17 Hour field-trip = awesome

As a kid I went on my fair share of field trips. We’d go to Boston, Plymouth Plantation, Water Whiz or to see the light houses in Nauset and Chatham to name a few and they were always good…some were even fun, but yesterday’s field trip with the kids was easily the best one I have ever been on and such a blast! It put ever field trip I ever went on to shame. But before I get to that here’s a little pre-departure story.

On thursday we had the commissioning mass, where we were inducted into the Amigos de Jesus family formally. We were given crosses and each of us had a little guy escort us to our seats and sit next to us for the mass. I was escorted by Vergillio, I think he is 8, he calls me his treasure and gives me big hugs and a kiss on the cheek everyday. The mass was beautiful and it was the first time we really felt completely welcomed and a part of the Amigos family. After the mass, we met with all the padrino’s and teachers. We were given more details on the schedule for friday and found out that the teachers would be cooking at 2:30am and that they needed help. Kristin and I volunteered.

[Fast forward to 2:20am on friday] I go in to wake Kristin up and we get changed and ready to cook. We start trekking over to the dinning hall and notice that it’s dark, no lights are on. At the same time we notice this all six dogs on the property start barking at us and then we see a snake slither into some bushes. So not only was nobody in the kitchen at 2:30am, we probably woke everyone and their mother up on the property from the dogs and then thought we were going to die via snake bites. So we decided to carefully walk to the back of the kitchen hoping that they just didn’t turn the front lights on anddddd of course no one was there haha. So at this pont Kristin and I are thinking this is all a big joke, and that no one is coming. But then we think..hmmm maybe they are cooking at the school, not here. So we head back to the casa, put sneakers on in case there are other snakes, and grab flashlights. We make the 5 min trek to the school and to our dismay, no one is there either. So at this point it’s getting on to be 3am and we loop around back to the cafeteria and still nobody is there so finally we just give up and go back to bed only to get up 45 mins later to get ready to leave.

At 4am all the school-aged boys were up and ready, we walked back to the dinning hall and naturally all the teachers were there cooking (go figure.) When everybody was present, we split into our groups, I was with Profa Carmen, Andres and Padrino Anotonio, we were with the 4th graders. After we split into our groups we had to walk a mile to the bus since it can’t get to the hogar. We got to see the sunrise along the way and all the boys were excited to be going away for the day. The best part about the walk is crossing the river, since it hasn’t rained in a few days it wasn’t too deep only half way up the calf but all the volunteers carried a kid across, it was so funny to watch. Some of the boys carried other boys, teachers carried kids and some just crossed alone. We finally made it to the bus and settled in for a 3 hour ride to Castillo San Fernando (because it’s a field-trip is had to be semi-educational.) thank goodness I fell asleep haha because it seemed like we got there in no time at all.

The castle we went to was pretty sweet, we went on a tour (obviously in Spanish) I picked up most of what it was about. Somehow Rachel and I got split from the kids and the other volunteers so we went on tour with extra staff and some of the older boys, naturally it was longer and there was more information, but all in all it was interesting and the view was incredible from the roof. At around 11 we got back on the bus to head for the zoo/pool/ocean. It was an additional 20-30 mins out and on the way we rounded a corner and there was the ocean, stretching for miles. Most of the kids and a lot of the teachers had never seen the ocean before. When we rounded that corner, jaws dropped, eyes bulged and there were many gasps. Coming for the Cape and having seen the ocean more than any other terrain it was nice to experience others first time seeing it. It was awesome actually, they were all in awe.

