Meet the Garcia Family

I don’t know how I can sum up the last week in a blog post, but I’ll try!

Orientation officially ended last Wednesday, when we rode a school bus about 30 minutes outside of the capital to a village of 2500 people. There, we were paired up with our host families with a comical activity that included matching animal sounds.  I had the pleasure of getting in front of the crowd and howling like a wolf.  Luckily, my host grandmother was quick to find me!

The Garcia Family lives in a modest home, but well-equipped compared to some others in the area.  I think that they are able to afford some luxuries due to the money their parents send home—the exchange rate here is 2 BZD to 1 USD, so our currency goes pretty far.  Actually, I think that some members of the Peace Corps community would call my experience, so far, “Posh Corps”.  The house does have electricity and an interior bathroom.  The only running water to the house is for the shower and sink.  The toilet flushes manually, and there is no kitchen sink.  Actually the interior kitchen is more of a dining room with a fridge and oven.  The outdoor kitchen is where most food prep happens.  There is a basin out there where we wash clothes and dishes, and a wood burning stove where the grandma makes tortillas, tostadas, and tamales among other scrumptious foods!  The diet here is mainly rice, beans, and corn tortillas sometimes with small amounts of cheese, vegetables, or meats.  

We still attend classes everyday at the local primary school.  Our language intensive has officially begun.  I don’t know if I’m crazy, but I think I’m improving already.  Everyone speaks Spanish at my house.  The grandma is from Honduras and speaks no English, which is great for me because I can’t use English as a crutch.  The older kids do speak English, though, because there is a government school here, and classes are taught in English.  Our other classes mostly include public health theory and practice as well as community development.  

Thanks for bearing with me through such a long post!  Hopefully, I can get another one together for next week’s trip into town.

Love always, 

Jess

P.S.  The toughest thing for me so far has been dealing with the fire ants…They’re everywhere!  I’ve been bit no less than 40 times, and it BURNS!! 

Making Tamales with Abuela Karen for a Birthday