Cayos Cochinos

Here is some photos from my vacation in the islands of Cayos Cochinos.
This is why you should come visit me in Honduras:

The dock in front of the house we stayed in:










The Beauty is just astonishing



Cute Baby



The baby just peed on me

I challenge you!

Live Like a PCV Challenge:

http://www.livelikeapcv.org/p/challenge.html

Can you handle it?

Maraita in the News

My town came out in the newspaper this past week - Can you guess for what?
Maybe for the agriculture production, a community event or fair, a new project coming to town, maybe even a heart warming piece about a local hero...... BUT NO, Maraita was in the national newspaper for the Corruption!!! AH!

The article says how the inhabitants of the municipality of Maraita, Francisco Morazan, denounced the former mayors of the National Political Party who work to destroy local projects and community infrastructure which the existing authorities.
The former mayors spend all their time in the district to impose order and obstruct the work of the mayor, Juan Carlos Quinonez. Why? Because they are looking to get re-elected and are unhappy that they have not been able to extort money out of the current mayor. CRAZY

Here is the article:



"Ex alcaldes obstaculizan proyectos en Maraita"
Nacionales 26 julio, 2011

TEGUCIGALPA.- Los habitantes del municipio de Maraita, Francisco Morazán, denunciaron a los ex alcaldes del Partido Nacional de boicotear los proyectos de infraestructura local y comunitaria que realizan las actuales autoridades.
Agregaron que ya no aguantan a los ex ediles que pasan todo el tiempo en la comuna imponiendo órdenes y obstruyen el trabajo del alcalde, Juan Carlos Quiñónez y el vicealcalde Jorge Alberto Valladares.

Manifestaron que entre los proyectos a los que se oponen los activistas que trabajan en la comuna y los ex alcaldes está la construcción del muro perimetral del Centro de Educación Básica de Francisco Morazán en la aldea Terrero Blanco, además de la red de energía eléctrica, entre otros.

“Los ex alcaldes imposibilitan todas las gestiones de la alcaldía por el simple hecho de que sus activistas se quedaron laborando sin ser despedidos por las nuevas autoridades y estos les hacen la vida de cuadritos a todos”, denunció la empleada municipal, Karla Ortiz.

“Se creen los dueños del pueblo, disponen de los proyectos cuando estos les convienen y cuando no, permanecen congelados dejando a los pobladores en incertidumbre, lamentó Óscar Ramírez, residente en el pueblo.
Desde hace dos años estamos batallando porque saquen a estas personas, son de gran cuello porque hacen y deshacen a su placer y siempre están a la defensiva si lo que se va a realizar es en beneficio de la comunidad, se quejó la vecina del lugar Carmela Servellón.

Otros vecinos preocupados dijeron que lo peor de todo es que los ex alcaldes además de haber hecho una pésima administración pretenden postularse nuevamente.

"Our earth is wounded. Her oceans and lakes are sick; her rivers are like running sores; the air is filled with subtle poisons. And the oily smoke of countless hellish fires blackens the sun. Men and omen scattered from homeland, family, friends, wander desolate and uncertain, scorched by a toxic sun......


In this desert of frightened, blind uncertainty, some take refuge in the pursuit of power. Some become manipulators of illusion and deceit. If wisdom and harmony still dwell in this world, as other than a dream lost in an unopened book, they are hidden in our heartbeat. And it is from our hearts that we cry out. We cry out and our voices are the single voice of this wounded earth.

Our cries are a great wind across the earth. - From The Warrior Song of King Gezar

Attack of the Chinche !!

So coming to Honduras I expected big bugs. And I have definitely found really big BIG bugs and spiders and scorpions …. But really I had gotten used to them until my encounter with the dreaded CHINCHE!







This bug smaller than your thumb is just about the scariest insect I could possibly imagine.
During the day, Chinches hide in crevices in the walls and roofs. The bugs emerge at night, when people are sleeping. Because they tend to feed on people’s faces, chinche bugs are also known as “kissing bugs.” After they bite and ingest blood, they defecate on the person. Chinches pass T. cruzi parasites in feces left near the site of the bite wound which causes the horribly dreadful CHAGAS DISEASE.

