Tomorrow I will be on my way out to Ocotepeque to celebrate Christmas with some friends. People keep asking me if I´m sad not to be at home, and the honest answer is that right now I can´t even believe it´s already December! It´s defenitely sad when I think about people at home celebrating together and getting to see eachother, however, it is very hard for me to truly think of it as Christmas here because it is about 70 degrees and sunny...I´ve never lived in a place where there is no snow during December! I´ve tried to get some spirit in my apartment with lots of xmas music, a mini tree and lots of cookies, but it still feels a bit false. Maybe we will do some caroling in Ocotepeque? :)
I hope everyone at home is having a great holiday season! I miss everyone....
Happy Holidays!!
love,
me
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Some pictures of life as a PCV
What!? Another blog post already? This must be a new record for me! Well, people have been requesting more updates and pictures...So here are some pictures of random things I have been involved in over the last few months. Enjoy!
1. The Copan ruins. We were there for a big (unofficial) PC Halloween party. It was great fun, and the ruins are beautiful!
3. At the workshop, giving the anatomy lesson.
5. This is Matt and the midwife from Gracias at the Midwives workshop we had. It was put on by the women's health team, of which I am a part.
6. The midwife who Matt brought to the workshop...she was the sweetest, most amazing woman!
7. Women's Health Team (minus Laura) at the workshop...taking a break between sessions!!
1. The Copan ruins. We were there for a big (unofficial) PC Halloween party. It was great fun, and the ruins are beautiful!
2. The Abstinence Team. This is us at the workshop we organized and facilitated earlier in the fall. It was very fun and an overall success!
3. At the workshop, giving the anatomy lesson.
4. Just a picture of beautiful Tela on the north coast. I've been there twice in the last two months...and can't wait to go back!
5. This is Matt and the midwife from Gracias at the Midwives workshop we had. It was put on by the women's health team, of which I am a part.
6. The midwife who Matt brought to the workshop...she was the sweetest, most amazing woman!
7. Women's Health Team (minus Laura) at the workshop...taking a break between sessions!!
8. Sarah and I sorting beans to cook :)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thanksgiving and Visitors
I realize that is has been an abnormally long time since my last blog post...but the last few months have been incredibly busy. I would try to catch everyone up on everything that has happened in the last two months, but it would take too long. Instead, I want to summarize the two weeks of wild and crazy adventures my parents had here with me (by "wild and crazy" I mean pretty average by Honduras standards) :)
They flew in the week of Thanksgiving, and we spent the first few days of their visit up on the North Coast (yes, Honduras has a north coast, look at a map) trying to enjoy some sun and snorkeling…unfortunately it rained the entire time so what we really ended up enjoying was our hotel room. I am still really dissapointed that we didn't get to do the wildlife tours and things, but I think my parents were just so excited to be here, and overwhelmed by all the new sites that it didn't really make any difference to them what we did.
After the days of rain, we came back to Gracias to celebrate Thanksgiving, and prepare for World Aids Day. Our Thanksgiving celebration involved mashed potatoes, chicken and pumpkin pie….it was delicious, and my parents were very great and patient with me as I had to be running around town preparing stuff for World Aids Day (which was December 1st). They also tried very hard to use Spanish and improve their vocabulary (I will refrain from making any jokes about this…they did good). They got to see me do a number of different projects and presentations, and participated in our World Aids Day activities; which included a march around town and a testimonial given by a women living with HIV. In a side note, I must say that I was generally impressed by how well everything turned out for the Aids Day activities, it never ceases to amaze me how things can get planned in what can only be described as veryvery last minute preparations…and yet turn out spectacularly well.
As for the rest of my parents visit, we tried to see all the important sights around town here, and took a trip up to a town in the mountain where they make traditional pottery. Although I didn't take them to many places around the country, I really enjoyed being able to show them my life here. It’s very weird having a life here that people at home have never seen, having visitors come down creates a cool bridge between two very distinct parts of my life. (That being said, I should also add a quick thank you to Maureen for making the trip down a month ago, I can’t begin to explain how much it means to have people from home come here.) It was sad to see each of them leave, but very satisfying trips all together.
If you want more details, or want to hear about the trip from my parents' point of view, I'm sure they would have some interesting thoughts! Hopefully they feel like they got a good feel for life down here...and I don't think they were just teasing me when they said that they hope to come back!
Other Important News in my life:
I will be in DC in January! Sarah, Matt and I decided that the inauguration was just too exciting an event in our country’s history to miss. We are flying in for four days to celebrate with the 4 million other people who will be in DC. If anyone is planning on being there, let me know! Im going to try to have a prepay cell phone or something that I can be reached at. Yea!!
Christmas/birthday wish list: Granola, granola bars, chocolate, art supplies, dried fruit, movies, magazines, books, candles, lotion, nail polish…. (stay tuned for more updates)
My address (as a reminder) is as follows:
They flew in the week of Thanksgiving, and we spent the first few days of their visit up on the North Coast (yes, Honduras has a north coast, look at a map) trying to enjoy some sun and snorkeling…unfortunately it rained the entire time so what we really ended up enjoying was our hotel room. I am still really dissapointed that we didn't get to do the wildlife tours and things, but I think my parents were just so excited to be here, and overwhelmed by all the new sites that it didn't really make any difference to them what we did.
After the days of rain, we came back to Gracias to celebrate Thanksgiving, and prepare for World Aids Day. Our Thanksgiving celebration involved mashed potatoes, chicken and pumpkin pie….it was delicious, and my parents were very great and patient with me as I had to be running around town preparing stuff for World Aids Day (which was December 1st). They also tried very hard to use Spanish and improve their vocabulary (I will refrain from making any jokes about this…they did good). They got to see me do a number of different projects and presentations, and participated in our World Aids Day activities; which included a march around town and a testimonial given by a women living with HIV. In a side note, I must say that I was generally impressed by how well everything turned out for the Aids Day activities, it never ceases to amaze me how things can get planned in what can only be described as veryvery last minute preparations…and yet turn out spectacularly well.
As for the rest of my parents visit, we tried to see all the important sights around town here, and took a trip up to a town in the mountain where they make traditional pottery. Although I didn't take them to many places around the country, I really enjoyed being able to show them my life here. It’s very weird having a life here that people at home have never seen, having visitors come down creates a cool bridge between two very distinct parts of my life. (That being said, I should also add a quick thank you to Maureen for making the trip down a month ago, I can’t begin to explain how much it means to have people from home come here.) It was sad to see each of them leave, but very satisfying trips all together.
If you want more details, or want to hear about the trip from my parents' point of view, I'm sure they would have some interesting thoughts! Hopefully they feel like they got a good feel for life down here...and I don't think they were just teasing me when they said that they hope to come back!
Other Important News in my life:
I will be in DC in January! Sarah, Matt and I decided that the inauguration was just too exciting an event in our country’s history to miss. We are flying in for four days to celebrate with the 4 million other people who will be in DC. If anyone is planning on being there, let me know! Im going to try to have a prepay cell phone or something that I can be reached at. Yea!!
