Holidaze

For the first time in my life, I spent the holiday season in a short-sleeve shirt. I ate Thanksgiving dinner with bamboo and guayaba trees an arm’s length away, applied sunscreen on Christmas Eve, and doused my ankles in deet to welcome 2015. My winter holidays were different than anything I had ever experienced before. Immediately looking back on my November and December, I remember a great deal of sleep deprivation, eating far too many Christmas cookies, and a collection of impressive bruises on my legs that are just beginning to fade. Upon deeper reflection, however, I know that I also continued to grow and learn, so I’ll do my best to try and articulate some of that, holiday by holiday.

Día de acción de gracias

For Thanksgiving, the American volunteers worked together to have a delicious dinner. We managed to find a turkey (a surprisingly difficult task,) and perhaps more importantly, a gracious visitor who was willing to prepare it, since all of us 20-somethings didn’t know the first thing about making a turkey. We had many of the staple side dishes, though I searched in vain to my find my beloved sweet potatoes. Thanksgiving afternoon was a cooking frenzy. All of the volunteers were in and out of our tiny kitchen, using every pot and pan we have. Our salad was served in a plastic Tupperware bin, but no one cared. We lit candles, locked our crazy cat Mathias away so she couldn’t eat our dinner, and shared what we were thankful for. For many of the European volunteers, it was their very first Thanksgiving, and it was special to share the day with them. It was one of my favorite days on the Ranch.
                                        

When it was my turn to share what I am thankful for, a million material items popped into my head. I’m thankful for the hot sauce that adds some flavor to my rice and beans. I’m thankful for the washing machine in the volunteer house that allows me to have more free time. I’m thankful for the care packages of coffee and goodies that arrive from visitors. It wasn’t until a few days later, however, that I came up with a better response.

Earlier in November, we had had another día de visita, or day when family members of the pequeños visit the Ranch and spend the day with the kids, while the volunteers spend the day with the kids who have no visitors. We watch movies, swim, and eat lots of food. During movie #2 I was asked to walk a few kids down to the school, because their father had arrived. As we walked down, the little girl who is in my hogar held my hand and didn’t say a word. Her older brother trailed behind us, and when I turned around to check on him, he told me he didn’t want to see his dad.

I had agreed to walk the kids to the school because: a) someone needed to b) I wanted to take a walk c) I was curious to see what Visit Day looked like for the kids that had family outside the Ranch. I went to the school for purely intrinsic reasons, which I’m not proud of, but at the time, it was the truth. Watching the father greet his kids and seeing all the pequeños with their families took all of those selfish thoughts from my mind. I felt a mixture of both happiness to see a family reunited, but also sadness because for whatever reason, these families cannot be together day to day. That seemingly easy favor was an important reminder of why I’m here, and how these kids continue to change me. So, yes, I continue to be grateful for hot sauce and washing machines. But I am most thankful to be able to be a part of these kids’ lives, even if I will eventually have to leave (a reality I refuse to acknowledge). I know, it’s cheesy, but I’m most grateful for these little learning moments that snap me out of superficiality and allow me to have a more humble, more selfless perspective.

We used every single dish, plate, container, etc. 

The dessert table aka the best table 

Mashing 10 lbs. of potatoes

Pre-lockdown getaway

In early December, all of the volunteers were given five “freebie” days off before we were locked down on the Ranch for two straight weeks. Most of us used the days to relax in preparation for the upcoming chaos. I traveled with three other volunteers to Utila, one of the Bay Islands, off the north coast of Honduras. We snorkeled, ate, went to the beach, ate, shopped, and ate. Padre happened to be going to Utila for the long weekend as well to squeeze in some scuba diving before the holidays. It went by too fast, but I’m lucky to have traveled to another part of the country.

Claire was the only brave one to try out scuba diving.

 Lockdown/Christmas/New Years

After a relaxing trip to Utila, it was lockdown time. All of the employees left the Ranch, and the high school and university students, along with the volunteers, were responsible for caring for the kids. Lockdown was exhausting. We worked a minimum of eight hours each day in hogar. Although caring for Casa Suyapa was bound to be challenging, it was especially difficult since we had recently received 40+ new kids in November and December (spoiler alert: my next post’s topic).

Christmas did not really feel like Christmas, which I suppose was due to a variety of reasons. It was warm outside, I had to work all day and night, and it was the first time being away from my family. I kept thinking about what I would be doing that very moment at home, which didn’t help my homesickness. I was nervous about doing turno for the first time, or staying overnight with my girls in hogar. Christmas Eve mass was very nice, and all of the kids proudly wore their estreno, or new outfits they had received earlier in the day

The girls’ Christmas stockings were delivered around 2:00am. I got to play Santa and place all of the stockings in the lockers. The girls woke up before the sun and all “needed to use the bathroom.” After bathing and completing morning chores, they finally could open their lockers and get their stockings. I felt like a zombie (and probably looked like one, too,) but hearing their squeals of joy only deepened my love for my girls and pushed my exhaustion and homesickness out of my mind.

The stockings were placed (the doors wouldn't shut if I actually hung them up) in the lockers with care...

Anxiously waiting to open their lockers.

In addition to working in hogar, the volunteers participated in the Ranch-wide soccer tournament. The male volunteers joined some of the University teams, but we had enough women volunteers to form a team of our own. Although we may have looked fierce in our fancy running shoes and workout tanks, to no one’s surprise, we ended the tournament 0-5. About 30 seconds into game 1, we realized we lacked the fancy footwork that seemed to be innate to these girls, and all Hondurans, for that matter. Many of us resorted to using our bodies as a poor substitute to skill, and consequently took a soccer ball to the face, chest, legs, etc. Despite this humbling (both mentally and physically) experience, the tournament was a lot of fun.

See those outstretched arms in triumph? Those are mine. Just scored a goal with my LEFT foot. One of my greatest accomplishments to date.

On New Year’s Eve, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and had a huge (actually the biggest I have ever seen in my life) bonfire. Later in the evening, the volunteers performed a dance for the kids. We had squeezed in rehearsals every day when we weren’t at hogar or attempting to play soccer.

It was scarier in person.

As we counted down to midnight, my immediate resolution to myself was to manage to not be blown up by the fireworks that were literally going off over my head. Apparently, Honduran safety regulations don’t really exist when it comes to fire. But as far as I know, no one got hurt. I also got to spend my New Year’s Eve with two very special visitors: my mom and brother Matt! They had flown in earlier that afternoon. Though they were exhausted from traveling, they made it to midnight and enjoyed meeting the kids. I had a wonderful next week showing them the Ranch and traveling to Copán for a long weekend.

3/5 Leffs on the Ranch!

These may have been the fastest two months in Honduras. It wasn’t the most restful or stress-free, but perhaps the most memorable. I continue to be thankful for my time here, with my volunteer family and the kids, and to the months ahead on the Ranch.

Here’s to an even bigger, brighter, rice-and-beans-rich 2015.