Hey everyone! It's Leah! I'm really sorry for the late late post. You see... what had happened was.. we all had a full day and everyone was way tired, so us high schoolers and our ways naturally procrastinated the start of the blog until the late hours of the night haha. "Chel-bee", also known as Shelby G, apologized a million times for the late hour, but i didn't mind at all!! No problem Shelby :) . So I got on and wrote my little heart out until 2:35 A.M only to find out that the internet broke down on me and deleted all of my work. hahahhh. I was a bit frustrated, but I even shocked myself of how relaxed I was about the computer killing my blog. I guess the Honduran life-style really got to me! :D So here is my short blog about the hike to Eloisa's house. :)
It was like any other mornig, waking up at the early hours of the day, coming down to the pool to have some ...french toast. Don't get me wrong, food is great, but it was the first day after three days that my bowels weren't angry at me and destroying toilets. So i wasn't really feeling the french toast. Nevertheless, food os fuel, and not knowing whether i wanted to do the hike or not, I knew i would need some seriouus fuel this day either way.
We got on the bus and headed off to the hogar to drop off the cheerleaders for the soccer tournament. Stewart stood up and asked who was going to the game. I looked around to see who was going and contemplated watching soccer (my ffavorite sport of all), or going on this hike that i REALLY wanted to go on. Since i was too late to raise my hand to go to the game and didn't want to mess up Stewart's head count, I felt better knowing that i was going to get a good work out and a mind altering experience. we headed over to the base of the mountain and got out. To be honest, i didn't want to step off the bus because regardless of what my mind was telling me, i was physically and mentally exhausted. Little did I know, I would soon become emotionally exhausted as well...
We stepped off the bus, applied the usual gallon of sunscreen, two gallons of bug spray, and were off. We sort of broke up into 3 groups, a faster one (Stacey, Stewart, Brian, and Jesus), a reasonably paced one (Nikki, Bree S, Steve, Nick, Ryan, and I), and Glennon, Kyla, Aubrey, and McKenna, who dropped by a few houses on the way up to give out some more goods. (I hope I didn't miss anyone!) This hike was breath taking! Litterally. hahahah. The first third was super steep, with long stretches of steep, and in my mind i was just begging for a short break, but I kept on singing "she'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes", and trooped on. It was beautiful in the jungle. If you have ever seen "The Wild Thornberries", a kids show about traveling all over the world, it totally reminded me of that, but times 4,759,446. haha! It was amazing! I have never seen a view like that one. Lush shades of green as far as you could see, then looking up, a rich carribean blue with a bit of a mist in the air, and to the right a bright green rolling hill. Bree and i quickly snapped a shot of us and the view and were off. "Oh my Lanta", we suddenly came to a fork in the trails and had to decide which way was the way. we used common sense and took the more worn way. Thankfully, in the end we realized both trails connected, so eitherr way we were alright. Trucking along, we randomly found ourselves confused and walking through a family of cows along a barbed wire fence. Worried that we made a wrong turn, we concluded that we'd just stay put and wait for the others so we wouldn't get lost. Within minutes, Kevin, the boy who's house we were hiking to, surfaced from the jungle and showed us the gate that we were looking for. no wonder we didn't see the gate. It was sticks connected to barbed wire, and you just pull the wire off of one stick and hop on through the opening that was made. Surprised and relieved, we found ourselves at the house! they warm heartedly invited us in and showed us around. They had a muddy pond where they raised Talapia (a kind of fish), a cute box of kittens that immediately stole Stacey's attention, some dogs, cattle, and chickens.
A few days before, I had been talking with Paola's family, (another family in the jungle), and they told me about how pretty Eloisa's house was. With what they described to me about the beauty, I was expecting a small house, maybe like my own, with a tile floor, windows, and painted walls, you know what I mean. But when we arriived, it was a small farm house, 2 rooms, made of wood and tin that we would normally throw away here at home, and surrounded by barbed wire. I don't mean to sound rude, but it wasn't what I was expecting after all the beauty that one family described it to be. Anyone back at home would call it a shack, but the families in the jungle called it a beautiful house. The reason why it was so beautiful is because Eloisa's family owned the land. It really opened my eyes and my heart. These families are so happy and thankful with the little that they have, and cherish every little bit of it. The clothes and shoes they have are worn until they fall apart, and you don't see them complaining about what brand it is, or that it may have been a hand-me-down. It really opened my eyes to the materialism and attitude that we live in at home. All along the entire trip, we waved to everybody and said "hola" because we were so happy to see them smile and wave back. (A few of us discussed this on the bus, that most people at home, if you wave to them, they'd be like "what the heck are you waving at" , or "who the heck are you", or the most popular, a pissy, confused look with a not so nice hand gesture.)
