The One Where Peace Corps Evacuates Honduras

On December 20th, 2011 the Peace Corps Honduras family was informed that due to severe security concerns, Peace Corps will evacuate all volunteers in mid-January. All volunteers who did not leave Honduras for the holidays were put on “standfast” meaning they cannot leave their sites. All volunteers already in the states for the holidays have been given the option of not coming back. On January 11th, we are all to travel to Tegucigalpa to attend a conference starting on January 12th. From there, we will all be sent home.

Awesome Christmas present, right?

I am equally devastated and relieved by this news. I have been uncomfortable with the security situation in Honduras since day one. I nearly peed my pants during our first safety and security training session with Juan Carlos (and during all sessions thereafter). But we were provided with excellent training to help us minimize our risks, and we have been consistently provided with staff support in regards to our personal safety. Nonetheless, we found out shortly after our plane landed on June 23rd, 2010 that we were sent to probably one of the most dangerous Peace Corps posts.

The situation in Honduras seemed much more manageable when we arrived, and I think volunteers would agree that especially this last year, more specifically the last 6 months, things have just skyrocketed out of control. I have always felt safe “enough” in my site, but not traveling. My trip from site to the capital, where the Peace Corps office is located can take about 8 hours, 8 hours of fear. In the beginning of my service I thought I was just paranoid, that yes, Honduras is dangerous, but no I was not constantly at risk. However, I have noticed a lot more concerns from fellow volunteers in the past months, especially when one of our own had a very serious incident about a month ago. I realized I was not the only one who was having a hard time with security. The part of me who has slept with one eye open for the past 18 months is relieved.

The part of me that has taught kids how to brush their teeth, how to use their imaginations, how to read, that has taught young girls how NOT to get pregnant and how to believe in themselves, and that has trained a motivated group of teachers how to teach English and how to incorporate more dynamic methodology practices in their own classrooms is devastated. Work-wise, I have had so much success in my site. My placement was perfect for me, and I have found my place in my little corner of Western Honduras. Ending this experience 8 months early is heartbreaking for me. I had projects planned for the remainder of my service and was so excited to see more progress from my teachers, my young girls, and my little kiddos. It is not fair to them to leave so many things unfinished, but I just have to hope that what I’ve done thus far has been as worthwhile for them as it has been for me.

Just to give you an idea of how Honduras compares to other dangerous countries, this graphic shows homicide rates per capita. (Source, The United Nations- Washington Post article).

Here are a few quotes from an article by the Washington Post to sum up the current situation in Honduras:

“The largest number of homicides occurred here around San Pedro Sula, a once-booming manufacturing center that is fast becoming the Ciudad Juarez of Central America.”

“It starts on the isolated beaches and jungle airstrips of Honduras’s Mosquitia region, where 95 percent of the suspected drug flights from South America to Central America land”

“At nearly every business here, from Burger King to the smallest mini-market, armed men with 12-gauge shotguns stand guard. Those who can afford it barricade their families behind razor wire, 10-foot walls and electrified fencing.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a good or a bad person here, or if you’re someone with a future,” said Irwin Santos, whose brother Deybis — a university student — was killed in 2008 in San Pedro Sula. “In the end, you become just another statistic.”

It is a real shame that things seem to be getting worse. The Honduran people have become my family over the last year and a half, and I am dreading having to tell them that I need to leave sooner than expected and won’t be coming back. This is their reality, no one is going to evacuate them.

I received this news the day after I got home for my Christmas vacation, and after much thought, I have decided to return to Honduras, go back to my site for about 5 days, pack up and say my goodbyes. I will then go to the conference where I will say goodbye to staff and volunteers who have supported me so much during the last year and a half.

The One with the Honduran Christmas Donkey!

Well, I am back in site after my 6 week medical evacuation in DC! But only for about a week and a half before my trip home for Christmas (weird timing, I know). I was given a warm welcome back to Honduras at the Peace Corps office then I set out on my 7/8 hour journey “home.” Since being back in Gracias, I have received three phone calls from people I spoke with in Washington, and from my Country Director, just checking in and making sure I made it back safely- how thoughtful! I am really happy about the way Peace Corps handled my med-evac, and appreciate all their support so much. Thanks, Peace Corps! You rock!


One thing that really moved me while I was traveling back to my site was I on one of my buses, and there must have been about ten women from a church group traveling together. In the middle of a trip they break out into song, and sing about God for about an hour. I told them as they got off how lovely it was to hear them sing…. In a country where you are at risk the majority of the time, it’s no wonder religion is so entrenched into daily life- it’s something to believe in, and it’s what keeps a lot of people going. I have always thought of myself as religious (not quoting the bible religious, but praying to God religious) but I fail in comparison! Every bus, moto-taxi, store, house, etc. is lined with images of Saints, Jesus, Mary… you pray at school, and at every public event whenever someone speaks, they thank God. At first I was overwhelmed by the lack of separation of church and state, but after being here a year and a half, I finally understand it.


Anyways… since I am back for just a brief period of time, what better way to spend it than doing fun Christmas activities with my little nuggets! Songs…glitter…glue… living the dream down here! I created a Spanish version of Dominic the Donkey, they LOVE it! The he-haw’s are getting better every day!

The volunteer community is anxiously awaiting important information about upcoming changes to increase volunteer safety and security in Honduras. There was an unfortunate incident last week, and it’s put us all a bit on edge. Our Country Director is at a meeting this week about this very topic, and we should be getting an update within the next few days. This is not the safest country in the world, in fact, it is one of the most dangerous… highest homicide rate in the world, but it is also the second poorest next to Haiti in the western hemisphere… They want Peace Corps here and we want to be here, but we need to be safe in order to do our jobs, so we will see what’s to come!

"You can't have Thanksgiving without turkey. That's like Fourth of July without apple pie, or Friday with no two pizzas."

