O-Face Killa

Sometimes down here people ask me what life was like in  United States. I normally talk about friends or family or how I miss chocolate chip cookies (I know that I can make them down here- but they never taste like Break and Break). I then am asked to regale them with a story, and most of the time I tell them some simple heartwarming moment, but occasionally I will spice it up.

Occasionally (actually pretty frequently) I have laughing fits- where I cannot stop laughing, struggle to breathe, and cannot stop matter how hard I try. These "fits" are normally brought on when I am trying to tell someone about something funny that happened in the past. The original story is probably not funny at all which just sets me off more. So, I decided to tell the nurses that I work with about a picture, that no matter how hard I try I cannot to tell anyone about, because I start laughing so hard. I am physically unable to describe this picture without breaking down in hysterics. When I told the nurses nothing had changed and I couldn't get through the story. So I just sat in the Health Center I drove myself to tears just thinking about this picture.

So... I have decided to share with the world the picture that makes me laugh harder than anything.

Judge me if you will, but just don't ask me to describe the photo for you.

Ps- Sorry O for posting this.

Workin It

Now that I have about run out of bizarre, anecdotal stories I figured I should let you all know about the actual work I am doing out here in Oco.

I have a few counterparts (local offices or organizations who work in the health field) in both Nueva and Antigua Ocotepeque. My “main” counterpart is a rural health center in Antigua, where I help the nurses and doctor on a daily basis, as well as working on my own projects. An average day there involves working in the pre-clinic, where I record patient history, temperature, weight and blood pressure in their file; along with helping in the pharmacy, where I provide medications and instruct patients on dosage and usage. In the center I also have two groups that meet monthly- a group for pregnant women, and regional health volunteers. During our meetings I normally give a charla (presentation) over topics like- anatomy, first aid, STI’s, cancer, or any topic that they have requested.  Monthly, I go out to our most impoverished aldea  (rural community) Polcho and talk to the school (20 students kinder garden to 6^th grade in one room) about common health problems and ways to avoid them. Last week I went out with one of the nurses and gave a charla about dental health and was able to give toothbrushes and toothpaste to all the kids. I am very lucky to have a supportive and active counterpart- we have a few more projects in the works but I will let you know once they come to fruition.

I am also working with an NGO called Organización de Desarrollo de Mujeres, which works on promoting women’s rights, avoiding domestic violence, and now women’s health. This was not one of my original counterparts, but I happened upon them and struck up a conversation with the new director one day. She wanted to start a health project for their members but was short on money and staff to start a new initiative. Because I am a free volunteer and have a pre-planned program about women's health, it seemed to be a perfect fit! I now have 5 women’s groups who are learning from the new Peace Corps Women’s Health manual. Things are just getting started and I have only given a few charla’s to the women’s groups, but so far things are going very well. I am also helping with some of their other projects- like forming a Departmental Women’s Support Network, which is something that is sorely needed.

My third counterpart is the Reicken Public Library, where I have a youth group with teenage girls. Once a week we meet up and talk about health and leadership topics. The girls are great and very active during our meetings, but have already completed the young girls Peace Corps Honduras program called "Yo Merezco" so I am inventing our lesson plans as we go. I am lucky to have access to information from other Peace Corps projects so I am able to find activities  in other manuals.

Finally, I teach 4 dance classes weekly! It originally started out as 2 a week, but Ocotepeque lacks after school activities and a million children (exaggeration) so now I have 4. I teach 2 ballet classes to young girls- ages 4 to 10, and two women's exercise dance classes. With the young girls it has been fun to give them their first taste of ballet and to see the progress that they are already making.  I try to teach the women dance steps and exercises that they can do on their own so that (hopefully) they will incorporate exercise into their daily lives. Exercise is not a very popular past time here in Honduras, so I am very excited that my students keep coming every week. 

Well, I hope that wasn’t thoroughly boring to read and gave you all some insight into what I am actually doing down here!  