Shortly after, we arrived at the Zoo. But, the ocean slipped from view after a few minutes of catching the first glimpse anyway so the kids were excited to arrive at our final destination. When we talked to Amy about the trip earlier in the week she said she had no idea what the trip would be like. She said that she had visited another Zoo in Hondo that consisted of taxidermy animals. I couldn’t stop laughing when she said that and obviously figured this zoo was going to be more or less the same. To my surprise it was the coolest zoo I’ve ever been to. Not only did they have real animals, it was half water park and had access to a beach. All for about 18 dollars a person, take that American Zoo’s. So we started off with seeing the animals. They had a decent amount and tons of land. The kids loved the ostrich, and lions and the monkeys were a crowd favorite. We  looked at animals for about an hour. Our last stop was to see Coyotes. Hilarious. One was a coyote for sure but the other one was definitely a dog hahah the kids and teachers had no idea. After that we had lunch that the boys BBQ’d up. SOme kind of steak with, refried beans, rice and bread. It was great. Around one we found out we were running late and either had to swim in the pool or ocean but only one. Thank god the majority voted for the ocean. Crazy people have never seen the ocean before but would rather swim in a pool…weird.

We got to the beach and the view was breathtaking, the ocean was surrounded by mountains and so much green. I could hardly wait to jump in the water because I was so hot. Herson-Daniel, the cutest 5 year old I’ve ever seen we standing by the water just watching while other kids were running in. I took his hand to bring him in but he was adament about not going in. Hahah turns out he didn’t know how to swim so I jumped in, he asked me to fin him a sand dollar and I obliged, he let me pick him up and carry him in the water and he loved it. The water, by the way is ridiculously warm and it felt really nice. By the end of the day Rachel and Jen had taught him to swim and he LOVED the water. He’d jump under the waves and say watch this watch this! Hold his breath and jump back out. All in all the boys and the staff had a great day. At 3 the principle said there was time to hed to the pool and swim there, so we trekked back and everyone jumped in there.

The pool had water slides, so naturally we had to go down those 1 hundred times. Then everyone changed and headed back to the bus around 3:30-4. All the boys had a blast, teachers were happy, so was the staff. three hours later we were back at the Hogar had a late dinner and finally crashed into our beds. It was a truly awesome day. The kids were so thankful, not a single tear was shed and they got treats onthe ride home from the pulperia. Here’s some pictures! Oh and today we got two new kids, a girl and a boy.

We swam for two hours, the older boys were impressed I could hold my breath for so long under water and could swim fast and far haha I don’t think they expected it from a girl.

THe Hogar

I knew I said that I would update this blog more often than I had been now that spanish school is over and I’m finally settled in at the Hogar, but the truth is life is just too busy and I am constantly forgetting to do it…so sorry if you feel neglected 🙂 These past two weeks we have been in orientation. We have learned more about Honduran culture, how the Hogar functions, who the lead people are for any given division at the orphanage and especially about the kids and their backgrounds. I think it would be easy to say that we have learned a lot.

Last week there was a bilingual psychologist, Edwin, on site. He hosted training workshops with the madrina’s and padrino’s on various subjects for the whole week. We were allowed to sit in on one of them. This one in particular was on discipline, punishment and planning. We were shocked when Edwin asked what the difference was between punishment and discipline and it took a few minutes for people to start responding to the question. One padrino even said he didn’t think their was a difference. But then we remember that norms in our culture and Honduran culture are different and while these are old ideas for us (that punishment is very different from discipline and punishment won’t always get you the response you desire) they are new for some of the staff here. We thought it was really great that Amy and Wilson brought Edwin into Amigos for the week, because he is helping change the attitudes and beliefs of how to work with the children that are out of the norm (not that the padrinos don’t love or care for the children, it’s just based more on modern child psychology than anything else.)

Having Edwin for the week was also really awesome because he spent two afternoons working with us. I found the second afternoon the most helpful, we specifically talked about sexual and physical abuse that happens to a lot of the kids here (meaning, has happened with their family, not at amigos) and how to go about talking to them or creating necessary boundaries/healthy relationships. We unfortunately had to also discuss what to do in case we do encounter an incident of abuse between children on-site, which is not common but not unheard of. We spoke to Edwin the day before Wilson was set to pick up three new kids from the court system. He asked if we’d be willing to help with overnight stays. In doing this the new kids would sleep in the same room together for a little while before they lived in a dorm with more of the boys, and we would be there just as a reassurance that they were safe and okay. The best part of the meeting was when Wilson opened up to us about his own childhood in a home. He said the best thing you can do for the first few days is to just meet the basic needs of the children. To make sure that they know they are safe, they have food (3 times a day or more) and that they have their own bed and space. He said when he arrived at the home when he was younger he was in disbelief that he was going to be fed everyday and letting a child who has been in turmoil their whole life know this is essential. 

