Saludos Amigos!

Welcome to November! The last few weeks have been lots o' fun, very busy, and at times a bit harrowing, and I'll get to all of that in a minute, but first I'd like to say something about the election. As anyone who knows me even a little bit is aware, I'm not shy about discussing my own political beliefs. Though over the past few years my views have become a bit more to the center than they once were, I'm still, and always will be, a liberal at heart. And I don't mean "liberal" in the way that Fox News means it (pagans who kick puppies and eat babies). Watching and listening to this election from afar has been both interesting and inspiring to me, and whats more, I have gotten so much feedback from the people of my town who have said the same. The newspapers here have covered the election almost as closely as US papers do, and many times Hondurans knew of campaign developments before I did. I have heard from so many here that they hoped Obama would win, that he seemed to have a genuinely balanced and insightful perspective on many world issues. I have to agree. I feel that I have been incredibly lucky to not only have the perspective of an American, but to also have the perspective of one living abroad, who sees the day-to-day effects of American policy on the rest of the world. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, other than to say that I am proud of Americans for looking past the cheap shots, the moral attacks, race, and scare tactics to elect someone who gives many Americans and many global citizens an infinite amount of hope. And sometimes I think that matters more than anything else.

The morning after the election, I was getting breakfast at a restaurant that I often eat at. There was a Honduran paper with the first 6 pages devoted to the election, and a giant photo of Barack Obama on the front. I have to say, I got pretty teary-eyed when I saw it. The owner of the restaurant came out and gave me a hug, and asked me why I was crying, and when I told her, she smiled and said that she was proud of America too.

I know that there are many people who do not share my sentiments, and they are entitled to their opinions. But for me, Tuesday was a day that I will never, ever, ever forget, and a day that has made me proud once more to call myself an American. Oh, and though it is posted at the bottom of this blog, I feel I should say it again here "The opinions stated in this blog are mine alone and do not represent the opinion of the United States Peace Corps or the United States Government." You know, just in case.

Ok, on to other things -

For Halloween, I went to Copan Ruins to the annual PC Halloween extravaganza (I would estimate there were around 100 volunteers there) and had a great time. Below are some of the less incriminating photos from the weekend, others are posted on Facebook.
Copan is a beautiful town, with lots of touristy stuff to do, lots of backpackers and ex-pats. There are some really beautiful hotels, restaurants, and shops. Unfortunately, most are off limits on a Peace Corps budget, which is why I will be dragging my parents there when they come to visit.

To be honest, I don't have much more to report right now. The next few months will be busy, but not with anything incredibly work-related. I'll be in Florida (yay!) at the beginning of December, and then will be traveling in Honduras for Christmas and New Years, then am taking some vacation time at the beginning of January to go to the islands with some friends. However, after that I will be back on track with actually doing some things here.

Paso Viejo

Greetings! As you can see, I'm really, really, really trying to do the whole blog thing more often. Last week I went to Paso Viejo, and aldea in the mountains surrounding Quimistan, about an hour's walk from the Guatemalan border. It was a two-day visit, and we discussed family planning, women's health, and a sundry of other things as well. The second day I was there, we were with just a group of men. We discussed family planning and did an activity that visually displays what happens when someone doesn't do any family planning and then doesn't have the resources to take care of all of their children. Honestly, it is an activity that is usually done with teenagers, but I thought I'd try it out. I think it went well - we received a lot of good feedback. Below are some photos from the two days:
And some of the views from Buenos Aires, a community halfway between Quimistan and Paso Viejo:
We also did a condom demonstration with the Paso Viejo hombres, which actually went pretty well. I was a little nervous, being that I was with men 18-60 in a little campo town, and that most of them get super embarassed by stuff like that. However, they asked lots of questions and all faithfully put their condoms on their bananas. And speaking of bananas, if you've ever wondered what happens to all the bananas we use for condom demonstrations, please see below:

Also, as we were cooking our fantastic condom bananas, the electricity went out, hence the fashionable (can't live without it) headlamp.
Top with some mayo-ketchup and salt, and you have a great Honduran meal.

