Random Hondurasness

The random Hondurasness,

If I asked the other interns to describe a perfect day on the ranch, I'm not sure what they would say.  However, I can think of some probable answers.  Kyle might say that he thoroughly enjoys working with Don Porphilio, Katie might say she enjoys giving trail rides, David would probably say anything involving his neard, and Kendra would probably say something involving legumes and dairy records.  But as for me, that day came last Friday.  Since we've been here, the only animals I've seen have been livestock and ginormous frogs.  But that changed on Friday.  I had been wanting to see the dreaded animals of the area just to say that I've seen them.  It all began Friday morning planting king grass when I almost stepped on a poisonous snake.  When we returned to the house, we decided to clean and that we did.  As we were cleaning the kitchen, "the intern that left" found a scorpion hiding out amongst some towels.  And finally late that night, Haley discovered a tarantula on the porch and of course, we had to go take a look.  The only thing more exciting than seeing the snake, scorpion and spider all in one day was seeing the spider return on Sunday night.  When we got back to the house, the tarantula had made its home on one of the windows.  We decided it would be best to get rid of the spider.  But as we stood and stared, the spider began to crawl down the window which brought about several screams and running away of the girls.  It was pretty funny if I say so myself.

Next of the randomness,

In the US, the horn is a valuable part of an automobile, but not nearly as valuable as it is to a Honduran driver.  I have noticed they like to honk the horn fairly often but it became evident on the six hour bus ride to Nicaragua and back just how important it is.  After about ten minutes on the bus, I decided to keep a tally of how many times it was honked.  At the end of the trip when it was all said and done, the horn had been blown approximately 69 times.  I could even detect a pattern of the horn.  If the driver honked the horn three times quickly, he was simply saying hello.  If he honked it twice quickly, he was warning the driver ahead that he was about to pass.  And last but not least, if he honked it one time that lasted about a minute, he was indicating to the animals or people to get out of the road or showing his anger to the driver that just pulled out in front of him.  Well thats about it for the horn honkage.

Finally to a good day in the clinic.

Today I was flying solo with Javier and Lexi at the clinic.  The rest of the team went on the brigade but I needed to come to Choluteca.  As we got to the clinic, Javier reminded me that it would be a good day because I would get to do all of the work and indeed it was.  It started off with a correct diagnosis of tonsillitis which led to giving two injections later.  I finished off the hands on by giving another injection to Lexi.  I then went back into the room with Javi to listen and learn.  After we had seen the seventeen patients, we wrapped up the day with a one-handed pushup competition between Javier and myself.  He won.  I then went outside to take some pictures of the area.  After that we headed back down the mountain which bring me to where I am now, in the office writing this blog.  As for the random Hondurasness, it's pretty much summed up for now but I will bringing more later.

Loren

Horses

This was a week full of horses for me. Saturday all of the interns decided to go riding, so of course, I went too! Then that afternoon Chad asked me to machete the river trail so that people riding didn´t get scraped by the numerous thorn bushes. Luckily for me, Kyle is a pro with the machete so we got on Parnaso and Rubio and headed out. Kyle definately proved his skill with the machete, those trees were no match for him! Thanks to him, the trail is cleared and you no longer have to duck under tree limbs or wince as thorns dig into your legs!!!
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I gave trail rides to groups. Tuesday Kyle came with me in the afternoon which was awesome and then on Thursday Jaclyn went with me. She got to gallop Media Noche so she was happy!! Wednesday afternoon I practiced my roping with Ariel for at least an hour. I practiced until I couldn´t swing the rope anymore. I was figuring it didn´t help until Thursday afternoon when I roped three horses!! Ariel likes to tell me that I am learning, but he tells me while he is laughing so I can´t decide if he is being serious! Ariel and his brother Ever are awesome and are definately improving my Spanish. Ariel told me that he would teach me to rope and milk a cow if I taught him English. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!! On Thursday after Jaclyn and I rode we got to milk a cow. I´m pretty sure that we aren´t naturals at this particular skill since we didn´t get much milk out and then the guy squeezed another liter out after us! It was fun though!
Today was the best day of the week for me though. Samuel and I rode together (some may have called it a race) and he was on Rubio while I got on Domino. I must say, I like Domino, that horse has some real power!! I felt that it would be prudent to wear a helmet (even though it was too big) and Samuel saw me, and put one on too. Needless to say, Samuel finished first (did I mention he was bareback and I had a saddle????) but I have high hopes for me and Domino!!!
Katie

Keep the coffe coming!