Thanksgiving takes on a whole new meaning after living in a developing country. This experience has taught me so much about life, people, priorities and myself… my perspective is greater, my understanding is real and my ideals are grounded.

I came into this experience like many other Peace Corps hopefuls, wanting to “change the world” and “make a difference.” I cannot change the world- but I can make small changes in people. The differences I make will not alone drive a country into sustainable development, that would be absurd if it were that easy. But in the small town, in the small country in the small part of the developing world where I have been placed, I can touch lives. And I have. Well, I think I have. I hope I have.

For my birthday, one of my counterparts knit me a pink and yellow scarf so I’d be ready for the “cold” season. It took me a while to realize though, that the yarn she used was the same yarn I brought back to her after my trip home in August. I had a big thing of yarn and she went nuts over it, saying they don’t sell it where we live, and she asked if I could get her some when I was at home. This woman has looked after me as if I were her daughter so I had no problem bring her back 4 big things of colorful yarn I picked up at the Salvation Army. When I realized that she had made the scarf out of the yarn I gave her, I first thought that maybe she felt she “owed” me, but that’s not it. She wanted to give me something nice because she loves me, and didn’t want me to be too chilly when the “cold-fronts” arrived. She probably didn’t think twice about the fact that she was giving me back the gift I had given her. But the gesture was so sweet. She had taken something from a developed country, added her own touches to it, and made it real. In an annoying, I-can’t-believe-I-am-turning-my-birthday –scarf-into-a-metaphor-about- life kind of way, that scarf sums up my entire Peace Corps experience. I came in with my own ideals and views on life, Honduras slapped me in the face and said “Girl! You can’t change the world! But you sure can try!”


Fun fact: she drowned the scarf in some crazy strong Grandma perfume so it’d “smell nice” for me…. My room smelled like a fancy Grandmother for weeks.

So anyways, back to giving thanks…. Although I am always so grateful for my family and my friends and the outpour of support people gave me when they thought I was going to live in a “poop hut” with my own goat (that’s what you all imagined, right? When I said I was joining the Peace Corps?- it’s ok, I did too)…. Right now I want to express my gratitude for the last year and a half (and hopefully the next 9 months as well!)…. Honduras is not for everyone. It is not safe. It has awful roads. Minimal infrastructure. Political corruption. Drug trafficking. Gangs. Machismo. Bland food. BUT, it also has wonderful selfless people who might not always be on time for work or show up to your meetings, but at the end of the day, they accept you as family. Honduras is real, and it is willing to teach you a thing or two about life if you let it.

Now I need to go board a plane…. I am still on med-evac which means my parents bought me a ticket home for the weekend so I wouldn’t be alone on Thanksgiving! I’ve got two and a half weeks left in DC, and then should be able to get back to Honduras (just in time to board ANOTHER plane for my already-planned Christmas vacation).

Gobble gobble, everyone! :)

You know you're a Republican/Democrat if...

I would like to share some very clever, funny-because-they're-true, political jokes showing the extremes of both sides. You'll laugh at the one about the other party, and then probably laugh harder about the one that represents your party. These are a few of my favorites. And though it seems these kinds of jokes would fuel bipartisan politics, I think the fact that you can laugh at the ridiculous truthfulness from both sides brings both sides closer together.

You know you’re a Republican if…you wouldn’t mind if the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seceded from the Union..
You know you’re a Democrat if…you wish the Republic of Texas never became a state

You know you’re a Republican if…you prove your racial sensitivity by saying Gracias to your gardener.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you’re strongly committed to racial equality even if you don’t personally know a single person of a different race.

You know you’re a Republican if…you write to your congressmen in defense of the interest income tax deduction for vacation homes.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you write to your congressmen and suggest a $1 tax return check off for endangered jellyfish.

You know you’re a Republican if…you liked high school. You studied hard enough to get into the college you wanted to attend. You had a girlfriend with nice hair.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you couldn’t wait to get out of high school. You either were a feminist or dated one. You studied your brains off. You joined the debate team, or the school paper, or better yet, both. You wore black.

You know you’re a Republican if…you got a “B” on your Western Civilization midterm paper. You also got a date with the girl who sits next to you. College is even better than high school!
You know you’re a Democrat if…you got a “B” on your Western Civilization midterm paper. You plan to spend the weekend revising it and on Monday will beg the professor to let you resubmit it. You’ll need to break your date with that doofus who sits next to you. What were you thinking?

You know you’re a Republican if…you have a home aquarium. The big fish kills the little fish. So you get another big fish. They fight constantly. “Animals are like that” you think.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you have a home aquarium. The big fish kills the little fish. You hold a funeral for the little fish. You are at a loss for what to do. You give away the big fish. You put the empty aquarium in the attic. “Whew, no more fighting,” you think.

You know you’re a Republican if…you’ve never seen a government social services program that you thought was worth increasing your taxes for
You know you’re a Democrat if…you’ve never seen a social program that you weren’t willing to pay other taxpayer’s money on

You know you’re a Republican if…you thought your college professors were flamingly liberal.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you are a college professor.

You know you’re a Republican if…you want to stem the tide of illegal immigrants getting into the U.S…. but then again somebody’s got to mow your lawn….
You know you’re a Democrat if…you sort of sympathize with undocumented workers (“illegal immigrants” sounds so, well, harsh) but the unions want the borders closed and… oh, shoot…you’re just so confused!

You know you’re a Republican if…you think every Democrat is a closet Communist.
You know you’re a Democrat if…you think every Republican is closeted.

The one with the Medical Evacuation

What is Med-Evac? Peace Corps loves it’s abbreviations… this one is much more obvious though, not like APCD, COS, VRF, PCMO…..a Medical Evacuation is when a volunteer is sent out of his or her host country for medical care that cannot be provided at post. Sometimes the evacuation is to another country within the volunteer’s region, and sometimes it is to Peace Corps headquarters in Washington DC, depending completely on the issue at hand. A med-evac can last up to 45 days; at that point if the issue cannot be resolved or stabilized the volunteer goes through a med-sep (medical separation) from Peace Corps (an honorable discharge due to a medical condition that prevents the volunteer from being able to successfully complete his or her service).

