Internet is terrible. I have to type these entries out before I get on the internet because I never know when I can go online and when I am online, it goes too slow. I got super frustrated the first day because I started writing in the blog and when I sent it, the computer said: Error. The internet died after typing my novel out. Good thing for blogger’s autosave!
Anyways, today, we went into town. Ryan, the agriculture guy, bought us bagged water at the bus stop. It’s pretty much a bag filled with water and you bite the corner and you try and forget how dirty it probably is. I was sweating like a pig and so I put aside any fears of germs and bit the bag open. It helped cool me down and I was thankful for it. When we got to the center of Santa Barbara, we went straight to get a phone, but the people were on their siesta, where they take their loooong lunch break. I’m very jealous of this siesta business. I like my rest especially because I haven’t been getting much sleep over here. It’s hard when the bugs are threatening my life. ;)
We headed straight to Doloris’s house. Doloris is someone I have to mention. She’s a feisty little old lady who has been living in Honduras for 20 years. Ryan told us she was a California girl just like us. She let us in her house and she was talking about how old and forgetful she was and how she probably wouldn’t remember our names, but to forgive her anyway. While she talked to us, this little boy was running around the house, playing with his toys. He was curious about who we were, but was too shy to stay in the room for very long. Why would a little old lady from US have a little Honduran kid running around in her house? Well, for twenty years, Doloris has been taking in small children and babies who are malnourished and don’t have a home. She gives them a chance to live. She raises them and brings them back to health and sometimes, they go on to El Hogar. She’s an amazing woman, but she has to deal with problems in Honduras. She says that there was a time where the teachers went on strike and the kids were only taught 3 days a week for two hours. So the children are way behind in their schooling… they’ve lost amounts of school that is hard to make up, especially here in Honduras. She says that there are many more problems in Honduras including receiving medicine. There is also inflation happening in Honduras and her price for rent is going up and up and she won’t be able to pay it. She was told she had to move from the place she’s been for so long. She packed her stuff, but then was told that she can stay in it for one more year. Ryan suggested that we go with Doloris’s helper, Martha, to the more remote places where they find the children. I think it would be a good experience to see that and I hope that the people in charge of El Hogar let us go.
After that, we went to the day care. I can’t tell you how happy this made me. I’m a big fan of little children. I want to work with here for sure. Teaching scares me (not as much as bugs of course). When we got there, the children started singing for us. They asked us to sing a song to them and so we sang Jesus Loves the Little Children. I really hope they assign me there!
Next came food. This part makes me very happy also. We went to some place called Betty’s and I tried a Baleanas. It’s a tortilla with beans, cheese, eggs, meat, and avocado in it. It was really really good. I haven’t gotten sick from the food yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen so I figure I’ll just enjoy it. The two girls that came earlier than we did said that at El Hogar, sometimes there are ants crawling on the bread. They said to just shake it off and forget about it. They also mentioned not to watch how they wash the plates because it’ll disgust us. There are a lot of things I just try to ignore.
After we got our cell phones, we headed home. Because it was Friday, the kids didn’t have to sleep early so we were up with them. I brought out my ukulele. This probably wasn’t the best idea because everyone wanted to play it and they were angry that one had a longer time than the other. I decided that it was time to lay my ukulele to rest for the night.
I’m a little scared about taking care of the kids because I’ve never had an experience like this. I mean, sure I’ve been to vacation bible school and I’ve done some babysitting, but I haven’t actually had to care for a child. I have to be mom to these kids. I’m going to have to discipline them and be the bad guy and they may hate me for it sometimes, but I have to accept that because I love them and I want what’s best for them. Yikes. I sound like my parents. Haha, well, I’m learning and I think it’s going to be a good experience.
At dinner, I sit at the girls table. My job is to serve them and make sure they eat everything on their plate. I didn’t know that at first though. I was just sitting there looking at the food and asking why no one was eating. One of the girls, Marta, said that I had to serve them. Keep in mind, this is all in Spanish so the girls are laughing at me and I’m struggling to remember the words and say them in the right order. I think they say things, but I never really know. They were all looking at me and so I picked up the salad bowl and started scooping on each of their plates.
I know this is hardly a blog. It’s more like a novel… but it’s hard to limit what I say when there’s so much going on!!
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