I love house parties. Last weekend Boulder maintained its position as a premier house-party location with an excellent throw-down at my old place. I learned that if you get enough smart (and slightly adventurous) people living together, you just might get liquid nitrogen margaritas, and they are a darn good time. They are slightly thicker and colder than your average margarita, but its the journey rather than the destination that makes them special. Thanks to all you guys who hosted the craziness. Happy late birthday to Rob and J-man, and adios to Dan.
Notice that the blender is still smoking
Posted in Thoughts | 1 Comment »
This is the volunteer’s complete travel guide to Honduras. If you are going to be volunteering in or visiting the country sometime soon, you will want this guide. It contains not only a complete suggested travel itinerary, but also information on what to bring, how to access your money, how to use the buses, and all important toilet-paper tips.
I have been asked for travel advice for trips to Italy several times since my return from that country. I am able offer some guidance on the country, but unfortunately I did not carefully record all of the beautiful tricks that I learned while living there. I have already had some soon-to-be volunteers contact me for information on Honduras, and I hope this travel guide will help you on your adventures.
A broke-down bus outside of San Pedro Sula. This may happen to you if you follow this travel guide, though hopefully not. The good news is, though, that if you follow it correctly, you won’t hardly care.
Posted in Honduras, Travel | 2 Comments »
Global Volunteer Network provides excellent low-cost international volunteer opportunities and they need our links! Global Volunteer Network has a non-profit foundation and less of the program’s money is spent on advertising and web development, than other, more expensive programs. GVN can be very difficult to find on the Internet. (not to mention that they are a .nz? Who has ever even heard of that?) Global Volunteer Network offers the same projects as I-to-I in La Esperanza, Honduras at about half the cost. So, if you have a website and wouldn’t mind linking up global volunteer network, you would help volunteers from all over the world find reasonably-priced global volunteer opportunities. Please link them up. Global Volunteer Network
If you want to learn or improve your Spanish and make a significant difference in the lives of others there are few better ways to do it than volunteering in a Spanish speaking country. And there are lots of programs out there for you to chose from.
Nearly all volunteering abroad programs that are not affiliated with a religious organization carry some sort of fee. This fee varies widely, particularly for health placements. Some health placements include rounding with doctors and lectures which can sometimes even be counted for academic credit. The program I volunteered with was not as well organized or as expensive.
I went with I-to-I. I-to-I is a for-profit company and as much as two thirds of your money goes towards advertising, which is evident by the number of times i-to-i projects will come up in google searches for volunteering. The program organizes generally acceptable home-stays, and the projects are reasonably organized by Honduran standards. The volunteer contacts in the capital are bilingual, whereas the contacts in La Esperanza speak only Spanish. Sometimes teaching volunteers do arrive at the beginning of several week long school holidays. The project helping to build houses in the hills of Honduras is pretty reliable. The health program in La Esperanza is a terrific project for health volunteers that are interested in public health and that have strong language skills. The health project is not well organized before volunteers arrive; therefore, volunteers with strong language skills have a great opportunity to set up the exact kind of project they would like to do.
However, Global Volunteer Network offers the exact same projects in La Esperanza with the same home-stays as i-to-i at about half the cost of the i-to-i program equivalents. The Global Volunteer Network programs in Honduras also include a 2 day intensive Spanish class that could be very cool and is not included with the i-to-i projects. GVN charges $902 dollars for four weeks at my project site, whereas i-to-i charges $1,835. I-to-I use to include health and travel insurance with their projects but since I started my project they have changed that policy, so you would have to buy insurance with either organization. I strongly encourage purchasing travelers insurance before volunteering abroad, that would cover whatever amount of money you would be willing to file a police report for and to file a claim. Generally people do not need policies that cover anything less than the most expensive item they bring, whether it be a camera or an Ipod. You should also purchase health insurance to cover you while you are abroad and this should include a policy to medivac your sick-butt home if necessary.
The only non-religious way of volunteering abroad for free, if you are an American citizen, is through the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is an excellent program that provides terrific training and amazing insurance, but it does demand that volunteers dedicate 2 years and 3 months to their projects and volunteers do not get to choose where they volunteer. Additionally there is a long and intensive application process for the program.
The other way to volunteer abroad for free is through religious organizations many of which have very well-run projects in Latin America. If you are religious, or even if you are not particularly religious, but do not mind religious overtones, be sure to look into those opportunities.
Whatever program you choose, remember that any volunteering experience will be what you make it. You should go into the project with flexible ideas and goals and be willing to work to create the kind of experience you imagine. Volunteering abroad is a great way to work on mastering a foreign language, but remember that the more you know before you go, the more comfortable you will feel when you arrive. I would generally recommend having at least one semester of college language course-work or the equivalent experience, before traveling abroad. This framework will allow your language knowledge to advance as much as possible during your abroad experience.
I strongly recommend projects that involve living with home-stays. Family home-stays allow for a much greater cultural exchange than living in compounds with other volunteers. They also allow for much more language practice.
For information about these and other volunteer opportunities around the world, see the links at the left of the page.
