bell toll for old age...

Today Evelia and I sat down for coffee and ended up talking about the violence here in Honduras. She was recently assaulted on her way to a community and says that she still struggles with how to trust people... the truth is that the assualt was both sad and scary in that it was a main road that all of us take to work in the communties of Orocuina and was less than 30 minutes from the city center. Warning shots were fired, but luckily no one was hurt. We got to talking about all of the different social aspects that create violence: lack of education, lack of employment and income, substance abuse & gangs, and lack of hope for the future.

One of the many roads Evelia walks alone to get to work

And yet... after all of this, Evelia had the most interesting comment. She said, ¨I was so worried coming back home that my husband and my family would say ´You have to stop working with the Association. It´s too dangerous.´ but thank God they didn´t. They said that things happen in life and we need to think positive, thank God we are alive, and continue on.¨ I thought about how I would struggle with telling a loved one something happened to me here for this very reason as well (So far, so good Mom ;) ), but never had the thought crossed my mind that if someone asked me not to do something that I truly believed in, that I would actually have to listen. (If that were the case, I most likely wouldn´t be here...) We got to talking about the value of life and liberty... what makes people risk their lives for things they believe in and whether it´s possible to live a ¨full life¨ while constantly in a state of fear. While there were many questions left unanswered at the end of our conversation, we agreed that faith in ourselves, our work, a higher power, and the inherent goodness of humanity were essential for a a ¨full life.¨ And really, what more could we ask for?

We are not police officers; we are not doctors. We do not directly save lives, but... we do change them. The women I work with make the lives of those they touch fuller, more aware, stronger, and more empowered. They teach others how to save their own lives. The next time you tell someone, ¨Don´t¨ think about your passion, your life, and all you are blessed with. On behalf of all those women who are unable to do any or all of the things they aspire to, I implore on their behalf: ¨I don´t ask you to come with me, I just ask that you let me go.¨

I have been very lucky to have been raised in open and supportive family that allowed me to reach for the stars. Thank you to all who have shared your concern, I know that it is because you care :) Thank you also to all who have supported me, told me I could, and that even if they didn´t agree, they knew how important this was to me and that they would be there... to me, that is love.

**I promise to reduce the number of sappy posts in the future... or at least try ;)**

The Firsts of the Lasts

As I come up on one month left, this week has held many of the firsts of what will be my lasts here in Honduras... and it is hard not to get nostalgic! :)

This past weekend was particularly special as it was the last nutrition volunteer meeting that I would lead. As seems to be the case with most of my technology based workshops, the electricity went out... but we improvised and even found time to work in a quick walk in the International Bible Day parade- (who knew??)

The theme of the workshop was focused on practically using Where There´s No Doctor (the health education bible for rural health workers) in community work. After reviewing how to use a table of contents and index, we set to work with a group example, identifying an illness and it´s treatment by symptoms.

A mother arrives with her 3 year old who has been sufferring from chronic diarrea for the past day and a half and is concerned that he is becoming dehydrated. There is no blood in his stool and he does not have a fever but is bloated and complains of a ¨fully tummy¨

My example ended up being so common, everyone knew what to do before consulting the book, but it was helpful to confirm their intuition of ¨Parasites.¨

From there, the volunteers split into groups to investigate and create skits around scenarios given to them. The skits were hilarious and informative at the same time- we learned about detection, treatment, and prevention for Anemia and Preclampsia- and laughed a lot! I have been so amazingly blessed to have been a part of these people´s lives and will miss them and their devotion to their communities dearly.

Today I made my last trip into Nicaragua to visit the Condega group. While we were only on the other side of the border long enough for a 4 hour meeting and to buy rosquillas :) it was so good to see all our Nicaragua compañeras again. Updates were mixed with goodbyes and wishes that I had visited more often on both our parts.... however, the most amazing thing happened during this trip: I saw change!

