Some Words of Wendell Berry....

 Came across this reading the other day and just wanted to share it!

“Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion — put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.”

Wendell Berry

The clouds over Santa Lucia last night. So beautiful!

Here's to the Women in My Vida!

Recently, I have found myself daydreaming about what my life would be like if I was born here. As a woman, I would probably already have a kid (or a few), I probably wouldn’t have gone to school past sixth grade and I would work hard, very hard. I would get up around 5 am to cook breakfast for my family, making tortillas over a wood-burning stove that makes the walls of my house black and most likely reflects the color of my lungs. I would then spend the day cleaning the house, cooking for my husband and kids, washing clothes, and going out to gather wood. All these tasks may sound simple but they require hours of hard labor. I maybe would get a little break in the afternoon but would continue cooking and cleaning until dinner. Then the next day, I would get up and do it all again and again and again.

            The women here in the campo are nothing short of inspiring. Their resilience and what they put up with on a daily basis is clearly something, yet with the attitude of “machismo”, their hard work is barely recognized and they do not have the same rights as men. For example, women barely leave their house except to run errands, get wood or go to church. It is often to the point where they won't go out in public without a companion or a reason as they feel uncomfortable. When I go to the central plaza in town, there are only men there, hanging out, catcalling, or playing cards. Rarely have I seen a woman there just to hang out and pass the time. Yet despite this, women are the backbone of this town and society. Without their hard work, families wouldn’t function. I know plenty of women whose husbands have left them either for another woman or for the States, yet they manage. I don’t know any single fathers here but the majority of women I know are doing it on their own without a father figure in the house. It is also always interesting to see women in churches as well because they are the ones who show up! As there is no priest in the Catholic Church here, a woman runs the celebration (since there is no priest, they don’t call it Mass)  and she even has special permission from the bishop to give out communion (which is rarely taken here). Indeed, women are the backbone here. You don’t see their hard work, yet you know they are the ones running the town, running the country and the more I observe of the rural lifestyle, the more I realize the education and the health of a woman is so imperative to the health of a community. The women here amaze me everyday. Every single one is strong and selfless and they put up with things that I never could. So here is to the mothers and the grandmothers and the daughters here and I can only hope that one day, things will get better for them.

One of the single moms I met in San Jose. Single motherhood is often the norm here.

The front of the clinic. The mural says "Working for the well-being of the community."

 Last week, I started a life skills class with the fourteen-year-old students from the high school. This class is called “How to Plan My Life” and is centered on themes such as goal setting, decision-making, self-discovery, and sex education. This is pretty innovative here as the students rarely get the opportunity to talk about their likes/dislikes, their futures, their questions about growing up, etc. Instead, they are forced to grow up at such a young age and their lives just kind of happen without them actually thinking about it or realizing that they have another option. The students I teach are the exception, they are continuing past sixth grade and typically aren’t from the outlying pueblos with limited opportunity. But they give me hope! Their sharpness, their laughter, and their willingness to share have truly impressed me and I’m sad that I have just started with this group of students when I am leaving so soon. I will just have to “aprovechar” or take advantage of their presence while I still can!

The local Santa Lucia scholarship students

 

 Yes it is true that many people here barely get by but things are improving and I just have to trust that they will continue to get better because change takes a long time and a lot of hands and even if it’s slow, it’s still something! The vibrancy of life here despite the circumstances is still something that I learn from each and every day.  Here’s to the women in my life, here in Honduras and back at home! My grandmas, my mom, my aunts, my sisters, my friends, I love you all!

Best wishes!

One Last Viaje

I spent the last ten days on a wonderful trip throughout Honduras and Guatemala and sadly this will probably be my last one! Here are some of the main happenings of our trip:

• Going to the Mayan ruins of Copán. These are the southernmost of the Mayan empire and are almost to the border of Guatemala.  We went with our Director of Operations here who studied archeology in Mexico so he taught us a lot about the ancient civilization. There is a game they would play (a picture of the field is below) and the winners were sacrificed to the gods. It was an honor to die! Crazy. They believed in a trio of the underworld, earth, and a heaven but all were neither good nor bad. It’s always amazing to me how despite how different ancient civilizations are, there are repeatedly the same themes as well.  The collapse of the empire, which was once one of the most powerful in the region, is still unknown today.

