Despedida

So we went into the city this weekend for the going away party for the 3 outgoing volunteers. We started out with a yummy dinner at Pincho Loco. I was there for just a few seconds when I saw an adorable black kitten. I picked her up, and she immediately started purring. She played with me and then fell asleep in my lap. Leila and I begged to be allowed to take her home, but to no avail. :( From dinner, we went out to sing karaoke, which was highly amusing. We sang everything from "Don't Stop Believing" to "Baby One More Time" to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." One of the locals decided to perform Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." Pete and I did an epic junior high school slow dance that morphed into a ridiculous waltz. I thought it would be a really good idea to try the lift from Dirty Dancing. It was pretty much a total fail but really, really funny. From there, we went out dancing at Castillo until 3:00 in the morning. So tired today, but excited for moving day!

Amazing...

how one great day can cancel out a bad one. I had a really negative experience at hogar last night. My tías had asked me to bring my laptop to help them with their Plan Operativo Anual (POA). I spent two hours on Monday typing it out, and I used my only 2 hours of free time to get it printed yesterday. I had shown the girls some pictures of my family, and the tía brought out a flash drive so the girls could see pictures of themselves. We didn’t end up having time, so I brought it again yesterday. I showed the girls more photos and some videos (me dancing and singing karaoke at the end of the year assembly at Zeiger). When the tía asked me to put it away, I did. She pulled me aside later to tell me that showing the girls pictures and videos on my laptop is strictly prohibited. She was really harsh, and it really upset me. The girls also pulled me aside rather protectively and told me not to bring my laptop again because it made the tías mad. I apologized profusely to the tías, but they still called their supervisor and mine. I was totally shocked. It was an innocent mistake, and I had the best of intentions. I guess I should have asked first, but I thought it was a pretty major overreaction. I spent about an hour bawling my eyes out. I’m sure everyone who is reading this knows what a perfectionist I am and how hard I am on myself. I did have some great conversations with friends and with Lauren (the volunteer coordinator), and I felt very supported. Lauren told me that my love for the kids is apparent, and I really tried to take that to heart. My friend Laura is here visiting, so we had a sleepover and I got to have a hot shower this morning.

So I was feeling better until Kenia (the first grade teacher I’m working with) called to say her daughter was sick and she’d be late. I was really worried because our class can be really malcriada. I also haven’t been feeling like I’m really a teacher. Well, the other day, Kenia decided to split up our duties so that I’d be teaching math and she’d be teaching Spanish. I was delighted with this and have been feeling much more useful. But I wasn’t sure how it was going to go with just me and Jorge (our año familiar). It actually went really well. If it was my classroom at home, I probably would have been horrified, but these kids are so different that it really felt like a success. I managed that Montessori classroom just fine, thank you very much. The kids are learning to use “please” and “thank you” and how to talk to me respectfully in order to get what they want. Kenia came with about an hour left in class, and we had a great talk about my experience with the tías. She used to work in Casa Suyapa, so she totally understands. She told me she wanted me to know how much she loves the way I work and the way I discipline the kids. She said I come into the classroom with a sign on my forehead that says, “I’m a teacher.” Best compliment ever! Normally, I eat lunch with the Montessori teachers, and I’m pretty quiet. Today, there were only 4 of us, and it was so much fun. They were teaching my Honduranisms and helping me with homophones (I had an embarrassing experience when Kenia told me to look for something next to la llave. Turns out that means faucet as well as key.) I understood their jokes and even made them laugh (Ryan, your "estoy haciendo ejercito" story was well received), and it felt really good.

This afternoon, I went to the dance class that is run by Juan Bautista (another año familiar). I had seen his group before and mentioned that I enjoyed dancing, so he invited me to a practice. It was really fun, and I think I'll go again. I went to hogar tonight. The director of the house pulled me aside and I also talked to my tia, and all is forgiven. They felt really bad that I was so upset. All in all, a really good day for me to cancel out yesterday's yuckiness.

My Girls

I am in love with my hogar. These girls are so completely wonderful. Being with them makes me forget everything else – my frustrations at school, my personal issues, everything. I have never been told that I look pretty so many times in one day as yesterday at mass. I put on a dress, make-up, and bright pink nail polish, and the girls were delighted. Before the evening activity (a singing competition), they took my hair down and brushed it because they like it suelto and lent me earrings that matched my dress. They are so patient with my Spanish, explain things when I don’t understand, and teach me new words. They encourage me in my hopeless attempts at chapearing and thank me just for trying. They make sure I get enough to eat and worry about me getting eaten alive by bugs. They show me their photo albums and letters from their godparents. They give me hugs and kisses and lean their heads on me when they’re tired. And they trust me enough already to tell me things they’d never tell their tias. I feel like I have 16 new little sisters, although most of the time they are the ones taking care of me.

And the winner is...

Hijas de Pilar! We got our hogar assignments yesterday, and I got the 18-20 year-old girls. I am really excited because they are just one up from my favorite hogar, Inmaculadas. I actually didn’t get to visit Pilares during my hogar tour. Both those hogars eat together in the upper girls’ house, and several of the Inmaculadas will pass to my hogar in January. I ended up getting this hogar because I am one of the oldest volunteers, I have experience with girls that age (when I coached dance team I learned a lot of good lessons), and I was confident in my ability to have boundaries with the girls. So I’m feeling pretty good about that. I had dinner with them last night, and I loved the conversation. They asked me about my family and told me about theirs; it was wonderful. I think I’m on good terms with the tias already, and I’m looking forward to my work weekend with the girls.

We also finally got our Olimpiadas team. I’m on Team #1. The theme is places of interest in Honduras. We got Pulapanzak, which is a waterfall, and our virtue is peace. I’m so excited for my team. We have the cutest little ones, Dulce Milagro and Benjamin. I get to be with Magda from my hogar, and she’s a sweetheart. Also, por pura suerte, my godson Axel is with me! Last year, I got to be with Laura’s goddaughter Rosa Lilian, and we managed to be together again. Juan from Discipulos was on our team last year too, and when I walked in, he said, “Kimmie’s on our team! We’re going to win!” (At the presentation/dance, not the games, of course.)

Other good news: I am rooming with Marie, and I have turno (weekends off) with Leila!!

Today, we celebrated the Day of the Indian at school. This means a significant amount of instructional time has been wasted creating elaborate posters and historically and culturally inaccurate costumes. I will post some on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.

Sick

So I have been sick for about a week now. I completely lost my voice at one point; that got better, but I still can’t shake this nasty cough. I feel really tired and just plain icky. And, of course, I’ve been running around as if I didn’t have anything. I finally dragged myself to the clinic for a consult with the visiting doctor. She listened to my breathing, and my lungs sounded clean. That means no antibiotics. That’s really fine with me because I’m pretty sure amoxicillin doesn’t work on me anymore anyway. She said it was a bronchitis without the infection?? She gave me a prescription for a cough suppressant that Marie is going to pick up for me when she goes to the city tomorrow. I also got Atrovent on the nebulizer 3 times at 20 minutes a pop. All in all, I was there several hours. Volunteers are generally seen first, but I had to wait. It was okay because I would have felt bad about cutting in front of the baby. Another thing it could be is the return of my asthma. I will be so annoyed if it has lain dormant for the past 10 years only to rear its ugly head during my year abroad.

So how better to treat an illness than to spend a day working outside? We have a few cases of dengue here at the Ranch. Once volunteer has it for sure (the hemorrhagic variety, at that) and one has a suspected case. So today was our War Against Dengue cleaning day. Seriously, they cancelled school for it. I don’t understand how chopping down grass and dragging branches into a pile is going to help. Seems to me we should be getting rid of some of those pools of standing water, but what do I know? Fortunately, I was assigned to work with the littlest kids, so none of the work was too hard. Even then, I didn’t help out that much. What with being sick and hating physical labor and all. It’s frustrating to me not to be able to show my talents. I physically can’t do the hard labor, but I know I have gifts to share. But here, I feel like they’re kind of useless. I’m hopeful that will change, but at this moment in time I am sick and feeling sorry for myself. And I kind of feel like me getting dengue is a forgone conclusion because I am covered in bug bites despite valiant efforts at putting on repellant.

One good thing was spending time with Gabi, the cutest little girl ever! She has an underbite and a speech impediment, and I love her. Her giggle is absolutely infectious. I buddied up with her to move planks of wood because we’re about the same strength level (she’s sick, so yeah). At one point, she lifted up my shirt and saw my tattoo. Tattoos are strictly verboten here on the Ranch because in Honduras it means you have a gang affiliation. (I am in a hippo gang, apparently.) Anyway, when she saw it, she said, “Un dibujo! Un chancho!” Roughly translated, that’s, “A picture! A pig!” As far as she’s concerned, that’s exactly what it is.

Out and About in Tegucigalpa

I am so proud of us. A bunch of us newbies decided to go to Tegus for the weekend since we had it off. I am pleased to report that no one was attacked or robbed. Success! We got on the bus from the Ranch at about noon yesterday, got off at Cerro Grande, and hopped a colectivo to the Hotel Granada. After we dropped off our stuff, we walked back to the center to run some errands and do some shopping. We found an amazing pastry shop, and I came home with a cream puff today as a treat for later. Some of us headed to Dolores to get some super cheap baleadas (flour tortilla with eggs, refried beans, and mantequilla - I like to add avocado). From there, we took a taxi to the Metromall (it's an actual mall - fancy that). I have to say, I am getting pretty good at negotiating with taxi drivers. We did a bunch of shopping. I bought a cute dress at a Forever 21-ish store for going out that night. I also had Little Caesar's for dinner at the food court. We went back to the hotel, took hot showers (so rico), and got ready to go out dancing. Today, we ran some more errands and went out to eat. Marie and I went to have Cokes with our friend Chele while the rest of the crew went grocery shopping. I had to laugh because Chele asked me if I'd gotten skinnier since last year because he remembered me being a little more gordita. I don't think anyone has ever used that word to describe me in the history of...ever. I explained about my heartbreak, and he was righteously indignant on my behalf.

I feel like my Spanish is getting better. Whether it is making phone calls, talking with Honduran friends, chatting with the tias, meeting people on the bus, exchanging witty banter with cab drivers, or ordering food, it is getting easier and easier. I have high hopes that I will be completely fluent after 13 months, and that is an exciting prospect indeed!

Tortilla House

As part of our orientation, we had a day around the Ranch. New volunteers were working in the gardens, the kitchen, the farm, etc. Leila and I were assigned to the tortilla house. I hadn’t worked there as a visitor, so I was kind of excited. We started at 7:00 a.m. and finished at noon. We took out the soaked corn in batches and washed it until the water was clear. Doña Gloria (who has worked at the Ranch tortilleria for 16 years) put the soaked corn through a machine to make the dough. We kneaded the dough, put it through the tortilla maker, put the tortillas on the grill, flipped them, made tortilla towers, then finally counted them out and bagged them. Now, you all know how much I like finding things I’m not good at (sarcasm font), and the tortilla maker is way harder than it looks. Eventually, I figured it out, but I was still slow and lots of mine turned out ugly. Alana (the adorable año familiar who works there) told me I was a quick learner, but she also spent most of the time saying, “Te ayudo, Kimmie?” I was so not designed for hard labor, but I did enjoy working with my hands at least for one day.