Mr. Sticky Fingers- You got me good!

So I haven’t blogged in a while, our trip to Guatemala was quite interesting.  We enjoyed getting to know some great people, learned some valuable travel lessons like…don’t ride on a ‘chicken’ bus, van boat or bicycle.  Nothing good comes from it, ever! Don’t listen to Lonely Planet, they will tell you that it’s alright to ride them. 

Oh yea, I also forgot to mention before that on our trip we got a few items stolen.  My glasses (to see with), my camera charger (really guy), a beach towel, my hairbrush and a dirty wash cloth.  Whoever it was that decided it was a good idea to steal my things is doo doo! Ugh! We are working hard to get my glasses and my camera charger taken care of but it has been quite the marathon.  Mr. Sticky Fingers…If you are out thereàThanks a lot, you sure got me good!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way! Aaron and I have been exposed to a totally new Roatan this week.  On Monday night we went to a Rotary Club ‘social’ at a brand new local sports bar.  This bar/ restaurant is crazy cool.  It is a circular structure with 360 degrees of TV’s on the walls. At this social we were surrounded by the wealthiest people on the island; locals, North Americans, Canadians.  It felt so different from the rest of our experience here thus far.  The next day we went to volunteer with a friend in the information booth at the new cruise ship dock.  Wow people, this is like Myrtle Beach dropped off in Roatan within high gates and separated from the rest of the island by almost a mile long driveway.   We walked through this port and saw more familiar stores in a 50 yard shopping center than we have seen in all the miles on the island.  I have been thinking so much about this week and the different side of the island that we have seen.  We have limited our exposure so much to only one group of people.  

It was so important for us to be a part of that life that we lost the concept that the world is not flat its round.  We are all so interconnected and we all depend so much on each other.  Our interaction may be small, our conversation may be nonexistent, our neighborly love may only be something we say and not something we live but we are still connected.  What one part of the cycle does, directly and indefinitely affects the rest of the moving parts of the cycle.  Okay so herein lies the problemo (you like that Spanish)…No matter what you or I deem is the ‘right’ way to support one another, or the ‘moral’ way to do things it is our reality that everything we do affects someone else.  No matter what lifestyle they walk within.  Instead of focusing on where we fit in the world and what group we belong to, we need to remember we are part of one big whole, a whole that moves and breaths as one community. 

And that’s my good word! We miss you family!! 

Didn't have time to proof read, dont judge!

Nomad: a person who moves continually from place to place; Wanderer.

Oh man people…Lets just be real, I am not a good Nomad.  Although I feel like as the unemployed self proclaimed free spirit I have decided to be for the next little while I feel like nomadic is the best way to explain my current lifestyle.  We have been traveling for the last seven days and I feel like it has been four months.  Although I love the things I have been able to see and experience, I do not like what it takes to get there.  My latest challenge for myself is work on being positive. Not a good time when I am doing something that I don’t thoroughly enjoy, but I am trying.

We went from Antigua to a small town in Guatemala called Chichicastenanga. (SP. Don’t quote me on this.) This is where the big market is.  It only happens on Sunday and Thursday.  There is a huge variety of things at these markets and a huge variety of people.  We walked through crowded isles of this outdoor market surrounded by handmade fabrics, jewelry, fruit, and chicken in all of its parts and honey that is transported in gas cans, and funneled into old used liquor bottle for sale purposes.  We were bombarded with children who are so immersed in their responsibilities that they cannot hear you asking their name.  It was sheer madness.  We stopped for just a moment, walked up the stairs into a café and stood over the crowd and watched as people franticly shopped, sold, bartered and traded! It was like stepping back in time.

