Proyecto Familiar

Several years ago a NPH Honduras volunteer started a program called Proyecto Familiar. Proyecto was designed to give family members, who likely live in different parts of the Ranch, a chance to spend a night as a family.

Proyecto is now in nearly all the NPH homes, and something that the kids here in Honduras absolutely love. Every night, Monday through Thursday, the volunteer kitchen is taken over by two volunteers and one sibling group. The kids and volunteers usually cook dinner, make a cake, and maybe play a game. The point really isn’t the activity, but just that the family gets a chance to spend the evening just being a family.

Tonight was my first Proyecto night. It was wonderful! I forsee this potentially being one of my favorite Ranch activities. I spent the night with Angel and Merlin, two brothers ages 12 and 17.

I had a lot of fun just spending time with them, but I think the part I liked the best was watching them interact as siblings. Merlin is starting his trade training as an electrician in Tegus this year, and he will be away from the ranch for large chunks of time for the next three years.

Tonight was the last time for a while that they will get to spend together. It was nice to be able to be a part of it.

Hey Mom…

Guess what?

“Ahhh, BOO,” totally translates to Spanish. One of the babies tonight thought I was just about the funniest thing ever.

Marc and Angel

Today, after Hogar, I was reading this blog that I love called Marc and Angel Hack Life. They make lists, which I love.

One of their most recent posts was “40 Lessons for Finding Strength in Hard Times.” This last week in Honduras was about a million times easier than my first week, but there were still some very apropos reminders.

I think my favorite was #11. Partially because it is my lucky number, but also because if I can keep this in mind, this year is going to be far easier:

11. View every challenge as an educational assignment. – Ask yourself:  “What is this situation meant to teach me?”  Every situation in our lives has a lesson to teach us.  Some of these lessons include:  To become stronger.  To communicate more clearly.  To trust your instincts.  To express your love.  To forgive.  To know when to let go.  To try something new.

Fitting, no?

Talonga = Step One

Today, I had my first "charla (talk)" with someone to get the ball rolling on my Talonga plan.

Wednesday, will be charla two.

More on this later, but I am really excited.

Palabra del dia

Almohada = Pillow

 I keep having moments in Honduras where I am reminded how fortunate I am. I know it sounds cliché, but it is true.

Today, we wrapped up our “official” orientation with a visit to INFHA. INFHA is almost like the governmental alternative to NPH. It is essentially a 3-4 month holding location for children who for one reason or another have been removed from their home. Many of the kids that come to NPH, come through INFHA first.

This facility was built for 30, but it houses around 60 boys, ages 12-18. It was rough. I’m not sure how else to describe it. Many of the kids come off the street. Many will be placed at INFHA repeatedly. Addictions to crack are common, but there are no resources besides giving lots of water and chewing gum.

The kids sleep with the lights on in their dorms because they are so used to sleeping on the street. That way you are always aware of your surroundings.

They can’t have pillows. It is too unsafe.

I’m not sure why I was so struck by this, but I can’t seem to shake it. Can you imagine being 12 years old and living someplace where a pillow was too dangerous to have around?

Lucky. We are all very very lucky.

Talonga on the brain.

Thursday we visited the Comedor Infantil in Talonga. A children’s lunch program that NPH just recently started supporting.

Talonga, up until recently was the Peace Corps training center in Honduras. It is an incredibly poor town about thirty minutes from the Ranch.

The Comedor provides lunch Monday – Friday for 36 children from the surrounding neighborhood.

It is incredible. I’m pretty sure I am in love. Like, maybe it is the reason I was suppose to come to Honduras.

I woke up at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday morning thinking about Talonga. It is pretty much on my mind all the time. Just thinking about it makes my heart go faster.

I am currently plotting ways to make it a part of my time here. More on that soon.

MAIL!!

I came back from spending Friday and Saturday in Tegus to find a postcard laying on my bed.

I got my first letter in Honduras!

THANKS GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!! Love you both!

Doppelganger?

I have now been told by three separate people that I look exactly like this woman. She plays the vampire mom in the Twilight movie.

True or false?

Uphilll. Both ways.

You know that story about walking to school, uphill both ways, in the snow?

I now officially know someone who can beat that.