Yay for San Pedro!

I'm currently in San Pedro, came in to town today to buy some gringa groceries (i.e. soy to make soy burgers, bagels, cream cheese) and pirated movies (Atonement, the new Batman, and Kite Runner for 5 bucks!) And am now comfortably seated in Espresso Americano, sipping some coffee and enjoying the very fast, very free internet.

On the bus to San Pedro today, I met an orthodontist that works in a clinic in the mountains of Quimistan. He and I were discussing the absolute disparity between rich and poor in Honduras. While I am incredibly lucky to live in a country that is developed enough that I have a cell phone, the internet, and if I really wanted, cable tv, that country only exists for a very small population here. The others, the campesinos, live without basic medical care, clean water, or electricity. This is something I have been struggling with lately, for many reasons. I have been asked to give some talks next week in Paso Viejo, an aldea on the border between Honduras and Guatemala (my municipality borders Guate) on personal hygiene and reproductive health/family planning. While I am happy to give these talks and do truly believe that everyone should be educated about birth control, condom use, the advantages of family planning, proper hygiene, etc., it is at times difficult for me to really believe that this information will change their quality of life. I am there to stress the use of family planning methods such as birth control pills, but our health center has been out of them for at least a month. I am supposed to encourage toothbrushing and clean drinking water, but many of the people I will be speaking with don't have the money to buy either. I guess I wonder if knowledge really is power, when the resources needed to put such knowledge into practice are so scarce. However, I will continue to soldier on, and hope it makes a difference for some.

On another note, I thought everyone might like a lesson on how to make tortillas (the easy way) and so am posting a how to guide:
You can start by A) growing, drying, and grinding your own corn, or you can go to your local super and pick up a bag of corn flour - you can see which one I have opted to go with here.
Add water,
Form the masa into little balls of dough,
and use your trusty tortilla make to mash them into tortillas. During the fateful tripped that included walking to Tegus, we spent an evening with a family that one of the other volunteers knew. I struck up a conversation with the abuelita (grandma) and told her that my tortilla making skills were incredibly lacking, and the I had been smashing the masa between two plates because I couldn't make them by hand. Before we left for the night, she gave me this tortilla maker to help me be a better Honduran cook. To be honest, I got a bit teary-eyed. And every time I use it (which is often) I think of her.
After masa has been smashed into a tortilla shape, transfer to a comal (piece of metal on stove) or in my case, a skillet, and cook. And the finished product:As you can see, I still need to work on my tortilla making a bit more, but I'd say I'm well on my way to becoming a fantastic Honduran cook.

Have a great weekend!

Bits and Pieces

So much has happened since my last blog entry, I'm not quite sure where to start. So here are some of the more exciting moments of the last few weeks:

The Day We Walked to Tegus

At the beginning of September, Kristina (another volunteer) and I headed to Tegus to do an HIV workshop with the new trainees. Kristina took the bus from Santa Rosa, and I met her in San Pedro. From there, it was a smooth and tranquil 5 hour trip to Tegus. Or at least thats what was supposed to happen. However, about 4 hours into our journey, our bus came to an abrupt halt. This happens occasionally here in beautiful Honduras, as the roads seem to have been constructed out of sidewalk chalk and kindergarten paste. Kristina and I chatted for about an hour, then realized we still hadn't moved. Not an inch. We were going to be late to meet the other facilitators in Tegus, so we decided to call Juan Carlos (our trusty security officer) to see what the deal was and if he knew when we would be moving again. Unfortunately for us, two semis had collided further up the mountain we were on, and there was major traffic backed up on both sides. We had two choices: we could wait for who knows how long to get someone to move the semis out of the way, or we could give our Chacos some much needed pavement pounding and walk (ding ding ding!). We grabbed our bags, got off the bus, and started up the mountain. The scene was very R.E.M Everybody-Hurts-style – people getting out of the buses, walking between the cars, etc. We walked for awhile up the mountain, and were finally able to get a jalon with a couple of guys in the back of their pickup. We went a few miles, then even the shoulder that we had been riding on was jammed, so we got out and started walking again. We walked to the accident, which was pretty crazy – one of the semi cabs had at some point been engulfed in flames, and all that was left was the cage. I'm hoping there was no one stuck in it. After we got to the other side of the accident, we found some trusty street vendors who were selling assorted yummies to the crowd, and mauwed down on some quesadillas (here, quesadillas are little bread things filled with spicy cinnamon filling.) and took a rest. While Kristina decided to wander around the cemetary we had stopped at, I tried to get us another jalon. Of course, the first guys I flagged down were in the scariest rape van ever – white van, no windows, two men in front. Then they opened the side door, and there's just one giant man sitting in back, beckoning us to come in. I politely turned them down, and am thus here today to relate the whole story. We eventually found another pick-up to ride in, and took it to the edge of Tegus, where eventually a PC staff member picked us up. We got to our final destination a little over 12 hours after we started traveling. To be honest, I felt like a real Peace Corps volunteer tromping up the mountain, which is something I don't always feel like here. I also have photographic evidence of these events, but alas, they are currently in Kristina's camera, so will have to be posted some other time.

