A Slow Start

Day 1 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I'd like to say that I was up and at em with the grass chopping and stuff of that nature, but it would be a lie to say such things. I was sick the first full day at the orphanage and so I slept until precisely 11am-ish. I then had to relieve mom at the clinic for a little while. Chicken pox was going around down here and before anyone asks, because I know you're all concerned about my health and well-being, yes I have had chicken pox. Anyway after that I went back to the MVH to cool down for a bit. Then it was back to the clinic because I had to relieve another volunteer named Brittany while she delivered meds to other kids. Her and I are pretty tight now because I have had to do this pretty much every day since I got here. Anyway, Brittany brought movies for the kids to watch and so the movie of the day was Shrek 2. Yes it was in spanish. After Brittany came back I went back to the MVH for the night. Owen, another volunteer named Robert, and I watched Clash of the Titans (bootleg), the old tv show Friends, and Two and a Half Men. Then I called it a night because even though it was only eight, it was midnight dark.

Day 2 at Orphanage Emmanuel
Today was the day that I was going to get up and do stuff. I got up, without breakfast (I've been living on about two meals a day since I got here so it's almost normal now). I went down and talked to Wade, the guy in charge of male volunteers, while the older guys were breakfasting or whatever you call it. I didn't dine with them because I remember the moon pies from last year and I felt like if I had another one I was gonna be sick. So I got into Wade's truck and we got some wire fencing, which is much heavier than it looks let me tell you. We then went over to the farm to move some boards that came in. Wade had to take care of some other stuff so he dubbed me Vice Assisstant General In Charge Of Certain Things before he left. That basically meant that I got to tell people where to put the boards. While we were working I heard some of the guys calling me a "Gringo" which roughly translated means "Whitey". That is sort of a teasing insult but I let it slide.
After we moved the boards a Wade took us over to the older guys dorms and we dropped off the wire and I was told to wait for another guy named Harrison. When he came, with three other guys, we began replacing the fence around the guys house. One of the guys, Josué, and I are also pretty tight because we are almost always working together. After that it was lunch time. Soup. Tasty.
I was then sent to dig holes to put flag poles in for a little while with a hole digger that was a piece of garbage before I had to relieve Brittany again. The movie of the day was The Incredibles. Still in spanish. After Brittany came back it was time for Wednesday night church so we went and heard some of the kids give testimonies. I then got to walk home in the rain. Lemme tell you something, Honduras' "rain", is wisconsins "downpour". Needless to say, I got wet. When I got to the MVH, after drying off, I watched Friends and Two and a Half Men with Robert. Owen was spending the night watching the kids at the clinic. Post tv time I showered and went to bed.

Day 3 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I was ready to go out there and help out again but once more I was sick. So I stayed home and wrote for a little while. I wrote words in case y'all were wondering. Around 10am I went to talk to mom at the clinic and gave her the news of my illness. She told me to stop by the FVH (Female Volunteer House) for some pasta later. So I left and I hung out with the guys and played some chess. Rather, I taught a kid how to play chess. I then went up front to the store to buy a snack. The older guys got some time in the gym that day so I played some more chess and then Robert and I went into town to get some food. Clouds had gathered in the distance and I told Robert that it wouldn't rain until we were almost home, just watch. Well we got our goods and on the way back to Emmanuel it began to sprinkle. Their "sprinkle" is our "rain". So we got into the orphanage and from the gate to the actual area of buildings is connected by a long road and while we were on this road, you could see a wall of rain coming down the road at you.
"I told you", I said to Robert as a Honduran downpour hit us. Their "downpour"? A "monsoon".
Robert hung by a volunteer group for a while at one of the houses and left me to become drenched alone. I stopped by the FVH for the pasta and went back to the MVH. I was soaking by the time I got their and Owen was on a laptop on the porch.
"I got wet", I told him and walked inside. After drying off I ate my warm pasta and watched Friends, Two and a Half Men, and Seinfeld. I then went to sleep.

Day 4 & 5 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I say day four and five because day five was a repeat of day 4. I was still sick so on I spent time cleaning the house a little, which was nasty and I dont recommend as a hobby. I rested some and went to the clinic to relieve Brittany, by now the number of children had grown exponentially, there were now around 10 kids in the clinic. After this I got supplies from mom such as medicine for myself, some cards (the FVH had a whole boxfull and the MVH had nothing), and a phone with which to call back home. On day 5 I called home and talked to everyone except Alina who was spending the night at my aunt Julie's. I went home after getting the medicine and I began to express my hatred of hills, not for the last time. There was not tv on day 4 or 5. Just bed.

