The First Two Weeks

Hello, anyone who cares to bother to read this blog (hi, Mom!).

I will begin by attempting to describe some of my adventures thus far, though I'm at the point of forgetting some of the details-- a lot has gone down in the two weeks I've been here!

My Dad, my brother Daniel and I flew down here on August 17th. After a flight change to detour us through Charlotte and Miami instead of Houston. When we arrived, Toby Hill and Daniel's biological father came to the airport to pick us up. Daniel's dad greeted him with kisses and Spanish ramblings that Daniel couldn't understand, but he just smiled and hugged his dad tightly anyways. =)

The first day in Honduras (Wednesday, August 18th) was spent by my dad and I at the clinic with Amy. These clinics are proving to be one of my favorite parts about being here with the Hills. My dad was able to do stitches, listen to lungs, remove an eyeball-sized piece of skin cancer and even remove an extra finger! I'm learning how to take blood pressure and listen to lungs- many children have breathing problems here in the mountains. Not too long ago we had a little girl with a bean in her nose. We got it out by my dad's suggestion of closing her other nostril and blowing hard through her mouth- worked like a charm and the bean almost landed in her dad's mouth!

The day after we worked in the clinic, Dad, Toby, Daniel and I made the hike up to Daniel's mountain village of Guanales to have aroz con pollo (rice with chicken) with his biological family. This hike was strenuous to say the least, and took about two hours of nearly constant walking uphill. Great cardio-vascular exercise. The people going up the mountain with us helped us carry our stuff and laughed at us weak gringos. Once we got up there, Daniel was greeted by many of his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends. However, Dad, Daniel and I made it up before Toby (the only one who can really translate) could be there. This was fun because then Dad and I had to awkwardly try to understand and communicate with Daniel's relatives for about twenty minutes... But it worked out okay. =) We ate the rice and chicken with them, and Daniel's biological mother made us tamales (delicious!!!). Then, we took pictures and drank coconut milk (also delicious) before heading back down.

The following day my dad and I went with Amy to do a medical brigade for the poor near the city. This is done in a small, hot structure with a line for seeing the doctor/nurse and a line for getting medicine and vitamins. My job was to keep the kids busy with some craft stuff that we had bought for the occasion. This was probably the most overwhelming experience I've had thusfar. It started out fine, but after a while, there were probably fifteen or twenty kids all swarming around me basically pulling the bracelets or stickers or whatever I had out of my hands and I really couldn't even explain to them that I'm not a vending machine (because I don't know the word for vending machine in Spanish). So after a while, I went inside and hid from them. =)

Later that afternoon, we left for the city of Tegucigualpa to visit Daniel's foster mother and sisters. We had made reservations at a hotel in the city, however, when we got there, the woman at the desk told us we needed identification for everyone in the party- including Toby and Amy's small children. Feeling uncomfortable at this supposed "requirement," we decided to locate elsewhere, and ended up staying at the very nice and comfortable Clarion hotel, where many of the staff even spoke english. I'd say that was a win.

Visiting Gloria and her daughters was as wonderful as I remember it being the last time we were in Honduras. Her daughter, Gina, speaks english and was able to translate for us. They shared many stories about Daniel (some that were quite amusing that I never heard before) and asked about the rest of our family and how they were doing. They were quite glad to see Daniel, and Daniel glad to re-visit the home where he spent three years of his childhood.

Sunday, we left Teguc. and traveled back to the Hill's house. Monday was another clinic day, and then on Tuesday, Dad and Daniel boarded a plane back to the states. It was hard to say goodbye, and I felt like I fit right in there in the airport- there are usually many teary eyes in airports.

Since they left, life has slowed down a little for me. I've been put to work doing homeschooling activities with the kids- mainly Cassandra, who is in fourth grade this year. I really enjoy working on stuff with her, and it almost makes me miss being homeschooled myself... almost. ;-) I'm also working on teaching the girls violin. In fact, I heard them practicing on their own today and it sounded quite lovely. =)

The church that the Hills go to here in the mountain is quite enjoyable for even me, a non-Spanish-speaker. The songs are up-beat with lots of clapping and loud singing, and I'm learning more Spanish by listening to the sermons. Also, after the service, everyone shakes everyone's hand and says, "Dios te bendiga (God bless you)!" and "Amen!" It's a nice place to worship. Some of the songs are even ones that I know in English (although it's hard to sing English words over their Spanish ones).

Not all of life here, however, is work. Not too long ago I was able to go with Amy and the kids to "Zizima"-- a water park with some pretty amazing slides! This park is open year-round and is quite cheap compared with most U.S. water parks! Also, the other day Amy and I stopped by the salon- her to get a massage, me to get my fingernails and toenails done- an hour treatment for $17. Oh yes. =)

Well, that's been my life so far. There are many other details I could grace you with, but I need information for later posts, and my fingers are getting tired of typing at the moment, so I will leave you for now.

Remember to pray.

Dios te bendiga!