But anyways, as we waited for the others to arrive, suddenly the gate opened and there emeerged McKenna Lux on a horse, and the others close behind. It was hilarious! Then, Eloisa's family, being so hospitable, decided to make us "baleadas". Probably the most popular food in Honduras. We didn't want them to make the food for us because we wanted them to have it and just ate not too long before, but they inisisted, so the least we would do was help them make the food with the newly acquired baleada making skills we learned days before.
While we waited for the food to cook, Nick, Brian, and I went up to play soccer with the kids on a small flat spot on the mountain, about the size of my living room. The ball we used was an old, flat, ripped, green basketball. If i could do anything differently, it'd be bring more donations. Soccerballs and shoes to be specific. These kids are gnarly at soccer. They are, how they described themselves, "chancheros animales", which the kids described to me as butchers, leaving you bruised after a short game! And so true!! Can I say that the top of my left foot is black and bruised, and my right ankle is swollen, also covered in bug bites.. hahaha! Nonetheless, it was a blast playing with these kids!! They were fearless, jumping in the dense trees and bushes to get the ball, or playing through the barbed wire. I wish I was just as tough as them! Just in time, the food was ready and we all ran down to get our scrumpdidliumptious baleadas. As we sat, our group was putting together a monetary donation for the family, which was for most of us, the last limperas we had, (which was a tad problematic when we got back our devastating laundry bills). We handed Eloisa's mother the money, and you could see the smile light up on her face. We put together about 55 dollars, which was more than a month's salary for this family. They were very thankful. It made us realize how blessed we are.
Soon, the time came to go back down to meet the rest of the group. We said our goodbyes, and hiked back down with a few of the younger locals who were just excited to hang out with us. Along the way, Glennon slipped and hurt her ankle, but she quickly recovered because she has the body of a 29 year old. ;) A+ in history class? Yeah? haha Just kidding :) Anyways, she was fine and we made it back down safely. It also came time to say our goodbyes to the locals and immediately, Ms. Glennon began to "sweat from her eyes", which got the rest of us to do the same. Who can watch someone cry and not cry themselves? Except for Nick, he was pretty strong, but he admitted to being extremely sad. It was really really hard to say goodbye to these kids even though we only met them either that day, or days before. As I write this, my heart is sinking. As I said goodbye to Diana, one of the local girls, I broke down and was surprised that she could understand what I was trying to say, and I gave her my BYU hat and told her that it's the university that I am going to attend, and that I wouldn't forget her and that I didn't want her to forget me either. It was a hard thing to do, while little did i know once again, that later that night I would practically use all the tears I had left in my system. We walked over to the Jungle School and waited for the others to meet up with us. We ate some food, but were still kind of full from the baleadas so we happily shared our meals with the kids and families around us. They were very grateful and thanked us with hugs and kisses. Brianna M, Harper, and Kylie showed us and told us that the others went in a different car and were waiting at the hotel. We left to the hotel, but didn't find them, so a few of our group took a taxi to look for the other girls. We were a bit worried, but not too worried because I knew that they wanted to use up their down time walking around or shopping. Thankfully, we found them at the hogar, unfortunately, a few of them were not too happy becasue they had sat there doing nothing for a very long time. Though, after everything they were safe and desperate to take some showers.
We all got ready by 3:45 and left for the saddest night of the trip. It was definitely hard. Shelby summed the night up very well. It was ..wow.. it was hard. Telling the kids goodbye was the worst. I became a pathetic sap and tried to talk while crying, but it was unsuccessful. Those kids deserve so much, and even though I did as much as I could, I was disappointed that I didn't do more. Ahhh, my eyes are getting watery!!! I will forever have their cute little faces ingrained in my heart. Though the goodbye was terrible, I know that I will see them again, maybe not in this life, but I know for sure with all my heart and faith, that I will see them again in the next life, and they will be so blessed for being the amazingly strong, faithful souls that they are.
Going on the hike really opened my eyes and my heart and showed me a lot of things that i take for granted. It showed me what some kids have to go through just to get an education..or anything for that matter. It was super intense. it has made me appreciate all that I have and all the opportunities that are open to me. i am so glad that i chose the hike because it has opened my eyes to all that i can do to help others. This trip has been an amazing expeience that I would not change for the world! Getting to know those kids and the group that we went down with was an amazing heart warming experience. There is hope for the world!!! :D
Oh yeah, i forgot to mention while Glennon, McKenna, Aubrey, and Kyla were on their way up to the house, a Coral Snake crossed their path, and some 9 year old local boys killed it with some rocks and threw it into the jungle. he...hee..heeee
Love you all and all that i have! :D Don't take anything for granted, because we are all so blessed!! :)
Leah Tangedal
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Saturday
Hello! This is Shelby Grates, reflecting on the seventh day of the trip. It's late, and I'm rushing, so I apologize for any typos and problems with grammar.
