Two years in Honduras offers the opportunity to serve
Danny Gallo, 25, might miss piping hot slices laden with garlic and sausage from Pinocchio’s Pizza, relishing a long shower in the luxury of his own bathroom and good old American life, but he wouldn’t trade his new lifestyle for the world.
A volunteer with the Peace Corps since July 2007, Gilroy High School and Gavilan College graduate, Gallo will spend the next 19 months immersed in the Honduran culture in the tiny town of Alianza near the country’s craggy Pacific coastline. When he left behind the amenities of American life, Gallo embraced his new culture with open arms.
When asked what he enjoys about Honduran life, he put it plainly:
“I would have to say that it is the simplicity of the life here,” he wrote in an e-mail. “The people here find happiness in things like conversations and spending time with family or a quick dip in the river. It’s a welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of American life, where it is just work, work, work, eat, sleep.”
After earning a degree in international relations from the University of Redlands in southern California, Gallo hoped to further his education, but not in the classroom.
“I’m not a real intellectual guy,” he said. “I’m more of a worker.” He came across the answer to his dilemma in the Peace Corps. He saw the organization as an opportunity to give back to the country that had provided him with so much. The organization’s mission aims to promote cross-cultural understanding, world peace and friendship and provides an opportunity for Americans to take part in a global community. That mission suits Gallo to a tee, his mother said.
When speaking about her son’s adventures in Honduras, Nancy Gallo’s eyes lit up with pleasure. She described a young man unlike the rest. From an early age, her son expressed a concern for global issues, a genuine interest in what was going on around the world. A student athlete who played his fare share of video games, Gallo exhibited qualities less typical of the average, carefree teenager when he was younger. Compassionate and intuitive, “the walking contradiction,” as his mother playfully nicknamed him, “had another side to him,” she said.
“He’s an old soul,” Nancy Gallo said. “We always used to say he’s lived before.”
His decision to move to Honduras for two years with the Peace Corps was no surprise to her, she said. As a municipal development volunteer, Gallo has various jobs in his adopted country. He works with local civic groups to teach them skills that will benefit their community, like planning, organization and taking pride in their work. Honduras is a country that receives aid from other countries and has grown accustomed to their paternalism, Gallo said. He is teaching them to become more self-sufficient and take charge of their own destinies.
“We’re trying to get them to realize it’s better to do things for ourselves,” he said. “I’m not changing the world here. I’m giving them the opportunity to change their own world.”
On returning from his home away from home, Gallo tentatively plans on applying to the FBI or becoming a local law enforcement officer. With a year and a half to go as a Peace Corps volunteer, Gallo’s plans for the future still need time to gel.
For now, Alianza is his home. With a population of about half of Gallo’s high school, the town of 1,000 sports breathtaking views, startlingly blue skies and lush greenery.
“I love my life here,” he said simply.
