Food eating contest sin manos and while dancing Punta
Mi Mama CatrachaTuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
STILL LOST IN TRANSLATION
Six weeks into training and if I had balls they would have sweated off by now. Currently I’m in La Paz for field based training and after settling into the cool climate of Zarabanda during the first few weeks I’ve struggled to adjust to the heat. While with my first host family during the initial four weeks of “pre-field based training” I began worrying about what was to come with my second host family considering that I would be living there for twice as long. Little did I know, I would be living in style. My host mother, Dalila, is the sweetest little grandmother; and when I say little I mean she doesn’t even reach my armpits. With great food, a private indoor bathroom, lots of space, and always someone hanging around for me to practice Spanish, any complaints I may have don’t even compare to how well I have been treated by my second Honduran family. One thing Honduras does well is hospitality - this is a hospitality you never experience in the States, not even in the South. For example, my host mother gave me her bedroom, which has the only indoor bathroom. Meaning everyone else has to go outside to use the bathroom or to shower.
The trip from Zarabanda to La Paz was interesting to say the least; a lot of tearful goodbyes and hugs were distributed all around to our first host-families and fellow trainees in the other projects. With tears in our eyes, we loaded all of our luggage onto a yellow school bus and began our two-hour trip to the tune of Phil Collins and other sappy 80s music that just kept the tears coming. This was when we put our “American” technology to good use; skits from Jerry Seinfeld and Episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia made the trip much easier to handle.
After all being dropped off in the middle of our new town, we slowly dragged our bags through the dusty, rocky, uneven roads stopping after each block to ask the overlooking crowd of Hondurans if they could direct us to our families’ houses. Eventually I found my new home and was welcomed by a LOT of people – all of whom turned out to be related. Dalila has many kids and grandkids who have all welcomed me in with open arms. My little brothers followed me around the house for the first few days with their cute dimply smiles carrying a fan larger then they were so that the gringa didn’t get too hot or too many bug bites in her first week. As ridiculous and unnecessary as I thought this was at the time, as the temperature has risen and no fan for my bedroom has been provided I find myself thirsting for those days.
Training has been an intense roller coaster with all of our moves being closely monitored by both the Peace Corps and our communities. The gringos can’t do anything without the entire town taking notice. From counting the number of tortillas we eat at each meal to every illness we may encounter, our families are sure to discuss it with all their friends. In addition to the gossiping, having our Spanish constantly corrected and many times not understanding a word that is being said to us or not knowing how to respond in Spanish, we volunteers are experiencing duress. Compounding these stresses, we have had to adapt to numerous Peace Corps policies and regulations as well as new cultural norms. Needless to say, all of us trainees are trying to remain positive and allow as little frustration show as we count down the days to May 15th – the day we will officially be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers.
Although intense, I have already begun to experience those rewarding Peace Corps moments I’ve heard mentioned by other volunteers. In our first two weeks here in La Paz, the health team has delivered three health education sessions to various community members. I personally have presented to the mayor and municipality of La Paz, a class of fifth grade girls, and most recently a class of ninth graders. With just hours to prepare for each of these presentations, I am always amazed at how well all of us manage to pull off these sessions, especially given some of our language levels.
This last Friday, we delivered an HIV prevention tutorial at a bilingual high school in a neighboring city. Packed with really creative and fun learning activities (including condom demonstrations using plantains), each group was able to teach and entertain their class for over three hours. Having always considered myself as an introvert who would rather be the brains behind a message rather than the messenger and having little experience actually delivering health educational tutorials, I was delighted to discover that I am quite capable of teaching a diverse group and very much enjoy it. Plus, it was all in Spanish! In only a few instances did I refer back to my teachers for help in coming up with a response to a question or a detailed explanation.
In addition to having uncovered a new skill set and improving my Spanish, it was incredible to watch these young minds develop over the few hours we were with them. The evaluations indicated new knowledge had been passed onto these students; whether or not they actually use this information to protect themselves in the future is a different question in itself. Regardless, all of the students who participated now know how HIV can be transmitted, methods of prevention, and how to correctly use a condom - information that many adolescents in the U.S. do not have access to through their high schools.
In case any of you are keeping track, I have managed to NOT get malaria yet; although one of the other health volunteers did get dengue in her first week in Honduras. For those of you who have never heard of dengue, it’s similar to malaria in its mode of transmission (mosquitoes) and its symptoms. Ironically, ] all of the hospital visits thus far have occurred among the health team – a total of 5 hospital trips. I guess the one thing our team needs to improve on is our health. I have faith that during my two years here, the two other project teams will catch up to us. Especially the Water and Sanitation project; apparently at least half of them will get dengue. And, immediately after posting this blog, I will probably be bit by a mosquito and contract dengue.
