Thoughts

It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I would say a few words. All is well in my site...and it's officially like 2 weeks before I'm home! I'm pretty excited. Also, I'm still enjoying my chocolates that I got from home for Valentine's Day and I did end up sharing them. It's crazy how I'm a much more thoughtful and sharing person having experienced Honduras.

Furthermore, I'm trying to get stricter about my diet (less fried foods, coffee, more water, etc.) and exercising. I just picked up a book about Piltes from the Peace Corps Office. So, we shall continue praying about that.

Also, I wanted to make a small note about an issue here in Honduras that is SO common and so prevalent pretty much everywhere you go and that is IMMIGRATION. It might NOT suprise you the number of times someone has asked me to help them to get to the states or if I can take them back with me as if they're some cargo that I can easily add to my luggage. Well, I nicely decline and tell them that the process is a bit more complicated and you need paperwork, etc. But, it's just amazing to me that so many people want to go to the states. And, also, it's amazing how many people here (mainly men) just came from the states...possibly were forced back. I personally have a couple of stories about immigration. My host mom during trainig told me that she decided one day that she was going to go to the states because they didn't have a house and times were really hard. She told me of her journey in buses through Mexico and then through the Arizona desert and then to her destination. She told me how it was a very difficult time through the desert for weeks and her feet were blistered and she found shad under trees to sleep. It sounded so sad, especially coming from someone that I knew...it wasn't just a story I had heard on the news or someone, it was from my host mom.

Also, I have a 9 year old girl in my host family's house who's parents are both in the states and have been for 5 years!! It's so sad watching her try to cling to her uncle as a daughter clings to her father...she even calls him father sometimes. But, the states was a more appealing option to her parents and so they left her alone with family members. But, her life is incomplete and every day I know she encounters moments where she misses her parents and realizes that she's a little alone.

With all of this pain that immigration causes, it makes me think that it's not worth it...BUT, how can it be stopped? Yes, you can enforce laws to stop the flow of human bodies into the states, but the underlying cause is necessity of jobs in these countries, resources, education, and hope. It's difficult. Sometimes, I believe that Honduras can be a better place if people would stay in the country and work for the good in the country instead of just leaving, bringing money back, and making there life better financially (but worsening family life). But, is there one solution? How long will it take to see improvement? Will it be lasting change?

It's a very complicated issue and I would like to know what you guys think...

Hope to hear from you soon!
Victoria