On Friday morning as I left to get on the series of buses to take me to Tegucigalpa for an MCC retreat for the weekend, my host mom said to me ¨Que Dios le bendiga.¨ ¨May God bless you.¨
My initial plan was to take a bus from La Campa to Gracias, then to La Esperanza, then to Tegucigalpa (if you look at a map, this route makes the most sense). This was the route that I had been told to take. Upon arriving at the central bus station in Gracias, I learned that the station is not so central and that the buses to La Esperanza leave from elsewhere. I took a taxi to elsewhere, and was informed that there were no more buses running that day, and that I´d have to wait until tomorrow...! I returned to the central station to decide what to do. I thought I´d try going to Santa Rosa de Copán, a larger city an hour north (the wrong direction!) to see if there´d be a bus there to get to Tegucigalpa.
Lo and behold, there was! I happily got on the comfortable bus (no chickens on this one!) and prepared to arrive in Tegucigalpa in a couple of hours. As the bus went along, I began to realize that this bus went to San Pedro Sula first before going to Tegucigalpa. Your map will show you that this is significantly out of the way! I settled back in my seat, and realized that I would be arriving a good deal later than expected, but still before dark.
Around noon, the bus stopped. This is not abnormal, as there are constantly people getting on an off the bus. This time was different, because the bus did not start again. Every 10 minutes or so, the bus would inch forward a couple of meters. But for 4.5 hours, we did not make any significant progress. When there is only one highway, and this highway gets blocked by a transport truck slipping off the road, traffic just stops.
I called my MCC team members in Tegucigalpa to make plans as to what to do. We decided that there was a bus leaving SPS at 6 that would stop closer to their house than the bus I was on. Their neighbour, who is a taxi driver, would pick me up and bring me to their house. As the bus got moving again, a woman got on and sat next to me. Her destination was also Tegucigalpa, and we talked about being uncomfortable about arriving after dark. When we were 15 minutes away from SPS, the bus stopped again. A collective groan arose from the entire bus. ¨Not again!"
Yes again. This time, we were stopped for 6 hours. I missed the 6pm bus to Tegucigalpa, and thought that it would be best for me to stay in SPS for the night, and then take an early bus the next morning. At this point, the woman next to me offered me a bed in her house in Teguc for the night, since it was unsafe for me to go join the MCCers at night. I felt a bit uncomfortable with this option, but figured I could call the MCCers and see what they thought. For whatever reason, I was unable to reach them, so my neighbour woman tried. When she saw the name and phone number, she exclaimed ¨Virgilio! Yo lo conozco!¨ ¨I know him!¨ I still felt a bit unconvinced, but she gave me all kinds of information about them and I figured that she really did know them! So it was decided that I would stay on the current bus with her, sleep at her house, and in the morning take a taxi to meet up with the MCCers.
My bus did not have a bathroom. I got on the bus at 9:30am, and by 8pm at night, you can imagine how most people on the bus were feeling. The men had no problem - they can just hop off the bus, stand in a particular stance, and be comfortable. Women have it a bit more difficult! At 8, we had had enough. One woman stood up, and announced to the whole bus ¨The women need the toilet.¨ We all marched outside, formed a protective circle, and took turns squatting in the centre while the other woman scolded any man that got close. Talk about a community that forms when in need!
The bus arrived in SPS at 10:30, and in Tegucigalpa at 2:30. I went to my new friend´s house, where she showed me a bed. On the bed was spread an MCC knotted comforter. I slept under that comforter feeling very blessed by God, as my host mom had prayed that morning.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A Miscellany
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Despite having had a very challenging week, I have much to be thankful for:
- I have five fresh, juicy oranges sitting on my table. I´ve already enjoyed three.
- There is a gorgeous sunset outside (red sky at night, sailor´s delight!).
- People at work are friendly, as are the people in La Campa and the surrounding communities.
