It's been a busy few weeks as I try to get ready for my mom and Kathy to come down. First, the minister of education came to town, so the kids got all dressed up and we made signs supporting the local version of No Child Left Behind (which is having more success here than in the states).

Here is a good chance for a laugh at my expense:
We had a few cold days a couple weeks back and I was freezing during my showers, which really upset me because I paid good money for an electric hot shower that was not doing it's job. Let me emphasize, it is very not fun to take a cold shower in a cold house. After a few days of this shower cursing, I finally realized that a week before, when it was really hot, I had flipped the switch to turn off the heating element. So to keep a short story short, all I ever had to do was flip the switch back on.

Last Friday I went with a couple friends to the colonial town of Gracias, just a couple hours away. We attended a salsa class being given by another volunteer and made every volunteer's most important purchase: my first machete. I had looked at many a machete when I finally came across what I knew was "the one." I was sure that it would work for whatever I could find to use it for. The price started out at about $2.50. I tried to bargain the price down, but when the seller didn't budge and had a pistol holstered around his waist, I decided $2.50 was a great price and took my baby home. Now I have no excuse to be bored, because a your machete can never be too sharp!

I have a friend hear who lives up in the mountains and has started a beekeeping co-op with the locals. The bees are African so they sting (there are some here that don't). Wouldn't you guess there aren't a lot of bee suits around here, so that makes his job all the more interesting. So when it's about 90 degrees, he puts on a few sweatshirts and a "bee-hat" that he made from cutting up the moskito net he is supposed to use and goes to work with the bees. He's already skinny so the "sweating the pounds off" thing doesn't appeal to him. He never complains though, just laughs as he tells us about the hole in his pants that he didn't see but then felt the bees stinging his legs. Anyway, they do make good honey.

I'm happy to report that the rainy season is about to return and thinks will go back to being green and muddy instead of brown and dusty. Not sure which I like more, but the heat has been pretty intense and I'm not one to complain about an afternoon rainstorm that allows me a couple hours of relaxing on the porch in the hammock.

ps. thanks to all those that have wished us well and are helping to support the baseball team. We don't leave for another month and a couple kids told me they're already packed. The kids that have televisions have also been catching MLB games on tv, so I've had to teach them to root for the Mariners and Red Sox (they think that is a very silly name) and boo the Yankee's

Champions!

It’s been awhile so there is a lot to report. I’ll start with my favorite…

My baseball team won the regional championship! The Falcons of San Francisco de Valle are the best in the west! We started earlier this year as the bad news bears, no one showing up for practice, kids fighting, taking balls of the face, etc. The most difficult things are always the rewarding, and this was definitely one of those cases. There were times when I didn’t think we’d even get to go to the tournament- not enough kids, no funds for the trip, etc. But then there were days when I’d see a glimmer of hope and remember why I was doing it- an older boy helping a young girl learn how to bat, my player with a notorious bad attitude telling a girl good try when she struck out, the team deciding to elect a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer to help raise money and make decisions.

To raise money we held a movie night for our town. The kids visited the local high school and nervously spoke to each class and sold tickets. We were able to find a projector and rented out the city hall to show a horror movie (the best kind they said). Kids brought microwaves and we sold soda and popcorn and all the kids on the team had a job. The night was a wonderful success and we had about 100 people show up (in our town of 1,500). We made about $75 which was enough to cover our bus trip to the next town.

Luckily, about 15 parents showed up to go with us to the regional tournament. The kids were so excited they didn’t sit down the entire trip, just stood there looking out the windows. When we got there the other team was warming up and it was time to play (editor’s note: I was the more nervous than before a college football game). We put on our uniforms and warmed up, and then we did our dance (the 1990’s Atlanta Falcon’s Dirty Bird Dance) to get rid of all the butterflies. We came out on fire, dropping 15 runs on the Santa Rosa Panthers in the first inning. They answered back with 1, and after the time limit was up, we were the winners by score of 17-2. The kids celebrated and then we took a break while we watched Copan Ruins destroy Santa Rosa 15-1.