10 Thoughts About Honduras:

1. 
   

   Always, always charge your phone. The day you let the battery run down is the day the power goes out and stays out for the next 2 days.



2. 
   

   If you bat your eyes a little and say “regalame” (giv

   e me) people will actually give you stuff that they would normally make you pay for. This has so far worked for moto taxi rides, ice cream, and assorted produce.



3. 
   

   Always, always look inside your pila before getting water out, or you may end up with a rabid lizard bite. See said lizard below:



4. 
   

   Ironically, my town (and thus my house) has no running water during the rainiest part of the rainy season.



5. 
   

   Ants can indeed build colonies underneath book shelves. See photos from the great ant holocaust 2008. Those tiny black flecks are the ants that invaded my house, after they were doused with a healthy dose of Raid.

1. 
   

   Some of the best Honduran food can be bought on the buses to the West. What was once suspect and feared for its possible diarrhea-inducing properties are now delicacies to be enjoyed while bumping along on your local chicken bus.



2. 
   

   The nurses in my site love margaritas and pina coladas.

   This was a fantastic revelation, and one I will be making the most of. A cocktails and ticucco (honduran food) making party is in the works.



3. 
   

   Being a girl and strolling around town with a machete is a great way to meet new friends.



4. 
   

   It is possible to read a 900+ page book in 3 days.



5. 
   

   Somewhere, there is an amazing Bon Jovi cover band who can sing Bed of Roses in Spanish. I heard them today from the neighbor's woodshop while washing my clothes. My neighbors also enjoy playing Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, a little Total Eclipse of the Heart, and the occasional disco tune. Classic.

Ode to Mantequilla

I would like to take a moment to tell you a little about one of my favorite foods/condiments in Honduras: Mantequilla. Though the actual translation for mantequilla in English is butter, the mantequilla here is more like some creamy goodness that can only

be described as the most amazing thing to ever come out of a cow. PCVs are divided into two camps: those who absolutely hate the Mantequilla and think it is evil incarnate, and those who recognize its smooth satiny texture as a little piece of perfection in an imperfect Honduran world. You can put it on beans, on tortillas, on fried plantains, and as I have recently learned, in spaghetti sauce. If I could find a large enough pila and a willing dairy farmer, I would bathe in mantequilla. And it would be amazing.

My favorite recent quote:

“Lay off the teat, Leala!” One volunteer to another volunteer (Leala) after learning that she had been drinking unpasteurized milk straight from the udder. That stuff will kill ya.

My New House

So I am now moved in to my new house, and couldn't be happier. I miss my host family, but I love living alone and doing whatever I want, whenever I want. Below are some photos from around the casa:

Kristina in my state of the art kitchen.

Thats its for now, another blog with actual work updates will be posted soon, es una promesa!

Hey guys? Um, Where's July?

My regular blog writing has obviously gotten off to a rough start. It seemed like July was packed from start to finish, and I have been out of my site quite a bit.

