Feliz Cumpleanos Rikke! … Happy Birthday Rikke!

Rikke and her birthday cake

Today was Rikke’s birthday party/going away celebration hosted at our house. Rikke, the 29-year old, super-cool chica, is leaving El Porvenir this week to do some traveling around Central America and return to her boyfriend/family in Denmark. The party started at 7pm, so people started arriving around 8pm (Honduran time..lol). Family, friends, neighbors, volunteers, and of course the local favorites were invited. We had tons of food and drink, and plenty of cake! A tradition in Honduras is to sing “Happy Birthday” and then decorate the celebrated person’s face with the cake icing. Jorge did the honors for Rikke. After some of the little ones and older people left, the party continued when Liz ( A volunteer from Portland) and I introduced Beer Pong to Honduras. Yes… College Park has arrived. Felt just like home…

Jorge decorating Rikke's face

Our Neighbors: Jorge, Romelia, and their daughter Estefani

My roomies: Natalie (Miami, Fl), Ben (Fairfax, Va), Heide (Belgium)

Glenda’s Paradise

While in Sambo Creek, Leah suggested we visit Glenda’s Paradise, as recommended by the American couple hosting her in El Porvenir. It was a difficult location to find, due to its recent opening, and many of the locals not knowing how we could there. When we finally arrived, we were greeted by two tour guides who took us up into the mountains and lead us behind a series of trees to a hidden waterfall. Underneath the waterfall were pools of hot springs. It was so beautiful! I could not wait to jump in, seeing as how I have not seen hot water in days (yes… only cold showers at the house). We sat in the hot springs and relaxed under the waterfalls. Wendy, one of the guides, later applied volcanic mud all over our bodies, instructing us to “bake” in the mud for 10 minutes. Once it hardened we jumped back in the hot springs to find our skinned smoothed by Mother Nature. We chilled in the pools for about 2 hours. We slightly forced Ben out, because he would have spent all day there…

Hot Springs - Aguas Temales

Natalie, Leah, and Sabrina coated in Volcanic Mud

Soaking in the Hot Springs

La Garifuna - Sambo Creek

We ventured out today to visit the nearby town of Sambo Creek, a well known Garifuna community. The Garinagu (singular Garifuna) are descendants of Carib, Arawak, and West African people. Today the Garifuna live primarily in Central America, along the Caribbean Coast in Belize, Nicaragua, and Honduras, including the mainland, and on the island of Roatan.

The history of when the Garifuna arrived to Central America is somewhat debated, but record shows in the late 1600s a wrecked African slave ship landing in the Caribbean. The survivors, members of the Mokko ethnicity from today’s Nigeria (now known as Ibibio) reached the small island of Bequia, where the Caribs brought them to Saint Vincent and ill-used them. When the Africans became too powerful and independent, the Caribs planned to kill all the male children. The Africans learned of the plan and revolted against the Carib people, eventually dominating the island. When Britain was awarded rule over St. Vincent , they considered the Black Caribs enemies, and therefore deported them to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras. Because the island could not sufficiently support their population, the Garangui petitioned the Spanish authorizes to be allowed to settle on the mainland. The Spanish employed them, and they spread along the Caribbean coast of Central America.

The Garifuna have their own language, an Arawakan language, derived from Arawak and Carib, with English, French, and Spanish. Almost all Garifuna are bilingual speaking the official languages of the countries they inhabit such as Spanish, Kriol, and English. Garifuna are also well known for their music, with punta being the most famous. Drumming and dancing is also a big part of their culture.

We arrived to Sambo Creek mid-day and many people were out and about walking around town. I saw women carrying laundry baskets on top of their heads, kids playing in the yard, and men waiting by the bus station. The rain started to come down heavy, so we took cover at a nearby restaurant on the beach. We heard that the seafood is the best at Sambo Creek, so we all ordered shrimp dishes. Ben got soup, Leah got the house garlic shrimp with rice, and Natalie and I ordered friend shrimp. (Yes I know... fatties) The meal was pretty good, and even better when the waiter told us about the promotion, where we could get a second entre for 33 lempiras more (less than $2). After we ate lunch, we headed back to the main road to catch the bus back to EL Porvenir.

Rained out Sambo Creek

Overall Sambo Creek was really nice. The people were very friendly, and everyone spoke to us as we walked around town. It was nice to actually see people who essentially look like me. There are many Garifuna who live about Honduras, but to see a whole community full of them was very enlightening. Behavior and cultural commonalities can be pulled from the Garifuna and African-American communities. When I saw two Garifuna men at the bus stop talking and sharing stories, it reminded me of home, where on any given day, one can see two African-American men sitting at the bus stop, just talking and sharing stories as well… Neither group waiting for the bus, but somehow they find themselves there.

Teenagers hanging out in Sambo Creek

SOS…Un Paradise

This was my first week at SOS, the orphanage where I will be working for the next two months. The school van picked us up from our house and took us to El Pino, a nearby town, about 10 minutes from El Porvenir. Nestled in the mountains surrounded by trees is the beautiful SOS. When we approached the gate to enter SOS, an armed security guard greeted us, and let the driver enter the school grounds. Words cannot describe how awesome this place looks and feels. It’s unlike anyplace I have seen in Honduras, and maybe one of the only places where I feel completely safe.