Christmas/birthday wish list: Granola, granola bars, chocolate, art supplies, dried fruit, movies, magazines, books, candles, lotion, nail polish…. (stay tuned for more updates)
My address (as a reminder) is as follows:
Voluntaria de Cuerpo de Paz
Gracias, Lempira
Honduras, Centro America
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Women's Health and Midwives
A few weeks ago we had the annual Midwife workshop focused on Obstetric Emergencies. As a new member of the Women's Health and Midwife Team I was able to be apart of planning and facilitating the workshop along with representatives from the Ministry of Health, Catholic Relief Services and 3 other PCVs. In order to understand the reason for this workshop, you have to know a little bit about midwives here. There is not midwifery certification and education here like in the states; they are simply women who care very much about their communities, are well-respected within them, and have alot of experience with births (often their own). There has been a big push throughout the country to increase the number of women who give birth in hospitals, this has (to an extent) alienated the midwife community and made them feel unwelcome within the health system. They work very hard within their communities and want to be respected. Of course, the other side of this is that the health professionals are simply pushing institutional care because it is safer and there is immediate access to emergency care should there be any complications during a birth. Both groups just want the best for their communities.
The workshop we helped organize was an opportunity to bring people from different sides of this issue together to work towards the common goal of improving care for pregnant women. Participants in the workshop were community teams made up of a Peace Corps Volunteer, a midwife and an institutional health worker (ie. doctors, nurses..). During the workshop we discussed ways that people can work together within their communities to improve health outcomes, and also trained everyone on specific skills designed to decrease the number of maternal deaths. We talked about proper handwashing, sterilization of equipment, pregnancy risk factors, and warning signs of problems during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. The number one cause of death in pregnant women here is hemorrhage, so we talked alot about calculating blood loss during the birth, and immediately post-partum, and the technique of bimanual compression. Midwives can use this technique in their communities in the event of an emergency, it will buy time which can be used to transport the patient to a hospital. The hope of this workshop is that the teams will return to their communties with new information, and (in a classic training of trainers style ) teach the information to other midwives in the area. People seemed to really enjoy the workshop, and I have high hopes for implementing more training programs within the Gracias area with the two women from here who came to the workshop. It was alot of fun for me to be a part of the workshop and I'm excited to continue work with this team.
So there you go; another update on what I'm doing here in the land of mountains and mangos :) Stay tuned for more updates :)
I still miss everyone from home... please keep emailing and writing, I love to hear from people!
The workshop we helped organize was an opportunity to bring people from different sides of this issue together to work towards the common goal of improving care for pregnant women. Participants in the workshop were community teams made up of a Peace Corps Volunteer, a midwife and an institutional health worker (ie. doctors, nurses..). During the workshop we discussed ways that people can work together within their communities to improve health outcomes, and also trained everyone on specific skills designed to decrease the number of maternal deaths. We talked about proper handwashing, sterilization of equipment, pregnancy risk factors, and warning signs of problems during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. The number one cause of death in pregnant women here is hemorrhage, so we talked alot about calculating blood loss during the birth, and immediately post-partum, and the technique of bimanual compression. Midwives can use this technique in their communities in the event of an emergency, it will buy time which can be used to transport the patient to a hospital. The hope of this workshop is that the teams will return to their communties with new information, and (in a classic training of trainers style ) teach the information to other midwives in the area. People seemed to really enjoy the workshop, and I have high hopes for implementing more training programs within the Gracias area with the two women from here who came to the workshop. It was alot of fun for me to be a part of the workshop and I'm excited to continue work with this team.
So there you go; another update on what I'm doing here in the land of mountains and mangos :) Stay tuned for more updates :)
I still miss everyone from home... please keep emailing and writing, I love to hear from people!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Fame...
Before coming down here, I wrote an essay for Peace Corps about dealing with unwanted attention. We also disscussed the topic countless times throughout our three months of training. My frame of reference for this type of attention was always the time I spent in Peru. I have very clear memories of being in rooms and having (literally) ALL EYES on me. This certainly happens here as well...However the difference is that my time in Peru only totalled 3 months. I have now been living in Honduras for more than 7 months and can assure you that the attention has neither lessoned, nor gotten easier to deal with. I have much more sympathy for how celebrities feel in the States, I've caught people here taking pictures of me (and other volunteers) with their cellphone camaras! So I just want to say, I'm sorry Angelina and Brad, I will never again buy an US Weekly without thinking about what the paparazzi put you through to get those photographs. It's truly exhausting.
I don't ever feel in danger or threatened by the attention. It's simply overwhelming. When we were in training in Yarumela, everyone in the small town knew everything that was happening with the trainees. One morning I woke up to my host mom telling me how one of the other trainees had gone to the hospital during the night because she was sick. I still have no idea how she found out so early in the morning... perhaps a phone tree for stories about the americans? :) There was also constant attention in relation to our bodies...height, weight...etc. I don't want to constantly have my stomach (or other body parts) touched and/or commented on: It can be very difficult. So how do we deal with it? Well, the reality is that I am in a different culture from my own, and I stand out. I can't ask them to stop noticing...so I have to figure out ways that I can adjust and deal with the attention. Sometimes I don't leave my apartment for a day, just to take a break. Sometimes I walk around with headphones on so I can drown out the catcalls and dirty lines. And, sometimes, I just walk around knowing that life is too short to get caught up in all the silly little things.... and if a man yells at me and says I am a "beautiful woman" I can't help it if I smile back.
I don't ever feel in danger or threatened by the attention. It's simply overwhelming. When we were in training in Yarumela, everyone in the small town knew everything that was happening with the trainees. One morning I woke up to my host mom telling me how one of the other trainees had gone to the hospital during the night because she was sick. I still have no idea how she found out so early in the morning... perhaps a phone tree for stories about the americans? :) There was also constant attention in relation to our bodies...height, weight...etc. I don't want to constantly have my stomach (or other body parts) touched and/or commented on: It can be very difficult. So how do we deal with it? Well, the reality is that I am in a different culture from my own, and I stand out. I can't ask them to stop noticing...so I have to figure out ways that I can adjust and deal with the attention. Sometimes I don't leave my apartment for a day, just to take a break. Sometimes I walk around with headphones on so I can drown out the catcalls and dirty lines. And, sometimes, I just walk around knowing that life is too short to get caught up in all the silly little things.... and if a man yells at me and says I am a "beautiful woman" I can't help it if I smile back.
Monday, August 11, 2008
jumping beans? Jumping Bag!
Remember how exciting jumping beans were when you were little? I do. I thought they were magical! Well, last week I was in a meeting with a bunch of community volunteers from the mountain villages who came into town for the day. Suddenly, a bag that was sitting in a corner with some other purses and belongings went hopping across the room (literally). I startled, and was momentarily returned to the magic of my youth...until a women got up from the group muttering about her chicken and shoved him back in the corner. So much for magic.
Aside from the occasional interruption, the meeting was great. The community workers all care very much about the people in their villages and have dedicated themselves to learning more about health, and other ways to improve the quality of life for their neighbors. It is great to help empower people with information to make the important changes in their communities.
