May 3rd, 2007 I was officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and May 3rd, 2008 marks my one year in site! That means I only have one year left! Up until now I feel like I have been counting up how many months I have been here, but now I am counting down to how many months I have left. This year has gone very fast yet at the same time I feel like I have been here for a long time. In some ways now that I have passed the one year mark I feel that things will go very quickly until the end and that I hardly have time to finish all the projects I want to work on. On the other hand it still feels like I have a long time to go when I think about that fact that I have to do all the holidays again. It also feels like an incredibly long time when I realize I have to work with the Rotary Club for a whole other year.
To celebrate our one year Hondu 10 (the group that I came in with) all got together at Lago de Yojoa (The largest lake in Honduras) for the weekend. Our group came in with 51 people and over the past year 11 have ETed (Peace Corps acronym for Early Termination, aka they went home). With 25 out of 40 at the lake we had a pretty good turn out. It was nice to see fellow volunteers again and hear about their various experiences. I am thankful that after a year I can say that I am happy with myself and happy with my work. At times I have felt overwhelmed by the amount of work and the responsibilities I have been given but over the past few weeks I haven’t been that busy and I realize that I would rather have work than not have work. Hopefully I can find a good balance over the next year. I have never once thought seriously about leaving and have only asked myself “What in the world I am doing here?” about twice. I feel thankful for this because not all volunteers are as lucky to have meaningful work and a meaningful experience.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Pulhapanzak Falls
While at the lake a group of us went to Pulhapanzak Falls and I think that it is one of the coolest things I have seen/done since being in Honduras. It is a 43 meter waterfall on the Rio Amapa a little ways from where we were staying by the lake. We took a couple of jalones (hitchhiking) from our hotel to the falls and considering we were traveling in a group of 8, we had pretty good luck and made it their safely and didn’t have to walk that much. Although the first jalone that we got was the fastest I have ever been in, we were probably going about 70 mph, which feels ever faster in the bed of a truck.
Once we got there we made our way down to the lookout at the bottom of the falls and it was really incredible and gorgeous. As we were heading down to the falls a group of three little Honduran boys came and found us and told us they would show us the way. Once we got down there a guide showed up who said he could take us into, under and behind the waterfall for $5/each. We weren’t sure and stood around debating for about 15 minutes. When we first saw the route we would take, a narrow, muddy path along the side of a cliff we said no way (especially since three of us just had flip flops on). Then the little kids ran out on that same path, either barefoot or with their school shoes on and jumped and dove off the cliffs into the pools below. At first we thought they were crazy, but then it looked kind of fun so in the end 6 out of 8 of us decided to go. We negotiated $25 for the 6 of us. So we set off on the incredibly muddy and dangerous path (it actually wasn’t that bad) towards the base of the waterfall. To get to the base we had to jump off boulders into roiling pools, and swim under the waterfall while getting pounded by the water (43 meters is high). I abandoned my flip flops on a rock and went most of the way barefoot. I was shrieking the whole time and kept thinking how incredibly dangerous this was and how it would never fly in the states. Finally we made it to a little space behind the waterfall where we could stand and watch the water come down. There was also a tiny little cave that we could crawl into. The little Honduran boys came in with us and even though they were half my size I was holding on to their hands for dear life. Then we made our way back out to where the little boys had originally been jumping off the cliff…now it was our turn. I am generally a pretty big wimp and rarely jump off high things, but this time I impressed myself by jumping off the cliff twice! It was probably about 25 feet high and although it took me a while to work my nerve up it was so much fun once I finally did it. After we finally made our way out I was so giddy, it was an exhilarating experience. After it was all said and done we paid our guide another $5 because we liked it so much and gave the boys tips. Then we went to the top of the waterfall and went swimming and slid down rocks. Again the boys went with us and were crazy diving and jumping into the rapids and sliding down the rocks. I envied their fearlessness and wished I wasn’t such a wimp with a strong aversion to the possibility of getting hurt.
Once we got there we made our way down to the lookout at the bottom of the falls and it was really incredible and gorgeous. As we were heading down to the falls a group of three little Honduran boys came and found us and told us they would show us the way. Once we got down there a guide showed up who said he could take us into, under and behind the waterfall for $5/each. We weren’t sure and stood around debating for about 15 minutes. When we first saw the route we would take, a narrow, muddy path along the side of a cliff we said no way (especially since three of us just had flip flops on). Then the little kids ran out on that same path, either barefoot or with their school shoes on and jumped and dove off the cliffs into the pools below. At first we thought they were crazy, but then it looked kind of fun so in the end 6 out of 8 of us decided to go. We negotiated $25 for the 6 of us. So we set off on the incredibly muddy and dangerous path (it actually wasn’t that bad) towards the base of the waterfall. To get to the base we had to jump off boulders into roiling pools, and swim under the waterfall while getting pounded by the water (43 meters is high). I abandoned my flip flops on a rock and went most of the way barefoot. I was shrieking the whole time and kept thinking how incredibly dangerous this was and how it would never fly in the states. Finally we made it to a little space behind the waterfall where we could stand and watch the water come down. There was also a tiny little cave that we could crawl into. The little Honduran boys came in with us and even though they were half my size I was holding on to their hands for dear life. Then we made our way back out to where the little boys had originally been jumping off the cliff…now it was our turn. I am generally a pretty big wimp and rarely jump off high things, but this time I impressed myself by jumping off the cliff twice! It was probably about 25 feet high and although it took me a while to work my nerve up it was so much fun once I finally did it. After we finally made our way out I was so giddy, it was an exhilarating experience. After it was all said and done we paid our guide another $5 because we liked it so much and gave the boys tips. Then we went to the top of the waterfall and went swimming and slid down rocks. Again the boys went with us and were crazy diving and jumping into the rapids and sliding down the rocks. I envied their fearlessness and wished I wasn’t such a wimp with a strong aversion to the possibility of getting hurt.