Heather here.

Things are going well. This week just flew by, and it is already Friday! I almost do not remember what has been happening this past week. Monday involved translating into Spanish an English pamplet which informed the reader how ride a horse, lead a horse, and other things which somehow amounted to seven pages of reading material. I hung out with the Texans for lunch at the posada, a picnic-like area with a kitchen and tables on the ranch.
I love the Texan spirit and all-inclusive attitude toward everyone. Later I read to orphans on the refuge (some of the refuge areas are on the ranch, others are not) in Spanish. They loved it and helped me with my Spanish pronunciation; we hit two refuge houses. Later, it was dinner with the Texans at the Posada.

Tuesday was a school day (as was today) and I played with the kids as well as helped out in the classroom. I helped the kindergarteners spell out small words, write their names, and identify words. But let me say that playing with the kids is the most fun of all. They treat me like I am a jungle gym. They climb all over me. I swing them around. I give piggyback rides. They climb up my legs and go upside down. They ride around on my feet, as I walk. I play soccer with them. We play tag.
It is great to share two meals with them too, breakfast and lunch. I am aware however, that some of them are still hungry after their meager portions of food. I feel for them. It makes me want to do something about it.

Wednesday involved walking up to the Posada from the intern house (40 minute walk plus uphill equals good exercise). I then met with a Texan group, and we skadattled out of there to a villiage-like town to do food/clothing/bible/toothpaste deliveries. And guess what. I was the interpreter for all of it! This may sound juvenile, but I felt so important and responsible in my role. Everyone looked to me to relay their questions, statements, and comments. What a good day. Later that day, I tutored four orphan kids on the refuge/ranch in their spanish writing.

Thursday I did vacation bible school in Spanish in a remote area in the mountains. After that we did construction (building a clinic of some kind on the ranch/refuge). Later, I tutored the four orphan kids in their writing and sentences. They taught me things, too. I love dearly working with the precious niños; in fact, I could work with kids for a living. I feel so fufilled alongside kids. That night, I attended a devotional, put on by the Texans, hurried the walk home from the Posada, ate quickly, and we interns all headed out to Spanish lessons. Spanish lessons last night was too much, for I was exhausted. Spanish lessons are every Tuesday and Thursday night, and last from 7 pm until 9 pm. This is actually rather late, for I prefer to be in bed by 9 pm or 9:30 pm or 10 pm at the latest. Why so early? You´d understand more if you had to wake up around 5:30 am every morning.

Actually, today, Friday, I woke up and got up around 4:30 am. Good day at school. Trip to the ice cream store. And now here in the internet cafe, writing away to you. Tonight we are all watching the Sandlot. I am excited.

God bless you all and everyone.
Heather Hafer

continuing learning

Well, this is Kendra again. This past week has been amazing. I am learning a lot about God's character and about Honduras. Last Thursday, I went with the medical program to Duyure and we got to interact with the Hondurans who lived nearby. It was awesome to see how these people live and speak with them.

On Friday, I went to the office in Choluteca to work some more on inputting the dairy production records into my computer. Unfortunately, I got sick and slept all day. During the weekend, I rested and worked on the records some. Sunday was great though because the message at church was about the abundant life we have in Jesus Christ. God really spoke to me through that message.

Monday, God taught me some more lessons. Gustavo gave a great message at the ranch devotional about casting all your cares upon Jesus. I had an amazing day. I worked with Don Porfilio and we weeded a field for 7 hours. It was a great time to work with my hands, get dirty and talk with God.

Tuesday, I was back in the office with those dairy production records. I think I will probably not want to drink milk by the time I finish them.

Wednesday was also really cool because Ami, Kyle and I rode up to the village of Partio Grande in the mountains. I got a chance to interview some of the people about their agricultural practices and what help they would like to improve their yields. I learned a lot about how these people live and how to ride a horse. It was a tiring day, but I loved every minute of it.

Today I went with the medical program to Monjaras and Cedeno. I learned a lot more about parasites and some other random medical stuff. I am looking forward to this weekend because I should have some more free time to reflect upon all that God has been telling me. I am really loving my time here in Honduras.

