Day 1 in Honduras

Mentally I’m in heaven, but physically I am in hell.  Adjusting to a country where the humidity is high and the temperature is even higher is very difficult with little to no sleep. Starting off at 3:30 a.m. after a night of tossing and turning thanks to nerves put me a little on edge to begin the trip.  I was anxious for our flight to take off at seven, and after sleeping the whole ride from Indianapolis to Atlanta, I began to feel better.  Our layover didn’t take very long, and before we knew it, we were in the air heading towards Tegucigalpa the capital city of Honduras.  I was feeling so many things – anxious, excited, apathetic.  Once we got to Honduras, the feeling of remembrance overcame me.  I remembered the airport and the mountains.  I remembered where to walk to go through customs and to get to the baggage claim.  I remembered the exhilaration that comes from being in a foreign country.  Once we had help gathering all our bags, we boarded a bus organized by Mae to take us to Pizza Hut for lunch.  Mae is the director of international relations at La Sociedad Amigos de lost Ninos and makes it her job to get to know all 125 kids at the orphanage.  Immediately upon seeing us, she hugged and kissed each one of us on the cheek and told us how good it is to see us or meet us.  At lunch we had the opportunity to talk to her about what condition the country is in and how things have changed since the Honduran coup.  She said women are receiving more education and people in general are becoming more educated.  Although the unemployment rate has not improved because the minimum wage has been raised twice in the past two years, making it more than double what it was, she is still hopeful for improvement in the quality of life for the Honduran people.  She said people are tired of being poor, and although the minimum wage was supposed to help the situation, it has actually worsened it.  The Honduran money, which is the lempira, is 18:1 what the dollar is worth.  Minimum wage for Hondurans is now 6,000 lempira/month, which translates to roughly $270/month.  Annually that would amount to $3,240, which is well below the American poverty line.  However, the new minimum wage makes it impossible for most Honduran businesses to thrive and therefore means more job cuts.  Additionally, gas here is roughly $5/gallon, and the cost of living continues to rise.  Despite the downward turn of Honduran businesses, La Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos continues to thrive.  The high school in Nuevo Paraiso, where the orphanage is located, was named one of the ten best high schools in the country thanks to its program, which allows for students to graduate with both a degree and a trade.  Learning about how much the area has improved since I was here two years ago, made me even more excited to see everything up close.  After the two hour drive from Tegucigalpa to Nuevo Paraiso, I immediately recognized the sign that signified the entrance to La Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos.  After settling in and unpacking a few of our things, we made a beeline to spend time with the kids.  Just like last time, they immediately greeted us with hugs and smiles.  One little girl, Samantha, who is seven, grabbed my hand and pulled me to play with her.  I pushed her on the swing before asking her to show me her house.  She walked me the short distance to her casa and introduced me to her little brother Brandon who is three and older sister Sandra who is nine.  They got out their special paint and invited me to paint a picture of Mary with them.  A few other little girls joined in after awhile, and once the paintings were completed, they gave them to me as gifts.  I love them.  We then moved on to the photoshoot portion of our afternoon.  Girls love to model; I don’t care where in the world you are, they love it.  They posed with sunglasses on, holding teddy bears, inside, outside.  They loved being able to take pictures and to see the playback of what they looked like.  Many times they saw themselves and insisted we take another picture.  Not that they’re vain, but they’re certainly little girls.  After awhile, I had to go back to our area to reunite with the group and prepare for adoration.  Adoration led to dinner, which was followed by a night activity and evening prayer.  I am so tired, and it is only 8:20 p.m. here.  We not only awoke at 3:30 but also gained an additional two hours.  It has been a very long day.  So far, the trip is not going quite like the first trip went, and I think that’s because half the group has been here before and the other half hasn’t, as opposed to the first time we came here and it was new for everyone except Father Jeff.  Something is definitely missing without father being here, and I’m sad that Brendan wasn’t able to come this year either.  I am looking forward to becoming closer to the people on this trip, and I hope we can break out of the cliques that seem to have already formed.  Most importantly, I hope I can grow in my relationships with the kids, and I hope I make discoveries about myself as well as the world around me.