Honduras 2012, 2013 & 2015

Honduras 2015 Reflections

2015-06-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

From May 2^nd until May 23^rd I was in Copán Ruinas, Honduras for the fourth time in 5 years. This lovely little town has become a second home for me, and I don’t expect that will change anytime in the future. I thought it would be worthwhile to collect some of my reflections on the changes that have occurred in the past five years, and specifically why returning is significant for me.

My home in Copan. :)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Honduras, it is the often overlooked country located between Guatemala and Nicaragua. Honduras is a country of 8 million people where 10 families have almost all of the wealth and power in the country. It is also (one of) the most lush and beautiful countries in Latin American, where 50% of the population works in agriculture.

If you are familiar with Honduras, you probably know that the country has the highest murder rate per capita in the world. This is a true fact, but taken out of context, it perpetuates the fear of a “backward culture.” I do not have time for an in depth look at the history of violence in Honduras, but for those interested Adrienne Pine’s ethnography Working Hard, Drinking Hard, is an excellent exposé of exactly that. Bottom line: my life is more at risk riding my bike on the streets of London Ontario, than walking in the streets of Copán.

The aforementioned powerful families exert their control whenever they feel the threats of equality or democracy knocking at the door. One example of this was the Military Coup coup d'état in 2009, when the existing President Manuel Zelaya sought alliances with other “left leaning states” and proposed an increased minimum wage along with other social security improvements. A new nationalist government was quickly ushered in by an internationally sanctioned “election.” Things returned to the status quo, with the additional militarization of the country. This was followed by the firing of teachers who did not carry the correct party card, as well as massive funding cuts to schools which further eroded the quality of education. More recently it was discovered that in the election of 2012, the current president fabricated 50,000 fake votes and also managed to steal 7 billion lempiras from the social services department. International discipline has been non-existent.

If you’re wondering why these types of horrific actions get little-to-no attention from neighbouring democracies like Canada and the USA; look no further than the recent Charter City example. In short: A Charter City was an idea birthed inside Libertarian think tanks who proposed the idea of self-governed cities inside of a nation state owned by wealthy foreign governments and corporations. In other words, Honduras would sell a large chunk of land to a private corporation or foreign government and in-so-doing forfeit any legal rights, or political authority in that region. That is, once the economic zone was set up by foreign investors, they would also have their own police force, tax system, and legal structure. Once a Honduran citizen enters into this city their rights and protections as a Honduran citizen would be irrelevant. It was the neo-liberal dream world for “development,” no pesky rules to follow, just freedom of capital. Which is exactly why in 2012, the Supreme Court of Honduras wisely voted the Charter Cities to be unconstitutional by a vote of 4-1. Hooray for institutional protection of human dignity! Unfortunately, the same powers that I mentioned earlier quickly sacked 4 members of the Supreme Court, and just last year the second branding of Charter Cities passed through the courts. Who benefits from this proposal? I will give you a hint, it will not be Honduras, but it might be your pension plan.

Satire on Charter Cities

Zooming into a more micro level, I will provide some background for those unfamiliar with the town of Copán Ruinas. Copán is a relatively small town of 5000 people nestled beside one of the largest Mayan ruins in Latin America and a mere 12 kilometers from the Guatemalan border. Rough cobble stone streets navigate, at times, shockingly steep inclines and every path inevitably leads back to the town center, AKA “Parque Central.” The people of the town are overwhelmingly friendly, and I have experienced their incredible hospitality every time I stay there. Surrounding the town into the mountains is a plethora of “aldayas” (or rural villages) where the people are often indigenous Mayan Chorti and their livelihoods center around small scale agriculture. Over the years, the region has become increasingly dependent on international tourism. This change has been celebrated by neo-liberal economic development for decades: “One of the most important things a poor country needs to do is develop a thriving tourist industry and jobs will be created, wealth will increase, and roses will bloom without water.” Not only is there a patronising tone to this kind of development that demands that the poor serve the rich in order to “improve their lot,” there are other issues that need attention.

Consider that fact that Copán currently has 45 hotels and over 25 restaurants in a town of 5000 people. The only possible way to sustain these services is a steady stream of international tourists passing through the town. In 2010, the first time I was in Copán, the streets were relatively busy during the week days, and they were always full of “gringos” from Friday to Sunday. Every time I have returned the town since, it has been quieter and quieter. So much so, that I was caught off guard when I spotted another “gringo” in the streets this time. Most restaurants sit mostly empty, and hotel vacancy rates are absurdly high. Many of these businesses are family owned and operated, and some have survived because they own the property and buildings in full. However, for many who took out loans to pay for their properties, or even for just improvements to their hotel, they struggle to make the bank payments, especially when interest rates hover between 21% - 26%. What is even more frustrating for these families is that this economic dry spell has nothing to do with sub-par service, but everything to do with macro-political and economic rhetoric in Canada and the USA. That is, the continuation of trade policies that act to destabilize Honduras as capital is extracted and sent to foreign lands, or the demonizing of any left-of-center leader in the country. For years now, Honduras has been a “no travel zone” for both Canada and the United States. This is usually based on the high murder rate or political corruption in the country, but it fails to consider their context. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier in the Charter City example, the current political state of Honduras is frequently propped up by Canadian and American enterprise, and government. Our governments have little interest in addressing the rampant drug trafficking crisis, which is directly caused by “war on drug” policies in the North. The more drug use is criminalized, the more demand there is for illegal narcotic trafficking which claims thousands of young lives every year. Nor do we find any disapproval coming from our governments about the way in which the current ruling party in Honduras holds power. This story is not new. Our relationship with Latin America has been repeating itself for centuries. An excellent telling of this story is the late Eduardo Galeano’s book “Open Veins of Latin America,” despite a publish date of 1970, the content remains relevant today.

Ixbalanque, a beautiful local Spanish school that relies on tourism thriving.

