hn48.

where do i start? there's so much to say since i last wrote, but to be honest, most of it is pretty boring so i'll summarize what i can, and then drone on about something that some of you may find interesting. and if not, well fuck it, at least i tried.

work is good. i've been busier this month than ever before. i usually have 1 training session (for farmers doing organic model gardens for my food security project), 1 meeting, and 50-100 phone calls to make ever week. i think 80 in one day is my record currently, but as my CCC grows (that little organization that i organized for community-wide development projects) i have to call more and more people for meeting reminders and things.

the solar panel project is getting into it's final stages, with all participants in agreement, the mayor's approval signed and taken to the bank (that's almost 90 thou, baby!), we're ready to install by december. 43 systems in total is the final number. 6 public buildings (3 schools and 3 community centers) and 37 houses. not bad right?

gardens are good too. so far over 180 families have applied for the project, and still i get daily phone calls and house visits, looking to sign up.

there's more brewing, but i'm gonna let it go. i don't want to bore you guys just yet.

anyway, the whole point of this thing today is that i want to share a little cultural idiosyncrasy that i have recently discovered. to be honest, it has been a running theme in my peace corps career that just recently showed its ugly head, and made me realize something absolutely fundamental about the peace corps experience. it's all about trust. confianza.

when we started training, we heard that word a lot. but many of us, including myself, brushed it off. "it can't be that hard to get people to trust you enough to play with their lives," we all thought, "i mean, we're here to do good things, right?"

and when i got to site and found myself welcome in everyone's house, smiled at by every passing individual, and apparently loved by the people of my community, the concept of personal trust drifted further and further away from my mind. but over the months that i have lived in Honduras, in my community, I have come to see how important confianza really is. And how to get anything accomplished on a community level you need to earn your stripes.

1 example. meetings. when i started in capucas and called my first meeting of the 42 current organic producers of the cooperative, only 7 people showed up. Now, when i call a meeting of 10 people, i get 10, or if i call 30, i at least get 25. sometimes people bring friends and i even get more than i awaited. and it's not like i'm giving out free cookies or something at these shindigs. apparently these people care about what i have to say. :P

2 example. politicians are notorious in this country for absolute corruption and failing their constituency. look at the roads. or education system. or energy system. or...well you get the picture. and the people know this. but they still vote, argue about issues, and the politicians keep making promises. what's interesting tho, is that most people have a very conscious distrust for any statement made by politicians. and sadly, this mistrust is then transferred to other public figures, government employees, NGO workers, everyone. because when someone shows up at your doorstep promoting something, you always ask, "what's the catch?"

3 example. and this is the recent one. so, for the solar panel thing, the price per system went up. had to do with the bidding for the installation, but i won't go into details. the important detail is, it went up, 25 dollars per system. to you that may seem insignificant, but when your yearly monetary income can drop below a hundred dollars (thats 28 cents a day), its quite a chunk of change. and to no surprise some people were pretty upset. angry to be honest. a few even accused me of taking that money for myself, and using it for personal benefit. how do you jump to that conclusion? i mean, look at me! i'm harmless. and i had just spent 7 months working on this project, coming up there, talking to everyone, really, is that necessary? and at first that was my reaction. and then i realized, it's not their fault, it's cultural. so i went up there, had a meeting with everyone, and answered all their questions. and you know what? not a single complaint.

it's all about trust. and showing all your cards. complete transparency. and that throws people off, because they have different expectations. they think that no matter what you say, there's something you're hiding. but if you're honest, and give everything you've got, and show that you are willing to sacrfice yourself for their benefit, the whole mentality changes. attitudes flip, frowns turn into smiles (yeah i used that cliche, so eat me), and the whole situation appears to morph in front of your eyes.

this doesn't mean that everyone in town is willing to give me their first born or anything. people aren't trusting me with their finances. but at least for the basics, people care. and when i speak in public, they seem to listen at least 40-60%. and that's heavy. pretty awesome.

yeah i think that's it. i wrote this in two sittings, so some of my energy changed as i wrote. regardless, you're gonna have to live with it.