So, it looks like internet access will probably be a weekly thing. Some of the other PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) have internet in their homes, but I don’t. Although some others are dying to use the internet, I actually enjoy not having it all the time. It makes going to an internet café and checking my email an extra fun treat. So, today marks one week in Honduras (I’m writing this on Thursday 12/14), however it feels like we’ve been here much longer. The 15 of us are getting along well, and despite a few who have had some stomach issues things are going smoothly. Our days are still very busy with training, and that’s going to continue for the next 10 weeks. I figured I’d let you know what a typical day looks like.
Un Dia Tipico de un Aspirante del Cuerpo de Paz (A typical day of a Peace Corps Trainee)—we’ve been practicing describing our daily activities in my Spanish class, so it’s weird right now to be writing everything in English
6:30- My host family told me that I should wake up at 6:30. Because I didn’t want to argue it/didn’t know how to in Spanish, I wake up at this time, even though I would still have plenty of time to get ready if I woke up later. Usually our training starts at 8, but on Fridays we leave at 7 to go into Teguz (short for Tegucigalpa, the capital city, about 30 minutes away) to the Peace Corps office.
6:30-7- Bucket showering, brushing my teeth (with water from my water bottle of course) and getting dressed for the day.
7-8- I go out to the kitchen and eat breakfast. Usually my host cousin, Norma, makes breakfast. I’ve had everything from tortillas with quesillo (basically quesadillas) to pancakes to corn flakes (with warm milk) for breakfast. I also usually have a cup of coffee. The coffee here usually has a lot of sugar and never has milk. It’s actually really good, and I’m definitely going to be a coffee drinker from now on, even though I never really was before.
8:00-12:00- All of our training days are different, but most days we have language class in the mornings. Although 4 hours seems like a long time, it goes by fast because we learn so much and move so quickly. So far we’ve been doing things like practicing how to introduce people to each other, describing our daily activities, and describing people. In my first language interview (the second day I was here), I was graded at the intermediate-low level. We have to reach the intermediate-mid level in order to be sworn in at the end of training (September 23rd). We have 2 more interviews to reach that level, one in the middle of training and the other at the very end. I’m not at all worried about making the cut because I’ve already learned so much in my classes this past week.
12-1- After Spanish class, we all head home for lunch. My other host cousins, Yesling and Patty, usually cook lunch. It seems like lunch is pretty much the biggest meal of the day here. Most of the time, I do fine with the food. I’ve eaten a lot of tortillas, beans, rice, and fried plantains. Everything here is fried, which gets to be a little much, but I always do my best to eat almost everything on my plate. My favorite lunch so far was chilaquiles, which we had today. It was basically fried tortilla strips with a creamy sauce and chicken. Patty’s son Amir, who is 2 years old, is usually over, so I play with him for awhile before I go back for more training.
1-5- In the afternoon, we have more training. They cover topics like safety and security, culture, and technical training. Today we visited different types of organizations that PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) work with. Each one of us, at the end of training, will be assigned to a site somewhere in the country. Along with the site, we will have 3 counterpart organizations, at least one of which will be an NGO. In order to get a feel for counterpart organizations, we visited a high school, primary school, library, and the regional education office. We got to talk with students, teachers, and other employees about what they do, their work environment, and what struggles they have.
5-9- After training, sometimes I hang out with the other PCTs, and then I head back to my house for dinner. I try to talk with my family as much as I can in order to practice (even though sometimes I feel like we’ve run out of things to talk about). We have dinner around 7 or so. My favorite dinner so far was catrachas, a crispy fried tortilla with refried beans and cheese on top.) Usually I have some kind of homework for Spanish class, and I also rewrite and review all of my notes from the day. Around 8:30 or 9, I get ready for bed, and then I’m always asleep by 9:30.
Here are some fun things I’ve learned in my Spanish class:
· There are certain phrases that are used here in Honduras (Hondurenismos):
o Cheque=OK
o Cheque-leque= same as cheque, just more catchy
o Macanudo= great
o Maca-cheque-leque-nudo= a random combination of words that mean awesome or great (another PCT learned this from his Spanish teacher and taught it to me, I don’t know if I’ll ever use it in real life)
o Piropo= “cat calls,” when guys say things to you when you walk by them on the street
o Puchica!= Wow!
· Other fun words that I’ve learned this week:
o Perlas= jellybeans
o Sonambulo= sleepwalker
o Panzacervezera= beer-belly
o Cejas de gorilla= unibrow
Miss you all and hope you’re doing well! I wish I could be on skype or facebook more to talk to people, but it doesn’t really look like it’s going to happen, at least not until after training. Once I move to my site, I will be able to buy a modem so that I can have internet access. Hopefully I’ll get to post again next week!
If anyone would like to send me a letter...here's my address until September 23rd:
PCT Sarah StockmannCuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3158
Tegucigalpa, D.C 1110
Honduras, America Central
Hasta luego!
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