The next day Wilson came back to the Hogar around 4 in the afternoon, but rather than having 3 kids there was just one. A 4-year old named Cindy. She has big beautiful hazel eyes with tons of eyelashes and the best laugh. When we first got to meet her, I think she was in shock. She wouldn’t look at people and got emotional easily, just a mere 8 days later, Cindy has perked up remarkably and is started to look more comfortable here. The only other girl who currently resides here is Silvia and she is 5, she took Cindy under her wing and made she was looked after at all times.

We’re (the volunteers) not really sure what happened with the two other kids. I guess the judge got angry and sent them to foster care for the time being but Amy, Wilson and Suyapa (another director) is hoping to get them within the next week. Apparently their foster care is even worse than that found in the US, so they’re hoping to get them ASAP. If they are successful, we’ll have another new girl who is 7. That will make 3 girls! It’s going to be an exciting year with the plans to bring in new kids. 

Speaking of kids, I know I already said the kids here are great, but they really are. We’ve had such a blast playing marbles and soccer, and having dance parties with them. Even though my spanish isn’t the best they humor me and still play with me. THe oys here range from 3 to 23 and so far I like everyone I have met. The older boys are slower to warm up, but I think that is to be expected. Whereas the little ones are so excited to hang out with us all the time. My favorite thing about the Hogar is prayer circle every night. Here, everyone (staff, kids, volunteers) get into a big circle outside the dinning room and hold hands. Everyone how feels move, says what they are thankful for and we end with the Our Father and Hail Mary, after circle everyone hugs one another goodnight. Let me tell you, for a  person who isn’t that attached to hugs these kids give the best ones. Some of the little ones even give a little kiss on the cheek. Last week after our second circle my heart felt so full and it continues to feel like that every night. 

We found out about our jobs last night! Finally we are employeeeed! I am going to be helping teach Pre-K with Jose in the mornings. There’s only 3 kids who will be in the class, Amy and Wilson’s son Thomas and then Brayan and Silvia. I think Cindy will join the class when she is ready. In the afternoon I will help with the afterschool program and in coordinating that program. In addition to this I will be helping with a leadership initiative for the older boys as well as fundraising for the program. Don’t worry! I will avoid hitting you all up for money again because you’ve been more than generous! 

Well I am off to lunch. Today we have commissioning mass, where we will give out community mission statement and be welcomed into the Amigos community for real. Tomorrow the boys hve a field trip to the beach and the zoo and we are helping to chaperone! I’m pretty excited. I offered to help cook at 2:30am and we depart at 4am wish me luck that I may have high energy. Hasta Luego

 

Bienvinidos a Amigos de Jesus

Day 4 at Amigos. All I can say about the last 4 days is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I absolutely love everything about being here and now know without a doubt that I made the right decision in spending my next year in the service of others at Amigos de Jesus. I feel like for the first time in a while that I am in the right place, with the right people at exactly the right time. This next year is going to do a lot for me mentally and spiritually, and I am ready for the challenge. Perhaps I’ll give you a little insight into what Amigos is like, beyond what I have already revealed and what the website might say:

Our volunteer house is great, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a kitchen/dinning room and a chilling area ;). 6 weeks ago when we first arrived at amigos the house had one bath, two bedrooms and a large room with no particular use. The upstairs was where the chapel had been and at the time hadn’t been renovated yet, so, needless to say when we got here Saturday we were absolutely astounded by the changes. 

