Maybe it's just a bad mood, but I'm kinda sorta rethinking this trip... ]]> Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159313 0 15.75 -86.9333333 Looking back at these entries I’ve realized that I haven’t told you much about my day to day life and what’s going on at the school.

Last weekend we got to attend a fundraiser for a charity called Creila which works with disabled children. It was pretty sweet, there were presentations from local bands and members of the international community also donated their time and culinary skills to prepare food from their homes to sell to raise money (I donated my time, money and eating skills :P). Some of our students did a traditional dance and Rikke was interviewed on TV. All in all it was pretty sweet! :D

We’ve also just started 2 extra classes every day- we’re now doing Zumba with the kids, which is a dance/ fitness exercise and the kids absolutely love it so I get to play with the kids and work on my abs at the same time, sounds good to me! Then @ 1pm we’ve started a reading room with children from 4- 6. The thing is that they can’t actually read yet so we read aloud to them—have I mentioned that I don’t speak Spanish? Cosssss I don’t. Some days I’m not sure who would do a better job of it, me or the 4 year olds... I often have to ask them if I’m saying a word correctly. From 1-145 when the little ones are in class it’s complete chaos and I love love love it!

The best part of my day today was when one was being a crazy little monkey and I took him aside and asked him (in Spanish) “Don’t you want to read?” to which he replied by screeching ‘NO!!’ Into my ear, then I asked him again “Please, I need a friend to read with” then he grabbed some books, came to sit with me and shut his adorable little mouth! My Spanish is still pretty much rubbish, but it’s pretty rewarding when I manage to get even a tiny message like that across to the kids.

Tomorrow we’re going to be heading to some local highschools doing some fundraising for SOS. Not sure how that’s going to work since we’re going to have a difficult time communicating with anyone, buttttt we’ll figure it out.
]]> Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159312 0 15.75 -86.9333333 So I’ve been debating about whether I should post this entry or not. I want to be as positive as possible but I also want to be honest...

This town isn’t exactly the safest. Going into this I knew that I can’t walk alone after dark and that I shouldn’t show off flashy jewellery, but I didn’t anticipate that anyone would actually have any issues. I thought this was just common sense and the organization was covering their butts to keep us safe as possible.

Twice this weekend Hondurans have told us that El Porvenir isn’t a very safe place to be. Honestly, we were out in La Ceiba (watching a pretty sweet band btw) and we told a table full of people where we were living and their response was to tell us to be careful and that they wouldn’t want to be out after dark in porvenir. This worried me a little because Hondurans have no reason to scare us if it’s not true.

Then last night we took a taxi home @ 2am and the taxi driver was hesitant to take us and said that he didn’t really feel safe going home alone at that hour. In the end he took us in and we loaded 2 taxis and I jumped in the first one and the other people from my house got in the second one. When we arrived I went to get out and wait for the others to unlock the door and the girls looked at me like I was crazy and told me that they weren’t leaving me here alone because there were 3 guys hanging outside of the school (which is kitty corner from my house). One of the guys approached the taxi and the girls made me get back inside and lock the door. There was a conversation in Spanish and then the driver told us to give him money. We were confused since we had already agreed on price and thought that was really weird, we tried to object and then Kaitlyn was told in Spanish “You don’t understand, we can’t leave unless you give him money”... basically long story short was that the guys apparently had guns and threatened the driver. I ended up staying at the beach house for the night because the drivers didn’t think it was safe to take me home...

Ugh. Will be following the rules and playing it as safe as possible from here on in.

But, having said all that I also need to add that these are worst case scenarios and we haven’t had any real issues. Both of the incidents that we’ve seen have been where people have claimed to have weapons and we haven’t actually seen them... that’s a plus, right?!
]]> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159310 0 15.75 -86.9333333 I don’t think I’ve made it clear enough how lucky I feel to be here or how many lessons I’ve already learned.

Last night we had a little thanksgiving dinner with the beach House girls and we went around the table saying what we’re thankful for.

This year—and every year really, I have so much to be thankful for. I feel especially fortunate that I grew up around people who could show by example how to care so much about others .

As some of you may know there have been some health issues in the fam this year and I’m beyond thankful that things are a bit better and that these people could show me yet again exactly what strength is.

Gahh, I could run on and on with this topic, but thought it would be nice to take this opportunity to show my appreciation to the people I have in my life who take the time to keep in touch even when I’m so far away. Nice to know that out of sight isn’t necessarily out of mind : )

I love you all so much!
]]> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159309 0 15.75 -86.9333333 To follow up on my last entry I have to sadly admit to a little problem we’ve encountered...

Two of the volunteers have had things stolen at the orphanage recently (presumably by the same boy- who is particularly charming and lovable). Both items have been returned but that’s not what concerns me, what gets to me is wondering about the lives that these kids have already had and the lives that they will have from here. I can’t stand the thought that these children who are so full of promise might not end up happy, healthy and safe. I’m so glad that the organization is here for them and that they at least have a fighting chance if they want to/ can be persuaded to take it.

Regarding this particular boy, I’m not sure what will happen to him. I know that he has had issues with theft and not sure what else... my naive hope is that it’s just a thing he’s going through and with the right guidance and attention he’ll take a different path.

I’m getting really attached. Not good.
]]> Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159307 0 15.75 -86.9333333 It constantly amazes me how great children are... It doesn’t matter where they’re from or what they’ve been through they are so full of possibility and loaded with love.

As cliché as it sounds they are also our future... no matter what they’ve endured they’re going to grow up someday and impact the world in one way or another. My wish for the world is that each child would be given all the tools that they need to succeed in life and become the kind of people that we want taking care of our planet some day.