Today was the last full day of our adventure here in Honduras. We came down for the usual pool side breakfast, and we were off by 7:45. Some of the boys at the Hogar de Amor were participating in a soccer tournament that day, and our group was torn between going to the game to support the team and hiking the long trek to Eloisa's house. Some of us were either too tired to go on the hike or just wanted to support the team, therefore we split up and Chloe, Shelby B., Harper, Bri M., Alexis, Danielle, Kylie and myself were dropped off at the Hogar de Amor to drive with them to a different Hogar where they would be competing. The rest of the group bravely headed off to face the long, yet surely rewarding hike to Eloisa's house. Since there were two different experiences shared today, I will be focusing on the boys' soccer game and the events that followed, and Leah's blog post will focus on the hike.
When we arrived at the Hogar de Amor, we were excited to see the boys in their yellow Leones uniforms, high in spirits. After visiting for a few moments, we squeezed into the van, several of us with kids on our laps. As we drove, we talked and sang either Spanish or English songs that we all knew. We arrived at the other Hogar, something that appeared quite different than the Hogar de Amor. Its large, intimidating gate opened and revealed a Hogar that was truly beautiful. It was a huge piece of land, and took us a while to actually reach the soccer field. When we got out of the van, we were greeted by a woman who called the large group of kids there her sons, and told us that the ages ranged from seven to twenty-three. From there we walked to the field, where we met a woman who moved to Honduras from Florida with her two children, who played along perfectly with the children at the Hogar. She seemed so content, like she knew helping the kids at this Hogar was what she needed to do. It made us wonder what it would be like if we were to give everything up to move to a place to help others. She seemed so happy, and while Honduras is so vastly different from California or America as a whole, the kids at the Hogar she volunteers at must have the same affect that the Kids at the Hogar de Amor and the Jungle School have had on our group. They have made us feel so welcomed by this country, no matter how different or uncomfortable it may appear to be.
We then took our seats in the shade with the kids from the Hogar de Amor who were not participating in the game, ready to cheer them on. After a prayer and team cheer on, they were off. We were all surprised by how well the kids played, considering that they have no where near the amount of land that the kids at this Hogar do, and didn't really have anywhere to practice. They were genuinely focused on having fun and enjoying the game, but it was clear that they hoped to win. They won the first game against the orange team with a score of 2 to 0, and while we waited for our team to play and the other two teams played, this activity packed week truly got the best of us and we all fell asleep right in the grass, but we were up and energized for the next game. Our team played the blue team next, and after much effort, fantastic team work, and some encouraging dancing from the girls, team Leones scored a point, thus winning the tournament. The pride and excitement was clear in the eyes of the boys. We congratulated them, then they posed with their trophy for pictures (David later told us this was their first trophy they ever received), and then it was time to leave.
During this week, we have seen how a common form of transportation is hopping in the back of a pick up truck, so Danielle, Alexis, Shelby, Amanda, Chloe and I decided we had to do this before we left. Bri, Harper, and Kylie went in a different car. We hopped in the back of the truck along with another guy who was a supporter of the Leones and were driven by a friend of David. We were headed off to the Hogar de Amor. After a few minutes of driving, our paranoia set in. We began wondering if we did actually know these people (although David saw us get in the car), if they knew where we were going, and if this trip was about to turn out like the movie Taken. With no Liam Neeson type to save us, we stupidly began planning to jump out and run at a stop sign, but since everything was familiar around us, we decided to go for a little while longer. We stopped to get coconuts, and the driver bought each of us one to drink, but our skepticism of the situation only heightened. We took a different route to the Hogar, and right before we officially decided to jump out and run, we arrived at the Hogar. We then couldn´t help but laugh at our paranoia, but hey, at least we were cautious!
The chaos continued, unfortunately. We realized after a few minutes of waiting that we were stranded at the Hogar, as the rest of the group continued on to the Jungle School to distribute donated backpacks to the children. We thought we could relax after our adventure, but we became only more nervous. We contemplated what to do, and began worrying about how much the rest of the group would freak when they realized we were missing. Our hunger overpowered us, so a few of us walked down to a small little food place and got some baleadas. After returning and seeing that no one had come for us, we borrowed one of the Tias' phones and called David to tell him where we were. Apparently, he wasn't too concerned and was more focused on distributing the backpacks and didn't tell the rest of the group where we were. While we waited at the Hogar with nothing to do, a few of us colored My Little Pony pictures while others caught some much needed sleep. We watched the time pass, and wondered why no one had come for us.