Amigos is beautiful. There is 200 acres of land and on that land there is : a school (k-6), 2 futbol fields, a mess hall, a play ground, two new dorms for the boys and two more for the padrino’s & madrina’s as well as offices and our house (Amy and Wilson live below us for the time being, or the year haha idk for how long.) The rest of the land is used for farming. One really awesome feature about Amigos is that it is dedicated to being self-sustainable. All the buildings were made with the intention of lasting 100 years, and most, if not all, were constructed to withstand severe weather like earthquakes. They also have just recently put in solar panels for the water pumps, so even if the electricity goes out the water will still work. Obviously, much of the food is used each day for meals or to be sold for profit in the community. \ They have cows, chickens and hoses, (today I learned cows don’t like to be petted..HA) On site there is also a wood shop where furniture, doors ect are made rather than buying those goods in town. They also did much of the construction work, welding around the land themselves or had the help of a work crew or volunteers from universities. So I guess I think it is pretty awesome that they live almost entirely independently from the constrains of society, which is A LOT more than I can say for my life in the US. They also live simply which I love, and through living simply, they seem to live more deeply than most people (at least from what I have seen thus far)

On Saturday we met Amy and Wilson and their kids Thomas and new baby, Jacob, in Copan. They treated us to a fantastic lunch were we ate pinchos (similar to kabobs.) It was easily one of the best meals I ate in my 6 weeks in Honduras. [OH! and the night before the 8 of decided we would go out for our last night to eat dinner, I got the “whole fish” haha it was…a whole fish, pan fried (eyes, fins, spine ect) served with a baked potato and a side of veggies. It was the best meal I received in the 6 weeks.] Anyway after lunch on saturday we piled into a pick-up truck and Amy and Wilsons SUV for a 2 hour ride to Amigos. It rained the whole way there, and it rained hard. Nut we were so excited to be starting our real adventure.

When we arrived the boys made us beautiful signs of welcome and were anxious to see us, we ate dinner together and then had a fiesta. The boys planned skits and music for us which was really cool and then there was a dance party. We were completely wiped out by 10pm and climbed into bed. 

The last 3 days we have been getting to know the boys, the mission or Amigos, the land and what is being asked of us as volunteers. There has been lots of games and the kids have been great so far. They could just be putting on a good face for us, but I doubt it. I can’t believe how much love and support Amigos gives and I hope that I am able to add to that just a little bit. We won’t know what our jobs are until the 2 week orientation is over soooo can’t help you there! But, this morning was awesome, we played ice breakers with all the staff on site; kitchen workers, field hands, madrina’s, padrino’s ect. It was beyond funny, turns out they love to play games so the 30+ staff members and the 8 of us played hot potato (loser has to do whatever we deem funny) two truths and a lie, and a game called train wreak where there is one less chair than there are people. In the game you say something like “if you are wearing jeans” and everyone gets up and runs to find as seat, the loser makes the next questions. It was hilarious I almost got knocked over by a 60 year old field work trying not to lose (I was already sitting) 

So I guess all in all I can’t complain about a dang thing. It is beautiful here and so full of God’s grace and love. I am truly looking forward to the next year. I know it will have it;s ups and downs  but when I leave I will be a better person for it all the struggles and for the triumphs. 

Next blog I will be sure to reveal more about the school and how they situate new kids. 

Thanks for reading! Sorry if it was all over the place, that’s how my mind is right now and prayer circle starts in 5 mins. Love you all 🙂

Last adventure (with school)

Yesterday was our last field trip with the school and today is our very last day. I feel like I know a lot more than I did when I got here but I obviously have a lot I need to practice with. Buuut there’s a whole ‘nother year for that. Yesterday we went to the bird park — Macaw Mountain and I got to take some awesome pictures. The birds there were beautiful and the park was constructed really nicely. They had a restaurant and cafe in there for visitors. The coolest thing about the visit was that we got to hold the bird! Three of them haha and boy one of the them smelled. I think since 9 different people held them, they were getting fussy because they poked hole in Andrew and Kristin’s shirts. Our tour guide was amused and moved a little less than swiftly to remove them, so Andrews shirt is not accompanied with 10 holes on his sleeve.

Anyway! Got to get ready for class, hoping the last day is the best one yet! Enjoy some pictures 🙂 I’m off to Amigos tomorrow AM!

