For those who have already been to Honduras in the past they will warn you that rural life is very rudimentary and certainly nothing close to living in a housing tract in the suburbs of the US Middle Class. The water has parasites in it and it is sometimes polluted so you will need to drink your own bottled water. They do not have air-conditioning and generally there are virtually no sewer systems anywhere in rural Honduras, although that will be changing as more are built in the future based on the previous successes of a couple of projects.
Dr. Nathalie Fiset explained a little bit about the wild-life and insects to help us get a better idea of what someone might expect to see as she told us some great stories. Reminding us that in rural Honduras humans live right up against nature and side by side with it;
"We do encounter some form of wildlife: there was a big toad on the wall in church. Dr Braden had to “squish” a scorpion in his shower. There are smaller toads in our bathroom. One night, the other girls started screaming and I went to help them. On the wall, there was the cutest little green frog with very long legs and fingers like suction cups. I took a broom but when I touched it, it jump ten feet away on the other wall. Cool!"
Nature never lets you forget where you are and it takes a little getting use to at first but after a while it is kind of fun wondering what you will see next? Memories worth a lifetime many admit afterwards.
"Whenever I can, I set up my net over my bed as I am not comfortable knowing there is a lot of “circulation”. Michelle one of our excellent helpers did not bother and woke up suddenly in the middle of the night saying “THAT was a bug!” on her face. The grasshoppers are the size of a deck of cards sometimes."
One thing is for sure and a real positive point is that when you get back to civilization after a volunteer mission you will realize how lucky you are and a warm bath feels like heaven! Of course most of the showers are cold and one volunteer notes;
"Were we live there is only cold water and one of the girls always cried loudly before getting in the shower - It was kind of funny, women sleep in one dormitory and men sleep in the other."
The people in the village live with the chickens, pigs and mules running around in and out of the houses and at first that takes a little getting use to. You definitely know you are in another country and that life is much different as you look around. Sometimes you can hear monkeys making noises in the trees and it echoes sometimes while traveling through the canyons.