In unrelated news, I killed the first cockroach in my new apartment last night. I was wandering into the kitchen for some water when he LEPT out from behind my water jug (I swear he was going for my throat) and then scurried across the floor. Lucky for me, I still have no furniture in the kitchen, so there was nowhere for him to hide...also, I had already invested in a can of Raid. Score: Anna 1, cockroach 0. Ants are also frequent visitors in my apartment. The other day there were hundreds of them coming out of one of my electric outlets...I don't know where they were going, but I did my best to get rid of them too. They were back the next day.
Score: Anna 0, Ants alot.
I realize this is a much shorter blog than usual. But I have a lot to do today and can't think of much more to say right now. I'll post again soon :)
love to all.
Aside from the occasional interruption, the meeting was great. The community workers all care very much about the people in their villages and have dedicated themselves to learning more about health, and other ways to improve the quality of life for their neighbors. It is great to help empower people with information to make the important changes in their communities.
In unrelated news, I killed the first cockroach in my new apartment last night. I was wandering into the kitchen for some water when he LEPT out from behind my water jug (I swear he was going for my throat) and then scurried across the floor. Lucky for me, I still have no furniture in the kitchen, so there was nowhere for him to hide...also, I had already invested in a can of Raid. Score: Anna 1, cockroach 0. Ants are also frequent visitors in my apartment. The other day there were hundreds of them coming out of one of my electric outlets...I don't know where they were going, but I did my best to get rid of them too. They were back the next day.
Score: Anna 0, Ants alot.
I realize this is a much shorter blog than usual. But I have a lot to do today and can't think of much more to say right now. I'll post again soon :)
love to all.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Last week, I officially moved into my very own apartment. The last 5 months have been filled with so much moving around and temporary housing that it has made a huge difference on my morale and mental "settling in" to finally have a place to call my home. The apartment is very nice, although the inside is painted bright pink (for those of you who know me well, you will understand how much this goes against my nature: I was the girl who ordered the hotwheels happy meals instead of barbie just to prove a point)....One of my friends here saw it and said she felt like she was in an eight year old's bedroom..haha. That being said, I really do love the place. It is the perfect size for me, and the shower is warm (very important). My neighbors all seem very nice, and have gone out of their way to offer me help with moving and to make me feel welcome. My favorite part about finally having my own space is that I have unlimited access to the kitchen, and don't have to feel like I'm in someone elses way everytime I try to make something. The only problem so far (besides the pink) is the fact that to cook you need utensiles (knives, cutting boards, pots/pans) of which I have none. I am slowly working on accumulating such tools...hopefully by the time my parents come visit I will at least have a pan so I can show them my bean making skills. All in all, life is great in the new apartment, and I can't wait to have some visitors to share it with!
As for work, projects continue to grow, and change. A big project I have been working on is as a new member of the Abstinence Team (Please hold all judgement against abstinence programs until the end of this explanation!). The A-team has created a manual designed to be used with groups of young girls as they meet on a regular basis. I had all kinds of preconcieved notions about abstinence programs (as per my work/life in the states) that were pretty negative. I remember thinking how ridiculous it was to see people prancing around screaming "abstinence ONLY!" to groups of teens in the states, many of whom were already having sex, and some of whom already had kids. What they needed was information about safer sex, because obviously they had already made the choice to start having it. That being said, I think this program is very different, and approaches abstinence from a different angle. First of all, it targets an age (hopefully) before sexual initiation. Ideally, this means we can equipe kids with tools to at least delay their first sexual experience for a few years. This is so important when there are such high rates of pregnancy in teens....and yes, I do think talking about contraception is really important too (I do lots of that in my community)...but let's save that for kids who are a bit older, or make it apart of different programs. The different sessions in the manual all have the underlying theme of empowerment, which I applaud. It gives girls (and boys; a male oriented manual is in the works) tools to improve self-esteem, communication, and decision making abilities. I think young women around the world (US included) are in desperate need of more programs encouraging them to develop strong self-identities, self esteem, and goals for their futures. So, I guess this is my way of doing my part! We will be leading a kind of conference in a few weeks to teach a group of Peace Corps Volunteers and their Honduran counterparts how to use the manual in their communities. It is certainly not a flawless program, but I am excited to be a part of the team who is working on it, and also to use the program in my community. I hope I did the manual justice in this explanation... :) we shall see!
What else has been happening here? Well, I still work in the Youth Clinic on thursdays...although the past few weeks it has been closed when I have gone in. I'm also still going every week to the Casa Materna to talk with the pregnant women about things like Family Planning and hygiene. This is still one of my favorite projects.... What I love about working with these women is that they are a genuinely captive audience; whether this is out of desperation for some form of entertainment, or actual interest is up for debate...but either way, they tell me that they love it when I come. They ask questions, and I can almost see the lightbulbs above their heads when we talk about something that is new to them. They care about their children and families very very much, and want to do the right things for them. It can be hard because there are certain things that have become such an innate part of everyone's lives and culture (ie giving husbands first dibs on all the meat), but I know they hear me when I say that they need to eat some chicken or cow too! I said something yesterday about how I know men work really hard on the land, but it's pretty dang hard to push a baby out too...so they need to keep their bodies healthy and strong as well (this earned me some giggles and smiles). Who knows if I am actually doing anything that makes a difference in the long run...but I am learning and growing so much here, and I'm pretty sure at least one or two people are hearing what I say and will maybe even take it and apply it in their lives; can I really ask for anything more than that? I'm content and happy.
Well, this was a long blog entry...but I hadn't written in a while and thought I should try to make up for it! I hope you are all doing well at home, with your yummy cheeseburgers and big leafy green salads.
Love love love to all
As for work, projects continue to grow, and change. A big project I have been working on is as a new member of the Abstinence Team (Please hold all judgement against abstinence programs until the end of this explanation!). The A-team has created a manual designed to be used with groups of young girls as they meet on a regular basis. I had all kinds of preconcieved notions about abstinence programs (as per my work/life in the states) that were pretty negative. I remember thinking how ridiculous it was to see people prancing around screaming "abstinence ONLY!" to groups of teens in the states, many of whom were already having sex, and some of whom already had kids. What they needed was information about safer sex, because obviously they had already made the choice to start having it. That being said, I think this program is very different, and approaches abstinence from a different angle. First of all, it targets an age (hopefully) before sexual initiation. Ideally, this means we can equipe kids with tools to at least delay their first sexual experience for a few years. This is so important when there are such high rates of pregnancy in teens....and yes, I do think talking about contraception is really important too (I do lots of that in my community)...but let's save that for kids who are a bit older, or make it apart of different programs. The different sessions in the manual all have the underlying theme of empowerment, which I applaud. It gives girls (and boys; a male oriented manual is in the works) tools to improve self-esteem, communication, and decision making abilities. I think young women around the world (US included) are in desperate need of more programs encouraging them to develop strong self-identities, self esteem, and goals for their futures. So, I guess this is my way of doing my part! We will be leading a kind of conference in a few weeks to teach a group of Peace Corps Volunteers and their Honduran counterparts how to use the manual in their communities. It is certainly not a flawless program, but I am excited to be a part of the team who is working on it, and also to use the program in my community. I hope I did the manual justice in this explanation... :) we shall see!
