May 16 2009

Today was our first practice day getting up in time for a 6 am breakfast. Since we will be leaving to start working at 7 am several days a week, we thought everybody could have a taste of what is to come.

Following breakfast, Amelia led us in some team building activities, which included the human knot and a twisted form of follow the leader. In the human knot, everybody gets into a circle and reaches across and grabs hands with two separate people, thus forming a massive knot of arms. The goal is to untangle yourselves, leaving a circle when you are done. We played twice. My group failed miserably twice. Both times, I think that we were in a knot which actually could not be undone, but maybe that is just me making myself feel better about losing.

Next, we played follow the leader, only with a twist – everybody except the leader was blindfolded. Each team leader led their group around the compound, blindfolded, using only verbal instructions. Now, by this time, a group of about 20 Hondurans had gathered in order to watch us play, most likely thinking that we were completely nuts. It’s probably true. Needless to say, my group ended up walking straight through a group of giggling Honduran girls, and I am pretty sure that Dan’s group ended up involved in a game of basketball.

Following that, we practiced surveying some, talked about what to expect for the afternoon, and then most people went on a walking tour of La Union, while some stayed at the compound to prepare for the afternoon. We started by walking up to one of the highest points of La Union, the cross, then went and visited Anna, a teacher at the school and good friend of AJ’s. Her house is probably the second highest place in La Union, with the entire city separating it from the cross. It was quite a trek, but it was lots of fun, we got to see a lot of La Union, and it was good practice trekking up and down some pretty steep terrain. After resting at Anna’s for a little while, she showed us the pool, which is a spring fed pool that many people here frequent on hot days, and we went and showed everybody the school. From there, we headed home just in time for lunch.

After lunch, the students from Vida Abundante came over. It was great. We played several get to know you games, including telephone, introduce your neighbor from another country, and the violent game (which isn’t actually violent, but would take a long time to explain). We then passed out scripts and information about the translating to them, practiced several different scenarios, and called it a day. Many of them hung around until dinner, and it was fun to hang out with them some more.

Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what happened after dinner so, until next time, adios.

Patrick