All Aboard.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a carpool of Honduran kids? I have. And today, I no longer have to wonder. Karin and I assumed yet another position as bus driver for the kids today. The bus that takes the kids to their different colonías has been broken for the past few days. So Karin and I took about 3-4 trips to and from the school. We managed to fit 6 first graders in the backseat (needless to say, vehicle safety isn't really a priority around here). The only mishap we had was two kiddos who were too busy schmoozing in the back to realize they'd missed their stop. I can't believe we made it through our first full week.

I neglected to post the past couple of days so I'll try and fill you in. Unfortunately, Karin and I were unable to go to the school on Wednesday due to a gang incident in the village (don't worry, mom). There was a threat to some kid at the high school or something. I'm not exactly sure. The only other exciting thing that happened that day was a lizard jumping on my leg. I'm slowly discovering there are 'incidents' of all sorts around here but you can never really discern the truth. The villages, much to my surprise, are really gossipy. Chances are if you bath with shampoo instead of soap, the neighboring colonía will know about it (horrible example but I think you get the point). Thursday was an insane day. Some missionaries from Morocco arrived on Wednesday and on Thursday, along with the missionaries, we followed/tried to keep up with Dr. Don. We first went to Lucinda, then to a garifina school in Margarita then to Río Esteban and then trekked into the mountains to Las Niguas, a small, small village. Our journey up the mountain included tons of river crossings, eating fruit from the trees along the way, donkeys and farmers. In the village, we were given mareñones (?), the fruit from which cashews grow. They were super juicy and just weird but not terrible.

After Las Niguas, we headed into the heart of Río Esteban to Bictelia's house. Bictelia has two daughters Delmi and Deyni. Delmi is a teacher a the bilingual school and Deyni is in her third year of medical school in Tegucigalpa. Both girls are around our age. Once at their house, we walked with Delmi about 2 minutes to the beach. I don't know how anyone could get sick of that coastline. Pictures really don't do it justice. My lack of photography skills probably doesn't help either. While on the beach we ran into a little boy that hung out with us for quite some time. When the fisherman came in, he was rewarded for helping them with his own fish. I just can't get enough of the kids here. I already miss them and I still have five more weeks here. Four? I can't remember. Anyway, I'm going to go practice piano and guitar (yeah, I know. Me actually playing instrument. Weird, right?). XoXo.

Language Barrier.

6 years. Maybe even 7 years of Spanish classes and what do I have to show for it? I had an incredible time at the school today but I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with my communication skills. You'd think after 7 years, I'd be able to communicate better but I'm struggling more than I would have expected. Fortunately, the kids have been patient with me and taught me all of their recess games today. One of which was a Honduran version of 'Little Sally Walker' but it had to do with proposing marriage with some leaves and a kiss on the cheek....yeah I'm not quite sure. The kids were much more open today. So many abrazos de los niños. It is insane how eager these kids are to learn. Karin and I started in the kindergarten class and so many first and second graders came over during that time, not because they had to but because they wanted to. The school is flexible, so sometimes the kids float from classroom to classroom when they have some downtime. I'll take some pictures tomorrow so you can see the structure of the school (it's basically a long, turquoise building with four rooms). We ended the day in the first and second grade class. I showed them picture cards of animals, which they had to first identify in spanish, then translate to english. The cutest little boy was trying so hard to say 'puppet' but for the first few times, could only say,'pluffet.' Also, instead of airplane, 'hairblane.' So adorable.

On our way back from the school, we stopped with Penny at a mud hut, inhabited by one of the poorest families in the village (according to Penny). The grandmother takes care of the home, children and grandchildren but unfortunately, her body is riddled with severe rheumatoid arthritis. One of her daughters recently gave birth so when we walked into the hut, there was the tiniest of babies lying on one of the 'beds.' Penny brought cots, so the kids didn't have to sleep on the ground. There were chickens, puppies and kids running around everywhere. I really admire the work that Penny and the Rumbaughs are doing in the communities here. They don't believe in giving anything to the people here. They've seen first hand the effects of short term missionaries coming in here and giving the kids new school supplies and locals, new clothes. It creates a state of dependence for the villagers, and diminishes their work ethic (I'll explain more about this in another post).

