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From the Honduras Delegates!

Honduras 2009 Workshop Vlog

PASSION

Hola hola hola!! Como estan todos? Disfrutando los Vblogs???

Hi hi hi! How is everyone? enjoying the Vblogs??

First of all i want to say that i am going to take a new step into something i usually don't do though the internet like this....... as this is a blog, i usually am not comfortable with expressing my feelings... but i am taking the effort to do it because i want to share my experiences and inform you all how a small thing can make an impact..... anyways.... here i go.. bare with me as i may go off the point or may make a lot of  grammar errors... but i am just allowing my thoughts wander off as i type through here........  

I am not sure what exactly i am feeling at this moment, but i can tell you this... i found my PASSION. At least i think i did. Going to Jamaica last year and coming to Honduras this week proved to me that i enjoy traveling and most of  all making a connection with Deaf individuals. Passion for different things.. passion for traveling, passion for empowerment, passion for knowledge, passion for connection, passion for spirit, passion for growth, passion for the breath of air in new cultures/environments/atmospheres, passion for many many many things i can not describe in million words.... if i only had a perfect picture to describe my passion to show you, i would... besides wanting to be a school counselor as i am studying right now to get my  MA in this field, i see myself becoming part of an organization like GRO- or  i see myself establishing an organization of my own. I hope to achieve that someday. When i set my mind to something, i will do anything to accomplish it.... that is another PASSION. You may perceive it as a dream.. but i can tell you this: "I DREAM BIG!! I DREAM WITH PASSION and I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE!" I know sometimes dreams become an obstacle to achieve, but if there is one thing i learned through experience, dreams can be accomplished with dedication and hard work. Dreams only come true if they are REALISTIC!

It is only the 3rd day here in Honduras and wow the experience thus far is.... INCREIBLE! INCREDIBLE! (note: i may write some words in spanish-it helps me express myself more....for those who don't know i am a trilingual deaf individual).... Bueno regresando al punto-going back to the point... Like i said "PASSION" is what i am feeling right now..... today i was inspired by the deaf community, especially the deaf children.. seeing their glowing smiling faces, their enthusiasm, their eagerness, their small inner spirits; seeing how a child interacts, expresses themselves to  a person like me who loves working with children makes me realize my purpose for being here.. in general the purpose of why i am focusing in the field of working with children.  Como udstedes saben,  los ninos son nuestro futuro, es nuestro trabajo en educarlos y esponer sus esponjitas como los de nosotros a todo lo que un nino debe de saber para cumplir en la vida-As you may know, Children are our future, it is our job to educate them and to expose their spongy brains like ours to everything a child needs to know to succeed in life... success is not everything in life.. but the CHARACTER is... Character is what makes us succeed in life, with good character we can accomplish anything.  Seeing the children today... i saw great character-even though it was only the first day i met these deaf children-i make a connection with them and through that instant connection i can see how their character is at the first impression.. i am not saying that these deaf children i met today are "PERFECT" or that they are "ANGELS" no one is.... well maybe some of us-:-P...  but seeing and making a connection with those deaf children i saw "CAPABILITY."  Capability of for accomplishing anything and making life the best of it as Deaf individuals like me and you work for.   Interacting and making connections with those children reminds me of what my passion is- working with children, guiding them, educating them, empowering them and so so much more!!

Really- PASSION is all i have in my mind right now....... my mind is wandering and fading.... i am tired... i have so much more to share but don't know how to express it...my fingers are not connecting with my brain.. i freeze with the keyboard.... VOY A PARAR AQUI. I WILL STOP HERE.

-JD-

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The GRO Delagates.:-)

Amazing Race- RAP Version

Want to know more details about Amazing Race, look at Lindsay's Vlog. Want to know more about our experience at the Deaf Church, please read Janette's Blog. Thanks! 

Wow... what a racing amazing day it was today!! Only our 2nd day here in Tegucigalpa and we got to see more than what a regular tourist would take to see in a week. Today was a productive day, it started at 8:30am with breakfast and off we took of to the Deaf Church. Once arriving to the Church also known as "Manos Felices" which stands for "Happy Hands"-the place is composed of a church and a school for the Deaf Honduran people. Arriving to Happy  Hands, we were given the opportunity to meet  a great number of Deaf people, varying from mothers to fathers to children and young adolescents. Everyone was eager to know who we were and what was our purpose of our presence. Introducing ourselves with the basics of Honduran Sign Language that we learned on the first day, it was definitely a communication benefit.  One of the things I noticed between the interaction of communication between the American Delegates and the Honduran people is majority of the information interchanged was through gestures, even though knowing ASL i noticed that their language was mainly composed of ASL. One of the Honduran people explained that Deaf Honduran people who were given the opportunity to an education in the U.S. Majority of them brought ASL back to Honduras and because of that, many Deaf Hondurans picked ASL as their mode of communicating. However, because Honduras is a developing country with a number of limited resources for the Deaf, the Deaf Honduran people at Manos Felices are trying to break the use of ASL and creating their own Honduran Sign Language. Feeling the need to establish their own language identity and respect for their culture, i was informed that their still developing new signs themselves. 

Among learning the language use and interacting with the people there, we also stayed and learned the dynamics of the Deaf Church. All i can say that it was quite an interesting experience, it went better than i thought. When i say this, it means that majority of what i perceived during the service, i understood it. The service itself was clearly visible, in normal churches we would see pastors talking and giving a "lecture or sermon" about their religion. However, in this service, it was quite the contrary, it was VISUAL. It was accessible not only for the Deaf Honduran Community but also for us the American Delegates.  Members of the church, provided us with a play of their sermon, they all dressed up in their costumes and acted upon their sermon. It got my attention and often i and the other delegates would look at each other to make sure we were understanding the play. I also observed the reaction of the audience in the service, majority of them were attentive and seemed to be enjoying the play.

After the service was done, we were introduced to the people. One of the leaders who is assisting us with our stay here in Honduras, gave a short description of what GRO and our purpose of being there.  

by Janette Duran