May the Best Win

Honduran politics never cease to baffle me. I’m not much into politics, never was, but in Honduras there’s no escape from it. The elections tomorrow hold the whole country in its grip and the tension is rising.

I admit that when I lived in my home country Holland I voted only a few times, because of my lack of interest and confidence in politicians in general. Only when a super right wing party could possibly become a threat would I vote, no so much for any party, but against that particular one. I can’t recall any heated discussions about politics with friends; much less would I jump in the back up of a pick-up truck to wave a political flag or chant, as if that would ever happen in Holland. I don’t know the political preference of many of my friends in Holland and it simply doesn’t matter. Your vote is private business and doesn’t define who you are or what job you have. Even the way we speak about politics is different. Instead of saying: “I’m a liberal” or “I’m a nationalist”, we say: “I’m going to vote for such party”. That’s of course because in Holland there’re many more parties than just the two that have traditionally governed Honduras, but also because a lot of people swing from one party to another each election, depending more on the representatives and political issues of the moment than loyalty to a certain party. Of course there’re political diehards with bumper stickers who’ll vote for one party their whole live, but nothing compared to how things are in Honduras.

For the longest time, upcoming elections meant little less than civil war. Friends tell me that in the early days it was custom to paint light posts and bridges in town either red or blue. The ones who got up early would have first choice, until the whole town had been converted into a red and blue circus. There’s still a bridge in the centre of town called El Puente Azul, although even the faintest traces of blue paint have long since faded. Those were the times when landowners obliged their patrons whom to vote for and even the church would meddle into politics, the priest being an ardent liberal. Discussions about politics often ended in physical fights or wild chases on horses, the nationalists pursuing the liberals or vice versa.

Those days are long gone, but politics still deeply divide a small town as Copán Ruinas. However, things are changing…

One of the biggest differences I see is that people for the first time are not automatically going to vote for the party they’ve always voted for. I remember interviewing people in 2005 for an article about the elections and people would without hesitance tell me who they’d vote for. Actually, most didn’t, they’d just say: “I’m a liberal” or “I’m a nationalist”. If I asked them why they would vote for certain candidate, they just gave me a puzzled look. They’d vote liberal because they are liberal. And they’re liberal because their parents are. And their parents’ parents… Duh! 

I remember going to the offices of both the liberals and nationalists to ask for their party’s policies and vision, but couldn’t get any real information. When I asked why people should vote for their candidate, the answer was: because he’s the best. I got that same answer in both offices, of course. 

But today things are a bit different… People are thinking, watching debates on TV, reading newspapers, weighing different options, discussing, posting on Facebook… I’ve heard some surprising opinions from people I thought were eternally red or blue, others who haven’t made up their mind yet, even with elections only a day away. One of the reasons for this new development is that there are two new parties (Libre and PAC) that have stirred up the traditional balance between red and blue quite a bit. But it’s not only that. There seems to be a new sort of political consciousness, a pride of being able to participate in a democratic process that people are not taking for granted. Let’s hope that that consciousness benefits the democratic process indeed.

On the other hand, while asking around for political opinions, preferences are eerily personal, especially on a local level. More than once I heard: I’m going to vote for such and so for mayor, because the other one has never ever done anything for me. It’s logical that politics in such a small town are a personal affair, but there’s a danger in it too. People tend to think about their own benefit only, not what a certain candidate has done for the community as a whole and what the effect is in the long run. But as a campaign tool, those small personal favors are definitely working.

Well, let’s see what happens tomorrow. At least with two new parties thrown in the game, politics have become a lot more interesting!

Five Stomach-based Reasons Why Copán Ruinas Totally Rocks

1. Coffee!

Central America is worldwide renowned for its coffee production, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can get a decent cup for breakfast. The Honduran style of drinking coffee, at least in the mountain villages around Copán, is to boil a pot full of water and adding a little coffee and tons of sugar that is then strained to a cheesecloth filter. It’s sweet and weak and doesn’t do a thing to get me going in the morning. Guatemala is even worse: coffee = Nescafé. Only in places frequented by tourists can you get a real espresso, cappuccino or just a regular that actually tastes like coffee. And luckily enough there are plenty of these places in Copán! You can get delicious locally grown and freshly ground coffee at La Casa de Todo, Café San Rafael, Café Ixchel, Macaw Mountain and Café Welchez. Don’t forget to bring a few pounds of coffee home with you!

