Wow! It’s hard to believe we only have two more weeks in Talanga

Wow! It’s hard to believe we only have two more weeks in Talanga...que rapido pasa el tiempo (how fast time goes by). Program training will soon be over and that will be all the guidance we receive before going to site. Youth Development does have more year round trainings than other programs but most of these will be done with the entire Youth Development team. Our fun times, inside jokes, and crazy songs will be integrated into the YD cultura.

We will be given our assignments next week Weds. Exciting!! This will be the site where we will work with a specific community/counterparts for two years. Pero claro, ya por la cuenta de cada quien (But of course, now on everyone’s individual account). Considering the situation now, the great thing will be having counterparts outside of schools such as health centers, libraries, NGOs (if any), Casa de la Cultura (Cultural Center), the municipality, etc. Yes, the schools are still on strike. According to our Program Training Director, this strike is now a rare case. We will be on week four this coming Thursday.

Changing topics, another challenge we are dealing with now is the rain. Talanga hasn’t seen serious damage, but other nearby cities (especially Teguz) have experienced mudslides, overflowing rivers, erosion on major streets, collapsed roofs/houses, etc. One of our sites, Danli, has over 200 displaced families due to the heavy rains. The weather forecast includes another week of the same thing. For Talanga, this means dark, lonely streets after 6pm, black outs when it rains heaviest/evening, broken water pumps (no water for many neighborhoods), and rivers (YES, literally rivers) on few streets. For example, the main road will always have major water flow on the eastside which, if you forget, means you have to walk through a few inches of water to cross the street. Our favorite is getting trapped at our Restaurante Sikisa because of the giant lake that blocks the main entrance.

Coming to the end of training makes me really realize how fast time goes by. My six weeks of training have been a complete roller coaster. Now I see why the keep describing our Peace Corps experience as such. We arrived a Sunday, I was in the hospital for a week, still felt week after, started my work with the 9^th graders, the schools went on strike, thought the stikes would end quickly but that didn’t happen, started tutoring a little boy, was keeping busy prepping for Self-Directed Group Projects. Now I feel like I have been doing nothing with my mornings…although I will honestly admit that very few times have I actually felt that way….I definitely would have loved to have a concrete program in place. Note to self: have more than one project with various counterparts going on at the same time.

Besides training the group has had a ton of fun stuff. We had our Peace Corps Olympics (review session) at the nearby pool, a few of us will be on the national tv gameshow X-O thanks to the Boy Scouts who invited to join them for the taping in Jaimaca (we got to see a bit of the feria festivities and Anna won $50 USD), continue to enjoy Spanish club (I’m hosting this week’s session on coping mechanisms for when we are alone…lol), have our get togethers, and this Saturday will be having a pot luck bday bash for Stacie at Alicia’s house/mansion.

I am sure many of you are wondering where my site will be. Like I said earlier, they will announce our assignments next week. They have said they’ll release a list of possibilities next week. Much of their decision will be based on skill set and each respective community’s needs. We have one new counterpart this year, a Normal (a teacher school). I am super excited about possibly working with them and have nominated myself for this site. I wonder if I’ve been the first to nominate myself to a specific site. This would mean that I would most likely be in Olancho or Danli. Either site would be very exciting. I am very curious about Olancho because I’ve heard they have a heavy ranchero culture. I’ve been through Danli and I’ve heard it would also be an excellent site. I would most likely get to collaborate with whoever is placed in El Paraiso (which I loved).

Finally, I’ll share that my dad is hospitalized now. He had another episode of internal bleeding from his esophagus and intestine over the weekend. He is a lot better now and will most likely check out tomorrow. For those of you that don’t know, my dad was a lifetime alcoholic (a major reason why I don’t drink). He was diagnosed with a bad case cirrhosis (serious liver disease) in December when he had is first episode of internal bleeding. He has a hard time admitting he is sick or needs help so he spent a week bleeding away pretty much. The doctors said he had very few units of blood in him when he arrived and that he was lucky to be alive after. He was prohibited from drinking but every once in a while we are sure he’s had a beer. As it turns out, he must have had a drink this weekend because it ruptured his esophagus and intestine. There is very little he can do now except avoid alcohol at all costs and acidic/irritating/hard to digest foods. I am praying that he will make it over these next two years. I would have a hard time dealing with my decision to join Peace Corps knowing of his near death experience if he was to passes away.