July started out great. For the 4^th, a few volunteers and I went to Gracias and found a swimming pool, some pizza and beer. We spent the weekend in Gracias, which is a backpacker-touristy town, with beautiful views of one of Honduras' tallest mountains, Celaque. We made plans to climb it before our service is over. We'll see what happens with that.

The month continued with the start of the Encargado de mi Vida classes at the colegio here. However, I'm not sure how much longer these will be going on. Myself and the other teachers I am working with agreed to have two teaching teams, each team having 20 students per class. However, the first day I came to the school to teach, it was only myself and one other person and 40 kids, and has continued this way. I thought I might be able to handle that amount of kids, but the activities in the program are designed for smaller groups, and I'm not sure the kids are getting anything out of it. There are a lot more worthwhile activities I could be doing in the community.

Towards the end of the month, I went to Tegus for a week to participate in a workshop about “Yo Merezco,” the new course on abstinence that some PC Honduras volunteers have designed. The workshop was great, we learned a lot, and I can't wait to start the program in my site.

I've also been a little bit sick, so spent a few days in Santa Barbara getting lab tests and speaking with the doctor. At first, we thought I had some sort of bacterial stomach infection, but it looks like I just have an irritated stomach lining, so am now taking medicine for that. Things are much better now, and I'm definitely better off than some of the other volunteers who've had dengue, parasites, etc.

I also wanted to give you guys an example of one of my days here. I've been home for a few minutes, and feel like I've had a really productive day. I'll let you be the judge:

8:00 am – Get up (I'm not working at the clinic this week, so have been sleeping in.)

10:00 am – Go to my new house. Help clean up, prepare for painting, etc.

12:00 pm – lunch.

12:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Got to the elementary school, help Red Cross Youth Group give their play and presentation about Dengue to 40 elementary schoolers. Passed out ABATE (larvacide for the mosquitos that cause Dengue) to the kids. I was super proud of the kids, they did a really good job.

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm – boy's 10-year-old birthday party. Cake. Yum.

Stopped by the health center on my way home to chat with one of the nurses, scheduled appointment to go to the CAI (HIV clinic in San Pedro) for Tuesday. Ran some errands.

5:00 pm – arrived home, started writing this blog.

This was an incredibly long and exhausting day. However, when I look back on it, it doesn't really look like I did anything. I've heard this from a lot of volunteers, that your expectations and definition of a productive day change during your time here. The things I accomplished in an entire day would be what I would do after a day at work in the States. However, when you're walking everywhere, waiting for people, chatting with friends along the way, and taking breaks due to the heat, a lot less gets done. Even so, I feel great about the work that got done today. I really like hanging out with the kids from the Red Cross, and am hoping to do the “Yo Merezco” program with the girls in the group.

Plans are still in the works for Pregnant Mom's (starting August 13^th) and Men's Health (grant application in progress.) More on these when they begin.

So I know I promised a story about the circus, and here it is:

My Honduran friend and I decided to go to the local traveling circus one evening, and it was an experience I won't soon forget. The circus here is more like just the main act of a circus in the States. You pay, enter, find a seat, and while you're waiting for the show to start, small children try to sell you cokes, mango verde, and enchiladas. The show starts, and while its hard to explain a lot of the acts unless you've lived here for a while, the one that I think translates in any culture was the midget-in-the-barrel routine. About halfway through the show, the ringmaster and little person come into the arena and go straight for a barrel full of water that had been sitting at the edge of the ring. The little person got in the barrel, the lights went out, and the ringmaster proceeded to set the barrel on fire. Apparently, there wasn't water in the barrel, but gasoline, and the entire thing went straight up in flames. The little person was supposed to slap out the flames with his arm before popping out, but he didn't quite get the job done, and when he popped out, his head was in flames. At this point, I was absolutely terrified, but as I looked around the arena, the Hondurans were loving it. Luckily, the ringmaster pushed him back underwater, put out the flames, dragged out the little person, and took him backstage to roaring applause. I did see him later, with a baseball cap on, and he seemed to be fine. Smelled a little smoky, but fine overall.

