Training in Olancho

Olancho is supposed to be the wild west of Honduras. Or something like that....it is the biggest state in Honduras and as we rolled into the department, I saw a sign, with Olancho greatly magnatized and huge arrow pointing saying "you're in Toyota country", ahh...reminded me of a good ol Texas or OK billboard. They produce the meat, cheese, and a lot of agricultural products for the country, and they love pickup trucks and eating well. There were cattle and men in cowboy hats herding them as we rolled down the highway. Made me think of home, in a Honduras'y kind of way, as there were still mountains, palm trees, and lots of Spanish.

What was I doing in Olancho? I had been invited by my counterpart (CATIE) and the Consejo de Cuenca to participate in a week-long training with them and other invited community members regarding conflict resolution and water source management. Drew decided he'd rather stay home, take the week off and watch the puppy, so I signed up to go and the adventure began. It was one of the best trainings I have attended, led by young, energetic and intellegent former students of the Universidad Nacional de Agricutura, and they taught us a lot. It was also nice to talk to young professional Hondurans my age, as there are few people my age in my site. So kuddos to them, and I think our group even learned a bunch of new diagnostic tools, resource information and practical experience to better manage our water sources.

Here are some pictures of the group and the training.

CATIE paid for the training and took good care of us, put is in a nice hotel and fed us well. I haven't eaten that much since I left Oklahoma! They eat well in Olancho and I like it!

A few other exciting things about the town we were in was the central park. They had a tree bigger than an SUV, branches bigger than tree trunks, and it was spectacular. Catacamas is a very pretty town with several large trees such as this.

The town also has natural caves in the mountains about 5 km from the University. They were amazing and reminded me of being a kid exploring Carslbad Caverns. It was a nice finish to the last day of training, to see a famous Honduras natural tourist spot.

After week of Spanish and time away from Drew, I was definitely ready to go home. But I went home knowing more of Honduras, more knowledge to work with the community groups in my area, and a bit better with the Spanish as well.

December

I am going to start with a hugely popular cultural event. Let me stress, while it's appearance may be misleading, it is a cultural event and exchange. And Volunteers are encouraged to participate.

We started off the month in the cute little town of Yuscaran, for Donkey Polo, an event that has happened for at least 10 years (or so I've been told). What fun! What laughter! What stubborness from the donkeys! Each year, it is the hit of the annual Yuscaran fair, and it is Catrachos (Hondurans) vs. Gringos (uh...white people). Drew got to play and did pretty darn well. He watched the donkeys the first round to figure out which one would cooperate and chose that one. It was a short, exciting trip, and our first escape from site of any length at all, and was totally worth it. Check us out!

Next came Christmas. As good volunteers, and as instructed by our Country Director, we stayed put in site for the holiday and enjoyed the cultural experience. The week before, we were invited over by our old host mom to make Torrejas, the most Honduran holiday desert. It was really yummy and I am including the recipe here:

a loaf of some kind of sweet bread. Like you'd use for sweet french toast
6-10 eggs (separate yolks and whites)
olive oil

(syrup) ( I am not exactly sure, but a combo of sugar, alcohol and cinammon, simmered till syrupy)
cinammon sticks

sugar syrup

1 small little bottle alcohol (white, like rum, vodka or similar)

sugar (2 cups ish)

water (2 cups ish)

Cut bread into 1 inch slices, beat egg whites till foamy. Add yolks and beat and mix together. Dip bread into egg mixture. Place bread pieces in pan filled with oil and cook on each side till browned. Cool on paper towel. Add to syrup mixture, and serve! Yumm! Sweet!!

Okay, back to Christmas. We went to our counterpart's house for the night before, the big day here in Honduras is Christmas Eve. We baked a turkey, taught his wife how to make stuffing and gravy and she served us tamales and a few other Costa Rican dishes (she is from there) and played with their kids, watched bad 70's videos, and exchanged presents. It was very family oriented and a good time. They are a nice family and it was very wonderful to be invited into their celebration.

The next day our old host family came up for the evening, and we talked and laughed and cooked and had a generally nice time. They also brought us Torrejas, which was great, just as yummy with a bit different syrup but tasty. Also that day, but in the morning we did our little present exchange and opened our stockings. I had of course brought them with us to Honduras, and was glad I did. A quiet, but fun Christmas, and I thank God that we were not alone and were surrounded with our new friends since we couldn't be with family.

On the 28th of December, we were finally past our three-month stay-in-site policy and allowed to leave. And we did! Off to the one and only real lake in country, Lake Yojoa, grand and beautiful and breathtaking with the mountains as its backdrop. We had been already told by people in our site that we should leave for New Years anyway, that it would be more fun than staying at home. They were all so impressed we were here for Christmas, that they felt it wasn't fair for us to be here New Years, as well. It was a fun experience, with fresh fish, shrimp, amazing views, a brewery owned by an American who made fresh beer and burgers, and lots of volunteers and sun. Well, after three days, 30plus volunteers was a bit too much for both Drew and I, but still worth the trip. It was a fun reunion.
The lake at night....

Drew and I (everyone commented how thin and good lookin Honduras made him ;) he does look pretty good....

Midnight, and sparklers!!

So, December was a busy month, therefore a long update. We are now midway through January and back at work. Back to the real world, the confusion, speaking Spanish and trying to get projects going. But I am glad for it, while last month was fun, I am glad for some normalcy again. Wait..?! Normalcy?? I am not sure if I know what that is, but we are doing well, settled in to our bright yellow house, the puppy is growing and learning, and Drew and I cook lots of rice and beans and eggs, and show up with smiles for meetings and the office.