Kate and Daniel in the field where the Mayans played the game that would determine their fates

At the Copán Ruins

• We then went to the infamous large and sprawling Guatemala City. While known to be very dangerous, it also has a lot of history and sites to see! We went to one of the nicest malls I have even been to (culture shock!) and then took a tour of the city the next day. We got to go the National Bank and the Central Market where I had some delicious street food.

• From there, it was back to Antigua (I was also here in December). Antigua is known to have one of the best Semana Santa celebrations in Central America. One night, we were out walking through all the street vendors and just stumbled on one of the Holy Week processions. According to a local, they had been walking for nine hours by the time we saw them! All of the locals dress in long robes and some carry the platform typically with a scene of Jesus and Mary and there is a marching band that typically follows. The music and the whole thing in general gave me goose bumps! It was really fascinating to see how they celebrate and we happened to run into three processions throughout our trip. On top of that, we got some cheap, good street food! Grilled corn on the cob and pupusas! Yum!

Enjoying street food at the Semana Santa celebration in Antigua

One of the Semana Santa processions in Antigua

• After Antigua, Kate (my travel buddy and new volunteer here) and I decided to go onto Xela in order to conquer the highest mountain in Central America named Tajumulco (literally meaning “into the clouds” in the Mayan local language).  The bus ride there was probably the most crowded I have been on in Central America. We got on our chicken bus (basically pimped out school buses that are infamous in Guatemala) and it was packed! There were already three to every seat so Kate and I were forced to stand meaning we had to brace ourselves from not falling. It was a workout as I was using muscles I didn’t know I had to make sure I wouldn’t collapse on the people sitting in the seats by me. The ride was three hours and the bus drove extremely fast through mountain roads, people were getting sick and the breaks were smoking. At one point, we stopped while the driver ran to get a bucket of water to pour on the engine as the bus was overheating. Never have I been so glad to get to my destination!

•  Upon arriving, we went to the Quetzaltrekkers office to get our gear and prepare for the trip. Quetzaltrekkers (a link is attached) is a company that guides hikes in Nicaragua and Guatemala and they donate all of their profits from their site in Guatemala to a school for street kids in Xela. The guides are all volunteers and live in a house near the office. Check out the link! Seeing as Kate and I literally had nothing that would be adequate for the trip, they let us rent everything (coats, sleeping bags, backpack) for free and we would definitely need all of it! 

Our eclectic group  on the mountain

• The next day, we left at 6am and took a chicken bus about two hours to a little town where we ate a yummy breakfast at a comedor. We then continued on in another chicken bus to the town at the base of volcano and began our ascent. Our group consisted of a Hungarian mathematician who has been traveling the world for four years, a Norwegian poker player, our superhuman Guatemalan guide (seriously I don’t think he even sweats), our two Quetzaltrekkers guides, and Kate and I. Two of the other group members had to go back due to altitude sickness. Starting out was a little rough; I forgot how I always like the idea of backpacking but when you have a heavy backpack on your back while you’re climbing up a mountain…. well that’s a different story. We arrived at the base of the volcano in about four hours and had a delicious lunch with trail mix, hummus, corn and black bean salsa, spinach and bean salad and PB and J sandwiches. It was seriously all the food I miss from the US! After lunch, the temperature began to drop and drop fast! So we set up the tents and went in our warm sleeping bags and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to keep warm in our tents.

• That night, sleep for me was almost nonexistent as every time I moved positions, I would get even colder and then would revert to my previous uncomfortable pose. I slept with a down jacket and a hat and gloves on.  Never have I been so ready to get out of bed at 4 am! We were woken up and told that the sky was clear for the sunrise, so we began the last hike up to the summit. And that was when I got altitude sick (I know putting my Colorado roots to shame!). It wasn’t too bad, but I was dizzy and very nauseous. Nonetheless, we made it to the top and set up our sleeping bags, snuggled in and watched the beautiful sunrise and I knew it was all worth it! It was breathtaking. I feel like I could see everything, with Mexico on one side and Guatemala on the other! There were also a ton of locals who hiked it (some barefoot naturally) as it is a very spiritual place and they did ceremonies for Holy Week. We made it back to camp to a breakfast of oatmeal and granola and descended the mountain, returned in chicken bus to Xela, and went to bed promptly at 8 pm. I was sore for a few days after but also extremely content!