The Explosion
I have been meditating daily for the past three weeks and it has been wonderful. I read Eat, Pray, Love by and have been reading Jivamukti Yoga and I am newly inspired to deepen my yoga practice and search for God through yoga and meditation. There are many things here that I have to deal with on a daily basis that are incredibly frustrating and meditating helps me accept these things just a little better. On of the most frustrating things I have to do is deal with the Rotary Club. In particular, I have to attend meetings between Agua Pura and the Rotary Club. I usually end up coming home after one of these meetings and venting to Katie for 30 minutes about how intolerable those men are. Well, before our meeting last night I wondered if my new found inner peace would allow me to resist the urge to let those men get to me and simply observe the meeting with acceptance and serenity. Well, lets just say I have a long way to go before I reach enlightenment.
At 7:30 pm Nineth and I were all ready for our monthly meeting; we had called everybody to confirm and prepared the agenda. Two of the three showed up, but the president of the club didn’t show up, so we couldn’t have the meeting. Instead the two that showed up just started criticizing Nineth for the decisions she was making and the work she was doing and blaming her for everything and not taking responsibility for anything. The entire time I was becoming increasingly angry (where is serenity when you need it?). So finally I told them I needed to say something and asked that neither of them interrupt me, which kindly, neither of them did. I didn’t actually yell but I spoke harshly and my voice was quavering with anger that entire time. I told them that they have not been taking enough responsibility for this project, that they always blame everything on Nineth and aren’t capable of accepting responsibility for their mistakes and they don’t treat Nineth with enough respect. While I was saying all this Nineth put her head down and I was scared that she was thinking “No, Allison, you can’t say those things, they are going to get so mad!” After I finished each of them responded with excuses as to why those things weren’t true and implored that they do spend a lot of time on this project. As they responded I realized that they could never see things from my perspective, or even if they did they would never admit it. At that point I realized that it was okay if they didn’t accept what I said because all that was important was that I said what I needed to say. Then one of them left and the other stayed and continued to talk to Nineth and I. He said that if there are problems she needs to communicate them face to face and that you can never confront somebody in a group, because even if you are right the person will be embarrassed and get mad and defensive (lose face). As he was talking I began to realize that the two I just yelled at are the only two in the Club that actually do work and that I can actually talk to. I wanted to direct my complaints to the whole club, but since they were the only ones that actually came to the meeting they received the tirade. For this I felt bad afterward. Luckily the one that stayed was not mad and gave Nineth and I a hug as he left.
In the end I really wanted to talk to Nineth to make sure she wasn’t mad at me for what I said. I wanted to express myself but I didn’t want to do anything that would negatively affect Nineth’s position or relationship with the Rotary. Luckily she was not mad at me at all, just the opposite, she was happy that I had said all those things because she doesn’t have the luxury to be able to talk like that to those men She doesn’t have the luxury because she is Honduran, she is a woman, she is younger than them and they are her superiors with the power to affect her job. She put her head down so she wouldn’t loose control and become hysterical.
After I sobbed and sobbed at the injustice of the situation. On one hand it was good that I could communicate the things that she couldn’t, but on the other hand it made me so mad that I can express myself and she can’t and just has to put up with being treated badly. I felt thankful that I come from a culture that allows women to speak their mind and at the same time I felt guilty that I had more power than her.
After it was all said and done I began to question myself. Although I basically said what I wanted to say, I was frustrated that I still lack the language to say exactly what I want quickly enough, and I hoped I got my point across. I began to wonder if I was wrong for saying those things or that I was too harsh. But then I remember that I have been feeling those same things for the entire year I have been working here and Nineth has felt like that for even longer. The things needed to be said and I finally said them and I feel good about that. Hopefully it will improve our working relationship with them in the future and build the all important confianza (trust).
As always I learned some important things from the experience:
1) Make sure I know what my goal is before I do something; do I just want to yell and scream to get things off my chest, do I want to hurt people’s feelings, do I want to end a relationship, or do I want to fix a situation. Based on the fact that I still have a year left here I probably want to fix the situation and not burn bridges. So, if my goal is to fix or improve the situation I should probably keep that in mind and act accordingly. (This sounds vaguely reminiscent of something I read in a book somewhere…Start with the end in mind; does anybody else know what I am talking about?).
2) When beginning a tirade I should first start with praise and tell them what they do well and also explain why I am saying the things I am saying (not to criticize them but to improve our relationship) and that I am saying it to them because I trust them to be able to listen. Although the two that I reamed out do irritate me royally, they are still the most productive of any of the Rotary members, unfortunately I forgot to mention that during my little rant.
3) I should never confront somebody in front of a group; a middle-aged Honduran man would die before admitting he was wrong to a 23 year-old American girl in front of a group of his peers. In the future if I need to communicate something difficult I should do it one on one.
