Back to being grounded

Well, it's back! The curfew that was set to regulate night-time activities is back on. For several days (more than a week), this curfew kept people off the streets to avoid any protests and to keep people safe. Anyone caught outside during these hours was immediately taken to jail. It sucked because stores and restaurants closed super early to get their employees home on time, but it was good in a way because crime and accidents reduced, seeing how most crimes are committed at night during the hours which were closed off. This also meant that my cousin's graduation dinner would be postponed. His graduation ceremony and dinner were scheduled for July 4, but were suspended due to the situation. However, once things calmed down, his graduation ceremony became a possibility, and thankfully we were able to celebrate his achievement this past Saturday. The following day, Sunday, it was announced in the afternoon that the curfew (the "toque de queda," which by then was the most popular theme for jokes) was cancelled, meaning people could roam about at all hours of the night and morning. Seeing how now we'd be able to party all night, the dinner was able to be set for Thursday, June 16. But of course, something had to get in the way...again.

These past couple of days have been very calm in Tegucigalpa. Not only was it visible in the streets themselves, but the media had stopped concentrating on the city and more on the politics and things happening outside of Honduras. New stories of how corrupt Zelaya's plan was are popping up everything, with investigations on how millions of dollars were used for this referendum, and how that money was being spent to pay people to support him. This money that was being used to make this referendum popular was given to people, mostly lower class, as a bribe to help promote the referendum and support Mel in anything. It's for this reason that when Mel was taken away, hundreds continued to support him--they still want their money! And now, playing the victim, Mel is pleading to "his people" to support him and not to give up, meaning to continue marching down the streets, and if possible, for 24 hours non stop. On Tuesday, Mel sent a message encouraging his "resistance army" (as they are called) to march on forward, getting them hyped up for what he hopes will be his grand return as president. This has escalated to threats from these resistance "soldiers" to take over streets, blocking them and doing who-knows-what. For this reason, we received the disappointing news via radio that the curfew was back on for the night, starting at midnight. We had just gotten in the car after having gone to the mall, where I had just purchased a dress for the dinner not too long before. AGH!!! 

Hearing that the military would close streets and that the curfew was back on made me so angry inside. I don't understand how someone can claim to be for the people when all this person has brought has been chaos and even the death of a young man by the name of Isis Obed, who has become a martyr to "the resistance." His selfishness and interest in his own agenda has caused uncertainty and fear for the Hondurans. It's scary not knowing what could happen next. You think you know, but you have no idea. One minute things are finally getting back to normal, and the next your having to keep your children inside and out of school for fear of something dangerous crossing your path. Classes have been cancelled for Thursday and cautions have been spread across television and radio stations across the country, asking people to avoid any unnecessary travel. So for now, we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully this ends soon. It's not fair for those students who can't receive an education because their professors are on strike, or for those who have lost their jobs because their boss was somehow involved in the million dollar scandal of this referendum. Things need to change! 

Please keep Honduras in your prayers. Pray for those who are in political positions. Pray for the military who are doing their best to keep citizens safe and out of harm's way. I feel so bad for them; they always look tired and like they haven't eaten in a long time. They pay a hard price for our freedom. Please pray for Mel Zelaya too. He's been brainwashed into thinking that he's above freedom and that he deserves the right to continue as president after spending millions on something for himself. Let's keep lifting God's name up in the midst of this situation. Never give up...never surrender. 

Vandalism and Journalism

I went to work today!!! After days (and days and days) of not being able to work because of the political situation here in Honduras, especially with all the marches here in Tegucigalpa, I was able to go to the Diaconia office today. It was a long day, but I made it!

I woke up earlier than usual to get ready for my first day of work. My aunt drove me out to the street to meet up with Dilia, the head of Diaconia Nacional. Then from there Dilia, her daughter and made our way down to the Diaconia office. On our way there we spotted graffiti all over restaurants and walls, criticizing the new government. Broken windows accompanied the graffiti in many restaurants along the road to the airport such as Popeyes, Pollo Campero, Burger King, and many more. Strangely, KFC didn't get touched (hmm...).  But these acts of vandalism were committed on Sunday by those marching to the airport on Sunday to support Zelaya. It's so sad and depressing to see the streets so tagged up and the restaurants all boarded up. Here we are trying to prove that this little country can fight against leftist giants like Chavez and the OSA, and then people pull out the dumb card and mess up the streets. You'd think that people who are trying to prove a point would do it in an intelligent way, but I guess not. Hopefully the rest of the world opens their  eyes and sways to the side holding peace marches and turns away from those who just make noise for the heck of it. (Sorry for the venting, I'm just really mad.)

