I missed the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and most of the games but I was able to catch some of the events on TV when I was in Tegucigalpa, the capital city. It made me feel very nationalistic to see Americans competing.
On a totally unrelated note I finished the 7th Harry Potter, which means that I have read all 7 Harry Potter books in Spanish without ever having read them in English! For this I am quite proud of myself and have a whole new bank of magic related vocabulary words, such as cape, streetlamp, to explode, to flee, to blush, red-head, werewolf, broom and many more.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Generations of Myths
Peace Corps has an agreement with a designated doctor in all the large volunteer sites so that volunteers can go for a consultation and the doctor bills Peace Corps directly. The whole not having to pay part is of course nice, but we have found the quality of care to be lacking. When I arrived in Santa Barbara the doctor they had an agreement with was over 80 years old and although everyone says he was a great doctor and an important community figure I think he is a little past his prime. So, finally we got Peace Corps to find an additional doctor…He is in his 20s, very nice and just as Honduran as the last doctor. A while back I had a cough for a few weeks so I went to see him and at first he said it was an infection so he gave me antibiotics (the first course of action for almost any ailment in Honduras). The cough did not go away so I went back to him and he said that I had to move out of my apartment because something there was making me sick. Hmmm, this may very well be, but he has no way of knowing that without asking me detailed questions or seeing my apartment himself. I told him I wasn’t going to move. Then he said I had to clean my whole apartment and wash my sheets 3 times per week. I told him I would with no intention of actually doing it. Eventually Peace Corps gave me allergy medicine and my cough went away.
A little while after that I had a sore throat and after looking at my throat the first thing he asked was “Allison, do you drink cold water?” I knew where this was going…Hondurans have a belief that drinking cold water is bad for you and that taking cold showers after working out can cause serious damage. I told him, yes I drink cold water all the time and it has never caused me any type of harm. He then proceeded to tell me that drinking cold water was causing my sore throat and I had to stop drinking cold water. I told him I didn’t understand the concept and could he please explain it to me. He told me that dust and pollution is inhaled and causes irritation in the throat (I was with him so far) and that when we drink cold water it causes inflammation in the throat. He used an analogy of an ice cube to try to convince me; if you put an ice cube on your arm and leave it there for a while, when you take it off it leaves a red mark…so it is the same with your throat. Then I asked him if cold things cause vasoconstriction how can cold water cause the opposite (inflammation)? He was very impressed that I knew this concept and then proceeded to tell me I should be a doctor. After about a fifteen minute conversation of him trying to convince me that cold water was my problem I asked him what he was going to do to treat me. Antibiotics, he says. What!!!!! I said “If cold water is causing my sore throat why are you giving me antibiotics?” Well, it might be an infection, so we’ll give you antibiotics just in case. In the end he gave me a prescription for antibiotics (which I did not fill) and an anti-inflammatory (which I did fill) and told me that he would find some research on cold water and give it to me next time I came in and continued to encourage me to take up the medical profession.
I was actually on the verge of tears during this whole conversation because all I wanted was for my throat to stop hurting and not him telling me that cold water was bad.
I guess young and old alike are swayed by the beliefs of their cultures.
A little while after that I had a sore throat and after looking at my throat the first thing he asked was “Allison, do you drink cold water?” I knew where this was going…Hondurans have a belief that drinking cold water is bad for you and that taking cold showers after working out can cause serious damage. I told him, yes I drink cold water all the time and it has never caused me any type of harm. He then proceeded to tell me that drinking cold water was causing my sore throat and I had to stop drinking cold water. I told him I didn’t understand the concept and could he please explain it to me. He told me that dust and pollution is inhaled and causes irritation in the throat (I was with him so far) and that when we drink cold water it causes inflammation in the throat. He used an analogy of an ice cube to try to convince me; if you put an ice cube on your arm and leave it there for a while, when you take it off it leaves a red mark…so it is the same with your throat. Then I asked him if cold things cause vasoconstriction how can cold water cause the opposite (inflammation)? He was very impressed that I knew this concept and then proceeded to tell me I should be a doctor. After about a fifteen minute conversation of him trying to convince me that cold water was my problem I asked him what he was going to do to treat me. Antibiotics, he says. What!!!!! I said “If cold water is causing my sore throat why are you giving me antibiotics?” Well, it might be an infection, so we’ll give you antibiotics just in case. In the end he gave me a prescription for antibiotics (which I did not fill) and an anti-inflammatory (which I did fill) and told me that he would find some research on cold water and give it to me next time I came in and continued to encourage me to take up the medical profession.