We had to win the next game to move on, and Copan Ruins was the area powerhouse (the only place that already had experience). It was a pitching battle from the start but we knocked in a few runs here and there and we were up 5-2 in the final inning and they had the tying run at the plate. Great time for an injury, so my catcher takes one off the thumb and it dislocates (this is very painful). My assistant coach and I run out and pop it back in, then I smack him on the helmet and tell him sometimes the tendons just jump around and he’ll be fine. I can tell he’s unsure what to think so I tell the ump let’s play ball so he doesn’t think too much and we start up again. My former host brother takes the batter to a full count and then strikes him out for the victory. Parents who have no idea about the rules of baseball are screaming happily as the kids jump for joy. If it were an acceptable thing in this culture, I would have cried at this point (but I didn’t). On the way home the kids screamed the chorus of a rap song they had written about the team out the bus window to whoever would listen, followed by a broken English version of “we are the champions”. Now we have the huge challenge of raising money to get to the capital city 10 hours away. If we can do it, it will be a great experience and the first time to travel far away (or at all) for almost all the kids. (if you would like to help out, we will take donations J, get in touch with my mom)

Of course, Vago (the dog) came with us and supported the team! How do I explain how much he has grown? A couple months ago, my favorite part of the day was when I had to go to bed, because I picked up the sleeping Vago and then laid him down in the bedroom. Yesterday he was dead asleep in the doorway and I can’t pick him up anymore so I just got down on my hands and knees and pushed him across the floor (he didn’t even wake up).

I’ve started my English classes for the teachers and though the numbers haven’t been as high as previously thought, the class is going well. The teachers I do have seem committed. There are a few that work in small aldeas (villages) four hours away by foot and have to walk back for the class and then get up really early the next morning to get back to their aldeas.

Soccer is going good and our team grabbed another second place after going to a shootout in the championship. I’ve been playing forward and I scored three goals in the tournament, though I couldn’t get one in the title game.

During the week of Easter, no one works and everyone goes to the beach. So I went to the beach. I ended up in a hotel right on a deserted stretch of beach with 12 friends, it was cheap because we all shared one room (gotta love bunk beds).

That's all folks.

The Little Things...

We've been here for awhile, so things that may have at first been new and different are now just "life." But then every once in awhile you see something that reminds you, "this isn't typical for most people." I've had a few of those moments lately, and they've been fun.

I was waiting in line at the corner store to buy a soda, but I was waiting next to a horse that belonged to the guy in front of me. I thought, I've never been standing next to a horse at a 7-11. The guy was actually buying minutes for his cell phone, and he proceeded to jump on the horse and make a call as he rode off.

Sticking with the horse theme, I was walking Vago (the dog) down to the river so he could splash around when I passed three of the 4th graders all riding on the back of one horse. It was an odd site to see three little kids on a horse together, with no adult in site, and of course they knew how to handle that thing.

I was at the park playing basketball with some of the grade schoolers when they had to make a decision about who would be on my team. Instead of flipping a coin the little girl picks up a leaf and spits on it, then tells the boy to choose "dry or wet." Just one of those things that is so normal to them and so interesting to others (me).

That's it for now. It's the hot dry season so there's lots of dust and we're struggling through the 80 degree weather. Wish us luck with that.

ps. the picture is just a panorama I took from a friends farm.

happenings...

