The official version of the bad news

So some of you might have seen my facebook post about the "bad news" of the possible shut down of Peace Corps Honduras. I thought that I should explain a little more and give you the official documents so that you can understand whats going on. Attached are letters from my country Director and the regional Director for central and South America. Basically I'm going to be in a state of limbo for a while. The life plan up to this point is I fly out to AZ to be with my family as scheduled for pre-approved vacation days I leave on the 29th and I am supposed to come back the 5th of January. This closure conference to talk to everyone does not have an official date yet besides beginning of January if  it is before the 5th Ill have to sly back to Honduras early to attend. After the conference ALL volunteers will be packed up and sent back to the states for at least 30 days- and there we wait in limbo to see if we can go back at some point to Honduras to serve or if the country will be closed down. If the country is re-opened not everyone will likely come back and not all projects or sites will be reopened.
SEE BELOW for the offical version of this info:




STANDFAST: Peace Corps/Honduras
All PC/Honduras Volunteers have been placed on Standfast, effective December 20, 2011. This means that Volunteers must remain in their sites until further notice or as authorized below.
We will advise all Volunteers of the date of the Volunteer Conference as soon as logistics are finalized. Some Volunteers may need to change their travel plans in order to attend the Conference.
Conditions of Standfast: We have closed Honduras’ borders to Visiting Volunteers from other posts. All Peace Corps posts have been notified. If you are in need of medical care, please contact the Duty PCMO for support and guidance. Volunteers with pre-approved Annual Leave to the USA, France, Mexico, China, Costa Rica and Nicaragua can continue with their travel plans depending on Volunteers’ transportation within Honduras. These Volunteers must have their in-Honduras transportation approved by the Country Director before traveling and/or returning so that we can reduce risks. Volunteers with pre-approved Annual Leave to El Salvador and Guatemala need to abide by Standfast within Honduras. Thus, your trips must be cancelled. Volunteers who currently are in El Salvador or Guatemala need to return to their sites in Honduras, after consulting with PC/Honduras staff about transportation options. All Personal and Annual Leave within Honduras is prohibited, except in the rare exceptions of those Volunteers who have family visiting.
o A case-by-case decision will be made on Standfast exceptions for Volunteers who have family visiting.
o Those Volunteers must have their in-Honduras (mainland) transportation and lodging approved by the Country Director before traveling.
o Volunteers traveling to Roatán must fly from/to either San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa, with pre-approval of ground transportation within Honduras. Overnighting on the north coast is not permitted unless a waiver is granted by the Country Director. Volunteers who do not comply with the above protocols will face Administrative Separation, loss of non-competitive federal eligibility, and loss of PC/Honduras’ letters of recommendation for future graduate school and job applications.
Emily Untermeyer
Country Director
Peace Corps/Honduras
December 20, 2011


December 20, 2011
Message to Volunteers in Honduras:
As we stated in our message to you last Friday, Peace Corps made the difficult decision to cancel the arrival of the next group of trainees in Honduras scheduled for February 2012. It was not an easy decision, but based on a series of meetings last week with Country Directors, Peace Corps Safety and Security staff, and other headquarters staff, along with input from current Honduras Volunteers, we know it is the best decision in order to ensure the safety and security of all Volunteers.
During the course of our meetings, we also reviewed existing policies and procedures and developed additional actions that need to be implemented if we are to maintain operations in Honduras. These additional actions may include:
Assess moving the main Peace Corps office out of Tegucigalpa and closer to the regions where Volunteers will be placed in the future; The establishment of regional support offices closer to Volunteers; A reduction in the number of Volunteers in country; A redefinition of the geographic areas where Volunteers will be placed in the future; An analysis of all current Volunteer sites and a re-assessment of the overall security environment at each site; Extension of the off-limits areas; and, A review of alternative transportation and logistical support systems.
These actions will require careful planning and execution, in addition to significant amounts of time from our staff in Honduras and Washington. Consequently, we have made the hard decision to temporarily pause our operations in Honduras while we evaluate and implement the proposed actions. Prior to potentially re-starting operations, our regional and headquarters-based safety and security staff will conduct a new assessment of the security environment to ensure that we can operate safely in Honduras.
In order to implement this temporary pause in our operations in Honduras, we are taking the following steps:
Standfast
Effective immediately, we are placing all Volunteers on standfast, and all Volunteers should remain in their sites. If you do not feel safe in your site, I want you to contact our staff in Honduras so that we can pick you up, and transport you to a safe location.
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If you have travel plans over the upcoming holidays, please check with our staff in Honduras to review transportation options and to obtain permission to travel outside of your site. We are currently working on defining additional off-limits areas in Honduras and neighboring countries which may affect your vacation travel plans. We have attached standfast instructions to this letter. Remember that Honduras is off-limits to visiting Volunteers from other countries.
Volunteer Conference
You will be invited to participate in a Volunteer Conference in early January to work with staff to review your options and assist you with next steps.
Administrative Hold
After the January conference, all Honduras Volunteers will be placed on Administrative Hold for a period of at least thirty days and will return to their Home of Record in the United States while Peace Corps assesses the future direction of the program. We are currently working on the details of this process and will provide you with additional information at the Volunteer Conference. Administrative Hold means that you will remain a Volunteer, but will be away from your country of service for the convenience of the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps will, among other things, continue to be responsible for your medical care. While you are on Administrative Hold, our staff will analyze our options and decide whether we can implement the steps that are necessary to ensure your safety and security.
Interrupted Service / Early Close of Service
Please note that you may request Interrupted Service at any time. Interrupted Service is granted when a situation beyond your control prevents you from completing your full tour of service. Any Volunteer granted Interrupted Service can seek re-enrollment in another country program. Furthermore, Volunteers who are within 90 days of their Close of Service date will be eligible for an early Close of Service. Volunteers who are traveling home for the holidays will also be given the option of not returning to Honduras and will be provided with the option of Interrupted Service or, for eligible Volunteers, early Close of Service.
I understand that seeking Interrupted Service or early Close of Service is a difficult decision. All of you joined the Peace Corps with a desire to make a difference, and you are currently doing that. However, I urge any Volunteer with concerns about their safety and security to give serious consideration to the above options as appropriate. As you review your options, keep in mind that even if we are able to continue to have Volunteers in Honduras, it is likely to be a much smaller program in a smaller geographic area. Thus, there is a strong likelihood that many Volunteers will not have the option of continued service in their current site or even in Honduras.
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We are taking these measures because your safety and security is the agency’s highest priority. Our staff in Honduras, supported by our team in Washington, will be working diligently to provide you with the support you need.
We will continue to provide you with additional information over the next few days and weeks, and ask in advance for your patience and understanding as we work through these important changes.
Sincerely,
Carlos J Torres
Regional Director
Inter-America and Pacific Region