I was actually on the verge of tears during this whole conversation because all I wanted was for my throat to stop hurting and not him telling me that cold water was bad.
I guess young and old alike are swayed by the beliefs of their cultures.
Training new Volunteers
HIV/AIDS prevention is a Peace Corps initiative, which means that all projects, not just health, are encouraged to work in the area and all projects in Honduras receive a two day training of trainers in youth HIV prevention activities. So in the beginning of September I went with two other health volunteers to a town outside of Tegucigalpa to train the new Protected Areas Management trainees. On the way to the sites there was a huge car accident (not uncommon with the way people drive here) and three of the facilitators got stuck on the wrong side of it and had to get out and walk to the other side and then wait for a long time at a gas station for a Peace Corps vehicle to go pick them up. It was a bit of a mess, but luckily we all arrived at the training sites safely.
Once in the training site we stayed with host families because it was a little village with no hotels. I stayed with Robynn, another volunteer, in a private little house off of the main house of a family. It was nice to have the privacy but there was a chicken living in the latrine and we were scared to use it while the chicken was in there so we just peed outside. Also, the shower was outside their house and there was nowhere for us to change, so we opted out of showering for two days. The family had two little girls who were great. One night we spent hours sharing jokes, rhythms, tongue twisters, sayings and riddles. It was so much fun! Robynn and did I’m a Little Tea Pot, which they thought was hilarious. We tried to translate the knock-knock jokes we could remember but it didn’t really work because the word plays are not the same in Spanish. We taught them tongue twisters like How much wood would a wood chuck chuck and Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore…The younger girl of about 5 told us a dirty joke about a tortilla and a frying pan, but luckily I don’t think she knew what it meant. Robynn and I hadn’t thought of most of those things for years so it was a riot to stand in their kitchen with two little girls and their mother and laugh hysterically.
The training went well and I think the trainees liked it. Most of them say they dreaded it beforehand but then enjoyed it once they actually saw what it is. An HIV positive woman came and gave a testimony about her life and it was very touching. One thing that she said that was particularly striking for me was that people living with HIV should not be seen as the problem, but the solution. I think this attitude is important because it completely changes the image of an HIV positive person from one of shame and guilt to responsibility and power to make a difference.
Once in the training site we stayed with host families because it was a little village with no hotels. I stayed with Robynn, another volunteer, in a private little house off of the main house of a family. It was nice to have the privacy but there was a chicken living in the latrine and we were scared to use it while the chicken was in there so we just peed outside. Also, the shower was outside their house and there was nowhere for us to change, so we opted out of showering for two days. The family had two little girls who were great. One night we spent hours sharing jokes, rhythms, tongue twisters, sayings and riddles. It was so much fun! Robynn and did I’m a Little Tea Pot, which they thought was hilarious. We tried to translate the knock-knock jokes we could remember but it didn’t really work because the word plays are not the same in Spanish. We taught them tongue twisters like How much wood would a wood chuck chuck and Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore…The younger girl of about 5 told us a dirty joke about a tortilla and a frying pan, but luckily I don’t think she knew what it meant. Robynn and I hadn’t thought of most of those things for years so it was a riot to stand in their kitchen with two little girls and their mother and laugh hysterically.