We then went to a town on Lake Atitlan—Panajachel.  We stayed in a hotel that was my prayers answered.  It was quiet and clean, which in Central America is like hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas. (There’s that negativity- got to get rid of it!) It was like Myrtle Beach.  One long road filled with street vendors, restaurants and people.  We were in this small town so we could marvel at the lake and its closely surrounded villages.  But guess what! There was a constant layer of smog covering the natural beauty.  We awoke at 4:45am to watch the sun come over the three volcanoes and all we found was a cloud over a lake.  None the less we got our day started early!!! Did I mention we ran into a guy that gave us salsa lessons?  Oh yea, Aaron and I salsa’ed in Guatemala.  Don’t worry, we had to have a few rum and cokes to get Aaron nice and loose but I will expect all of you to ask him to show you his moves!

Back to Antigua we came.  We made it here all in one piece and will spend a good portion of our time here indulging in the Easter holiday weekend.  Here in Central America it is called Semana Santa.  We are in a place that has the largest Semana Santa processions like ever.  We found out today that we can help the locals build the carpets they walk over while processing! How fun is that.  It is from Midnight tonight to 4am.  Oh wait, they tell you to be on the streets to get a decent seat at 5am.  Looks like another long night. 

Oh yea, did I mention that I climbed a volcano this morning! We roasted marshmallows in a steaming crevasse in the earth! WHAT, WHO DOES THAT!

Oh yea, the coolest thing we have experienced so far.  Wait for it………..we met this older couple who totally kicked it with the royal family of Dubai. I mean check me out here people. 

His son was a speed boat racer and the royal family wanted a speed boat racing team so they asked him to move there and build this program/team. So they went…a few months later this man’s son called up his father (George, for stories sake) and said “hey dad. We could use your experience with aerospace design. Would you like to move to Dubai for a while?” The older man (father) said sure thing, what should we do? The son responded “The tickets are at the airport, be there packed and ready by tomorrow at 8am. Your accommodations have been taken care of.”  So this older man and his wife move to Dubai to live with the Royal family and help their son build a speed boat racing team. 

Cool thing number 2: They gave them a beach front place for free and when they decided to stay more permanently they royal family offered them a completely renovated (to their liking) beach front Villa. 

Cool thing number 3: The royal family said go furnish however you please.  When asked the budget, the response was. Just put it on my tab!

Cool thing Number 4: The royal family asked the older man if he liked to go out and play in the desert.  He said yes, so they took him to the Range Rover dealership and bought him a brand new range rover.

Cool thing Number 5: The royal guys man helper came up to the older man one day and said “The royal guy thinks you’re doing a good job George.” He handed him a brown paper bag…WITH A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN IT!

Life lesson for me—This guy has the coolest story ever! Sit down next to someone and get to know them.  I bet they are cool!  

(I am at an internet café and don’t have time to read back through this! If it has errors or isn’t clear, don’t judge!)

The Chicken Bus

What a day we have had.  we are just sitting here in our hotel  in Antigua and   glad to be alive! hahaha. We had the most interesting day of travel. We started in a small tuk tuk which is like a three  wheeled fred flintstone car. We arrived at the Guatemala border in this vehicle. *but we walked across the border. I felt like a fugitive.   We then got onto a chicken bus * a 13 passenger van...we got on the van with 8 other folks and ended up on the van slammed in between  the walls and 47 other people!!!!!!!!! It was maddness.  We then got onto a bus in Guatemala city.  This was like a  1980's greyhound bus.  There was a mysterious sound coming from under our seat. Myaybe like  all the parts were abot to hit the ground.  This bus was better by far but still the wildest ride ever.  Until we got on the next bus that was a crazy painted shool bus. The driver was driving like  a race car driver...in a bus! We arrivd at this bus in a taxi and HA TO GO TO EL BANO. The people running the show said no,  we had to go.  I gave them my look of desperation and they respnded with si,  rapido.   The  driver followed us in the bathroom and yelled vamos vamos vamos, rapido, until we got  on the bus. People, it was crazy.  Its all good though because we made it safely to Antigua.  Antigua is fantastic.  There are cobblestone streets and just such great culture and personality.  The people her have been so helpful and we have really enjoyed our time thus far.                              

