Friday, June 5, 2009
Home at Last
I am now back home in Cleveland, OH and it feels wonderful. After finishing my service I went to Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras and did my scuba divingcertification. Then I headed over to Guatemala to see the Mayan Ruins at Tikal. From there I went to Caye Caulker in Belize for some great snorkeling and then finally to Playa del Carmen in Mexico. I flew home from Cancun on the 19th and have been home just under three weeks. I have enjoyed seeing friends and family and am starting to get situated again. Peace Corps was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Description of Service
The Description of Service is an official Peace Corps document that we write describing what we did during our service. So, if you are interested in knowing what I have been doing here for the past two years this will tell you.
Peace Corps Honduras
Description of Peace Corps Service
Allison O’Donnell
Honduras 2007-2009
After a competitive application process stressing technical skills, motivation, adaptability, and cross-cultural understanding, Peace Corps invited Ms. O’Donnell to serve as a Health Extentionist in the Central American nation of Honduras.
Pre-Service Training
Ms. O’Donnell began an intensive 11-week pre-service training on February 12, 2007 in the communities of Santa Lucia and La Paz. The program consisted of Spanish language training, technical skills training, AIDS education, and area studies training. Throughout the pre-service training program, Ms. O’Donnell lived with Honduran families, reinforcing her linguistic abilities and exposing her to Honduran culture and traditions.
Training program included:
185 hours of formal instruction in Spanish
113 hours of area studies (the history, politics, economics and cultural norms of Honduras)
141 hours of technical project training
16 hours of AIDS education
Assignment
On May 3, 2007, Ms. O’Donnell completed training and was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She was assigned to the community of Santa Bárbara in the Department of Santa Bárbara to work with Pure Water for the World, an NGO that produces household water filters. On her own initiative she later worked extensively with HIV prevention activities among youth and adults both in her site and throughout Honduras.
HIV/AIDS Prevention
Men’s Health Initiative
Ms. O’Donnell served as a team leader for the Peace Corps Honduras Men’s Health Initiative. She planned and facilitated three training of trainer workshops in Santa Bárbara directly reaching 30 community members and indirectly reaching over 200 more men in surrounding rural communities. Two substantial projects included work with the Honduran Red Cross and the Santa Bárbara Penal Center. Ms. O’Donnell worked with the Honduran Red Cross to design an innovative training curriculum to educate taxi drivers in HIV prevention and stigma reduction in Santa Bárbara. Along with a Honduran employee of the Red Cross she worked with sixty taxi drivers at taxi stops in town. The taxi drivers in turn shared their knowledge with their passengers. She also trained Red Cross employees in Tegucigalpa, the capital, so that they could use the same methodology in three other cities of Honduras. In addition, Ms. O’Donnell conducted a focus group needs assessment in the jail and followed up by training twelve prisoners to be facilitators of the Men’s Health methodology. These men then delivered a 4 hour workshop to 300 inmates.
Not only was Ms. O’Donnell instrumental in the education of adult men in her community she also was involved with Men’s Health at the national level. She met with ten Honduran GOs and NGOs in Tegucigalpa to promote the methodology. As a result she worked with Management Sciences for Health to conduct three additional trainings in Tela and La Ceiba. These workshops reached over 60 Garifuna youth.
Youth HIV Prevention
In addition to being the Men’s Health team leader Ms. O’Donnell also served as the coordinator for the Peace Corps Youth HIV Prevention Initiative. She was responsible for the planning and facilitating of trainings for all incoming Peace Corps trainees during her second year in country, and personally facilitated four of the trainings. In her site she worked with a local NGO called Youth Without Borders to oversee their HIV prevention workshops and give constructive feedback. She also trained the local Scouts group and worked with them to facilitate HIV prevention workshops in rural communities surrounding Santa Bárbara.
HIV Prevention through Abstinence
Ms. O’Donnell facilitated a 14-week program for female youth that addressed abstinence, puberty and decision-making for young girls at economic risk. She also coordinated and co-facilitated a training of trainer workshop in Santa Bárbara in coordination with Plan Honduras.
HIV Network
Ms. O’Donnell supported the local HIV Network in event planning, budget development, project proposal writing and training protocols. She helped the Network collaborate to coordinate events including activities for World AIDS Day, HIV testing campaigns and anti stigma and discrimination campaigns. Ms. O’Donnell was also fundamental in coordinating HIV testing for 40 high risk inmates at the Santa Bárbara Penal Center.
NGO Management with Pure Water for the World
During her first year in service Ms. O’Donnell worked extensively with a Pure Water for the World, an international NGO funded by local and international Rotary Clubs. She developed appropriate health education activities, de-parasiting protocol, water analysis procedures, and program monitoring and evaluation for use at the local and national level. She also trained the local project manager in administrative duties including reporting, budgeting, planning and goal setting. Furthermore, Ms. O’Donnell served as a vital link between the local and international Rotary Clubs, facilitating communication and understanding across borders as well as coordinating three international visits to the project site.
Manual Revision
Ms. O’Donnell played a critical role in revising and updating the Spanish Men’s Health initiative training manual as well as the monitoring and evaluation methodology. She also led a team in revising the youth HIV prevention initiative training manual.
Grant Writing
Ms. O’Donnell gained experience writing and executing two grants in her community. The first was a Peace Corps community grant to train community members to be facilitators of the Men’s Health Initiative. She later worked with the participants of the first workshop to facilitate a second workshop through a PEPFAR grant to train inmates in the same initiative.
Secondary Activities/Projects
Translator
Ms. O’Donnell served as a language translator and cultural broker between local projects and international donor and mission organizations. She worked with eight dental, medical, optometry and construction brigades from the USA, Canada and Taiwan, offering on the ground support and planning. She also conducted a needs assessment for a water system in Buena Vista, Atima to contribute to a Rotary International grant application.
Volunteers Offering Support (VOS)
Ms. O’Donnell was trained to be a member of VOS by attending a 15 hour training in active listening and peer support. She used her skills formally and informally to assist fellow volunteers through difficult times.
Folk Dancing
During her first year in service Ms. O’Donnell practiced and performed with the local folk dance group as a way to integrate into her community and learn about the culture.
Language Skills
Ms. O’Donnell achieved a Spanish language Oral Proficiency rating of Advanced Medium as administered by a Certified Peace Corps Language Tester at the close of her service. Ms. O’Donnell effectively used Spanish to communicate in her work, with her colleagues, Honduran work partners, and in daily life.
Ms. O’Donnell completed her Peace Corps service in Honduras on May 1st, 2009.
Pursuant to section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act 22 U.S.C 2504 (f) as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following her Peace Corps Volunteer service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps Volunteer service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave and other privileges based on length of federal government service. Peace Corps service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment.
This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order No. 11103 of 10 April 1963, that Ms. O’Donnell served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her service in Honduras ended on May 1st, 2009. She is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year after termination of the Volunteer’s service, except that the employing agency may extend that period for up to three years for a former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities that, in the view of the appointing authority, warrant extension of the period.
Peace Corps Honduras
Description of Peace Corps Service
Allison O’Donnell
Honduras 2007-2009
After a competitive application process stressing technical skills, motivation, adaptability, and cross-cultural understanding, Peace Corps invited Ms. O’Donnell to serve as a Health Extentionist in the Central American nation of Honduras.
Pre-Service Training
Ms. O’Donnell began an intensive 11-week pre-service training on February 12, 2007 in the communities of Santa Lucia and La Paz. The program consisted of Spanish language training, technical skills training, AIDS education, and area studies training. Throughout the pre-service training program, Ms. O’Donnell lived with Honduran families, reinforcing her linguistic abilities and exposing her to Honduran culture and traditions.
