Spiders

Some people have rational fears like the fear of drowning or speaking in public. But when people ask me what I'm most nervous about in relation to going to Honduras, the first thing that inevitably comes to my mind is something very irrational. Sure I think about the difficulties of adjusting to a new culture and fitting into my community, dealing with poverty, strange food and all the other normal things to be just a little unsure about. But what I can't help shake in my mind is my hopeless fear of SPIDERS.

If I were to be logical about it, I'd reason that car accidents or heart disease kill many millions more people a year than spiders do. Logic would have me conclude that I should be deathly afraid of driving and butter and cigarettes instead of insects that are one one hundredth my size that mostly just want to avoid me. But tell logic to shove it because it can't see how creepy spiders are with their many beady eyes and their hairy legs and their fangs and the way they crawl and the way they surprise you then disappear when you look away. Yes, I'm like a six year old, I'll admit it.

Once during a mission trip in Bolivia, I stepped into the shower (which is one of those few places where you're completely exposed- both figuratively and literally) and found a Huge tarantula just chilling on the wall, staring at me with all its eyes. Okay, it was probably a normal-sized one, but it seemed big at the time. Also, I'm pretty sure I saw it lick its lips as it watched me step into its lair. So what could I do? I froze at first to make sure it wasn't going to jump on me and bite me in the face then I slowly backed away, put my clothes back on and called my friend to look too. Needless to say, I didn't take a shower that day. The spider won that round.

Seriously though, I'm sure that spiders won't be a real problem for me in the long run. I probably won't see very many and when I do, I'll try to man up and shoo them away. 'Check your shoes before you put them on,' they say. But thinking about Honduran spiders is just one of those crazy obsessions that you can't help avoid when you're preparing yourself mentally for what lies ahead. I just hope I don't have any more in my shower this time!

Kindle or Not?

I've been trying to decide whether or not I should buy a Kindle to take to Honduras.

Pros:
-Very light-weight compared to paper books
-Wide selection of books available
-Affordability of books (after initial cost of the Kindle itself)
-Quicker to get new books as opposed to traveling to a bookstore or mail
-Conversation starter?

Cons:
-Risk of theft or getting lost/broken
-It would be something that many Hondurans don't have (I don't want to own a lot of stuff that separates me from the people in my community-- I'm not even sure I want to take my laptop)
-I'd have to worry about maintaining it/keeping it safe
-Access to/dependability of electricity in my house may be questionable

I like books and want access to both technical/academic books and books for pleasure while I'm serving in the Peace Corps. The other option to the Kindle is of course bringing a few paper books with me, then buying more while I'm there or having them shipped to me. Though I know that mailing things is expensive and takes forever, especially things that weigh as much as books. Also, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of selection of books at librerias in Honduras.

Introduction

I have been invited to serve in the Peace Corps in the Business Development Program in Honduras! I start on February 22nd, 2010. Although I won't know where exactly I'm going to be spending the next two years of my life now, it will most likely be a community of 1,000-3,000 people. The Peace Corps tells you where you're going to be after you've completed the 3 months of training.

This past May I graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with a BA in Economics and Spanish. I was an exchange student in Pamplona, Spain during my sophomore year of high school. Then in my junior year of college I got to go back to Spain, to Salamanca, to study for a semester. I've been to rural Bolivia twice to do service work through my church in my hometown of Highlands, NC. I've also tutored Hispanic kids and translated for a local Hispanic outreach nonprofit. All in all, I'm pretty near fluent in Spanish, though I have a hard time translating songs and Spanish citcoms. I do speak with a Castillian accent, though I have a feeling I'll be picking up a new dialect in Honduras.

I applied for the Peace Corps in January 2009. I knew that I wanted to do something interesting while I was young and before I started grad school or looking for a job. I met a Peace Corps recruiter on campus at a career fair and knew right away that I should apply. What a way to give back to the world. I also figured that doing the Peace Corps would be a good way to put my economics into practice, as well as solidify my Spanish.

But the Peace Corps takes a long time to process your application and I didn't know if I was in or not until just a month ago. So since graduation in May until November, I was hanging out on the fence of life, not knowing my future. They said to stay positive and keep a sense of humor while I waited, but I was ready to know one way or the other.

So, I am relieved and pumped at this point, to finally have a date and a destination. I've been studying up a lot on microcredit and poverty. I've also been reading other volunteers' blogs as well as everything I can find about Honduras. Speaking of which, it's been very interesting following the recent politics of Honduras, considering it's the first country in Latin America to have had a coup since the end of the Cold War. Of course Micheletti and his supporters say it wasn't a coup, but we'll leave it at that. I am relieved that the country had elections just a few days ago and hope that it means the healing process is under way. It's going to be so fascinating being there in the wake of all of this and I can't wait to get a better grasp on it all.

I plan to use this blog as a way to let my family and friends keep tabs on me, as well as anybody else out there considering the Peace Corps or just wanting to read about one person's adventure abroad. At this point there's no telling how often I'll get to add to it, but I'm going to try to write as often as I can.