Here Comes Week 2 in Hondu...

Hellloooo Amigos,


(I posted the video at the bottom I did last week after this blog. Last week the upload took too long. I will make a new one next time)

Another week gone here in Honduras and I already feel like I have set in pretty good. My host family and I are getting along great. The language barrier is still pretty big but the more I chat the better I get at Spanish. I hope my language skills continue to progress quickly. Early this week we were placed in our designated classes for Spanish. There are 3 levels; Novice, medium and high. For each level there is a low, medium, and high. After testing I was placed in the intermediate low class. There are only four people in a class so it is great for personal attention and practice. It is required for each trainee to be at the intermediate mid level in order to be sworn in at the end of training. On average, people jump up two levels in training. A lot of the time people jump 3 levels. It is touch to gauge how fast I am progressing at this point but I think I will be fine in moving up one more level.

I have not been sleeping well this week so I have been a bit tired. My body clock is all screwed up. After long days of training and absorbing information, I come home, study a lot more, eat, and usually hit the hay after a bit of TV or music. It’s a lot but I take it in stride.

The week consisted of a lot of intro information. Also, we got down to technical training where we got into more detail about the possibilities of what we will be doing in the Business Group. Early in the week we received a detailed schedule of training events. This was a great day for us in the business group as we all became very exited with the training schedule and a strong sense of what we will be doing. Along with this came a lot of information about Honduras, their ways of doing business, their politics, their trade agreements, and all the organizations involved with international trade and poverty reduction.

Beginning to learn these facts is an eye opener. Learning about Honduras, Central America, and their relation to the United Stated is stunning. Honduras, along with most countries in Central America, has the US as their top importer and exporter of goods. In our training, we are just getting to the tip of the iceberg dealing with the information about why Honduras is in its current economic situation, how the US is involved, how politics pull the country in two directions, the corruption that comes with such ties, and the rate at which crime grows due to this poverty and socio-economic situation. It’s a lot to learn and a lot to grasp but I find it fascinating.

So now, we continue to train in Zarabonda. After another two weeks of training the big group will split up and go to what is called field based training or FBT. Us 18 in the business group will re-locate to the town of Ojojana. There we will move in with new host families, continue language training, and get into more practical Honduras Business training. It should be exciting.

As I post this I am in the town of El Parisio (Paradise). We left yesterday (Saturday) in the afternoon to go visit my host families brother and mother. We drove about an hour and a half along the country side. This was a great experieince as for the first time I saw come of the great scenery of Honduras. Its a beautiful country that most don´t know is 80% mountains. There are a lot of pine trees and sometimes in reminds me of Lake Tahoe...kinda. Traveling by car is also pretty scary. It is not uncommon to have cars pass another right before a blind corner. Drivers here are a little...bold shal i say. While driving here to El Parisio I saw two semi-trucks pass two small cars simotaneously...on a two lane highway. No joke, I could not believe it. Its all just part of it down here.

All in all things are great. I just take what comes to me day by day and soak it in. Right now it is mostly getting the training in and adapting to the culture. What seemed very different at first is now more comfortable. I really am enjoying it though. I am still very early in, but I await what comes to me next with excitement.

That’s all for now. I am sure I will post before I move cities. Also I should be getting a new phone soon. When I do I will post it or email it out so I can get in contact with everyone.

Until then…much love.

-B