Yes I actually work!

It recently occurred to me while talking to a friend on the phone, [She strait up asked are you actually doing any work] that I haven't actually dedicated any time here to say what I'm actually doing work wise here. Of course I'm working, sometimes 6 days a week. I guess that I haven't dedicated any time to it , because I didn't know if anybody would actually find it that interesting, and I kind of felt like once I wrote about it, its like a one time shot and I could never write about it again. But I am assuming I'm wrong on both accounts, so here goes...

Wow this is way harder to explain then I though I have written and erased like 5 times now, maybe this was the real reason I was avoiding writing this. As I explained earlier (I think) I have 2 counterparts is with a NGO which is a Guardaria and the other is with the school district of Choluteca my contact being the superintendent.

My schedule is supposed to be I work with the Guardaria Monday through Wednesday and the Distrital Thursday and Friday. That has not actually happened yet in the 2 months that I have been working here thus far. Stuff changes here daily, and you have to remind people of stuff 50 times and that does not mean that its actually going to happen at that date or time.

You can see how this might be a little wearing on a control-freak, workaholic like myself ;) To help myself deal with this problem each month I compile a list of things that I have actually accomplished. It especially helps on those days that I go into the office and I'm not sure what it is I am accomplishing in that moment. Its not like being a full time teacher and knowing you are going to teach something specific and measurable each day.

So Here's What I have actually done so far (Sorry that some is in Spanglish & Spanish- and Im not really up to translating)

Month: October

Accomplishments/Quantifiable work

·         Presentation / introduction (about me, PC, and future collaboration activities): all of the asistentes tecnicos, 3 sub meeting of asistentes (around 60 principals/directores), all the teachers at the guardaria

·         Hand washing charla-  whole group at the guardaria (7-17 year olds) 2 presentations to kinder classes at the guardaria.

·         Autoestima/ self-esteem  charla- 3^rd through high schoolers  (yo merezco curriculium)

·         Merienda escolar & Redes educativas- assisted presentación escuela rural

·         Training: center based instruction- guardaria teachers

·         Translation- of letters for sponsors (guardaria)

·         Flood relief- assisted passing out supplies and wrote formal report and documented damage to send to sponsor organizations (video, photos, report). Guardaria

·         Disaster response plan (World Vision, UNICIEF, Distrital) Translated checklists for emergency educational kits, helped create action plan for kit implementation, tech support.  

·         Attended science fair at local high school (Distrital)

·         Participated on Choluteca birthday parade (Distrital)

·         Facilitated games during canceled class rain days

·         Red de Mujeres- taller de género (attended)

·         Attended training and helped with multiple presentations on the “ley de tranparencia”

·         Attended and observed 2 meetings of the Choltueca Comite Civico

·         Yo Merezco-  began program, co-teaching lead presenter on Wednesday

Supported other volunteers requests for resources and information on teaching methods

November Work

So Far

·        Capacitaciónes:

1.     Pistas de implementación de centros de aprendizaje  y Oportunidad de crear materiales

2.     Como identificar estudiantes que necesitan ayuda

a.     Ideas para evaluar las necesidades y practica

b.     Escuchando

c.      Lectura

d.     Escritura

3.     Usando el data de los evaluaciones para desarrollar metas y actividades para mejorar

4.     Introducción de uso de computadoras: funciones básicas y usando el data show

·        Yo Merezco

o   Clase de abstinencia

o   Clase de autoestima

·        Attended: Capacitaciones sobre el nuevo censo de docentes y el nuevo sistema de digitalizar data de graduación. Asistí a presentar información en una junta de un asistente técnico

·        Entrevista en canal 27 sobre becas y mi trabajo en Choluteca

·        Presentación de becas semillas para jóvenes y un sesión de apoyo de llenar las formas

·        Asistí en una brigada dental con asistentes de distrital (2 doctoras) presentación de salud bucodental, practica de cepillar los dientes y un tratamiento de flúor.

