Here's to the first weeks in Copan!

I have so much to share but no clue where to begin. So, I apologize ahead of time for the rambling and grammar/spelling errors that will likely ensue. One of these days maybe I'll get around to proofreading...

Here I go!

Prior to leaving the states I mainly just felt excited or something of that nature. Yes, as I packed and said my goodbyes there were some moments of sadness knowing I would miss the incredible people at home. Most of all, I felt blessed to have a place and community that makes saying goodbye tough, even being just days away from embarking on a journey I've dreamed about for so long. However, the only worry I really had was about the fact that I had yet to really feel worried or scared. But all in due time, right? Because as I got off my plane in Honduras, almost 3 weeks ago, the fears and nerves (or at least some of them) hit me. I saw everyone who was traveling around me were in groups and here I was: a small, pale girl who looks no older than 18 years old (& 18 being on a good day) with just a couple of months of Pimsleur Spanish audio tapes knowledge under my belt and a cart of suitcases bigger than myself. I finally felt a bit crazy. But just as I've done over these last few weeks, and will continue to do throughout this year, I reminded myself of the big picture of why I am here. That was good enough to get me through customs and immigration where many remaining fears were washed away. I heard my name being called and looked up to find a group of smiling, welcoming faces. I was greeted by a current volunteer (& SCU alum!), a group of young children who live at Amigos, and some of the older gentlemen who lived at Amigos and now attend university. Any residual nerves continued to fade away during our 2 or so hour drive back to Amigos, where we were greeted at the gate by all of the younger children. They ran up to Pat (a 6 month volunteer who arrived that day as well) and I exclaiming the facts they knew about us from reading the volunteer biographies posted about us in the comedor. One younger, tiny girl with a lot of energy quickly grabbed my hand, dragged me away from the other kids and motioned for me to sit on a bench with her. Later, I was warned, "watch out for her, she's a bossy one". I clearly found that out quickly! I think I'm going to enjoy her, along with all the other kids. :)

I'll try to save some of the details from here on out in hopes to not turn this blog post into a diary/novel...

So, we were given a quick tour of Amigos, ate dinner (beans, cream, tortillas and plantains), went to nightly prayer circle, and called it a night. In the morning we ate breakfast (beans, cream, plantains) and headed out to Copan, where I have been for the past 2-3 weeks and will spend a total of 4 weeks. I am excited to eventually get back to Amigos but I know I will be very sad to say goodbye to Copan because I have learned so much and met some truly incredible human beings. But before I get all sappy, let me tell you about Copan and share some pictures!

Casa de Doña Elena

I am living at a "bed and breakfast" but that is an extreme understatement. I am taken care of here far better than any bed and breakfast I've been to in the States! Where I am living is called "Casa de Doña Elena" and the woman who owns it is named Doña Elena (shocker there, I know). I am the only person from Amigos staying here but the other volunteers are with families close by. I've gotten to meet so many wonderful people at this B&B and continue to as individuals and groups come and go. It's refreshing and inspiring to regularly meet people who are so passionate about helping communities in need and taking action!

Casa de Doña Elena. You can't miss it with the American flag out front :)

View from the room I was originally in

Closer view

The view from the bathroom of where I am saying now. Check out the sweet mangos :)

As you can see, to say it is beautiful here is a complete understatement. Also, Doña Elena feeds all her visitors like we're royalty! Every morning we start off with a big bowl of fresh fruit, fresh juice, and typically a big plate of eggs, beans, fresh corn tortillas, or sometimes pancakes, or whatever other plate of amazingness Doña Elena cares to cook up. I challenge anyone to try and leave her table still hungry. After class, I return to another ginormous and incredible meal and again around 7. Below is just a few pictures of what I've gotten to enjoy here. I'm definitely trying to appreciate each and every bite before we head back to Amigos (which I will also refer to as the "hogar" meaning home in Spanish). I'm also trying to enjoy having my own room and bathroom before that changes as well!

