Last week we went to the southern coast of Honduras for classes on tourism. We divided into three groups to work with three different businesses and develop business plans for them. My group was a restaurant that also doubled as a private zoo. Apparently there is only one public zoo in Honduras, with a lot more private collections. The restaurant we went to exhibits the animals for free – but he only has about 17 different species. Eventually he hopes to charge, but in doing so, he will really need to spruce the place up. After touring the restaurant, we went to the beach and camped out there one night. We had hot dogs and tuna fish sandwiches – glorious American food!! – played volleyball, and in general just relaxed (with the exception of the one group that interviewed the owner of the campgrounds). The next day we went to another beach for a group building activity and played an improvised version of waterpolo/ultimate Frisbee with a half full Coke bottle. We then went to another restaurant for seafood and the third group interviewed the restaurant owner. After that we went home and had to work on a business plan (in Spanish this time!) to present to the group by the end of the week. Work hard, play hard – it was real fun. On Saturday we played soccer against a group called Christos Jovenes (Christ’s Kids) and we got smashed 7-3. 1 was a self goal, and we missed 2 penalty kicks, so it could have been 6-5, but it was 7-3. Most importantly we had fun, so good times.
This past week we went over micro finances and we had guest speakers (volunteers from previous groups) to give lectures on HIV/AIDS (in Spanish). We were then split up into groups to give the same presentation to a local high school – in Spanish. The work was intense, but I think we did a good job. The volunteers told us that giving a VIH/SIDA charla (that’s how they say it in Spanish) is a good way to integrate into your site when you first get there as lots of Hondurans are interested in these lectures. One of the volunteers was Korean, and he told me that there are Korean super markets in Honduras, especially in San Pedro Sula (the municipal with the highest homicide rates) as lots of machillas are owned by Koreans. Machillas are factories that receive half way processed goods from over seas, are worked on (value is added) the shipped back out again. But the danger in San Pedro Sula is primarily between gang members as lots of them are there. The only danger for tourists and other non-drug dealers is to be mugged, but as long as you split up your cash you should be fine. I definitely think the risk is worth it – I miss me some Korean food…
This past week we went over micro finances and we had guest speakers (volunteers from previous groups) to give lectures on HIV/AIDS (in Spanish). We were then split up into groups to give the same presentation to a local high school – in Spanish. The work was intense, but I think we did a good job. The volunteers told us that giving a VIH/SIDA charla (that’s how they say it in Spanish) is a good way to integrate into your site when you first get there as lots of Hondurans are interested in these lectures. One of the volunteers was Korean, and he told me that there are Korean super markets in Honduras, especially in San Pedro Sula (the municipal with the highest homicide rates) as lots of machillas are owned by Koreans. Machillas are factories that receive half way processed goods from over seas, are worked on (value is added) the shipped back out again. But the danger in San Pedro Sula is primarily between gang members as lots of them are there. The only danger for tourists and other non-drug dealers is to be mugged, but as long as you split up your cash you should be fine. I definitely think the risk is worth it – I miss me some Korean food…
Next week we find out about where we will be placed. Should make for an exciting day Wednsday.... new pictures are up as well.
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