Do you ever get the feeling that you really have no clue what is happening? That, despite seeing things clearly, you are one or more steps behind the parade? I think that is the story of my life.
Today is the Honduran National Election. I have seen people carrying sample ballots which are enormous with 20-30 pictures on them. To be honest, I have no idea what all is being voted for. I think that even the mayor’s position is being voted on. The confusing thing about that is he won some sort of election last year. Was it, as I think I understood from translation, that he won the election to run in the election? Sigh. That is too confusing. Talk about seeing men as trees walking.
Overnight, the streets around the city centre were festooned with long strings of banners and pennants advertising various candidates. I recognized a number of them standing near the polling station to greet and, I presume, influence the voters. Things were very peaceful and festive. The last two days have seen an increase in police and military activity as they seek to forestall any violence today. Every vehicle was being stopped on highways and passengers asked to step out to be searched and to allow the vehicles to be searched. One of my workers took over three hours to make the usual one and a half hour trip from San Pedro Sula.
This morning I went to church to sing with the choir. There are only six chairs for the singers (the rest of the space being taken up by bongo drums, regular drums, three types of guitars and an electric piano) so you have to really be first string to get a chair. A level up from that are the four people who get microphones. The leader of the group has been quite excited about having me practice with them and today he worked it so I got one of the chairs. I find it so amusing to be second and third string. The last time I was second string in a choir was the first two months of High School Choir in 1972. It really is a great deal of fun to just go along for the ride. I don’t mind as most of the songs are memorized by the singers and, if I am lucky, have the words scrunched on to poor quality Xerox copies (never all the songs). So, I have to learn the tune, learn where the line divisions are (what ... you wanted the lines separated??) and how the words go with the music. The Spanish versions of songs seem, to me, more than with other languages I have sung in, find ways to squeeze extra words in at every opportunity. Often, this boy is scrambling as the parade disappears around the next corner. As long as I stay ahead of the guys with the shovels and the street cleaners I am okay ... I guess.
The service had started and we were singing the acclamation for the Gospel reading. I noticed that the priest’s assistance was looking at us and motioning for us to keep singing. Well, the musicians picked up on the signal and we rolled through the song a second time. Still motioning. Third time (great for me because I was now fairly sure of the tune and able to keep up readily) and I finally saw what we were waiting for. A coffin was being carried down the aisle to set on the long wooden bench waiting (it had been brought out just as the service was starting).
The service continued and, just as the communion was being readied, someone remembered that the baptismal candle should be out and lit. It was brought out and stuffed between the bench and the altar steps. My long acquaintance with Murphy’s law foresaw trouble. I was right. Just before communion was to be served, the family very kindly thought to move the coffin so that the people could come forward for the elements. You guessed it. As soon as the bench was moved over went the candle. The assistant rushed to rescue it and things were soon reorganized. I kept eyes firmly on my music so as not to chance finding a twinkle in the eyes of anyone else.
A list of students is now on the wall. Tables were delivered on Thursday and tomorrow we will get the computers, all freshly loaded with programs and materials, organized and readied. The school yard has been given a makeover by my “projects” man. I hope that my next posting will begin talking about individual students rather than my adventures.
Yesterday I went out to see Bernabe, the bee man. He has been moving the hives to a new location to rescue them from a man who decided to cut all the trees down in the area they were in. I took a couple lassos along so that it would be easier to pull the cart with the beehives. Three more hives to move. I will be sooooo glad when that is all settled. As I left, the lady of the house sent me off with a bag of tangerine oranges. What a lovely gift.
I walked out to the main road (only a mile and a half) and stopped to talk to a man raising chickens on a small scale (great to see competition to the massive farms of Cargill) with no need for electronic equipment and such. Further down the road I stopped to talk to a lady who is growing passion fruit using living trees, barbed wire and string for support. Great to see these innovative ways of production. That is what I hope to encourage ... that step above subsistence farming but one that provides a dignified living without demanding destruction of the environment or community.
At home I was able to visit with my neighbour for an hour or so before calling it a day.
TTYL
bb
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Turning Fifteen
A girl’s fifteenth birthday is a very special celebration here in Honduras. Last night I attended a special mass for a girl’s fifteenth. Silly me, I had the idea that this was going to be a collection of fifteen year old girls all getting a special blessing at the same time. This was reinforced by the large number of young boys dressed in black shirts, pants and sports coats with matching hot pink silk ties and pocket handkerchiefs. I asked one of the music group what these young men’s duty was and they said it was escort duty. As well, looking out the window in between practising hymns, I noticed a few young girls dressed to the nines arriving.
Well, I was wrong. The whole show was for one young lady. After the priest and the altar girls processed down the aisle and the opening hymn was sung, three young girls (I think they were sisters) came down with a pillow (for the chair centered in front of the alter), a second pink pillow (for, I assume, room decoration and memorabilia) and a silver tray with a book and some other things (more on that later).
Following these girls, came the star of the show surrounded by twelve escorts. The young girl was dressed in a rosy pink, satin floor length dress covered at the top with silver filigree and layers of flounces over a well bustled skirt. On her head was a silver tiara and covering her shoulders a sheer pink shawl.
Part of the ceremony involved the parents giving the gifts that had been carried in on the tray. The first was a Bible covered in pink cloth with a ruffle and ribbon ties. A crucifix on a chain and a ring were the other gifts blessed and presented.
One thing that is fascinating in any place is trying to discern the symbols of status. Here in Santa Cruz I think that one of the status symbols is having the money to get a short styled hair cut with a perm. Every other woman has long hair generally tied in the back but let hanging loose for special occasions.
The second mass of the evening was a wedding. As the ceremony proceeded, the bride’s bouquet began disintegrating. Soon flowers were strewn across the front of the church. Eventually one of the flower girl’s bouquets was called into service to end the event. The priest forgot to have the couple sign the registry so the end of the service, which was to feature a procession, sort of disintegrated. By the time the actual recession took place most of the audience had left. Rather anticlimactic, poor girl.
