Start of the Internship and Honduras

So yesterday was our first day of our internship with Proyecto Aldea Global. It was incredible and very interesting. So we got there at seven in the morning because that’s the time that we supposedly are supposed to start cough cough. Anyways we had devotional which was pretty cool in the morning. After that Andrew and I were introduced to the team and then everybody just kind of went and did there own thing. The first part of the day people were asking us what exactly we were there for and that made me think haha. I finally came up with my answer, “ I just want to learn Spanish and help while learning it”. It became my default answer. The first half of the day (3 hours ish) we spent going through about 50 computers to find one that worked well enough to do some work. Since Andrew has a laptop he can do some excel work on it when he brings it there tomorrow, but me, well… I have to use the slow bug. No big though, I’m grateful that it works haha. After lunch time and a little bit of work, we were taken to a city about an hour away which was crazy beautiful by the way, called San Antonio de Comoyagua. We went with our boss Magda, and our homie Mario, to watch the appointment of the new mayor. It was real great to watch. The ceremony was also recognizing organizations that do work in the communities and Proyecto Aldea Global was called up to sit in this special section. It was crazy! I wasn’t expecting that but we were joined by about 10 others from other organizations. Our boss got called up to receive an award and it was just great to be around that type of people and in that kind of community. The spotlight was on us for a second. Kinda weird!Yesterday was the appointment of all the new mayors in the different municipals in the country. I believe there are about 280 municipals in Honduras. I’m not really sure why we went to the one an hour away but it was definitely worth it. The scenery was incredible, the national anthem was cool to hear, and the people were really fun. I also got to try alcitrones which is an amazing candy fruit. It just might replace Chiky’s (my current favorite Latin America Snack). But who knows. On the way home we stopped at this lady’s house for some cookies and café. I ended up refusing coffee and after some talking I learned that its more polite and respectful if I at least drink a little. I was very hesitant at first, but then I tried it with everyone looking at me. Incredibly, it was ACTUALLY GOOD! I’ve never had coffee that tastes like that. I guess it’s that rich Honduran coffee. We then took off and we got back home pretty late (about 6 ish) ( but waking up at 6 made the day a lot longer) and I was just super tired after all that. Today was really great also. It was our second day of our Internship and everything went really well. We started off putting in number into Microsoft excel for the first 4 hours. I soon got bored and went out for some lunch. After more numbers I went outside by the motorcycles to get a glimpse of them and then I aske3d if I could try. The owner said sure and then gave me a quick walkthrough and then I just went with the flow. It was super fun. I’m gonna try to keep practicing if I can. We then walked around downtown and got some ice cream. After that we went to church with our host family and that was quite interesting. We broke into small groups to pray. I PRAYED IN FRONT OF PEOPLE for the FIRST TIME IN SPANISH! It was crazy. I know I didn’t do all that great, but I tried my best and I think they understood what I said. It feels kind of weird because I almost feel like I’ve learned more in these first three days in Honduras than I did in all my time in Guatemala. Perhaps it’s just because Guatemala helped me prepare to learn a lot. Who knows. So our days look pretty full of Microsoft excel and hopefully some more moto. Well we’re looking to have some type of adventure this weekend and the weekends to come so I hope we are able to do some more work/exploring of Honduras. I’ll keep updating. Adioso

