Some visuals of my adventures...Thursday, February 28, 2008
Champion Domino Player
Oh yes, that’s right. I successfully beat my 9 year old nephew at Dominos last night. The victory was sweet but probably short lived as I believe a rematch is in the near future. Regardless, I take every chance possible to let everyone know that –I- was the ganadora against Mario. Mwhahaha. Who knew I loved kids so much…
The highlight of the weekend was definitely our hike to the radio antennas, which reside on top of a large hill [mountain perhaps?] outside Santa Lucia. About 12 PCT’s went, which initially terrified me, given my lack of hiker-esque ability. But luckily I had some awesome company who stopped with me every time I needed to catch my breath. The climb was completely worthy though…
(oops, pictures to come...sorry!!)
The highlight of the weekend was definitely our hike to the radio antennas, which reside on top of a large hill [mountain perhaps?] outside Santa Lucia. About 12 PCT’s went, which initially terrified me, given my lack of hiker-esque ability. But luckily I had some awesome company who stopped with me every time I needed to catch my breath. The climb was completely worthy though…
(oops, pictures to come...sorry!!)
Yeah…that’s Tegucigalpa looking beautiful. As it turns out though, Tegus is not only stunning from afar, but also up close…except more in a “Ohmigod this city is huge and crowded and there are cars and people everywhere, watch out for that bus!!” way. I got to experience the latter on Monday when we took a language class fieldtrip to a mercardo in the city. It definitely made me appreciate my adorable pueblo. Obviously there are no photos, as I was told to not even wear my $10 watch on the trip. I haggled with a Senora for papas and platanos which I bought for my Momma Hondurena. We wandered around the center of town and I splurged on a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy’s [!!!] and eventually we found our way to the Peace Corps Office, which was pretty surreal to see. Makes me realize that I am definitely a part of something bigger…finally.
I found out today that I will be in the city of Santa Barbara for my volunteer visit, which happens this Sunday. It’s 4 hours northwest from here [Mom, I’m pretty sure its on the map…look south of San Pedro Sula.] I’m looking forward to meeting a PCV and seeing what their day to day life is like.
I just realized that its almost 11pm so e-mail and the phototour of Santa Lucia will have to wait. Miss you all!!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday Finally!!
Just a quick note while I´m in the internet cafe. I had a bit of a difficult day today...I am frustrated because of my Spanish...I say so many things incorrectly but never have had anyone correct me so it is already ingrained in my head that its correct. I feel like I need to go backwards before I can go forwards. Also, my gmail account won´t open so I can´t read my email. Boo...
BUT I got a package from my Momma today (btw, Nikki, I did send you my address!!) Thank you Mom, I love the sandals!
I am glad its Friday...I need a break from school. Should be a fun weekend, details when its all over.
BUT I got a package from my Momma today (btw, Nikki, I did send you my address!!) Thank you Mom, I love the sandals!
I am glad its Friday...I need a break from school. Should be a fun weekend, details when its all over.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Weekend in Review
With every day that passes, I find myself feeling more at home in Santa Lucia. It’s a beautiful city with warm and caring people. I also am continually reminded of how much time, energy and genuine thought has been put into our training here. While I do think that each one of us PCT’s [myself included] joined PC to help, I think its important to realize how much we are being given, from amazing host families to incredible training staff and a great deal of support from various resources. I am definitely thankful for it all and reaffirm every day my choice to be here.
That being said…my weekend was wonderful. I spent Friday night with my family, my abuelo and I watched the news and had an enlightening and interesting conversation about politics in Honduras and the U.S. Its so nice to be able to have those kinds of conversations…I remember living in Chile and not understanding a word that my host family said. I’ve come such a long way since then.
Saturday I woke up early and went with mi Mama and sobrino to the training center where there was a cultural festival. There were representatives from each of the 7 indigenous groups of Honduras and each had their respective stands with information about their culture, customs, food, clothing, etc. We moved in groups to each stand and listened to their presentations. Then the Garifunas [an indigenous group of African descent who reside in the Eastern part of Honduras known as Gracias a Dios] demonstrated some typical dances which was a lot of fun. Then we had a delicious almuerzo which included pollo asado [grilled chicken], 2 kinds of rice, frijoles [beans], plantains, avocado, and horchata! Plus there was fresh fruit and arroz con leche for dessert. I was in heaven of course. It was good to spend time with my family and I got to meet a lot of the other families because they all know each other and are either family or friends. It’s pretty amazing actually, pretty much everyone is a cousin or married to some other family member of my family. I love it.