What else has been happening here? Well, I still work in the Youth Clinic on thursdays...although the past few weeks it has been closed when I have gone in. I'm also still going every week to the Casa Materna to talk with the pregnant women about things like Family Planning and hygiene. This is still one of my favorite projects.... What I love about working with these women is that they are a genuinely captive audience; whether this is out of desperation for some form of entertainment, or actual interest is up for debate...but either way, they tell me that they love it when I come. They ask questions, and I can almost see the lightbulbs above their heads when we talk about something that is new to them. They care about their children and families very very much, and want to do the right things for them. It can be hard because there are certain things that have become such an innate part of everyone's lives and culture (ie giving husbands first dibs on all the meat), but I know they hear me when I say that they need to eat some chicken or cow too! I said something yesterday about how I know men work really hard on the land, but it's pretty dang hard to push a baby out too...so they need to keep their bodies healthy and strong as well (this earned me some giggles and smiles). Who knows if I am actually doing anything that makes a difference in the long run...but I am learning and growing so much here, and I'm pretty sure at least one or two people are hearing what I say and will maybe even take it and apply it in their lives; can I really ask for anything more than that? I'm content and happy.
Well, this was a long blog entry...but I hadn't written in a while and thought I should try to make up for it! I hope you are all doing well at home, with your yummy cheeseburgers and big leafy green salads.
Love love love to all
Friday, June 6, 2008
Baby weighing
I have officially begun the process of integrating and learning my way around my new community. In terms of living situations, I have all the basic ammenities; I have electricity (almost all the time) and running water (again, almost all the time). I have access to the internet, and plenty of restaurants to choose from if I want to go out to eat. There are also 4 other volunteers in the town (from different projects), so I have the opportunity to speak english and relax with them if I need to. It feels very different then what people picture when you say "Peace Corps", and that is something I have had to get used to. However, I do feel very much like Gracias is the place for me, and I love it here. Despite the fact that I have access to all kinds of services, the general situation in Gracias and the surrounding areas has many needs in terms of health (and other general) services. The department (like a small state) of Lempira, of which Gracias is the capital, is the poorest department in Honduras. In my area, there are high rates of malnutrition, problems with hygiene, lack of access to drinkable water, HIV/AIDS...etc. Which results in many work opportunities for me, other volunteers and NGOs in the area. This month, I have been dividing my time between various projects. It looks like I will be spending a significant amount of time working with the World Vision office on their baby weighing campaigns in the rural areas. Each community has one day a month when all the mothers are supposed to bring any of their children, who are under 5, to get weighed by the community workers. They are then supposed to recieve counseling depending on their childs weight, and whether they have met appropriate weightgain goals based on their age. Unfortunately, it is alot of work for the community workers and World Vision, so hopefully I can serve as an added body and resource in terms of both doing the actual weighing and the nutrition counseling. It is right up my alley and I really enjoy the time I get to spend out in the more rural areas in the mountains. In general there is alot of need here and just not enough services, although there are a number of organizations and groups of people who are working in the area. I am trying to learn as much as I can about these projects so that my work over the next two years can be a support and compliment to the things that are already being done. The nutrition work is definitely not my only project, but I want to try and blog about my different projects separately as they grow and I learn more about them. Hope this gives you all a better idea of my life here...
As usual, much love to everyone at home.
Letters/packages can now be sent to my new address here in Gracias (yes, it's true; there is no street address or number)
Voluntaria de Cuerpo de Paz
Gracias, Lempira
Honduras, Centro America
As usual, much love to everyone at home.
Letters/packages can now be sent to my new address here in Gracias (yes, it's true; there is no street address or number)
Voluntaria de Cuerpo de Paz
Gracias, Lempira
Honduras, Centro America
Monday, May 19, 2008
Pictures from the end of FBT and Swearing In
The first group of pictures is all from our Swearing-In Ceremony at the US Embassy. I have many, many pictures from the day...but these are some of my favorites. They are of:
1. The Health Men
2. Me and Sarah
3. Travis, me and Swish waiting for some food
4. Krisitina and I playing behind the head table
5. The group of us who lived in Yarumela (the Yarumelons)
6. The whole health group
7. Adam and I being cheesy
8. Me, Kristina and Katie being very proud new volunteers!
I decided to include a picture of the amazing (and giant) mango that I enjoyed on my bedroom floor. Yum. Also, a picture of a poster I made to use during my hygiene lessons...Im proud. :) ha
The rest of the pictures are from my going away party in Yarumela, It was very sad to say goodbye to my wonderful family! They cooked ALOT of food and we just enjoyed being together one last time. Then, the morning when we left, the entire town (or everyone who we knew) came out to the corner in Yarumela to see us off in the bus...it was amazing.
1. The Health Men
2. Me and Sarah
3. Travis, me and Swish waiting for some food
4. Krisitina and I playing behind the head table
5. The group of us who lived in Yarumela (the Yarumelons)
6. The whole health group
7. Adam and I being cheesy
8. Me, Kristina and Katie being very proud new volunteers!
I decided to include a picture of the amazing (and giant) mango that I enjoyed on my bedroom floor. Yum. Also, a picture of a poster I made to use during my hygiene lessons...Im proud. :) ha
The rest of the pictures are from my going away party in Yarumela, It was very sad to say goodbye to my wonderful family! They cooked ALOT of food and we just enjoyed being together one last time. Then, the morning when we left, the entire town (or everyone who we knew) came out to the corner in Yarumela to see us off in the bus...it was amazing.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I'm a Volunteer!
The Friday before last was the official end of the Hondu 12 training cycle (hooray!) We all went in to Tegucigalpa in the morning, (dressed up very nicely, I should add) and spent the morning at the Peace Corps office getting more pre-service information and tours. After we were done, they took us to the US Embassy where we sang the Honduran and US National Anthems, introduced ourselves, and finally took an oath and became official Peace Corps Volunteers (to summarize). It was all very exciting, and followed by some excellent Tacos :) We also got to spend a few hours at the ambassador's house, although he wasn't home, we played some volleyball and swam in the pool. It was a really nice day...
After swearing-in, all that was really left to do was celebrate and say goodbye. It was sad to see some friends go, but I know we will all stay in touch. I'm really looking forward to being able to collaborate with my friends and other volunteers on projects in the future. Some of us are already planning a project together, so I know I will see them soon!
After finally arriving at my site, it was time to get oriented. Last week, I spent most of my time being taken up into little communities in the mountains (just to get acquanted), and wandering around Gracias trying to orient myself. I also spent a good amount of time trying to introduce myself to potential community partners, or others who might have work for me to do. I am very happy with my placement here, and can't wait to become more integrated into the community and start to work with the neighboring communities. There is alot of potential work for me here, and I hope to get myself as involved as possible in already exisiting projects, while also spending time developing some of my own.
