Alumni Blog

Each greeting me with an “adios” or a “buenas.”

Vanessa shares about her change in feeling for her tiny community of Sabanagrande.

My first two weeks in Sabanagrande, Honduras were utterly miserable. Not only did I not speak the language, but the smallness and slowness of my new life was suffocating. However, as I started to pick up the language and meet some friends my perception of SBG slowly altered. I had my first realization of this changed perspective while I was sitting outside the “cafe” waiting for a computer. At separate times, different kids and adults walked by, each greeting me with an “adios” or a “buenas.” At this moment something snapped in my mind, and I thought, “Wow I really do like this place!” What I once considered a tiny, tiny, tiny, town, was now homey and comfortable. I now perceived the slow pace as normal and relaxing. My free time, which I once dreaded due to the lack of activities available, I now welcomed and was full of idle walks, sitting in the park and time spent with my Honduran friends. SBG became my home in Honduras, a home that I love and a home that I intend on returning to. (Vanessa, Kings/Honduras/2009)