- I was just able to talk with family via the wonders of the internet. So different from when my great-aunt Ann went to Paraguay 40 or 50 years ago, and even when my family went to Lesotho 20 years ago.
- I am learning Spanish; although it feels slow, each day I learn something new.
- I am healthy! Only two bouts of digestion problems so far, and no other issues.
- I have very interesting work prospects.
- The rainy season is ending, and the sun is showing its face with greater frequency. I especially appreciate the sun when I take my outdoor cold-water shower.
This morning I took a bus into San Pedro Sula for the weekend. This was my most eventful bus ride yet! Most of the buses here are old school buses from the US. Each bus has two workers: the driver and the conductor. The driver drives (a challenging feat in narrow, pot-holed roads), and the conductor has a myriad of tasks. He leans out the door loudly advertising the destination of the bus; he collects the fare; he carries heavy packages for the passengers; he brings a plastic bag in response to somebody´s urgent cry of ¨bolsa!¨
My bus this morning was of the school bus variety, which means that my legs do not fit in the limited space between the seats. Its seat configuration meant that 5 people sat across the bus instead of 4 like I grew up with. So imagine a very squashed Alison against the window (my debate is always whether to sit by the window so I don´t get motion sick, or whether to sit in the aisle where I have more leg space; this morning I opted for the window). Unfortunately, the young woman sitting next to me got very motion sick, and her shout for a bag came too late. I gave her my stash of toilet paper to help clean up, but throughout the 4 hour ride I would occasionally see her emptying her stomach in her fresh plastic bag. I must have appeared to be a very comfortable person, because when she wasn´t vomiting, she was asleep on my shoulder!
The bus ride is also not complete unless somebody has brought a chicken on board. The chicken on my bus happened to be in a cardboard box just above me. Sometime during the ride, the chicken laid an egg, which promptly broke. I looked up to see egg mixed with chicken feces dripping onto the seat back in front of me. While my neighbour slept on my shoulder I watched the egg slowly drip down the seat until it finally dried and crisped up.
Can you identify me in this picture? Even if I wasn´t blond and white, I stand out everywhere by being so tall. I have to duck to go into all the doorways in La Campa and the surrounding communities. At church on Sunday, the woman behind me moved to the aisle when I stood up so she could see.
This picture shows me, a couple of colleagues, some student interns, and the guys that hitched a ride in the back of the truck and wanted in on the photo with the gringa. The woman standing next to me is my supervisor.
A view from the office. La Campa sort of spreads out to the right.
How many people does it take to vaccinate a cow? One to hold the rope around the legs, one to actually complete the injection, three to stand around and give advice, and many more to stand around and watch!
A school futbol field does double duty as a horse pasture next to a hillside of coffee.
The view from the top of the mountains is spectacular! But first I had to hike up slick roads and paths that were as tricky to navigate as a hill covered in ice and slush.
A ´friend´ that I found in my bedroom this morning. It had evidently fallen on its back, and couldn´t right itself so it just lay there struggling. 10 minutes later it was happily crawling back up the wall. Cockroaches make too much of a crunch for me to step on them.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Finally in La Campa!
Greetings from La Campa! I arrived on Monday and moved in with my host family on Tuesday. And now I´m in the process of adjusting and settling in and meeting people and figuring out what I´m supposed to be doing and trying to remember people´s names (hard to do when they don´t enunciate and I only catch half the name).
My host family is composed of two women plus the extended family that lives in the neighbouring houses. The abuela (grandmother) is 95 years old - the oldest person in La Campa! She is blind, but has the sweetest toothless smile. Petronia is the abuela´s daughter. In the two neighbouring houses live some of Petronia´s children and grandchildren. I am getting to know two little girls (age 3 and 5), and Marta, who is about 15. This Saturday Marta is going to take me on a tour of La Campa! We live in a small house, a bit smaller than a 2 car garage. I have a room of my own with a bed, a table and a bench. So I am still technically living out of a suitcase, but at least the suitcase is not moving anywhere!
