Cross Cultural Interactions with Just a Cosmo Magazine

Friday, September 24-Tuesday, September 28, 2010



Flooding on the way to the hospital

 Bright and early Friday morning I got up and headed to the doctor down in Choluteca. I caught the 6:00 AM bus, which put me into Choluteca around 6:45 AM; then, I decided to walk to the hospital for some extra exercise. Even though I hadn’t walked there before, I figured I could find it with my good sense of direction and the taxi trip the day before. So, I headed straight down the street. Once I got to the intersection I had to cross and make a left, I found myself at a loss for what to do. I stood before a deep river from all the rain that had been pummeling down on Honduras. So, I decided to take a right and venture on. After about another 15 minutes, I finally found the hospital and arrived just in time for my morning blood exam. Since the doctor was still trying to figure out what was wrong with me, the lab tech took my blood (sans gloves) and then asked for a urine sample. I gave her this willingly, in an old Gerber baby jar, then she told me to come back in an hour and a half. So, back down the wet gravel road I went to wait in the comfort of a wi-fi coffee café. Yes, there is one in Choluteca! I have made friends with the owners and a lot of Peace Corps volunteers come here when they are in town. It is a little piece of heaven, right in the southern part of the country. When the time came, I ventured back down the gravel road to the hospital and was given the results of my test…

An infection. That’s it. The doctor didn’t know exactly what kind of infection; simply that my white blood cell count was WAY TOO HIGH and I needed to keep taking my other meds, while he put me on another (so now we are up to five). He signed the prescription and sent me on my way. I headed over to the pharmacy where the pharmacist (only one b/c it’s not a big place) hands me the medicine and I see that it only has two side effects listed 1. Don’t take if you are pregnant (no worries, Doc) and 2. Don’t take if you have seizures (problem numero uno). So, I alert the pharmacist and she attempts to find another medicine, but that one causes convulsions, too; therefore, I call up the PCMO who calmly listens to me and finds a suitable replacement that won’t cause any more seizures than I am already trying to stop. Finally, I am sent on my way in an attempt to fight off an infection, which my white blood cells are already trying to fight off. I am a medical mystery.

Update: The rash is gone, it was not scabies and not really sure if it was a mild form of dengue b/c I had the headaches and the rash. The doctor called it an allergic reaction…to what I am not sure, but he made me stop wearing my Off! for a few days. I feel better.



The street in front of my house after Day 1 of rain




The main street of town after Day 1 of rain

 Later on Friday we received word that Huricana Matthew was headed towards Honduras. It was not headed towards the Southern part. This, however, still meant that all PCV’s were not allowed to travel anywhere on Saturday and all the PCV’s in certain regions (like the North and Central areas) were consolidated to one point. I went home and looked up the Hurricane’s path, then waited with everyone else in Southern Honduras to see what would happen. What happened was rain. A lot and lot and lot and lot of RAIN. It rained non-stop every single day from Friday night until now (it is now Tuesday). It has not stopped raining. I know that the hurricane has moved on (in fact, I don’t think it ever got to a “hurricane” just a “tropical storm” but anyway the rain has been crazy. The rivers surrounding Orocuina have risen as much as they can without flooding the town, the streets are flooded everywhere, the buses are not running to schedule, and people are sweeping water out of their houses. On Monday there was a large event to celebrate the paving of the road between Choluteca and Orocuina (like a two-lane rural highway). It was POURING DOWN rain and the event went on. Let me describe it for you:



All the mud at the event (this was the exit)

 There were several large white tents and all the important people were there. The Mayor of Orocuina, the Mayor of Choluteca, the engineers of the projects, the President of the Patronato (a group that was in charge of the project), and President Lobo was supposed to show up (but he didn’t). I don’t blame him….the rain was torrential. Everywhere you stepped was soggy mud. Women were wearing high heels, some of them wore white high heels; I wore my Teva’s. For several reasons. 1. I didn’t bring any high heels to Honduras. There are no paved roads and I hike everywhere. I don’t want to break my ankle. 2. It is flooding so I don’t really think it’s the time or place for high heels. So, anyway, after the event, the tents are falling down because they are holding too much water and I finally get back to Orocuina, I head off to the market and buy some rubber boots. The best purchase I have made in Honduras. Because it is going to rain here a lot and I figure I should be prepared. L160, or around $8; they will come in handy as I walk out to the campo trying to get projects going.