Day 6 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I was feeling much better today and so I went down for the chess duel of the century. Christian was waiting for me and as I said I was ready. We sat down and began to play. The first game we did not get to finish as it was Sunday and so we had to go to church. Church was about living a Godly life. When we got back Christian and I sat back down. He ended up winning the first game. I said something along the lines of "alright no mercy", and continued to play. I won the second game and he insisted on playing a third. So we did and I won again. It was a good game that one because I was losing but after pulling a trick on him I beat him. I'm all about the tricks. So he said we were to play again. So we did and that game lasted less than five moves. That left us 3-1 me. I was feeling good about myself. But then I had to go back to the MVH to take care of some stuff and when I got back they were all in the gym. So we played basketball, soccer (well they played soccer, I don't know what I was doing), and we watched a movie. While playing soccer I took a ball to the chest. That knocked the wind out of me for a while. So I played chess with John and won all three games I played with him. I didn't have time for his games. I had to be back at the clinic to relieve Brittany and the movie of the day was Toy Story. All the movies are in spanish so I feel like I don't even have to say it. I then went home and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Owen. We came to the agreement that it was strange and the original was way better.

Day 7 at Orphanage Emmanuel
Since I felt better I was up an digging some more holes but this time for posts for a corral. I didn't have to use the chumpy hole digger this time but I did witness the killing of frogs that fell into the holes overnight. Wade has a thing against frogs. Once again, I was working with Josué and after a while a long term named David came by in his truck and told us that a kid escaped. So I ran with Josué and we went to the back of the farm to look for the kid. After a while we caught him and I was suprised to see that he was a kid who was diggin' holes with us. I also learned that Wade can yell pretty loud. Wade showed up at the scene and I could hear him yelling from across the field at the kid. Anyway, he was led away and I continued to help dig holes. Then it was lunch time and so I went back to the MVH to relax, then I played a little chess with John (3-1 me). After that, there was another volunteer meeting but this time they made donuts that tasted good but looked like potatoes and fried chicken with sprinkles. Post meeting I went home to chillax and watch Friends and Two and a Half Men. By the way, In the states while watching tv you might see, on one channel, one commercial the same, every other commercial break. Here its the same commercials every commercial break just in a different order. I have now memorized all the commercials on channel 62.

Day 8 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I was up and was mowing the lawn with a weed whacker before you guys were probably even awake. While I was mowing the grass with the weed whacker it came to my attention that, the jeans that I had found in a clean pile of unclaimed laundry in the MVH that I was wearing were a lot too wide for me. I realized that if I didn't get a belt on soon we were gonna have a major problem down here in Honduras. So I went back to the MVH only to find out that I didn't bring a belt. The only way to get one was to go into town. On the other side of the orphanage. So I walked through the orphanage with my hands in my pockets holding them up and into town this way. I was stopped along the way for handshakes and high-fives by many kids. This impeded on my progress. That means it slowed it down. I got into town and a lady stopped and asked me if I wanted to buy fruit. I hated to disappoint her and bought some. I was by now walking down the road wearing two shirts for space filling in my waistline, walking around like a cowboy with a hand where my belt-buckle should be, and a bag of apples. I walked into the first store I saw and bought a belt. The girl who was helping me asked if I wanted to try it on to see if it would fit, which was a smart idea because it didn't. So then I got one that did fit and I bought it. Now, with the immediate threat gone I went down the street some more to buy a hat as I forgot to bring one of those down too. I then went back to the MVH to relax a little. After I ate an apple I went to the clinic and helped bathe the boys while my mom cleaned up. Then it was home to my favorite two tv shows and seven different commercials.

Day 9 at Orphanage Emmanuel
I had to get up early today because today was the day we slaughtered the pigs. That was interesting. The butcher took a sledgehammer to its head to stun it then sliced its throat with a machete to kill it. We only slaughtered two and that took all morning. Packaging the meat anyway took all morning. So for lunch I went home to shower up and headed down to the soccer field because the Emmanuel girls team was playing a public school team from in town. The Emmanuel girls lost by one. The had good food though. Concessions I should say. Then for devotion time that the guys had after the game, John talked about loving your neighbor. Post devotion time I went to the MVH for a little while before I left for Wednesday night church. A team that came and helped with the pig slaughter did the service that night and some girls did a dance. The team did a skit that was awesome. It was fantastic. I loved it. Like, I'm a ninja so I don't cry, but that skit was pretty powerful. After this I went home to watch tv but mostly to recite commercials.

Day 10 at Orphanage Emmanuel
Once again I was up pretty early because we did some more slaughtering of the pigs. I didn't get to stay for all of it though because I was called to the clinic to serve as a translator for a girl with Bronchitis named, Erika. One of the guys I served as Mister Translator Man for was a nurse named, David. He explained to me that anything with the -itis ending is an inflammation of the root body part. so Bronchitis is actually and inflammation of the Bronchi which are part of the respiratory system. I thought that was pretty cool. Appencicitis is an inflammation of the appendix. Gingivitis, and inflammation of the gums. Anyway, after David took off Harrison was supposed to show because he was also a nurse and he was supposed to watch Erika but did not so I got to serve that shift even though I'm technically not supposed to. But I got tired so when the next person came I went MVH to relax for a little bit. After my relaxing time I helped mow the lawn some more and then it was back to the MVH for tv time.
Answer to Previous Riddle: One Cup, you took one away.
Riddle of the Day: A horse is tied up to a five meter rope in front of an old saloon. Six meters behind the horse is a bale of hay, yet the horse can go up to it and eat it whenever he pleases. How?