Why am I on med-evac? The decision was made between the PCMO’s (Peace Corps Medical Officers) in Honduras and OMS (Office of Medical Services) in Washington. I have developed a condition that they want to monitor and stabilize, and make sure I am healthy enough to go back to Honduras. My chances are good for getting approved to go back to country, but I will probably be here for the majority of the 45-day span.

What does med-evac in Washington DC entail? I am put up at an apartment-style hotel in one of six rooms that Peace Corps leases out for med-evac’d volunteers. I am given a stipend for food (along with a complementary continental breakfast provided at the hotel). I have daily/semi-daily appointments with medical staff at the Peace Corps office. I can meet other evacuated volunteers serving around the world. My time without appointments is my own free time (yesterday I found the White House!). Once I am more settled and less flustered, I will hopefully start working on my manual.

How do I feel about the process thus far? I am impressed. Peace Corps really has made a commitment to its volunteers and I have be treated with nothing but the utmost respect from staff here in Washington. They even sent someone to the airport to bring me to the hotel because my flight came in late and they didn’t want me to have to worry about getting a taxi (even though staff in Honduras had already given me a sufficient amount of dollars to cover the cab fare). The people I am working with are wonderful- empathetic, concerned, and determined to fix the situation. I was given an extra sweater my first day because my case nurse thought I looked cold (she was right). Just walking by the office, seeing large photographs of volunteers serving with quotes from JFK, I am proud to be part of such a passionate organization.

When I first arrived at the office, someone working in the reception room (a former volunteer in Guatemala) said he wanted to guess where I was coming from based solely on my presentation. He guessed Ghana, Africa- he said I looked “too clean” to be coming from Latin America. Hahahaaha. I told him I had already taken 2 (awesome) showers in the 10 hours since my arrival. He understood, and we shared a moment of solidarity based on our service in neighboring countries.

The difference a year makes....

The teachers at my kinder once again threw a birthday celebration in my honor, just as they did last year, complete with a pinata, cake and lots of hugs.

Last year I turned 23 just a few weeks after getting to site. Though I hadn't quite found my spot in Gracias yet, I was well on my way to making new friends:


Last week, I turned 24 after having been here for over a year:


You can't see all of the changes that have taken place over this past year in these pictures, but they're there.... Also, please take note that this year, the kids are waving at the camera (wonder who they picked that up from.....)

Peace Corps Pounds

In everything I read pre-Peace Corps, it all said the same about weight: Girls tend to gain it, guys tend to lose it. After being in Peace Corps for over a year, I can confirm to this statement. From talking with frustrated female volunteers, and seeing a few male volunteers waste away…. It’s true! But WHY? Honestly, it probably has more to do with the person than the sex, but it is awfully intriguing to see the truth in that statement, and wonder if it has more to due with the trend of pre-Peace Corps lifestyles among men and women or if it is an actual difference in the physical reaction to Peace Corps countries/new foods/different climates, etc.

Why have I gained weight? I blame this mostly on how a different lifestyle coincides with a different exercise routine. I don’t think it has to do with food anymore. It certainly did during the first three months when my host families were feeding me lard-saturated grease balls three times a day (they use copious amounts of oil and lard in almost all dishes here). But I have been living on my own for almost a year…. I rarely have snacks. I eat less than I did living in states due to more complicated preparation processes and sometimes the heat affects my appetite. When I do eat, I eat mainly vegetables! Veggies mixed with scrambled eggs, veggies inside a tortilla, raw veggies, veggies mixed with pasta or rice if I’m feeling ambitious! I don’t think the way I eat here would cause me to gain weight, if anything you’d think it would do the opposite.

Before coming to Honduras, I went to the gym 4-6 days a week, not for that long, maybe an hour, and I certainly didn’t stray much from the basic elliptical or treadmill (or sometimes those fun rowing machines!). But I’ve realized that those machines burn more calories than walking or jogging outside. I exercise in site, but it’s complicated. If I go walking, it has to be before it gets dark. Sometimes my schedule allows for that, and sometimes it requires me to wake up super-dooper-early and go before work (which usually results in snoozing through my alarm). In rainy season it is even more difficult to plan and stick to a routine because the sky could open up at any minute. Rainy season is half of the year. Also, exercising outside at times makes me more stressed out when it use to help me relax, due mainly to excessive and rude male attention. My mom has sent me a few workout DVDs, and I do them in my room sometimes to hide from the cat-calls, but it’s just not cutting it. Depending on the week, I usually do some sort of exercise minimal 3 times a week, maximum 5 which sounds normal, but I think compared to my life before Honduras, it’s not enough to keep the weight off.

I come from a larger family, we’ve got it in our genes. You have to work really hard to maintain a healthy weight. That’s easy to do when you’ve got the resources, but just eating well isn’t enough. I’m not complaining (though it’s frustrating). I wanted to share this well-circulated statement of how women tend to put on weight during service while men tend to lose weight, and share my personal experience in regards to weight changes. I've accepted the fact that I can do everything in my power given the circumstances, but this just might have to get put on the back-burner until I become a member at a gym after my service. I know there are far more important things in life, and it’s not like I’ve gained one hundred pounds. I just thought it was an interesting topic!

The one with the graduation, policy changes and flying months

Getting back into the grove in Gracias… First I want to share the mural we painted at the Youth Center just a few days before my trip home. I had seen this quote, “Demuestre su educacion y ponga la basura en su lugar” which translates more or less to “Show your education and put the trash in it’s place.” For a while now I’ve wanted to get that up on the wall outside the YC and we finally did it- I was slightly nervous about how it would turn out, because as far as painting, it was a free-for-all. We all decided that we would draw things related to nature and someone using a trashcan. In the end it came out pretty well! Kids came and went through the morning to help us but a core of about 8 held strong and the mural’s been turning quite a few heads! Next step, get a new/large trashcan donated to put outside the center.