At 7:30 pm Nineth and I were all ready for our monthly meeting; we had called everybody to confirm and prepared the agenda. Two of the three showed up, but the president of the club didn’t show up, so we couldn’t have the meeting. Instead the two that showed up just started criticizing Nineth for the decisions she was making and the work she was doing and blaming her for everything and not taking responsibility for anything. The entire time I was becoming increasingly angry (where is serenity when you need it?). So finally I told them I needed to say something and asked that neither of them interrupt me, which kindly, neither of them did. I didn’t actually yell but I spoke harshly and my voice was quavering with anger that entire time. I told them that they have not been taking enough responsibility for this project, that they always blame everything on Nineth and aren’t capable of accepting responsibility for their mistakes and they don’t treat Nineth with enough respect. While I was saying all this Nineth put her head down and I was scared that she was thinking “No, Allison, you can’t say those things, they are going to get so mad!” After I finished each of them responded with excuses as to why those things weren’t true and implored that they do spend a lot of time on this project. As they responded I realized that they could never see things from my perspective, or even if they did they would never admit it. At that point I realized that it was okay if they didn’t accept what I said because all that was important was that I said what I needed to say. Then one of them left and the other stayed and continued to talk to Nineth and I. He said that if there are problems she needs to communicate them face to face and that you can never confront somebody in a group, because even if you are right the person will be embarrassed and get mad and defensive (lose face). As he was talking I began to realize that the two I just yelled at are the only two in the Club that actually do work and that I can actually talk to. I wanted to direct my complaints to the whole club, but since they were the only ones that actually came to the meeting they received the tirade. For this I felt bad afterward. Luckily the one that stayed was not mad and gave Nineth and I a hug as he left.
In the end I really wanted to talk to Nineth to make sure she wasn’t mad at me for what I said. I wanted to express myself but I didn’t want to do anything that would negatively affect Nineth’s position or relationship with the Rotary. Luckily she was not mad at me at all, just the opposite, she was happy that I had said all those things because she doesn’t have the luxury to be able to talk like that to those men She doesn’t have the luxury because she is Honduran, she is a woman, she is younger than them and they are her superiors with the power to affect her job. She put her head down so she wouldn’t loose control and become hysterical.
After I sobbed and sobbed at the injustice of the situation. On one hand it was good that I could communicate the things that she couldn’t, but on the other hand it made me so mad that I can express myself and she can’t and just has to put up with being treated badly. I felt thankful that I come from a culture that allows women to speak their mind and at the same time I felt guilty that I had more power than her.
After it was all said and done I began to question myself. Although I basically said what I wanted to say, I was frustrated that I still lack the language to say exactly what I want quickly enough, and I hoped I got my point across. I began to wonder if I was wrong for saying those things or that I was too harsh. But then I remember that I have been feeling those same things for the entire year I have been working here and Nineth has felt like that for even longer. The things needed to be said and I finally said them and I feel good about that. Hopefully it will improve our working relationship with them in the future and build the all important confianza (trust).
As always I learned some important things from the experience:
1) Make sure I know what my goal is before I do something; do I just want to yell and scream to get things off my chest, do I want to hurt people’s feelings, do I want to end a relationship, or do I want to fix a situation. Based on the fact that I still have a year left here I probably want to fix the situation and not burn bridges. So, if my goal is to fix or improve the situation I should probably keep that in mind and act accordingly. (This sounds vaguely reminiscent of something I read in a book somewhere…Start with the end in mind; does anybody else know what I am talking about?).
2) When beginning a tirade I should first start with praise and tell them what they do well and also explain why I am saying the things I am saying (not to criticize them but to improve our relationship) and that I am saying it to them because I trust them to be able to listen. Although the two that I reamed out do irritate me royally, they are still the most productive of any of the Rotary members, unfortunately I forgot to mention that during my little rant.
3) I should never confront somebody in front of a group; a middle-aged Honduran man would die before admitting he was wrong to a 23 year-old American girl in front of a group of his peers. In the future if I need to communicate something difficult I should do it one on one.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Peace Corps Volunteers Honored by the Korea Society
Former Peace Corps Director Kevin O’Donnell Accepts Award on behalf of Peace Corps/Korea Volunteers 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 15, 2008 – Former Peace Corps Director Kevin O’Donnell will accept the 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award tonight at the Korea Society’s 2008 Annual Dinner. The Award, presented to O’Donnell, will honor the work of the over 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers who served in South Korea from 1966-1981.
The Korea Society is the leading organization in the United States devoted to promoting U.S.–Korea relations. The Korea Society 2008 Annual Dinner will be held at the Plaza in New York and feature notables as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is visiting the U.S. on his first official visit since his inauguration in February, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.
The Korea Society’s Van Fleet Award is given to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the U.S.–Korea relationship. Peace Corps/Korea brought over 2,000 Americans to serve in Korea’s classrooms, farms and industry. From 1966-1981, the assistance provided by these Volunteers, at a critical period in Korean history, helped to cement U.S.–Korea ties. Kevin O'Donnell, the first country director of Peace Corps/Korea, and fourth director of the Peace Corps, will accept the award on behalf of the Volunteers.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Jody K. Olsen said, “We are delighted that the legacy of former Director O’Donnell and the Peace Corps/Korea Volunteers will be honored at this very special Korea Society event. Peace Corps/Korea Volunteers formed long lasting friendships and deep respect for the people of Korea and we are grateful for the warmth and hospitality that they demonstrated during our time there.”
As the first Peace Corps Country Director for Korea, O'Donnell faced the formidable challenge of establishing a new program in an unfamiliar country, including negotiating with government ministries and building curricula that addressed Korean needs in math, science, English and physical education. He also had to make provisions for meeting the physical requirements of the 300-plus American Peace Corps Volunteers who came to Korea on their missions of peace and friendship during his tenure as Country Director.
For his exemplary work, O'Donnell received the Republic of Korea's Order of Civil Merit from President Park Chung-hee in 1970. The legacy of the example O'Donnell set in his devotion to public service is best exemplified by his daughter Megan O'Donnell and granddaughter Allison O'Donnell, both of whom have followed in his footsteps to become Peace Corps Volunteers. Allison O’Donnell is currently serving in Honduras as a Health Projects Volunteer. She works with an NGO that provides water filters to families in communities without access to potable water, as well as health and hygiene education. She also works with HIV/AIDS prevention NGOs and local and international Rotary Clubs.