The view of the sunrise

Kate and I attempting to snuggle in and stay warm on top of the mountain

The view looking towards Mexico, with the shadow of Tajumulco in the foreground

•  The next day, we decided to go to Lake Atitlan but only went to one little town known as Pana, which was extremely touristy! Not really wanting to deal with the hoards of Semana Santa tourists, we walked around, got rained on, and decided to head back to Antigua so we could haul it back to Honduras.  Knowing it was a risk as it was Good Friday and the busiest day of the year in Antigua (you have to make reservations months in advance for a room), we decided to chance it anyway. As the bus for Honduras leaves at 4am, we figured we could just find a place to kill time until 4am if needed!

Relaxing  at the lake

•  Right after arriving in Antigua and going into numerous hotels asking for rooms and being rejected by all, we were getting a little worried. So I said to Kate, “By the grace of God, let there be an available room.”, somewhat joking but seeing as it was Holy Week and all, I was hoping maybe the Big Man would be on our side. Sure enough right after I said that, we hear a Guatemalan across the street ask “Are you looking for a room?” We just looked at each other and started laughing but went over to talk to him and it turns out his friend was taking advantage of the loads of tourists in town and was renting out rooms in his little compound. We were a little skeptical but he seemed trustworthy and we were so grateful for a place to sleep that at that point, we didn’t care! So we got to spend the last night in Antigua, eating street food, seeing the “alfombras” which are carpets they make on the cobblestone streets from sand or sawdust in beautiful colors, and we got to see one more procession. Things seriously could not have worked out better and I just couldn’t stop smiling and laughing the whole night.

One of the many carpets on the streets for Semana Santa

• We left at 4am the next day and spent the next two days on buses to get back to the frontera. We are now home safe and sound, the University of Cincinnati Family Medicine brigade is here, and I am trying to enjoy every minute of what little I have left (less than two months!) as I know it will fly by!

·    One last thing, just a little plug, but Shoulder to Shoulder was featured on this Foundation Beyond Belief website, check it out!

Miss you all! Hope this finds you well! Stay in touch!

Just a Photo? Think Again.

Despite having been here for 9 months, I am still surprised everyday at the little cultural differences that pop up. So let me just tell you this little story. Hondurans hate and I mean hate their photos being taken (at least the majority of the employees in the clinic). A lot of the people here are very shy and have what we refer to here as “pena”, or are embarrassed a lot. So yesterday, I had to take all the employees’ photos for an identification card for Shoulder to Shoulder. I made an announcement at a clinic wide meeting last Friday saying that this Tuesday was “Photo Day” and that everyone should come to work well-groomed to take a picture (even though they already all do that on a daily basis). I thought that telling everyone a few days in advance would alleviate some of their embarrassment, allow them to prepare and primp, etc.…. boy was I wrong! I had people hiding from me, people who refused to take the photos when others were watching, and people who made me redo it 4 or 5 times even though this will just be a little picture on a card. What should have taken an hour at most ended up taking the entire day, as I would have to ask multiple times/ even beg for people to take a photo. Now I know no one likes his or her individual photo taken, but doing it in Honduras takes this dislike to a whole other level. What I don’t understand is that the doctors in the clinics are continuously taking photos on their phones and modeling for each other to post on Facebook, hmmmm the irony of it all! But again, I am reminded that nothing is quite as easy as it seems! Sometimes all I can do is smile and laugh even though I don’t understand. Happy Holy Week! I will write after my little vacay. :-)

A little pic from a recent hike in Santa Lucia, hoping this will all be green soon!

