Life and Times...

Greetings again from Honduras. It’s almost been a month since my last post. Time continues to fly by on this crazy journey. I am always experiencing something new that creates new interest, and new challenges.

In the time since my last post, some important dates have past.

April 30th marked one year left of service for me here in Honduras. Its crazy to think I have a year left with all that has happened already.

April 27th marked my 27th birthday. Life keeps happening. If someone would have told me 5 years ago that when I was 27 I would be working in Honduras with the Peace Corps I would never have believed it. How happy I am that I am here though. My gratitude is great for this experience.

Lastly, April 22nd marked the date that my greatest friends came and visited in Honduras. Chetter, P, the Big Man, Connie and the Aussies Tally Mate and Ben came down for quite an adventure. We went off to the island of Utila for some fun in the sun and scuba diving. Yes, I went again. We hit the lotto when we swam with 5 different whale sharks. These rare creatures of the sea are the biggest fish in the ocean. We hit a record and saw 4 in one day. We jumped in the water with our snorkel gear on and saw the giant fish face to face. It was an experience most will not get in their lives but we did. Just amazing.

After the heat and sand flies sent us bitten, burnt, and bruised, we headed off to some river rafting in the northern rain forest of Honduras. The lodge and rooms are right in the jungle and we had a nice finish to the trip.

What a time it was. You can check out pictures here

I want to leave you with the beginning of an entry to my personal journal I wrote. I would like to share it because often times people wonder exactly how it all works down here; what the experience is like. These times are truly unique, and this is what goes through my head during it all…

I rode a bus home today from a training trip for new volunteers in Tegucigalpa. The familiar feeling of heat coupled with wind at my face accompanied me the whole way. In a country where all is foreign, I am beginning to feel foreign too. All the thoughts and emotions about who I am, what I am about, and how I am supposed to live this life continually go off in my head like fireworks on the 4th of July.

Sometimes I welcome them and sometimes I turn them away, and tell them to come back another time. Some make me feel good, some not so good, and some make me question it all. Sometimes I just want to get away. I feel the need for constant stimulation for fear of what I will hear during the silence. Although I don’t know what’s better, to sit and feel the discomfort and emotion, or to occupy the mind and let it phase out with time like a candle that just needs to burn out?

I think it’s both.

…Until next time

Lets Climb This Mountain...

Greetings again from Honduras. All is well in the land del Catracho. Last week was “Semana Santa.” We all know it as Holy Week. Here in Honduras, and most of Latin America, it’s the biggest travel time of the year.

Most people have the whole week off and everyone has Wed - Easter Sunday off. A lot of people go to the beach. But myself and a group of friends decided to do something else. More on that in a sec.

Before I left on that mini vacation, a new organization I am working with, AMPRO (A membership organization to better the profits and quality of small business owners and agro producers with micro-loans), requested I help them with a new label for there coffee. Score! I had been wanting to get involved in coffee for a while. A women’s group makes the coffee and it scores as some of the best in Honduras.

Below are some pics of the coffee and the women’s group displaying their product at a recent coffee fair in my town of Santa Rosa de Copán. Good times!







Alright, so for Semana Santa a group of us traveled out to Elisabeth’s site to climb a mountain there…one of the highest in Honduras called Picucha. Well this was no hike for jamokes (if you don’t know what a jamoke is, you don’t know me well). This was a 3 day two night hike that consisted of climbing mountains, scaling trees, and camping out in the jungle.

The great Calixto, a Honduran who lives in the hills of Catecamas, and his 12 year old son, guided us. That’s right he was 12, and is one impressive little guy.

So we climbed this beast and let me say, it was quite an experience. This was not a hike as much at it was a steep inclined climb and workout for 3 days. I felt it for days after.

For sleeping we had three tents, one of which was a 2-man tent that we crammed 4 into, and we were sleeping on hard earth and one night a tree stump. I didn’t sleep much at all. Not so fun at the time but hilarious as I think of it now.

In the end, we reached the top of the mountain. It was all worth it. Below is a picture of our guide and I at the top.



You can check out more pictures of the trip here

It wasn’t the relaxing semana santa vacation most have, but a challenging one with great friends. Just another reminder that during this experience, it’s not necessarily the places I go, but the people I am with, and the people that support me that makes all the difference.

To top it off, the end of this month marks a momentous occasion. My best boys from San Fran are making the trip down to visit and celebrate my birthday at the end of the month. We will scuba dive, relax, catch up and just have a good time. The dogs are comin'. Watch out Hondu.

…Until next time