I spent this morning working with Dona Gloria in the Tortilleria. Gloria has made tortillas for the Ranch for 18 years. When she first started, she made the tortillas at home, and then walked to the Ranch. She carried 300 tortillas on her head for an hour to deliver them. All the while, raising her eleven children. There is a thirteen year difference between the oldest and the youngest.

Today, at 78 years old, Dona Gloria continues to make all the tortillas for the Ranch. Now she can make the tortillas here at the Ranch, and take a bus to work but still, we made 1,100 tortillas this morning.

I think that beats uphill both ways any day.

Volunteer Coordinator

This morning we did a very brief introduction to our new positions. In honor of this, I give you my job description as it is posted on the NPH website:

At NPH Honduras, we receive many visitors over the course of the year. They may be Padrinos, ex-volunteers, large mission groups, or simply a person with an interest in getting to know NPH better.

The Visitor Coordinator is responsible for organizing all visits to Rancho Santa Fe. The Coordinator will organize transport, housing, and activities for the visitors, and generally make them feel comfortable and welcomed while on the Ranch.

Specific duties may include giving Ranch tours, cleaning visitor housing, picking up and dropping off visitors from the airport, communicating all pre-trip plans via email, and organizing any meetings/activites planned during visits.

A potential volunteer should be responsible, organized, and friendly. He or she should also speak English, Spanish, and ideally German. 

I don't speak German. We shall see how this goes. 

Normal in Honduras

On Sunday we watched ET with all the girls. Today, I realized I’m beginning to understand how he feels.

A few of the other volunteers, who have been here for six months, were talking about how seeing the new volunteers come in has made them realize how far they have come. One girl, Caroline, said something along the lines of “being in Honduras just feels normal now.”

That is really what it all comes down to. It is almost like a dream where you are back in high school, and you show up to the school assembly. Naked. And everyone is staring at you, but you can’t speak.

Well, okay maybe it is not as bad as being naked in a crowd. Still, most of the time you sort of feel like you’re an alien. That being in Honduras doesn’t feel normal at all. Everything is new, and you have to figure it all out. Just like ET.

I just have to accept that I am going to feel like this for a while, and when the next group comes in July, I am going to be the one who feels normal in Honduras.

Despiojar

Despiojar = to delouse

Yup, you read that right. My Spanish vocabulary now includes delousing.

I spent the entire day Monday with the Hijas de Maria hogar. As it turns out, Monday was the day that the girls are checked for, and cleaned of their small passengers (piojos = lice). Put twenty or so little girls in a small living space and lice are pretty much a constant problem.

Here are the despiojar–ing steps.

1. Place a towel on your lap

2. Have one of the hijas sit below your chair on a little stool, or in our case, an upside down garbage can.

3. Apply copious amounts of baby oil to their hair. This makes it easier to get things out.

4. Pull a lice comb through their hair. After each stroke, check the comb to see if there are any piojos.

5. If any lice are found on the comb, brush the still live lice onto the towel or t-shirt on your lap.

6. Once you have gotten what is hopefully all the lice out, have the hija turn around and systematically squish each and everyone of the lice that are crawling about on your lap.

7. When the last lice has been killed, go through the girls hair section by section and pull out the eggs (liendras) with your nails. Squish each egg between your finger nails after it is out of their hair.

8. Repeat steps 1-7 for each of the following hijas.

Is your head itching yet?

Not Summer Camp

Sometimes, I have to remind myself that even though it feels like it, this place isn’t summer camp.

These kids are here for a reason. I know it is lucky they have someplace to go until they grow up, because a lot of children don’t. Especially here in Honduras.

Still, it is sad.

Represa

Ahhhh, much better.

This last week has been a lot. I knew things would be tough in the beginning. In a strange way I look forward to those tough readjustment periods, especially in a new place. I think you learn more about yourself than during any other period.

Still, this week was tough. It was a lot of ups and downs. One moment feeling like this was the perfect place and the next wondering how I would survive thirteen (or more) months.

Plus, the days here are long. We are up at breakfast around seven and have orientation activities until four. A break from four to six and then it is off to Hogar visits. Keep in mind, all of this is happening while continually switching from Spanish to English and back again.

Draining has been the name of the game.