On Friday, I received another lesson in translation ... or rather ... what can get lost in translation. We were going to look at a piece of property fifteen to thirty minutes away. As we were readying to start walking to the property, the people we were with said that we should take a truck to the edge of the property. Well, we did. Once the truck got to the end of the road (bad sign) we began walking. We were heading to a river which bordered the property. Fifty minutes later we were still hiking downhill. You do the math. We stopped when we could see the river although we were still fifteen minutes away and above. After a rest, we began the return trip. Nevertheless, it was a lovely hike through bush, forest, maize fields and cassava plantings. The guide told us that the hike was much too difficult for women. That, of course, made me feel soooooo much better.
I see the storage shelf frames are done at the mechanical shop. They can go to the carpenter’s shop tomorrow. The extra tables we need should be done by the end of the week. We will soon be ready to set students in chairs.
TTYL
Well, I was wrong. The whole show was for one young lady. After the priest and the altar girls processed down the aisle and the opening hymn was sung, three young girls (I think they were sisters) came down with a pillow (for the chair centered in front of the alter), a second pink pillow (for, I assume, room decoration and memorabilia) and a silver tray with a book and some other things (more on that later).
Following these girls, came the star of the show surrounded by twelve escorts. The young girl was dressed in a rosy pink, satin floor length dress covered at the top with silver filigree and layers of flounces over a well bustled skirt. On her head was a silver tiara and covering her shoulders a sheer pink shawl.
Part of the ceremony involved the parents giving the gifts that had been carried in on the tray. The first was a Bible covered in pink cloth with a ruffle and ribbon ties. A crucifix on a chain and a ring were the other gifts blessed and presented.
One thing that is fascinating in any place is trying to discern the symbols of status. Here in Santa Cruz I think that one of the status symbols is having the money to get a short styled hair cut with a perm. Every other woman has long hair generally tied in the back but let hanging loose for special occasions.
The second mass of the evening was a wedding. As the ceremony proceeded, the bride’s bouquet began disintegrating. Soon flowers were strewn across the front of the church. Eventually one of the flower girl’s bouquets was called into service to end the event. The priest forgot to have the couple sign the registry so the end of the service, which was to feature a procession, sort of disintegrated. By the time the actual recession took place most of the audience had left. Rather anticlimactic, poor girl.
On Friday, I received another lesson in translation ... or rather ... what can get lost in translation. We were going to look at a piece of property fifteen to thirty minutes away. As we were readying to start walking to the property, the people we were with said that we should take a truck to the edge of the property. Well, we did. Once the truck got to the end of the road (bad sign) we began walking. We were heading to a river which bordered the property. Fifty minutes later we were still hiking downhill. You do the math. We stopped when we could see the river although we were still fifteen minutes away and above. After a rest, we began the return trip. Nevertheless, it was a lovely hike through bush, forest, maize fields and cassava plantings. The guide told us that the hike was much too difficult for women. That, of course, made me feel soooooo much better.
I see the storage shelf frames are done at the mechanical shop. They can go to the carpenter’s shop tomorrow. The extra tables we need should be done by the end of the week. We will soon be ready to set students in chairs.
TTYL
Monday, November 16, 2009
So ... Was He Paid or Not?
First of all, the game. Sigh. España lost by a goal. Or, as I would say, they were robbed by a referee that made some most unfortunate calls. So very unfortunate were those calls that it was suspiciously suggestive that some extra money may have somehow been passed along at some points. Of course, this being Honduras, that is always the first question that comes to mind in situations like this. Needless to say, the Marathon fans around me were of a different opinion. The evening was great. At the next table were Olimpia fans. One of them was the local magistrate whose office is at City Hall. When Olimpia got the go ahead goal in their game, he was so excited that he whipped off his shirt and waved it exuberantly around his head. It will be a wee bit hard to think of him in sombre judge-like terms after that.
The current political situation in Honduras has some interesting fall out. Judges and lawyers are at a much greater risk now and a number of them have been killed. We were at our lawyer’s office on Wednesday and he was scheduled to attend the funeral of one of his fellow lawyers in the afternoon. As we sat and talked he got a phone call that the funeral had been moved up to the morning so he was unable to attend. As a consequence, he had time to take us to lunch. He suggested the Gran Sula which is located four short blocks from his office, three of which are through the central city square. As we left the building, he and his partner had a long discussion about whether it was safe enough for them to walk that four blocks.
This was a sobering reminder of how many Hondurans, regardless of class, live in fear. Manuel, my director, is always very nervous about travelling with money for salaries, etc. because of the potential for robbery on the bus, as he walks home and so forth. A fellow here in town was taken from a pool hall and killed because, it is reported, he had about $1,000.00 in cash.
Less sobering was the lunch we had. This hotel puts on a typical Honduran food luncheon buffet each Wednesday. It was Honduran food at its very best. The appetizer was a bean and fried pig skin soup. Don’t turn up your nose. It was delicious. The second round of appetizers featured guacamole sauce, small tortillas with spicy topping and some other, not-so-typical salads. The entre had fried plantains with thick cream (the sugar in the plantains caramelizes during the frying so is rather delicious – zero calories when with friends), tomalitos, made from the center of milk corn, with heavy cream, rice and meat from a whole, roasted pig (small but done perfectly) stuffed with rice and hamburger. Dessert was, for me, a white cake soaked in cream and milk topped with whipped cream (tres leches – three milks). Along with all this was fresh baked coconut bread and fresh fruit juices. Not a meal for the faint of heart or a true friend of the arteries but, nevertheless, wonderfully delicious. Needless to say supper was not to be thought of.
