Well there, happy 2008!! Its been awhile but I’m back at the blogging scene so you can all sleep a little easier now. I hope everyone had a fantastic holidays and that you bums are now back at work or school! Ok, before I forget, any suggestions regarding Mr. Blog here? Did you guys like the rolling update or do you have other ideas? I have noticed, of course, that after about month four or five that the “Comments” section went bare…this is your end of the deal, kids, so lets try to pick that ball up again.
Not much point trying to recap what happened in the last couple of months, but it was a good time. All of November was essentially a wash, as I think I was mentioning in the last full entry I had, except the last week when I was able to return to one of the villages and fix the problems with the altitude of the (proposed) conduction line. That started an avalanche of work that didn’t end until a few days before Christmas, which was nice, and included essentially completing my first water system design. Whoa, it looks like I am recapping after all! I spent Christmas in my town, which was actually not depressing or lonely at all, and was worth several months of community integration in just the three days leading up to and including Christmas. Walking through town singing carols, exchanging food as gifts, going to a 5 yr olds birthday party, evening mass and a dance on Christmas Eve to name a few things. It was not like being home with friends and family, of course, but it was nice to feel like a part of things here.
Anyway, despite that warm feeling of being in site for Navidad, within a couple of days I got anxious and decided to take a trip to El Salvador. I kind of just picked up and left without really letting anyone (besides Peace Corps) know because I didn’t want the opportunity to slip away. I realize now, after having been in Honduras for almost a year, that time slips away largely unnoticed and before I know it I will be completing end-of-service forms. The trip itself was unspectacular in that I didn’t really intend it to be an adventurous trip—no white-water rafting, no hiking up a volcano, none of that. Just kind of wanted to jump across the border and see some new cities and in that sense it was fun. I went to San Salvador for a couple days and to Santa Ana as well. I loved the activity in the capital and there are a number of Monseñor Oscar Romero sites as well, which were sobering and inspiring. Santa Ana is much more calm and laid back—I sat in the town square for hours one afternoon just people watching. I stayed at backpacking type spots and that was another highlight because they are not expensive and its easy to meet fellow travelers or, in the case of San Salvador, other Peace Corps volunteers. And that was about it, nothing too exciting but a nice trip into an unknown country with sites to see and places to visit.
I came back to Honduras and slept over in San Pedro Sula the night of the Iowa primary because one cannot reasonably make the trip from San Salvador to humble Victoria, Yoro in one day. That was kind of exciting to watch, for both sides of the aisle I suppose, and was reassuring that our country has not entirely lost its mind. That’s it on that subject—El Amor Prohibido is not going to devolve into political commentary this election year. And then I made it back home and it was nice to be back. Making things even nicer were that there were two bodacious babes waiting for me!! Yes, by that I mean my sitemate (and friend) Gen and her friend Meghan Battle.
Since it is a new year I have decided to stop putting “my sitemate” at the beginning of “Gen” any time I mention her. This is the last entry where that will happen and the only entry where I explain this process—“my sitemate Gen” will henceforth be just “Gen”. The five of you reading this blog already know this and I don’t anticipate any new arrivals late to the game. Gen you all know because I have mentioned her on El Amor Prohibido before—Meghan Battle may be a new addition, which if that is the case, I apologize to everyone involved. I met Meg for the first time in the summer of 2007—I had just recently arrived in Victoria after our swearing-in ceremony in May and she came in June to live and work with Gen on a youth project for two months. The two of them had met and become friends in Boston, where Gen worked for a brief time before joining PC and where Meg was (and is) a current student of one of the greatest academic institutions the civilized world has known—namely, Boston College. Yes, so in the span of less than two months in 2007, two BC students (one former, one current) arrived in Victoria, Yoro completely independent of one another.
It goes without saying that Meg is naturally very intelligent, socially aware, stunningly attractive—the hallmarks of a BC student—and that we quickly became friends. (That last sentence is all true except for the “hallmarks” aside; I’m evidence enough of that particular generalization’s blatant inaccuracy.) Anyway, she did her thing here last summer, was another friendly face that helped ease my transition into the pc way of life, and that was that…
…and then I come back from El Salvador, five months later and a mere three days into the new year, and who comes knocking on my gate a few hours after I get into town? Yes, yes, you’re very good—Meg Battle is the answer! She was only in town for a few days this time, but it was time well spent. A few days after I returned the three of us took a mini-break and went to fairly large waterfall near the lake (Lago de Yojoa) and took a tour in and underneath it and did some steep jumps into nearby pools…it was a good time. So there you have it, that pretty much catches things up. Back in Victoria now and there’s plenty of work ahead.
