One Crazy Week

Well, last week was crazy. Happy and fun and busy, and the kind of week that leaves you unsure if it’s Thursday or Monday or September.

Oct. 15th is Independence Day in Hondo. Parades started the previous Friday and continued throughout the weekend. I went Friday because one of my girls was in it with her kindergarteners, and we all went on Sunday (girls and Laura) to watch. We stayed for a few hours and saw the Honduran veterans march (they were adorable and awesome), then saw a few of the schools march, including Lawson and Jordan with their school, Buen Samaritano. Bands would stop and play for a while, and most classes had some sort of “thing” to make them stand out…like dancers.. or a parachute.

Parades are a great Honduran experience. Everyone gets so excited, and they can be pretty neat. Then about the time someone (cough—lady from Buen Samaritano--cough) decides she’s going to preach for half an hour more than the school was supposed to have, you start to become acutely aware of things like the heat and the number of strangers that are touching you… Generally that’s a gringa thing, but even Yulema, Yeni and Damaris were ready to go. We watched the rest of the parade from the ice cream shop, which may have been a better idea anyway.

Since they were out of school until Thursday, we had a sleepover at Stacy’s on Monday night. Jon is still in the states fundraising with Phil, so she was nice enough to have us all (girls from the house) over. She made dinner and pie, I killed them at Chinese checkers, and Stacy hooked the T.V. up to the computer and played songs on YouTube so they could sing along like karaoke. The makeshift karaoke was obviously a huge hit (more with the girls than with the neighbors), so they danced and sang and had a blast.

Unfortunately, I didn’t stay the entire night at the sleepover. I went to the Waldron’s to stay with Laura and Nixi because Donna was at the hospital with Karol and Jeremias. Which means that Merlyn Laura has finally made her debut! After one incredibly long and slightly dramatic day, Karol had a cesarean and she, Donna, and Jeremias got their first hours of sleep in 24 hours. After that we took turns sitting at the hospital, having Nixi, and fighting over holding Laurita. (OK there haven’t actually been fights.) They’re home from the hospital now and are doing great. She looks exactly like a tiny copy of Jeremias, and I’m pretty sure she’s adorable but I am biased.

Last but not least, I'm getting ready for VCOM’s medical group in October. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I’ve still been quite busy trying to coax enough translators out of school for a week, and making arrangements in villages, etc.

Anyway, there’s the low down on another week in Hondo.. Abnormal because of unusual circumstances, but very typical in the sense of unplanned changes in schedules and “going with the flow!”

Dia del Niño

I remember as a child asking my mom, “Why is there a mother’s day and a father’s day but there isn’t a day for kids??” She responded by pointing out that moms and dads work constantly to keep the small ones alive for little to no recognition; lovingly providing the essentials for life while also occasionally buying us things we don’t need like ice cream, clothes we want, toys we just “have to have”, etc. 

“Every day is the child’s day,” she told me, and she was right. That has stuck with me, which is why I initially had some trouble understanding the HUGE deal that is made over Dia del Niño in Honduras.

After hearing the perspectives of my girls, I have a better understanding of the day. Yulema says that Dia del Niño is the holiday she looked forward to most as a child. 

In the states we have Halloween, which is basically just about candy, and though Christmas has a deeper meaning, because of Santa Claus and other traditions it is the day that many children look forward to most in the year. 

To many Hondurans, Santa Claus is a weird story about an old man that never came to visit them or anyone they know, and Christmas is a day to spend at Church or with your family that may include a special meal. (That is not true for all Hondurans. However, it pretty much covers the ones that I’m working with.)

Dia del Niño happens in Honduras on September 10, and all around the country there are fiestas and celebrations galore. It’s a huge deal.

This year, the new church in Contamal asked Stacy to help them out by donating something (like a cake) to make their first Dia del Niño special. So I went with Stacy and the kids to deliver her pretty cake and spend the morning at the Dia del Niño celebration. The church members in Contamal chipped in for a piñata and food, which in my mind automatically makes it a pretty fun party.

Children and adults alike had a great time. There was a Bible lesson, games, a piñata, food (since obviously it isn’t a party without tortillas, and in this case fried rice), and cake. We were there for about 4 hours. It was a great way for this new church to reach out to the community and provide a special/fun day of activities for their children. I was happy to be a part of it! Yet another cultural experience to check off the list..:)