Estrellas de Belen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!!! I love you and miss you <3

Well, the verdict is in and I've been assigned to my hogar: Estrellas de Belen. This hogar is made up of 26 girls ranging in age from 10-14. I'm happy with the decision. I took all of their pictures so I can learn their names. This will be where I spend my weeknights and every other Saturday. I think they will teach me more than I teach them! They are very sweet girls; they bring me my dinner, wash my dishes, carry my backpack for me, and invite me to play games and look at all their memorabilia.
On Wednesday I began working in the school in my "aula"/room. I am definitely going to have to get used to the school system here -- patience and flexibility will be key. I spent a lot of time cleaning out the shelves, organizing and labeling materials, killing cucarachas, and sweeping out animal droppings -- fun times. I will be sharing a caseload with Julia who is from Austria. She came here knowing little to no Spanish and with no work experience. Although I think she's faring well, it will be interesting to work with her. My caseload is so small compared to the United States. Here I'll be servicing 19 kids, whereas in the states I would provide therapy to over 60 kids. However, it will be challenging as I'm responsible for not only montessori and school-age students, but also the "especiales" (i.e., adolescent boys with severe disabilities). Once a week I'll also provide feeding and swallowing therapy to severely disabled women in Santa Maria Reina (a house here on the ranch), spending a day in Tegucigalpa doing feeding and swallowing therapy for the profoundly disabled in Casa Angeles, and spending one morning with the abuelos/grandparents in Casa Eva. So, this will definitely all be a very big learning experience, seeing as how I haven't treated some of these populations since grad school.
Wednesday night the new volunteers met with Alfredo and Jesus, the directors of the ranch. It was a great meeting. Alfredo is a former pequeno from Mexico and Jesus is from Chicago (so we had lots to talk about). They shared their backgrounds, gave advice, and let them know how appreciative they are to have us here. It was a "feel good" gathering.
Thursday I worked again this morning, going through student folders and making my schedule. This afternoon a group of us hiked to "las cascadas", a small waterfall about a half hour away from the ranch. A few pequenos joined us too as our guides. I didn't bring my swimsuit and was a little hesitant about swimming in the murky water, but when in Honduras..... All the boys stripped down and jumped right in. I had to follow suit (I've never swam in a waterfall before). I jumped in with all my clothes on! It was so fun and so beautiful. A great hike, but a little scary on the way down the mountain.
Tonight Markus (resource teacher from Switzerland) cooked us all chocolate fondue. It was a nice gathering and a good way to spend the evening. I'm feeling like we're all bonding little by little with the old volunteers, and I definitely can pick out a few volunteers who I see myself becoming friends with.

**Questions from Mom**

Have you had to spend any money yet?
I've spent money on bus trips (~12 lemps/ride), colectivos (10 lemps/ride), snacks (licuados, baleadas), and I bought a couple souvenirs in Valle de Angeles. There are a couple casetas/bodegas on the ranch that sell pop and snacks, so on a few occasions I've splurged on a Pepsi Light or Mandirina (11 lemps)

Do you feel you over packed?
I definitely feel overpacked. While I'm happy to have a lot of the "extras" (especially my lap top!), I think I brought too many clothes. People here wear the same thing over and over and it's no big deal. That's one of the culture differences that I like. Looks are not important here at all. I probably didn't need to bring my hair dryer and hair straightener; I don't think anyone on the ranch owns one. I also brought too many nice shirts...although we'll be going out dancing periodically, one or two nice outfits would've been enough.

Will the people that are leaving "will" you their stuff?
Yes, some volunteers will their stuff. Franci, a volunteer was going to sell me her phone, but she was asking too much for it. Another volunteer today asked me if I wanted her mosquito net...but I already bought one. There are about 8 volunteers leaving this weekend, so I'll be hanging around to see what I can get from them.

Is there any one or two volunteers you feel close to yet?
Everyone's pretty open and friendly here. There's one girl here from Minnesota named Ana Maria who's really nice. I feel comfortable just going into her room to borrow something, hang out, vent, or chat. I'm excited to move into my permanent room so I can better get to know the old volunteers...basically I'm just ready to broaden my circle outside of the new volunteers who have formed a little clique that I am not a part of.

Are there bugs?
Oh yes...my legs, ankles, feet, and shoulders are full of bites. Mosquitos, ticks, and cockroaches are the most abundant. We had a moth stuck in our room for a couple nights...it was huge! So big in fact that it sounded like a kitten purring when it flew...it kept us up all night. We were cleaning and organizing the speech room this morning and cockroaches showed up everywhere.

Are the kids neat & tidy?
The kids have "aseos"/chores that they're assigned to everyday. This includes, sweeping, mopping, laundry, watering the gardens, washing the dishes, serving food, etc. They do their laundry everyday; basically whatever they wear that day, they wash it the same day. Even though they are constantly busy doing chores and cleaning, they are not the cleanest themselves. Their clothes are old hand-me-downs (kind of like how we donated our old t-shirts and things to the Somali-Bantus) and are very dirty, stained, and some have holes and such. Eating dinner with the hogar can be pretty messy as well. Sometimes they don't have silverware available and they eat their food with their hands (rice, beans, tortillas, cheese...all with their hands). It's pretty gross. Salt is a prized possession in the hogares. The food is pretty bland here and only a few of the kids have salt. However, they share every little bit they can (even with me). It's gross though because there are no salt shakers. They just pour a little bit in their hand and then go around sprinkling salt onto others' plates (with the same hands they've been eating their food with). I guess it's something I'm getting used to.

What about head lice?

Funny you mention that. Last night as I was walking to hogar, there were three girls crouched around another girl picking out her head lice. They looked like little monkeys. Since I'm in a girls hogar, it is pretty likely that I'll probably get head lice at one point or another. But considering all the other things that could happen to me (e.g., chiggers, tarantula bite, scabies), I'm not too worried.

Are you able to shower & shave?
In the dorms we have 3 separate shower stalls. Cold water. Other volunteers say they got used to it and some even like it; however, I don't see that happening. I've gotten into a routine where I shower in the afternoon before going to hogares when it's hot outside. That way it doesn't feel as cold as when I would take a shower when I first wake up in the morning.

How are your new sandals?!
I love them!! A few other volunteers have Keens too. I wear them absolutely everyday and am so glad I have them!! Definitely a good purchase. We went hiking on Thursday to las cascadas...they are so good for climbing, walking, and swimming :)