Yesterday I was out in Tepiquilares at the housing project. We were with the municipal land survey people to walk the boundaries of the land and then set up a map which will divide the land into twenty-two parts. Each of the families will, by lottery, get to choose two plots so that they will, hopefully, all have access to good land and some of the more rocky land. The maps were not completely accurate and there was some confusion as to the real boundaries. Some of this may have been an attempt by an outside party to carve off a piece for himself but ... it may have been genuine confusion. Hmmm. In the end, it was settled and all the land confirmed. The next maps will be more accurate we hope.
As we measured the land, we passed the current home of one of the project recipients. He and his family of two children currently live in a hovel that consists of three walls made of poles planted in the earth and a fourth wall made of plastic. The whole thing measure about ten square metres or less. All their possessions and night time living is confined to that area. I have no idea how it must be when it is cold and raining cats and dogs. Their new home of concrete blocks and a staggering 500 square feet will be truly phenomenal.
As we were walking the land, Chepe, our board chair, received a phone call. He has been helping a man with work. This man had a drinking problem and, during the night, gotten into a bottle of locally made moonshine of sorts which proved to be toxic. He was rushed to the local clinic but by the time Chepe got there (via walking, bus, three-wheel taxi, boat, bus and so forth), the man had passed away. Now he is faced with the logistics of carrying the man’s body home to his family, arranging a funeral and so forth.
On a brighter note, this afternoon I go to a wedding for Carolina, one of the girls who have been working with us and who is taking Grade Nine in our program. The wedding invitation was flowery and glittery and came complete with a small, plastic bridal couple which can add to the decor of my sparse apartment. The wedding starts at 5 p.m. so festivities will go on till after midnight I am told. Not sure how I will get home. This may be an interesting adventure.
TTYL
bb
The current political situation in Honduras has some interesting fall out. Judges and lawyers are at a much greater risk now and a number of them have been killed. We were at our lawyer’s office on Wednesday and he was scheduled to attend the funeral of one of his fellow lawyers in the afternoon. As we sat and talked he got a phone call that the funeral had been moved up to the morning so he was unable to attend. As a consequence, he had time to take us to lunch. He suggested the Gran Sula which is located four short blocks from his office, three of which are through the central city square. As we left the building, he and his partner had a long discussion about whether it was safe enough for them to walk that four blocks.
This was a sobering reminder of how many Hondurans, regardless of class, live in fear. Manuel, my director, is always very nervous about travelling with money for salaries, etc. because of the potential for robbery on the bus, as he walks home and so forth. A fellow here in town was taken from a pool hall and killed because, it is reported, he had about $1,000.00 in cash.
Less sobering was the lunch we had. This hotel puts on a typical Honduran food luncheon buffet each Wednesday. It was Honduran food at its very best. The appetizer was a bean and fried pig skin soup. Don’t turn up your nose. It was delicious. The second round of appetizers featured guacamole sauce, small tortillas with spicy topping and some other, not-so-typical salads. The entre had fried plantains with thick cream (the sugar in the plantains caramelizes during the frying so is rather delicious – zero calories when with friends), tomalitos, made from the center of milk corn, with heavy cream, rice and meat from a whole, roasted pig (small but done perfectly) stuffed with rice and hamburger. Dessert was, for me, a white cake soaked in cream and milk topped with whipped cream (tres leches – three milks). Along with all this was fresh baked coconut bread and fresh fruit juices. Not a meal for the faint of heart or a true friend of the arteries but, nevertheless, wonderfully delicious. Needless to say supper was not to be thought of.
Yesterday I was out in Tepiquilares at the housing project. We were with the municipal land survey people to walk the boundaries of the land and then set up a map which will divide the land into twenty-two parts. Each of the families will, by lottery, get to choose two plots so that they will, hopefully, all have access to good land and some of the more rocky land. The maps were not completely accurate and there was some confusion as to the real boundaries. Some of this may have been an attempt by an outside party to carve off a piece for himself but ... it may have been genuine confusion. Hmmm. In the end, it was settled and all the land confirmed. The next maps will be more accurate we hope.
As we measured the land, we passed the current home of one of the project recipients. He and his family of two children currently live in a hovel that consists of three walls made of poles planted in the earth and a fourth wall made of plastic. The whole thing measure about ten square metres or less. All their possessions and night time living is confined to that area. I have no idea how it must be when it is cold and raining cats and dogs. Their new home of concrete blocks and a staggering 500 square feet will be truly phenomenal.
As we were walking the land, Chepe, our board chair, received a phone call. He has been helping a man with work. This man had a drinking problem and, during the night, gotten into a bottle of locally made moonshine of sorts which proved to be toxic. He was rushed to the local clinic but by the time Chepe got there (via walking, bus, three-wheel taxi, boat, bus and so forth), the man had passed away. Now he is faced with the logistics of carrying the man’s body home to his family, arranging a funeral and so forth.
On a brighter note, this afternoon I go to a wedding for Carolina, one of the girls who have been working with us and who is taking Grade Nine in our program. The wedding invitation was flowery and glittery and came complete with a small, plastic bridal couple which can add to the decor of my sparse apartment. The wedding starts at 5 p.m. so festivities will go on till after midnight I am told. Not sure how I will get home. This may be an interesting adventure.
TTYL
bb
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Electricity On – Game Night
The second leg of the semi-finals in the Honduran soccer league is on tonight. Real España, the team from San Pedro which I nominally cheer for is down by a goal to their arch rivals, Marathon. They are definitely the underdogs tonight. We will be having supper at the Happy Restaurant so that we can watch the game and enjoy the spectators who will be there watching both semi-final games. It promises to be noisy and lots of fun. I will break down and don my team jersey, more for the fun of everyone’s comments than true blue loyalty.
We have spent the day going from one town official’s office to another’s. Fortunately, all but one were in so we had the good schmooze visits that we needed and are ready move on with the project details. The next big step is getting the students registered and school underway. That should be done by the end of next week ... we hope. Tomorrow we will go into San Pedro Sula and order some more computers. We can get a new computer with monitor and so forth for $320.00. So, that will allow students to work quickly with the files that we have. By the end of six months we hope to have a number of used and refurbished computers from Canada to set out in the villages with small groups of students there. Then things can really get moving.