2. Cheese!

My life took a humungous turn for the better when Carlos René Guerra started making cheese a couple of years ago at Café San Rafael. Not even in Antigua Guatemala will you find such an incredible and delicious variety of cheeses, from spiced cream cheese to mozzarella, edam, brie, camembert, pepper jack and a whole bunch of other cheeses that Carlos invented himself. All cheeses are made of milk coming from the family farm. You should not visit Copán without dropping by at Café San Rafael. If you’re not into cheese, then at least try their coffee (also from their own family run farm) or any item on the menu of their lovely open-door café. Oh, did I mention the yoghurt? The fresh milk? Their homemade chili sauce? Total delight!

3. Bread!

The time that you could only get Bimbo bread in Copán is long gone and that’s a good thing. Bimbo bread -what else could you expect with such a name- is soggy, tasteless and gross. It actually does live up to one half of its publicity slogan (Siempre rico, siempre fresco –Always delicious, always fresh) because it never gets hard or green or moldy. Thanks to huge amount of ingredients that have nothing to do with bread.

But you can now forget about Bimbo and go to La Casa de Todo for freshly baked garlic bread or baguettes. The Via Via sells a great whole wheat bread as well as regular loaves. And if you like really dark bread, contact Muriel through La Casa del Café. Healthy and delicious!

4. Booze!

When I first came to Copán there were only three kinds of nationally brewed beers and that was about it. We would get overexcited if one of the stores would accidentally have a bottle of wine in stock, usually overpriced and pure vinegar, but nonetheless wine. At least according to the label. Now there’s plenty of variety of wine in the liquor stores for reasonable prices. Café Via Via sells Belgium beers that are actually cheaper than in a bar in Belgium, as well as local beers and a Happy Hour for rum drinks (2 for 1 for $1,50!!). Beer lovers must visit Sol de Copán, a small German owned beer brewery. Great drafts!

5. Local veggies you’ve never seen in your life before!

The market in the centre of town sells a great variety of the regular fruit and vegetables, but when in Copán, and in the right season, make sure you don’t miss out on lorroco, a small green/white flower with a delicious nutty taste; or chufles, something best described as a crossover between asparagus and artichoke. Ayote (squash) flowers are delicious as well as very decorative as you will experience if you book a romantic dinner at Hacienda San Lucas. Flor de izote has a somewhat bitter taste and surprising texture. Berro can be compared to watercress and in order to be big and strong when I grow up, I eat tons of mostaza or mustard leaf, something I had never tasted before coming to Copán. Raw or cooked, it tastes amazing and is full of the good stuff.

And those are just five reasons why to come and stay in Copán Ruinas. There are plenty more!

Why I still believe in Honduras

 My blog post Living in the Most Dangerous Country in theWorld has been reposted by several people and has gone pretty viral lately. I’m happy to see so many positive reactions and of course I still stand by my words: Come to Copán Ruinas, it’s a beautiful and quiet place!

But I must admit that lately I’ve seen another side of Honduras. I just spent twelve days in El Progreso, Yoro, where I painted murals at foster homes for children that have been removed from their families because of a variety of problems or picked off the street, run by two different organizations. The murals came along fine, the people I worked with were great, and even the places I painted the murals at were quiet and peaceful, the homes being located on the outskirts of town, not that different from the rural schools in the mountains surrounding Copán. That was a surprise for me, because somehow I had expected to have to paint on a crowded and noisy street in the middle of the city.

The one big difference with Copán was safety concerns. San Pedro Sula has the doubtful reputation of having the highest murder rate in the world (at least until recently, as far as I know), but I wonder if El Progreso isn’t worse. Maybe I’ve been too focused on this place, but reading the newspaper, El Progreso surely jumps out and stories from people that live there only confirm it. Of course it also had to do with the places I spent most of my time there. My hotel was right in the centre of town (traditionally not the safest of places in any city) and I was working in two suburbs both notorious for their delinquency. Travelling there was a logistic pain in the butt: Taking the bus to the one place and walking the last bit was out of the question without the escort of four of five guys. Getting to the other place was only permitted in certain taxis, others would surely get robbed, as I was told. Of course I wondered if all those horror stories weren’t a bit exaggerated, but then I would hear or read yet another one that would make me stick to the precautions I was asked to take.