We arrived to the office, where I met some new people and warmly greeted those whom I already knew. In the car, Dilia had mentioned wanting to start a magazine, which is something I was super excited to hear. I was thinking something along the lines of a pamphlet, but this is more fun. Right away she introduced me to everyone and what my purpose was for being there, which was to make a magazine. Others suggested a documentary also, which I was even more excited to do, because that's what I love doing the most. So I quickly got to work and interviewed those who were there. Fortunately for me, all of the coordinators of the different programs that Diaconia runs were there to turn in their paperwork for the year and to attend staff meetings. Therefore, I was able to interview everyone and get to know the different "arms" of Diaconia. But with my amazing skills (totally being sarcastic), I was able to interview everyone quickly and finished my task for the day early. Then, Arturo (one of the coordinators in Olancho whom I've known for years) and I, went to the mall (Las Cascadas) to look for a video camera to start filming for the documentary. We got some prices and brought them back to the offices. The rest of the day I talked with a girl from Canada, Lisa, and read Pride and Prejudice for a while. We ate soup for lunch and bread for a snack later on. Because I didn't bring my computer with me, I was a bit bored, but I had time to plan out several things. I didn't bring my laptop or camera for security reasons, but now that it's all figured out, I'll bring it tomorrow and start my job as a journalist in the real world. Yay me!!!

Oh, and I'm bummed out because La Seleccion lost today, 2-0, against the U.S.. Boo! 

The Boys (and Girls) Are Back in Town

***Update: Follow this link for more photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40174884@N02/sets/72157620946983789/show/)***

Weeee're baaaaack! Our adventure in the southern part of Honduras is over. I brought back some mud on my shoes, some pictures and a cold. The fresh air was great, but it didn't do very nice things to my body and now I'm stuck with a sore throat, a headache and a stuffy nose. I took a cold symptom pill so hopefully it'll go away by tomorrow morning. 

San Marcos de Colon is beautiful! Everything is so green and colonial. It reminded me a lot of Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. There were even old cars that must be from the fifties and sixties. All the roads were made of stone and the streets were very clean. Carmen Maria, a relative of mine of which I still don't know how exactly we are related (although I think she's my aunt's cousin), told me that San Marcos has been "baptized" the cleanest town in Honduras--and I believe her too. We left Tegucigalpa at 6AM with Carmen Maria's husband Andres and his dad Don Roberto. Gustavo and I left the city for a two-day trip to the place where his mother and my grandmother were born. The four of us headed off to the three hour journey down south as we listened to the radio to figure out whether or not Honduras would be suspended by the OSA or not. It turned out that Honduras actually left/quit the OSA before any decision was made. So Andres, saying he felt so proud to be a Honduran at that moment because of that move they made, kept the mood happy the entire way there. 

Upon arriving we ate breakfast and met the rest of his family, who also live in Tegucigalpa, Carmen Maria (his wife) and their three daughters Isabela (Isa), Andrea and Monica, whom were staying at Carmen Maria's mother's house on vacation. The girls took us for a walk around town. The tour was mostly for me, seeing how I've never been there before and Gustavo had,  having spent many weekends there throughout his childhood. Walking around town I found out who lives where and how they're related to us too, and what has changed in the past couple of years. I loved the feeling of being in such a colonial looking place because it's such a different element than what I'm used to. It wasn't my first time in that setting, but it's the feeling of being in a place that's not your own--I love it! I think that's why people love the idea of time travel; the fact that you don't belong there, but you're there, is just amazing. Also, the appreciation that one has for different things, especially the antique, has a lot to do with it. I love the architecture of the Spanish style homes and the park in front of the church. It's great! 

