Exit Survey

While doing a Google search I accidentally stumbled across a blog from a girl who served in the Peace Corps, so I thought I'd borrow her "exit survey" questions that she posted which is a good chance to sum up the good and bad of my experience:


Name: Kelly Theresa Glenn


Site: just outside of Tegucigalpa, Honduras


Nicknames: "Kellin" (they thought that's what my name was), "Profe" or "Profita" to the students, "amiga," or "gringa" for people who didn't know my name


Biggest accomplishment: not once getting Monteczuma's revenge


Biggest disappointment: not getting to spend much time in the actual garbage dump


Biggest regret: regrets are stupid


Biggest fear: not having access to toilet paper (it happened; I improvised)

Defining moment: There wasn't really one moment that defined my experience. It was a pistache of really small moments.

Things you will miss most: the AFE kids and teachers, soccer fanatics, speaking Spanish, Jessy's cooking, kissing everyone on the cheek, being surrounded by people of faith, warm weather, thunderstorms, writing a blog, doing dishes while talking with Elise


Things you will miss least: mosquitoes, heavy and greasy food, sketchy bathroom situations, the smell of pot across the street, crazy drivers and thinking I was going to die several times per car ride


Biggest Irony: eating a lot of Chinese food in Honduras


Worst illness: I barely got sick, so really the worse thing that happened was having a runny nose and having to use notebook paper because I was at AFE and ran of tissue


Biggest freak-out: I'd tell you, but it's probably better if you didn't find out.



Most useful things I brought: digital camera, Power Bars, and Spanish dictionary


Least useful thing I brought: lots of old work clothes which made me look like a missionary


Favorite activity when bored: updating blog, eating ice cream, and reading


Weirdest thing I did when bored: went outside and started washing all of my clothes by hand, because I realized it was fun.


Favorite Hondureñismo: Que barbaridad!


Greatest lie I told at my site: That I didn't remember how much my plane ticket had cost.


Favorite Honduran inquiry: "What is your last name?" -Glenn- "And your second last name?" - I don't have one. "You don't? Why not?"


Best Honduran gesture: puckering and pointing with the lips instead of the finger when you want to point to something or someone


Favorite CD/song during service: “Deja que tu rio fluya" - worship song.. and Black Eyed Peas in the car, because Elijah likes Hip Hop


Song I would be content to never hear again: It was all pretty good music.


Favorite book(s) during service: Deep Justice in a Broken World; Good News or Good Works: a theology for the Whole Gospel; the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; and any book that would calm my kindergarteners down


Favorite Honduran fashion: the feminine shoes and/or soccer jerseys


Worst jalón: Riding in the back of Michelle's pickup truck in Danli. The truck had been sitting in the sun for so long, that it burned me just to sit on it, so I had to do this weird squat thing the whole way while trying not to fall out!


Best bus ride: The bus was packed, as usual, and I was sitting down holding onto a handle on the back of the seat in front of me. A bunch of other people, crowded in the aisles, were holding on too- there were about eight hands on that thing. Then Roger, as a joke, reached out and grabbed my thumb- I was totally confused! I followed the arm up into the tangled mass of people, but I couldn't figure out who it was. Then I saw him laughing.


Worst bus ride: The one that was so crowded that I couldn't turn my head because someone's butt was right next to my cheek the whole time.


Favorite food: The plato tipico with tortillas, beans, fried plantains, that weird dry cheese, and meat. And of course, licuados. (Pupusas, actually, do not make the list- but I still enjoyed them.)


Worst thing I ate: Some small, yellow, berry-like fruit purchased from a street vendor... I saw people eating them all the time, but it tasted like it had fermented. Gross.


Worst thing I smelled: the dump


Stupidest thing I did: Me? Do something stupid? ha!


Untrue fact told to you as undeniable truth: That Olimpia is the best team ever... obviously it's Motagua!


You know you’ve been in Honduras too long when…: you hear loud bangs outside and do not assume that they are just fireworks. And you hesitate before throwing toilet paper in the toilet.


I never thought I would…: consider a Honey Bucket a step up from bathrooms I was used to.


When I grow up I want to be…: someone who loves God and loves people.


If I had to do it all over again I…: would spend more time in prayer.



