Monday, June 22, 2009

An Example of Why These Kids Need New Shoes







At least he didn't have to paint them black!

Rockets at Church!

Lychee Fruit - Once you peel off the prickley skin, you suck on the milky looking part and spit out the seed inside.


We had about 30 kids for the breakfast program today. One of the families from The River helped out. I think at first the father was concerned b/c his kids had not begun to assimilate yet, but as soon as everyone was done eating his daughters were quickly caught up in a game of tag and language was no longer a barrier. When it came time for the morning group to leave a bunch of them stood outside the fence, still playing with his girls through the fence.

This afternoon The River church had organized some really cool science projects. They made magnets, kaleidoscopes, and harmonicas with the kids. It was fun to watch the kids warm up to the new adults around them. At first the kids kind of sat back, but by the end everyone was running around, screaming and laughing - including the adults. And in the meantime they had learned about color refraction, how sound vibrates and magnetic force! At the end they set off rockets which fly about 300 ft into the air all from air pressure from a bicycle tire pump! On Wednesday the kids will make their own rockets and set them off.

I learned today that I will not actually be going to Utila, which is a remote island off Roatan. In reality we are staying on an even more remote "cave island" off Utila. (I'll let you know what exactly a "cave island" is once I find out myself.) The island is a 30 minute boat ride from Utila. We will have to bring in all of our food. We will have radio contact with someone on the main land in case we need anything, but otherwise we will be all on our own - like Gilligan's Island. There are 2 houses there and we are renting both. I was told today that there is room for 20 people, but we only are bringing 10. I can't wait! We leave one week from today - next Monday and return on Saturday, the 4th of July.

There is a special 4th of July party in Tegucigalpa for anyone who can show their US passport. I am hoping that Tony and I will not be too tired because I would really LOVE to go to the party. We're going to try to make it happen, but it will be a long drive from the north shore back to Teguc that day.

Today Jairo pulled all of the adults aside and talked to us. He said not to be overly afraid, but that the government of Honduras is in turmoil and is ready to explode. The problem is that the president is about to complete his term as president, but refuses to step down. He is trying to have a vote next Sunday to change the constitution. But by trying to have the vote in the first place is against the law.

I have not heard of any people here who support the president. They say he is crazy and very corrupt. Recently he dared the military to come and get him - basically challenging them to try to physically take him out of office.

Anyway, Jairo said that we need to be aware. He said that if the county does go under military rule there will be mass chaos and we must stay exactly where we are - if that is at church or at home, because the streets will not be safe. He has contact with people high up in the government and journalists as well. He was on the phone with them for part of the afternoon trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

Tony described one uprising which he witnessed where people overturned cars and burned tires in the road so nobody could pass. For this reason, when we go to Utila Jairo would like for us to do as much of our traveling as possible before the day begins. Because if nothing has happened yet, it will probably happen on the day we are driving to Utila - the day after the proposed illegal voting.

I'm sure that Jairo will stay in touch with his contacts in the government and be sure it is safe to go. I am thinking that as long as we can get there, a remote island would be the best place to be if the country goes under martial law.

Please pray for the people here. Pray for their continued democracy and that they can get rid of this crazy man in a peaceful way without any violence.

You know I can't have a post without mentioning food so I must tell you about my dinner for the past 2 nights. Last night we had fish which was rubbed in garlic and herbs and pan friend. We also had coctail de camerones - which is a dish my mom and I have loved for more than 10 years, but have never figured out how to make. Tonight we had tamales the size of a Nalgene bottle. Some had chicken, but some had bits of potato and rice. Those were the best tamales I have ever had in my life.

I am enjoying getting to know the folks from The River as they begin to settle in here. They are working on one family's house every morning - building walls, painting, making a cement floor, and a water system. Then they do science and sewing classes at the church in the afternoon. It is definitely a full day for them.

I admire how they are really trying to build relationships with the kids. They hand out name tags so they can remember names. Although their Spanish isn't great they have no shame in trying their best to speak in Spanish, which is also very admirable. If the rest of their classes are anything like today, the kids are in for an amazing week!