I'm Growing a B(N)eard

Saturdays here in Honduras are a great thing. For the inturns Saturday means our day off. On a normal saturday we sleep in to the late hour of 8:30, eat breakfast, and then head up to the barns to go horseback riding. The first time that I experienced horseback riding was two weeks ago when we the inturns went for the first time. The horse I ride is named Tortuga (turtle), and he is well named. It is not that he is incapable of running it is that he chooses not to. I feel that me and Tortuga have very similar personalities. Tortuga lives life at a slower pace than most. Just because those around him are going at a fast pace does not make him feel like he needs to live his life at that same pace. Also he does not follow others easily. When he sees a short cut, or an easier way to do things, he will take that path instead of following his peers. This is how I try to live my life also, which is why I think Tortuga and I get along well. This past saturday after riding horses, we went up to the refuge and played kickball with the kids. All I have to say about that is we are not beyond beating a bunch of elementry school kids, and that Amy nearly killed a girl with the ball. Afterwords on a typical saturday we head back down to our house and relax for the rest of the day. Our house has many hammocks on the wrap around porch, which make a great place to lay out and read a book for the afternoon. For dinner we either eat at the house, or will go to San Marcos and eat at one of the local restraunts.

This past saturday night I had one of the most surreal experiences of my life. In Honduras It gets dark outside at 6:30, however, the moon does not rise until 9:00. This past saturday was one of the first cloudless nights we have had since we have been here. With the absence of city lights and without any light from the moon, I was able to see more stars than I have seen in my life. I sat outside for about an hour and a half in awe of what I was seeing. I cannot describe in words what it was like seeing so many stars.

And yes I am growing a b(n)eard.

David

Who Knew I Would Enjoy Sales? - by Haley

On Wednesday I received the great honor of working with Jarrod and Meredith to set up the ¨new¨Tienda San Lazaro. Whenever a group from the U.S. comes down to volunteer with Mission Lazarus, Jarrod has souvenirs made by local artisans available for sale. In the past this ¨souvenir shop¨has been a make-shift setup in the dining hall; however, now it has been moved into its very own, permanent, official building. Jarrod asked me to help organize, inventory, and set up the displays in the store.

I spent the day folding a few hundred t-shirts, counting inventory, arranging the shelves and tables in the store, packing extra inventory into boxes for storage, helping Meredith create an inventory spreadsheet, and making everything look pretty. It´s funny, I never thought I would be interested in sales - I´m an advertising person, so I prefer design - but this was fun. I guess in-store displays falls into the category of marketing, so it kind of makes sense. I also didn´t expect to be doing marketing work while I was in Honduras, and I´m so glad I got the opportunity to do so.


...Oh! Also on Wednesday, I had a great morning with the Lord. I left the Casa de Interns half an hour earlier than usual, took my camera, Bible, and a PB&J burrito, and climbed to the top of ¨Pride Rock,¨ a large outcropping that overlooks the major part of the ranch. From there I could see almost all of the valley, with the early morning sun peeking through the clouds in the east, to illuminate the brilliant green of the trees and fields. I could see the roof of the intern house, the fields where the cows were grazing, part of the stream, and the distant mountains where the Mission Lazarus coffee plantation is located. I took lots of photos, ate my breakfast, read a Psalm, and just enjoyed how beautiful God is and the beauty of the things He has created.

Heather Hafer updating

This is from about a week ago.

I recently got back from viewing the Copaun Mayan ruins, about a 9-hour drive from Choluteca. It was incredible and I took lost of pictures. I liked the town, too, for everyone is so nice and laid back. People have little concern about time and deadlines; they simply do tomorrow what they did not do today, and who cares what today's date is! I met 3 guys in 3 different places who moved to Honduras for the easy going lifestyle; two of the guys were from Germany and the other was from California. I love this aspect of Honduras, too!