My TEAM teachers graduated the first level of the course this week and the ceremony was lovely. They wanted to have it at a restaurant so we did. I was the m.c., I congratulated everyone, showed a video I had made of our class (first part in class with me and the second part is all of them teaching English), gave a special award to one teacher who had perfect attendance and to three who earned final grades of 100% or above, and of course, diplomas (Hondurans go nuts over diplomas!). The teachers all decided to wear fuchsia, which looked great, especially when they gave their concert! They practiced so hard and successfully sang to everyone the ABC’s, Days of the Week, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and a song about colors. I was so proud of them!!

The best moment of the entire night was when two of them were up at the podium saying a few words at the end. One of them said that they’ve all learned so much, but really, the people who have benefited most from the class are the kids. She said how much the kids love English and respond so well to the dynamic methodology. THAT is every youth development volunteer’s dream to hear when they are doing the TEAM project…



I’ve also been busy with my other English class at the youth center, with pre-school at IHNFA (they had 2 days of strikes and are still waiting to be paid), brushing teeth, and with the Jovenes Revolucionarias (the girls group my site mate and I started). The girls have been coming with me to IHNFA and doing story hour- it’s great! And we are about to have a bake sale so we can raise money to paint a world map at their school. This group is so great for developing leadership qualities. We have 5 girls who have been with us since the beginning, and we are trying to involve more before we start the Yo Merezco program with them. In the meantime I will start Yo Merezco next week with the girls from the church group I work with. Also, my cousin Michelle started sending the supplies she's been collecting for her Girl Scout project- the kids here have gotten to make bead necklaces and bracelets, and once more supplies come in I'll bring them out to some of the rural schools.

Needless to say, work is going pretty well. I am almost always busy with something, even if it’s not a project I am doing, just being involved with activities we have at the Youth Center and helping out where I can. Peace Corps Honduras however, is facing some changes. With budget cuts, the new group of volunteers who just swore in yesterday is only 15, and all from the Youth Development project. The other two projects I came in with last year were both cut. They are re-programming the other three, and the Youth project it staying as is (which means it’s always changing too, but as a project, it’s staying). I also no longer have my special Emergency-Zone phone… they cut that phone plan and now coordinators must use their personal phones (with a small amount of money deposited in our accounts in advance). The new volunteers now have to stay with their host families for the entire 2 years, a challenge I wish them all luck with. I had a mix of host families, but I still think it would be incredibly difficult having stayed with even the BEST host family for 2 years. But safety comes first! Volunteers are also no longer allowed to have “large, overnight, alcohol-friendly” non-PC related gatherings due to an increase risk in security when a lot of foreigners are together. This new policy was welcomed with mixed reviews from volunteers. Personally, I understand. It’s a shame the annual Halloween party was canceled, and now goodbye and welcome parties must be approved, but we knew that when we accepted our invitations, we were accepting the challenge of being a volunteer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I am more upset about why these changes had to happen rather than that they actually happened.

Anyways……… I had a parasite last week, but it seems to have died by now....Not a fun experience for sure, but it was bound to happen. I'm surprised it took 15 months! Speaking of months, they seem to be flying, even though sometimes the days drag on forever. I can’t believe it was a month ago when I came back from the states, and it’s almost October. I will turn 24 next week, we have our mid-service medical evaluations a week or two after that… Thanksgiving will be here soon and then CHRISTMAS!!!

Dirty Politics

*Before reading please take note of the disclaimer I have on my blog, stating that these are my thoughts, and mine alone, and do not represent the views of the Peace Coprs of the United States government*

Since I arrived in Honduras last year, I haven’t seen an improvement in the political situation, other than the fact that there hasn’t been a nation-wide teacher strike for 6 months. People either support the party in power, or are still furious about the coup where the previous president from the other party was thrown out of the country.

I work at IHNFA, which is run by the government, serving families in extreme poverty all over the country. The entire staff hasn’t been paid for almost two months. The nanny I work with says that the government hopes that everyone will just quit if they’re not paid so then they can be replaced by people from the other political party. This might just be gossip, of course, but to be honest, I wouldn’t be shocked if that were the case. It’s not fair, but that’s life here. The nanny is also worried that under this government they’ll shut down the organization as a whole. That thought breaks my heart- if these kids, not just the kids at my center, but all over the country, didn’t have this place to go, they literally might not eat. For a lot of them, too, it’s an escape from a scary home life. All centers I am sure operate differently, so I can only speak for mine, which is not perfect, but considering the alternative, vale la pena. Our kids are fed, bathed, de-liced, given clothes/shoes when we have them, hugged, and now participate in classes, games, story hour, and brush their teeth! Some of these kids can’t afford to lose what IHNFA gives them. I hope the government realizes that.

On another political note….

I’ve also met so many recent high school graduates who are teachers (there is a “special” high school you can go to and graduate as a teacher) that can’t get jobs, partly because there aren’t any, and partly because they are from the wrong political party. I was talking to two young people, both graduated two years ago and haven’t had any luck. They both said the same thing, that their families are known for representing the other party, so when someone sees their family name, that’s it, they don’t even look at their resumes.

One of the biggest obstacles for the development of a country is corruption in the government. So long as people abuse power and think only for their own party rather than the people as a whole, there isn’t much that can be done.

The One With The Wedding in the United States of AMERICA :)

Greetings friends! I am finally here to post an update about my trip home a few weeks ago! I was home for two weeks in mid-August for my sister’s wedding- It was a lovely trip, a beautiful wedding, and a perfect way to re-charge my batteries for the next year. When I got back to Honduras, I jumped right back into work so I haven’t had much time to gather my thoughts since then!