The first mural project was done in collaboration with twelve kids, ten boys and two girls, that live at the foster home. They themselves were to pick the theme which was chosen through an exercise in which each participant wrote (anonymously) a list of things or situations that bothered them; the change they’d like to see; and what their own personal contribution could be to make that change happen. We wrote all answers on big sheets of paper and it was no surprise that the violent situation in their community came out as the big winner. We then brainstormed about a storyline and what the kids came up with was a plot about a kid getting robbed of his cell phone, only to meet his attacker a few days later being the victim of an mugging himself. The kid at first feels that justice has been done, but then realizes that by thinking like that, he’s not much better than the villain himself. So instead he decides to give him a helping hand and in the end they become best friends, dedicating their free time to coaching soccer in their neighbourhood.

I was pretty impressed with the positive message of this, but even more impressed by the behaviour of these kids. It took us almost six days to paint the mural and before that we had already spent a day and a half together in Copán, but during all this time not one incident happened. I’m not sure what I had expected, but definitely not this, considering that all of these kids carry some heavy-duty baggage. They all have histories of serious abuse, living on the streets, drugs and alcohol addictions and of course “common” delinquency and violence. So yes, I think I expected at least some foul language, a tantrum here or there, losing some supplies or being yelled at. But none of that happened.

Painting a mural is hard work, especially if you’re not used to it, but despite being exhausted by the end of the week and -to be honest- sick of paint, the kids kept on going without getting difficult or being obnoxious. Of course there was a bit of shoving and pushing here and there, boys will be boys, and yes, they were loud, but overall, I’ve never worked with kids so considerate and helpful, not only towards me, but towards each other too. They would wait their turns, help each other out or hold the ladder whenever someone was balancing on the top step. They did their regular chores without complaint and when it started to rain, one or two would run off to bring in the laundry. Not just their own, but everybody’s.

During one of our painting days, Juan Orlando Hernandez (one of the candidates for presidency in the upcoming elections) had a big rally nearby and even up on our remote mountain side we could not escape listening to his promises and chanting (“Blue! Blue! Blue!”). I’m not a big fan of politicians in general and couldn’t help being irritated about the unrealistic promises I heard on fixing the county in its entirety. Honduras is a country with such deeply rooted and widespread problems, they are not going to be fixed by just one politician and definitely not overnight.

But being with those kids for over a week made me see Honduras’ future in another light. Despite the threatening society they live in, their violent past and the fact that they live without their families, these kids are not resentful, asocial or criminal. They are fantastic young people that despite the throwbacks in life are making the very best of it. So if they can do it, why not everybody else too? Being with them certainly put my own life in perspective…

So, whoever is going to win the lections on the 24^th, I doubt that a lot is going to change. But if I look at those kids, soon to be adults, yes, then I definitely see hope for the future. 

Football Identity

So Honduras has qualified for the 2014 Brazil World Cup and the football craziness has been replaced by just as noisy political campaigns for the upcoming elections. But let’s not talk about politics and return to football instead…

There’s no denying that football unites people. After the recent qualifications even political differences were temporarily put aside and everybody joined in the celebrations. Being Dutch, that’s no news for me. An orange wave spills over my home land as soon as the national team is up for an important game. I can’t help but get excited here in Honduras when I hear the (mispronounced) names of the Dutch players announced, or the first notes of our national anthem. I don’t feel particularly Dutch, am not necessarily proud of serendipitously being born as a citizen of the Netherlands and couldn’t care less if you insult my country or fellow Netherlanders. I’ve been living more than half of my adult life in Honduras and even know the entire national anthem by heart, whereas I can only mumble the first two phrases of the Dutch one. However, as soon as La Naranja Mecánica is about to kick off, my heart starts racing and I’m a hundred percent Dutch again! So why is it that I don’t identify with blond, blue-eyed girls dancing on wooden shoes, Edam cheese and not even the Great Masters of the Dutch Renaissance, but I do with eleven guys dressed in orange, running after a ball?

A couple of years ago there was an interesting discussion going on in IS, a magazine published by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about cultural identity. The question was in how far people adapt to their adoptive country and how much they identify with it. One of the readers sent in a letter in which he summed it up nicely, saying he had been living in China for 25 years, had a Chinese wife, Chinese kids and a Chinese job. He eats Chinese, thinks, talks and dreams in Mandarin, but oooohhh when there’s Dutch football on TV: Hollaaaaaaaaaand!!!

I really have no idea where this collective craziness comes from that turns even the most intellectual academics in silly morons with orange hats and face paint, but it exceeds borders and even continents (except for the US of course, where strangely enough our football has never been a big thing. But they have their own football. And baseball of course). But as intense as it is, it’s also not very long lasting. Especially when our national team loses, we tend to quickly forget about the whole thing, or turn all together against a collective enemy. (Usually the Germans for the Dutch and Mexico for all other Central American countries.) That way the bond of being “one” lingers a little longer, but eventually it dissolves in thin air. Until it is ignited again by the next World Cup or Champions League.

