Hello all,
I cannot believe that it is already October (Happy Birthday, Mom!). I have been in Honduras for nearly four months. Sometimes I feel like I left the states yesterday but most of the time, it feels like quite a long time ago that I was drinking tap water, riding my bike, and taking showers with ice water that does not come directly from a mountain spring. And, of course, it feels like ages since I have seen all 0f you!
And now for an update…
I have been a volunteer for about a month now and things are going pretty well. I live in a small village (in spanish, aldea) about 3km outside of the municipality of Corquin. The municipality is a town of about 10,000 (maybe…that is probably a high estimate). However, there are lots of little villages (ranging from 200-1,000 people) in the municipality. My particular village has about 400 people and four main families (there are a couple really awesome matriarchs in the village who have hundreds of grandkids and great-grandkids in the region). The town is along a road that heads up a mountain. Most of the houses are along this dirt road. Walking from the municipality to my village, I get stopped by the kids, chat with adults I know, and say “Adios” (serves as both hello & goodbye when passing someone in the street) to everyone that I come across. The walk is pretty much straight uphill to my house and by the time I arrive, people are always looking at me very concerned because my face is bright red and I am sweating profusely (especially if I have my big backpack with me).
In the town, I have been spending the days trying to get to know everyone and also trying to gauge their interest in potentially collaborating with me on projects. My strategy for getting to know the village has been to get to know all the kids at the school and then meet their parents at PTA meetings (here they are called “reuniones de padres de familia”). Luckily, the kids in my town are really great, energetic, and outgoing. I have started a project with the 6th graders to paint a large world map on the wall of the school. The 15 kids in 6th grade are really funny and smart…they are probably my best friends in the village!
The school in the village only goes to 6th grade so for those kids who are able to continue, they have to walk to the municipality every morning. That means waking up around 4 or 4:30am to get ready! And I thought Wheaton North was bad when I had to get up at 6am and then catch the bus.
When I am not in the school, I am also working at a coffee co-op. I will be working with them to get different certifications for their producers (Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Fair Trade, etc.) as well as helping them to better commercialize their coffee. So far, getting to know my village and the municipality has kept me busy and I really like this area of the country.
I just put up a new address that is much closer to me than the old address. However, if you have sent something to my old address, do not fret… I will still get it.
For those of you in the midwest, I hope you are going apple picking!!
I miss you all and think about you all the time (whenever your nose itches, just know it is probably me thinking about you!).
Happy October.
love,
carleen.
p.s. I miss the colors of the leaves in the midwest. The leaves don’t change here!
Hi Carly! We always enjoy your update. I’ll have to get out a map now and figure out where you are living. I can understand how working with 6th graders would be fun. I teach Junior Achievement in a 5th grade class and I really like their energy level and creativity. It’s getting very cool in the evenings now and the leaves are beginning to turn. It’s pretty but we all know what’s coming after the falling leaves. I think I’d take the trees where the leaves don’t turn if it meant we could avoid the snow. Last weekend Bridget, her friend Aly, and another friend from St. Ambrose went and visited Christine in Mnpls. They got a glimpse of the Mnpls marathon but Christine ended up not running in it due to a knee injury a while back and recent cold. Mike is in the midst of marching band performances at football games and competitions. In fact, he’s at practice right now on Mon. night (6:30 – 8:30) so it’s dark and cold. It’s probably down to about 50 degrees. Brrr!!! Glad to hear from you. Take care – love, the Slattery’s
Hello Carly, So glad to hear from you. It sounds like you are a very busy young lady. The map made me think of what I use to do with map work. It sounds like you are really getting acquainted with all those around you. Our trees haven’t turned completely but they are steadily turning colors. The Amanas had Oct. fest this past wk-end, lots of people, food and vendors were there, we drove around to see what was happening. I am going to look up where you are now. When I go to buy coffee I will be looking closely at the info. to see where it came from. It is something that some of those students get up soooo early to get to school. They must really want their education and good for them. Keep up your great work and we love your updates. Love, G’ma Shirley and G’pa Lyle