Re: Blog 1
As I said, I want to be as accurate as possible. So, a short update in response to the last post when I talked about the man I saw get hit by the motor taxi. I asked my teacher if it was normal for the person driving the taxi to just continue along. Luckily, it isn't. The person is expected to stop and take them to seek medical attention/pay for their medical care if it is needed. Given the issues of law enforcement and corruption here, this expectation obviously isn't always fulfilled.
Stories of Heartbreak & Hope
Throughout my last weeks in Copan, I continued to meet some truly incredible and inspiring human beings. I had so many enlightening and fulfilling conversations with people from the US and Honduras who have dedicated a great amount of their life towards serving the poorest of the poor. I've loved learning about the situations that occur in the villages in the rural mountains of Honduras. I feel so naturally compelled to serve those who truly have nothing/need the most. Still, I'm not sure what way I can best serve them but even before I can figure that out, I must first learn about what is happening from every viewpoint. I learned about the children who have no shoes and/or clothing, who go without food or solely have tortillas every day, who were kicked off their land along with their family in the middle of the night right before Christmas and stood in the pouring rain. Yes, it breaks my heart, but more importantly it motivates me and lights a passion inside of me unlike any other work or conversations have before. My heart aches to serve these people.
I got the smallest taste of this work when I got to join my teacher and two of her friends visiting from the states. We went up to a village which is poorer than the village I discussed in my last blog post (La Pintada) but still better off than some of the more rural ones that are hours away in the mountains. The couple from the states had gone out and bought food and milk for the children, as school is oftentimes the place children go to receive any source of nutrition they can. I picked up a bunch of toys for the children and a couple brooms they needed in the classroom. The school consisted of one classroom with one teacher and about 26 kids ranging from kindergarten to older elementary/middle school. I was impressed enough by the fact that this one teacher taught such a range of students at the same time, but was even more amazed when I found out she is around my age, or possibly a year younger. Now that's dedication. That's inspiring.
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| The children we visited at school :) I am standing next to the teacher and my teacher (yellow shirt) is standing next to the couple from the states. |
I've also met and/or heard of people who create incredible programs essentially out of nothing but that enable Hondurans to get work and/or attend school. At times, this apparently can lead to issues. Corrupt leaders benefit from people being uneducated because lack of education oftentimes means lack of any voice or ability to fight for themselves and demand systemic/societal changes. So, when some missionaries come to support Hondurans in improving their situation or fulfilling their dreams, it isn't always sunshine and daisies, to put it way too nicely. Being in the country with the highest homicide rate in the world, it's easy to imagine what might happen if you anger the wrong person. Still, this is obviously conflicting as many people come in simply with the mission to serve others and don't expect this would ever lead to them being harmed. Obviously this isn't the case for everyone, or even close to everyone, but it still happens and is interesting to learn because it says a great deal about the issues/situations here. As I've heard some of these stories (and hope to hear more) I am still just impassioned by this type of service. In my mind, it is far better to die doing what you love than to die an unlived life. ... Don't get scared mom, I plan to return to you alive at some point :)
Anyways, I hope this year will give me more direction for the future. I have been and hope to continue making connections with people here who might allow me to find out how I can realistically connect medicine and working with those in the world who truly need it most. Or, even more importantly, I hope this year will help me see if connecting medicine and missionary work is the best way I can serve others. Honestly, I'm a bit scared to see where this leads as I've worked extremely hard these last years to be able to attend medical school and be successful in that line of work. But, overall, I'm extremely excited and anxious to see where this year takes me. After learning more about the horrific realities of the poorest of the poor here, and hearing of ways to help, I did have to reflect on how Amigos is still extremely important in this journey of mine. Amigos is truly such a beautiful organization. It is essentially a miracle for many of the kids who become part of this family--their family for life. It is a family that will always be here to provide unconditional love to every member and serves/teaches everyone in such a way that they will become an empowered and self-sustained adult. I am feeling very blessed to have this opportunity as I know I will grow and learn so much in every area of life, especially how I can continue to best serve the world.
The Next Step
Well, I my time in Copan officially ended yesterday :'(. I said my goodbyes to my teachers and friends there but plan to return at some point, maybe on a weekend off. I am extremely grateful for all the incredible people who made me feel at home immediately. I am also grateful for all the roaches who helped make my killing reaction speed much faster (I killed a big one while going to the bathroom the other day!!... TMI? Sorry, I'm too proud to keep this information to myself). Anyways, while I'm sad to leave, I am also excited to be at Amigos (where I will be living and working throughout this year). The kids are beyond adorable and there are so many exciting things going on. This week we (5 new volunteers an myself) will be shadowing different people at the hogar (meaning home in Spanish and another term we use when referring to Amigos) to familiarize ourselves with some of the jobs here. On Friday we will receive our job assignments! I'm looking forward to this part a lot :). Afterwards, we will leave Amigos again for another town where we will have teacher training for about 2 weeks. Finally, we will return and have a week or so before school officially begins.
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| The year-long volunteers :) ...minus Patrick :( |
Today the kids, staff, and volunteers all attended mass in the town next to us, which we will do every week unless the river is too high for us to cross (in which case we will have mass at the Hogar without Eucharist). Faith/religion is an area where I have a LOT of room to grow this year. The other volunteers are extremely connected to their faith in comparison, which isn't too surprising given that Amigos is a home with a Catholic basis. Still, I didn't give too much thought to how religion would be present constantly throughout each day. I do consider myself to be spiritual (not necessarily religious) but in a very different manner than your traditional Catholic. The concept of God as something/someone familiar, a friend, or all powerful, is not something I feel connected to at all. Thus, I think I will be pushed to explore the spiritual aspect of my life. I'm not sure how it will go over but I am excited for the challenge. I don't particularly expect to adopt the view of God that others have here, and that I had when I was a child. But, I do think I will leave here with a deeper faith regardless of what that ends up meaning in the end.
Some of the other things I have done at Amigos so far:
--Had meetings about volunteer logistics
--Played games with the kids (soccer, tag, jeopardy)
--Been introduced to grasshoppers larger than my palm as the kids like to throw them so they stick on you or put them down your shirt (I actually think it's hilarious and really fun but I'm not sure that I'm supposed to be allowing it! haha)
--Visited agro where there's a bunch of PIGGIES!!!, chicks, chickens, cows, horses, etc. I will be milking the cows at some point this week which I am super excited about! I also pet the horses for a solid 15 minutes yesterday, so maybe by the time I leave here I'll have grown to enjoy horses.
--Eaten lots of beans and tortillas :D
--More things that I can't remember since it's after 11pm and all I'm thinking about now is how I need to get up around 5:30.... :P ....So, sorry for not proofreading this post!!
Some Final Thoughts
Everyday I think of things I want to share in my blog but then get overwhelmed by them all! There's been much much more going on than this but these are the things currently weighing on my heart and mind. I hope to update more soon but we will be cut off from internet access in our volunteer house for the first 3 months or so! Still, I will try to keep updating all of you who care to read my rambling nonsense :P
Here are a couple pictures from Copan of things I will be sure to miss!
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| Mi Amor!!! If only I could sneak a dog into Amigos... |
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| The most incredible Spanish school around with the sweetest teachers |
And I will end with something that I have kept by my bed for the last couple of years and read at least once each day. I received this in a class at SCU right after Michael passed away and it has continued to bring me motivation and comfort.
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