Anyways… I arrived in my beloved Boston late in the afternoon and was greeted by Mom, G, and Dad with a “Merry Christmas Lisa!” sign he made. In my family, whenever something good happens, we say it’s like Christmas. I got home to find the Christmas tree up in the living room. A perfect start to a whirlwind trip home!

My landlady sent tortillas home with me so everyone could try them…. They were… uh…. A hit! Eh…..

Gina’s wedding was beautiful! Everything went smoothly, I got through my maid of honor speech, there was a tribute Chicken Dance in Uncle Fishy’s memory, and everyone had an awesome time.

I was able to see my best friends, karaoke with my family, go to a Red Sox game, go to the beach, get interviewed with my cousin for our local paper, eat eat eat, chat with my 96 year old Nana who hung in there so I could see her again (we thought when I left for Peace Corps that that would be the last time, but she’s still with us!), interview for a graduate program….. I couldn’t have asked for a better two weeks! Thank you to everyone who made an effort to see me!

Before my trip home I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel coming back to Honduras for another year…. I thought maybe it would be hard and that I’d feel like a year was going to be an eternity…. It’s been a hard year for me to be away, with a sudden family loss, missing out on planning my sister’s wedding with her, and a Grandmother on borrowed time. Bad timing to be out-of-country for two years. But being home made me realize that I am exactly where I need to be right now. Life happens and you can’t stop it. You can’t plan your life around other people’s schedules because then you’d never accomplish anything. My service is half over, and I trust that this second half will go much faster than the first. I am happy with my work, and it will be invaluable experience for the next phase of my life.

Since I got back I’ve been busy finishing up projects and starting new ones…. It looks like I’m booked right through Christmas! My teachers are about to graduate and then we will continue with the second level of the class. In a few weeks I am starting a Yo Merezco class with the girls from the church group, and my site-mate and I will start the same class with our girls group soon too…. And then of course, my IHNFA kids!

Here is the link to the article about my cousin Michelle doing her Girl Scout project for Honduran children! She's been collecting art supplies to send down!
http://www.wickedlocal.com/natick/features/x678155841/Lisa-Lavezzo-s-Peace-Corps-work-inspires-her-young-cousin#axzz1XKRqeDuf

"You got it dude!"- Michelle Tanner

Hello! It’s been a busy few weeks filled with a forth of July party at the lake, observing my teachers, planning new projects, hanging out with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and celebrating Dia de Lempira (Honduras’s big national identity festival). And before I know it (17 days!!) I will be heading home for a visit that will be filled with family, ice cream, weddings, beach, Red Sox, grad school interview, etc. And then back to Gracias to power through the second half of my service!

Observing my TEAM teachers: As part of the class, I am suppose to observe each teacher twice through the duration of the course during their weekly English class at their school Some of my teachers work right here in Gracias, and some work in small, rural communities outside of the “city.” I’ve been doing the first round of observations and I am so proud of all of my teachers! Even the ones who struggle in the class are doing a great job teaching their own students! They keep it basic of course, but they’re using more dynamic methodology and singing the songs we sing in our class. And living in a “bigger” community, it’s fun for me to go out to these smaller places where the kids literally stare uncomfortably because they’ve never seen a foreigner. Well, fun and sometimes really awkward. The schools in Gracias have separate classes for each grade because there are a lot of students, but in these other places, the schools will have 2 classrooms, one for 1st, 3rd and 5th grade, and the other for 2nd, 4th and 6th grade. If the kids want to continue after 6th grade they need to travel daily or move to the closest place with a high school (for a lot of these communities, that place is Gracias).

I just started a second English class with a group of youth- I really wasn’t sure about the idea since it’s really not sustainable unless they apply themselves and study every day to learn. But they were asking, and I feel a sense of loyalty to the Youth Center, as it has been a great counterpart. What I decided to do, to please them and make it easier on myself, is essentially replicate the course I have with teachers with the youth since I am already preparing all the materials. And to add a piece to make the course a little bit more meaningful I am mandating that the youth teach to any group of people (friends, family, kids, my kids at IHNFA, their church group) three times- then at least they are being productive members of their community.

Our school spelling bee will take place this week! I set it up with the 4th, 5th and 6th graders from the elementary school. Thursday, each class will do their own rounds, and the winners will compete on August 4th in a school-wide bee. A few volunteers are working on getting funds to hold a national spelling bee in October, where all of the winners from each community who’ve participated will get to travel and compete against each other. Hopefully we’ll get funds! If it falls through, I am going to see if I can do it with a few more schools in surrounding towns and they can have a local spelling bee together. It’s a really good way to promote study habits, and get kids to realize the importance of spelling things correctly. And some of them are PUMPED! Since I visited all their classes last month, so many kids have ran up to me in the street telling me they’ve been studying the words, and then continue to give me some examples.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen! For real! Let me start from the beginning. One of my teachers works at a school in a small community called Consolaca, about 15 minutes outside of Gracias. I was there observing her, and she told me about this big shoe donation that was coming that weekend. She was explaining the organization that was coming, and I put together that it was TOMS shoes (for each pair you buy they donate a pair to a child in need). She invited me to come to the event, and I said sure! I know of TOMS shoes and thought it would be really cool to see them in action! Unbeknownst to me, MK and Ashley recently started collaborating with the company (designing patterns for the shoes I think), and happened to come along for this donation! They didn’t invite any press, and I was the only person at the event who knew who they were. They were nice, down to earth, and seemed to genuinely appreciate the dances and songs that the kids preformed for them. I really wanted to get my picture with them but I was so nervous that I told them that my 7 year old friend Suani wanted us to take a picture with them. They were so nice, they said “Of course!”- I mean, who would say no to a little Honduran girl? Still when I think about it now I freak out a little…. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the middle of No-wheres-ville, Honduras?! What are the chances!?