I think my hypothalamus started adjusting to the heat in San Pedro, because I am finding it cold here! It has been rainy and windy every day, all day, and the temperature has been below 20, I think. I had been feeling nostalgic for a Canadian autumn, and I am now getting the two worst parts of it - the cold and the rain - without the crisp sunny days and changing leaves.
My role here is very unclear. Besides the language challenges, my other challenge will be figuring out what I´m doing. Your prayers as I navigate these challenges are much appreciated. It is also very challenging to be outgoing all the time - a problem I have in English, let alone Spanish!
There is internet at the office, but it is a little thing from the phone company that you plug into a computer, so only one person can use the internet at a time. So I will keep trying to check emails, but I don´t know how often I´ll be able to respond. But know that I appreciate each email that you send (and if you can send a tidbit of Canadian/international news now and then, that would be awesome!)
Alison
My host family is composed of two women plus the extended family that lives in the neighbouring houses. The abuela (grandmother) is 95 years old - the oldest person in La Campa! She is blind, but has the sweetest toothless smile. Petronia is the abuela´s daughter. In the two neighbouring houses live some of Petronia´s children and grandchildren. I am getting to know two little girls (age 3 and 5), and Marta, who is about 15. This Saturday Marta is going to take me on a tour of La Campa! We live in a small house, a bit smaller than a 2 car garage. I have a room of my own with a bed, a table and a bench. So I am still technically living out of a suitcase, but at least the suitcase is not moving anywhere!
I think my hypothalamus started adjusting to the heat in San Pedro, because I am finding it cold here! It has been rainy and windy every day, all day, and the temperature has been below 20, I think. I had been feeling nostalgic for a Canadian autumn, and I am now getting the two worst parts of it - the cold and the rain - without the crisp sunny days and changing leaves.
My role here is very unclear. Besides the language challenges, my other challenge will be figuring out what I´m doing. Your prayers as I navigate these challenges are much appreciated. It is also very challenging to be outgoing all the time - a problem I have in English, let alone Spanish!
There is internet at the office, but it is a little thing from the phone company that you plug into a computer, so only one person can use the internet at a time. So I will keep trying to check emails, but I don´t know how often I´ll be able to respond. But know that I appreciate each email that you send (and if you can send a tidbit of Canadian/international news now and then, that would be awesome!)
Alison
Monday, September 20, 2010
Some Notes
I have been jotting down observations over the past couple of weeks, and have generated a rather sizeable list of things that have made me look twice or think again (in no particular order):
1) Armed guards - all the banks have them, and many stores that have a large enough income
2) Campesinos with machetes - men from the country casually carry their machete through their belt loop
3) Children with machetes - boys younger than 10!
4) Tear gas on Independence Day - a group of people in resistance to the government held a protest in downtown San Pedro Sula (they support Mel Zelaya, who was ousted from presidency last year). I was at the Mennonite church several blocks away at a chicken barbeque when we heard a tear gas canister go off and saw a small crowd of people running down the street. Things calmed down quickly, and I didn´t see anybody injured.
5) Gecko poop under my pillow.
6) A cockroach leg in my bed - There was something prickly on my arm one night, so I slapped at it. In the morning I found a leg in my bed, and saw my cockroach friend running around with only 5 legs!
7) Participatory amens during a church sermon - when the pastor wanted to make a point, he said ´Amen?´ and the congregation responded with ´Amen!´
8) A scorpion in the bathroom (scorpions can´t swim, for future reference!)
9) Having to pour water from 5 gallon jugs to my 500mL water bottle - this takes steady hands even though there is a water stand!
10) Not knowing what language a word is in (was that English, French or Spanish...?).
11) Hearing a fellow MCCer say ¨y´all¨
12) An extremely wealthy church with tall fences and manicured lawn, surrounded by impoverished houses.
13) Receiving a 30 minute sermon on the public bus - every bus has vendors hopping on and off; this bus had a preacher!