  Right when we got here we went straight to get a ticket to chichicastenanga.  This is a big market that is on the way to Lake Atitlan.  We ARE GOING TO SEE LIVE ACTIVE VOLCANOS.  I dont realy understand why one would like to go see a volcano that might explode but Aaron wants to go so we are heading that direction!

I think I failed to mention that we traveled for nine hours today and only went 150 miles. I know, I know...it was awful!! 

Universal Language

As we are planning to do our travels through Guatemala this upcoming week I am stuck in time.  Yesterday I felt a little bit like I was a rap superstar in an “I am lifting up the place I came from… Tu Pac meets Michael Jacksons Heal the world video.”  We met for girl’s night last night and where met by one young lady, Marion.  We have seen a disinterest from our girls because of what should I call it…Girl Drama.  We have been bombarded with comments like… ‘I’m not coming because of her.’ We are also hearing a lot of “She said this to me and I am not going to be friends with her.”  What can I say, girls are all the same all over the world, caddy drama is a universal language! I can guarantee you that if you travel anywhere in the world and jump into a kitchen filled with women you will find “Can you believe that woman.  What in the world was she doing with that boy” and on and on and on.

But anyways, we have had the challenge of trying to show these young girls in three short weeks how to respond to one another’s passive aggressive blows and their fights for our attention.  What can I say; it’s a hard challenge to accept. Yesterday we took a different approach and left the church and walked through the neighborhood of French Harbor.  Our group turned from one within the church walls to five immediately upon our exit into the open air.  We continued our walk and were greeted by a swarm of children being released from school.  All approached us as if we were a giant ball of cotton candy they wanted a piece of.    The children dressed in their school uniforms looking like one large body coming towards us with eyes of curiosity and wonder.  Some knew of us from brothers and sisters or from seeing us throughout the neighborhood, but their interest was amazing.  We passed the community basketball court which is used for almost every sport and were joined by some of the boys from Tuesday and Thursday mentoring. They followed closely with soccer balls and bicycles.  We were a small mob of folks walking the French Harbor loop.  Something these children do every day and so graciously invited us to be a part of. 

As we continued to walk together as one unit just sharing time with one another and walking through their community, their stomping grounds, we found a certain sense of genuineness.  We were in their house, they had the home court advantage and we were just along for the ride.  It was a new experience, a beautiful one that reminded me of the saying “There’s no place like Home!” Hospitality is a universal language; we just have to open our ears and hearts to make sure to be on the receiving end at the right time! Be available to receive the love and hospitality of the community around you, it’s there…we just have to meet it where it is.        

You know you love Titanic!

May 31^st is the day we are returning to the states! Aaron and I decided this week that it is time we come home.  This decision just sort of came naturally and we are excited to be coming home to our friends and family.  We are doing a lot of talking and thinking about the path we will walk when we return to the States and are hoping that our experience here in Roatan will shed new light and new opportunities as we turn to the next chapter in our lives.  

Our last couple of weeks has been so different than our first couple of weeks here on the island.  When we first got here we were so eager to find a project.  We needed something to show our production, something to make us feel better about the fact that we just picked up and changed our lifestyle.  We needed something to show that we moved to an island and tried to impact the community. Unfortunately that is a truth for us.  We were ‘those guys’. Here I am speaking for both of us! Let me rephrase…I was ‘that guy!’  

I always laughed at people who said they were going out to the top of a mountain to ‘find themselves’.  I still find a little humor in the thought of finding oneself. I don’t really understand how that works.  But , what I have seen just in the short time that I have been here is that going somewhere totally different exposes things that would not otherwise be exposed.  Maybe an exposure of a passion, an exposure of untapped personality, an exposure of a deep love, an exposure of perspective. 