I will try and be a more frequent blogger while in site...(this is per some requests from parents!) Thanks for continued thoughts and prayers. Love to everyone at home, and Happy Mothers Day to everyone (including pregnant friends/cousins!) Miss you all
After swearing-in, all that was really left to do was celebrate and say goodbye. It was sad to see some friends go, but I know we will all stay in touch. I'm really looking forward to being able to collaborate with my friends and other volunteers on projects in the future. Some of us are already planning a project together, so I know I will see them soon!
After finally arriving at my site, it was time to get oriented. Last week, I spent most of my time being taken up into little communities in the mountains (just to get acquanted), and wandering around Gracias trying to orient myself. I also spent a good amount of time trying to introduce myself to potential community partners, or others who might have work for me to do. I am very happy with my placement here, and can't wait to become more integrated into the community and start to work with the neighboring communities. There is alot of potential work for me here, and I hope to get myself as involved as possible in already exisiting projects, while also spending time developing some of my own.
I will try and be a more frequent blogger while in site...(this is per some requests from parents!) Thanks for continued thoughts and prayers. Love to everyone at home, and Happy Mothers Day to everyone (including pregnant friends/cousins!) Miss you all
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Gracias
Yes, thats right, the name of my site is Gracias! I am very excited to be passing this news along, it was a long wait, but also very worthwhile. We were all incredibly anxious on Monday morning while waiting to find out our sites, and I got the distinct impression that our supervisors like to see us squirm, and therefore dragged it out even longer! :) But, we were each finally handed a manilla envelope with our name on it, and (on the count of three) all tore into them to find out what our lives had in store for us over the next two years. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw my site; it is in a region of the country that I really like, has lots of projects that I am really excited about, and is close to where a number of my friends were placed. Although, I do want to give a shout-out to those people who were placed farther away (they know who they are), because I will miss them very much...its sad to get split up after 2 months of being together everyday...but, it is for the purpose of finally starting our work in the communities, which is why we all came here :)
I am currently in Gracias, for a short site visit, learning my way around and meeting the counterparts with whom I will work. There are a number of projects I would like to get involved in, but we will see how things start out once I officially begin my service. Everyone here has been really nice and welcoming, and I can´t wait to move here and get started! However, there are some things that we need to take care of in Santa Lucia and Teguc. before our service can officially start. This week will be full of final training stuff, and our Swearing In ceremony in Tegucigalpa (hooray!). Then, next weekend, we all make our final and permanent move to our sites. I feel very ready to start my service, which is a testament to the training we have been giving. Its hard to imagine how you can make someone feel so prepared to start working in such a foreign situation, but somehow, they do it! :) Keep us all in your thoughts this week as we close our time together and take the big leap out into the unknown!
PS. Thanks to my parents for the packages and Sara, Troy and Rishi for the awesome card. Love you guys!
I am currently in Gracias, for a short site visit, learning my way around and meeting the counterparts with whom I will work. There are a number of projects I would like to get involved in, but we will see how things start out once I officially begin my service. Everyone here has been really nice and welcoming, and I can´t wait to move here and get started! However, there are some things that we need to take care of in Santa Lucia and Teguc. before our service can officially start. This week will be full of final training stuff, and our Swearing In ceremony in Tegucigalpa (hooray!). Then, next weekend, we all make our final and permanent move to our sites. I feel very ready to start my service, which is a testament to the training we have been giving. Its hard to imagine how you can make someone feel so prepared to start working in such a foreign situation, but somehow, they do it! :) Keep us all in your thoughts this week as we close our time together and take the big leap out into the unknown!
PS. Thanks to my parents for the packages and Sara, Troy and Rishi for the awesome card. Love you guys!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
more pictures!
Thought I should post some more pictures for everyone! Hope you all enjoy, I plan on writing more next week when I find out my site.The first two are just to give a glimpse of what life looks like for us here. The landscape shot is actually from Santa Lucia (where we will be returning tomorrow!)
The picture of food is my very first hand-made batch of tortillas! (yay me!) It's also a shot of a typical dinner here. Also thought I should include a picture from our very first Honduran rain storm. Joel and Kristina were nice enough to walk me home to shut my window...but we all got drenched in the process!
The last two pictures are of what happens when you make cookies here! haha Sarah, Kristina and I made a batch a few weeks ago, and they were eaten within 15 minutes. The last picture is from my cooking for our going away party. I had a whole herd of helpers for my chocolate chip cookie making, and again, they were a big hit! :)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Waiting Game
I feel like I have alot to catch everyone up on, so I will do my best to summarize what's been happening since my last post!
Last week, we had our final Tech Interviews with the Program coordinators who will determine our site placement. This monday, we will finally know where they are sending us to live out our two years of service. I am so excited to find out my new home, and counterpart agency with whom I will be working. Its almost time! :)
Last week, we had our final Tech Interviews with the Program coordinators who will determine our site placement. This monday, we will finally know where they are sending us to live out our two years of service. I am so excited to find out my new home, and counterpart agency with whom I will be working. Its almost time! :)
As much as I am looking forward to finding out my site, I also can't believe that we are almost done with FBT. Next weekend, we move back to Santa Lucia. It's going to be sad to leave Yarumela, my family is very sweet and the town has grown on me! The trainees who live in Yarumela have gotten really close, and its going to be odd to be all spread (geographically) out again in Santa Lucia, and then be split-up and dispersed throughout the country. Right now we all live within a block and a half radius of eachother, and spend many evenings sitting on the corner just chatting. The weekend before last, we went (with some of the rest of the group) to the river outside Yarumela. It was a great day of just hanging out on the banks, listening to music and eating mango sauce. The following work week was good, we had our training and practicum in Men's Health, which was interesting. I was actually really nervous before we had to do our practicum, which was a HIV/men's health presentation in a local agriculture school. I think I was nervous because I have never worked with large groups of men before. It's usually been kids, or women... But, the presentation went pretty well, and I actually enjoyed myself! These experiences are definitely teaching me not to make any assumptions about what I want to do, or will be good at doing, until I try it at least once.
I think that is about all I will write for today... I want to post more pictures soon, but for some reason things it's not working right now. As usual, Im thinking of everyone. I got my very first package in the mail yesterday, Thanks Mom! Miss you all, think of me as we go through the mixed emotions of saying goodbye and moving onto the final phase of training.
Much love to all.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Life
The other day another PCT and I were chatting about how fast time has flown by...and how much our perspectives of time have changed since we got here. In the scope of two years, the last 6 weeks are hardly a dent... but so much as happened and changed in the span of this last month. Its amazing.