Honduras is unfortunately a country with few heroes or role models, in neither past nor present. Whereas Nicaragua has its share of revolutionary heroes; Guatemala a Nobel prize winner in Rogobert Manchú; Venezuela an (in)famous reappearing dead president; Argentina the Pope and Messi; and Colombia has Shakira, Honduran citizens never made it to the realms of fame and eternal illustriousness. Maybe that’s why Honduras goes so crazy when the national team is doing well for a change. Every Honduran, men, women, children, rich and poor, including a bunch of ex-pats, get over-excited and proudly discuss the game as if it were they themselves running into a sweat for an hour and a half. It makes people proud to be Honduran. And whether that’s a good or bad thing, well, that’s a whole different discussion…

Bottom-line is, I’m very excited that both Honduras and Holland are qualified for the World Cup and can’t wait for it to start. But what if Honduras will have to face Holland??? I can’t tell you now which team I’d support… I mean.. I wish…. No, I can’t decide! I guess it will be the moment my true identity will be revealed…

A National Holiday to Fight Off the Hangover

Yesterday it was eerily quiet in Honduras… Public offices were closed and students found the doors of their schools shut.

Honduras’ national football team had qualified for the World Cup the night before. So president Pepe Lobo declared October 16^th a holiday in order to celebrate the victory.

I myself am a great football fan and have, of course, watched all the classification games and yes, I‘ve joined in the celebrations too. However, those celebrations usually last for a just few hours after the game, not all the way through the next day. I mean, one can only drink so much. Not that a day off to nurture the hangover isn’t welcome, but is it really necessary?

As happy as I am that Honduras will go to Brazil next year, I think it’s a bit over the top to declare the day after a victory a national holiday (it wasn’t even a real victory, the game ended in a tie). Would the president have done that in my home country Holland, he’d probably get his butt sued. Imagine: parents, whether working in the public sector or not, all of a sudden have to stay home with their kids because the schools are closed. Scheduled meetings, carefully planned events and long awaited appointments all postponed. And what about the personnel at public hospitals? Fire fighters? The police force?  Public transportation? All off celebrating? Or if at work, will they receive double pay for working on a holiday?

An unexpected holiday in Holland would probably paralyze the economy completely and but a handful of die hard hooligans would appreciate the gesture. But in Honduras it was already half-heartily expected (because the president has done so before), so people almost see it as a right. And as for the impact?  Well, the country seems to be running as normal, without all too much ado, just hop scotching along as it always does. 

I love football, especially the frenzy around important games between national teams. I think that football could actually play a huge role in the development of a country (more about that tomorrow). But I don’t see how a last-minute declaration of a national holiday attributes to much. Except for the actual players, of course, who really deserve their day off.

So the morning of the Day After, I left at 7.30am to teach an art class. And oh, was I happy to see all my students show up, holiday or not!

Children’s Day in Honduras

Yesterday morning I woke up with the feeling that I forgot something really important. Right! Children’s Day!

For years, when I was still director of art NGO for children, it was one of the most important days of the year. Preparations started weeks before because we always organized a major event for the kids of Copán. Not in the traditional way with piñatas and lots of candy, because we figured the kids would be sugared-up more than enough and the piñata thing, as beautiful as they look and as much as I’m in favour of keeping cultural traditions, they’re also quite scary. Seriously, having a blindfolded overactive zealous kid swinging a bat around??? I’m always amazed the newspapers don’t report a few smashed-in little children’s brain the next day.

So what we usually did was rounding up a bunch of volunteers and organize game stations: tug-of-war, carrying a tray with cups of water over a balancing beam, sack-race, (Velcro) darts, bowling and of course some art activities such as face painting or mask making. Each child would receive a “passport” and had to pass through all the activities spread over our colourfully decorated playground before receiving, at the end of the event, juice, some cookies (whole wheat of course) and a little gift bag, generally containing some crayons and a notebook. The kids were always super happy and not once did we get a complaint about the lack of candy and piñatas.

Afterwards, the adults were always completely drained. While the kids would run out the gate, gift bag ain their hands and looking for maybe another Children’s’ Day celebration elsewhere in town, our team would barely have the energy to take down the decorations and pick up the trash before surrendering to some much deserved cold beers.

