Getting to School...and Home Again

I meant to write this post earlier in my stay here when the newness of the transportation systems was still shocking and appalling to me, but since it will still be new for most of you reading my blog, I think it’s still relevant!

Growing up as I did in Small Town, USA, there were only three possible ways for kids to get to and from school.  Kids either walked, took the bus, or were dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle.  The same methods are used here in Tegucigalpa.  So, what’s the big deal? 

Well, the kids who walk most definitely do NOT walk alone.  Because it’s so dangerous here, the parents walk their children to/from school.  This can be a lot of walking for their parents who may walk more than a mile each way under the blazing hot sun and along dusty roads! To make it worse, the students (or their parents) have to tote very heavy backpacks full of their textbooks because there is no safe place to leave them at the school. 

Lest you think the kids might ride to school in those big, yellow school buses, think again!  The students at Jubilee School use just one school bus which is probably supposed to be a 15 passenger van, but I’m pretty sure we fit in at least 25 kids!  And, the ride isn't free; this service is akin to a city bus, and the families have to pay for the service. The big, yellow school buses we see here are converted to city buses, some still bearing the name of their alma mater back in the USA.  

Lastly, those kids getting dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle?  Well, they are definitely not seat-belted into the back seat of a car with a child safety seat!  They might be crammed into the back of a car sitting on the lap of an adult, or they may ride in the back of a pick-up truck.  What I find most appalling, however, are the kids who arrive to school on the back of a motorbike, usually without a helmet on.  And, I don’t mean just one kid on the back of a bike holding tightly to his dad. There may be up to three kids with an adult on a bike with the kids barely holding onto anything as

they bump along dirt roads and over speed bumps which are way too plentiful around here.  Oh, and did I mention that they also have to tote their over-loaded backpacks and lunch bags with them on the motorbike?  And, that is not the worst that I've seen.  I have seen entire families precariously seated on a motorbike. Dad at the controls, navigates between the sketchily divided lanes of horn-honking traffic or along the non-existing shoulder while Mom holds the baby, and two other kids hold on as best as they can.  YIKES!  There is a helmet law here, but, of course, that doesn’t mean it is followed, especially by children.  Motorbikes are very plentiful here because they are cheaper than cars or trucks (I have yet to spot a mini-van, by the way), and they can slip in and out of the crazy traffic easily—but not safely!  Thankfully I have yet to see one, but I hear that accidents are plentiful.

One last means of transportation here in Tegus: moto-taxis!

This is somewhat unrelated, but motorbikes are also pivotal for the many, many people involved in violent, gang-related activities because they allow their rider to get away quickly.  Nice thought, right?  Well, it’s a reality.  If you want to know more on that topic, I suggest clicking on the link below and reading the very true-to-life article!  It tells it like it is!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-worlds-deadliest-country-honduras/2/

Spirit of Fear vs. a Culture of Grace

There is nothing like moving to a different country and getting immersed in its culture to make you more aware of your own culture.  If you had to describe the culture of the United States to someone, how would you do it?  Is it even fair to give a broad description in a country as large and as diverse as the United States?  Probably not.  So, instead, I am just going to make a few observations of cultural aspects of living in Tegucigapla, Honduras that strike me as different from my life in West Michigan.  

I think the biggest cultural difference I notice is the presence of the spirit of fear and a general distrust of others that hangs over everyone. Given the crime rates and corruptness of the government, this fear is justified!  Rules I learned very quickly are: 

Out to coffee with my trusted taxi driver and two of his sons.

1. Don’t have your cell phone out when you’re out in public; cell phones are a popular item for thieves.  
2. Don’t EVER go out alone.  
3. Don’t ever take public transportation (not even a taxi) unless you’re with someone else.  
4. Avoid being out after dark if at all possible.  

Since those initial lessons, I have learned through observation that the spirit of fear and lack of trust also direct how people interact with each other.  For example, I know people here who have been waiting for over a year for a hired man to do work at their home, and other people who are working with a paid professional who is not doing a proper job.  In West Michigan, we would have absolutely no tolerance for this.  The hired man would have been dropped 11 months ago, and the professional confronted and probably fired.  We have no tolerance for people not performing their jobs in a timely manner and competently.  Here, however, there is the fear that if they confront someone, there could be vengeance.  I have heard stories of people being shot just because they let their housekeeper go when it was the housekeeper who was stealing money!  Clearly, this makes people think twice before chewing out an employee!  However, as I considered all of this, I thought that perhaps it is not just a spirit of fear, but also a culture of grace.  Life happens more slowly here, and, let’s face it, life is hard.  Extending grace and forgiveness may not get your job done when and how you want, but just maybe it keeps the peace, keeps people in desperate need employed, and strengthens the bonds of community.  My consideration of a culture of grace may be overly optimistic, but I think it’s only fair to give people the benefit of the doubt. 

Day trip with our school secretary and her family.

Despite the spirit of fear and perhaps because of the possibility of a culture of grace, the people I have encountered still exude warmth, friendliness, and hospitality, especially when they are in what’s perceived to be a safe, community environment.  I have been welcomed to the humblest of homes, offered a seat, and given a plate of food.  The homes were filled with laughter and joy, and I left with hugs and invitations to come again soon.  Children here are taught to always acknowledge and greet everyone with a hug and kind word when they enter the room, and this is modeled for them by every adult in their lives.  I have been warmly welcomed and made to feel like part of the community both at the school and the church, and I am thankful for that!  I think people in West Michigan also do a nice job with hospitality, but they may be just a little less willing to invite a foreigner to go on a day trip with their family, invite that foreigner to their family’s home for the weekend, or offer to take her shopping.  The people I have encountered work hard to take care of themselves and their families, but are also always thinking of others and will sacrifice their own needs and desires to serve others. There is this sense of community that seems to stem from mutual hardships and challenges, a common spirit that says, “We are all in this together.  Let’s make the best of it!” 

Lots of hugging goes on at church!

It makes me sad that this underlying beauty—the beauty of warmth, friendliness, and hospitality—is shadowed by the spirit of fear that hangs over everyone.  This fear directs their very lives and dictates how they carry out daily activities.  For the believer in Christ, however, there is hope: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).  Sure we have to make wise choices and not purposely put ourselves in the path of danger, but we can live under the culture of grace, extending the same love and mercy to others that God has bestowed upon us, trusting in Him to protect us as always.  His Word commands us to “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  Amen!