Everything is going very well. We have been assigned our projects for the Avanzada spanish class, and, it turns out that myself and another trainee will be spending about 4 days a week of the next three works working in a Casa Materna associated with the hospital in La Paz. We went and introduced ourselves last week and this Tuesday went to a meeting with the committee in charge of the house and it´s finances. The Casa is a place for pregnant women to come live for the weeks before they give birth. Its similar to the place I visited a few weeks ago on my volunteer visit. Anyway, Sarah and I are both VERY excited about working there. On monday we are going back to give a chat about Family Planning. It´s going to be great :) On that note, if anyone has some health education material in electronic form (hint hint PCC friends!) I would be forever grateful for any emailed info...or packages! Also, Sarah and I are going to be attending the finance meetings regularly and hopefully helping out with their fundraising. This is important as the Casa gets no money from the hospital itself, it is all from private donations and fundraising. Sarah and I have both been really vocal about our desire to work with Maternal and Child health aspect of our program, so it is really exciting to have this mini-project where we actually get to be involved with and speaking to preganant women.
All is well in Yarumela, we are bonding and having fun...and I think my spanish is even improving.
Oh also, an update on Harry the spider from my room...yesterday I was trying to find a receipt that fell off my nightstand so I pulled out a drawer and out popped Harry. Apparently that is where he lives now. EW. I put the drawer back in and ran away....maybe I´ll deal with it later.
:)
That´s all for now,
Write me letters, send me emails...
I miss everyone
Everything is going very well. We have been assigned our projects for the Avanzada spanish class, and, it turns out that myself and another trainee will be spending about 4 days a week of the next three works working in a Casa Materna associated with the hospital in La Paz. We went and introduced ourselves last week and this Tuesday went to a meeting with the committee in charge of the house and it´s finances. The Casa is a place for pregnant women to come live for the weeks before they give birth. Its similar to the place I visited a few weeks ago on my volunteer visit. Anyway, Sarah and I are both VERY excited about working there. On monday we are going back to give a chat about Family Planning. It´s going to be great :) On that note, if anyone has some health education material in electronic form (hint hint PCC friends!) I would be forever grateful for any emailed info...or packages! Also, Sarah and I are going to be attending the finance meetings regularly and hopefully helping out with their fundraising. This is important as the Casa gets no money from the hospital itself, it is all from private donations and fundraising. Sarah and I have both been really vocal about our desire to work with Maternal and Child health aspect of our program, so it is really exciting to have this mini-project where we actually get to be involved with and speaking to preganant women.
All is well in Yarumela, we are bonding and having fun...and I think my spanish is even improving.
Oh also, an update on Harry the spider from my room...yesterday I was trying to find a receipt that fell off my nightstand so I pulled out a drawer and out popped Harry. Apparently that is where he lives now. EW. I put the drawer back in and ran away....maybe I´ll deal with it later.
:)
That´s all for now,
Write me letters, send me emails...
I miss everyone
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Finally Some Photos!
Well, I don´t have much time to write, because it took me a loong time to upload these pictures. BUT I figure that I should include some brief discriptions! Pictures 1 and 2 are from a hike we took while in Santa Lucia, a group of us climbed up a nearby mountain, and had an amazing view of the valley from the top!
Pictures 3 and 4 and from our trip yesterday into Comayagua. The eight of us who live in Yarumela took a bus (owned by one of the trainees families) into the city to see their Semana Santa (holy week) celebrations. They have a very famous tradition of making carpets on the roads out of colored saw dust. They are incredibly elaborate and very beautiful (see pic 4). After they are done, a procession comes through and marches over them recreating all the stations of the cross. Its really interesting and pretty.
Next, picture 5 is of one of our daily trips in a Peace Corps vehicle to/from Yarumela...not sure when, but I thought it was cute. Picture 6 is from Comayagua again, after the procession went through. Picture 7 is from the top of some pre-mayan ruins where we went a few days ago. And the last picture is of me really really happy eating Pizza Hut yesterday after the procession. It was an awesome day. I dont have time to write more, but if you want to read more about the events for Semana Santa just google Comayagua Alfombras and you should find all kinds of info and pictures.
Hope people are holding up in the snow! Last week, it hit 97 here..... :)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Yarumela
Again, I am sorry for being a neglectful blog poster...but the negligence has not been entirely my fault. I live in a little area outside La Paz called Yarumela, there is no internet there..so this is the first chance I have had since the move to tell everyone how I have been.
The move went fine, my host family in Santa Lucia let me leave one of my big suitcases there with all my sweaters and extra stuff in it, so I didnt have to haul as much here to La Paz. We arrived last Sunday night and I met my new host family. They are wonderful and take very good care of me. Yesterday, they even took me on a family picnic to a pool. It was great.
I technically live with my host mother, father, sister and cousin. But, my host mom has like 6 daughters, so things can get busy at our house! My host ¨siblings¨are all much older than me, as my host mom is about 75. Occansionally, when the whole big group is together, I just sit and smile because the sisters´interactions remind me very much of my aunts in the states! Some things are just true across all cultures :) The picnic on Sunday with them was great, they are very fun and were feeding me as much as possible. They keep telling me that when I leave my stomach ¨won´t be so nice and flat.... I tell them that this is ok, because all the food is so good! My tortilla intake has increased exponentially in the last month. ha.
Over the weekend, I also went into a nearby city called Comayagua. My host sister (aunt) took me on saturday and we went to a supermarket (that had all kinds of exciting things) and ate in the main Plaza. After lunch, on our way out of town, we (coincidentally) ran into some other PC people and ended up spending the rest of the day in the city with them. We walked around all afternoon and went shopping. (for Sara L and Jessy P; I bought a bootleg version of Enchanted! Ill let you know when I watch it. hehehe). It was a very nice, very hot, day.
Training also continues to go well. We have gotten a number of presentations from current Volunteers, which is really nice. It is fun to hear from people who are actually applying the things we are trying to learn. Language is also going well, today we had our second interview to see if we are improving at all. He told me that I definitely won´t go down a level. Phew. :)
Also, I have pigs at my house. My mom takes care of three giant swine things in our backyard. In addition, I have a giant pet spider in my room. Actually, its not a pet, because if I find it, I will be squishing it as fast as possible with a nearby shoe. Although, when I say big, I mean about the size of the palm of my hand....so maybe I need a large boot to really get the job done.
I called my (real) dad the other night in a traumatized fit because I had discovered the nasty little sucker, but he scampered away when I tried to kill him.... He is still MIA...and I occasionally wake up at night with a jerk, thinking he is crawling on the bed preparing to attack me. (I think the malaria meds are doing a number of my imagination/dreams).
Anyway, aside from my hairy little friend, everthing is going just great. If anyone wants to write me a letter (hint hint) my address is still the same as in the previous posts. Letters get delivered to us from the capital every week or so.
Hope everyone is having a great Saint Patty´s Day! I am sad to be missing the magic of the green Chicago River... :( Love to everyone!
Happy (belated) birthday mom!!!
The move went fine, my host family in Santa Lucia let me leave one of my big suitcases there with all my sweaters and extra stuff in it, so I didnt have to haul as much here to La Paz. We arrived last Sunday night and I met my new host family. They are wonderful and take very good care of me. Yesterday, they even took me on a family picnic to a pool. It was great.