Cooking

Today we made a trek down the street to a little hole in the wall (Literal translation, not metaphorical) to get empinadas or as other people down here like to call them, pupusas. I know I wrote about these before buuut this time I got to eat one. If you recall, we went to this little eatery/hut during class one morning but I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I never ended getting one. We returned today to do just that, and what a great price! They were 10 lempiras (.50 cents) per empinada.

Pupusas here are made differently than they are in the US. I know that at home they sort of resemble a pastry with meat inside but they way they make them here is similar to the way they make tortilla’s. The have the dough, and flatten it so that the diameter is about 5 inches and then you can pretty much place whatever you feel like in the middle (sparingly.) They then fold the structure back in on itself and again flatten it to the original form. At this woman’s hut…for lack of a better term, she has a stone stove and cooks them in a large skillet with a fire underneath. We all got chicken and cheese.

When they arrived they were nice and hot and oozing cheese. All I have to say is “well done” and obviously good enough to write a post about. I can’t wait to learn how to make these, because they were delicious. I think ground chicken, spinach, cheese and peppers might be great.

Funny twist in the days events. I told my host mom we were going to get these as a snack in the afternoon, came home for dinner and guess what she made? hahaha I think she was trying to one up the lady we went to. I can’t say there was a clear winner because their cooking styles were different. But if they want to compete against each other, I’d be happy to be the taste tester 😉

Getting excited for fridaaaay when we start orientation and of course for getting to the hogar. It’s amazing how fast 6 weeks flew by.

Prepping for our last week in Copan. What to dooo

This past week has had a lot of ups and a few downs. The weather was, as always, beautiful, warm and sunny. The 8 of us have been enjoying our time before heading back to Amigos to begin work and I think we’re all ready to begin. We have been so blessed with the chance to have all the opportunities of travel and new experiences and especially the education the school is providing for us. Btw if you want to know more about the school check out their site!!

One down this week  was I finding myself extremely frustrated with spanish (more so than usual haa.) I think I was just overwhelmed that their was so much left to learn in just a week and a half. In the beginning of the week, I was having one day where things just weren’t clicking for me. I ended up asking Joe to translate for me because I could verbalize what I wanted to work on with my teacher. What I was trying to get across was that I needed to work on forming proper sentences, small to start and then gradually larger ones. Something got lost in translation because by the end of a 5 min translating piece my teacher thought that I was upset with her, and that I was questioning her teaching ability. She asked if I wanted a new teacher and I said no way! And made sure to add that I was frustrated with myself not her. I felt like a jerk haha so obviously I apologized. For that afternoon we worked on sentences and just talking which was really helpful. And after I made sure she knew I wasn’t upset with her things began to click again. As with everything, some days are just better than other days. For having only taken Spanish for 5 weeks, I actually know quite a lot of Spanish and I should be/am proud of my progress. SO!! This week I’m just going to keep pushing, keep positive and hopefully learn so much more.

In other news of this week, there was another earthquake. This time it was during the day and while we were at school. It was small and short. I was in the middle of a lesson when the ground/table began to shake Haha my teacher thought I was shaking the table at first and then realized it was an earthquake and I wasn’t messing with her. I think it scared her because she got up and left the room hahah. But as she left the shaking stopped and all was good. I think it was just startling. This time everyone felt the quake, not just Jen and I, like last time!

On thursday we went on our weekly excursion and this time we travelled to a Coffee plantation. It was pretty comical though, because when we arrived they had no idea we were coming and thus there were no guides for us (typical hahah) but we got to see where they grind the beans and the woman who was there gave us all a sample of coffee. So we peeked around the area for a little bit by ourselves before we left. I wish a guide had been around because apparently the farm is run by a group of woman and encourages them to make profits and sustain themselves which sounded cool. But beyond that I don’t know too much more about the farm. Thursday was also Christian’s birthday! So as a treat Jen taught him some judo and by taught, I mean she flipped him on his backside hahaha.