The training went well and I think the trainees liked it. Most of them say they dreaded it beforehand but then enjoyed it once they actually saw what it is. An HIV positive woman came and gave a testimony about her life and it was very touching. One thing that she said that was particularly striking for me was that people living with HIV should not be seen as the problem, but the solution. I think this attitude is important because it completely changes the image of an HIV positive person from one of shame and guilt to responsibility and power to make a difference.
Hanging out at Taxi Stops
Way back in May the Honduran Red Cross did a training for volunteers of the Red Cross and the HIV Network in Santa Barbara, with the idea that those people would then train the local taxi drivers. Well, the project was not organized and there was nobody in charge so everyone was just waiting for somebody to tell them what to do. Luckily, the Red Cross eventually contracted a woman to carry out the project and train the 60 taxi drivers in Santa Barbara. I wondered who they had found to do the project because not just any Honduran woman can go talk to taxi drivers on the street about sex. Well, after working with Sara for a while I have nothing to worry about; she worked with commercial sex workers in San Pedro Sula for three years and she is awesome! So, they hired her and gave use a budget (a rather large budget actually, way more than we actually need, but they don’t seem to care about that). It has been wonderful to work with Sara because she has lots of strong points but I can also teach her a lot, so it is a wonderful partnership (I even helped her open up an e-mail account!) Together we wrote a work plan, a curriculum, and a budget.
Sara presenting
We have two techniques to work with the taxi drivers. First, we go to the taxi stops and just talk to them while they wait for their next passenger. Second, we have one hour meetings during which we do two activities that would be difficult to do in the street and then give them dinner. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages and it has been a learning experience for both of us since the Red Cross has given us little direction and we have had to figure it out as we go.
Working with the taxi drivers is both rewarding and exhausting. It is rewarding because it is an important group to work with and people have told me that no other group has been able to work with them and they hold lots of erroneous beliefs about HIV and sex in general. Also, they really appreciate our work and love Sara and I and all say hi to me when I walk through town (if only I could get them to give me free rides). At the same time it is the most exhausting group I have ever had to work with. In many ways they act like little boys. During meetings they talk the entire time and interrupt me while I am talking and ask ridiculous questions and then don’t listen to my answers. There is even one that hits on me while I am presenting! If they get a question wrong they get upset and blame me or the question and threaten to leave the meeting. They make fun of each other without ceasing and bicker amongst one another and use horrible language. They seem to know nothing about how the female body works and what women want. But Sara and I are working together to make it happen.
I don´t remember this being part of the activity...
We also have the challenge of the disorganization of the central Red Cross office in Tegucigalpa. They have not yet sent us our money for the project (which technically began August 15th), which means that I have had to front some of my own money. Nor have they sent us the materials we need to give to the taxi drivers (which in their boyish way are complaining about not getting their stuff). On the other hand the central office really likes the methodology we are using and wants to adopt it in other projects as well. We are going to do a training of trainers of Red Cross volunteers in Santa Barbara and I might even go to Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula to train other Red Cross employees to use the same methodology with the taxi drivers there.
Sara presentingWe have two techniques to work with the taxi drivers. First, we go to the taxi stops and just talk to them while they wait for their next passenger. Second, we have one hour meetings during which we do two activities that would be difficult to do in the street and then give them dinner. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages and it has been a learning experience for both of us since the Red Cross has given us little direction and we have had to figure it out as we go.