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I was fortunate enough to go with a medical brigade into a small town in the mountains as a translator. They were a group of about 15, including doctors, nurses, construction workers, and people to play with kids. Because they were more or less in our area, 7 of us Peace Corps volunteers were able to go. It was a lot of fun and great to see some people get help when they are so far away from everything. It was sobering though, because people with more serious conditions here are just out of luck.
One woman carried her 3 year old daughter for 2 and 1/2 hours just to get to our "clinic." She said the girl had just hadn't been wanting to walk for the last month, that it hurt. It was decided that she has muscular dystrophy, and her muscles will only be going downhill. I wonder what's in store for her, the land where she lives isn't very conducive to wheelchairs. One thing she will get a lot of is love.
We saw a lot of body aches and pains, as well as a few bot flies (very gross). A few of the older people that came in (80's) that complained of pains, had surely been working hard physical labor in the hot sun for the last 65 years. The work ethic here always amazes me. The little 3 wheeled "moto-taxis" are often driven by teenagers or young men in their 20's. I had the opportunity to talk with one of them during my ride and found out that he works from 6am to 9pm, EVERYDAY. That is 105 hours per week! I'm sure there is a lunch break and a few bathroom breaks in there but when does he have time to do anything? Oh, and if you're wondering how much he makes, it is $10 a day. That is $300 dollars a month. It's not horrible for down here but it isn't great either. $300 dollars a month! I could make that in 3 days with the crappy job of substitute teaching!
Changing gears now...Emily and I had a week of "reconnect" in the capital with all the other youth volunteers. It turned out to be a really good chance to see other projects that people are doing and how we could successfully implement them in our site. Speaking of which, school is starting next week and it looks like we are going to be super busy with all sorts of different things.
Got to watch the Super Bowl last weekend. We got together with a few volunteers who borrowed a projector from work and had a blast. I thought maybe we were some test audience and in real life the Giants hadn't actually won. Crazy.

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm a cowboy now. Life is just better that way.

"O'bama"...sounds like...

Sometimes I enjoy passing time by hanging out around the park and just talking to people- the kids who take the money for the shuttle buses, the police officers, and this teenager with polio who is in a wheelchair. I didn't even know polio was still around anymore. How sad, that this kid has a disease that could have been prevented by getting a vaccine when he was a child. Anyways, just hanging out and seeing what happens can lead to some interesting conversations, like this next story...

I was asked an interesting question from one of the local police officers while I was hanging out in the park the other day. Before he asked, he did the look around to see who was around and then lowered his voice, so I knew it was going to be something good. He wanted to know what I, as a U.S. citizen, thought of Barack O’bama, because personally, he was a little worried. He prefaced his comments by saying “I know you guys are all into that equality stuff, but…” He was worried because Barack’s name doesn’t sound “American,” and not only does it not sound American, but it sounds a lot like the names in the countries that we are “at war” with. He also wanted to know where O’bama was born and if I was worried as well. I told him that I was not worried about O’bama actually being a terrorist and he shouldn’t believe everything Rush Limbaugh says. In the end, I think I calmed his fears and convinced him that O’bama would be as good a man as any to lead our country.

Work Update!

Just wanted to give you a little update on what we've been up to/will be up to as far as work.

Kyler:








Emily:













Just kidding. We are working on a lot of different things right now. Let's try this again.

Kyler:
-Still working with the baseball team- the wiffle balls I received have helped practice a ton. Our numbers are down a little bit as school hasn't started back up so the kids are working, but I have a pretty solid core. The regional tournament that we have to win is in March. There is also a little problem of getting money for uniforms. So that's baseball.
-I'm working with Emily's work to try to start a youth soccer league. It is going to be a lot of work but the goal is that once it gets going it will sustain itself and won't need any help from me. So I have been researching uniform costs, how to construct goals, league rules, trying to form a board of directors, and that sort of stuff. It's definitely a challenge but something that the kids really deserve.
-I'll be starting an English class for teachers in March. The teachers will teach their students English and I will observe and support them. This is a project supported by the Honduran Ministry of Education.
-I've got a bunch of old film cameras (and film) and I'd like to use them to do some sort of photography project with the high school.