If you happen to have a child please hug them for me and let them know how important they are.
Do it now please : )
]]> Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159305 0 15.75 -86.9333333 Mum’s birthday. Missing home even more than usual today.
Just thought you should know... ]]> Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159304 0 15.75 -86.9333333 Went to Trujillo for the weekend. It was great to get out of El Porvenir for a little while!!
It was probably the most beautiful drive I’ve ever been on. I can’t even tell you about it because I lack the words. But trust me when I say that there’s something comforting about being surrounded by palm tree covered mountains and seeing nothing but green in every direction. Gahhh, wish I had some photos, I don’t think that the term ‘breath taking’ would be an exaggeration at all.

We had also seen the pics that Miles & Amelie (the Aussie couple that lives with us) took when they went out there and they were absolutely gorgeous- white sand clear blue water, with star fish and sand-dollars.

The problem is that we we’re in stormy season and along with stormy waters comes big waves and lots of garbage...

We arrived in Trujillo after dark so we didn’t get a chance to witness this little fact before we indulged in happy hour. Sooooo after a couple drinks we thought it would be a good idea to go swimming, in our minds we were on the beautiful beach from the pictures, so when we stepped on stuff and had things brushed up against us in the water we just assumed that it was seaweed and kept swimming. It was a grande ol’ time- until we woke up in the morning and went to the beach and realized that it looked it like an effing landfill. Ughhhh.

Lesson learned, never swim in water you haven’t seen in the light of day.

...I feel dirty.

Filth aside though I such a great time- nearly all the volunteers from El Porvenir came out and I finally got a chance to get some time with the girls from the beach House. I wish I could take off and do it again right about now.
]]> Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159302 0 15.9166667 -86 WET WET WET WET WET. I know I’m from Vancouver and all but I’ve never seen so much rain.

Our House almost flooded the other day and we now have a lake in our front yard... but that’s ok, I like lakes.
]]> Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159300 0 15.75 -86.9333333 Oh, forgot to mention...
Things are feeling a little less than safe here. Some of the girls were heading home the other day @ about 5 pm (still broad daylight) and a man approached them and demanded he give them money. A little unsure of the details but I think he said that he had a gun and that he would kill them if they didn’t give him something... in the end a neighbour saw what was going on and stepped in and scared him away, but still, effing scary!

Alsoooo I hate roosters and have learned that they cockadoodledoo all day long.
Just thought you should know.
]]> Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159299 0 15.4 -87.7833333 Had a fantastic day today, most of the girls went to Pico Bonito to check it out, and it was amazing. We got to swim in the waterfall and used the opportunity to get ourselves something like clean (our water has been out since the ‘hurricane’- but is back now). There is no point in me trying to explain in words how beautiful it is so will post a couple pics... they don’t do it justice, but you get the idea : )]]> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159297 0 15.4 -87.7833333 The kids that I’ve been working with have a way of making a difficult experience so very worthwhile... I’ve been feeling really homesick since I’ve arrived, but when I’m with the kids it’s difficult to be too sad. Its funny how we can feel like we’re quite deprived growing up in a bad area in Canada and come to a developing country and realize just how lucky we are. I think every day about how fortunate I am to have lived the life that I have and to have such a big family and so many material possessions when these kids have so little. I wish I could do more to help... ]]> Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=159296 0 15.4 -87.7833333 As you probably know I’ve arrived in Honduras safely and am so excited to be here. The kids are absolutely amazing and I feel lucky that I get to play even a small part in their lives. The voluntarios are kind of the local celebs @ SOS and we’re constantly surrounded by loving and curious kids, always eager for a hug and a bit of attention. It’s funny because often we actually have to physically move the kids from the classroom once it’s time for them to leave. My poor Spanish hasn’t been a huge problem for me yet since the kids are more than happy to help us in any way possible. They’re patient and helpful and really helping us pick things up quickly.

Now that I’m here I’ve learned a bit more about the program and support it even more than I did before. The SOS village has 144 kids and 16 homes that they live in (but don’t quote me on that, the number might be slightly off), it is indeed an orphanage but has a bit of a different approach from a typical style. My understanding is that a typical orphanage will have a dormitory style room with boys and girls separated and few adults around to care for them, whereas the SOS tries to imitate the style of a normal family. They have aprox 9 children in a home with a caretaker called a Tia. They do everything in their power to make life as normal as possible for the kids but as you can imagine 1 ‘mother’ and 9 kids can pose a bit of a challenge to give the kids as much attention as they deserve. Despite having a suffered a huge amount of difficulty in their lives the kids are just the most amazing and loving humans I’ve been around... I’ll probably say that 17 million more times in my entries, but I can’t express it enough.

Our house is extremely basic (we have to be very creative with our cleaning techniques and meal preparations), but we’re living with some really great people, the evenings are pretty lazy but we pass the evenings alright with some card games, chatting, reading and practicing our Spanish.

The town is very very very different from what you would find in Canada, there are horses just chilling around town- literally, Tia and I were walking home from the pub on our second night and were greeted by a horse sleeping in the street. Other little delights around town are crabs scuttering down the street, wild dogs, roosters/ chickens, cows and children. We were hoping to explore the town a little bit more this weekend, but the weather had other plans, so will hopefully have some more in depth description next weekend.

Nowwwww, speaking of the weather- have you heard of hurricane Matthew? It was expected to hit our area last night or today, we went into town and stocked up on provisions (plenty of canned food) and prepared for a power outage then woke up this morning with no bad weather in sight. Not sure if it’s late (typical Honduran style) or if it’s skipped us entirely. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
]]> Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=24416 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=158976 0 15.4 -87.7833333