Perspective and Chicken Feet

SALUDOS AMIGOS Y FAMILIA!!

I am at loss for words to describe my few weeks at el Rancho Santa Fe
in Honduras. Aside from basic orientation of the organization, ranch
and honduran culture, I have spent the last week constantly
challenging my language skills, my stomach and most importantly my
perspective. I am still not mentally prepared to eat a bowl of chicken
feet, kidneys, heart and liver (a soup called menudo served about once
every 2 weeks)!

But this is what I came here for: to LEARN, to push my understanding
of the world and of people, to give as one person in a huge
organization. It is incredible to learn the entire network of the NPH
organization. The intricate processes, crucial offices and support of
people that it takes to make NPH Honduras function well on a daily
basis is astounding: social work, the kitchen, la tortillaria, the
farm, the projects office, donations, volunteer medical brigades...

My own perspective, and even desire to volunteer and work abroad, has
been almost entirely molded by studying and reading about the
developing world.. but this is my first experience of LIVING the
developing world. Coming here, I knew that communication back home
would be difficult, I knew that I could potentially face theft, I
understood that there would be an initial language barrier, and I was
aware of the living conditions. But it is the small minor details of
living and working here that excite me, challenge me, and teach me the
most. It is difficult to recount my entire first two weeks but here
are some moments/fun facts about Honduras that especially stick out to
me!!

- FOOD: the hondurans LOVE beans, rice, and to put lard in EVERYTHING
they cook. One of the most difficult adjustments has been to accept
eating the same thing almost every day, to not being able to get much
meat off the chicken bones, and to swallowing food with a smile.
Fortunately when we were served menudo one night, a girl in my hogar
was JUMPING up and down for my chicken feet. I tried not to laugh as I
happily passed off the chicken feet to her, and watched as she slurped
on those chicken toes! I MISS CHOCOLATE, steak, hamburgers. One of the
new volunteers here even dreams about food every night! One of our
favorite things to talk about is FOOD. At the grocery store about an
hour and a half away you can buy a few "american things": stale
snickers, peanut butter, pesto powder.I definitely dropped 7 US
dollars for a back of fun size snickers.. and do not regret it.

- To do ANYTHING here requires much time (especially for
transportation) and concentrated and deliberate effort. To get food, I
need to take two different buses to the city and can only purchase
what I am able to carry back. Simple tasks just as grocery shopping,
mopping and even flushing the toilet remind me how easy and mindless
these activities are at home: everything is instant, disposable and
almost always WORKS.

- The other day I spent an entire day working as the tia (caregiver)
for Casa Emmanuel- a group of 8 mentally and physically challenged
boys. They had a group chore to do in the afternoon and tried
explaining to me in Spanish what we would be doing. With my beginning
level of Spanish I understand that we would be going to the "granja"
or farm, and we would be putting something in sacks. Next thing I know
we are wheeling into the cow pasture with shovels, I am standing in a
field of cow poop with Casa Emmanuel, shoveling manure into massive
bags for compost. I did NOT want to show weakness or disgust at
getting poop all over my toes so I dove head first into my job and
could only laugh to myself the whole time.

- Yesterday we went to Talanga, a nearby town, to visit the Comedor
Infantile, which is essentially a soup kitchen for impoverished local
children. It was an insightful opportunity to see the typical living
conditions of many Honduran poor, from which many of the NPH kids come
from: oxen wandering the destroyed streets strewn with garbage, mud
wall and metal roof shacks, a dirty river for washing clothes and the
clear signs of malnutrition and poor health. Although I witness the
effects of poverty and neglect at the ranch, the opportunity to spend
time with the kids at the Comedor Infantile emphasized how fortunate
and secure the NPH kids truly are. Many of those Talangan children
only eat meals when they come to the kitchen, have rotted out teeth,
do not wear shoes and have incredibly stunted growth. It made me
grateful to even have beans and rice for every meal.

-CELLPHONES/MUSIC: Honduras just got hooked up to cell phone networks
within the last 5 years.. its SOOO cool to have a cell phone and to
blast reggaetone music in public everywhere. Cellphone etiquette does
not exist so everyone always answers their phones mid-conversation. I
am currently sitting on the internet porch and a group of NPH kids
just just pulled up, whipped out their stereo and pushed the volume
up to full force.
Even on the bus ride to Talanga the other day, I felt as if I walked
on to a music video bus: the bus driver was blasting Ludacris tunes.
Hondurans love LOUD music: rap from the United States, cheesy love
songs from the 1980s and Honduran punta music.

I have many more stories, thoughts and ideas to post soon! I send all
of my love back home: I am so grateful for everyone's thoughts and
support. I hope to be more consistent in posting but the internet
always shuts off when I finally have time! Please do send e-mails- I
LOVE GETTING THEM!! haileyrad3@gmail.com

Adios,
Hailey