Things are "normal"...I think
Hi people!
I had a good week. The weather has been hotter here during the morning and early afternoon and then it usually storms in the late afternoon/evening.
I have been helping Pri start up the latrine project this week. She will have to leave in the middle of it so it will be up to me to supervise the latrines after they are made to make sure the families did everything they were supposed to do, and also I'll have to write the report at the end. In Concepcion, where we are doing another latrine project, I will probably have to do everything from start to finish: plan a community meeting with all 80 families on the list to get latrines, explain to them the steps of the project and the dates by which they need to have certain things finished, distribute the materials (concrete, tubing, metal wires, and eventually the roof), and coordinate the supervision afterwards. Sounds enthralling doesn't it? I am sort of learning as I go since I have never done anything like this and we didn't learn about latrine projects in training. Yesterday I walked all over Dulce Nombre to see the latrines of 30 families that were part of the last latrine project - it might be an understatement to say that Pri was not pleased with the quality of the latrines or supervision that was done afterwards, as many of the families had still not put up walls even though they were supposed to have done that before they received the metal roofing. So she was pointing out what not to do basically, and I learned a lot.
Life here is kinda funny. After a while life here seems normal. And many things about life here are like life in the states. There's TV, cable, electricity, showers (when there's water), people wear similar clothes, some families have washing machines, I can go see a movie or rent one if I want, there are restaurants, school plays, people have cell phones and my parents and boyfriend call me from the states, American music everywhere, I can buy almost any American food, people have cake and ice cream for birthdays, and it goes on and on. But Pri said when she visited back home she realized how different the two cultures are. So I guess I will have to wait until then to feel the discrepancy there. But I think many people, when they come to visit, will find many things more "modern" and normal than they thought, and then if they get a chance to go out to the aldeas, the smaller towns, they will see how people leave out there, without any modern conveniences and in a culture pretty foreign to ours. I love the people here though. Before I came Hondurans were sort of a fuzzy image in my head, simpler, campesino type people. But now I see that there are many types of Hondurans...there are the campesino families that don't have much to their names or much education but are still so warm and generous; then there are the Hondurans with computers and washing machines and speak English and are very educated. Some Honduran youth here know about new American songs before I do. There are the warm and jolly motherly types that cook and do laundry half the day, or they are serious and quiet and submissive, and there are women like my counterpart who are always inventing something, or concocting a plan on how to improve the community. Really what is amazing about this experience is you see how similar humanity is within different cultures. I said that before in the beginning, but it is really true. I think people need to live outside of the U.S. once in their lives to see that other side of things, to see that the "poor people" on the news are not so different from you and your family.
Well enough preaching from me. This weekend I am going to San Marcos, a town of about 15000 people an hour and a half from me, where another volunteer is celebrating his birthday and hosting a film festival in his town to support the local newspaper. I am going with Pri and staying with one of the volunteers who live there. Hope it's a good time. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
I had a good week. The weather has been hotter here during the morning and early afternoon and then it usually storms in the late afternoon/evening.
I have been helping Pri start up the latrine project this week. She will have to leave in the middle of it so it will be up to me to supervise the latrines after they are made to make sure the families did everything they were supposed to do, and also I'll have to write the report at the end. In Concepcion, where we are doing another latrine project, I will probably have to do everything from start to finish: plan a community meeting with all 80 families on the list to get latrines, explain to them the steps of the project and the dates by which they need to have certain things finished, distribute the materials (concrete, tubing, metal wires, and eventually the roof), and coordinate the supervision afterwards. Sounds enthralling doesn't it? I am sort of learning as I go since I have never done anything like this and we didn't learn about latrine projects in training. Yesterday I walked all over Dulce Nombre to see the latrines of 30 families that were part of the last latrine project - it might be an understatement to say that Pri was not pleased with the quality of the latrines or supervision that was done afterwards, as many of the families had still not put up walls even though they were supposed to have done that before they received the metal roofing. So she was pointing out what not to do basically, and I learned a lot.
Life here is kinda funny. After a while life here seems normal. And many things about life here are like life in the states. There's TV, cable, electricity, showers (when there's water), people wear similar clothes, some families have washing machines, I can go see a movie or rent one if I want, there are restaurants, school plays, people have cell phones and my parents and boyfriend call me from the states, American music everywhere, I can buy almost any American food, people have cake and ice cream for birthdays, and it goes on and on. But Pri said when she visited back home she realized how different the two cultures are. So I guess I will have to wait until then to feel the discrepancy there. But I think many people, when they come to visit, will find many things more "modern" and normal than they thought, and then if they get a chance to go out to the aldeas, the smaller towns, they will see how people leave out there, without any modern conveniences and in a culture pretty foreign to ours. I love the people here though. Before I came Hondurans were sort of a fuzzy image in my head, simpler, campesino type people. But now I see that there are many types of Hondurans...there are the campesino families that don't have much to their names or much education but are still so warm and generous; then there are the Hondurans with computers and washing machines and speak English and are very educated. Some Honduran youth here know about new American songs before I do. There are the warm and jolly motherly types that cook and do laundry half the day, or they are serious and quiet and submissive, and there are women like my counterpart who are always inventing something, or concocting a plan on how to improve the community. Really what is amazing about this experience is you see how similar humanity is within different cultures. I said that before in the beginning, but it is really true. I think people need to live outside of the U.S. once in their lives to see that other side of things, to see that the "poor people" on the news are not so different from you and your family.
Well enough preaching from me. This weekend I am going to San Marcos, a town of about 15000 people an hour and a half from me, where another volunteer is celebrating his birthday and hosting a film festival in his town to support the local newspaper. I am going with Pri and staying with one of the volunteers who live there. Hope it's a good time. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
posted by Lauren @ 11:10
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