After a little while, we saw Kyla, Harper and Nick at the gate of the Hogar and were extremely relieved. They seemed to be as well, thankful that our day didn't turn into the plot of Taken. We jumped in a taxi and arrived at the hotel where we had only moments to make ourselves presentable and less smelly for the party the kids, the Tias, and David were throwing for us at the Hogar de Amor. When we arrived, we were all so excited to see the kids, but knew that we would have to say goodbye in just a few hours, but we attempted to suppress this thought in order to value the last moments we would have with the kids.
After visiting and playing for a little while, the kids surprised us with a little presentation they put together. David began by talking about the kids' situation a bit and thanking us for our time and work. Paola and a few others hosted the event, introducing the performers. The younger girls put a cute little dance together, and the older girls followed with a very impressive dance as well. Moises and Venancio came out with the goofy glasses I gave the kids (which I was very pleased to see went to good use), colorful blankets around them, silly hats, and toothbrushes that hung off the hats. They acted out a little conflict, and we were all dying of laughter. Then, it was time for a few people to say things. A few kids from the Hogar got up and thanked us for our time and compassion, and how they loved sharing so much time with us this past week. It brought tears to our eyes. Then, Steve got up, got choked up and discussed what a great week it has been and how much work we were able to accomplish. This definitely opened the flood gates. Then, Nick got up and discussed how thankful he was for the people on the trip and how wonderful it was to get to know everyone better. He thanked the kids for providing us with wonderful experiences. Jesus was next, and I knew I would continue crying. He got up and said how appreciative he was of all our good attitudes and thanked everyone for making this trip so wonderful. He got choked up when he said that he truly felt like he made some new and long-lasting friends, which definitely made us all cry even harder.
After our cheeks were stained with tears, it was time for the piñata, where each child got five chances at hitting the pinata. Nick held the rope and yanked it up and down. Though each child definitely showed their strength with each string, the piñata was stubborn, but it finally broke and the kids all ran to swoop up the candy. Then we were served ice cream, and the kids put on some music and Brian brought out his strobe light. The kids grabbed us to dance, and impressed us with their fantastic dancing skills.
After much dancing, the dreaded moment arrived, and the bus pulled up to take us to dinner. It was time to say goodbye to the kids. The tears were instantaneous. Reina hugged me, and I completely lost it. I looked around to see that everyone was doing the same. She asked me when I would be back, and though I knew that I must come back, it was an awful feeling to not be able to tell her when. I said that I didn´t know, but hopefully soon. I said "soon" in English, not knowing the appropriate Spanish word, and when her eyes brightened and said "In June?`" my heart broke when I had to tell her no, that I didn´t know, but it will be as soon as possible. I then said goodbye to Mercedes, someone who I was dreading saying goodbye to. When she saw me wet eyes, she said "I love you" in English, and it was the most precious thing I have ever heard. I told her I loved her as well, gave her a matching bracelet and a note that Aubrey and I wrote for her (I'll admit it- I had to use Google translator) and hugged her once more. I looked around to see all my peers sobbing, giving the children notes, candy, and anything they could. Mrs. Glennon urged us to jump onto the bus because saying goodbye wasn´t going to get any easier. We said our goodbyes to everyone we could. Just when I thought I had myself gathered, I looked at McKenna, who was holding Lula, and they were both sobbing to one another, and I lost it once more. Saying goodbye brought us all to tears, and even sobs. We slowly made our way to the bus, saying goodbye once more to every child we could before taking our seats. The kids ran to the fence, some of them crying, yelling out names to say goodbye to. Once we were all on the bus, Mrs.Glennon eased the tension by saying, "If you´re pathetic and you know it, clap your hands!" and without hesitation, we all clapped, and then managed to giggle amongst our tears. After a few minutes of laughing and crying, Mrs. Glennon said,"By the way, I love all of you on this bus," and that simple statement truly defined how I felt at the moment.
I still can not believe this week happened. I was able to share absolutely incredible experiences with some of the best people. I truly couldn´t have asked for a better group of people to share this experience with. As most will agree, it is so easy to let the people who seem to let drama and less important things dominate their lives to cause us to lose hope, and sometimes, we even lose hope in ourselves when the pressures of a fast-paced society get the best of us. This trip has truly restored my hope. I can not believe how compassionate and driven each person on this trip is, and how much of an effort they put into making this trip incredible.