Two nights ago I had a pretty bad experience in the middle of the night. I was sleeping pretty well, when I felt something bite me! I felt it again. And then moments later, again. I was so tired, I did not want to deal with it, so I chose not to wake up, and continued to sleep on. Ouch, another bite. I began to feel around for what was biting me, and began to squash tiny little things with my fingers. I still did not want to accept that I would have to take care of whatever it was. Suddenly, my skin was becoming itchy and swollen in my face, arms, stomach, back, and legs. I killed a few more of whatever it was, and got up. I felt so swollen, I felt weak. I turned on the light, sure to wake my roomates, and discovered ANTS IN MY BED! Repulsed, I folded up the sheets, discarded them, looked upon the mattress and wall for the source of entry, found nothing, changed the sheets, and lay down again.
No later than about 2 minutes do I feel them biting me again. And again. And again. Sadness came over me. I left the bed and went to sleep on the couch in the living room, AFTER piling on lots of anti itch cream- lots! And one of my roommates gave me benedryl.
The following day, my roomates armed themselves with insect repellants, found the source, and became warriors against the ants. I was still traumatized for the time being, so last night I slept on the couch again.

Yesterday, I cleared away debri from coffe plants on the ranch, all the while having an excellent conversation with Kendra, an intern, about faith, salvation, and God's given authority in the bible. It was very good because of her practical, scientific, and objective perspective.

Tomorrow, I am going to school to teach English to the muchachos. I have had one school day last week. The kids begin the day with spiritual songs and prayer, then go to their respective classes. I stuck with one class and supported the teacher as she taught. These spanish kids are so precious. They all, upon spying an available opportunity, would sit next to me, or in my lap, hold my hand, and ask for positive feedback when we did worksheets. I love working with kids, probably especially latinamerican kids. They are sweet, kind, rambanctious (spelled that wrong) kids. Later that day, I went to another school and played with the kids there, giving them piggyback rides, swinging them around, and putting them on my shoulders some. To say that they loved it is an understatement. They ceased to tire and demanded more.

Tomorrow, I also hope to milk the cows. I've been told that it is not an easy feat. We'll see.

Tonight is Spanish class; there are two levels: beginner and advanced. I'm in advanced along with three other girls. I've actually been slacking some on my Spanish because there are so many English-speaking people around me that it's easy. Nonetheless, today, I got some good conversation going with different people and I was told my Spanish is really good and will only get better in the weeks to come. The Honduran accent it frustrating. Yes, it is. They remind strangely of the Cuban spanish accent. They cut off their works all the time, and the rest of the time it sounds as though they are mumbling. I dislike it. I prefer the Mexican accent among a few others I have heard because they are crisp and clean in their pronunciations.

I continue to assert that the people here are extraordinarily courteous. You'all (nearly every intern here is from the south!) would not believe it. I have yet to meet one person who is mean, selfish, or visibly arrogant. Instead, they are humble, happy people.

My party is about to leave.

Heather

Observations by Heather was actually observed a weeks or so ago.

Observations of Mission Lazarus by Heather

Today I shadowed a doctor who was treating poor families (mothers with their children came). One child had iodine deficiency, another was throwing us worms, another needed a shot for rheumatic fever, another was there on the pretense of being sick to probably get medication for some other family. That´s not all. We saw several children. Javier, the doctor, 26 years old, would speak to them in Spanish and then talk to us in English telling us the between-the-lines story. One child, a young girl, was sick because her parents gave her dirty water to drink. They dig holes in the ground to find water, but their water is unclean. They drink the water and prepare food with it and get sick. As a result, this young girl vomited and could not
gain weight as she should. Javier said that to not boil their water is simply laziness, on the parent´s part.

Sunday, I went attended an inglesia de cristo (church of Christ) and their were several upon several children there. I guess Hondurans like to have big families (which also keeps them poor because of having more mouths to feed). Mission Lazarus supports 14 churches of Christ within a 3 hour distance. They equip the churches to function on their own. Also, there is much bible incorportated into the daily activities in the school. I have yet to go to the school, however, to see it for myself. Yesterday, I went to the Refudge/Ranch and did office work for the mission. I also met a tia (an Aunt) taking care of a young girl who was rescued and has cerebral palsy. The young girl was skin and bones, but is fatter now and looking more healthy, thanks to the support of the mission.
I have been getting in Spanish practice here and there. I am loving the language. The people are very nice! The countryside is beautiful beyond words. The mountains are gorgeous, more beautiful than I have seen back in the states. The humidity is bothersome, the mosquitos a pest (really good thing I have malaria medication). Our house where the interns stay may have frogs out on the porch and scorpions and tarantulas inside. A met a woman from the states who was bit in her bed by a scorpion! She did not die and is not traumatized by the occurence. Don´t worry, we all check our bed before entering them! I am loving this cultural experience. Honduras is not as poor as I thought. They have radios, cd players, dvds, and vehicles. You can not flush toilet paper down the toilet, though. I forgot a few times... I really do like this place. Today we ate at Wendy´s for lunch. They also have Pizza Hut and Buger King. Anyway, I need to go. I am using Javier´s computer, and he, being a doctor probably needs it back. One thing about the Honduras people is that they will go out of their way to make you happy, even if it inconvienences them.
Heather

Ranch Time!

