Todo Dengue

2 posts in 2 days- I´d say that´s pretty... pretty... pretty good.

I realized that so far I have focused on a lot of the good parts of my experience as a Peace Corps Trainee. Just so you know that it’s not all fun and games, I want to use this post to talk about some of the things that have not been so great:

• Lack of freedom. Sometimes I feel like I´m in high school again, with long days of class and a mountian of rules. It will change a bit once I´m a volunteer but it´s been tough, especially with the freedom I enjoyed in the states.
• Town chisme, or gossip. The families in the towns talk to each other about everything, so everybody is going to know everything about you. This isn´t so bad as long as you behave (which I have done obviously) but sometimes things get made up and suddenly rumors are flying around. Think of it like the game of telephone.
• Cold showers. I´m sort of getting used to them but still every now and then I think of how nice a hot shower would be. I also have to take a bucket bath sometimes when the water isn´t running which is never very fun.
• Missing other little things that you take for granted in America. Being able to drive a car, the food, having internet all time. One of the things I miss most is being able to keep up with the latest music and download stuff that I like once I hear it. It may sound trivial but downloading new music (legally on iTunes of course)all the time was a big part of my life back in the states.
• Eating the same food all the time. Beans, eggs, and cheese that tastes like feet every night.
• Language barriers. It´s tougher to have the same sense of humor in Spanish that I do in English just because I have so much left to master of the language. I´m getting better but ever so slowly. I also still have a lot of trouble with my family because they speak so fast and they use a lot of cultural phrases that are not Spanish but instead only Hondurañan.
• Missing my family and friends! In the weeks leading up to the day I left I realized how many great people I had in my life and I haven´t forgotten it. I´m grateful to be able to keep up with people at least a little bit over the internet and phone. I am going to try and reunite with as many people as possible when I get back, whether that be sometime during my service or in 2 years when it´s completed.

First Pics

Not a lot of time but here are a few pictures of our trip to the beach.

First, the beach where we camped, Guayaba Dolada:


These guys started the fire:


The crew riding in a lancha (small boat) to an island called Exploración the next day:


Our Programming and Training Specialist, Jesús, just chillin:


And the beach at the island where we swam and coated ourselves in volcanic mud:

En Sus Marcas Listos Fuera Go!

Happy Easter from the middle of Honduras.

No pics just yet, sorry.

I found out about a site where you can put minutes on my phone:
https://www.ezetop.com/us/en/default.aspx
My buddy Kyle said his girlfriend was able to put 250 Lempiras (or about $12) worth of minutes on his phone so it looks like it´s legitimate. Mom and Dad, this would be a good way to get me to keep calling regularly ;)

There is also a site where you can send me free text messages:
http://www.tigo.com.hn/seccion/envio-de-mensajitos
The site´s in Spanish but I don´t think it should be too hard. Just click ¨Mensajito Interactivo¨in the box on the right and type in my number and then your message below. ¨Enviar¨ means ¨Send¨ in Spanish. If you don´t have my number email me at dabart85@yahoo.com and I can give it to you.

That´s all for today. This week will be studying tourism in Honduras. Tomorrow we are headed to a beach to interview some businesses as well as play some volleyball so I´m looking forward to that. We will also be spending the night in tents right on the beach.

Hope all of my friends and family out there are doing great and I would love to hear from you, especially those that I haven´t talked to for awhile.

¿Qué ondas?

I finally had some time to relax over the weekend and was able to type up this blog post:

This may end up being a long one as I have a lot to talk about. As I mentioned before I am living with a new family in a new town for Field-Based Training (FBT). We have been here for two weeks and it seems like those have gone by pretty fast. Our group is now 18 as the 3 projects are all doing FBT in different locations. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the other Business trainees a lot better over the last few weeks. I’ve also felt more comfortable opening up a bit and cracking more jokes. Some seem to have designated me the comedian of the group and I certainly like to have a good laugh whenever possible. Of course I have been taking the training seriously as well. Last week was a lot of work as each trainee had to visit a business in town, interview the owner, and then write up a mock business plan for that business. My knowledge of business plans was limited but we were given advice on how to make them and I feel like I learned a lot going through the process. I’m glad we are now getting into the more tangible business stuff.

Because next week is holy week all of the schools have the week off and many people have work off as well. My host brothers/uncles/cousins are all taking a trip to Guatamala but since we are not allowed to leave the country during training I will be sticking around here with Besy, my host mom, Milagro, my 7-year-old host sister, and Maicol, my 2-year-old host nephew. I am definitely okay with staying here though, as many other trainees will be around as well and we will have time for some fun. There is a little place in town were people can pay to play videojuegos (videogames). I went a lot the first week because it was a good way to hang out with my 17-year-old host cousin Marlon, as well as meet some other people from the town. I quickly became known as “the videojuegos guy” among other trainees. Now, however, a number of other trainees have checked out the place as well and it actually turns out that it´s a pretty good place to hang out, especially since there isn’t always a whole lot to do here.

We have also found ways to be active. The first week after class we played some games of volleyball and soccer. This past week was harder as we had a lot of homework. Weekend mornings some of the trainees have started getting together to do a workout at a local playground. Yesterday morning we did some pull-ups and did some lifts using large rocks that were lying around. We also did some sprints up the dirt road but after one I felt as if I had to throw-up. It turns out I had a heat stroke and had to lay down for awhile and drink a lot of water. That was the first heat-stroke I’ve ever had and now I realize I have to be more careful about staying hydrated.

