Eatin' good in the neighborhood

Hola from the Progress, everyone!

We've officially been here a week, and it feels like both the longest and shortest week of my life, if that makes any sense.  We've been busy with work, play, and getting acquainted with our new barrio.  The volunteer house is super bueno and has an amazing view of the mountains (or hills, maybe?).  Momma Eva has been making sure that we're all eating well (our very own Paula Dean!), and we're all getting into the habit of going to the gym.  Which, by the way, is the best gym I have ever been to.  True, the equipment may be a bit on the old and broken side of life, and we may be ogled by a few sketchy Honduran men (whoa, shocker), but that gym has SOUL.  It has bright walls, a section that is part open air, a fountain that looks like it came from a Spanish jardin, and cardio classes led by a massive Honduran woman who I would never, ever want to get into a fight with.  But enough about our House of Sweat...

On Sunday, we went to a Honduran soccer game (my first ever!)  We made our way through the fray of elated Progresinos and found a few open bench spaces in the stands.  Directly across from us, on the other side of the field, was a giant ball of fire.  Now, if you're like me, you may think, "Hmm, giant ball of fire- must be a cultural thing."  But no.  It was much, much cooler than that.  It turns out that the fire was there to produce smoke, which was there to guide a skydiver, who was to parachute down onto the field with the game ball.  Sure enough, we  looked up into the sun and saw a plane drop a tiny dot into the sky.  That dot grew bigger and bigger until we could see a man steering down toward the field with a small Honduran flag attached to his parachute cord.  He landed safely on the field, but no game ball could be seen.  Nonetheless, the game started up shortly after, and I was left thinking that I must be in some strange parallel universe, or something crazy like that.

Despite our vast array of exciting recreational experiences, the volunteer team has been devoting a lot of time to getting organized and starting to dig our flip flops into developing projects at the orphanage and Villa Soleada.  We attended the weekly Saturday meeting at Villa, which was quite an experience.  Adele, Laurie, Eva, and I sat on a pile of rebar near the bodega, surrounded by the villagers who are going to move into Villa once they complete construction on their new homes.  I remember thinking how amazing it was to be there, amongst people who were hashing out plans and working together to form a community from scratch.  The details can be hairy at times, and life can even feel mundane, so sometimes it's good to think about the bigger picture.  It is times like these that I just feel so...lucky to be a part of SHH and the work that we do here in Honduras.

We've been spending a significant amount of time working in the education center at the orphanage.  (Note to anyone thinking about getting a nose piercing before coming down to Honduras to play with the kids: wait until you get back to the States.)  We've been helping out with the tutoring program, which runs every weekday from 1:30-5pm.  Both of my highs and lows for the week occurred while tutoring the kids.  I felt elated when I helped one of the younger children to complete his work.  He was so happy, and seemed truly proud of himself for getting everything done.  I felt sad and defeated when, that same day, another child became frustrated with his math problems and stormed out of the education center.  Working with the kids is a mixed bag.   You just have to remember to look for the small rays of light in each moment, while understanding that these children, while amazingly resilient, have had difficult lives and have dealt with concerns that few of us have ever had to think about.  Nonetheless, one thing about working at the education center is absolutely certain: you feel utterly exhausted after spending only a few hours there.  Those kids may be cute, but they'll wear you down faster than a 50 page research paper during exam week.

Well, that's all about all I have to report from La Casa SHH sobre La Vida SHH.  Until next time- stay classy, US of A.

~Olivia