Before I go further, I should address the protest of many who will say something along the lines of: “But Richie, what other options do these people have? Isn’t a job or some tourism better than no formal employment at all? If they don’t like it, shouldn’t they just move somewhere else, or choose to work elsewhere?” I will admit that in some cases the answer could be yes to these questions but, the vast majority of the time, it is far more complicated. For example, to say there is no other option is far too often a copout to avoid thinking about the structural poverty and oppression that exists in the global economy to our benefit. We have the luxury of casually stating: “Well these other people are in a bad situation, they might as well do something that MIGHT make it slightly less bad,” and we completely disregard that the current bad situation may in fact be the fault of Northern-Hemisphere policy-making. The second question assumes that any form of economic development must be good, regardless of the often irreversible social, cultural, or ecological costs associated with it. Finally, expecting humans to act in the same manner as free flowing capital is a dangerous elevation of the free market doctrine, and a slap in the face to local community ties to people and place. If anything, capital should move to where people and communities decide, not the other way around.

The bottom line in any conversation about development should be that the answer is not simply more capital, less tax, or perhaps the implementation of so-called “best practises.” If you hear a proposed development solution that will work universally, please disregard it. These things can sometimes be solutions but they always need to be context specific, historically grounded, and more often than not focused on structural justice.

On a more positive note the organizations we had the privilege of working with, and more importantly the people, at Casita Copán (http://www.casitacopan.org/) and Urban Promise Honduras (http://urbanpromisehonduras.org/) are doing truly wonderful things in the context of overwhelming hopelessness.

Casita Copán started 4 years ago as an orphanage for abandoned children in the community. However, this was never the end goal for the founder Emily Monroe. She quickly discovered that most of the children were not without family, but simply that the family could not afford to care for them. In other words, these kids were victims of poverty, not orphans without parents. This lead to the vision of building “Casitas,” which would be a permanent home for these kids, and would avoid the common downfalls of institutional care, which often include serious attachment issues and a lack of social development skills. This year marked the beginning of this vision coming to fruition, the children now have a home to return to in the evening, and the Mothers (surrogate or biological) have the financial, and educational support from Casita to hold these families together. (For more information go here: http://www.casitacopan.org/casitas-homes/).

Completed mural @ Casita

There has been opposition to the very premise of Casita Copán from many locals who have accepted that those who are poor, desolate, and disabled are not worth any investment. In a country where it seems like most investments benefit a few families, the drug cartel, or foreign companies, it isn’t shocking for such pessimism to sink in. Which makes an even more compelling and beautiful story to watch as it successfully unfolds. In fact, most of the staff working at Casita Copán, including the members on the Board of Directors, are local community members, something that may have seemed impossible before this all began. Also, kids that have been pulled out of corrupt care centers have shown incredible improvements with proper love and support. I could say a lot more about this organization, but one thing that stands out for me is how quickly Emily says: “We have been wrong many times before,” and that “no one person can speak on behalf of all ‘Hondurans, there is too much diversity!” This further proves the importance of context sensitive and adaptable development work.

Finally, Urban Promise Honduras started in a somewhat similar manner, over 8 years ago. The organization has numerous operations globally, but each one is run very independently. The main focus is to help build confidence in children who often lack solid influence in their life. Typically, that takes the shape of an after school program, or a summer camp for kids. However, it does not take long to see that the workers at Urban Promise go well beyond “programming.” They know the kids personally, and spend endless amounts of time “after hours” pouring time and energy into their lives. Unsurprisingly, the kids often become youth leaders in their pre-teen years, and some have even started working full-time with the organization once they have finished their schooling.

One of the schools that hosted the UPH camps.

It is incredible to see how extraordinarily important some seemingly small actions can be for these kids. Simply sitting beside and encouraging a student to complete their reading homework (or my personal favourite: math homework) can revitalize these children to return confidently to a frequently unsupportive educational environment. It is the act of being present consistently, day in and day out, and being community-specific that has made the difference for an organization like Urban Promise. Each after school camp has a slightly different feel to it because they have been shaped, and grown within the neighbourhood, rather than just brought in as a cookie-cutter program. When our group joins we are not filling any gaps because the foundations have been laid with hours of love and commitment. We have the privilege for a short period of time to come along side and assist in what has been happening, and what will continue to happen long after we have returned home.

Thankfully there are many organizations who go to great lengths to be sensitive to culture, and to truly engage the local community in which they work. Unfortunately, there are many others who spend too much time appearing successful, accessing funds, or fulfilling egos, and for me that distinction has become much easier to spot thanks to inspiring organizations like Casita Copán and UPH.

I will be back. :)

Development, Liberation, & Intentions

2013-05-20T16:15:00.000-04:00

I have not been able to keep up to date over the past week or so, but I will attempt to do a rapid catch up before I return home.

Flowers for Mama Gilma

There were some key lessons and reminders that I learned during my week with Casita Copan, and talking with Emily (The Director), Carin (Local Artist, and former director of Arte Accion), and the rest of the students. First of all, good intentions really, really are not enough. This likely won’t be much of a surprise for those of you who know me fairly well, but there are just far too many examples of philanthropic “do-gooders” causing so much more harm than good. Some obvious examples are the gringos who help with the other orphanage in town. A little bit of research, and questioning around the community would prove very quickly that it is operated in an entirely unethical manner, that is hurting the children. The next most obvious example is the plethora of “mission brigades” or short-term mission groups who have built an incredible amount of hospitals and buildings, only to leave with no plan or structure for sustainability. A local Honduras estimate is that of 1500 medical buildings built by foreign groups only 700 of them are actually operating. What a waste! This could be avoided so easily if some simple questions were asked before such projects happened. In other words, asking a specific community what it is they need or prioritize . . . and how they envision those needs being provided in the future by people in their community.
It is also important to question your own motivations and reasons for doing a project. Do they conflict with what is best for the community? A good thing to remember is that we often teach what we need to learn most. (Dr. Gabor Mate)

Perhaps even more problematic is the discourse of “development.” For example in Copan there are three families with power and wealth, and in Honduras 10 families hold virtually all of the political and economic power. If this power structure context is not understood any kind of attempt at economic development is likely to be nullified. The power remains in the hands of few, and equality is temporary at best.