When we returned to the casita, some MKs (Missionary Kids) came down and showed us the way to the ocean. We walked down past the children's hospital, through the oil palm tree fields, banana tree fields and a forest straight out of Alice in Wonderland to get to the beach. I hadn't anticipated swimming but I soon decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim in the ocean (that little dot in the picture to the left is me). It was salty. So so so salty. And sandy. I felt like I was thirteen. I realized that there was a certain technique for riding the waves. Luckily Karin, Jenna and Mikayla helped hone my skills so I'll be better equipped next time out on the water. Tomorrow, Karin and I will be on our own at the school. I feel so much better about the material and just better prepared so I think we'll do well. We also might have lunch with Bictelia, the school director, and her family at their house tomorrow, which I really hope happens. I want to get out in the villages and get over this Spanish funk I'm in. Adios amigos.

Hola Gringa.

Today was our first day at the school with Dr. Don. Just to fill in anyone that has no idea what I'm doing here in Honduras, I'll explain a little bit. My friend, Karin's parents has friends, Penny and John who work at the hospital here in Honduras. Karin was interested in a medical internship (she's wanting to become a nurse as well) and she pitched the idea to me, and as they say, "the rest is history." Anyway, we are staying with some other missionaries here, Dr. Don and Suzanne Rumbaugh, at their intern casita (pictured, to the left). They have been so hospitable and just the sweetest hosts I could have ever asked for. The hub of the ministry here at Loma de Luz is the hospital. So many of the missionaries here are doctors and nurses. Dr. Don, the one we're staying with, has a side passion of teaching at schools in various surrounding villages. He wasn't able to offer Karin and I a medical internship so instead our work here has shifted to helping him in the schools. I'm here to help teach English to the kiddos, develop relationships and possibly live in the village later on. We'll also have the opportunity to shadow John (a midwife) in his travels into the villages, helping women through their pregnancy, etc. So there's a short synopsis of how my time here will be spent. Today was our first day at the school. The school we will be interning at this week is a bilingual school. Usually, we'll be going to multiple schools in a day, but the bilingual school is short staffed this week so Karin and I will be serving as their maestras. As soon as we arrived at the school, I could feel my heart jump inside of my chest. We were introduced to the classes (there were 4 rooms, each with about 8 kids) and I soon as we walked in the room, a little girl shouted, "Hola, gringas!!" For those of you that don't know, "gringas" means "white girls." Thus, the name of this whole blog translates to 'A White Girl in Honduras.' Ok back to the kids. I seriously had to hold back tears at the sight of adorable Honduran kids running around. They're so incredible. The bilingual school teaches about 30 kids and we got to meet the director, Bictelia, who had the vision for this school. You know when you meet someone and you just know that they'll probably be one of the sweetest people you'll ever know? That's Bictelia. Dr. Don mentioned that his idea for this internship (or whatever you want to call it) is that we'll be able to live in community with Bictelia and her family in the village. I'm so thrilled with this opportunity. I really hope Dr. Don's idea comes to fruition. I would LOVE to live in community with the locals here, help them cook tortillas and laugh with them on the porch while swinging some babies in a hammock.


After we left the school, Karin and I came back to the casita for some lunch and rest. We ended up being distracted by the howler monkeys in the back. Ever since we arrived, I've heard them outside but had yet to see them...until today. I saw SIX. I want to bring one home. These are the cutest little monkeys I've ever seen. SO much better than the Tulsa Zoo.



After the new monkey sighting excitement wore off, Karin and I trekked up the mountain to the water tower. Below is a picture of the coastline view from the water tower. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. We climbed up the water tower and just sat at the top, soaking in the Carribbean, its breeze and the coastline. Today has been overwhelming and exciting. Tomorrow, we'll return to the school without the help and guidance of Dr. Don but fortunately Penny will accompany us to make sure no kids get injured in the process of us teaching them English. I'm just ready to get used to everything and actually know what I'm doing. Until next time..."Adios, gringos!"

The Beginning.

Picture this. Honduras. 2010. Sitting on a couch in the intern casita here at Loma de Luz. Karin and I are both blogging about our journeys thus far. The Carribbean breeze is blowing gently through the windows while howler monkeys are intermittently hooting and hollering. Before I get into how incredible this place is, let me take you back about 48 hours and fill you in on my trek to get here.