Aliens

So far in Honduras I have had some strange conversations but this week I think I had the weirdest one yet. I was at my host Uncle’s birthday party a few nights ago and I was talking with all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles about relatively generic things. I covered the USA, work here, and the world cup, which seems to come up with everyone I talk to. But, as the cake was being served I was sitting next to my youngest uncle and after we covered all aforementioned topics, conversation became a little strange. 

He looked at me and said “Have you ever seen a UFO?” hmmmm… UFO or extraterrestrial conversation/ vocabulary is not in my Spanish language toolbox so I just shook my head no. He continued to recount his UFO sightings to me (in Spanish mind you). Supposedly the ships zig and zag over the mountains out here,  but cannot land in the valley. These aliens are much smarter than us, are either taller and green, or far shorter and brown, and come to earth all of the time.  He then asked if I believed in aliens, I couldn’t get away with a head-shake to answer that question. So I started to talk about how big the universe was and that it was possible for aliens to exist, but I probably wouldn’t be lucky enough to see a UFO in my lifetime. He then started to explain the ship to me, and how he could show me where he had seen his first UFO if I wanted. It was just then when my host mother told him it was a shooting star and started talking about a new baby. Saved! I have no idea how I would have continued that conversation without offending my uncle or sounding crazy myself. 

This conversation certainly made my day and definitely taught me some VERY useful new Spanish words.

Here are some pics of the valley of Ocotepeque... where the aliens flew over. 

Groundhog's Day Hike

So this past weekend I had two mini excursions both in my community, well they both happened to be to the same place… Aguas Thermales or hot springs. On Friday I had a training sessions with Regional Health Volunteers at my Health Center, because of the expected turn out we did not see patients that day. But, because it is Honduras less than half of the Volunteers showed up, and since we were a little light on attendance we were able to wiz through my talk and left with hours to kill. 

Surprisingly the Doctor suggested that we walk to the Aguas Thermales with all of the nurses. It took me about 2.5 seconds to say yes and get ready to leave… so we set off an hour later. (Punctuality is a learned skill here.) The hike/walk took us an hour and a half, because physical activity is not very common or popular with my co-workers. The hike was beautiful and gave me great views of the valley that I live in. It also let me hike past some of the aldeas that our Center serves.  When we got to the end of the path there were 2 main pools (one hot and the other cold with a waterfall) that were totally empty and picturesque. Because of our rapid decision to set off on this hike we were totally unprepared- I was in a polo, khaki’s and Chucks- we brought 3 bags of chips and no swimsuits. The latter fact stopped all of us, minus one, from getting into the water. Reina, the assistant in the health center, did not seem too concerned that she was wearing clothes and shoes, and went right on in the hot water. We sat soaking in the sun and the great weather for an hour or two before we started our slow decent back to the Center. I was so excited to go on a hike in our valley and to get some perspective on where I am living, but I was bummed that I didn’t get a chance to swim. 

On Saturday I knew that  a friend, Bryan, was coming into town to watch the soccer game, and I started thinking that he and my sitemates might want to go back. Kyle- one of my sitemates- had originally told me about the Aguas because he has been out there 5 or 6 times, so I know he would be easy to convince.  So, on Saturday after watching America being embarrassed on the international stage by Ghana (for the second time in just as many World Cups) we started talking entertainment options. A walk to the Aguas was thrown onto the table and immediately agreed upon. This time we all packed swim appropriate clothing, water, and snacks (though my snacks left something to be desired- American cheese slices, nacho chips, and random cookies)- we were extremely prepared, or so we thought. 

Once we had met back up storm clouds had rolled in and it started to sprinkle; a small hick-up that almost derailed our hike considering the only waterproof item we had was Kyle’s mini umbrella. I will admit it, I was a nay sayer, in my tee shirt and shorts I felt a little exposed to the elements. Thanks to Kyle’s unwavering persistence on walking up there and Bryan’s fence sitting, we avoided a costly trip to a near by water park, and started the hike to the Aguas. This time, because I was hiking with faster walkers (only slightly) we made it up to the pools in just around an hour. Throughout the rain stayed pretty consistent sprinkle and had not affected the conditions too much.

