I have had plenty of time to ponder recently, since there is not much happening in my site. I look for ways to "look busy" while actually remaining unoccupied. So, for some reason or another, I started thinking about the number of ways that I have already become a PC Honduras statistic. PC has two loves: (1) statistics and (2) acronyms (i.e. PCV-Peace Corps Volunteer, PCT-Peace Corps Trainee, FBT-Field Based Training, APCD-Assistant Peace Corps Country Director). We had plenty of Safety and Security sessions with our beloved Safety and Security Officer (I'm guessing that the acronym for this is SSO!), Juan Carlos. He told us about all of these potential statistics we could fall into. I always thought that I would somehow avoid that bad ones and fall into the good ones. Haha! What was I thinking!
1) In each training class, about 5-10% of PCTs drop out of training. Check. We lost 3 of the 51 initial trainees. But, I fell on the good side of this statistic.
2) 95% of volunteers have some sort of safety or security issue. Check.
Unfortunately, I had to change host families and later realized that I was missing some money.
3) 75% of technology either gets broken or stolen. Check.
My computer got a really bad virus the second day I got to my site! I ended up putting Ubuntu, a Linux operating system on my computer instead of Windows.
4) More than 50% of volunteers experience the feeling of boredom/uselessness/frustration/happiness all in the same day. Check.
I have felt bored, frustrated, and happy all in one day. Most days, I feel a bit of each one in the course of an hour.
5) 60% of volunteers have been told that a rapid change in body temperature causes an immediate death. Check.
I have heard this one various times. Never shower after physical activity because the rapid change of body temperature and entrance of soap chemicals in one's pores is life threatening. So far, three people have died from this (or so I've been told). Also, drinking a cold beverage after eating a hot food (for example, soup) will also cause the same reaction in one's body.
Warning: The statistics are made up so please do not believe the exact percentage. I am conjecturing based on my personal beliefs!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Last days of Pre Service Training
As many of you have already seen on the news, Mel Zelaya returned to Honduras two weeks ago. What effect did it have on PC H15? Well, following the tradition of our training class, we were delayed another five days. We were not allowed to swear in on September 25 instead on September 30. The PC communicated with us using text messages informing us of any toque de queda (curfew) that may be in place for 24 hours or only overnight. Due to the curfew, we missed two days of training. On Tuesday, our project managers left the training center running to get home before the 4pm curfew and on Wednesday and Thursday we did not have training. So even though it was tough having another delay in our service, I had a great time during the two free days. I lived in an area called Las Cañadas. There were a lot of volunteers that lived around me and we were able to get together and hang out in our free time. One day we played a bunch of board games and hung out. The next day we hung out again but I cannot remember what we did! Needless to say, I had a lot more fun during the “stay-in-your-house, don’t move, and be sure to freak out” curfew than I would have had at training. The only negative was that they replaced the two days of training we missed with four days—hmm…maybe our trainers aren’t math majors? This would have been fine, but there was nothing to do with two extra days of training. We ended up making envelopes one day??? Don’t worry I asked the same question…WHY? Well, I guess it was the most productive thing they could think of or they forgot that we are all over the age of 10. All in all, the extra days served one great purpose: we were able to stay an extra weekend in Zarabanda and have a ton of fun.
On Saturday, we played a PAM (Protected Areas Management) v. Youth Development soccer game. The first half was a blow out with PAM kicking our butts but once we got all of our players, YD held its own. In PC fashion, we ended in a tie 1-1 (not including the score from the first half!). After the game, we went directly to our friend Ryan’s host family’s house. They wanted to throw a barbeque for us to celebrate us almost being volunteers. It was great! They made us carne asada, rice, and tortillas. Side note: In Honduras, they serve everyone on individual plates instead of buffet style. I think I like the Honduran way but it is still weird to be waited on by one person who is serving food, one who is serving Coke, and one who is giving napkins. After the dinner, everyone gets an individual slice of cake or dessert that is served exactly the same way. Oh, and there are options between types of pop: Coke, 7-Up, or Banana flavored pop. Back to the party, we had a great time hanging out for our last weekend. Unfortunately, some people had to leave before the band arrived. One band member was a friend of Ryan’s host dad so they came later and played until 11 (I think). We danced bachata, merengue, salsa, and regeton (I do not know if the spelling of those is correct b/c of the difference in English and Spanish phonetics!). I left with one of my friends a little before 9 because my host family usually goes to sleep at 9. Little did I know, they were having a party as well. I still do not know for whom or what the party was for but I got to eat the same exact plate of food served the exact same way as the barbeque.
On Sunday, a group of us went mountain climbing in Valle de Angeles. Valle de Angeles is about ten minutes away from our neighborhood and usually you can find a jalon (hitchhike). It is very common in Honduras and I am guessing this is the reason most people own pick-up trucks. There is a protected area that sits on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa called La Tigra. La Tigra is easily assessable from the main highways and hosts a lot of beautiful nature. We went hiking to a waterfall that some of our fellow Muni-D (municipal development) volunteers had hiked to the day before (while we were playing soccer without them!). The waterfalls were beautiful and we spent a long time just exploring the area around the waterfalls looking for a path to the largest one. We tried many different paths which involved me falling on my butt various times due to my inability to walk downhill and the wet soil. My YD friends already know that I cannot walk downhill so they were expecting the fall; however, the PAMers that were with us did not realize how clumsy I am and tried to save me! I am happy to say that we all made it down safely and enjoyed walking in the waters surrounding the waterfall. We hiked back into Valle de Angeles and went to eat lunch at a touristy restaurant in the center of town.
