Premium Essay

Personal Narrative: My Life In Honduras

Submitted By
Words 768
Pages 4
Exhausted, I trudged out of the airport to a blast of humidity. After two flights, a crazy landing, customs, baggage claim, and a hasty, sweaty introduction to Pastor Jorge Pinto, all thirteen members of our mission team were slowing making our way through the crowd to our awaiting van. I took a deep breath as the realization sunk in- after three months of dreaming of this moment, I was finally in Honduras.
Climbing in what barely passed as a vehicle, the 15 seater, covered in dust, navy blue van (which sounded like a dying whale) roared to life, and as our driver stepped on the gas and laid on the horn, we peeled out of the parking lot and onto the streets of the capital city, Tegucigalpa. It was chaotic. The narrow sidewalks crowded, shops lit up, and cars weaved in and out of each other. Cruising through the foreign streets that looked over the thousands of rooftops below I closed my eyes, laid back and began to enjoy the hour long drive into the small town of Talanga. Or so I thought.
I was awakened by the sound of a …show more content…
Nor were any of the following. As the smooth paved highway turned into a bumpy pothole filled dirt road, our drive was almost completed and our journey just beginning. The alley ways of Talanga were filled with stray dogs, the poorest of poor, and reeked of poverty. Our van stirred up dust as we made our way out of Talanga and to Proyecto Manuelito, the orphanage for street kids the mission team would be staying at for the next two weeks. As we rolled to a halt in front of a mural painted gate and sank into the 3 foot deep puddle of rainwater, the gate opened and the van took off once more, only to come to a sliding stop twenty feet later in front of a run down building. The 13 of us fought to get out of the vehicle and tumbled onto the dirt, thankful to be on solid land once

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Hispanic Immigrants

...It is common to classify “Hispanics/Latinos” into a single category; however, these people come from a variety of countries, have their own cultures, and can even speak a variety of languages. It is important to remember that these people are human beings like any other group of people and they have their own unique lives and stories. These stories are rather important as they tell us the harsh reality of immigration through personal narratives, and many Hispanic immigrants like sharing their stories to inform others and give themselves a voice. Personal narratives tell us that Hispanic immigration to the United States needs to be reformed promptly. These narratives tell us that immigration will never end despite the current US government’s...

Words: 1424 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

O Henry

...English Overseas English zwwx@overseaen.com 2011 8 http://www.overseaen.com Tel:+86-551-5690811 5690812 Narrative Patterns Research in O Henry's Novels · , ( , 332000 ) Abstract:O· Henry is living in the time when novelists are in the great pursuit of narrative pattern research. Hence his works is inevitably Henry's novels in my opinion is also marvelous for his outinfluenced. Beside his humorous language, surprising ends and expressions, O· standing narrative patterns arrangement. In this article, a research will be conducted onto his narrative pattern in the aspects of narrative perspectives, narrative space and narrative time. By this research, more information and references is intended to obtain for the further study on this area. Key words: Narrative Pattern; Narrative Perspective; Narrative Space; Narrative Time : I02 :A :1009-5039(2011)08-0350-03 1 Introduction · O Henry (1862-1910), as one of the most famous writers of short story in American literature history, or even around the whole world. Plus his contribution in narrative patterns research, he is also honored as the one of the founders of American short story history. Great praises, as well as critics are raised from the world onto his short novels which are well known for the humor, vivid spots description, surprising endings. However, in this article we will pay attention to the narrative patterns in O· Henry's novels, the area of which seldom calls focus and research from the American literature...

Words: 3019 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

“an Investigation Into the Sacrificial Blood Rituals of the Maya Culture.”

...Extended Essay In World Religions [pic] “An Investigation into the Sacrificial Blood Rituals of the Maya Culture.” Abstract This essay focuses on the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Mayan civilization that spanned from the borders of present day Honduras up to Mexico, but which only a certain amount is truly known. The principal reason why I chose to focus on these people was to challenge myself to try and gain a greater understanding of why they engaged in such strange rituals as bloodletting and even human sacrifice? What prompted them to commit such acts? I proposed that the performance of these actions, as they seemed to be so entwined with their culture, must have had something to do with their religious beliefs but which ones exactly, and how did they originate? It was with this in mind that I conducted an investigation into the sacrificial blood rituals of Maya culture. Thus, from conducting library based research - using books, Encyclopedias and the Internet - I found out that the Mayans had created for themselves a complex Creation Myth and pantheon of gods. It was to supposedly sustain these gods, who were constantly fighting against one another, that the Mayan conducted bloodletting and human sacrifices, believing that in return the gods would provide them the water needed to grow their maize. The gods, replenished by this blood, were able to maintain the harmony of the universe by preventing any one group of...