Working with the taxi drivers is both rewarding and exhausting. It is rewarding because it is an important group to work with and people have told me that no other group has been able to work with them and they hold lots of erroneous beliefs about HIV and sex in general. Also, they really appreciate our work and love Sara and I and all say hi to me when I walk through town (if only I could get them to give me free rides). At the same time it is the most exhausting group I have ever had to work with. In many ways they act like little boys. During meetings they talk the entire time and interrupt me while I am talking and ask ridiculous questions and then don’t listen to my answers. There is even one that hits on me while I am presenting! If they get a question wrong they get upset and blame me or the question and threaten to leave the meeting. They make fun of each other without ceasing and bicker amongst one another and use horrible language. They seem to know nothing about how the female body works and what women want. But Sara and I are working together to make it happen.I don´t remember this being part of the activity...We also have the challenge of the disorganization of the central Red Cross office in Tegucigalpa. They have not yet sent us our money for the project (which technically began August 15th), which means that I have had to front some of my own money. Nor have they sent us the materials we need to give to the taxi drivers (which in their boyish way are complaining about not getting their stuff). On the other hand the central office really likes the methodology we are using and wants to adopt it in other projects as well. We are going to do a training of trainers of Red Cross volunteers in Santa Barbara and I might even go to Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula to train other Red Cross employees to use the same methodology with the taxi drivers there.
Hanging out in the Prison
Contrary to what one may think, working with prisoners is cake compared to working with taxi drivers. When people hear that I am working in the prison they ask me what it is like and if I am scared. It is hot and crowded and no, I am not scared at all.
Over the past few months I have been working with a few of the prisoners to plan a training of trainers for the leaders within the prison in the Peace Corps Men’s Health methodology “Here Among Us…” so they can then teach the rest of the prisoners. Working with them is wonderful; they are always there and always willing to work and are the most respectful group of men I have worked with.
So, the money from PEPFAR (Bush’s $ for AIDS) finally came in and we embarked on two days of training with 19 prisoners, a health educator from CPTRT and two women from CHF. CPTRT is the organization that works with prisons all over Honduras and uses an incredibly technical power point presentation that goes completely over the heads of the inmates…thus we invited them to our workshop so they could get some more appropriate ideas to work with this population. CHF is the principal recipient in Honduras for Global Fund, which means that they monitor 46 NGOs and projects across Honduras that receive funding from the Global Fund for work with HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. So, having representatives from this organization was important because if they like our methodology they can promote it to all the projects they work with.
The first day of the training went well although we lost some of the participants (the two Evangelical preachers left after the third activity). The group was receptive, but the knowledge level varied greatly. There was one who couldn’t read and then there were others who already knew everything and were excellent facilitators.
This is Jose, he is incredibly intelligent and an excellent facilitator.
The night of the first day I awoke with horrible stomach pains and diarrhea. The next morning I woke up and took a shower and then collapsed on the couch exhausted. There was no way I could facilitate so Conor and Matt, two other members of the Peace Corps Men’s Health Team went alone to facilitate and I slept until 2 pm. Then I got up to make myself a sandwich and had to sit down on the floor twice during the process. I was really disappointed to miss the day and I especially wanted to hear the testimony of one of the inmates living with HIV.
The third day I was feeling fine so Matt and I went to observe the practicum (after seeing all the activities, the prisoners have to present them). I was impressed with the first group that presented since they did surprising well. The second group unfortunately, bombed most of their activities. Throughout the practicum many of them asked me if I would be coming back once this activity was over, which made me happy that they were thinking about the future. Afterward we met with the 13 participants who finished the whole workshop and took part in the practicum and talked about the goal of presenting this workshop to all the other prisoners over the next few months. I sensed a genuine desire to continue to work with this project and to improve their presentation skills (especially among those who bombed).
As always, I learned a lot through the process and will continue to modify things as we go. Although the methodology is designed for men with varying levels of education and can be used with illiterate audiences some of the activities are still too difficult for them and will need to be modified. Luckily I have a great group to work with and am excited to see them grow as facilitators.
Over the past few months I have been working with a few of the prisoners to plan a training of trainers for the leaders within the prison in the Peace Corps Men’s Health methodology “Here Among Us…” so they can then teach the rest of the prisoners. Working with them is wonderful; they are always there and always willing to work and are the most respectful group of men I have worked with.