Speaking of projects, since it rained all weekend, I took the time to research projects and come up with ideas for my town of Orocuina. Then, Monday I presented one to my new counterpart in the oficina de mujeres (office of women). Some of you guys might remember a few months ago when I went to the Centro de Evaluacion de Estufas Mejoradas, in Zamorano, Honduras and learned how to build stoves. Well, this week Secretary Clinton announced partnership opportunities with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves; along with it a ten-year, $250 million public-private commitment in support of a bold new global response to enable 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. The woman here in the oficina de mujeres had approached me last week about trying to work on a microempresa project, so I thought this would be a great opportunity for us to put the two projects together. On Monday I took the idea to her to approach the women of the community to form a microempresa and use it to build better and more efficient stoves. Stoves cost as little as $25 to build, and can make a huge difference in the lives of women and children…many who spend up to ten hours a day working over the stoves. The smoke has been proven to be as harmful as smoking ten cigarettes a day! So, my counterpart liked the idea and on Wednesday we set a date for next Wednesday to have a meeting with women members of the community to see if they are interested in the idea. I hope they are interested b/c I think it will be a good project for the community. If you are interested in reading Secretary Clinton’s press release on the subject, click here http://cleancookstoves.org/blog/release-secretary-clinton-announces-global-alliance-for-clean-cookstoves/ Also, you can learn more about cook stoves by clicking here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_stoves



The small river in my town after Day 1 of rain

 I am also working on another project called the World Wise School program. This is where I work with a school here in Honduras and a school in the USA. I have chosen to work with my mom’s kindergarten class and a kinder here in Honduras. Last week I went to the jardin de ninos (kindergarten class here) and spoke with the director. She really liked the idea, but wanted to involved ALL the classes, meaning that all three classes will be working with my mom’s class. That’s how things go here. So, now my poor mom will be working extra hard to provide cross-cultural interaction to 60 little kidergarteners in Honduras. It is a great program, though, and I know both classes will learn a lot. On Wednesday I headed back to the school to get the first project from the classes; however, due to the rain we haven’t had any school this week. That’s how things go here. It often cracks me up how there is no school due to rain, b/c it rains here ALL THE TIME, except that if you saw the roads in person you would know that many students simply can not get to class. Another reason to work harder on improving the infrastructure. Because already kids have missed four weeks due to a strike and now they miss more because of weather. Crazy.

I also have another idea for a leadership program and scholarship/recycling program here in town. There is another volunteer here in Honduras who has been very successful with recycling in his area, so I hope to implement some of the sustainable steps that he has taken here in Orocuina as well. I’m going to see if the colegio is interested in recycling, then using the money towards setting up a scholarship program, so that all the kids who participate in recycling have an opportunity to apply towards the scholarship money and use it towards university here in Honduras. There are other PC leadership programs in other countries, too, that have been successful. Orocuina is already using an internship program with the colegio, so I hope to further these students leadership skills by getting them involved in some of the PC leadership camps. We will see, it is going to require a lot of research on my part and a lot of involvement on the community’s part. I have only seen my original counterpart twice since he dropped me off, and both times were at a large event when other people were around. Amanda (another American here working with an NGO) and I are also going to try and start a walking club and next week are having a meeting to see if people are interested. Hopefully people show up!



LOVE from my Phi Mu lil' sis Jessica!!! So thoughtful!




LOVE from Mom-gotta make sure I'm healthy!



The best days are mail days!