Training program included:
185 hours of formal instruction in Spanish
113 hours of area studies (the history, politics, economics and cultural norms of Honduras)
141 hours of technical project training
16 hours of AIDS education
Assignment
On May 3, 2007, Ms. O’Donnell completed training and was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She was assigned to the community of Santa Bárbara in the Department of Santa Bárbara to work with Pure Water for the World, an NGO that produces household water filters. On her own initiative she later worked extensively with HIV prevention activities among youth and adults both in her site and throughout Honduras.
HIV/AIDS Prevention
Men’s Health Initiative
Ms. O’Donnell served as a team leader for the Peace Corps Honduras Men’s Health Initiative. She planned and facilitated three training of trainer workshops in Santa Bárbara directly reaching 30 community members and indirectly reaching over 200 more men in surrounding rural communities. Two substantial projects included work with the Honduran Red Cross and the Santa Bárbara Penal Center. Ms. O’Donnell worked with the Honduran Red Cross to design an innovative training curriculum to educate taxi drivers in HIV prevention and stigma reduction in Santa Bárbara. Along with a Honduran employee of the Red Cross she worked with sixty taxi drivers at taxi stops in town. The taxi drivers in turn shared their knowledge with their passengers. She also trained Red Cross employees in Tegucigalpa, the capital, so that they could use the same methodology in three other cities of Honduras. In addition, Ms. O’Donnell conducted a focus group needs assessment in the jail and followed up by training twelve prisoners to be facilitators of the Men’s Health methodology. These men then delivered a 4 hour workshop to 300 inmates.
Not only was Ms. O’Donnell instrumental in the education of adult men in her community she also was involved with Men’s Health at the national level. She met with ten Honduran GOs and NGOs in Tegucigalpa to promote the methodology. As a result she worked with Management Sciences for Health to conduct three additional trainings in Tela and La Ceiba. These workshops reached over 60 Garifuna youth.
Youth HIV Prevention
In addition to being the Men’s Health team leader Ms. O’Donnell also served as the coordinator for the Peace Corps Youth HIV Prevention Initiative. She was responsible for the planning and facilitating of trainings for all incoming Peace Corps trainees during her second year in country, and personally facilitated four of the trainings. In her site she worked with a local NGO called Youth Without Borders to oversee their HIV prevention workshops and give constructive feedback. She also trained the local Scouts group and worked with them to facilitate HIV prevention workshops in rural communities surrounding Santa Bárbara.
HIV Prevention through Abstinence
Ms. O’Donnell facilitated a 14-week program for female youth that addressed abstinence, puberty and decision-making for young girls at economic risk. She also coordinated and co-facilitated a training of trainer workshop in Santa Bárbara in coordination with Plan Honduras.
HIV Network
Ms. O’Donnell supported the local HIV Network in event planning, budget development, project proposal writing and training protocols. She helped the Network collaborate to coordinate events including activities for World AIDS Day, HIV testing campaigns and anti stigma and discrimination campaigns. Ms. O’Donnell was also fundamental in coordinating HIV testing for 40 high risk inmates at the Santa Bárbara Penal Center.
NGO Management with Pure Water for the World
During her first year in service Ms. O’Donnell worked extensively with a Pure Water for the World, an international NGO funded by local and international Rotary Clubs. She developed appropriate health education activities, de-parasiting protocol, water analysis procedures, and program monitoring and evaluation for use at the local and national level. She also trained the local project manager in administrative duties including reporting, budgeting, planning and goal setting. Furthermore, Ms. O’Donnell served as a vital link between the local and international Rotary Clubs, facilitating communication and understanding across borders as well as coordinating three international visits to the project site.
Manual Revision
Ms. O’Donnell played a critical role in revising and updating the Spanish Men’s Health initiative training manual as well as the monitoring and evaluation methodology. She also led a team in revising the youth HIV prevention initiative training manual.
Grant Writing
Ms. O’Donnell gained experience writing and executing two grants in her community. The first was a Peace Corps community grant to train community members to be facilitators of the Men’s Health Initiative. She later worked with the participants of the first workshop to facilitate a second workshop through a PEPFAR grant to train inmates in the same initiative.
Secondary Activities/Projects
Translator
Ms. O’Donnell served as a language translator and cultural broker between local projects and international donor and mission organizations. She worked with eight dental, medical, optometry and construction brigades from the USA, Canada and Taiwan, offering on the ground support and planning. She also conducted a needs assessment for a water system in Buena Vista, Atima to contribute to a Rotary International grant application.
Volunteers Offering Support (VOS)
Ms. O’Donnell was trained to be a member of VOS by attending a 15 hour training in active listening and peer support. She used her skills formally and informally to assist fellow volunteers through difficult times.
Folk Dancing
During her first year in service Ms. O’Donnell practiced and performed with the local folk dance group as a way to integrate into her community and learn about the culture.
Language Skills
Ms. O’Donnell achieved a Spanish language Oral Proficiency rating of Advanced Medium as administered by a Certified Peace Corps Language Tester at the close of her service. Ms. O’Donnell effectively used Spanish to communicate in her work, with her colleagues, Honduran work partners, and in daily life.
Ms. O’Donnell completed her Peace Corps service in Honduras on May 1st, 2009.
Pursuant to section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act 22 U.S.C 2504 (f) as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following her Peace Corps Volunteer service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps Volunteer service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave and other privileges based on length of federal government service. Peace Corps service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment.
This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order No. 11103 of 10 April 1963, that Ms. O’Donnell served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her service in Honduras ended on May 1st, 2009. She is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year after termination of the Volunteer’s service, except that the employing agency may extend that period for up to three years for a former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities that, in the view of the appointing authority, warrant extension of the period.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Heat
The weather was fine until all of a sudden, one day it turned scorching hot. Literally, overnight the weather flipped to hot during the day and cool in the evenings, to hot hot hot all the time. What to do when the weather is this hot…? One afternoon the power went out and I was exasperated for a way to cool off so I bought an ice cream cone. When I got home to my apartment I found that the landlord’s grandsons had the same idea. We all ate ice cream together and tried to cool off. Although the little one didn’t really know how to eat an ice cream cone and mostly just ran around excitedly while it dripped all over the place.
Alejandro, Allison and Tommy
One afternoon I came home and the two little boys were playing in a kiddie pool in front of my door so I went in and put on my bathing suit and joined them. They thought it was very fun to pour water on my head and once they started they didn’t stop. In the end the little one peed in the pool. That was my sign that it was time to get out.
Alejandro, Allison and Tommy
One afternoon I came home and the two little boys were playing in a kiddie pool in front of my door so I went in and put on my bathing suit and joined them. They thought it was very fun to pour water on my head and once they started they didn’t stop. In the end the little one peed in the pool. That was my sign that it was time to get out.
Katie Leaving
Katie, my site mate, left Santa Bárbara on March 29th. She had applied for an early Close of Service date because she had finished all her projects and was ready to go home. I spent Saturday with her packing up and had dinner with her and Nineth, my counterpart, Saturday night. Sunday morning we trekked to the bus stop with her five bags (she didn’t quite fit everything into one bag as she had hoped). I then had breakfast with Nineth and headed home. I didn’t see it coming, but once I got home I started sobbing uncontrollably. I don’t know what exactly hurt so much; having Katie leave, being alone, the change of it all, or recognizing that I would be leaving soon as well. I needed something to occupy my time so I went to Nineth’s house and helped her 7 year old daughter and her friend with their English homework for about 4 hours (my gosh, when somebody wants to learn I have infinite amounts of patience). They I returned home and just cried uncontrollably for hours. It was incredible; I haven’t felt that much pain for a long time. I just felt deep anguish in my heart. The next few days were tough, I just tried to occupy my time so as to not think about how I was feeling. Then on Wednesday I headed to La Paz, to lead a training for the new Peace Corps health trainees. The training kept me busy, but I was on the brink of tears as I started. Katie was a great sitemate!