Ok, so it all started on Friday morning at 4am. I totally intended on waking up at 3am to make sure I had everything for my trip and do some last minute packing. Unfortunately, I slept right through my alarm and woke up to Ciara playing on my mom's radio alarm clock. So, essentially, Ciara saved me from getting to the airport late. I had a standby flight scheduled for 5:30am. To save some time, I'll just tell you I missed not only the 5:30am flight but I was also unable to get on the 10:57 flight as well. There was another flight scheduled for 12:45p and so I patiently wait, along with 2 other people flying standby. We formed a standby club of sorts in our time at gate 30. The counter then calls all three of our names. We have boarding passes, FINALLY! So I do some celebratory high fives with my standby cronies and wait to board the plane. It was a little delayed but we board. All the while I'm walking down the aisle, I'm thinking, "This is it. It's happening." No sooner than I sat down and got out my book, the pilot announces that the Atlanta airport has been shut down due to inclimate weather and that we should all probably deboard because we'd be much more comfortable in the terminal. My standby friend, Joyce and I turn to each other and start laughing. So we get off the plane and we didn't end up boarding til 4:45pm! I am in touch with Karin this entire day and she made her flight to Dallas and had quite the lay over until she boarded for Miami then to Honduras. Well after I get to Hotlanta, I get a text saying that she missed her flight too. Karin and I both just laughed about the situation but felt so bad for the Alden's who were trying to make arrangements to pick us up at the airport. Friday was such a crazy day but I had this weird joy all day. I was so jolly all day. I seriously felt like Santa Claus.

Finally, yesterday I got on a flight to Honduras and arrived at San Pedro Sula aeropuerto, where I was to wait for a couple of hours until Karin arrived. As soon as I stepped off the plane, the heat engulfed me and I could feel my hair start to rise. My days as Macy Gray/Ben Savage were to soon start again. After getting my luggage, I left baggage claim and entered into a whole different world. I guess my American mind expected there to be more English-speakers in Honduras. My spanish was quickly put to the test. A test, my spanish and I undoubtedly failed. I ended up struggling through my first spanglish conversation with a Honduran man who later in our chat asked for my phone number. So I'm in Honduras, alone and disconnected from anything familiar (my phone was out of commission and the SAP airport didn't exactly have internet). I ended up wandering around the airport, which took all of two minutes after I saw the Wendy's. I sat against a wall on my luggage and decided to journal. While journaling, I experienced my first cliché, "smiles are universal" moment. I smiled at these two sweet Honduran girls who came and stood next to me, smiling and staring. Thus began my second spanglish convo. I found that kids are much more forgiving of my terrible speaking skills. These two girls came to the airport for their mother/aunt with their entire family, including the cutest little Honduran boy I've seen. This little boy, urged by his father, came up to me, shook my hand and then gave me the biggest hug. He was about a year and a half and after that baby embrace, I knew I was going to like it here.

This is the most beautiful place I've ever been. It doesn't hurt that I can see the ocean waves crashing against the shore not even half a mile down the hill. We are surrounded by lush green trees and tropical flowers and plants. The houses here are straight out of a National Geographic magazine. Turquoise, yellow and pink are the top three favored colors for homes here. While driving into Loma de Luz from La Ceiba, I noticed that every single porch was occupied. People were cooking, doing laundry, laying in hammocks. I even saw some naked babies running around. The children here are incredibly beautiful. And no two are the same. Some of the people here have the palest skin, others, olive skin and then there are the garifinos (?) who have the darkest skin tone. Tomorrow's plan is to go into the nearest village, Lucinda and teach at a bilingual school. While I am kind of nervous because I'm a little unsure of what exactly we're doing, I'm excited to actually get to interact with the kids here. I guarantee you it will probably be the best Monday I've had in a long time.

I'm going to go take a much needed shower and probably sleep. It's been an exhausting couple days of travel and introduction to this new place. Thanks for bearing with me through my first blog attempt. And definitely kudos, if you caught my Golden Girls reference at the very beginning. XoXo.