I’ve now been in Honduras for just over a week. The story so far:
I already absolutely love my Honduran family, Jannina; Fernando; Jannina Michel, 11; Kristine, 4; Fernando, 2 and Duquesa, a huge husky. Jannina and Fernando are lovely and so welcoming, I already feel like part of the family. Jannina Michel speaks fantastic English which is helpful when I get stuck. Kristine and Fernando are unbelievably adorable. I share my room with Jannina Michel which is a little strange, as I haven’t shared a room for years, but she’s so lovely that it’s fine. The food is good, although yet more carb overloading is inevitable! We eat a lot of tortillas, tacos, beans and plantains.
The other new volunteers are great, Allie, Boston; Oskar, Denmark; Josh, UK; Katrine, Austria; Viktoria, Austria and Louis, French-Switzerland. Only Allie and I are staying in Tegucigalpa, and we only live about 1 minute apart, which is great. Plus we have the old volunteers, Amanda, UK; Sarah, UK/Austria; Daniel, US; Theresa, Austria; Esther, Austria and Moa, Sweden, which is great as they can show us the ropes. I’ve also got a lovely mentor, Laura, who spent a year in the UK in 2005, in Bradford of all places. It’s great because she’s half Brazilian so I can practice both languages!
I finally got to Honduras on Thursday, met my family and then on Friday morning, left for Valle de Angeles, for my orientation camp. Valle de Angeles is about 40 minutes outside Tegucuigalpa, up in the hills. It’s really beautiful. The camp was good fun and a great way to meet everyone and I learnt a lot about Honduras…useful as I knew approximately nothing before I arrived!
It’s so nice to see blue skies and sun again! It’s hot but not too hot, so I can wear jeans and a vest top and not sweat horrifically. I feel very European; I would never have thought I would be able to wear jeans in 30o heat. I must be adapting.
I’m settling into a routine which is good and as of Monday, it will look like this; 5.30am start, have breakfast/help make the packed lunches, drop Jannina Michel and Kristine at school, take Fernando to the park (exhaust myself on the climbing frame/slide), drop Fernando at daycare, walk to work (about 20 minutes), work from 8.30-4.30, head home, have supper, play Wii, crash out at around 10pm, absolutely exhausted!
Tegucigalpa is a huge, sprawling city (apparently it’s not actually that big, but it looks it to me). As you often hear, it is pretty dangerous; there are lots of robberies, which can be at gun/knife point. It was encouraging to hear that the Peace Corps pulled out all their volunteers in December!
I live in Las Hadas, which is south of the airport. It’s quite far out and there isn’t any direct public transport. The nearest bus stops about 25 minutes away so realistically, I have to get a private taxi or a lift with Jannina. This is what I initially found terrifying, the lack of freedom as it’s such a stark contrast to Mozambique! I was worried that I could start to feel quite isolated and that the weekly routine of home-work-home would become quite stifling. The potential dangers are restrictive but I’m determined to just get on with it, safely obviously!
Tegucigalpa is a huge, sprawling city (apparently it’s not actually that big, but it looks it to me). As you often hear, it is pretty dangerous; there are lots of robberies, which can be at gun/knife point. It was encouraging to hear that the Peace Corps pulled out all their volunteers in December!
I live in Las Hadas, which is south of the airport. It’s quite far out and there isn’t any direct public transport. The nearest bus stops about 25 minutes away so realistically, I have to get a private taxi or a lift with Jannina. This is what I initially found terrifying, the lack of freedom as it’s such a stark contrast to Mozambique! I was worried that I could start to feel quite isolated and that the weekly routine of home-work-home would become quite stifling. The potential dangers are restrictive but I’m determined to just get on with it, safely obviously!
At times I genuinely feel like I’m in America! It’s surreal! Malls, Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy's, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, Popeye's, Walmart! All the places Nick and Eddie used to talk about! They are currently building another mall which will be the largest in Central America! I’m not sure what I expected but I almost miss not having access to a lot of things, as was the case in Mozambique. I definitely prefer Xipamanine market to the mall!
