Soaking it in.....

Life has been pretty busy here in Gracias. I have spent the last couple of weeks preparing for volunteer arrival. I went on community visits a couple of weeks ago. I will be working in two communities that are conveniently located in the mountains. I think the mountains are beautiful and majestic and all those other good things. It´s just very hard to appreciate them when you believe that you are going to die trying to hike your way up. On my way back home I had to wake up at 4:30 am to catch a 6:30 am bus back to Gracias. I rode a horse to the bus stop, through the mountains, as the sun came up. While bats flew around my head. Vale la pena, I suppose.

Beyond climbing mountains I am trying to immerse myself in the Honduran culture. I joined the PLAN dance team and have learned a couple of folkloric dances. On the last night of briefing we put on a presentation for the volunteers and I got to show off my newly learned skills. I wore the dress which weighs about 15lbs and probably sweated off just about as much trying to dance in it. But the dance went well and everybody thought I had been learning for years, but really I only had 2 practices.

In other news, I have scabies. It isn´t the end of the world like I thought it would be. I´ve taken some meds, researched them on Wikipedia and have come to terms with it. I´ll keep you all abreast of the situation.

Hope all is well at home....

Todo cheque,
Raquel

Living the life....

I'm adjusting quite well to life in Gracias. We found a house that we'll be living in for the rest of the summer. It's a pretty nice house by Honduran standards (and US standards for that matter) and pretty big. It's very big for three people, but I imagine nine people will be a bit of a stretch. We have running water, electricity and most importantly, hot showers. But, rumor has it that the water sometimes goes out intermittently, so that will be a joy to deal with over the summer.

The weather in Gracias is quite pleasant and much cooler than San Pedro. It rains just about every day, but not very hard. We're able to go on with our lives. I am very thankful that it's not kill yourself hot outside. It appears that gracias is home to the biggest grasshoppers I have ever seen in my life. When I first saw them flying around I thought they were birds. They're quite gross. Most of my day is spent trying to avoid them. They are slow moving once on the ground, but they fly and jump around, fast. I hate them.

We're back in San Pedro for the next couple of days waiting for the rest of the staff to arrive. As it turns out, San Pedro is the AIDS capital of Central America. What a claim to fame. We spent most of our day on a bus trying to get here. The bus rides aren't any less scary the second time around. Luckily, there is usually some old guy hootin' and hollerin' on the bus about Jesus. So if there is a wreck, I may have received my last rites. After arriving in SPS we headed straight for the mall. We arrived to much fan fare, alas it wasn't for us. The Honduran futbol team was also scheduled to appear at the mall fresh off a win against Puerto Rico. The place was packed. Except for the part we were interested in, the movie theater. We were able to get a good look at the soccer players and keep moving on to our movie, Iron Man. In Honduras it is frowned upon to put your feet on the chair in front of you, and someone comes in periodically to check and tell you to put them down. It is not, however, frowned upon to talk loudly on your phone, or listen to music. Nice to know for future reference.

Hope none of you get swept away by the tornado!

Besos,
Raquel

Settling in...

We made our way to Gracias where we will be spending the rest of the summer. We had to take a three plus hour bus ride to get here, winding our way through the mountains. Taking a busride through the mountains is exactly what I didn´t want to do. Latin America isn´t big on traffic rules and it seems that most drivers tend to make them up as they go along. That means that cars are often passed on blind turns through the mountains. I think I saved myself a panic attack by sleeping, or pretending to sleep, through the whole ordeal. It won´t be the last time I have to make that trip.

Gracias is a quaint community set in the mountains. When the conquistadors arrived they were so happy to find land flat enough to set up shop that they cried "gracias a Dios." Hence the name, Gracias. There aren´t any paved roads, so the rainy wheather makes things a bit muddy. Supposedly there is a hurricane heading for Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, but I think we´re so far inland that it won´t be a problem. So, don´t worry too much about me.

Peace,
Raquel

The Arrival

I have arrived in San Pedro with minimal difficulties. I was almost delayed a day because I didn't want to sit around the KCI airport for 2 hours and showed up right before I needed to board my plane. Apparently this isn't good practice and you can be bumped as a result. Luckily, someone else was running even more behind and I got to take thier seat.

Honduras is hot. The pollution from the cars in the city doesn't help when you're walking around. But it's bearable. San Pedro is home to about 5 Pizza Huts that I have seen. They are all Mega Pizza Huts. They are the biggest Pizza Huts I have ever seen. We also have the option of eating at other American staples such as Applebee's, Burger King, Churches Chicken, Wendy's and McDonald's. We'd like to see a movie and lucky for us there is a Cinemark at the Mall that is showing Indiana Jones. It's like being in KC, but with bigger Pizza Huts.


I'm having a great time so far and am trying to aprovechar all I can here in the big city before we head to Gracias tomorrow.

Paz,
Raquel la vaga