So here is a little update from Zarabanda, Honduras.
Weather = amazingly perfect. Anyone who knows me knows I despise cold bitter winter weather and would much prefer the nice tropical atmosphere all year around. : ) I am currently recovering from a sun burn due to underestimating the sun’s proximity to us. It’s actually quiet funny to think about it now, because as we- the trainees- first started at the Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps Honduras) training site we would all take breaks and lunch bathing under the sun and now it seems we have all learned our lesson and are fighting for space in the shade.
The weather has been especially nice during my 20 – 25 min. walks to the Zarabanda training site. I, and about 5 other trainees, walk together to the site. Imagine mountains, hills, trees, unpaved side walks- if they can even be called side walks-, walking through land mines (donkey/horse poop), and dirty dusty sandals by the end of the walk. I appreciated the scenery the first few days, now it’s just a pain. Jk. The upside of these “mini- exercises” of ours is on the way back home we always stop by tiny hole in the wall restaurants to try something new! I- being the great food coinsure/ fatty that I am- have made it a goal of mine, to try all the items in each restaurant before I leave the training site (4 weeks). : ) wish me luck!! Fortunately, two of the five in our walking group have a passion for food just like me, so I am sure we will make great friends through our food connection! Their names are Tiffany and Amina. Tiffany is from Atlanta and is the first girl I talked to in Miami and now lives about 30 yards from me and is in the Business program; funny, smart, spunky gal. Amina is another gal I have been able to get to know better as well. She is from Cali and is half Philipino half Chinese. She also lives walking distance from me and is in the Health program.
Training= intense; I come out of there mentally exhausted for some reason! For the past four weeks the 52 trainees and I have learned about the surroundings we will encounter in Honduras, for instance, culture, safety and security, transportation safety, health, socio-economics, Spanish, technical programs, etc. Spanish classes are about 4 hours too long; however I do feel more confident when speaking Spanish. As for the technical programs, in H-16 there are 3 programs: Health, Water & Sanitation, and Business. Negociosos training classes have been introductory subjects, for example, micro, small, and med businesses in Honduras, personally visiting local businesses, learning about non- formal education, etc. etc. I’m not going to lie; it’s been a little boring, constantly sitting in classes listening to lectures. Some topics have been interesting while other I find myself slowly falling asleep to.
Host family = awesome! I technically only have a host mother living in the house, but we constantly have people over, especially zipotes (children). My host mom, Lourdes, is an independent woman making it work for herself! “You go girl”! haha. Lourdes is a 35 year old single lady looking for a bachelor. Haha just kidding. She works from 9am – 4pm Mon- Fri as a colon therapist and afterwards attends Philosophy and English class in Teguc (capital of Honduras). She usually gets home by about 8:30 p.m. She is an educated hard working woman. She is also hilarious; her sense of humor reminds me a lot of my own mom which makes me feel better and more comfortable in her house. I have also become really close to her sister in-law Yolandy. Yolandy’s occupation is ama de casa (housewife); she is 26 years old but acts very mature for her age. She has two adorable kids and a husband and takes care of her house duties as well as Lourdes’ house. Yolandy makes dinner for me Mon -Fri so we usually prepare la cena (dinner) and eat together too. She was very shy at first but has warmed up to me a lot. She has taught me many things like how to make tortillas, hand wash my clothes, and cook… kind of. Haha. My host mom has tons of nieces and nephews coming in and out of her house so I am never alone - I currently have a zipote sitting by me watching me type away.
Sunday, the 21st of March, I and 16 other business trainees will be moving to Ojojona for seven weeks for Field Based Training (FBT). There, we will be learning more about small businesses, hands on training, and more Spanish. : ( This also means I will be leaving Lourdes and her family and living with a new host family!! Eeeek! I don’t remember being as nervous and scarred the first time I meet Lourdes and her family, it was probably because I had no expectations. I told my host mom about how I was feeling, but she reassured me that I would be fine…she said something like I am a person that can adjust to things easily and would be fine wherever I go. I hope so.
Food = Satisfactory. I had enchiladas for almuerzo (lunch) today! I was sooo excited to hear they were making me enchiladas for my last day here, but it turns out it was totally not what I had expected; it was more like a tostada.
Breakfast usually consists of toast and coffee, or warm (sometimes hot milk) with cornflakes (not good). Lourdes has also made me pancakes and baleadas - which are flour tortillas with egg, beans, avocado, and cheese… kind of like a burrito. Lunch is always good and a surprise, because my host mom prepares lunch for me in the morning and I take it to school with me in my little lunch box! Lourdes is pretty health conscience so she always prepares sometime of meat, tortillas, rice or beans, salad, and fruit for me. And as I mentioned before Yolandy and I make dinner. A plato typico consists of beans,, queso, avocado, eggs, tortillas, fried plantains, and sometimes chicken or someother type of meat.
Things I miss:
Warm showers – I have been one of the fortunate ones among the trainees that take a bucket shower with warm water, but it’s just not the same as an actual shower head and having two hands to wash with. One time, during a volunteer visit, I had to actually take a cold bucket shower for the first time; I definitely did not feel clean after that one. Haha The very next day there was running luke warm water and she luckily had an elctro- duesh (shower head) at her apartment … that was quiet possibly the best shower ever!
Gym – I can’t entirely blame it on the environment, I could possibly jog on the hilly roads with no actual sidewalk, but I just get too lazy.
Clean non- stiff clothes – Since I have been hand washing my clothes and hang drying my clothes they have been come out pretty stiff. Meaning I am not washing my clothes thoroughly enough and still leaving detergent on my clothes. My host family made fun of me for awhile because I didn’t know how to properly wash them. Haha. I guess it just takes time; it’s tiring though, my back hurts after about 5 min. haha
Food: McDonalds! Pizza! Chinese food! Jimmy Johns! Thai food!
And of course everyone back at home! Hope these answered some questions and you enjoyed. I’ll try to keep this updated as much as I can.
Miss you all. Besos
P.S. Pics coming soon
