October
1st, 2011
So I have been in my site for a full
week now, I feel like I have adjusted to the new setting. I get along real well
with my host family, my counterparts, and everyone who I have met here so far.
The town is great, there are tons of beautiful sites to see and I am just
trying to soak it all in. I have found that my Spanish is better than I expected
and I can pretty much communicate with everyone who I encounter more or less. Of
course, there have been miscommunications every now and then but they have been
minor. I have already been accustomed to the food so that has not been a
problem, although, here in Dulce Nombre, I have been given some of the best and
freshest tasting fruit I have had in my life. That has been a real pleasure.
The climate is pretty much the same as my first site; it is never too hot,
never too cold. Really just the perfect temperature at all times, of course
there is rain but that is usually towards the end of the day and towards the
night. The upside to all that rain is that when thunderstorms roll in you get
to see some pretty awesome light shows since we are up in the mountains. So pretty
much, everything is going well here right now.
Some highlights of my first week in
Dulce Nombre, last Monday I was interviewed on the local television station.
Pretty cool that my town has a television station, I did not think that many
people watched it because it is a local television station, but so many people
have told me that they saw my interview. So that was a good way to get my name
and face out there for the town to see and know. Another highlight was the
other day I spent the afternoon at the school. During one of their break times
there were some kids playing basketball. I decided to go over and play with
them. The game of 1 vs. 2 soon turned into 1 vs. 30. Now I am no Pat or Brigid
Hanley but let me tell you, I was slicing through these 30 young Hondurans and
slamming it home (9 ft. 6 in. rim…). I do not mean to brag but I think the
final score was somewhere around 80-8, I obviously won. Playing with those kids
was so much fun for me, and for them. Even though they were getting beat it did
not bother them at all, in fact I think they liked it more. From this afternoon
I will remember the huge smile that I wore on my face throughout the entire
afternoon, it was simply pure joy and fun. It was a beautiful thing.
Last
highlight of the week was yesterday the school had a talent show… at the local
gas station, great venue choice I know. Anyways, it was supposed to start at 1
in the afternoon. So, being the American that I am and taught throughout my
life that if you are not five minutes early you are late I showed up around
12:45. When I got there I saw a few other students and a crew of men putting the
stage and tents up, needless to say they were not ready by 1. The show began
around 3 o’clock, so only 2 hours late which is not bad for Honduran standards.
During my 2 hours of waiting around (the entire crowd showed up around 1:30), I
was asked to be a judge. I agreed of course. Now the talent show had two
different categories, dance and fotomimica (which is basically impersonations).
I tell you this because all but one entry in fotomimica was impersonations of
Latin American performers meaning I really had no idea if what they were doing
was anywhere close to what it should be. The only one that I knew was a
performance of Michael Jackson that was actually very good (the group went on
to win…). At the end of the program when we were tallying up the scores I noticed
that I was much nicer in my scores than the other two judges which I found interesting.
It was a good time and I again got the chance to get my face out there, and
besides all that the kids had a good time so that is really what is important.
So
after a week here, it is amazing how fast time goes and how much I have already
learned (I am learning lots of things besides Spanish). I have learned lessons so
far about my service, about this culture, and most importantly about myself. First
thing that I learned is about the culture, we had this drilled into our heads
during training, but Hondurans are never on time. Now I do not say this as a
jab but rather as an observation. To me the reason is simple and it is because
they live their lives at a much slower pace. This is one of those things that
is completely different from American culture, as previously stated, and I think
this may be one of those things that will begin to bug me during my two years
here. I have learned a lot about myself as well. I have always thought that if
you stuck me in a room by myself for a long period of time with some assorted
things to do I would be just fine without human interaction. Well since being
here, I have learned that this is not the entire truth. While I can do just
fine down here without my friends and family, during the times when I have
something to do, when my mind is occupied. During the downtime (which there is
plenty of…), I begin to feel homesick and miss my family, my friends, and my
old way of life. This has really made me realize how great of friends, family,
and life that I had, and still do have. Another thing that I learned is about
my service here, many of the people who I have talked to know what the Peace
Corps is, and they have known previous volunteers as well, however for some
strange reason they think I am forced to be here. They are surprised when I
tell them that I am a volunteer and I want to be here. Somehow the phrase Peace
Corps Volunteer does not really translate over I guess. While it has been a bit
tedious to continually answer this question it has also been good to answer
this question. The simple answer that I continue to tell everyone is that I am
here because I feel like it is God’s plan for me and I want to help people.
It
is an answer that I have given to many questions that deal with large life
choices such as what college to go to, what to major in, etc. Now to some it
may seem like an easy answer but I guarantee you it is the exact opposite. If I
look back on my life there are numerous events that stick out clearly in my
mind that have influenced me and showed me the ways in which God was working in
my life. I remember when my family took a trip to the Grand Canyon many years ago
we went to the cafeteria to get some lunch. As we walked in I remember seeing a
group of people who were intellectually disabled standing in the checkout line
with their food. I don’t remember anything else but seeing this group of people
but for some reason it is glued inside of my head along with the feeling that
it gave me of wanting to help them. God was working in my life. When I was
around ten we had a new neighbor move in, her name was Janel, and she has Down
syndrome. I spent some of the best times of my life with her just simply playing
and spending time together; I do not think it is a coincidence that I am
working with children who have Down syndrome here in Honduras. God was working
in my life. When it was time to time to leave high school and head off to
college I only applied to one school, that school was Benedictine University.
That same year, a man from Germany had taken the name Benedict and became our
new Pope. God was working in my life. Now these might all seem like
coincidences to some, but I assure you they are much more than that. They are
the blueprints of God’s plan for me; everything up until this point in my life
has been God laying my foundation. From this point on, we begin to build upon
the foundation using all of my God given abilities. While I cannot see the rest
of the plan, I have faith that the rest of the building is going to be just as
good as the foundation. (P.S. I do not think I have articulated exactly what I wanted
to say, I have been trying to explain this concept and idea for many years now
however I do think the message is there and important.)
