finally, i got the blog online

HOW HAPPY AM I?

Well, right now I am watching what not to wear! It’s in Spanish, so I am getting some new vocabulary. Also, I never realized how fast they talk on this show until I watched it in Spanish. Also, I went to the grocery store earlier, and they had huge bags on snickers minis, which I managed not to buy, but just seeing them made me happy.

My alarm clock and I have quite the battle going on, and I am not sure who is winning the war. The thing has a backlight, so you can see the numbers when there is no light. Well, it is very selective on when it will work. You have to touch it just right to get it to come on, but every time that I think I figure it out, it changes its mind on how it is going to work.

So, I went through the blog today and realized how long the entries look. But the options are write less or write less; which means you don’t get as much info. It’s not really that feasible right now to use the internet more often.

Someone want to do something fantastic for me? I know you do! I get ESPN, and therefore want to know when Roland Garros (French Open Tennis) and Wimbledon will be on ESPN latin America. Not exactly sure what the name is for my espn coverage, but I am sure you can figure it out. Bonus points for those that send me (via email is fine) the schedule for TCM (one of my favorite channels). In fact, email is better because by time I get mail two weeks after it is mailed, then the news and schedules will probably be very old. I could look this up myself but I don’t have a lot of time online. To give you a heads up, I am 90% certain we have dish tv.

School is over and I should be getting my world wise school information soon. World wise schools is a Peace Corps program that connects peace corps volunteers currently serving in their post with schools in the US. It is yet another way to incorporate Peace Corps third goal which is the sharing of other cultures with Americans. The school year in the states is just about over for everyone, but it means I have something to look forward to for the fall.

In case you were wondering, goal one is to provide developing country with trained personal to assist in the training of host country nationals. And number two is to share American culture with the host country, which we do every day by interacting with families, neighbors, etc.

Ok, interesting day. We had an earthquake here in the middle of the night. I woke up and really thought that someone was in my room shaking my bed. Then by time I realized that it might be an earthquake it was over. Only a little major damage done, and none in this area, just woke everyone up. The epicenter was a ways away from here, but apparently people from Mexico to Panama felt it. A 7.1 on the Richter scale, not bad.

This morning we left for the aldeas again. I didn’t sleep well again last night, so I was really tired walking around. Then in the afternoon we went to observe the trainings that some of the people in the NGO (non-governmental organization) are doing. The first one had a really bad attendance rate. The second one was in the middle of nowhere. I mean, whoa, this one had me worried with the conditions of the roads. Apparently I will be going to an aldea farther out than that, whoopee!

Oh, insight that I had and don’t think I’ve told you yet. To me its just weird that everyone knows all about their water systems here. No one in the states does. It’s definitely something to get used to. The people helping us though are the ones involved in the water boards, so that might be it too. Next week I start working for real doing the surveys, so that should be interesting. I had the thought today, you really sure you want me to do that? when someone told me they wanted my advice on where to put the conduction line.

Oh, man, I had so many ideas of what to write today, but yet again, I am at a loss for words. I need to carry around a notebook to write notes down in!

Friday:

It’s just easier for me to write out which day is which. Went back into the field today, I went to get to know a system that I will be reworking. They have a water source and tank, but still have a lot of problems. Friday night and I am watching twister on tv and looking a water system design that a volunteer who was here before me did, I know, I am living it up right. One thing is for sure though: I need to buy a fan, my room has very little air movement, and although it is winter here, its still warm. Very warm.

Weekend:

Saturday morning we went to the community where I will be doing my first topo study. Not really sure if it was worth it or while. I did get to play with a kitten though, which was fun for me and scary for the kitten. The animals here don’t get the lush life of the pets in the states. Most of them are skin and bones.

Sunday I got sick again! Yeah! Ok, that’s enough sarcasm. Stuff happens, and if you have read any of my friends blog, the subject of bowel movements is a common theme, I think I have spared you most of that.

Monday:

Still a little sick. Didn’t start the topo study, but at least now I have time to go do my errands around town (which hopefully include posting this blog).

I am watching the French open right now, it says live. Del Potro is beating Tsonga. Who would have thought that Nadal would be out of the French Open so fast?

No good revelations or thoughts lately, I thought about writing about deforestation and its affects but I am kind of lazy right now. So, you have that to look forward to in the future.

