Living it Up, Living it Up

Tuesday, September 28-Friday, October 08, 2010




The mountains near my town

 Lo siento. I know it has been a while since I posted, but I have been extremely busy here in my community. Since I last posted I have been out and about in the community working on a variety of projects and having my share of feelings, both good and bad, so I’ll just start where I can remember.

I am also sorry if I have forgotten some things, but my computer was in the shop for the majority of the last week. After spending two million Lempiras, I now have it back. Yes, that sounds like a lot. In dollars it is $100, but to a PCV it is two million Lempiras. Good thing I’m working sooooo hard to make that $7/day.

Okay, let me start…. Back to last Tuesday the 28th. I was feeling really low and wondering why exactly I was here in Honduras. Riding on the bus I watched people throw their trash out the window and on my way to Choluteca I talked to a man who asked me why I was in Honduras. When I explained to him that I was Cuerpo de Paz (and what that meant) he told me that Honduras couldn’t help themselves because they were just so poor. This was the same response that I was getting from a lot of people and it was starting to make me angry. Yes, Honduras is a poor country, but why use that as an excuse? You have to want to change before it can happen and everywhere I looked I saw the help of other countries. I was also feeling down because everytime I went to the office of my counterpart he was never there. I would go and wait for hours for him to show up, only to be told he was never coming in that day (even after he told me to come and meet him). Here I am, volunteering in another country, working for free (basically), going back day after day to offer my support and people weren’t even taking it? It was soooo frustrating. I began to feel really down and lonely and began to ask myself “Why am I here?” I mean, there are people in the states who need my help and WANT my help. I left a job where they wanted my help and knowledge on a subject, yet here no one seems to care. This feeling is not new among PCV’s. In fact, I’m surprised it took me so long to get it. Some PCV’s feel this way during training when they begin to miss home, some during FBT when they aren’t getting the language, etc, etc. If you talk to any PCV you will hear about the highs and lows of their service.



Truck stuck on my road after all the rain last week




See anything you want to buy?

 So, anyway, I went home, cranked up my music REAL LOUD and danced it out for about two hours. Then, the next day I met up with some other PCV’s and discussed how everyone was doing in site. Some people had great counterparts and some were having the same experience as me. I decided that I would go back to my site and find the people who did want to make a change in Honduras and were willing to work with me. After being in my site for three weeks, I already had a pretty good idea of who those people were anyway.



Avocado face mask....fun spa day alone...

 After dancing for a few days, working it out with P90X and my other high impact cardio videos, going for some long bike rides and long walks, I felt a lot better and got out of my funk.  It is all part of the job.  Then, I gave myself a spa day, complete with an avocado facial and miraculously felt better.

Since I can't remember every day right now, I have grouped everything that is going on into categories.  So sorry, but now that I have my computer back, I can journal again!

Projects:

I am currently planning for Global Handwashing Day on October 15. This is a day that PC hopes for all of us to participate in and is a fun and easy charla to do. In order to incorporate more people from the municipality, I headed into the Centro de Salud and met up with my doctor friend. I began to discuss with her plans regarding Global Handwashing Day http://www.globalhandwashingday.org/ She liked the idea and I invited her to help me out at the kinder as part of my World Wise School program. I plan on having some relay races so the kids can wash their hands and a poster contest, along with the charla presentation from the doctor. This weekend I will be spending my time making poster boards and soliciting donations from local businesses for free jabon (or soap).



My walking group; small but they have 'metas'

 This past week I had my first meeting for my walking club; I am working with my friend Amanda on this project. She works at another NGO here in town and we are trying to promote better health for all. Plus, I am hoping this leads to other opportunities like yoga, self-defense classes, weight lifting and more. So, on Tuesday night I led a charla in front of the municipality about exercise. I say in front of the municipality because no one wanted to leave it open for me…they all say 6:00 is too late for them. But, that was the time people asked me to have a meeting. So, I go to the municipality and I sit out in front of it and then all the guys start coming up and talking to me. There is this one guy here who really wants to be my boyfriend, but I am in no way interested, so ‘Adios!’ Then, his buddy comes up and speaks English to me…and by English, I mean bad English. I mean just a few words here and there and he tells me he wants me to teach him (like everyone else in town), but I again tell him that I am not a teacher. Finally at 6:20 five people show up for this charla. Honduran time drives me nuts. If something is supposed to start at 6:00, then show up on time! So, anyway I present my charla in the dark…with just the lights of the municipality to my five members with half the community watching from afar (including people who told me they wanted to join the walking group, but are now not attending the event), and my group makes their goals and discusses why they want to walk and have better health. Then, we make a calendar to discuss what times work best for everyone and they choose Monday and Friday at 5:00 pm; not a time I would have chosen, but it’s not my group. Then, we all go home and my first charla in town is complete. Looking forward to the group and I hope it is really successful! They seem very excited about it!

