Demasiado Frijoles!

Well, I've made it through my first week in a new world, and I mean that - I feel like I could be on a different planet at times. The rest of the week was spent touring the ranch, visiting hogares, and listening to many tours and bits of advice. I brought my photo album and Chicago books to some of the hogares...the kids loved them!! The girls think Rita is so beautiful and looks like Jennifer Aniston. On Wednesday we took a tour of the farm and the gardens. We saw where all of our food comes from...I don't know if that was a good thing. The chickens are put three to a cage, so only one can sit down at a time. They are used solely for laying eggs, no comfort for them! It was sad to see. We also saw the little piglets and the bigger pigs who will be butchered soon -- weird that I saw the animal that I soon will eat. The only meat produced here on the ranch is pork and chicken. The cows are used only for their milk and are considered "concentidas"/spoiled, favorites; they get the best food and the most space. We only will eat the cows if they die naturally (or by electrocution, which recently happened to two cows here). We also toured "la posa"/pond, which is where we get our water for laundry and bathing. Speaking of laundry, two of the older pequenas gave us new volunteers a laundry lesson. It is so old-fashioned: soap, water, washing board, sink - soak, scrub, rinse, wring, hang. It's not as bad as I thought though...I just gotta make sure I do a little bit here and there - if it piles up it would take forever! The kids here do their laundry everyday!
I was able to skype with Rita and my parents for a really short time. But I found out that when I do voice skype it kicks everyone else offline, so I'll only be able to use it if I'm the only one in the internet room, which is most likely after 8pm. I think computer-to-computer skype will work best, as computer-to-phone skype was very choppy on my parents' end.
On Thursday, Honduras celebrated Dia de Lempira. The school put on a fashion show and dance to celebrate -- it was very cute! That night a group of us hiked to La Venta, which is a small pueblo near the ranch (about a 25 minute walk). We went to a "polperia"/pub, good times.
Friday we went to Tegucigalpa to tour the bachirato/high school and universidad/university students' homes and other NPH offices. I really like the city...I feel like I'm watching an Indiana Jones movie or something with all the people, narrow streets, roadside vendors, etc. It's unreal.
Saturday I spent the day with Hogar Emanuel, which is an hogar for "los especiales"/handicapped boys. It was a fun, but challenging day. Two of the boys are brothers and products of incest, a couple have autism, and another has physical deformities. One of the boys, Pablo, pulled down his pants during lunch in front of everyone. Yeah, it was challenging...
All the pequenos met outdoors for lunch together. They organize this pretty often to allow siblings to interact and see each other. We went to "misa"/mass, which was all in Spanish (duh!). I'll have to go to mass every Saturday with the kids. It wasn't too bad...they gear it to the kids level and the kids participate. It'll be a good way to learn more Spanish.
Today I woke up not feeling so well. Stomach issues and feeling a little fluish; no diarrheah yet! Taking pepto everyday (thanks Amy for getting me hooked!). I went with a group of the new volunteers to Valle de Angeles/Valley of Angels; it's a touristy pueblo outside of Tegucigalpa with lots of artisan/crafty shops and a traditional plaza. I wanted so much to enjoy it, but I just did not feel good at all! We had to take two buses and two colectivos/taxis to get there...crowded buses, heat, feeling sick/nautious...not a good combo! Also was feeling a little homesick, which did not help the situation.
So, here I am Sunday night, feeling better having access to you all on the internet. My temporary dorm room I'm sharing with three women from Germany. I feel super leftout and lonely in my room because they talk in German to each other all the time. I thought I had it made since I came here speaking Spanish, didn't think I'd have to deal with German!! I only have one more week in the dorm-style room before I'm assigned to my permanent room, so I'm trying to not let it get to me, but I have my moments.
Thank you all for your comments and words of encouragement. Love you all!!!