This week we have a group of teens who all wanted to go riding.  This works out well for me, because I will take any excuse to ride a horse!  The first day of trail rides, Chad went out with us to show me the trail that he wanted me to take people on.  In the afternoon I was able to lead the trail ride which was fun, because trail riding is an excellent opportunity to get to know people.  That afternoon as we were hosing down all of the horses, Jarrod came up to me and said that I should ride one of the nice horses, but I told him that I was pretty sure Samuel didn't trust me!  So Jarrod, being amazing, came the next morning and told Samuel that I actually can ride, and so I was able to ride the most amazing horse.  I forgot his name, but he is big and gray and extremely comfortable.  It was so much fun, and all of the people in the group were safe on horseback so we were able to trot quite a bit.

After giving trail rides, I was able to work with Ariel and Samuel.  They taught me how to rope, and then laughed at all of my attempts.  I will say however, that I am getting better and the other day I actually roped two horses.  I was able to give cows injections and then I tried to inject a pig, but I failed.  It looked easy enough, just jab the needle into the rear of the pig, and this pig was in some sort of cage, but as soon as I pricked it, the pig stood up, freaked out and started screaming.  So naturally, I freaked out too, and jumped about a mile.  The guys who were with me (Gustavo, Ariel and Samuel) all burst out laughing.  I willingly gave the syringe to Samuel who stuck the pig, and then the pig freaked out again, and Samuel had to let go of the needle and when he was able to get it out, it was bent.  All I have to say about that is that I don't like pigs!!!  I was able to feed cows but the coolest thing was when Samuel let me help halter break a baby.  First he let me try and rope it, but all I managed to do was scare the poor thing and then trip on the rope.  About that, as soon as I tripped, I heard laughter, looked up and saw at least five workers just standing there watching me.  I'm glad I was able to be entertainment for them!!  Anyway, Samuel put the halter on the baby, handed her to me and let me play with her and get her used to being touched.  It was awesome, as much as I love medicine, after playing cowgirl for two days that was all I wanted to continue doing! However, it's a good thing I went to the clinic today because I was able to give a shot to a boy and give medicine IV to a lady.  She said it didn't even hurt!  

Katie

Humble hearts

Something that has been amazing me since being here is how humble and grateful the people are. For example, the people here do not hestitate to accept food of any form, whether it be leftovers you had eaten or you want to share what you are eating in the moment. Just yesterday, I gave the rest of my lunch away to a kid at the school. I asked, ¨¿Quieres el resto?¨ and he said, ¨Sî¨. Later that day, I shared my apple with three other kids. They are happy to have what you offer. It is sad to see the hunger, but the kids are still happy kids.

I played with the kids much of yesterday in the school. We have so much fun together. I also read to them in Spanish from the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Their attention span no es bueno. I helped in the kitchen some, and at one point was teaching an advanced kid how to multiplication, division, and sentence structure in Spanish.

The days in the school begin with songs to God, prayer, and prayers before breakfast and lunch. Not only do you see a humble alcknowlegement of God in school, but also in the Honduran adults. It is quite beautiful.

Today, I went to the clinic and participated in taking blood pressure, checking out blockage in two people´s ears, watching a woman´s giantic leg wound get cleaned and rebandaged, and observed an older woman getting a shot in her pronated hand. A baby also recieved a shot, and was not too happy about it. A happy note is that I got to act as an interpreter for two of my intern buddies to the nurse, Lexi. Through me, they set up a date to ride horses on the ranch with her.

Last night was Spanish class; it is going pretty well. Furthermore, a few of us are teaching Oman, our bus Chaperone, English. He is a great memorizer!

Tonight we may just eat with the new group that arrived on Tuesday. They are a good group of teenagers and adults. We ate with them on Wednesday on the ranch and played cards.