I technically live with my host mother, father, sister and cousin. But, my host mom has like 6 daughters, so things can get busy at our house! My host ¨siblings¨are all much older than me, as my host mom is about 75. Occansionally, when the whole big group is together, I just sit and smile because the sisters´interactions remind me very much of my aunts in the states! Some things are just true across all cultures :) The picnic on Sunday with them was great, they are very fun and were feeding me as much as possible. They keep telling me that when I leave my stomach ¨won´t be so nice and flat.... I tell them that this is ok, because all the food is so good! My tortilla intake has increased exponentially in the last month. ha.
Over the weekend, I also went into a nearby city called Comayagua. My host sister (aunt) took me on saturday and we went to a supermarket (that had all kinds of exciting things) and ate in the main Plaza. After lunch, on our way out of town, we (coincidentally) ran into some other PC people and ended up spending the rest of the day in the city with them. We walked around all afternoon and went shopping. (for Sara L and Jessy P; I bought a bootleg version of Enchanted! Ill let you know when I watch it. hehehe). It was a very nice, very hot, day.
Training also continues to go well. We have gotten a number of presentations from current Volunteers, which is really nice. It is fun to hear from people who are actually applying the things we are trying to learn. Language is also going well, today we had our second interview to see if we are improving at all. He told me that I definitely won´t go down a level. Phew. :)
Also, I have pigs at my house. My mom takes care of three giant swine things in our backyard. In addition, I have a giant pet spider in my room. Actually, its not a pet, because if I find it, I will be squishing it as fast as possible with a nearby shoe. Although, when I say big, I mean about the size of the palm of my hand....so maybe I need a large boot to really get the job done.
I called my (real) dad the other night in a traumatized fit because I had discovered the nasty little sucker, but he scampered away when I tried to kill him.... He is still MIA...and I occasionally wake up at night with a jerk, thinking he is crawling on the bed preparing to attack me. (I think the malaria meds are doing a number of my imagination/dreams).
Anyway, aside from my hairy little friend, everthing is going just great. If anyone wants to write me a letter (hint hint) my address is still the same as in the previous posts. Letters get delivered to us from the capital every week or so.
Hope everyone is having a great Saint Patty´s Day! I am sad to be missing the magic of the green Chicago River... :( Love to everyone!
Happy (belated) birthday mom!!!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Phase 2
Yesterday, I talked to my (real) mom on the phone and she told me to stop neglecting my blog. Sorry mom! The days seem to be flying by here and I find it surprisingly difficult to write emails, letters and blog posts. But, I will try and do a little catching up today. I have lots of things I could talk about...so here is some of the top news from my life right now...
1. Tomorrow we begin the next phase of our training, called Field Based Training. Our group will get split up by project, and each smaller group will be heading to a different city to spend 6 weeks getting more technical training. My group, health, is headed to La Paz. From what I have heard, it´s a nice city...but very warm...so I will be leaving all my sweatshirts here in Santa Lucia!
2. Last weekend all the trainees got sent to visit actual volunteers who are in the field, working. I was in a city called La Esperanza, it was really fun to get to meet other volunteers and see what life is like when you are finally out in the communities, and have more control over your own life! During the visit I got to help translate for a medical brigaide who came down to the area. It was interesting, albeit a little odd... but definitely a great chance to practice my medical spanish. The volunteer I was visiting also took me with her to a kind of shelter/bunker thingy attached to the local hospital where pregnant mommies come for the last few weeks or days before the give birth. She chatted about breast feeding, nutrition and family planning...and it was great to be there with her. I love pregnant ladies, and the more I think about it, the more I hope this is the area where I will be able to work about focus during my service.
3. Doing laundry is hard. I learned how to wash it by hand at my host family´s house. My host mom likes to watch me do it and laugh at my poor technique. There was also a similar situation the other night when she taught me how to make corn tortillas. She kept laughing because mine just didnt seem to be forming into nice little appetizing circles...but Im getting the hang of it! My host mom is very nice and patient with teaching me how to do things that come very easily to her. My whole family is very nice and try to make me feel at home...
host family #1 has set the bar pretty high... so we´ll see how it goes for the next six weeks with a new family... :)
4. I got a cell phone!!! The number (calling from the US) is 011-504-9660-9194. Calls and texts are always welcome!
I think that is a pretty good summary of the last week or so. I have still managed to avoid getting sick...knock on wood... which makes life much happier and easier! haha
I will try and be a better blogger when we are on FBT. Wish me luck with the move, and the new host family!
Much love
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Tomorrow we begin the next phase of our training, called Field Based Training. Our group will get split up by project, and each smaller group will be heading to a different city to spend 6 weeks getting more technical training. My group, health, is headed to La Paz. From what I have heard, it´s a nice city...but very warm...so I will be leaving all my sweatshirts here in Santa Lucia!
2. Last weekend all the trainees got sent to visit actual volunteers who are in the field, working. I was in a city called La Esperanza, it was really fun to get to meet other volunteers and see what life is like when you are finally out in the communities, and have more control over your own life! During the visit I got to help translate for a medical brigaide who came down to the area. It was interesting, albeit a little odd... but definitely a great chance to practice my medical spanish. The volunteer I was visiting also took me with her to a kind of shelter/bunker thingy attached to the local hospital where pregnant mommies come for the last few weeks or days before the give birth. She chatted about breast feeding, nutrition and family planning...and it was great to be there with her. I love pregnant ladies, and the more I think about it, the more I hope this is the area where I will be able to work about focus during my service.
3. Doing laundry is hard. I learned how to wash it by hand at my host family´s house. My host mom likes to watch me do it and laugh at my poor technique. There was also a similar situation the other night when she taught me how to make corn tortillas. She kept laughing because mine just didnt seem to be forming into nice little appetizing circles...but Im getting the hang of it! My host mom is very nice and patient with teaching me how to do things that come very easily to her. My whole family is very nice and try to make me feel at home...
host family #1 has set the bar pretty high... so we´ll see how it goes for the next six weeks with a new family... :)
4. I got a cell phone!!! The number (calling from the US) is 011-504-9660-9194. Calls and texts are always welcome!
I think that is a pretty good summary of the last week or so. I have still managed to avoid getting sick...knock on wood... which makes life much happier and easier! haha
I will try and be a better blogger when we are on FBT. Wish me luck with the move, and the new host family!
Much love
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Spanish overload!
The time has come for another Blog post. This last week has flown by incredibly fast, I actually didn´t believe my host mom last night when she told me that today was going to be thursday....turned out she was right! This week we got situated in our language classes, I´m pretty happy with my placement, although it requires alot of independent researching and homework. Our class has to present on a topic to the other classes; just the thought of this is stressing me out. If only I could give a discussion about Diabetes in spanish, that I remember how to do. Sometimes I feel like I know what I´m doing, and lots of times I want to hide under the table...but all the time I am learning!