So while most of us are in our rooms packing and preparing for our early departure, we look at our clothing and things as nothing. We will be bringing home with us more than just souvenirs, mosquito bites, dirt, and even a few bugs in our hair. We are bringing home with us a new appreciation. We are so blessed to live in the country that we do, and while even I will admit to being caught up in all the issues and materialism of the nation, I can´t help but feel so grateful for everything we have, like the paved roads, the clean(ish) air, the toilets that flush, the clean food, the fully intact buildings, the lack of bugs, and safety and rights the government provides us. However, there is something that America will never be able to give us that Honduras did. There is a love here that can not be explained. The kids truly love one another. They realy live in home full of love. They don´t need all the materialistic things we claim to need. They only need love. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this is something our nation, fogged with the importance of appearance and status could have never showed us. So while the living conditions of Honduras may not be glittery and glamorous, there is a lot of love here, and I can't begin to describe how thankful I am to have been able to experience this.
It´s 11:35 at night, and poor Leah still has to write. I apologize for the extremely long blog, but I simply couldn´t stop. I just want to give a big thank you to Stacey for planning this entire trip, Kyla for helping and coordinating, the chaperons, and everyone who came for making this week the most rewarding one of my entire life.
We are all sad to leave Honduras, but we can´t wait to see our family and friends.
With much love,
Shelby Grates
Today was the last full day of our adventure here in Honduras. We came down for the usual pool side breakfast, and we were off by 7:45. Some of the boys at the Hogar de Amor were participating in a soccer tournament that day, and our group was torn between going to the game to support the team and hiking the long trek to Eloisa's house. Some of us were either too tired to go on the hike or just wanted to support the team, therefore we split up and Chloe, Shelby B., Harper, Bri M., Alexis, Danielle, Kylie and myself were dropped off at the Hogar de Amor to drive with them to a different Hogar where they would be competing. The rest of the group bravely headed off to face the long, yet surely rewarding hike to Eloisa's house. Since there were two different experiences shared today, I will be focusing on the boys' soccer game and the events that followed, and Leah's blog post will focus on the hike.
When we arrived at the Hogar de Amor, we were excited to see the boys in their yellow Leones uniforms, high in spirits. After visiting for a few moments, we squeezed into the van, several of us with kids on our laps. As we drove, we talked and sang either Spanish or English songs that we all knew. We arrived at the other Hogar, something that appeared quite different than the Hogar de Amor. Its large, intimidating gate opened and revealed a Hogar that was truly beautiful. It was a huge piece of land, and took us a while to actually reach the soccer field. When we got out of the van, we were greeted by a woman who called the large group of kids there her sons, and told us that the ages ranged from seven to twenty-three. From there we walked to the field, where we met a woman who moved to Honduras from Florida with her two children, who played along perfectly with the children at the Hogar. She seemed so content, like she knew helping the kids at this Hogar was what she needed to do. It made us wonder what it would be like if we were to give everything up to move to a place to help others. She seemed so happy, and while Honduras is so vastly different from California or America as a whole, the kids at the Hogar she volunteers at must have the same affect that the Kids at the Hogar de Amor and the Jungle School have had on our group. They have made us feel so welcomed by this country, no matter how different or uncomfortable it may appear to be.
We then took our seats in the shade with the kids from the Hogar de Amor who were not participating in the game, ready to cheer them on. After a prayer and team cheer on, they were off. We were all surprised by how well the kids played, considering that they have no where near the amount of land that the kids at this Hogar do, and didn't really have anywhere to practice. They were genuinely focused on having fun and enjoying the game, but it was clear that they hoped to win. They won the first game against the orange team with a score of 2 to 0, and while we waited for our team to play and the other two teams played, this activity packed week truly got the best of us and we all fell asleep right in the grass, but we were up and energized for the next game. Our team played the blue team next, and after much effort, fantastic team work, and some encouraging dancing from the girls, team Leones scored a point, thus winning the tournament. The pride and excitement was clear in the eyes of the boys. We congratulated them, then they posed with their trophy for pictures (David later told us this was their first trophy they ever received), and then it was time to leave.
During this week, we have seen how a common form of transportation is hopping in the back of a pick up truck, so Danielle, Alexis, Shelby, Amanda, Chloe and I decided we had to do this before we left. Bri, Harper, and Kylie went in a different car. We hopped in the back of the truck along with another guy who was a supporter of the Leones and were driven by a friend of David. We were headed off to the Hogar de Amor. After a few minutes of driving, our paranoia set in. We began wondering if we did actually know these people (although David saw us get in the car), if they knew where we were going, and if this trip was about to turn out like the movie Taken. With no Liam Neeson type to save us, we stupidly began planning to jump out and run at a stop sign, but since everything was familiar around us, we decided to go for a little while longer. We stopped to get coconuts, and the driver bought each of us one to drink, but our skepticism of the situation only heightened. We took a different route to the Hogar, and right before we officially decided to jump out and run, we arrived at the Hogar. We then couldn´t help but laugh at our paranoia, but hey, at least we were cautious!
