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Terri Flinn writes...about her experience while volunteering in Honduras.
7 February 2006I finally made it to Tegucigalpa, the flight went well. I found Nicholas from my organization easily (he's a cute English guy); he started here volunteering years ago, fell in love and married and now lives here. He took me to his wife's families restaurant "la salsa" for lunch, they were all so friendly and sat and talked (in English) to me. I will stay in a hotel for the night and have a short orientation tomorrow and head out to La Esperanza tomorrow. Nick said the other volunteers might meet me at the bus station which would be great! This town in crazy, a little boy kept grabbing my arm and asking for money as soon as I left the airport, there are kids walking in between the rows of cars with bags of bananas and candy for sale. I feel really horrible and scared about my lack of Spanish, trying to use the internet and asking in English got me some bad looks from the staff, but I'll keep trying!! Nick's father in law told me not to worry and if I'm willing to learn and try it will be easy, and he also told me that his whole family is here for me if I need anything or if am homesick. So amazing. There is a huge sign for Coca Cola on the mountain in town... and a Jesus statue...I started to cry when I saw the first mountain from the plane... I'm really excited to get started!! 9 February 2006 So from Tegucigalpa I was taken to Ville de Angles (village of angels) for the night. Here I stayed in a cute hotel with a pool. I changed into my bathing suit and heading for the pool straight away, but there was only a short time before the sun went down. So I changed and heading out to walk around. I walked around briefly but was feeling fairly intimidated thus far because of my lack of Spanish (I'm really working on it though..) and then I stopped at a restaurant for some dinner. The next morning Nicolas was at my door bright and early to head out, we went for breakfast (yummy pancakes and coffee) and he did a short orientation before taking back to Tegu for my bus to La Esperanza. The bus ride was hard. Nicolas made sure I was ok and was gone. The bus was full and I mean full, people all down the isles and the ride was long (5 hours) we stopped nearly every 2 min. to pick up and drop off people. When we'd stop people would run on to sell you snacks, stay for a stop and jump off. The ride was a huge culture shock for me. The poverty as we drove up the mountain was incredible. La Esperanza is at the highest point of Honduras and is therefore really cold!! The thing I noticed the most was the garbage. There is literally garbage everywhere. There isn't a spot along the road that isn't covered and some places just literally like a dump. I suppose when you are living in poverty, garbage pick up isn't at the top of your list. When I arrived it was cold and rainy and there was no one there waiting for me. I took a chance and left my bags (problem with travelling alone) and ran to the washroom. When I got out a lady asked if I was Terri and I went with them. The communication was slim to none. When I got to the house I was greeted by 3 lovely girls. They showed me my room and we attempted communication but with no luck. I was feeling sick and tired so I unpacked and went for a nap. They woke me for dinner, which I ate alone at the table while the family watched TV. After dinner I went again to my room to read, write and again, sleep. I was so cold last night I could hardly bear it. I only had a sheet and had to figure out the words to say I am cold!! "estoy froi" and I got a blanket which helped. This morning Matt (the other volunteer staying with me) woke me up and we had breakfast and headed out to catch a lift to work. We all meet at a corner and there are random people who drive by with pick up trucks who drive you places, pretty crazy but really fun! We drove about 20 to 30 min. Up up up. It was misty and cold and rainy. The truck could get up the rest of the road so we hiked it. When we arrived at the house they told us no work because of the rain. So we waited an hour for a truck to take us back down. We rammed about 12 people in the back including the sweetest bright eyed little girl who would smile at me and look away shyly the whole time, I would have taken a picture but it was too bumpy. So we came back, changed and matt and I are here at the internet cafe before we meet up with Tab and Teresa for lunch and then the bank. This weekend I believe we are going to Saint Pedro? Not sure yet... 10 February 2006 All I'm saying in my head is I couldn't be happier. I haven't showered in three days, but I couldn't be happier. Yesterday Matt and I went to the soccer fields so matt could play. I met his friend Migel. Migel speaks really good English so we sat and talked for a long time and he began to teach me Spanish, so we ended