One month after returning to Sweden,

I've had some time to process the billions of impressions after this stay, and to let my experiences in Honduras sink in. 
These four months were intense and I must admit that I had a hard time to adapt, living in Honduras is different and a great change from the life I was used to living in Sweden. After a while I found ways of adjusting into some sort of mixture, keeping parts of my swedish identity while developing my new identity as an inhabitant of Tegucigalpa. This process is very interesting and not always easy when the two identities every so often clash in different situations. Eventually you find ways of marrying the two and find a golden path in between. I am so very happy I took the chance of getting to know this little piece of earth in Central America. (Even though this sounds cheesy,) I will truly keep all the memories of my four months in Tegus close to my heart (there, I said it). There are so many amazing, inspiring and interesting people that I had the pleasure of meeting during my stay, all of you contributed to making the Honduran experience rich and interesting. You gave me food for thought and opened up my way of thinking. The meetings, the discussions, the good times and the hard times, all this hopefully made me a little bit wiser. It was wonderful getting to know a tiny bit of your colourful culture, your amazing nature and the vivacious spirit of the catrachas/os.

When it comes to the situation of the people living in Honduras today, I quickly understood it was worse than I had expected. And as in many difficult circumstances around the world, the women are the ones who suffers the most. I feel many things, among them frustration and anger, thinking about the injustice in all the different contexts and areas of the Honduran society. There is a great force of people struggling and working, even putting themselves in danger, every day of their lives to improve the conditions of the Honduran people, but they need support from the international society. I feel Honduras is being abandoned by the outside world, left to survive by itself one way or another. It is important to spread knowledge and information, and support Honduras in its struggle to stop the violations of the human rights, to turn around towards a democratic governance where the citizens are equally valued and not taken advantage of or being ignored. Things can change for the better, and the people will never give up.

Honduras deserves our attention and has so much to offer. I had the most amazing time in this country and I will be forever grateful to its inhabitants. Go visit Honduras, get to know the country and I promise you will be impressed with all the wonderful things it has to offer. Then you will see, and truly understand, that it deserves a brighter future. 

and to my dear witches, you are the descendants of the women they failed to wipe away! Keep using your powers with pride! Arde patriarcado, arrrde!

p.s. We made a small video about the ICYE experience:

 

 

Some random things I will miss back in Sweden:

• The chirping sound of geckos at night. (it makes me calm, plus they are cute and they eat cockroaches)

• All the generous, open, interesting, good people of Tegus that has made my time here unforgettable. I appreciate all the moments, encounters, discussions, the gestures small or big. Thank you!

 

• Crazy bus rides to and from work in 80's school buses from the states, with reaggeton pumping from speakers only playing treble and bass, ennoying busboys trying to charge you three extra times knocking on you while murmuring -pssaje (fare), more or less sitting in the lap of the person next to you (melting from the heat) while having someones boobs in your face, meanwhile the bus is racing against another bus, honking the horn every two seconds. (Every ride is an adventure, you really feel youre alive!)  p.s. I'm not being ironic, I like it!  
  

• People driving cars (taxi drivers) with their window rolled down using sign language to cut in line etc. (thumbs up for that) 

• Hanging out in Cafe Paradiso and Tito Aguacate, both true treasures of Tegus with unique and very welcoming atmospheres, meeting all kinds of personalities while having an imperial for 35 lemps or eating a piece of boiled potato as a snack.  

• Riding in the car with the nightly landscape of Tegucigalpa outside the window with its lights, hills and valleys, the music flowing from the speakers, people singing along.  

• Frijoles and tortillas, can't be without them now. (Esteban, get ready to make me some when I get home!) 

 Some random things I will not miss back in Sweden:

• Cockroach hunting in my room. Disgusting creatures, even woke up in the middle of the night with one clinging on to my arm. Very unpleasant. 

• The way it feels to walk alone on the streets of Tegus. Thank Goddess you actually can walk down a street in Sweden without getting harassed. This madness needs to stop. 

• The sound of gunshots. 

 

At work

Right now I'm sitting in my office in CEM-H, finding it very hard to concentrate.
It's a bit rough to come back to the life of Tegus, no more complete freedom, no more dressing exactly the way you feel like, no more walking around completely carefree. But I carry Chachauate with me. All the moments are left, playing in the sand with one little girl on each arm, the blue plankton that glowed in the dark, drinking guiffity waiting for the storm to hit, the flying fishes, floating around in the turquoise water. One day I'm definitely returning to the north coast of Honduras, there is much more to see.

Oh, and I told you that I was going to show you pictures from the Feria, here are some of them:

I made a little video of the event as well, enjoy!

Cayos Cochinos

Cayos was pure magic. I did not want to leave. We took the lancha from Sambo Creek and arrived 45 minutes later, happy and soaking wet. The view was breathtaking. 
The water is crystal clear and has the most beautiful blue colors, the beaches are made of smooth white sand, there are seashells the size of my head and precious pieces of coral. The people on the island of Chachauate are very friendly and the island is full of kids, there are children everywhere. I would say the children are the soul of Chachauate. They help their parents fishing, selling bread or sweets and they are all over the place, playing, jumping into the sea, hanging out with the tourists. They are very social and not a bit shy. We became friends with a couple of them, super sweet kids. 