Visiting with a donor and our sister site, for the first time, I saw the Honduran women presenting themselves and their projects with a unmistakeable inner confidence, a sort of beautiful mix of humility and pride. After a long struggle and much internal turmoil, the women have begun to emerge stronger and more successful. I sat back and watched, trying not to tear up with pride at all that they (and we) have both endured and accomplished... from moments of anger and resentment to moments of resignment and nearly giving up on the Association, it has been a ride for all involved. Having spent this past year as an ¨Internal Capacity Development Specialist,¨ I know that it is not often that someone working in this field is able to see the fruits of their labor. While it is usually only seeds that are planted, today, I was able to see a sense of strength, pride, and solidarity blossom- and I can say that it has made the past two years worth every second.

Independence from What??

Every September 15th, corner stores close and Hondurans take to the streets to celebrate their independence from the Spanish crown. The day begins early with bombas and continues with parades, civic, and cultural events, and ends with everyone relaxing in their hammacks. Independence is quite possibly an even bigger celebration here in Honduras, with more than three days of marches leading up to the big parade... but as I watched all of these children march past in their uniforms and costumes, I couldn´t help but wonder... what exactly have they gained independence from?

Just in time to celebrate the ¨progress¨ of this great nation, President Pepe Lobo announced that he had let go ten of his primary cabinet members, including the Minister of Security, Director of Social Planning, Executive Director of Finance, and his Foreign Minister. Hondurans were in both shock and frustration when they learned that the Minister of Security, who had just recently told reporters that he had created a list of officials working with the drug cartel and would begin to clean house, was removed from his post ¨to spend more time with family.¨ Pepe´s actions were no doubt strategically well timed to reduce media fallout by focusing on upcoming national celebrations. Finding additional information about Oscar Alvarez´s termination is nearly impossible, as corrupt news sources favor highlighting the parade batton twirlers over inner workings of the Presidential cabinet.

When asked to comment on his decision to let these key staff members go, Pepe replied: ¨People can be let go because they do not meet expectations, or because they meet their goals and then can move on to new posts, or to allow them to reintegrate into their private lives and spend more time with family¨… what???

He continued on to say that changes occur to ¨breathe new life¨ into a new office, but in the same ¨breath¨ Lobo discussed the possibility of bringing new people in to change directions… always with the goal of achieving results--- what type of results the ever elusive President Pepe wants to achieve were obviously not detailed in this conversation…

Children portraying ¨Dignified jobs of Hondurans¨

A day before Independence Day, an article in the most unbiased news source reported 3 cells of the well known Mexican Zeta drug cartel here in Orocuina. The women I know were able to immediately state where two of them are located, but due to fear of retribution, will never turn them in.

Possibly the saddest part of these events is that the anger and frustration seen in the eyes of Hondurans, quickly melts away to a disheartened resignation with half hearted jokes that their country will never be able to be free of things like corruption, violence, and dependence on the US. I suppose, for this reason, it is easier to watch the batton twirlers...

Waiting for the Independence Day parade to come into downtown Orocuina

A beautiful day couched in sad thoughts of an all too honest reality.

http://www.latribuna.hn/2011/09/13/lobo-llama-a-ponerle-ojo-a-%E2%80%9Cculebras%E2%80%9D-de-ministros/

One last vacation... Copan and the Caribbean!

Hey All!

It has been a while since my last entry, but I have a good excuse… I have been on vacation! You´re right, I was just getting back from being away… but what can I say… there is so much to see and so very little time! In all honesty, this last trip was not planned for all that long, but when a good friend said he would like to come and visit, I jumped on the chance to see him and another part of Honduras. Around the same time we began planning, another couple friends of mine began to contemplate a trip down. For a while, I thought maybe the four of us could travel together, but one look at the US Government´s travel webpage had my friends rethinking their Honduran adventure. While I completely understand, I was surprised that such an adventurous couple (with a good chunk of international travel under their belts) would so quickly change their mind based on one information source.

