so as some of you may know... but many don't... i'm going to be leaving toronto and canada on june first to go on a pretty big adventure. my final destination is La Cieba, Honduras, where i'll be volunteering for up to 5 months. i'll be taking about 6 weeks to travel there from guadalajara, mexico. so total time away will be about 7 months.
i guess i should fill in some details for you... ok... so the questions i keep getting asked and my answers are as follows:
1. what will you be doing in honduras?
good question.. ha... ultimately i don't know what to expect, but i do know that i'll be volunteering for an organization called helping honduras kids. you can check out the website at http://www.helpinghonduraskids.org/
what has been discussed is that i will go there and create an arts/performance/music/movement program for kids in three different locations (within about a half hour of eachother). it is likely that i will initially go there and assist teachers and full time volunteers with their tasks, get a feel for the kids and the environment, then see how i can incorporate my skills to create an 'after-school' type of program. if you go to the website you'll see info on the 'hogar de amor' the 'jungle school' and the 'campesinos' - those will be the groups i expect to be working with.
2. why honduras? how did you get hooked up with this specific organization?
about 2 months ago, my friend maggie sent out some pics and info about the orphanage (the hogar) in La Cieba. her and her husband had recently gone down there and visited/volunteered for a few days with the kids. i was initially just int
erested in sponsoring a child there (that's him - Santos - in the pic), as it's something i'd been wanting to do for a couple years, but had never gotten around to it. i also thought it would be a great thing for me to do as i've always wanted to travel through central america - and figured i could visit the orphanage at some point in the next year or so during my travels (which i expected to be next feb). i've also been learning spanish - so it all seemed to tie in to an eventual plan.
3. so what made you decide to go now? isn't this kind of out of nowhere?
well - i'd thought of doing a mexico/central america trip next year for a couple of months - do the surfing thing, the learning spanish thing and the backpacking thing - and then charlene (sister) got engaged - planning the wedding for next early summer-ish. since i'm her maid of honour, i figured it probably wouldn't be such an amazing idea to skip town right before she gets married. then i was thinking of just going down to mexico in june for about a week b/c i was in desperate need to get out of the city for a bit. i can't really explain it... but within a day, my 'vacation' plans went from one week to one month to three months, with a 4 week stay in honduras to volunteer. a couple of days later my 4 week volunteering plan turned into a 5 month volunteering plan.
i figured if i was going to create some sort of creative program for kids down there, i was going to need more than 4 weeks to do it. i took some time to think this over and really felt it was what i am supposed to do right now. and in the grand scheme of things, when i'm 80 - i'm not going to regret leaving toronto and my work here for a half a year. what i will regret is not following my gut and going on a potentially life-changing adventure.
4. aren't you nervous? going there all by yourself?
i'm terrified.
5. how will you make money/how can you afford this?
i can't really. and volunteers down there pay their own way, food, accommodation etc. i'm selling as much as i can before i leave, i'll be having a fundraiser in may (cabaret!cabaret!), i'm going to apply for sponsorship through my parents church (my childhood church) and am basically working as much as i can, paying off my credit card and expecting to be in some debt once i return. my parents are generously giving me my flights as a birthday gift, and the rest of it i'm leaving up to fate/the universe/god/however you want to put it. i've also had some family/friends who want to toss a bit of funds my way once i get to honduras.
in the end, even if i come back home with a maxed out credit card, i still have so much more than the kids that i'll be going to work with... this is my rationalization. and i have faith in synchronicity... what can i say... i'm a crazy artist/hippie/actor type... sort of...
6. what's going to happen to your cat?(bono)
good question. anyone want to cat sit? last resort is sending him home with my parents - but this isn't ideal as they may be selling their house and moving into a condo. we'll see. but if you want to take him for a few months (and give him back after - no cat stealer's please!!) let me know.