After lunch we went to the finca, which is like a farm, but an estate too. **Ooo, it's raining outside. I love that sound...** There they raise cows, which several of them belong to Carmen Maria's family and some to her mother. We had fun petting the cows and watching them sink past their "knees" in the mud, although that part was a little sad. When we got there, the men were milking the cows. One of them, later on, grabbed a cup, milked the cow and drank the milk right then and there. Andrea and I just kept looking at each other back and forth, questioning whether we'd do that or not--we both decided we wouldn't. It was funny to hear some of the men as they called out to the cows to go back in their area, like Potter (poh-ter) and his son Harry (Ha-rri). The names they give them...hehe. Being here in Honduras for a week already, and having been watching Harry Potter movies on t.v. because they show them all the time, I've come to see how a kid a Nicaragua was named Harry Potter (true story) and how cows can grab that name also. 

After going up to the house, tracking through mud, to rest and have some soda with pan de yema, we walked back down and made our way to the house. In the car we heard the cadena nacional, which was broadcasting, both through television and radio, the cardenal of Honduras and his message to the people of Honduras, telling them of the sins that Mel Zelaya had committed during his time in office, and why the Church supports his ousting. We then went to a tia's house, Aracely (who makes awesome roskias), to visit. She lived on the corner, across the park we had gone to earlier, and owned the town pharmacy. We entered what was the pharmacy, only to see that it was just the entrance to her home. As we stepped through, I saw that it was the type of home I've always wanted, with the long hallway that stretched around a garden right there in the center, with rooms along the corridor. My mom described a house like this once as she told us of her childhood home in Jalisco, Mexico. The floor was tiled and the doors were an orange-brown, making it look very old, but so cool. We went to the room all the way in the back to find a t.v., which we turned on to watch the game between "La H" (Honduras) vs. Haiti. During half-time we had pupusas and for dessert we had charamuscas, which is like a paleta, but in a bag, without the stick. Basically, it's like putting cool-aid in a bag and freezing it, except the one we had was milk with sugar probably. But they come in all flavors and colors. I hadn't had one in so long, and it tasted sooo good. We took them back to watch the second half to see Honduras win 1-0. "¡Vamos, vamos todos con la seleccion!"

The next day we heard that pro-Mel marches were headed to the airport to await the coming of Mel Zelaya and his possy, who were coming to restore Mel's authority as elected president of the republic. Streets were blocked by military and police forces to prevent any chaos and danger. From the live shots we could see that the marches were pretty peaceful, although those marching wore red and had Che Guevara plastered on their shirts and jackets. For Honduras, who had fought for so long to keep the influences of Hugo Chavez out of the country, this seemed like anti-patriotism, since red (although my favorite color) is a far cry from the national colors of blue and white. After several discussions, and hours, on whether it was safe to leave today or not, we left San Marcos and made our way back to Tegucigalpa. While we expected at least 30 checkpoints, we were only stopped 5 times, and 5 times told that we were good to go. Instead of being pulled over and having our "papers" checked by military personnel, we were only asked once where we were going, and that was just to help us get home faster since the military knew best which roads were closed or open. 

As we got closer, we heard on the radio that Mel's plane was getting closer and was now approaching Toncontin International Airport. Quickly we looked up, knowing that we were close by, and there it was--Mel's jet plane. It was easy to spot, seeing how all other flights had been cancelled that day. We hurried down the hill, keeping an eye on Mel's plane, as did the people who gathered in groups by the road to watch Mel come in too. That was definitely a cool feeling, to know that they too were listening to the exact same thing I was, waiting for the same exact thing. At that moment, whether you were against Mel or not, the whole country was waiting and watching for the same thing. That's what history's all about my friends.

We got closer, and even more to our surprise, there were no barricades or problems, as the Venezuelan news Telesur and CNN (re-named Chavez News Network by many here in Honduras) had warned us about. Quickly we reached our destination as we peeked towards our right to get a glance at the airport. There we saw where all the traffic had gathered to--the tops of hills and edges of the airport. Cars had stopped, creating a parking lot, to allow the people to get out and get a look at their ex-president attempt to land, which ended up in a failure. The military, with it's land and air forces, made it impossible and dangerous for Mel and his crew to land, forcing them to resort to landing in Managua, Nicaragua. Although we were able to save ourselves from Mel for one more day, it only means that the chaos of today will only happen another day, unless he turns himself in somewhere else. 