Last night I went to music group practice with the musicians from the Catholic church. They are getting ready for the Christmas Eve service and are taking their practice very seriously. We started at 6:40 (read 6:00 sharp) and ended at 10:00. Only one of the musicians can read music so all the parts were learned by rote. The musical memory that these folks have is incredible. They are able to remember their lines and make adjustments and corrections without having a paper in front of them. Amazing. We started out with Adeste Fidelis so no new words for me to have to learn ... phew. This group practices three nights a week so make a huge commitment of time and effort to provide a service to their community. It was great to sing and contribute a little.
When I asked the girls in the office how to get to the school where the practice was held, they were in agreement that it was just “down there”. Well, I started off, address in hand, down the hill towards the area that might properly fit the description. Fortunately for me, after a few blocks I spotted a member of the music group as he passed under a streetlight and was able to follow him for awhile. I lost him at a corner but, by that time, had come close enough to the school that some boys were able to show me where to go. At the school, I found out that the practice was, in fact, across the road from the school. The guard kindly let me cross the school yard and came along to open the gate for me to exit. He pointed out the right house for me to look into and I was set. I spotted an electric piano so waited at the gate until two more members showed up and we could breast the pack of dogs together. The dogs, once they realized that this new guy was part of the pack so to speak put their heads back down on their paws and went into evening rest mode. That way they will be prepared for barking throughout the night.
The Post Office for Santa Cruz is in a small lean-to attached to a private residence. Julia told me the general area where it was located and I found it without any trouble. Unfortunately, the hours include an hour’s break for lunch. I arrived at 12:05. They people of the house (the Postal employees) happily chatted to me about postal costs and so forth but made no move to open the office so I could buy some stamps. Oh well, as that is the only place, I think, to mail the letters I will have to go back again. Obviously writing letters to post is as high on people’s priority lists as it is on my daughter’s.
Friday night I went to visit a friend who has shown some interest in bees. When I arrived she left momentarily and then came back with a tray of Rambutan fruit. This fruit looks like a small red hedgehog with soft, spindly spines. You pop off the cover to find a very delicious white fruit around a white seed. We went through a large number of the fruits as we talked. About twenty-five minutes into the conversation four men appeared. Evidently, her birthday had been some time ago (isn’t it always for ladies?) and these men had promised to come and sing for her. They were making up their promise that evening. One man had a homemade mandolin with eight strings. The other had a steel stringed guitar. These two sat down and began singing local folk songs. The other two took turns joining with the harmony line. Well, this was call for people to come and hang about the porch and listen and chat. Soon my friend was off to get some coke and water for the singers. When she left, one of the four reached into the guitar case and came up with a large bottle of local hooch. A large swig for each of them and they were ready to roll even before the coke came along. The party grew as more people came to listen and enjoy the songs (evidently full of lots of humour ... my occasional catching of phrases like “cold, black river” not particularly helpful). Eventually baleadas appeared and everyone wolfed those down before continuing. I left at the two hour mark as it sounded suspiciously like the same songs were reappearing and the quality of music was deteriorating rather markedly. Nevertheless, what a wonderful evening.
My two wheeled cart is made and the paint is drying. It will likely need some modification so as to steer more easily. However, it looks great and should handle the heavy beehives without any problem. That will be great to get them settled and in a place where everyone in the community will be happy. We hope to do that Friday night although Manuel says that the forecast calls for eighty hours of rain. So far, the weather is working hard to manage that.
Oh yes, yesterday afternoon I was interviewed on CBC Radioactive in Edmonton. I was nervous all day hoping that I would do the project proud. Fortunately, the phone connection was good, there were no loud trucks hammering up and down the road and the questions were nicely put. A number of people heard the interview so I know it wasn’t a phone prank. Hopefully this will garner some more support for our efforts here.
Our Canadian organization’s head is down for a few days. He brought with him some filters for a local group that is making pineapple vinegar and pineapple wine. They are to try them out this week. This should allow them to multiply their production exponentially. Instead of doing five to ten litres overnight, they can do several hundred in an hour. Currently they use unglazed ceramic pots as their final filtration medium. Any particles quickly fill the pores of the pots and slow the process down enormously. These new filters are made from some type of fibre that allows them to be washed and reused. I am excited about seeing them in use. It would even be more exciting if it works.
Well ... time to see if the internet is up and running so I can post this and then head off to the game. Viva España.
TTYL
bb
We have spent the day going from one town official’s office to another’s. Fortunately, all but one were in so we had the good schmooze visits that we needed and are ready move on with the project details. The next big step is getting the students registered and school underway. That should be done by the end of next week ... we hope. Tomorrow we will go into San Pedro Sula and order some more computers. We can get a new computer with monitor and so forth for $320.00. So, that will allow students to work quickly with the files that we have. By the end of six months we hope to have a number of used and refurbished computers from Canada to set out in the villages with small groups of students there. Then things can really get moving.
Last night I went to music group practice with the musicians from the Catholic church. They are getting ready for the Christmas Eve service and are taking their practice very seriously. We started at 6:40 (read 6:00 sharp) and ended at 10:00. Only one of the musicians can read music so all the parts were learned by rote. The musical memory that these folks have is incredible. They are able to remember their lines and make adjustments and corrections without having a paper in front of them. Amazing. We started out with Adeste Fidelis so no new words for me to have to learn ... phew. This group practices three nights a week so make a huge commitment of time and effort to provide a service to their community. It was great to sing and contribute a little.