 In La Ceiba, the night before going to the islands

 Sunrise in Sambo Creek

 First photo at Cayo Grande 

 Chachauate

 Our tree terrace

 Having some agua de coco

Everything is done on island time, which is Honduran time plus more, but I love it. There is no reason to be stressed, so what if it takes half an hour to get a cup of coffee? And the food! The food on Chachauate is delicious, I had a sopa de mariscos to die for, the best baleadas I have tasted so far with frijoles, egg and cheese, fresh fish straight from the kayak with rice and beans made with coconut milk, and the coconut bread is one of the most delicious breads I have ever tasted. If you go there, don't miss the pan de coco! 

 The eclipse

 Lunch

 At Cayo Grande

 Punta

We were only about fifteen persons staying on Chachauate, the other tourists came to visit from the other islands and went back after lunch, so we and the Islanders had the beach to ourselves most of the time. It is a small island and has about 70 persons living there all year around, but in summertime the population is more than twice as big. The electricity is only available between 6 and 9 o clock in the evening and most of the people live in simple homes with sand floors. They make a living from selling home made bread, coconuts, food, sweets, jewelry made out of seashells, guifity (the local drink) and offer different activities for the tourists such as snorkeling or hiking. 

The island life is easy; we just woke up, had breakfast, went to the beach, took a swim, ate, swam some more, had some drinks, played with the kids, ate some more, talked to the islanders, took a swim and so on. At night we made bonfires in the moonlight, layed on the beach, took night swims. We were super lucky the whole trip, we even got to see a total lunar eclipse while we were there. The first night we stood on the beach, observing the moon getting covered. The second night, the kids showed us how to dance punta, suddenly I was dancing with them next to the bonfire under the moonlight of the blood moon. Surreal. 

 Tryg, the little mermaid

 Kids everywhere

The blood moon

You literarily become one with nature while staying on Chachauate, there is sand everywhere, there is no shower and there is no way to hide from the salt water so you're always covered with salt and sand (including my camera). But I like it! Forget bringing the hair products, perfumes or makeup. You will not be using it. And, another really incredible thing; there are no mosquitos! We could be outside in the evening without getting bothered. Although there is some kind of sandfly and ants that sting you, but it quickly goes away and is not that annoying. Another thing that could be good to know is that you can attract small jellyfishes that sting you if you pee in the water, so try to not pee in the sea. 

One day we went snorkeling in the coral reefs close to the bigger island, Cayo Grande. It was incredible, so many kinds of fishes in different colors and shapes, beautiful sea plants and coral, and I saw a turtle!! I followed it for a while before it disappeared, what amazing creatures! So, needless to say, I was more than pleased (plus the snorkeling guide was very cute). We also took a walk on Cayo Grande, which is more or less a big jungle, and we saw like five pink boas. We also saw a lot of punta dancing and I teached some girls some swedish and tried to learn some expressions in Garifuna. Unfortunately, the only thing I remember now is how to say buenas noches: buiti gunyo.
This trip was so very relaxing and good for both the soul and the body, swimming in the ocean, getting some sun, laying in the shadow talking, reading. And thanks to my crazy funny friends, the people and the kids, it never gets boring! 

 Me and my buddy Manitza

 Me and Felix

Chachauate is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, I hope it stays simple and charming and that the islanders can keep on living their life the way they want to. There are other islands apart from Cayos Cochinos such as Roatan or Utila, but they have a completely different feeling. They are very touristic, there is no Garifuna population and there are expensive hotels and party all night long. These islands do also have their charm, but I hope Cayos Cochinos stays less exploited.  

If you ever get the chance, visit this little paradise!

My Cayos video

Tomorrow

... I will be going on summer holidays with my dear friends from ICYE. We will leave Tegus early in the morning and head for La Ceiba. The day after we will take the lancha towards Cayos Cochinos and Chachauate. Which happens to be paradise on earth! I am so exited, finally I will reunite with the ocean, and this particular ocean is amazing. Taken from their tourist page:  

The Cayos Cochinos Natural Marine Monument is on the list of places that you must visit before you die, being in the 17th position among the 35 best places in the world. Cayos Cochinos has also been selected as one of the top 10 destinations to be visited around the world, leading the honorable position number 6 most sensual places.

The Cayos Cochinos belong to the world's second largest barrier reef, and is an archipelago of 13 coral cays and 2 volcanic islands.

In the Major and Minor Keys there are a variety of flora and fauna, and which highlights the resident and migratory birds, as well as pink boa that is endemic to the Cayos Cochinos.

Activities that can be enjoyed in the Cayos Cochinos are the following; swimming in turquoise waters, relaxing on white sand beaches , snorkeling, hiking in search of the pink boa and diving, if you don't know how you can take classes in our diving school.