Gotta go. My party is leaving.
Heather Hafer

Kyle Week 4.1: "Watch the gringo"

This is what I deserve for complaining about riding around in the car.

Don Porfilio. Age 90. Status: Jeffe (boss). Area of expertise: manual labor.

Comments: Don Porfilio has no teeth left. It has obviously come from chewing up gringos and spitting them out like watermelon seeds. The man is a dynamo and a slave driver. Kendra, Katie and I were given to him to work at planting king grass on Tuesday. We hiked two miles up a mountain to the field which needed to be trenched before planting. Upon realizing that we did not have enough tools to all work at the same time, Don Porfilio hiked back down the trail and returned with two more hoes and a pick-axe. In the hour that he was gone the gringos and Louis, had finished two rows. While the four of us were working on the third row, Don Porfilio finished a row and a half singlehandedly. At one point Don Porfilio chastized Louis for not trenching the right way. "Watch the gringo! Even he is doing better than you!" We were obviously outclassed. When we ran out of water at eleven a.m. and couldn´t raise our arms above our heads, he suggested we hike back down, get water and hike back up to work until four. That did not appeal to the girls who had other work that they had to do in the afternoon, but after the backhanded compliment from earlier, I felt the need to prove that I could do a days work of labor even if I was a gringo. After drinking a liter and a half without stopping, I hiked back up the mountain and worked until quitting time. In broken spanglish, I accidentally promiced to return the next day and help them finish the field.

Louis. Age 14. Status: Jeffito (little boss). Area of expertise: working and laughing with Don Porfilio about the gringos.

Comments: Louis is the size of one of David´s legs. He can out-trench, out-cut, and out-climb me on any given day and still bounce down the hill at quitting time. If he wasn´t so much fun, I don´t think I would like him very much. On day two of my ranch-labor experience, Louis taught me how to wield a huma (sp?), a machete-like blade used to clear brush and grass. We cleaned an entire hillside of brush so that coffee could be planted. By hill side, I mean almost a cliff. Everytime I stepped there was a definate chance of sending a boulder bounding pass Don Porfilio below. I missed twice. I believe with my whole being that the boulder would not have broken Don Porfilio; Don Porfilio would have broken the boulder.

p.s. Strait out the udder.
Walking down the mountain Tuesday after working in the field all day, I spotted Arle by the milking parlor and walked over to speak to him. It was 90 degrees in the shade and I was sweating and thirsty and when I saw Arle drinking milk, I almost gagged. The dairy cows were being milked and as I told him about working with Don Porfilio, he was drinking milk from a cup that had been filled with fresh milk. By fresh I mean that he stuck it under the udder and filled it right out of the cow. Fresh squeezed cow juice. Arle offered me the last of the cup and I had to pause. It was one of those moments when you have to weigh the pros and cons of each decision. On one hand I was hot, sweaty and thirsty for something cold and made of water; on the other I had to wonder how many chances would I have in life to drink milk like this.
It was thick, very warm, and frothy, which surprised me, but not as much as the flavor. It was almost as sweet as melted ice cream and just as creamy. I drank the last of Arle's glass, stuck the glass back under the cow and downed another cup without hesitation. Mind you that I am a skim milk with ice to water it down kind of guy. The real stuff is good. Gave me the boost I needed to walk back to the house. Now if I can just talk David into getting me some in the mornings for breakfast...

week 4

copan was super amazing! totally worth the 20 hours of my life wasted watching bad american movies dubbed over in spanish. as david jones jumped across the stage like a caged ballena we all wondered if slinkys really have pockets... kyle aka the domino. jaclyn and i have acquired a love hate relationship with twix and snickers however ice cream will always be ok. the celtics won! boo lakers.
-amy

Mayan ruins and king grass

Kendra is reporting again. It has been amazing here and I have kept busy. Last Wednesday was cool because Hailey and I got to help plant coffee on a mountainside. Then she was amazing because she helped me lay out the plots for the legume research. It was harder work than I expected.

Thursday, I worked at the Refuge in the morning doing some office work. Then Hailey, Ami, Heather and I got to go with Shelly to the Duyure school. It was awesome!!! Shelly had a meeting with the teachers while we got to play with all the kids. Heather seemed to enjoy herself a lot. There was a mango tree in the yard of the school. Heather adores mangoes, so I told her to grab one. I asked permission if we could and the guard said yes. He went inside and then came out with another 8 or 9 mangoes for us all. It was so very amusing. We also had another spanish lesson and I think it was the best one yet.

