Lately I've been in this horrible funk during my last months here in Honduras. I feel overwhelmed and sad at the thought of leaving. Yes, Honduras has its problems, and not the problems that other Americans worry about...but real problems...that everyday Honduran people have to deal with - poverty, lack of education, corruption, hopelessness. These are real issues that I worry about, and for some reason, I think that I can help with.
Well, I'm going on my last 9 months here and I just don't think I have the drive to do another project. Then the guilt sets in. In my first two years here, before I started working, I was so driven to help in everything. And in the process, I started this little toy drive in Ojojona, among other things. This year will be my 4th and last toy drive and I'm expecting to give toys to close than 500 children! But you know...honestly...I'm lacking that motivation! I really don't know why. I know I have to do this because no one will, and I know that hundreds of children are counting on me. I suppose it's the planning part I don't really want to do. I'm just tired and exhausted, for whatever reason.
So this morning, I was watching the news in the morning, something I rarely get to do with kids. And there comes in this story about this young man who used to be a nightclub promoter but decided to do something more worthwhile in his life. In 1996, he established an NGO called Charity: Water. Since then he's given clean water to hundreds of villages all over the country. He is someone whom I strived to be 4 years ago apon arriving here in Honduras. Hopefully a story like this will give me the drive I need to get my butt back in gear.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Politics - the unread letter and the adoption
I've always been a nerdy nerd, which is why I have found politics to be incredibly exciting. Now with the elections this year, I've gone from nerdy nerd to super duper nerdy nerd. Anyone who knows who I am knows who I am going to vote for this year. It's really a no-brainer. Nothing wrong with McCain, I actually think he's more moderate than a lot of the hardcore Republicans out there, so that's somewhat cool. But I feel that Obama is definitely the one for me.
I remember his unbelievable speech 4 years ago, during the Democratic conventions. At the time, he was a State Senator running for U.S. Senator, but his speech....Man, I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had just witnessed something amazing - a true turning point in history. Who was this man, I thought? The next day, I wanted to sit down and write the man a letter asking him to run for president one day. I also wanted to warn him to not become too immersed in the political scene that he forgets about the reason he was running in the first place - us, the people. But for whatever reason, I just got lazy and didn't write it. Now 4 years later, here he is running for president and I couldn't be happier. It's just such an exciting time in politics right now.
Now for McCain. I have oodles of respect for the guy. I've had it since he ran against Bush before the first election. Recently, I decided to google his family and lo and behold I see a little girl who didn't look like the rest of the family. I did further research and I found out that she was adopted from Bangladesh at a Mother Teresa orphanage. I hadn't heard about this until now. In my eyes, that puts him in a different light. Adoption to me is quite possibly the most selfless act a person can ever do. Period. To look at a child's eyes, perhaps at the time a complete stranger, and call him/her your baby...nurture, care and love, as if this child were your own is completely amazing and inspiring. And the future that the child will have...it's just wonderful. I have 101% respect for people who adopt.
Each day, I am saddened by the children on the street. They ask me for food or money. It's hard for me to look them in the eyes sometimes. Looking at them in the eyes personifies them and makes them into real people, hence making it harder to drive away from them. It makes me angry that this type of life still exists in a country where the richest of the rich are living in 10,000 square feet homes and driving Lexus SUVs. If only someone can take care of these children...perhaps adopt them...then that would make a world of difference. I see the children, then I see what they CAN be, and it makes it harder to accept such a thing.
So kudos to McCain for doing the adoption route. Still, I'm for Obama.
I remember his unbelievable speech 4 years ago, during the Democratic conventions. At the time, he was a State Senator running for U.S. Senator, but his speech....Man, I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had just witnessed something amazing - a true turning point in history. Who was this man, I thought? The next day, I wanted to sit down and write the man a letter asking him to run for president one day. I also wanted to warn him to not become too immersed in the political scene that he forgets about the reason he was running in the first place - us, the people. But for whatever reason, I just got lazy and didn't write it. Now 4 years later, here he is running for president and I couldn't be happier. It's just such an exciting time in politics right now.
Now for McCain. I have oodles of respect for the guy. I've had it since he ran against Bush before the first election. Recently, I decided to google his family and lo and behold I see a little girl who didn't look like the rest of the family. I did further research and I found out that she was adopted from Bangladesh at a Mother Teresa orphanage. I hadn't heard about this until now. In my eyes, that puts him in a different light. Adoption to me is quite possibly the most selfless act a person can ever do. Period. To look at a child's eyes, perhaps at the time a complete stranger, and call him/her your baby...nurture, care and love, as if this child were your own is completely amazing and inspiring. And the future that the child will have...it's just wonderful. I have 101% respect for people who adopt.
Each day, I am saddened by the children on the street. They ask me for food or money. It's hard for me to look them in the eyes sometimes. Looking at them in the eyes personifies them and makes them into real people, hence making it harder to drive away from them. It makes me angry that this type of life still exists in a country where the richest of the rich are living in 10,000 square feet homes and driving Lexus SUVs. If only someone can take care of these children...perhaps adopt them...then that would make a world of difference. I see the children, then I see what they CAN be, and it makes it harder to accept such a thing.
So kudos to McCain for doing the adoption route. Still, I'm for Obama.
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