Katie in the market
Katie in the market
Semana Santa
Just a few days after finishing with the training I headed to the north coast for Holy Week, which is a big deal in Honduras, and the beach is the place to be. I ended up spending time in La Ceiba and Tela visiting with some friends and going out dancing at La Pacca, a new club in town with fellow volunteers. I was lucky enough to avoid the crowds both coming and going. The vacation was a great way to take my mind off of Katie’s departure.
Allison and Harry
The best part of the trip was that I got to wear shorts the whole time, something I have not done in two years in Honduras!
After the trip I spent a few days in Santa Barbara and then was back in La Paz again to do the Men’s Health training for the volunteers. The training went well and the volunteers are really interested in the methodology. I am excited about the group overall and am super excited about who will replace me in Santa Barbara to continue the work I have started here.
Leaving Santa Barbara
I now have just a few days left in Santa Barbara! I am finishing up all my last minute tasks like writing letters of recommendations, passing on reports and giving away my stuff. This Friday a slew of goodbye parties begins. Friday I will have a going away party with Eli, a fellow Santa Barbara volunteer, with all the Peace Corps volunteers in the area. Saturday I will spend the day packing my bags and then Saturday night I will have another going away party with my Honduran friends. Sunday I head to Tegucigalpa, the capital with Nineth in the Agua Pura truck. It will be a big help that they are giving me a ride and I don’t have to take the bus since I will have lots of extra boxes that I am taking to pass off to other volunteers. Sunday night I will have my third going away party with Nineth in Tegucigalpa and then Monday morning I start Close of Service procedures.
Everyone in Santa Barbara asks how I feel about leaving. On one hand I am very excited to go home and be with my family and return to all the luxuries of the states. On the other hand I know that I will miss the friends I have made here, especially Nineth, and I know that the transition back will be difficult. I remember coming home from Korea when I was 14 years old and reverse culture shock is much worse than the initial culture shock of moving to a new place.
Everyone in Santa Barbara asks how I feel about leaving. On one hand I am very excited to go home and be with my family and return to all the luxuries of the states. On the other hand I know that I will miss the friends I have made here, especially Nineth, and I know that the transition back will be difficult. I remember coming home from Korea when I was 14 years old and reverse culture shock is much worse than the initial culture shock of moving to a new place.
Close of Service
Monday I will start Peace Corps Close of Service procedures, both medical and administrative. We start out our morning three days in a row pooping in a cup (just to make sure we aren’t taking any critters with us to the states). We also have all sorts of blood work and lab tests done as well as a dental exam to make sure we leave healthy. In the case that we don’t leave healthy Peace Corps will give us a voucher to see a doctor in the states. I will be seeing a dermatologist for my skin fungus (tropical climates!)
We also have an exit interview with one of the administrative staff to process our Peace Corps experience (which for me has been great). Finally we have a language interview to determine our Spanish level. I left training two years ago Advanced low and hopefully I will at least move up one level (sometimes volunteers don’t improve after two years; I hope I’m not one of them).
We also have an exit interview with one of the administrative staff to process our Peace Corps experience (which for me has been great). Finally we have a language interview to determine our Spanish level. I left training two years ago Advanced low and hopefully I will at least move up one level (sometimes volunteers don’t improve after two years; I hope I’m not one of them).
Plans
Now comes the million dollar question: What am I doing after Peace Corps?
Well, the recently arrived trainees tell me there is a horrible recession going on in the states and that people are being laid off all over the place and I shouldn’t even try to get a job. Well, I have taken this advice to heart and don’t plan to look for a job any time soon.
After finishing all my Close of Service stuff in Tegucigalpa I plan to travel for a little under three weeks. First, I will go to Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras, to do my SCUBA diving certification. Diving has never really caught my attention, but I finally decided I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to get certified in on of the best and cheapest places in the world. So, I will spend about 5-6 days on the island training and diving. Second, I will head to northern Guatemala to visit Mayan ruins at Tikal. Then I will head over to Belize and go to Caye Caulker to do some more diving and relaxing on the beach. Finally, I will head up to Mexico to Playa del Carmen and then fly home from Cancun on May 19th.
Once in Cleveland I plan to live with my parents for a while (something I am thoroughly excited about, really). I am so excited about spending time with all of my family and getting to see old friends again. I am excited about practicing yoga in a studio and dancing salsa every weekend. I am excited to meet new spouses and new babies and experience a new perspective post Peace Corps.
I will apply for grad school in Public Health Administration for fall 2010 and then I am off to India. I would like to live in an Ashram and study yoga for a few months and get certified to teach. If you know of any good Ashrams let me know.
So that is my basic plan, we’ll see how it goes. Can’t wait to see you!
Well, the recently arrived trainees tell me there is a horrible recession going on in the states and that people are being laid off all over the place and I shouldn’t even try to get a job. Well, I have taken this advice to heart and don’t plan to look for a job any time soon.
After finishing all my Close of Service stuff in Tegucigalpa I plan to travel for a little under three weeks. First, I will go to Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras, to do my SCUBA diving certification. Diving has never really caught my attention, but I finally decided I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to get certified in on of the best and cheapest places in the world. So, I will spend about 5-6 days on the island training and diving. Second, I will head to northern Guatemala to visit Mayan ruins at Tikal. Then I will head over to Belize and go to Caye Caulker to do some more diving and relaxing on the beach. Finally, I will head up to Mexico to Playa del Carmen and then fly home from Cancun on May 19th.
Once in Cleveland I plan to live with my parents for a while (something I am thoroughly excited about, really). I am so excited about spending time with all of my family and getting to see old friends again. I am excited about practicing yoga in a studio and dancing salsa every weekend. I am excited to meet new spouses and new babies and experience a new perspective post Peace Corps.
I will apply for grad school in Public Health Administration for fall 2010 and then I am off to India. I would like to live in an Ashram and study yoga for a few months and get certified to teach. If you know of any good Ashrams let me know.
So that is my basic plan, we’ll see how it goes. Can’t wait to see you!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Garifuna Workshops
Last July when my cousin Ian came to visit, we went to visit Cayos Cuchinos, small islands off the north coast of Honduras. On the boat ride over there I met a woman named Perla and hit it off with her daughter, who goes to university in the states and has been to Ian’s hometown of Ashtebula, Ohio. Well, it turns out that Perla works with Garifuna youth from the north coast and HIV prevention, and so after months of talking we managed to put together three workshops with Garifuna youth, training over 60 of them with the Peace Corps Honduras Men’s Health methodology “Here Among Us”. It was a wonderful experience to go to Tela and Ceiba on the north coast and work with both the staff of her organization as well as the youth participants. The participants from the first workshop in Tela have all been part of youth theater groups for years and were full of energy, knowledge and spirit. I can honestly say it was the best group we have ever worked with and the activities have never run better.
The second set of workshops we did in Ceiba was with guys who hadn’t been part of the theater groups for as long and there was a marked difference. They were younger and more immature and it really showed us what a large impact the theater groups can make on the lives of these youth.
One of the goals of the Men’s Health Initiative is to train more Honduran NGOs and GOs in the “Here Among Us” methodology, so that it can grow beyond Peace Corps. So, as Peace Corps volunteers it was a big accomplishment to work with another organization to plan a large scale training in which Peace Corps didn’t pay for a thing. The participants liked it, we had fun, and the organization seemed to love it, so it was an all around success.
The second set of workshops we did in Ceiba was with guys who hadn’t been part of the theater groups for as long and there was a marked difference. They were younger and more immature and it really showed us what a large impact the theater groups can make on the lives of these youth.