Life in general is pretty busy and sticks to a schedule... 6:20am wake up, shower (speedily!), get dressed, eat breakfast (usually some corn flakes and fresh melon, with a nice cup of strong coffee). I leave home around 7:15 to walk up some hills to get to our training center. The hills are steep, but I can´t complain as some of the trainees have a good 30 minute up-hill walk. The mornings are filled with either language classes or technical training. Today was language, lots of talking...stopping...being corrected and starting over again. My host mom brings me my lunch in a thermos at 11:30 every day, it usual includes some rice, tortillas, chicken and some fruit. We all eat together, and have even taken to playing some volleyball during our break (hooray!). Afternoons are more training, sometimes about terrifying diseases we might get, or how likely it is that we will be robbed...today we talked about what the next few weeks will involve as Health volunteers. We get out of training everyday around 4:30 and I wander home, sometimes stopping to get a cup of coffee at El Pueblo Cafe that overlooks the mountains in the distance...or sometimes I go home and collapse on my bed for awhile. Homework time ensues...and bedtime comes around 9:30... sometimes I stretch it to 10 if I´m feeling ambitious.
As you might notice, I have a well established schedule revolving around sleeping, eating and training. The people in our families, at the training center and in Santa Lucia in general have all been wonderful and I know they have put alot of time into making sure our life here flows as well as possible. It´s pretty amazing what kind of effort has gone into helping us feel at home and welcome.
I hope this post has given you all at home a glimpse of my life right now, it´s busy, and I love it.
I am also a little sunburned, which makes me incredibly happy when I think about the cold in chicago and the snow in michigan.
thanks to everyone for the emails...keep them coming!!
Life in general is pretty busy and sticks to a schedule... 6:20am wake up, shower (speedily!), get dressed, eat breakfast (usually some corn flakes and fresh melon, with a nice cup of strong coffee). I leave home around 7:15 to walk up some hills to get to our training center. The hills are steep, but I can´t complain as some of the trainees have a good 30 minute up-hill walk. The mornings are filled with either language classes or technical training. Today was language, lots of talking...stopping...being corrected and starting over again. My host mom brings me my lunch in a thermos at 11:30 every day, it usual includes some rice, tortillas, chicken and some fruit. We all eat together, and have even taken to playing some volleyball during our break (hooray!). Afternoons are more training, sometimes about terrifying diseases we might get, or how likely it is that we will be robbed...today we talked about what the next few weeks will involve as Health volunteers. We get out of training everyday around 4:30 and I wander home, sometimes stopping to get a cup of coffee at El Pueblo Cafe that overlooks the mountains in the distance...or sometimes I go home and collapse on my bed for awhile. Homework time ensues...and bedtime comes around 9:30... sometimes I stretch it to 10 if I´m feeling ambitious.
As you might notice, I have a well established schedule revolving around sleeping, eating and training. The people in our families, at the training center and in Santa Lucia in general have all been wonderful and I know they have put alot of time into making sure our life here flows as well as possible. It´s pretty amazing what kind of effort has gone into helping us feel at home and welcome.
I hope this post has given you all at home a glimpse of my life right now, it´s busy, and I love it.
I am also a little sunburned, which makes me incredibly happy when I think about the cold in chicago and the snow in michigan.
thanks to everyone for the emails...keep them coming!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Santa Lucia
Hola a todos! Well, this is my first official post as a Peace Corps trainee in Santa Lucia, Honduras. We have been here for about a day and a half, and are slowing learning what life will be like during out pre-service training. Everything went well in DC and on the journey here, no bags were lost (for too long) and only 2 of my 4 total flights were delayed. hehe. But we made it, and everyone in the group seems to be doing well.
In Santa Lucia, I live in a house with my host mother and father, two host brothers and host sisters. My siblings are between the ages of 17 and 21, so this makes for a very tranquil house (in comparison to SST with my two, loveable, and loud, host brothers). We also have a cute little dog named Oliver and a parrot named Polly. As for the food, my host family is trying to make sure I adjust well to any dietary changes, so dinner last night was spaghetti. Lunch today was a more traditional, rice, chicken and tortillas; which were all great!
The area is beautiful, many flowers and green trees. The weather is equally perfect, being warm and sunny all day, and cool and windy at night (be jealous midwesterners!). Standing infront of a school across from the internet cafe, you can look down the mountain and see the sparkling lights of Tegucigalpa surrounded by mountains. Beautiful.
As for out training, today we broke down into our specific programs, and I am very excited to begin learning more about Health in Honduras. Tomorrow we have our one-on-one interviews to determine our spanish placement. There are 12 possible levels...ranging from novice low to superior. I´m shooting for somewhere in the middle. I´ll let you know how that goes!
I feel that I may be spending too much money on the internet right now, so I must be going. But, keep any emails coming! I live about 1\2 block from the internet cafe... and will be checking with some regularity! Also, the following is the postal address that I can use for the remainder of pre-service training. Cards and letters are always welcome.
Thats all for now, I hope everyone is doing well in the states (and in all the other fabulous places that friends live). I miss you all!
take care
Anna
In Santa Lucia, I live in a house with my host mother and father, two host brothers and host sisters. My siblings are between the ages of 17 and 21, so this makes for a very tranquil house (in comparison to SST with my two, loveable, and loud, host brothers). We also have a cute little dog named Oliver and a parrot named Polly. As for the food, my host family is trying to make sure I adjust well to any dietary changes, so dinner last night was spaghetti. Lunch today was a more traditional, rice, chicken and tortillas; which were all great!
The area is beautiful, many flowers and green trees. The weather is equally perfect, being warm and sunny all day, and cool and windy at night (be jealous midwesterners!). Standing infront of a school across from the internet cafe, you can look down the mountain and see the sparkling lights of Tegucigalpa surrounded by mountains. Beautiful.
As for out training, today we broke down into our specific programs, and I am very excited to begin learning more about Health in Honduras. Tomorrow we have our one-on-one interviews to determine our spanish placement. There are 12 possible levels...ranging from novice low to superior. I´m shooting for somewhere in the middle. I´ll let you know how that goes!
I feel that I may be spending too much money on the internet right now, so I must be going. But, keep any emails coming! I live about 1\2 block from the internet cafe... and will be checking with some regularity! Also, the following is the postal address that I can use for the remainder of pre-service training. Cards and letters are always welcome.
Thats all for now, I hope everyone is doing well in the states (and in all the other fabulous places that friends live). I miss you all!
take care
Anna
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The day has arrived! It's 12:30am on the day when I will finally be flying off to Cincinnati, Washington DC...and eventually...Honduras. I am excited, apprehensive, thrilled and overwhelmed. Thank you everyone for all the support over the last few days, weeks and months. I most certainly would not feel equipped to head out into the world without so much love and support from all my friends and family. Also, a special thanks to Maureen and Sara W who planned a great going away party for me in Chicago. It was a great chance to spend time with friends from all different parts of my life...I will miss you all so much!
I am *almost* completely packed...and am just finishing up some music downloading, but I don't know if I will be able to sleep at all tonight. My dad is on the couch fighting off sleep, and I think my mom is finally resigning herself to bed. We will be leaving for the airport in t-minus 4 hours, so a little sleep is probably going to be all we get...
I will update this blog as often as I can, emails and letters will always be welcomed, and cherished!
Thank you again everyone,
Here's to a new adventure!
love,
me
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