14) Having a cell phone - weird!
15) Feeling surprised to see another blond person.
16) Guys in cars honking or staring.
17) Being head and shoulders taller than many groups of people!
18) Funeral homes open 24 hours
19) Bus taking a detour onto the sidewalk when the street was too busy
20) Entering the supermarket and finding that absolutely everything is packaged and bordering on junk food
21) Learning from a 9 year old that this year´s SALTers and YAMENers are a ¨good group of young people¨
22) Not feeling (overly) anxious about things - this is/was a surprise, as I fully expected much anxiety (hence my use of Julian of Norwich´s quote above)
1) Armed guards - all the banks have them, and many stores that have a large enough income
2) Campesinos with machetes - men from the country casually carry their machete through their belt loop
3) Children with machetes - boys younger than 10!
4) Tear gas on Independence Day - a group of people in resistance to the government held a protest in downtown San Pedro Sula (they support Mel Zelaya, who was ousted from presidency last year). I was at the Mennonite church several blocks away at a chicken barbeque when we heard a tear gas canister go off and saw a small crowd of people running down the street. Things calmed down quickly, and I didn´t see anybody injured.
5) Gecko poop under my pillow.
6) A cockroach leg in my bed - There was something prickly on my arm one night, so I slapped at it. In the morning I found a leg in my bed, and saw my cockroach friend running around with only 5 legs!
7) Participatory amens during a church sermon - when the pastor wanted to make a point, he said ´Amen?´ and the congregation responded with ´Amen!´
8) A scorpion in the bathroom (scorpions can´t swim, for future reference!)
9) Having to pour water from 5 gallon jugs to my 500mL water bottle - this takes steady hands even though there is a water stand!
10) Not knowing what language a word is in (was that English, French or Spanish...?).
11) Hearing a fellow MCCer say ¨y´all¨
12) An extremely wealthy church with tall fences and manicured lawn, surrounded by impoverished houses.
13) Receiving a 30 minute sermon on the public bus - every bus has vendors hopping on and off; this bus had a preacher!
14) Having a cell phone - weird!
15) Feeling surprised to see another blond person.
16) Guys in cars honking or staring.
17) Being head and shoulders taller than many groups of people!
18) Funeral homes open 24 hours
19) Bus taking a detour onto the sidewalk when the street was too busy
20) Entering the supermarket and finding that absolutely everything is packaged and bordering on junk food
21) Learning from a 9 year old that this year´s SALTers and YAMENers are a ¨good group of young people¨
22) Not feeling (overly) anxious about things - this is/was a surprise, as I fully expected much anxiety (hence my use of Julian of Norwich´s quote above)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Independence Day
Happy Independence Day! If I recall correctly, today Honduras is celebrating 189 years of independence. It's a big deal; many schools and businesses are closed for all or most of the week.
My visit to La Campa last week was great, although exhausting! The bus we were supposed to take broke down before it even reached the bus terminal, so we got to wait 3 hours for the next bus. We reached Gracias shortly after dark and were met by the husband of the CASM director who drove us into La Campa (16km = 1/2 hour). Before going to bed I had to overcome a bit of exoskeleton anxiety (one scorpion and five cockroaches can cause that).
La Campa is beautiful! Megan told me that I have won the placement lottery. It's a small town (120 houses) in a valley surrounded by mountains. Megan and I each tried to photograph it, but a camera lens doesn't do justice to the beauty. Clearly, you'll just have to come and see for yourselves :)
I met my supervisor, Cristina, saw the office and demonstration farm, and learned a bit about what I could be doing there. Based on my skill set (which I hesitatingly described in Spanish) she said there were three projects that might work for me:
1) Coffee processing creates a lot of agua miel, or sweet water, that contains a lot of organic matter and is generally released into the surface water to the detriment of the water. I can start a project to help mitigate this.
2) If there are available funds to do soil testing, I can test some soil samples to see what nutrients/other chemicals are present, and figure out what additives might be useful to increase crop production.