Lessons from Salty Water, Bug Bites, and the Art of Rural Medicine

 This past week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a wonderful group of people in a little community, Agua Salada (in English known as Salty Water), away from modern distractions.  Through getting to know this group, both Americans and Hondurans, I realized just how much I could learn from the people that I have come into contact with here. Whether it was the third year resident who served in Afghanistan and worked as a flight nurse for twenty years and went back to medical school at the age of 45 or the woman who has nine kids, is pregnant with her tenth, and walked hours to get the clinic, the resilience of the human spirit is truly astounding. We all fight our own battles but who we are, in a sense, is our stories and I was so grateful to get to share and listen to these stories with both community members from Agua Salada and the brigade members of the University of Wyoming.

Kate, Peter, and I on the hike to the Agua Salada waterfall

The week was spent running clinic out of the local Catholic church, doing home visits for those patients who couldn’t make it to the clinic, and educating local elementary students about proper hand washing, teeth brushing, and sun protection. We also hiked to two waterfalls, which was a refreshing activity during the heat of the dry season! Working alongside the community members, I was once again reminded that nothing is quite as easy as it seems and that even though the help we provide seems wonderful at first glance, there are often many unintended consequences. With the construction of the new clinic, this includes local struggles for power, putting the blame on others, and once again, the sense of entitlement that can come from the extension of aid. But I am just reminded that we are all human and when it comes down to it, across all cultures and countries, we are all more alike than different.

A group shot at the waterfall

The local elementary students rocking their new shades after a talk on sun protection

 I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Agua Salada community though and I am excited for the future clinic. We have had countless meetings talking about what the clinic means for the community and how it can benefit the surrounding communities as well. There is a local committee that will include representatives from all of the outlying communities who will work alongside Shoulder to Shoulder to make the decisions, prepare for the brigades, and promote health in their respective places. While I will not be here to see the finished project, it has truly been a great learning experience to see the progress and all that goes into the construction of a new building. It takes many hands, materials, and minds for something that at face value seems so simple. 

One of the future buildings of the clinic

 I have also become close with Emeldo (the president of the local committee whom we work with) and his brother Leopoldo and I will be sad to goodbye to them in a few short months. I have worked with them to plan the brigade and they were literally there to help us everyday during the brigade, taking out the trash, cleaning up after us, guiding us to home visits, and making sure we had everything we needed. The hospitality of their family toward me was truly something! I already have plans to go back and visit Agua Salada (it’s about an hour and 45 minutes from where I live) before I leave.

Relaxin' in a hammock at Emeldo's house

Emeldo, his wife, and their granddaughter and I on the last night

Now that I'm back, everything here seems a little more quiet as I am not with the brigade at all hours of the day but I am working with the education project again. The first week of April is Semana Santa (which in Honduras is code for finding any body of water to cool off in) but I will be heading to Copan Ruinas, the site of the Mayan ruins in Honduras with a few people from the clinic. Supposedly tourist activity has picked up this year due to it being 2012...dun dun dun! It should be interesante. I hope this finds everyone well in their respective places! Paz.

Life as of Lately.....

 “It’s terrible and wonderful, but it’s true: we’re all in the same boat. That’s the consolation. It’s not just me who’s scared and lonely and worried and isn’t sure how to help myself. We don’t know how to help ourselves’ but there is one thing we do know how to do. We know how to help each other.”

 Colin Beavan, No Impact Man

 I love this quote and just wanted to share it!  Soooo… today I’m not really feeling like writing too much! So I just wanted to update some pictures with a little summary of my life the past few weeks to keep everyone in the loop.

Baking pumpkin muffins (yummmm!)  in the clinic

 Things here have been pretty….slow and simple, but as it should be! Now, with the Peace Corps pulling out, we have a new travel policy and are forbidden to go anywhere out of the area on public transportation. Kind of a bummer, considering there were parts of Central America and Honduras I would have to liked to see but that’s life. The truth is that the majority of people who live here never get to leave due to limited economic resources, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about. And we will be able to travel a little still!

Sunrise hike in Santa Lucia

I have started working in the library again! It’s so great to see the kids everyday.