Dia de Lempira, July 20th, every year- It’s the celebration and honoring of Lempira’s death (the national hero, an Indian leader who fought the Spanish during colonization). And Gracias is where it all happened, so it’s quite the event! People spend the entire month of July preparing for reenactments, parades, concerts, and India Bonita contests (the girl who has the “best” traditional outfit- they resemble child beauty contests and make me slightly uncomfortable). People come from all over the country to Gracias to take part in the festivities, I have never seen so many people here! I got to march with my kids from the kinder at IHNFA! Some dressed as Indians, others as the Spanish- it was adorable. Normally the parents work hours and hours to make their child’s costume perfect so I was expecting the kids from the most impoverished families to come without a costume, but thankfully the kinder has extras. The celebration overall was great- it was nice to see Honduras take so much pride in their indigenous identity after so many years of being ashamed. There were still a few bizarre things, like seeing cotton candy stands and cheap "circus" prizes for sale (I am pretty sure they didn't sell cotton candy when the Spanish invaded Honduras), the child beauty pageants (they remind me of those shows at home!), and chicha, a fermeted pineapple drink that is the traditional drink of all festivals in Honduras.

With the preparations for Dia de Lempira, a lot of my work has been slow, with few people showing up to classes or meetings. A lot of the girls in our group, Las Jovenes Revolucionaries (The Revolutionary Youth) haven’t been able to come because they’ve had parade rehearsals. But now that it’s over, I think things will go back to normal. And next year, I will not plan much for July.

After my trip I should be starting another Yo Merezco (abstinence/self-esteem) class with a group of girls from a church group I’ve been working with. I just did two trainings on Job Orientation and Preparation for the Workplace with the older kids, and the religious education director seemed excited for Yo Merezco. I’ll bring the manual by to go through it with her, and we’ll decide logistics. The complication is they only meet on Saturday mornings, but we can make it work, it just might take longer to finish, but that’s certainly not an issue, I’ve got another 12 months!

Happy (ALMOST) Birthday, Estados Unidos!

In all the research I did on Peace Corps before/during the application process, every source said that volunteers had a lot of down time, and though you could still be a productive volunteer, people seem to pick up new hobbies (that don’t require electricity) and read a lot of books. Since getting to site last September, I have read ONE book (in it's entirety) for pleasure, and the only hobbies I’ve pursued have been learning how to exercise inside (to avoid cat calls) and how to talk back to crude comments in Spanish (not aggressively, just sassy!). A lot of days, I don’t get back to my apartment until 6 or 7 at night, and I am so exhausted mentally and physically (mentally from speaking a different language all day, physically from the heat) that I just… zone out…. or continue to prepare materials for the following day. I usually don’t feel like reading or cooking or knitting or anything else because my brain is neither functioning in English nor in Spanish… If I don’t have anything left to do work-wise, I may (but usually opt to not) attempt to “cook” something, plop down in my hammock and get lost in a Friends DVD.

I am pleasantly surprised at how much work I actually have! I mean… I knew I would be working, but in a lot of countries where Peace Corps goes, things are more laid back, and everything takes eight times as long to accomplish.... Honduras included! A lot of it, I'm sure, comes from self-motivation and an inner need to be productive, but I also have to credit my *awesome* project team for matching me so well to my site... I was horrified at first because I wanted to go to a smaller site but the organizations I was assigned to are perfect for me. It's not always easy, but I've learned that not EVERY project is going to be sustainable, and that's ok. I will do what I can while I'm here, to the best of my ability, and hope for the best. I have also finally grown into my town! It’s still “big” but after a year, I’ve made my mark, thrown a few sparkles around, and now I can’t go anywhere without seeing friendly, familiar faces.


And, I know it’s a few days early, but I will be away that day, so… HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!! My nails are red and blue (and have been for over a week), I did a festive/patriotic project with my kiddies today, taught them about my country and compared our flags, and will be celebrating in true American fashion with some fellow volunteers this weekend.

Live Like a PCV Challenge!!! Some of you may have gotten an email about this, but I wanted to share this link on my blog too- it’s a challenge, to live like a Peace Corps Volunteer for a week! If you’re up for it, check out the website, and click “Honduras” to see the country-specific rules! It’s spot on, with what you have to give up….!
http://www.livelikeapcv.org/p/challenge.html

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th! :)
Love, Lisa

ONE YEAR in Honduras!

Congratulations, H17! (*What does H-17 mean? Honduras 17, the name of our training group).We've made it one entire year in Honduras.

We all met on June 22nd of last year in Houston, Texas for staging- I remember wondering who would become my friends, who would make it through training, who is going to cause the most drama.... One year later, and these strangers have become my Peace Corps family. So many thanks to all of you for your unconditional support and understanding.

All 57 of us made it through training, and in the past 9/10 months in site, we've lost a some volunteers for various reasons (mostly medical), but we're still going strong! It will be interesting to see how the numbers go as our one year "in site" mark approaches.

On June 23rd, 2010, we left our hotel in Texas and the developed world around 4 or 5am, and started the journey "down south." Landing in the capital city was absolutely horrifying, as the airport is completely surrounded by mountains (only pilots with special training can land in Teguz).

And that was the start of the most bizarre, rewarding, challenging experience of a lifetime. Congratulations everyone, for making it this far! And good luck to ALL volunteers, not just in Honduras- I hope everyone is able to safely complete their service and feel like they've accomplished something (no matter how big or small).

The one with Productivity and Hope!

It has been a really positive week- one of those where you know you’re in the right place, doing the right thing and you actually feel like maybe you’re making a difference. Peace Corps service has its ups and downs, and they say usually optimism and pessimism come in waves. This past week I have been really hopeful about some of my projects, and have felt like I was/am a productive volunteer. Can I get a “yay!” from back home?