Words: 8185 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Soft Power

...Relations, foreign policy, and security studies. Primarily developed by Joseph S. Nye, the concept is typically drawn upon to emphasize the more intangible dimensions of power in a field long dominated by overtly material (i.e. military) power. Recently, some scholars have reframed soft power — specifically the key notion of attraction — as a narrative and linguistic process. This literature, however, has downplayed some of the other deep-seated underpinnings of soft power, which this article argues lie in the dynamics of affect. Building upon the International Relations affect and aesthetics literatures, this article develops the concept of soft power as rooted in the political dynamics of emotion and introduces the concept of affective investment. The attraction of soft power stems not only from its cultural influence or narrative construction, but more fundamentally from audiences’ affective investments in the images of identity that it produces. The empirical import of these ideas is offered in an analysis of the construction of American attraction in the war on terror. Keywords Affect, discourse, emotion, narrative, Nye, soft power Introduction In her confirmation hearings in January 2009 before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued that to deal with a multiplicity of pressing global issues, the US ‘must...

Words: 12815 - Pages: 52

Free Essay

Devcomms

...Selected papers from the 9 UN roundtable on communication for development COMMUNICATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT th COMMUNICATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT th Selected papers from the 9 UN roundtable on communication for development Research and Extension Division Natural Resources Management and Environment Department FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2007 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. ISBN 978-92-5-105883-1 All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission...

Words: 66301 - Pages: 266

Premium Essay

Writing for Success

...This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee. Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org 1 Preface Writing is often a challenge. If you were ever challenged to express yourself via the written word, this book is for you. Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. Beginning with the sentence and its essential elements, this book addresses each concept with clear, concise, and effective examples that are immediately reinforced with exercises and opportunities to demonstrate learning. Each chapter allows students to demonstrate mastery of the principles of quality writing. With its incremental approach, this book can address a range of writing levels and abilities, helping each student prepare for the next writing or university course. Constant reinforcement is provided through examples and exercises, and the text involves students in the learning process through reading, problem solving, practicing, listening, and experiencing the writing process. Each chapter also has integrated examples that unify the discussion and form a common, easy-tounderstand basis for discussion and exploration. This will put students at ease and allow for greater...

Words: 171477 - Pages: 686

Premium Essay

Mister

...About the Author Also by Barack Obama Copyright Prologue IT’S BEEN ALMOST ten years since I first ran for political office. I was thirty-five at the time, four years out of law school, recently married, and generally impatient with life. A seat in the Illinois legislature had opened up, and several friends suggested that I run, thinking that my work as a civil rights lawyer, and contacts from my days as a community organizer, would make me a viable candidate. After discussing it with my wife, I entered the race and proceeded to do what every first-time candidate does: I talked to anyone who would listen. I went to block club meetings and church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If two guys were standing on a corner, I would cross the street to hand them campaign literature. And everywhere I went, I’d get some version of the same two questions. “Where’d you get that funny name?” And then: “You seem like a nice enough guy. Why do you want to go into something dirty and nasty like politics?” I was familiar with the question, a variant on the questions asked of me years earlier, when I’d first arrived in Chicago to work in low-income neighborhoods. It signaled a cynicism not simply with politics but with the very notion of a public life, a cynicism that—at least in the South Side neighborhoods I sought to represent—had been nourished by a generation of broken promises. In response, I would usually smile and nod and say that I understood the skepticism, but that there was—and...

Words: 120305 - Pages: 482

Free Essay

Marketing

...WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Western Civilization HMS 301 1 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Main Topics  The Black Death  The Effects of the Black Death  The Rise of Constitutional Monarchy  The Hundred Years’ War  The Decline of the Church  The Renaissance  Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance  Italian Renaissance Humanism  Machiavelli and Power Politics  Leonardo Da Vinci  Global Travel and Trade  The African Cultural Heritage  West African Kingdoms  The Europeans in Africa  Native American Cultures  Maya Civilization  The Empires of the Incas and the Aztecs  The Spanish in the Americas and the Aftermath of Their Conquest  The Impact of Technology  Christian Humanism and the Northern Renaissance  Luther and the Protestant Reformation  The Spread of Protestantism  The Catholic Reformation 2 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS  The French Revolution  Napoleon Bonaparte  The Industrial Revolution  Advancing Industrialism  Colonialism  China and the West  Social and Economic Realities  Nineteenth-Century Social Theory: conservatism, liberalism & socialism  The Radical View of Marx and Engels  Picasso and the Birth of Cubism  Futurism, Fauvism and Non Objective Art  The Birth of Motion Pictures  Freud and the Psyche  Total War and Totalitarianism  The First World War  The Russian Revolution  Nazi Totalitarianism  The Second World War  Identity and Liberation: Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X 3 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS The Black Death ...

Words: 16933 - Pages: 68

Free Essay

End of World

...2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End? 12.22.11 Scenes from the motion picture "2012." Courtesy Columbia Pictures. Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice. Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012. Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012. Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012. Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012? A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter...

Words: 10704 - Pages: 43

Free Essay

One Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.

...E SSAYS ON TWENTIETH-C ENTURY H ISTORY In the series Critical Perspectives on the Past, edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by ...