·        Presentación de cepillar los dientes practica y tratamiento de flúor en un jardín de niños (yo sola = sin doctoras)  

·        Presentación: Becas semillas para docentes (ppt)

·        Asistió sellando miles de diplomas y certificados finales en el distrital

·        Translaciones

o   Cartas para estudiantes, y maestros para/de padrinos

o   Correos electrónicos y informes a ONG quien apoyan la guardaría

 The most clear and consistent thing that I have been doing is a weekly teacher training at the Guardaria, and a abstinence class with 5th and 6th grade girls. So when I have down time at work I am usually prepping for these two activities. Once the new school year starts in February I am supposed to start with English teacher classes which will add lots of work and I hope consistency as well. More details to come about that later.

As for other stuff that has been going on. There has been a flood of celebrations going on aka lots of cake: Host mom's birthday, host mom's finance's birthday, host aunts birthday, confirmation, graduation, wedding...

The top 3 ways to know you are at a wedding in Honduras (taken from my recent experience) 

1. The invitation says a start time of 6:30 but the bride doesn't actually enter the church until 8:15

2. You are asked to carry your chair from the church to the reception. Then scramble to get a table (no assigned seats)

3. The wedding party [bridesmaids & groomsmen] are the servers (they bring you dinner and drinks and collect your trash).

Yeah this stuff would NEVER go down in a American wedding

Here's some party pictures for your enjoyment!

                                                                Birthday Party Games

                                              Host mom and Host sister @ Wedding reception

                                      Cutting of birthday cake (strawberry cream, super yummy)

The extended family at host mom's fiancees birthday

The good, the bad and the ugly

Well where to start...

First of all I have been in site for about and month and a half now, and I have to say that I think the pace of life here in Honduras is a good change for me. I am way less stressed, not thinking about writing research papers, or grading math tests, or IEP meeting paperwork, or creating a decent looking holiday bulletin board in time, or preparing my students for a high-stakes standardized test. I no longer always feel like there are never enough hours in the day and walking around extremely sleep deprived. This is not to say that I'm not working hard and I don't have stress here, its just that the pace is different. To give you a more proper visual whenever I went hiking with friends I was always at the back of the pack, here I am constantly having to slow down for people to catch up with me.

Maybe a good organizational tool for this post would be the good the bad and the ugly.

first THE GOOD:
I recently had a visit from one of my Peace Corps bosses which went really well and was productive. She came to meet with my family, and make sure my home life situation was kosher. I got a good report from my family and I was able to voice my concerns about housing in the future. She also met with my 2 counterpart bosses and they actually sat down together for the first time and I have a tentative schedule and I have a better idea of what I'm going to be doing for the next 2 years! YEAH!

I got to go to my first official quinceanera. Which was a really big fancy deal, I am talking wedding style. One of the teachers at the NGO daughters turned 15 (think batmitzfa meets sweet-sixteen meets wedding). Damas= brides maides, tiara, tulle, lights, fireworks, expensive flower arrangements, a cake with a fountain in the middle- not kidding. Here's some pics to prove it:

The ceremony

 The dinner

  The cake

One of the most interesting things was the fancy dinner, they eat a lot of meat in this country I mean a LOT for example this was the dinner they served : Pepsi (always the need to consume lots of Pop here), potato salad, then Two large pieces of steak, a sausage, huge chicken leg , and a kabob of 6 shrimp, yeah you read correctly 5 different types of meat on 1 plate for each person this was not a check which entree you want thing. Ohh Honduras you will never understand vegetarianism :)

I went on a Halloween weekend beach trip with some fellow volunteers, to an island that is here down south only about and hour and a half away. Two buses and and a boat ride later we were at the island of Amapala. Which is dormant volcanic island. It is basically local people, most of the year although it has touristic potential, kind of a hidden jem feel. So we spent a nice weekend, enjoying the beach, the ocean, and had a bon-fire with smores! Pics:

More good stuff is I got MAIL! Delicious homemade chocolate cookies, and lots of other great stuff! Thanks Mom, Reb and Margaret!

I met a JICA (Japan's version of Peace Corps) volunteer who is really nice and also lives here in Choluteca, she is a math teacher training

The Bad
There are no more BAGELS in the city of Choluteca which is very BAD. I went last weekend to the only supermarket that imports frozen bagels (a dutch brand) and they don't have them anymore :( Probably because I was the only person in the whole city who eats bagels with cream-cheese, but seriously taking away this small pleasure, of my favorite/normal breakfast food ahhhh. Soo tired of beans and tortillas.