Lots of work for just a few hours of fun, but time well spent. Children’s Day is for most kids more important than their birthdays which are only celebrated by the (upper) middle class. Christmas is important too, although the majority of the children is lucky enough to receive new clothes to wear on Christmas Eve. Children’s Day, however, is just about fun. And getting your hands on as many sweets as possible, of course.

In my home country Holland we don’t celebrate Children’s Day. We have Animal Day though, on October 4^th, when children are allowed to take our pets to school (which can actually lead to situations as dangerous as bursting a piñata.) You can’t miss something you’ve never known, but now that I do, I think it’s a great idea to celebrate Children’s Day, even it would be nice to focus a bit more on the reason for celebrating: It was recommended in 1954 by the United Nations that each country should pick one day a year to promote children’s welfare and their universal rights.

Children’s Day in Honduras has little to do with Human Rights, or children’s welfare for that matter. It has turned into a commercial and even political circus, especially now that the elections are coming up. Yesterday the kids of Copán had a field day, running from one piñata to the other, offered by the municipality and some of the new chain companies in town. I doubt their strategy will be successful. Counting conquered candy is much more important than the person who actually bought the stuff.

So yesterday afternoon, while I was quietly and happily finishing up a sign on a local café, teachers and volunteers of the local day care centre started arriving with that exhausted look I know all too well. I couldn’t suppress a satisfied smile. As much as I have enjoyed celebrating Children’s Day over the last sixteen years, it is absolute great for once not to have anything to do with it.

But nonetheless, happy Children’s Day!

Ten Golden Rules to Make a Kick-Ass Power Point Presentation

As a follow-up on my Golden Rules to a Kick-ass Presentation and with the upcoming Conference on Honduras in mind, here some tips on how to make that Power Point Presentation a mind blowing visual instead of a pain in the butt…




Those of you who remember working with slideshows and overhead projectors probably agree that Power Point Presentations (PPT) are quite an improvement. They’re easy to make even with a minimum of computer skills; the technical possibilities are endless; and it all fits on a memory stick or even in an email attachment. 

But…  Who hasn’t attended a conference with PPTs that just went on and on, hundreds of pictures tumbling over each other thanks to the use of every animation feature in the program? Or worse even, a PPT existing of text only, often so big that it falls of the screen, read out loud by the speaker?

A PPT can be an incredible powerful tool. It can lighten up your presentation; highlight the main points; and the combination of visuals with your spoken presentation make it easier to process and remember. Just make sure your PPT doesn’t undermine your message by presenting a badly composed collection of random text and images. Here a few tips:

1. It’s a visual AID!
Unless your images are the subject of your presentation (such as a presentation about Religious Paintings in the Middle Ages), realize that your PPT is supposed to support your presentation, not to overwhelm or repeat it. Use a limited amount of good images that illustrate your words, or better, give additional visual value or information, rather than a downpour of pictures you happened to have anyway.  Try not to be patronizing with your images (or text): if you write about you’re a water project, use a picture of the actual project rather than one of just a faucet. We all know what a faucet looks like. Avoid repetition and redundancy.

As for text, use only a few keywords that link your spoken text to the images and that help the audience to keep track of the main points. Realize that if you put text in a PPT, people will read it. And if they read, they won’t listen to what you have to say. 

2. Quality over quantity
A picture can tell a thousand words. That’s great, that’s why we use visuals in the first place. However, a bad picture also tells a thousand words! There is no need to use professional photos only, just make sure the image is to the point, in focus and of a reasonable resolution. Images taken from the internet are often too grainy to put in a PPT and are often subject to copyright (more about that in the next paragraph). For PPTs, “less is more” is usually a good guideline to keep. You don’t want to visually over-impose your audience. Quality over quantity, always!

3. Respect author’s rights
It’s so easy these days to find a picture of just anything through Google or Bing, but be careful… It’s not only that these pictures might be subject to copyright (but who would find out anyway?), it is often obvious that the pictures are not originals and that might harm your own integrity. You might think that if you talk about building schools in the dessert, it might be fun to illustrate it with a picture of some random people laying bricks, but keep in mind that your audience will assume the photo is of your specific project. Besides, it often doesn’t look professional. Avoid misunderstandings: For the good of your own project’s transparency and reputation, use your own pictures only. (And if you use other people’s pictures, just be nice and ask permission and/or give credit if desired by writing their name in small letters on the picture). 

