Full Circle

So my trip has come full circle, and I am back at Casa El Meson in San Pedro Sula for the night. Time has flown especially this second week. When I visited for the first time in 2011, I knew I wanted to return to Copan Ruinas but wasn't sure if I would be able to. Now at the end of my third trip, I know I will be back on a somewhat regular basis, the next time I hope with Brent. So how is my Spanish. I still have good days and bad. Last Saturday in the villages of Amate and Buena Vista it seemed like I couldn't string a sentence together. However, I was reminded that the villagers use completely different words for things, use local expressions and often don't pronounce or articulate thier words. So I won't judge myself on that day. I can hold a decent conversation especially with Dunia. I still struggle in a conversation at normal pace especially if I don't know what the topic is about. And yet I have days when things fall in to place and I feel like I have made good progress. The exam on day one at the school showed me that I need to improve on my grammar. So I am returning with a new enthusiasm to pick up my books and do more homework. My reading has definatley improved. Each morning this week I bought the paper on the way to work. I would read several articles then we would discuss them. I had wanted to learn more about the political situation in Honduras and the upcoming election so we chose articles that spoke to that. The election takes place on Sunday and I will follow the results with interest.

I had a great time with Dunia and her family. It is a true immersion experience made more special by the fact that they include me in everything they do. I was also able to catch up with Ellen and again witness, first hand, the awesome work she does here. Ellen often talks about the small things that give her the most joy. I see her point. For me, it's the moments that catch you off guard that often mean the most. A few days ago, sitting in Cafe San Rafael, one of the young boys from La Pintada walked in carrying his bag of corn husk dolls to sell to us tourists. I explained to him that I had visisted his village the week before and bought dolls and scarves. He didn't say much, then eyed my water. "I'm thirsty" he said. He accepted my offer of the glass of water and made himself comfortable on a chair at my table. He told me his name was Raul and that he liked to go to school as he liked his teacher. Then began a word game with us each taking turns to name everythig in the restuarant as he slowly sipped up two glasses of water. Cute.

So it's off early to the airport tomorrow. Hopefully you have enjoyed the blog and/or the photos.

Travelling Honduras style with the Amigos of Honduras.

Hasta la proxima vez......until the next time.......!

Parque de Aves

For those that read my blog two years ago, you will perhaps remember my trip to Macaw Mountain Bird Park, a must see for anyone visiting Copan. I went back this past Monday with Dunia and the kids and Rudy was able to join us for most of the trip between classes. Before the park, we visited Rudy at his school, the Mayatan Bilingual School which is a private, tuition paid, school. There are about 350 student from first grade through high school. About half the students are on becas (grants) provided by private donors. The other half come from families who are fortunate enough to be able to afford the tuition. I was given a tour of the school by one of the staff. The teachers comprise about half American/Canadian and the other half are Hondurenian. The students that recieve becas are extremely fortunate as they come from communties whose families could never dream of affording their children this type of education. Some of you may recall my trip last week to La Pintada on horse back. There are six students who are on becas from the village. They are walked down the mountain to Copan every day by a family member(most are in the the early grade so are 6 and 7 years old). They are then picked up at 6:00am and driven to the school which is just on the north end of Copan. This is a commitment not just from the children but from the family as well. I was also told that the hardest yet most important time to keep them in school is after Grade 6. This is when the families really sacrifce as the children are at an age to be out working in the fields and earning the family an income. Instead the family must decide if they are to allow them to remain in school. After grade 6 they learn advanced English, math skills and go on to learn a profession (tourism, teaching, nursing etc). On the way to the school I took a few snap shots as we went;

After the school we hit the bird park.

This tree has the nickname "tourist tree" because it sheds it's bark, just like the gringos shed their skin after too much sun, so joke the locals!

Visitors can get up close and personal with the birds.....

At the end of the tour, we sat in the outdoor cafe, and ever the teacher, Dunia produced a game of scrabble from her bag. Needless to say I lost horribly!