Bye Bye Guatemala and Hello Honduras

Hola Mundo. So we departed from the group this past friday and it was a sad goodbye. We ended our time in Quetzeltenango and then we spent our last few days in Antigua with our group. I said goodbye to my host mom, she was AMAZING(above)! We had some crazy nights in Guatemala and so many great memories. Memories of hott Mexican bands, and pickpocketing extreme, and leaning about crazy ancient orders that used to imprison women and turn them into nuns. Everything this trip was supposed to be was all that times a million. I cannot even begin to explain what I am learning, but I can give a brief overview of what exactly I am doing. After our Whitworth group left us at the airport for the states (BELOW), Andrew and I waited for a couple hours for our contact just outside of the airport. With a little trouble, we called a friend who was able to get a hold of her. It turns out she had been waiting for us two hours earlier and had thought we just left (she was waiting at 4 am in the morning) but we had gotten there at 5. We were at the airport at the same time, but we just missed each other. We headed out around 8 and she took us to get our Tika bus tickets which we would use Saturday morning (the 23). After purchasing our tickets we went to our host house of this wonderful lady, her dasughter, and their cray little dog. We were staying in Guatemala city with a host family that was wonderful. The house was really beautiful and I was super jealous and wanted to stay longer. They enjoyed our company and they showed us around the capital which was really great. The father of the family had passed away about four months ago which I'm guessing had to be really hard on them, but the family was doing really well. We always have a place to go in Guatemala City now. After that night we got picked up and driven to the bus station at 4 in the morning. We were super tired but we knew we could just sleep on the bus. We bussed all day Saturday through El Salvador, and then we had to switch busses in order to get to Honduras. We met some Americans at the bus stop and they were traveling all throughout Central America and were even heading to the Phillipines not too long after. What are the chances that on this bus ride to Honduras we would meet an American from the state of Washington and from Spokane where we attend school??? Slim to none right... Well it happened and she gave us a heads up about Honduras and what to expect. It was crazy. Once we bussed to Tegucigalpa on Saturday night, we immediately were in awe how different Tegucigalpa seemed from what we had seen in Guatemala. The capital did not look as modernized or anythign like I expected. We soon took a taxi and were looking for a hotel that was recommended to us. After seeing the neighborhood that the hotel was in, we began to worry. Danielle, the girl from Spokane took the same taxi as us and suggested that the hotel she was going to was much safer than the one we were looking for. We quickly agreed and went to that hotel which seemed much safer and for roughly the same price. We then went out Saturday night to watch the Honduras vs. United States game and that got alittle wild. We cheered everytime that Honduras scored a goal mostly because we were in Honduras, but also because they were great goals haha. One of Danielle's friends was from Olympia Wa which is only like 20 minutes from Tacoma where I live. I was thrown off by these Washington people being all the way down in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Crazy right haha. After the night was over we slept in the hotel and then went for Siguatepeque on Sunday. It was about a three hour bus ride from Teguc, and we arrived there without problems. Once we arrived we were quickly greeted by our host family who are from Argentina, the country that we will be studying in in March. They are super nice, and have a wonderful house, and life in Siguatepeque. The couple runs a church in Siguatepeque and are very well known in this pueblo. Their organization is called Union Biblica de Honduras. They are very similar to young life in the states, but of course it's different in Honduras. We were immediately taken to their church for a wonderful meal of tortillas, pollo, y some other foods. It was delish! We then came home to settle in our new house.

After the first Week

So after my first week here I can say that I´ve had a good feel of Guatemala, but have barely scratched the surface. I´ve helped make chocolate the old fashioned way, I´ve seen volcanoes, I´ve had salsa lessons, and so much more. One of my favorite things that I have done so far is play with some kids at this school called ¨La Pedrera¨. These kids come from all different ages and different places in Guatemala to get educated. Although these kids do not have a lot of money, they have so much to offer as can only be seen by spending time with them. It´s crazy to think that in the United States kids are entertained and happy only when they have some television or video games or some cell phone that has texting. These kids barely have anything, but seeing them enjoy the simple things such as peacocks, or a simple kickball that barely has air in it really opens up my eyes to such a greater picture.

I first traveled to Fuentes Georginas which is a natural spring high in the mountains of Guatemala. This place was super beautiful and the water was amazing. It was pretty much a hot bath. After the hot springs I felt super relaxed and ready to go do something else. The next day we took off for the touristy town of Panajachel. On the way to Panjachel we stopped off in a pueblo named Solola which is home to a group of women who fight for the rights of women and children in Guatemala. This group currently consists of about 30-35 women and they have been having success incorporating woman in town meetings and using their skills to draw in people in order to gain recognition. These women sell their art, clothing, jewelry, and other clothwork for the prices that they are worth. I really admire these women (pictured below) for standing up to the stereotypical roles of women in Guatemala and I had the privilege of experiencing the sincerity, dedication, and passion for what they were working towards; social equality.