Tips for volunteers and travelers in La Esperanza, Honduras
Where to stay
If you have more money than you know what to do with, there is a very nice mountain resort just out of the center of town called Cabanas de los Pinos. The bus can drop you off at the entrance to the resort on your way in to town. The resort has a pool and everything. It will cost you upwards of 800 lempira per night per room. Instead, I recommend staying at Hotel Ipsan-nah in the center of La Esperanza. It is the nicest hotel in town. It is very clean and run by a very friendly and service-oriented staff. It’s a big place with volunteer organizations so reservations might help. Their number is 783-2086. The hotel should cost about 400 lempira per night for a 2-3 person room. A cheaper option in town is Hotel Mejia Batres, which costs 200 lempira per night for a 2 person room, but it does have an early curfew. Mejia Batres is located one block off of parque central. Whichever hotel you choose in town, just take the bus from La Guama to the end of the line, to the station on the edge of town. Get a taxi at the station and tell the driver to take you to your hotel. Taxis in town should cost 11 lempira per person. If you want to go to Ipsan-nah, the taxi drivers will probably know the hotel by the name of the restaurant attached to it, El Pollito Indio.
There are a number of must-sees in La Esperanza.
1. The market. It is full of delicious and cheap fruits and vegetables. The strawberries and mangoes are particular highlights. If oranges are in season, buy one off a street vendor. The vendor will cut it in half and offer you salt. Take the salt, it’s an interesting cultural experience. Then dig right in sucking the juice out of the half orange. To get to the market, walk 2 or so blocks north from hotel Ipsan-nah and take a left. You should be able to see the market and follow it west for a block, then walk another block north and continue to follow the market west through the streets. Once the market ends, walk three or so more blocks west. You should see a big red sign for Banco Atlantida.
2. Banco Atlantida. Its the only bank in town with an ATM. True to form, it only takes Visa.
3. The “Licuado” (smoothie) stand across from Banco Atlantida in the commercial center. The friendly woman that runs it will make any fruit combination you dream up. You can get the smoothies either milk-based, orange juice-based, or water-based. They cost 20 lempira for a large.
4. Cafe Internet. After your licuado, continue walking west along that block until you see Mike’s fast food (It’s a bright yellow building with red letters) on your left. There is an internet cafe on the left just before Mikes that has a generator in case you have some immediate internet-related business and the power is out. If the power is not out, take a right at Mike’s and walk down hill 4 blocks or so until you come to a large open plaza with soccer fields in the middle. (This is plaza Lempira). When you see the plaza there will be an Internet Cafe on your left, Cafe Internet. It is the best internet cafe in town, and hugely popular with the volunteer types. They sell terrific coffee and deserts and it is run by one of the most friendly and helpful families in town. If you do go, please tell them that “Erline, la gringa que trabajaba con las mujeres en el Albergue, dice hola.”
5. Helping build homes. If you have a weekday morning free, go build homes with other volunteers in the hills around town. The driver (Pablo) leaves from Plaza Lempira (which you have just seen) at 7 (ok, 7:15) every weekday morning that volunteers are in town. It’s a 10 lempira ride in the back of a truck each way, but one of the greatest Honduran experiences you can get. You will be back in town around 1pm. The truck is bright blue and leaves from the upper left corner of plaza lempira when you look at it from the internet cafe (the northwest corner).
6. El Fogón. Walk right back up the road you walked down to get to the Internet cafe by plaza Lempira. Walk past Milke’s and on your right you will see El Fogón. This is where you should go to drink a couple of beers and meet up with other volunteers in town in the evenings, it has a great atmosphere.
7. Opalaca’s Restaurant. After you pass El Fogon, continue walking up hill to the end of the block and take a left. Restaurante Opalaca’s will be on your left. It is the best food in town. Get something alla plancha (on the grill) I recommend the beef steak, but the pork chops are also good. The meal will come with a salad (that is completely safe to eat) and french fries.
8. The kiosk in Central Park. Once you pass Opalacas, you will see central park on your right. The park is a great place to hang out, and the restaurant in the middle serves terrific food. Try a bunch of the sides, they are all delicious. Also be sure to try ‘una baleada con todo.” It will knock your socks off.
9. La Gruta. You may have noticed a white shrine up-hill from central park. Its worth taking a walk up there to look around. It provides a fantastic view.
La vista de la gruta, La Esperanza, Honduras
If you have any other questions about La Esperanza, or if you will be visiting or volunteering there soon, feel free to drop me an email at: erinashleymiller(at)gmail(dot)c0m
We have just returned from Orlando, FL. I went partly to support my favorite little sister in a big-time national volleyball tournament, and partly to enjoy what I fear will be one of my last few free family vacations. Kelly did terrifically in the tournament. She not only played fantastically, but her team came in 15th out of about 100, so that’s pretty sweet. Perhaps most impressively, Kelly didn’t lean over the sideline and spew, even when she was playing in front of a full row of University coaches. Watching her play and encourage her teammates gave me an opportunity to be amazed at the composed, smiling, young woman she has become.
I spent a lot of time during the vacation drinking coffee on our screened in patio with a fan racing over my head. I read some books and caught up on American news, even though I find most of it just sad and complicated. My favorite activity while drinking coffee was watching the geckos climb around our screen, bringing me back to nights spent watching them crawl on the walls in Costa Rica and Roatan.
We did eventually give-in and go to a few amusement parks, we hit up Epcot, MGM, and did a marathon day at both of Universal’s amusement parks, enjoying the privilege of the short, fast, lexus lines, thanks to Mom. Mom led the charge on the rides.
I was amazed that I was able to fly over parts of 7 states in the time it would have taken me to travel from La Esperanza to San Pedro Sula by bus. I enjoyed the efficacy of it, but actually missed the long slow bus rides through Honduras with the wind hitting my face as I watched the countryside slide by.
Sunset in Tampa
Jon and I in Morocco
The kids at Jurassic Park, good to see that I am still the tallest in the family
Twister
Posted in Travel | 2 Comments »
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