Since the conversation with my friends, I have become more aware of what it would be like to be a ¨tourist¨ traveling through Honduras, and found myself thinking about these very things while one vacation in the North this past week! I have definitely taken my comfort with Latin culture and Spanish language for granted during my adventures here, and so I decided to pay attention

to the types of people and experiences we came across while traveling as well as what we did and did not need Spanish for. While we had FANTASTIC luck on this trip- I´d like to think that people are just kind and everyone will have the same if not more opportunities if they are open and up for adventure!

Saturday: Picked up Reghu at the airport- paid about $25 round trip, but would have probably been $40 without Spanish and a previously established contact. Found a sweet little boutique hotel called ¨Casa del Arbol¨ that is on TripAdvisor.com.

Sunday: JUST made our 8am (read 8:10am) bus ride to Copan Ruinas in a retrofitted school bus. Ironically, we shared a taxi later in the week with the owner of this wonderful bus company, Casasola, who told us (in Spanish) that the other line, Hedman Alas, has been bugging them to raise their rates but they refuse to rip off tourists! CHEQUE!

DIY mud masks in the hotsprings near Copan

We got in late morning and after a quick lunch, headed out to the hot springs. I think this may have been a bit more expensive in English, but there are all sorts of tour companies, and the trip is well worth the avg $25-40/person! The springs were amazing! I had heard the private park was a bit overly touristy, but perhaps I am morphing out of my hippy backpacker mode, because I thought it was fantastic! There were a series of approx. 25 naturally heated pools that provided different healing modalities and ways to relax: do-it-yourself mud masks, hydro back massage, steam baths, stone foot massage, etc. All of the water came from a naturally born hot spring at the top of the hill (188 F degrees!)

Monday: We slept through our English yoga class :P but had a relaxing brunch and walked to the Maya ruins, just blocks from downtown. We declined a guide, but there were very knowledgeable guides speaking at least 3 languages. I did take advantage of my Spanish skills to talk with a local tourist guard who went on to explain the integration of Maya culture into current daily practices - very cool!

Tuesday: We ended up taking the ridiculously overpriced Hedman Alas back and up to Tela, a small beach town on the Caribbean coast. I have to admit that the rest of the trip used a decent amount of Spanish – and I used my in-country cell phone quite a bit to stay in touch with off season tour guides to make the most of our short timeframe, but for the adventurous and flexible, I think similar experiences could be had!!

We had the fortune of connecting with a South Korean travel documentary team while in Copan. (Speaking in English) While we planned to meet up in the ruins and give a tourist perspective, we somehow missed one another. To our surprise, our paths crossed again the very next day, Wednesday, in Tela, when they let us join them on their private tour of the nearby National Parks!! For a few on camera interviews and couple bikini beach shots :P we ended up getting a 2x1 deal and visited two different tours, Punta Sal and Laguna de los Micos, in one day. It was amazing!

Pictures from our tour of Laguna de los Micos and Punta Sal. Below Left: Conch- yum!

Our hotel in Triunfo de la Cruz!

That afternoon, we decided to head out to one of the small Garifuna villages nearby. We took a $2, ten minute taxi ride to Triunfo de la Cruz, where we found a great little cabaña (with AC!!) on the ocean. Just when we didn´t think it could get any more perfect, our South Korean filming friends showed up! They were going to tape a native Garifuna fire dance on the beach, and we were invited! After the show, we came to find out that the (English speaking) tour guide accompanying the film crew was from the town we were staying in. The three of us had dinner and planned our very own private tour for the next day!

While that was the last we saw of the filming crew, our adventures continued Thursday, with an early morning boat ride through the Mangroves of Punta Izopo, followed by a nature walk, where we tried all sorts of different fruits and had coconut water, fresh from the tree. In the afternoon, we biked to another Garifuna town to have amazing seafood on the beach and then spent the rest of the day swimming and relaxing along the ocean. Our guide invited us out to play pool and spend time with his family, but we had had a full day and had a bottle of local rum waiting for us in the room… J Oh Guiffitti! If you are ever in Triunfo de la Cruz, Cabañas de Colon was wonderful to us! Ask for tours with Carlos Colon.

