Leala in Honduras!

So I have not updated in awhile, huh? Man, oh man it's been some crazy 2 weeks though. Instead of the first 3 months being the transition period, I have jumped right into work.

I have been working at the prisons about 3 days a week, on average 5 hours a day. It has been invigorating but tough. Since working there, I have changed my expectations of prisons and prisoners. Many of these people are some of the most intellectual people I have met and are just so so respectful and want to help out the (prison)community they live in very much. One bad thing about working there is that our different perceptions of time. I have already been told that Hondurans take their time to do things, but with the prison population it is even more ridiculous. Since they have all of the time in the world, it is hard to get things done on time. Training them to give a HIV/AIDS charla should have taken 2 days at most of working day and afternoon, and this is also to prepare all materials. Instead, it has taken 6 days so far, and I don't personally feel as if they are prepared. And how the charla is ending up is really not the way we, the volunteers, have been taught it to be. But, we'll see next week when we start giving the charla to the rest of the inmates. It will probably all work out for the best, but right now it's frustrating that things are not going as planned. Haha, I guess I'll have to get used to that, huh? Things not going as planned.

On a brighter note, since my last post, I have had one TV interview, been part of 2 radio shows, one of which I am starting with my counterpart. Let me just say that it is hard and nerve wracking to be put on the spot like that. The TV interview was just sprung on us (as in a guy drives up and comes out of a car with a video camera and microphone as we are walking to the prison), and one of the radio interviewers just posed questions that I was not expecting. However, things are getting better with the media. Just had the second radio show of our radio program today, and it went well. It's on HIV/AIDS of course, and is called Tu Decides, You Decide. We had our first caller today, which means that people are actually listening to the program! I'm very excited, as you can tell. Never would I have thought that I would be on a Spanish radio show 2 times a week. Haha.

I seem pretty busy, huh? I have been, I suppose, but at the same time, I've had a lot of free time to read and talk to people. The hardest part about talking to people though is remembering everyone's names. It's like CalSO all over again, but this time I HAVE TO remember peoples names beyond 2 days, and the names are ones that I am not used to hearing. Ridiculousness, but something I have to do. It's definitely been crazy and my brain feels fried, but at least I have a respite this weekend though. Tomorrow, I am off to Ceiba to celebrate Carnaval and eat some mangosteens! Until next time. . .