Una Vida en Tres Meses

A Lifetime in Three Months

Training is finally over!! The last three months have been one of the most challenging, yet interesting things we’ve ever done in our lives. One of our technical teachers said we have just experienced a lifetime in just three months, and he was right… it is amazing how much this experience has changed our perspectives on so many things: from our Spanish to our views on development and our roles in it as PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). Here’s a recount of the good and the bad… in our eyes, all of it memorable and life changing.

• We met 29 new friends from all walks of life. Some young, some older, half mostly country loving PAM people (Protected Area Management), the other half business savvy people, and also one from the Water and Sanitation project. That was an interesting mix that resulted in really good friendships. We plan to meet at someone’s site every month.
• We’ve met intestinal diseases up close and personal… we’ve both been to the hospital once (I also had a visit to a doctor’s office) and we both took Cipro. I have lost all shame of using a public restroom for the stinky. The list of diseases suffered from the group includes: amoebas, giardia, nonspecific stomach problems, dengue, other infections like strep, appendicitis (someone had surgery in Tegucigalpa), a broken arm due to punching a sack of flour in self defense class, tooth issues, broken cheek bone and stitches due to jumping out of a paila (back of a moving pick-up), and homesickness. Compared to everything that went around, Max and I were very healthy.
• We spent about 190 hours on Spanish training and about 160 on technical training.
• We lived with two different host families in two very different cities. The food was also very different in each place.
• We ate about 10 pounds of corn each every week. It was in the form of corn flakes, corn tortillas, "helote" (corn on the cob), "tamales" (dish made out of corn meal),"pinol" (drink made out of corn), and some drink made out of corn and cacao (we don’t remember the name). We are certain we are leaving a few more corn-based dishes out of this list.
• We met representatives of various NGOs in the country and saw how much wrong one can do. We also saw excellent examples of sustainable development work being done by some.
• We learned every "dinamica" (group games used to teach something) in the world and invented some. While doing dinamicas we learned it is universally uncomfortable to sit on someone’s lap while walking around in a circle. We experienced the new phenomenon we like to call dinamica fatigue.
• We learned the “Honduran way” of doing things.
• We learned that if we see a teenage transvestite riding a motorcycle we are in a dangerous situation.
• We hiked, crossed rivers by feet and truck, went to the beach, and took “jalones” (hitched) on the back of pick-up trucks.
• We taught in several schools and learned that there are a lot of smart kids in Honduras.
• We had a party every week and learned to love "Salva Vida", "Bahia", "Port Royal", and "Flor the Caña". We visited various "discotecs" (clubs) including one called "Octopussy".

When I think of Peace Corps pre-service training the first word that comes to mind is long, but immediately after I think of fun and helpful. I could not imagine any of us going to our assignments without having gone trough training first.