One of the goals of the Men’s Health Initiative is to train more Honduran NGOs and GOs in the “Here Among Us” methodology, so that it can grow beyond Peace Corps. So, as Peace Corps volunteers it was a big accomplishment to work with another organization to plan a large scale training in which Peace Corps didn’t pay for a thing. The participants liked it, we had fun, and the organization seemed to love it, so it was an all around success.
Minnesota 2009
Larry, Rene, me, ChrisMembers of the Rotary group from Bemidji, Minnesota have been visiting Santa Barbara, Honduras for the past twenty years. During my service I have had the honor of working with them during four of their visits. This year they brought down thirty people, including dentists, a construction team, a urologist, a gastroenterologist and miscellaneous others. As the Peace Corps volunteer living in Santa Barbara, I set up all the translators and then worked with the group while they were here for over a week. I actually had one of the easiest jobs translating for Dr. Ted Will. I call him the MC of the group and he is now retired after years of coming to do good in Santa Barbara. So, I basically just acted as his assistant and we both went around and supervised, making sure everything was going well. I feel that I have become a very good supervisor during my time here in Honduras.
While with Ted I actually got to drop in on surgery and endoscopy and see some cool stuff.
I would say the prize goes to the worm they found in a young boys appendix. He had an appendicitis, so they performed an appendectomy and when they opened it up found what had caused the problem.
The appendix is on the left and the worm is on the right.
I also got to see endoscopies (the insides entering through the mouth) and colonoscopies (entering through the other end).
Another important part of the medical brigade was the teaching that many of the doctors did. One of the ER doctors gave a number of talks about airway management and stabilization to residents at the hospital and the firemen in town. One doctor gave a talk about foot care for diabetic patients and another gave a lecture on gastric pathology to all the doctors at the hospital. In addition to their formal lectures, the doctors from Minnesota worked side by side with Honduran doctors throughout their entire visit, teaching as they worked.
In addition to the work in the hospital and the dental and construction work done in the rural communities surrounding Santa Barbara the group also spent a day at the prison. Since I have been working with the prisoners over the past year, I helped coordinate a visit by the dentists to the prison to pull teeth. Apparently the dental team was a little apprehensive about visiting the prison, but at the end of the day I think they all really enjoyed the experience and came away with a positive impression.
Thanks to the leaders and the guards that I work with helping out, everything was perfectly organized and the dentists saw over 50 people in one day.
In addition to the dentists, the construction team purchased materials to build new stoves and chimneys in the prison kitchen. Previously they were cooking over open fires in completely enclosed rooms, causing all sorts of health problems for those who work in the kitchen. When I visited it last year I could hardly see after 10 minutes, I can’t imagine working in there all day.
Kitchen beforeOne of the prisoners is a mason, so Minnesota just ordered the materials and he took charge from there.
Katie and I often gush about why we like the Minnesota Rotarians… Here is a top ten list:
1. They rent and drive their own cars
2. They learn Spanish
3. They feed us
4. They are patient
5. They are flexible
6. They know more people in Santa Barbara than we do
7. They come twice a year (once to plan and once to work)
8. They teach
9. They listen
10. They get it
Katie’s B-Day BBQ Bash
Just days after the group from Minnesota left Peace Corps Volunteers from all over the country started arriving for Katie’s second annual b-day BBQ bash. Somehow over 25 people fit into Katie’s and my apartment as well as two empty “borrowed” apartments. We had tons of food, tons of friends and tons of fun.
Minimum Wage Hike
On January 15th the monthly Honduran minimum wage was raised from 3,500 L to 5,500 L ($185 to $291). Of course this was done to raise the standard of living for poor Hondurans, but the hike had unintended consequences (that couldn’t have been that hard to foresee). Many businesses and organizations didn’t have enough money to cover the abrupt change and therefore laid employees off or shut down completely.
One especially sad example of this is the case of the IHNFA. The IHNFA is basically a day care center for children from economically challenged families. They all have parents, but they work during the day or for whatever reason cannot take care of their kids, so they send them to the IHNFA from 8 am to 4 pm, where they are taken care of and receive three meals, a bath and help with homework.
I started working with the older girls at the IHNFA last year through a program called “I Deserve” which teaches self-esteem, abstinence and decision making to young girls in order that they will decide to delay initiation of sexual relations. They are a tough group to work with but I had grown very fond of them and knew how important the IHNFA was to their livelihood. Unfortunately the minimum wage hike meant that there was no longer enough money to pay the 5 employees who work at the IHNFA and they made the sad decision to close. This not only meant that 5 people were out of work, it meant that about 60 kids were on the streets and not being fed.
About a month after the day care closed they had a meeting with the parents and some community leaders to brainstorm solutions to raise money. One of the problems is that the day care is not its own recognized institution, so it has less power to solicit donations and funding. It receives $600 a month from Reach International, an Adventist organization, and must ask for donations from the community to cover the rest of the monthly operating expenses ($3,070). During the meeting they talked about the negative impact that the closing of the day care has had on the children that rely on it and that one of the girls even tried to kill herself. She is 14 and the oldest of 6 kids and has never been to school, so not having the day care to go to during the day means that she has nothing to do. She took 25 pills that she found in her house and was then taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. Luckily she survived and was taken out of her home to live in the orphanage just outside of town also run by Reach International.
Tanya and me at the orphanage
During my sessions with the girls, she was always the most helpful to me, hanging around before and after to help me set up. She would write in her diary each week about her sadness and worry and then let me read it. Hearing about what happened to her really affected me and I became frustrated that there was no money to support this day care center that served a vital need when millions of dollars come in to Honduras every year. I had to leave the meeting early so I got up to leave and knew that if I said anything I would start crying. I tried to duck out without having to address the group but it didn’t work. They asked me if I wanted to say anything and I just nodded my head “no” while looking at the ground because the tears were already coming. They kept asking me and told me to stay around a while and then talked about how great I was for supporting the center. By the end I was sobbing and couldn’t say anything or do anything to stop it. I just looked at my feet and then left trying to smile goodbye.
There have really not been that many things in Honduras over the past two years that have touched me deeply but two of them have involved the IHNFA. I can honestly say that a lot of money comes to Honduras and a lot of it gets wasted, but the money spent on this day care is money well spent and it makes me feel impotent to know how much money there is and that this place that really needs it is not getting it.
The day care is now opened again, but only from 11 am to 3 pm. I have two more weeks in my 14 week “I Deserve” program.
One especially sad example of this is the case of the IHNFA. The IHNFA is basically a day care center for children from economically challenged families. They all have parents, but they work during the day or for whatever reason cannot take care of their kids, so they send them to the IHNFA from 8 am to 4 pm, where they are taken care of and receive three meals, a bath and help with homework.
I started working with the older girls at the IHNFA last year through a program called “I Deserve” which teaches self-esteem, abstinence and decision making to young girls in order that they will decide to delay initiation of sexual relations. They are a tough group to work with but I had grown very fond of them and knew how important the IHNFA was to their livelihood. Unfortunately the minimum wage hike meant that there was no longer enough money to pay the 5 employees who work at the IHNFA and they made the sad decision to close. This not only meant that 5 people were out of work, it meant that about 60 kids were on the streets and not being fed.
About a month after the day care closed they had a meeting with the parents and some community leaders to brainstorm solutions to raise money. One of the problems is that the day care is not its own recognized institution, so it has less power to solicit donations and funding. It receives $600 a month from Reach International, an Adventist organization, and must ask for donations from the community to cover the rest of the monthly operating expenses ($3,070). During the meeting they talked about the negative impact that the closing of the day care has had on the children that rely on it and that one of the girls even tried to kill herself. She is 14 and the oldest of 6 kids and has never been to school, so not having the day care to go to during the day means that she has nothing to do. She took 25 pills that she found in her house and was then taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. Luckily she survived and was taken out of her home to live in the orphanage just outside of town also run by Reach International.