The chaos continued, unfortunately. We realized after a few minutes of waiting that we were stranded at the Hogar, as the rest of the group continued on to the Jungle School to distribute donated backpacks to the children. We thought we could relax after our adventure, but we became only more nervous. We contemplated what to do, and began worrying about how much the rest of the group would freak when they realized we were missing. Our hunger overpowered us, so a few of us walked down to a small little food place and got some baleadas. After returning and seeing that no one had come for us, we borrowed one of the Tias' phones and called David to tell him where we were. Apparently, he wasn't too concerned and was more focused on distributing the backpacks and didn't tell the rest of the group where we were. While we waited at the Hogar with nothing to do, a few of us colored My Little Pony pictures while others caught some much needed sleep. We watched the time pass, and wondered why no one had come for us.
After a little while, we saw Kyla, Harper and Nick at the gate of the Hogar and were extremely relieved. They seemed to be as well, thankful that our day didn't turn into the plot of Taken. We jumped in a taxi and arrived at the hotel where we had only moments to make ourselves presentable and less smelly for the party the kids, the Tias, and David were throwing for us at the Hogar de Amor. When we arrived, we were all so excited to see the kids, but knew that we would have to say goodbye in just a few hours, but we attempted to suppress this thought in order to value the last moments we would have with the kids.
After visiting and playing for a little while, the kids surprised us with a little presentation they put together. David began by talking about the kids' situation a bit and thanking us for our time and work. Paola and a few others hosted the event, introducing the performers. The younger girls put a cute little dance together, and the older girls followed with a very impressive dance as well. Moises and Venancio came out with the goofy glasses I gave the kids (which I was very pleased to see went to good use), colorful blankets around them, silly hats, and toothbrushes that hung off the hats. They acted out a little conflict, and we were all dying of laughter. Then, it was time for a few people to say things. A few kids from the Hogar got up and thanked us for our time and compassion, and how they loved sharing so much time with us this past week. It brought tears to our eyes. Then, Steve got up, got choked up and discussed what a great week it has been and how much work we were able to accomplish. This definitely opened the flood gates. Then, Nick got up and discussed how thankful he was for the people on the trip and how wonderful it was to get to know everyone better. He thanked the kids for providing us with wonderful experiences. Jesus was next, and I knew I would continue crying. He got up and said how appreciative he was of all our good attitudes and thanked everyone for making this trip so wonderful. He got choked up when he said that he truly felt like he made some new and long-lasting friends, which definitely made us all cry even harder.
After our cheeks were stained with tears, it was time for the piñata, where each child got five chances at hitting the pinata. Nick held the rope and yanked it up and down. Though each child definitely showed their strength with each string, the piñata was stubborn, but it finally broke and the kids all ran to swoop up the candy. Then we were served ice cream, and the kids put on some music and Brian brought out his strobe light. The kids grabbed us to dance, and impressed us with their fantastic dancing skills.
After much dancing, the dreaded moment arrived, and the bus pulled up to take us to dinner. It was time to say goodbye to the kids. The tears were instantaneous. Reina hugged me, and I completely lost it. I looked around to see that everyone was doing the same. She asked me when I would be back, and though I knew that I must come back, it was an awful feeling to not be able to tell her when. I said that I didn´t know, but hopefully soon. I said "soon" in English, not knowing the appropriate Spanish word, and when her eyes brightened and said "In June?`" my heart broke when I had to tell her no, that I didn´t know, but it will be as soon as possible. I then said goodbye to Mercedes, someone who I was dreading saying goodbye to. When she saw me wet eyes, she said "I love you" in English, and it was the most precious thing I have ever heard. I told her I loved her as well, gave her a matching bracelet and a note that Aubrey and I wrote for her (I'll admit it- I had to use Google translator) and hugged her once more. I looked around to see all my peers sobbing, giving the children notes, candy, and anything they could. Mrs. Glennon urged us to jump onto the bus because saying goodbye wasn´t going to get any easier. We said our goodbyes to everyone we could. Just when I thought I had myself gathered, I looked at McKenna, who was holding Lula, and they were both sobbing to one another, and I lost it once more. Saying goodbye brought us all to tears, and even sobs. We slowly made our way to the bus, saying goodbye once more to every child we could before taking our seats. The kids ran to the fence, some of them crying, yelling out names to say goodbye to. Once we were all on the bus, Mrs.Glennon eased the tension by saying, "If you´re pathetic and you know it, clap your hands!" and without hesitation, we all clapped, and then managed to giggle amongst our tears. After a few minutes of laughing and crying, Mrs. Glennon said,"By the way, I love all of you on this bus," and that simple statement truly defined how I felt at the moment.
