La Esperanza

Got here, settled in.. Some great things and some great people.. Also some mildly crazy people. You can meet them all down here in quaint La Esperanza!

I was greeted at the bus station ( rather.. A large shoulder on the road..) by an older gentleman who drove me to where I would stay for a week until Susan, the head honcho of Ël maestro en Casa¨ came in from the States.

Welcoming and knowledgeable, this gentlemen is a great tour guide. However you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt ( if more bull  equates to needing more ¨grains of salt¨, you may need a good cupful   of that skepticism...). This Santa look alike American is here as a missionary to help those less fortunate. Straight from the ¨Bible Belt¨ he brings his beliefs and his church ( or as he would say ¨ I am the church¨) to the ignorant Catholic Hondurans ( again, his words not mine.) He calls the local poor lazy, and after seven years of living here he has learned less that a dozen words of Spanish. Why? Why, English is more superior, because it is the language of the bible. (duh.) He teaches the problems with evolution and ¨them science terms¨, the sinful and hell bringing consequences of birth control  and bible to the church and to the prison. (I went to the prison.. The only way I will ever go back is if I am dragged in!)

He believes me to be ignorant too, and tried to teach me all about how America is going to hell because ¨The Blacks¨are taking over and aim to show those previously in power how horrible it is to be a slave.

I admire the missionaries who come here to help, and it is plain to see all the different agencies and individuals who have helped over the years, they have left a positive lasting impression. However it is hard for me to see the good in actions that are so close minded and don´t benefit the people.

 Despite all this, I really believe that even though he is a disillusioned drawling Southerner,  it is still admirable to leave the comforts of home for what you believe in.


ANYWAYS. I still enjoy listening and asking questions to this man who I thought only existed  50 years ago or in films. Real eye opener.

From the dozens of Aid and development organizations, I managed to find one that fit exactly what I wanted. No religious agenda, community based, and not a ¨volunteer holiday¨kind of gig. El Maestro en Casa is a small school that helps La Esperanza and the surrounding communities to reach their education goals. The public education system here is disgustingly corrupt. The schools are full, falling apart, and don´t have many of the necessary supplies. Kids rise grade through grade passing if they deserve it or not.

To parents who had no education, receiving a pass is all they need to show them that their child is progressing. However, the kids arn´t learning. The teachers are always on strike, and half the school year is cancelled.  EMEC gets kids regularly in seventh and even eighth grade who can´t spell their name. No joke.

EMEC also helps those who can´t get to public schools because of isolation or economical situations. Mostly of the Lenka community, these indigenous people live in the mountains with  rice, corn and coffee crops. Kids are often needed in the fields, so EMEC and its once a week distance education program is really tailored to their needs.

Susan, the 70 year old, fit, expressive, amazing director started this section of EMEC a long time ago, and now is trying to wean herself away and let the others run the school ( former graduates). She has for years gone back and forth between the states, living for a decade here in Honduras setting up this project and others like it. I saw her house.. It was in the middle of nowhere, no running water, no electricity.. No road.. Much to remote for me not to go crazy!

I have two months to do a semester of the Bachillato program ( highlights split into two years), to give daily lessons to the teachers, bi weekly beginner English lessons, and to make a decent semester of lesson plans for the next volunteer to follow. It is great, I feel like I am doing something worthwhile, and improving my Spanish all at the same time.

After leaving here, I am going to do a day shopping trip in Guatemala City ( put in your orders now!!) and then I fly to Arizona for a 17 day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon!

Life is full of adventures!

Ok, Nicararagua.. where to start

    Well, inititial views of Nica were.. different... It was through my airconditioned, window seat Tika tour bus, like any other wheelly bag traveller. The bus dealt with customs; we didn't have to attempt to communicate with anyone, we didn't have to bargin for our entrance fee, we didn't have to pick a txi driver out of the swarm who followed us. Basically, I could have been in Canada and I wouldn't have know because it was just that easy.