My TEAM class (English teaching with teachers) is going really well… those who come are so motivated, and so ready to start teaching to their own classes (they start this coming week). There is an average of 12 who have continued coming, but there is a base of about 8 of them that I can see are truly dedicated, and genuinely excited to learn, and impart what they’re learning on to their students. Who knew before Peace Corps that I would love teaching English, never mind love working with adults! I have a comment box for each class and was reiterating to them that I really appreciate feedback so I can improve the class and one said to me “The best teacher couldn’t teach better than you.” How sweet, though incorrect, but can you believe the confidence she had in me to say that? Anyways, here are a few that made me smile:

“Muchas gracias por todo… Me gusta la manera en que imparte la clase…y la alegria y creatvidad en que lo hace…See you later Miss! Thank You!” (thank you very much for everything.. I like how you give the class… the joy and creativity in how you do it…)

“Lisa, Gracias por su paciencia, eres bondadosa amable y comprensiva.. gracias por tu ensenanza, eres una persona muy especial. Gracias por compartir su saber con nosotros.” (Lisa, thank you for your patience, you are kind, friendly and understanding, thank you for your teaching, you are a very special person. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.)

“Le felicito por su material muy bonito.. Su dinamismo esta excelente.. Me encantan sus clases… Thank you!” (I congratulate you for your beautiful materials… your energy is excellent.. I love your classes)

“Excelente la clase de Ingles, muy motivada… Le felicito! Dios la bendiga!” (Excellent English class, very motivating.. congratulations! God bless you!)

Last week was “receso academico” (academic recess) so there were no classes. When the public schools don’t have classes, for strikes or vacations, that means that the IHNFA kids are there all day (when normally they’d be in their kinder for about 3 hours in the morning). My counterpart, the “nanny”, and I co-taught pre-school together all week- IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! When I say “co-teach” I mean she was there for disciplinary reasons, and assisted me when it was time for the activities… and did the morning prayer to God of course! It was a wonderful week, especially since the numbers were low (we had 10-12/day, when we usually have 20-50)…. We could actually have a class without ripping our hair out.

My site mate, a health volunteer, and I finally started our girls group that we’ve been trying to get off the ground for quite a bit now. 11 girls showed up to our first meeting, and they were sweet as pie… So excited for all the ideas we talked about! The end goal of the group is to do Yo Merezco (the abstinence class), but we are starting with a mix of confidence building/self-esteem fostering activities and community service…. along with fun stuff like games, cooking classes, crafts, the world map project, etc. They seem like great girls, smart too! I have high hopes! When I mentioned the traveling library Peace Corps loaned me and reading stories to the kids at IHNFA some of them got so excited they squealed! Anyways, next week we will vote on a group name... one girl has already proposed "Mujeres en Accion" ("Women in Action") which I LOVE.

Next week I am starting 3 more colgate classes with the teachers who work at the pre-school at IHNFA… and they are going to try and round up the parents so I can have a little chat with them about proper teeth brushing. In a few weeks I am going to more or less start teaching the same TEAM class, but with a group of adolescents at the Youth Center. I am already preparing all of the materials so it will be easy to replicated the classes, and I am including a community service aspect, where instead of teaching once a week with their classes (since they are youth), they will have to do a few “practicas” at IHNFA…. If you didn’t notice, I am trying to get people excited about serving their community! Oh! I also have a training planned for next weekend with a church youth group on job orientation and skills for the workplace. And I am trying to round up the 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers from one of the schools so we can do a spelling bee! Volunteers around the country and doing local spelling bee’s and the idea is that in a few months they will hold a “national” spelling bee in which each community will send the winner as a representative…. The volunteers are soliciting funds right now so hopefully they will be successful and there will be a national spelling bee in Honduras, a country that desperately needs a reminder of the professionalism and importance of writing well! If the national bee doesn’t work out, if the teachers at this one school want to, I will organize the same process at other schools and we can have our own “Gracias” spelling bee with a representative from each school.

Last weekend, one of my dearest friends from training came to visit! She made the 16 hour journey from her side of the country to mine, and we had a delightful time mosey’ing around Gracias, going to the hot springs, celebrating almost one year in Honduras with our own party complete with sombreros, and just relaxing and watching some FRIENDS dvds. It was the ideal break that I needed from my everyday life. Now it’s time for me to figure out when I will return the favor and make the juggernaut of a trip to her site (juggernaut was my favorite vocab word from high school and I haven’t used it in SO long!)

So needless to say, I’m keeping busy…. I feel pretty good about my service thus far, despite a lot of other challenges (the current safety situation, the HEAT, piropos, emotional stresses, missing my sister’s wedding shower and wedding planning, missing my baby cousin being a baby, etc…). ….I can’t believe I have almost been here a year! Crazy! It’s been quite the ride, and i'm not ready for it to be over, but I am SO ready for my trip home in August (7 weeks!)! Wooo!!!!

Old ladies ROCK!

How a day can turn around.....

Earlier this afternoon, I was walking from one job to another, and nearly got run over by a gross man in a pick up truck. I assume he got so close to me so he could catch a better look, not that I was dressed particularly well nor was I having a good hair day (I’ve stopped trying- good hair days in a tropical climate just don’t exist!). Anyways, crude male attention is NOT something I am use to getting at home, though I am sure it happens, maybe in cities, or to women with minimal clothing, or what have you. And here it’s something that happens several times a day, every day, no matter where I am, what I am wearing, if I’ve showered or not…. But somehow I have not grown accustomed to it (and I don’t think I should, it’s unnecessary and immature). Anyways, needless to say, after my “near death” experience, I was not in a good mood.

But then, at the end of the day, I was leaving the house where I tutor a little boy, and I see my ‘host grandmother’ (one of my counterpart’s mothers) strolling down the street with her friend. She greets me with a big smile, calls me her “amorcita preciosa” (note men, it is ONLY cute when old ladies say it!), and we stroll together, with our arms around each other’s shoulders, all the way to my street.

