Update Kim’s Honduras Experience – July 17-23

 07-17-10 via phone

Talked to Kim.  She is home this weekend just relaxing.  She went to a pool at a local hotel and could hang out and swim for aout $1.  She explained that she and the 2 other American girls at her home are being moved to a different family tomorrow.  Something about the “politics” of the housing situation.  Her school director was unhappy with her grandparents because they were charging the girls too much rent.  Mostly likely it is more complicated than that.  Kim seems a okay with the move, she will only stay at this new house 2 weeks and then move out to the project.  She is done with the Spanish school portion and will go out every day to the project.  I am posting some new photos she put on her Facebook page.

07-20-10 via e-mail

Hey guys,

I was going to put Adam on here but I realized I don’t have his email address saved so can you please send that to me? Today was a very fun day. It was my first full day at the project and it was better than I thought. The whole thing is very laid back. My two favorite kids were back today, Mauricio and his little brother Alexi, they are the ones everyone calls monkey boys because they are so small and are constantly climbing on you. They were also the ones that were very sick last week and needed to be taken to the clinic which apparently you need to be pretty sick to be taken to the clinic. They seemed better but Alexi the two year old spent most of the day sleeping in my lap. Gale and Steveo and two of their friends who got here last night brought a bunch of presents for the kids that were donated by a church. It was pretty cool because they were all wrapped and each kid got their very own present to unwrap which they didn’t really get the concept of. After that we had ice cream cookies and watermelon, of course they loved that. Over all a very good day for everyone. Reid said he really wants me to start living on the site ASAP because since I will be there the longest and pretty much the rest of the session hes making me head volunteer and giving me a bunch or responsibilities. This will be pretty interesting as well. I doubt it will be very hard; I just need to plan a craft for everyday. Mom and grandma will really enjoy it. So far I learned that craft stuff is always welcomed and so are kid’s vitamins, so be one the look out (to bring).

I like the project a lot more than I thought I would. I was a little nervous I would get burnt out half way through the day entertaining 25 kids that didn’t speak any English but it actually went by very fast and was a lot of fun. It also helps that there are so many volunteers there right now. I have been recruiting students from the school to come out in the afternoon. Today we had a total of 13 volunteers there which is almost unheard of. In the next two weeks it will really drop off. The students form the Spanish school I know are leaving as well as the two volunteers who are living at the project. It will go back to 2 to 4 volunteers and there is a chance there will be some time when I’m on my own. Reid is very unsure how the next couple of months will turn out volunteer wise. There are 3 or 4 older women who work there along with a bunch of older kids who help out a lot; if not more than us Americans so I’m sure it will be fine.

Tonight I’m going to a movie with Ashley and Malorie, very cheap down here and its air conditioned. Its 30 or 40 lemps a movie and 19 lemps are equal to 1 dollar. Also we are no longer moving out of Abuelos anymore. Instead we are staying here but eating all our meals at Raphael’s house. It seems as though Abuelos are using the money he gives them to take care of us to pay of their debt with the bank instead of buying us food. He’s worried about the food we are getting so he is just adopting us which I’m not complaining about because his house has awesome food. I’ll call you tomorrow possibly.

Love you!

Another E-mail dated an hour later-  Subject: I almost forgot
I don’t know if I told you about the problem I had with my teacher last week or not. Well since Oscar my original teacher left I got a new one named Al who seemed to be a very nice attractive 24 year old Honduran kid. He’s a new teacher so nobody really knew him very much. Well he was kinda creepy and would always ask me to come to lunch with him or walk me to the mall or ask me to dinner or something, I always said no bc he kinda gave me a weird vibe, he was very sensitive and would sometimes get a little hostile and take a joke a little to seriously and it was just kinda uncomfortable. I thought it was a language barrier thing and he didnt understand when I was kidding but it turns out it was more than that. He went on the trip with most of the people from the Spanish school (which thank god I opted out of) and had a mental break down. The police were called and he was in jail for 24 hours before his family had to drive 7 hours to the Copan Ruins where they were and bring him back to the city and commit him to a mental hospital. Apparently he is a paranoid schizophrenic with bipolar disorder and hasn’t been taking his medication for the past week or so.
07-23-10 via e-mail
Hey mom not much new here.  last night we went to our regular bar that the whole school group goes to every Thrusday called ex pat (or ex patriots) its owned by some old Americans and is a really awesome place to eat and hang out plus they have free internet and phone to the US and everyone is super nice.
today should be interesting. A group of us who are volunteering a Las Sonrisas are going out to another project that is further outside the city and deeper into the jungle. I heard the project is corupt and the kids there are very different from ours. Gale, the woman I am going with is very spiritual and kinda a hippie and she says the place has a strange aura and the kids act like little zombies and have pretty much nothing. We are leaving Cacao after lunch and just going to this place in the afternoon. I think its called Le Bamba.
This weekend weare going to Cayos Cochinos an island to do some snorkeling and hanging out. Ashley and Mal are leaving next thursday and have been trying to talk me into going with them to do some traveling in Guatemala. I think they are heading to Antigua and some other places there before they have to be back in La Ceiba for thier flights home. I told them i was poor but they are very convincing when they want to be.
We are having a party tonight at the school for a bunch of people who are leaveing so i will be around a phone eventually and will give you a call later.
love you