I was doing a presentation/training for the teachers at the NGO, I had prepared a really good power-point presentation and activities based on  them looking at the slides, and what happens in the exact moment I am going to start that's right the power goes out ahhhhh, which was bad because I had to totally change the order of my presentation, and verbally do stuff that there should of been a visuals for. It happened again when I was printing scholarship information at the school district, right in the middle half printed and the electricity didn't come back until several hours later. Oh well that is just one of the bad things about living here really really unreliable electricity. 




The Ugly
So on the Amapala trip, I was in a mototaxi accident and came out with some really ugly scratches on my leg that are still in the process of healing and a really funky ugly rash on my arm and chest from the bushes that we ran into. The whole experience was a bit ugly, but thank God nothing serious happened.

 This is what a moto-taxi is

Poverty this is the "ugly" that is everywhere and is so hard to see. Seeing daily people living in homes made out of sticks and garbage bags, seeing kids in school with out shoes and their teeth literally rotting in their mouths, getting approached by 80 year old women asking for money, or a Dad with his son asking me to give them money to buy groceries at the supermarket. It is heartbreaking to live surrounded by this poverty.

Also justifiable as "ugly" is this frog that I found on my bathroom door, who knows how he got there. But he's the kind of ugly that grows on you and your eventually like "oh how cute" :)

I miss you all and want to hear from you soon!

Em

Swearing in video

So after many failed attempts because of the video size here it is finally follow the link and watch it on my you-tube channel:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I432K0i-BJc

This didn't work sorry my internet connection was way 2 slow to download a video this size but a more tech- savvy colleague also took 2 videos of more memorable parts so here they are for your viewing pleasure.

The group singing Peace train:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6accaQG2QQY

Actual swearing in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNPEa0qy2o

Rain Rain go away

I know that it has been forever since I have written, but living in a new place and adjusting to a new life has been a lot to process, and writing is my least favorite way to do so hence the avoidance.

Swearing in was really nice although quite a fast and surreal experience. It was good weather and the embassy was nice. Here's a link about the ceremony http://www.hondudiario.com/content/la-embajadora-de-los-estados-unidos-juramenta-voluntarios-del-cuerpo-de-paz
 

 the crew at swearing in

 Me and the country director also named Emily!

I know I'm not doing the swearing in justice in the description I have a video of the whole thing that I'm going to try to figure out how to down load on to here maybe in the next post.

Currently the region (Choluteca) I am living in is in big trouble it has been raining for 4 days strait with out stopping, and there is major flooding. Not just roads and rivers buts peoples homes have been completely washed away, people are comparing it on the news to when Hurricane Mitch hit. I'm lucky that I am living in the city so it is not as bad here as it is in more rural communities. But we haven't had water for the last couple of days and the centers where they store water for the city were just washed away, so we spent the day collecting rain water, and hauling it to the pila (big cement storage bin). So we can bathe and wash dishes, clothes etc. The ironic thing is that there is standing water everywhere and yet not the kind of water we need. The upside I finally get to put my cute rain boots and rain pants to use, while we hauled water. Here are some pics of me and the family collecting rain water.

host siblings

water collection

filling the pila

I was supposed to do a hand washing charla for all the kids at the NGO I work for but because of the weather and flooding there are rivers that kids need to cross only about 20 of 250 came. So I'm going to try on Tuesday, god willing.

Besides the current natural disaster, things have been going pretty well. I have been in my introductory weeks so have been observing and been introduced to lots of people, principals, pastors, police, politicians.... I was in a parade walking behind the mayor since one of my counterparts is the superintendent for the entire school district of Choluteca. I felt a bit out of my element walking with all the important political leaders and getting to sit next to the table of honor to watch the parade.

Other noteworthy experiences include trips out to some rural communities to visit schools where we forged a rivers got stuck in the mud and I had to jump up and down in the back of the cab to give it traction to get it unstuck in heels!

I totally lucked out because my host sister does nails and is super professional. Check them out! who would of thought that in would be in peacecorps that I got weekly medi & pedi

The most important thing that I need to tell everyone is how to send me mail. I have a new address here and would love to hear from you via a post card or get small treats from the USA. Remember it helps to write religious sayings in Spanish on the outside of the envelope:

 My name

#48 oficina postal

Choluteca, Choluteca

Honduras

America Central 

I'll be looking forward to hearing from you all. Miss you!

Un abrazo fuerte,

Emily

Last thoughts before leaving training

I thought I should fill everyone in before our final week comes to a close and I’m off to my sight where I will be spending the last 2 years.

Let me start by saying that I just witnessed an incredible battle between a wasp and a spider in my

Bedroom window. I have to leave my windows open in order to fight the ever annoying mold issue and there are no screens on the windows so hence the ever plentiful variety of gross critters having access to my room. Anyway this tiny spider totally took out a feisty wasp and quite the battle ensued. I have come to the conclusion that to leave spiders alone in my room because they do more good than harm, except the super big hairy ones that look like relatives of tarantulas. I know my dad would totally approve (Jim Gillihan’s memory).