3) People are using more agro-chemicals on their farms since coffee production has been good in recent years and incomes are higher. However, when the first rains come everybody in the villages gets skin problems from the chemical runoff. I can start a project to help mitigate this.
Needless to say, I'm excited and terrified by these projects! At first I will likely just be accompanying other workers and building relationships with people. But then I can start my own work. Option 3 interests me the most, but it is probably the most complicated of them all!
I've been in SPS since coming back from La Campa, staying with a lovely family. This afternoon Megan, Noel and I are heading out to the farm until the weekend, as nothing is really open in the city for the next couple of days. Then on Sunday I go to Copan Ruinas for one more week of language study before heading to La Campa to start work on Sept. 27.
My visit to La Campa last week was great, although exhausting! The bus we were supposed to take broke down before it even reached the bus terminal, so we got to wait 3 hours for the next bus. We reached Gracias shortly after dark and were met by the husband of the CASM director who drove us into La Campa (16km = 1/2 hour). Before going to bed I had to overcome a bit of exoskeleton anxiety (one scorpion and five cockroaches can cause that).
La Campa is beautiful! Megan told me that I have won the placement lottery. It's a small town (120 houses) in a valley surrounded by mountains. Megan and I each tried to photograph it, but a camera lens doesn't do justice to the beauty. Clearly, you'll just have to come and see for yourselves :)
I met my supervisor, Cristina, saw the office and demonstration farm, and learned a bit about what I could be doing there. Based on my skill set (which I hesitatingly described in Spanish) she said there were three projects that might work for me:
1) Coffee processing creates a lot of agua miel, or sweet water, that contains a lot of organic matter and is generally released into the surface water to the detriment of the water. I can start a project to help mitigate this.
2) If there are available funds to do soil testing, I can test some soil samples to see what nutrients/other chemicals are present, and figure out what additives might be useful to increase crop production.
3) People are using more agro-chemicals on their farms since coffee production has been good in recent years and incomes are higher. However, when the first rains come everybody in the villages gets skin problems from the chemical runoff. I can start a project to help mitigate this.
Needless to say, I'm excited and terrified by these projects! At first I will likely just be accompanying other workers and building relationships with people. But then I can start my own work. Option 3 interests me the most, but it is probably the most complicated of them all!
I've been in SPS since coming back from La Campa, staying with a lovely family. This afternoon Megan, Noel and I are heading out to the farm until the weekend, as nothing is really open in the city for the next couple of days. Then on Sunday I go to Copan Ruinas for one more week of language study before heading to La Campa to start work on Sept. 27.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Happy September!
I am back in San Pedro Sula for a couple of days after spending a week and a half studying Spanish and then a weekend participating in an MCC Honduras team retreat. The most recent plan was for me to go to La Campa tomorrow to settle in with my host family, and then to start work! Well, plans have changed again! As I understand it, the people at CASM La Campa are in the midst of trying to meet some paperwork deadlines. My arrival would not make that paperwork go any faster, and I would probably just get in people's way as I try to figure out what to do.
So I will still head off to La Campa tomorrow with one of the country reps and the connecting people's coordinator. I'll get to meet my colleagues, and they can meet me. Maybe I'll meet my host family? Then next week, I will likely go back to Copan Ruinas for more language study. One thing that I am learning here is that I can expect that whatever I expect to happen will happen in a way I didn't expect!
Here is a small selection of photos for you:
This is a 200-300 year old ceiba tree at the Mayan ruins near Copan Ruinas. I feel so short!
Noel, Johanna and Elise overlooking the Copan valley.
Four of the five yearlings!
A bridge that was washed out in Hurricane Mitch. I was on the new bridge downstream.
The garden of my host family in Copan Ruinas.
MCC doesn't only help people! Chickens also benefit!
