...

This is a journal entry from one day in Honduras.
01-16-10
Yesterday we arrive to Agalteca. It's a small community (< 2000 people). The roads are not paved and it has small houses. The community received us in a house with a big front yard were tables had been setup for us. We had a "plato tipico" (tortilla, beans, and plantains). The president of the water board (Modesto) and Antonio from APP spoke to us and some other people from the community who where there. Later that afternoon everyone paired up and went to meet with their host family. I was paired up with Steve. We had a great family. There was Doña Celia (the mother), Don Hugo (the father) and Huguito (the son). We ate dinner with them, plato tipico, and talked with them for some while. It was nice to know a little bit about their lives and share with them.
Today we played a soccer game and the health fair started. Doctors came from the capital, Tegucigalpa, to give medical attention to the community. There is only one doctor in the town which is an intern, so people must really appreciated the health fair.
After the game, I needed to do laundry really bad. In my host family house there was "pila" in the backyard so I decided to do my laundry there. I started not really knowing how to use the "pila". When my host mother saw what I was trying to do, she taught me how to do it correctly. It's amazing how generous the people from Agalteca are with us.

Akta Patel's Honduras Journal

The trip was such a wonderful experience and Honduras is a beautiful country with endless mountains that became a theme of the trip (especially with all of our "10-min" hikes!). We met some amazing and kind people. It's surprising how much you can connect to someone despite so many cultural and language barriers.

One of my most memorable moments from the trip was the homestay in Agalteca. Soon after we arrived in Agalteca, we went to the soccer field where a game was going on and countless kids were playing. I sat with a few people and played with the kids. They were amazing friendly and patient with our limited knowledge of Spanish. Later that night, we played Go Fish with the kids in our family. I am always amazed at the carefree happiness of children. I started think about 4540 and how Monroe talked about how many people die every year because of poor drinking water. The homestay made the project so much more personal by getting to know the people who will be benefitting from our work at Cornell.

On our last day in Agalteca, a young boy from Jeff's family came to help us work on the plant. He diligently worked with Kayti to cut the plastic for the plate settlers. Later, I noticed him crouching on the ground looking at an insect. I went over to him and he showed me the tiniest little green bug. He then proceeded to comb through the yard looking for other creatures and we spent a good deal of time trying to catch a butterfly. I was amazed at his curiosity and interest in the world around him. It also made me sad to think that he may never have a chance to get a good education. We talked about education during some of our reflections and I really feel that it will be important for Honduras to have a better education system where everyone has at least an opportunity to change their lives. It will be especially important for AguaClara to educate the communities about the importance of clean drinking water so they feel a connection with their plants. I'm excited for the Agalteca plant to be finished and to play what little role I can with that. I can't wait to see the path AguaClara takes in the future. One of the things I like best about groups like AguaClara is the reminder that there are people out there who truly care about helping others.