Another thing that Emily talked about at Casita Copan is the trouble with organizations that are dependent on a constant flow of foreign volunteer groups. The process of attachment and separation that many children have to go through creates many relational issues in their future. It is for this reason that foreign groups are not a regular occurrence at Casita Copan, and when people like our group do show up, the schedule doesn’t change. The daily routines remain the same which allows the children to have a certain amount of stability in their life. It was evident that the children understood we were only there temporarily, and although they engaged with us they did not become attached.

For my own personal faith, it has becoming strikingly clear that any talk of “gospel” or good news separated from liberation of oppression (all kinds) is simply not good news. I cannot offer “freedom” without showing real and active compassion for the poor and oppressed. To be clear, I am not saying that the gospel is simply another form of social revolution (that will never redeem our brokenness), but rather it is simply far too easy to ignore the real economic oppression, structural violence, and emotional coercion that are at play in many people’s lives. A faith that talks about “sin” (or oppression) as only something abstract that we need to be “saved” from by repeating a simple verse has forgotten the message of Jesus. This may sound a bit harsh for some, but this is the same reason religious leaders felt their power threatened by the radical message that the meek shall inherit the Kingdom. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.” (Matt 19:24)

Ps. If you want consistent updates please check out the students group blog. dam-happenings.blogspot.ca

Casita Copan & Choco Banano

2013-05-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

More than a week has gone by since my last post, and as usual time is picking up as the days roll on. This post will be a half post because that is all I seem to have time for! From Monday to Friday last week I spent with five other students at Casita Copan. (check out their website here) The organization is a local one that was born in Copan just over a year and a half ago in what use to be a traveler’s hostel. I like the idea of a building intended for white privilege being restored into something that provides hope. The daycare that looks after 26 kids from ages 1-12 for single moms who have to work long hours to survive. The model is awesome because some of the mom’s have been hired on as full-time staff at the daycare, and ultimately the goal is to have mother’s sponsored to raise children in a healthy home. Enough studies have shown that institutional care is one of the most damaging places for a child to be raised, and so Casita Copan strives to provide children with a real home, not another orphanage. In fact, there already is an orphanage in town and it is highly corrupt in ways I don’t have time to explain on here. The hope is someday all of the kids will be able to be removed from that corrupt place.

During the week at Casita Copan our group has been engaging with kids during the morning, as well as helping with a painting renovation. They have decided to turn one of the rooms into a special mother’s room. You can see some of the progress in the pictures below.

Despite this being my third time here I finally tried my first Choco Banano. I was missing out! Only costs 50 cents for a fresh cold banana dipped in fondue and peanuts. Mmm.

A couple days in

By the end of the week

My abnormally long arms were handy for the sky

Rafael and I built some cool stuff :)

The famous "choco banano"

Technology, Trees, and Plato Tipico

2013-05-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hello again,

Below are a couple photos from the weekend. The first is a photo of what they call the typical meal here in Honduras. Basically if Mama doesn't have any recipe she wants to make, she can always whip together this meal pretty quickly. The next photo is a view over the town from one of the organizations we are working with, followed by a pool in a local hotel, and the cute new puppy that lives at my house.

"plato tipico"

The new puppy

Since we arrived on the weekend the students had a couple days to settle and adjust to their new homes. Meg and I spent most of the two days organizing, planning, and revisiting our group budget. So far everything is working out great. The entire group went to a pool on Sunday to cool down a bit, and we had our first group workshop to reflect on what we saw during our travels from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas.

Some really good topics were brought up, including the contrast between our North American completion complex (coloured beige) and the seemingly colourful and spontaneous infrastructure here. To be a bit clearer, picture a typical subdivision today where the trees are flattened and streets are named after them. Most of the houses are shades of neutral colours, property lines are distinct (often by a fence), and the house is not complete until every room is decorated just right on the inside. Contrast that with houses that seem to be blended in with natural greenery from the start, and often more greenery is planted later, houses that are regularly expanded by a room, or connected to the next house because the extended family lives there, and an overall aesthetic of what we might consider “incomplete.” I understand this response because I myself am a hyper organized person. However I am starting to recognize the beauty that exists in a different set-up.

In the conversation I was also reminded that technology is not neutral (see Jacques Ellul). A simple example is the creation of cars, and the expectation that they will take you from point A to point B. Thus in many places we continue to make cities more car friendly at the expense of other modes of transportation. I don’t intend on expanding on this point here, but it reminded me of a conversation I had with a good friend back home. At what point are we comfortable enough? In other words how much more “efficiency” and luxury is needed before we are satisfied? I have seen very clearly (as many others also have) people without most of the amenities we enjoy at home, and yet living a perfectly content life. Of course it makes sense that we will never be satisfied living inside the current mentality of perpetually striving for “better” with little or no cause, and this strikes me as man’s obsession with being his own god, Babylon style. What could possibly go wrong striving for greater, bigger, faster “things . . .?”

I am starting to regain some of my Spanish although for the most part I get frustrated with how much I have lost. Still, I have been able to do enough translating for the students, so that is a relief. It didn't take long for me to enjoy a Super Jugos fruit smoothie. They are simply the best. Actual fresh fruit that isn't doctored or transported far. In other words the oranges actually look splotchy greenish orange not highlight orange like in our supermarkets. The large fruit smoothie cost me 37Limps, or about $1.80.

We were welcomed by somewhat “cool” weather (I use that term loosely) but it is getting hotter every day. I believe last night it cooled down to 29 degrees. I hope you all enjoy these ramblings, and if you are interested in more you can check out the Huron University blog: http://dam-happenings.blogspot.com/

Hasta pronto

El Primero Día

2013-05-05T02:26:00.000-04:00

Hola todos!

The dust has settled after a long 18 hour journey from home to home. The short story is that everything went incredibly smooth. Nothing was delayed, nobody got stuck at a border despite my slightly scandalous looking passport. And for me personally, there was no getting sick! I have officially decided that I do not enjoy plane rides, but this time I tried very hard to remain hydrated and eat healthy food because I did not want to knock myself out with Gravol. . . something about 10 students counting on me to be conscious and explaining to them what is going on inspired that.

