Quick hello

Tonight I learned my first Honduran joke:

Habian dos peces platicando, uno le dijo al otro: 
-Y que hace tu papa?
-Pues, nada.

jajajaja...

Some Honduran expressions that I've almost started using:

Que barbaridad! -How awful, bad etc.

Cheque! -Allright, ok etc.

Maje -Buddy, friend etc.

..va? -..right? (As in: Maje, andas cansado va?)

Que pija! -How great, nice, cool etc.

No hombre! (pronounced nombre) No way, not at all etc.

Poema

In the workshop of political participation and influence in La Esperanza, there was a woman who stod up and read a poem for us.She was from the department of Lempira and had written it inspired by the Red de Mujeres de Erandique, for this occasion. 
I asked her if i could get a copy of it to share with you on my blog, and she said yes. So for all of you that understand spanish, here is a poem about the problematics with the authorities in the different municipalities and the situation of many women in honduras. 

Hay Mujeres 

Que mujeres de mi pueblo
Trabajan sin descansar
A las cinco de la mañana 
El fuego van atizar

Desayuno almuerzo y cena
Es la de nunca acabar
Lavando, barriendo, trapeando
Ni vacaciones nos dan

Y es que hasta las gallinas
Pidiendo comida están
El cerdo, el perro y el gato
Es hora de comidiar

Las gallinas ya pusieron 
El huevo hay que levantar
Los pies nos duelen tanto
Y nadie nos va sobar

El humo allá en la cocina
Ya pronto nos va asfixiar 
Con leña verde o mojada
Tenemos que cocinar

Las horas del día pasan 
Y a que horas voy a bañar
Pronto llegara el esposo
Al verme se va espantar

Hay mujeres, hay mujeres
Ya dejen de tanto afán
Desen ya su tiempecito
Pues bonita hay que estar 

25 de enero que día tan especial 
Pero de nosotras nadie se va acordar
Hay cambio de autoridades 
Y ahí se van enfrascar

Hay mujeres, hay mujeres
Este día va a pasar
Uno que otro discursito
Ni un fresquito nos dan

Hay mujeres, hay mujeres 
Unámonos todas ya
Sin distingo de colores 
Juntas debemos luchar

Tenemos nuestros derechos
Por ellos hay que luchar
Adelante pues mujeres 
Que ya existe la equidad

Al nuevo Alcalde pedimos 
Se nos apoye un poco mas
Y ese 5% sepamos aprovechar
En cosas que beneficia
A la reina del hogar

Si organizadas estamos
Rudy nos va a apoyar
En su gestión como Alcalde
El sabrá que las mujeres son factor fundamental

No nos quedamos calladas 
Ante una entrocidad
Denunciemos pues mujeres 
Basta ya! No hay que aguantar

Tanta mujer que muere 
Dia a día en el país 
La violencia que hoy impera
no la pueden controlar

Busy week

Sorry for the slow update, here comes a big summarizing post. This week has been full of very interesting activities in my project. I am working as a volunteer in a national women's organization called Centro de Estudios de la Mujer-Honduras, and it has been busy times in the CEM-H. 
On wednesday I had the privilege to join the CEM-H to a breakfast seminar with the female deputies from the parties Libre, PAC and PINU of the national congress of Honduras. The aim of the breakfast was to initiate a process of reconciliation between the parliament and the different goals of the women's movement and feminists under this new legislative session. The topics of the discussion were setbacks in human rights for women in recent years that have had a high impact on the lives of the honduran women, for example setbacks in laws and other actions that are on the expense of the struggles and achievements made ​​by the feminist and women's movements in the country. Women from different feminist organizations brought up several problematics concerning women's rights and the importance and duty of the congress to acknowledge and ratify the CEDAW. The deputies could later add their thoughts and questions to the dialogue. In my opinion, it seemed like a real success. Great speeches, and a feeling of "lucha" and optimism in the air, from both feminist organizations and female deputies. It felt like it could the beginning of something very important for the women of Honduras.

At five o clock the morning after, I jumped in the car for a trip to Intibuca and La Esperanza with Suyapa from CEM-H and Marco, our driver. We were going to have a two-day workshop with several smaller feminist organizations from different municipalities with the topic of political participation, making political agendas and strategies to convince authorities etc. It was very interesting to see the work of the different women's organizations, what issues they wanted to include in their agendas and the analyzes and strategies they made. It's very inspiring to see their passion, determination, creativity and joy. The laughter is never far away.

La Esperanza and Intibuca are two small twin villages in the lenca region. The lencas are one of the various indigenous groups in Honduras and it is very common to see the lenca women dressed in their typical handwowen fabrics and colorful dresses. I fell in love with this place, it had a small town feeling to it, more life in the streets, markets, a relaxed feeling and very pretty squares and picturesque houses. People were riding bikes, and I could walk alone in the streets at night! wonderful. We were also lucky enough to be there during a craft fair. They were selling beautiful lenca fabrics, all sorts of things made by the "leaves" of the pines (don't know what it's called in english), and nice bowls and other items made of clay. We were supposed to have a lunch meeting with the mayors of La Esperanza and Intibuca the day after, but they didn't show up, they sent some other employees instead. Too bad. The meeting went well anyway, I hope we managed to make an impression that is going to last and hopefully improve the actions of the authorities.

