Volunteer Visit in Yuscaran

(written 3/19/09)

I just got back from my volunteer visit and had the best time! On Sunday, the 15th I left Santa Rita and the comfort of my host family to spend a few days with a current volunteer to learn about how life really is for volunteers here in Honduras. Luckily I was able to go with Erika, another business volunteer, which made the whole thing a lot more fun. First I took a bus, the yellow buses like those used for Public Schools, from Santa Rita to Teguz with Jose, Harrison and Erika to meet the guys’ volunteer at the Mall. After a glorious value meal from McDonalds..mmm…. Erika and I took another bus to Yuscaran. It was a pretty short ride, only about 2 hours, but random men taking our photos with their cell phones and crowded buses made the trip much more interesting.

However, as soon as the bus climbed the last hill and rolled into town I knew I was in for a nice trip. Yuscaran is a small pueblo with a population of only about 4,00. It was originally built as a mining town so it still carries the same colonial feel in its central plaza and white washed buildings. When Erika and I got there our volunteer, Ana, still hadn’t returned from her trip yet so we went to the only hotel in town to sit outside and drink some lemonade. About an hour later Ana arrived with another volunteer named Nathan who is serving in a nearby city named Danli and we all went to her house for dinner. Both Ana and Nathan are H13 Municipal Development volunteers which means they have only been in site for 6 months. Luckily the Municipal Development Project is a cousin project to the Business project and they both have some interesting projects underway already. The rest of the night was spent eating Ana’s amazing chicken soup, talking, and getting down to the business of trying the local Guaro.

The next morning Erika and I got to “sleep in” till 7am!! Then we spent our morning relaxing around the house while Ana and Nathan finished up their 6 month reports which have to be sent to Washington to keep track of project process. It was so nice to sit around and read magazines for the first time since we’ve been here. Ana’s house is also super nice. She has two bathrooms and 3 rooms plus a kitchen and two patios all to herself! Her back patio is great because she has a beautiful view of all the mountains surrounding Yuscaran including a view of those in Guatemala as well as a Guaro factory close by so the intoxicating smell stays in your nostrils all day! In the afternoon we went out for taquitos at a local comedor and then walked around to meet her local counterparts. We were able to go to the Yuscaran National Reserve where Ana takes photos to help promote the park and also the Reckin Library where she does children’s programs. We met both the women that she works with and they were really nice which definitely gives me hope about my future counterparts.

Afterward Ana asked if we wanted to go for a walk, which I quickly agreed to. Little did I know that this would turn into an extreme hike / death march up a mountain. It all started out innocent enough because she wanted to show us what is rumored to be an amazing view of Yuscaran and she even invited the kids that live next store to come with us. Now let me just state two things up front 1) Yuscaran is a colonial town in the mountains so its hilly and the roads consist of what seems to be disorganized cobblestone, so just walking around the town in the sun is not a leasurely stroll and 2) Ana is in excellent shape. Now as soon as we start out it became apparent to Ana and the kids, our leaders, that it was already pretty late and we would need to keep up a good pace if we want to get there and back before nightfall. At this point we were still on somewhat of a road so I was not thinking anything of it. However, this all took a turn for the worse when Ana left the road and started hopping down a hill to walk on stones down a stream. As I scrambled after her, the young kids started making comments about how Ana likes to run this trail so she will probably leave us in her dust. What followed was a two hour hike up and down stones and hills while I unsuccessfully tried to keep Ana in my view and not kill myself in the process. So of the more exciting moments included crossing a makeshift drawbridge made of wood and rusting fence wire which the kids were shaking on purpose so obviously I cut myself… good thing I had that mandatory tetanus shot!, as well as catching myself fall off of about a million step rock inclines. In the end, I had to stop 15 mins short of our final destination because I just didn’t have it in me to go any higher, especially when I didn’t even have my camera to catch the moment anyway. However, I did make it ¾ of the way and got a great view out of it anyway. Either way Erika absolved me of my lack of outdoor skills by explaining that it wasn’t my fault because I am from Ohio! (Them both being from out west) hah. Going back was also uphill and exhausting but at least I had the end in mind. We spent the rest of the night eating and just relaxing which I felt was much deserved!