up sitting and learning Spanish for two hours. Such an amazing guy, laid back, relaxed, and he teaches really well. Matt and I went home for dinner and it was so good! Broccoli, chicken, rice and coffee. Matt told them I didn't like the tea (its too sweet for me) so they gave me coffee and it's so damn good. No cream and little sugar. Bien! In the evening we sat with the family and watched music videos and then played a couple mean hands of cards, go fish was a good learning experience because I had to learn the names of king, queen, jack, ace and all the numeros! And the kids names at the table. Dario (5yrs old) is adorable! Today we worked. I was really happy to start working. We nailed logs horizontally to the frame of the house (harder than it sounds) but really rewarding, the family we are helping is really great, they give us coffee and serve us lunch when we are finished. The sun was out and it was hot today. There are kids and a baby running around all day, they give us nails and help us hammer. They really took a liking to me. Kada (the little girl), liked my watch, my hat and my tattoo. She took my watch off and wore it all day, I would be hammering something and feel these little hands in my pockets, touching my belt, looking at my tattoo... at the end of the day I got my camera out and took photos of the kids. They are absolutely fascinated that they can see their picture instantly, they danced and I took a video and then I couldn't get them away, they followed me all the way down the road. Uno photo (one more photo!!) we had to tell them no after about 20 minutes of "one more photos" that we'd be back on Monday. I'm loving this! 13 February 2006 Well what a weekend I did have... Saturday morning we got up nice at early at 5am to catch a bus to San Pedro Sula. I wasn't really up for going to a big city, since I live in one back home, but I went with the group. Turned out we lost half the group cause they missed the bus. So... I suggested a beach, and Matt and Thomas were in! So we took a bus from San Pedro to Puerto Cortes and then another bus to Travisia all and all about 6 hours. The last bus dropped us off in front of a hotel that was located right on the beach on the Caribbean Sea. Our day was spent playing in the waves and making sand castles, and actually...some gymnastics, I taught Thomas how to do a round off and a bridge!! In the evening we went out for a shrimp dinner and for some drinks. Well the combination of too much sun, sea food, and too many tequilas put me in front of the toilet for the entire night, I think I kept the guys up half the night as well as you just can't vomit quietly... it was by far the sickest I ever remember being. So needless to say, the six hour trek back to La Esperanza was horrible, it took all my strength to stay calm and keep my food down... The boys were very sensitive to me and did what they could, but there really wasn't much. I had thrown up the two gravols I took in the night, but I had managed to keep two down in the afternoon which calmed me slightly. Matt told the family I was sick and they rushed me some tea and toast. I couldn't eat the toast but got enough in me to take some immodium, since my sickness had moved its way down, and I fell asleep around 7pm. It is definitely not a walk in the park for me. The living conditions are crazy, it's really crazy how people live here. The poverty is overwhelming and I just can't stop talking about the garbage. It really blows me away. No one and I mean no one throws things in the trash, it all goes on the ground and if they do have a proper place, it just gets burned in the forest after. A man was emptying old car batteries in the street today. People go to the washroom where they please, they spit in buses�you are allowed bringing your chickens on the buses as well!! My house does not have hot water, so showers are few and far between because it's been so cold, people keep saying "but you're from Canada" and I say "yes... but we have heat in our houses!!" Apparently the weather should pick up, and I hope it does soon because the more rain we have the less work we can do. I was really looking forward to work today and connecting more with the children but it was too rainy. Instead I bought a winter hat and mitts to keep warm instead of wearing socks on my hands to bed like I have been. I'm sure this sounds bleak, but this trip has been challenging, it's tough, I'm learning a lot about how bad things can be and how well we really have it at home. It's weird, it's like the people here have taken on all the bad American traits, like drinking coca cola, using cell phones and watching TV, but they have not taken on all the good things we have to offer. I think education is what they need most. If they don't understand how much they are harming themselves and the environment, if they don't realize this how can they change. And they just don't have the resources either. And the stray dogs!! I saw a dog so sick and skinny today I couldn't believe he was still alive, you could see every bone in his body. I fed a stray cat my extra rice and beans the other day�broke my heart. In Puerto Cortes you'd see a falling down shack of a house, built on stilts because it's sitting in a swamp, and inside, a big screen TV. They'll all have cell phones, but the roads are so bad that cabs won't even drive you too your hotel. It doesn't make any sense.... 