When I asked the girls in the office how to get to the school where the practice was held, they were in agreement that it was just “down there”. Well, I started off, address in hand, down the hill towards the area that might properly fit the description. Fortunately for me, after a few blocks I spotted a member of the music group as he passed under a streetlight and was able to follow him for awhile. I lost him at a corner but, by that time, had come close enough to the school that some boys were able to show me where to go. At the school, I found out that the practice was, in fact, across the road from the school. The guard kindly let me cross the school yard and came along to open the gate for me to exit. He pointed out the right house for me to look into and I was set. I spotted an electric piano so waited at the gate until two more members showed up and we could breast the pack of dogs together. The dogs, once they realized that this new guy was part of the pack so to speak put their heads back down on their paws and went into evening rest mode. That way they will be prepared for barking throughout the night.
The Post Office for Santa Cruz is in a small lean-to attached to a private residence. Julia told me the general area where it was located and I found it without any trouble. Unfortunately, the hours include an hour’s break for lunch. I arrived at 12:05. They people of the house (the Postal employees) happily chatted to me about postal costs and so forth but made no move to open the office so I could buy some stamps. Oh well, as that is the only place, I think, to mail the letters I will have to go back again. Obviously writing letters to post is as high on people’s priority lists as it is on my daughter’s.
Friday night I went to visit a friend who has shown some interest in bees. When I arrived she left momentarily and then came back with a tray of Rambutan fruit. This fruit looks like a small red hedgehog with soft, spindly spines. You pop off the cover to find a very delicious white fruit around a white seed. We went through a large number of the fruits as we talked. About twenty-five minutes into the conversation four men appeared. Evidently, her birthday had been some time ago (isn’t it always for ladies?) and these men had promised to come and sing for her. They were making up their promise that evening. One man had a homemade mandolin with eight strings. The other had a steel stringed guitar. These two sat down and began singing local folk songs. The other two took turns joining with the harmony line. Well, this was call for people to come and hang about the porch and listen and chat. Soon my friend was off to get some coke and water for the singers. When she left, one of the four reached into the guitar case and came up with a large bottle of local hooch. A large swig for each of them and they were ready to roll even before the coke came along. The party grew as more people came to listen and enjoy the songs (evidently full of lots of humour ... my occasional catching of phrases like “cold, black river” not particularly helpful). Eventually baleadas appeared and everyone wolfed those down before continuing. I left at the two hour mark as it sounded suspiciously like the same songs were reappearing and the quality of music was deteriorating rather markedly. Nevertheless, what a wonderful evening.
My two wheeled cart is made and the paint is drying. It will likely need some modification so as to steer more easily. However, it looks great and should handle the heavy beehives without any problem. That will be great to get them settled and in a place where everyone in the community will be happy. We hope to do that Friday night although Manuel says that the forecast calls for eighty hours of rain. So far, the weather is working hard to manage that.
Oh yes, yesterday afternoon I was interviewed on CBC Radioactive in Edmonton. I was nervous all day hoping that I would do the project proud. Fortunately, the phone connection was good, there were no loud trucks hammering up and down the road and the questions were nicely put. A number of people heard the interview so I know it wasn’t a phone prank. Hopefully this will garner some more support for our efforts here.
Our Canadian organization’s head is down for a few days. He brought with him some filters for a local group that is making pineapple vinegar and pineapple wine. They are to try them out this week. This should allow them to multiply their production exponentially. Instead of doing five to ten litres overnight, they can do several hundred in an hour. Currently they use unglazed ceramic pots as their final filtration medium. Any particles quickly fill the pores of the pots and slow the process down enormously. These new filters are made from some type of fibre that allows them to be washed and reused. I am excited about seeing them in use. It would even be more exciting if it works.
Well ... time to see if the internet is up and running so I can post this and then head off to the game. Viva España.
TTYL
bb
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Bookkeeping – And You Said Hell Did Not Exist
Manuel and I spent the day attacking the bookkeeping that has built up while I was away. There are so many little things that need to be thought of when you are trying to keep funds from several accounts and for a couple of different projects straight. My high school bookkeeping has been one of the most valuable course I have had in my life. Nevertheless, it was a challenge. Fortunately we ended the day as friends and with things in reasonable shape for one set of books. The next set will be looked at tomorrow.
Technology is so amazing. Yesterday I was able to figure out (with the help of an email and cell phone call to my son in Fort McMurray) how to change the keyboard to Spanish characters. What a relief that is for my typing of the textbook material. I was copying and pasting each little É and ñ type of thing as I went along. Truly monotonous. Now, with a click of the mouse I can move from English to Spanish and back again. Too cool. The downside of technology is that for some reason three of the pages I typed so diligently this morning never made it through the save process.
Having to type in Spanish is, I hope, helping me focus on learning more of the language. Each hour brings familiarity with several new words. That is great. Now, to move them from recognition to usefulness in conversation.
This morning, I walked to work in the rain. Before I started out, I braced myself for the wet. Delightfully, as is so often the case, the rain was warm and made the trip most enjoyable. I had forgotten again how latitude does affect the temperature of precipitation. Having just shovelled a bunch of colder type stuff it is understandable why I forgot what was likely to happen here.
On Saturday, I went into a book store and bought six tiny story books. When I got home this evening, the little neighbour girl was outside so we sat down and read two of them. I have no idea if she understood them or not but she thought it would be great to read some more tomorrow. The pictures are nice if nothing else.
I had planned on French baguette with jam and peanut butter for supper (there is a new bakery in town). Well, as I was about to open things up, there was a knock on my door and my neighbour brought a plate of fried tilapia, fried plantain chips and a coleslaw salad. Wow. What a neat gift. You can bet the bread will wait till morning. Last night one of my other neighbours brought two baleadas. It is so heart warming when things like this happen.
The metal workers finished welding my four clothes hanging thing-a-ma-jigs. There is a coat of white paint on them and we will see if that is the final step. They look pretty nifty and the owner was thinking of taking one into town to try drumming up some business. Manuel is now thinking of how he can get a few for his house. Who says that you can’t learn something from late night TV Sales shows? Of course, these won’t come with the same hype as the stuff on TV.