I just hope and pray that all this is over with and calm soon. I still have not began my internship due to this situation, and would like to start soon. Also, I really want it to be safe so that my sister can come. She's planned to arrive July 17, but if things don't go well, that might not happen. But please pray for Honduras. It has been reported that two people died today, due to disturbances between the mobs trying to break into the airport and the police protecting the runways. Let's hope and pray that no more blood is shed and that no more lives are lost. This needs to stop!

The Old Stone Streets

The man who heads the OAS (Organization of American States) came to Tegucigalpa today to get Zelaya his place back as president. He was supposed to be here to discuss and make negotiations, but he obviously had his own agenda, and nothing was accomplished. He refused to speak to any of the new members of the government, which include the new president, Micheletti, and restricted himself to only listening to whomever he chose to.  In my opinion, if he came to have a discussion, as a diplomat, he was to have spoken with everyone, from every party and every view, but he was obviously not interested in what others had to say. Tomorrow, the OAS committee will decide whether Honduras will be suspended or not. If they are, they will be cut off from aid by any country that is a part of the organization, which includes the good ole U.S. of A. 

Michael Jackson has been gone for a whole week already. It's still hard to accept. Even here in Honduras, I hear his music EVERYWHERE! Channel 5 has made the guitar intro of "Beat It" their theme song. So every time special reports come on, or an ad to watch channel 5, that iconic guitar intro comes on. It's crazy to see a different aspect of Jackson's fame around the world. 

Due to my inability to go out and get to know the streets of Teguc, I have been in the house most of the day. However, recently I've been going outside in the covered patio area of my aunt's house to read and write in my journal. It's nice and fresh--a big change from sitting inside watching t.v. all day. Then yesterday, Leyla invited me to go to the "pulperia" with her to add minutes to her phone. Then we took the long way home. Tegucigalpa is made up of small mountains and hills. Where my aunt lives is called las Lomas de Toncontin, which is entirely on a hill. On our way home we passed by a church which is on the edge of the hill, we stopped to take in the fresh air and watch a small area of lesser fortunate people on the other hill. The scene of small, squished homes was one that I was most used to, from my previous trips to Honduras. I could see and hear the kids use the dirt road as their soccer field, across from another dirt road that goes uphill, which I can imagine must be horrible, and dangerous, to go uphill when it rains. On top of the hill was a water tank, which I am very familiar with because of the water project with Biola. Leyla has always wanted to go up there, but she's never been "brave enough" to go on her own. So we've made plans to go up there one of these days, but we can't tell my aunt. Haha. It'll be our little secret. We walked back as Leyla told me a little more about her life and some of the people she introduced me to as we walked back home. 

Today I went outside to the old stone streets again. My cousin was going to play soccer so I went with him. First we just passed it back and forth while he shot the ball against the garage metal gate?/porton. Then he made himself goalie while I shot it at the gate. I made a couple of goals as I learned to curve the ball, not like Beckham though. Then it was my turn to be goalie, which was actually quite fun. I'm sure that I'll have some bruises on my arms and thighs tomorrow. All of a sudden, the dogs (a giant one [Goku] and a small one [Cherry]) came running out of the porch door and Leyla came out behind them. She was taking them out for a walk and invited me to go with her. Of course I said yes, so off we went on another adventure. It was funny to see all the girls on the streets, as they walked with their boyfriends or wannabe boyfriends, freak out whenever they saw Goku coming close to them, because he's the most scared dog I have ever met. He's scared of a lot of things, but old men with glasses the most. He runs away in terror at the sight of them. We went to search for Chocobananos, but one pulperia was closed and the other hadn't received them yet. So we got regular paletas and walked back home. It was a good adventure. 

Tomorrow we're leaving for San Marcos de Colon at 5am, which means that I need to wake up early. So, goodnight. 