Friday: Our last day was spent relaxing, walking along the beach, swimming, and hanging out in the thatched cabañas along the water´s edge. During our time on the coast, we had amazing seafood: white fish, red snapper, shrimp, crab, and conch! (Nearly all menus were written in both English and Spanish) It was hard to leave, but so wonderful to have gone.

We decided to splurge for a nice hotel a short ride from the San Pedro airport our last night. While I am usually not a big fan of the big box hotel complexes that hide behind gated walls along the highway, for uncomplicated travels, Apart Hotel Villa Nuria was the way to go. Included in our hotel was shuttle service to both the airport and bus terminal and they even packed us breakfast to go! There was a restaurant, bar, pool, and mini market onsite, making late arrivals and early departures a breeze. This backpacker is slowly being converted… (we did spend 3 nights in hostals J )

In addition to our South Korean friend, we also met another documentary crew from Colombia, and this month´s Nexos (American Airline´s inflight reading material) features Honduras as an ¨off the beaten path¨ travel destination. With so much international attention, I´m not sure how long this country will remain off the beaten path, and my suggestion is to visit now, while you can still get a $6 conch steak and a $20 cabaña on the beach! A smile and willingness to share your cerveza will get you past nearly any language barrier J

Dating Diaries of International Volunteer

**With only a few months left here, I find myself going back and trying to make good of all the ideas and notebook scribblings I´ve had for this blog. One concept people have actually been asking me to write about is dating... while I has been quite a while since I´ve ¨dated¨ here, it was an experience to say the least...***

Since moving to Honduras, lots of friends back home have asked, ¨What is it like dating in Honduras?¨ To which I unconsciously reply ¨uff.¨ It is not that good men do not exist in Honduras, it is just that the cultural concept of ¨good¨ is a little different... In a macho society where more women = more manly, men are pressured to have at least one ¨other,¨ and extramarital affairs are presumed. There are definitely nice, monogamous men, but much like the states- the good ones are always taken ;) My foray in the dating world was brief but pretty typical, according to Honduran friends.

So here it is: the story of how I ¨struck out¨ with dating in Honduras.

Strike 1:

Newly single, I notice an attractive guy get on the bus and think to myself, ¨I am not ready to date, but if I were, he´d be my type.¨ Atractive guy just happens to be on the same bus on the way home and strikes up a conversation. He just happens to be a health promoter working on childhood nutrition (insert sigh) in the next municipality, and is studying English- note: He had also conveniently just finished a long term relationship and was just looking for ¨a friend,¨ ... awww. Attractive guy and I talk for the hour and a half bus ride, I give him my number, and he invites me to lunch the next weekend. cheque! Saturday he shows up with his motorcycle- he had called to see if I was game and I said Yes(!) given you have an extra helmet. He shows up with a styrafoam child´s bike helmet, and in my confused state, we are off. We go to a fantastic restaurant (fantastic because it is 98 degrees out and the restaurant has A.C.) It also has a flat screen tv which seems to captivate my date´s attention nearly the entire meal. Apparently he used up all of his conversation on the bus, because he had nothing left to say... until he invited me back to his house to meet his family... say what??? Well, why not I say, and back on the bike we go. The next hour and a half pass by, sitting in his parents´living room, on the other side of the room from my date, talking to Tio about the difference between public and private education systems, while somewhat less attractive guy watched tv & texted... Finally, back on the bike we go, through a rainstorm to get back home. I decided that Yovany was not my ¨other half,¨ upon which my coworkers told me: ¨Oh good, because he is married.¨ thanks for the heads up gals... Yovany continued to call for 8 months until I ¨lost¨ my phone...