I was so excited to relax and warm-up in the hot spring, as I rounded the last corner I spotted the pool FULL of men. Oh great- just me, my friends, and a bunch of  Honduran dudes hanging out in some hot springs. (Men in Honduras are not covert when staring at women nor do they have much shame in saying exactly what they are thinking). After setting down our soaking backpacks it became clear that these men did not have much interest in me, but would more likely be staring at my two guy friends. It was a very unexpected turn of events. They were not too pleased with our presence at this remote relaxation spot, but it did not really deter them from continuing on with their... activities. 

After talking for a little with the men in the pool we decided (they convinced us) that starting off in the cold pool and switching back to the hot was the way to go. By the time we were ready for the hot water the men seemed even less interested in having 3 party crashers join them in the small pool, and suggested another hot pool farther down the path. We decided that this was the best option for everyone. 

The lower pool was much larger and hotter than the other pool, which left us very content in our decision to hike back down a bit. The hot water felt great, minus the sulfer smell and (for me) the occasional bite (ok it could have been a stick poking me, or a leaf, but it felt like a bite) we sat blissfully chatting for an hour or so. As the sun was setting and the rain letting up, we decided to hike back.

Despite my two trips in two days I had very different experiences each time and plan on heading back there soon. 

Trek to Teguc

I went and picked up my internet modem last week and so now I have the internet consistently and  I felt you deserved rapid fire blogs this week.

Last week I was released into the wild, and allowed to travel to Tegucigalpa for the first time since arriving in my site because of a meeting at the office. I first had to take a 6am bus for 10 hours to get back to the capital. This was not as awful as it might sound because after my first 5 hours I met up with my friend and fellow H16er Kyla. The next 5 hours passed much quicker because I actually had someone to talk to, it was great to catch up on everything that has happened in her site.

Since we both live so far away we came in the day before and had a free night. We decided to try and find the cultural hotspots in Tegucigalpa- quite the challenge. For dinner we found a great café called Café Paradiso that was only about a 10 minute walk from the office. There was this great beatnik feel when you walked in. With eccentrically painted walls, bistro tables, jazz music, and portraits of literary masterminds- I felt like I was in some small European town. We ate their version of baguettes with cheese and some sort of cake (we never could quite figure out the flavor). Full of conversation and non-tortilla carbs we turned in for a very early night... I am talking 8:30pm.

On the day of the meeting we had the morning to explore, so we set off to unknown destinations. I felt that the mall would have been a great place to walk around and get some creature comforts from home. But Kyla was a bit more motivated and convinced me to do a bit of wandering in our host country's capital. At first I was a little nervous about just walking wherever in a city our Security Officer had just spent 3 months scaring us about, but she is a very convincing lady. 

We walked towards the city center and stumbled upon a great bookstore. At first we thought that it was a Catholic store but soon found books on evolution, philosophy, poetry, and art. I have been in search of a map of Honduras and was able to find a great detailed map at this gem of a bookstore. After my purchase we decided to walk towards the peach colored church spires we saw in the distance.  We found St. Michael Archangel, a gorgeous and well kept colonial church right near the central square. Our time inside was spent sitting in the pews, looking at the alters and paintings. 

Down in this part of town there are beautiful old buildings that house parliament and the Art Museum.  Kyla and I were super excited about the latter and had to go inside. We paid the L. 30 entrance fee (equivalent to about $1.66) to experience the Honduran artistic voice. The museum held about 10 rooms, filled with modern paintings, sculptures, and artifacts. It took about 45 minutes to tour the whole museum and a definite must see in the city.

As our afternoon was winding down the Brazil v. North Korea game was about to start, so we were searching for a comfortable place to watch. As we got closer and closer to the PC office we spotted a lujo (luxurious) hotel and thought that their bar would definitely be playing the game. After sitting in leather lounge chairs for a few hours and watching Brazil’s first World Cup win, we set off for the meeting.