The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. In pursuit of its mission, the Society arranges programs that facilitate discussion, exchanges and research on topics of vital interest to both countries in the areas of public policy, business, education, intercultural relations and the arts.
The Peace Corps is celebrating a 47-year legacy of service at home and abroad. Currently there are 8,000 Volunteers abroad, a 37-year high for Volunteers in the field. Since 1961, more than 190,000 Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where Volunteers have served, including South Korea. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 15, 2008 – Former Peace Corps Director Kevin O’Donnell will accept the 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award tonight at the Korea Society’s 2008 Annual Dinner. The Award, presented to O’Donnell, will honor the work of the over 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers who served in South Korea from 1966-1981.
The Korea Society is the leading organization in the United States devoted to promoting U.S.–Korea relations. The Korea Society 2008 Annual Dinner will be held at the Plaza in New York and feature notables as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is visiting the U.S. on his first official visit since his inauguration in February, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.
The Korea Society’s Van Fleet Award is given to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the U.S.–Korea relationship. Peace Corps/Korea brought over 2,000 Americans to serve in Korea’s classrooms, farms and industry. From 1966-1981, the assistance provided by these Volunteers, at a critical period in Korean history, helped to cement U.S.–Korea ties. Kevin O'Donnell, the first country director of Peace Corps/Korea, and fourth director of the Peace Corps, will accept the award on behalf of the Volunteers.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Jody K. Olsen said, “We are delighted that the legacy of former Director O’Donnell and the Peace Corps/Korea Volunteers will be honored at this very special Korea Society event. Peace Corps/Korea Volunteers formed long lasting friendships and deep respect for the people of Korea and we are grateful for the warmth and hospitality that they demonstrated during our time there.”
As the first Peace Corps Country Director for Korea, O'Donnell faced the formidable challenge of establishing a new program in an unfamiliar country, including negotiating with government ministries and building curricula that addressed Korean needs in math, science, English and physical education. He also had to make provisions for meeting the physical requirements of the 300-plus American Peace Corps Volunteers who came to Korea on their missions of peace and friendship during his tenure as Country Director.
For his exemplary work, O'Donnell received the Republic of Korea's Order of Civil Merit from President Park Chung-hee in 1970. The legacy of the example O'Donnell set in his devotion to public service is best exemplified by his daughter Megan O'Donnell and granddaughter Allison O'Donnell, both of whom have followed in his footsteps to become Peace Corps Volunteers. Allison O’Donnell is currently serving in Honduras as a Health Projects Volunteer. She works with an NGO that provides water filters to families in communities without access to potable water, as well as health and hygiene education. She also works with HIV/AIDS prevention NGOs and local and international Rotary Clubs.
The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. In pursuit of its mission, the Society arranges programs that facilitate discussion, exchanges and research on topics of vital interest to both countries in the areas of public policy, business, education, intercultural relations and the arts.
The Peace Corps is celebrating a 47-year legacy of service at home and abroad. Currently there are 8,000 Volunteers abroad, a 37-year high for Volunteers in the field. Since 1961, more than 190,000 Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where Volunteers have served, including South Korea. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wheelchairs from Washington
The Santa Barbara Rotary is really good at getting groups from the states and Canada to come down to do projects and give donations. They have been doing it for the past 20 years. Unfortunately none of them have learned English over the past two decades so they always need translators (aka Peace Corps Volunteers) to help out. The first phase is planning, which is almost entirely done by e-mail with a few phone calls. The e-mails can be pretty ridiculous sometimes. On one hand I understand their desire to have everything well planned and organized, especially if they have a tight schedule, on the other hand some of their questions and requests are absurd. I got one e-mail asking if there was enough bottled water at the hotel. Of course there is bottled water! It makes me wonder what people think about Honduras…
Then we have to find translators, because groups usually don’t bring fluent Spanish speakers. The Rotary Club usually knows about these trips for month in advance, but usually wait until the last minute to ask people to translate (in this case three days advance notice). This time, Katie and I translated for most of the time, as well as the adopted son of an American woman that lives in Santa Barbara who speaks English. I don’t mind translating that much but I feel that the Rotary Club relies too heavily on Peace Corps volunteers and not enough on other bilingual Hondurans. For example, the president of Rotaract (Rotary for younger people) speaks English and Spanish, yet they rarely ever use him to translate.
Then there is the issue of picking them up at the airport and getting rental cars and drivers, etc. It really makes me appreciate people who are not scared to drive in foreign countries.
Then the wheelchairs…The group from Washington donated 280 wheelchairs through an organization called the Wheelchair Foundation and came to Santa Barbara for about two and a half days to deliver them (they delivered about 10% of them). Before the group arrived, the local Rotary got in touch with community leaders of the different municipalities around Santa Barbara and asked them for a list of people who could benefit from wheelchairs. Then we split up into three teams, loaded the back of the rental trucks with wheelchairs and headed out.
When we got to the community we met with the mayors office and then got somebody that knew the community to help take the chairs to the people on the list, and some not on the list. As I have learned from delivering filters, delivering things to people’s houses is always easier said than done. Nobody has an address and they all live in hard to reach places.
Anyway, once we got to somebody’s house we would go in and introduce ourselves and talk to the family and see if they needed a wheelchair. Unfortunately, it often turned out that once we got there we found that many of the people on our list couldn’t actually use the wheelchair because they couldn’t sit up by themselves. We also met a few people who had disabilities but could still walk. However, many others were able to benefit, young and old. As the translator I did most of the talking to the family and with the people from the mayor’s office that came along to help us out. It was a good feeling because I realized how comfortable I felt going into people’s homes and talking to them with ease. It was also depressing to see people with debilitating illnesses that probably could have been prevented or reversed in the states. We gave a wheelchair to one old man who was covered with a rash from head to toe. I asked his family what he had and they said “El tiene un gran picazon” (He has a big itch) and it made me so sad because there must be a treatment for it, but most likely he will never get it.