7. what will you be doing/where will you be going before you get to honduras?
travel plans from guadalajara to ixtapa to puerto escondido to chiapas to guatemala to la cieba. learning spanish, surfing, hosteling, etc. i'll be writing a travel blog http://www.destinationhonduras.blogspot.com/ that you can check out for frequent updates - add it to your favorites :)
okay.
i think that's pretty much it for major questions... other than health and safety questions - to which i can only say i've prepared myself, and yes i know there are potential dangers - i will take all the necessary precautions...
i guess i should fill in some details for you... ok... so the questions i keep getting asked and my answers are as follows:
1. what will you be doing in honduras?
good question.. ha... ultimately i don't know what to expect, but i do know that i'll be volunteering for an organization called helping honduras kids. you can check out the website at http://www.helpinghonduraskids.org/
what has been discussed is that i will go there and create an arts/performance/music/movement program for kids in three different locations (within about a half hour of eachother). it is likely that i will initially go there and assist teachers and full time volunteers with their tasks, get a feel for the kids and the environment, then see how i can incorporate my skills to create an 'after-school' type of program. if you go to the website you'll see info on the 'hogar de amor' the 'jungle school' and the 'campesinos' - those will be the groups i expect to be working with.
2. why honduras? how did you get hooked up with this specific organization?
about 2 months ago, my friend maggie sent out some pics and info about the orphanage (the hogar) in La Cieba. her and her husband had recently gone down there and visited/volunteered for a few days with the kids. i was initially just int
erested in sponsoring a child there (that's him - Santos - in the pic), as it's something i'd been wanting to do for a couple years, but had never gotten around to it. i also thought it would be a great thing for me to do as i've always wanted to travel through central america - and figured i could visit the orphanage at some point in the next year or so during my travels (which i expected to be next feb). i've also been learning spanish - so it all seemed to tie in to an eventual plan.3. so what made you decide to go now? isn't this kind of out of nowhere?
well - i'd thought of doing a mexico/central america trip next year for a couple of months - do the surfing thing, the learning spanish thing and the backpacking thing - and then charlene (sister) got engaged - planning the wedding for next early summer-ish. since i'm her maid of honour, i figured it probably wouldn't be such an amazing idea to skip town right before she gets married. then i was thinking of just going down to mexico in june for about a week b/c i was in desperate need to get out of the city for a bit. i can't really explain it... but within a day, my 'vacation' plans went from one week to one month to three months, with a 4 week stay in honduras to volunteer. a couple of days later my 4 week volunteering plan turned into a 5 month volunteering plan.
i figured if i was going to create some sort of creative program for kids down there, i was going to need more than 4 weeks to do it. i took some time to think this over and really felt it was what i am supposed to do right now. and in the grand scheme of things, when i'm 80 - i'm not going to regret leaving toronto and my work here for a half a year. what i will regret is not following my gut and going on a potentially life-changing adventure.
4. aren't you nervous? going there all by yourself?
i'm terrified.
5. how will you make money/how can you afford this?
i can't really. and volunteers down there pay their own way, food, accommodation etc. i'm selling as much as i can before i leave, i'll be having a fundraiser in may (cabaret!cabaret!), i'm going to apply for sponsorship through my parents church (my childhood church) and am basically working as much as i can, paying off my credit card and expecting to be in some debt once i return. my parents are generously giving me my flights as a birthday gift, and the rest of it i'm leaving up to fate/the universe/god/however you want to put it. i've also had some family/friends who want to toss a bit of funds my way once i get to honduras.
in the end, even if i come back home with a maxed out credit card, i still have so much more than the kids that i'll be going to work with... this is my rationalization. and i have faith in synchronicity... what can i say... i'm a crazy artist/hippie/actor type... sort of...
6. what's going to happen to your cat?(bono)
good question. anyone want to cat sit? last resort is sending him home with my parents - but this isn't ideal as they may be selling their house and moving into a condo. we'll see. but if you want to take him for a few months (and give him back after - no cat stealer's please!!) let me know.
7. what will you be doing/where will you be going before you get to honduras?
travel plans from guadalajara to ixtapa to puerto escondido to chiapas to guatemala to la cieba. learning spanish, surfing, hosteling, etc. i'll be writing a travel blog http://www.destinationhonduras.blogspot.com/ that you can check out for frequent updates - add it to your favorites :)
okay.
i think that's pretty much it for major questions... other than health and safety questions - to which i can only say i've prepared myself, and yes i know there are potential dangers - i will take all the necessary precautions...