Another running joke is that I am “the pizza guy”. It started when we had our 2nd technical this past week. In these interviews we talk to the 2 leaders of the business project, Jorge and Jesus, about how training is going and a little bit about site placement. I talked about how I’d like to teach a class to highschoolers on economics or business basics, and maybe an English class as well. I also expressed a desire to work with a library and do some promotion of reading among other things. Then, for some reason I brought up the idea of starting a pizzeria with some local townspeople. I got the idea when I read about another Volunteer that had tried to start up a pizzeria earlier. It had the chance to be profitable, but due to disagreements among some of townspeople working there it was shut down after about 2 months. Anyway, I prefaced my idea about the pizza shop by saying it was a bit more “out there”. Still, Jorge had to remind me that we need to be open to the needs of the community once we get to our site, and a lot of what we do will likely be based on those needs. We can’t go in expecting to start off building a pizza place, especially if it is not something the community needs or wants. I realize this and had just gotten a bit carried away. Anyway, the interview went well other than that. I told some other trainees about how I had brought up the pizza shop and it’s become a bit of a running joke.

There’s much more I could talk about but this post is already pretty long. I should let you know that I have a phone here. So far I have only called my parents but I was thinking of calling some friends back in the states with whom I have only connected over the internet. Might try and do that this coming weekend, stay tuned. I´m also thinking I will try and put up some pictures in my next post.

¡Hasta luego y que les vaya bien!

P.S. Today we got the results from our 2nd Spanish interviews and I am now an ¨Intermediate High +¨ so I am moving up which is pretty cheque in my opinion.

The Adventure Continues

I realize I haven´t posted for awhile, I apoligize for that. I don´t have a lot of time right now but I will make a short post to update you on the basics. I am now living in a new town with a new host family. It is a big change because they are a huge family and their are always people coming and going. My host mom cooks food for about 10 guys every meal. There is also a 2-year-old named Maicol who is constantly running around. Yesterday we took a 3 hour bus ride to a beach called El Cedeño on the Pacific Ocean. I can write more about it later but right now my host cousin is waiting around for me to finish up so we can leave the internet cafe and I think he´s getting bored so I am going to wrap it up. I will post more details about everything soon though, I promise.

Chequeleque Panqueque

Hello friends!

I am writing you from a mall in Comayagua, one of the larger cities in Honduras and also its former capital. It´s been a good week and I´m excited for today because it is the first day of my Volunteer visit. Another trainee, Brian, and I will be visiting a current business volunteer at his site for a few days to get an idea of what he does. I´m really happy for the change of pace and a chance to see some other parts of Honduras.

This week was another long, eventful one. More Spanish and technical training. We´ve also been visited by a number of current Volunteers at the training site. It´s great to get advice from them and hear about their experiences so far. It also makes me impatient because I want to be out and starting things at my own site but we still have 9 weeks of Pre-Service Training to go.

I´m hoping to catch at least a bit of March Madness. My current host family has CBS so that should work out nicely for the first rounds. Unfortunately I´m moving out of there to go to Field Based Training next Sunday. My only hope is that my next host family is as great as my current one.

Last week I mentioned that I would list some books I would enjoy reading, here they are:
The Price of Everything
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
The Bottom Billion
Capitalism and Freedom

I would love any books by Peter Tamas Bauer (Development Economist) and Greg Boyd (Theologian).

Also, I´d be interested in reading any other economics-related or business-related books. Finally, I´d love to read any good novels you have enjoyed as well!

I must be siging off to pay my 18 Lempiras but I will try and write again soon! Until then, adios!

2nd Weekend in Hondu

Well it hasn´t even been a week since I posted last but it seems like a lot longer than that. I´m sitting in the same internet cafe as last week and am trying to do as much as possible in my limited time here. I am typing this on the fly whereas last time I had typed everything up and put it on my USB the night before. Anyway, days have been very busy with Spanish classes in the morning. After our first language interview I was placed at the Intermediate-Mid level, which is the minimum level needed to be sworn in after the 3 months of training. Obviously, though, I am hoping to advance a few levels in that time. Afternoons have been filled with technical (business in my case) and cultural sessions led by various members of the training staff. Besides my project, which is Business, there is also a Health-HIV/AIDS team as well as Water and Sanitation. Our training days end at 4:30 after which I get a ride home and enjoy a meal prepared by my host mother (I am still enjoying the food by the way). French toast with honey was a recent standout for breakfast. I am also becoming a fan of advocatos. After dinner I try to spend a bit of time talking with my host family. After that I usually get in some reading and/or studying as well. Each day leaves me pretty tired and I tend to go to bed around 9.

There´s plenty more I could type but it´s not coming to mind. If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments and I will try and answer them next time. Or you can send me an email at dabart85@yahoo.com.

I am going to link to a fellow trainee´s blog where she has a ton of great information about sending a package down here (I know you´ve been wanting to). Books would be a great thing to get because because I´ve been going through the ones I´ve bought pretty fast. I was going to post a list of stuff I want to read but forgot to put it on my USB so you will have to just send me something you´d think I´d like, or wait til my next post where I will try and list some. It´d be a great surprise to get anything though! Here is the link (obviously you would put my name in place of Theresa´s).

¡Hasta luego a todos!