Finally adjusting, work, and BATS!!

Greetings family and friends,

It is December 4^th and I came into Tegucigalpa to run some errands today. However, as much as I would like to say that my reasons for coming here to Teguz are all business, that simply is not true. You see, my Nebraska Huskers are playing in the last Big 12 Championship game ever. Not only is it the last game ever, it is the last game of the Nebraska-Oklahoma Rivalry. And we want it so bad, after last year when the Huskers were robbed when the officials put one second back on the clock to give Texas one more play to kick the game winning field goal. There was just no way that I could miss this game.  So, needless to say, I am pretty excited about this game. But enough about football, lets talk about life in Honduras.

Life in Honduras is going well. My Spanish is definitely taken off as of late. It really is coming to me natural now. Of course, I still do not understand every single word that was said. However, I do not remember the last time I was unable to understand someone or the last time I felt like I could not say what I wanted to say. I worried for so long that I would never reach the level of confidence with my Spanish that I have today. It feels good knowing that I do not have to stress about it anymore.

Work is going well. Right now I have three main projects that I am working on. My biggest project right now is summer school at the primary school. I have about 80 students who to learn English, reading, writing, and math. It is definitely a challenge keeping order in my class room and ensuring that every student gets the attention they need. If only my teachers could see me now. It’s funny and ironic given my apathetic attitude I had towards school growing up. I am sure that out of my high school class I was one of the least likely persons to become an educator in Honduras. To see the other side of the teacher-student dynamic really is weird. Last May I was on the student side. It’s funny, I became the scary and tough teacher very quickly. I sometimes whish some people in my site could see who I was in college so they could know and understand that I am not as serious as they think I am. In college I always took SGA seriously, but I had my friends and rugby to let loose and lighten up. Here, I do not have that, so it is different. But in short, I without a doubt have gained a new perspective and appreciation for all my old teachers.

My other project is a baseball team that I started up. It is a team of boys and girls ranging from 9-13 years old. To my surprise, this has been more difficult that I expected. The problem is that there really is a lack of organized sports for kids in Honduras. It is not like in the States that starting at age 6 you have soccer games, swim meets, etc. As a result, it is more than trying to teach a sport that is practically not existent in Honduras. I am trying to teach the concept of organized sports. This is the point of starting an organized sports team. Yes, you want to teach the game. But more importantly, you want to teach the kids values of dedication, reasonability, and commitment. And we are also trying to teach gender equality as well. All of this rolled into one makes it difficult. Despite the difficulties, I am really enjoying it. It is fun to play catch and to hit the ball around. It is a rewarding feeling when I see my kids playing catch or a pick up game in their free time.

My other project is with the local NGO in my site. We travel to the surrounding villages and give health classes to people there. The topics that we are talking about are pretty simple. But the lack of education in these isolated villages makes our work very important. To be honest, I feel that this is my favorite project even though. We are going to another village this Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it. First reason is because we get to walk for two or three hours looking at the beautiful landscape. I have never been one to get real high and nature but here in Honduras, it is hard not to. And it is in the villages that you find the terrible poverty. Reitoca is very poor, but when you step into these villages it is like walking into a different world that you did not know existed. These visits to the villages make my time down here worth it. I feel this project is the most worthwhile.

So enough about work. Now it is time to hear some funny quirks that come along with living in Honduras. Bats. Not the kind you use to hit a baseball with. The flying kind. Ok, let me back up. So my roof is an adobe roof that does a good job, but at times can get a little leaky. To prevent my stuff, and me, from getting wet my host mom and I put a big blue tarp. The water hits the tarp then runs outside. This is possible because my wall and roof are not connected. There is about a six inch gap between the wall and the ceiling. Therefore, I can see outside from me room. Another important note, the tarp does not cover total my room, just my bed, clothes, and desk. So what I am trying to say is that it is possible for a living and flying creature to live up there, without me knowing, and then fly down into my room. For the past couple nights while I was trying to sleep I was hearing something moving about above the tarp but below my roof. Most people would be alarmed by the sound of something moving in your room at one in the morning. But part of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is learning to simply roll with the weird things that come your way. As a result I did not think any of it.  

But one night turned into two nights. Nights turned into weeks I started to become a little concerned. Curiosity about this creature turned to wonder, wonder turned into scary imaginations, which of course, turned into fear of the unknown. The other night I was on the phone with my buddy Fitz back in the States. And while we were talking I began to hear that thing moving in my room again. Only this time it sounded a lot bigger. I told Fitz that I would call him back and went for my machete. Before you judge my following actions please understand that I still had no idea what was up there. The mystery of this unknown creature had grown into something large, scary, and with razor sharp teeth. I decided that I was not going to take any chances. I began to poke at the tarp with my machete and the dreadful beast from above began to move around and make terrible noises. I walked over to the end of the tarp, close to my shower, and the stood up on my chair to look into the dark tunnel that was the space between the tarp and roof. I held my machete tightly in my sweaty palms and took a baseball stance as if I was Sammy Sosa. And before I could say “Play Ball!” a bat came flying and screeching right towards my face. O I panicked. Without looking I swung as a heard as I could. I got the little guy alright. I cut the poor little bat in half. Do I feel bad, a little. But I sleep well knowing that I am the only thing living in my room.

So that is pretty much a sum of how my life is going in Honduras. Christmas is rapidly approaching. The anticipation in Reitoca is growing. I look forward to seeing what a Honduran Christmas is. From what I understand, it is a huge party. Very different form the States. The central park has a Christmas tree and the park is light up. Not by Christmas lights, just flood lights. But that is a big deal. Every night there are kids running and playing in the park which make a fun atmosphere. I am sure that I will get terribly homesick around Christmas. If I do not update this before Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and an ever better New Year. Miss you and love you all.