Thats if for now, I'll let everyone know how the new house turns out. Thanks to everyone for the emails, letters, calls, etc. Its been great to hear from so many people!

Agotada...

As promised, I am doing my best to write a little more often now that I am at site. The last two weeks have again flown by, but I'll try to fill you in as best I can.

This week was quite a full one. There is a medical brigade from Cure, International in the neighboring town of San Marcos, and I spent several days this week (Monday, Tuesday, and Friday) translating for them. I walked in the first day terrified, afraid that my Spanish would be stretched way past all of its limits. I was pretty excited to find out that not only did I not crack under pressure, but my Spanish has improved by leaps and bounds. It felt great to be a bridge between the Cure volunteers and Hondurans. I realized how much I have adapted to Honduran culture as well. Hondurans tend to use a lot of language to say something when they really just need a few words, and it takes quite a while to get to the root of a message (anyone who has been to any sort of organized event with even a few Hondurans will agree with me) I found that at first the American volunteers were being a little brisk with the patients, and not speaking with them enough, and then I realized that they were just being American, and I have started to adapt a more Honduran way of speaking. Or maybe I've always been lik

e that, and just realized it here... Anyways, it was a great experience, and I met some fantastic volunteers who were willing to come and give their own time and money to help the people here. The brigade came with physical therapists, dentists and orthodontists, pediatricians, family practice doctors, and other services. Really a class act. My favorite part of the entire experience was actually a comment from a dentist (who by the way, is a great guy, and helped me with a little orthodontial issue I had), who said to me after translating for what felt like the 1,000th patient of the day, “wow, you really care about the people here, don't you?” I hadn't really thought about it until then, to me they're now my neighbors and friends, my co-workers and surrogate family. I realized when he said that to me that I do care, I care because this is my community. I don't feel like I am separated (to a point) into “me” and “them” from the people here. It has become, at least in my eyes, Us. That's a great feeling to have.

I also continued to work on the Pregnant Mom's Circle for the Health Center. July 16^th is our first class, and it is rapidly approaching. I finished creating all of the handouts and have planned all of the activities for our first session, and have started working on the second. The first session handouts include tips on having a good pregnancy (nutrition, rest, exercise, etc.) and common problems during pregnancy (indigestion, nausea, lower back pain, swelling, etc.) if anyone would like to take a look at them, I can send them your way via email. One of the things I love about working at the health center is talking with the midwives from the aldeas, and Wednesday we had an all-day meeting with them. We discussed the upcoming diarrhea season, which actually includes June, July, and August. With the increased amount of rain, mosquitoes and flies, its prime time for disease. Midwives are a great way to get health information to the outlying communities, so the monthly meetings are not only used to get information (i.e. New pregnant women, number of children in the community, how many look malnourished, how many have diarrhea, etc.), but also to send information back. I also had the opportunity to tell them about the Pregnant Mom's Club, and received a really positive response, with lots of questions and comments about the number of pregnant women in their community. Below is a photo of some of the midwives leaving after the meeting. I have some other good ones, but of course I am having problems loading them...

Work with the High School here has also continued. I had a meeting with the parents of the 1^st grade (about the age of 8^th graders – just different names for grades) regarding Encargado de mi Vida (In Charge of My Life) which we will be teaching to the kids for the next 14 weeks. The meeting went really well, but I was disappointed with the turnout – about 35 parents from a class of 180 kids.

I have somehow also gotten roped into working to support the new Red Cross for Youth group, so we had our first meeting tonight. I think it could actually turn into something really great, so I'll keep you filled in. This weekend we have a medical brigade coming to Quimistan to give mammograms, pap smears, rapid HIV testing, and counseling services. I'll be working with the Red Cross on educating women on breast self examination and STIs. I'm pretty excited about this, as we have 6 paps on file for the last year for our entire municipality (approx. 38,000 people.). And this will be an opportunity to check a lot of women. Cervical Cancer and Breast Cancer are big problems here, because there is little education (see a theme?) and little early detection.

