Break the Cycle: Week Three

Today was similar to most days of the past 3 weeks that have flown by at a frightening rate: 5:30am wake-up, cereal for desayuno, walk to school, clase d espanol, almuerzo, Tech class, run w/gringas, Cena con mi familia, homework, bed, sleep! Has normalcy set in already? Tonight, as I made the trek back from Roberto’s house (Honduran I am working with to design t-shirts for our group), up the hill of all hills, I noticed how apparent the stars were, and how I no longer felt uneasy on this road—gringa in the dark. How amazing it is to be somewhere and not miss anything. Not be aware that the life you left behind is still accelerating at the pace it was at when you left it. I guess it hasn’t hit me that I am here. That this is going to be My life, my real life, my day to day…

I am still very sheltered from the difficult parts, for I’m living in luxury with Don Wil + Letvia. Though I sense it around me--these small, haphazardly built casas with carcasses of rusted out cars in their overgrown front yards; the very sad, half-dead stray dogs; the lack of agua and the cost and inconsistency of luz. It’s not accurately described as “poor,” just different, just a very different kind of normal.


What’s inspiring is how impassioned and genuine the Hondurans are at al centro de capitiation (Peace Corps Training center). Jorge, our Tech leader for Muni-D (Municipal Development) is a man with a huge heart, and great open mind. I really didn’t know what to expect from him, but truly, he is one of the best men I think I will ever find in the entire country. My fellow volunteers are also extremely intelligent, and it keeps long (long) training sessions stimulating. Plus, the information has been crucial in understanding a little bit better what we could possibly be doing here! The problems seem overwhelming. “Break the cycle,” is what Jorge has adopted as the Muni-D slogan. Never letting a problem presented to our group slide by without questioning us: “How can this be changed? What would you do to break the cycle?” Again, the problems seem too large.


This past Friday the Mundi-D group had a field trip to a pueblo 35 minutes away on the route to Teguc., called Cantaranas. It’s still part of the Departmento de Francisco Morazan, which includes my current ‘home’ of Santa Lucia. Jorge drove us there in rollercoaster-style, and more than a few of us were feeling every turn along the way. The Municipal of Cantaranas was tranquilo, class C. (All municipals are divided by class: A,B,C,D—‘A’ being the best, ‘D’ the worst) Not much to see, or not see. Our objective was to interview those working for the municipalidad, including the mayor, secretary, and various other facilitators in the community. The office was airy and bright, with high ceiling, and uneven, wilting wooden floorboards. We broke into groups and proceeded to ask who did what, and what accomplishments/projects were underway. The seemingly top priority for this town, and for the majority of towns, was a decent water system. This alcalde (mayor) and his team seemed to be doing an honest job, even though the people of the community were not as aware of the current projects and functions of their municipal as one might hope…This tends to be the trend. So… “how do you break the cycle?”
After our hosts served us a variety of fried snacks and fizzy coke in white plastic cups our group took off again, promising to return and taste the homemade baleadas bigger than a cabeza, which were a renowned delicacy of the pueblo.


Saturday I took my first bus trip with a large group of aspirantes to Valle de Angeles, the more touristy of our neighboring pueblos. The day was hot and bright, which added charm to the little gift shops and main town plaza overshadowed by the catholic church. I happened to have the cell number of a volunteer named Katie currently working in the community, and so I called her and she biked down to have lunch with our group. Current volunteers are a part of our training, and a few will come to the center almost every day to partake in our tech sessions. These people are much appreciated; they offer great insight and much hope that all these charlas and long school days will eventually serve some rewarding purpose. A volunteer named Mike was with our group today, and his accomplishments were ones to be admired. He initiated the construction of a whole new market place in his site, not to mention the new stove project, latrines, centro de salud, and project citizen..just to name a few. ”It’s what you make of it,” Mike said. This seems to be another Peace Corps slogan. Only time will tell…