Chagas at first is no big deal in humans at first. You might get cold like symptoms or a swollen eye but sometimes unnoticeable. The next 20 years are completely asymptomatic phase with no signs that you carry the parasite. Then all of a sudden, after 20 years, chagas disease affects the nervous system, digestive system, and heart. You either die from your digestive system failing and consequential body starvation or from your heart swelling up and basically exploding.

So one night, I came home and the electricity had gone out again. I immediately passed out only to wake up about 1 am because the electricity had come back and I had left my light on. I turn my head to see a chinche right next to my face. AH! I of course freak out but somehow courageously grab my sandal and chase done the sucker until I killed it about three times. When I smashed it, it shot out a stream of blood, UGH I am pretty sure it had gotten me. I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night so I baked a couple dozen batches of snicker doddle cookies. Probably the scariest night of my life and I bake vegan cookies – very Martha Stewart.

Fast forward to now I just got tested for the parasite…. And drum roll please……. It came back negative! So I am saved! I am going to get the test done at the end of my service just to be sure but I feel much better now. Also I found out after the fact that there is medicine to kill the parasite but only if you catch it early. If you wait 20 years your screwed. After surviving this – I say – Is that all you got Honduras? C’mon bring it! I’m ready!

A Local Hero

I want to share a story with you of someone I met here as a reminder of the incredible privilege we have as US citizens and also to inspire both of us to trek on ahead despite such massive walls of adversity that stand before us:

I met him on my first week at site. I was giving myself the first tour of the whole town and after about an hour I had just about seen everything of Maraita - a town about 3 blocks long and 2 blocks wide. I stumbled across the library and by chance on a training that was happening just at that moment. That's when I met Dennis Martinez, a short, young 25 year old man with a soft quick voice yet commanding presence. He was giving a talk on self esteem to a group of women. With curiosity, I introduced myself as Lisette the new Peace Corps volunteer in town and we got to chatting. He introduced himself as Dennis, an agent of change, born and raised in Maraita, and currently working to train women in micro business management through a government institute called PRAF. I was curious so he invited me to his next talk in a village 2 hours away by foot. So the next day we walked to a grammar school to talk about Personality and Identity. Nervous as he was, he did a great job. I jumped in with my love of icebreakers and interactive activities. In addition to the material he had, I did ice breaker game and made the shy women come up and present their identities in a pie graph. Many of the women presented themselves as 50% mother, 25% wife, and the rest random things like lover of music, dancer, christian, catholic. It was very interesting to me because it was very different from when I had done this activity in the states.

As I have gotten to know Dennis over the past 7 months, I have become more and more inspired by him. First he is a man working to help women in a Machista/Sexist country that believes women are men's property and are too ignorant to be capable of work outside the home. Second, Dennis is a gay man in a country that kills homosexual men and doesn't even acknowledge the possibility of a lesbian. (Women as just for men, part of the Machismo) He recently was interviewed on National TV and for the first time openly declared that he is gay. That's one way to come out of the closet. And finally what amazes me more than anything is his courage and idealism to front the oppression and injustice in Honduras. He proudly calls himself an agent of change - and he is one by helping women, teaching math classes with children, and working with one of the few gay rights organizations here.

In these talks now he has begun to open up like a book, telling the women that he was a victim of sexual abuse, has come up from thinking of himself as dirt to knowing he is someone (to use his words). Not just anybody, but an important person and an agent of change.

He is an optimist that sees the bright sun rising over the mountains of Maraita. He is nothing short of a hero who dares to dream.

Vegan Vegetarianism in Peace Corps

Lisette has done it again with her crazy animal rights idealism.