After the co-op with the women we traveled to Panajachel. In Panajachel you have access to the famoso Lake Atitlan. It has three of the biggest volcanoes with in a few miles of each other. This great lake surrounds these volcanoes and has 12 pueblos (towns) surrounding the lake. These twelve pueblos are supposed to represent the twelve disciples. These pueblos are home to some of the indigenous people of Guatemala and their culture there is really something cool. The city was something else and in Panajachel is where I experienced so much. Before we headed out from the hotel, we held a meeting. The people who had been there before gave us a heads up that what we were about to experience was going to be intense, but we had to be headstrong. They said that people would try and sell things and be very persistent and at that time I had no idea what persistent actually meant. So my friends and I began walking in the market and then we sat down at a restaurant to eat. So we began talking and there was about 12 or 15 of us when this little boy ofmaybe 10 years came up to me and said Compralo (Buy it) and he held out this little hand-stitched animal. I was told not to make eye contact if I´m not interested but I´m always interested in whoever wants to talk to me. I said oh no Gracias. Hethen began putting on a sad face and repeated himself while putting more stuffed animal toys in front of me. I asked him his name and he told me Jorge. I eventually seen a dinosaur one and picked it up and started playing with it. My friends immediately said, ¨Jordon, you have to buy it now, you played with his toys and you talked to him.¨ They had a point. So I began to choose one and I eventually, with the good advice of a friend chose the Tortuga (turtle). He immediately tried to sell me another one when one of the waiters walked him out. As soon as he left another child, a little girl, beamed straight for me. I said ¨no gracias¨ but I still made eye contact. She then began walking around the table to ask others before she got walked out as well. During lunch more and more kids kept coming to me and as soon as I finished my food I had perfected the art of not making eye contact with the kids. I began walking through the market and before I knew it, I made friends. This little boy came up to me (the one with the coke) and asked me to buy something from me, no different from before, except that he had followed me for about ten minutes when he finally asked me to buy him a coke. I had agreed and then we began conversating about his life. He told me he was selling stuff because his parents made him and that his name was Michael. We immediately hit it ff from there because my name is Jordon. Entonces, Michael Jordan. Once he had a coke another little boy came up to me and asked for food. I told him no and that I wasn´t really hungry, but I knew I would be soon, even though I just ate. He began following me as well. I then began asking questions when the second boy, Marco, said whassup to his cousin Juan. We then began walking and talking when I got tired and sat down. They were just chilling with me on the main market strip of Panajachel, Guatemala. I began to ask why were the majority of the little kids coming to me? They explained that I was wearing a pair of Jordans and that says that I have money. They asked me where I lived in the states, and then I asked them how they knew I was from the states. They told me that when I first met them that I called them ¨friend¨ or amigo which says that I´m probably from the United States. I couldn´t help, but to keep asking questions about their lives and what they thought of me. I asked the three kids what the thought of when they thought of the United States and I´ll never forget what Michael said, ¨Mucho dolares y edificios altos¨ (lots of money and tall buildings). They then questioned how much my shoes costed and I told them that if I bought a knew pair it would cost about 1000 quetzales ($125) which is crazy to them. They all said queeeeeee! (what). I said yea but I got mine at a discount store for about 30 dollars. They said ohh es mucho. I then explained to them about the different classes in the U.S like the lower, middle and upper classes. I explained to them that I´m barely considered to be in the middle class and that my family and I receive government funding and have to work very hard for our money as well. I explained to them that we have people who live on the streets as well and then we have the rich people as well. They seemed very surprised at this. I then bought us some tacos and chatted some more. Later that night I ate some papusas which is food from El Salvador (super delicious by the way)and got to ride in a tuk tuk. Yes tuk tuk.




The next day we went to one of the 12 pueblos named Santiago where there were the indigenous still preserved their culture. The picture on the left is of Santiago. It was about an hour boat ride from Panajachel to Santiago. There I learned that the Spanish, during the conquest, had tried to persuade the Indigenous people to assimilate into their culture by using indigenous values in the Catholic church. For example, in some churches the front has symbols such as jaguars or fruit which some of the Indigenous hold up highly. The town of Santiago was really nice and that´s even where I found the first people in Guatemala playing basketball. I was super excited and I would have showed them a little sum sum but I didn´t have enough time. There were men walking around in striped shorts and those men are the Shaman of their tribes. These shaman and are highly respected and have great authority. This weekend was just an amazing opportunity to experience and learn in a different way. We arrived back at our lovely town of Quetzeltenango on Sunday night.



This week I have seen the modern part of Guatemala and got to experience what a Mayan ceremony would look like. Here are some pictures of the ceremony. I have tons of stories I want to tell but, I can´t write that much. Peace and I´ll keep you all updated when I can.

