Can’t wait to depart for Texas tomorrow! While immigration reform is not a social issue I’ve had much experience with or knowledge about previously, I’m really excited to learn. It should definitely be a different experience than I’ve had the opportunity of having before, which is great–it’s always good to open your mind to a new issue. I’m also really looking forward to being somewhere warmer than 30 degrees, and my team isn’t such bad company either ;).
Texas Tomorrow!
The time has come! Tomorrow I am off to Texas. As I sit here wondering what awaits me on my week long journey, a mixture of anxiety and excitement churns inside of me. This is my first experience with ASB, so I’m not really sure what to expect. That makes me a tad nervous. But when I look at the itinerary, the excitement kicks in. I think that this will be an extremely fun and fascinating adventure! I can really connect with the social issue of immigration reform because when I was a Junior in high school, I tutored a Chinese doctor working at Emory University Hospital. I helped him work on his English grammar and pronunciation of English words. While he learned English, I learned a lot about him and his Chinese culture. Hopefully I will be able to learn just as much from those I meet in Texas! I can’t wait to finally venture to the lone star state!
Flying out tomorrow!
After all our work this semester it’s finally time for Texas, and we’re less than a day from travel. We’ll leave Newark’s frigid temperatures tomorrow and arrive in warm San Juan by evening. I can’t wait to see firsthand everything we’ve been learning about and start working on our project. From our late nights selling coffee to getting lost in Philly on Midnight Run, we’re ready for a new challenge. I’m excited to do something new and learn from some incredible individuals, and it all starts tomorrow.
Costa Rica Days 1 & 2!
After braving the east coast weather, we finally made it to Costa Rica! The trip was long but Donald, our host, was very welcoming and didn’t seem to mind staying up late for our arrival. Day 1 consisted of eating our way through a tour of the farm. We tried kumquats, sweet lemons, star fruit, noni, aloe vera, plantains, pineapples, oranges and bananas-all fresh from the trees! We also saw medicinal herbs, tomatoes, mango trees, cocoa plants, vanilla, cows, horses, pigs, butterflies, and chickens. We learned about the biogas produced from the pig waste that fuels the house, the California red worms that break down manure to make excellent fertilizer, aloe Vera being used as shampoo, crop rotation, the hydraulic water system, soil preservation and terracing. After the tour, the team spent time bonding and reflecting on what we learned about the sustainability of the farm.
Day 2 was the beginning of the fence project. We got up early to eat breakfast before we made our way into the forrest to clear a path, dig holes, and place posts in the ground for the new barbed wire fence. Off to a great start, now it’s time to get back to work!!
ASB Honduras in T- 4 hours
We depart for Honduras tonight, well technically tomorrow morning but since I don’t plan on sleeping before we get on the plane, it’s going to be a longgg night. I am beyond excited for this trip. I don’t know quite what to expect. I’m not very knowledgable about healthcare as a social issue and before this trip, I knew next to nothing about Honduras. Over break I tried to do some research about rural healthcare, especially in developing countries, and the history of Honduras. I am certainly not an expert yet but I feel a tad more prepared then I did last semester! I recently read the book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. It was an amazingly thought-provoking book about the work of Paul Farmer with the organization he helped found, Partners in Health. While the majority of the book was about Haiti, it shed light into the healthcare system in the developing world and the attitude of the world towards this issue. It has given me a lot of food for thought as I prepare for this ASB trip. I hope that I can learn more about this social issue and Honduran culture that I can bring home with me to share!
Vamos a Honduras!
With only a few hours left before I’m en route to Pespire, it’s only now starting to sink in that our adventure to Honduras is finally here. This trip is definitely going to be an experience unlike any other I’ve previously encountered, but I think that’s why I’m so excited for it. I can’t wait to fully immerse myself in the Honduran culture, from eating Honduran food to experiencing traditional Honduran values and customs (although my Spanish is going to need quite a bit of dusting off).
The social issue of rural healthcare we’re headed to Pespire to investigate is something I’m excited to learn more about, as the standard of healthcare is a topic I’m very passionate about. As a girl who’s been raised in an urban suburb of New York City, I’ve only been exposed to the quality of healthcare in the big city, so the standard of healthcare in a rural area, nonetheless in an underprivileged nation, is going to be quite interesting to experience.
I can’t wait to embark on this once-in-a-lifetime experience with a great team! Adios America!
Honduras in less than 24 hours!
Hello everybody!
Here is Amanda Furtado Sampaio, member of the ASB Honduras 2013 team!
We are leaving the US in less than 24 hours to go to Honduras volunteer together with CARE on healthcare. Honduras is located in Central America, To the west it borders with Guatemala and El Salvador and to the East Southeast with Nicaragua. The Caribbean Sea lies to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is one of the most mountainous countries of Central America, although it does not have any volcanoes. It has also a lot of preserved vegetation and an extended natural beauty, which would attract many tourists if it was not for the very poor and violent situation that Honduras is going through right now.
Honduras has the highest rate of intentional homicide in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, probably a relfection of the weak government and law enforcement, especially after the constitutional crisis that happened in 2009. Hondurans have also been suffering with the lack of infrastructures, particularly after the severe floods in 2008.
On our trip we expect to be able to help as much as we can, serving the others, in cooperation with CARE. This will definitely be great experience of enriching the exchange of learning and cultures. Particularly for me, I’m expecting to learn more about the culture of a country that is similar to mine (Brazil) in so many ways, but completely opposite in certain aspects. This will definitely be a very fruitful and enriching experience!
Ready to go
I just looked over my list for a second time to make sure that I had everything. Check. I am ready to embark on this adventure. I have all of the physical items packed away and ready to travel. The next step is to mentally prepare. It still has not sunk in that in less than 12 hours I will be in the air on route to Honduras.
I am excited to experience everything this trip has to offer and learn more about Honduras. I can not fathom a better way to end this winter break and start off a great 2013!
-Claire
Here we come!
So excited for Honduras. All packed as of this morning. I am looking forward to my first ASB Trip.
Looking Forward
The journey to Honduras has started a little early for Rich and me. Rich was kind enough to drive up to Maine to visit and give me a ride down to Newark (this is the first time since freshman year that I haven’t had to take a bus or a plane – thanks, bub!) Now that we’re in New Jersey, I can safely say that after driving through that snowstorm, the 80 degree weather of Pespire is sounding better and better with each passing second.
Now about the week ahead. I have never been one to get all excited before big trips or events. For whatever reason, I stay pretty mellow up until the trip begins. This might sound boring, but it allows me to put all that excited energy into the trip, so I can’t really complain.
I can say that I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to shake off all the rust that’s built up in regard to my Spanish skills. It’s been almost three years since I last took a class and I look forward to getting in a little practice and learning some new phrases. Along with the opportunity to work on my Spanish, I really look forward to the opportunity to work in the medical clinic. Though I will never be a doctor, I do plan on entering the medical field as a medic, especially outside the US. The opportunity to work at a local Honduran clinic is the perfect start to what I hope is a career in medicine.
Beyond that, as an Anthro-Soc/Photo major, this seems like the perfect opportunity to get out there and experience a different culture. I plan on taking many photographs. In all honesty, I couldn’t be any happier that I got accepted to one of the ASB service trips, let alone that I got into this group of amazing people. I feel incredibly lucky.