What is normal? So I was talking to another teacher today asking her some questions about my students. One thing that I brought up was that one of my students always seems to be sick. The girls name is Delmy and she is probably one of the smartest students in my class but she always complains about being sick. At first I kind of took it as just a way to get attention but as I talked to another teacher I realized it is not that. I guess this girl comes from a very poor home and he parents actually work in the fields of another student in my class. I guess Delmy has been sick to her stomach frequently for at least the last 4 years. She sometimes faints from the pain and other days she has to be sent home. Normally this would be a problem you would get tests on to try and fix the problem. However, in this case the family either doesn’t have the money or just thinks it is normal to get sick a lot and in Honduras advanced health care is only in the big cities. Some of the teachers worry that it could be stomach cancer or bacteria. Either way it is sad. It would be terrible to have an awful pain in your stomach almost every day. Kids get sick here much more often then in the states and it is almost just a part of life for these kids. Education is needed here not just in schools but for parents. All of our waste is just dumped in the rivers. You often see pipes going right from bathrooms to the rivers and then at the same time you might see kids playing in the river as well. You also see people sweep up their garbage into a pile on the street and just set it on fire to get rid of it. Trash pickup is almost nonexistent. Sometimes driving down the highway you see truckloads of trash just dumped down the side of mountains and then just set on fire. The other day I was out playing soccer with a bunch of the community kids and kids from my school and we were literally playing on a horse field complete with lots of poop and mud. It was crazy. I am no longer in America.
Other then that I watched some Monday Night football last night, which was nice and made me feel like I was back home, although Brett Farve looked kinda sad throwing a couple picks. Oh well life goes on. God Bless
2 comments:
I often can't get my mind around what life is like there - sometimes after we talk it seems fairly normal, then when you talk about things like this I realize how truly third world the conditions are that you are living in. So thankful your health has been good so far! You are always in our thoughts - can't wait for Christmas!
I'm glad I can be your friend mentioned in your blog in the KZ! I understand living in a different place and figuring out why things are the way they are. I too have the problem with trash being EVERYWHERE! I see the same things as you except far away. When the pile gets too big they just burn it, and they have beautiful landscape with mountains right next to them. I honestly don't know where my trash goes lol. I play soccer with the local kids too except its not a lot of poop just very dust! Anyway, I'm loving it here and find out in a week where i'll be placed for 2 years! I'm glad you have been healthy too and i'll look for that job ;)
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