After supper, I hung some pictures, pots, pans, spoons, spatulas, hats and clothes on my new wall fixtures. I ran out of nails so had to stop. Probably just as well as I might get everything I own on the walls.
One last thing. Yesterday, as I was walking into town, I passed a young man carrying a rocking chair made of metal tubing and strung with blue and white plastic cable. We haggled for awhile and I ended up with a new piece of furniture. It is delightful to sit in and very relaxing. With my feet up on a plastic stool it is as good as having a lazy boy.
TTYL
BB
Technology is so amazing. Yesterday I was able to figure out (with the help of an email and cell phone call to my son in Fort McMurray) how to change the keyboard to Spanish characters. What a relief that is for my typing of the textbook material. I was copying and pasting each little É and ñ type of thing as I went along. Truly monotonous. Now, with a click of the mouse I can move from English to Spanish and back again. Too cool. The downside of technology is that for some reason three of the pages I typed so diligently this morning never made it through the save process.
Having to type in Spanish is, I hope, helping me focus on learning more of the language. Each hour brings familiarity with several new words. That is great. Now, to move them from recognition to usefulness in conversation.
This morning, I walked to work in the rain. Before I started out, I braced myself for the wet. Delightfully, as is so often the case, the rain was warm and made the trip most enjoyable. I had forgotten again how latitude does affect the temperature of precipitation. Having just shovelled a bunch of colder type stuff it is understandable why I forgot what was likely to happen here.
On Saturday, I went into a book store and bought six tiny story books. When I got home this evening, the little neighbour girl was outside so we sat down and read two of them. I have no idea if she understood them or not but she thought it would be great to read some more tomorrow. The pictures are nice if nothing else.
I had planned on French baguette with jam and peanut butter for supper (there is a new bakery in town). Well, as I was about to open things up, there was a knock on my door and my neighbour brought a plate of fried tilapia, fried plantain chips and a coleslaw salad. Wow. What a neat gift. You can bet the bread will wait till morning. Last night one of my other neighbours brought two baleadas. It is so heart warming when things like this happen.
The metal workers finished welding my four clothes hanging thing-a-ma-jigs. There is a coat of white paint on them and we will see if that is the final step. They look pretty nifty and the owner was thinking of taking one into town to try drumming up some business. Manuel is now thinking of how he can get a few for his house. Who says that you can’t learn something from late night TV Sales shows? Of course, these won’t come with the same hype as the stuff on TV.
After supper, I hung some pictures, pots, pans, spoons, spatulas, hats and clothes on my new wall fixtures. I ran out of nails so had to stop. Probably just as well as I might get everything I own on the walls.
One last thing. Yesterday, as I was walking into town, I passed a young man carrying a rocking chair made of metal tubing and strung with blue and white plastic cable. We haggled for awhile and I ended up with a new piece of furniture. It is delightful to sit in and very relaxing. With my feet up on a plastic stool it is as good as having a lazy boy.
TTYL
BB
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Getting to Work
December is close and, even here in Honduras, the days are getting noticeably shorter. Heavy morning clouds make the light even duller in the early mornings. However, heavy clouds mean cooler days and nights. The last two nights I even dug out a small airline type blanket to augment the sheet as cooler air began oozing through the screen and washing over my bed. Delightful.
Yesterday featured a meeting with our board to begin recruiting students for the school. We hope to have thirty registered and active by the end of this month. It was very exciting to sit and listen to the many ideas the board had for spreading the school to various communities. They discussed challenges and came up with a variety of solutions, many of which did not involve outside help. Wow. A year ago, this same board was unsure of how to act, ready to sit an listen to one person do all the talking and then vote, “yes”. Since these people were chosen because of their knowledge and wisdom, it is especially gratifying to see those qualities being utilized and brought to bear on the project.
In the afternoon, Flavio, the carpenter brought the boards he has been working on. The walls of houses are plastered with cement which makes hanging pictures a real challenge. In order to get around that problem, I had Flavio make some boards 10 cm wide and 2 cm thick of various lengths. These were then mounted on the walls at top-of-window height in our office and in my home. The boys came with bits and boards and began work. I helped a bit with the measuring and marking. The bits left a lot of dust and so there is a great deal of cleaning to be done today.
We went to check on the progress of the metal work only to find that the two brothers had had a disagreement and the brother we had given our order to had left. Sigh. Will start the process again today with the remaining brother. Should be fun as Manuel is away. Lots of drawing and single phrase sentences.
Saturday we went to San Pedro Sula and found that we can get wireless Internet. We subscribed and I have been using it here in Santa Cruz. The towers are not as close as we wish but the email does work. Now I can write emails at home and in the office. However, Skype does not work so we may have to move to a plan B of sorts. What an amazing jump in technology though to even have a chance to try something like this.
As well, Manuel and I looked at computers for the school and for student centres. We can buy new units, complete with monitors and programs for about $320.00 USD. That may be the way we choose to go as they are faster and come with a guarantee. It is staggering to me that there is such access to technology and, thus, information and yet we struggle to find ways to bring elementary and Junior High education to the overwhelming majority of people.
One of our hopes will be to find ways to create pods of students in villages with a computer for four or five students who can then study in their own homes. It looks like this will be within reach.
Time for me to get to work on some accounting. I have three months of books to go through for the construction project. Should be a challenge. Why can’t I just go plant a tree?
TTYL
BB
Yesterday featured a meeting with our board to begin recruiting students for the school. We hope to have thirty registered and active by the end of this month. It was very exciting to sit and listen to the many ideas the board had for spreading the school to various communities. They discussed challenges and came up with a variety of solutions, many of which did not involve outside help. Wow. A year ago, this same board was unsure of how to act, ready to sit an listen to one person do all the talking and then vote, “yes”. Since these people were chosen because of their knowledge and wisdom, it is especially gratifying to see those qualities being utilized and brought to bear on the project.
