Three week staycation!

There is a bit of a crisis going on in the country right now and I still can't really talk about it. Fortunately, I can still explain my work and the like.

Actually, that won’t take much time at all. The crisis hit and I’ve been on staycation. Since the capital is the epicenter of the current goings on (or was until recently) I’ve not really been able to travel anywhere. We have one backdoor route we can take to visit a friend, but what would be an hour drive turns into between 3 and 5 hours depending on how often the bus stops, which is a lot. For July 4th Alice and I ignored this slight inconvenience and made the trip to a barbeque another volunteer had. It was a little weird having a barbeque and not having to cook all the food as I have become quite accustomed to doing, but it was also kinda nice.

Anyways, back to staycation. Alice and I work mostly in schools, and this month school has had 3 official days of class, which sucks for both us and our students. This means any work we had obligated ourselves to is at a standstill, and if we take on new work we risk not being able to finish the new work or the old work. We’re taking advantage of our free time by doing things like making tasty soup, reading, and watching seasons of the office a friend lent to us. Sometimes we go for walks just to go for walks. I like to think this is like a short preview of what retirement is like, except I still have the vision and clarity of mind to really enjoy it.

The good news is that things are getting closer to normal. The three official days were Monday to Wednesday of this week, and some schools went ahead and had class yesterday too, though not all teachers or students showed up.

The best news I have is that my interns showed up. One of the local high schools has a focus on tourism, and since I really wanted to develop a website for my town that would be sustainable, I had classes with 2 students and then as their required internship they are making a webpage. They are getting pretty good at it. Their biggest barrier is the language, since HTML and CSS both rely on an English vocabulary, but they are starting to recognize important words faster and be able to change the properties. So far we have a main page, an example for a restaurant and they are working on an artisan shop. They like to use colors I don’t love, but it will be very eye catching, which is good. Overall, the point is that they understand web design and we get some more publicity for my town, which could really use a few extra tourists right now.

So that’s all I really have to say. I figure I should try to spice this whole thing up with some pictures, but I don’t really have many great new pictures. I am going to search my hard drive now for something interesting.

Okay, I can't get the pictures to upload.... Sorry. Sadly this will be just another boring pictureless blog.

Standfast, bird pics, and random update

We are doing well here in Honduras, and since we are bored and in limbo as we wait to see what will happen over the next few days, I figured I'd post some pictures from our recent activities.

In May we were lucky to have Drew's parents come visit. We took them to Roatan Bay Island, Copan Ruins and our site in a ten-day whirlwind adventure.Here John and I are sailing in a bit of rain after snorkeling on one of the best reef locations in the world.

My favorite activity was while we were in Copan Ruins. We went to a bird park where they rescue tropical birds. The small fee to enter the park helps maintain the park, and they had birds in almost every color. They also have a coffee farm near the park and you can buy fresh beans and enjoy a hot cup of java after the tour. They also let you hold some of the birds and see them up close, and they are quite friendly. One liked me so much it nibbled at my shirt and then poo'd on my shoulder, all while cooing in my ear. My shirt was orange, I guess I looked like tasty fruit.

I couldn't get the pictures to move to correspond with the text, but I know you all can figure it all out. We are currently under a national curfew and not allowed to leave our sites except for emergencies, but we are safe and doing well. Our town is very quiet, schools are out, so we are mostly bored and working on job applications. We've been cooking a lot and trying to hang out with our friends here ,just in case. We are avoiding large crowds, keeping our opinions to ourselves, and hoping that in the next days things get better and life goes back to normal, whatever normal may be! Keep us in your thoughts, and I will try to post some more pretty pictures over the next few days.

Just so you know

Commenting publically on the current situation is something I reasonablely cannot do, but I assure you all Peace Corps is taking good care to assure the safety of all volunteers, and none of us have experienced any danger. We are calmly passing the time in our sites until the situation is resolved. I just wish school wasn't cancelled, since that is interupting my work. These things happen though. Thank you all for your concern.

Drew and Alice

Easter week memories

A picture update since we haven't written in awhile.........

We didn't go anywhere this year for Easter week, but we did get to enjoy some time in the pool with some Honduran friends. The weather was great all week, and we enjoyed just having time off as the country shut down for 5 days.