I should note that I am no longer the only resident at the house I am renting here. Gen’s dog, Pele, gave birth to a litter of pups at the end of November—the day after people broke into her house, to be exact. Those pups are now eight weeks old so a few days ago I welcomed in Tek and right now we’re going through the messy process of potty training, among other things. Below is a photo of Tek and I giving our best ¨magnum.¨ More soon...
Not much point trying to recap what happened in the last couple of months, but it was a good time. All of November was essentially a wash, as I think I was mentioning in the last full entry I had, except the last week when I was able to return to one of the villages and fix the problems with the altitude of the (proposed) conduction line. That started an avalanche of work that didn’t end until a few days before Christmas, which was nice, and included essentially completing my first water system design. Whoa, it looks like I am recapping after all! I spent Christmas in my town, which was actually not depressing or lonely at all, and was worth several months of community integration in just the three days leading up to and including Christmas. Walking through town singing carols, exchanging food as gifts, going to a 5 yr olds birthday party, evening mass and a dance on Christmas Eve to name a few things. It was not like being home with friends and family, of course, but it was nice to feel like a part of things here.
Anyway, despite that warm feeling of being in site for Navidad, within a couple of days I got anxious and decided to take a trip to El Salvador. I kind of just picked up and left without really letting anyone (besides Peace Corps) know because I didn’t want the opportunity to slip away. I realize now, after having been in Honduras for almost a year, that time slips away largely unnoticed and before I know it I will be completing end-of-service forms. The trip itself was unspectacular in that I didn’t really intend it to be an adventurous trip—no white-water rafting, no hiking up a volcano, none of that. Just kind of wanted to jump across the border and see some new cities and in that sense it was fun. I went to San Salvador for a couple days and to Santa Ana as well. I loved the activity in the capital and there are a number of Monseñor Oscar Romero sites as well, which were sobering and inspiring. Santa Ana is much more calm and laid back—I sat in the town square for hours one afternoon just people watching. I stayed at backpacking type spots and that was another highlight because they are not expensive and its easy to meet fellow travelers or, in the case of San Salvador, other Peace Corps volunteers. And that was about it, nothing too exciting but a nice trip into an unknown country with sites to see and places to visit.
I came back to Honduras and slept over in San Pedro Sula the night of the Iowa primary because one cannot reasonably make the trip from San Salvador to humble Victoria, Yoro in one day. That was kind of exciting to watch, for both sides of the aisle I suppose, and was reassuring that our country has not entirely lost its mind. That’s it on that subject—El Amor Prohibido is not going to devolve into political commentary this election year. And then I made it back home and it was nice to be back. Making things even nicer were that there were two bodacious babes waiting for me!! Yes, by that I mean my sitemate (and friend) Gen and her friend Meghan Battle.
Since it is a new year I have decided to stop putting “my sitemate” at the beginning of “Gen” any time I mention her. This is the last entry where that will happen and the only entry where I explain this process—“my sitemate Gen” will henceforth be just “Gen”. The five of you reading this blog already know this and I don’t anticipate any new arrivals late to the game. Gen you all know because I have mentioned her on El Amor Prohibido before—Meghan Battle may be a new addition, which if that is the case, I apologize to everyone involved. I met Meg for the first time in the summer of 2007—I had just recently arrived in Victoria after our swearing-in ceremony in May and she came in June to live and work with Gen on a youth project for two months. The two of them had met and become friends in Boston, where Gen worked for a brief time before joining PC and where Meg was (and is) a current student of one of the greatest academic institutions the civilized world has known—namely, Boston College. Yes, so in the span of less than two months in 2007, two BC students (one former, one current) arrived in Victoria, Yoro completely independent of one another.
It goes without saying that Meg is naturally very intelligent, socially aware, stunningly attractive—the hallmarks of a BC student—and that we quickly became friends. (That last sentence is all true except for the “hallmarks” aside; I’m evidence enough of that particular generalization’s blatant inaccuracy.) Anyway, she did her thing here last summer, was another friendly face that helped ease my transition into the pc way of life, and that was that…
…and then I come back from El Salvador, five months later and a mere three days into the new year, and who comes knocking on my gate a few hours after I get into town? Yes, yes, you’re very good—Meg Battle is the answer! She was only in town for a few days this time, but it was time well spent. A few days after I returned the three of us took a mini-break and went to fairly large waterfall near the lake (Lago de Yojoa) and took a tour in and underneath it and did some steep jumps into nearby pools…it was a good time. So there you have it, that pretty much catches things up. Back in Victoria now and there’s plenty of work ahead.
I should note that I am no longer the only resident at the house I am renting here. Gen’s dog, Pele, gave birth to a litter of pups at the end of November—the day after people broke into her house, to be exact. Those pups are now eight weeks old so a few days ago I welcomed in Tek and right now we’re going through the messy process of potty training, among other things. Below is a photo of Tek and I giving our best ¨magnum.¨ More soon...