Enough with the boring work stuff, here's some quotes from the previous weeks to make you chuckle:

Me going to the circus in town with a Honduran:

Me: So will there be animals at this circus?”

Honduran: “No, there's a law against animals at the circus.”

Me: “Oh, like an animal cruelty law?”

Honduran: “No, its because they get loose and eat people.”

Me: “Oh...”

After an especially bitter battle with a mosquito:

Abuelita (surrogate grandma): “The mosquitoes are happy you're here.”

Me: “Why?”

Abuelita: “They like the sweet white gringa meat. They're going to take it to the market and sell it.”

Me: “Well thats great, I hope they get a good price...”

Thats it for this week, I have a pretty good story about the circus, but I think its going to wait until next week. I will give you this teaser: it involves a midget (little person?), fire, an oil drum, and my complete shock and disbelief. More next week.

Thunderstorms and Shameless Request for Donations

So, I have two very important things to write about in this post – rainstorms and healthy moms and babies. As I think I mentioned in the last post, we are right now in rainy season. It should be “tropical monsoon/get my chacos (and feet) all muddy/flood my room” season, as rainy just doesn't really do it justice. However, it does make for some beautiful picture taking, and is awesome weather to sit in a (sheltered) hammock and read a book/drink some coffee. included are pictures from yesterday outside of my house and along the main drag of town:

And now on to something much more important: Healthy Mommies and Babies! I'm excited to report that my first project with the health clinic here has taken off. We are creating a pregnant women's circle! I'm really looking forward to this project. A little background on why this is so important: we currently have 2 doctors in our clinic that each see approximately 40 patients everyday. Thats 40 patients from 8:00 am until 11:00-12:00. So, if you do the math, that leaves approximately 6 minutes for each patient. This is only going to get worse, as one of our doctors is leaving in a week, and the Ministry of Health is sending no one to replace him. There is no time to educate patients, especially pregnant women, about how to care for themselves and their babies. This is the gap the circle will attempt to fill. We are in the midst of designing a curriculum that will include sessions on women's nutrition pre and post pregnancy, childhood illnesses, birth plans, family planning, breastfeeding, and women's health. We believe we will be able to secure funding to provide nutritious snacks for the ladies, and will also have take-home information for each session. Now, here is the MOST exciting part: YOU get to help!! We would also like to reward the women for attending all of the classes – give them a certificate and a small gift, like baby clothes, a receiving blanket, cloth diapers, etc. We do not have funding for these types of items at the moment, so I am asking for your help. We would like to get a good supply of baby clothes (can be newborn or within the 1^st year) receiving blankets, booties, cloth diapers (no disposable) and any other assorted baby products you would like to send this way. The only things that we can't use are anything bottle related (we really try to discourage bottle feeding here.) This would be a great way for you guys back home to get involved, and I know everyone here (especially me) would really appreciate it. I know shipping gets a bit expensive, but if you get a group of friends together to chip in, it's definitely doable. Please spread the word to other friends and family! For those in the Lafayette area, I may have a friend from Lafayette coming to visit in August, so if you would like to send an item or two, email me and we can make plans on how to get it down here. Packages can be sent to my new address:

Kathryn Wooten, PCV

Supermercado Coquim

Quimistan, Santa Barbara

Honduras, CA

Thanks in advance for your help – I will of course post photos of the circle when it starts (mid-July.) Also, if you do plan on sending anything down, I could also use old issues of Maxim, FHM, or anything else with scantily clad ladies. We are starting a Men's Health initiative, and I need some racy photos for the activities we have planned. (And don't worry, I'll post photos of that as well.)

Thats it for now, feel free to email/call/carrier pigeon any questions/comments about the above (or anything else you want to know about Honduras) and I'll answer promptly (or when the electricity comes back on.)

One more thing!!! Tonight I killed my very first Honduran cockroach. I didn't run and get my host parents, I didn't pretend not to see it scurry into my bathroom, and I didn't scream like a little girl (more like a frightened adolescent.) I just got my copy of Mother Jones (thanks mom and dad) and chased it around the room. Me = 1. Cockroach = Muerto. Only 5 billion more to go.