On Good Friday, I got to see the processions and even sat in the service on Sunday, though it was very crowded and hard to hear. I did get holy water splashed on me , and it was fun to see the cultural traditions that surround this week.

Drew had fun entertaining the neighborhood kids and the dogs, I came home to find a house full of balls, bats, fake swords and more , and a very exhausted bassett and Drew.

These were the processions on Palm Sunday and were very festive.

It's not my fault... I blame technology.

Blogging is far easier in the United States. Okay, not blogging so much as posting blogs. Life here is pretty good and my mood is finally coming back to normal. Being in the States for so long and then coming back was just long enough to hit the cusp of re-entry style culture shock, and then return and get a pretty big hit when I was readjusting to life here. Though for the record, culture shock isn't really a great word. I wasn't really shocked by the United States and nothing in Honduras can really shock me any more. I hope. I think it's more of culture fatigue. I find myself more prone to use the words "good god, not this again" as opposed to "oh my god what was that". You all see the difference, right? 

Easter week, or as Alice calls it, spring break, was last week, and I did as little as possible. School is out and the entire country is on vacation or doesn't leave thier house, so I followed suit and enjoyed a bit of down time with my dog. I didn't work, but I didn't go anywhere either.

Work since I have been back has been half busy. School is back in session which means we're teaching english at 2 schools, and starting in May or so we'll be doing civic ed in 3. We're also going to do some leadership classes and hopefully some "don't do drugs" talks.  

Stoves are on hold, partially becuase I can no longer walk 5 hours a day as was required, but also becuase the materials I waited for 3 months for are still not around. I doubt I will really do much more with this, since I can no longer be a daily part of the project and becuase my counter-parts decided they needed masons to build them, which is stupid and wrong.

Instead of stoves I am teaching web design class to 2 kids who will eventually do a website for my city. My brother told me my cute little mountain town is the 6th largest tourism draw to Honduras. Kinda makes me feel like we need a website, and instead of just talking about it, I actually have kids working on. They are seniors in high school and they are glad to be working with me. We'll see how it goes.

A good friend of mine has a gallery at the nation identity museum. The gallery is based on one series he did, called an Angel with AIDS. I have only seen the guide since the stupid museum was closed on Monday, but I assure you all, I will love it.

To close, I offer the following question: Has the entire US gone insane? I get a very small slice of news here. Pretty much I get yahoo! news and fark.com. If one of those 2 outlets doesn't cover it, I am prone to miss a story. But between myspace, yahoo, facebook, and this blog it seems you've all forgotten that tea bagging is a very dangerous and risky undertaking. (The blog was the only one to even hint at knowing the true dangers of unprotected tea baggery). A friend of my brothers actually broke a water bed trying to tea bag a sleeping friend. I assure you, the secret service will shortly begin looking into all threats to "tea bag" the president. I also heard there were women tea baggers. How is this even possible? I mean, I am all for womens rights, but anatomy is anatomy. 

This update was brought to you by the letter B. Because by myself boredom brings blogs.

Here in Honduras

Well, I'm back. I got in just before noon and the overly concerned medical staff had a driver waiting. Alice practically broke down the barrier to hug me. It was all very nice. I greatly appreciate all of the support offered during my time in the states, but i am back where I belong for the time.

A reserved celebration

I am sitting on the couch I've resided on for nearly a month, waiting for Alice to call, and I thought I should mention to the world my fate seems secure. I should be back in Honduras within a couple weeks. No one has made any promises, but my speedy recovery means I could be back as early as a week from Saturday. As with any medical situation there are conditions and concerns, but the good news is I will be back in Honduras in no time. 

On another note, Thanks to Stephanie for being my first follower. I follow 13 different blogs, and hers was previously left off the list and she was the only one who took the time to "follow my blog". All you lazy folk should do the same. The more people who follow the blog, the less likely I am to ignore it for long periods of time assuming that no one is reading it.

Well, my sister in law is in the shower, and my nephew's butt just made a terrible noise, so I think Uncle Drew has some nasty work to do.  I hope your day is filled with less stink than mine.

E. Hippie