Bueno, I have to run...having lunch and then learning about school gardens and planting one. Please keep me posted on your chisme (gossip). LOL

One week in the hospital and a full recovery later

Hola gente....yes, I was in the hospital for a week. Turns out I caught maleria and dengue during my volunteer visit to El Paraiso. I had a headache and fever the first day, and a horrible fever and body aches the day I reported it. The lights had gone out so it took a while to get the blood results. The PC doctors wanted a second opinion so I ended up in the hospital the next morning in Teguz. Sure enough my white blood cells and paletes had dropped. I was on an iv and medication for about 5 days and finally my blood started stabalizing. I spent a TON of time watching English programming and reading (finished my book). All the nurses were very curious about me...I hardly fit in the bed and spent a lot of time alone. I started sharing about how I was in PC was just starting my service of 27 months. My host mom was great. She visited me several times and took me extra clothes, phone charger and snacks. She is great! We get along and have fun together. Besides her, the PC doctors visited almost daily and Ronaldo (my program trainer) came by on the weekend. The group made me a really cute card that was nice to decorate my room with. It was my first time in the hospital and I lucked out to have great facilities and staff. The doctor explained things in detail and stopped by often. Suggesting I enjoy the "playas Viera". =)

It did take a few days to regain my strength. I could only spend about 1/2 the day out and then ended up asleep the rest of the day. I tried climbing a hill and going inside a cave four days later and was exhausted. LOL Glad I made it up and inside the cave. That was a crazy experience. Bats and all.

Since then, I´ve found an independent project. I volunteer at a "centro basica" helping the 9th grade class in math. Wow do they need help. I had only a hand full that can subtract with borrowing, hardly anyone that can multiply or divide with two digits or more. Yeah! They are suppose to be working on algebra...we will get there!!! My goal is to work on the basics...enough to remember the steps. Then drill the algebra skills. It´s a hard task because honestly I doubt they have any number sense or understanding of math concepts. Sadly, this is the case with most students in most subjects. =|

Otherwise, my group and I headed out to Rio Dulce for our second visit....as unsuccessful as the first. Only 6 kids showed up and ended up breaking into the classrooms to get our the sports equipment and so we could hold our "charla" (workshop). They are a great bunch of kids and we would love to have more to work with. We posted posters all over the school in hopes of generating interest.

We also had our first dance session on Thursday...that was fun...everyone was a great sport and did their best. We had two days with a super volunteer...thanks Janet. She´s a retired teacher that spent her first term in the Dominican Republic building a school, teaching computers, and tutoring math/literacy. She extended her service and ended up in Honduras. She's in one of the most isolated locations. She uses a ton of creative ideas to teach students to read and works with the community to improve literacy skills. She receives a ton of support from friends/family back home receiving a package of goodies per week....hint hint. =D She helped us familiarize ourselves with TEAM the teach English methodology course for teachers. We practiced with each other and a group of 5th graders. Lots of fun working with these kids.

I started running again and have worked out a ton. My body still hurts. Yesterday we went running and then had an hour yoga session (thanks profe Melissa...you are impressive).

We "went out" Friday night...lol. Ended up at Old House restaurant and Cocodrilos bar early evening. That was a lot of fun. Some of us ended up at the park till curfew (literally...9pm) watching/playing basketball. Thanks equipo gringos. We spent most of yesterday out and about. I purchased a new skirt and had a helado with a friend. We ran into friends from Canta Rana (the municipal development training site). Ended the night with a piyamada (pj party) at Daniela´s place...that was cool too.

So yes, this is my life...I walk to INFOP (office/head quarters) early in the morning, have tutoring session with 2 groups of 20 9th graders for an hour each, head home for lunch, and have training session till 5 pm. The streets are lonely after 6pm so I end up home for dinner at 7pm. Most nights I watch a bit of novelas (soap operas) and head to my room to type in my journal or prep things for the next day.

Today I need to grade the rest of the diagnostics and generate some ideas for tomorrow´s lesson...assuming the teacher's strike is over and schools return to session. Yes, the teachers went on strike this past Thursday and Friday. Several thousands protest in Teguz. The govt is claiming they can´t afford to pay the high salaries and want to convert schools to centro basicos or possibly eliminate kinders. The war continues...

K, chicos/as until next time...please post any questions/doubts you may have.