Words: 163893 - Pages: 656

Premium Essay

A Good E-Book on Various Religions Across the World

...THE HANDY RELIGION AN SWE R BOOK JOHN RENARD Detroit The Handy Religion Answer Book™ C O P Y R I G H T © 2002 BY VI S I B LE I N K PRE SS® This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. Visible Ink Press® 43311 Joy Rd. #414 Canton, MI 48187-2075 Visible Ink Press and The Handy Religion Answer Book are trademarks of Visible Ink Press LLC. Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, at www.visibleink.com or (734) 667-3211. Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski Typesetting: Graphix Group Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Renard, John, 1944The handy religion answer book / John Renard. p. cm. ISBN 1-57859-125-2 (pbk.) 1. Religions--Miscellanea. I. Title. BL80.2 .R46 2001 291--dc21 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved ...

Words: 245202 - Pages: 981

Premium Essay

Development

...Human Development Report 2014 Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience Empowered lives. Resilient nations. The 2014 Human Development Report is the latest in the series of global Human Development Reports published by UNDP since 1990 as independent, empirically grounded analyses of major development issues, trends and policies. Additional resources related to the 2014 Human Development Report can be found online at http://hdr.undp.org, including complete editions or summaries of the Report in more than 20 languages, a collection of papers commissioned for the 2014 Report, interactive maps and databases of national human development indicators, full explanations of the sources and methodologies employed in the Report’s human development indices, country profiles and other background materials as well as previous global, regional and national Human Development Reports. Human Development Report 2014 Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Published for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Reports 1990–2014 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007/2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014 Concept and Measurement of Human Development Financing Human Development Global Dimensions of Human Development People’s Participation New Dimensions of Human Security Gender and Human Development Economic...

Words: 191797 - Pages: 768

Premium Essay

Contemplating Realities and Paradoxes in the Global War on Terror

...Contemplating Realities and Paradoxes in the Global War on Terror John B. Alexander, Ph.D. Introduction The approach of this monograph is to examine paradoxes encountered in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). The intent is to spark debate on disputatious issues. Clearly, many of the existing situations appear intractable given the emotional investment that has been made by the public, and exacerbated by political manipulation of elected officials. Also unavoidable are the fiscal constraints that are becoming increasingly binding. Examined in Section One are problematic premises related to the four fundamental approaches to countering terrorism; increased security, eliminating the terrorists, attacking the support infrastructure, and altering conditions that breed discontent. Despite trite, albeit politically popular, commentary proposing those methods, execution of those concepts is extremely difficult, often controversial, and sometimes counterproductive. Section Two of this monograph addresses several other policy decisions that generate problems that are difficult to resolve, but directly impact the forces involved. Among those topics are; roles of contractors, individual loyalties versus national interests, alliances of convenience, foreign response to our policy on preemption of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the consequences of our stated objective of spreading democracy, the impact of U.S. presence in the Gulf region, and quandary associated with defining...

Words: 28095 - Pages: 113

Free Essay

Collapse

...Collapse- book is about a history topic about how societies choose to fail or survive. The main characters are historical people and unknown kings of Mayan cities or Easter Island villages. Jared Diamond tells the story of the Viking explorer Erik the Red, who discovered Greeland and Vinland (Terranova, in Canada). Another character is captain Olafsson, a norse sailor who wrote the last news about Greenland in 1410. Another main character is Christopher Columbus, who arrived at Hispaniola in 1492, but now this island is two countries, the Dominican Republic and the Haiti. Diamond studied the politics of two presidents. the dominican Rafael Trujillo, who protected the enviroment and the dictator François, Papa Doc, Duvalier, who decided on politics of deforestatation of his country, Haiti. The author considered the bad politics of another main character, king George II, who was interested in sending merinosheeps from Spain to Australia, an idea which was succesful from 1820 to 1950 but then the farmers understood their lands lost fertility. Another main character is Tokuwaga Jeayasu, a shogun of Japan in 1600, who prohibited Christianity in 1600 and protected his country againt deforestation.  The book takes us to a lot of places around the globe: Mayan cities, Rwanda, Viking colonies of Vinland or Greenland, Haiti and Dominican Republic, Easter Island and Polynesian colonies in Pacific, and the Chaco villages in New Mexico (United States). The time period was from 800 AC, when...

Words: 22095 - Pages: 89

Premium Essay

Tech

...Technology Ventures From Idea to Enterprise is p r bite ohi d. se The pre na limi ry p s age are p are rep d fo r s ent tud s of D ho r. T ma Any s. yer sB oth e e r us se The pre na limi ry p s age are p are rep d fo r s ent tud s of D ho r. T ma Any s. yer sB oth e e r us is p r bite ohi d. Technology Ventures From Idea to Enterprise d. Thomas H. Byers Stanford University se The pre na limi ry p s age are p a Richard C. Dorf . Thom f Dr University of California, Davis so t den stu r d fo Andrew J. Nelson are rep University of Oregon Any s. yer sB oth e e r us is p r bite ohi TECHNOLOGY VENTURES: FROM IDEA TO ENTERPRISE, THIRD EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright @ 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2008 and 2005. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the...

Words: 60653 - Pages: 243