How to Use 288 Condoms in Rural Honduras

Sunday, October 10, 2010


This past week has been very stressful. I was moved out of my host family’s house for security reasons and have been living with a friend. To say that I am looking forward to getting my own place is an understatement. I mean, thanks for the memories PC, but I am a little tired of living with single moms who cry all day, take a lot of prescription meds, and have kids that don’t mind. Two houses now where I have had moms who constantly cry, tell me “duele in mi cabeza” which in short means “I hurt in my head” but they use that term very loosely here. It really makes me miss my first host family even more. They were so awesome, inviting me into their home, speaking Spanish with me 24/7, sharing all of their life with me, teaching me different recipes in the kitchen, telling me all about the history of Honduras. In the meantime, here in Orocuina, I have made some awesome new friends to lead me through the last few weeks. Today I spent time with a few of them and Benicia taught me how to pluck and fully clean a chicken.



My friend Benicia plucking the chicken




Benicia showing me how to properly clean it




The insides; I think this is the liver




Yuck!!!



It didn't FEEL like chicken! But it was FUN!

 Now, I’m not exactly when I’ll be needing this little technique in the future…maybe when I decide to kill the roosters that keep waking me up at all hours of the night, but it was so much fun watching Benicia take to that thing in a matter of minutes! I missed her killing it, but she plucked it within ten minutes with her BARE HANDS! Every single feather…just like in the old West! The whole time the cat circled underneath just waiting to pounce on something; then Benicia lit a small fire and held the chicken over it. I don’t know why she did this, maybe to burn off any extra feathers, maybe to burn off germs. I’m not exactly sure. But, next, she began washing it in the pila, inside and out, before taking a big knife to it and chopping off the legs and head and tossing it down to the cat. (He knew what he was doing!) Then, she reached inside and pulled out all the intestines and anything else that was waiting (the heart) and soaped it all off, b/c she used some of it in the soup later (sorry, but I didn’t taste that). Finally, it was all clean and ready to go in the pot! And, that is how you clean and pluck a chicken. As much fun as it was, I think I’ll stick to the frozen section at the grocery store.

Later today my friend Amanda and I had some people over to teach them how to make homemade pizza and banana bread. The pizza was Amanda’s idea and I decided to make banana bread b/c we have WAY TOO EASY access to bananas in this country and I wanted to make something special for all the people in Orocuina who have helped me out this first month. So, to begin, I got a recipe from the PC recipe book and mashed up the bananas, along with some honey, flour and eggs, and got some help from my friend Lorena who asked a bunch of questions about the recipe. Then, we poured it into a large skillet and placed a top onto it. I planned on making two batches, and after the first batch came out a little too cakey for me, I added a little less mantequilla the second time around. That is their version of butter here, which is like butter and sour cream mixed together. I hate it, they love it. They put it on everything. They put it on pancakes; I eat them with syrup. Do you get it? Next, Amanda began preparing the pizzas. She made homemade dough, which I have no idea how to do, but I am going to learn for the next time around. Then, she chopped up all the ingredients of onions, tomatoes, peppers (which they call chiles here), and she made the sauce. Then, Lorena and Alyandro assisted in the preparation of the awesomeness that is American food. They had such a great time and joked about opening up a restaurant called “Lorenas Pizza!” While we waited for the food to cook, we all sat around and talked in Spanish. It’s these times that I enjoy the most here in Honduras, b/c it gives me time to get to know my new friends and practice my Spanish. As Alyandro was sharing why he doesn’t go to church and why the Catholic priest believes Halloween in the USA is evil (my heart broke), a bee stung Lorena and the stinger got stuck in her arm! It swelled up real big and we tried to control it with a bag of water. Finally, I realized that those bags of water might be good for something! When things had calmed down a bit, the four of us cut into the pizza and enjoyed our meal, along with the traditional Honduran PEPSI, and I sent them home with some banana bread for their morning café. What a great night with new friends!



Honduran friends enjoying American food!