Then a woman came up to us with her four year old child that looked like a two year old and still couldn’t walk, asking for a wheelchair. We suspected that the child was malnourished and developmentally delayed so I tried to talk to her about nutrition and she just looked at me with a forlorn and helpless look. I wanted to yell at the rest of the community to help their neighbors, that there should never be a malnourished child among them…As the translator I would be the one to stay and talk to people like this while the rest of the group would move on to the next house and I would have to say I’m sorry, we can’t help you and know that probably nobody else will help her either and her children will never grow up strong and healthy.
Alright, even though it was depressing in many ways I loved being with the people in their homes and being able to help many of them and receiving gratitude from them. The group from Washington also enjoyed the experience and were touched that they could have such a personal experience with the people that they were helping. Although many of them had delivered wheelchairs in Vietnam and Africa they had never been in such a rural situation and been so close to the people.
Whenever working with Rotary there is always profound confusion. Sometime I actually wonder how they manage to be so bad at communicating and how they haven’t changed after so many years of working with groups. The first night in town the local Rotary planned to have a meeting with their guests after dinner. So, I went out to dinner with the group from Washington and then arrived at the meeting. Turns out the local club had prepared a dinner and didn’t tell any of us, so after finishing our first dinner we were served a second one at the meeting (which I graciously declined since I have gotten over being polite about eating food that I don’t want). The second night one of the Rotary members invited everybody over for dinner and I specifically told him that we wouldn’t eat dinner because he was going to serve it. Well, turns out he forgot to tell his wife that she had to cook for twenty people, so she didn’t have anything prepared. After about an hour of chitchatting and snacks I went into the kitchen to see what the deal was and found out what had happened. So, then they went and bought fried chicken from down the street and served it up.
The last day is when things really started to get complicated. Originally the group had agreed to donate mattresses, food and clothes to a local orphanage (that is technically a day care center for children of single mothers who can’t afford day care) that one of the local Rotary Club contacted. Well, Dolores, an American that lives in Santa Barbara and does charity work, decided that that orphanage didn’t need help, so she got in touch with the group from Washington and told them they shouldn’t help them and that she worked with people who really needed help. So, the Washington group started to have second thoughts…we did buy the mattresses and delivered them to the orphanage and then while there the group from Washington decided that the orphanage didn’t need help and they really wanted to donate to a real orphanage (like a place where kids with no parents live). So they told the director they wouldn’t be donating the clothing or food and would be donating things to Dolores instead because they believed she helped people that really needed more help (the leader of the group referred to these needy people as hill people).
Actually, I told the director and then she proceeded to try to convince me (the translator) that they really do need help, and again I start to feel very awkward and helpless because I don’t have the decision making power, yet people talk to me as if I do. Most of the time they don’t even realize that I am a Peace Corps volunteer living in Santa Barbara, they just assume I came with the group.
Now things are really uncomfortable because the local Rotary member had made a commitment to this orphanage and the people from the states just broke that commitment. So, the Rotary member basically stopped talking because he was so upset, so who had to talk to the group…me! I explained to them that they had made a commitment and they are disappointing 50 young children and making the local Rotary look bad by breaking it. Thankfully they understood this and decided to honor their commitment and donate the clothes and food to the orphanage as well as to Dolores. So, in the end the group donated clothes to Dolores and donated clothes and food to the orphanage and everybody was happy.
Above: Seattle group donating clothes
Then we have to find translators, because groups usually don’t bring fluent Spanish speakers. The Rotary Club usually knows about these trips for month in advance, but usually wait until the last minute to ask people to translate (in this case three days advance notice). This time, Katie and I translated for most of the time, as well as the adopted son of an American woman that lives in Santa Barbara who speaks English. I don’t mind translating that much but I feel that the Rotary Club relies too heavily on Peace Corps volunteers and not enough on other bilingual Hondurans. For example, the president of Rotaract (Rotary for younger people) speaks English and Spanish, yet they rarely ever use him to translate.
Then there is the issue of picking them up at the airport and getting rental cars and drivers, etc. It really makes me appreciate people who are not scared to drive in foreign countries.
Then the wheelchairs…The group from Washington donated 280 wheelchairs through an organization called the Wheelchair Foundation and came to Santa Barbara for about two and a half days to deliver them (they delivered about 10% of them). Before the group arrived, the local Rotary got in touch with community leaders of the different municipalities around Santa Barbara and asked them for a list of people who could benefit from wheelchairs. Then we split up into three teams, loaded the back of the rental trucks with wheelchairs and headed out.
When we got to the community we met with the mayors office and then got somebody that knew the community to help take the chairs to the people on the list, and some not on the list. As I have learned from delivering filters, delivering things to people’s houses is always easier said than done. Nobody has an address and they all live in hard to reach places.
Anyway, once we got to somebody’s house we would go in and introduce ourselves and talk to the family and see if they needed a wheelchair. Unfortunately, it often turned out that once we got there we found that many of the people on our list couldn’t actually use the wheelchair because they couldn’t sit up by themselves. We also met a few people who had disabilities but could still walk. However, many others were able to benefit, young and old. As the translator I did most of the talking to the family and with the people from the mayor’s office that came along to help us out. It was a good feeling because I realized how comfortable I felt going into people’s homes and talking to them with ease. It was also depressing to see people with debilitating illnesses that probably could have been prevented or reversed in the states. We gave a wheelchair to one old man who was covered with a rash from head to toe. I asked his family what he had and they said “El tiene un gran picazon” (He has a big itch) and it made me so sad because there must be a treatment for it, but most likely he will never get it.