Friday, we left for Copan. We left Las Palmas really really early in the morning. Olman was amazing because he drove us to Choluteca, so we could catch a bus to Tegus. Then we rode from Tegus to San Pedro Sula. We spent a long while waiting in the bus station, but eventually we got to our hotel in Copan.

Saturday we saw the mayan ruins. It was so cool. Our guide, Saul, was also a music teacher and he kept singing various parts of songs. We got to explore a little on our own too. Later that afternoon, we walked around the town and did some shopping. Sunday was basically spent on lots of buses coming back to San Marcos.

Monday, I stayed on the ranch. Heather and I helped clean the coffee plants on the mountainside in the morning and then I did some data collection with the legumes in the afternoon. Tuesday, I worked on the ranch with Kyle and Katie. We prepared the soil for planting king grass and we did it with shovels and pickaxes. I have not had a workout like that for a really long time. Then I had to do some more data collection with the wonderful legumes.

I am in the office today at Choluteca. I have been working on inputting dairy production records into my computer all day today.

I am having a great time in Honduras and God is teaching me some amazing things about his character and my relationship to him.

We gave Kyle as a sacrifice the the Mayan Gods

This past Friday we skipped out on our work and headed to Copan. Copan is a city in the north of Honduras that is home to an ancient Mayan city. Early Friday morning (4:30) we left our house on the ranch and headed to Choluteca where we caught a bus to Tegus. In Tegus we got on another bus that took us to San Pedro Sula, where we got on yet another bus that took us to Copan, where we arrived at 9:30 at night. The bus rides, while extremely long, were a lot of fun. The realization between the U.S. and Honduras truly hit me during this bus ride. On one of the bus rides they served bags of potato chips. I was sitting on the very back row of the bus, and therefore got my bag of chips last. When the chips got to me there was only one bag left, I grabbed it and did not think anything of it. When I was about to open it, however, I realized that it had already been opened and had been re-sealed shut with packing tape. Normally this would detour me from eating the chips inside, however, I was pretty hungry, and Loren bet me I would not eat them, so I ate them anyway.
Copan is a very fun city to visit. The actual town of Copan is a very lively little town, filled with tourists from around the globe. There are many good restaurants to eat at, and lots of hand made goods that you can haggle the price over with the locals. Saturday morning we went to the ruins just outside of the city, and it was an awesome sight. It is amazing to see buildings built by people from so long ago, and with such an interesting history. Our tour guide, Saul, made it a very fun experience for all of us with his depth of knowledge of the Mayan people. Copan is definitely a place I would suggest visiting and a place I would like to go back to.
David

Sweet nectar

This summer is still going really well. This past week was good and I got to spend a lot of time in the medical aspect of it. Sunday Meredith invited us over for dinner and its so cool how precious being invited over is here. We then went to Cedena i believe and went to church on the coast. Monday I went to the school in San Marcos...I liked it, but the kids wore me out! Haley was so energetic though...she made up for my slack. ¨Tues and today we did the nutrition program. I am really appreciative of the way Javier handles the people and how he teaches us SO much. We also did a lot of waiting in the car today, but it was the best spanish lessons I have had yet. Lexi, Loren, Katie and I sat in the car and talked spanish for an hour or two. Not really sure...but it was so much fun! Yesterday was the clinic and gave a couple of shots. Heather gave her first shot and it was awesome!! Javier is such an awesome teacher...its like school except 100X better. Tomorrow we go to Copan! Im excited about it and hope to get some laundry done beforehand...we just got our dryer fixed. All is good. Because of Him,
Jaclyn

a weekend in Honduras

This is Kendra again. So, on Saturday night we went to dinner in San Marcos and it was really good. Then we went back to the intern house and watched Scrubs until Heather, the newest addition to our intern family arrived. She is really cool and I was very glad to meet her.

Sunday morning, I started to input the dairy records into my computer. It is very exciting work. Then for lunch we went to Meredith´s house and it was AMAZING! Then we went to a church in a town near the pacific ocean. It was really hot and the bugs were bad, but we had a great time praising the Lord. I learned a lot from the sermon, which was about faith in God.
Then we went to Pizza Hut in Choluteca for dinner. It was a great day.