Here are a few of my highs and lows so far experienced in Honduras:
Highs -
· I have a cell phone that works most of the time
· I’ve had great host families
· I’ve met a lot of interesting and passionate people (both volunteers and Hondurans)
· The children in Honduras are amazing and so easily entertained (plus they’re the easiest to talk to in Spanish)
Lows -
· I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a normal bowel movement
· Many of the men here have little to no respect for women, especially for us gringas, and are a constant source of harassment for volunteers (both on the street and in the workplace)
· It’s HOT
· Rules, Rules, and more RULES
To give you a taste of a typical Honduran diet, I discovered a new song that goes to the tune of “On Top of Spaghetti” and it goes a little something like this:
On top of tortillas
All covered with beans
Please no more mantequilla
It’s not what it seems
Mantequilla is a mix between mayonnaise and sour cream. No one has figured out quite what it is, but we have found that Hondurans love it and put it on any- and everything. I for one have NOT grown to love it, but who knows…ask me in two years!
The trip from Zarabanda to La Paz was interesting to say the least; a lot of tearful goodbyes and hugs were distributed all around to our first host-families and fellow trainees in the other projects. With tears in our eyes, we loaded all of our luggage onto a yellow school bus and began our two-hour trip to the tune of Phil Collins and other sappy 80s music that just kept the tears coming. This was when we put our “American” technology to good use; skits from Jerry Seinfeld and Episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia made the trip much easier to handle.
After all being dropped off in the middle of our new town, we slowly dragged our bags through the dusty, rocky, uneven roads stopping after each block to ask the overlooking crowd of Hondurans if they could direct us to our families’ houses. Eventually I found my new home and was welcomed by a LOT of people – all of whom turned out to be related. Dalila has many kids and grandkids who have all welcomed me in with open arms. My little brothers followed me around the house for the first few days with their cute dimply smiles carrying a fan larger then they were so that the gringa didn’t get too hot or too many bug bites in her first week. As ridiculous and unnecessary as I thought this was at the time, as the temperature has risen and no fan for my bedroom has been provided I find myself thirsting for those days.
Training has been an intense roller coaster with all of our moves being closely monitored by both the Peace Corps and our communities. The gringos can’t do anything without the entire town taking notice. From counting the number of tortillas we eat at each meal to every illness we may encounter, our families are sure to discuss it with all their friends. In addition to the gossiping, having our Spanish constantly corrected and many times not understanding a word that is being said to us or not knowing how to respond in Spanish, we volunteers are experiencing duress. Compounding these stresses, we have had to adapt to numerous Peace Corps policies and regulations as well as new cultural norms. Needless to say, all of us trainees are trying to remain positive and allow as little frustration show as we count down the days to May 15th – the day we will officially be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers.
Although intense, I have already begun to experience those rewarding Peace Corps moments I’ve heard mentioned by other volunteers. In our first two weeks here in La Paz, the health team has delivered three health education sessions to various community members. I personally have presented to the mayor and municipality of La Paz, a class of fifth grade girls, and most recently a class of ninth graders. With just hours to prepare for each of these presentations, I am always amazed at how well all of us manage to pull off these sessions, especially given some of our language levels.
This last Friday, we delivered an HIV prevention tutorial at a bilingual high school in a neighboring city. Packed with really creative and fun learning activities (including condom demonstrations using plantains), each group was able to teach and entertain their class for over three hours. Having always considered myself as an introvert who would rather be the brains behind a message rather than the messenger and having little experience actually delivering health educational tutorials, I was delighted to discover that I am quite capable of teaching a diverse group and very much enjoy it. Plus, it was all in Spanish! In only a few instances did I refer back to my teachers for help in coming up with a response to a question or a detailed explanation.
In addition to having uncovered a new skill set and improving my Spanish, it was incredible to watch these young minds develop over the few hours we were with them. The evaluations indicated new knowledge had been passed onto these students; whether or not they actually use this information to protect themselves in the future is a different question in itself. Regardless, all of the students who participated now know how HIV can be transmitted, methods of prevention, and how to correctly use a condom - information that many adolescents in the U.S. do not have access to through their high schools.
In case any of you are keeping track, I have managed to NOT get malaria yet; although one of the other health volunteers did get dengue in her first week in Honduras. For those of you who have never heard of dengue, it’s similar to malaria in its mode of transmission (mosquitoes) and its symptoms. Ironically, ] all of the hospital visits thus far have occurred among the health team – a total of 5 hospital trips. I guess the one thing our team needs to improve on is our health. I have faith that during my two years here, the two other project teams will catch up to us. Especially the Water and Sanitation project; apparently at least half of them will get dengue. And, immediately after posting this blog, I will probably be bit by a mosquito and contract dengue.
Here are a few of my highs and lows so far experienced in Honduras:
Highs -
· I have a cell phone that works most of the time
· I’ve had great host families
· I’ve met a lot of interesting and passionate people (both volunteers and Hondurans)
· The children in Honduras are amazing and so easily entertained (plus they’re the easiest to talk to in Spanish)
Lows -
· I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a normal bowel movement
· Many of the men here have little to no respect for women, especially for us gringas, and are a constant source of harassment for volunteers (both on the street and in the workplace)
· It’s HOT
· Rules, Rules, and more RULES
To give you a taste of a typical Honduran diet, I discovered a new song that goes to the tune of “On Top of Spaghetti” and it goes a little something like this:
On top of tortillas
All covered with beans
Please no more mantequilla
It’s not what it seems
Mantequilla is a mix between mayonnaise and sour cream. No one has figured out quite what it is, but we have found that Hondurans love it and put it on any- and everything. I for one have NOT grown to love it, but who knows…ask me in two years!
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