SOS

SOS

SOS is a completely secure community, where orphans live and attend school. The orphanage uses a model where the children are assigned to a “mother” and in essence form a “family unit.” The children have “brothers” and “sisters” and share a home with their assigned “mother” through their time at the orphanage. Once the children reach adulthood the orphanage works to place them into college or the work force.

When we arrived to SOS the kids ran towards the van to greet us and give us hugs. We taught two classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. The classes range from subjects like Math, Art, Reading, English, and Movement. The students then have a break from 11:30am-1pm, where they go home and eat lunch and see their families.

On Tuesday, I spent all day with my little buddy Gerson. He is 8 years old and loves to read. Gerson has a sister named Yasmin. There are 4 Yasmins at SOS, including me (Jasmine=Yasmin in Honduras… no difference in this part of the world). So on Tuesday… Gerson and I sat by the trees and talked and then we jumped over the bushes, and then we danced Zumba with the older kids. He is super cool.

Gerson (David is behind the bush)

Me and Gerson (He made me take this one... clearly I was chilling in the shade)

Un Perro, Un Pato, y Dos Gallinas…. A dog, A duck, and Two Hens

Wow! I made it to Honduras in one piece. I flew from Reagan National Airport with a connection in Miami , and arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. From San Pedro Sula, I caught a charter flight to La Ceiba. Somewhere between San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, my baggage was lost! Oh boy! I dreaded that this would happen, but prepared my mind for the possibility. I got to La Ceiba, where my driver was waiting for me to take me to El Porvenir. I arrived at the Volunteer House, saw people sitting on the patio along with a bunch of animals. Almost resembled a miniature farmhouse. “Where the F--- am I staying?” first popped into my head. I gave myself a quick Jasmine speech, inclusive of “Get your mind right.. Be nice… This is actually kinda cool” and approached the gate. A young lady, by the name of Natalie, came to the gate and let me into the house. I would later find out that Natalie, a hi-energy girl from Miami, would be my bunkmate and co-teacher at SOS. She then introduced me to the other residents; Amigo, the guard dog, Donald, the white duck, and Henrietta and Zena, the house hens. I then met Heide (pronounced Hedda), a chill girl from Belgium, and Rikke, the fire-engine, red head chica from Denmark. Rikke (pronounced Ricky) is a the house/program adviser. All were very nice and welcoming. Because I lost my luggage, they all were very quick to help; Natalie giving me bed linens and a pillow, and Heide giving me a towel to shower.

Our House

After I unpacked my only 2 items in my carry-on (tooth brush and chapstick), Heide and I went to the pulperia (mini-market) to buy food for dinner. We made breakfast burritos with rice, potatoes, carrots, and scrambleled eggs. We decided to experiment with the hot sauce. Bad idea! With only the little that we put on the burritos, our mouths were on fire. You cannot drink the water in Honduras, so we have a filtered water cooler next to the kitchen. I think both me and Heide went thru half a water jug after those burritos!

Once we hydrated ourselves, we went outside and sat on the patio with our neighbors Jorge, Romania, and their cute daughter, Estefany. They are really nice people. They were teaching us Spanish and we were teaching them English, all laughing and just having a good time.

First night in Honduras… not so bad. Even with the lost luggage and what not, I made 6 new friends, and 4 new animal friends… who would have thought!

Amigo

Donald

Zena... Henrietta was missing in action for the photo shoot

Cinco Cosas… Five Things

I am introducing a featurette on this blog called Cinco Cosas, where I will have 5 random thoughts or pictures. Sometimes they will share something in common, but most times, they will be completely random. Today I chose to share 5 various reactions from my friends and family from when I first informed them I was traveling to Honduras for a volunteer project. I decided to answer them candidly…

1. Why?

-Why Not?

I am an adventurous spirit. Act now, and worry about the consequences later. Some people cannot handle that, but once you have done it, (ie. Packing my car and moving to New York), you can do it over and over again. Living in a Spanish speaking country and been a dream of mine since college, so you ask why? Because this is the time to do it.

2. Are you getting paid?

-Do you know any volunteers that get paid?

This is a volunteer position. Giving a piece of you to help someone else. Maybe for some it’s a check, for others it’s time or service. I guess I just decided to do them all at once.

3. What are you going to do with your hair?

-Channel Farrah Fawcett like I always do…

Of course anyone who knows me, knows that I am particular about my hair. But when I decided to do this trip I had to realize that I am going to be in the rainforest working with kids. The ponytail or snatch back will have to suffice. My cousin already told me I am going to come back looking like Whoopi Goldberg… hot mess.

4. Jasmine, you cannot take your Marc Jacobs Daisy and OPI Nail Polish.

-Damn!

That’s really all I could say to that one.

5. You are going to have an amazing time!

-Yes! I hope so!

This trip will be amazing, even with its challenges and hardships. I am coming to El Porvenir with an open mind and an open heart. Let this be a test of my inner strength and desire to embrace another culture outside my own.