Tuesday morning (St. Patty’s Day!!!) we were up bright and early to catch the 7am bus to Danli. The ride over was also really crowded but surprisingly cheap. We ended up getting there around 9am and spent the morning walking around Danli, eating baleadas and helping both our volunteers prepare for their community presentation that afternoon. After some amazing lasagna in an authentic Italian restaurant we all went to a woman named Jeanie’s house. She is currently a missionary here but was a PCV in Columbia back in the day so she is really sympathetic to the volunteer lifestyle and has become good friends with Ana and Nathan. She was really nice and really relaxed about the whole religion thing with us which was great. After some homemade chocolate chip cookies, Jeanie made sure to let us know that missionary work pays much better then volunteer work hah, we all hopped in her car and drove 30 minutes outside of Danli to a village called San Lorenzo. Jeanie and a local priest had heard about how poverty stricken this community was on television and took it upon themselves to start developing projects to help improve the people’s lives there. The village is located far off the main road and I would have never even known it was there if it wasn’t for this trip. Even buses only drive halfway there so the community members have very few travel options to help them find jobs outside their village. As soon as we road into town the poverty was very apparent. The village consists of 180 people who live in huts constructed of found materials and earth and who all live without latrines or regular access to clean water. Most of the people have small farms and cattle to survive off of but since this is the dry season the crops, cattle, and people are forced to share the same limited water supply and nearly all the community members have major health issues. In truth it was my first experience with poverty of this level in my life. However, I was also immediately struck by the passion these community members have. As soon as we arrived everyone was already waiting for us in the one room school house, keep in mind that being prompt is not something Hondurans typically concern themselves with, ready to take notes and participate in the meeting. First the priest spoke about the health community projects that they wanted to do like build pilas to store potable water, construct latrines, and improve roofs. Then the community members were able to give their input and vote on which projects should be started first and how they were going to manage the funds and labor. Afterwards Ana and Nathan gave their presentation of the idea of contrasting a community center and playground for the children. It was very interesting because we all took for granted the fact that nearly no one in the community had ever been able to use a community center or playground so they had no real idea about what they wanted. Although it was only the very beginning stages f the project so issues such as budget haven´t been discussed yet, I was very impressed with both Ana and Nathan´s presentation. It really focused on community input and sustainability which are two of the key issues we have been discussing in training. The entire meeting lasted about hours but was by far the most exciting experience since I´ve been here. The community was so welcoming and genuinely enthusiastic so you could really feel everyone´s true desire to come together and work on improving the community. It was the kind of meeting that I think everyone pictured when they decided to join the Peace Corps so it was very motivating to be able to be there and be a part of it. Although I know deep down that this type of meeting was an exception to what I will probably experience the majority of the time, I am still so excited to get to my site and to start to work on projects like this.

After the meeting we spent some time measuring the schoolhouse to get an idea for the community center and talking to the people. Then we all piled in the car and headed back to Danli. After saying our goodbyes to Jeanie we all went back to Nathan´s to order some pizza and drink some beers which felt surprisingly American after the traditional Peace Corps day we had. A little later we went out to a restaurant called Le Café in honor of St Patty´s day. Yes, we were 4 of maybe 8 people there and the only gringos for certain but it was the thought that counted.

We turned in pretty early and we up and on the bus by 8am the next morning to head back to Zarabanda to meet up with the training staff o talk about our trip. Although Erika and I had a great time and felt really lucky to be able to see 3 different size sites, some of the other trainees weren´t as lucky and ended up visiting some volunteers who don´t have too many projects going on. This just reinforces the fact that this experience is absolutely what you make of it so its important to stay motivated. Overall, I had a great time and feel so much better about the idea of moving around the country alone. Now I am just even more excited to get to my community and get to work!

Vaya Pues, Well I hope everyone had a fun St. Patty´s Day! Miss you all! Hasta la proxima!