I'm trying hard not to make comparisons to Mozambique as it is a completely different country, but it can be hard at times as I had such a fantastic time there. But I’m sure that I will love Honduras equally with a little time. As they say, ‘It’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s just different’.
The switch from Portuguese to Spanish has been hard! I can understand about 90% of what is said to me but when I go to reply, my brain is firmly set to Portuguese! I end up translating everything from Portuguese to English and then finally into Spanish, in my head.
I’m really happy as I’ve been asked to a group assessment for The Challenge, a charity working with young people in the UK, for the position of Senior Mentor in the summer, a role I would love! However…the last assessment is in May! I would love to go home for the assessment, but obviously, as a job is not guaranteed, this could be an expensive gamble! I'm trying to decide what to do next at the moment. At the moment, my return flight is 10th July. But I can, if I choose to, leave Honduras in May/June, after 4 months and go back to Mozambique until September. Or I could stay for the full 6 months and then go back to Mozambique in July. Or I could stay for 6 months and work, for some much needed dollar, in the summer...DECISIONS!
I've been starting to do some reading/research for the dreaded compulsory dissertation. I don’t really have a clue but perhaps some aspect of the influence of cinema on pre-independence Lusophone Africa, Mozambique and Angola in particular. Exciting stuff!
I've been starting to do some reading/research for the dreaded compulsory dissertation. I don’t really have a clue but perhaps some aspect of the influence of cinema on pre-independence Lusophone Africa, Mozambique and Angola in particular. Exciting stuff!
This week we have been getting to know the city a little better: a guided tour of ‘el centro’; a visit to the Museo para la Identidad Nacional and the amazing reconstruction of the Copán Ruins; a visit to the Centro de la Cultura Garínagu en Honduras; a visit to Programa Piloto 7-14, a fantastic social project which supports children aged 7-14 with music, drama, art and computer studies; a visit to the United Nations and a talk on their Millenium Development Goals; a talk from COPECO on what to do in the case of an earthquake or hurricane and finally, meeting our mentors. Busy busy! It’s such a change to Mozambique! ICYE Honduras is incredibly efficient and we are so lucky to have Rodolfo organising everything for us.
One thing I’ve learnt this week, children are exhausting and I have an even greater respect for mothers than I did before. Any future supermarket shop will seem a breeze without two young children in tow. What is it about supermarkets that turn children into little monsters? Jannina left me with Fernando and Kristine for about 5 minutes in which time, Fernando, having behaved perfectly up until this point, threw all his crisps on the floor and squeezed his juice box all over me and the shopping! Jannina returned to devastation. Meal times can be equally arduous; cutlery thrown, food refused, chair tantrums, etc. This morning, they both wiggled and kicked their way into my bed at 9am, pushing me firmly out. All of this aside, they are wonderful and I love them already. Fernando had never let anyone outside the family pick him up and he clings to me like a limpet and my hand is always the hand of choice to hold when crossing the road.
I start working on Monday along with Spanish lessons. Daniel works in the same project as me, and although he’s leaving in February, he’ll be able to show me the ropes this week. I’m really looking forward to starting, although kids are the harshest critics so I hope they like me!
These are the links to my project’s (Fundación Hondureña para El Niño con Cancer) Facebook pages:
I thought that my need to plan had been quashed in Mozambique...not true. We are already planning several trips for the next few months; Sandy Cay, a privately owned island, near Utila, can be rented for $130 a night and it sleeps up to 14 people! Our very own private island for 2 nights...I cannot wait.
We are going to Utila, one of the Bay Islands, at the end of February, to get our Open Water diving certifications. I also want to visit the Copán ruins; Lake Yojoa (and a microbrewery) and La Moskitia, the largest remaining area of tropical jungle in Central America and if time, I want to make it to Nicaragua and Guatemala.
That’s more than enough for now. Sorry for yet another essay! Pictures to follow, when I get a chance.
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