When I was back in the states I allowed myself to get into a situation where I focused only on the path right in front of me.  I was aware of where I was.  I was present in the now but my focus was always centered on what was directly in front of me.  Since I have been here in Roatan I am opening my scope to a 360 degree view.  I am trying out some Google earth BIRDS EYE VIEW.  I am still trying to see what is happening right now but I want to see it all around.  I want to be consumed by everything that is happening around me.  Consumed by awareness of worldly things, consumed by my husband and all the great things he has to offer, consumed by my community, consumed by family, consumed with life.  I am hoping that this consumption will reach into my heart and continue to find fire for every moment of every day.  That this consumption will take the focus off me and into what’s happening around me. 

Someone asked me the other day why am I happy and not bored here in Roatan?  What in the world? I didn’t know the answer to that! But I think I do now.  I have accepted that today is Saturday.  A day that might be the best day of my life. I have a few things in the pipeline for plans but ultimately it’s about what the day brings. Instead of being consumed with a schedule I am consumed with the fact that I have 14 hours of day ahead. There is a world of new experiences coming right towards me.  All I have to do is hit my internal ‘Google Earth bird’s eye view button’ and open my eyes to 360 degree view.  As a wise man once said (Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic J) “Make each day count.”

My Saturday morning toast to you! TO MAKING IT COUNT!   

Island Time

The girls program kicked off last week and we had five girls show up.  Have you ever heard of the phrase “I’m on island time!” This phrase totally and completely is so true! Girls time was supposed to start at 5:30pm and the girls strolled up around 6:15pm.  But hey, better late than never! We just began getting to know the girls and encouraging them to come back tonight.  My next goal is find a way to provide some sort of snack, just got to find some money!

We found out some frustrating news that night that led us to begin meeting at an earlier hour! So basically in Honduras the teachers go on strike quite frequently. So right now…none of the children that we are serving through the program have access to school.  What a frustrating situation right.  As we have continued to seek out information on these strike situations we have found so many disturbing things about the school systems here in Honduras. 

Number one: The teachers strike all the time and have been controlling the education system here for years.  Their pay is not exorbitant but is significantly higher than the average salary on the island.

Number two: The people running the schools put friends on the staff payroll who don’t even work at the school.  They have been getting paid for years by the government and they don’t even go to work.

Number three: the teachers have been setting a rumor that the schools are becoming privatized and the parents must pay for their schooling.  This is has set a grey cloud above these communities because a lot of folks cannot afford a payment for school. 

Number Four: The government is looking to set laws in place that will prevent the teachers from striking, therefore they are continuing to spread false information throughout the communities they are supposed to be serving. 

With knowing all these things, I am motivated to continue to work towards an educational program that can continue to exist on the island. The children are as eager as ever to learn and continuing to push us all to continue to stay invested in the program. 

New topic! 

We met a guy last night who is from Pollytilly Bight on the east end of the island.  He is 19 years old and is working as a caddy at a resort here on the island.  This boy has an intrinsic motivation that cannot be explained.  His parents did not have this motivation, his brothers do not have this motivation but he has this incredible spark within his soul.  It takes him 50 lempira’s to get to work and home each day. ($2.50) Get this, he only gets paid tips.  When I asked him why he continues to work for this resort going days without any sort or compensation, his response was short. “I love Golf.” It then registered in his mind what exactly I was asking.  He began to tell me about an uncle who got him a job at the resort. His uncle was a very skilled chef who included his nephew in a lot of his work.  They worked for individual families coming here on vacation and also worked in resorts.  His uncle passed away last year and this young man told me that regardless of his compensation for his work, it was important for him to respect the path that his uncle laid for him.  His uncle got him the job and he is determined to make a career of it.  He wants to set the framework for his future, for his family.  This young man graduated high school which on the island is about a 6% chance.  His goal and dreams for this island is that one day there will be a university here that can continue to educate folks after they finish high school.  Is that beautiful or what!

Question: Where does intrinsic motivation come from? We see it in all cultures, where does it come from?

I had a great birthday! I turned 24 last week and Aaron and I had a great lazy day.  We went to a resort here on the island with BEDS ON THE BEACH!  It was fantastic!