Sunday is our descanso (rest) day. So I was a bit bummed that the internet was not functioning. I had planned to Skype, e-mail and just in general reconnect with life in the States.

Sometimes, the universe just knows what you need. And the universe today knew that I needed to get away for a bit.

Since I couldn’t get online, Caro, Michelle and I walked out to the Represa. The Represa is a large, damned up lake type thing here on the Ranch. It is sort of startling when you first come upon it because it is so big and fairly isolated.

It was exactly what I needed. We swam around. Ate watermelon. Chatted. I came back feeling so much more relaxed and ready to take on the next busy week. In fact, I’m really looking forward to it.

Palabra del dia

Milagros=Miracles

I spent the entire day on Saturday with the Santa Maria Reina hogar. Such an experience.

Santa Maria Reina houses the physically or developmentally handicapped girls here on the ranch. It is a relatively small home, with only six girls with varying handicaps.

In honor of them, the word of the day for Saturday is Milagro. Miracle.

Farmer Erin

Today, I spent the morning working on the Farm.
I spent five hours picking weeds out from around what felt like a million tomato plants (The Ranch produces 70% of its own food for the 450 children that live here.)
It was a great experience, but exhausting.

I was disgusting, and sweaty, and so very dirty. And then the water was off again
Oh Rancho Santa Fe.

The silver lining was that my ice cold shower felt AMAZING when the water came back on again. In the top ten showers of my life.

Just call me Farmer Erin!

A Flashlight Tale.

I want to tell you a story. 

This story has a lesson. 

This story is about a flashlight.

All of the new volunteers went into the capitol, Tegucigalpa (Tegus for short). The main object was for some of the old volunteers to show us around but we also needed to obtain cell phones. Many an old volunteer has sung the praises of a phone with a flashlight. It seemed a bit silly to me. Plus, I have a pretty great headlamp. Still, I decided to go for it when it came down to picking out a phone.

Little did I know how soon I would be a phone flashlight convert.

The ranch has been having some issues with electricity the past couple of days. Not super unusual but for some reason we had no electricity and no water all day Thursday. Luckily, it came on before it got dark here and we all headed out to our Hogars. I was in Casa Suyapa, which houses the smallest children. I was working with the little boys. Wow. They could run the Ranch off the amount of energy those boys have.

So there I am, hanging out outside with a group of about seven boys, who are already about as much as I can handle. And then it happens. The power goes out.  It is PITCH BLACK.

Chaos ensues. Someone is crying. A few people are fighting. I am being climbed like a tree.

Can you guess what I did next??

I pulled out my super sweet new phone, and turned on the flashlight!! It was brilliant. The kids were a bit calmer. I could at least see what was going on, and even attempted, unsuccessfully, to calm down the crying kid and break up a wrestling match or two.  Mentally, I was singing the praises of my new phone flashlight, when I felt something. See, here is the thing about light when it is dark out, it attracts bugs. This rule still applies in Honduras.

So there I am, standing amongst a pile of children, shining my flashlight and something is crawling on my face. Something big. Something very very much alive. Now, how I see it, I had two options:

1) Freak out and scream like crazy

2)Stay very calm and get the bug off my face

Shockingly, I went with option two. I made a split second decision to try and keep the kids as calm as possible. So I slowly reached up with my free hand and swatted the massive (potentially cockroach) bug thing away. The kids were none the wiser.

All of this is to say, my life feels very different right now. Very good. But oh so different.

The moral:

Stay calm when bugs land on your face.

Oh, and buy a camera with a flashlight!

lesson numero dos

Ice cold showers should be taken in the afternoon. While it is still super hot out.

Mornings and nights do not go well with freezing cold water.

El Gatto en el sombrero

Cat in the Hat! Just as good in Spanish. 

Night number two in hogar was great.  Tonight, I was on the other side of the ranch with the boys. The boys were around seven to nine and so much fun. We played the worst game of dominoes ever. 

Then the best part happened.. one of the kids asked me to read to him!! The current volunteer always brings a few children’s books with her and the boys love it. 

It was pretty much the best thing ever. We took turns, and each of us read a page. I love reading aloud and I love children’s books. It made me so happy. I could do this every night, sin problemas. 