Strike 2:

Javier and I met during Orocuina´s annual festival. He invited me to dance, and I declined. The next day, we bumped into each other at the cultural acts, and he spent the evening explaining the skits and jokes- even the raunchiest jokes he explained politely. He invited me out & I declined say that I was seeing someone, whom he met and hung out with the next day when we bumped into one another again... normally I would be leary of so much ¨accidental bumping,¨ but in a town of 4,000 it is hard not to bump. Fastforward 3 months. It´s Valentine´s Day and we again ¨bump.¨ Asking about my boyfriend, I lie and say we are still together. He says ok and that he´ll stop over to say hi the next day. Fast forward a month: we bump again at Ash Wednesday services, the first time I´ve seen him since he says he´ll stop by. He promises to stop over, and I say ¨no se preocupe ie don´t worry about it.¨ The next night he stops by, presents me with chocolate, a rose, and a teddy bear, and says he will stop back another night to talk and promptly bikes away. Javier never stops by, but this is when the calls begin. Every day, 3xs a day, 5 xs a day, 23 xs in one day... until I ¨lost my phone.¨ We bumped one last time where I explained about the phone but didin´t offer a new number. Javier continues to call the old number and although my friend answers and explains it is no longer my phone, he calls back 5 minutes later. After Javier´s first and only official visit to the Center, my coworkers informed me that Javier has a 1 year old daughter that he doesn´t support. I couldn´t help but think of the teddy ber and how she should have been the recipient and not me...

Strike 2.5 (foolish optimism strikes):

I met Carlos at a party a while back, and had been ignoring his texts, but decided what the heck, and finally caved in and said ¨hey.¨ We talked about getting together and hanging out with some friends- he was a mutual acquantaince of a fellow PC volunteer- had to be ok, right? We planned to hang out Friday night. Carlos calls Thursday and says ¨I have it all planned. You come into town, we get a bottle of wine and talk all night, and then you can stay here with me at my parent´s.¨ I never got together with Carlos and I found out a month later that he was only 2 weeks from being married!!! He continued to call until I ¨lost my phone¨...

Strike 3:

The doctor. Having not learned my lesson about men at bus stops- I started chatting with the handsome doctor while waiting for the bus back to Orocuina. Conversation continued on the bus as we both turned down seats to keep talking. The next day he stopped by after work and talked with Benicia- brownie points were scored. Two days later, at his suggestion, we went for an early morning walk. He is not only the first Honduran I´ve met that likes to exercise, but he is the first Honduran I´ve met who arrives early: 5:40am to begin walking at 5:45am! (Definitely not from these parts...) The next week he showed up with his cousin and popsicles, and from there a most elaborate courtship began. A month and a half of visits, bringing fruit, chocolate, tamales, homemade cheese, rosquillas, and microwave popcorn (you´d have to live in a technology limited country to understand what a delicacy microwave popcorn is here... :)) After our talks on politics, religion, travels, and life, I found out that the good doctor was previously an agricultural engineer and held a post in the evangelical ministry (which is dating code for monogamous). He also had absolutely no interest in moving to the states (code for not in it for the green card)- cheque!

Despite the fact that absolutely nothing had happened, I begin to vaguely contemplate what it would be like to create a life in Honduras. (The idea of an international paycheck and living someplace not the US sounded doable--- wasnt sure about the whole raising a family here-- but didn´t want to get too ahead of myself, did I?) Ironically- the minute I began to doubt this ¨idyllic life in the campo,¨ the good doctor stopped making house calls. (read: started to date one of his nurses) Some how, the doctor and I actually became friends and we now get together to chat about correlations between blood pressure and stroke or how to change prescription compliance behavior every few weeks/month. It is a welcome change of pace from discussing the weather, and there are no longer any gifts involved! :)

While dating is always a gamble, dating Hondurans proved to be a bit of a crapshoot. Although it was one interesting ride, I happily struck out and am not looking for an extra inning!