Tanya and me at the orphanageDuring my sessions with the girls, she was always the most helpful to me, hanging around before and after to help me set up. She would write in her diary each week about her sadness and worry and then let me read it. Hearing about what happened to her really affected me and I became frustrated that there was no money to support this day care center that served a vital need when millions of dollars come in to Honduras every year. I had to leave the meeting early so I got up to leave and knew that if I said anything I would start crying. I tried to duck out without having to address the group but it didn’t work. They asked me if I wanted to say anything and I just nodded my head “no” while looking at the ground because the tears were already coming. They kept asking me and told me to stay around a while and then talked about how great I was for supporting the center. By the end I was sobbing and couldn’t say anything or do anything to stop it. I just looked at my feet and then left trying to smile goodbye.
There have really not been that many things in Honduras over the past two years that have touched me deeply but two of them have involved the IHNFA. I can honestly say that a lot of money comes to Honduras and a lot of it gets wasted, but the money spent on this day care is money well spent and it makes me feel impotent to know how much money there is and that this place that really needs it is not getting it.
The day care is now opened again, but only from 11 am to 3 pm. I have two more weeks in my 14 week “I Deserve” program.
Maine & Michigan
Agua Pura staff, Maine Rotarians and filter workshop workers at the filter workshop Agua Pura para el Mundo (Pure Water for the World), my counterpart organization, receives its funding from grant money raised by various Rotary Clubs in Maine and other states, then matched by Rotary International. Every six months members of the head Rotary Club from Maine come to Santa Barbara to visit the project, meet with local Rotarians and help us with the project. The trip is always productive and allows us to deal with things that can’t necessarily happen over e-mail. This year they came with a group of five to spend the week visiting the filter factory, installing filters, giving deparasiting medicine and checking up on filters already installed. In addition to that, they donated medicine and supplies to the hospital and helped Nineth review the finances and project goals.
Me in El Dorado with Community Agents
One of the big things that needed to get done during their visit was a meeting with the local Rotarians on the filter committee. I was supposed to be the translator but I only lasted about five minutes. Just as soon as I sat down on of the Rotarians asked about something written on our white board in the office (we has listed who was lending us cars and drivers to take the group to the communities). I mentioned that Medicos del Mundo (Doctors of the World) was very generous to lend us their SUV with driver for three days. He responded back that he was also very generous to lend two of his cars for two days (although at the last minute he canceled and we had to find cars at 11 pm the night before…). To anybody else that comment wouldn’t have seemed like a big deal, but to me it encompasses all that I dislike about those men. He needed to feel good about himself and get credit for all that he was doing and didn’t even care that I had gotten another organization that has nothing to do with us to lend us their car and driver for three days. It really got to me and I left the room and started crying. I eventually called Nineth out and told her I couldn’t do it because I knew that the meeting would just get worse and I would just get more upset. I felt selfish ditching Nineth like that because she didn’t have the option to leave, while I did. In the end it was a horrible meeting for Nineth, who called me afterward crying. I felt guilty that I hadn’t been there to support her. She is so strong and puts up with so much disrespect; I hope I never have to deal with a situation like that.
Just a few days later we attended the weekly Rotary Club meeting. Nineth and I were there until 11 pm trying to organize cars, drivers and translators for the following day. When we finally finished we sat down with the Rotarians still hanging around. The same men that give Nineth and I such a hard time were teasing and flirting with us and just being incredibly jolly. We stayed until 1 am and had a wonderful time laughing like crazy. It really amazes me how differently people can act and how people who despise each other can act like the best of friends. In the end, although working with them hasn’t been pleasant, it sure has taught me a lot about life.
Maine Rotarians, Nineth and me at the Santa Barbara Rotary meetingLike Minnesota, Maine has had some experience in Honduras and has kinda figured out how things work and they are a pleasant group to host. Well, half way through the week a group of 13 from Michigan (including 3 from Canada) arrived in Santa Barbara. They had contributed to the Agua Pura matching grant and were also interested in starting a new water filter project or funding one in Santa Barbara when the current grant is up, so they came to check it out. Individually, the members of the group were all very interesting and kind but as a group they were a handful. It seems like whenever large groups get together, go to a country they don’t know, in a language they don’t know, they loose all reasoning abilities. I felt like a travel agent, tour guide and babysitter. They didn’t rent cars and only one of them spoke Spanish so we had to find cars, drivers and translators for them as well as set up their transport out of Santa Barbara. It was a lot of work but they all expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the help I gave them, which was nice. They wanted to give me a thank you gift for all my work but I really couldn’t think of anything I wanted since I will be home in a month and can have whatever I want. So, finally I told them that I would like them to donate to Agua Pura and they ended up giving $185!
Rotary members from Maine, Michigan and CanadaBeing around the group helped me appreciate the perspective I have gained being in the Peace Corps. Many people who come down have good intentions but can be naïve. People say things like “We are going to transform this country” and “Once we fix these people…”. Hearing things like that always makes me a little self-conscious about being an American and aware of our altruistic yet sometimes arrogant attitudes.
Despedida
After two years of sharing a site with Katie she is leaving! We both often wonder how our Peace Corps experience would have been different if we had been in a site alone. Would we have made more Honduran friends, would our Spanish be better, would we be lonely? Who knows how things would have been different, but I do know that Katie and I have been perfect site mates, that we get along amazingly (thanks to having separate apartments) and that we have been wonderful supports for each other throughout these two years. I think we have actually made each other better listeners as well. And my final crowning achievement is that I have (almost) converted her into a vegetarian!
Molly, another volunteer in the department of Santa Barbara, is also leaving a month early, so we had a joint despedida (going away party) for them. The new Peace Corps trainees that arrived in Honduras just three weeks ago also happened to be doing their volunteer visit (to see what volunteer life is like) so they joined us for the party and made it a bienvenida/despedida. It was also St. Patrick’s day, so that just added to the fun.
Molly, another volunteer in the department of Santa Barbara, is also leaving a month early, so we had a joint despedida (going away party) for them. The new Peace Corps trainees that arrived in Honduras just three weeks ago also happened to be doing their volunteer visit (to see what volunteer life is like) so they joined us for the party and made it a bienvenida/despedida. It was also St. Patrick’s day, so that just added to the fun.
Close of Service Survey
Now that I have just over a month left of service I am starting to wrap up my projects and start my Peace Corps paperwork to leave. One of the fun things we do is called a Close of Service Survey about our good and not so good memories of Peace Corps. Here is mine, although some of it may not make much sense…
Nicknames: Ali, Alise
Biggest Accomplishment: Working myself out of a job with my counterpart
Biggest Disappointment: That I didn’t get the super hard core Peace Corps experience I expected
Biggest Regret: That I spent a large part of my time working with a group of people I didn’t like
Things you will miss most: Wearing flip flops every day and my flexible work schedule
Things you will miss least: Machismo
Biggest Irony: That I am in a Latin county and I miss burritos and salsa dancing from the states
Worst Illness: When my foot swelled up like a watermelon from an ant bite
Biggest Freak-out: When I yelled at the Rotarians for not supporting us enough
Biggest fear during PC: I don’t really remember being scared…
Most useful thing I brought: My computer
Least useful thing I brought: Therma Rest (haven’t used it once)
Favorite activity I did when bored: I was never really bored…
Favorite Hondureñismo: Fijese que…, Ya viene…, Cheque
Greatest lie I told at my site: I was pretty honest about everything
Favorite Honduran Inquiry: “But you make money in the states too, right?”
Best Honduran Gesture: Gotta be the lip point
Favorite CD/Song during my service: Isabella
Favorite books during service: Eat, Pray, Love and of course all 7 Harry Potter books in Spanish
Favorite Honduran fashion: Wearing dresses that should actually be shirts.
