The last two days have been very long and extremely tiring. If I don’t wake up sick tomorrow it will be a huge victory for my immune system (added to the fact that I brushed my teeth with ::GASP:: tap water!).
Friday was the culmination of nearly three months of training. Starting at 7:30 we met our counterparts (the people we will mostly work with for the next two years) and were in meetings with them all morning. After lunch we loaded up some buses and headed to the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa. The day before we had been told to bring nothing that day except our cameras. Now, to me nothing means nothing. However, it should have meant “Yes you dumb gringo, you do need your residency card to gain access to the US embassy even though I’m telling you not to bring anything.” Well, luckily I wasn’t the only dumb gringo who didn’t get the memo. There were six of us without our residency cards who weren’t originally admitted. Luckily the PC office is close to the part of town where all the embassies are and someone from the office was able to bring copies of our passports. Luckily for the six of us they graciously accepted the copy of our passports as sufficient ID and we were permitted to enter after all the anxious waiting.
The ceremony was pretty short and sweet. We heard two gringos speak some pretty bad Spanish and heard a pretty good speech in Spanish from a colleague of mine who started off at a novice level of Spanish. We raised our right hands, swore to defend the Constitution, do some other good stuff and so help me God was at the end.
Riding back on the bus was bittersweet. We were returning as Peace Corps Volunteers, but with numbered hours. Along the way people got off at their respective stops and each time was a long line of hugs and good-byes, as we probably won’t see each other again until August. Each time the bus pulled away from a stop there was a good number of us hanging out of the windows waving and yelling last minute love and will miss yous. Now, I know what it feels like to go to summer camp for three months instead of a mere week.
I had been very preoccupied worrying about the having to catch the bus at 4:20AM Saturday morning. The mayor from my new town who had been sent to pick me up (and is not my actual counterpart) was under the impression that we had to catch the bus that early, even though where we live is about an hour away and he had his own car. Now, my Spanish is pretty good at this point (I’m officially an Advanced Low – two levels from bilingual on the Peace Corps scale) and I had tried to explain to him, this ridiculously early bus is only for people who are going far away and DON’T have their own cars here. The bus didn’t get back into my community until nearly 6PM and I did not want to have to pack and go straight to bed. Turns out, yours truly lucked out and Sr. Mayor came to his senses and realized we could leave later and called to tell me as much. That made my day, let me tell you! I happily ate dinner, had a photo shoot with my host family (whom I LOVE to death), left my packing for the morning and headed over to my amiga Lauren’s house (my host cousin, through our host moms being sisters) and hung out with her as she packed. Let’s just say she is a better packer than I. Either that or the Health volunteers don’t get as many hand outs as us Business volunteers. I came with a large rolling duffle, a backpacker’s pack and a large tote carry on. I’ve now arrived to site with the three aforementioned items, a normal size backpack, a messenger bag, a Peace Corps issued medical kit, and another bag full of books. Don’t even ask how I’ve acquired so much stuff in the past 11 weeks.
Due to my previously mentioned luck, I set my alarm for 6:30AM (two hours after the bus was supposed to leave, so that was a sweet victory) and proceeded to wake up at 5:15AM because that’s what time I’d gotten up every other day that week. I’m amazed at how fast my body adapts. I packed and waited for the mayor to call me when we said he would, and after a morning of calling back and forth and saying, “Oh, I’ll be a little later,” I finally left my town around 11. I had a tearful goodbye with my host mom and little sisters. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is about them, but after living with them for a little over a month, they mean so much to me. More than my host family with which I lived for seven weeks. I think it’s mostly that the girls are 11 and 17 versus 3 and 8, which makes those relationships a lot more meaningful. Anyway, with promises of calling, visiting and attending graduation in December I went on my way.
The drive to my new home was through some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen: mountains, pines, blue skies and huge fluffy clouds. It was on this drive that I finally felt that this experience is real. For the first time I was on my own in Honduras. No more fellow gringo or Peace Corps staff safety net. I’ve had some challenging experiences the last few weeks and it just made it all so much sweeter to be in the moment and let it sink in. This is real and I’m really doing it!
After getting into my new town, we went to the city offices, where my counterparts both work and met the vice-mayor. He and the mayor treated me to lunch at the restaurant right near our office. It was a little awkward at times. Having to remember your best manners while lunching with the mayor and vice mayor with whom you’re going to work with for two years, trying to make small talk in your second language and being a women in a chauvinistic society puts a little pressure on a girl. It turned out cheque though.
After lunch I came to yet my third host family. Turns out, my host mom was in the middle of her b-day party, so I got to join in on the festivities as soon as I unloaded my mountain of luggage. One of my host mom’s friends works at the local high school and is also involved in an absurd amount of volunteer work involving people with disabilities, both mental and physical. She mentioned an income generation project for one group and it sounds amazing and told her I would love to help and support in any way I can. I’ll definitely be seeing more of her in the future.
I spent the evening at my host mom’s ice cream shop, where I need to stay away from because I could get free ice cream daily if I wanted! While there a “friend” of my host mom’s stopped by. I’m not sure of my host mom’s age, but this girl was only 22. Her and I chatted a bit and she seems really cool. Probably someone I’ll get to know better over the next two years.
And now, I’m here in bed writing this as a Word document, because yet again the Internet sucks. My little studio isn’t quite what I expected. The toilet leaks, my room is the storage room for doors and windows that will be installed in the new home my host mom is having built and there is a lack of dresser/closet. But, look at what I’m complaining about…I have an indoor toilet that flushes and my own studio, so I’ll get used to it.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. These first few weeks/months in site are the hardest for us as new volunteers dealing with a whole slew of new experiences and stresses. I have a great support system from the friends I made during training, but it’s still not the same as before when we were all together. I know it will all turn out ok in the end; anything worthwhile is not without a challenge.
Thanks again for reading!
Hasta la proxima vez…
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