This weekend, El Progreso celebrated its birthday in style.
Watch this video and see how more than 20 JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) volunteers, Shin and I participated in the much anticipated parade. The streets of El Progreso were filled with vendors, children, parents and elders. Shin and I were invited to ride in the volunteers on the Japan Float. By default, Shin and I were the narrators. At one point, we had the crowd cheering Japanese words like "konnichiwa" (hello) and "sayonara" (good-bye).
I was enthralled by the opportunity to meet over 20 volunteers from Japan who living and assisting in various cities around Honduras. Some are teachers, others are former businessmen, electricians and architects. All of them, in a similar fashion to the US Peace Corp volunteers, live in their designated cities for two years to exchange their knowledge, help and culture. During dinner that evening, Shin and I were fortunate enough to meet Japanese Ambassador Furukawa.
The world -- is it small or big?
I say it's Gigantic. When all of us pay our small part.
Reporting straight from the streets of Progreso, Cosmo Fujiyama.