Best jalon: I was driven from my apartment to the PC office in Teguc by the driver of an Israeli engineer, free of charge in a nice SUV.
Worst jalon: In the back of a truck full of pineapples
Best bus ride: From Teguc to Santa Barbara with my grandfather, he loved the scenery
Worst bus ride: Anything on the north coast in the summer
Favorite food: Baleadas, tamalitos
Worst thing I ate: Nance
Untrue fact told to you as an undeniable truth: That a little girl got a sty from watching a chicken poop
You know you’ve been in Hn too long when: You request reggaeton
I never thought I would: Use an umbrella when it is not raining
If I had to do it all over again I: would
Favorite piropo: I hate them all
Favorite Ropa Americana t-shirt: Anything that involves “princess” on an old campesino man
Favorite animal story: Horse back riding through the campo on my volunteer visit
Best habit acquired: Practicing yoga on my own
Worst habit acquired: Referring to people as “el gordo” or “el negro”
Things you missed most from the U.S.: Salsa dancing
Things you missed least from the U.S.: Studying
Hn Highlights: Visiting Cayos Cuchinos
Things you wish you’d known when you signed up: That I wouldn’t be in a hut in the middle of nowhere
Best advice for fellow PCVs: “Act as if the future of the universe depends on what you do, while laughing at yourself for thinking that your actions make any difference.” -Buddhist advice
Nicknames: Ali, Alise
Biggest Accomplishment: Working myself out of a job with my counterpart
Biggest Disappointment: That I didn’t get the super hard core Peace Corps experience I expected
Biggest Regret: That I spent a large part of my time working with a group of people I didn’t like
Things you will miss most: Wearing flip flops every day and my flexible work schedule
Things you will miss least: Machismo
Biggest Irony: That I am in a Latin county and I miss burritos and salsa dancing from the states
Worst Illness: When my foot swelled up like a watermelon from an ant bite
Biggest Freak-out: When I yelled at the Rotarians for not supporting us enough
Biggest fear during PC: I don’t really remember being scared…
Most useful thing I brought: My computer
Least useful thing I brought: Therma Rest (haven’t used it once)
Favorite activity I did when bored: I was never really bored…
Favorite Hondureñismo: Fijese que…, Ya viene…, Cheque
Greatest lie I told at my site: I was pretty honest about everything
Favorite Honduran Inquiry: “But you make money in the states too, right?”
Best Honduran Gesture: Gotta be the lip point
Favorite CD/Song during my service: Isabella
Favorite books during service: Eat, Pray, Love and of course all 7 Harry Potter books in Spanish
Favorite Honduran fashion: Wearing dresses that should actually be shirts.
Best jalon: I was driven from my apartment to the PC office in Teguc by the driver of an Israeli engineer, free of charge in a nice SUV.
Worst jalon: In the back of a truck full of pineapples
Best bus ride: From Teguc to Santa Barbara with my grandfather, he loved the scenery
Worst bus ride: Anything on the north coast in the summer
Favorite food: Baleadas, tamalitos
Worst thing I ate: Nance
Untrue fact told to you as an undeniable truth: That a little girl got a sty from watching a chicken poop
You know you’ve been in Hn too long when: You request reggaeton
I never thought I would: Use an umbrella when it is not raining
If I had to do it all over again I: would
Favorite piropo: I hate them all
Favorite Ropa Americana t-shirt: Anything that involves “princess” on an old campesino man
Favorite animal story: Horse back riding through the campo on my volunteer visit
Best habit acquired: Practicing yoga on my own
Worst habit acquired: Referring to people as “el gordo” or “el negro”
Things you missed most from the U.S.: Salsa dancing
Things you missed least from the U.S.: Studying
Hn Highlights: Visiting Cayos Cuchinos
Things you wish you’d known when you signed up: That I wouldn’t be in a hut in the middle of nowhere
Best advice for fellow PCVs: “Act as if the future of the universe depends on what you do, while laughing at yourself for thinking that your actions make any difference.” -Buddhist advice
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Post Peace Corps
Finishing Peace Corps feels much like graduating from college; everyone is asking you what you will do next. Some are applying for grad school, some are looking for jobs, and some have no clue and just plan to move back in with their parents (I fall into the third category). Some of you may have heard a little rumor that I would be going to Africa next year to extend my Peace Corps service…Well, I did actually apply to extend to Africa for one year but due to budget issues they cannot accept transfers at this time (or in the foreseeable future). So, what now? Every year USAID (United States Agency for international Development) offers two internship positions in the Strategic and Program Support Office in Tegucigalpa. The positions are only available to Peace Corps Volunteers from Honduras who have finished their service so I am considering applying to gain more experience in international development. We shall see…
Throughout service volunteers come up with grand plans to travel through all of South America or to travel back to the US by land, but one by one they loose steam and many of my friends have decided just to fly straight home without traveling afterward. I personally have wavered back and forth a great deal. After my Guatemala trip I was totally inspired to travel afterward, but after my Nicaragua/Costa Rica trip I was sick of all of Central America and didn’t want anything more to do with it. Then after being re-inspired by the COS Conference I am now interested in traveling again. So, regardless of whether I stay in Honduras or not I will have a few months off to travel and see family. I plan to go from Honduras through northern Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, and then fly home from Cancun. Sadly, all of my friends are either leaving early or flying straight home so I will be traveling by myself. Shortly after I arrive I will be having a welcome home party, so get ready for Honduran food, meringue & reggaeton music and Jeopardy to see how well you have been keeping up with my blog.
If I do not stay in Honduras with USAID I will move back to Cleveland to live with my parents. Although many people my age shutter at the idea of moving back in with the folks, I have no shame and love living with my parents, can’t wait to spend time with them and be back in Cleveland (although I think I will have to do something about the winter issue). Maybe I will go to India…When I graduated from college my parents gave me a wonderful gift; a plane ticket to anywhere in the world. I have been thinking about how best to use it and think that I may take advantage of it to go to India. I have been practicing yoga for a while and in the past have wanted to go to India to practice yoga. In Costa Rica our yoga instructor mentioned how cheap the teacher trainings are and since then I have been considering the possibility of going to study and getting certified as a yoga instructor. It would be nice if I could coordinate that with winter in Cleveland because I would really like to avoid that if at all possible.
Tegucigalpa, India, Cleveland…who knows where I will end up next year. On the other hand, I am pretty sure I want to go to grad school in Public Health Administration the following year, so wherever I am, I will be researching schools (in warm climates) and applying for fall 2010.
I really don’t know what I will be doing next and I am totally okay with that. I am excited for whatever my future brings and know that regardless I will make the best of it.
Throughout service volunteers come up with grand plans to travel through all of South America or to travel back to the US by land, but one by one they loose steam and many of my friends have decided just to fly straight home without traveling afterward. I personally have wavered back and forth a great deal. After my Guatemala trip I was totally inspired to travel afterward, but after my Nicaragua/Costa Rica trip I was sick of all of Central America and didn’t want anything more to do with it. Then after being re-inspired by the COS Conference I am now interested in traveling again. So, regardless of whether I stay in Honduras or not I will have a few months off to travel and see family. I plan to go from Honduras through northern Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, and then fly home from Cancun. Sadly, all of my friends are either leaving early or flying straight home so I will be traveling by myself. Shortly after I arrive I will be having a welcome home party, so get ready for Honduran food, meringue & reggaeton music and Jeopardy to see how well you have been keeping up with my blog.
If I do not stay in Honduras with USAID I will move back to Cleveland to live with my parents. Although many people my age shutter at the idea of moving back in with the folks, I have no shame and love living with my parents, can’t wait to spend time with them and be back in Cleveland (although I think I will have to do something about the winter issue). Maybe I will go to India…When I graduated from college my parents gave me a wonderful gift; a plane ticket to anywhere in the world. I have been thinking about how best to use it and think that I may take advantage of it to go to India. I have been practicing yoga for a while and in the past have wanted to go to India to practice yoga. In Costa Rica our yoga instructor mentioned how cheap the teacher trainings are and since then I have been considering the possibility of going to study and getting certified as a yoga instructor. It would be nice if I could coordinate that with winter in Cleveland because I would really like to avoid that if at all possible.