The next few days were filled with after-training bar stops and dinner at various bars and restaurants around our neighborhood. As a training class, we got along really well and it was great to spend a few more days together before being separated for two years.
On Saturday, we played a PAM (Protected Areas Management) v. Youth Development soccer game. The first half was a blow out with PAM kicking our butts but once we got all of our players, YD held its own. In PC fashion, we ended in a tie 1-1 (not including the score from the first half!). After the game, we went directly to our friend Ryan’s host family’s house. They wanted to throw a barbeque for us to celebrate us almost being volunteers. It was great! They made us carne asada, rice, and tortillas. Side note: In Honduras, they serve everyone on individual plates instead of buffet style. I think I like the Honduran way but it is still weird to be waited on by one person who is serving food, one who is serving Coke, and one who is giving napkins. After the dinner, everyone gets an individual slice of cake or dessert that is served exactly the same way. Oh, and there are options between types of pop: Coke, 7-Up, or Banana flavored pop. Back to the party, we had a great time hanging out for our last weekend. Unfortunately, some people had to leave before the band arrived. One band member was a friend of Ryan’s host dad so they came later and played until 11 (I think). We danced bachata, merengue, salsa, and regeton (I do not know if the spelling of those is correct b/c of the difference in English and Spanish phonetics!). I left with one of my friends a little before 9 because my host family usually goes to sleep at 9. Little did I know, they were having a party as well. I still do not know for whom or what the party was for but I got to eat the same exact plate of food served the exact same way as the barbeque.
On Sunday, a group of us went mountain climbing in Valle de Angeles. Valle de Angeles is about ten minutes away from our neighborhood and usually you can find a jalon (hitchhike). It is very common in Honduras and I am guessing this is the reason most people own pick-up trucks. There is a protected area that sits on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa called La Tigra. La Tigra is easily assessable from the main highways and hosts a lot of beautiful nature. We went hiking to a waterfall that some of our fellow Muni-D (municipal development) volunteers had hiked to the day before (while we were playing soccer without them!). The waterfalls were beautiful and we spent a long time just exploring the area around the waterfalls looking for a path to the largest one. We tried many different paths which involved me falling on my butt various times due to my inability to walk downhill and the wet soil. My YD friends already know that I cannot walk downhill so they were expecting the fall; however, the PAMers that were with us did not realize how clumsy I am and tried to save me! I am happy to say that we all made it down safely and enjoyed walking in the waters surrounding the waterfall. We hiked back into Valle de Angeles and went to eat lunch at a touristy restaurant in the center of town.
The next few days were filled with after-training bar stops and dinner at various bars and restaurants around our neighborhood. As a training class, we got along really well and it was great to spend a few more days together before being separated for two years.
Monday, October 5, 2009
My new site
Well...on September 30, I finally swore in as a volunteer! Training usually consists of 11 weeks of PST and FBT; however, we spent 13.5 weeks in training-3 in the DR, 1 in Miami, 1 in Zarabanda before leaving for FBT, 6.5 in Talanga for FBT, and 2 in Zarabanda waiting to be sworn in. It was definitely a long trip but we did it and it was worth it after all. I think I was most worried about completing more than three months of training for no reason. Meaning--I would not like my community or my community would not like me. Well, it is actually the exact opposite. I love my community and they seem to really like me. I have heard a lot about the old volunteer but I expected that. My community has had volunteers for the past 12 years so I frequently hear about the past volunteers. I enjoy hearing about them because it shows the community really accepts and loves their volunteers. I have already felt this acceptance. One of my counterparts came into Zarabanda to bring me to my site. She treats me like her daughter (I would even say that she is a good comparison to my mom). She is awesome. She loves to cook for me, invite me to her house, talk to me, show me around the community, scare people into taking care of me, dance with me, take me to church, invite me to other people^s parties, etc. All of these things have happened since I arrived here on Thursday afternoon. She told me that when she saw me she knew I was going to be her daughter for two years. I cannot express my gratitude enough for this woman. She is the perfect example of why I came to this country to help its people.
I have many stories written down but I do not have the wireless code so that I can log my laptop into the wireless internet here. Yep...wireless internet and airconditioning all in one office. If you need to find me, you know where to look!
Another update coming soon since I have no excuses anymore! Well, the electricity does go out about three times a week but I have no complaints.
I have many stories written down but I do not have the wireless code so that I can log my laptop into the wireless internet here. Yep...wireless internet and airconditioning all in one office. If you need to find me, you know where to look!
Another update coming soon since I have no excuses anymore! Well, the electricity does go out about three times a week but I have no complaints.
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