Favorite Ropa Americana T-shirt: A Honduran wearing a shirt that said "I survived a mission trip in Honduras!"



Favorite animal story: One day, Elise and I took Elijah to the zoo. Right off the bat we could tell it was kind of a sketchy situation because the cages looked like something out of a horror movie, and there were monkeys running around wild. At one point we stopped to admire a monkey who was hanging out in a tree right outside of his cage. Just then we heard a loud ruckus a few yards away. We turned to see three antelope/goat- like animals tromping through the zoo, followed by a pack of men running screaming after them with ropes. Apparently they had escaped from their cages and were being chased down?! A few minutes later, they had all been returned to their cages- Much to everyone's relief.


Best habit acquired: Going with the flow, not being so concerned about time.


Worst habit acquired: Eating ice cream every night! (it was hot and ice cream was cheap!)


Thing you missed most from the US: family, friends, church, running, healthy food


Thing you missed least from the US: materialism, safety regulations, cold weather


Favorite location in Honduras: home, Jeony and Jessy's house, downtown, AFE


Things you’d wish you had known before you came: Um, you're going to be teaching kindergarten at AFE. Have fun!


Best advice for others coming to Honduras: Take in every minute, strive to make friendships with locals. Suck it up, and do whatever needs to be done.

Reflections on a Transformation of the Heart

Can you remember the last thing that you worried about? Are you worried about anything right now?I’ve never been a big worrier in life. When I face stress or struggles, I’ve gotten really good at relying on God to take care of them.

So far, that’s worked well for me. But recently, I’ve had a number of experiences and conversations that have shaken up ideas about God that I’d had since I was a child, and made me wonder if maybe reading the Bible from inside a safe, suburban home growing up had caused me to misunderstand a few things. Let me explain.

When I wanted to help the poor, I would go to feed the homeless, but I would make it all about me. I would go to bed feeling good about having volunteered and thinking about how much God would bless me for it. I would not lose sleep worrying about where the homeless people I had met would lay their heads that night.

Why was I so sure that God would take care of my every want, need, or desire, when I didn’t give a thought to how he took care of my homeless neighbors across town?Somehow, I grew more comfortable with the image of God as one who would bless me for doing good works than one who desperately cared about the poor and wants us to do the same.

When I got into my first choice college, when I could afford to go to physical therapy for my knee because we had health insurance, I assumed it was God’s blessings that had allowed me do those things, as if he was rewarding me for being a faithful follower to Him. There’s just one thing wrong with this view: the unstated assumption. The assumption was that those who hadn’t been blessed like I was must not have deserved it. Most people would never admit this out loud, but it seems that the way we live confirms that we think we are more deserving than other “less fortunate” people.

It is true that God cares for me, but what about the refugees of Darfur, the starving in Haiti, or the struggling inner city student in Detroit? I have to think that God has an even greater hand of protection over them, yet their struggles continue. Does this mean that God is taking better care of me than of them? I beg to differ. Maybe I have been taking too much for granted, writing it off as God blessing me for being such a great person, when really it’s only because I’ve been fortunate enough to be born on the right side of certain political, economic, and social structures. I don’t deserve that, it’s just the way it’s happened. So we must realize that God wants to bless the struggling, oppressed people of the world as much as he wants to bless us, and if something is prohibiting them from drinking safe water or working under decent conditions, it’s probably because of our greed, even unknowingly.

I fear that we have become very complacent as a culture. We justify our comfortable lifestyles unnecessary spending by quoting verses that say that God loves us and wants the best for us. But chances are, those verses were not written to the “salaried and caloried” part of the world, as one writer put it, but to people who were poor, abused, and oppressed. It is true that I work hard and God wants me to take time for myself. But how much harder do the hundreds of scavengers in the dump work every day, looking for food? Why did I always put my needs before theirs?

It makes me sad when I realize that even though I do make a point of giving to the less fortunate, I still live at a level that is above 95% of the world. I am not, as Michael Miller put it, “giving until it hurts.” As the saying goes, there is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. And I cannot possibly justify my greedy behavior by saying that God loves me, when there are others out there hurting who God loves just as much. It is only through reading the Bible from their perspective- on the fringes of society- that we will ever begin to wrap our mind around how much God loves and cares for the poor and hurting of the world. Let us strive to understand that, to live it out, and to never forget it.