After poking around a little more we went to another farm. I believe that it is somehow connected to the coffee plantation but I’m not sure how. But it is run by a large family and the property they owned was absolutely breath-taking. Our van driver was familiar with the farm because he takes vacation time to stay on their land up the mountain so he took us on a little tour. He showed us their cows, pond, horses and some young tobacco plants. He showed us the area where they process a lot of their beans and grains. After we started our trek up a mountain. One of the farmers met us with 4 horses about halfway up and we let the boys take the first shift of riding. The rest of us were still a little weary from our last horse adventure haha. So, as they continued up the mountain, we were taken to see the river and a Guyaba tree. The farmer climbed the tree and pulled down a small fruit for each of us, it was…ok haha I had no idea how to eat it. Guyaba is a small fruit and you can eat the skin but there are hard seeds inside and its a little sweet but bitter at the same time. And the skin is thinker like a clementine. So all in all not a great fruit but worth the try.

After we tried the fruit we headed back to the path and began walking up the mountain again. It was soooo ridiculously hot i the sun but the view was 100% worth it. Rachel and I hadn’t been thinking properly and didn’t wear good footwear so walking was more difficult. Silly Girls. We were about halfway up when we found the boys and some of us switched with them. Rachel, Jen, Andrew and I opted not to take the horses and continued to walk a bit further. Rachel and I turned around early to head back and find some water. We found the new Joe and the bus driver a little ways a way. Joe joined us and we made our way back down and waited for the rest of the group to return. While we were waiting we found two of the girls from the farm. One was 5 and the other was 7 and we chatted with them for a little bit. Their uncle stopped by a little later and offered us bananas and water and we asked him about life on the farm. It was great because I understood much of the conversation.

Two weeks ago, I asked my madre if she would make a cake for Christian so after we got back from the farm, we convinced everyone to go to my house and surprised Christian with a cake! It was so good looking and really tastey. The cake was chocolate and lemon. She did a great job!

On Friday we went out to celebrate our last real weekend in Copan and just hung out for the evening. By the close of the night we found ourselves in a club called Mayan VIP. I absolutely loved watching people dance. I think I will work on that over the year. I will learn be less white and enjoy dancing (and try not to look like an idiot at it haha) I am always amazed by people who are so in sync with the movement of their body and the music playing. It was pretty cool. Also, I liked how people actually danced none of that crap you see in American clubs and bars (i.e. grinding.) I got home around midnight and fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

Yesterday was the match between Honduras and Brasil, and let me tell you that people in Honduras were pretty gracious about losing the match (from what I saw at least.) But man, it would have been GREAT had they won. In fact, had they won I think they could have gone to the last match, and from there who knows what would have happened. But Brasil is a skilled team and dominated the field for the majority of the match so skill wise, they deserved the win…I guess. I will say I was very impressed with the Honduran goalie, he kicked butt! Too back he hadn’t saved just one goal so the game would end in a tie. Had the game come down to a shoot out Honduras probably would have won. Ooooh well. I think everyone was just happy the team made it so far.

This weekend there was a celebration in honor of the father of my host dad. He’s kind of a big wig in Copan and helped to make it the town it is today. Because of this, Luis’s whole family came to visit for the weekend. Last night they had a party and caused a ruckus till 1:30am, they know how to party haha. They played music and there was a lot of singing. I found the whole thing pretty comical since all the adults were a little tipsy. All in good fun though. I feel really lucky to have been placed in the house that I did because they are genuinely nice people and pretty funny too. I talked to my madre today and apparently they didn’t get to bed until 4am ahah. And they broke the glass covering on their outside table (impressive)

As our time in Copan comes to a close, we are getting very excited for the year ahead. Especially now that we have a better understanding of Spanish and a decent amount of knowledge about the Honduran lifestyle. Orientation will begin next friday in Copan and we will depart on Saturday for the Hogar! We still don’t know what our jobs are but I don’t think anyone is too worried about it. We’ll be placed where we are meant to be. Once we arrive at the Hogar we will have orientation for the next two weeks. I look forward to it. Wish us luck for our last week 🙂