Tegucigalpa, India, Cleveland…who knows where I will end up next year. On the other hand, I am pretty sure I want to go to grad school in Public Health Administration the following year, so wherever I am, I will be researching schools (in warm climates) and applying for fall 2010.
I really don’t know what I will be doing next and I am totally okay with that. I am excited for whatever my future brings and know that regardless I will make the best of it.
Close of Service Conference
COS stands for Close of Service (yet another Peace Corps acronym) and refers to the process of finishing a term as a Peace Corps volunteer, including final report writing, administrative procedures and medical clearance. In January we had our COS Conference to start this process and help prepare us for the culture shock that is sure to hit us after we leave Peace Corps. I actually think it was one of the most useful Peace Corps conferences that we have had in the past two years and it did wonders to bring me out of a bitter slump.
36 volunteers (out of an original 51) showed up at the two day conference to talk about future job opportunities, resumes and interviewing skills, hear from RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) and learn that we will have to poop in a cup three days in a row just to make sure we have no parasites before we leave Honduras. The wife of a RPCV living in Honduras came to talk to us about all of the skills we have acquired and honed in Honduras and how to sell them to a future employer. We talked about soft, hard and transferable skills, such as patience, flexibility, cultural sensitivity (soft), Spanish language proficiency, grant writing, manual development (hard) and facilitating groups, planning and budgeting (transferable skills). Thinking about everything we have accomplished and learned here made me feel very satisfied about my time here and also excited about how I can use the skills learned here in future jobs. Speaking of future jobs…
36 volunteers (out of an original 51) showed up at the two day conference to talk about future job opportunities, resumes and interviewing skills, hear from RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) and learn that we will have to poop in a cup three days in a row just to make sure we have no parasites before we leave Honduras. The wife of a RPCV living in Honduras came to talk to us about all of the skills we have acquired and honed in Honduras and how to sell them to a future employer. We talked about soft, hard and transferable skills, such as patience, flexibility, cultural sensitivity (soft), Spanish language proficiency, grant writing, manual development (hard) and facilitating groups, planning and budgeting (transferable skills). Thinking about everything we have accomplished and learned here made me feel very satisfied about my time here and also excited about how I can use the skills learned here in future jobs. Speaking of future jobs…
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Back in Honduras
I arrived back in Honduras without trouble and spent just a few days in Santa Barbara before I left again to go to our Close of Service (COS) Conference. It was nice to be back in my own home in Santa Barbara but I was also feeling a little sick of being in Central America and just wanted to be done with my service and go home. Not to mention that I was actually physically sick as well. I returned home with a horrible sore throat and then came down with pink eye a few days after I got home. Luckily my little slump only lasted a few days because the COS conference really helped change my attitude and antibiotics cleared up my ailments.
Costa Rica
My parents arrived about two hours before me and were already at the Pura Vida hotel in Alajuela waiting for me. I was so excited to see them that I was almost crying. It has been just over a year since I had last been with them and I couldn’t wait. I got to the hotel and the owner showed me to their room and I started cry as I walked with her and then burst out crying as soon as I saw them. I was so excited that it took me a minute to realize that my dad had a beard!
That night we had a wonderful dinner and then opened Christmas presents. I gave my parents a large plaque that says The O’Donnell Family to put over the front door and they gave me many wonderful things. Most notably my mom bought me 15 pairs of underwear which means I can throw away my old saggy underwear with holes and no elastic. I don’t think people are generally excited to get underwear for Christmas but I certainly was.Puerto Viejo
The next day we took a 4.5 hour bus ride to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca a small town on the Caribbean coast near the Panamanian border. When we stepped off the bus we weren’t exactly impressed with what we saw. When I imagined Costa Rica I thought of incredible white sand beaches and all inclusive resorts…Well, let me just say that that is not what we got. We checked into Cashew Hill Lodge, owned by an American couple with four kids who moved to Costa Rica as self proclaimed political refugees. It is on a beautiful property with about 7 different houses, all very colorful and unique.
Then we walked around town pondering if we should stay in Puerto Viejo or leave the next day for the Pacific side and check into an all inclusive resort on a pristine beach. Actually, throughout our entire vacation we continued to ponder if we should cut our loses and go but in the end we stayed there the whole time and did enjoy ourselves although it wasn’t exactly what any of us expected.
Yoga
Once we got settled in we rented bikes and went in search of a yoga studio/instructor. The owners of the hotel put us in touch with an instructor named Ishmael and he ended coming to our house everyday to give private class to my parents and I. My mom and I have been practicing yoga for years and we have always tried to get my dad into it since he has a bad back, but it never seemed to work out before, so we were both overjoyed that we could all take class together. Ishmael was great and my dad liked it, so we all ended up happy.
Surfing
Another order of business was to set up surf lessons. We checked out a few places and then finally went with the son of the hotel owner. We got long, sort boards and started off on the beach with about 2 minutes of instruction and 2 minutes of practice popping up, then into the waves we went. The instructors basically held our boards, pushed us into the wave and yelled at us when to stand up. Beyond that, there wasn’t much teaching involved. I got up on my first try and both mom and dad were able to get up as well. Overall, it was fun but we were all a little frustrated that there was not more solid instruction. Whenever I asked how do I know which waves are good and when to go, my instructor just told me that I would feel it with time.
A few hours after our lesson the backs of my legs began to burn and I realized that somehow suntan lotion either didn’t get on the backs of my legs or it somehow came off…very curious. By nightime my legs hurt so badly I could barely move and I made my mom put wet towels on me and then Aloe Vera.
Originally I had told my dad I wanted to surf four times so I could really get in some practice, but my legs hurt so bad that I didn’t go again until the last day in Costa Rica.
Puerto Viejo is a town of only about 500 residents and a few thousand tourists. Most of them are young backpackers who come to surf and be hippies. No matter who they are they all dress with minimal clothing. The girls wear very short shorts, skirts of dresses and the boys wear board shorts. I personally enjoyed this since I haven’t worn shorts in Honduras for two years even when it is 40 degrees Celsius. However, the boys did something that boggled my mind. They would wear their board shorts so low that you could see their pubic hair in the front and their butt crack in the back. See photo below for example.
I asked a few guys about this and they just said it was the fashion and didn’t think it was odd at all. Hmmm…Salsa
I had hoped to go out with the daughter of the hotel owners numerous nights but at first I was too exhausted and then after I burned my legs I was in too much pain. Luckily by Friday night I was finally ready to go out and went to a salsa club called Maritza with a live salsa band. My parents stayed with me at first and then once people started dancing they went home to go to bed (Although my dad came back an hour later to check on me). I was bored for about the first hour but finally I met some good salsa dancers and enjoyed the rest of my night.
The Beaches
The beach at Puerto Viejo didn’t exactly strike my parents and me as the most beautiful beaches we had ever seen (in fact the beaches at West Bay in Roatan, Honduras were much better). Fortunately, the beaches down the coast were beautiful so we visited a few of them. Cocles beach had great waves so we could watch people surf and play in the waves.
CoclesPunta Uva was beautiful with white sandy beaches and fairly clear water.
Punta UvaTowards the end of our trip we went to Manzanillo, a tiny town at the end of the road (literally) to go dolphin watching. Sherman, our guide, took us about 30 minutes down the coast towards Panama to a spot where the dolphins are.
