Honduras, part dos

Hola, mis amigas!

As I’ve been writing these re-caps, you have no idea how much I wish I brought a journal with me on the trip last week. The internet is very slow in Honduras, so I knew my laptop would be a lost cause, but I so wish I would’ve brought a pen and paper to write down little details of my days to help remember them clearly, and forever. Coming back to the states has been a culture shock and a whirlwind, and I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts from specific parts of the trip, and instead, mostly focusing on the big picture.

Looking back through the million pictures of the trip helps me to remember little details, piece by piece. As each detail starts to resurface, it then finds it’s place into one of the big pictures that I can’t get out of my mind.

I’m so thankful, for so many reasons.

I know what you’re thinking…  a 20-something American girl who goes on a service trip to a third world country is obviously going to come home and feel thankful.  It’s more than that.  This trip has changed my perspective on so many things, in so many ways, and it all started with this little girl—

 

Remember that exciting bus ride from the airport to Villa Soleada I talked about?  Well, she was my first bus buddy. Her name is Yoselin.  She chose to sit next to me on the bus; my first Honduran amiga.  I tried my best to communicate with her, but the talking only went so far.  When we were both silent, I found myself watching her small actions in the bus seat, like how perfectly she folded the t-shirt on her lap as if she valued it more than anything. I watched her re-zip  my camera bag when she noticed it wasn’t zipped tightly enough. We smiled at each other a lot, and I could sense that she knew I meant well, regardless of my shaky Spanish-speaking abilities.  One of the things, however, that I said to her was that her bracelet was “muy bonita” or “very beautiful”.  It looked like she made it herself; created from purple and pink colored string. That’s all I said--  “muy bonita.”

I looked out the window most of the way, as did she. I’m sure she’d seen these roads before, but she looked out the window as though her eyes were new to the view, like mine were.  I was mesmerized by the gorgeous mountains in the view; their beauty contradicted by the immense amounts of trash that covered the streets. The thoughts in my head during that first bus ride recurred throughout the week. I wondered about the lives of the people I saw living amongst the trash, I wondered about the endless small children and their shoeless feet, I wondered about the life of the little girl sitting right next to me…

Almost mid-thought, I felt Yoselin grab my wrist.  She had unknotted the bracelet from her own wrist, and I was then watching her place it onto mine. I tried to tell her in Spanish that she should keep it, that it was her beautiful bracelet.  Maybe it was my awful translation, and maybe it wasn’t, but she kept tying away at the string.  When she was done, she held up her other wrist to mine and our bracelets touched.  Communicating through kindness, not words.  I swear I’ve never witnessed something so precious.  Yoselin’s sweetness was the precursor for the many emotions I would feel this week, but at that very moment, I just felt… thankful and truly inspired. Thankful to have met this sweet girl, and inspired that she would willingly hand over her bracelet just because some strange American girl told her it was beautiful. And you know what? I have yet to take it off. It’s sitting on my wrist as I type this to remind me of the beautiful soul who put it there.

Yes, I was inspired. Yes, I am thankful.

And it didn’t stop throughout the week…

I'm so thankful that I got to see the most genuine, innocent smiles light up the worksite every day.  These children didn’t have to welcome dozens of strangers with open arms, but they absolutely did.  They didn’t have to help us pass buckets, shovel dirt, or cool us down with lots of agua, but they always did.  The hardworking and passionate attitudes of everyone on the worksite was unbelievable.  Especially this little guy, Arturo. He’s a master photographer and a master of melting hearts. In fact, I can probably credit most of my pictures from the trip to Arturo and his friends, and thankfully so.

I’m thankful that I met sweet Marcia, who unknowingly reminded me of why I want to spend my life teaching children. Her enthusiasm for learning English words was so inspiring and adorable. I would quiz her on English words each time I saw her. By the end of the week, she was saying “water”, “yellow”, “pink”, and so on, in context and without help.

I’m thankful that I got to meet this little stud, Jefferson. He made connections with so many of us on the worksite, and is the definition of a true entertainer. We had a special connection, too. I’d look down lots of times on the worksite to see him by my side, helping me pass buckets with a giggle and a smile.  Every day when it was about time to say “adios”, he’d run to get my backpack {that he quickly figured out was mine} just so he could hand it to me. Here he is, where he stood every day when working was over, waving goodbye to the volunteers as we drove away on the bus.  It wasn’t until I got home that I had a realization of why I so quickly loved him—he reminds me of my little cousin Jonathan. They have very similar appearances, personalities, and a way of making everyone around them immediately fall in love with them. Jonathan was adopted from Guatemala as a baby, and Jefferson is his adorable, spitting image. Jefferson is now special to me, just as Jonathan is special to me.

I’m thankful that I got to see the amazing results of previous SHH projects, like the finished elementary school from last year’s group trip. It was so great to see my friends’ faces as they saw that their hard work had paid off for the children of Las Flores. It was also inspiring for me to see that a school like this one would hopefully soon be finished and ready for the kids of Pimientera.  So amazing.

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It’s been difficult to re-adjust to life at home after experiencing a trip like this one. It’s true, I’m thankful for the life I have here more than ever before. The simple parts of my day that I would typically worry about or stress over seem pointless and insignificant now that I have seen real problems and real struggle in Honduras. The people that I met in Honduras are the most genuine and passionate people I’ve ever had the chance to come across.  Their passion and happiness makes me want to be a better person. I’m thankful to have met them; I’m thankful to have had this experience. I didn’t want to leave, but now that I’m home, I’m appreciating my own life in a new way.

There is one image that I just can’t stop picturing now that I’m away from Honduras: the kids’ faces. I want to keep thinking about them, and I don’t want to forget. I’m sorry if I’ve rambled on way too long {and I’m sure many of you have stopped reading at this point} but if only for the simple reason for me to remember, I want to make sure I have everything written down. Come springtime when I’m so busy and stressed with student-teaching and school, I want to have something to remind me that there are bigger things out there than me and my own life… and that those bigger things live in the faces of these wonderful children.

 

 

That’s the other big picture; the lives and well-being of those passionate, inspiring, genuine, amazing children and their families. Their kind human nature and sweet dispositions have changed my life forever.  Building Pimientera for these kids means changing their lives forever in return.  The details above are an important part of my experience, but they all make up the big picture-- making a difference in the lives of these amazing children who deserve a chance at a better life, and equally deserve just as much kindness and love as they so purely give out to others.

*On a side note, I do want to acknowledge ST for inspiring me, and so many others, to go on this trip in the first place. Maybe I’m bias, but I do think that in this case, anyone who knows him would agree with me—he’s a great leader, an amazing speaker, and he just glows of love for these kids. His passion for SHH makes people want to come to Honduras and witness it themselves. It wouldn't be right to finish reflecting on Honduras without mentioning him, since he is the reason UMD’s SHH chapter has gotten so big, and the reason it’s going to keep doing big things. He said something in our reflection circle one day last week that I’m still thinking about, so I’ll leave you with this…

“I hope there will be a day in our lifetime when this issue of world poverty is solved, and we all look back on it and say to each other, ‘what were we thinking?’”

xoxo