Week 3 - 7/16/10

Week 3
The first stage of training has ended, and I will be moving to a community near Comayagua tomorrow (my mailing address will not change). My next host family Glenda and Isay are only 25 and 29 years old respectively, and don't have children, so it will be different. I'm somewhat bummed because children are wonderful for practicing Spanish, but it's a small community, so there will be children to hang out with.
Earlier this week I visited a volunteer, Josh, in the region of Olancho. Josh is a Protected Areas Management volunteer like me, but he's been here for a year. We got to know his site after watching the World Cup where The Orange Machine almost won:( He lives in a community within a buffer area of a protected area (all cloud forests above 1800m are protected in Honduras by the government, although not all forests are protected with proper enforcement). The community has ~12 homes and no electricity. You can only access it by foot or on horseback, and we had to strip down to cross a river in order to arrive at his house (the cold water felt awesome in the humid jungle).
For fun, we spelunked in the caves of Talgua (see if you can find pictures online; they're amazing). The oldest human remains from Central America are in the cave we explored (~10,000 years old) preserved by sodium bicarbonate. Supposedly they have glowing skulls (the sodium bicarbonate crystals are very shiny), but we could not see the six remaining skeletons because after the ~20/26 original skeletons were stolen, they sealed the chamber under lock and key. Still, the feeling while standing so close to such antiquity, in a cave decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, and formations that looked like frozen splashes of water, was quite mystical. Supposedly, the stalactites grow at a rate of 1 cm/50 years, so the 5-10 meter structures are...well very old. After walking, crawling, and wading for over 40 minutes into the cave we got to a point so tight that the bats couldn't escape without colliding into us-what an adventure.
We also trekked up a riverbed to an amazing waterfall, but on the way back I biffed it on a algae-covered rock and have a bruise the size of a coconut on my thigh to show for it. After that we went spelunking in one more lesser-known cave that had an entrance like a grand auditorium. But my leg wasn't doing too well, so we retired after that for dinner on the patio where we watched several species of toucans, woodpeckers, parakeets, and later on, fireflies.
The following day we walked ~45 minutes to a “nearby” school where Josh commonly teaches English to the teachers (the teachers are required, by law, to teach English, but they don't know English). He also uses a program sponsored by Colgate to teach children about dental hygiene, and more commonly, gives charlas (presentations/activities) on environmental topics. We spoke on animal migration, and after asking, “Does anyone here know the word migration, and what it means?” One little boy spoke up, “It's when people try to go to the U.S., but get kicked out and sent back to Honduras.” Paperwork for people to get into the US (Passports and Visas) is often more than 2 years of the average salary in that community. Anyway, Josh also works with the schools in three nearby communities, so he has an impact on a whole watershed, and he's working with one community 2 hours , on foot, up the mountain, to construct a new school implementing sustainable ideas like an improved stove, gravity fed irrigation for vegetable gardens, and compacted dirt walls, in order to model practices that are cheap and sustainable.
But now I've returned by foot, by taxi, by buses and more buses to my host family's home. On my return route I was conned by a great ploy. In order to save time, each bus has a collector, so you board, take your seat, or stand, and the bus keeps on going while someone walks the aisle to collect money. I boarded a bus out of Tegucigalpa that was waiting to be filled, and a collector walked the aisle while we were waiting. I paid 20 Lempiras (~$1), expecting 10-15 back, but the collector shook his head and said, “20 to Zarabanda,” which was b.s, it should only be 7 Lempiras. Then, he returned to the front of the bus, GOT OFF THE BUS, and RAN! Then, the REAL collector walked the aisle! Fortunately, he only charged me 5 Lempiras. Ha ha, I guess if you're that clever, you deserve 20 free Lemps.
As far as health is concerend, thus far, only one cold, and a rumbling stomach after the new high-fiber diet of beans, beans beans, and a little rice. ...And a gimp leg, but it's healing rather quickly.
I love and miss everyone, especially Eli, Ayla and Owen! ¡Que le vaya bien!