I came into contact with my supervisor after a great deal of networking. The actual interview process took place mainly through email. He asked questions about my background, what I wanted to learn, if I could financially support myself while here. What I liked most about his responses was the fact he was always honest about the work he is doing. After we had been emailing for about three months I drove down to Texas to meet him and his family. It was there they told me more about their vision and how I would fit into what they were doing. We spoke briefly about projects I might have while in Honduras. In March I came to Honduras for a few days to make sure I would be okay living here for such a long time.
The past two weeks have been a little different. It began at the radio station where the corn is. I helped turn over some compost piles, take a soil test for the coffee land, and measure out a menzana which is an area unit of land. Menzana is also the Spanish word or apple, so it gets confusing sometimes. Later I worked with a mission group from Texas who came to put cement on the outside of a mud brick church. Being around Hondurans during a specific task (like remodeling the church) is a big help when it comes to learning Spanish. The same words like cement, ax, shovel, and broom are used repeatedly.
This week I had to deal with more of a professional and cultural resolution of an existing problem. For the first month I was here, my supervisor’s wife was still back in the states. In Oklahoma this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but here it limited me on how much I could do with him. For instance, I couldn’t always go to church if a group of girls did not come along. I couldn’t go out in the villages if the other missionary team wasn’t with us. I couldn’t go work on the aquaponic system at his house because no one else was there. Now his family is back, so it opens more doors for me to do what I came here to do.
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