Friday, March 30, 2012

Friday at El Faro

Today was our second day out to a village about an hour drive from El Faro.  Some of the men helped put up a fan in the school there and Mr. and Mrs. Dean and others helped finish painting the bathroom.  There were lots of children around so the girls played with the children.  Lots of stickers were given out, jump rope and  frisbee played, pictures were taken and developed on the spot, and just general playing with kids.  We were up at 7am and leaving for the village by 7:30.  We came back around 1:00 and then were able to have lunch and enjoy our last day here at camp.  The day is hot and sunny so the ocean felt wonderful for a swim and there was finally a little time for actually catching the rays on the pier. Half the team from Portage went out to the local village to do a PE class with 50+ kids at 3pm.  Mr. Dean took his frisbees and was hoping to teach the kids ultimate frisbee.  They are not back yet so we don't know if he was successful.
Tonight we are having a type of good-bye event where Megan, the daughter of the owner of the camp, is putting together a slide show of some of the pictures she has taken over the week.  It will be fun to look back and see all we have done.  The camp is busy right now with a youth group from Guatemala City here till tomorrow, and also they are preparing for a wedding at the camp tomorrow.  There are 200 people coming for the wedding so the staff are busy getting the camp cleaned up, food prepared, tables and chairs ready to get set up to go.    There is also another youth group event tomorrow taking place at the same time as the wedding.  This is a busy place!
We are planning on being at the dock tomorrow morning at 8am to begin our journey back to Indiana via boat, bus, and plane to Miami.  All in all it has been a wonderful trip and everyone has made many new friends, gotten lots of service hours in,  and gotten to use their Spanish...or learn some in the case of Ellen and Mr. and Mrs. Dean.  We are all pretty tired from a busy week and we are looking forward to being back in the US.  Happy Friday!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

New Places....New Faces

Today brought some changes around El Faro as the medical teams headed out and members of a youth church retreat came to stay.  It was definitely sad to say goodbye to some of the new friends we had made over the week, but we all traded emails and promised to find each other on facebook.  Rosie, Liz, and Alisha remained at the camp, and once again helped with P.E. classes and soccer camp.  They also worked on a recylcing project and got to know some of the new faces around El Faro. 
Ellen, Alexis, and I (Hannah) went with most of the group to a new village about an hour's bus ride away.  The road was the bumpiest ride I´ve ever had with huge ruts, abrupt turns, and steep hills, but when we arrived the bumps were definitely worth it.  The village had a school, and the many children had all arrived incredibly early in anticipation of meeting their guests.  We played futbol, did crafts, painted nails, took pictures, and generally got to know the children.  They had such a beautiful innocence, taking delight in things we consider commonplace.  The children loved taking pictures and when Alexis and I brought out our cameras we were promptly swarmed as they asked to take pictures of us, with us, of their friends, and of the other members of the team.  It was so sweet.  These people were so willing to accept us and play with us, and as I sat in their one-room school house I had a strong desire to adopt all of the children and take them home with us. 
Some people on our team spent the morning helping these people paint and redo their bathroom, and tomorrow our whole team will return and hopefully finish the project.  Before we left the townspeople provided us with lunch, and although it was delicious, we almost had an incident because they offered us juice made from their water, and a few people had a sip before we realized we couldn´t drink it.  Luckily no one is feeling sick.
This afternoon has been spent mostly relaxing, as I think the work and also possibly our sun burns, are catching up to us, but I think I can speak for all of us in saying we are all sad we are nearing the end of the week.  Hope everyone is well, Love, the Team!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Busy last two days

The last two days have been full but great days.  Yesterday the group split again with Alisha, Rosie, Liz, and Katie staying back at El Faro and having a very full day.  7 am was P.E. with 2nd graders from the nearby village.  They did jump rope, limbo, and many other fun games.  After breakfast they helped Gavin, the El Faro soccer guy, run a soccer camp in the morning for teen guys and then teen girls.  After that the girls helped in the kitchen with lunch prep and cleaned some of the biggest carrots they had ever seen for the lunch soup.  After lunch the girls split and some helped with an afternoon soccer camp and some helped with English class to Jr. high age kids.
Mr and Mrs. Dean went out to the village across the bay again with Hannah, Alexis, and Ellen.  Mrs. Dean was with Rosie the dentist again and had LOTS of cleanings, 3 extractions, and one filling.  Hannah and Alexis were helping with the clinic and cleaned dental instruments.  They got to see some freshly pulled teeth which was a new experience for them!  Ellen helped with the children and face painting, frisbee toss, pictures, and cleaning up the beach.  There were not as many children as the previous day but still plenty to do.
After returning from the village and having lunch, all the girls joined in with some of the camp staff,  Guatemalan  kids, and the Portage team for a fast and fun game of soccer.  Dennis, one of the Guatemalan dentists, has his whole family here-wife, two sons, daughter, and nephew- and his children have become our fast friends. (and they are good soccer players)  There has been lots of sharing of facebook accounts and some lasting friendships have been made.
Before dinner we all joined in to help with the 6-7pm English class.  This was teenage students and they were working on conversational skills although they ended the evening singing head, shoulders, knees, and toes. 
After a late dinner last night and the girls all helping the kitchen staff with dish washing and cleaning up the kitchen, we gathered for a movie about Guatemala.  It told the history of Guatemala and the 36 year civil war that ended in 1996 and all the struggles this country has had.  It also showed some of the people who are trying to make a positive impact on the country of Guatemala and explained the micro loan process.  It was a good informational movie and gave a good backdrop for understanding the country.  Everyone was pretty tired after the movie and headed straight for bed......hense no blog last night.