Tuesday:

So, my town is in the middle of its 50th year as a municipality celebration. What they were before that, I have no idea. Anyways, apparently every night there is some kind of celebration and really every school in the area has a night to perform. Last night was a high school in the area. The marching band was definitely the best part. This was not your average high school band. First, they only had drums and bells. Second, they were not nearly as dull as most high school bands. You know the drumline movie? Where they show the marching bands doing crazy stuff? That is the kind of training these kids have received. It was fun to watch. The rest of the night the entertainment was kind of iffy. There were a few lip-singing performances that were kind of awful. Sorry kids, but a little more enthusiasm is needed in your performance. I had to give them credit for trying, but after about 5, I had enough. There were also some kids from the school who performed traditional folk dances.

Food

On another note, my sitemate and I tried some of the local pizza, and that was the first and last experience for that place. It was pretty scetch. First, it was the weird Honduran 1000 island/mayonnaise type sauce, the cheese was really thick, and I think it was special Honduran cheese. Apparently there is someplace else to get pizza in town, so we will try it later. For now we are just happy we are not sick from the pizza.

I kind of feel sorry for you guys, I was reading the blog of a friend the other day and it is crazy funny. Mine just seems really, really dull compared to hers. She had this crazy typical day drawn out, but I just don’t seem to have a typical day, much less one that is funny. I either go to work, or I don’t. Today, I am watching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros. I have a feeling that eventually I will be getting a call asking where I am, but really, I will say I am studying Spanish grammar. This might sound bad, but consider this, it’s the French Open, and I have nothing to do in the office. I made the effort to go in yesterday and I got a “what are you doing here” look. I talked for a few minutes and then left again. Hopefully today is not the day they rescheduled me for the topo study, although they would have already have been here looking for me if that was the case. As another note, the pace of life here is a lot slower. Volunteers don’t do the 8 hour work days. We have a lot of free time, and there is talk about starting a baseball team with the kids in town, so that will become part of my job too. I was talking to a volunteer during training and she said that the day I was talking to her was a busy day for her because she took part of a class in the school in the morning and came to help with our training in the afternoon. I just want to let you know that I am not lazy, just maybe not using my time very efficiently.

For those of you following the World Cup, the US and Honduras play this Saturday. Oh, I also watched NCAA men’s lacrosse the other day. Duke vs Syracuse. Very interesting. Not the kind of thing you expect to be able to see while in the peace corps. And yes, this post is kind of in the posh corps, we all have cell phones, there are internet cafes in almost every town and cable tv is easy to get.

I don’t think I have introduced any Honduran words for a while. So, today we have cheque.

• Cheque- (check-ayh like you have a Minnesotan accent) adv.- cool, good, fine, ok.
When you feel really good you can say chequeleque. Let’s practice:

• How are you? Cheque.

• How are the preparations for the party? Todo cheque.

• So, I am going to pick you up tonight at 7pm for our date? Chequeleque.

To give you an idea of the importance of these words, we were told them the first or second day of training.

Food (sorry Bittany)

Ok, so I am going to give you a Honduran recipe as well.

Boleadas (aka great food)

Ingredients
Flour tortillas – now there is a special type of tortillas that makes boleadas go from good to great, that taste more like pizza crust than tortilla, but use your own judgement here, just make sure they are not too small, anything less than a six inch diameter wont do.
Refried beans, better with homemade, but I guess you can use a quality can type
Cheese, now this one might be hard to replicate, because the type of cheese used here is actually fairly salty, so you will have to be the judge on the type you use.
Optional- chismol and guacamole (always better fresh than in a can- recipes to follow)

Directions
Cook refried beans according to the directions (I suggest adding onion and garlic, but that’s just me). Shred the cheese while cooking.
Heat tortillas- in a griddle is the best method to get the desired consistency.
When both are done, put the beans on one half of the tortilla, sprinkle cheese, guacamole and chismol over the beans. Fold tortilla in half. Enjoy.

Chismol
Chop up onion, tomato, green bell pepper into tiny pieces and mix together. Now, we have what are called especias here (mix of spices) so you will have to decide if you want to add anything here. Garlic and spicy peppers can also be added. Touch of salt to finish it off.

Guacamole
Take an avocado, remove the fruit portion, mash it up, add chopped veggies that you want. (maybe a little salt too).

Now, a true boleada doesn’t have the chismol or guacamole, but I suggest them for those of you who haven’t gotten accustomed to beans every night.

Address:

Ok, the address has changed yet again. I went in to get a post office box with my sitemates. So, check with the parents or give me an email.