I still can not believe this week happened. I was able to share absolutely incredible experiences with some of the best people. I truly couldn´t have asked for a better group of people to share this experience with. As most will agree, it is so easy to let the people who seem to let drama and less important things dominate their lives to cause us to lose hope, and sometimes, we even lose hope in ourselves when the pressures of a fast-paced society get the best of us. This trip has truly restored my hope. I can not believe how compassionate and driven each person on this trip is, and how much of an effort they put into making this trip incredible.
So while most of us are in our rooms packing and preparing for our early departure, we look at our clothing and things as nothing. We will be bringing home with us more than just souvenirs, mosquito bites, dirt, and even a few bugs in our hair. We are bringing home with us a new appreciation. We are so blessed to live in the country that we do, and while even I will admit to being caught up in all the issues and materialism of the nation, I can´t help but feel so grateful for everything we have, like the paved roads, the clean(ish) air, the toilets that flush, the clean food, the fully intact buildings, the lack of bugs, and safety and rights the government provides us. However, there is something that America will never be able to give us that Honduras did. There is a love here that can not be explained. The kids truly love one another. They realy live in home full of love. They don´t need all the materialistic things we claim to need. They only need love. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this is something our nation, fogged with the importance of appearance and status could have never showed us. So while the living conditions of Honduras may not be glittery and glamorous, there is a lot of love here, and I can't begin to describe how thankful I am to have been able to experience this.
It´s 11:35 at night, and poor Leah still has to write. I apologize for the extremely long blog, but I simply couldn´t stop. I just want to give a big thank you to Stacey for planning this entire trip, Kyla for helping and coordinating, the chaperons, and everyone who came for making this week the most rewarding one of my entire life.
We are all sad to leave Honduras, but we can´t wait to see our family and friends.
With much love,
Shelby Grates
Day Six
This is McKenna blogging about our sixth day here.
After a fun-filled day at Cayos Cochinos, we went back to work today. Instead of hauling sand bags up the 120 stairs at the Jungle School, we hauled concrete across a trail the boys made a few days ago. We were working on a dam which has been in progress all week, and we completed the task today. We passed buckets down an assembly line, and definitely stayed entertained as we sang, told stories, and chased empty buckets down the hill as we dropped them. Jesus and Leah impressed us all with their impersonations of chickens and monkeys, and Alexis swang from branch to branch pretending to be a "mono" (Spanish for "monkey" for those who lack language skills, like myself).The boys moved between this task and bringing bags of rice up from the road. Seeing as it is April Fools Day, we also played practical jokes on each other throughout the day, though only few were successful. We finished work relatively early and got to see the kids before they left school. Though we had just finished a three hour workday, the kids cheered us right up with their bright, smiling faces and cheerful personas. When they left for home, we ate a quick lunch then got back on the road. Steve and Brian Baker stayed behind and helped put the finishing touches on the dam. Our last day at the Jungle School was a little emotional, though it was not our last day with the kids. We departed knowing our hard work will greatly help the school and the kids.
We next visited the new site of the Hogar de Amor. It is currently under construction, and was a potential site for work this week. However, I think we were all happy to have worked at the Jungle School with the kids and lower temperatures. We briefly looked around and admired the kids´future home, which was significantly larger than the current home. This will allow for 10 rooms versus the current 3, and make room available for more children in the Hogar. After a long day of work, our tempers were running a little short, but Leah eased tensions by signing "If You´re Happy and You Know It" on the ride back to the hotel. With two hours between then and visitng the Hogar, we dispersed as some went for a walk, hung out in the lobby, or caught up on some sleep. It seemed odd having "free time" as we have been so busy this week, but we all enjoyed a little time to ourselves.
Seeing the kids is never a boring experience. Though some kids from the Hogar were getting a jump start on their weekend homework--something unheard of back home--they all enjoyed our time together. Danielle took poloroid pictures and the kids made frames. Many kids wrote notes to each other, which brought out our emotions a little early. Playtime did not fail in bringing memorable stories. We found a bird nesting in the yard, and when I asked Harrison how to say "bird" in Spanish, he jokingly replied "comida," which means food, not bird. Santos channeled his agressive side and bit Aubrey in the face. Jesus and Brian had to mediate and tell Santos biting is not a friendly thing to do. We all enjoyed spending time with the kids, making arts, crafts, and memories. Many children framed our pictures and gave them out as gifts, knowing we would always remember our joyful times.