These are just some things I have been thinking about lately. I plan on continuing to write a little more over the next few days, so keep in touch!

La Despedida

Tonight is my last night in Honduras- for this year, anyway. Since I have been trying to enjoy quality time with Rey, Elise, and Elijah tonight, and still haven't packed, I haven't had time to write tonight. But I definitely still have more to write about my last couple of days here and reflections on my experience in general. So, please check in on Wednesday to see my final blog posts for this trip! God Bless!

Last Day at AFE

Yesterday was my last day going to AFE. While I knew I was going to miss everyone, I wasn't prepared for how emotional it would be. The pictures will tell the story best:

During class (it turns out we did have class!) I let the kids play more than usual. These pictures perfectly illustrate the difference between boys and girls! Here are the girls coloring (behind Paola are Jenny and Jasmine, the new girls)....

And the boys are playing with trucks, running, crashing, and making loud truck noises.

I tried to enjoy my last few minutes with the teachers... (here is me with Iris and Wendy)

and Roger, who I spent a lot of time with riding the bus back to the city from AFE...

And some of my friends, 3rd graders Genesis, Leyby, Abby, and Marla.

Here is us playing some kind of a blind-folded tag game

Me and Jaime

I think I took more pictures yesterday than I ever had in a week! It was a fun day of enjoying time with the people I've come to love. I also especially enjoyed reminding the Olimpia fans that Motagua, my team, had beat them 2-0 the night before.

Later that morning as I tried, unsuccessfully, to get the kindergarteners involved in a relay race during class, an older student came in and told us that everyone was to meet upstairs in the the big, empty room we use for assemblies. As we walked up, I noticed that nobody was outside walking around like usual- they must have already been at the assembly, and we were last. As I got closer to the door I heard a bunch of "SHH!! Shhh!!" and then walked in to find all of the students sitting on the ground, facing me, and clapping! They had organized a surprise goodbye party for me. I was a little overwhelmed and didn't know what to say! All of the classes then proceeded to do some kind of a performance:

The first grade class gave me a puppet show...

Then everyone gave me cards, and we had lots of time for hugging.

It felt strange having so much attention on me, and the truth is that I really admire their ability to make someone feel special. People like Jeony and Jessy hardly get recognized, and yet they were there long before I arrived, and they'll be there long after I'm gone. Somehow they understand that it's not about who gets the credit, which is a lesson I could learn. But it was a fun time to look back and reflect on the past 2 months, and I know for sure I'll be back.

Here are some more random pictures of AFE and its surroundings:

Up on the hill is the pulperia, a store where students buy snacks during recessMaria, one of the cooks

Reading, Writing, and... Really good soccer

Elise, Elijah, and me looking over the city from the hill of the Christ statue (naturally, I am sporting my Honduran jersey)

I just looked back on this past week's postings and realized it looks as if all I do here is watch and play soccer. While I would be lying to say I'm not watching soccer right now (Motagua just beat Olimpia! ha!), it's only as a way of relaxing after a fairly long week.

Today was my last day actually teaching at AFE- we are celebrating Dia Del Nino (Day of the Child) tomorrow, and Monday is Independence Day, a national holiday, then I leave. So I've been going through a whirl of emotions: trying to make the most of my last days here, but missing home; trying to have fun with the kids, but wanting to teach them something at the same time.

me with Profesora Iris at AFE

We got two new girls in class yesterday- sisters Jenny and Jasmine. They are so cute, but it was hard to figure out how to teach two students who came in two months before the year ends who aren't as excited to participate in class activities as the other students. Another student, Milton, who had been absent for almost 3 weeks, just came back! So my cozy group of 3 that I had grown pretty comfortable with just doubled, and I can't count how many times I've said "Who's listening? Are you listening? Show me that you're listening" in the past week. But thanks to a couple of extra long recesses this week and some special treats like candy (ok, bribery), we've all been able to keep our sanity.

