ESPAÑA WINS!

Hi from Santa Bárbara.

1. Spain:World Champions.
2. The Honduran Diet.
3. Death of a Laptop.
4. Independent Housing.
5. Business Trip.

1. Spain: World Champions. I think that one of the signs of my gradual adapting to Honduran culture is my new appreciation for futbol. Ive watched close to every World Cup game with my host family on their High Def flatscreen. Thats right, they have an expensive TV. After Honduras and USA, I was rooting for Spain, so I was very happy to see them winning. It was an exhausting game with seemingly unbreakable defenses on both sides, especially the Netherlands. Right now is San Fermines in Pamplona, so I cant begin to imagine the celebration going on there.

2. The Honduran Diet. I have lost 20 pounds in the five months Ive been in Honduras. A fellow volunteer told me it was probably because Im drinking less beer here. Heh. In truth, it is most likely that Im eating very healthy and getting a lot of exercise. I also am not drinking as much beer.

3. Death of a laptop. My laptop is officially on the fritz. It caught a Honduran virus and gives me a lovely black screen every time I try booting it. No music or movies for me now; I guess it is the real deal Peace Corps from now on, if I cant fix it.

4. Independent Housing. (Considering I get official approval,) I will be moving into my own house in the coming days. Ive lived the mandatory two months with my host family and found a nice house, good location, friendly landlord, and that meets all the requirements. It will be pretty bare for a while, but that is ok. Itll be kinda like living in the dorms all over. Good news is that rent is 660 lempiras a month, which comes out to be about $32.

5. Business Trip. Went to El Paraiso, a city on the Nicaraguan border, with my coop to fill out paperwork and receive the necessary info about funding from Canada. If we are approved, we will be getting a little more than US$300,000 for environmental improvements for everything to do with coffee in our area (from farm upgrades to a new electrical system in our plant). It was a nice trip too; we got to visit the same border where Mel Zelaya, deposed president, infamously tried to cross into Honduras during the coup. I touched the same sign he did. One of these days I will be able to upload all the pictures I want to.

My Journalism Group

Hola mis compas (literally that means hi, my compatriots). The good news is that Im still living the life here. I am feeling more and more comfortable and at home in my site and have been staying pretty busy too, both of which are muy bien. Here's what I got going on:

1. Journalism group
2. Community survey
3. Coffee coop

1. Journalism group

18 kids and 1 gringo. This week I started a journalism group with eighteen fourth to sixth graders at the local school. A guy about my age is helping lead the class with me. I am using the guide of former PCVs mixed with some of my own ideas to structure the group. We will be meeting once a week for the next 16 weeks! By the end of our time together, the kids will have learned about journalism in general, about newspapers in specific, computers, interviewing techniques, how to use a camera, grammar and spelling, forming opinions, editing and layout etc. etc. And, the final physical product will be their own newspaper about stuff going on in the community. Our first meeting was a lot of fun, thanks to some standard "dinámicas" (or interactive icebreakers/games) that were inserted into the agenda-- it seems that the kids are interested in what we will be doing-- it also seems that theyre highly interested in the new gringo in town-- I read on their excited faces, "what are gringos like??!!" I will be a good experience for me...

2. Community Survey

I am doing a community survey about the health, environmental, and economic conditions affecting people in my town. Ive been going with one member of the Patronato (the local town council) once or twice a week to the different neighborhoods of San Luis, going door to door introducing myself and my project, then asking them my 25 knock-out questions. Doing a survey had always been in the back of my mind, but the PCV who lives up the road from me, Karen, suggested that I actually do it- so I am. It's helpful because I'm getting out into the community and getting to know new people, but it will also, hopefully, give me some direction about the needs of my town-- maybe to give me an idea or two about projects I can start working on.

3. Coffee Coop

We are trying to finish up the bookkeeping for the past operating cycle and it is a bit of a headache. Maybe soon we will know if we made a profit or not, heh. We canceled our general assembly meeting yesterday because of Honduras' last World Cup game, heh. I guess it makes sense.

I just realized that Im saying "we" instead of "they." Heh. I guess that's a good sign, right?


Everything else is dandy here really. Last week I went hiking into the cloud forest for the first time. It was a killer hike (for me at least, not at all for the Protected Areas Management volunteers whose job it is to be expert woodspeople), but we made it. The forest is really something else-- huge, ancient trees etc. We got to see two tucans. I'll post pictures of the trip one of these days. I am living in one of the best sites in Honduras, hands down.