Guests!

Guests!

Ok, so they are not my guests, they are my sitemate’s parents. They are down for a little over a week. On Monday they came into Teguc and down here. Sara stopped by with them to make the introductions, and then while walking I suggested we are my coworkers if someone would be able to take us out in the truck to the aldeas for two hours just so that they could see how gorgeous it is out there.

The ride ended up being great. We went out with Nelson, and he knew where to stop to get good pictures, kept everyone up to date on what type of plant was what, and narrated a little history of the area. We stopped and they saw how coffee is cut and dried. Later we saw lufas (the sponge-body scrub stuff) being cleaned and dried. I didn’t know where they came from, but there is a plant here that you clear out the ooze and you have a perfect bathroom tool. We talked to a bunch of people, and just had a nice visit. My coworkers were so nice about it, they didn’t think twice about driving us around and later were like, “Had we known they were coming we would have planned something better,” but Sara’s parents were really happy with what they got.

Later that night, Sara’s host family had a bbq for us all. I got invited! It was good, there managed to be a flow of conversation through Sara translating back and forth. All in all, I think thus far (less than 48 hours) they have had a good trip. Tomorrow they head out to the lake, but they got to see where Sara lives and works.

What nice people to visit a volunteer! I wonder who else would like to see Honduras. Any takers?!

Work: Now, apparently me life is about to get really crazy. I had a meeting today and all of the things that I should do in the next few months came up. It didn’t come up in the planning meeting I had two weeks ago, but in front of the mayor it came up. Go figure.

And a few notable mentions are: finish two water system designs, take a design and create a materials list of things they need- this is top priority because they want to start building NEXT WEEK!, supervise latrine construction, give a charla on how to build a water system (because I have so much construction experience), supervise construction of the water system (I got full authorization to piss people off by telling them they are doing something wrong!), make and give a presentation on how to take water samples and how to how to perform chemical, physical and bacteriological tests on them, finish two lessons on how to use the theodolite and use a computer program to design water systems, and help my friend with one of her projects. On top of that add baseball, a science fair, and did I mention a stove project that I have to do, and if this work load lasts long enough, I need to balance it with the demands of the new training group that is coming.

All of that goes on top of making visits so that I don’t upset people, taking care of my crazy dog (includes getting her to the vet to get fixed!), washing clothes by hand, mopping every day because my floor is a pain, and trying to stay sane. So, how do I handle all of this- I go on vacation for a week! Actually I will be attending a meeting and helping a friend with a project. Hey, I am a world class procrastinator!


I will try to upload some more pics the next time I find a fast internet source.