Another something to keep in mind if you use pictures of people: make sure they’re dignified. If you wouldn’t like to be publicly pictured in a miserable position, half starved or sick, then don’t do that to others…

4. Don’t explain what you see
The whole idea of using images to illustrate your words is that they support what you say or put it in a context, so don’t explain what you see, that’s often redundant and patronizing. Unless you provide some additional information about the image, for example how difficult it was to take that specific picture, or under what special circumstances it was taken.
 
5. Keep it short and to the point
A PPT is not the same as a yearly report, a novel or a project proposal!!! Yet again, it is a visual aid to illustrate your words. So keep it short and to the point! Think out a scheme you’d like to use, for example:

• Introduction (geographical and cultural context)
• Explanation of the problem
• Solution to the problem
• Results
• Conclusion

Don’t be too specific. A lot of people might not be interested in all your details, but by spiking the interest of your audience, people who are will contact you anyway (provided you give them the information needed to do so, see point 10.)

6. No tricks please!
It’s all too tempting to use all those great features provided by PPT: flying text blocks, flickering images, funky clipart, artsy transitions… But usually they just turn out to be annoying and delay the message you want to transmit. Not that a PPT can’t be artistic or fancy. Just keep a few ground rules in mind:

• If you use a template, pick one that fits your theme and that isn’t too overpowering. Pink roses while talking about violence in Honduras? Maybe not.
• It’s easy to make your own template, and often much nicer. For a background you can use a picture of your own, maybe editing it a bit in PPT or any other photo program. Just make sure there is enough contrast with the text (dark text on light, even background or the other way around). Once you’ve designed a template you like (background plus text blocks), just copy/paste the slide (in the left-hand panel) before adding text and images to the rest of the slides. 
• Use (if any) the same slide and/or photo transitions throughout your whole presentation. It’s calmer than having different transitions and it avoids problems while going from one slide to the other.
• If you use colored text on a colored background, keep in mind that some combinations just don’t work. Green letters on red start “swimming” and besides, they are hard to read for people who are colorblind.
• If you use a lot of color, be aware that each color has its own meaning. Even people who know nothing about the psychology of colors tend to perceive bright red as aggressive, black as depressive or serious, yellow as happy and playful. Blues and greens are calm colors, whereas shades of terracotta and orange give a warmer impression. Use a color that underlines your theme.

7. Watch out with fonts and features
In the first place, always use a font that is easy on the eyes and easy to read. If you use an uncommon font, be aware that if you use your presentation on somebody else’s computer, it might change the font and actually the whole design of your PPT. If you insist on using a specific font, save your text (in your PPT) as an image (GIF) and insert it. This way you won’t be able to change the text anymore, but neither can anybody else(‘s computer).
The same thing goes for features such as transitions: what works right on your own computer at home might do something altogether different on someone else’s computer. 

8. Check you PTT before your presentation
It might sound like kicking in an open door, but please do check your PPT before you give your presentation! Just make sure it is lined up the way you want it and that you have all you need (pointer, remote control) at hand. Nothing is more unnerving than starting your presentation with a PPT that is at fault.

9. Spelling-spelling-spelling
A PPT can easily look very professional. But not so if your spelling sucks. That’s unprofessional, unnecessary and it looks like you don’t care. PPT has a spell check function, but even better is to write out your text first in Word. Make sure you spell foreign names correctly too. That’s just being respectful. And if you make a bilingual PPT without speaking the language (very considerate at conferences with simultaneous translation), don’t bet all your horses on Google Translate, but ask some to look it over. Also, be consistent in your spelling. ‘Copán Ruinas’ is spelled with an accent on the ‘a’, although in English it is often written without. If you do so, make sure you do so throughout the whole document.

10. Contact info
Often a presentation ends with time for questions and answers, and usually your last slide stays on during that period. So use that slide to repeat the name of your presentation, your own name or company and contact info, to give your audience the chance to write it down.

Good luck!!!

Ten Golden Rules to Give a Kick-Ass Presentation at Conferences

This post is a bit different from my usual wandering thoughts on living in Honduras, but the Conference on Honduras is coming up (Sept 26-28) and I thought this might be helpful...

There wouldn’t be any conferences if networking and personal presentations weren’t as powerful as they are. It’s one thing to get a brochure in the mail asking for donations for an orphanage in a faraway country, a whole different story to have someone in front of you telling passionately about his or her own experience. A good presentation is more powerful than the fanciest business card or website. However, a bad presentation can also ruin any interest people might initially have for your topic.
Here a few tips to make your presentation funky, interesting and entertaining!