Such a simple little gesture… but it was all I needed to snap me out of bitterville, and remember again WHY I am here. I am not here to change a culture of cat-calls and disrespect towards women; I am here to give just a little bit of hope for a better future to those who genuinely want to believe in something more.

This picture is of her and I dancing at her granddaughter's birthday party. Sorry to disappoint but I don't have any photos of piropos in action.

Whirlwind update of the past month!

Things have been busy out here in Gracias! I can’t believe May has come and gone… before I know it, it will be August and I will be boarding a plane in San Pedro on my way to BOSTON!!!! Yay!!!!

What have I been up to? Good question! We finished up Yo Merezco/Yo Tambien Merezco this past week with the 5th and 6th graders at one of the bilingual schools. It’s such a great program, I can’t wait to start it with another group, but I might hold off a little bit so I don’t over-do it. To re-cap, incase you are a new reader- it is an abstinence based sex-ed/self-esteem class for pre-adolescents, that is separated into a girl’s manual and a boy’s manual. I think what struck me the most about facilitating this class was when we got to the menstruation chapter with the girls- they were SO beyond thrilled to ask all the “is it normal when…” questions because they’ve never had the opportunity to talk about things like that before.

My TEAM (Teaching English and Methodology) class started with a group of 19 teachers….. the Peace Corps has partnered with the Secretary of Education of Honduras to create this course (so far 3 levels have been elaborated) to improve basic English education and methodology in the primary schools. The teachers who enroll in the course are suppose to teach English at least once a week, implementing the new methodology they learn. Why should they been teaching English, you ask? Is it that important? Aren’t there more important things they should be focusing on? Well… yes, of course, in a country where the vast majority misspell common words (llegar—yegar; quiero—kiero; merezco—meresco… I could go on and on) it seems wasteful to put so much energy into teaching an entirely different language. BUT, teachers are mandated by the government to teach English, and they don’t receive any training or education in the subject. Essentially they are teaching poor English via rote memorization, and the students aren’t learning. The Secretary of Education approached Peace Corps Youth Development program a few years ago asking for help, and that’s how TEAM started! I agree that it shouldn’t be a priority given other more urgent needs that communities face in Honduras, BUT given the circumstances, I am happy to do it. I loved the English class I gave when I first got here, to the youth center volunteers, and have been itching to get TEAM started. And so far, my students (the teachers) LOVE it! The methodology is dynamic and participative, two things they are not use to. I was wrapping up class on Friday and had a song planned to teach them, but it was almost the end of the class so I doubted anyone would want to stick around to sing it, but I asked them, and they all stayed, and we sang this color song about 10 times!

We are still brushing teeth, reading stories and learning how to read at IHNFA. As of late, I have been doing a lot of number identification games with them…. You have to do something when 5 and 6 year olds can’t distinguish number 1 from number 4. This coming week I will finally be giving toothbrushes to the three kinder teachers nextdoor. IHNFA supposedly serves 50 kids but on any given day, by the afternoon when I do my colgate class, there are between 10 and 20. All of the kids have their preschool classes at this kinder that is right there, along with 50 other kids who are not enrolled at IHNFA. I will set up each of the three teachers with toothbrushes so they can do the colgate program in the morning, and the kids that also go to IHNFA will brush twice a day.

Earlier this month we had our last Youth Development in-service training in a program called Joven a Joven (youth to youth) which is a course for high school kids about job orientation, figuring out skills and aptitudes, how to prepare for an interview, writing a resume and a cover page, etc. It’s a really detailed, well put-together program but the prep work is intensive. The counterpart that came with me is doing an internship right now with World Vision and she wants to start soon, so we can complete the entire course during the time of her internship…. Hopefully we will start planning this coming week... OH! And during the workshop we made a music video to a song that fellow volunteer Melissa wrote about using condoms and preventing AIDS! Once it is done being edited I will be sure to share it. AND on the last day of the workshop, the hotel gave us a CAKE (photographed here). How sweet!


I also recently set up another blog to use as part of the World Wise School program, which is a peace corps program that sets up volunteers with classrooms in the states. I'll be writing to my sister's special ed class! The year is almost over but she runs a summer program too, so it will carry over. I'm sharing the link to that blog on this blog, but not the other way around :) We haven't officially started but G said this week she'd introduce them to it.
http://www.wws-lisa-pchonduras.blogspot.com/

An update on safety and security in Honduras….. 6 volunteers are being evacuated from their sites and moved to new ones due to a rapid increase in random/intense violence in a certain area of the country. Volunteers living in and right around this certain city will officially have new homes by this Friday. YIKES! I wish them all the best, I can’t imagine what it would be like to move to a new site and integrate into a new community so far into your service. Please keep these volunteers in your thoughts. (Pictured to the left is me with Juan Carlos our safety and security officer).

Also, ex-president Mel Zelaya, who was ousted in the coup in 2009 and has been hiding out in the DR, came back into Honduras this weekend.... I was expecting to hear horror stories about what happened in the streets of Tegucigalpa, but so far everything's tranquilo. He has a LOT of supporters, but also what seems to be an equal number of "enemies" (for lack of a better word).

Random story of the week: I was walking down the street and I hear someone shout something in English… I keep walking, assuming it was someone being rude, saying gross things to me in broken English (I am not being bitter, it is literally just part of a typical day). But then I realize the English is not broken so I turn around. It was a group of young men outside one of the Evangelical churches, on a missionary trip from the states. They come down once/twice a year and always partner with the same congregation. They were so nice, and they all gathered around me and prayed for my safety and well-being (and then they gave me a bible in Spanish). It was so kind of them, I nearly cried.

Annnnd of course, more goats :)

Thats all for now,
lots of hugs from Honduras,
love, lisa