My Way or the Not Correct Way

I’ve discovered that many times down here in Honduras there is one way to do things correctly. It’s not unfounded, there really is a best way when it comes to a lot of things down here. For example, washing clothes…Tyler and I decided to get some laundry done by hand this afternoon. We went out to the “pila” as it’s called and tried to figure it out. I had to ask the little girl next door to show me how to wash my clothes. Let me tell you, there are few things in life more humbling than asking help from a small child on something so simple as washing your clothes. I’m sure she’s thinking, “who in the world doesn’t know how to do this?!” She’s probably been working with the pila for the better part of her life.

Anyways, I get it figured out more or less. Fill one part with water, then there’s a place to scrub the clothes on the “ribs” of the pila with soap. Then take a pitcher and pour water over the clothes, washing it off, then hanging it up on the line to dry. So I start filling it with water and out pops the other neighbor. He asks if we have soap and I tell him, “yes.” So naturally he tells us to hold on a second and runs back in to grab us some soap. The soap here is “better” apparently than ours. As it turns out, the soap smells really good, gets dirt out amazingly well, and even gives our clothes super powers! Ok, that last part is a lie, but the soap is amazing. We cleaned our dirty clothes with dirty water and amazing soap and the result was really good smelling and clean clothes, who knew?

I wonder how many more things we will run into down here that we don’t do correctly. I used to get frustrated by their ignorance to think that a Honduran could possibly know a better way to wash clothes by hand than me, the smart college educated American. Ha, isn’t that a funny mindset? At least I find it to be now that I’ve learned better than to act like I know what I’m doing when I’ve never in my entire life washed clothes in a “pila.”

Copan At Last

Couple days down….lot of days to go. That’s how I’m viewing my time here thus far. It’s not because I’m loathing the days and counting down, it’s because I’ve been having such a good time and seeing all these great possibilities that could pan out that I’m excited to have a lot of days left.

I came down here to work in the library, but apparently this never works out. Emory talked to me the first night and said, “Zach, we need you to teach first grade.” Of course, why not!? I haven’t been preparing for this or anything. I haven’t been talking to librarians, or buying books for the library, or thinking about library projects. Instead I’ve been sitting around thinking, “what if I teach first grade this year? I should prepare.” Ok, that was my slightly bitter side at the change of plans. But really, I’m going with the flow and this is the way that it’s going to happen. How much good would I do refusing to teach this class and saying that I’m only going to work in the library? Apparently this will be at the very worst a one month stint. Emory has a friend coming down the start of October and then I’m off the hook and into the library. I’m excited about this change though, really, I am. Don’t believe me? Trust me, I’m very excited. The other first grade teacher, in the other class, is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon and was an education major. She’s going to be a great resource to help with lesson planning.

Tyler and I are planning on using this weekend to explore the city. Find out some church service times in the area, check out the library, get some random stuff for the house, and relax. Oh to relax…it’s going to be a good thing.:) For now I’m writing this on Friday night and it’s really late. And by really late I mean 11:20. Everything in town closes at 9pm and people get up between 6 and 7 every day. So…to bed I go! Good night!

Address

Do to popular demand...so to speak...Here's my address for the year. Believe it or not, this is really where they say to send it. No numbers, no street name...just as this is.

Zachary Assink
c/o Escuela Mayatan
Copan Ruinas, Copan
Honduras, Central America

And that's it...pretty nifty, eh?! I promise that I will even write back to people.:)

Another Visitor?

I leave on Thursday at 12:55am! Oh my gosh! I need to start packing! Actually, I did start packing today. I'm going to be so prepared for this. I've got my intro to TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) textbook, gauze bandages, fingernail clippers...what else do I need? Oh, one change of clothes, three left shoes, air soft gun, pocket knife...yah...I'm going to be so prepared for anything.:)

I'm looking forward to my living situation. I'll be rooming with my old roomate from Fox, Tyler, with a gentleman that lives down there named Jorge. Here's the Jorge connection: I went to Honduras with my Spanish prof last year and found out about Mayatan School. I then applied to Mayatan school and my Spanish prof (Viki) introduced me to Megan who taught down there for 2 years. Megan then introduced me (via e-mail) to Jorge, a friend of hers that she met while teaching down there. I don't know many details but I'm definitely getting more and more excited with each passing hour as my flight gets closer to leaving.

The not so exciting thing is that Tyler and I will be leaving Seattle at 12:55am or something like that...boo! We fly straight to Houston, then from there to San Pedro Sula, Honduras around 11:30am or so. Not bad, it's less than a 12 hour trip to there, but then we have about a four hour bus ride to Copan where we'll be living.

Well, this "another visitor?" business...I was at two of my best friends' wedding last night and met two of their friends from college who are planning a biking trip from El Salvador to Costa Rica. They have plane tickets already leaving in October and getting back the end of November. I told them they should probably come through Copan and stay with us, or at least visit. That'd be pretty sweet. Tyler and I (I'm putting words in his mouth) are super excited about any visitors since we will be able to share our lives with some people and they can see and experience what we'll be going through every day. So if you want to visit Honduras, take a number and send me an e-mail.:)

Expressivisming

That would be said just as it's spelled...expressive-ism-ing...do you ever have those moments where words don't really describe what it is that you want to say? I have those moments quite a bit, but it seems to happen less often as I get to learning more Spanish and some phrases in other random languages. Believe it or not though, things fall short of description in any language, not just English.:) Anyways...I have this phrase that I learned down in Brazil in May that I love!

