The Globalizers

Right now, I am in language school, with lots more free time on my hands. I am reading this book called the Globalizers. I have really been thinking a lot about it. The book states that it is not corporations, such as McDonalds and KFC, that are globalizing ¨developing¨ countries such as Honduras. Instead, the book claims that it is the volunteer workers (mainly government programs, but also NGO´s) that are the true globalizer. The even harder thing to swallow, is that these organizations, according to the book, go to Honduras under the assumption that they are making an improvement in people´s lives and being generous by giving their time in energy. However, the authors state that any ¨work¨that is done, benefits the donor country, such as the United States, more than it will ever benefit the recipient country. I have really been struggling internally with this. It´s not as if I came to Honduras under the assumption I was ¨bettering the world¨ or making a difference in people´s lives, but it pains me to think that I´m making globalization worse. There are just tons of volunteers here, and while the book talks negatively about the volunteers who live in huge houses, drive luxury cars, and get paid almost the same salaries as they would in the U.S. with little accountability, I can´t help but feel bad about bringing an ipod and a digital camera with me, as it just contributes to the image of Americans being materialistic and rich. I was talking about it a lot with Adam last night, and he thinks that it´s God´s intention that we bring what we learn back to our home countries, not necessarily so that something can be done, but only to have a better understanding of Honduras and its relation to the U.S. It´s just so hard to get outside of my cultural reference point when I see hungry children with unclean drinking water and to not think, ¨what can be done to help them?¨ I guess I´ll just really concentrate on building relationships, as I still believe relationships are mutually beneficial, not as representatives of our culture, but because of the love one human can bring to another, in spite of how skewed the world seems sometimes.

I´m here!

Well, I´ve been in Honduras for exactly a week, though it has seemed a lot longer. When we arrived (Adam and I), we stayed in San Pedro Sula for a few days. San Pedro was probably the most shocking to me initially. There are tons of American fast food chains, such as Burger King, Popeye´s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and even Quizno´s, scattered around the city (Amazingly, Starbucks isn´t here). Looking around the mall food court, you really wouldn´t even know you weren´t in the US. Cell phones are also really popular here, and yet there isn´t hot water in almost any of the homes. I don´t know what I was expecting, but it wasn´t that. I stayed with a host family during my few days, and it was really nice to be a part of family life. The granddaughter of my host mom and I became fast friends and I spent a lot of time with her. It´s just so much easier to talk to kids, because they don´t really care that you can´t say much as long as you can play. After San Pedro, we went to Azacualpa, the town Adam will be in for the year. It was an interesting contrast, as it was much more of "quaint" town. The house Adam will be living in has a beautiful garden and lots of animals running around. He will be working up in the mountain towns doing ecotourism and education work. After Azacualpa, we went to my town, Tocoa. Tocoa is very different than both Azacualpa and San Pedro (and as it seems, hotter). I´m so excited to work in the school though, as Kari (the previous SALTer) has made a great library and space to work with kids. My host family also seems nice. They have a daughter my age, and I´m hoping we´ll become friends. Right now, I´m in Copan, waiting to go to language school. I´ll be out here for the next two weeks, living with a host family again. I have high hopes for language school, as I´ll do anything to improve my Spanish knowledge. It is pretty frustrating not knowing anything that is being said around you. Luckily, people here are very patient and generous. I spent most of my day lounging around reading. I think it´ll take some time to get used to the slower pace of life around here. I will write more about my thoughts later. It´s been a busy week...