When we came back to Tegus after three days in the countryside, it was time to go to La Cantina to meet "old" and new friends. I had one too many margaritas, (got one extra for free, thanks bartender guy!) and a really good time. At seven o clock the morning after, it was time to get up and go hiking in the cloudforest of La Tigra. What a beautiful forest, it was totally worth only sleeping 4 hours! It felt so good walking in the middle of this wonderful scenery, all green and full of life. 

After some hours of zen and hiking in La Tigra, we were all dying of hunger and went to eat chinese food. It felt like the best food I have ever tasted! Overfull and pretty tired, we continued to the jazz festival in a square in Palmira. Great bands, happy people and wonderful weather, a perfect way to finish the weekend.

Today I still feel pretty exhausted, but very grateful for being here and for all the great experiences I've had so far. 
Got to seize every moment of every day!

First week

This week is the first real week in Honduras, which means that I started working and don't go out every night of the week. This week, or actually this day, was also the first day I felt a little bit independent. Today I was at a café by myself (ok I got my order wrong but who cares), I went to work and to the supermarket by myself and walked to the office of ICYE (yes, by myself), and I took a yellow bus (considered a bit uncomfortable and dangerous) all by myself to the university, where I managed to ask my way to the office of my host mom. Wow huh? It feels so great to be a little free again, now when I know at least a small area of the city and how to get around. Ever since I got here I have been carrying around a minor but frustrating feeling of entrapment, it is always a project and a worry how to get from point a to point b, and a feeling of getting lost and getting in trouble has always been in the back of my mind. But, today everything went great and I also met some really nice persons who helped me out!

Yesterday on the other hand, I felt really down because of the machismo sticking on you like a gross old patch when it comes to walking on your own in the city. There are comments, yelling and kissing sounds (also the sound you make to horses btw.) all. the. time. Every two seconds you get some kind of unwanted attention of the men in your environment. I believe this is because I am a foreigner (allthough, sadly, this happens frequently to honduran girls and women also), and also because I wore a skirt yesterday that is considered short here. I was shocked, because I never thought it would be that bad. But today I wore a dress that covered my legs and the shouting and comments were reduced by about 50%. So the lesson of today is, do not wear "short" skirts. Also, as soon as you walk with someone else, the comments are much less frequent. And, try keeping your transportation on foot on streets that are full of people.

I haven't been taking any photos the last days since I'm a bit hesitant of taking the camera with me when I walk by myself in the city. But tomorrow I will make an exception and bring it with me, first to the CEM-H so I can take some photos of the great women who are working there and later document Nora's birthday party at sabor cubano! So stay tuned! I will tell you all about the CEM-H later on. 

In the meantime, here are some photos from the family barbecue last sunday: 

El Downtown

Yesterday my host brother Guillermo took me to the center of Tegus. We took a walk around the neighborhood and went to the Museo para la identitad Nacional. It was absolutely worth a visit. Not only did they have the exhibition of the nation of Honduras and the virtual guide of Copan, they also had two really nice exhibitions of contemporary art. One consisted of works of different female honduran artists and the other one exposed paintings of a Venezuelan artist, Ramón Chirinos. I really loved some of these paintings, his work is a mixture of abstract and figurative art, filled with emotions and really nice color combinations. I recommend everyone who has the opportunity to check this museum out. 

the city center

 

 

Ramon Chirinos

Afterwards we went to have crepes and coffee in a "hipster" café, the hipster thing took me by surprise, evidently the hipsters are all over the world. Guillermo also told me the story of the name of the currency here, the lempira. Lempira was a war chieftain of the lenca people and lead the resistance against the spanish invasion. He was the leader of 30 000 lencan soldiers before he got killed by the spanish and the lenca people surrendered. There are two different legends, one where the spaniards killed Lempira by ambush, the other one says that Lempira died in combat. It was nice to know the story behind the name, I thought the name sounded a bit strange, but now everything fell into place. 

lempira

Later on in the evening I went out with my other brother Luis and his girlfriend. We went to a bar nearby and had some beers, I also tried a Nicaraguan rum called Flor de Caña, good stuff. Today we are going barbecue with the family, honduran style. My host brother Guillermo gave me some very interesting books to read. One is about the protests and strikes of the workers in the banana companies in the 1950s, that actually was started by the female employees. The other one is written by Ernesto Che Guevara and tells the story of the cuban revolution. I'm really glad to live with a host family, it is a great way of getting a closer look at the costumes and daily life of the people of Honduras, and you get a safety net of persons that look out for you and can help you out. I've never liked living alone so for me this is the perfect solution. 