Saturday afternoon I was completely lazy but then one of my fellow PCT’s Anna, who is also my neighbor, convinced me to go to the disco with her. We headed out and met up with about half of the other gringos and proceeded to shake our groove things for a few hours. I had a great time and it definitely made me nostalgic for the nights I went out dancing in Chile.
Sunday I arose early and went to Mass with another PCT Katie. There is a really pretty Catholic church in town and I figured it was good to make at least one trip. Plus, I find religion fascinating, especially in other countries. The rest of the day was spent hanging around Santa Lucia. Since its such a small town, I ran into almost all the PCT’s at one point so I puttered around with various groups, having coffee and basking in the sun and also discovering the city. I had a nice dinner with some of them at El Casa de Piano, which I clearly can only do once given that it was 2 days of my PC allowance. Oh well, it was definitely worth it.
I’ve gotten to talk to mi novio y mi mama in the last 2 days so that has been nice. Also, I have my address for the next 3 months if anyone wants to send me a letter or small package, shoot me an e-mail! Sorry for the essay, somebody said they like all the little details ;)
That being said…my weekend was wonderful. I spent Friday night with my family, my abuelo and I watched the news and had an enlightening and interesting conversation about politics in Honduras and the U.S. Its so nice to be able to have those kinds of conversations…I remember living in Chile and not understanding a word that my host family said. I’ve come such a long way since then.
Saturday I woke up early and went with mi Mama and sobrino to the training center where there was a cultural festival. There were representatives from each of the 7 indigenous groups of Honduras and each had their respective stands with information about their culture, customs, food, clothing, etc. We moved in groups to each stand and listened to their presentations. Then the Garifunas [an indigenous group of African descent who reside in the Eastern part of Honduras known as Gracias a Dios] demonstrated some typical dances which was a lot of fun. Then we had a delicious almuerzo which included pollo asado [grilled chicken], 2 kinds of rice, frijoles [beans], plantains, avocado, and horchata! Plus there was fresh fruit and arroz con leche for dessert. I was in heaven of course. It was good to spend time with my family and I got to meet a lot of the other families because they all know each other and are either family or friends. It’s pretty amazing actually, pretty much everyone is a cousin or married to some other family member of my family. I love it.
Saturday afternoon I was completely lazy but then one of my fellow PCT’s Anna, who is also my neighbor, convinced me to go to the disco with her. We headed out and met up with about half of the other gringos and proceeded to shake our groove things for a few hours. I had a great time and it definitely made me nostalgic for the nights I went out dancing in Chile.
Sunday I arose early and went to Mass with another PCT Katie. There is a really pretty Catholic church in town and I figured it was good to make at least one trip. Plus, I find religion fascinating, especially in other countries. The rest of the day was spent hanging around Santa Lucia. Since its such a small town, I ran into almost all the PCT’s at one point so I puttered around with various groups, having coffee and basking in the sun and also discovering the city. I had a nice dinner with some of them at El Casa de Piano, which I clearly can only do once given that it was 2 days of my PC allowance. Oh well, it was definitely worth it.
I’ve gotten to talk to mi novio y mi mama in the last 2 days so that has been nice. Also, I have my address for the next 3 months if anyone wants to send me a letter or small package, shoot me an e-mail! Sorry for the essay, somebody said they like all the little details ;)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bienviendos a Santa Lucia!
3 a.m. Wake up call
4 a.m. Departure from Holiday Inn Georgetown in DC
7 a.m. Flight to Miami
4 p.m. Finally arrive in Tegus after a 2 hour delay spent sitting on the plane!!
I would write about staging but it wasn’t all too exciting. There are 47 of us, from different states, backgrounds and experiences. I’ve already made some connections and I really do think these people will be my support system over the next 2 years because nobody truly knows what is going on here except all of us. There was lots of logistical stuff and some interactive things which made a good attempt to keep us integrated [but some of it was a bit overdone.] I was surprisingly excited by being in DC…although it makes sense, I am a politically and socially active historian. I got to see the Capitol and the Washington Monument as well as a quick hour in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. I wouldn’t mind living in DC at some point, not forever but maybe a bit.
All of that and a lot more details I will spare everyone leads me to now, where I sit on my bed in my new casa in Santa Lucia. Now most of you know that I had an amazing host family when I lived in Chile so clearly I had high expectations. Some of my fellow PCV’s [sorry, I’ve adopted the acronyms] were pretty nervous about meeting families, especially considering due to our late plane, we didn’t get much orientation. I, on the other hand, was more excited than anything, which is pretty surprising given how my nerves have been lately.
