Trifulca...

This weekend just gone was the first with my family, so I stayed at home to get an idea of what they get up to. The family orientated, quiet weekend was very different to a normal weekend in Maputo, but it was good fun and much more relaxing...I didn't feel I needed Monday to recover! On Saturday we went to the mall and had pizza in the evening. On Sunday morning, I went to church with the family. They go to an Evangelical church and both the girls go to a Christian school. I hadn't thought much of it until I helped Jannina revise for her Biology test...her text book doesn't mention evolution. The singing and clapping was fun and everyone was lovely but I won't go every Sunday. One of the women did offer to teach me how to quilt though, which would be great as I can then make something from all the capulanas I brought home from Mozambique. In the afternoon we went to a beautiful outdoor swimming pool. Jannina asked me, really seriously, if I knew what 'trifulca' meant. I said no and so she made me sit on the floor and called the whole family round to explain. As I sat down, they all proceeded to shout 'TRIFULCA' and jump on me....It means pile-on! It was great although, as per usual, I ended up covered in HUGE insect bites from the grass/mosquitoes which caused my feet to swell up attractively! If I take nothing else from this year abroad, at least I will have some delightful permanent scars! We had pupusas for supper...thick tortillas filled with cheese and chicharron (meat). They are delicious but probably contain a million calories.
I started Spanish lessons on Monday. I was put in the basic group...somewhat worrying. Apparently it's to help my confusion between Spanish and Portuguese...after 2 years of a Joint Honours degree, I really should have that under control by now! So far we have learnt; the alphabet, greetings, ser and estar and the present tense. I feel my degree may be being slightly underused but it's good practice I suppose...

I started work on Monday; I’m working in Hospital Escuela, one of Tegus’s main public and teaching hospitals, for the Fundación Hondureña para El Niño con Cáncer, a paediatric oncology ward for children of low income families. There are 10 children/young people, and their parents, on the main ward who range from very little to 16 and there are several children in the private rooms. Some children spend a short time on the ward and others spend several months. I spend my time here or in the play room, where there are toys and a computer, or downstairs, where the children receive their chemotherapy.

It seems hard to find a range of good activities as the majority of the children can’t leave their beds and so anything physical is out. Daniel, an American volunteer who arrived in August, taught himself to make bracelets and has taught nearly all the children...and me! He’s incredibly patient and some of his designs are incredibly intricate. It’s a great activity because they don’t have to move, it’s time consuming, they can progress from basic designs to really complicated ones and they have something to show for their time. It’s also something the parents can do; a lot of the mothers are really good! Daniel taught me the most basic design on Monday and so far I’ve made 8. We went to a huge supermarket called Yip yesterday to buy more thread and it was an arts and crafts heaven. I have no artistic flair and even I was inspired! Today he taught me a more complicated design and I taught my first student, a 15 year old girl called Cinthia...in Spanish! I’m going to teach some of the other volunteers and my sister, Jannina. It’s a great travelling hobby, perfect for when you need to kill time. I'd like to bring some of the bracelets that the children and I make home, so that I can sell them and send the money raised to the Foundation.

At my project in Mozambique, I couldn’t have conversations with any of my children and so I am getting used to chatting again. Children have no time for inane small talk and it can be quite intimidating! I think it’s a lot easier with small children than with teenagers; I’m not cool enough for teenagers but small children love me. One of the boys, Jonathan, is really chatty and friendly, but I can’t spend too much time in his room, in case I pass on any bugs, which is a shame as it’s nice to have someone to chat to. I think I’ll adopt the tactic of joining in with whatever they are doing, be it playing Super Mario Bros. or watching TV, and wait for them to chat to me, at least until they get to know me; it seemed to work today.

I’m looking forward to spending more time there and getting more involved. I’d also like to see what goes on in the administrative side of the Foundation. They are having an overnight camp for the children, parents and doctors in the summer so perhaps I can help organise an aspect of that.

No plans as of yet for the weekend but next Friday I’m going to Roatán, one of the Bay Islands, with some of the other August volunteers for a few days, which is exciting. I’m also going to book my diving course. I am slightly terrified, as even snorkelling makes me feel claustrophobic, but I can’t spend a year in 2 of the best dive spots in the world and not learn to dive!