Oh yeah, friday night we went to the feria AGAFAM wich is a fair where the people go to see horse shows, pet the animals, eat, drink, dance and sing karaoke. There are also small shops and a small amusement park with a roller coaster and a ferris wheel. It was a lot of fun, we sang karaoke and danced in the imperial (honduran beer) tent. 

in the imperial tent

the karaoke king of the feria

Singing the huge hit, sopa de caracol

Some new things I've learned so far

The honduran people that I have met so far are huge Colombia fans. My family have been there and has colombia magnets on their fridge and some other souvenirs from Colombia decorating their home. The hondurans I have met think the colombian accent is the nicest accent in Latin America and talk very warmly about the colombian people and culture, and many persons mentions Cartagena as a very beautiful city. This was a nice surprise for me as I share their love for Colombia. And, they also point with their mouths, just like the Colombians! Another plus I must say, love the mouth pointing. 

Dengue fever is not a big deal here. Everybody has had it and everybody will have it again. Here it is concerned as a fever that is not very pleasant but neither something serious. People do not really protect themselves from the dengue mosquito, some put some kind of electric device in their room to keep them away. Good to know!

Tampons are tabu here. I had no idea that tampons were considered something shameful and absolutely not a thing that you ask your mom to go buy for you. Some people believe that you loose your virginity if you use tampons. It seems like the people don't really know how to use them. In the supermarkets, the pads are all over the place but the tampons are rare. 

I've learned about the Garifuna people that lives on the caribbean cost of Honduras. They are descendants from the Caribs, Arawaks and West Africans. They speak their own language and have their own dances (la punta is the most popular one), food and music. And the music is really good! check this band out for example: 

And some punta dancing:

Dia libre

Today I have the day off. 
I wanted to go exploring some part of the city but it is a bit complicated, so I stayed at home, unpacked my stuff properly and sat under the palm trees for a while, reading about Copan and listening to music. It's really hot today, so I had to go inside to not get a sunstroke, but my pursuit of a skin color that doesn't hurt my eyes because of its extreme paleness has officially started. 
In a little bit we are going to have lunch with the family, frijoles as always with some meat and tortilla. Nice! Luckily I love frijoles, and they seem to be extra good here. 
After lunch I don't know what to do. So far I have just dared to walk around the streets of my home, went like one block to the nearest pulperia (kiosk) and bought a fresca (grapefruitsoda). A big part of my cowardness is due to my complete lack of sence of direction, without google maps to help me, I'm screwed. Just down the street from my house there is always at least two military guards standing on the corner, because a retired former big shot military lives in one of the houses. The guards look so young, must be around 18 years old. 
Later on tonight we are probably going to dance salsa in a place called "el sabor cubano". It is supposed to be full of great salseros and salseras, nice! 

my street

Good day

Today I got to meet two really nice volunteers in the office of ICYE, Tryggvi from Iceland and Noemi from Switzerland. Tryggvi is working on a project where he is a drum teacher for kids and also with the olimpiades especiales, the special olympics in Honduras. Noemi is working in an interactive museum for kids. Both projects seems like a lot of fun and very interesting. Nora was giving me an introduction of the organization and afterwards we went to have some honduran pupusas, a lot like arepas de queso, really nice. After that we had a very useful honduran spanish lesson about honduran terms and expressions. I also got a new cellphone including telephone card and 50 lempiras worth of calling time for 310 lempiras (100 kr)! 
In the evening Nora had made dinner plans for us at a really nice seafood restaurant, good food (I had peruvian ceviche) and great company! Afterwards we went to have some more beer in a bar nearby. A lot of future trips and activities were planned, exiting stuff! The Honduran people i have met so far are very eager to tell you all about different places and interesting stories about honduran culture, history and politics, which is great, but its a lot of new information to take in, and over here it is not rude for everyone to speak at the same time. It's an intense experience and a lot of fun. The hondurans are very open, social and really funny, I cant wait to spend more time with them. 
I love being able to sit outside in the evening, it feels like such a luxury. To me, the climate here is perfect. Late in the night and early in the morning it is nice and fresh, around 15 degrees. In the day it's about 28 degrees, which could be a little warm since the dressing code for women here is a bit restricted. I don't know how I'm going to handle this, if it gets up to 30 degrees, i don't want to use jeans and a covering top. I think I'd rather wear something a bit less covering and get the looks and comments in the street. 
Once again I feel exhaused, both mentally and physically, time to sleep. Good night!

 Nora 

 Honduran spanish lesson

 Nice view from a café

 at the dinner

 Nicaraguan beer

 Lovely people

 more beer

Tryggvi, such a funny guy

Quick hello

Good morning! 
I just had breakfast and will soon be going with Rosamalia to the ICYE (international cultural youth exchange) center. Im beginning to see that the security issue here will be limiting the freedom of my daily life quite a bit. There is no public transportation in the area where my family lives, which means that I have to walk quite far if I want to go somewhere. Walking alone is risky, and public transportation is also risky since you can get assaulted onboard. There are fences and in many cases double grids and bars covering windows. When we went to the hairdresser, we had to knock so they could unlock the door. They did not want me to stay outside the hair salon since it was risky. With this said, I have only been here one day and still have a lot to learn about the situation and how to get around in the city.