Note: Not a single one of them showed up for their first “walking” time on Friday. Obviously this is a work in progress.



The bridge in town that needs work




Looking down from the bridge



Last Thursday I attended a CODEM meeting all day. CODEM is the emergency management team in town. They met with another NGO here in town called Ayuda de Acion to discuss the recent floods and talk about risks and routes of evacuation and how we can better prepare for the next disaster that will hit our town. CODEM here actually has a really good plan and great maps showing all the risks in town (possible landslides/flood plains, etc) and I was thoroughly impressed. Now that the town is growing so much, CODEM would like to get a new emergency vehicle for the police. We don’t have a fire station here, which would normally have the ambulance, so the second emergency vehicle will be like the ambulance car. During the CODEM meeting we planned a letter for the municipality and discussed how to present it to the Mayor. I mainly just listened since this was my first CODEM meeting, but I did ask them why they don’t work on getting a bombero (fire) station in town and they said “poco a poco” or “little by little.” I thought you might as well ask for more and then see what they say! On Monday I attended a COPECO/CODEM meeting together. COPECO is like the FEMA of Honduras. They came to a meeting put on by the NGO here in town. We received a bunch of information on natural disasters and stuff that I already knew, but after lunch we went out to the river to assess the bridge. The bridge is really old and the river is a major danger point here in town whenever we receive rain. It is right outside of town, but is an access point for another town to enter Orocuina. So, when it rains they are unable to come into Orocuina and the homes nearby are vulnerable. While we were out there, all the local CODEM members got to write down what they thought COPECO needed to make the bridge/river better and less vulnerable during the next disaster. It was great to see the local input; they are a really smart group and have a lot of excellent ideas. The NGO is very smart, too, and I believe they can get a lot of these ideas implemented in order to save lives during the next floods.



Presenting the zip/zap/boopity boopity boop dinamica

 On Wednesday/Thursday/Friday I attended a conference put on by another women’s NGO here in town. It was amazing and I learned so much! Finally, I felt like I was able to share my knowledge of municipal development with the community in the way that I am supposed to. This NGO has a plan mapped out for many years and their strategic plan for their projects. Many of their projects fall into line with what I am in town for and I spoke with them about issues such as building stoves, microempressas and development, a new library, and recycling. I have continued to talk with the directora of the colegio (high school) over the past week and she is very excited about a recycling project with her school. This week I also attended the Padres de la Escuela meeting (PTA) and approached them about the recycling project, along with the Director of Student Government b/c he is my other counterpart. They all like the idea, so hopefully I can have another volunteer who started the project in Honduras come present to them in November. At the Padres de la Escuela meeting I was also supposed to talk about teaching them how to write grants, but some guy came in and talked for an hour and a half about a project that only cost L60! That is about $3! The project will only take two days and the teachers are planning on finishing it themselves, but he wanted to involve an engineer and the Department of Education here. He was outvoted 8-1, but not until he spoke for an hour and a half. Back at the women’s NGO I also approached them about attending an artisan fair in December in Tegucigalpa. In coordination with PC I can bring one artisan business person to learn more about promoting their product, plus they get to meet other artisan vendors from all over Honduras and have the chance to sell to people in Teguz and the states. What an awesome experience for them! There are so many talented people here in Honduras (especially the ones who make the comfy hammocks!) that I can’t wait to share the experience with them.


On Friday I was supposed to present my stove project along with the oficina de mujeres (office of women), but my computer was in the shop all week. So, that got pushed back to the next meeting. I did go to the meeting of women and introduce myself and they were all really nice and welcoming. Then, I headed with the director of the OMM (office of women) to the local radio station (which I didn’t even know we had) so that she could give an interview on domestic violence, because November in Honduras is Domestic Violence Awareness month. She will be giving a bunch of charlas and such, although I don’t think I’ll be helping out too much with that since I have so much else going on. However, I did offer my support, so a local NGO here in town asked me to come by on Saturday to talk about it. So, off I go on Saturday!

My World Wise School class with their first project

Finally, I spent Friday morning at the kinder working on my World Wise School program. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/ This is the program where I work with a classroom here and one in the states and they both exchange information with each other to help them both learn about different cultures. Because water is such a huge issue here in the southern part of Honduras, my teacher did a project about the strength of water. The kids colored the four different stages of water and she sent along instructions to the class in the states. (I am working with my moms kinder class in North Carolina) Then, I took pictures of the class to share with the class in North Carolina. Everytime I leave the kids say “Adios Profesora Jenny!” Even though I am not a teacher and my name is not Jenny it is funny! Ha ha I am looking forward to the global handwashing day with them; I know they will have a blast with the water relay races!