Eu vo sentir saudades [A-oo vo sen-chir saw-oo-dah-gees] - Literally translated it's something like "I'm going to feel nostalgia." But really it's a rad Portuguese term for saying I will miss you. Saudades is also a word for love that is not really translatable into English. So it's much more than just missing somebody, it's like loving, missing, and feeling nostalgia for time spent together with somebody. Who says "I'm going to feel nostalgic!"? Now that's just ridiculous.:)

Brazil (debrief)

After our time in Cananeia we made our way up to Rio de Janeiro for debriefing time. I dreaded the trip and just wanted to stay in Sao Paulo because I wasn't feeling well, but somehow God's plan tends to be greater than ours. My best friend from high school, David, spent his two year mission down in Rio. I recognize that I only spent one day there, which is roughly 1/730 the amount of time that he spent there, but I could gain about that much of a glimpse into what his life must have been like down there, which is about 1/730 more than I could before. I just talked with him today and I'm so excited to hear more about his time and know a little of what he's talking about. So this is a good thing that we went to Rio for debrief instead of staying in Sao Paulo (p.s. the Pope was in Sao Paulo the first couple days that we were there, but no, we didn't see him among the 890 billion other people in the city).
In debriefing we went over a lot of different questions about our team, our time in Brazil, and our re-entry into the U.S. I thought a lot about how this trip has changed me, or has it? The end of Motorcycle Diaries (movie) has a quote in it, "I am no longer me. At least I am no longer the same me as before." I don't feel this way after Brazil. Brazil has been another layer in my life that I am thankful for, and it has helped to shape me and my world view, but it has not sent my life in a new direction. This is both good and bad I suppose. I now have a great love for all of Latin America, not just those who speak Spanish.:) I now recognize what it's like to spend a couple weeks somewhere where I don't speak the language, to worship God in Portuguese. The church is a great body of believers all across the world and I got to experience this in Brazil. However, I don't know if I will ever go back...What if I don't?
Some times I'm not sure what my purpose was on the trip. Then I realize, my purpose is God's purpose...my purpose is to show love to all around me...not just the cute children with adorable smiles.=) Thank you all who haave read up on my time in Brazil to gain a little understanding of what it was like. I don't want to brush off my time in Brazil and say that it has no impact on my life...but at the same time I want to recognize that this has not been the single most impactful moment of my life either. None of this would have been possible were it not for everybody who supported me in prayer and financially. I hold you all dear to my heart and no matter where God takes me in life, you will all be with me.=)

Brazil (week 3)

This was the hardest week and for that reason I've been delaying in writing about it...we spent Friday-Wednesday in the city of Cananeia. It's a fishing village on the coast near the border between Parana and Sao Paulo (for your geography buffs).
We arrived at 2pm on Friday, got settled into our upstairs loft area for the week when it started to rain...and rain...and rain...Dan was pretty sure it would last forty days and nights, but luckily this was the one time on the trip he was wrong. First, our accomodations, we were in a 2 bedroom, kitchen, dining/living room, and 2 small bathrooms. This is where we all slept, ate, played games, picked our noses, and whatever other activities went on. Rain in Brazil (at least Cananeia) is a different concept than the Northwest. We go out in the rain, because if you don't you will waste away in your house. However, in Cananeia you stay inside until the rain stops. It rained from 5pm on Friday til mid day on Sunday...can you say stir crazy? We couldn't work on the dock as planned, we couldn't have a Sunday morning program like we hoped, we couldn't even explore the yard of the house because of the rain.
Some things transpired that were mainly a result of cabin fever (I believe) and people just needed to find some alone time and private space. Finally Sunday night we went out for church and it was great. People were super friendly, we sang some songs, introduced ourselves in front of the church, and two people shared testimonies (Ryan and Andrea). Monday was clear and we started to work on the dock. By noon I was exhausted and felt a little sick so I layed down to nap a little. Except for a half hour break for lunch I napped until 6:30 that night! It was the start of the never-ending soar throat, cough, and crummy feel. As we all sat around in this cramped house bathing in each others sickness I became beyond ready to leave for our next sight. We left Wednesday and I slept through most of the bumpiest bus ride I've ever been on as we went back to Sao Paulo for the night.
Our time spent in Cananeia was one of the most challenging times as I struggled with a sense of helplessness, useslessness, sickness, and just being fed up with how much sickness was spreading throughout the group. My poor buddy lost her voice! Sorry Katie! There are good things to take away from the week, such as the hospitality of the family who lived below us and cooked for us despite us only working one day on the dock. Or seeing the love that they have for their four year old child who has some sort of developmental disability. Or how about the fact that God can use you despite the rain?:)