Then a woman came up to us with her four year old child that looked like a two year old and still couldn’t walk, asking for a wheelchair. We suspected that the child was malnourished and developmentally delayed so I tried to talk to her about nutrition and she just looked at me with a forlorn and helpless look. I wanted to yell at the rest of the community to help their neighbors, that there should never be a malnourished child among them…As the translator I would be the one to stay and talk to people like this while the rest of the group would move on to the next house and I would have to say I’m sorry, we can’t help you and know that probably nobody else will help her either and her children will never grow up strong and healthy.Alright, even though it was depressing in many ways I loved being with the people in their homes and being able to help many of them and receiving gratitude from them. The group from Washington also enjoyed the experience and were touched that they could have such a personal experience with the people that they were helping. Although many of them had delivered wheelchairs in Vietnam and Africa they had never been in such a rural situation and been so close to the people.
Whenever working with Rotary there is always profound confusion. Sometime I actually wonder how they manage to be so bad at communicating and how they haven’t changed after so many years of working with groups. The first night in town the local Rotary planned to have a meeting with their guests after dinner. So, I went out to dinner with the group from Washington and then arrived at the meeting. Turns out the local club had prepared a dinner and didn’t tell any of us, so after finishing our first dinner we were served a second one at the meeting (which I graciously declined since I have gotten over being polite about eating food that I don’t want). The second night one of the Rotary members invited everybody over for dinner and I specifically told him that we wouldn’t eat dinner because he was going to serve it. Well, turns out he forgot to tell his wife that she had to cook for twenty people, so she didn’t have anything prepared. After about an hour of chitchatting and snacks I went into the kitchen to see what the deal was and found out what had happened. So, then they went and bought fried chicken from down the street and served it up.
The last day is when things really started to get complicated. Originally the group had agreed to donate mattresses, food and clothes to a local orphanage (that is technically a day care center for children of single mothers who can’t afford day care) that one of the local Rotary Club contacted. Well, Dolores, an American that lives in Santa Barbara and does charity work, decided that that orphanage didn’t need help, so she got in touch with the group from Washington and told them they shouldn’t help them and that she worked with people who really needed help. So, the Washington group started to have second thoughts…we did buy the mattresses and delivered them to the orphanage and then while there the group from Washington decided that the orphanage didn’t need help and they really wanted to donate to a real orphanage (like a place where kids with no parents live). So they told the director they wouldn’t be donating the clothing or food and would be donating things to Dolores instead because they believed she helped people that really needed more help (the leader of the group referred to these needy people as hill people).
Actually, I told the director and then she proceeded to try to convince me (the translator) that they really do need help, and again I start to feel very awkward and helpless because I don’t have the decision making power, yet people talk to me as if I do. Most of the time they don’t even realize that I am a Peace Corps volunteer living in Santa Barbara, they just assume I came with the group.Now things are really uncomfortable because the local Rotary member had made a commitment to this orphanage and the people from the states just broke that commitment. So, the Rotary member basically stopped talking because he was so upset, so who had to talk to the group…me! I explained to them that they had made a commitment and they are disappointing 50 young children and making the local Rotary look bad by breaking it. Thankfully they understood this and decided to honor their commitment and donate the clothes and food to the orphanage as well as to Dolores. So, in the end the group donated clothes to Dolores and donated clothes and food to the orphanage and everybody was happy.
Above: Seattle group donating clothes Below: Kids from the orphanage
After the group drove away I went to the river and sat on a rock and sobbed for about 20 minutes, and then walked home, sobbing all the way and then sobbed in my apartment for about an hour. I was just completely overwhelmed by everything and so torn. I understood both sides of the issue and also understood things that neither side understood. I understand the desire to help the neediest people and I also understand the importance of keeping a commitment. I know that both sides (Santa Barbara Rotary Club and Dolores) want to help people and yet both have their own agendas. I have seen sides of both of them that a group from the states visiting for three days will never see. But how do you know who to help? In general, the people farthest from the city center usually find themselves with very little resources or access to support from their local government or NGOs. Yet, people living right in Santa Barbara are also living in desperate poverty and people walk past them everyday and don’t help them. For example, there is a woman that sells chips and cigarettes in the park and has about five little kids who run around the streets half naked all day long. I imagine that these types of children are the children that go to the orphanage/day care that we visited, kids who otherwise would not go to school, bath or eat and would be on the street all day selling gum.
Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by the local and visiting Rotary Clubs and want to tell them that I am only 23 years old and I don’t know anything! I feel like they need expect me to be more like a cultural broker and logistician than just a translator. For example, one of their group members arrived to Honduras a day after the rest of the group, so the local Rotary arranged for somebody to go to the airport and pick him up. Well, nobody told him that he would get picked up at the airport (there goes that pesky lack of communication again) so when the Rotary member got there he was nowhere to be seen. So, they call me while I am in a community delivering wheelchairs to ask me where he is and what they should do. My first reaction is to say I have no freaking idea, why are you asking me! Then I suggest that they call the hotel to see if he went there. Turns out that was exactly what happened and they picked him up at the hotel no problem. Then I start to think that maybe I do have some idea, some of the time.
I sobbed because of the knowledge of how complicated this world is and how charity and development are such gray areas. There are so many people have pure hearts and want to help other people but often don’t know how. They don’t know how because they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions and don’t understand the people they are trying to help. There are also selfish people who want to act as if they are doing charity just for their own self gain. How do we tell the difference between these two people, how do we know who to help and how do we know how to help them?
Even though it was a heart wrenching experience it is always good to know that I still have a heart and meet some amazing people who actually do want to help and realize that my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer is helping me understand some very important lessons in life.