I haven’t had water in the showerhead for the last 3 days so I have had to wash/shower with bottles of water filled from the Pila. Water access is a serious issue in Honduras, no one really knows when they are going to have it or not, which makes a lot of basic things we take for granted in the USA a lot more challenging:  bathing, laundry, cooking, flushing toilets etc…

Other stuff that I haven’t really mentioned but now is part of living the Honduras life for me is always needing to look down when you are walking. Why? First of all the roads here are not up to US standards and I’m talking about the gravel roads  in the country, they aren’t really even at all there are lots of potholes rocks and dogs in the street. Which brings we to my next point you need to look at the ground not to step in poop. It’s everywhere, dogs here just run wild for the most part so there are not the little clean up after your dog baggie dispensers every couple blocks, and there is also gigantic mounds of horse poop too to watch out for. Oh and the garbage, its all over the ground people just through it there all the time, everything you can think of orange peels, chips bags, plastic bottles of soda, everything and everywhere. So ojo, always look down when you are traveling anywhere in Honduras. These are the kind of things that its hard to give people a sense of the reality here.

Other news, I went to my first prom last night. Yes Peace Corps H-18 hosted a prom/ going away part which was fun. And it only cost $8 a person mind you that is several days’ salary but very worth it.  Everyone got dressed up and yours truly wore make-up and contacts for the first time in Honduras. Its kind of crazy that my fellow volunteers really only know me with glasses so it was a shocker. I have to say that my face felt freer. It was kind of one of those peace corps rules that just becomes part of life glasses no contacts, so I’m just going to whip them out on special occasions. Things like wearing glasses every day, never wearing jewelry, never blow-drying my hair, not watching TV for 3 months, having to put money on my cell phone every week have been absorbed in to parts of my daily routine. I have been compiling a mental list of things that I miss about my ex life that I’ll have to include in a post soon. But wow that was a tangent prom, we reserved a cool restaurant that had a pool and a bar attached. We were served amazing food (grilled corn, potatoes, onions, shallots, every kind of meat you could imagine, welcome drink, soda, chismol and chimichurri) had access to the sound system, so we got to play classic American music from iPods, so there was dancing, some swimming in underwear, eating and drinking of course. It seemed that everyone had a good time. Its going to be sad leaving everyone and parting ways, because we all have become quite close.

Thursday was Honduran independence day I sat through the longest parade ever, lots of cheerleaders, baton twirlers and bands all with fancy uniforms. I was glad I got to see such an important culture celebration.

Here is some general info on my new sight (which I can actually verify once I’m there, this is from the info packet they gave me pre-departure)

*There are around 100,000 people living in the city

*the city sits in the south of Honduras and it sits fairly close to the borders of both Nicaragua and El Salvador.

* the city was founded in 1535 so its old and historic, but it has lots of modern connivances like Pizza hut, Wendy’s and big grocery stores( I’m the only one in the group with a site this big and these type of chains)

*It’s really really hot there, and is know by some Peace Corps staff as Cholu-Texas.

*It’s close to the a golf (Golfo de Fonseca) aka the beach and the ocean

More interesting facts to come later…

Thursday is our official swearing in ceremony at the embassy as well as the 50^th anniversary party for Peace Corps. Friday we head out to site with our counterparts. Lots of big changes coming soon, I have a feeling that I’m going to miss these mountains and this cool climate.

No one posted anything about my last 2 blog posts so maybe that means there not being read????? Would love to hear from you all.

Un abrazo fuerte!

Pictures fro, my project and prom

Site anouncement and some pics (finally)

Im going to....... Choloteca Choloteca the 4th largest city in Honduras with a population of 100,000 people. I leave next Friday for site and get sworn in on Thursday! Swearing in is at the american embassy and is a huge deal because of it also be PC 50th aniversery. More details about my site and swearing in soon.

Finally some pics me working at a the school where I just finished my independent project. And a pic of my host mom dancing in the kitchen during our pupusa cooking lesson the pupusas are the last pic.

Miss everyone. Hope to hear from you all soon.

PS I am going to have a new personal mailing address once Im in Choluteca where you can mail me love letters directly. So Ill keep you posted when I find out what it is.

Here she be

I know that it has been a while since I have written but because of technology challenges and busyness this is the best I can do. I hope this does not become a pattern of making excuses for the lapses between posts at the beginning of each post. I’m guessing that it won’t be since pretty soon I’ll be in sight and this blog might be my only reliable English outlet and therefore I’ll be making excuses as of why I need to post so often instead.  Anyways hopefully you will forget about it and just enjoy all of the interesting tidbits I’m about to share with you.