So exiting! 

Maybe I will even be able to check one thing on my personal list of stuff to do before i die, swimming with turtles!  

Quick hello

Today is an exiting day! 
For the last weeks I have been helping the compañeras from the organization called Mesoamericanas en Resistencia por una Vida Digna to plan a feria in the middle of Tegus. Now the day of the feria has come! It will be at the perfect spot, namely at the "roundabout of the artisans", a very pretty square made for events like this. We have invited women from all across the country to come to Tegus and bring their products, different kinds of handmade crafts such as hammocks, bags, clay pots, beautiful textiles, all kinds of things made out of fir needle etc etc. They will also sell delicious typical food, bread, sweets, snacks, you name it. We will also have different performances, music and dance on stage. I fixed the finale, which will be a group called Los Hijos del Maiz, they are a collective made out of musicians, artisans, street artists etc. It's going to be great!
I will be standing at the information table, handing out free publications and information about CEM-H and Mesoamericanas. 
Of course I will also be documenting and filming the event, promise to show you the pics later. I'm having troubles uploading videos on the blog which is a pitty, lets see if I can work it out somehow. 

I made this invitation in a hurry without access to internet, think it kind of turned out ok haha. Here on the page of www.504.hn, an Honduran event site.

Check out the mini documentary of Los Hijos del Maiz!

La Paz

Yesterday we went to visit La Paz, a small village about two and a half hours from Tegucigalpa. It's a real pueblo, much smaller than the other ones I have visited so far. It has a church and nice little park, (typical for all the Central American villages and cities), but not much more than that. Chickens were strolling around and cows were herded through the pueblo on dusty dirt roads. It had a very laid back feeling to it and was pretty idyllic, I liked it a lot.

 chilling out in the shadow on a hot day 

 in the center of the pueblo, a part of the park and the church are visible

 At the only restaurant in town, watching Real Madrid-Dortmund

great place

We had come there to have a meeting with represents from Oxfam and women from different networks and organizations connected with CEM-H and supported by Oxfam. It was an opportunity for the women to tell the represents about their progress within the networks, their experiences and their future goals. Once again I have to express how impressed I am by the amazing women I get to meet here, and how the stories they share really impacts and humbles me. They are so strong and so very brave. To stand up and talk straight from their hearts, to tell all of us about their struggles, the violence, the abuse, but also about the success and how far they have come. And it really is a beautiful thing to hear about their hopes and goals for the future. They are so supportive of each other, rough backgrounds have scarred them but they are still very warm and loving in an unobtrusive manner. I know you are probably sick of me repeating myself in every post, but I just have to give them credit. I wish you all could meet them in person, because they are truly amazing. It is also extremely obvious how important organizations as CEM-H and cooperations like Oxfam are to the women and the society. Because the women does not only improve their own quality of life, they really do improve the society in general.
They expressed their gratitude to Oxfam and to CEM-H but most of all to my awesome boss Suyapa, to which many of them have had a long and close collaboration.

 a lot of adorable babies

 this woman is so strong, her story is of abuse and overcoming it, now working for womens rights (she also has 12 children)

 many familiar faces from other workshops and meetings

sharing experiences and stories, a way of healing

 this woman has a very dark past, including being mutilated by her nephew (half of her hand was chopped off) but is now after much struggling in a better place

 one of the represents of Oxfam taking in the information from the women 

 woman speaking with her sick granddaughter in her arms

 mother and daughter

she made her own little spot on the floor

The women have not only improved their economical situation thanks to such things as micro companies, maybe more importantly they have also learned to voice their opinions, to demand their rights, to occupy a place in the public sphere. They have gotten help to overcome dark incidences and difficult situations. Some of them are now actively working within human rights, to educate and support other women. They told us about actual attitude changes concerning gender issues in their societies. They told us that women now possess high decisive positions where before they were completely dominated by men.
Sadly, there is still a LOT of work left to do in the area of attitudes and gender issues in the society. I can't believe how women actually are being treated here, some stories are truly awful. The first immediate reaction I get when I hear these things is almost like a reflex, like self-defense. I don't want to believe that this is the reality of so many girls and women. A part of me doesn't want to know, it wants to just push aside the brutal truth of reality. It is tough to let the reality get to you, but it is also so very important. There is no way anything is going to change if you live in denial and turn to easy answers. The nature of reality is ugly and complex, but we can't hide from it.

 the oxfam crew

 two amazing women, my boss to the right

After the meeting was finished and lunch was over, we took the car and drove on cricked dusty roads to a small house outside of the pueblo. The women wanted to show the small business that they had started, making cornmeal and ground coffee. Thanks to the economical support, they could buy a grinder and produce these products in a faster and more efficient manner. Before, they used stones, grinding everything by hand, which as you can guess was hard and time consuming work. They now can sell bigger quantities and get more free time. I hope that business will continue to flourish for them. 

 at the mill

following the conversation from inside the miller house

 a curious chicken

it looks like a powerful bruja could live here