Graduation

Matt and I have spent the last few weeks in Spanish classes. It has been such a blessing to have this time to review Spanish so intensively. The school, Centro Hondureño de Español, prepared us well for the months to come, teaching LOTS of Spanish grammar, along with helpful background like Honduran politics and culture. It was a very rich experience for us.



This picture was taken at our graduation from Spanish school. Pictured here are Laura (director), Lisa (fellow CRWRC intern), Matt and I (Hablando español = speaking Spanish, our graduation t-shirts), Gloria (Katie’s teacher), Maria Elvira (Lisa’s teacher), and Victor (Laura’s husband). Victor has an agriculture degree and has worked with many development organizations in Honduras over the past 20 years. Matt was able to interview him and get some good suggestions and make some great connections for his future work in Catacamas.

The last two weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about the “newcomers” I used to teach in Minneapolis. Man, I don’t know how they did it! I had four solid hours of school every day and then came home, ate lunch, and had no choice but to sleep for a half hour before starting a couple hours of homework. My head was totally filled up! My newcomers in Minneapolis had school all day (no recess) and then immediately after school they had an extra two and a half hours of after-school program. Luckily now I’m at a point where I don’t need naps, but I still don’t think I’m up for ten hours straight in my second language. Little by little, I get better though. Our language-learning continues to be a prayer request.

--Katie

Zamorano

This week my Spanish professor Erasmo (who is about my age) took me to see his alma mater. The Pan-American Agricultural School (a.k.a. Zamorano) is a gem of Honduras. Zamorano was started by in 1941 by Sam Zemurray, head of the United Fruit Company. The UFC had reaped plenty of benefits from the banana plantations on the north coast of Honduras and Sam wanted to give back. The school is well respected and draws students from all over Latin America and the world. Zamorano certainly the most impressive institution I have seen yet in Honduras. I have read about Zamorano several times, and many people have suggested that I go to see it given my background in agriculture, so this trip was a special treat.



The campus is neat and orderly including its tile-roofed stone buildings and rows of tall palm trees as well as its blue-uniform wearing students. Zamorano teaches agriculture in the classroom and in the fields. Students that don’t have class are working out in the fields, or in the processing facilities. Erasmo and I walked around for about 3 hours in the hot sun and we were still not able to see much of the campus. As I walked through the fields and courtyards I kept thinking that Zamorano stands out as an example of the amazing potential this country has.


--Matt

Life in Santa Lucia

A few days ago Katie and I needed some exercise, so we went on a long hike up to the top of the nearby mountain. There was a great view of Tegucigalpa (as you can see in the video). If I seem tired in the video it is because I had just hiked several miles uphill!


People keep asking us about the food in Honduras. Well, it is great! Look at this soup! Huge chunks of corn, beef, plantain, cabbage, and other tropical things that I don’t know how to say in English. Evelinda, the mom of the family we are living with is feeding us very well, and Katie is learning how to make all sorts of great Honduran dishes. This will come in handy when we move to our apartment in Catacamas in the first week of September.

Diaconia Nacional

I know many people may be interested in some more information about the organization we are working with here in Honduras. Here is a brochure that describes what Diaconia Nacional (a partner org of CRWRC) is all about. To read individual pages, just click on it and you'll get a larger version of that page.

Enjoy the View

We are now in Santa Lucia, a small town high in the mountains outside of Tegucigalpa. We are staying with a family here while we learn Spanish. The school we attend is the same school that the Peace Corps uses for its Spanish training. It is nice and cool in Santa Lucia, and the views are amazing. There are many places to look down and see the sprawling capital city below.

We each have our own teacher at the school, and the courses are tailored to our needs. This is a great preparation for the year we have ahead of us. Another volunteer from Canada named Lisa is here attending Spanish school as well. She will be working with Diaconia on health programs in the southern part of Honduras. We have only been here a few days and our Spanish is already improving. The teachers are also giving us many tips on how to understand Honduran culture. --Matt

In Tegucigalpa

Matt and I arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras yesterday. Ana the bridger from CRWRC and Dilia the director of Diaconia Nacional picked us up at the airport, took us out for lunch and then to a mall to get a cell phone, groceries and do some banking. After that we went back to the office that CRWRC and Diaconia share. It used to be a house, so we stayed the night there. We can’t say enough about how hospitable they’ve all been to us. We feel so blessed to be so well taken care of. They’re all very patient with me as I fumble with my Spanish and they practice their English. We go back and forth between the languages. Today we had a meeting with Ana of CRWRC and she’ll take us off to language school soon. Thanks for your prayers for a safe arrival!

Email us if you´d like our cell phone numbers. It´s incredibly cheap for us to call you too!
--Katie

In Michigan

Well, the U-haul is all unpacked and we are in beautiful west Michigan. Thanks for all the help from the De Kams getting the truck packed and sending us on our way.

Thanks to everyone who came to the going-away party at the Hamstra's on Sunday!Thanks also to the Hamstra family (Katie's folks) for putting it all together. There was a really good turnout, sorry if you came and we didn't get to talk with you for very long. It was great to see everybody.

This week we are making the final preparations for departure (paperwork, bank accounts, packing). We will also get to spend some time with Katie's family before we take off. It should be great.

Moving on

One week from today Matt and I will be checking out of our apartment in Minneapolis and loading up our U-Haul to bring to Michigan. We're storing our things at my parents' house for the year (thanks, Mom and Dad :)). Right now our house is a mess; we have boxes everywhere, evidence of our move to come.

We'll spend a little more than a week in Michigan (August 10-18; we'd love to see all of our Michigan friends--call us!). On August 18 at 5:35 am we fly to Houston and then on to Honduras. We'll be in Tegucigalpa in the early afternoon. It's a really short trip (especially compared to our friends Joy and Paul who are in Uganda right now--it took them two whole days of travel!).

We just got an email from our Honduran coordinator (Bridger, to use the terms CRWRC uses) about what we'll be up to in the first few weeks. Here it is:

On August 18, Ana (the Bridger) will pick us up from the airport and bring us to the CRWRC office.
From August 19-31 we'll be just outside of Teguc taking Spanish lessons.
From Sept 1-5 we'll be at the CRWRC office meeting the staff of CRWRC and Diaconia for a monthly meeting. From there, the Diaconia folks will bring us to Catacamas, our new hometown!

(Culture note: I just noticed how incredibly American I am to inform you all of my schedule...I'll have to adjust this mindset.)

Both Matt and I are really looking forward to the experiences we'll have working in Honduras. We can tell that we are being prayed for during this time of preparation because the peace we feel about this coming year can only be attributed to God and His care for us. Thank you for those prayers. We pray for you too, our friends and family from all over, in all your life situations. I predict that this year I'll learn a lot about the power of prayer.

Well everyone, we hope to see you soon. And if it doesn't work out to see you in person, we'll keep in touch another way.

--Katie

PS. Matt finished his thesis and defended it and now he has a master's degree! Yeah! Phew!