On Monday, I went into the office to get caught up on emails, do some necessary research and begin to meld two questionnaires together. I have one that covers questions about farming practices and I am combining it with a medical one. The interns will be conducting these surveys in a village near the Mission Lazarus´coffee plantation. I am really looking forward to that.

Today, I went to the school for the first time. The kids were so cute. I had fun teaching them to write and playing with them. Now Haley, David and I are just hanging out in San Marcos.

Tomorrow I hopefully will finally subdivide my legume fields. Thursday, I will be working in the Refuge and on Friday all the interns are leaving to go to the Ruins at Copan for the weekend. I love Mayan history and I really am excited to be going. It should be an exciting weekend.

So, it has begun

Well this is Kendra with an update on her summer. So last Friday there was a hurricane. Therefore, we spent the whole day stuck in our house. It was great to get to know everyone better and I started reading the chronicles of Narnia. That day reminded me of the Wood between the Worlds because nothing happened and the day was the longest day in history, but I was not bored. Saturday, we were pretty much stuck again, but we got to go to San Marcos for a bit in the afternoon. It was nice to see a few more people.

Sunday, we went horseback riding. I was definitely scared, but I had a lot of fun. Then in the evening we went to church at the Church of Christ in San Marcos. A group of North Americans had arrived from Alabama, so there were lots of us in church. Then we ate dinner with them. It was really good.

Monday, the internship really started. I worked on the ranch. I learned to tie different knots, feed calves and shuck corn. I had a great time and I was able to practice my spanish a lot.

Tuesday, we went with the medical group to a village near Las Palmas. I was a translator for a nurse. It was really scary because I had never done something like that before, but I believe I was competent. Afterward, we were unable to cross the river because it had rained. The interns then went off on a minor adventure. We wandered through the mountainous woods, crossed a small stream, a fence and a stone wall to get back to our house. It was SO much fun. Then we found that the rain had caused a minor flood in our house. We had fun cleaning up the mess. Yay, rainy season. Then we had another spanish class. It was exciting as well.

Wednesday we went with the medical group to the village near the Mission Lazarus´ coffee plantation. I was a translator again. That community has a lot of problems with malnutrition, fungi and parasites. I am glad that we were able to help them a bit. Then we went back to the ranch. I was really tired, so I went to bed early.

Thursday, I worked at the refuge. Basically, I had the amazing task of organizing a really big messy storeroom. It took me three hours, but I was proud of my work. I also helped to shelf books for the library. We then had some dinner and then went to another spanish lesson. We had another minor flood in our house, which we had to clean up before bed.

Friday, I worked on the ranch. We planted coffee plants on the side of a mountain for all the morning. Gustavo gave me access to the dairy records, so I will start to put them into my computer. Then in the evening I helped with a movie night for the children´s home. We watched Shrek 3 in spanish. It was a good day.

Today we slept in. We went for another horseback ride. This time I was better at controling my horse and we trotted. It was cool. I am excited for what will happen next week.

God is teaching me a lot here. He is teaching me about relating to people, living in his will and patience. He is slowly transforming me to become more like his Son. I truly love it here.

2nd week

well i had my first day of work on monday and got to work at the refuge which was pretty awesome. margot made me practice my spanish with her for like two hours while we waited for ally to arrive but i wasn't complaining. i need the practice. plus ally had to check on jaclyn who was super sick but she's ok now! we've also gotten to do a lot of work with a group from Huntsville called Mayfair. they're all really nice and i was privileged to go on a medical brigade with them on two seperate occasions. however, the second was by far, the best. why? you ask? because on the way back it started to monsoon and before we knew it the river was massive and we couldn't cross it to get into the ranch. so we had to abandon our vehicles (including el jefe which was a very sad parting) and hike back around the river. i also forgot to mention there was a bridge the mayfair group got to walk across and jarrod picked them up in small groups to take to the posada. but us interns made the journey. it was a whale of a hike. needless to say after an hour of climbing mountains and crossing rapids we were pretty excited to finally be home. only then did we discover our house had been filled with water which we then proceeded to eliminate. all in all it was a pretty awesome day. i know honduras will find some way to top it with another adventure de los interns!
-amy