Clogged sinuses have me sleeping every moment that I am not working, so excuse my absence. Plus I've been contemplating something and I didn't want to write about it while I was still in the midst of contemplation.
This week I've been in the consultorio (field office) with the psychologists every day. We are working on preparing programs for the year to come. Turns out, I can be quite helpful in this, as I have experience in group therapy from working with the sex offenders and doing wilderness therapy. The things I learned in both of those places are coming in really handy this week. I am grateful that the therapists are open and happy to hear my ideas! So far, they've implemented everything I've offered!
It's been nice sitting around in an office setting with my co-workers. I have the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level than when we are in the field, or working on a project.
For the past 8 days I have been thinking a lot about my personal safety. I come and go to the field office by car and I can park right in front of the building. But my co-workers have to walk a block to catch the bus.
The first day I noticed that my co-worker tucked the back part of my necklace into my shirt when we went two doors down to get ice cream. I never thought about tucking the
back of my necklace into my shirt. I had only thought about the front.
That night as we were all getting ready to leave they discussed how much they dislike the walk to the bus stop. They all walk together, but they still feel unsafe. Then they talked about the actual bus ride and all of the things they look out for while they are on the bus. Every one of them has been robbed numerous times.
Two weeks ago at my church, one of my favorite young couples was leaving with their daughter. A motorcycle pulled up out of nowhere. The driver put a gun to my friend's head and a woman jumped off the back and told them to hand over their cell phones. They were literally a couple of steps outside of the church.
We have a guard, but what can a guard do in that situation? It all happens so fast. He is an old man with a machete, but even a younger man with a gun couldn't do much.
The guard told me that I cannot bring a purse or my camera to church from now on. There I was with a backpack full of stuff for my class with Pastora Ruth, my purse, and my camera. I felt very foolish and naive.
Then listening to my friends talk about all the things they are careful for in the streets, on the buses and in taxis, made me feel ill prepared to live in Tegucigalpa. It is clearly for the grace of God that I have not been assaulted.
So I am trying to come to terms with the fact that statistics show, it will happen to me one day too. I have been advised by my co-workers that I must carry a cheap cell phone with me when I go into the field. They say that the robbers are not looking for cash, they want phones. And they get really mad if you don't have one. People have been shot for not having a phone. So my theory of keeping a little cash was wrong.
Yesterday we had a birthday party for one of my co-workers. They like posed photos more than natural ones. Today we are celebrating Isa's birtday - more photos to come!
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The front of the consultorio - with a public bus passing
(All yellow buses are public transportation here, schools use different colors)
I couldn't stand out front with the camera |
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My friend who was approved for the visa
to visit the US!
and her mom who sings rancheras |