A Goodbye, Jungle Style!

The day after arriving back in Orocuina from a quick trip ¨up North,¨ myself and 12 other compañeras loaded into the pick up truck and headed to the nearby waterfalls to say goodbye to and celebrate the work of one of our short term volunteers, Matt. It was a fantastic day, and one that exemplified the sweetness, goofiness, and all around craziness that in life in the Honduras campo.

The hike through the jungle

While 12 people easily fit in a pick up, this particular trip required two pickups because of the massive amount of STUFF we brought with us. If you saw all the canastas, colchones, and the barbeque grill, you would have thought we were car camping... but no, just a day trip! Even more so, we hauled all this over a mile through the jungle!! (Guess who ended up carrying the grill?? :) ) While we complained the whole way there, the trip was more than worth it! We spent the day relaxing along a series of pools, each emptying into the next with its own waterfall!

Cooking up lunch: Sausage, marinated steak along with salsa, beans, and of course, tortillas

Sliding down the waterfalls!

After a humid hike through the forest, the water felt great and the freshly grilled steak was fantastic! A bit hesitant at first, nearly all the women skimmed down to their bloomers and waded in.

Having a new volunteer in site was great in a lot of ways. (I´ve previously blogged about the energy and excitement that a new person brings to the mix.) Not only was it nice to have someone else here to hang out with, but it was nice to take the time to do all those fun, touristy things that I had been putting off or had not done for a long time! With only a few months left, I appreciated taking time to enjoy my surroundings and make the most of every minute!!

Thanks for all you brought to Honduras and AMDV, Matt & Best of Luck!

Travel Musings

The past few months have left me feeling like quite the jettsetter with two trips to the states, a national flight, and multiple cross state travels. (In the past WEEK, I have been on planes, trains, buses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles as forms of transportation!!) All of this traveling has made for lots of great visits with friends and family, a greater appreciation for the US´public transportation system, and some of the best people watching to be had!

While cameras are usually frowned upon in airport security, and really taking pictures of random US residents in general- I constantly found myself wanting to take a picture to capture odd moments throughout my travels:

1. After standing in line over 30 minutes in what turned into over an hour wait just to leave baggage claim in the Maimi airport (read: avoid this airport at ALL costs!) The woman behind me kept knocking my ankles with her luggage cart. On the 5th dig, I lost my patience and turned around with an oooh so comically stereotypical Latino ¨oooouuuy! porfa!¨ We both appologized profusely for our loss of patience and she began to pray outloud as the man infront of me ignored his wife to play his portable playstation.

2. After learning to ¨stretch the truth¨ and downplay my ¨farm time¨ on my immigration forms, my bags have not been checked coming or going in ANY country. Regardless of my ever dwindling savings, I have yet to take interest in the effervescent drug trade... but I´m just saying... (even got passed up on the invasive metal detector!)

3. I´m pretty sure I witnessed a Milwaukee man bringing his mail order bride home. As our Coachline O´hare to Milwaukee bus came over the bridge into Milwaukee, the Bulgaria native said, ¨I don´t think I like it here,¨ to which her actually very sweet travel companion took her hand and said, ¨you´ll learn to like it.¨ Oh boy...

There have also been many sweet moments:

1. Meeting a San Pedro dental student who spoke AMAZING English and helped me haggled down some nasty Teguc taxi drivers.

2. Talking about renewable energy and sustainable building practices with a Spaniard in Spanglish while flying to Phoenix.

3. Getting upgraded to the exponential legroom of emergency exit row seats for helping the American Airlines rep learn how to pronounce German last names. :)

The best thing is that I know that these adventures won´t end. While I have a limited number of travels left awaiting me here in Honduras, I know that I don´t have to be outside of the states to connect with amazing people from all over the world- I just have to say hello to the person sitting next to me! :)