Copan Spanish School

As I mentioned, I go to Spanish school Monday-Friday from 8am-12pm. Our classes take place on the roof of a restaurant under some nice shading--hands down the most beautiful "classroom" I've ever been in :). The format is like one-on-one tutoring and every teacher is awesome! I could go on and on about how great my teacher is but I'm sure that's probably not what you came to read about. Still, I have to brag at least a bit. First off, she's so patient and incredible at teaching. She doesn't speak much english but that pushes me to learn Spanish and quickly grew to really enjoy only speaking Spanish with her. Starting the first week we were already able to discuss issues like the government, corruption, violence, sexism, etc. Since then we've also compared Honduras to the US and discussed other topics like homosexuality, racism, poverty, education systems, health care, sex trafficking and so on... all in Spanish! No, not because my Spanish miraculously improved but because she is so animated and great at explaining things. We probably spend at least half the time just talking about different topics so I've learned a great deal about Honduras and the roots of the issues going on here. Oftentimes the topics we discuss are seemingly "depressing" but back home it was so aggravating trying to understand what was going on in Honduras through articles written by people who barely spend time here. It was refreshing to finally hear from someone who has lived here their whole life. One of the topics I've been very interested in learning about is the Indigenous populations who live in villages in the mountains. It's heartbreaking to know and blatantly see how corrupt the government is, given that money seems to be circulating from one pair of corrupt hands to the other, all the while people are living in extreme poverty. This is very clear in the villages, where I've been told oftentimes the only meal the children have is one that is supposed to be provided by a government run program. This meal typically includes beans and is what most Americans, and people in general, would deem a snack. Still, this meal frequently never shows up. The children are malnourished and obviously cannot learn when they are starving. Some children have died due to starvation in some of these villages. It's all part of the many vicious cycles that continue day in and day out here. Still, I've met so many people who visited Honduras for vacation and never left because the people are so incredibly welcoming. They're inspiring to a person like me, as I would have a very difficult time growing up in a place with blatant corruption and without a voice because if I tried to speak up and eventually began to gain a voice I'd likely end up being shot down, either figuratively or literally. In my view, the people I've met from Honduras thus far are strong and resilient. I'm excited to continue learning from them this year because I know if I continue to be open there is a great deal that I can gain and hopefully use to help in the future. 

Students and some of the best teachers you'll ever meet!

                                     

Our classroom

In addition to taking Spanish classes, I've also started teaching an English class to people from Honduras. I'm replacing a teacher who is visiting home in the states until just before I leave Copan, so the dates worked out perfectly. The class is for an hour M/W/F and two hours Tu/Th. Each class only has 2-5 or so students, which are teenagers and young adults. It focuses a lot on pronunciation and basic grammar. So far I've really enjoyed it and it's also helped me with my Spanish. Also, it really reinforces how much respect I have for people who learn English as a second language and makes me stop complaining in my head when I feel like Spanish is too difficult. 

The classroom and one of the students

Adventures

The Spanish school plans and pays for one event/adventure a week and then we are free to explore what we wish to on our own outside of school. Copan is a touristy area so there is a lot to do here including, but not limited to, horseback riding, the bird park, zip lining, hot springs, and the famous ruins. So far I have gone horseback riding (which, for those of you who don't know, is one of the last things I'd want to do.. but still enjoyed) and to the bird park. I hope to go to the Ruins and zip lining before I leave! I've also gone to La Pintada a few times. La Pintada is a village that is probably a 5 or so mile hike from Copan. It is a more rural area and far more impoverished than Copan but, from what I've heard, is better off than some of the more rural and smaller villages in the surrounding mountains. I enjoy going there because the hike is beautiful, they're known for weaving scarves and other items, and the kids are unbelievably adorable. The first time we went we did not spend as much time there but the following weekend we played with the kids for hours.:)

The "Photos" page contains a lot more pictures of these adventures!

I need to find a picture from when I had three birds on me (one on my head)!