15 February 2006 So the weather has been picking up, it's been warm for two days straight now!! The nights are still ridiculously cold, but at least we're getting a chance to warm up so time, and warm weather means I can take a shower!! The water is so cold. At nights I sleep with a pair of soccer socks up to my knees, my pj pants, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, mitts and a winter hat!! Today Matt knew we were having chicken for lunch (our family we are building for gives us lunch and coffee) because he saw the mother killing and cleaning it. A little later I saw the kids walking around chewing on a chicken foot... yep, it was pretty gross, but at least they aren't wasting any of the chicken. For lunch she made us this sort of soup with broccoli and squash and a bone of chicken in it. I had difficulties eating the chicken (for obvious reasons) but also since I see chickens roaming this dirty city everyday and eating garbage and cow shit... so needless to say I really enjoyed the veggies and gave my chicken to Matt. When we eat lunch with the family it's with no cutlery, just our hands, again, it's all a culture shock but you get used to it all. 21 February 2006 Well, it's been awhile since an update. I took off from work early on Friday to head to La Ceiba, which is in the rainforest close to the Caribbean again. The bus rides to get to these far away places almost make it not worth the trip, but I am sticking it out and getting through them. After leaving the house at 11.30am we finally ended up in La Ceiba at 9.30pm. We stayed in a hostel type place for the night, woke to a waffle breakfast and then us and the other tourist headed to the Jungle River Lodge in the rainforest to do a canopy tour and some rafting. Man o man!! It was amazing! I don't have the pics of the canopy tour yet, but it was crazy, we were suspended high in the air in the mountains and they harnessed us to a cord that swept you through the trees from one platform to another. Craziness... After that we had a lunch containing only watermelon and pineapple before we headed to rafting, this was incredible, the views were breathtaking and it was just the right amount of intense exercise and then a relaxing chance to enjoy the views. 22 February 2006 Today was a really good day. Nothing special happened, but I just felt at ease today. The mood was really light with everyone today. I think we are all getting really comfortable with each other and it makes it really fun to be able to joke around, and today was the first day the mud actually got out of hand. I contained my self for too long and I finally broke out a wee mud fight. Today I was up in the rafters packing the mud that the other would throw, it was really fun! The new volunteers showed up today, none will be on our project, but we met them and we will see them on the truck rides up to Chilligatore. There are six new volunteers 3 guys doing building and 3 girls teaching, Tab and Teresa and I were proud to say that the only girls doing construction were Canadians! After work today we stuck around on the mountain and played some soccer and frisbee, seriously fun to just hang out. After that we all went home for showers and we met in town, we ran into so many English speaking people today. It was really odd, standing outside the bank we had a group of volunteers who were handing out eye glasses come and chat, a missionary from the states named Jim, and older man from BC that was here doing electrical work, and then the other girl volunteers, it was odd.... we went to a cafe for smoothies and a couple rounds of cards, we ended up staying for hours, it was a lot of fun. I only have 6 more working days left because were taking next Friday off for a trip to Copan, so crazy!! This weekend I'm not planning to go far, a break from the buses is needed, but we are going to try and check out some caves nearby on Saturday and Sunday. I hope to sleep in till at least 7am... if possible..(damn roosters!) and shopping and a pizza lunch is planned! I crave pizza everyday! 