Month 1

I’m just shy of the month point here in Talanga! I can’t believe that it’s been that long. On one hand I feel like I just got here but on the other it feels like I’ve lived here for years. Either way, things are going really well. It’s about time for us to start on our own projects for this year. Up to now we’ve been continuing what previous groups started (I think I enumerated most of those in the last blog), getting to know Talanga and the people here, and thinking about opportunities for new projects. Well, we’ve decided to go ahead with a project to open a “Comedor Infantil” (basically a soup kitchen-like establishment for children) in town. There is already a building right in the center of Talanga that the government built but never actually opened. So we are seeking rights to use the building and finally open it up for service. First we’ll apply for grants and funding from a few NGOs that are active in Talanga, and if that’s successful, go ahead with the management of the Comedor. That will require amassing volunteers (ideally, the single mothers of the children we’ll serve meals), getting supplies, preparing the building, and so much more. The most important aspect of our planning is ensuring that when we leave in a year, the Comedor is fully operable without us. Sustainability is the most important tenet of the Passionist Volunteers’ mission. It will be a ton of work, and it might take all year here to get it started, but I’m super excited to work on this with my fellow volunteers and Talangan community.

There are quite a few holidays around this time of year that are worth mentioning. Flag Day on September 1st marked the beginning of a few weeks of gifts, parades, and “actos civicos” (think boring, really long all-school assemblies). Last Thursday September 10th was Dia de los Ninos (Kid’s Day). The point of the day is that everyone – adults included – can celebrate being a kid. I celebrated with my first grade class at school. First, there was a delayed opening so the kids came at like 8:30ish instead of 7. Then all of the teachers put on a show; they dressed up in hilarious costumes and danced to all types of music on stage. It last about an hour and all of the kids laughed so hard, it was really funny. Then there was a piñata, lunch, and cake in the classrooms, and each kid got a toy to take home. All in all, a really fun day. It’s also pretty much the only day the kids can expect to get toys and cake. Birthdays aren’t very big here, kids are lucky to get cake and a small party. And very few kids get more than a new outfit to wear to church for Christmas. Makes Dia de los Ninos really exciting every year!

Independence Day is this Tuesday, September 15th. Kids have been practicing marching with drums, pom-poms, batons, and fake rifles pretty much since we arrived a month ago for the big parade on Independence Day. In fact I can hear drums approaching my house as I write this. I’m actually in the parade, too. One of the daughters in a family that’s super involved with PVI is on the baton twirling team at her school. A baton twirler myself, I went to see what it’s all about a couple weeks ago and they invited me to be in the parade! So I’ve been practicing with them a few times a week. Tomorrow (Monday) they say practice is from 7 AM to 5 PM. Seems ridiculous, I have no idea what to expect. I think I’ll go for a couple of hours in the morning to practice marching and twirling at the same time; it would be rather embarrassing to fall into a puddle or something during the parade, especially since people are going to stare at me and wonder why the gringa (white person) is in the parade. Teacher’s Day is on September 17th, so with the majority of kids practicing all day Monday, Independence Day on Tuesday and Teacher’s Day on Thursday, this week coming up is basically a week off for schools.

The celebrations have made Talanga a pretty busy place to be, and my tranquilo life is starting to fill up with projects, meetings, practices, and, of course, time for fun with my community. We’ve had a couple parties at our house with Peace Corps volunteers who are here until September 15th for training. Then they will be dispersed all over Honduras for their two-year assignments. It’s been nice to have some other gringas and gringos around to speak English and have American-style parties.

As things have started picking up, I’m realizing more and more that my life is here now, and I’m really excited about it. Thanks for all of the encouragement, mail, and e-mail. Keep it coming! I love hearing about things going on at home. Love to all!

Patricia