Spreading America one Cosmo issue at a time

 On Tuesday I headed in Tegucigalpa for the day. I had to go to the Peace Corps office to pick up my migraine medicine (since I took it all thanks to the headaches caused by my infection) and pick up my mail that had been there for several weeks. This meant that I got up at 4:30 AM to catch the 5:00 AM bus out of town, then connected in Choluteca to another bus for Teguz. I rode that bus for another three hours, with various people coming on and off the whole time. While on the bus there was a small child, of about 5 or 6, with his head hanging out the window and rain pelting down on his face. It was really cold that early in the morning and I was cold, even with my jacket on. All I could think was he would probably get pneumonia later, but what do I know? He got off with his dad about two hours later. Next, there was a guy sitting in front of me who liked to have the window open, also. I asked him to close it, then he kept it open a little bit more. Apparently he was “bus sick.” I don’t think a three hour bus ride to Teguz is gonna help; so at our one rest stop I switched seats. When I did this I ended up sitting next to an older man, about 80. I pulled out my Spanish Cosmo, with Shakira on the cover, to study Spanish. I have decided that if I’m going to read Spanish, I’m going to enjoy it. As I began flipping through the magazine, I notice that every article is something I probably shouldn’t be reading on the bus “How hot is your sex life” “50 places you’ve always wanted to take your clothes off in public, but haven’t until now”…you get the picture. These are all complemented by Latino women practically nude and I’m rethinking my reading selection, until the old man next to me points to the pictures and says “Muy bonita!” What is going on? I am totally embarrassed at the fact that an 80 year old man might be reading something that says “Focus on your G Spot” until I realize that he can not read. So, I ask him where he lives, what he does, etc and he tells me where he lives and that he works in the fields and has since he was 10 and only went to school until the second grade. He asks if I can keep showing him the pictures, so I keep flipping on through (next page is a guy in his boxers…seriously, next time I will bring Women’s Health in Spanish or something!) and when I get to a page with a girl holding a Blackberry he asks me “What is that?” So, I explain to him what a blackberry is and he is totally amazed. He doesn’t even have a cell phone. Then, he really likes the page with all the perfumes on it and I explain to him the ones that are really popular in the USA, but the page that is his favorite is the one outlining all the “new and hip” pairs of jeans. Why you ask? Because everyone in Honduras wears jeans all the time, so he could easily relate to them. He enjoyed pointing to the different pairs and telling me which ones were his favorite. At the back of the magazine I read him his horoscope, which included a lot of love coming his way and he laughed (he has 10 children, so I’m pretty sure he’s seen his share of love) and then said “when is your birthday? Read yours also!” When he got off at his stop I waved goodbye and wished him good luck (his son was in the hospital), then leaned back in my chair. It’s days like this that make living in Honduras really special.

Once I got to Teguz I found two big packages waiting for me!  YEAH!  A great big care package from my Phi Mu little sister, Jessica, filled with French Vanilla coffeemate (she really loves me), Reeses Pieces, and a Spa Kit!  Holy Moly!  Spa day it is tomorrow~ Thank You Jessica, Mark and the boys for the fun goodies to make me feel like a girl when it's 100 degrees outside!  And what else did I find?  A big box full of vitamins sent with love from mom.  Just to make sure I don't get anymore illnesses while I'm down here.  Thanks, mom!  I don't know when I became old enough to take Women's One a Days, but now that I am I have to have them shipped from another country.  I remember when life was simple and I just went out for HH on Friday night, then stumbled to brunch on Saturday.  Now I volunteer in Honduras while taking supplements.  When did I become old?



More cross-cultural interaction

 A little more cross-cultural interaction happened this week when my abuela anfintriona came to visit (host grandma). She spent three days with us cooking, cleaning, and looking after my host mom who has been sick. During the days she spent many hours hanging out over the stove slaving away making soups, beans, tortillas, etc. So, when I walked in for lunch one day and dumped some instant tortilla soup into a liter of water and five minutes later had soup, she was a little intrigued. It had just taken her six hours to make soup and she looked at me intriguingly, then took a spoon and tasted what I had. Then she smiled and nodded her head approvingly. She asked where I bought it and I told her at the MaxiBodega for only L5, or 25 cents. Seriously, I’m all for making homemade goodness, but there is no reason to spend six hours of my life and L100 on soup when I can buy the instant stuff just the same. It was then that I began to ask her about her life and she told me that she had 13 children (Holy Crap!), had lived in Teguz when it was a beautiful city and her father had been a millionaire. All I could think was…13 children! I can hardly imagine having one child, much less 13 coming out of you! She had so many stories I could hardly keep them straight, but just sitting down and listening to an elderly Honduran woman for one night taught me a lot about recipes, family, and the history of the country.



Cooking with my host mom (the stoves I hope to improve)




These boots really are made for walking!!!

 That's it from here. I hope the rain stops soon so things can get back to "normal." I am starting to look for apartments in Orocuina because my time with host families comes to an end in November. As great as it's been, I am looking forward to moving out and enjoying Honduras on my own. If you've been waiting to send my some awesome photos from your summer trip, or fall visit to the fair/Vegas/garden blooming, whatever, now is the time! I am planning on making a wall of the world, where I have all the pictures and postcards of my friends. I did change my address, so if you look up on the right side you can see it. It's only 98 cents to send me a card with your photo in it! Much love and hugs to all!