 Monday, October 11, 2010

Friday is Global Handwashing Day. It’s a day celebrated all around the world to bring more attention to why you should wash your hands after going to the bathroom or before eating. This might sound logical, but in a lot of countries IT’S NOT! So, I am presenting a charla on Friday to the kindergarten class, along with two doctors from the Centro de Salud; this meant that today I had to prepare. Why? Because I actually found two people in Honduras that prepare for something. Excuse me if I find this out of the ordinary; but I do. This is because a lot of times I end up sitting around and waiting on people for hours, so last week when one of the doctors asked me to come to the Centro de Salud today and prepare for Friday I was like “What???” So, this morning I worked at my desk on a fun, purple posterboard, where I traced my hand and wrote out instructions about why you should wash your hands. In Spanish. While I did this, another woman who works at the Municipality was drawing a large poster for tomorrow…tomorrow is Dia de Orocuina or the Day of Orocuina. I’ll cut to the chase; her poster was BEAUTIFUL! She could get a scholarship to some college in the States or Europe. I am sitting at my desk having to glue stick some paper my mom emailed me from the States b/c of my lack of artistical talent. Where is my sister when I need her? I am so embarrassed at my poster. Then, all the other women show up from the Oficina de Mujeres and Oficina de Ninos and they start cutting out banners of crepe paper for tomorrow and now everyone can see what a failure I am at drawing. Fabulous. Thank goodness I have games for these kids to play. And my strength is in soliciting free stuff from the local folks, so tomorrow I’ll be going around and asking for free bars of soap. Because that is what every kid wants in life. Free soap to wash their hands…right before they eat the churros (chips) they wish that I had brought.

After my poster making skills, I headed over to the Centro de Salud to show off my work and pass out more banana bread. I talked with one of the doctors and we spoke about our Friday plan, as well as plans to talk on the radio that morning to promote Global Handwashing Day. I really love the doctors there. They are so smart and on the ball. I hope we have lots more projects in the future. Next, I headed into Choluteca with none other than the priest who hates Halloween. Since we were both headed there for meetings, he offered me a ride, which I gladly took since it cuts out 30 minutes of my bus ride. Along the way he talked about everything but the day I love so much, including all the places he likes in the States (Miami, Virginia, Texas).

Insert: I would like to take this opportunity to mention that 1 out of 3 people in Honduras know someone that lives in the following places: Miami, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia/Maryland/North or South Carolina/Georgia/or anywhere else related to the Southeast. About 1 in 25 people have actually been to one of these places. Since you are from the USA you must know exactly where they lived, or their family lives.



The Maxi Bodega, like Wal-Mart, where I buy stuff




Statue of Francisco Morazan in Choluteca, but I think he looks like Abe Lincoln




Famous Catedral in Choluteca (not where my Padre is)




Main park in Choluteca, closest big city to me

 Okay, back to the priest. He tells me that he has a bunch of projects for me and expects to see me in the church real soon. I’m not sure how soon “real soon” is, but I’m pretty sure that I’ll be using Honduran time on this one. Once in Choluteca I headed off to meet with an NGO based in Orocuina. They are interested in an artisan fair that PC is having, in conjunction with the US Embassy, in December and want me to present the idea to them. After hopping in a taxi, the driver tells me that he just got back from living three years in Arizona. What is this? Find an American day and tell them all about it?!? Unfortunately, he is not as good at finding the office I need to go to and goes around in circles until a little old lady tells him he needs to backtrack six blocks. So, down the bumpy, unpaved road we go, where he takes another wrong turn. I ask him how long he’s been driving and he says only one month. The exact same time I’ve been living in this area. We have found the office together. I give him L20 instead of the standard L15 and hope he has more luck being a taxi driver. Then, I head into the office and meet with the women, who I’ve already fallen in love with. I met them last week at their conference in Orocuina. They are a dedicated and driven group who know “what’s up” in Honduras. After a big round of hugs and “Buenas Dias Jen” we all sit around the table and I present the conferencia to them. It is a great opportunity for their artisan group…one day in Teguz in December where they can come show their merchandise to a “holiday hungry” crowd at the Embassy, receive business training from a business volunteer, put their photos and profile into a holiday catalog which will be shown to employees of PC/Embassy/USAID. They really like the idea, only problem is funding the trip. Their group has to find a way to pay for it; in the past groups have asked other NGO’s or Municipality’s for the funding, so they are going to work on that. They have to pay for one of their group members and me to take them. It’s about $50 a person, but here it is like L1,000. So, on Thursday we are all going to another NGO and the municipality in town to see if they are interested in working together. Soliciting money is my strength, so hopefully it goes well!