Big news first I had my last interview with my bosses aka the youth development project heads where they finally gave everyone some hints about what they are going to be doing for the next two years. They basically just revealed to me who my counterparts will be aka the organizations that I will be working with. Other people found out more info about their host stay families or the weather of their site or if they have a site mate (another PC volunteer from another branch ej. Business, municipal development…) They told me that I have 2 counterparts, a school district where I will be working with them to give teacher trainings on things like classroom management and teaching methodologies and teaching TEAM which is a curriculum for teachers who teach English. My second counterpart is a NGO (non- governmental organization) that provides before, afterschool and vacational programs for students pre-k through ninth grade. So I get to do teacher training and work with kids which I am happy about. I find out tomorrow at 4 where my site actually is so all the details will come out then. Everyone in the group has been on pins and needles waiting and hypothesizing where everyone is going.  Next post everybody.

Now that’s out of the way other stuff that has been happening. I am still fighting lots of gross bugs and battling mold issues. Friday-Saturday was Día del niño/children’s day. Friday it was celebrated in schools which basically consisted of kids eating sugar all day. There was a formal presentation, then the moment every kid was waiting for sugar distribution. It begins with Piñatas which are pretty much the most dangerous thing I have ever seen, kids getting wacked in the head with a stick as they skin their knees diving for pieces of candy. Nooooo sense of order when it comes to piñatas here it’s a real free for all.  Then goodie bags of candy were passed out, they coke then cake, I really wasn’t exaggerating about the sugar. Then kids usually get candy from family members as well. Thank goodness I don’t live with any small children because talk about kids acting crazy via sugar infusions. The kids really seemed to be enjoying themselves though smiling all day with mouths full of sweets.

Other noteworthy happenings I taught a group of highschool boys how to put on a condom appropriately. On Monday we had an all day TOT (training of trainers) on HIV/Aids. AIDS is a huge issue in Honduras effecting a very large numbers of the population, so part of being a productive peace corps volunteers give workshops on awareness and prevention. So after the training on Tuesday we had to give a 4 hour HIV/Aids workshop in pairs to classes in a vocational high school. So 2 female volunteers were matched up with a classroom full of 15 to 18 years old boys studying woodworking to broach the topic of sex. I was a bit nervous to say the least. After the initial awkwardness it went smoothly, the boys were for the most part respectful and were very interested in the topic. I was able to demonstrate how to put a condom on a banana using all the appropriate steps, and monitor the group practicing. All in Spanish mind you which was quite a feat. I was observed and got a really good review, with the comment that I was a natural and it looked like I had given the presentation 100 times before, LOL.

Over the last several weeks we have been working on independent projects in small groups to get a feel for the kind of projects that we will be working on in site. Mine has been with 2 other volunteers at a local elementary school. We met with the teachers, the principal and the PTA and decided on doing an afterschool program to support students with learning delays, since it appears that students with special needs are pretty much ignored or not given any extra support. The plan was to do small group interventions, but it didn’t really turn out like that. We started with a list of students that teachers recommended and identified their problem but their attendance has been really sporadic like none showing up the second week, and other kids from the neighborhood kept showing up randomly. So it has morphed into Literacy support for students who show up. We broke into 2 groups K-3 and 4-6^th. I am team teaching the K-3 kids and it has been going pretty good. Doing a lot of early phonetics stuff in Spanish which has been fun, whipping out the songs and phonics chants, sight words etc. Also I am super lucky because my mom sent me a few books in Spanish from home that we have been able to do a read aloud everyday and incorporate an activity. It is really really really hard to find books here not to mention good literature Spanish books. So thanks mom you’re a life saver. I might be calling in a few favors and asking some teachers to use some scholastic points to get me some books for down here.

I had my first “ethnic” food since being in Honduras Wohooo. It was a version of fried rice from a Chinese restaurant in Teguz that a daughter brought my host mom. A rare treat even though it was not really like the fried rice that I’m used to at home it had a Honduran twist if that’s possible.  Ethnic food meaning anything not traditional Honduran is a rarity to come across. I miss Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, even Mexican (what they call tacos and enchiladas here are NOT the same). Not to mention go to American fare like mac and cheese or a burger. I would kill for some basic cheese Im not even talking the fancy stuff like gouda or brie I’m talking cheddar. Anyways I have to get off this food tirade before it takes over the entire post, I could go on and on.

I have my final Spanish leveling interview on Wednesday pray for me ahhhhh. I’m reading an interesting Honduran novel call prision verde currently for class, lots of good historical and political insights. Time to sign off, new post should be coming soon with the big site reveal……..

Machetes, flaming Ouija board, and a puppy

My apologies for taking a bit of time to write this, but it has been a very busy week and a half, but it’s long so don’t get your panties in a bunch.

 We left Sunday morning for our volunteer visits and got back Thursday evening. Volunteer visits basically are when each volunteer is matched up with another volunteer already in the field (all over the country) in their branch (in my case youth development) so that we can shadow them and get a feel for the work that we will be doing. I went to the department of Choluteca which is in the south to a town of about 3,000 called Namasigue.  Let me just say that Choluteca is hot, there was one morning at about 6am that my eyelids were sweating, ufff, and it wasn’t even the hottest time of the year. It made me really appreciate the climate where I am currently living which is nice and fresco, it rains almost every day in the late afternoon or early evening and is surrounded by greenery and mountains.