Struggles

I think one of the hardest things for me this year will be seeing so many areas that I wish to help improve for those around me but being overwhelmed by not knowing what I can do or where to begin. When I see things that are different I try to remember that I cannot label them as right or wrong, but different. Still, there's things that I know occur here but am still shocked when I see them. But honestly, I hope there never comes a day where I'm unfazed by some of these things. So, here comes a few of the less fortunate times so far, some of which are serious and others being a more joking matter...

I discovered flying cockroaches. I'm not a fan. But everyday I have at least one standoff with a roach and more times than not I've come out as the victor! It's a good day when there's at least one less roach near me. In addition there are the ants, fire ants, mosquitos, chirping geckos, and god knows what other animals. I'm glad I practically grew up in a zoo because there's less for me to have to adapt to. Still, I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy roaches. Especially ones that fly far distances...

One of my flying friends. RIP.

So, I was warned that as a volunteer I should not be coming to Honduras to fall in love. I laughed it off because Honduras wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to visiting somewhere to find love. However, my heart has been captured... by a sweet and horribly malnourished dog. One of the other volunteers, Alli, asked me what I named him. We have been attempting to mainly communicate in Spanish (until we get to the point that our brains feel like they might implode or something too big happens) so with little vocab in my brain, the best I came up with was "Mi Amor". I try to feed him every time I see him and I often get looked at like I'm crazy. Yes, I'm crazy for this dog because my heart breaks whenever I see him. He is extremely skittish, which isn't surprising given his condition and the sores all over his body. I understand that the culture around dogs, and pets in general, are very different here than from the US. I don't think that'll ever get me to stop wanting to adopt damn near every dog I see. However, Mi Amor would be the first one. If I had a place to take him I'd quickly go buy him medicine and start getting him fixed up. :(

He really likes Doritos

He also enjoys some nice toast or pan tostada

One of the hardest things for me to see so far happened while feeding Mi Amor last weekend. Here there are moto taxis everywhere and they go very fast. Also, the legal system here is different than in the US and in some/many cases is simply nonexistent. With that being said, suddenly I saw a man get hit by a moto taxi and slam into the ground. This is one of those situations where I was in shock and the shock only continued, even though I know this is how things are here. Anyways, Alli walked over and I followed after to see if he was okay. The moto taxi stopped for a moment but went on its way soon after. Luckily, there were people from Copan who also came to help the man and make sure he stayed awake. Not speaking enough Spanish, I wasn't sure what I could do so Alli and I went to buy him some more water and were at least happy to see others who were able to talk with him and help him better than we could. We eventually continued to the cafe we had originally been heading to so that we could study but it wasn't too easy to focus after that. I couldn't help but compare to what would have happened in the US--a fat lawsuit. But I remind myself, it's different. 

That all happened last Saturday, which continued to be an eventful day. As I headed to bed I suddenly felt very very sick. I was up sick all night, eventually developing a fever and intense pain in my head, neck, lower back, knees, ankles, and wrists. When I heard Doña Elena was up I went to tell her how I was feeling and the first thing she said was Chikungunya. Still, I'm not sure what it is that I'm recovering from. But what I am grateful for is all the amazingly caring and helpful people around me. Doña Elena and many others staying/living here, including a doctor, have checked on me regularly throughout the days. My teachers from Spanish school were also coming by at least once a day and took me to get medication. Alli, and at times the other volunteers, have come by to bring me gatorade and help however they could. As everyone knows, it's no fun being sick away from home but having people who make this place feel like home makes everything a whole lot easier! Tomorrow I finally get to try and go back to school again and I cannot wait! :)

Wrapping up...

There was so much to talk about and I didn't even touch upon half the things I hoped to. In the future I'll be trying to post regularly and hopefully keep them a bit more brief! Thanks for reading! I'll end on this note...

"Cultivate the

habit of being grateful

for every good thing

that comes to you, 

and give thanks continuously. 

And all things have

contributed to your advancement,

you should include

all things in your gratitude."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson