Sunday, November 22, 2009

Time for some pics!

Okay, so these pics didn´t quite come in the order I wanted them to download in, but I´m done messing with it. And to see larger versions, click on the pic and it will come up in its own window...best for the last couple of pics that show my town!

Above, in Tegus after Honduras qualified for the World Cup.

Below...me trying to get my huge dog Lola to look at the camera.
Once again in Tegus, celebrating in the streets!
Halloween in Copan....we went as Mrs. Pac-Man and Ghosts. I´m the shorter ghost :o)
Just posin...these are the girls from my abstinence/self-esteem class. Good times
A pic of Lola and how big and beautiful she is.
This place is called La Ventana (The Window) and is a huge natural rock formation that happens to frame my town of Florida.
A couple of friends and me messing around on top of La Ventana.
Little closer of a shot...beautiful.
More of Florida...so not only is it beautiful, but I´m very isolated as well.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Does anyone want a Lola???

So things have been crazy busy lately...or maybe crazy and busy. Let's take yesterday for example. I had my program director come for a site visit which lasted about 4 hours. Its customary for any visiting Peace Corps staff to treat us to lunch/dinner/etc since we make less than the monthly minimum wage in Honduras. For some reason or another, Lola was experiencing a huge amount of seperation anxiety, maybe due to the fact that I climbed into a car to go a block and she had to run along the side (twice). So when we go to the cafeteria to eat we shut the latch on the outside so that Lola couldn't get in. We heard her scratching on the door, but figured she'd calm down after a min. All of a sudden, the Evangelica Pastor yells "LOLA'S COMING IN THROUGH THE SCREEN!" Yes, my big geman shepard decided she wasn't gonna leave my side. I don't feel too bad b/c the screen on the door was already ripped, but I had to drag Lola home and we ate in my house to finish my meeting. Then I had English class in the afternoon with my 6th graders. Afterwards, I went to Deyvis's house to relax and have some coffee. His dad recently brought animals from the mountains so there's 5 ducks and a big, mean, male turkey outside the house. Isleny (Deyvis's sister) heard the ducks making noise so she went outside to check on them. When she came back in the living room she asked her mom how many ducks there were (she had just gotten in from Tegus the day before)...and instead of 5 she only saw 4. I went outside and the 5th duck was tied to a bush, but had managed to get all tangled up and couldn't move. So I decided to help him out. That got Lola going...because ducks tend to make more noise the closer you get to them. So Lola was freaking out, I had a tangled, bleeding duck in my arms. We got him untied and he tried to run. Lola wasn't helping things so Isleny took the duck and I went to get tortillas to lure Lola into the kitchen and get her out of the way. I came back and the turkey was attacking the duck. Not knowing what else to do I started throwing pieces of tortilla at it. We finally got the turkey, the duck and Lola under control. As my heart rate slowed back down, I noticed the other 4 ducks had ran away. Us 4 younger ones (Me, Isleny, Gusto--Deyvis's youngest brother and a cousin) then went on a wild-duck chase through the church grounds before Deyvis and his dad came back from working to find a duckless house.

Besides the animal adventures, things have been going along well. September-October was a wirlwind of English classes and observations to finish on time since the acting president declared that school would end an entire month early. Then on the last day of school, he declared a national holiday because Honduras qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Go figure...I'm wasn't surprised. After 17 months it takes a lot to surprise me. I really have no idea where October went or what I really did...and now we're at the halfway point of November. Before you know it I'll be giving away all my stuff and boarding a plane to come home.

Classes finished and I started English classes for the graduating 6th graders so that they can go to HS with some basic skills. We also started playing baseball and I'm in the works of forming two teams. The really exciting part is that Peace Corps has been working to get this to be a self-sustaining program and this next year the Dodgers have decided to sponsor the baseball program in Honduras! So in a few months we'll have some guys coming down to do a week-long training with us volunteers and our coaches. I'm really excited! Right now we're mostly just playing and learning the rules. I need some tips on how to form a constructive practice with all the right drills and whatnot.

I spent some time in Copan Ruins for Halloween which was nice, but I'd definately like to go back for a longer period of time. We got in at 6pm on Friday, and I left at 5am on Sunday. I was going to stay until Monday, but a friend found out that the Orchestra in Tegucigalpa was playing for free so 3 of us decided to hurry back to the capital for that. I did get to go to the ruins for a bit on Saturday afternoon, but I went late and by myself. Got to spend about 1.5 hours total, which was nice, but I didn't have a chance to see everything. I do plan on going back.

Deyvis and I are still doing wonderful...we've been together just over a year now and have yet to have any problems. Which is a little surprising we're not sick of each other yet. Dating in a small pueblo in the middle of nowhere is quite different from any dating experiences I'm sure any of you have had in the States. There's literally nowhere to go. Or if you go, you probally have to stay the night. A movie is a 6 hour bus ride away.

What else??? I'm thinking that I'll be having a lot going on these last 10 or so months. My counterparts have a laundry list of things, which we may or may not have time for. Also a possible trip to Nicaragua is in the plans...my main reason for wanting to go is to go volcano surfing! Doesn't that sound absolutely amazing? I also plan to get my diving certification while I'm here...we'll see about when. I also plan on seeing the alfombras in Comayagua this year. Every year during Holy Week this city makes amazing saw dust "carpets" (for lack of a better translation). The pictures look quite amazing and that's not something you can see just anywhere. If you have no idea what I'm talking about do a google search for "Alfombras Comayagua" and you'll see some pics. I have more than an entire month of vacation time to use before August! It might be nice just to take a small trip with Deyvis somewhere and not be at home.

That's about it for now...its time to go drink some coffee and eat some bread. My favorite afternoon activity! Take care all!