Week 16

The fifth night of Hanukah

My last week in Honduras was one of the fullest yet. Every night since Hanukah began, we’ve been gathering in Beach House to light the candles. However, Yamit and I decided we needed to up the holiday spirit so we spent Friday afternoon preparing a Hanukah dinner for all of the volunteers. We peeled potatoes for latkes and apples for applesauce, chopped up onions, and did a ton of frying. It took almost the entire afternoon but it was so much fun. By dinnertime, we had a full Hanukah dinner complete with the essentials: latkes, applesauce, and sufganiyot for dessert. The best part for me was being able to introduce the rest of the volunteers to the food that was such an important part of my childhood. Every single person in the room told us repeatedly how good it was. Receiving all of these compliments made me feel satisfied that we’d done justice to Jews celebrating Hanukah around the world.

Corozal beach

The next morning, five volunteers and one of our friends from El P, Keily, travelled over an hour by bus to a small town and beach called Corozal. Even before we got off the bus, I could tell that this Corozal was very different than El Porvenir. Most of the inhabitants were Garífuna – one of the groups of black people in Honduras. Garífunas speak a different language (called Garífuna) and many of them speak English as well. Whereas El Porvenir feels like a town that happens to be next to a beach, Corozal gave off a Caribbean vibe. All of the people were friendly and the shops were filled with dyed clothes and other more touristy but locally made items. Unlike the weekend before, it was perfect weather for the beach. The sun was shining bright and the wind was blowing just enough to keep us cool. The ocean was not warm like it is in El P; rather, perfectly refreshing. We spent a few hours on the beach and then headed back home, stopping by the huge grocery store, Colonia, for the last time.

That evening, after returning from a potluck with one of our Canadian neighbors, we all headed to the Beach House roof to stargaze. Because El P is far from the city, near the ocean, and because there isn’t much light pollution from the houses, the sky is ridiculously clear. All of us lay on the roof covered in blankets, hanging out, listening to music, eating crepes made by our manager, and looking at the stars. As if the weekend hadn’t been good enough already, this made it even more perfect. We spent four hours up on the roof, hanging out and snuggling under our blankets to keep warm.

Reading with one of our students
on an HCA kindle

On Sunday morning, Yamit, Celia and I went fishing in a nearby river with Keily and her fisherman uncle. Every day, a group of fishermen congregates outside our house. Because the best time to catch fish is in the wee hours of the morning, by the time we’re leaving for class, they’ve done their work for the day and have (usually) begun drinking (a favorite pastime of theirs). They sit at the end of the road, about 40 feet away from our house, and are always sure to give us a wave as we head to our PEP locations. So, when Keily offered to take us fishing with her uncle, I thought we’d be out on the ocean like those fisherman. Instead, we walked about 40 minutes, through a part of El Porvenir I didn’t know existed. By the end of our walk, we’d arrived at a beautiful, pristine river. Keily’s uncle’s boat fit only three people, so he would take us down the river in turns and drop us off on the shore. The first place we began fishing was quite near to the mouth of the river, and was therefore close to the ocean as well. Using wrist-sized logs with fishing line rolled around them and a hook at the end, we would fish for small fish. Keily or her uncle would put a worm on the hook and we would throw it into the water. When we felt some nibbling on the end of the line, we would pull it out quickly. Our first location yielded no fish, so Keily’s uncle decided to take us further upstream, closer to where we’d entered the river. This time, we immersed ourselves in the cool water up to our hips – staying completely still so as to stay hidden. By the end of our adventure, Yamit had caught four fish, I’d caught two, and Celia had caught one. They were quite small – definitely not big enough to be eaten – so Keily took them home to keep them as pets. That was the end of another wonderful weekend.

Playing Cat and Mouse with the
kids outside PEP2

Early on Monday morning, the Tribunal Supremo Electoral, the political group in charge of counting the votes, officially announced Juan Orlando as president. And so, the protests, marches, and riots started up again. Yamit’s mom Orit was supposed to arrive that day, but because of the political unrest, one of her flights was cancelled and she was stranded in Miami. I kept in close contact with my parents, trying to find a way for them to make it to El P. On Tuesday afternoon, just a day before they were supposed to arrive, they called me and told me that their flights to and from Honduras had been cancelled and they were not going to be able to make it to see me. I could tell that they were upset, as was I.

Every time I come back from a trip, I am always chock-full of stories to tell about the places that I’ve been. It's always difficult because my parents haven't actually travelled to these places and so, when I tell them about things that happened there, I never feel like they can fully appreciate my experience. For about two months before they were supposed to come, I'd been ecstatically anticipating their visit. I loved El P and was so proud that I was going to be able to show them the amazing place in which I'd been living for the past few months. It was going to be the first time that they would actually be there and this would make recounting stories and experiences so much easier. Learning, on that fateful Tuesday afternoon, that they were not going to be able to visit me, was almost painful. They were quite upset because they'd wanted to see me in action and get to know this little village that had become my home, and I was upset because I'd been so excited for them to come. However, there was no possible way for them to make it. At first, I was sad and angry about the situation. Now, I realize that this is the perfect excuse to return to El Porvenir.

I taught the kids how to draw menorahs

Our class “theme” this week was preparation for the Concurso de Talentos. We still did fun art activities and played games, but we also spent a lot of time practicing for the talent show. My students’ act was shaping up quite well and I was excited to see the other numbers that I'd heard so much about. 

On Thursday morning, the day of the Concurso, we all walked to our locations. At PEP2, only about seven kids were outside, so while Sophia waited in the classroom with some of the kids, I took the others and walked around the nearby neighborhood in order to gather up more. At 9:15am, we began the half hour walk back to the center of town to the Municipalidad where we would all perform.

Although it was scheduled to begin at 10am, we did things on Honduran time, so the show didn’t begin until about 10:30am. Each class had their own act -- all of which were amazing and adorable. A few of the kids did things in small groups or by themselves. We ended the show with the volunteers dancing to Estamos Todos Juntos (We're All in This Together) from High School Musical. We'd been working on this act for about three weeks, and only in the past few days had it come together. The kids absolutely loved it! 

Me, Sophia and all the PEP2 kids
after the Concurso

At the end of the Concurso, the winner was chosen. My group (PEP2 PM) won which was quite exciting – though I had kind of expected it because their performance was so good. As a prize and an early Christmas gift, all of the kids got little games which had been brought by Yamit's dad's friend when they’d come in November. The talent show was fun and funny, but the best part of the day was being able to see all of the kids one last time before I left. They knew it was my last day, and I was showered with hugs and cards and "no te vayas!" (“Don't leave!”). One of my favorite students even cried. As sad as I was to be leaving, I was so extremely happy to be with the kids and my friends that it didn't really hit me until the next day. 

In El Porvenir, one of the ways you can greet people is by saying "Adios." You would only say this to someone if you were saying hello to them in passing. Walking through town on my last day, "Adios" held so much more meaning. I was greeting people, but I was also saying goodbye. To every person that I encountered, I would say “adios”. Goodbye, and I'll see you when I return.

Word of the week:

Que te vaya bien: This is a typical phrase you would use to say goodbye.  It means "that you go well" and is short for "espero que te vaya bien" which means "I hope that you go well." 

Yamit quote of the week:

"Can you rub your head against my upper back?" said because, on the last day after we'd packed, we only had one towel left. Yamit had dried off and it wasn't until I had the towel around my hair that she realized that her upper back was still wet. 

Important Note: This concludes my Febmester in Honduras Blog. I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading my entries each week – I know I’ve enjoyed writing them – and I hope that you’ve learned something new. After all, isn’t that why we travel?