Emily:
-Emily has a really exciting project on the horizon. There is a house for pregnant women in our neighboring town. Poor women from the aldeas (villages) can stay there for a couple weeks when they are going to give birth (so they are near the hospital). Emily is creating a program to work with the women on health and nutrition for their babies, as well as breathing techniques for the labor.
-In the middle of our park is a brand new kiosk, and Emily would like to start a business there with a group of high school youth. She is working with a business volunteer in the neighboring town to get this done. Things won't really get going until school is back in session.
-She is also teaching community English classes to adults.
-Every Wednesday is story hour at the library for the little kids.

So, this is what we've been up to/will be up to in the near future. Some of these things will work out a lot better than others. We're still really in the beginning of our service and trying to find our niche in what exactly we'll be doing. In a couple weeks we have a "reconnect" workshop with other youth volunteers where we'll learn about new and different projects, as well as discussing what has been working and what hasn't. Till next time...

Kyler

Barbie…Coffee Farms…and more…

It seems like recently, Emily and I can’t go anywhere without hearing, “Barbie! Barbie!” The thing is, they are talking to me! No, I don’t have long blond hair- but let me give you some background. Last week, I went to a nearby town with the soccer team to play in a game during the other towns fair. I played goalie, and we won 4-0. There was an announcer and when I would make a save he would say, “Oh, great save by Barbie, the Uruguayan.” I thought it was amusing and later my teammates told me that there is some really good goalie from Uruguay nicknamed Barbie. So now sometimes when my teammates see me around town they yell Barbie.

I recently took a trip up to a local coffee farm owned by our friend Joaquin. It was a great time. The landscape resembles the pine forests of eastern Washington with some more tropical plants thrown in. After a long windy drive with a pickup full of people that included a flat tire and the crossing of a few rivers, we arrived at the coffee farm. Coffee beans need shade so people usually plant bananas or oranges. This means there is a huge supply of free bananas and oranges right now (he invited me up to see the farm and cut some bananas). Joaquin grabbed a machete (standard equipment here) and gave me a tour of the various kinds of bananas (minimos, guineos, platanos, filipos). He walked up to the first tree which was about as thick as a telephone pole and with one quick chop the whole thing bent right over and the bananas that used to be 15 feet in the air were now hanging right in front of us. With one more quick chop we had about 50 bananas in our hands. After repeating this process a few more times, usually with me playing out some samurai fantasy and chopping away at the tree, we had a few hundred bananas. So now we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a few weeks. It's worth noting that banana trees grown REALLY fast and are only good for one "real" harvest. After the first harvest they grow worthless small and gross bananas. So they can sprout up 15 feet in less than a year. They are also easy to plant, you just chop a piece of the tree off and stick it in the ground.

Side note: a few months ago when Joaquin was crossing the river during some big some big rains, he was swept downstream for a good story and some minor scrapes and bruises. Interesting thing is the river was just a trickle when we crossed it.

Emily and I just received some “Christmas” packages and want to send a big thanks out to those that put those together. I imagined my grandma going through the checkout line with loads of candy and the clerk wondering if she had the munchies. Little stuff (and big stuff) from home means a lot here and other volunteers also benefit as everyone passes on books and magazines when they finish with them. I also have to add that Vago now has more toys than any dog in Honduras. Though I’m not sure that any of the great toys we received can replace his favorite 30 cent plastic ball that we play soccer with. Emily and I stand at opposite ends of the hallway and Vago stands in the middle, then we play soccer- he’s a tough defender.

The interesting thing about dogs here is that a lot of them (50% I’d say) are more or less “wild.” By that I mean that they just wander the streets scavenging for food and they are so skinny and beat up from dog fights that they would all make the news back home in the states for animal abuse. This is because the people here can’t afford to take Bob Barker’s advice because it is really expensive to get your pet spayed or neutered and the only place it can be done is in the larger cities, which is a long expensive trip for most people.

Check back shortly as we should have a work update for those interested in what we're doing- like sitting in a hammock and playing with kids isn't work!