Unfortunately, though, Milton's 3-week absence for being "sick" points to a big problem that AFE faces in getting kids to come to school: motivation and support from home. While most of the AFE kids love coming to school and seeing their friends and teachers, some kids, like Milton, would rather stay home and only come when they feel like it. In Milton's case, his mom does not force him to come to school. It worries me because if he will not even come to kindergarten to begin to learn how to read, he will never have the opportunity to make anything of his life. However, he has been in class every day this week, so I hope that this is an indication that he'll begin to take school more seriously.

On a happier note, I was also able to go out and purchase some new school supplies last weekend thanks to a donation by some members of my family. It's amazing what a difference a few pencils, pencil sharpeners, and a garbage bin in the classroom can make! Also, I bought some construction paper so we were able to do some really cool crafts, like snowflakes which I hung from the ceiling (but hey, they don't have to know they were snowflakes; after all, it's 85 degrees and they don't even know what snow is).

Milton, Josue, Paola, and Carlos with the new school supplies: "Hey, let me take your picture. Look excited!"

And yeah, we watched Honduras completely dominate Jamaica in soccer last night! Here are some pictures from the past few days:a special "Dia del Nino" lunch at AFE: tortillas, rice, fried plantains, beans, and meat. A nice, typical Honduran meal. (This was my meal; I didn't just take a picture of some random kid's food)In case you were wondering, this is kind of what Hondurans look like when they start to get excited about their team (except for the jumping up, screaming, and taking their shirts off part)

This is the bridge into downtown that we pass through on the way home from AFE every day.

Ganamos!

Yesterday was another big soccer game as Honduras took on Canada in the World-Cup Qualifiers. Even though there are many games to go, everyone felt the importance of winning this one after our loss to Mexico. The whole city was excited about it, as usual- everywhere you looked there were blue and white soccer jerseys to be seen, flags, waving from cars, and people dodging cars in the streets as they sold soccer souvenirs.

This lady was selling Honduras flags to cars in the street

By halftime, things looked bleak. Canada had scored early and we were down 1-0. They even had a commercial on TV at half time saying that 10 major restaurants in the area would be giving away free food today if we won. In other words, no one thought it was possible. But Honduras pulled through, scoring 2 goals in the next 15 minutes. The rest of the game was tense as we feared Canada would score again, but we held out! With that win we're in 2nd place behind Mexico in our group of 4. It was great to see everyone in such a good mood today!

With that note, we're off to get some free food!

Here are some more random Tegus sightings:

downtown

trying to give Elijah a piggy-back- but he refused!

Yes, they have Chinese food in Honduras!

A pinata stand

Thursday Night Lights

In the absence of any deep, pensive reflections this week, I thought I'd give you an update on... soccer in Honduras! Yesterday night we went to the inaugural game in the National Stadium since it reopened from remodeling. Motagua (my team!) was playing a team called Arsenal from Argentina in the Copa Sudamericana, so my fellow Motagua fans and me- Jesi and German- went to root them on, dragging a few Olimpia fans with us too- Rey, Jeony, and Roger (who, I'm happy to report, couldn't help but cheer them on as they represented Honduras. heh heh).

Me, Jesi, Jeony, Roger, and German

The stadium was a whirl of flashing lights, decked-out Motagua fans, shouting Coca-Cola vendors, and loud BANG!s that made Rey and I jump at first, until we realized they were just fans setting off fireworks and were not, in fact, gun shots. (we don't think). The section over from us was occupied by a barra called "La Revo," a group of wild, die-hard fans. (It turns out, our section, the "safe section," was fenced off with barbed wire to protect us from the riots and sometimes deaths that occur during games against our main rival, Olimpia.)

La Revo kept busy the whole game cheering, jumping up and down, and displaying their huge black flag which covered the heads of everyone in the entire section (they didn't keep it up for long, however, because I'm guessing you can't see the game under a huge black piece of fabric).

This is the flag that La Revo held up, which took up their entire section.

They played well, and scored the first goal of the game. Unfortunately, Arsenal seemed to win the favor of the referees and ended up scoring two goals, one on a penalty kick for a Motagua foul that, mysteriously, no one saw. The entire stadium was screaming at the refs. They must have known it too, because they got escorted off the field at half time by four cops in full-out riot gear.

Despite that, we had a great time taking in the atmosphere of soccer in Tegus!

Me and the mascot. What else is there to say?