First Pilot

Let´s see if this works

OYE la Radio

OYE Radio is on the air!

I arrived in El Progreso, Honduras on August 9th and last friday I helped the OYE radio program record their second pilot episode. The broadcast included an interview with famous Honduran singer Guillermo Anderson, commentary on the Honduran education system, local news, national and international sports, and the top 5 songs in Honduras.

We have about 20 kids in the program, including a handful learning the production and editing side of radio. I helped the sports department write their report, tought proper vocal delivery and a few warmup exercises to the news and commentary crew and gave my perspective on how to put together a radio broadcast. It's amazing to find a way to volunteer with something that I am so familiar with, but there are times when I wish I could express what I want to say in English!

The kids are all very dedicated and have lots of talent. We'll be recording an episode every two weeks and by mid September we should be ready to make our debut on Radio Progreso, the local radio station, and on the internet.

The OYE sports department

More from Guatemala

I spent 5 weeks in Quetzaltenango learning spanish with 4 amazing Spanish teachers. (from left to right, Mariela, Angel, Mariana, and Juan Ramon) On my last day they handed me a certificate of graduation from my school, El Nahual. It definitely doesn't mean i'm fluent--i'll be practicing even more during my month in Honduras--but it was a concrete sign of my progress. None of my teachers knew more than a few words in English which made my 4-hour, 1-on-1 classes challenging but all the more rewarding. Each had their own strengths, accents, teaching styles, and topics of conversation. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better team to learn from!

OYE! ...In Honduras

Mayan ruins in Copan, Honduras

I have left my friends and Guate-family behind in Quetzaltenango and I am now in El Progreso, Honduras.  I will be here for at least the next month volunteering with OYE's many projects here in Progreso, mainly their radio program.

The first thing I noticed about Honduras is that it is HOT.  During the day it is consistently about 95 degrees with humidity.  Sweat, sun, and heat are a part of life although somehow the Hondurans manage to wear jeans, shoes and long sleeve shirts while I soak through my shorts and t-shirt.  It will definitely be a transition from the

 cool climate of Xela.

But so far I love the culture, the food, and the people here in Honduras.  There is a lot of work to be done with OYE and I can't wait to dig in.

Reggaeton group performing in San Pedro Sula, one of the biggest cities in Honduras.  The group was promoting positive messages and safe streets in Honduras.

The sign that greeted me when I entered a bank in Copan, Honduras.

3 hours, 1.5 liters of water, and 10 tortillas after we started, some friends and I scaled the tallest volcano in Quetzaltenango, Santa Maria. The peak is about 2 miles above sea level so we were all struggling to catch our breath and had to make several rest stops along the way. From the top we had amazing views of Xela, surrounding towns and mountains plus we watched as a live volcano nearbye erupted. Well worth the sore legs the next day.

A few more fotos of my familia

Luisito, my guatebrother, is in the spiderman outfit. Yoshi, and his other cousin are usually over at our house playing on the terrace.

¡Buen Provecho!

In Spanish, ¨buen provecho¨ basically means bon appetit! This phrase involves one of my favorite customs in Guatemala. At the dinner table, when you´re done eating you say, ¨muchas gracias¨, and everyone else responds ¨buen provecho.¨ Everyday at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I´ll thank my family for the meal, and they´ll always respond with ¨buen provecho!¨

Also, in Guatemala, lunch is the main meal of the day. At about 12:00, the streets are full with kids returning home from school and people walking from work to make it home in time to eat with their family. Stores close for a few hours and everyone sits down for a big meal. Then at about 2:30, things go back to normal. It is a bit like the Spanish siesta, but people actually do go back to work here.

The picture is of a food cart near Xela´s soccer stadium. (I was going to post a picture of an entire roasted pig, but figured this one was a bit more vegetarian friendly) I ordered a plate that came with tortillas, carne asada, grilled onions, salsa and a Gallo (Guate´s national beer) and it all cost about 30 Quetzales, less than 4 bucks.