Macaw Bird Park rescues and rehabilitates birds that owners can no longer care for or have been seized by the government having been owned illegally or were in the process of being smuggled out of the country. They have an amazing breeding and release program, trying to increase the number of the Macaws within the Copan Valley where once they used to fly in abundance. As we were leaving, we got to see one as it should be, in the wild

San Jose, Guatemala

Yesterday was a great day which began slowly, with some much needed studying. Late morning, I meandered down the hill in to town and then took a taxi over the bridge to the church where I met up with Dunia and the family for lunch.

Lunch was great;

This is the Noni tree from which tea can be made (I tried some the other day at Casa de te) and it is supposed to have excellent medicinal properties;

More papayas anyone?

Afterwards I walked to the bridge where I waited to be picked up by Ellen and the Amigos (kinda sounds like a movie). The plan was to head to San Jose, Guatemala to see the medical clinic that was sponsored by Amigos of Honduras along with some other private donors (Thanks Wildcats!!!). When the truck arrived I jumped in to the back of the pick-up, a common way to ride here. The weather could not have been more perfect. Blue sky and hot! Ellen had mentioned the day before that I wouldn’t need my passport as we were taking the back roads……and looking at the border between Honduras and Guatemala I could see why.The border is defined by the cut in the trees and the fence post. Someone joked that the gentleman was immigration.

San Jose is a small Mayan chorti village, about 15 minutes over the border. Until the clinic was built they had to walk to Copan for medical help. Presently the clinic gets a doctor one day a month and all the villagers who needed medical attention have already been seen. Once the Guatemalan government can find a doctor to work there, there will be a doctor and nurses there more frequently. We arrived to find the women making bread, a process which fascinated me. It is hoped that they will soon be able to make enough to sell to surrounding areas and in Copan;

The oven is made predominantly from mud. Once there are only ashes, they are pushed aside and the trays of bread placed inside the hot oven for about ten minutes;

Once cooked, the bread is removed from the oven, assisted by ladies who push the pans of bread towards another who removes them;

In addition to bread, they made us coffee….it doesn’t get much fresher than this. Their process for heating the coffee is simple yet ingenious;

Next we went to see the clinic. It is still being finished but they do have medicine there now which was locked away.

We got to try the bread and coffee which they had made especially for us. It is probably some of the best bread I’ve ever tasted…it had a slightly sweet taste to it and it was amazing.

Of course, the amigos had some toys and candy for the kids. It’s always great to see their faces as they get something new;

The village of San Jose is very poor, but there seemed to be a different feel to the village that was hard to describe. The villagers are obvioualy extremely fond of Ellen and Marel who have put so much time, effort and stress in to getting the clinic built. Their leader Leopold knows how much energy this project took and he was so thankful for the clinic and what it means to his village. I know in speaking to Ellen that she is very fond of this village and it was easy to see why. They are truly wonderful people who willingly shared what they had with us, when they themsleves have virtually nothing;

Once again I took so many photos it was hard to choose which ones to add to the blog. here are a few more;

Stuck in the mud....everyone out!

To change tract for a moment, most of you are probably not aware that Honduras is about to have an election on November 24th to vote in a new president. There are two main parties, the Nacionalistas (blue) and the Liberales (red) as well as multiple other parties such as Libre (also red), a break off group from the Liberales. Opinion here seems to think that the Nacionalistas will win again. This weekend was the last weekend the parties were allowed to canvass and advertise for votes. This past Friday the Liberales had a big rally in town and last night was the Nacionalistas. I asked why the break in soliciting before voting and was told that this give the people time to think about their decision and how they want to vote. Then, as of next Fridy, two days before voting, there is a ban on the sale of all alcohol which lasts until Tuesday morning, a day after the vote. This is to try to cut down on any violence or problems as a result of the results. I happened to be in town the day the Nacionalistas were to hold their rally;

Anyway, gotta run. Out for now.