Group from Seattle
After the group drove away I went to the river and sat on a rock and sobbed for about 20 minutes, and then walked home, sobbing all the way and then sobbed in my apartment for about an hour. I was just completely overwhelmed by everything and so torn. I understood both sides of the issue and also understood things that neither side understood. I understand the desire to help the neediest people and I also understand the importance of keeping a commitment. I know that both sides (Santa Barbara Rotary Club and Dolores) want to help people and yet both have their own agendas. I have seen sides of both of them that a group from the states visiting for three days will never see. But how do you know who to help? In general, the people farthest from the city center usually find themselves with very little resources or access to support from their local government or NGOs. Yet, people living right in Santa Barbara are also living in desperate poverty and people walk past them everyday and don’t help them. For example, there is a woman that sells chips and cigarettes in the park and has about five little kids who run around the streets half naked all day long. I imagine that these types of children are the children that go to the orphanage/day care that we visited, kids who otherwise would not go to school, bath or eat and would be on the street all day selling gum.
Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by the local and visiting Rotary Clubs and want to tell them that I am only 23 years old and I don’t know anything! I feel like they need expect me to be more like a cultural broker and logistician than just a translator. For example, one of their group members arrived to Honduras a day after the rest of the group, so the local Rotary arranged for somebody to go to the airport and pick him up. Well, nobody told him that he would get picked up at the airport (there goes that pesky lack of communication again) so when the Rotary member got there he was nowhere to be seen. So, they call me while I am in a community delivering wheelchairs to ask me where he is and what they should do. My first reaction is to say I have no freaking idea, why are you asking me! Then I suggest that they call the hotel to see if he went there. Turns out that was exactly what happened and they picked him up at the hotel no problem. Then I start to think that maybe I do have some idea, some of the time.
I sobbed because of the knowledge of how complicated this world is and how charity and development are such gray areas. There are so many people have pure hearts and want to help other people but often don’t know how. They don’t know how because they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions and don’t understand the people they are trying to help. There are also selfish people who want to act as if they are doing charity just for their own self gain. How do we tell the difference between these two people, how do we know who to help and how do we know how to help them?
Even though it was a heart wrenching experience it is always good to know that I still have a heart and meet some amazing people who actually do want to help and realize that my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer is helping me understand some very important lessons in life.
Group from SeattleSemana Santa
In Honduras Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most important times of the year. Thursday-Saturday is the official holiday, but things start to shut down early on in the week. Public transportation either shuts down or is beyond packed, stores and restaurants close and all of Honduras goes to the beach on the north coast. A few other volunteers and I decided to avoid the beach rush and head to Comayagua, which is famous in Honduras for its alfombras.
Getting there was a fiasco! The bus line that I usually take was going to stop running Thursday and Friday so I had planned to leave Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday I went to the bus station just to check the schedule (you can never be too sure) and they informed me that the bus would only be leaving in the morning around 10 or 11. Okay, 10 or 11 is a pretty wide range…so I asked what time I should arrive at the station and the owner told me to come at 10 am. The next day I arrived at 10 am and they informed me that the bus had just left and the guy that told me to come at 10 obviously didn’t know what he was talking about (why should the owner know anything?). So I almost started to cry pondering the idea of being stuck in Santa Barbara by myself with no food for the next two days when some kind ladies told me that I could take a bus to the turn off and then get catch another bus from there that was heading south and then get off on the side of the road and then catch another bus to my destination. So, five hours and three buses later I arrived in one piece and met up with Mary and Kendra.
We spent Thursday through Saturday in Comayagua and were able to partake in a real live cultural event/tourist attraction. Every year the night before Good Friday different organizations or families make elaborate alfombras (rugs) out of sawdust. There is a silent procession Thursday night after mass (which lasted four hours…we only went to one hour of it) so they start working on the rugs close to midnight and work throughout the night to finish by morning before the next procession walks over them. The idea is that the rugs are supposed to soften Jesus’ journey to the cross.
The groups start designing their rugs months in advance and start dying sawdust and creating stencils for their designs, then they work like mad all night long without sleep and then watch their rug get destroyed immediately after. Mary, Kendra & I were lucky enough to be able to work on the largest rug in the procession; it was an entire block long. I actually didn’t stay up all night, but I worked on if from about 3-5 am and then 8-10 am. It was so big and involved that we were finishing it just as the procession was starting, it was pretty amazing. First, they put down a base layer of sawdust and smoothed it out and assembled the stencils.
Mary working on an angel.
Then we got to work…They spray the sawdust with water to keep it moist and to keep it from blowing away in the wind.
And then watched it be walked on
I know that these white hats don’t mean the same thing they do as in the states, but it was a little eerie. 
From left: Mary, Allison, the artist, Brian, Kendra
The group that worked on the rug
Getting there was a fiasco! The bus line that I usually take was going to stop running Thursday and Friday so I had planned to leave Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday I went to the bus station just to check the schedule (you can never be too sure) and they informed me that the bus would only be leaving in the morning around 10 or 11. Okay, 10 or 11 is a pretty wide range…so I asked what time I should arrive at the station and the owner told me to come at 10 am. The next day I arrived at 10 am and they informed me that the bus had just left and the guy that told me to come at 10 obviously didn’t know what he was talking about (why should the owner know anything?). So I almost started to cry pondering the idea of being stuck in Santa Barbara by myself with no food for the next two days when some kind ladies told me that I could take a bus to the turn off and then get catch another bus from there that was heading south and then get off on the side of the road and then catch another bus to my destination. So, five hours and three buses later I arrived in one piece and met up with Mary and Kendra.
