Greetings again from Honduras. Wow, it’s almost been a month since I have written a blog. I even checked my archives to make sure that was right. Where has the time gone? The answer; I have no clue.
Honduras swore in a new president and he seems to be getting stricter. I have traveled for work a couple times in the last month and each trip there were at least two police check points to stop at. In case you don’t Honduras is becoming the new drug trafficking capitol of latin America now that Mexico is coming down hard on its narcos (drug traffickers).
Also, the other night I was enjoying some cervesas with friends here in town and 8 people, cops and law enforcement personnel, came in to crack down on underage drinking. Some Hondurans said the new president really wants to crack down on crime. Good thing, as Honduras has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world.
The podcast series is still going so don’t forget to check it out on iTunes. Search Peace Corps in the iTunes store (La Vida Hondureña) or go here.
I am trying to help get my NGO a new website again. The project was stalled for a bit but we are applying for funds and getting quotes to get this thing built. Cross your fingers.
After the aldea survey, I got my site-mate Kat, who works with water systems, to join me on a project to get a water system to a small community in our municipality. The community is all but forgotten, as it is far from town, and we are gonna see if we can get them a system. Cross your fingers on this one too.
I am going back to my video roots and making a new video for the business project as well as doing some additional promotional designs. I try to keep my creative side healthy with projects. So these ones, even though internal, really fuel that.
Best of all, though, is that my parents, bro, and sis are coming down here in a week. I obviously am really looking forward to this as I haven’t seen them in quite some time. I am gonna show them the town and then head to the islands. I finally get to go diving again.
My grandma sent me an email reminding me how important it is to live for today, live for the moment. I am learning this more and more. The more I think about the past, and the more I worry about the future, the more mixed up my mind gets. Yesterday is done and tomorrow will take care of itself. Live it up.
I will have been in this country a year on February 25th. What a ride it’s been so far. I can’t do much but smile and be thankful that I even get to do this.
…until next time.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
New Years...New Times
Greetings again from Honduras. Just hanging out here in a Monday night enjoying some quiet time. Happy New Year to everyone! I didn’t make any resolutions this year because life is too unpredictable down here. But I guess if I had to make one, it’s to continue doing what means something to me and avoid the fluff.
I’m not gonna start with any Honduran news because I talk about it on the new Podcast episode. A new one is up in the iTunes store under Podcasts (search Peace Corps or La Vida Hondureña). Or you can click here and subscribe to it on the audio site by looking in the bottom right hand corner for the iTunes logo. And of course, it’s free. If anyone you know is interested in Peace Corps or wants to learn more about the life we live here, lead them in that direction.
Okay, so, what’s been happening? Well, Elisabeth, some friends, and I rang in the New Year at a place called the Omega Tours Jungle Lodge. It’s a little lodge nestled into the jungle of Honduras near the North Coast. We river rafted one day and did a lagoon tour the next where we saw monkeys and ate lunch on the beach. It started dumping hard rain the last day and a half but we still loved it. It was a great time.
I returned back to work after about 2 weeks of taking it easy and things are picking up again. I am doing some graphic designs for Peace Corps and fellow volunteers who need help getting promotional materials for their various organizations. Also, Volker, my good German friend, and another worker from the office went on an Aldea survey that was really great. We did it all in one day, going around asking people in the small towns of the municipality about their pueblitos and what resources they do and don’t have.
I love projects like this because its getting out there with the people, seeing what their needs are, and getting ideas for new projects. My NGO mostly helps the urban areas of town so its nice to help out in the rural areas where people really need some resources and help with new skills.
Now its 2010, a new year, and the new year has always made me reflect on the last year and think about what’s to come. I landed here in Honduras 11 months ago. It’s been one roller coaster ride with some huge ups and downs. But now, the ride is smoothing out. I think back to why I came here and I can do nothing but smile.
What I have realized is that the present is the best place to focus on, and the present me is what I am coming to love. And in this present time, I continue to be fascinated by this land and culture. I continue to reflect on who I am as a person, and what I can do to be a more peaceful, aware me. And when thinking about the New Year, it is so reassuring to say that I did it; I came down here and lived this experience...the one I wanted to have.
It’s nice to say that I love this experience. I love doing work that means something to me. I love learning more about other people, and where they have come from and what makes them the way they are. The cultural exchange is simply awesome. I love learning more about myself while continuing to grow as a person. I am so grateful and appreciative that I even have the opportunity to do this, and amazing friends and family to support me the whole way. What more do I need? What a life…what times.
It’s a New Year, and I’m feeling new already.
…Until next time
I’m not gonna start with any Honduran news because I talk about it on the new Podcast episode. A new one is up in the iTunes store under Podcasts (search Peace Corps or La Vida Hondureña). Or you can click here and subscribe to it on the audio site by looking in the bottom right hand corner for the iTunes logo. And of course, it’s free. If anyone you know is interested in Peace Corps or wants to learn more about the life we live here, lead them in that direction.
Okay, so, what’s been happening? Well, Elisabeth, some friends, and I rang in the New Year at a place called the Omega Tours Jungle Lodge. It’s a little lodge nestled into the jungle of Honduras near the North Coast. We river rafted one day and did a lagoon tour the next where we saw monkeys and ate lunch on the beach. It started dumping hard rain the last day and a half but we still loved it. It was a great time.
I returned back to work after about 2 weeks of taking it easy and things are picking up again. I am doing some graphic designs for Peace Corps and fellow volunteers who need help getting promotional materials for their various organizations. Also, Volker, my good German friend, and another worker from the office went on an Aldea survey that was really great. We did it all in one day, going around asking people in the small towns of the municipality about their pueblitos and what resources they do and don’t have.
I love projects like this because its getting out there with the people, seeing what their needs are, and getting ideas for new projects. My NGO mostly helps the urban areas of town so its nice to help out in the rural areas where people really need some resources and help with new skills.
Now its 2010, a new year, and the new year has always made me reflect on the last year and think about what’s to come. I landed here in Honduras 11 months ago. It’s been one roller coaster ride with some huge ups and downs. But now, the ride is smoothing out. I think back to why I came here and I can do nothing but smile.
What I have realized is that the present is the best place to focus on, and the present me is what I am coming to love. And in this present time, I continue to be fascinated by this land and culture. I continue to reflect on who I am as a person, and what I can do to be a more peaceful, aware me. And when thinking about the New Year, it is so reassuring to say that I did it; I came down here and lived this experience...the one I wanted to have.
It’s nice to say that I love this experience. I love doing work that means something to me. I love learning more about other people, and where they have come from and what makes them the way they are. The cultural exchange is simply awesome. I love learning more about myself while continuing to grow as a person. I am so grateful and appreciative that I even have the opportunity to do this, and amazing friends and family to support me the whole way. What more do I need? What a life…what times.
It’s a New Year, and I’m feeling new already.
…Until next time
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