Walls, Blackouts, and Barking Dogs

This change in the government is...well, it sucks! Due to the recent occurrences here in Honduras, especially here in the capital of Tegucigalpa, going outside for more than your daily duties has been very limited. For most of my stay, I've been indoors, which is the reason I've been on MySpace and Facebook so much during the day. I've watched a couple of movies now, and am pretty up-to-date with the world news, since I'm trying to stay as updated as possible with the whole situation here. From my readings I've noticed a hint of "grace" towards Hondurans from several publications. If I could remember the publications, I'd post them, but I've read so many that I don't remember which one said what. But yeah, some are starting to show that Zelaya may have done things to deserve what happened to him. It has been reported by several sources that Zelaya had been using the money given to help the economic crisis here (which blame Mel for) for "other things" (ex: himself...oh, and his family of course!). Also, his involvement with allowing Honduras to be a transfer spot for many drug smugglers has come out into the American public. So several smart, and correct in their journalistic ethics, have cued in to why so many people agreed to have this change in the government happen. Hopefully, with the time, the world will get to see and learn about what really happened prior to the whole "kicking Zelaya out" ordeal and see why the government did what they did. 

On a side note, I've been eating very delicious food. Leyla, who helps my aunt here in the house with the cooking and cleaning, makes amazing food and I give her super huge props for what she does every day. I've had pupusas (Honduran ones of course, which are by far the best, and yes I've tasted real Salvadorian ones from El Salvador...so uh!), baleadas, frijoles, queso, and bomb juices, o aguas frescas. YUM!!! 

The nights have been hard however. I haven't been sleeping very well for the past couple of months, and it's just gotten worse here. Two nights ago it felt like it took me an hour or more to fall asleep, struggling the entire time. There's just so much noise everywhere once the sun goes down, and I don't mean man-made noise. I'm talking about all-night dog concerts, which just started as soon as I started writing about it. The first dog, at this very moment, has barked. Oh, and there go three more. Ladies and gentlemen, the dog contest for who can bark the longest and loudest, has begun. 

It rained cats and dogs today. We went to La Colonia today, which is the super market here, and on our way there we could see an area where it was raining.  It looked as if the clouds were reaching down to the streets. My uncle Adam, on our way back from Utah several years ago, taught us about how you can tell when it's raining somewhere or not, and let me tell you, it was pouring in that area of Teguc. Lightning as stuff was everywhere. When we got back, we had dinner and began to watch "Yes Man," which unfortunately wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. But during the movie, the lights when out. It was cool because when I looked out the window, I could see the lightning striking very brightly, and wow, it was amazing! The house in front of us had a generator going...woo hoo for them (blah!). But I enjoyed the little blackout out. It's like a time for us to sit back and let nature take the spotlight for a while. It's hard to appreciate these things with life in the way. But I truly had a nature blast for 4 minutes. Then the lights came back on, and technology came thrusting back into my life. Haha.

So, my attempt to fall asleep without too much trouble begins now. So, buenas noches!!!

What I Know

I'm sure (I'm hoping) that you have heard about the situation right now in Honduras. If you haven't, well, that's just too bad. But this is what I've learned from listening to people (Some I know and some I don't) and from different news sources and blogs on the internet.

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, the (now ex) president of Honduras Manuel Zelaya (Mel) was awaken by the Honduran military and forced to leave the country. He was flown to Costa Rica. From that moment, the protests and a whirlwind of media chaos started. To prevent chaos from the spreading news, the power and water was shut off from 8-11AM. At 12PM, and unfortunately during the Confederation Cup Final between Brazil and the U.S. (Go Brazil!!!), a national broadcast of the House's gathering, the news officially gave word of what had happened that morning, although most people had already heard or figured it out during their trips to the pulperia to get as much food and water as they could. After a 30 minute break, it was stated by then-speaker of the house Roberto Micheletti that they had received a resignation letter from Mel that was dated back to June 25th. As the meeting went on, it was decided that following the law and it's guideline, through the order of succession, Micheletti, as the Speaker of the House, was to take Zelaya's place. After a unanimous vote to accept Zelaya's resignation letter and have Micheletti take his place as president, Micheletti was sworn in. 

Ok, now rewind.

Reminder: I am reporting from what I have read from other news sources, have heard from friends and family here in Hondurans and have heard in the congressional meeting yesterday.