We spent Thursday through Saturday in Comayagua and were able to partake in a real live cultural event/tourist attraction. Every year the night before Good Friday different organizations or families make elaborate alfombras (rugs) out of sawdust. There is a silent procession Thursday night after mass (which lasted four hours…we only went to one hour of it) so they start working on the rugs close to midnight and work throughout the night to finish by morning before the next procession walks over them. The idea is that the rugs are supposed to soften Jesus’ journey to the cross.
The groups start designing their rugs months in advance and start dying sawdust and creating stencils for their designs, then they work like mad all night long without sleep and then watch their rug get destroyed immediately after. Mary, Kendra & I were lucky enough to be able to work on the largest rug in the procession; it was an entire block long. I actually didn’t stay up all night, but I worked on if from about 3-5 am and then 8-10 am. It was so big and involved that we were finishing it just as the procession was starting, it was pretty amazing. First, they put down a base layer of sawdust and smoothed it out and assembled the stencils. Mary working on an angel.Then we got to work…They spray the sawdust with water to keep it moist and to keep it from blowing away in the wind.
And ended up with this:
And then watched it be walked onI know that these white hats don’t mean the same thing they do as in the states, but it was a little eerie. From left: Mary, Allison, the artist, Brian, KendraThe group that worked on the rugHere are some of the other rugs that I liked.
Saturday we headed to Tegucigalpa in hopes of going to La Tigra (a national park outside of Teguc) on Sunday to go hiking, but we didn’t exactly make it there. We got on the wrong bus and only made it halfway up the mountain. Then we waited around for a while for another bus, but another bus never came so we got a jalone (ride) another quarter way up the mountain and waited there a while longer. Then we started to contemplate the possibility that we might not be able to get back down the mountain if the bus schedule was changed since it was Easter Sunday. So we started walking back down the mountain and then caught a bus back to Teguc and went to the pool (which turned out to be a very popular way to spend Easter Sunday).
Overall it was a great vacation and I wished I could have stayed longer. Unfortunately all hell was breaking loose in Santa Barbara so I had to go back and work with Agua Pura.
Saturday we headed to Tegucigalpa in hopes of going to La Tigra (a national park outside of Teguc) on Sunday to go hiking, but we didn’t exactly make it there. We got on the wrong bus and only made it halfway up the mountain. Then we waited around for a while for another bus, but another bus never came so we got a jalone (ride) another quarter way up the mountain and waited there a while longer. Then we started to contemplate the possibility that we might not be able to get back down the mountain if the bus schedule was changed since it was Easter Sunday. So we started walking back down the mountain and then caught a bus back to Teguc and went to the pool (which turned out to be a very popular way to spend Easter Sunday).
Overall it was a great vacation and I wished I could have stayed longer. Unfortunately all hell was breaking loose in Santa Barbara so I had to go back and work with Agua Pura. Child Labor
So, child labor is bad, right? Your typical American seems to think so anyway. Well, while Kevin was here visiting me in Santa Barbara I took him to the filter workshop to check it out and as we walked in we saw three little boys moving cement bags in a large dusty warehouse. My grandpa asked who they were and I said I had no idea. Later he mentioned that something like that could cause a scandal for the Peace Corps and for Rotary (since the filters are supported by Rotary grants). I had never thought about it that way, in fact I had never thought about it at all. Seeing little kids working at the filter workshop didn’t faze me at all, probably because I have become so accustomed to seeing little kids working all the time. Young boys often work on buses taking ticket money, small children work in the park selling Chiclets and lots of kids work in the markets to help out their parents.
Child labor is bad. Children should not be working at a young age, especially in dangerous situations. They should be in school so they can learn how to read and write. But what if their parents don’t have enough money to send them to school or feed them and if they have them work they can make a little extra money?
Rolf, the Canadian Agua Pura volunteer that was here at the time didn’t like the situation either so he talked to the filter owner about it. The boys were 6, 9 and 12 and were the sons of one of the workers. Rolf didn’t like this so he went to the authorities to denounce the owner of the filter workshop for breaking the law by employing minors. The owner obviously wasn’t too happy about this. I have learned time and time again that going behind somebody’s back is not the way to go, you need to address the situation first, tell the person that if no change is made you will have to take more drastic action, so that they have a chance to fix the problem. Whether or not this happened with Rolf and the workshop owner I am not quite sure, but either way he probably could have used more tact.
About a week after all this happened I talked to the filter workshop owner and asked him about the kids and he told me that they didn’t work there anymore…that was easy. So, now that they don’t work there anymore, what are they doing? Are they in school, did they find other work, are they on the street? I realize more and more that nothing is simple here, nothing is black and white.
Child labor is bad. Children should not be working at a young age, especially in dangerous situations. They should be in school so they can learn how to read and write. But what if their parents don’t have enough money to send them to school or feed them and if they have them work they can make a little extra money?
Rolf, the Canadian Agua Pura volunteer that was here at the time didn’t like the situation either so he talked to the filter owner about it. The boys were 6, 9 and 12 and were the sons of one of the workers. Rolf didn’t like this so he went to the authorities to denounce the owner of the filter workshop for breaking the law by employing minors. The owner obviously wasn’t too happy about this. I have learned time and time again that going behind somebody’s back is not the way to go, you need to address the situation first, tell the person that if no change is made you will have to take more drastic action, so that they have a chance to fix the problem. Whether or not this happened with Rolf and the workshop owner I am not quite sure, but either way he probably could have used more tact.
About a week after all this happened I talked to the filter workshop owner and asked him about the kids and he told me that they didn’t work there anymore…that was easy. So, now that they don’t work there anymore, what are they doing? Are they in school, did they find other work, are they on the street? I realize more and more that nothing is simple here, nothing is black and white.
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