1. Know what you’re talking about
Duh… you might say. But seriously, you need to know a whole lot more about your topic than the essence you’re going to present. Most people who present are professionals in their field, and for a reason. If it was that easy to give a presentation, we could just hire somebody, anybody, hand over a Power Point Presentation and a list of things to say, and that would be it. But it doesn’t work that way. It’s impossible to present all the details of years of experience, but only someone with that experience can resume it to the bare core.  Your audience will know whether you’re knowledgeable or not, so have all you facts ready and be prepared.

2. Know your audience
Design your presentation towards your audience. If you talk about a water project in Kenya to a group of preschoolers, you might want to start pointing out Kenya on the map and use metaphors the children can relate to. Talking to a group engineers requires of course a totally different talk. This might sound as yet another point to take for granted, but speakers often come over as unprofessional or patronizing by providing their audience with too much or too little information. To play it on the safe side, give a very short general introduction (you can say for example: “As we all know, Honduras is a very poor country in Central America”) and then get into the specifics. Walking that fine line between giving too much or too little information isn’t easy, so the more you know about your audience before hand, the better. In the case of Conference in Honduras, we’re all pretty much in the same boat. However, keep in mind that the audience exists of both foreigners and Hondurans, and that certain statements might be offending for one group or the other. “Nobody ever helps Honduras” stated by a local might be a bit insulting to all those gringos trying to help out, whereas remarks from outsiders about how corrupt the country is, might offend Hondurans whom not all are corrupt.

3. Keep it personal
The reason you’re giving a presentation instead of handing out an information sheet, is because it is your presentation. Even if the topic is serious and formal, keep it personal. Start your presentation with a personal experience or anecdote. It will spark the interest but also give people an insight in your topic. The bare facts can be taken off the website of brochure. What you personally have to add to it, can’t.
If the topic calls for it, use humor in your presentation. It keeps people alert and it opens up your audience for the information you have to share. However, if you’re not a natural joker, then don’t play the clown. Nothing is worse than a joke nobody laughs at!

4. Tell your story, don’t read it out loud!
Even if you decide to write out the whole text of your presentation, don’t read it out loud! When you read, your voice is more monotone and the information sounds not half as interesting. If necessary, write out your text and start practicing by retelling each paragraph in your own words until you feel comfortable enough to do it without a the text. But keep your text nearby, even if you won’t need it. It will give you confidence and something to fall back on.

5. Use visuals
The more senses you stimulate, the more likely it is for the information to come across. Photos or illustrations are great and a Power Point Presentation can be of great help, as long as it is a good one (see: Ten Golden Rules to Make a Kick-Ass Power Point Presentation). Also consider sound (the rumble of a horrifying earthquake?) or video (kids playing and laughing?). Or smell! When talking about coffee producing, why not brining some freshly ground beans?

6. Don’t hide behind the lectern
If there’s a lectern or reading desk, avoid it! Instead, step in front of it and use the whole space available. If you walk from one side to the other, people are forced to look at you and will pay more attention. It makes the whole presentation livelier and more interesting.

7. Make eye contact
You are a human being, talking to other human beings, so make sure people won’t forget that! Make eye contact, so people feel involved. It also works miraculously if someone isn’t paying attention or twittering. Just look at that person, make eye contact, give a sly smile and you’ll have his or her attention for the rest of your presentation.

8. NEVER SHOUT!
If you start speaking, open your chest, slightly raise your chin, and focus the reach of your voice at a point in the very back of the room.  Speak from your belly while keeping your shoulders back. Speak out loud, but without forcing your voice. Let your whole body transmit confidence and it will give you yourself more confidence.
 If there’s a lot of noise and people keep on talking, don’t raise your voice, but instead lower it. People will be trying to hear what you’re saying and even hush the others. Success guaranteed.

9. Make sure you’re ready
Make sure you’re on time, if not early for your presentation, so you won’t have to rush. Make sure you have all you need: microphone, pointer, Power Point Presentation, remote control and a glass of water. Even if you’re not thirsty, a glass of water is a great object to use to stall an answer or thought.

10. Be prepared for Q&A
Be as prepared as possible for the questions. If you don’t know an answer, don’t lie, but say that the question is really interesting and you’ll get back to that person shortly. Make sure you really answer the questions instead of starting another mini-speech. 

Break a leg!!!

One of those parties…

A couple of weeks ago I ran into an old acquaintance who reminded me of a terrific party we once had in my house, years and years ago. Now, I’ve had many good parties in my house, back in the time when it seemed we all didn’t do much more than partying anyway, but this one was truly memorable.