They advertise an 80% chance of seeing dolphins because apparently the dolphins are pretty consistent. Luckily we were not part of the unlucky 20% who see nothing and saw tons of bottle nose and spotted dolphins. It was the first time I had ever seen dolphins swimming in the wild, so I was pretty excited. 
When we finished with the dolphin watching we just relaxed on the beautiful beach at Manzaillo and Sherman cut up tangerines and watermelon for us.
ManzanilloAfter we finished eating he did an amazing thing, which sadly I don’t think would ever happen in Honduras. He gathered up all of our trash, then he picked up some more trash that had been left nearby, then he walked about 50 meters to a trash can and threw it all away. I was personally blown away! My dad commented on it and he said “Yeah man, this my home, I got to take care of it.” Although that may seem like a very logical and simple mentality, unfortunately I have found few Hondurans that think the same way.
ShermanThe only thing we didn’t get out of our beach experiences was snorkeling. My dad had his heart set on it but everywhere we asked said the “sea was ugly” meaning that things were just too choppy to be able to see anything. After the dolphin tour my parents tried for a bit but we just weren’t there at the right time of year.
Our Tour with Delroy
Delroy and his wife Veronica own a macrobiotic vegetarian restaurant in Puerto Viejo and after eating there we decided to take a tour with Delroy. First, we stopped off at an iguana farm. The owners raise the iguanas and then let them into the wild because the population has been depleted mostly due to people hunting and eating them.
Then we talked to a proud BriBri man about his culture and history and bought some of the handicrafts that the rural BriBri communities make.After that we took a hike through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall and my mom fell half way in trying to jump from one rock to a large tree trunk (I think she subconsciously did it on purpose).
Finally we finished the day with a tour of the cocoa (chocolate) making process. I was actually very impressed by the woman who ran it and her ability to concisely explain the process. We got to suck on cocoa beans right from the fruit, see the production process and then sample the finished product.
Time to go home
I actually left a few days before my parents since I didn’t have enough vacation days. Ironically my parents were ready to go home when I left and even tried to change their flight to leave early. Even though we did have a wonderful time the vacation turned out to be a little rougher than we expected. There were lots of bugs in the hotel (a crab scurried across our bathroom floor our first night), everything was a little damp (which causes mold), dad was attacked my mosquitoes and some unidentified creature that made his eye swell up and dad and I both got sick…and of course there was the face meets bottom of ocean incident
Notice he shaved his beard…it got itchy.I realized that I have been living a rustic lifestyle for two years now and I have had my fill. I really just want to enjoy luxury and comfort, so I’ll have to keep that in mind for my next vacation.
Earthquake
A few days after we got to Costa Rica there was a 6.2 earthquake outside of San Jose, the capital city. We heard about it through the news because fortunately Puerto Viejo did not feel it and was in no way affected. Maura, my aunt, called our hotel to make sure we were okay and many friends asked about it when I got back (it was nice to know that people were thinking about us).
Friday, January 30, 2009
Nicaragua
After almost two years in Honduras I had only visited one other Central American country so I decided that I needed to get a move on it. So after Christmas I headed to Nicaragua with a few Peace Corps friends and then to Costa Rica with my parents for a long vacation. Overall, it was wonderful to relax and see my parents but neither of the trips were exactly what I expected them to be.When everybody left after Christmas I was incredibly bored and still had to wait over a week to see my parents. I called Mary, a fellow PCV, to come down to Santa Barbara and keep me company and then we headed to Teguc the next day. The following day we took a 6.5 hour bus ride to Managua, Nicaragua (the capital) on a luxury air conditioned bus (we were freezing!). Things went smoothly on the first leg of the trip, but when we tried to catch a cab to the next bus station the cab driver lied to us and tried to cheat us. First, he tried to overcharge us (which is to be expected) and told us we had to leave right away because the next buses were leaving. Then once we were in the taxi he told us that the buses weren’t leaving now because they were full of students and he would have to take us to another bus station that was farther away and would cost more. We didn’t buy it and he took us to the original terminal which was functioning just fine. The second we stepped out of the taxi the bus attendants instantly surrounded us and started grabbing our bags and arms telling us to come with them. We plowed ahead and got on a bus where the bus attendant then proceeded to charge me an extra fair because I had a bag (which they didn’t do on the way back, so I think he was just taking advantage of me being fresh of the bus). Needless to say, our first impression of Nicaragua was not a favorable one. I think the fact that we live here made it even more infuriating because I am not just some clueless tourist that doesn’t speak any Spanish that can be taken advantage of. It also infuriated me when they would try to speak English to me and quote prices in dollars (I told them I didn’t earn dollars and didn’t have any).
We arrived in Granada, a popular colonial tourist town about an hour outside of the capital, and met up with Kendra and Nick, two other PCVs, as well as Nick’s friend Nick (yes, they are both named Nick) from the states.
Our first activity was to take a very slow and crowded chicken bus to Catarina a nearby town to go to the mirador that overlooked the nearby lake and the city of Granda.
After that we contemplated going to another little town known for its arts and crafts but were too lazy. Instead we headed back to Granada and looked for a place to eat. As we were searching we ran into one of the Rotary members who visits Santa Barbara a couple times a year with a medical and construction brigade. Small world! So of course we sat down and had a “safety meeting” over burritos with him and his wife.
To celebrate New Year’s Eve we met up with some of Nick’s friends from the states and had a wonderful dinner at El Hotel Corazon, a brand new hotel in Granada that gives 100% of its profits to a local community organization. We also celebrated Nick’s birthday with a chocolate chip cookie cake.
Then we headed to El Club for dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Mary and I realized we have been in Honduras too long when we begged the DJ to change up the techo music and play reggaeton.
New Year’s day we had the brilliant idea of going to the lake to swim but once we got there we realized that our idea wasn’t unique and that the rest of Nicaragua also had the same idea. We had to walk along the bank of the lake for about 20 minutes just to find a rocky slopped spot to lay down our towels.
As we walked in Mary, Kendra and I realized that we were probably the only foreigners there and that about half of the men had tattoos. In Honduras, tattoos are quite taboo and often associated with gang membership, so we began to feel slightly unsafe. Luckily a kind Nicaragua later explained to us that tattoos don’t have the same stigma in Nicaragua and they are quite common. We all felt better after that.
We had planned to travel to Ometepe, an island in the middle of the lake formed by two adjoining volcanoes, but decided to stay in Granada because Mary was sick all over. Our hotel wasn’t very nice and we had a little tiff with the owner about the exchange rate (yet another guy trying to cheat us) so Kendra and I scouted around town to find a nicer hotel to stay at for the next two days (ie. AC, cable TV, pool, beds with no springs sticking out, etc.). We found a great place called Hotel Capricho and spent the next two days there laying by the pool and snuggled three in a bed watching TV in English.
Although we really didn’t get to see much of Nicaragua we all enjoyed just relaxing. As we have all been in Honduras for almost two years we are a little tired of it all and didn’t mind holing up in a hotel for a few days if it meant we didn’t have to deal with cat calls, sweating, trash on the streets and drunk men that small like urine sleeping on the stairs of the Catholic Church.
On January 4th Mary was feeling slightly better and she and Kendra headed down south to go to the beach while I headed to the airport to fly to Costa Rica. As I went through immigration they looked quizzically at my passport. Due to the fact that I entered Nicaragua over land they did not stamp my passport and therefore there was no record that I had left Honduras. I wanted to tell them that “clearly I had left Honduras because here I am standing in front of you”. The immigration officer told me I couldn’t leave Nicaragua and that I would have to go back to Honduras and then fly from there to Costa Rica. I told them that wouldn’t work for me so could they please find a way for me to get on my flight. The officer left and talked to some other people and then explained to me that I would have to buy a tourist visa for $3 and then I could go. Although I didn’t really buy it I wasn’t going to argue over $3 so I paid it and off I went for a 45 minute flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.
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