Roosters, however, are the bane of my existence. Whoever started the myth that they only crow at dawn never had to live with three of them in the courtyard. These roosters start their conversations between 2-4am. They calmly discuss the state of affairs, and then hear the neighbouring roosters conversing. So of course, they have to join in. And before you know it, the entire rooster population of the neighbourhood is having a heated discussion over all the important events of the previous 24 hours. And I lie there in bed, wondering why I left my earplugs behind.
I got to visit the CASM office today in San Pedro Sula.
Enjoy the approaching autumn if you can. I'm sweltering here in San Pedro, and can't wait to move to higher elevations!
Vaya pues!
So I will still head off to La Campa tomorrow with one of the country reps and the connecting people's coordinator. I'll get to meet my colleagues, and they can meet me. Maybe I'll meet my host family? Then next week, I will likely go back to Copan Ruinas for more language study. One thing that I am learning here is that I can expect that whatever I expect to happen will happen in a way I didn't expect!
Here is a small selection of photos for you:
This is a 200-300 year old ceiba tree at the Mayan ruins near Copan Ruinas. I feel so short!
Noel, Johanna and Elise overlooking the Copan valley.
Four of the five yearlings!
A bridge that was washed out in Hurricane Mitch. I was on the new bridge downstream.
The garden of my host family in Copan Ruinas.
MCC doesn't only help people! Chickens also benefit!Roosters, however, are the bane of my existence. Whoever started the myth that they only crow at dawn never had to live with three of them in the courtyard. These roosters start their conversations between 2-4am. They calmly discuss the state of affairs, and then hear the neighbouring roosters conversing. So of course, they have to join in. And before you know it, the entire rooster population of the neighbourhood is having a heated discussion over all the important events of the previous 24 hours. And I lie there in bed, wondering why I left my earplugs behind.
I got to visit the CASM office today in San Pedro Sula. Enjoy the approaching autumn if you can. I'm sweltering here in San Pedro, and can't wait to move to higher elevations!
Vaya pues!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Geckos chirp
My group of SALTers and YAMENers were the first to arrive at our destination, mid-afternoon on Thursday. We've had a whirlwind couple of days of in-country orientation after a week of orientation in Akron. Some of my first impressions: yes, it is hot! and humid! The MCC office in San Pedro Sula has air conditioning, so it's been an immense relief to step inside. I've seen and heard some local wildlife, including geckos (which chirp like birds), snail kites (Ellen, I'm watching birds for you!), a black widow spider, and of course, dogs and chickens.
We spent the last two days at the MCC farm for our in-country orientation. It was lovely there! It's the rainy season right now, and rain on a tin roof is just as loud as I remember it!
My major news is that I am no longer going to Azacualpa. Instead, I will be going to La Campa, which is near Gracias. I know you can find Gracias on most maps; La Campa is a bit smaller.... or a lot smaller! I will still be with CASM, just at a different location. I'm excited for this change, especially since the response most people here have is that "La Campa is cold!" I can cope with that very happily.
We're now on our way to Copan Ruinas for language study for the next week and a half. I am understanding more Spanish than I expected, although I need the speaker to speak very slowly. When I try to speak I butcher the grammar and speak with a French accent. I wonder what my French will sound like in a year...!
Love
Alison
We spent the last two days at the MCC farm for our in-country orientation. It was lovely there! It's the rainy season right now, and rain on a tin roof is just as loud as I remember it!
My major news is that I am no longer going to Azacualpa. Instead, I will be going to La Campa, which is near Gracias. I know you can find Gracias on most maps; La Campa is a bit smaller.... or a lot smaller! I will still be with CASM, just at a different location. I'm excited for this change, especially since the response most people here have is that "La Campa is cold!" I can cope with that very happily.
We're now on our way to Copan Ruinas for language study for the next week and a half. I am understanding more Spanish than I expected, although I need the speaker to speak very slowly. When I try to speak I butcher the grammar and speak with a French accent. I wonder what my French will sound like in a year...!
Love
Alison
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