We boarded the Robert Q at Midnight from London and headed to the Detroit airport . . . 3 hours later we sat in the airport . . . 3 hours later we boarded the 6am flight to Miami. . . 3 hours later we sat in the Miami airport . . . and (you guessed it) after 3 more hours we boarded our 2 hour flight to San Pedro Sula. Finally we took a 4 hour trip in a van winding through the mountains before arriving in Copan Ruinas. This last part of the trip took longer than usual because the a lot more traffic is coming across the Guatemalan border than in the past, and the pot holes have become craters.

I was then received with open arms by my family in Copan, and of course dinner. Mama Gilma is wonderful.

Of course I couldn't help but contrast my rip off $10 sandwich meal in the Detroit airport with my $2 buffet style meal on the side of the road in Honduras. I thought industrial “progress” was supposed to make things more “efficient” and cheaper? Fail.

That covers the “hard facts” of the very long first day.

Pictures of "upstairs"

Also, during the ride through the countryside it is evident that even in the last three years the gap between the rich and poor has increased. The drive paints a clear picture of the wedge that neo-liberal capitalist development places between the peasant class and the urban class. It is also clear that most economic benefits end up in the hands of the elite class here, or multi-national corporations elsewhere. Honduras also has to deal with either absolutely no press, or terrible press, which has hurt the tourism industry a lot. After the political Coup in 2009 the only thing you ever hear about Honduras is violence and political instability. Although some of what is reported is true, much in the stories are omitted, and small parts exaggerated. Sure there are some dangerous places in Honduras, but you just don’t go there, the same way you don’t walk alone in the back alleyways of New York late at night. All of this negative press surrounding the country means that when people talk about visiting places in Latin America, Honduras is often left out. In reality it is likely the country with the most luscious greenery covering the mountainous landscape. The landscape is beautiful and so are the people. The only violence people should be worried about is the structural kind that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph.

My blog entries will not be this long in the future, but I have one more story to tell. I met a man on my plane ride to Miami who instead of letting me catch some sleep, decided to impart his 55 years of wisdom on me. I can summarize the two hours as follows: He has worked a job in EVERY industry, and at every job he worked harder than everyone else. He believes that there are 3 kinds of people in the world; those who let things happen to them, those who make things happen, and those who are dead. At the same time he believes in fate (I tried to point out the potential contradiction with no success) and now he is on a non-stop "battle" 80-100 hours a week attempting to eliminate his competition and take his cigar business empire to #1 when he “walks off the field.” After respectfully acknowledging his sage advice I questioned the model that cost him his first marriage (something he considered collateral damage) and clearly his health (he has suffered 4 cardiac arrests). But for him, as long as her gets to finish as #1 and sit on a beach smoking cigars someday, it will be worth it. Are humans not the most bizarre creatures ever?!?

Enough rambling for now,

Hasta Pronto!

Here I Go Again

2013-05-02T18:00:00.000-04:00

Hello again to those reading this blog. I never thought it would come so soon, but today I fly out of Detroit and will land in San Pedro Sula before travelling West to Copan Ruinas for the third time.

Each time has been a bit different. The first time in 2010 I was a 2nd year university student on a school trip with 9 other students and a professor. Last year I returned by myself in search of a new organization to work with at Huron College, to visit my host family, and learn Spanish. This year I return as the trip co-leader with a college staff member and 10 other students.

I will update this blog as much as I can, and the students will have a group blog as well that I will likely link here as soon as I can. I am very excited to stay with my host family again, and be back in the familiar village of Copan.

Thank-you in advance to those who send love, and prayers, they mean a lot to me. I will see you in three weeks!

Where I am headed

Una Vez Mas

2012-04-04T16:00:00.000-04:00

The last night involved a BBQ to say goodbye, and then a late night pool party with Eduardo, Luis, and one of their friends. A lovely time.

The morning involved final goodbyes to everyone and catching the 2:30pm bus, which didn't leave until 3:30pm (apparently typical for Hedmanalas). My luggage ended up on the wrong bus, but arrived a half an hour after me. I was able to have a nice hour long conversation with a lady on my bus in Spanish. =)

Eduardo y Yo

again

Maya Selva y Yo

I stayed in a lovely hotel arranged for my by Kathy of Ixbalanque. The owner picked me up from the bus station, and dropped me off at the airport at around 5am. I must admit that I didn't plan my money situation very well. I had 35 Limps left for dinner which got me a couple tortilla wraps and a natural fruit juice (even though I was one Limp short). Then after paying for my hotel in USD, I had $36 USD left in my wallet. Turns out the tax to leave the country was $38. Luckily for me I had made friends with a young dentist from the U.S. who loaned me the two bucks to leave the country.

During my flight to Miami I had a man from North Carolina educate me on everything he is personally doing to fix Honduras. He was full of absolute answers, and I didn't feel like debating this man, so I nodded along and "agreed."

Miami was packed so it took forever to get through all the check points. I had a brief chat with a man from Honduras, and a longer talk with a nice lady from Nicaragua. Good practise! The flight was packed from Miami to Detroit, and it looked like I was going to have one of the only empty seats beside me. That was until two brothers and a sister came running on the plane sweating from running through the airport. One of the brothers proceeded to crush his sisters foot with his luggage making the entrance that much more embarrassing. These siblings were clearly sick of each other. Kristy sat beside me and we manged to talk for three hours straight (even some really bad Spanish for awhile). Before I knew it I was greeted by my lovely parents at the baggage arrival in Detroit.

A few things I was reminded of back in North America:

1) We are filthy rich

2) We are obsessed with technology

3) Why do people think it is cool to wear sunglasses inside?

4) My dinner cost $1.75 in San Pedro, and my lunch in Miami was $9.

5) Who ever thought we need to wrap our luggage in excessive amounts of plastic? See picture below.

Really? It costs $15 - $40 to "protect your bag." This is what we consider "innovation."

In conclusion, I am happy to be home. I love this view

Home

Terminado

2012-04-01T21:43:00.000-04:00

Well this is it. The last update before I am in Canada again.

Mother, you can skip this next paragraph. Okay? Good.

Yesterday I got to experience the new and improved canopy (zip-line) tour. It was suppose to be bigger, better, and of course more expensive. It fulfilled all of the above. The view was incredible; I only have a picture of the start because the rest of the pictures were taken on a different camera. There was 15 lines and I believe about 4 of them were over a kilometer long. For a one time experience it was worth the money.

The top

In the evening all of the current students at the school went out for dinner at Pizza Copan. They make a delicious wood oven pizza.

Today I was treated by Kathy and Amadea at their sister’s restaurant 10 mins outside of Copan. Sunday’s typical food is a soup with massive chucks of vegetables and meat. I also enjoyed the best natural fruit juice I have had so far.

Kathy, Victoria, and me

Tonight my family is planning a goodbye fiesta for me, and tomorrow at 2:30pm I begin my 24 hour trip home.

See you all soon!

A picture of the truck I drove a couple weeks ago

Family photo

Miel y Pelota

2012-03-31T03:35:00.002-04:00

This officially marks the end of the fastest week yet.

Monday was a surprise trip in the morning with our teachers to see a sugar mill (trapiche). The place is located two minutes past the Guatemalan border. Everything is natural and we could see it all before our eyes. Everything is done in the open air, (I hope the wacko health and safety mentality we have implemented in our North American food system never gets its dirty hands on this) and the process is slow. Once the juice is crushed out of the sugar cane it is actually sold as a drink, that is if it doesn’t continue through the rest of the process. Next it boils for six hours slowly getting thicker until it becomes a honey. At one point we were dipping sugar in sugar; i.e. dipping a sugar cane in sugar cane honey . . . “pretty sweet!” The end product is absolutely delicious, super sticky, and almost has a caramel taste.

Enjoying the ride there with Bruno

Crushing

Where the magic happens

Part of the hardening process using plantain trunks

Tuesday night Carin and I finally met for dinner. Yes, it only took us three weeks! We had a lovely time catching up on the past couple of years, and musing about the future. This is likely the year that she will leave for Spain after 15 years of living in Copan. And for those who don’t already know she is a fantastic artist and you can check some of her work out here: www.carinsteen.com.

The next couple days I spent helping my family, meeting people passing through the house, and of course doing homework and going to class. Thursday night the owner of my school (Kathy) invited me to a Rotary International club “reunion.” Basically what that entailed was an evening at the most beautiful outdoor “community center,” free food, and pretending I don’t speak English for the night around gringos.

Today, I went back to the school I volunteered in two years ago; El Sinai. If I have any regret on this trip it is that I didn’t return earlier. I recognized about half of the kids from before, and when the teacher asked if they remembered my name the response was a loud unified “RICARDOO!” That was humbling. Of course I ended up playing a sweaty game of pelota with the boys, and was lucky enough to have my taxi driver take some photos. Unfortunately, I was once again reminded that just because there is a school building doesn’t mean there are children learning. I won’t go into details here, but there is a serious lack of teaching at the school, and it made me want to tutor every child there.

After attempting 1 vs 8 I decided I needed some help.

The crew

This was also officially my last day of classes, although I will likely hang out there tomorrow, and Monday before my bus leaves at 2pm. =(

I am torn because I love home, and I want to come home, but somehow I still want my flight to be cancelled.

Yo estuve en Antigua

2012-03-27T01:53:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning at the crack of dawn (6am) I was on a van with ten other people heading to Antigua Guatemala. I was travelling with Jason (Northern Ireland), and Kristin (Vancouver), who both work with UPH. I actually stayed awake for most of the ride because: A) The scenery is pretty hard to ignore, B) It is impossible to keep your neck in a steady position when you are rounding 90 degree corners every 500 meters, and C) When traffic is backed up behind construction all rules of the road seemingly disappear, and it becomes a free-for-all extravaganza. Because of some delays it took us nearly 8 hours to arrive in Antigua. . . a mere 266 kms away from Copan.

From the van window

The hostel we were staying in was very small and lovely. We had private rooms, and there was only two other people staying at the hostel. We even had breakfast cooked for us in the morning. Once we checked in we enjoyed one of the many delightful restaurants in the town, and then spent the rest of the day gazing at beautiful old architecture.

Around town

Antigua is the “capital city” of Central America, and is very special to Catholic Christians. I took a couple photos in one of the large churches, and the structures took my breath away. It is hard for me to come to a balance between: A) A human’s best attempt at a beautiful creation to honour God and B) Colonial conquest pillaging land, culture, and indigenous people. I think ultimately no matter how beautiful the structure, or how good the intentions, it is simply impossible to let that out weigh the pain and damage caused. In fact, I have never been convinced of the merit to spend big on appearance. I am pretty sure Jesus was a little more concerned with other things.

Excuse my thinking out loud. . .

One of the Churches

Another at night

Day 2:

We started off the morning going on short hike to “The Cross” which overlooks the city, and then stumbled upon one of the coolest things I have seen in awhile. Whenever there is a large procession in Antigua (and many other places as well) they cover the roads with beautiful art to pave the way. Some large square "carpet" is made entirely out of plants, or others are intricate designs using coloured saw dust. If you remember a big "Art Attack" you are getting close. They are really beautiful.

At the cross

Plant version

Hard at work with saw dust

Since it was the weekend before Semana Santa, (basically a week long holiday filled with processions, and celebrations leading up to Easter; it is very big in Central America) we got to experience the surprise of one of the biggest processions of the year. The city was absolutely packed with people, and we were told this is when most of the locals visit before it is even more insane next week.

We ended up making some friends with some of the people designing some of the “carpets” and they invited us to join in! We made our best attempt at “gringo art” . . . which was nothing good compared to the rest.

Attempting . . .

Then came the very large procession. A couple marching bands, hundreds of men dressed in purple robes, and then a bunch of “floats” of various sizes carried by people. The largest one was carried by 100 people, and they switched who was carrying it very frequently. Even still the people carrying the "float" looked like they were in a certain amount of pain. Pictures don’t seem to display the size very well, but believe me, it was huge!

The haze is incense burning

And just like that it is all gone

We enjoyed a tasty taco dinner, and headed to bed early because the bus left at 4am Monday morning.

On a side note, there was a guitar at the Hostel so I got to play again! =)

Por Fin

2012-03-24T00:54:00.000-04:00

In the blink of an eye another week has come and gone. Its seems like every week goes by faster and faster. I have now officially completed 67 hours of class, and graduated to the “next level.” However, I have a lot of reviewing to do. At this point I just need to speak Spanish as much as possible. I know a lot of rules but that does not translate into speech.

Tuesday night I saw the concluding bands for the two week festival with a couple new students from Holland, Bruno and (I know this is spelled wrong but it sounds like) Mario-lang. Mama Gilma and a few others are away camping this week so that leaves Irza, Eduardo and myself to keep the house together. It has actually been nice because the Hostel part of the house is empty; meaning it has been quiet around here. It is allowing for some quality bonding time with the siblings.

One of the bands

Wednesday was a pretty relaxed day. Four hours of class a day is much better for my health, and I actually want to do my homework. Went for another walk with the boys and ended up bring back a tub of ice cream. I think I mentioned earlier in this blog about adjusting to different perspectives on the “same news.” For example a Russian news station is popular here, and many countries we often think highly of are disliked here. Inmar (uncle) gave me a brief history of Honduras’s electricity production, and another reason for me to despise the ridiculous institution called the World Bank. And you likely haven’t heard NATO described as the North Atlantic Terrorist Organization. . . how is that for a conversation starter?

Thursday afternoon all of the students went to the Copan “Agua Caliente,” which means an hour drive through the mountains. We had two hours of natural hot tub bliss including: scalding hot pools, mud face massages, waterfall showers, and more. I almost enjoyed the ride as much because the views were stunning. My pictures don’t do it justice. Maiz looked like the hair on top of the mountain, cattle stood in the middle of a never ending lush pasture rolling up and down the hills. Just awesome.

Hot Springs

happy cattle

I'd like to see a 12 row corn head + combine attempt this. . .

I got dropped on the opposite side of town for the UPH fundraiser. A local food vender cooked all the meat with expertise on the BBQ like no one I have seen before. A lot of people showed up, in fact I didn’t even know that this many gringos were in Copan. We watched a movie projected onto the wall of the “castle” called “The Artist.” It is a fairly recent film that won awards, is in black and white, and is a silent movie. Actually, it was really good! So I guess that means I am two for two in the movie department.

The Castle

After the last class of the week it was off to UPH to finally play a guitar! This is the longest I have gone not playing a guitar since I started learning “way back in September” (sung to the tune of “if I die young” for the L’Abri folk). I fear my fingers are already getting weak, but it was liberating to finally play again. The rest of the night was packing, and getting ready for Antigua Guatemala this weekend! I return to Copan Monday. J

Finally!

If I look happy. . . it is because I am

Of Course I can drive a. . .

2012-03-21T00:54:00.000-04:00

I will elaborate more on the title a bit later on in the blog.

Saturday in the afternoon I helped set up some of the stage decorations for the concluding ceremony that night. There has been a two week festival which officially ends Tuesday night. There has been a bit of everything involved: music, tons of food, games, and Mayan history. At night I watched the new Mayan Queen ceremony 2012, which was described as the end of an era, not the world. I also got to try my firework setting on my camera and found that it actually works very well.

Set-up

Humberto and Inmar

At night

Proud of this picture

I expected Sunday to be a quiet day around the house, but I ended up helping my family cater to a group of 35 that was visiting the ruins from Columbia and Venezuela . That involved loading up an old, manual, non-tailgated Toyoto truck with a bunch of food and glass dishes pilled in the back. Then 3 of us rode in the back and tried to balance everything over bumpy cobblestone roads and a few awkward hills. It was successful.

Now back to the title. I don’t have a picture of the truck yet, but it is actually a very common truck around here. They are clearly well made because they take a beating and last forever. Most males drive a mini Toyota truck, and I haven’t gone a day without seeing someone waxing their truck, or completely rebuilding it. Anyways, I was suppose to meet my Spanish teacher in the afternoon, so without hesitation Mama tossed me the keys and told me to take the truck home because Irza (sister) needed anyway. I have driven stick a hand full of times, but that was on flat roads in Canada, with a license, and an idea of where I was. I decided against going alone and ended up asking Humberto (cousin) to come with me (which was a good thing because I really didn’t remember how to get home). Good news: I never stalled it once, and wasn’t stopped at the police check despite looking like an out of place gringo trying to drive in Honduras. Needless to say I was pretty happy. Oh, and the truck cabins are not built for people like me who are 70% legs.

Then I went for a nice walk with Edwin around the trials at the Ruins, and got some quality Spanish talking time in for the day. That is important on the weekend when I don’t have class.

Small ruins

Monday evening I saw some authentic Spanish music live. It was good stuff. A lot of good voices in harmony. This week is back to 4 hours of class in the morning, which I am finding much nicer on my brain. I have the same teacher form last week - Mildia, who I like. =) I can't really say enough about how awesome the people are at this school. Everyone is so friendly, and if you need any kind of help related to Copan they have got your back. I believe our school trip this week it to "agua caliente" (hot springs). I am looking forward to it!

Finally, Tuesday afternoon I spent some quality bonding time with my little brothers Eduardo, and Luis. We went to the bank, and then bought some fresh fruit, and finished off the walk at the new location of "Super Jogos." Simply the best smoothies you will ever have. They blend the fresh fruit in front of you. I had orange, banana, and granola. So good.

Eduardo

Luis

Gringo Phase Out

2012-03-18T12:57:00.000-04:00

I am slowly working through the process of “de-gringoizing” (that is definitely not a word).

The first thing going for me is that fact that I am Canadian, and therefore technically not a gringo (officially it is only people from the U.S.) However, many North Americans and Europeans get lumped into this category.

The second thing I learned not to do is call people from the U.S. “Americans.” We are all “Americans” from Canada to Chili. Locals here despise the U.S.A’s claim on being “American.”

Next, I have started to darken the skin a couple shades, but I am still very white at the moment.

A couple days ago I received an authentic Honduran cell phone. I have never held something so small and seemingly indestructible. I know that I obviously don’t need a cell phone while I am here for a month, but one of my Spanish teachers gave it to me for free and it cost me 50L ($2.50) to load it up. It will come in handy I am sure, and it looks much less ridiculous than the gringos carrying a variety of massive heavy Apple products.

Finally, of course, is learning Spanish. The more I know the better! I have now completed 46 hours of class, and have covered a lot of ground in the last week. Now I just need to practice, practice, practice!

It is smaller than you think

Friday night a few school mates and travelers headed to the “carnival,” which is here for the week. It was pretty weird walking into what felt like the Ilderton fair of the 1980’s, with a twist of Honduran culture. Rides cost $1, and games were usually around 50 cents. There was no charge to “get in.” I even went on a couple "spinning rides" which I never do well on. Shortly after I got off one of the rides sparks flew and it was out of commission. Safety chains and bars are optional, and the guys working would jump on a random cart while the ferris wheel was moving and go for a ride.

from the ferris wheel

Raymond from Norway

I was on this 20mins before it self-destructed

El Primero Café

2012-03-16T01:56:00.000-04:00

I have some shocking news. . . . I have completed the first cup of coffee in my life. I have to admit that I soaked half of it in cookies, and the “cup” was a pretty small one, but still. . . . it counts for me. Warning: Don’t expect this to continue in Canada.

chickens chillin with the cattle

On Thursday afternoon Brandon (Calgary), Raymond (Norway), Edwin (teacher), and myself took the 30 minute journey by car to Guacamaya, a worker owned organic cooperative. I visited this place last time I was in Honduras, but it was worth it to go back. They have about 42 workers, and I was there just in time to see the last main shipment of coffee for the year. About 40% of the coffee gets exported to the U.S. and Holland.

Raw Product

Every single bean is inspected by hand, and they have pretty strict rules on what is acceptable and what gets rejected. They also burn the shells of the coffee beans for energy, thus reducing the need for wood in the production process. Who could have guessed it? Smart efficiency without “magical shiny new technology,” and dare I say it probably a better use of resources.

Behold

The coffee grows all along the mountains, and it would take 3.5 hours to walk to the edge. We got to walk around one of the farms and look at some of their growing techniques. It’s is pretty cool to see how they combine different plants in the same space that mutually benefit each other.

coffee growing with plantaines and much more

Finally, to seal the deal on awesomeness; the coffee bags are hand made in-house.

Needless to say, I give this place a big thumbs up!

stamp of approval

Piñata Fiesta

2012-03-15T23:58:00.002-04:00

Three days and 23 hours of Spanish class later. . . all is well. I worked through a quick seven hours of class on Monday and took it easy at night in the breeze filled “loft” space en nuestra casa.

Edwin

Katy (one of the owners)

Mildia

Tuesday was a full eight hours of class, but this week I have two new teachers. Mildia in the manana y Edwin in la tarde. It is good to have different voices to practise listening to. It is crazy how different every person speaks when you don’t know the language. In the evening I went to a movie for 20 Limpiras, (translation $1.05 Canadian.) I saw “Machine Gun Preacher” which is a great movie. Look it up and watch it if you haven’t seen it. It is a re-energizing movie. . . a good reminder to myself to never become passive or complacent. There is much to do in this world.

Yesterday, after a long day of class, I got to experience my first Spanish birthday. Complete with a Spiderman Pinata (how did they know he is my favourite?!). The extended family was all there as well as a couple bonus gringo travelers who are staying at the house. It was a BBQ fiesta, followed by hopeless swings at a moving piñata blindfolded. Somehow I ended up playing an hour of pelota with a couple of the kids (Eduardo y Luis). That involved some serious sweat.

Pelota

Spiderman

I have two more days of 8 hour classes. My goal is to complete about 100 hours. I think I am heading to an organic cooperative coffee farm tomorrow.

Hasta pronto todo!

Por que? Porque. . .

2012-03-11T16:35:00.001-04:00

Basic updates: I am completely covered in red dye, and it does not appear to wash off, I officially have received my first pink skin, and it gets hotter here every day.

Central Park

In my first 3 day week I have completed 9 hours of Spanish class, not a bad start. Next week the goal is 40, which is pretty ambitious, but we shall see how it goes.

For those of you who don’t know what a motor taxi looks like in Copan, here is a nice picture of the awesome “tuk tuk.” There is an abundance of these cruising around town.

Tuk Tuk

Friday afternoon Ixbalanque set up horseback riding for students interested. I have only been horseback riding once in my life, and I have to admit I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. This time the setting was much different and the horses were much smaller. We climbed up the side of a small mountain where the communities are much smaller and almost 100% agriculturally dependant. Most of the people living here are of Mayan decent. The climb was pretty steep but we made it in approximately three hours round trip. Kids were running everywhere trying to sell me little dolls or flowers made out of coloured corn husks. They are actually beautiful.

Corn Husk Flower

Then, while looking at some Mayan ruins about an hour away from Copan, who do I run into? Why Carin of course! (for those who don’t know who I am talking about she was the leader of the group Arte Accion that I worked with last time). That was a random delight.

New construction

View of rural landscape

Saturday was spent helping Inmar and his crew finish all of the Mayan art, and then loading up and setting up in Central Park. One of my favourite things about the town is Central Park. Everybody passes through it, and many people spend good chunks of their day hanging out there. So everybody pretty much knows what is going on without any traditional advertising. Setting up a stage involved a lot of sun exposure, hence the aforementioned sunburn.

Artists hard at work

In the evening I went to a celebration of sorts at my Spanish teacher’s church. It was some kind of Youth focused service. It was the first “service” I have been to in Copan, but they aren’t hard to find. I believe there are about ten churches here, and they have events pretty much every day of the week (and all members attend). The steep hills here made it ideal to put a stage in the middle of the street and have automatic theatre seating. If you don’t like loud music, clapping, and dancing you likely should avoid these churches.

¿Cómo te va?

2012-03-09T11:00:00.002-05:00

I guess it has been a couple days since I wrote anything. Sometimes I wish I had some sort of invisible reporter following me around taking notes on my day, but that would allow me to go into an unbelievably unnecessary amount of detail. . . and if you know me at all that really isn’t needed.

SO, in a “nut shell” I am very happy to be here! Lots of things are happening around the house because Inmar is preparing for a Mayan festival this Saturday. A bunch of local artists have turned the upstairs of the house into a massive work shop. These people are talented! Inmar is also currently involved in a battle against incompetent local governments, and “the north” (that would be us). I can’t go into detail here, but I will just say that it involves U.S. universities thinking they have the rights to things that are not theirs, and a local government that turns a blind eye. The good news is the people of Copan are saying NO THANK-YOU! =)

Also, since the last time I was here my family has turned their garage into a mini hostel with a bunch of bedrooms. Over 20 people have passed through since I got here. Needless to say Mama Gilma is busy!

So far so healthy, I have had a few stomach problems but that is expected in 35 degree heat and a diet change. Mama Gilma found out that I was in a bit of pain and made be a special soup yesterday, it was amazing.

Ixbalanque, is as fantastic as before. I think I know about half of the teachers from last time. I have one of the new teachers; Ana, she is pretty awesome. I have also made friends with the first male teacher I have seen here. His name is Edwin, and we have some good “bro time.”

Front of School

Inside my school

Inside again

Last night I met some of Inmar’s friends Freddie, Abraham, and Pedro, and I was able to hack through a reasonable conversation en espanol, pero solamente porque ellos saben algo ingles. It was still encouraging.

In other awesome news I discovered that there is an UrbanPromise Copan! It was just starting up the last time I was here. If you aren’t familiar with this organization, they rock. They have many locations across North American including a few in Toronto (where a friend of mine currently works). They do fantastic work with under-privileged children and a lot of the focus in Copan is on all different varieties of Art. I met the director yesterday, and plan on getting involved with this organization while I am here. =)

That is all for now!

Mi Casa

2012-03-08T00:42:00.000-05:00

Outside

Common Area

Kitchen

Garage

Upstairs

Upstairs view

Front Entrance

The longest Tuesday

2012-03-07T23:34:00.001-05:00

I was on the Robert Q at midnight to drive to the Detroit Airport with nothing but a t-shirt and jeans on. I have to say I was rather frio (cold). I experienced the usual interrogation at the border, but I think I got it worse than the rest because I was travelling along, and he didn’t like my learning Spanish alibi. Nevertheless, I was sitting in a deserted Detroit Wayne Airport at 3am waiting to board my 6:30am flight to Miami.

I had no problems boarding (My luggage was only 24lbs! Most of the other travelers were struggling to fit their stuff in one 50lb bag), and I got a window seat. We arrived around 9:30am. I discovered that Miami is half Spanish so I got to practice speaking a little bit. Flight to San Pedro Sula was conflict free, and despite being a much smaller and rougher airport the landing was the smoothest.

The next part was the scariest because I really had no idea what I was supposed to do. Customs let me in much easier this time then last time, even though I have the same ridiculous passport photo. Then I found the bus company I was looking for which was scheduled to leave at 2:15pm and then not again until 6:30pm. Luckily the driver was laid back and seemed in no rush to leave so I got on the bus! A bunch of other English speaking Americans were on the bus, which took us to downtown San Pedro Sula so we could transfer to the appropriate bus. I was expecting a shuttle van like last time, but boy did I get a surprise. How about a first class air conditioned coach bus. I felt like I was sitting on a couch. In fact the service was better than American Airlines. We got snacks, blankets, drinks, newspapers, and movies. Unfortunately, the 3 hour bus ride was still on speed bump infested roads that got increasingly curvy, and thus I had to focus most of my attention on not vomiting my airport food everywhere. (I was successful by the way). I arrived in Copan at 6:30pm, a mere 18 hours since I left home, and I guess I haven’t slept since Sunday night.

I will try, to explain what it was like arriving in Copan for the second time. I am not going to lie, the longer the travel time lasted the more I wished I could just go home and curl up in my bed. After stepping off the bus into a “cold” 60 something degrees Fahrenheit, (due to a couple days of cloud cover) and walking through Central Park again everything came flooding back. I knew where home was, I recognized buildings, and I got excited to see my Honduran family! After catching up with Mama Gilma, not 20 mins later she was forcing me to eat supper. I swear she works in the Kitchen 8 hours a day - Minimum. My appetite was recovering from the bus ride and I enjoyed: Scrambled eggs, with fried ham, mashed frijholes (beans), fried plantains (banana), a special cheese, and a white sauce to dip whatever I wanted to. The meal was topped off with a freshly boiled pineapple tea. Eso estuve muy rico!

Thank-you so much for all of your prayer’s and support. I really appreciate it.

This blog is exceptionally long, and I don’t imagine that this will continue.

Talk to you all soon!

Hola!

2012-03-05T00:53:00.000-05:00

I will be using this blog to keep friends and family updated on my Honduran travels from March 6th to April 3rd. I am not sure how reliable the internet will be, nor do I know how often I will have enough energy to update this, but nevertheless I will try my best!

My flight leaves tomorrow morning (Tuesday) at 6:30am from Detroit. I stop in Miami, and then continue on to San Pedro Sula. I hope to be with my host family by dinner time Tuesday night!

Tomorrow is also packing day, getting a little bit nervous now that the day has actually arrived, but I am also incredibly excited to see my amigos y familia en Honduras!!