In the afternoon, Flavio, the carpenter brought the boards he has been working on. The walls of houses are plastered with cement which makes hanging pictures a real challenge. In order to get around that problem, I had Flavio make some boards 10 cm wide and 2 cm thick of various lengths. These were then mounted on the walls at top-of-window height in our office and in my home. The boys came with bits and boards and began work. I helped a bit with the measuring and marking. The bits left a lot of dust and so there is a great deal of cleaning to be done today.
We went to check on the progress of the metal work only to find that the two brothers had had a disagreement and the brother we had given our order to had left. Sigh. Will start the process again today with the remaining brother. Should be fun as Manuel is away. Lots of drawing and single phrase sentences.
Saturday we went to San Pedro Sula and found that we can get wireless Internet. We subscribed and I have been using it here in Santa Cruz. The towers are not as close as we wish but the email does work. Now I can write emails at home and in the office. However, Skype does not work so we may have to move to a plan B of sorts. What an amazing jump in technology though to even have a chance to try something like this.
As well, Manuel and I looked at computers for the school and for student centres. We can buy new units, complete with monitors and programs for about $320.00 USD. That may be the way we choose to go as they are faster and come with a guarantee. It is staggering to me that there is such access to technology and, thus, information and yet we struggle to find ways to bring elementary and Junior High education to the overwhelming majority of people.
One of our hopes will be to find ways to create pods of students in villages with a computer for four or five students who can then study in their own homes. It looks like this will be within reach.
Time for me to get to work on some accounting. I have three months of books to go through for the construction project. Should be a challenge. Why can’t I just go plant a tree?
TTYL
BB
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Back in Santa Cruz
Friday, October 30
After many months of waiting, I am back in Santa Cruz. Thanks to many others who are interested in helping allow Hondurans a chance to receive further education, I am able to continue the Computer Assisted Learning Program. As always, it is difficult to be here in Honduras and, at the same time, have family in Canada. Rather impossible to work in development and do otherwise. Fortunately, communication is possible via phone, Skype, email and Facebook.
In Miami, I was puzzled to watch CNN spend over twenty minutes, along with supposed experts, discussing whether it was critical that President Obama played pickup basketball with men only. Sigh. The world goes to hell in a handbag and we focus on irrelevant trivia.
Arriving in San Pedro Sula was relatively painless. As I mentioned before, they x-ray luggage coming into the country. My family gave me a Toaster Oven as an early Christmas present and that was of some concern to the officials. A young lady approached me to ask about the bag in question. Of course, I was unable to understand any of her Spanish and, after a few seconds of mutual smiling she gave up and waved me on.
At the office, the growth of some of the plants has been spectacular. The Chipilin (a nitrogen fixing plant with highly nutritious leaves and flowers) is over two metres high and is flowering and setting seeds. Papaya plants tower above them and other shrubs are filling out well. There are scores of Stevia plants ready for transplanting. Hopefully we can get that done next week.
It was fun meeting many of the people I had gotten to know while here earlier. My apartment was waiting for me, with all my things put back in place. A plumbing glitch which flooded it the morning I was to arrive was fixed and everything dried up before I walked through the door. There are two new babies in the four apartment block and a set of twins on their way. So, that will definitely change the dynamics. The two babies belong to two young girls in their late teens or very early twenties. That is such a common part of life here, children raising children. The girls’ schooling is now on hold (at least we hope they can return at some point) until the babies are old enough to allow them to return.
Manuel and I went to the bank to set up an account for me. We already have a set of accounts for the project there and there is a sum total of one Canadian person living and banking in Santa Cruz. Nevertheless, there was a great deal of paperwork and form filling to be done. When the print out came for me to sign, I realized that the computer already had the information and more. We recognized the true power and worth of the account opening secretary.
Started ordering some things for various projects and my apartment that first afternoon. The carpenter is making some wooden strips to put on my walls which will be used to hang pictures, hat hooks, and the odd shirt. He is also making a shelf for my toaster oven. He is delighted to have another source of business in the country. A metal fabrication shop opened across the street from the school while I was away. We took over two ideas for them to work on. One is a metal rod with hooks which will hang from the wall and accommodate eight hangars. Although it took Manuel a bit of time to grasp my drawings (my drafting skills are not always the best ... well ... rarely the best) the man at the metal shop got the idea right away. He is also going to work on a two wheeled cart that we can use to transport beehives and sacks of maize along pathways and over hill and dale. If he actually comes through with the projects we can get something done for chickens.
Today we went to see a project that CPI has initiated to build housing for ten families. Currently they live in deplorable situations (one family of five is in a two metre square shack). CPI is providing the land and the money for building on long term credit. The ten families are then working together to build the homes. They will build all ten before allotting the homes and moving in. Four have been started since August. I had helped get the land ownership settled while here before so it was great to see progress being made. The cement blocks are made by hand with a nifty little mold. They are able to form 200 blocks a day. So, one house worth of blocks each eight days.
The new houses will have two bedrooms (10’ x 10’) and a living room kitchen on the other half. A small shower and toilet complete the package. Manuel pointed out that such lovely houses may prove a problem as other women will be checking things out to see if they could find a way into such great living conditions. Hmmm.
While I was gone, there was a fairly severe earthquake. The bridge that links Santa Cruz to Tepiquilares was destroyed. The route is now a bit more adventuresome. An incredible system has sprung up to deal with the system. The bus goes up the riverside a ways to where the water is smoother and shallower. There, a flotilla of flat bottomed punts is waiting to take passengers, bikes and motorcycles across. The punters stand on the prow (the pointy end for us non-nautical types) and pole the boat backwards (from my perspective) across the river. They are making great money so there is a rush at the shore to get you to choose their boat. On each side of the river food vendors have set up shop to take advantage of people waiting for buses and boats. We enjoyed fresh watermelon as we waited for our return bus.