My first few days in Guatemala

I got into Guatemala City on Saturday afternoon with a smile. I had never been in another country in my entire life and Guatemala was my first. On the flight from Houston to Guatemala I had sat next to a Guatemalan woman who worked in Olympia. Olympis is a city very close to Tacoma, Washington where I live. It was pretty weird, but just a coincidence. She explained to me a little before I got off the plane about some Guatemalan culture and some other things. She also gave me her contact information if I were to need anything. I was already experiencing some Guetamalan hospitality. Soon after I got off the plane, i removed my earings and put them in my backpack just as the lady had advised me. Our group soon went through customs and security and then I got my first visa. It wasn´t very impressive though because the visa was barely visible on my passport. We then walked outside the airport to see a big crowd of Guatemalans. We waited for a bus with all of our luggage as this nino was checking us all out and walking through us as if he was a guard. Once it arrived we left for Quetzaltenango. The roads were made of cobblestone, the ninos were running around, trucks and vans had lots of people hanging out of them, and the air seemed very thick. Cars were super crazy too and I´m not going to lie, I was a little nervous. Everything was so different and I liked it. Spanish words and stores were everywhere. We got to a restaurant about fifteen minutes after leaving the airport and it was my first out of country meal. It was pretty good. I ate arroz y frijoles y pollo y chorizo tambien. I didn’t like the chorizo as much but the food was okay. After the restaurant we left for Quetzaltenango. On the way I seen so many chain restaurants como McDonalds, Wendy´s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino´s and a lot of other stores. I really forgot the fact that there were so many chains in the country. It was the beginning of knowing how big business can affect economies such as local businesses. The next four to five hours we drove through crazy hills and I thought that we were going to die honestly because the bus was going so fast in the hills of Guatemala. Fue loco! I slept mostly the whole way but I would wake up from time to time because the crazy turns would slide me away from my window and into the bar. Late at night we arrived in Quetzaltenango with moms standing outside the bus with signs. Andrew and I soon seen our mom and we said hola mama. Ella dijo a nosotros ëstas listos¨ but we said si and then we went to grab our bags from the bottom of the bus. There was a guard there watching the bus and he had this huge shotgun with him. Once we had our bags we turn around to our mom being gone. We look around for a second only to see her getting into a taxi with two other guys from our group. It was weird that we got mama jacked,but hey weirder things have happened. We then tell our teacher and we then wait for the other mom to come. We basically ended up switching moms. But…Once we met our mom we were happy that we had her for our mom! Andrew and I left for our house with our mom Dona Flor de Maria. Our house was super nice. It was definitely better than we expected. We pretty much had the whole upstairs to ourselves. We each got our own room, a bathroom for the both of us to share , and huge beds! I couldn´t believe my eyes. Our mama is well educated, our papa is a professor of Psychology at a public and private University in Guatemala, our sister Carolina is a nurse that studied in Cuba for seven years, and our hermano Byron is an electrical engineer and he teaches. Our family is super nice and so is our home. Our house is about fifteen minutes by foot from the school. The first night I slept in the room I used my sleeping bag on the huge bed and I continue to do it because well it´s really warm in there. It gets really chilly at night time therefore I use my sleeping bag.

The first day I woke up mama made us Cornflakes con leche which is a typical breakfast here in Guatemala. Despues eating our cornflakes con leche we went to the parquet central which is the main place near our house. Parque Central tiene banks, a huge cathedral (like ive never seen before), lots of food places, local vendedores outside. The place is huge and has everything you can think of surrounding it. We went to the market this Sunday and its outside in parquet central. It is like the swap meet here but it only happens on the first Sunday of every month. The next day we started our first day of Spanish school. I met my Spanish teacher. Her name is Emilia and she is very nice, but she speaks Spanish really fast. Ella is a very good teacher though and I really enjoy what I learn from her. It´s kind crazy though because classes start at eight in the morning and end at one in the afternoon. Five hours of Spanish! Its CRAZY! But I´m learning lots so it´s all good baby babay!

-My schedule for the day is usually wake up at 7.

-Eat breakfast at 7 10 (Cornflakes).

-Leave for school at 735

-Arrive at 755

-Begin class in this tiny room with just my maestro at 8

-Break at 1030 (Eat and talk with amigos)

-Begin class again at 11

-End class at 1

-Talk for a little then walk home at 1 15 ish

-Arrive at home at 1 35

-Eat at 145 ish (Different meals, but the biggest meal of the day!)

-Leave back to school for the activity of the day at 210

-Arrive for activity (Make chocolate, Salsa lessons, look through markets, etc)

-Finish Activity at 430 and then do whatever I want

-Eat dinner at 8 (Normalmente frijoles y arroz con un tipo de carne)

-Do hw after dinner

-Explore/Play in the city

-Go to bed at 11

I will update again soon! Adioso