The first day of the day of the volunteer visit I traveled with two other trainees who were also going to the region of Choluteca and met my volunteer in the city of Choluteca. We took a bus to Teguz where I sat near a man who had a machete wrapped in a piece of newspaper on his lap. PS machetes here are the go to tool, lawn mower sissors chasing off rabid dogs, wielded by drunks etc. Once we were in Cholu we ate at Wendy’s (ahh American food) although they did have balleadas on the menu and went to a big grocery store. Which is pretty rare here as well unless you are in a really big city, mostly there are just pulperias (mini-convience stores -store fronts or at the front of people’s houses) everywhere.  So why is a big grocery store such a big deal- variety and they have lots of stuff that are not in pulps like bagels and cream-cheese yum and other American stuff like cheddar cheese and 30 varieties of shampoo oh and of course the sell machetes too which someone in line was buying. We picked up some things then headed to the other volunteers site who was in Conception de Maria about 3 and a half hours away. My host volunteer and I were going to Conception de Maria with the 2 other trainees in my group because  our 2 host volunteers were friends and Conception was in Feria (Their annual festival) aka mini cornfest. My host volunteer made tacos from taco seasoning that her family had sent her from home (there are a lack of spices in this country) and they do not do Mexican style tacos here unfortunately, which were really yummy. Then we all went out to the Feria with another PC health volunteer that lives in a nearby. There was a crazy Ferris wheel that I ventured on once, that went really really fast and was probably not up to any safety code in the entire US (living on the edge J ).Flying swings, a merry go around that guys ran around and pushed, cotton candy and lots of deep fried foods, shooting games to win cheesy prizes you get the idea small scale carnie goodness. There was also a dance party that cost 100 limps to get into but luckily the local host volunteer was able to work her connections and get us in for free. There was a live band that kind of looked like a Latino version of the backstreet boys with matching white vests and hilarious synchronous dance moves.  But not to give you the impression that this was a 8^th grade dance vibe before we went in there was a group of military men carrying loaded machine guns and throwing out a drunk guy, not so gently. We closed the evening sleep over style sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags.

The next morning my host volunteer and I left early (6am) to get back to her site. The next couple of days I followed my host volunteer around and got to meet the counterparts she worked with, the local high school, elementary school, pre-k, library, health center, mayor’s office. She spent time preparing for a dental brigade that was coming in sponsored by a rotary club, collecting info from teachers about students, and organizing a parent meeting, as well as time prepping for a lesson at the kinder on cavities, and a teacher training.  She was very organized and involved volunteer which impressed me and a good cook too which I appreciated. The last night I unfortunately had some GI problems and had to keep waking her up in the middle of the night so I could use the bathroom outside, which was protected by Danger the guard dog, which she had to hold so I could get outside without being attacked. One interesting instance was when the host family insisted that she burn the Ouija board that a previous volunteer had left in her house, because a local girl in the community recently had gone crazy because she had used one. Being of a practical minded save everything to use in the classroom mind set I wanted to know why she just didn’t cover the box with paper and the board and use it for an educational game. Game boards and boxes are very hard to come by here, after all. That idea was shot down immediately and I watched the game go up in smoke as it was burned in the backyard. Hondurans seem to be very concerned about people being possessed and lots of evangelical churches here have services for exorcisms here.

I was glad to have the experience to get a glimpse of how my life might be over the next 2 years. When I got back home I was greeted by a chubby adorable puppy, which my host mom is watching for her granddaughter while she is at school and he is SOOOOOOO cute and you can actually pet him. Dogs here basically live on the street and do their own thing. They are pretty dangerous so it’s advisable to walk with a rock in hand just in case and are covered in all kinds of gross things, aka they’re not pet-able and huggable like this adorable puppy or my miller (who I miss terribly). The volunteer I visited had her own dog and it’s pretty typical it sounds like for volunteers to adopt or buy a dog here, but they were allowed to have their own place so I don’t think that is going to be an option for our group, So I’ll just have to soak up this puppy time while I can. Speaking of dogs the language director was driving the Peace Corps van yesterday with us and ran over a dog in Teguz which was one of the most depressing sounds I have ever heard.

But not wanting to end in such a depressing tone, I got mail!!!!! A letter from Margret! And some boxes from the padres with some much needed items! YEAH!!!!! Chelsea is married YEAHHH! Kim had a healthy baby boy YEAH!!!!! My parents celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary YEAH!!!!! Good luck to all my teacher friends as the school year is starting, ahhh beginning of the year room prep, I feel your pain! Love you all I hope to hear from you soon.

Em

Ketchup from the last 2 weeks

I know it’s been a while since I have last posted, but because of technology issues and training events have delayed me a bit. But enough with excuses what has been happening en la vida de Emily?

First of all one of my biggest fear hit me having stomach issues, as many of you know I got really sick in Monterey. Last week the same thing kind of happened but a little less intense, luckily Peace Corps health is really on top of their stuff and I was on the appropriate meds within hours of reporting being sick. I lost 10 pounds when being sick so I guess there is an upside. Although this weekend some stomach issues are back so I HOPE that passes quickly. Oh I also went to the emergency room last week because I almost passed out, my vision went blurry and I started to sweat profusely during a training session at the local health center. Ironic? The doc said it was probably environmental and had to with lack of ventilation and heat exhaustion. But enough about med problems, although I feel like it is a central topic for people in Peace Corps, time for the gross and interesting stuff.

Number one on the gross list is me in the shower washing my hair and I look down and see a cockroach crawling up my inner thigh. It still makes me twitch thinking about it. The bugs here are kind of out of control, there are just so may and all over. For example I drank an ant for breakfast the other day. I was warned that CA ant infestation was nothing compared to PC, that is for sure.

Yesterday I went with some other volunteers for a 10k/25k run/walk in la tigra national park. Which was pretty spectacular we walked to the highest point in the region as part of the course, in the middle of the cloud forest, so we were literally standing in a cloud. There were some cool waterfalls, and caves and the views climbing up were out of this world. My fellow volunteers took lots of pics that I will have to steal and post. Although I’m sure the pics won’t be able to do the scenery justice.  The hike was really hard, it was up hill aka up mountain for 7 of the 10k which was pretty intense. There were people running it which to tell you the truth seems in -human, only a centaur could run this thing.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing, and I slept really well last night. I’m glad I brought my hiking boots. Don’t worry mom (who I think is the only person who even reads my blog) I drank lots of bagged water which is a central American thing I think.

Other interesting events included seeing a public bus being stopped by a truck load of military guys with automatic weapons, being stopped by a landslide driving home for lunch, and finding out that we make less then the Honduran minimum wage. Friday night we had a group movie night complete with microwave popcorn, in a garage, we watched when Harry met Sally which was fun.

We have our 2^nd language interview this week, to see if we have changed levels. I’m not feeling particularly confident; I don’t feel like my Spanish has gotten any better, only that my gaps and errors are pointed out constantly. It is really hard to break solidified errors. I also have been told that I use a lot of fufurufu (stuck up) Spanish because I say things like ducharse instead of banarse or coche instead of carro, or charlar and platicar instead of hablar. And the vocab specific to Honduras is kind of out of control.  Please tell me why every single country in the Spanish speaking world has a different word for straw as in the one you drink out of?

I am realizing that this post is becoming absurdly long so, I’m stopping now. More observations about the Honduran educational system and what I’m actually doing in youth development soon. Shout out to Chelsea who just got married sorry I couldn’t be there! And Kim who is going to have a baby any day now. And my dad who just had his birthday. Love you all and miss you lots! 
Try checking out this pic
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100666241643250&set=t.507499127&type=1

Round 2

Here we go again, me trying to make sense of this new life. I’m sitting here under my giant green mosquito net writing this, hoping that tomorrow during our training at the official PC office (which only happens about once a week so we can get shot up with immunizations) that I can get on the wifi network long enough to post this.

We are rapping up week 2 of training. Basically how it works is we have 4 hours of language class then a lunch break where we go home to eat with our families the go back for around another 4 hours of technical training. Come home eat dinner with the host family, and do homework, lately I have been playing a version of scrabble with my host families granddaughter after dinner. Who by the way is my link to what my host mother actually thinks, aka grandma thinks you must eat at a lot restaurants because you hardly eat any of her food and your fat. Ojo to any of you who don’t work with small children, if you say something in front of them they will not hold anything back and will mostly likely tell the person you’re talking smack about. I heard from my teacher today that usually girl volunteers gain weight and male volunteers lose weight (so unfair), I’m not so excited about gaining weight from food I am not really enjoying.

But enough about comida, let’s get to some fun and interesting things. Last weekend some of us went zip lining to celebrate a fellow trainee’s birthday which was fun.  Yeah you heard right I was zip lining through the Honduran rainforest (cost $30). I got to wash all my laundry by hand last weekend too, ufff. My host mother cracked up after she saw my face when I finished. Damn I had no idea HOW blessed I have been to have access to a washing machine all of my life. Seriously the next time you throw a load in think of me be bitten by mosquitoes scrubbing out clothes in a giant cement basin, breaking a sweat with chickens running around me, Peace Corps Honduras baby!   

I am soooooo pumped because we are going to go to see Harry Potter on Saturday. Ahhhhhhh, bitter sweet, I can’t believe this is the end L This is huge, a special treat. We are a much smaller group than normal, 15 strong. Most groups are about 50, but do to budget cuts reduced group size, feel free to contact your fave politician about this and ask them to bump up the PC budget. Because we are smaller than normal, we have gotten to do some special stuff like go to the museum of national identity which was really interesting, and hopefully see Harry!

I got to observe in some schools which was really interesting and met with some local youth. More on all those details soon, and more interesting stuff like new bug discoveries, pics and Honduran legends.

Send me some love!

Em