Building a Bridge

The first step for building the bridge was to dig pits for the foundation on each side of the sludge river. Even in calling it a sludge river, I am being gracious. The assorted trash and unmentionables create a smell in the afternoon heat that could put a skunk to shame. Charlie did a bacteria test on the water and it overwhelmed the culture.

In case I may not have mentioned him yet, Charlie is the representative from Helping Honduras Kids in El Porvenir. He and his wife, Amalia, moved to El Porvenir to help those in need here. They are a great people, and a true blessing to this town. Charlie is a classic Texan, with his southern accent and hospitality. Amalia is Hondurian in heratige, but from the US. She is a fantastic cook and may convince me to stay permanently if she invites me to any more dinners.

As for the bridge, cement was chosen as the building material upon a recomondation from Charlie. Although wood would be much easier, apparently it is a hot comodity and has a tendancy to grow legs and wander off, no matter how many screws and nails you put in it. Whereas, a two ton cement bridge would make for a very impressive heist.














After the pits were dug, we built the form for the cement foundations and went to work a-mixin'. During the last project I worked on in Belize, we were fortunate enough to procure a cement mixer. I don't thing they've even heard of one of those here. Instead, all the cement was mixed on the ground in some of the most back breaking work I've ever done. I had about 4 of the local guys helping, and we were able to knock out the two foundations fairly quickly. After a long, sweaty day, I took a refreshing swim in the ocean just out my front door.

Honduras Part 2

August 30

The second week here has been even hotter than the first. Sweating has become a full time job, starting at 8 sharp and continuing until after the sun goes down. Those of you who know me well, know I am more at home in the snow than on a beach, so needless to say its not my ideal climate.




























Regardless, things have been picking up with work. I am still doing some teaching with the kids in the kinder. I´m glad for the opportunity to work closely with them, but it is tiring work. I don´t think I could ever teach kids as a full time job.














More and more I´ve been working on a couple construction projects. One is the new Kinder being put up for the kids, so they don´t have to meet in the first floor of our house. The shell of the building has been completed, and we are working on some finishing touches, i.e. installing ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles, plumbing, electric wires, and windows. We also make use of the local labor to put money into the economy, not to mention the daily wage around here is like 7 bucks, so its well worth the extra pair of hands.















The other project I am working on is a bridge for one of the houses Helping Honduras Kids works with. It is essentially a grandma who runs 5 or so families of children who are orphaned or only have one parent who has to work all day. The current bridge they have is pretty bad, with kids sometimes tripping and falling into the disgusting sludge below. The new bridge will be made of concrete with hand rails and all. Additionally, it should still be functional during the flood periods when the water can rise 7 to 8 feet overnight. Below the kids are checking out our progress- a big hole in the ground.

Honduras, First Impressions

So I´ve finally made it to an internet cafe. Only took a week. My first impressions of this Central American country are that life couldn´t be more different than back home. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different. The landscape is gorgeous: lush, dense rainforst covers mountains that poke high into the air to points seemingly unreachable heights. Tropical weather is always in full affect, leaving beads of sweat permanently dripping off my nose. Here it is a cold shower that leaves you lingering wanting to stay forever. Living here makes me want my next volunteer location to be the Himalayas.

The Hondurians are a beautiful dark skinned people. In El Porvenir I am working with a group of youngins who´s parents are gone, or have to work in the pineapple fields all day. They are such a lovely group of kids, and are soooo trusting. The first day i met them, they all came up and latched on in a loving hug. I´ve been doing some teaching here so far, basic abc´s and stuff. Its good for me because my spanish is about the same level as thiers.

I living down by the beach, literally. Below you can see the view out my window. I´m really ruffing it, I know! There´s no surf, but a nice dip in the water after working with the kids is unbeatable.

As for security, Ma, dont worry! Our house is like fort Knox. There really isn´t an crime in El Provenir, but if there was it wouldn´t be coming through that razor wire. Drugs and gangs tend to be bad in Honduras in general, but this little town is actually a relatively clean and safe place due in no small part to the volunteer work that has been done.