So, the money from PEPFAR (Bush’s $ for AIDS) finally came in and we embarked on two days of training with 19 prisoners, a health educator from CPTRT and two women from CHF. CPTRT is the organization that works with prisons all over Honduras and uses an incredibly technical power point presentation that goes completely over the heads of the inmates…thus we invited them to our workshop so they could get some more appropriate ideas to work with this population. CHF is the principal recipient in Honduras for Global Fund, which means that they monitor 46 NGOs and projects across Honduras that receive funding from the Global Fund for work with HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. So, having representatives from this organization was important because if they like our methodology they can promote it to all the projects they work with.
The first day of the training went well although we lost some of the participants (the two Evangelical preachers left after the third activity). The group was receptive, but the knowledge level varied greatly. There was one who couldn’t read and then there were others who already knew everything and were excellent facilitators.This is Jose, he is incredibly intelligent and an excellent facilitator.The night of the first day I awoke with horrible stomach pains and diarrhea. The next morning I woke up and took a shower and then collapsed on the couch exhausted. There was no way I could facilitate so Conor and Matt, two other members of the Peace Corps Men’s Health Team went alone to facilitate and I slept until 2 pm. Then I got up to make myself a sandwich and had to sit down on the floor twice during the process. I was really disappointed to miss the day and I especially wanted to hear the testimony of one of the inmates living with HIV.
The third day I was feeling fine so Matt and I went to observe the practicum (after seeing all the activities, the prisoners have to present them). I was impressed with the first group that presented since they did surprising well. The second group unfortunately, bombed most of their activities. Throughout the practicum many of them asked me if I would be coming back once this activity was over, which made me happy that they were thinking about the future. Afterward we met with the 13 participants who finished the whole workshop and took part in the practicum and talked about the goal of presenting this workshop to all the other prisoners over the next few months. I sensed a genuine desire to continue to work with this project and to improve their presentation skills (especially among those who bombed).As always, I learned a lot through the process and will continue to modify things as we go. Although the methodology is designed for men with varying levels of education and can be used with illiterate audiences some of the activities are still too difficult for them and will need to be modified. Luckily I have a great group to work with and am excited to see them grow as facilitators.
Project Workshop
Once a year we have a health project meeting with all of the health volunteers from around the country to catch-up and share experiences. It was great to see volunteers I haven’t seen for a while (some I hadn’t seen since the meeting the year before). I can still remember my first project meeting a year ago and the time has flown since then. We had a day and a half of sessions and finished off our time with a toga party (a brilliant idea, whoever thought of it).
Katie & me
Katie & me
The HIV Network
I continue to work with the HIV Network in Santa Barbara to help them coordinate joint activities between institutions that work with HIV. They have big ideas and ambitions but very little organizational or planning skills in order to realize their ambitions. Therefore I have tried to work with the president of the group to try to plan better and stress the idea that it is better to have small realizable goals. World AIDS Day is December 1st and the HIV Network plans to coordinate tons of events on and around the day, so we are trying to write up a plan and a budget right now so we can submit it to a local NGO for funding. As always the process is important but incredibly frustrating. The members just don’t have the planning skills necessary to do all the things they want to do. For example, many of them don’t understand the concept of a planning committee. We had a meeting to decide who would be on each planning committee for each of the activities for World AIDS Day. One activity we are organizing is a parade, in which all the institutions of the HIV Network will march. Because all the institutions would be marching the group thought all the institutions should be on the planning committee and didn’t understand the idea that just a few institutions needed to plan. I guess I just take so many things for granted and forget that these people never learned how to do this type of thing. Luckily we are going to have a training on administration and planning in a few weeks, so I am excited about that.
The Wrath of the Landlords
Almost a year and a half ago as Katie and I contemplated where to live we were advised by previous volunteers that we should not live in the apartments where we now live because the landlords are crazy. Well, we decided to go ahead and live here anyway for lack of a better option and up until now things have gone pretty smoothly. We heeded the warnings of the previous volunteers and have tried to be as nice as possible to the landlords and just say ok whenever there is a problem. For example, we know they are gypping us out of our electricity money but we just choose to ignore it. We signed a one year contract when we moved in and Katie and I both starting paying 2,000 L (~$100) although my apartment is 2 bedrooms and Katie’s is only 1 bedroom.