As a vegan and current Peace Corps volunteer I wanted to add my 2 cents:

I have been vegan for 6 years and vegetarian for over 11 mostly for animal rights reasons but also for health, environmental, and human rights reasons as well. When I applied to peace corps, my recruiter said I had to be flexible about being vegetarian not just vegan aka I had to be willing to eat meat. I agreed to the proposition though secretly I was planning on sticking to the veganism.

I have been in country for almost a year. Luckily, I have been able to completely avoid animal products and still be culturally sensitive and more than nutritionally sound. Once I got to country, staff was completely supportive of my veganism. They set me up with host families willing and able to handle vegan cooking. I can't say its always been easy and yes I have had to be flexible meaning - going hungry when only options are meat, possibly paying more to ensure my health (though I think being veggie is cheaper here), working a little harder to make sure I am eating nutritiously, being patient explaining to others why I am veg. I can't say I have been perfect ie when I am served something could have been snuck in but the same is true in the states. I also reject non-vegan food in a very cultural sensitive way. I am not in your face about it but I feel as part of the PC mission I need to also represent USA culture which does include the minority population of vegetarians that is growing quickly.

I can't speak for all of peace corps and all countries but I do want to give my voice that it is possible and can work.


I am even working with other volunteers forming a volunteer support group called Apoyo sin Pollo or Support with Chicken YAY to support vegetarians/vegans/non-meat heads in Peace Corps Honduras. Check out the article I wrote about it for the PC newsletter:

Get in on the action - Apoyo Sin Pollo!
Submitted by volunteer Lisette Molina


Tired of the bombardment of churros, sugar coffee, and funky ‘pata de baca’ soup? Want to feel rejuvenated, energized and ten years younger? Well, check out the newest unofficial PCV support group

Apoyo sin Pollo!

Our mission: “To provide loving support to Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff by eating saludable y sostenible, exercising through recipe exchanges, potlucks, sharing saludable reads, and creating a macanudo cookbook to be passed down to future PCVs and our communities.”

This group of 44 members grew out of a need to support vegetarians and vegans in Peace Corps but has now grown larger to include anyone interested in healthier eating and exercise for themselves and for their Honduran communities. This is about moving toward eating a plant based diet so that we are as physically healthy as we can be, environmentally friendly, and spare animal suffering. And it’s not about being pure or strict; it’s about being informed and having fun while living according to values like kindness and thoughtfulness. We strive to be healthy, heal our bodies from disease, and start making the world a more peaceful, sustainable, and livable place. It’s about leaning into a healthy lifestyle simply by tweaking our very favorite meals so that they are delicious and nutritious versions of the things we already love.

Quick stats about why “no pollo”:

• Former President Bill Clinton, Boxer Mike Tyson, Actor Tobey Maguire, NFL player Tony Gonzalez all follow a primarily plant-based diet so if you want to be famous, an athlete or President of the USA….

• The United Nations has reported that a vegan diet can feed many more people than an animal-based diet.

• A United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, ships, and planes in the world COMBINED.

• Of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than one-third are used to raise animals for food.

• Compared to meat-eating comrades, vegetarians/vegans experience a 50 percent lower rate of heart disease, a 40 percent lower cancer rate and a life- span of 6-10 years longer, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

• Animals are sentient beings who deserve dignity and a life free of suffering. Pigs are smarter than dogs and every bit as friendly, loyal, and affectionate. They have greater cognitive abilities than a 3-year old human child.

For me personally this has been a life saver and comfort. I’ve been vegetarian for over 10 years (no animal flesh – chicken, beef, fish, etc) and ve- gan for 5 (No animal flesh or products – meat, dairy, eggs, etc.). I am passionate about animal rights and also human rights. That’s why like you, I’m here in Peace Corps. But when applying to Peace Corps, I was told in my interview that I have to be flexible about being vegan aka eat meat. Luckily, I have been able to completely avoid animal products and still be culturally sensitive and more than nutrition- ally sound. And now I am even part the Apoyo Sin Pollo community who has the same interest too. Interested? Burning questions? Email Lisette.Molina.pchn@gmail.com