I have no idea how it all started and what the occasion was, but there was some sort of cultural event in town that had ended way to early to our likes and somehow a whole bunch of people ended up in my house. There was Nury from San Pedro Sula, celebrating her birthday and dying to get rid of the huge birthday cake she was carrying around all over town. Guillermo Anderson, Honduras’ most famous musician was there too, as well as a bunch of people from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Looking at pictures, I also know there were some tour guides and even Nelson, a local teacher who won’t miss the opportunity to go for a swing. Also present were some close friends, an employee of mine even, but mostly people I met there and then for the first time.

The cake, that nobody was much interested in, disappeared into the kitchen and a little later disappeared quite literally when my dog Monster took advantage of the fact that we were all dancing the night away in the living room. There was little left but a huge moustache of icing around his nose. But nobody cared: we listened to live music, danced to the few salsa CD’s I had while more and more people arrived, filling every corner of my tiny house. There must have been booze, obviously, but apparently not enough. While going over the damage the next morning I realised someone had gotten into my decorative bottles of coloured water. The clear glass bottles that I had filled with tainted water to match the glass bottle stops were now half empty. Someone must have had quite a hangover that day… Well, we probably all did, but the party was well worth it…

A year or two later I visited the cultural centre Casa de los Tres Mundos in Granada, Nicaragua, were I met the Minister of Culture. When he heard I was from Copán, he told me about his last trip there, where he had had the greatest time. He told me his that his friend Angela, who happens to be one of my best friends too, even took him to some private home where they danced till the early morning. That’s when I realised why the guy looked so familiar! He had been one of my guests!

“Aha!” the Minister of Culture said. “So it was your dog that ate the cake!”

So, yes, that was a good one! But far from the only one. We seem to be pretty good at partying here in Copán. At least, we used to be, because now we’re of course much more serious and mature and go to bed a ten every night…

(Hahaha!)

Not (yet) leaving Copán after all…

In August of 2010 I decided to leave Copán. Now three years have passed and I’m still here. To stay. Well, maybe…

When I arrived in Honduras in March of 1997, I had no intention to stay very long. But a two month visit turned in to six months, then a year and before I knew it, Copán had become my home and I no longer had a return ticket. Copán is a fun place to live and I loved my work as director of the cultural NGO I had founded. But whether it was a midlife crisis, frustration with the downfall of the country or just being burned out, halfway through the year 2010, I’d had it.

So bottom-line, I wrapped up my organization, got rid of a bunch of stuff, gave up my house and moved –temporarily- into my previous office for the few months I planned to hang around in Copán. I started working independently and fulltime as an artist and designer and I must say it was a delight not to have a whole organization and number of employees to worry about, but instead doing what I like most: painting, writing, hiking and lots of yoga… I had no specific plan of what I wanted to do, but was thinking of going to Spain. It seemed a good place to go: not as Wild West as Honduras but not as over organized and chilly as my home country Holland. But then Spain’s economy went patas arriba and it didn’t look like such a good idea anymore… Not that Honduras is doing that great, or my own economic situation for that matter, but at least I have a reasonably comfortable and enjoyable life here. To give that up to go elsewhere without the back-up of a savings account??? Nah…

But… Tourism is at an all-time low, Honduras is far from being the favourite destination at the moment and the economic crisis affects everyone. And since art is not considered a primary necessity (although I don’t know why, for me it is!), it hurts my purse deeply. But worse than that, in the last few months there were moments I hadn’t much to do. Me and not having anything to do is a lethal combination, so there were only two options and one of them is not an option, so I picked the other one: keeping myself busy! So that’s why I decided to open, against all odds, a business. I didn’t have any money to invest, but I figured that with just my time and a bunch of left over paint I’d come a long way. After all, the good thing of having nothing is that there’s nothing to lose…. That was about a month ago, and I did it: Luminosa Café Gallery is now open for business!!!

This last month I had great fun turning the ugly patio and run-down living room into a colourful place where I exhibit my art and products. The courtyard is open as a small café where I sell my own favourite tapas and mixes of herbal tea. And coffee, wine and beer, of course. At night I can transform the place into a yoga studio and I even decided to take people along on my daily hikes. Not that I’m that fond of chattering my way through the mountains at dawn, but I found a perfect solution: I’m selling “silent yoga hikes”. For a fee I’m happy to take you along, but sssshhhhhh……. J

So, here I am, still in Copán! There’s still a lot to do, which only makes me very happy. I don’t see myself leave anytime soon.

And who knows, I even might make a bit of money…

Before...

....And after....(Although not yet finished)