Our contracts expired a few months ago without either of us noticing and the landlord came to us last week to tell us they were raising the rent to 2,250 L for Katie and 2,500 L in one week. So, we told Peace Corps and they said that 2,250 L was a reasonable increase but 2,500 L was a 25% increase, which was too high, and we should negotiate for a lower price. So, Katie and I told the landlords that a 25% increase was too much and that I could pay 2,300 L instead which would be a 15% increase. The landlord did not understand the percentage argument and continually told us that my apartment has 2 bedrooms and Katie’s has 1 bedroom, so mine has to cost more. I wanted to tell him that he is totally correct that mine should cost more and it should have cost more since the beginning but since they cost the same from the beginning it doesn’t make sense to raise one more than the other now. They also continually told us how expensive things are now and how poor they are and how hard they have to work. Finally we agreed on 2,250 L for Katie and 2,300 L for me, which was approved by Peace Corps so we were all set. Then we got into another argument about when the increase would begin, since one week isn’t very much notice. Then they randomly started telling us that only volunteers can visit us and spend the night and that nobody else can visit and spend the night because they should be paying if they are sleeping there. Then the wife (the landlords are a husband and wife) said we should just move out to get ride of all these problems. At this point I was flabbergasted and started to get angry because they were being completely illogical. Katie and I chatted for a while and realized that they are not logical people so we can’t reason with them (this is a very unsettling realization) so we would just have to say okay so they wouldn’t kick us out (I didn’t feel like moving with just 7 months left and besides I love my apartment). So now we are waiting to sign new contracts so we won’t get kicked out and then we will see what happens over the next seven months. Now we know why the last volunteers thought the landlords were crazy.
Our contracts expired a few months ago without either of us noticing and the landlord came to us last week to tell us they were raising the rent to 2,250 L for Katie and 2,500 L in one week. So, we told Peace Corps and they said that 2,250 L was a reasonable increase but 2,500 L was a 25% increase, which was too high, and we should negotiate for a lower price. So, Katie and I told the landlords that a 25% increase was too much and that I could pay 2,300 L instead which would be a 15% increase. The landlord did not understand the percentage argument and continually told us that my apartment has 2 bedrooms and Katie’s has 1 bedroom, so mine has to cost more. I wanted to tell him that he is totally correct that mine should cost more and it should have cost more since the beginning but since they cost the same from the beginning it doesn’t make sense to raise one more than the other now. They also continually told us how expensive things are now and how poor they are and how hard they have to work. Finally we agreed on 2,250 L for Katie and 2,300 L for me, which was approved by Peace Corps so we were all set. Then we got into another argument about when the increase would begin, since one week isn’t very much notice. Then they randomly started telling us that only volunteers can visit us and spend the night and that nobody else can visit and spend the night because they should be paying if they are sleeping there. Then the wife (the landlords are a husband and wife) said we should just move out to get ride of all these problems. At this point I was flabbergasted and started to get angry because they were being completely illogical. Katie and I chatted for a while and realized that they are not logical people so we can’t reason with them (this is a very unsettling realization) so we would just have to say okay so they wouldn’t kick us out (I didn’t feel like moving with just 7 months left and besides I love my apartment). So now we are waiting to sign new contracts so we won’t get kicked out and then we will see what happens over the next seven months. Now we know why the last volunteers thought the landlords were crazy.
Why is it so hot here?
I can remember September of 2007 was a lot cooler than September of 2008. This time last year I was wearing long sleeve shirts in the evening and complained of being cold. Now, I am still sleeping with a fan on me and sweat profusely as soon as I go outside and it is almost October! Why is it so hot and when will it not be hot?
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