Tonight we had our second walking group meeting. Again, no one showed up. But, I have begun walking anyway; dusk is my favorite time in Orocuina. The air turns cool and the sky turns purple. People begin walking home from a long day at work and kids are out in the yard (or street) playing soccer or other games. As I stroll past the houses I yell “Buenas” or “Adios” and they shout back “Que le vaya bien” which loosely translates into “Safe travels.” After I exit town, past the Centro de Salud, the gas station, and the houses, the sidewalk ends and the “highway” takes over. The mountains are calm with dark green shadows as the purple sky turns orange with the sun settling down behind the hills. There are no roosters out here and the occasional cow walks past me; he may have scooted away from his master for a moment. I turn around at the new yellow sign, paid for by the US Government, that warns you a corner is near, and I begin my walk back. Within minutes I am near the houses again and often times cars slow down saying “Hola Jen! Ud exercisio? Es un grupo de caminar?” They know why I am walking. One of these days they will join me; I just have to keep going on my own until they show up.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

This morning I woke up and did my yoga. My body hurts everyday now. I mapped out a calendar, just like at my old gym Rex Wellness, so I will keep myself on schedule more. It includes A LOT of working out…lots of cardio, sports conditioning, body sculpting, and more. You might ask why, but let me tell you, people in Honduras have no shame. I mean, I have always loved to work out. But, getting these 15 pounds of weight off that I gained at my last host family’s house has been difficult. Granted, it’s only been five weeks since I’ve been gone, but here are a few quotes from the Orocuina community:

“Oh’, ud esta gordita.” Oh’, you are a little chubby/fat…sometimes this is meant as a compliment, b/c you have enough to eat…sometimes not. Cheque?

“Oh’, ud tiene un estomogo.” Oh, you have a stomach. Self explanatory.

Then, today I went to the costuera to get my pants and shirt that she had been tailoring and she touched my stomach and said “Ud no esta mas gordita ahorra.” This means (more or less) “You are not that fat now.” So thanks??? b/c maybe the working out is helping?

Whatever, thanks Honduras for the self-esteem boost. It is super hard to be fit here when all the recipes begin with 3 cups of shortening and a side of mantequilla. I have found a triathlon in Roatan next year, so sign me up. And, keep the P90X and cardio videos from Ron coming. Those things are heaven.  Also, it is super hard to have self-esteem in general here.  Not only have I gained this weight, but my hair is 10 inches shorter than it used to be and I feel like a boy.  Plus, I can never wear make up b/c it's 100 degrees everyday.  So, sweat and dirty is my look for the next two years. 

Note: I have lost about half the tortilla weight.



The library in Choluteca (doing research to get ideas for a new library)

 Since today was Dia de Orocuina, nothing was open. The Municipalidad was closed, all the schools, Centro de Salud, everything was closed down. I took this opportunity to work on my stove and library project all day, beginning to find my way around PowerPoint again, after so many years. I haven’t really used PowerPoint since college (when it first came out), but they use it for all presentations here, so I am becoming a Master once more! Although, it did take me ten minutes to figure out how to change the photos and I still don’t know how to put the pictures and words directly right next to each other. My library information is 132 pages, so I am working through that.



Conducting research for a library in Orocuina (Obviously needs to be bigger)




The bus ran out of gas right in front of the gas station




He is selling ice cream on the bus out of his blue cooler




Those little blue bags are the ice cream



Merry Christmas to the Centro de Salud!

 And, just to make my day A LITTLE more interesting, I received 288 condoms from another PCV, John, today. Since he is a health volunteer he gets these things free all the time and what better way to get rid of them then to give them to other PCV’s?!? Soooooo…..what is a Muni D volunteer to do? Tomorrow I think I will take them to the Centro de Salud and donate them, since there is no reason to let them all go to waste and there are only so many HIV/AIDS charlas a girl can present. (I mean, it’s not like this is banana bread and I can pass it out at all the desks in the Municipality) Plus, if the Padre thinks Halloween is a sin, I can only imagine what he would think if I stood in the middle of Orocuina promoting safe sex. So, I’ll give them to my doctor friends. Kind of like a “thank you doctor for teaching the kindergarteners how to wash their hands after peeing and pooping, now how about you pass out these condoms to the older girls and boys and promote safe sex?” All in a days work of a PCV.