We went to the beach in El Salvador with a group of doctors and dentists from the clinic here. We took two trucks and put a mattress in the back of one of them and stayed at an all-inclusive resort for a night on the beach in a town called Salinitas. We ate too much, danced a lot, and enjoyed the beach and the pool, it was a great getaway in all. El Salvador has paved roads and uses US dollars, so I couldn’t complain!

My roommate and I at the resort in El Salvador

The group from the clínica at the beach

Out for the night with Amy, Flor (my dentist roommate) and Victoria (a doctor at the clinic)

 Tomorrow I leave to go pick up the University of Wyoming brigade in the capital city, Tegucigalpa. I will be with them at a little community called Agua Salada where we stay at a school and run the clinic through the church. They are currently building a clinic that should be completed by this summer. I'm excited to go back and see the people I met in November, it should be a nice change of scenery for me and will be nice to be completely away from technology for a little over a week!

The University of Wyoming clinic in Agua Salada

 I hope this finds you all well and know I am thinking about everyone at home! More to come after the brigade.

Fighting to Survive

        Life here continues to be a mix of pure joy at the slow pace of life and the relationships I am making along with random onset frustration at the injustices I am seeing. The other day, I asked one of our watch guards at the clinic how he was doing and he replied “luchando para sobrevivir” or “fighting to survive”. Wow. I have never thought about it that way, but he is right. The truth is the majority of people here are doing just that, “fighting to survive”. Don Beto (our watch guard) is one of the lucky ones; he has a job. Yet he works every single day from 6pm to 6 am. He has no weekends and maybe a week of vacation for the year. Yet, he barely gets by. I look at the nurses who live at the clinic (we have 2 babies living upstairs in the apartments). They are both single mothers and have hired niñeras to watch their babies during the day. These nannies leave their families to come live at the clinic. One of the nannies, Yendi, is 18 and already has a two year old. She left her daughter with her mom and comes and takes care of another baby. She only completed school to sixth grade and is raising the baby alone. Fighting to survive. I look at the cooks here, Maria and Maria. They are both single mothers whose husbands have left for the States. They work the longest hours of anyone at the clinic, getting here at 6:30 in the morning and leaving at 8 at night (with a little siesta from 2 to 5). They take care of us yet they have to hire people at their homes to take care of their own children making their take home pay minuscule. Fighting to survive. Single motherhood and early motherhood is a huge problem here. Most women have children by the time they are 20 and it is rare that they are married or with a constant partner. One of the best ways to fix this is through education. Typically, the more education a woman has, the less likely she is to have a baby at a young age. However, the majority of women in the rural parts of Honduras do not go to school past sixth grade. This is due to lack of economic resources and the necessity of their help at home.

Preparing the school supplies for the scholarship students

           I am reminded that despite these hardships, there is still so much joy to be found here. These past few weeks have been filled with working for the scholarship program, work here and there, but mostly just relaxing and trying to take in all that I can. My roommate Amy and I attended one of the cook’s daughter’s birthday parties and it was complete with a piñata, tamales, and of course cake in the face for the birthday girl (a Honduran tradition!)  We also celebrated Valentine’s Day (Dia de Amistad or Friendship Day) as it called here on Tuesday and had a special dinner complete with a heart shaped cake, it was a perfect way to celebrate the friendships with those in the clinic! The night was not complete until we played Repollo. This Honduran favorite is like hot potato and you pass around a ball of paper. When the music stops, you have to take the outer piece of paper off and read your “dare”. It can get a little crazy! There were some marriage proposals, kisses on the cheek, dancing with a broom, and massages taking place. Overall, a great way to laugh though!

My roommate Amy and I with Maria's daughters

Carrying a piñata through town for the birthday fiesta

With Rafeal and Cindy after the piñata festivities

 

 

 

For most of the locals here, everyday is a gift. They are thankful for everything they have and are not clouded by the complications of life that come when we have all that we need. Their job is simply this: to get by.  And while their main concern may be survival, they still take the time to stop and live and be thankful for the things we can overlook when we aren’t faced with losing them everyday. This is a lesson I continuously learn from during my time here. Happy Valentine’s Day week! I am thankful for all my friendships here and at home! Miss you all!

At the clinic's Valentine's Day celebration