Come 6 o´clock, we returned to the hotel. Bri M, Erica, and Kylee attended church in the time before dinner, while the rest of us went for a walk around town or hung out in our room. Kyla performed lice checks on some of us, and Stacey helped Kyla search for lice in Bri M´s head. For dinner, we enjoyed beans, plantains, and chicken around the pool, and soaked up each other´s company. After dinner, some headed out for a night of dancing and others went for a dip in the hotel pool. Shelby Byer, Shelby Grates, Harper, Alexis, Chloe, Nick, Amanda, Brian, Bri M, Jesus, Kyla, and I were escorted by Stuart and Steve to go dancing. Though the security guards were initially hesitant to grant us entrance because of Nick´s intimidating muscle-tee, he switched shirts with Bri M. and we were let inside. We were the first on the dance floor and did not care if we looked like fools, because we were having fun and busting out our most obscure, yet fun dance moves. After an hour of dancing, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big day ahead of us. Sleep will definitely come easy tonight.
Goodnight.
After a fun-filled day at Cayos Cochinos, we went back to work today. Instead of hauling sand bags up the 120 stairs at the Jungle School, we hauled concrete across a trail the boys made a few days ago. We were working on a dam which has been in progress all week, and we completed the task today. We passed buckets down an assembly line, and definitely stayed entertained as we sang, told stories, and chased empty buckets down the hill as we dropped them. Jesus and Leah impressed us all with their impersonations of chickens and monkeys, and Alexis swang from branch to branch pretending to be a "mono" (Spanish for "monkey" for those who lack language skills, like myself).The boys moved between this task and bringing bags of rice up from the road. Seeing as it is April Fools Day, we also played practical jokes on each other throughout the day, though only few were successful. We finished work relatively early and got to see the kids before they left school. Though we had just finished a three hour workday, the kids cheered us right up with their bright, smiling faces and cheerful personas. When they left for home, we ate a quick lunch then got back on the road. Steve and Brian Baker stayed behind and helped put the finishing touches on the dam. Our last day at the Jungle School was a little emotional, though it was not our last day with the kids. We departed knowing our hard work will greatly help the school and the kids.
We next visited the new site of the Hogar de Amor. It is currently under construction, and was a potential site for work this week. However, I think we were all happy to have worked at the Jungle School with the kids and lower temperatures. We briefly looked around and admired the kids´future home, which was significantly larger than the current home. This will allow for 10 rooms versus the current 3, and make room available for more children in the Hogar. After a long day of work, our tempers were running a little short, but Leah eased tensions by signing "If You´re Happy and You Know It" on the ride back to the hotel. With two hours between then and visitng the Hogar, we dispersed as some went for a walk, hung out in the lobby, or caught up on some sleep. It seemed odd having "free time" as we have been so busy this week, but we all enjoyed a little time to ourselves.
Seeing the kids is never a boring experience. Though some kids from the Hogar were getting a jump start on their weekend homework--something unheard of back home--they all enjoyed our time together. Danielle took poloroid pictures and the kids made frames. Many kids wrote notes to each other, which brought out our emotions a little early. Playtime did not fail in bringing memorable stories. We found a bird nesting in the yard, and when I asked Harrison how to say "bird" in Spanish, he jokingly replied "comida," which means food, not bird. Santos channeled his agressive side and bit Aubrey in the face. Jesus and Brian had to mediate and tell Santos biting is not a friendly thing to do. We all enjoyed spending time with the kids, making arts, crafts, and memories. Many children framed our pictures and gave them out as gifts, knowing we would always remember our joyful times.
Come 6 o´clock, we returned to the hotel. Bri M, Erica, and Kylee attended church in the time before dinner, while the rest of us went for a walk around town or hung out in our room. Kyla performed lice checks on some of us, and Stacey helped Kyla search for lice in Bri M´s head. For dinner, we enjoyed beans, plantains, and chicken around the pool, and soaked up each other´s company. After dinner, some headed out for a night of dancing and others went for a dip in the hotel pool. Shelby Byer, Shelby Grates, Harper, Alexis, Chloe, Nick, Amanda, Brian, Bri M, Jesus, Kyla, and I were escorted by Stuart and Steve to go dancing. Though the security guards were initially hesitant to grant us entrance because of Nick´s intimidating muscle-tee, he switched shirts with Bri M. and we were let inside. We were the first on the dance floor and did not care if we looked like fools, because we were having fun and busting out our most obscure, yet fun dance moves. After an hour of dancing, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big day ahead of us. Sleep will definitely come easy tonight.
Goodnight.
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