27 February 2006 This weekend the plan was too meet up with a bunch of the volunteers for a bus in the morning and head to some caves, a lodge after that and then the waterfalls Sunday. We lost half the group due to illness, so it ended up only being Tab, Matt and I. The caves were really freaking cool! The path that was made for tourists was really short and uneventful, but we read that if you had a flashlight of a head lamp you could venture off the beaten path... which is so what we did... totally insane! We were so far into this dark cave, huge boulders to hike up and long mud hills to slide down, a total adventure, we kept stopping to ask everyone their comfort level and if we wanted to move on... it was pretty freaked, but I was loving every minute of it. We'd stop and turn out all the lights and it was just silence and darkness, totally crazy. My trusty alarm clock-flashlight that my beautiful roomy bought me also shows the temperature and as we climbed further and further the heat kept rising and rising!! When we hit the point where we couldn't go any further it was 37 degrees celsius!! So humid. We climbed up this narrow hill that took us to the roof of the caves and we were looking out over the pathway, I was shaking because of the height and the thought of falling, but it's all part of the fun! After the caves we hitch hiked and went to a restaurant beside the lake, no menu, just fish... so we had fish! I was pretty sure it was going to be a whole fish, fully intact. I was right. I ate the whole thing, I covered up the little gaffers face with a fry, but I did it! Tab went home from there and Matt and I continued on a bus and hitch hiked again to the D and D brewery where we sat in hammock in a little oasis of a place, matt drank some home brew (I haven't drank since my horrible tequila weekend) and we had a delicious meal and in the evening the owner, Bob and his friends sad around playing some bluegrass tunes on there guitars�totally awesome. In the morning we headed to the falls�this was so incredibly beautiful, really breathtaking, I wish I had better words to describe it. We did the normal tourist path of course, but then, we found a "guide" to take us past the gates, we climbed all around the falls and jumped off into the water in various points and heights, he took us behind the falls which was intense, he had to hold my hand and guide me through because you can't see anything but rushing water in your face, and from behind the falls he showed us yet another cave that we crawled into. The last jumping point was really high and you landed just beside the rushing pool of water, I was really nervous, knees shaking again, but matt made some comment about being Canadian or something and I went for it! We impressed the four bus loads of Germans that were watching I think! 2 March 2006 So today is my last day in La Esperanza, pretty surreal. We haven't completely finished the house, Christino (the father) says it will take another week, however we did finish all the mud today, so at least that is something accomplished. It was a weird feeling knowing that everything today is my last. I had my last truck ride up to Chilligatoro today and my last day of work and my last swim at the lake. The whole family was at the house today which made me really happy, lately Kada is at school before we come and isn't home when we leave, and Jonas leaves for most of our time working, I was sad when I didn't get to see Kada everyday, she really touched me. But today she didn't have school, so I got to have her in my lap for one more day. She is so curious about everything, it's so adorable, she will just sit and stare at me and touch my earrings, my nose ring, she pulls my shirt up and looks at my tummy, sticks her hands in my pockets, inspects my tattoo, I think I've past the inspections!!! So I brought my gifts for the family today, I brought a pair of my jeans, a t-shirt, my rain jacket and my winter hat, I gave two bags full of toys to the kids and I also gave them the back pack I brought it all in. So packing to come home is going to be really easy!! It was really frustrating to not be able to tell them all I wanted to. That they all touched my heart, and I loved watching how hard they all worked and how gentle the parents where to the kids, and how they were so happy even though they had so little. I wanted to tell the mother I loved the food and I loved watching her cook over the fire and clean the grill with a corn cob, and hack wood for the fire with a baby on her back, it was so wonderful to see. But I gave them my gifts and thanked them. They thanked me for my hard work and told me to have happy travels; I got a little choked up and was shaking for our goodbye. So now I am doing my last update here at the internet cafe, home for my last night with my family, then bright and early we will head to San Pedro Sula to catch another bus to Copan to see the ruins there. Another full day of travel, for one day of fun and another day of travel home, but hey, it's all worth it! I'll see you all soon!! |
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Climb Everest In October 2006 you have the opportunity to raise money for the Nepali Children's Fund. We're climbing the Base Camp of Mount Everest and you have the opportunity to join us.