Allen & Marcel Volunteer in Honduras

Tina (our hostess) and Nellie (one of the teachers at school) have both used the phrase “Terminar La Vida Buena” indicating that we are finishing “The Good Life” where we have wonderful meals prepared for us and someone to clean up after us and wash our clothes. When we get to NPH we will have to do our own chores and will have jobs besides. I know we will miss the fun times in Copan where you never know what you will see in the streets or in the town square. This morning we saw a big truck of green bananas drive by while on our morning walk and later we saw some horses carrying stacks of wood. A few days ago we saw a load of eggs in the bed of a pickup. Last night there was a music and dance display in the town square of Punta dancers from the Garifuna region of Honduras. There are also always new foods – liches for example – and lessons from Tina who tells us how to act like a Honduran (dunk bread in your coffee and lean against a wall with one foot on the wall).                     

  In addition to the Copan Ruins which I summarized in a previous blog, Copan is known in Honduras for the Guacamaya Fest which occurs every year in June – and this year it was our last weekend in Copan! For background, Copan has a bird sanctuary called Parque de Aves (Park of Birds) or otherwise known as Macaw Mountain. The sanctuary was started by a need to rehabilitate birds that were formerly kept as pets and to try to enhance the environment for better populations of birds, especially macaws (Guacamayas in Spanish) which are the national bird of Honduras. The bird sanctuary began in Roatan, but was moved to Copan as more spacious and a better site for the birds. Guacamaya Fest began ten years ago as a 3-day celebration of local music, art and food with the culmination in the final day by releasing some of the guacamayas that had been rehabilitated or bred in captivity. We were delighted to take in the events of the weekend even though they were broken up almost every afternoo

  We had what was for me a somewhat unexpected adventure our last weekend in Copan. In addition to the various activities of Guacamaya Fest, we went with three other students from Spanish school (two of which are volunteers with us at NPH) on a zip line. There are some marvelously high mountains around Copan and the Zip Line crew drove us high enough to be able to zip 4 km over 14 different cables. We experienced thrilling rides with beautiful vistas over valleys and through trees. We had a beautiful clear blue sky and excellent assistance from our guides. At one point, we even zipped upside-down! Not quite like flying, but I definitely felt like I got a guacamaya’s-eye-view of the copan region.                                                     Marcel, Julia, Samantha, Natalie, and Allen ready for Zip Line                                                                 Allen Showing Proper Form for Zipping                                                       Our Zip Line Crew - They

  There is a virus going around Copan with symptoms ranging from mild (upset stomach, head ache) to more serious (vomiting, diarrhea). Enrique was sick for a few days with more of a respiratory illness. His daughter (2 years old) was sick at the same time with stomach upset and was so sick that they took her to the doctor, worried about dehydration. Karla, my teacher and Enrique’s wife, said the hospitals are full and that she was told that the virus effects last anywhere from one to 10 days. This last weekend seemed to affect a lot of us: Karla was sick Saturday, Jesus and I were sick on Sunday. Luckily we had pretty mild cases with just mild stomach upset, light-headedness, and lack of energy. With a lot of sleep and special teas and soup made by Tina, I recovered enough the next day to go to class. Tina made a special mint and herb tea for us (me and Jesus) and some chicken soup. She also brought me drinks throughout the day to stay hydrated (juices and powerade). Allen had a mild c

 We have two more students at the Guycamaya Spanish School in Copan. Natalie is with us in the mornings and is also a volunteer at NPH. We haven’t met Samantha yet as she goes to school in the afternoons. There is also another girl, Audrey, at Julie’s immersion school. As mentioned a few posts ago, Julie is also learning Spanish to prepare to volunteer at NPH. Allen is dealing quite well with so many young ladies around (me included 😊 ). One of our class activities now involves playing games with the other students. Yesterday we sat in a circle and each came up with a couple of questions in Spanish. Then everyone around the circle got a turn to answer – in Spanish. We learned a new slang term during the discussion: fufa rufo (not sure of the spelling).   Apparently, it is similar to hoity-toity and is used to describe higher-end tourist-type activities and accommodations. Since Allen & I are drawn to anyplace with air conditioning, I guess we are fully embracing fufa rufo ism.  

  On a normal day we wake up shortly after sun-up (around 5:30) to the sound of birds, chickens, and dogs. It is the best time for exercise as the day is at it’s coolest (~70F) so we walk to the entrance to the Sepulturas which is the “residential” region of the Copan ruins. [1] This gives us ~3.5 mile walk to start our day and we usually follow with a half hour yoga session. We bought yoga mats in our first week and have a large room upstairs that works perfectly for yoga. We are generally able to stream Beach Body on Demand for Yoga sessions, but if the power is out, can just set a timer and do yoga poses from memory.                                                        Start of Our Morning Walk in Copan Ruinas We shower before breakfast which is at 7AM. The water distribution system can be problematic. It is inconsistent and our shower probably has one of the best water-saving shower heads known to humankind 😊 . One day Al did not get any water for several minutes and finally

  We are meeting and doing things with other students coming to Copan to learn Spanish. Harry arrived a week ago and is staying at our host family’s house while learning Spanish at the other immersion school in town. Harry is only here a week and is making the most of it. He is an intrepid adventurer. In fact he is learning Spanish so that he can travel with one of his daughters who is in a Spanish club in High School back in their hometown in Virginia. Another NPH volunteer, Julie, came to Copan a few days ago and is learning Spanish at the school that Harry attends. Harry made a reservation to learn how to make chocolate at a local artisan chocolate shop (Mayan Harvest) and invited the three of us to go with him. We met at the artisan shop in the early afternoon and were given a tour in which we learned about the steps to make chocolate.   We harvested cocoa pods; broke them open; extracted the seeds; learned about the fermentation and roasting process; then ground previously prepa

  After our first week of Spanish Immersion classes, we are just starting to appreciate how much we have to learn. I thought I knew parts of the body, but found I only had words (palabras) for a small fraction. The good news is that we have very patient teachers (maestros) who make learning fun, but we wish that we had spent more time learning Spanish at home. We are both praying for a miracle (ombus orando por un milagro), but it will likely just take a lot of hard work. We have also taken time to explore the town of Copas Ruinas, especially the many coffee shops that have air conditioning, wifi, and some excellent Honduran coffee!   All greatly appreciated when we are working on our homework (tarea). Cafe Con Leche from Cafe San Rafael We bought yoga mats and have been doing daily yoga in the large salon at our homestay. Our host family, the Perazas, have an ideal setup for students with ensuite bedrooms and a spacious home. Abu

  Starting the adventure on Pentecost Sunday seems very appropriate given that the first objective would be to learn to speak Spanish. I was praying for the Holy Spirit to send me the gift of understanding languages and communicating with the Hondurans and he answered my prayers with the Guacamaya Immersion School. The headmaster, Enrique, spent his entire Sunday picking us up from the airport, transporting us (~4 hrs) to our host family, Jesus & Tina Peraza, and making sure that we were informed as needed. Arriving at school today, we found that Enrique would be Allen’s one-on-one teacher and I met Carla who was mine. With their patience, persistence, good humor and gentle prodding, we have high hopes. In addition, our host family only speaks Spanish to us, so that will help immensely with the practice, practice, practice… View of the Guacamaya valley from the school. We had four hours of intensive training and found that we