day 134

Today was a super busy day. We got up at 6:45 to eat breakfast, and were on busses on the road by 8 am. There were over 100 volunteers on this trip, so we were split up into different groups to work at 3 different schools. Today though, we all went to each of the 3 worksites to visit.

Each school is located in a community, and all of the members of the community came out to greet us each place we went. I was immediately struck by how friendly and happy everyone was to see us. As soon as we got to the first school, 3 little girls came over and hugged my legs. Almost every person I met all day had a smile on their face. They were obviously happy to have us there, but I got the sense that they are also just happy, content people. One woman that I was talking to at the first school (Las Flores, which ended up being my worksite) took us on a little walk down the road to see her home. As we were walking she pointed things out like their church and the melon trees lining the path to her house. You could tell she was so proud of her community.

The second school we went to was called Rio Chiquito and was right in the middle of a sugar cane field (aka mosquito central). Some of the kids went and cut down some sugar cane for us to try. The third school we went to was called La Nunez. Here some of the kids got up to speak to all of us (translated by Shin, of course) and thanked us for coming. One of the girls said that she was so glad we were here to help, because kids in other villages made fun of their classroom, saying that they had chicken coops that were nicer. All 200 kids in the school were learning in just the one classroom (shown above). Since there aren't really walls, they can't have school in the rain, and the children get bit by mosquitos all day. SHH is building 3 more classrooms on site, all made out of cement and concrete. It was here that I learned how much the kids loveee cameras, as one little boy stole mine and ran around taking tons of pictures. I'm pretty sure half of the pictures from my trip were taken by kids!

Finally, we went to Villa Soleada, the community that SHH built from the ground up. The families who live here are the ones who Shin (the founder of SHH) met in the shanty town community the first time he came to Honduras. Together with the families, SHH bought this plot of land and built homes with electricity and running water, a soccer field, a water tower, a sewage and compost system, and an education center with a computer room and wireless internet. They're currently working on a children's home, where they'll adopt children from the state run orphanage and give them a place to live in Villa.

After we got a tour of Villa, Sam, Bryce, Katlyn, Leah and I went to one of the homes for lunch. The Senora taught us how to make baleadas, which are like Honduran burritos. We rolled out dough for the tortillas, and then spread some beans and scrambled egg on it, rolled it up and ate it. I had flashbacks to dinners at Rafaela's, trying to figure out what on earth I was eating with the language barrier working against me while a nice old lady guilts me into eating more.

We hung out at Villa for a while and played with the kids, and then left for the day. We had dinner at the hotel, and I was surprised at how delicious the food was! Every meal was great (in the beginning) and everything they served seemed really fresh. After dinner we hung out and had a group reflection, and then I immediately passed out because, come on, we woke up at 7 am! (and we all know I love to sleep)