My Momma Honduran is Eneyda. We live in El Centro of Santa Lucia, my family owns a pulperia [small grocery/convenience-type store] which is in the front of the house. Upstairs is the dining/living room and kitchen. Downstairs are bathrooms and bedrooms. I have my own room with a double bed, huge closet, and TV [!!!] My Tia Maleska and her hijo Mario who is 9 live with us, as do the abuelos Edith and Mario Sr. They are all so sweet and I immediately fell back into speaking Spanish. I know I’ve lost some of it since I was in Chile, but being here just affirmed how much it comes back to you. We had eggs, beans, fried plantains [my favorite!] and tortillas for dinner and delicious cinnamon tea.
There is so much more, I wish I could share every moment with all of you because this experience is so precious and wonderful. Just know that I am safe, healthy and so incredibly happy.
Training starts tomorrow!
4 a.m. Departure from Holiday Inn Georgetown in DC
7 a.m. Flight to Miami
4 p.m. Finally arrive in Tegus after a 2 hour delay spent sitting on the plane!!
I would write about staging but it wasn’t all too exciting. There are 47 of us, from different states, backgrounds and experiences. I’ve already made some connections and I really do think these people will be my support system over the next 2 years because nobody truly knows what is going on here except all of us. There was lots of logistical stuff and some interactive things which made a good attempt to keep us integrated [but some of it was a bit overdone.] I was surprisingly excited by being in DC…although it makes sense, I am a politically and socially active historian. I got to see the Capitol and the Washington Monument as well as a quick hour in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. I wouldn’t mind living in DC at some point, not forever but maybe a bit.
All of that and a lot more details I will spare everyone leads me to now, where I sit on my bed in my new casa in Santa Lucia. Now most of you know that I had an amazing host family when I lived in Chile so clearly I had high expectations. Some of my fellow PCV’s [sorry, I’ve adopted the acronyms] were pretty nervous about meeting families, especially considering due to our late plane, we didn’t get much orientation. I, on the other hand, was more excited than anything, which is pretty surprising given how my nerves have been lately.
My Momma Honduran is Eneyda. We live in El Centro of Santa Lucia, my family owns a pulperia [small grocery/convenience-type store] which is in the front of the house. Upstairs is the dining/living room and kitchen. Downstairs are bathrooms and bedrooms. I have my own room with a double bed, huge closet, and TV [!!!] My Tia Maleska and her hijo Mario who is 9 live with us, as do the abuelos Edith and Mario Sr. They are all so sweet and I immediately fell back into speaking Spanish. I know I’ve lost some of it since I was in Chile, but being here just affirmed how much it comes back to you. We had eggs, beans, fried plantains [my favorite!] and tortillas for dinner and delicious cinnamon tea.
There is so much more, I wish I could share every moment with all of you because this experience is so precious and wonderful. Just know that I am safe, healthy and so incredibly happy.
Training starts tomorrow!
Monday, February 4, 2008
t-minus 6 days
Greetings all,
Thanks for visiting my blogspot [sidenote: who came up with the word blog? It's so -repulsive-] So, I'm leaving for Honduras to work with the Peace Corps as a Health Educator in their HIV/AIDS Prevention & Child Survival Programs in less than a week. It's definitely still surreal that I'm leaving the country for over 2 years. I know it will not fully register until I am stepping off the plane in Tegus [the nickname for the capital there.]
I know I should have a million things to do, but all I really need to do is pack and I'm surprisingly relaxed about it. I suppose my mother is worried enough for the both of us, bless her. I am definitely excited though...I keep reminiscing about my time in Latin America in 2005 and what a wonderful life changing experience it was, just as I am sure this one will be.
Thanks for visiting my blogspot [sidenote: who came up with the word blog? It's so -repulsive-] So, I'm leaving for Honduras to work with the Peace Corps as a Health Educator in their HIV/AIDS Prevention & Child Survival Programs in less than a week. It's definitely still surreal that I'm leaving the country for over 2 years. I know it will not fully register until I am stepping off the plane in Tegus [the nickname for the capital there.]
I know I should have a million things to do, but all I really need to do is pack and I'm surprisingly relaxed about it. I suppose my mother is worried enough for the both of us, bless her. I am definitely excited though...I keep reminiscing about my time in Latin America in 2005 and what a wonderful life changing experience it was, just as I am sure this one will be.
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