That is about it from the project update. Everything is keeping me busy for now, which is good. It will make up for when the days are slow and I am bored!




Mountains right outside of town




You have no idea how true this sign is




Mountains right outside of town


Housing:



Lychee-a fun fruit here in Honduras




The inside of a Lychee, yummy and delicious!




Popcorn balls with chocolate and caramel-L10 for four

 So, I have been looking for housing for about three weeks now. Orocuina is very limited on what they have to offer, because while it is a medium size town, most people still live with their families until they get married and then they just build another house for themselves. So, the options I have are the following:

The old PCV’s house-not an option b/c it is L1,000 higher than my rent allowance from PC. Also, it is not safe and secure enough, the front door needs a gate in front of it. The bathroom is outside, which is a problem when I go like six times a night. Most of the houses here have the bathrooms outside, which is a big problem for me, and as a woman, too!

Another old PCV’s house-not an option b/c it doesn’t have a kitchen. It’s just a big room with a pila out back. The bathroom is outside, again and the backyard is all torn up and destroyed. There are also holes in the ceiling. It is also L500 higher than my rent allowance.

Note: Actually, every house and apartment here is higher than the rent allowance. Orocuina is a growing suburb of Choluteca.

A house attached to where the nuns live-Even if this did fit the criteria, I don’t think I could live there for two years, okay? But, luckily for me it is just a big old room, without a bathroom or kitchen. Why, you ask? Because I would have to eat and bathe with the nuns. Sorry, but I don’t think so. Next…

An apartment-this is my choice, although it is L600 higher than my rent allowance, but I have now talked the guy down to L450 over my rent allowance. It has a gate over the front door, a kitchen and bathroom inside the house. It is in a safe part of town and has no holes in the ceiling.

This has been a tiring and excruciating process. I am definitely ready for a vacation after apartment searching!

Community:



Road leading out of town; looking back at Orocuina



The community here is awesome! I have made some really amazing friends and enjoy hanging out with them. On the weekends I usually go to my friend Wilmer’s restaurant and grab a bite to eat, then chill with him and Ruth (the lady that works there), or hang out with Amanda at various places (last weekend we danced with our local friends at their house/restaurant and they taught us the “punta…local dance of Honduras”), I teach Leslie how to cook American food (last weekend I taught her orange mustard chicken, but I don’t think she liked it very much!, sometimes I go for a bike ride around town/run or walk outside to other aldeas and enjoy the mountains/tranquility of Honduras. I have gotten to know a lot of people in Orocuina, so when they see me they come up and give me a hug or say “Hey, Jen!” It’s nice to know that they are beginning to see me as a member of their community. They all try to give me a ride everywhere, but I tell them “No, I really do like to walk! It is good for your health!” They shake their head and think I am crazy…



Orange mustard chicken...yes, that is French's!





Finished product, with brown rice and sauce...yum!

 Things are coming together here, little by little. There are rough days, but the good days are so much better that they help me make it through. I am getting used to the heat and have a “farmers tan” all over my body. It goes well with the mosquito bites.

p.s. Wilmer gave me a parrot, so I now have a pet.  As soon as I move into my own place I will have him all the time.  Just what every girl in Honduras needs!
Correspondence:



An inverter-you be the judge

 My computer was in the shop this past week. The inverter broke, whatever that is. The guy gave it back to me and half of the plastic was missing. After paying him L2,000 I was free to go. Yes, that is two million Lempiras. Which translates to about $100, but threw a sucker punch into my PC life. Thanks, Mr. inverter. But, now I am free to talk to my people in the USA/Europe/Australia/South America/Canada and wherever else you are all the time! So, please send the love! Also, I got a little carried away last week at the post card store (mainly b/c I was so excited to find postcards), so I bought $15 worth and sent them to everyone I know. Be on the lookout in about four weeks at your mail box. I sent you some love! Continental.com was having some awesome deals to fly if you are looking for a getaway. I actually live closer to the Managua airport if you find a deal into there; we can hang out in Nicaragua.

Thanks to everyone for their emails/phone calls/SKYPE and what not. Missing fall and the State Fair, missing the beach of San Diego and the cool running weather, but winter is heading this way and the nights are cooling down here. I am moving into my own place soon, so please send me pictures of yourselves to hang on my wall! Much love to all!