The meeting was uneventful but interesting to get insight into other project groups current dilemmas. It also let us meet up with experienced Teguc travelers and make plans for our evening. Kyla and I were both craving anything but frijoles and queso, and made sure to find volunteers going to an exotic restaurant. Kat and Liz fit the bill with their plans to go to sushi (!!!). I know what you are thinking- sushi in Central America??- but it was actually a very delicious un-Honduran dinner. I was in heaven sipping saki, eating some tuna and having great conversation. We had a few more drinks and a late night baleada mission, and finally went back to our hotel.

The next morning Kyla, Kat, and I woke up at 5am to watch Honduras play in their first game and to pack for the trip home. At 7:40am we made it to our bus station for our 8am bus, but stilled needed to procure some baleadas for breakfast. We checked in with our bus driver and went with the attendant to buy food a half block away. Feeling very content about getting food before our bus ride, we started walking back to the bus stop. As I was looking up the street I realized there was no longer a bus parked there, but it was driving up the hill and away from us. We immediately set-off running to try and get onto our bus (which had left 15 minutes early) but couldn’t catch it. So we jumped in a cab, with the attendant still with us, and told the driver to catch up to the bus. Because of traffic, construction, and awful Honduran driving we were pushed further and further away from our ride home. At this point I am trying to stay calm, Kyla is nervously laughing, and Kat is more than a little upset with the attendant who is no help. Kat called every office she could trying to get a hold of the driver, but no one seemed to care that we are not on the bus. About 15 minutes outside of Teguc we were 3 cars back from the bus, waving our arms and honking to get the bus to pull over, but were invisible to the driver. Eventually other drivers help us to pull the bus over. We ran up to the bus and finally got on.  Just then the bus the driver turns and says, “So you got your baleadas?” I almost lost it.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful but ended up taking 12 hours. The only good thing about that final ordeal is that it left me pretty content to stay in and/or close to my site for the time being.

"Its never to late too late to be who you might have been." -George Eliot


Every time I worry about what I should be doing in the US I like to think about this quote.


*Thanks night falls and towns become circuit boards

Baile

If you know me well (ok even if you have even met me once for 2 minutes) you know that I love dance. I love to watch it, talk about it, and most of all to learn it. Dance was one of the reasons I was so excited to be placed in a Latin American country. In the US dance is a well respected art form, but is meant for the studio, stage and left to the professionals. I had a weekly plea that my friends to go dancing with me, they occasionally appeased me, especially after a few drinks. But dancing in sweaty bars to 80's music always left me wanting more (do not get me wrong, I do enjoy Journey fist pumping sessions). The techno or pop "bouncing" in nightclubs (you know where you just kind of hop up and down to the beat of the music... don't pretend you don't do that) were fun but always felt so controlled and after a while boring. But, to venture outside of that understood dance would attract stares, circles around you, and creepy people approaching you. 

So when I came down to Honduras I went on a mission to learn all the different dances popular in the country, and my host sister in La Paz was a huge help in this. At nights we would practice Bachata, Merengue, Reggaeton, Salsa, and of course Punta. At first I was quite uptight to shake my hips as fast as I could in front of my host mom, that was until she got up and joined me. It is TOTALLY acceptable for a 4 year old to shimmy and "get low" in front of everyone- actually encouraged. It is literally a 180 from how dancing is beheld in the US and extremely refreshing. Social dancing here is getting into  to the music while moving your whole body to the rhythm. Men and women have grown up dance all the different rhythms and have no shame in trying to imitate their favorite Daddy Yankee music video. I jumped on the band wagon as fast as I could, and am right along side them trying to do a back bend while shaking my hips (it is as difficult as it sounds). To say that I am using my degree in dance would be a bit of an overstatement, but knowing how to move my body has definitely left me more comfortable in social situations with Honduran friends.  

The only problem is now I want to go dancing all of the time- with my family, out at night with my friends, and definitely alone in my room. Thank goodness I have about 2 years to dance my little heart out. 

Note to any future visitors: pack your dancing shoes.