As we hiked back from the construction, we passed by a home where the lady was just finishing baking various types of breads to take to Santa Rita for sale. She had several large wash basins full of the pastries. I bought some for myself and for my neighbours. The price was three pastries for ten lempiras. It was difficult for everyone to figure out how to get the correct number of pastries for one hundred. Obviously the big spenders don’t hit the village very often. (100 L = $5.00) My bag of goodies made it home with relatively few of the pieces of bread damaged. There are pastries with cheese, with cinnamon, double layers of dough (makes for a textured finish) and some with pineapple jam. A pretty good haul. They have a lovely flavour as they are done in one of the traditional domed baking ovens.
My hammock is set up again and I am enjoying the benefits of a laptop and the fresh air outside of the apartment. The rains are strange this season so we have had some unexpectedly hot and humid days. The clouds are building up so we will have some rain this evening.
TTYL
bb
After many months of waiting, I am back in Santa Cruz. Thanks to many others who are interested in helping allow Hondurans a chance to receive further education, I am able to continue the Computer Assisted Learning Program. As always, it is difficult to be here in Honduras and, at the same time, have family in Canada. Rather impossible to work in development and do otherwise. Fortunately, communication is possible via phone, Skype, email and Facebook.
In Miami, I was puzzled to watch CNN spend over twenty minutes, along with supposed experts, discussing whether it was critical that President Obama played pickup basketball with men only. Sigh. The world goes to hell in a handbag and we focus on irrelevant trivia.
Arriving in San Pedro Sula was relatively painless. As I mentioned before, they x-ray luggage coming into the country. My family gave me a Toaster Oven as an early Christmas present and that was of some concern to the officials. A young lady approached me to ask about the bag in question. Of course, I was unable to understand any of her Spanish and, after a few seconds of mutual smiling she gave up and waved me on.
At the office, the growth of some of the plants has been spectacular. The Chipilin (a nitrogen fixing plant with highly nutritious leaves and flowers) is over two metres high and is flowering and setting seeds. Papaya plants tower above them and other shrubs are filling out well. There are scores of Stevia plants ready for transplanting. Hopefully we can get that done next week.
It was fun meeting many of the people I had gotten to know while here earlier. My apartment was waiting for me, with all my things put back in place. A plumbing glitch which flooded it the morning I was to arrive was fixed and everything dried up before I walked through the door. There are two new babies in the four apartment block and a set of twins on their way. So, that will definitely change the dynamics. The two babies belong to two young girls in their late teens or very early twenties. That is such a common part of life here, children raising children. The girls’ schooling is now on hold (at least we hope they can return at some point) until the babies are old enough to allow them to return.
Manuel and I went to the bank to set up an account for me. We already have a set of accounts for the project there and there is a sum total of one Canadian person living and banking in Santa Cruz. Nevertheless, there was a great deal of paperwork and form filling to be done. When the print out came for me to sign, I realized that the computer already had the information and more. We recognized the true power and worth of the account opening secretary.
Started ordering some things for various projects and my apartment that first afternoon. The carpenter is making some wooden strips to put on my walls which will be used to hang pictures, hat hooks, and the odd shirt. He is also making a shelf for my toaster oven. He is delighted to have another source of business in the country. A metal fabrication shop opened across the street from the school while I was away. We took over two ideas for them to work on. One is a metal rod with hooks which will hang from the wall and accommodate eight hangars. Although it took Manuel a bit of time to grasp my drawings (my drafting skills are not always the best ... well ... rarely the best) the man at the metal shop got the idea right away. He is also going to work on a two wheeled cart that we can use to transport beehives and sacks of maize along pathways and over hill and dale. If he actually comes through with the projects we can get something done for chickens.
Today we went to see a project that CPI has initiated to build housing for ten families. Currently they live in deplorable situations (one family of five is in a two metre square shack). CPI is providing the land and the money for building on long term credit. The ten families are then working together to build the homes. They will build all ten before allotting the homes and moving in. Four have been started since August. I had helped get the land ownership settled while here before so it was great to see progress being made. The cement blocks are made by hand with a nifty little mold. They are able to form 200 blocks a day. So, one house worth of blocks each eight days.
The new houses will have two bedrooms (10’ x 10’) and a living room kitchen on the other half. A small shower and toilet complete the package. Manuel pointed out that such lovely houses may prove a problem as other women will be checking things out to see if they could find a way into such great living conditions. Hmmm.
While I was gone, there was a fairly severe earthquake. The bridge that links Santa Cruz to Tepiquilares was destroyed. The route is now a bit more adventuresome. An incredible system has sprung up to deal with the system. The bus goes up the riverside a ways to where the water is smoother and shallower. There, a flotilla of flat bottomed punts is waiting to take passengers, bikes and motorcycles across. The punters stand on the prow (the pointy end for us non-nautical types) and pole the boat backwards (from my perspective) across the river. They are making great money so there is a rush at the shore to get you to choose their boat. On each side of the river food vendors have set up shop to take advantage of people waiting for buses and boats. We enjoyed fresh watermelon as we waited for our return bus.
As we hiked back from the construction, we passed by a home where the lady was just finishing baking various types of breads to take to Santa Rita for sale. She had several large wash basins full of the pastries. I bought some for myself and for my neighbours. The price was three pastries for ten lempiras. It was difficult for everyone to figure out how to get the correct number of pastries for one hundred. Obviously the big spenders don’t hit the village very often. (100 L = $5.00) My bag of goodies made it home with relatively few of the pieces of bread damaged. There are pastries with cheese, with cinnamon, double layers of dough (makes for a textured finish) and some with pineapple jam. A pretty good haul. They have a lovely flavour as they are done in one of the traditional domed baking ovens.
My hammock is set up again and I am enjoying the benefits of a laptop and the fresh air outside of the apartment. The rains are strange this season so we have had some unexpectedly hot and humid days. The clouds are building up so we will have some rain this evening.
TTYL
bb
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