First Week

Well hello all! I survived the trip! Actually, it was pretty chaotic. I missed my connection in Atlanta because my flight took off late in Tallahassee. But I got on the next plane and arrived in DC at about noon. Then hopped a shuttle (which a bunch of other volunteers were on) and got to the hotel in time to drop my stuff in my room and check in. Then it was forms, forms forms, lecture about PC, dinner, a brief call to Katie, and then checked out of the hotel, hopped on the bus with the group, got to the airport, and before we knew it we were here in Honduras.

When we got here they gave us a crash course in culturalisms and we were off with our host families. Mine is large in the traditional Hispanic sense. My host mom is named Sonia and her husband (my host father) is Pedro. They have 3 boys which rival Liesee, Laynie, and Emily as they are 12 (Obedy), 9 (Dilber), and 7 (Isidro). The choice to bring a soccer ball as a gift was obviously a brilliant one. They haven’t put it down since I got here. The one they had looked like an old beat up shoe with air in it. Sonia is studying to be a nurse and Pedro is an amazing wood carver. I can’t even describe his work. I will send you pictures of it soon. It’s amazing. The house I’m in is very nice for the area. I have a shower, although I think the water remains just above the freezing point. It is like ice. I can’t decide if I am lucky to have a shower or if a bucket bath is better because I can CHOOSE which part of my body to freeze off first. My room is about 9 x 9 and rather nice. Hiiiigh valuted celings, tile floor, double bed, and a large set of drawers for my clothes. The walls are turquoise. I am not sure how many rooms there are total because I haven’t seen the whole house. This does not seem to be abnormal after talking to the other volunteers. Anyway, I think they share a room.

I also got my first giant bug today in my room. I saw it move and smooshed it with a shoe. It was just like palmetto bugs in FL but non-flying. No biggie. Yet.

I also have a huge extended family (thus the large family comment) including cousins, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, etc whose names I’m still learning. The food is pretty much what I expected. Beans, rice, potatoes, eggs, corn tortillas, and a bit of meat here and there. Green things don’t exist for some reason that I have yet to ascertain. I think it is hard to come by? Maybe? I dunno. But dear god I wish I had brought some vitamins.

My host mom is a good cook (which I tell her all the time to glowing smiles) and is teaching me how to cook like here so I won’t starve later. Sunday, Annie, (I can’t figure out the relation here…. ) is going to show me how to wash my clothes by hand in the “pila.” Very exciting stuff here – don’t be too jealous.

This area is very pretty. VERY green with mountains. The temp is around 75 on average I would say. Lovely weather. In 3 weeks we are going to the south for the rest of training where it is more like FL – 94 on average and 100% humidity (but no AC). Here where we have training thus far there are lots of flowers everywhere, and unfortunately lots of garbage too. Plastic everywhere. The title “Environmental Educator” is going to have a lot of connotations here.

Training is going well thus far. I had my Spanish test today and I did so-so. I will probably end up (for now) in the low intermediate group or high novice. I have forgotten sooooo much. I hear/see words that I used to know and they just don’t come to me. And for some reason I can’t speak in the correct time period. “I go to store and had bought tortillas.” But that’s okay. They will beat it into me (trust me on this one). The teachers are great and funny. We had safety/security training today. It scared me. Health training today cracked me up. It was like “Malaria is this mosquito which likes dirty water, evenings, indoor areas. Dengue is this mosquito which likes clean water, daylight, and outdoor areas.”

O_O

Sooooooo mosquitos = bad?

Rabies was better. It was basically like “If you get rabies…. you DIE. But don’t worry we’re going to give you a vaccine. Just call us if you get bit because if you do we have to give you 2 more shots of the vaccine or YOU DIE” Totally deadpan too. Wow. I can’t wait for hepatitis day! We started taking anti-malarials today. Apparently they give sometimes give you weird dreams. I will inform you of my weird dreams later…. Should be fun!

Speaking of just now taking anti-malarials. I have already been bitten by like 6 mosquitos….. hmmm….

Photos coming soon.

The place I am going to get the internet isn’t terribly safe to carry around a laptop. Okay let me rephrase, nowhere is safe to carry a laptop. So I am taking this in on my flash drive and I haven’t had time to take a lot of pictures yet. But I will. Culture shock/training has obviously been the strangest part. Ohhhh where to begin. Let’s see. Amy if you are out there, you and Sam are liars. There is no drinking for women in PC Honduras. Women who drink in Honduras are considered…well….how to put it mildly….easy. Even buying it in a store is a no-no because people here gossip and everyone will know you are the easy gringa. It’s very important to spend time with the family (no big deal), they are very protective of their belongings because it is expensive to replace and has to last a long time. Giving food to dogs is a serious no-no. Not finishing your food or throwing away food is also a huge no-no. (Everything is making sense thus far I’m sure. It’s just different and a HUGE deal here). The oddest thus far is that toilet paper goes in the garbage can. Has to do with bad piping (apparently everywhere). And THAT my friends takes some getting used to. “If it’s yellow let it mellow” is standard. Now I know you think it must be gross, but they change the garbage frequently and they have some mega-strong chemicals in the bathrooms. You would never know if you didn’t…..well….know. Now take into consideration I am in a relatively urban area. I’m only a 1 hour drive outside Tegucigalpa (the capital). Soon I will be closer to the aldeas (small rural areas) and the world gets MORE conservative and I am sure more things will be odd to me. But so far that one thing is the only thing kind of odd. There is also a TON of machismo here. I have already been cat-called and stared at, and etc. Should be interesting.

Well, unfortunately my computer battery is dying and we can’t charge them in our homes (too expensive) so I have to charge it during class. So I’m going to go to bed for now. I hope you are all well and I miss you all very much! It’s definitely a weird mixture of being happy to be here, excited, nervous, anxious about speaking in Spanish and the cultural issues, homesick, and having fun. Big hug and kisses, I miss you all very much, and I will talk to you ASAP via phone or email.

BTW – best things I have brought so far = soccer balls, klean kanteen, coffee mug, Katie’s fabulous album, quick dry towel.

Things I am kicking myself for not bringing = vitamins, I forgot my razor (gonna have to buy one this weekend), chapstick, and a decoy wallet (also going to buy one this weekend).

Things I miss like crazy thus far (other than the obvious people) = peanut butter, chocolate, vegetables.

I love you all, talk to you soon!

Beck