   Not a bad experince, but I feel like I missed out a bit on the travel experience.. not to worry though, I get to go through plenty more dirty, dusty border checks.. not too mention the inexplicably long amount of no mans land in between...

    Past the border, everything looks pretty similar to Guatemala, just not quite as good. The Spanish architecture mixed with the startling bright colors are a bit more drab, and the local customs are similar but not quite as prominent. The people.. ughh the people almost ruined it for me!

   For various reasons I suppose, the people are rude. No chit chat, no politely listening as you attempt to talk in Spanish. Transaction---done. No smile, no help, I am a walking bank card to them and that is all. Ugh. It is the most frusturated I have  been on this whole trip. I understand there are asshole tourists who deserve a punch to the face and a good shot of manners, but shop owners and hostel workers and in the customer service industry. Put a freaking smile on your face!

    ok. It's out of my system.. on to some good stuff.



    After the boder I went to Granada and Leon, volcano towns !
New ones, old ones, erupting ones.. who knows, but if you pay, you can find someone to take you up anyone of them!
  

    I did  an overnight vocano hike on Telika, an active volcano with a 700 m wide crator. Smoke was pouring out of the center, making it hard to breathe and to see the lava underneath. But I did! I saw some freaking lava! Check on the bucket list for sure. The depths of the crator made a groaning crunching sound, which constantly reminded me that its most recent erruption was in 2011. Later when we had made it back to the vehicles, our guides said they were a little worried because of the increased noise and smoke. Pretty happy they told me that after we were out of the danger zone..

My second volcano experience was volcano boarding down Cerro Negro.
This volcano is so recent  that no vegetation grows on the sides, and the ground is hot to touch at the top. Reaching speeds up to 80 km an hour (radar guns are great!) we sled down the front of the volcano on crudely made toboganns. Fun!

After my volcano fun, I carried my dirrty self (ash and dust stick to everything..)  to Ometepe. Ometepe is an island formed by volcanoes (who would have thunked!)that sits in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, the biggest lake in Central America. This lake drains into the Carribean although it is closer to the Pacific. and is succeptable to fresh water bull sharks and back in  the day, Pirates.

    For unknown reasons, I had bag issues on the island. At the music festival all my gear in my day pack was stolen, and in the morning I couldn't summon up where I had left my large backpack. I spend a good chunk of the day on a rented bike, cruising around hoping to see the hostel that would jostle my memory.

    Bag found, and ferried back to the mainland I headed for San Juan Del Sur, and our Christmas house!

    The Christmas house was a mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It had a pool, statues and a open style layout . You could open up three sides of the rooms, by sliding the mesh walls and the lack of bugs insured that we kept them open pretty much the whole time.
    8 of my new friends and I split the costs of this and a 4x4 to get there, not to mention copious amounts of food.. and *cough* 49 bottles of rum. We split cooking and cleaning up and survived it all without major dilemma. It was a great orphans christmas!

   The house was good but the beach is spectacular. This time a round I merely sat beside it in the sand and took quick swims. My brief struggle with surfing has stopped.. on the realization that the surfboard (and teammate "wave" ) was always going to win.
I had beach fires, complete with energy circles and massage sessions. ( All curtesy of "Shine"the self made spirit guide..)

    I saw thousands of crabs all washed up and having a group pow wow on the beach, and baby sea turtles (the ones that survived being poached) make their way to sea.
In four days of living in a hammock by the ocean I demolished three novels, ate out every meal, enjoyed my share of treats and rum, swam and played volleyball  all for a grand total of 27 dollars.
Ahhhh.. swweet paradise.

    This beach style living, specatular as it was, gave way to an unfortuante parasite.. that resulted in some ugly open sores. Ughh. Apparently caused by special Central American sandflies.. I got the special treat of a blood infection.

 Antibiotics should make these devils disapear, just in time!
I am on my way to Honduras to teach English for 2 months to second year Highschool students. Hopefully I dont look like a beast when I show up.. Please work drugs, PleaSE!