Today was a full day but pretty much a fun day!  We took a day off from the routine and went out by boat to a hot spring at  Villa Paraiso.  It was well over an hour boat ride.  On the way we stopped at a village that the Portage team has worked with before.  It was a quick visit but it was interesting walking through the jungle to the village and seeing the village school in session and the church the Portage team helped roof on a previous visit. 
At the lakeshore by Villa Paraiso we had a ride on a flatbed pulled by a tractor up to a path to the hot springs.  After a short hike we came to a beautiful waterfall that was fed by a hot springs.  There was a big natural pool at the bottom of the waterfall you could swim in and everyone loved going for a swim there.  The water was pretty cool until you went right under the falls and it was HOT water coming over the waterfall.  Some swam under the waterfall in a small cave like area and it felt like a sauna.  There was a trail that lead up to the top of the waterfall and some went up to the top and saw the source of the hot springs and enjoyed rubbing mud on themselves and washing it off back in the falls pool.  
After our swim we ate lunch at a restaurant on the lake.  We then headed back to camp but stopped at a Spanish fort that we passed on our way to the hot springs.  We got back to camp just in time to  run to the high school English lesson from 6-7pm.  The CHS team did an activity we had done in Spanish class with CHS teachers.  We had a bag of clothes with different items and colors and did a rely race with the kids putting on the clothes and saying the name and color of the item in English.  The village students loved the activity and had a lot of fun with it. 
After dinner and a team time we enjoyed playing Chinese telephone pictionary with each other and some of our new Guatemalan friends.  It has been a packed day but another great one! 

Monday, March 26, 2012

Monday at 3 PM

This morning was an eventful morning.  Half of our team; Rosie, Alisha, Liz and Mrs. Dean, headed out at 7:30 am with the medical team in the boats to a village about a 45 minute boat ride.  The team from Portage joined us and it was a busy time.  Everyone was open to working with the medical team but Alisha, Liz and Rosie changed to working with the children since that seemed to be the greater need.  Mrs. Dean worked with Rosie the dentist from El Faro and together 7 teeth were pulled on 7 different people and a cleaning and a cavity filled.  The girls played frisbee, helped take pictures of the kids and then developed them right there, and also painted finger nails and let the little girls paint their finger nails.  After a very busy morning we left all the medical things in the village and we will head back there tomorrow for another round.  Along with 2 dentists there is also an OBGYN doctor seeing woman, and a person evaluating people for glasses.
The other half of our team that stayed back at camp were also very busy.  Hannah, Ellen, Alexis and Katie began the day at 7am working with a camp staff doing a PE class for the children of the village right outside El Faro's gate.  The class was 1st graders and they did all kinds of exercises as well as jumping rope and a few games.  After PE class they came back to camp, had breakfast, and then went to help another El Faro staff teach a music class- also to children from the village.  After lunch these girls taught a 2 hour English class to the El Faro staff.  Before the class ended the medical trip returned back to El Faro and everyone then helped with the English class except Mrs. Dean who took pictures.
It is a very warm day today and very humid so it looks like everyone is looking forward to an afternoon break and a dip in the ocean.  More English classes are on the agenda for tonight!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday at El Faro

We started the day with a refreshing breakfast (with blackberry juice!) at our hotel in Honduras.  We took a long, comfortable bus ride into Guatemala providing a brief snapshot of housing, farming, and a glimpse of daily life in Honduras.  After the excursion across the boarder we were met by 2 boats that took us to the beautiful El Faro.  The great staff at El Faro greeted us with a delicious lunch of fish (whole fish with eyes), rice, and tortillas.  The real adventure began with our ride into the little village, Santa Maria, where we helped the "Exploradores" in leading games, passing out snacks, singing and dancing, and interacting with the 30 or so local children (all under 12).  We taught some enthusiastic boys frisbee!  After returning to the camp we indulged in leaping off the pier into the Carribean, which was so refreshing and warm!  We finished the day with exercise (running around a beautiful soccer field next to horses), another great meal (chicken, rice milk, pasta, carrots in lime juice, and fresh cupcakes), and an El Faro staff devotional service.  We are looking forward to a good nights sleep and a full and exciting day tomorrow! Buenos noches!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Honduras

We arrived safely in Honduras, and it is very humid!!! PERO, we like it anyway, and nosotros hablamos espanol (We are speaking Spanish). The hotel is awesome and all of us are grateful to be here and are having a wonderful time thus far!

Friday, March 23, 2012

A Long but exciting day ahead!

Tomorrow our IB groups leaves for Guatemala at 4 am from Chesterton High School. It is amazing how we can wake up in Indiana and end up going to sleep in Honduras.  We will have several hours of layover time in two airports but it will be a good way to enjoy our first day of spring break!  We are ready for an adventure!