(Note: I’m currently plotting about a potential book project. Hopefully more on that later)

I’m not religious but..

I’m not religious but, sometimes I am stunned by the generosity people demonstrate in honor of their religion, god, faith, or whatever they want to call it.

Today was a day like that.

Today, we visited Casa Passionista. It is run by the Passionists. A religious order that I can honestly say I know nothing about.

Casa Passionista was originally started as a hospice home for individuals dying of AIDS. Today, it functions more as a long term care facility for individuals living with HIV or AIDS. Some individuals will live there for the rest of their lives. Some will simply come when they are sick.

While Casa Passionista is not technically part of the NPH ranch, they welcome volunteer visitors. My new plan is to locate a puzzle and take it up there to work on.

I love a good puzzle.

Hogares

In addition to my primary job here (which I promise to explain at some point), I will be assigned to a hogar, or home, for the year. Every night from 6-8 and every other Saturday, we will be with our individual hogars.

NPH is split into a girls side and a boys side. Fortunately, these two sides are a good distance apart, so it is easy to spot when someone is not where they are supposed to be. From there, the pequenos are further dived into smaller homes, based on age, development, and the dynamic of that individual home.

For the first two weeks of orientation, we are spending every night visiting a different hogar. Some of the hogars will continue with their current volunteer if they are staying on, but others are “open” or will be when the old volunteers leave next month. The Volunteer Coordinator works with each of the new volunteers to figure out what the best fit is going to be.

My first night I visited the “behaviorally challenging” girls home. It went far better than I expected.  Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous they were going to eat me alive. The girls talk a mile a minute and it was a blast to use my Spanish. We had pancakes (and coffee) for dinner and  then I ended up playing a pretty awesome round of Trouble in the rain. Muy fun.

¿De dónde vienen los niños?

Where do the children come from?

In honor of my first day of New Volunteer Orientation, I wanted to share a little bit about NPH, what I will be doing here, and what I am learning during Orientation.

Naturally, one of the first questions people have is about the kids, and how they have come to live at Rancho Santa Fe. 

So here is a VERY brief intro:

In order to join the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos family, the children must fit the following criteria:
- Their mother must have passed away or abandoned them with no hope for her return and their father must be unable to care for them
- All Children must come from dire poverty with no relatives able to care for them.
- All sisters and brothers up to the age of sixteen must be admitted together

Children, in general, are referred through some Honduran social service, or simply by word of mouth. Sometimes, when children are removed from their home by the court system, for abuse or any other number of reasons, NPH is a possible placement site.
A committee of people, including the medical staff, psychologists and the social work department decide if the home has the resources and means to appropriately care for each child individually.

So what does all of this mean?
This means that NPH may look very different than what we picture an orphanage to look like in the US. Some of these kids may still have two parents alive. Some kids may have one. Some kids may have large extended families, who were simply not able to care from them after their parents passed away.
NPH works very hard to make sure kids stay in contact with their family outside of the Ranch. Including a Visitors Day three times a year, and providing financial support for family members who need it in order to come and visit.

So that is who the kids are! 

New Goal

Get a ride in one of these!

A three-wheeled, Central American Taxi

lesson numero uno

I did not bring enough underwear.

Sano y Salvo

After 15 hours on a bus, I have arrived safe and sound at Rancho Santa Fe! 

Everyone has been incredibly friendly and welcoming.

Volunteers are here for 13 months (staring in July or January) so that departing and arriving volunteers overlap by a month.

Currently there are about twenty volunteers here, including the six of us who are new.

This morning has mostly just been sipping coffee and chatting.

I took my first cold shower of the year. 

From now on, I am going to try and keep that to an afternoon activity. Brrr.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. 

Mostly just the fact that I will be here for the next 13 months or so. 

I'm pretty sure that is to be expected.

Tomorrow begins two weeks of orientation.

I'm very ready to get started on everything! 

respira.

La Vida Antigua

A few photos of life this past week.

One Volcano

Another Volcano (the one to the left erupted today)

The Catholic Church

The street to my Spanish school

A different church

 

The Catholic Church - With a volcano in the background

Guatemalan Champagne

 

White Wine + 7-Up + Cerveza = Guatemalan Champagne