El Cacao Part 2 (kinda)

I didn’t really know what to expect upon my return to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. My first thought as I passed through customs at the airport was “Wait, where is the Wendy’s that was right here last year?” After my first glance around the airport, I found myself surprised that it had moved to the other side of the ticketing station. Familiarity does breeds comfort after all. Though after arriving at the volunteer house in El Cacao, I quickly brushed aside any expectation that this trip was going to be simply a sequel to last year’s project.

And I’m glad it wasn’t. Unlike last year when I was spoiled with living arrangements in the luxurious Palmo Real, immediately adjacent to our go-to-guy Ron Sparkman, I had the opportunity to live in the Cacao community and call it home for three weeks. What a difference it makes to live among the people I’m trying to help instead of commuting from La Ceiba, helping out for a few hours and peacing out every day at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. In addition to our health education project aims, I came with personal goals of improving my Spanish, teaching the kids something else besides health topics, and seeing more of Honduras. Check, check and check. Here are some of my memories from a wonderfully fun and rewarding trip (in no particular order):

-“No quiero…si quiero” -Franco “Hey bebe” -Anderson

Almost everyday after working at the guarderia, these three boys, Franco, Andrick, and Anderson, would come over and hang out with us. Even though they were at times mischievous, their youthful charm and easy-going attitude made it impossible not to like them. Anderson is the athletic, smooth-talker of the group. Andrick is the scientist, making some of the best paper airplanes I have ever seen. And Franco is…well, Franco with the most amusing laugh ever. Every time they come over, I ask them if they want water. Franco always says that he doesn’t want water but right after, he’ll walk up to the table, grab some water and then say that he wants it.

-Teaching at the primary school

I found it interesting not that the students were separated by grade but that the teachers were pretty much independent of each other. When I gave some first-aid supplies to one of the teachers and informed another that I had done so, I got the feeling that those first-aid supplies were not going to be shared among all the grades. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the first and third grades about hand-washing, hygiene, first-aid, dental health and disease prevention. The third-graders were especially well-behaved and enthusiastic about learning the material. If I were to return, I would definitely bring a lot of school supplies (crayons, markers). The teachers had precious little to give to the kids during art time.

-The kids
I’m writing this blog about a month after coming back to the States and I still miss the kids. Being in the community for three weeks, I was better able to form relationships with them, which made leaving that much more difficult. Some of my favorite memories with them are teaching Christian to play Good Riddance on the guitar, Eduardo David working extremely hard at reading with me, Mauricio staining all of my shirts by climbing on me with his dirty feet, getting Julia to puff out her cheeks, and Franco kissing me goodbye on the stomach.

-Community Health Surveys
El Cacao is a very close-knit community. Everybody lives very close to each other, with only small walkways separating homes. Fortunately, one of the maestras at the school was very helpful and introduced us to several families who gave us the opportunity to interview them about their personal and community health experiences as well as their attitudes towards various health problems. Some were quite knowledgeable about various health issues plaguing their community while others knew less about the lack of cleanliness of the water they drink and the prevalence of lice and parasites.

-Futbol

That hasn’t changed since last year. Hondurans still love their soccer. Kids are endlessly entertained by so little, especially if they have a soccer ball. Unlike kids in the U.S, kids in Honduras take pride in what they have. Example: young Melvin is extremely protective of his bike even though the seat is completely worn down, the chain is loose and there are no tires on any of the wheels. If I come back, I’m getting him a better bike.

Overall, this trip has only strengthened my interest to teach during my year-off before medical school. Also, seeing the clinic finally running with local nurses made me really happy and I would like to return to work at the clinic once I get my medical degree. Its kinda misleading to call this trip El Cacao Pt.2 because it was a very different and distinct experience. I definitely want to return, not for a Part 3 but for another Part 1.

Adrian