The actions that have been done to Zelaya were in response to actions that were deemed illegal by the government, the Supreme Court, congress, and the militia. Like his leftist friends in other countries of Latin America (Hugo Chavez [Venezuela], Daniel Ortega [Nicaragua] and others), Zelaya tried to change the constitution, which states that the president can only serve one term as president, so that he could run again. However, the constitution was created with that law so that there would be no continuism and have one man/woman "rule" for too long. With Latinamerica's history with "continuing" leaders, the Honduran government and many of it's citizens did not want to be part of the popular trend being set by several others. Zelaya created a referendum to make the change, but it was turned down by the Supreme Court and pretty much everyone else on the terms that it was illegal. He had a couple of supporters, but not enough to really make a stand. He had asked his friend, the General of the military, to join alongside him, as the commander-in-chief, in order to have the military back up his referendum as well. However, the general refused to be part of the illegal act and did not want anything to do with Zelaya's plans, therefore Zelaya fired him. However, the Court deemed that illegal as well. Zelaya's referendum was to be put up to a vote for Sunday June 28, but history had other plans.

As of now, there have been public displays of disapproval, but only near the Presidential House. The only changes are that there is a street curfew from 9PM-6AM, which means that no one can be out on the streets on that hour, or they'll have to deal with the police. Other than that, things have been okay and slowly heading back to normal. We'll just have to sit and wait it out. 

One hot night

So, it's really hot here. But I made it! I always fear that the plane won't land in the second scariest airport to land on in latin america, after brazil. But we did. I love how people start "persinandose" just before the landing. And then a cry of joy and clapping bursts out loud in the cabin. The guy who sat next to me looked like he was sweating bullets. It was pretty funny. 

The view was amazing. It had been so long since I'd seen Honduras so green. The last time I had come here during this time of the year was when I was 10. When I come with Biola, it's usually February, March or April, which means super hot weather and everything is brown and dry. But not this time; it was beautiful. 

It seems that there is a political situation going on right now that doesn't make it very safe here. The president, who's influenced by Hugo Chavez (blah), is trying to change the constitution to get himself re-elected. There have been protests and marches the last couple of days. I'm still getting a bit of a feel of the whole situation, but it's going to take some reading. 

So, I made it out of the airport, after waiting forever for my maleta and met up with my Tia Mayra and my cousin Gustavo, where they greeted my with roses and a little baloon for my birthday. We went around town and got to see parts of the capital, Tegucigalpa, that I don't get to see when I come with Biola. We came back to the house, where I took a little nap and woke up to hear my cousins. My tio Mario (my dad's brother) and his daughters came to see me and we all celebrated my birthday with dinner and a cheesecake (yumm). They're so cute! The little one, Michelle, is already attached to me and she spent the night telling me how much she loved me and taking pictures with me on my mac. It was fun.

Now I'm chillin on the couch with my cousin

Hours before...

So, I'm here in my room, waiting for it to be 3:30am so I can "wake up" to go to Honduras. There's no way I'm sleeping two hours before. I feel like I have so many things to do. But I can't really do them all because: 1) it's 2:20am, 2) everyone is asleep and 3) I don't want to do anything. My mind is running like crazy. I want to go to Honduras, but at the same time I don't because it means that the people that I love most in my world, (my parents and my sis) are staying behind. I'm going to miss them so much. They're all I really have when it comes down to it all. I do, however, get to spend 2 of the 6 weeks that I'll be in Honduras with my sister. She's coming down the last two weeks to chill and visit and then we'll head down (well, up) to San Antonio, Texas for a family reunion. I'm super excited about Ash coming to Honduras, but I have to wait a whole month for that. Agh! I'll be staying with family and hanging out with people that I've known for a long time, so I'm hoping it'll help the time pass by in such a way that it doesn't hurt to miss my family. 

So yeah, why am I going? Oh yeah. I didn't get the internships I applied for at Fox Sports or ESPN, so I had to look elsewhere. Then I remembered that the organization that we work with for the Honduras Water Project Ministry at Biola, Diaconia Nacional, needed a little help with some technology stuff. I asked if they needed someone to "boost up" their media relations with those they work with within the country and outside as well, and they said yes and that they'd love to have me help them out. So, I need to complete 180 hours. And that's why I'm going to Honduras for 6 weeks. Oh, and also because I just can't get enough of that beautiful country. 

So yeah, hopefully I'll be able to update this frequently so all of you who are interested in knowing what's going on with me will be able to. Thanks! I'm really excited for what God has planned for this trip and I pray that He uses me to help others not only with my "technological skills," but with sharing the Word as well. Please keep me in your prayers, and my family as well. Thank you and God bless!

-jocy